Introducing Gilgadiir and Streaming – Short Notes

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Short introduces her new apprentice known as Gilgadiir in today's Short Notes.

 

Updates Regarding Streaming & Friends

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! I am extremely excited to announce a partnership between one of my World of Warcraft (WoW) guildies which will allow me to bring more streaming content to you guys. I would like to introduce you to Gilgadiir (as known as Gilg)! He has been part of my WoW guild since early Cataclysm. Gilgadiir and I have often played the same Druid specialization or had the same role in raids. Thanks to this, we have always been pretty close to each other. Since we both have a strong competitive nature we’re always trying to outdo each other in one way or another. The competition has also made as a pretty good team which is why we have combined powers. This means Gilg will be hosting streams for Ability Powered on our twitch channel!

 

Short (as her Night Elf self) taking a S.E.L.F.I.E. with Gilgadiir in World of Warcraft.

 

New Twitch Streaming Setup

I kept getting asked by you guys if I stream or why don’t I stream more. The answer is simple, I just don’t have the bandwidth! Where I live the fastest connection available average is right around 2 mega bytes per second (Mbps). I have had problems in the past with my streams disconnecting and reconnecting due to the terribile Internet connection here. So, I was talking to Gilgadiir one day about streaming, YouTube, and Twitch and he offered to stream any time we are playing something together. Any time Gilg is hosting there will be a banner at the top of the screen saying it is hosted by him. That way you guys will know who’s point of view you are seeing during the stream.

 

Who is Gilgadiir?

But who is this Gilgadiir guy anyway? Gilg is currently a college student in his early twenties. He is a graphics art major and loves video games as much as the rest of us. He was diagnosed with Ataxia a few years ago so he is definitely an Ability Powered gamer! In World of Warcraft, he plays many different classes, but is currently raiding as a salty restoration druid. He’s an all around great guy and I can’t wait for you guys to meet him, and get to know him in our upcoming stream broadcasts.

 

Gilgadiir & Streaming

Keep in mind that Gilg is currently a college student, and college schedules can sometimes become time consuming and hectic. This means we currently have no concrete schedule for broadcasting. The best way to not miss Ability Powered streams is to follow us on twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/abilitypowered. We are currently trying to stream our raid nights which are Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30 PM until 10:00 PM CST. Some other streams will also be on the Ability Powered YouTube channel, so you can catch up on highlights of streams you might have missed them.

 

Exciting Ability Powered Abilities to Come!

apgwheelchairgifI am super excited to be able to provide you guys with more streaming content, and I can’t wait to hang out with you guys in Twitch chat! Raiding streams should give you guys an idea of how our guild adjusts strategies to reduce movement as much as possible. It should also give me a really good way to communicate with you guys in more real time manner in case you have more questions about the way we handle certain mechanics in the game. I’m really anxious for you guys to meet Gilg, and we’re excited to be able to talk you guys in Twitch chat as we fight our way through Azeroth. We’re also hoping to bring you guys many other games too! Head to our Twitch channel or Twitter and follow us for streaming updates! You can also find more of Short’s Short Notes here!

 

Blackrock Foundry Heroic Gruul – Short Raid Notes

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Blackrock Foundry Heroic Gruul!

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! We are heading into the World of Warcraft raid “Blackrock Foundry” to check out the first boss (depending on which wing your raid team is heading to): Gruul! The video above was filmed while we were in Heroic mode, but the strategy is the same in normal as well. This is the strategy my raid leader uses to help us minimize mobility during the fight.

 

How to Fight a Giant of a Boss

As you can see, markers are placed on each side of the boss and the raid team is split into two groups: one for each side. We also mark one player in each group to serve as a mobile stacking point in case of the cave in on our current marker. When the fight begins both teams stack on their assigned markers. This is the majority of the fight for healers, ranged, and melee damage dealers. During the fight, there a few mechanics requiring you to reposition or move your character:

 

Gruul’s Grueling Abilities

  • Overhead Smash: Overhead Smash will be cast periodically during a fight. You can tell it’s coming by a visual on the ground in the area where it will cause damage. Another visual aid will be the direction the boss faces right before he smashes the ground. Since you will be stacked close the boss it is easy to avoid by strafing left or right during this. You can also run straight forward, however, getting back into position will take longer due to walking backwards taking more time than simply strafing left or right. These will be back to back during Destructive Rampage which is the most movement required spell during this fight.
  • Cave In: A cave in will be a circle on the ground where falling debris will be dealing damage to anyone standing inside. Once again, you can simply strafe out of this cave in. Just make sure you are still stacked on the person marked as the mobile sticking point.
  • Petrifying Slam: if you are targeted by Petrifying Slam you need to move out of the group as soon as possible to avoid damaging those around you. In our raid team, players targeted run behind the stacked group until they shatter. You only need to be eight yards away from your friends so minimal movement is required.
  • Inferno Slice: This mechanic is by far the easiest for everyone except for the tanks in your group. For this mechanic just stay stacked up on your marker to help mitigate damage about to be focused on your tank. Pretty simple, huh?

 

Watching Out for Gruul’s Abilities

And that is all the mechanics you will need to be worried about while healing or dealing damage as ranged or melee. Obviously, tanking has a very different role in this raid such as tank swapping after every third Inferno Slice and also turning the boss onto the appropriate stacked group for mitigation. Unfortunately, tanking is not a role I am currently playing in World of Warcraft, so I’m not as comfortable giving you guys notes on how to tank with minimal movement.

 

Blackrock Foundry Heroic Gruul & Making Things Easy

Short discusses Blackrock Foundry Heroic Gruul and how to make him easy to beat while sitting in her custom World of Warcraft wheelchair.Blackrock Foundry Heroic Gruul is a very straightforward boss encounter requiring very little movement if you just strafe left or right to avoid damage and stack to mitigate Area-of-Effect (AoE) damage. As a healer, make sure your AoE healing spells are available after each Inferno Slice. Also, be sure to watch Deadly Boss Mod to know when to prepare for possible upcoming movement, so you can prepare your healing assignments before it becomes necessary to move. Another helpful healer tip: While channeled mana potions are typically the most popular potion to restore mana, on this boss the instant potions seem to work better due to the unpredictability of his Overhead Smashes. But don’t take my word for it, head to Blackrock Foundry and check out Gruul today! Have you conquered this boss? Do you have any more tips? You have the more questions? If so, leave a comment below! Check out our Short Raid Notes for more World of Warcraft raid guides!

 

World of Warcraft 6.1 Colorblind Options Revamp

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Warcraft 6.1 Colorblind Options Have Changed!

Hello, Ability Powered Gamers! The World of Warcraft patch 6.1 brought an exciting change for colorblind users. The colorblind accessibility system has once again been changed in hopes of being more functional for members of the community who are in need of more detailed controls. Colorblind controls are now even easier to find. If you look in your “Interface” menu you will find a new section entitled “Accessibility”. Gone are the days of having to search for accessibility features such as colorblind mode and move pad. Both are easy to find by navigating to “Menu”, “Interface”, and then “Accessibility”.

 

Additional Warcraft Colorblind Settings

Once at this menu you will find the new colorblind system. You have a check box to enable user interface (UI) colorblind mode. This is the standard colorblind setting you can find under the help section of your interface. As always, by checking this button the game adds extra words and phrases to any tool tips throughout the game which may help colorblind users get more information. For example, placing your mouse over other characters might tell you if they are friendly, neutral, or hostile.

 

Simpler Colorblind Interface Options

The shining star to these new Warcraft 6.1 colorblind options is the new colorblind support system. Now users can choose a specific type of colorblindness from a drop down menu. There are filters for Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia. Once you choose the filter you need there is also a slide bar to adjust, so you can customize the strength of the filter. Moving the slider to the right adds more of the wavelengths of the color type you have chosen.

 

Ease of Access Colorblind Menu

The new system is definitely a lot less complicated than the command lines that were previously in-game. Many users never knew about the more detailed colorblind settings before. This was due to the lack of UI settings in place other than the one check box, which only controlled more detailed tooltips. The setting was also hidden in a section of the interface called “Help” which many users failed to look under.

 

Warcraft 6.1 Colorblind Options Brings Impressive Updates

Short sits in her custom World of Warcraft wheelchair as she announces the new Warcraft 6.1 Colorblind Options.Giving accessibility its own section in the interface of the game is a very exciting addition! In the future, I hope the accessibility section grows to include the check box to enable subtitles too. I also hope to see more work done to update move pad to include rotate character buttons and also a button to toggle run and walk. Changes such as these could be conveniently located near the directional keys, so users can quickly change speeds as necessary. The addition of accessibility getting its own section in the UI is definitely a first step to making even more changes that help the disabled community play the game they love. But don’t take my word for it, login to Azeroth and see for yourself. You can find more help with these other Short Guides!

 

Zombie Solitaire – Accessibility First Look

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Zombie Solitaire First Look

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! This week we are looking at a fun solitaire game I picked up during one of the infamous Steam sales. It is called Zombie Solitaire. In Zombie Solitaire people are transformed into zombies after eating tofu burgers. Lucky for you, your dad left you a map and instructions on how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Once you find the map you play solitaire to kill the zombies.

 

Zombie Solitaire Options

The game starts in full screen mode, but can easily be changed to windowed mode before having to enter your name. There aren’t many options in place for the game yet, but in my opinion not that many are needed due to the nature of gameplay. The only real sounds so far have been things like coins falling and zombies growling. All story line and tutorial information have all been presented in text form. For colorblind gamers, there are no colorblind options in the menu. Although, so far none of the gameplay has required for it to be color coded. Since it’s solitaire, you will be playing with a deck of cards which is clearly marked by various suits. So far each power up as had a different logo and not just a color.

 

Mouse Only Zombie Solitaire

Mouse only gamers, this game has been rather relaxing. It is not timed, so fatigue should not be a problem. To choose the cards you want to play, just click on the card itself. There is no dragging and dropping required, and you only use your left mouse button during gameplay. For keyboard only gamers, I did try to cycle through the cards with my on-screen keyboard, but that did not seem to be an option. This game looks to be point and click.

 

Zombie Solitaire Fun

As far as being fun, I really enjoyed the game and fighting my way through a zombie apocalypse with a deck of cards. This is definitely one of those games to pick up to waste time with while waiting on raid invites or just when you have a little free time. But don’t take my word for it, it’s called Zombie Solitaire and it’s available on steam. Do you already have this game? If so tell us how far you made it in the comments below. Be sure it to leave any questions you have about the game there also! Find our other First Looks and more here!

 

Playstation 4 Button Remapping Soon to Come?

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Sony's Playstation 4 button remapping may become reality!

 

Is Playstation 4 Button Remapping Happening?

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! This week there was a information leak from Beta testers in Sony Playstation’s Beta program. This leek is about an upcoming firmware update that Sony is planning to launch in the near future. The most exciting information coming from this leak is about an accessibility feature which would allow console gamers to full control of the Sony PlayStation 4 button remapping system for the controller.

 

Let’s Hear It, Sony!

While Sony is not commenting on if this leak is true or not, it would be a huge advantage to disabled gamers who need this feature to make console gaming easier. It would also be a huge win for Sony since it would let gamers remap buttons universally and not reliant on a game by game basis. While many sources have tried to contact Sony, the only confirmation I have seen is that there is a firmware update coming soon.

 

Playstation Controllers to Join the Accessibility Movement?

Short seen in her custom World of Warcraft wheelchair talking about Sony's Playstation 4 button remapping being a reality.We can only hope that these leaks are true and button remapping will be coming soon for Sony PlayStation 4 console gamers. But don’t take my word for it! Keep an eye out for more news about Sony’s updates. Would the button remap option make your console experience better? If so leave a comment below! Find more accessibility updates on our News column!