You know he’s the end boss of the upcoming World of Warcraft Firelands raid releasing with Patch 4.2. You know that his very name strikes a combination of fear and nostalgia in old school raiders. You probably know his catch phrase, even if it’s been permanently fixated in your brain as an utterance of his mini-me.

But there’s much more to Ragnaros, and plenty of lore to refresh in your memory before heading to extinguish his flame in the upcoming patch.

Ragnaros the Firelord has been influencing Azeroth as the master of all fire elementals into antiquity in Azeroth. He once served the Old Gods and fought against the Titans in hopes of dominating the world. But the Titans won, and banished Ragnaros to the Elemental Plane. There, he had been ruling over his kingdom, Sulfuron Keep, and harboring a grudge against all of Azeroth for millenia –up until a fortunate accident brought on by the Dark Iron Dwarves during the War of the Three Hammers 300 years ago.

After launching an unsuccessful attack on Ironforge, the Dark Iron Clan leader Sorcerer-thane Thaurissan sought to call upon a supernatural minion in a last-ditch effort to defeat the Bronzebeard Clan. He summoned a great power that lay at rest beneath the surface of Azeroth — but got more than he bargained for and paid the ultimate price for awakening Ragnaros once again. Continue Reading

In Soviet WoW, the dragon chases you!

Chasing the dragon is an idiom coined back in the opium den days. In an ironic fashion, it’s completely applicable to today’s MMOG players. Not only because we’re constantly looking for that initial high, the sense of euphoria and immersion in a foreign world that constantly evades veteran players after their first love, but because so often, these players are chasing actual (digital) dragons.

Like many readers, my dragon moment came from the den of Azeroth. My MMOG career had spanned numerous titles up until 2004, but nothing so engrossed me as WoW. Thanks to its combination of a much-loved universe, superb endgame and a horde of IRL and online friends joining me, WoW took me to a new level of gaming, min-maxing. This mentality stuck with me for years. This mentality ruined other games for me, and thus, few of them stuck. I no longer played to simply have fun, to be entertained. I had to be perfect, the best, the most informed. I became the “WoW tourist,” dreaded by other companies for being a vapor subscriber.

Those verbs are in the past tense for a reason, it’s no longer the case. I’m not sure what changed, or how I overcame this min-maxing mentality. Maturity, real-life catching up, time, game design, deep introspection, take a guess, it probably played a part. The bottom line is that it’s just gone and I’m enjoying my digital delights with a renewed passion.

I play Rift completely ignorant of what the optimum build for my cleric is (the title’s Soul System makes that easy). I put on my horse blinders and do any activity that suits my mood; quest, dungeon, PvP, rifts. I roam the lands searching out interesting quests, scavenging for long lost artifacts, not optimizing my XP per hour. I’m playing the game instead of gaming the system. Enjoying the landscapes, the populace, quests and unique mechanic.

The dragon finally feels within my grasp.

Tank, Healer and an assortment of DPS. That’s how it goes in MMOGs, right? It’s a long-standing cliche that has endured for nearly fifteen years (Wow, have these games really been around almost two decades?). From EverQuest to World of Warcraft to Rift, the composition of a group has been based on these three archetypes with little difference. Even the sci-fi third-person shooter Global Agenda subscribes.

Gamers have poked fun and complained about the setup, crying for innovation in the stagnate design. Many developers have tried breaking the bounds to offer a unique experience, but not one has truly succeeded. Another round of contenders is coming in 2011/2012.

BioWare is addressing the issue in Star Wars: The Old Republic by enabling every class to heal in some capacity. Current information on the oft-delayed title reveals that if not yourself and comrades, then a player will, at minimum, be able to heal itself. ArenaNet is passing the healers’ duty of resurrection to everyone in Guild Wars 2. Any player on the battlefield will be able to revive a downed ally with a bit of moral support. Or, barring a local teammate, you can self-res with a little determination (killing a mob). Iterations really, not rethinking the classic composition.

Developer Bluehold Studio and Publisher En Masse Entertainment are taking it a bit further in the action-oriented MMORPG TERA, as explained in a recent post. En Masse’s Scott James Magner bluntly states “we’re redefining [the holy trinity] as we move into the next generation of online games.” Continue Reading

Character personalization is a big deal on many an MMO, and I’m always happy to see new options added for players to try on their toons. World of Warcraft’s PTR for Patch 4.2 has added in a bunch of new hairstyles for characters to choose from at the barbershop. Some are fanciful, others somewhat plain, but all are a welcome addition from my point of view.

While not all race/gender combinations are included as of the current PTR build, this video shows a look at what is currently available, and hopefully will be added once the patch hits the live servers.  There still may be more to come on this front, as suggested by some datamined hairstyles that aren’t yet available. Hopefully we’ll see all the races represented — although it looks like Goblins and Worgens don’t have anything new just yet.

The PTR was being finnicky and not allowing my blood elf female to take a seat at the barbershop — but thanks to Pjammiez on the MMO Champion forums, I can at least share a screenshot (above).

Enjoy the video and personalizing your character! What else would you like to see from the PTR? Let me know and I’ll try to make it happen.