Why Do People Hate the Pandaren?

Is a question I've heard asked. The pandaren race, which is to be a huge focal point of the next WoW expansion "Mists of Pandaria" seems to be its most polarizing feature. People either love them or hate them. In fact you can see this split in opionion expressed quite clearly on the MoP Preview Trailer. The likes and dislikes are split almost perfectly in half! There are various arguments for and against the pandaren. I'm going to address a few that I've heard and tell you why some of them don't hold water, and why some of them actually make sense.

Post-Blizzcon Roguestravaganza

So Blizzcon happened. No, I was not one of the lucky people who attended the event. Seriously, it seems like everyone and their dog went to Blizzcon, something that seems incongruous with the fact that there are a limited number of tickets that literally sell out in seconds. More likely it's because the people that are going feel the need to howl about it while the people who aren't don't. Anyways, it's over and there was a ton of tasty changes that have me incredibly excited!

Firelands Nerfs Make Me Sad

So Firelands got nerfed today, and I'm kind of torn about it. On one hand I'm glad to be done with the struggles and the stupid 20% wipes. With these nerfs what would of been a wipe is now a kill. Hell, I don't even think we'll see Majordomo's orb phase. So for that I'm glad. The part I'm not so glad about is that these nerfs kind of invalidate all the work we've been doing these past months.

Patch 4.2: Rage of the Nerfbat

Up until a couple weeks ago the changes to the rogue class in patch 4.2: Rage of the Firelands were pretty minor. As I've said before we got a small buff to Blind and a bug fix and that was it. Now, however, Blizzard has released a new set of patch notes and I almost wish we could go back to having just the two sentences. We were riding high up until now, but at last the nerfbat has come, and it's hungry...hungry for survivability.

All That Controversial Goodness

We continue our slow march towards patch 4.2. Seriously, when is this thing coming out? I've got a green thumb, and I need to grow me a tree in the middle of a fiery wasteland. That's the best place to plant it when you think about it, because it's the last place they'd suspect. Rag is looking outside like "where the hell are they putting that tree?" and it's right under his nose, but Rag doesn't have a nose. Now there's something to think about. Anyways, I thought I'd talk about all the controversial changes Blizzard has been announcing of late. I'm starting to think they're just trolling. Next they're going to announce all tier sets will be sold on the online store, just to see the community implode so they can watch from atop their citadel like a modern day Nero. Hey, I would pay for some Tier 2. Yea, I'm that lazy.

ccComboPoints Post Updated

I finally updated my post about ccComboPoints for Cataclysm! Yep...it took all the way until patch 4.1 for me to do that. Anywho...if you haven't read it you or have read it and were disappointed by the outdatedness then check it out!

Patch 4.1 = Best Ever

The patch notes for 4.1 were released today and I have to say I'm a little surprised. I wasn't expecting them for at least a couple more weeks (then again releasing the patch notes doesn't necessarily mean we're even close to the actual release of the patch). I scrolled down to the rogue changes expecting a few anemic sentences carrying nothing but bad tidings, but it was almost the exact opposite. The changes are awesome! They're almost too good to be true. If this patch was released today it would be literally the best patch for rogues that I can remember.

Justicar Blues

I recently read a comment on WoW Insider talking about the Justicar/Conquerer, lamenting the sheer grindiness of the achievement. For those who don't know this is an achievement you get for reaching exalted with each BG faction, it grants a title, and it's no small task. Warsong Gulch is the most difficult rep of all as the only way to get reputation with the Silverwing Sentinals/Warsong Outriders is to cap the flag. Considering in some games your team may not even cap at all this can be a pretty laborous process...and it should stay that way.

A Rogue's Guide to Cataclysm Reputations

Cataclysm has predictably brought a slew of new reputations, and every single one of them offers something rogueish, but that doesn't mean they're all equal. I'd suggest first focusing on those that grant rewards at honored and revered as the grind from revered to exalted can be lengthy. Also, a faction's quests can take you pretty far (to midway honored or even revered), which is nice because you'll be able to grab easy gear to up your ilvl. Now let's take an in-depth look at these reputations so you can make an informed decision about which one you should focus on instead of blindly repping up the first faction who happens to clap their tabard around you.

Leatherworking "Nerfed" in Patch 4.0.6

If you've been looking at rogue professions at all I'm sure you know that Leatherworking trumps all by a long shot. The Draconic Embossment - Agility leatherworker-only bracer enchant grants an astonishingly high 130 agility. The second best bracer enchant is 65 haste, and considering agility's high value, the difference between these two is huge. This means that either you roll Leatherworking, or you're playing sub-optimally. Luckily this will be changing soon because of a new enchants coming in 4.0.6.