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Omen in Patch 2.4: Even bigger, even better

With Patch 2.4 comes a brand new combat log and logging system, with tons of new features and capabilities. As a side effect of this, any mod or addon that uses the combat log to gather information will need to be rewritten, including the raiders’ sidekick Omen.

Good news! The author has not been idle since the patch 2.4 test realms have gone up. Luckily for all of you, I have the pleasure of raiding with Antiarc(that little screenshot you’ve seen so often on WoW Insider is my raid group), so I’ve been able to get a little bit of a preview. You see that Omen screenshot on the right side there? That’s us. In the coming weeks, columnist Sean Forsgren will have something more in-depth and technical for you, but for now, I’m going to walk you through the basics.

The new version of Omen, while remaining light on CPU usage, has gained the ability to track threat on multiple mobs with the same name very accurately, thanks to Blizzard’s combat log revamp. In addition to that, Omen 2.0 has a few other new features. Some of them are, as I said, quite technical and won’ t mean much to anybody but the modding folk. Sean will handle that quite well, I’m sure. For those of us without extensive mod knowledge, there’s still some really great stuff. If you’re interested, hop on past the jump and we’ll get right into it!

There’s a few new modes in Patch 2.4’s version of Omen, which at first glance can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know what they are or how they work. That’s why I’m here! Please note that the images below have been scaled down as to not break your browser, and Omen’s scale is customizable in the game. Additionally, Omen may not appear identical to what it is below once it hits Live servers. Antiarc is constantly working on making it look better. Now, the goods:

Single Target Mode is the Omen we all know and love. No further explanation needed. It is basically what we’ve been using this entire time except more accurate, especially in situations with multiple mobs that share the same name.

Overview Mode just gives a little breakdown of who is about to pull aggro. It doesn’t show a full threat list for any mob, but a very small summary of all of the mobs in combat. Potentially useful for healers that want only the top two in threat for everything in combat, for trash pulls or things of that sort.

AOE Mode has a display slightly different from the rest. Rather than displaying a threat list for all mobs in combat, it has a color coded bar displaying your threat on each mob. It’s fairly easy to understand: A green bar means go, orange means slow, red means stop. If your bar is getting in the red, it is probably time to Ice Block or Soulshatter. This is also useful for Protection Paladins tanking in places like Mount Hyjal. If you’re anything but red on the mobs you should be tanking, you’re probably doing something wrong.

Healer Mode can take up quite a bit of screen space, but could turn out to be one of your most valuable tools on encounters such as Maulgar, the Illidari Council, trash pulls, or just about any encounter in which there are multiple targets being tanked and/or DPS’d.

And there you go! Omen is still highly customizable. Very little has been removed from the original incarnation of Omen, so all of your old favorite features will still be there. Despite all the new bells and whistles, the CPU usage remains minimal. A few small things haven’t made it in yet, such as the ability for Omen to collapse itself once combat ends, but Antiarc assures me that they will be there. Omen 2.0 is not yet available for download, but it’s certainly shaping up to be good to go once the Sunwell Plateau hits live servers.

Those of you who are interested in some of the more technical aspects of the new Omen should keep checking back for further information. We won’t let you down!

(There is a short cut to make your WoW life better. Do you need a buddy help you powerleveling, or buy wow gold or cheap wow gold safely? joint us: gmbar)

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Do WoW-Players Like to Cross-dress?

“Hey, It’s a cross-dressing Paladin”. Nottingham Trent University has done a study which reveals that a mammoth 70% of female players use male characters, while a surprisingly high 54% of male players have female avatars. While there is nothing new with males “rather looking at a woman’s behind all day” (good try, not fooling me! and not to forget all Human and Blood elf Paladins are gay), it is definitely surprising to hear that many women actually use male avatars.

Check the full article below:

Majority of MMO players transvestites?
—-New study reveals a hidden culture of cross-dressing
—-Words: David Houghton, GamesRadar UK

MMOs can be confusing places. They’re packed with more stats than Stephen Hawking’s brain lump, riddled with names containing more ‘z’s, ‘x’s and punctuation than an algebraic equation, and often use an interface that would boggle an octopus. Still, at least you can take solace in the basic knowledge of who your companions are in those crazy realms of slice and grind.

Except you can’t. While anyone who’s used the internet for long enough will be all too aware that people aren’t always who they say they are - our painful experience with a cute girl called Geoff was all the lesson we needed - it turns out that nowhere harbours more folk masquerading behind fake genitalia than the MMO.

Nottingham Trent University has conducted a study, being published in US journal CyberPsychology and Behavior, which reveals that a mammoth 70% of female players use male characters, while a surprisingly high 54% of male players have female avatars.

Maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising though, given the basic gender politics still at play in gaming. After all, some female players reportedly make the swap to get preferential treatment in a male-dominated game or to avoid sleazy attention (have a look on any forum ever for evidence to back that one up), while male players often digitally drag up in order to seek out exactly that sleazy attention in order to flirt for help and loot (again, any forum ever). 

Worrying sign of the state of gaming culture, or another amusing quirk of the internet? Like some MMO players, the news is probably a bit of both. But just remember, while mics and cams help, abstinence is the only real safe-cyber.

(There is a short cut to make your WoW life better. Do you need a buddy help you powerleveling, or buy wow gold or cheap wow gold safely? joint us: gmbar)

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