Warcraft News

Warcraft News http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/ en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:45:48 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg Warcraft News http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/ Cataclysm Beta: Twilight Highlands and Uldum galleries http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4053&goto=newpost Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:00:10 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/29/cataclysm-beta-twilight-highlands-and-uldum-galleries/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

Twilight Highlands and Uldum aren't technically open yet in the Cataclysm beta, but when have invisible walls ever stopped someone who really wanted to get into a zone? Resourceful tester Lemon King sends us these monster galleries of questing through both zones, although both are unfinished (especially Uldum). Even so, they look beautiful, and there are some nice surprises in the quests. Obviously, spoilers abound!

Check out the galleries by clicking below.

Gallery: Cataclysm beta: Twilight Highlands

Gallery: Cataclysm Beta: Uldum

]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4053 Raid Rx: Identifying and avoiding insane applicants http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4052&goto=newpost Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:00:06 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/29/raid-rx-identifying-and-avoiding-insane-applicants/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host, Matt Low, the grand pooh-bah of World of Matticus, is on vacation. Today, Allison Robert pens advice concerning recruitment policy that you would probably be better off not reading.

Unlike Dawn, I did not consult Matt Low prior to writing this article, because he would have told me to quit screwing around and write something helpful. I think we can all agree this serves as an important lesson to all WoW.com columnists -- namely, going on vacation leaves your column to the mercy of people like me.

Healers, like nuclear fission, are prone to instability and drama. This is perhaps understandable because the rest of the guild holds us responsible for the collapse of fishery stocks, split infinitives and the raid's survival through enormously stupid gameplay. Because we exert an equivalent amount of influence and control over all three issues, pressure eventually builds to the point where we crack and start screaming obscenities at the height of the raid hour, or else sit at our computers muttering to ourselves, oblivious to the stares of nearby friends who make a mental note to refill the Percocet when they are next in town.

So. As this process inevitably consumes most of your healing team, it will eventually become necessary to recruit. Healer recruitment is a process fraught with danger and heartbreak, as it involves the repeated casting of one's line into Yoohoo Lake in the hopes of fishing up the least terminally incompetent player therein. Officers are subsequently obliged to make distinctions between different applicants, some of whom may be legitimately crazy and nearly all of whom are lying in some respect.

The following guide should prove useful to any player who wants to know when someone can be comfortably incorporated into an existing healing team, and when an applicant should be shuffled in the direction of the nearest KFC selling two-piece and a curb stomp.Continue reading Raid Rx: Identifying and avoiding insane applicants ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4052 WoW Insider Show Episode 150 - Thunderfuryyyy! Awayyyy! http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4051&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:00:07 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/29/wow-insider-show-episode-150-living-on-your-couch/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

Every week, we present you with the WoW Insider Show podcast -- an hour's worth of WoW community discussion, covering everything from the week's top stories here on WoW.com to emails from our readers to what's been going on with our particular characters in Azeroth.

Along with your hosts, WoW.com Senior Editor Michael Sacco and Contributing Editors Matthew Rossi and Mat McCurley, we also feature rotating guest hosts, whether regular WoW.com contributors or personalities from other sites. And this week we're pleased to announce that Mat McCurley will start being considered a regular host of the show!

Want to have your question answered on the air? Email theshow@wow.com!

Get the podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.

[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.

[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Warning: This episode has a lot of Cataclysm spoilers. Don't listen if you don't want to be spoiled!Continue reading WoW Insider Show Episode 150 - Thunderfuryyyy! Awayyyy! ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4051 rolling on a new cata PvP server? http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4050&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:09:49 GMT

Quote:

Given that there are many low population PvP servers and there have been two PvP servers who have been turned into PvE, I don't foresee any new PvP servers come cataclysm.

Ding! Anything is possible of course, but this makes the most sense to me at this point in time.

Click here to view original post ]]> WoW BlueTracker Bornakk http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4050 Buffing for BlizzCon: The Convention Challenge http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4048&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:00:07 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/29/buffing-for-blizzcon-the-convention-challenge/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

Buff(ing) for BlizzCon is a bi-weekly fitness series written by ShrinkGeek authors Rafe Brox and Michael McGreevy. Join the WoW.com team in getting in shape for the ultimate WoW geek event: BlizzCon 2010.

BlizzCon is still three months away, but convention season is in full swing. The San Diego Comic-Con ended a few days ago, and in the seemingly endless days that stretch out between now and Blizzardpalooza, there are several huge conventions that may be occupying your time. I'll be leaving next week for Gen Con, and a month after that you'll be able to find Rafe and me (along with a large handful of staffers from Massively) at Dragon*Con. I often wonder if we geeks have not subconsciously scheduled some of the biggest conventions of the year over the summer months as a result of the countless dull hours in our youth because we didn't appreciate the 'traditional' summer activities. Whatever the reason, though, this is the time of the year when it's truly grand to be a geek.

It is not, however, such a grand time if you are trying to make healthy dining choices.Continue reading Buffing for BlizzCon: The Convention Challenge ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4048 Cataclysm screenshot of the day http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4047&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:00:07 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/cataclysm-screenshot-of-the-day/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

The latest Cataclysm screenshot from Blizzard is shown above. There was some consternation yesterday about a Twilight joke. I apologize for that, and instead offer up today's image, or a brunette nearby apples. At night, in a neckbaring dress.

If you've missed any of the previous Cataclysm screenshots of the day or you want to see a high-res version of today's image, check out the gallery below.

Gallery: Cataclysm Daily Screenshots

]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4047 No blue response for long Arena season yet http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4049&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:20:48 GMT Arena seasons tend to end when another tier of gear is available to avoid having either PvE or PvP be the absolute best in the game. When we are... Arena seasons tend to end when another tier of gear is available to avoid having either PvE or PvP be the absolute best in the game. When we are nearing the point of another tier of gear being available we will probably announce the end of the current arena season.

Click here to view original post ]]> WoW BlueTracker Bornakk http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4049 New Concept Art http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4045&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:15:04 GMT Posted originally on WorldofWarcraft.com (http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/community/conceptart/#0722) Our Concept Art gallery... Posted originally on WorldofWarcraft.com

Our Concept Art gallery has been updated with two new pieces.

]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4045 Breakfast Topic: We heard you like gaming so we put a game in your game so you can game while you game http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4044&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:00:08 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/breakfast-topic-we-heard-you-like-gaming-so-we-put-a-game-in-yo/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

The release of StarCraft II brought about a surprise for the observant player -- an object in the cantina of ship that lets you play an arcade game called Lost Viking right in StarCraft II. This is a fun little shooter that's a cross between Asteroids and Space Invaders (Alex tells me it's a lot like Touhou, although I've never played that) and easily took up an hour of my night. Just the kind of thing to do while waiting for a raid to begin.

The name of the game is a nod to an original Blizzard game called The Lost Vikings which was released back in 1994. In that game, you are a Viking and have to find your way home as you escape the evil Tomator. In the StarCraft II arcade game, you're a mighty Viking on a ship and must fight your way back to Vikingville. And watch out for the evil Terra-Tron; he does not like you!!!

I hope that Blizzard sees this game as a success and includes a minigame like this in Cataclysm. Something that can be accessed from the mini-menu would be perfect. Given the awesomeness of Blizzard's newly released Lost Viking (see screenshots below for more pictures), let's give Blizzard a helping hand here and suggest what mini-games they could include with Cataclysm.

I'm voting for AQ Tetris.

Gallery: StarCraft II: Lost Viking

]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4044 Breakfast Topic: What not to do before Cataclysm http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4043&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:00:07 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/breakfast-topic-what-not-to-do-before-cataclysm/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

We're all getting ready for Deathwing and his sundering of the world by raiding the last few bosses of ICC, jumping into the Ruby Sanctum and beating it until it turns into a broken loot box, and leveling our alts. I, for one, have been focusing on the latter. My 80s are geared appropriately for the level 80-85 zones that are coming in Cataclysm, and I believe I'm pretty well prepared. I have enough gear to get into ICC hard mode runs to pass the time if I get really bored, but other than that, I'm focusing on leveling my baby shaman and paladin in preparation for Cataclysm and the old world changes.

If you're not doing any of that, then you're probably hitting one of the game's many meta-games. Gold farming, achievement grinding, rep grinding, mount grinding ... pretty much any kind of grinding there is to be done is a popular option in the calm before the Cataclysm. A huge gold pool to work with when you reach 85 is going to give any type of player an upper hand -- casuals, hardcore raiders, hardcore PvPers alike. Completing WoW's current iteration of achievements before they become Feats of Strength can increase the ever-important ego of every player, and grinding (especially old-world reps) can give you things that may become impossible to retrieve when Deathwing goes insane all over the Azeroth we all know and love.Continue reading Breakfast Topic: What not to do before Cataclysm ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4043 Around Azeroth Beta Edition: Give war a chance http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4042&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:00:08 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/27/around-azeroth-beta-edition-give-war-a-chance/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

The horror ... the horror. Beta tester Dendaris of <Empire> on Eldre'Thalas sent in this screenshot with a bloodstained note attached: 'Having slain a dwarven paratrooper, my goblin warrior took a moment to survey the frantic battlefield around him. The fiery sunset served as the perfect backdrop for the Alliance planes flying overhead.'

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Want to see your own screenshot here? Send it to aroundazeroth@wow.com. We strongly prefer full-sized pictures with no UI or names showing. Please include 'Azeroth' in the subject line so your email doesn't get marked as spam, and include your name, guild and server if you want to be credited. ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4042 Spiritual Guidance: The top ten shadow priest glyphs http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4041&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:00:08 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/spiritual-guidance-the-top-ten-shadow-priest-glyphs/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Spiritual Guidance, hosted by Fox Van Allen, consort to the shadows. Don't mind any distracting grunting you hear coming from under the floor boards. Dawn Moore isn't buried alive underneath there, I promise. She just needed to take today off. You know. For ... um ... I dunno, I think she's one of the Hollywood Squares this week. Who cares, whatever, she's gone.

Oh, hello shadow priests. Please come in. Shut the door behind you.

Have a seat. We need to talk.

I've been hearing rumors on wowpopular.com about your top major glyph choices, and frankly, I'm concerned. It's telling me that the Glyph of Shadow Word: Pain is the most popular for shadow priests. Madness! And my god, are you really casting Flash Heal that often that you want to glyph for it?

Look, look, it's okay. It's not your fault. You're the victim here. You chose what you thought was a good glyph, and it's been letting you down. I can help.

After the break, we're going to run down the list of the top ten most popular shadow priest glyphs and pick them apart, one by one. Hopefully, in the process, we can get rid of your cookie cutter build and find you a great new set of glyphs that matches your play style.Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: The top ten shadow priest glyphs ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4041 Last Chance to Get World of Warcraft Magazine Issue 2 http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4040&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:15:03 GMT Posted originally on WorldofWarcraft.com (http://www.worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com) As our team of industrious goblins and gnomes puts the... Posted originally on WorldofWarcraft.com

As our team of industrious goblins and gnomes puts the finishing touches on Issue 3 of the World of Warcraft Official Magazine, the clock is ticking on the availability of Issue 2, with its double-gatefold Deathwing vs. Alexstrasza cover. If you subscribe before July 31, you'll receive Issue 2 as part of your subscription, but after that, all new subscriptions will begin with Issue 3. Head over to the magazine's website to view some sample articles or to subscribe.
]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4040 Cataclysm screenshot of the day http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4039&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:07 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/cataclysm-screenshot-of-the-day/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4039 The Classifieds: Puzzling over the world of Azeroth http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4038&goto=newpost Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:00:07 GMT Posted originally on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/the-classifieds-puzzling-over-the-world-of-azeroth/) Image:... Posted originally on WoW.com

The Classifieds brings you weekly news from around the WoW community, including our famous Random Acts of Uberness.

While we at WoW.com are hard at work puzzling out the latest round of changes from the Cataclysm beta, we've got something for you to puzzle over as well: a 'Where in the World of Warcraft?' crossword puzzle from The Puzzle Hub. This one's themed around places throughout Azeroth, Outland and Northrend. If that mind-bender strikes your fancy, there's a 'Who in the World of Warcraft?' version, too. Thanks for the tip, Benji -- these look they'll most assuredly help keep our minds off the agony of watching beta test class changes scritching and scratching back and forth.

Let's crack open The Classifieds ...Continue reading The Classifieds: Puzzling over the world of Azeroth ]]> General World of Warcraft News and Announcements WarcraftNews http://www.warcraftnews.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4038