Random Shots: Too Busy To Blog

• Many apologizes for not blogging lately. I have a lot on my mind, but catching a cold this weekend did not help any. So I'm dispatching this quick post to get the blogging engine primed.


• The most amusing new of the day has been the blog post from a self-identified soon-to-be Ex-Mythic employee calling himself EA Louse wherein he outlines, in an old school rant, exactly how he perceives the failure of Warhammer Online. There is not a lot to say about it since there is no way to check its veracity. But either way, it's a heck of an amusing read.


• I spotted the news on Giant Bomb today that Valve will be releasing Dota 2, yet another sequel to Defense of the Ancients. Um, okay, I guess. Oh, and someone from Valve is following in EA Louse's footsteps, blowing the whistle on Icefrog and his involvement with development. What a strange world we live in.


• I don't watch much anime anymore, but every once in a while, something catches my attention. This year, I discovered Macross Frontier. All I really know about the show is what I got out of Robotech (which I still love, but was not the real thing) and the masterful Macross Plus. Of course, you can't buy it legally in the US so I've had to resort to other means to watch the show. I'm nine episodes in, watching on my PSP when I have free time at work. Loving it so far. I enjoy the nods to the prior shows littered throughout. And the story has some great highs and lows without going to the extremes that some gonzo anime can reach.


• Last night after dinner, I ended up playing way too much World of Warcraft. I did not expect to. I just wanted to see what the patch did to my characters. When I got to my paladin though, I had to see if I would still be able to solo the Outland instances. So I ran off to The Blood Furnace and only made it up through the first hall and up the stairs before I got murdered. Everything was going way too slow and I feared that the mechanical changes were going to stymie my plans. But then I remember that I hadn't trained any skills so I flew to Shattrath and then to Silvermoon to see what I was missing. Evidently, I had been stripped of the Parry skill. As well, I need to train in Plate Specialization for a small strentgh bonus and the new heal, Word of Glory. It was that last that made everything come together. It fills the niche that the Art of War-powered Flash of Light met before the patch. When I headed back, I made it all the way through the instance with only one more death during the gauntlet before Broggok. I enjoy the new play style a lot now that I understand it. Templar's Verdict seems underwhelming and AoE has been severely nerfed, but Holy Power mechanic and new Art of War have given the paladin a very different, very measured tempo that I appreciate.


• This is just the wrap up, but I promise to get a post up soon about Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light as well as a couple more things that have been on the back burner while I've been lazy. Happy gaming!