Best Haircut of Azeroth Contest Winner!

Congratulations to this year’s best haircut of Azeroth….Cream! Cream’s stylish night elf chick clearly WoW’d..pun intended, the Zug Gaming voters and after a close race Cream came away with 25% of the total votes! For his entry Cream is receiving a free 60-day World of Warcraft game card in addition to his own copy of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide.

Not only will he have a few extra IRL gold, but he’ll now have more in-game gold than he knows what to do with!

Additionally, congratulations to our 2 runners up. In 2nd place, we have Kostas aka Korasidis, with his pink haired Mohawk. And last, but certainly not least, we have Chir Sung with his unique looking undead stylings. For their accomplishments and excellent hair stylings both Kostas and Chir Sung will also be receiving a free copy of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide, including free updates for life!

Thanks everyone who participated in this year’s Best Haircut of Azeroth Contest. While the weekend down time was certainly an unexpected hitch in the road, I don’t think it derailed this year’s contest too much. Once again, congratulations to our winners and to all the players who submitted their haircut screenshots…you’re all winners in my book!

Note to winners: I’ll be sending out emails tomorrow afternoon regarding your prizes.

Cream - Victor and Esteemed Zug Gaming Champion

Kostas - 2nd Place

Chir Sung - 3rd Place

Final Voting Results

Best Haircut of Azeroth Phase 2 - The Vote!

Please note that I am extending the voting deadline to Wednesday 12/13/08 at 11:59 CST. This is due to downtime over the weekend and the very close race between contestant 4 and 8. Thank you for your understanding.

Now is your chance to finally pick Zug Gaming’s Best Haircut of Azeroth! Check out all the entries then vote for your favorite haircut below!

Entry One

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Entry Two

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Entry Three

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Entry Four

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Entry Five

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Entry Six

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Entry Seven

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Entry Eight

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Entry Nine

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Entry Ten

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Entry 11

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Who has the best haircut of Azeroth?

Best Haircut of Azeroth Contest Update!

Just a quick reminder to everyone that Zug Gaming’s Best Haircut of Azeroth Contest is still going on! Check out this post for more details and see how you can enter. Friday, 11/21/08, is the deadline for entry.

Prizes include a 60-day WoW subscription game card and free copies of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide for winners!

Enter now!

First Impressions of the WotLK

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!

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:

1. Zug Gaming
2. Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide
3. Zug Gaming - World of Warcraft Forums

Zug Gaming Club - Gold Tips, Strategy, Hints, Info and More!

Hey guys, just wanted to announce that I’m finally starting the Zug Gaming Club back up again! I started the Zug Gaming Club several months ago, but unfortunately other obligations and projects ended up putting the club on the back burner…so my apologies for the hiatus.

With the WotLK expansion right around the corner I figured this would be the perfect time to start things back up again.

What’s in the Zug Gaming Club?

• Gold Farming Tips
• Important Breaking News
• Leveling Hints
• Club Members Only Events
• Special Guides and Strategies
• Much much more!

How Can I Join the Zug Gaming Club?

Joining the Zug Gaming Club is easy, simply sign up using the form below. Every time there is a new piece of information, tip, or hint you’ll be informed automatically via email.

Your Name:
Your E-Mail:

Special WotLK Launch Contest - Best Haircut of Azeroth!

In celebration of the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion I’d like to officially announce the first ever Zug Gaming contest!

Best Haircut of Azeroth

This contest will pit the best barbers and stylists against each other in a battle of sheer wills…in the battle for the best haircut of Azeroth! To enter you simply must create and showcase your best hair haircut utilizing the new WoW barbarshop.

Make them crazy…ugly…beautiful…stylish, what ever, we want to see your most unique and awesome haircuts!

How many characters can I enter?

You may enter a maximum of 2 characters.

How many haircuts can I enter per character?

You may enter a maximum of 2 haircuts per character.

How do I participate in this contest?

To participate simply take screenshots of your best haircut styles using the new WoW barbershop feature. Send your screenshots to support(at)zuggaming(dot)com. Images must be in image format: .jpg / .gif / .png etc… I will not accept .zip or .rar files. Please crop your image files down, DO NOT send me full resolution images.

Please include your real name and your avatar’s name in the email with the image files attached.

How will the winner be determined?

Winners will be chosen in a 2 part process.

Part 1 - Zug Gaming readers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite hair cut. These votes will be considered in the final determination of a winner.

Part 2 - The top haircuts as voted on by the Zug Gaming readers will advance to the final round of judging. The Zug Gaming admin panel will then choose the winners based on the following:

1. Number of votes received in the reader’s poll
2. Overall uniqueness…as determined by the Zug Gaming admin panel.

This contest is purely subjective, so make them ugly..crazy…pretty…tame…wild, but above all make them unique!

Prizes:

1st Place:

• One 2-Month World of Warcraft Game Card
• Free copy of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide
• Glory beyond imagination

Note: Due to shipping concerns winners outside of the US will receive $30.00 USD via paypal

2nd / 3rd Place:

• Free copy of Zuggy’s Gold Mastery Guide
• Glory, slightly within your limits of imagination

Entry Date: November 7th - November 21th

Voting Dates: November 22th - November 28th

Winners Announced: November 29th

Update: I’ve decided to push the entry date back another week to allow for more entries.

Zuggy’s 1-80 Horde Speed Leveling Guide!

For a few weeks now I’ve mentioned the “big project” I’ve been working on, and I think the time has finally come to reveal that the big secret is…Zuggy’s 1-80 Horde Speed Leveling Guide!

This is my newest and largest project to date, I’ve spent months perfecting my leveling methodology and hundreds of mans hours in the creation of this guide.

What’s in Zuggy’s 1-80 Horde Speed Leveling Guide?

• Speed leveling routes for 1-80, including Northrend power leveling
• For horde players
• Step-by-step instruction for each zone
• Detailed and easy to understand maps and diagrams for easy learning
• Intricate quest explanation with tips for passing through difficult quests with ease
• Updates for life
• Numerous surprise bonuses!

In the next few days I’ll be putting the final touches on the guide as well as preparing it to launch. The tentative release date set for November 14th, 2008 at 12:00 a.m. November 24 to 30, 2008.

Note: sorry for the delay, but quality and perfection always take priority in my guides and I simply cannot release a new guide in good faith that doesn’t over delivery in every way.

Don’t make the same mistake you did during the Burning Crusade and let all your friends beat you to max level…level to 80 in style with Zuggy’s 1-80 Horde Speed Leveling Guide! I’ll have more details on my newest guide in the coming days, as well as details on a huge special event Zug Gaming will be hosting for the launch of WotLK!

Note: My 1-80 alliance guide is in the initial stages of development, but don’t expect it out for some time. Sorry allies! =(

Official Zug Gaming U.I. Package for Patch 3.0.2

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my official user interface package, and while there aren’t a ton of major changes I have made a few adjustments and additions since my last iteration.

For those of you that have been around the site for any stretch of time then you know I’m a minimalist. I like my addons to help me play the gamer better, not play the game for me. So if you’re looking for some massive package, sorry, you probably won’t find what you’re looking for here.

Download the Zug Gaming User Interface Package.

Download Saved Variables File
note: will allow you to generate this exact U.I. immediately, this is for advanced users only, install at own risk

Zug Gaming User Interface Explained

AG Unit Frames

So let’s go through the basics, I use AG unit frames for all my frames. It’s very simple to setup and uses almost no memory. There’s tons of functionality in the addon if you choose to use it, personally I’ve chosen to leave it fairly close to stock settings, simply removing buffs on my target’s target / focus’ target bar, bumping the scale on all my frames to 170%, and adjusting some colors and other minor issues.

Quartz Casting Bars

I use quartz for casting bars, once again there’s a lot of functionality in this addon should you choose to use it, but for me I’ve left it very simple. I simply bumped the size and positioned each casting bar in such a way that I can easily differentiate between them, particularly the focus frame up top. I’ve had it in a variety of locations around my screen and always found it works best up top. There’s nothing else up at the top of my screen for this reason, which is why using focus macros (particularly on my shaman) has become a very large part of my PvP strategy.

Additional Addons

Most of the other addons and u.i. elements are fairly self explanatory. I move all the SCT frames to the far right so they don’t block my character view, I have proximo visible above the focus frame when I’m in an arena match, and finally I use OmniCC for watching cooldown timers on abilities / buff / debuffs.

In the past I’ve used bongos, which I believe is called dominos now, to handle my action bars. But in all honesty I just don’t think they are all that helpful anymore, especially considering the number of alts I’d have to set it up for. By simply setting up a U.I. scale of .64 in the blizzard default interface the default bars are quite minimal and really don’t bother me enough to go back to an action bar mod.

Addons Included in Package

• AG Unit Frames
• Quartz
• ScrollingCombatText
• Ace3
• OmniCC
• Proximo

note: addons are current as of 11/1/08, check curse.com for future versions of these addons.

Optional Addons Used

• OpenAll
• Auctioneer
• PreformAVEnabler

Meet Team Zug Gaming!

It’s been a while since my last “meet the team” post, and it’s well over due. So let’s get right to it.

Derek aka “Zuggy”

• Position: Administrator, Author, Editor, Web Designer
• Class Expertise: Rogue, Shaman
• Focus: All

Hello everyone, my name is Derek aka Zuggy, I’m the primary author and administrator here at Zug Gaming. I guess I’ll just hit all the bases really quick here…

• I’ve been playing WoW since open beta in October, 2004
• Raided as a part of a hardcore guild pre-BC, at it’s peak we ranked top 20 globally in boss kills
• During BC raided casually and focused primarily on PvP and arena
• Achieved the rank of gladiator on my rogue during arena seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4
• Ranked as high as top 50 globally in 2v2 during season 3 and achieved a high rating of 2420

I started Zug Gaming with one goal in mind, to help other gamers. I like to think I’ve achieved that goal, at least to some degree, but I know there’s more to be done. Knowing my work on the site can help other players out there is my driving force and the reason I always strive for perfection throughout my site.

But enough about me, let’s get onto the rest of Team Zug Gaming!

Check out Zuggy’s recent articles.

Jonny aka “Shadowscythe”

• Position: Author
• Class Expertise: Rogue
• Focus: Arena strategies

Jonny is truly one of the old guard, he’s seen Zug Gaming through the good times and bad and made numerous contributions to the site. Scythe primarily focuses on arena, PvP, and his experiences as a PvP rogue and casual raider.

Check out S-Scythe’s recent articles.

John aka “Donjo”

• Position: Author
• Class Expertise: Shaman, Mage
• Focus: News,class guides

John is long time friend and guild mate, he transferred to Smolderthorn (my server home) around the time the Burning Crusade launched and joined up with my guild, Gloryhogs. While John’s primary expertise is with his shaman and mage he has numerous level 70s including a rogue, hunter, and druid. His wide ranging class experience gives him a well balanced perspective on arena, PvE and more.

Check out Donjo’s recent articles.

Roope aka “Nalastai”

• Position: Author, PhP Coder
• Class Expertise: Paladin
• Focus: Class guides, PhP development

Roope is a relatively new addition to team Zug Gaming. His first few contributions have been centered around his primary expertise, the paladin class. In addition, he’s started work on a PhP arena point calculator for the site, which should be ready in the next few days.

Check out Nalastai’s recent articles.

Ty aka “Billtripod”

• Position: Author
• Class Expertise: Unkown
• Focus: Casual gaming, class guides

Ty is the newest member of the Zug Gaming team, so let’s give him a big welcome. Ty is a mature and enthusiastic college student and casual gamer. Ty will be contributing a selection of guides and articles, with a primary focus on casual gaming. I’m honored to have him on board and excited to see his first post.

Final Thoughts…

First and foremost I just want to say thanks…thanks to team Zug Gaming for all their contributions, thanks to the active forum members for helping to further build our community, and thanks to all my fans and readers for your support.

Without your help Zug Gaming wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today. If you’re interested in joining team Zug Gaming as an author or other supportive role please feel free to drop me an email at support [at] zuggaming [dot] com, or simply click the contact link in the menu bar above.

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