What's New for the Armory 2010

EDIT: They have officially removed the Armory updates, but the FAQ links below still work. The information here was cut and pasted from the site while it was up. Enjoy!

I don't have much commentary here at the moment, just some breaking news about new features for the 2010 Armory directly from their website:

New Features: Model Viewer, Character and Calendar Feeds 

The Armory's character profiles have been redesigned and improved with several new features including a 3D model viewer, character activity and calendar feeds, and more.

• 3D Model Viewer: The 3D model viewer displays a character as he or she appears in-game. You can pan and zoom the camera, play animations, and save a default pose (for characters on the logged-in account) that will display for all visitors to the profile. Refer to the Character Sheet FAQ for more details.
• Character Activity Feeds: Each character's activity feed shows the most recent in-game actions of the character that can be recorded by the Armory. These include achievements, boss kills, item acquisitions, and more. Character feeds can be customized using our customization tool, then exported as RSS feeds to your RSS reader of choice. Refer to the Character Feed FAQ for more details.
• Player Calendar Feeds: Another new Armory tool allows you to export in-game player calendar data to calendar applications such as Outlook, or to online calendars such as Google Calendar. The tool can aggregate up to five characters on your account in a single feed, and is automatically synched with the characters' in-game player calendars. Refer to the Calendar Feed FAQ for more details.
• Character Profiles: Character profiles have been redesigned to accomodate these new features and with the goal of improving usability and clarity, such as the Gear List view for a character's items.

Character Feed

What is the character activity feed?

Each character's activity feed shows the most recent in-game actions of the character that can be recorded by the Armory. These include achievements, boss kills, item acquisitions, and more. Character feeds can be customized using our customization tool, then exported as RSS feeds to your RSS reader of choice.

How do I create a customized character feed?

Click the RSS icon on the character's profile page (the orange icon on the upper right of the recent activity summary) to go to the Character Feed Customization page. The options on this page allow you to create a custom RSS feed that you can export to an RSS reader.

• You can enter up to five characters to aggregate into a single RSS feed. Enter each character in a name@realm format. If you are logged in, you do not need to specify the realm - it will default to the currently viewed character's realm.
• Achievement categories can be individually toggled to filter them in or out of the RSS feed.
• Achievement criteria include any intermediate steps within an achievement, such as defeating a particular boss in an achievement to defeat every boss in a particular raid dungeon. Toggling this category off will turn off all achievement criteria globally, while turning it on will still follow the rules that you select in the Achievement category (for example, turning off Quests in the Achievement category will turn off the criteria in this category as well).
• The Boss Kills category includes any boss that is tracked in the Statistics tab of a character profile. These include the end bosses of classic and Burning Crusade dungeons, and every boss in Wrath of the Lich King raids.
• Loot acquisitions can be assigned different rarity thresholds to appear in the feed. You can specify a minimum item level as well.

How do I use the custom feed once I create it?

The URL for your custom RSS feed updates in real time as you change options and enter character names. When you are satisfied with the options and characters you selected, simply copy and paste the resulting URL into an RSS reader. Online RSS readers include iGoogle, Netvibes, and Pageflakes, to name a few. You can also import RSS feeds into Outlook and other e-mail clients. In addition, clicking the Facebook icon (which appears near the RSS icon on character profiles) allows you to integrate the Armory's feeds into Facebook.

Can I customize the feed that appears in the Character Feed tab of a character profile?

In contrast to the RSS feeds created on the Character Feed Customization page, the feeds that appear on character profiles (on the main page and the 'Activity Feed' tab) are intended to be an unfiltered feed of a character's recent activity and as such can not be customized.

Why isn't the Armory's custom feed page finding a particular character that I enter in the character name field?

Only characters on US realms are stored here, as this is the US version of the Armory. To switch to a different region, such as Europe, go to their regional World of Warcraft website and access the Armory from there. In addition, a character must be recently active and be at least level 10 to have a character feed. When entering character names, keep spaces in realm names ('Black Dragonflight') and make sure the character and name realm is spelled correctly.

Calendar Feed

What is the custom calendar tool?

The custom calendar tool allows you to export in-game player calendar data to calendar applications such as Outlook, or to online calendars such as Google Calendar. The tool can aggregate up to five characters on your account in a single feed, and is automatically synched with the characters' in-game player calendars.

How do I create a customized calendar feed?

Use the Armory's main menu or click the link on the top right of a character's calendar page to access the Calendar Feed Customization tool. The options on this page allow you to create a custom calendar feed that you can export to any compatible application or website. You can choose up to five characters on your account to aggregate into a single calendar feed. Simply select the characters you wish to appear in the feed from the drop-down menus. Event categories can be individually toggled to filter them in or out of the feed.

How do I use the custom feed once I create it?

The URL for your custom feed updates in real time as you select options and characters. Simply copy and paste the URL into an online calendar such as Google Calendar when you are finished configuring your custom feed. In addition, clicking on the URL from this page will download a file that can be imported into compatible applications such as Outlook

Is the calendar feed automatically synched with in-game player calendars?

Yes. Calendar feeds created with this tool should always be automatically up-to-date with in-game player calendars.

What is the 'reset security key' option used for?

Each calendar feed URL contains a unique security key appended to the end of the URL. This key is intended to keep your calendar data inaccessible to others. If you wish, you can reset your security key at any time by clicking the 'reset security key' button at the bottom of the page. If you reset your key, you must update the URL in your web-based calendars, or re-download the calendar file to use it with a calendar application.

So... what do you all think of the new changes? Sounds like there will be lots of new and exciting tools that players can use to show off what they are doing in game. Who knows, I may just link them to my calendar here. :)

Circle of DPS

This little questionnaire is brought to you by none other than Death Goddess. It was inspired by the similarly titled "Circle of Tanking" and "Circle of Healing" blog chains, and continues in the tradition by polling us DPSers about, well, DPSing. So, without further ado, the questions (and answers):


What is the name, class, and spec of your primary DPS?

Thargnik, Enhancement Shaman (Armory)

What is your primary DPSing environment? (i.e. raids, PvP, 5 mans)

10 man Raids and 5 mans, although I dabble in 25-man raids when I can get the chance. Raiding at all is mostly a luxury due to real life time restraints.

What is your favorite DPS spell/ability for your class and why?

Frost Shock Stormstrike, most likely, although my spirit wolves are a very close second. Instant dual melee weapon strikes which can potentially proc Maelstrom Weapon in addition to the mana replenish are hands down the best melee ability an enhancement shaman has in his or her arsenal.

What DPS spell do you use least for your class and why?

Searing Totem. I'm not even sure it has any purpose past level 30, and it's seemingly random targeting (up to 20 yards) can be more troublesome than beneficial. (And as far as non-DPS spells, what in the hell is anyone ever going to do with Sentry Totem?!)

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your DPS class and why?

I feel that shaman have the best versatility as far as a support class goes. Maelstrom Weapon instant cast emergency heals, tremor totem drops, poison and disease cleansing, and general totem buffs make our class and spec a welcome addition to any group or guild.

What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your DPS class and why?

We're still a bit more squishy than I'd like for melee. Perhaps rogues have it as bad as we do since they wear leather, but I'm not quite sure about that.

In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best DPS assignment for you?

Any boss that doesn't give out a lot of AoE damage, or that has some sort of mechanic that preys on the fact that I have to be up close and personal. I'm not talking dragon tail-swipes or something quite so generic, but something more like Patchwerk's Hateful Strike. It's fine if the healers are keeping the tanks topped off, but not so much when I'm the one with getting one-shot.

What DPS class do you enjoy DPSing with most and why?

Mage. Nothing says DPS like a face-melting mage. I'm not quite sure why I like them, I just do.

What DPS class do you enjoy DPSing with least and why?

Paladins, mostly because I am jealous of their survivability.

(I also hear that they are laughably easy to play, but I can't speak from experience. Just sayin'.=D)

What is your worst habit as a DPS?

Not getting out of the way for Whirlwind, not dropping Tremor Totem on trash/bosses that cast fear or sleep, and forgetting to drop Cleansing totem when poison or disease is present.

What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while DPSing?

Waiting around, goofing around, and people fighting over gear. Immaturity is probably the biggest of them all.

Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other DPS?

Somewhat, although Rogues will always outdo us in terms of pure melee DPS. I feel we can hang well with DKs, Pallies and Warriors, though each brings their own strengths to the table.

What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a DPS?

Recount, EnhSim (Enhancement Shaman simulator), BeImba.com, and general in-game feedback, to name a few. There are probably a dozen websites and blogs I could list as well that I regularly peruse that also provide vital information, feedback or commentary regarding techniques or theorycrafting.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?

That we make excellent healers. I love signing up for a group as DPS and then they are short a healer and turn to me, expecting me to be geared for my offspec and ready to go. Unfortunately, my offspec is just that... my OFF spec. My gear is considerably less favorable and I don't even think I've bought a single gem or enchant for it.

What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new DPSers of your class to learn?

Which totems to drop and when. There's tons of useless totems out there, a couple that you may need in rare circumstances, your utility totems for more specific circumstances, and then those that should be dropped 98% of the time. The same thing goes for weapon imbues and shocks.

What DPS class do you feel you understand least?

Death Knights, by far. Although I am learning more. I suppose I have been turned off by the concept of them since Wrath hit... I knew everyone was going to roll one, and I was very much anti-DK from the get go. My bias has subsided, but I still haven't leveled one past the starting area.

What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in DPS?

Recount, Omen3, Deadly Boss Mods, Elkano's Buff Bars, Bartender and AG Unit Frames. I also have a Windfury/Flametongue macro in addition to a focustarget macro to target what the tank (focus) is targeting.

Attack Power over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?

Pure AP is useless without hit and expertise, so you have to be capped to begin considering other stats, but there are cases to be made for favoring haste, armor penetration, or even crit at a certain point. I generally use EnhSim to tell me what I should be gemming or gearing for. However, AP is a pretty straightforward stat: the more attack power you have, the more damage each hit deals.

Pass this questionnaire on and fill out the answers, and be sure to stop by Death Goddess's website to let her know the results.

Patch 3.1 Updates

Decided to post some of my most reliable links for 3.1 content. They're presented here in no particular order. If you're looking for information, these are probably your best bet.

• World of Raids
• MMO Champion
• WoW Insider

Things I'm looking forward to? More end-game raids, dual specs (maybe I'll be doing more with Resto... something tells me I'll just need too much gear and give up,) the new Argent Tournament stuff, and some pretty nice buffs for Enhancement shamans.

Stuff I'm not excited about? Mounts going away, lame underwater mounts (which are nothing new, just regular mounts that "walk" underwater,) and more things to waste my money on.

Meh, there's much more to be excited about here than anything else, so overall I can't wait for the new patch.

Casual "Hardcore"

I tend to categorize myself in with the Casual type of player, with a "wanna-be" Hardcore tendency...What kind of player are you?

I'm mostly a casual player by necessity. I just don't have the time to be logged on to WoW the entire time.

One of the issues I run into with WoW is the fact that I currently share my computer time with my girlfriend. This limits my time to 2 or 3 nights a week alternatively, and we split the time during the weekends. (We also have a kid, so WoW definately takes the back seat most of the time.) Sometimes, by the time I get on it's 11 or 12 at night and I'm way too tired to run an instance or even do much more than log onto my bank alt for a couple minutes.

In my spare time, if I don't have access to WoW, I satisfy my urges by scouring the net for articles or information. I've even gone so far as to make a "shopping list" of sorts for gearing up for Heroics. With my Excel spreadsheet open, I can at least get a head start on the night and what remaining gear I can nab.

As a casual player, I've only recently hit 80 and I'm just starting to hit the end of the regular 5-man content. I'd like to raid one day, but my current schedule limits means I'm forever relegated to the confines of the "pickup" list for any group heading in to Naxx. So, I'm grinding rep and nabbing gear and instance runs when I can, and doing dailies when they're available.

The thing is, I'd love to have all the time in the world to do what I want in the game but I am constantly faced with the realities that life has placed on me. There are just certain things I will never be able to acheive. (Curse you, Blizzard!) I'll never be running 25 man Naxx 3 times a week, 4 hours a night. I will probably never complete a Tier 8 set. I'll never be able to own 50 mounts... (unless I come into a mass amount of money, which I'm told stacks pretty quickly once you get your epic mount.)

All is not lost, however. As is, there are more spots for DPS than any other slot so the odds are pretty good that I'll be able to jump in on a few raids here and there. I can always find a PUG to satisfy my raiding urges, if need be. There are always acheivements, vanty pets, and all sorts of trouble I can get into. And of course, I have my blog.

Such is the life of this casual "hardcore" wannabe. How about you?