The NotAddicted Hardware Lab Presents: The Belkin N52 Gamepad

Accessorize your Addiction!

Every once in a while I come across a forum thread asking if anyone has any experience with the Belkin N52. Since I’m a lazy bastard, I’m going to write an article about it here, so I can just spam the link to this article from now on in such threads.

First off, let me get this out of the way: I can’t play without this thing. If I try to play WoW on my laptop or something, and didn’t bring this thing with me, I’m absolutely retarded. I can mine ore, but anything involving any kind of reaction time is out the window. I revert to clicking all the buttons manually with my mouse, and feel like most people must feel the first time they ever played the game. With it, however, I’m a force to be reckoned with. I can stance dance on my warrior like silly; can pop into battle, throw an overpower, and be back to popping berserker rage for a pummel before my little “you’ve entered battlestance” icon has faded. I fell in love with the original n50 model a long time ago, and got the n52 the week it came out (a long time ago).

I can’t understand how people play with a regular keyboard, using the actual #9 key waaay over there on the right hand side of the keyboard. Then again, I can’t crouch in counterstrike with my pinky on control and still move freely with the WASD keys, so I guess I’m just retarded. With this thing, though, any game is a breeze. There’s an initial setup time involved where I launch a new game, write down its default controls, then go into the profile editor for the n52 and start to assign its keys. There’s always a bit of tweaking, but once I’ve got an idea of what to do, it falls into place. Most FPSes share common controls (reload, jump, use) that can be shared across profiles, and the few that support other fuctions (Rainbow Six and peeking around walls, for example) can easily be intergrated into an existing layout without losing the ‘basic feel’. Games like WoW, Guild Wars, and DDO (and EQ, I imagine, never played EQ) share similar ‘action bar number key’ schemes. RTS games are a bit trickier; but basically, if you can use a keyboard for it, you can do better with this thing.

I guess the best way to start is just to show you my layout for WoW, and the logic behind it… you can see if it works for you, and give it a shot or not. One other thing I need to mention before someone else does is the “Wolfpak Keyboards” or the “Z Claw Specials” or whatever. The ones that either double the size of your keyboard, or give you some fruity piece of cardboard to lay over the keys so you can see that the B key does, in fact, open your Bags. I don’t like them, and here’s why: I still have a regular keyboard at the end of the day for when I’m typing stuff like this up. I don’t have an autofire turbo switch on my spacebar or whatever. The belkin is a separate unit, and if I want to type and eat ramen, I can pick it up and move it out of the way. Other people swear by the Logitech G15, and I’d actually probably get one if they offered it with kana on the keys. I use a Japanese version of windows and, subsequently, a 106/109 key Japanese keyboard (I live in Japan). They actually sell the G15 at my local shop, but it’s an English-only keyboard. The keys look all naked without hiragana on them, and there’s no dedicated key to switch to Japanese input. Plus, people get all hot and bothered when they tell me that they can see who’s talking on vent by looking at the LCD, but I have two monitors, so that’s never really been an issue. I can look 3 inches to the right to see the entire 40 man raid in vent without needing to scroll or alt tab or whatever… so… yeah.

Anyway. Moving right along.

Let’s start with a basic rundown on the hardware itself. It’s got 14 buttons in the main ‘clump’ of keys, with 2 other secondary buttons, a wheel, and a Dpad that your thumb rests comfortably on. The handrest area can actually be adjusted between two different positions, as well. You lift it up, and set its pegs into a differentset of holes… no hinky movement once it’s in place. Its got a nice rubber grippy area on the underside that keeps it from sliding around during use. There are three little lights in the bottom right corner which can indicate a “shift state”. Basically, you can hold a button down (or push to toggle) and enter the ‘green shift state’.. all the other buttons are then free again to reprogram.. so we’re not really looking at 16 buttons, we’re looking at 4 different sets of 16… regular mode, green, blue, and red. It’s a bit overwhelming, and I really don’t use that feature too much (I only have 2 green shifted buttons, and they aren’t used at all in combat), but if you’re into that kind of thing, then by all means, have at it.

In some people’s descriptions of their usage, they describe using the Dpad for movement, which ‘took some getting used to’. I guess these people got this thing, and decided WoW had become Super Mario Brothers 2 or something, but that idea seems absolutely ridiculous to me. The WASD keys are how you move in the game, and I’ve never personally tried to operate those four keys with my thumb. Ever. I’m actually kind of tempted to log in and try it right now, but I think I’ll pass.

The basic theme behind my setup revolves around wrapping the number keys around the standard WASD configuration, thereby eliminating the problem I mentioned earlier where the 9 key is ‘way over there’. The big button right below my thumb is Tab for targetting, and the little orange button is the 11th button on my action bar. I use it to execute on my warrior, or sap on my rogue… it’s got a satisfying little click when you push it, and sapping or killing with it just feels right. Rolling the wheel downwards one click activates the 12th button on my bar. I use it for thunderclap in battle stance, and not much else (I have cleave on it in other stances, but also a real button bound for it). Rolling the wheel upwards is Death Wish, I have it on a different action bar, and have that slot bound to the decimal point on the Numpad. The Dpad itself is the crown jewel of this thing, and I use it as follows:

North (pushing ‘towards’ my monitor) is jump. Woohoo.
West is my ventrilo ‘push to talk button’.
East is the Alt key, and is used in a variety of ways (more in a sec).
South is the Ctrl key, and is used Exessively (see below).

I have mainly one action bar I use in game. In my warrior, stance dancing switches the bar out itself between battle or defensive stances, and the same is true of my rogue (stealth or not) and druid (cat, bear, caster). I used to have two pages I would scroll between (using the wheel on the belkin), but it got too crazy during combat so I began using Ctrl+

65 Things You Need to Know

1. Your guild doesn’t need you. They like you, but if you left the guild it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

2. Your guild only really needs one Blacksmith, one Alchemist, etc. Make it someone you trust. Better yet, make it someone that lives in ‘punching range’, because they’re going to gquit after turning in the guilds’ ten zillion dark iron mats for recipes.

3. Don’t make that ‘one person’ anyone that lives with Mom. They don’t understand responsibility yet. Make those people the Designated Herbalist or Miner or whatever.

4. No, seriously. If you live with Mom, you still just don’t get it. I know you think you’re all grown up, but you aren’t yet. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you.

5. There’s no Santa Claus, either. That was just Mom and Dad lying to you.

6. Once there’s one in the guild, everyone needs that “Recipe: Flask of the Titans” like everyone needs 700 gold. We honestly don’t care what level Alchemy you’re at.

7. If you need the item, just hit need. I’m rolling greed to disenchant. No one will yell at a rogue for needing leather armor with agility on it.

8. It’s really not that difficult.

9. You don’t “deserve” the tiger or raptor mount just because you’re too lazy to have earned an epic mount like the rest of us.

10. What are you, fucking retarded? You should have repaired before you got here.

11. Look it up yourself on Thottbot. You can find anything on there.

12. Yes, even which mats are required for Enchant X.

13. If you never said another word in the Trade or Lookingforgroup channels again, the world would be a better place.

14. Nobody cares that you reported or ignored anyone. Ever. Do it or don’t do it, but just keep it to yourself.

	http://4q.cc/

15. I personally still find Chuck Norris jokes funny, but if I want to read a new one, I go to a webpage. Not the Barrens.

16. Using the general chat inside of instances is annoying. Nobody cares about your ‘shouts out to your homies’. Cyber them in tells.

17. People don’t honestly expect to pay you for your tradeskill if they provide mats. I hope you bought that crusader recipe for yourself, because I don’t give a shit how much you paid for it. I’ll give you 1g TOPS, and that’s usually only if something expensive of my own just sold. There are hundreds of people on every server with that (or any other) recipe; I can wait until a guildie logs in later and get it for free, or you can have 1 gold for clicking the fucking button now.

18. Yes, I’m an enchanter, and 300. I SELL any rare recipe that drops and the shards I get disenchanting shit, that’s the big secret to how enchanting makes you money. Ever notice it costs NOTHING to post enchanting mat auctions? Bingo.

19. We are living in a generation of impulse buyers. 90% of people will ‘buyout’ auctions rather than bid, even if they’re 30 seconds from logging out for the night. Use that to your advantage.

20. Nobody “wants to run you through RFC”. Get a guildie or just skip it. The shit you get is pointless by level 12 anyway, and seriously… I can roll a new toon, go take a crap, and come back to find a level 13 toon waiting for me.

21. CAPSLOCK DOESN’T HELP YOUR CAUSE.

22. Nobody keeps (or even consults) a list of ‘known ninjas’. Next time you’re about to start a thread on the forums about one, just go take a cold shower instead. Cold showers aren’t there the next day for all to see.

23. Every strategy you have in AV is wrong. Save your frantic typing for cybering on the tram later. AV, by design, is a PUG. If they wanted you to have organization in there, they’d let 40 people join as a group. They don’t. Imagine that.

24. The best thing to grind for is money. It always drops.

25. Two people working together can clear twice as many mobs. You get half the XP, but 2 x .5 = 1. Amazing, I know.

26. Everyone hates the yell channel, because you can’t ‘leave’ it.

27. Run TO the tank. Not away. If he’s busy, or trying to help you, wait patiently. Running in circles like an idiot doesn’t hamper the computer’s ability to hurt you, it only hampers your teammates ability to help you.

28. Besides, nobody cares that you “have aggro”. See below.

29. There are two parts to ‘aggro’. Tanks are supposed to get it and keep it. Rogues and casters are supposed to do just enough damage that they never take it. It’s a fine line. Learn to play your class.

30. Any mage ‘pulling’ mobs deserves to die and run back. Yes, there are occasions, but I’m not talking about those.

31. Any warrior claiming to be a tank needs a shield to be taken seriously.

32. Daggers and swords both have advantages and disadvantages for rogues. Shut the fuck up, we get it.

33. Fire and Frost for mages. See above.

34. Spec A and Spec B for Class X. See above.

35. If you’re a warlock, it’s your job to soulstone a rezzer. Not their job to ask.

36. The raid will not be arranged around you. Try to think of what you ‘offer’ instead of what you can ‘get’. Singular rogues demanding a hunter (Trueshot), warrior (Battleshout), shaman (Windfury), and feral druid (LotP) all to be placed in their own private little group usually get stuck with the priests for manatide. Do you offer hemorrhage for the raid? Is there anything at all that you ‘give’? Only take? Well, then… ‘take’ a seat and shut the fuck up.

37. Yes, I have a rogue.

38. White people were never meant to call other white people ‘nigga’.

39. No one cares about your Lag. Try defragging your RAM or over-clocking your Parallel ports. If it’s not that, it’s probably got something to do with your ISA slots on the motherboards. You probably need to update their firmwares.

40. For Fuck’s Sake. Learn to use a computer.

41. You aren’t the greatest ever. Seriously. I guarantee it.

42. Hakkar whispers everyone. You aren’t special.

43. We know you killed Nef. We all got the buff and can see the big fucking head sitting there. Thanks. Using the yell channel just makes you look stupid.

44. If you’re a reagent using class, suck it up or reroll. No one cares.

45. We all pay to repair. No one cares how much it cost you.

46. No one cares who’s leading in DPS right now.

47. Use ‘push to talk’.

48. Tpyos Happne. Get over it. It isn’t a unique source of comedy.

49. If I decide to buy gold, the last place I’ll look for info on where to find that gold is from random tells or in-game mails from “NÓ‘yzõÔńĜ”.

50. It was a fucking hammer. Not an axe.

51. Ganking is when a horrendously overpowered player kills a lowbie, or five equally leveled players team up to kill one. A lone 60 cannot ‘gank’ another lone 60. You fucking died. There was no ‘ganking’ involved.

52. It’s Pee Vee Fucking Pee. Reroll on a PvE server if you don’t like it.

53. Nightelves are gay. Flamboyantly so.

54. Taurens with the words Moo or Cow or Bull or Beef or whatever-the-fuck in their name stopped being clever before the game was ever released to the public.

55. GuildWars is the best place to /dance.

56. I don’t play GuildWars.

57. You aren’t funny.

58. Your taste in music sucks. Keep it off of vent.

59. I’m leading the raid. Shut the fuck up. Start your own raid and talk about giraffes or whatever-the-fuck you want in a separate channel.

60. Rez the dead and rebuff. I’m pulling in 30 seconds. Standing around with our thumbs in our asses is pointless.

61. Everyone has seen the Onyxia video. Stop quoting it. Ha. Ha. Ha. 50 dkp. Oh man. Seriously.

62. Don’t even get me started on Leroy. That was like 12 years ago.

63. Everybody gets nerfed. Deal with it or just kill yourself and get it over with. Either way works for me.

64. I hate you.

65. Rawr.

<3



…more?

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Your PvP video bores me.

God bless the Internet.

It gives anyone with a modem a forum to discuss whatever is on his or her mind, and broadcast it to millions worldwide. Television, radio, and print don’t offer this luxury to Everyday Joes like you and me. The avenue is there, but ‘breaking in’ is much more difficult, and there are tiers and tiers of people to go through that need to agree with your general sentiment or it will get shot down before the masses can be tainted with your horrible thoughts.

Not so with the internet!

Any schmuck with half a brain and an internet connection can jump on google, find all kinds of free hosting plans, get on there, and start spewing forth anything his or her little tormented brain can muster up! Granted, I can’t remember the last time I actually ever followed a search result link off google to a geocities-style website, but the avenue exists, dammit. New communities are cropping up everyday to take the place of these outdated ‘geo cities’… places like myspace, myMSN, 1up, blogger and blogspot (etc…) all create ‘families’ that can allow people with similar interests to get together and share their views. Nor is basic HTML knowledge any longer a requirement; the sites mentioned come with stock templates you can choose from, and on MySpace, you are even free to butcher the template to suit your own unique style! All that’s left to do is to create a friend list, and read each other’s daily stories! I honestly have no issues with it; it’s probably why you came to read NotAddicted today. You can relate to what the people here are writing, and you understand what we’re talking about.

What other resources do WoW users have when they want to ‘connect’ with someone out of the game itself? Quite a few, actually… we can read the official blizzard forums, and can drop down a few levels from General for a more granular topic depending on what we’re discussing: Realm forums, Class forums, UI / mods… whatever. We have guild websites, a WoWwiki, Addon sites like Curse Gaming, and huge ‘game quest and item databases’ like Allakhazam or Thottbot.

The problem, though, is that typing words on a keyboard requires a certain degree of patience, and a loose grasp of the English language. On top of that, you need people with the patience to sit down and actually read whatever it is you’re typing.

	/sigh

Remember when reading required actual effort? Back when I was really young, I’d need to drag my eyes across all those letters, and say the words out loud, one syllable at a time. Maybe I’m special, but reading seems pretty instantaneous at this point in my life. It’s about as difficult as… umm… seeing? I look at words, and understand them. If reading is too hard, I can’t imagine how long it took to type up that ‘killer’ response. Finding those 4 keys on your keyboard among all those letters wear you out? Nap time works wonders.

Hmmmm….. If only there was a way my WoW toon itself could run rampant on the internet, free from the contraints of this written language. If only I could force people to LOOK AT ME, DAMMIT (or face a wtfpwnage at my hands)…?

Enter the pure unadulterated bliss of streaming video. Sites like Google Video or YouTube allow you to upload videos of yourself in action to the masses! There’s even a site that focuses exclusively on Warcraft Movies (.com). Hot Damn!

What could be cooler than watching other people play the game?! Hmm, a few things come to mind, and the biggest one at the top of the list starts with ‘playing the game’ and ends with ‘yourself’. Last time I checked, there were hundreds of thousands of people running around in the game at any given moment. If I wanted to watch someone else play, I could just turn my character a little bit to the right or left.

	Ouch. Click for clip.

I won’t deny the fact that I can see actual productive uses for this technology within the MMORPG context. Demonstrating a new and challenging boss fight strategy to a noob, or showcasing a guild’s level of coordination on downing world firsts or particularly tough obstacles for guild promotion… I once saw a pretty cool video of an entire raid stacking buffs on a single shaman for 25k chain lightning crits. That was actually interesting, though not very practical. However, it shows someone realizing something cool about the game, recording it, and sharing it so people can watch for themselves. There’s something more engaging about ‘seeing it happen’ than just typing ‘…and then I critted the guy for twenty-five thousand’!

What all these videos usually end up being, though, is someone just hitting ‘record’, blowing cooldowns, and running around for ten seconds while Recklessness or Blade Flurry + Adrenaline Rush tick down. Then they hit stop on Fraps, wait for cooldowns to reset, and do it again. Nine times out of ten, it isn’t even as exciting as that. I mean, I know warlocks can destroy anything in their path, but a typical warlock fight just consists of stacking DoTs on a target, and waiting for it to die. If the target gets close (here comes the climax!), they Fear or Deathcoil.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Not very exciting.

Want to know how a mage wins? Ten bucks says there’s going to be a Blink and/or Frostnova involved. Rogues can vanish and re-ambush? Woah! Sweet Strat, Bro! It was awesome the first time I saw it, back in closed beta. Paladins bubbling!? NO WAI! Druids CAN HEAL OVER TIME THEN SWITCH BACK TO FERAL-WHATEVER-FORM?!1! OH MY CHRIST, STOP THE PRESSES<<< A SHAMAN IS USING TOTEMS AND FROSTSHOCKING!

Seriously, we get it.

Where does it come from? Why the need to make a commercial of yourself and shove it out there? I mean, I guess it’s not a huge surprise after reading the General forums… people are so eager to stand out and just be seen that they practically scream at the top of their lungs just to be noticed… re-bumping their own threads every 30 minutes to keep it on the front page hoping to get a ‘view’. They adopt a Jeffk “accent” (or whatever you’d call it), and/or emulate anything funny they’ve ever seen online that ellicited a positive response, and try and cram all of it into each and every post they make. God forbid a blizz employee pinches off some blue morsel of a post for the masses. A mad rush ensues just to be the one screaming “FIRST!”. These posts are invariably ‘edited’ because in the mad frenzy to be the first poster, they’re probably just head-butting their keyboards while mashing ‘post’ to make sure they get that coveted slot, then they go back and edit in those five golden letters at a more leisurely pace. I bet they do it with one hand, even, since that other hand is probably busy reaching for something to clean up the mess they just made of their trousers after finding a 'virgin blue post'.

Talk about being an individual; it’s about the most unoriginal thing you can respond to a blue post with, but hey… everyone sees your name on that list, so screw those haters! They’re just jealous that they didn’t get in on the first page!

These same kids are raised and trained to be walking advertisements for the current generation’s name brands. A plain white teeshirt might cost 3 to 5 bucks, but slap a big swoosh on it and the word NIKE and it becomes a 20-dollar source of pride! BUT MOM, I’ll gladly pay the Nike corporation extra money for the right to walk around using my body as a little mini-billboard everywhere I go! Chicks dig it! Shouldn’t Nike be paying me to advertise their product? Isn’t that how advertising works? But, oh no(!!), here’s a shocker: EA is using dynamic advertising in their games! What the hell is this crap? I’m supposed to look at a billboard for ‘Doo Doo Cola’ while shooting people in the head in some city warfare game? What a crock of shit, man! It totally ruins my immersion, because we all know real cities are totally devoid of advertising!

Anything and everything at all becomes ‘eligible’ for filming and publishing. Four clicks is all it takes to ‘get it out there’! Record, Stop, Browse, Upload! Woohoo, let’s celebrate! It’s Miller Time!

	Wow… dood, r u luking 4 a guild? Ill b in tuch, PST KK?

Here’s the plotline of a winner I saw recently: A druid unstealths in Arathi Basin 5 feet from the unguarded lumber mill flag, caps it, and restealths! Then... um... the video just ends. That was this person’s glorious contribution to the internet! Can somebody please notify the Academy and give that man a raise? I know an Oscar worthy performance when I see it! He went on to name his masterpiece ‘Ninja’ and probably uploaded it before that match even ended. It’s like 40 seconds long, has been viewed over 4,400 times, and currently has a rating of 3.75 stars! Quality!

The ‘comments’ section of these movies are -- surprise! -- filled with more people that didn’t even watch the movie, but are just posting messages plugging links to their own glorious masterpieces.

Who cares?! So your little video got 37 views while Bob over here got 63… maybe your slammin jammin soundtrack wasn’t slammin or jammin enough. Maybe (gasp!) it was a little too slammin and/or jammin… imagine that. Maybe your crossfades or scrolling text weren’t bold or red enough! Get back to the drawing board, and do it again until you get it right! I want storyboards and comps on my desk by 6 or there’s gonna be HELL TO PAY!

(p.s. yeah, I pretty much hate everybody)

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Horde fo Life, yo!

Remember when the Horde were the bad guys? I rolled Horde because I wanted to kill Alliance. I vociferously hate Night Elves, am surprised when I see a stupid human running around that isn’t a paladin, and aim for the ‘short ones with pink hair’ whenever I can in PvP. I don’t care if I die, as long as they die before I do. I’m admittedly horrible at PvP because I keep blowing rage on those stupid bubbles every time I see them. They make me so fucking crazy! I KNOW it’s a waste of rage; I just can’t help it! I just want to be the first thing that makes him bleed again, and let a crit to the face be the thing that lets him know ‘yeah, the bubble isn’t working anymore’.

The game has been out too long, though. Old school Alliance are growing tired of all their sixties, and have begun rolling Horde now to pass the time until the expansion. I see them in the Undercity, complaining that the UC isn’t half as cool as Iron Forge. Duh! That’s the point, jackass! We built our capitol city in a bunch of ruins… it’s an abandoned city filled with slime and dead guys! I hear them in the Barrens, talking about how their ‘NE Main’ has it so much better. Christ, I even hear them on vent during raids making slip-ups and asking for some retarded seal of some sort… I don’t even get it, like some stupid ball of white fluff would help down Vael.

I won’t say I’ve never rolled Alliance before, but I will happily say that I’ve never surpassed level 12. The general chat was enough to make my eyes bleed, and Quests go something like the picture to the right here. The zones feel “finished”, there are ambient (freely skinnable) bunnies hopping around everywhere, and everything just feels so ‘wonderful’ it makes me want to punch my cat in the throat.

On top of all this, when we go back to our Horde accounts, we have to listen true blue Horde sixties going all sissy on us and claiming the Horde aren’t even the bad guys, we’re ‘just misunderstood’ or some crap. These fruitcakes claim that the ‘Forsaken’ aren’t evil per se, and are often mistakenly associated with the ‘bad guy undead’ you fight in Scholomance or UD Strat. Let’s take a look, shall we?

According to lore (copied with light editing from http://www.worldofwconline.com):

This renegade group of Undead managed to break free of the tyrannical rule of the Lich King and now seek to retain their free will while destroying all who oppose them. Now known as the Forsaken they are dedicated to follow their new leader, the Dark Lady Sylvanas Windrunner. The Forsaken have established a secret stronghold beneath the ruins of Lordaeron in the Tirisfal Glades, the Undercity.

Sylvanas’ goal is to develop a new plague to not only get rid of the Scourge, but to wipe out the rest of humanity as well. To speed up the process the Forsaken have entered an alliance with the brutish and primitive races of the Horde.

Hmmmm… Developing biological Super-Plagues to wipe out humanity, and destroy all who oppose them? A penchant for eating their dead victims to regain health? Let’s have ‘em over to meet the folks next Tuesday, hon!

	Froederick here has sworn a lifelong allegiance to the Horde after the orc warchief lent him a buck fifty for Cheetos.

The Undead pretty much kick ass, and are honestly some of the only Horde with any back story. Blizzard ran out of ideas after expending 4 months trying to cook up the "super plague" one, so every other race just ‘got some help from the orcs fighting X monster, and are now in alliance with them’.

Trolls?

The vicious Jungle Trolls are known for their cruelty and hatred against all other races. One tribe however, the Darkspear tribe, was forced to work together with the warchief Thrall and his Horde of Orcs to save themselves from a band of Murlocs. From that point the Darkspear tribe swore an oath of eternal allegiance to the Horde.

Fighting murlocs, huh? That’s funny, last time I checked, I didn’t see any murlocs over level 15 or so in-game… maybe 20 if you count that last boss in Wailing Caverns.

They even hate the Forsaken, too…

As part of the Horde the Trolls have gained a trust in the mighty Tauren, but they have a hard time accepting the Forsaken into their alliance.

They like the Taurens, huh? Well, what’s not to like? Taurens are pretty granola, and probably grow all the weed the Horde smokes.

Maybe that’s where the Trolls got this whole silly “Jamacian thing” from. I can’t imagine why the neighborhood stoners would be on the ‘bad guy’ side…. Oh, wait… that’s right:

The leader of the Tauren, the ancient chief Cairne Bloodhoof, allied with the Orcs during the third war because the Orcs helped them drive back the Tauren’s enemies, the Centaurs. Just like the Orcs, the Tauren want to retain their history as a noble race.

…they swore an allegiance for driving back the level 13 centaurs found wandering around in the barrens. Verog has been summoned? Oh shit, call Thrall!

And finally: our pals, the Orcs…

The savage, green-skinned Orcs are commonly believed to be brutal with no sign of humanity. They were born in the world of Draenor, and brought into the kingdom of Stormwind through the dimensional gateway known as the Dark Portal. They were forced to wage war on the Humans and they have been involved in all of the three wars, a common enemy of the Alliance.

The Orcs were once a noble race with a cultivated shamanistic society in Draenor. What made them so reckless was the corruption of the Burning Legion who forced them to invade Azeroth. However, the Orcs managed to rebel against their former masters and are now led by the young warchief Thrall, who has helped the Orcs regain their former strength and honor.

	Being the boss means never having to say you're sorry

Okay, so they used to be a cool group of guys until the Burning Legion ‘forced’ them to fight the humans… and now it’s too late to say you’re sorry or something? Way to continually sacrifice the lives of your countrymen just to save face and not have to apologize, Thrall. God, you’re such a dick!

Pretty soon we’re going to be getting Day Elves. This opens the door for anyone who rolled Alliance in the first place because they were the ‘pretty’ race to feel right at home on the Horde side of the fence. Great. I could do a detailed analysis, but at this point I think I’m just upsetting my ulcer. What’s next? Giving both sides shamans and paladins, effectively making rolling one side or the other pointle---


Next week: Fed up with World of Whybothercraft, I test drive “My Little Pony Online Adventures”! I roll a Chaotic Palomino Barbarian, and go LFG in the ‘Pretty Pony Grooming Grounds’! See you then!

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