Lethal Shots

Lately there has been some discussion popping up about Blizzard making Authenticators mandatory for all WoW account, notably two articles over at WoW.com. Reactions to the idea are pretty narrow: a person either loves it, hates it, or simply doesn’t care. While I am 100% behind the idea, there are valid arguments both for and against mandatory authentication.

The Case For

• Invulnerability – Outside of an act of pure stupidity (like leaving your Authenticator in a public place with your login info wrote on the back) your account becomes virtually impossible to hack once you have tied an Authenticator to it. While I’m sure there is still a way, the time and effort a hacker would have to spend make it non-profitable to even try.
• Cost – Lets face it, Authenticators are cheap. Blizzard is only charging $6.50 for the things with free shipping ¹, and if you have an iPhone or iTouch you can get one for free by using the app. I suspect that Blizzard is selling them at cost and counting the time saved on account recovery as their profit. ²
• Simple – Once you have an Authenticator setting it up is a breeze. Takes 5 minutes, tops. After that there is simply one extra piece of info to enter when you login. Hell, it takes more time and effort to log into my banks website.
• Peace of Mind – While you may only pay $15 a month to play WoW, how many hours a month do you invest in your characters? I’m a more hardcore player and on average I spend about 20 to 25 hours a week playing WoW (actual play time and research). Hell, that’s a part time job. So think about it, is seven bucks really that steep to insure all of your invested time?

The Case Against

• Availability – Blizzard has had a hard time keeping Authenticators in stock and is regularly sold out the things. ³ Also, not everyone has an iPhone or iTouch. This can make it difficult to obtain an Authenticator.
• Cost – Yes, this point goes both ways. While they are cheap not everyone can afford an Authenticator. Think teenagers with little to no income or players who keep their subscription alive through time cards gifted by friends and family. Even the free app carries the overhead cost of owning an Apple product.
• Potential Hassle – Notice I said potential. If you ever lose your Authenticator (or forget to de-link it when upgrading the app) then you are sentenced to phoning Blizzard up to have it removed from your account. While not a big hassle, it could have you out of game for a day or two.

The primary complaint against mandatory authenticators is not actually having to use an Authenticator, but being required to obtain one. This is a very valid argument, but a near-perfect solution has already been mentioned: include an Authenticator with every copy of Cataclysm. This wouldn’t solve the issue completely since some players won’t purchase the next expansion, but it will put an Authenticator into the hands of the vast majority of players.

Even given the cons, I can see no reason not to use one, the benefits far outweigh the cost. If you don’t already have Authenticator, keep an eye out and purchase one as soon as you can.

If you have an iPhone or iTouch, then head on over to the App Store and download Blizzard’s new official WoW Armory App. It’s a quick download (even over an Edge network), and best of all, it’s free. WoW.com has a short write-up about it here along with a gallery of screen shots.

Once you have the app and start it up, you will need to login with your WoW/Battle.net login info. You can optionally have the app remember your info to skip this step the next time you open the app. Once in, you are presented with every bit of information about all of your characters that you would normally find on the Armory. Browse gear, search for other players, check out your guild, and even look at each of your toons calendar, with the option to accept or decline events. Also included is a talent calculator and an item browser.

After playing with it some, I have to say that I am really impressed with the app. The app is responsive, with no noticable lag (so far). I was a bit skepticle when Blizz started shutting down the third party apps that I used to use on my iPhone, but I am glad to see them release a worthy replacement.

I’m not going to go into any more detail here, better if you go ahead and check it out for yourself. Once you, be sure to come back and leave your impressions of the app in the comments.

Last night a guildie of mine pointed me in the direction of new tool for Hunters: Zeherah’s Hunter DPS Analyzer. I did some playing around with it last night and so far I like what I see.

Now for those of you who have used the spreadsheets over at Elitist Jerks and/or The Hunting Lodge, this is going to look very familiar. Hell, the creator even states at the top of the page that the site is “a web based adaptation of Shandara’s Hunter DPS Spreadsheet“. There are a few things about it I like better than the standard spreadsheets:

1. Web Based – Not everyone has a copy of Microsoft Office laying around, meaning they have no way to use the spreadsheets. Even our Mac and Linux using brethren who have Excel generally have to manually input their character stats and gear.
2. User Friendly – This thing is simple. You click a button to import your character and pet, adjust your buffs with the simple drop-down menus, build your shot rotation with a slick drag and drop interface, click the “Update DPS” button at the bottom, and presto. Everything you could want to know about your DPS shows up at the bottom of the page for your viewing pleasure.
3. Dead Simple – This thing is easy. The spreadsheets can be fairly confusing for the first time user. This site presents options to you in a very simple layout and gives instructions where they are needed.

Of course the one thing missing that I love in the spreadsheets is the gear planner. I find it to be an invaluable tool during raids to quickly see whether I want to roll on something or not.

I do have one complaint though. I want to know which version of the spreadsheet the site is based off of or if it is taking off down its own development path (I sincerely hope that isn’t the case).

So go check out the site, play with it some, and come back and let me know what you think of it. Leave your opinions, tips, etc. in the comments.

I came across an interesting tool today while looking for a easily sortable gem list. It is aptly called Gem List, and is hosted at the Disposable Heroes Guild site, and can be found here. From what little info is on the page, it appears that credit needs to be given to someone who goes by the name Blackout.

There is not much to it. There is a simple interface that allows you to select what stats you are looking for, what color the gem needs to be, what quality, and where you can obtain it. You then click “Filter” and it loads a list of gems that meet your criteria.

It’s a pretty neat little tool that is worth checking out, and would be a help to anyone trying stack stats while maintaining gem colors for meta gem requirements.