WotLK Secrets Review
November 18, 2008 by Zuggy · Leave a Comment
To say the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is “big” would be a dramatic understatement. It’s MASSIVE! There is so much new information and features it’s hard to even wrap your mind around all of it. I recently came across a brand new guide from T. Dub Sanders, WotLK Secrets, to help deal with this information overload.
When it comes to WoW “guides” I’m always suspicious…90% of all guides out there are basically garbage, they are filled with generic information that does little more than offer a summary for their designed purpose…never meeting the alleged “expert” level. This in large part was the inspiration behind my own guide, Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide. I was tired of dealing with worthless guides…and I get the feeling T. Dub feels much the same way.
I haven’t seen a more complete codex of well organized information in a long long…time, especially for something as all encompassing as the WotLK expansion. WotLK Secrets covers just about everything you can imagine.
- New Features
- Zone Breakdown
- Questing Tips
- Game Mechanic Changes
- Instance and Dungeon Strategies
- Faction Analysis
- New Items
- Economy Changes
- Major Death Knight Breakdown
- Profession Analysis
- Achievements
- and more!
The 240 page WotLK Secrets Guide covers it all and more.
Major Pros for WotLK Secrets
- Organized into manageable sections and sub-sections.
- Massive amount of information, virtually every topic I could think of were covered, and even a few I hadn’t considered.
- Excellent instance and dungeon strategies, including specific boss technique and other import tips for managing each encounter.
- Easy to understand writing style.
Major Cons for WotLK Secrets
- No bookmarked links in table of contents, this is a huge annoyance of mine in any large content PDF. There is a table of contents, but you can’t just click your way down to a section.
- Could, and probably should have been split into multiple smaller PDF files. The table of contents alone is 11 pages. Though this could have been solved by adding in-text bookmarks in the table of contents.
Content wise there is nothing I would add or delete. WotLK Secrets offers an excellent overview of all the major changes in the expansion. Additionally, the instance strategies are a great starting place for anyone just learning the new bosses and dungeon encounters for the WotLk.
Will be a huge time saver and is well worth the investment. You can snag your copy of WotLK Secrets Here.
Site News and Upcoming Guide Dates
November 16, 2008 by Zuggy · Leave a Comment
Hey guys, just a brief news announcement regarding both my upcoming premium and free site guides. Please note, during the next few days there will not be many posts on the site. This is so I can enjoy the initial leveling blitz of the expansion. Once things die down I’ll be releasing scores of new and updated guides.
…also, don’t forget that my best hair cut of Azeroth contest is still going on! You can win a free 60 day game card, the deadline is this Friday!
Premium Guides:
- Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide - WotLK Update, 11/30/08
- Zuggy’s Powerful Professions Guide - WotLK Update, 11/30/08
- Zuggy’s Speed Leveling 1-80 Horde Guide - WotLK Update, 11/30/08
Free Site Guides:
- Class Talent Builds - first guides will release 11/21/08, will continue through 11/30/08 with additional updates added as needed.
- Class Macros - updates for existing macros will begin 11/21/08, otherwise these guides are already completed.
- Class Focus Macros - updates for existing macros will begin 11/21/08, additional class focus macros will be added through 11/30/08.
- Professions Guides - existing guides will be updated following my premium guides launch, sometime around 12/1/08 to 12/7/08. No ETA on new profession guides.
- Instance Guides - 5 / 10 man instances will begin as soon as I start completing these instances, which will likely be around 11/20/08 and continue into the coming weeks and months. These will include in depth strategies, video, and possible audio explanations of encounters and bosses.
- Arena Strategies - early updates will begin 12/9/08, major strategy overhaul will begin 12/16/08 and continue through arena season 5. Most current guides will be updated and additional guides will be added for other classes, comps, strategies, etc.
If you have a guide would like to suggest just drop me an email via the contact link in the menu bar up top. I’m more than willing to divert time to a subject matter if there is a need for it. Your feedback is always appreciated to me.
I”m still working on hammering out a better way to organize all of these guides for easy viewing, and I think I’m fairly close to a workable solution. All of these new guides will be organized in such a way that they can be easily browsed and navigated.
First Impressions of the WotLK
November 16, 2008 by Zuggy · Leave a Comment
So far I’m absolutely loving the expansion, I haven’t been this excited about WoW in a long time. I know this goes without saying, but the zones are simply beautiful. Not only are they aesthetically designed well, the overall layout and quest design is a level above anything I’ve seen before.
It’s difficult to make questing truly interesting in an MMO, but Blizzard has done an excellent job in mixing up the monotony with well placed “oddity” quests (for lack of a better word). The new vehicle system is a great addition and much needed fun factor to the questing grind.
Likewise I’ve been very pleased with the new dungeons. Unique encounters, graphically beautiful, and short enough that you don’t feel like you’ve got to schedule a time to do them, but long enough you feel like you’ve actually cleared a worthwhile instance it. My only major concern with the new dungeons is the ease of difficulty.
So far no dungeon has had any real degree of difficulty, even with PUG groups I don’t think I’ve had a wipe yet. That said, these are only on normal mode, so I won’t make any definite judgement yet, but it’s something I’ve had on my mind while completing the first few dungeons. I’m very interested to see how the difficult level ramps up for the level 80 heroic dungeons and 10 man instances.
Overall I’m incredibly happy with the expansion’s launch, it went better than I could have ever imagined.
How about you? What do you think about the WotLK?
WotLK Launch Extravaganza - Mega Sale on Gold Mastery Guide & More!
November 12, 2008 by Zuggy · Leave a Comment
As I write this we are just a few short hours from the official launch of the Wrath of the Lich King in north america. Soon we’ll all be on our way to Northrend and level 80…but until then, it’s time to celebrate!
In celebration of the Wrath of the Lich King’s launch I’m holding a special on my book, Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide. If you purchase now you’ll receive an instant $12.00 off the regular price! Your purchase will help support Zug Gaming as we move forward to the WotLK beyond. Just my way of saying thanks for helping Zug Gaming become such an amazing site and community.
What’s in Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide?
- The secrets to 300g+ an hour!
- An investment for the future, free updates for life! (including WotLK)
- Auction House Domination, including advanced tutorial and secret market niches
- Secret grinding locations
- Professions gold mastery
- Entry to the Zug Gaming Total Access Club
- Invitation to Total Access Club Events
- Free and unlimited one on one email support
- a 100% unconditional money back guarantee, if it doesn’t work for you I don’t want to keep you money
Heard enough?…Find out how you can get your copy of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide now!
This sale will last all the way through Sunday (11/16).
More Launch Night News
Best Haircut of Azeroth Contest!
In addition the the huge sale on my gold mastery guide I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the Best Haircut of Azeroth Contest is still open for entry! Now is your chance to show the world your best hair styles using the new WoW barber shop feature. Check out this post for full contest details and see how you can win a free 60 day game card and a copy of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide!
Site News for WotLK
Just a few final notes regarding upcoming guides and stratgies on Zug Gaming. First off, thanks for all the concerned emails regarding the talent spec guides. WoWhead made a few changes to their code and as a result left 100% of my linked talent builds broken. I’ll be creating new level 80 talent builds for all classes in the coming weeks, at which point these will be fixed.
While we’re on the topic of talent specs I’d like to go ahead and announce the rebirth of the Zug Gaming Talent Calculator. It’s fairly close, but my limited coding knowlege is slowing my progress. I’m currently looking for a programmer fluent in javascript to assist me in the final steps of completion of this project.
Additionally, I’ve got big plans for a host of new guides and strategies. I’ll be covering everything from arena to dungeons, professions to gold farming, if it’s in the WotLK you’ll find it here!
Relaunch of Zug Gaming Newsletter Club
I started the Zug Gaming Club several months ago, and while it got off to a solid start obligations with school and work kept me from really spending as much attention on it as I would have liked. With most of those obligations under relative control I’ve decided to start the Zug Gaming Club back up!
You can sign up for free using the form to the right in the side bar. After signing up you’ll receive a confirmation email, make sure you click this to start receiving members updates, announcments, tips, and more!
Join the Team!
I’m always looking for strong, personable writers to join the Team Zug Gaming writers staff. If you’re interested in the opportunity to help Zug Gaming continue to grow and have your guides read by hundreds of thousands of WoW gamers every month please don’t hesitate to send me an email at support(at)zuggaming(dot)com or click the contact link above.
Spread the Word
Want to help Zug Gaming grow even faster? …Spread the word!
- Tell your friends and guild mates
- Link to posts and the home page on forums, emails, in-game, etc.
Hotlinks:
Wrath of the Lich King Wrap Up Post
November 12, 2008 by Zuggy · Leave a Comment
The time has finally come, we are now just a few short hours away from the greatest expansion World of Warcraft has ever seen. I know I can’t hit all the changes in this wrap up, but I’ll do my best to hit all the major additions, changes, and other note worthy points regarding the WotLK.
WotLK Preparations
General
- WotLK Mounts
- Flying Mounts in Northrend
- Profession Bonuses and Perks
- Dual Specs Feature
- New WotLK Enchants
- Updated Horde and Alliance Racials
- WotLK Titles
- Profession Daily Quests Token System
- WotLK Spellpower Change
Classes
Patch Information
Achievements
- Achievement System Details
- PvP Achievements - Part 1
- PvP Achievements - Part 2
Videos
PvE
PvP
- WotLK Honor Gear Prices
- WotLK PvP Changes
- Wintergrasp Boss Drops
- Season 5 Honor Gear
- Season 5 Arena Armor
Guides
- Knights of the Ebon Blade Reputation Guide
- Jewelcrafting: Gem Perfection
- WotLK Enchanting Guide
- WotLK Enchanting Scrolls
- WotLK Alchemy Items
- Inscription Shoulder Enchants
- Inscription: Glyphs Compiled
note: more to come later
Blue: Achievement Hotfix, BoP Crafted Items, & WotLK Armor Tokens
November 11, 2008 by Zuggy · 5 Comments
“Not in my House” Achievement Hotfixed, Now only requires 2
Today we hotfixed the “Not In My House” achievement to only require 2 kills rather than 10. The user interface will still display that 10 kills are required but the achievement will complete once 2 kills occur.
After a client patch, the user interface will be corrected.
No More BoP Crafted Items
It’s entirely likely that there will be more BoP crafted items. What there won’t be is “I have to be a crafter for item X because it’s the best thing ever!” items.
Armor Tokens for WotLK
Yes one of the tokens has 4 classes and two of the tokens have 3. However the tokens with 3 classes have a 30% drop rate and the token with 4 has a 40% drop rate. =)
The Lich King Launches Attacks!
The Lich King is striking back once again! Orgrimmar, Stormwind and other major cities are being assaulted by the forces the Lich King.
Fromwyrms, abominations and even Grom Hellscream have been seen laying waste cities, NPCS, and players alike…
The event starts over around every 20 minutes.
Attack on Orgrimmar Video
Thrall vs. Grom Hellscream Video
Lich King Invasion Screenshot Gallery
Arena Season 5 Start Date Announced
Season 4 Ends, Season 5 Start Date Announced
We wanted to remind everyone that Arena season 4 is coming to a close. During next Tuesday’s maintenance, all arena teams, as well as ratings, will be wiped and arena charter NPCs disabled. Thus, arena points will, unfortunately, not be rewarded for rated games played this week.
The next Arena season will begin on December 16th, and once that happens players at level 70 will be able to participate in rated matches against level 70 opponents and gain Arena points for item purchases but will not count towards the end of season rewards. At the same time, level 80 players will be able to compete in rated arena matches where they can gain arena points which can be used to purchase level 80 arena gear, as well as compete for end-of-season rewards. Additionally, players at level 70 will continue to be able to play skirmish Arena matches against other level 70 opponents even after Wrath of the Lich King launches. It’s also important to note that two new skirmish brackets (71-75, 76-80) will be available for players who wish to hone their Arena skills while leveling in Northrend.
WotLK Feral Druid Changes
November 5, 2008 by Zuggy · 2 Comments
Upcoming WotLK Feral Druid Changes
ARMOR
We are changing the way bear armor works so that bonus armor on items does not receive the bear armor multiplier. Specifically this means that trinkets, rings, necks and cloaks with bonus armor will not be multiplied by the bear bonus. The normal armor on leather will still be multiplied by this bonus. We are also going to remove bonus armor from Feral staves. You’ll get your bonus armor from the leather you acquire.Examples:
1) A ring that grants 100 bonus armor will now grant a bear 100 armor (not ~470 armor).
2) Leather legs with 253 armor will still grant a bear ~1190 armor (not 253 armor).
3) A feral staff will now grant 0 armor.We are making this change because armor is such a good stat for bears that it makes taking pieces with bonus armor a non-decision and we don’t want acquiring these pieces, which tend to not be common, to be so much of a barrier to a druid who wants to tank a raid.
This change will NOT be in effect when Lich King ships. We are letting you know this now so that you don’t go through heroic efforts to acquire items like the Badge of Tenacity, or Defender’s Code. Defender’s Code, with 850 armor, will still be a good trinket. But it won’t be an insanely good trinket for a bear.
We will adjust the bear armor modifiers so that your net mitigation does NOT go down with these changes. Let me repeat: this is not a nerf to Feral armor. It is a change to the amount of armor you get from gear with bonus armor.
MANA
We are adding an effect to a deep Feral talent (something like Primal Tenacity) to further reduce the cost of shapeshifting into cat or bear by 50%. This talent will stack with Natural Shapeshifter for a total cost reduction of 80%. PvP-focused druids can get both talents to shift easily and often despite, no longer having Int on gear at level 80.PROTECTOR OF THE PACK
We are removing the group requirements from this talent. The new tooltip will say: “Increases your attack power by X and reduces the damage you take in Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by Y.” The values of X and Y themselves are not changing.Again, these changes will NOT be in Nov 13 for Lich King’s launch. We will add them in a patch that will come out sometime before the major Ulduar content patch. We’re letting you know now so that you can choose quest rewards and loot drops accordingly.
Source: Blizzard
Patch 3.0.3 Going Live Tomorrow, Tuesday 11/4/08!
Well, it’s official…patch 3.0.3 will go live tomorrow, Tuesday November, 4th, 2008! I’ve got to admit I didn’t expect to see it so quickly, but it’s certainly a relief knowing we won’t have to wait all all the way till WotLK launch to get the new patch.
Make sure you get caught up on all the new changes and additions that will be implemented when patch 3.0.3 goes live tomorrow.
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