Guide Contest - Final update and Prizes
I couldn't pick all the good guides I got during the contest and I figured I could do one last update with all the guides from people who didn't win but still did a good job. If you have some free time, I strongly suggest the Guides Submission - Rare and Guides Submission - Uncommon forums to check out all the submissions.

It was ridiculously hard to pick winners for the contest and I hated every second of it. Refusing good guides just because there was something slightly better or because it didn't match the few criteria I had is like resurrecting a gnome in a raid, it really really sucks but you know you have to do it anyway. I'll probably switch to a voting system for the next contest and hope that people won't try to cheat it too much.

Also, I will (finally) send the prizes to the winner today, the reason why I delayed them for so long is mostly to make sure that none of the guide was stolen from another player/website. I figured that waiting 10 days to make sure that nobody come and claims one of the guide was the best thing to do, it didn't happen, enjoy your prizes! (It's also too late to do it now, don't waste your time trying to steal a prize with that)

General

Technical

Classes

Professions & Gold Farming

Miscellaneous

PvP

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to submit a guide, and thanks to WoWTCGLoot.com for providing the shiny prizes.


Guild Reputation Cap
Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker)
Well, I think this is a valid complaint being that there's an initial buy-in period where you're kind of wondering why you have to level up reputation with a guild you've been in for a year, but that's sort of the nature of implementing new features like this.

You are correct in that we do not want people to join guilds, be able to immediately buy rewards that the guild unlocked, and jet. Your idea of unlocking rewards based on time spent in the guild instead of contribution isn't quite right either.

Guild rep exists to gate rewards based on someone's actual contributions to their guild, not just being some dope on the roster. Jumping in to guild dungeon and raid runs (with 80% members, [40% for 40 person raids] until 4.0.6 which drops 5 person dungeons to variable gains based on 3/5, 4/5, and 5/5), winning rated bg's, or earning guild achievements, all help earn guild rep. And yes, so do quests, should you find yourself doing them.

The point is not to force you to do things you do not want to do, but instead be rewarded for participating in activities with your guild. And it uses criteria that ideally keep it from getting too 'gamey'. We could probably say if you make a flask, give it to a guild mate, and they drink it, you get some guild rep. And then that type of action turns into a fun farming game that has nothing to do with actually encouraging guild interaction. The criteria we've set are hopefully those that are both beneficial to the guild and its members, as well as avoiding making grindy actions the best way to get rep.

As far as making it account wide, I'm not a designer, but that definitely hinders, again, the guild participation factor. Once you have guild rep set on one character, and if that then applied account wide, your desire to contribute to guild content that isn't pushing gearing your character drops substantially. However, if you have an alt that's 80, yeah you probably will want to join in on that Blackrock Caverns run being put together. Otherwise you're a jaded 85 guildie who has variable interest in actually helping someone else out (Yes, yes, I'm sure you're the most selfless and helpful person in your guild, but that scenario is too often the rule and not the exception). It could also be gamed to some degree... but I'm not sure to much effect.

As I said initially this can be a weird start conceptually, but while contributing with guild members you're gaining rep, and you'll get access to those rewards from then on. As this is still a fairly new and fairly big and complex system we're watching it very closely, and fully intend to keep adding to it and improving upon it. Your constructive feedback is welcome.

How do random dailies or fishing quests have anything to do with guild interaction?
Maybe not a whole lot directly (although there are a ton of indirect benefits), but it is a way for the super low pop guilds or very inactive guilds, and their members, to rep up. Say your guild has 10 people and of those 10 people a couple log in maybe once a week, we want there to be some way that you'll eventually level your guild, and in addition, be able to rep up and purchase rewards. It's going to be slower, for sure, but it's there.

As for your previous comment regarding flasks etc. I think I can see who contributes to the guild on a larger scale as well via the use of the Guild Bank. Isn't helping the guild aquire the mats and items that help us all do things a valid part of contributing to a guild?
Sure, but again, that can be gamed. Making guild rep a meta game of depositing mats, to remove them, launder them, and re-deposit to exalted is not the point of the system. And while it would be cool to recognize those things, there's simply too many loopholes.

Computers - Setup of the Month (by chaud)
chaud's setup of the month is one week early this month because of the release of the new CPUs, it's a pretty good time to upgrade and I guess a lot of people will be interested in the article. (The next one might be in 2 months instead of one now that the big wave of upgrades is done)

Read if you plan to upgrade - New CPUs and GPUs are not coming anytime soon, so now is a good time to buy. New SSDs are coming later in Q1 that might be of interest if you are not ready to buy just yet.

Don't hesitate to post any feedback in the comments of that news post, and don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions!

Peripherals/Monitors

Component Puppy Dolphin
MonitorASUS VW224U 22-Inch Widescreen - $150ASUS VW246H 24-Inch Widescreen - $221
KeyboardMicrosoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 - $25Cyborg V.5 - $37
MouseLogitech MX518 - $35Logitech G500 - $50
SpeakersLogitech S220 2.1 Speaker System - $23Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $40
Component Narwhal Unicorn
MonitorDell E2311H 23-inch LED-backlit Widescreen - $332Dell UltraSharp U2410 24-inch (IPS Panel) - $556
KeyboardLogitech G110 - $66Razer BlackWidow (Backlit)- $70
MouseRazer Deathadder - $47Razer Naga (Buttons on the Side) - $71
SpeakersCreative Inspire T3130 2.1 Speaker System - $50Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $84


Puppy and Dolphin

Component Puppy Dolphin
CaseNZXT GAMMA Classic - $40NZXT GAMMA Classic - $40
Power SupplyOCZ ModXStream Pro 500W - $65Corsair 650TX - $80
CPUAMD Athlon II X4 635 AM3 - $99AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition - $150
HeatsinkCooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $28Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $28
MotherboardGIGABYTE GA-770T-USB3 AM3 - $93GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 - $135
Memory4GB PNY Optima DDR3 10600 - $354GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 4GB 12800 DDR3 - $75
Graphics CardXFX 5770 - $145XFX 6850 or EVGA GTX 460 - $190 / $229
Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB - $44SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB - $60
DVDLite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22
Total$571$780 / $819


Narwhal and Unicorn

Component Narwhal Unicorn
CaseCooler Master Centurion 5 II - $54Cooler Master HAF932 - $137
Power SupplyCorsair 650TX - $80Corsair 750HX (7 Year Warranty) - $130
CPUIntel i5-2500k - $233Intel i7-2600k - $330
HeatsinkTuniq Tower 120 Extreme - $59Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $85
MotherboardASUS 1155 P67 P8P67 Pro - $201ASUS 1155 P67 P8P67 Deluxe - $248
Memory4GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 4GB 12800 DDR3 - $754GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3 4GB 12800 DDR3 - $75
Graphics CardXFX 6870 OR EVGA GTX 470- $240XFX 6970 - $380 OR EVGA GTX 570 - $370
Hard DriveWestern Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $98Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $98
SSDNoneOCZ Vertex 2 120 GB (Review) - $223
OR
Corsair Force 120GB (Review) - $230
DVDLite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22
Total$1062$1723



Reminder - Curse is still recruiting!
Curse is still recruiting and you should definitely apply if you think you have the skills required to join the company! A few positions are now filled but we're still looking for skilled people for the jobs below.






Comics
Nerfnow.com has an interesting (or depressing?) comic on MMORPGs last week!

This article was originally published in forum thread: Guides Contest, Guild Reputation, Setup of the Month, Recruitment, Comics started by Boubouille View original post
Comments 71 Comments
  1. NefariousNinja's Avatar
    Congrats to everyone who won prizes for their guides. (Off to read a few before I sleep)
  1. dumkin's Avatar
    Congrats to winners!

    Also I love the nerfnow comic. Exactly how I used to play too, and I want it back
  1. NaaBcAke's Avatar
    Sad but true - new commics
  1. Starsack's Avatar
    That Comic is full of win and fail......I agree with Naab.
  1. mmoc05c338f655's Avatar
    Inb4 people raging that chaud is advising the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition instead of the new i5 2500k

    :P
  1. Virandile's Avatar
    So sad, yet so true comics =(
  1. Clockwork Pinkie's Avatar
    Damn, that comic is so true
  1. MysticalOS's Avatar
    wiki? try the in game map :\ Some might have hated questing that required you to actually read the text and figure out where to go. Honstly I hate that questing has become mindless go from point a to point b which are marked on your map for you. Granted addons have been doing this for years but that was not quite the same for a new user, who learns addons over time but starts out learning to play the game right. now you push buttons cause they glow when you're supposed to push them, and go where game tells you to, all mindless, you're even practically immune to death until level 10 do to OP starting moves now and practically unlimited mana and health regen even in combat. I remember when pulling 2 mobs meant i was gonna die. Now i could probably create a mage, pull 3 mobs, and melee them down and live through it, completely ignoring proper play. This doesn't teach the new user anything except drops em on their ass later when they are expected to just know how to play when they step out into real game world . instead of learning when to use charge, or when you pull a mob with gun/bow and how to LoS, or sheep pull at early levels while soloing. I feel like what i had to learn by level 12, people still don't know by level max level anymore. and it's a darn shame.
  1. Téuntjûh's Avatar
    :P Love the comic, and gratz to winners! Nice guides
  1. Kaynot's Avatar
    hilarious comic,thanks
  1. keLston's Avatar
    With 3d monitors having reached 2nd gen and quite a few new ones slated for release this year (and several decent ones already out on the market ie Asus' VG236), I wonder why chaud chooses to go with a similarly priced but subpar Dell LCD panel at the 300 dollar price range. The 120hz from 3D monitors is definitely worth it for people building rigs for gaming purposes + with the decent ones you're getting a better overall monitor than the Dell E2311
  1. Kalx's Avatar
    my guide is on the front page! =D
    I really wish I had won something tho! but it's all fun

    nice submissions everyone!
  1. mmoc8b7a14d456's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by MysticalOS View Post
    wiki? try the in game map :\ Some might have hated questing that required you to actually read the text and figure out where to go. Honstly I hate that questing has become mindless go from point a to point b which are marked on your map for you. Granted addons have been doing this for years but that was not quite the same for a new user, who learns addons over time but starts out learning to play the game right. now you push buttons cause they glow when you're supposed to push them, and go where game tells you to, all mindless, you're even practically immune to death until level 10 do to OP starting moves now and practically unlimited mana and health regen even in combat. I remember when pulling 2 mobs meant i was gonna die. Now i could probably create a mage, pull 3 mobs, and melee them down and live through it, completely ignoring proper play. This doesn't teach the new user anything except drops em on their ass later when they are expected to just know how to play when they step out into real game world . instead of learning when to use charge, or when you pull a mob with gun/bow and how to LoS, or sheep pull at early levels while soloing. I feel like what i had to learn by level 12, people still don't know by level max level anymore. and it's a darn shame.
    People were always this dumb when first playing, without friends playing, and most of them being 12. Any grown up who starts playing this, probably have a friend or two also playing it, and will easily pick up on stuff, yes they might still suck a bit, but they know more now than they did before because they get so much help. Don't tell me you liked to run around for 10 years in say, Westfall, because that mob didn't drop that Q item you needed, only to find out that you had to talk to a guy, then run 3 yards, do a /dance, phone for some take-out and then log off and on 10 times, then the mob would drop the Q item! (I know this isn't true, exaggerating to get my point through). Nobody either learned when to use their abilities before from dying. Just because you pulled 2 mobs at the same time, didn't mean your learned to CC one while killing the other, you probably either asked for help, or went somewhere else. People will always look for easier option rather than testing out and learning how to adapt to new and tougher situations. Don't go acting like this game is making it too easy on new people, no, it is helping to people so they improve faster, and anyways, about the Qhelper being implemented, before there was Questhelper addon or anything, there was still Thottbot and Wowhead, you kid yourself if you think you can convince me you didn't use any of those.
  1. mmoc05c338f655's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by keLston View Post
    With 3d monitors having reached 2nd gen and quite a few new ones slated for release this year (and several decent ones already out on the market ie Asus' VG236), I wonder why chaud chooses to go with a similarly priced but subpar Dell LCD panel at the 300 dollar price range. The 120hz from 3D monitors is definitely worth it for people building rigs for gaming purposes + with the decent ones you're getting a better overall monitor than the Dell E2311
    Why bother with 3D screens when you can use this:

  1. Difuid's Avatar
    That comic is so true, when the magic and atmosphere of the game is lost and the race to be the most effective takes it's place
  1. Plasmon's Avatar
    Boubouille said new GPU's aren't going to be coming out anytime soon...

    That's not true, (unless he meant mean no top end GPUs to beat HD 6970 or GTX 580) because nVidia will be releasing the GTX 560 very soon, some are predicting next week. This card is expected to compete with the AMD Radeon HD 6950, it will outperform the GTX 470 and it should run cooler and more efficiently than the 460/470/480 series Fermi GPUs. Price range is expected to be somewhere between $200-$300. It's definitely worth waiting to see the price and performance of this card before buying a new GPU. The 460 and 470 will likely drop in price when the 560 comes out, so that's another reason to wait.

    Also if you're buying a new system right now, there's really no reason to get 2x2GB RAM because the cost of 2x4GB isn't much more and it won't be long before 4GB is a bit of a bottleneck, if it isn't already.
  1. Blackout09's Avatar
    Love the month post on "Computers - Setup of the Month" - Just curious in your Unicorn option seems to be choice of mostly high end products. So your choice of Monitor is very high quality but it's not 3D and mouse / keyboard are not high end. Wouldn't Filco or higher quality keyboard as well as mouse be better choice for Unicorn. Understandable that everything is personal perference I just don't think when you took a HUGE quality jump from $330 to $560 in the monitor, yet you only got a touch better keyboard and mouse?

    Anyways thanks for the post and links for review on few of the product choices I just think you could of choosen a much higher quality mouse / keyboard in the Unicorn section. Just incase anyone ask some suggestions I would high recommend Logitech G19, Logitech G510, Steelseries 7G/6GV2, Filco Keyboards. For monitor I would given option for 3D gaming choice of Alienware OptX AW2310 23-inch 3D Full HD Widescreen Monitor roughly $450. Mouse could of gone with New Epic version of Razer Naga, Razer Mamba, Logitech G700, Steelseries Xai, Steelseries WoW Cata MMo gaming mouse. Anyways there is a good chunk of choices that are higher end components to each his own choice at the end of the day though.

    Plasmon not completely true EVGA has incredibly high end card coming out shortly - EVGA GTX 580 FTW KO ACS4 Classified X2 . Some photos are found on EVGA forums and card was shown at CES with custom cooler design already completed on it.
  1. Granyala's Avatar
    Interesting comic, sadly it doesn't depict that there is a gray zone between both worlds.
    I can read wikis and theorycraft and still appreciate the world and the design.
  1. dulci5's Avatar
    I miss being a newb when I read that comic

    As the guy behind it writes, sometimes its good to play some single player RPGs like Mass Effect (and in my case, Oblivion) to give you that epic feeling of quests n stuff back.. Also watch Zero Punctuations new Cataclysm video, it tells teh truth just like that comic does
  1. mmoc988e15a8d6's Avatar
    Nothing in the guild rep post about PvP though....maybe if you got rep through HKs during guild arenas and rated bgs? I dont want to be forced to do boring as hell dailies just to gain guild rep.

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