Marc's World of Warcraft - WoW - Blog

N00b boyfriend

2009-09-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

'Wrath of the Lich King' looking good, 'WoW' fans say

2008-08-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Since its launch in the fall of 2004, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft has shattered expectations at every turn.

Prior to its release, no American massively multiplayer online game (MMO) had ever reached what was then seen as the magical million subscribers level--even major hits like EverQuest and Ultima Online. Yet almost before anyone could blink, WoW, as it's known, had surpassed 4 million paying users and now has more than 10 million worldwide, and at $15 a month for most users, it may well be bringing in more than $1 billion a year.

Then, prior to the January 2007 release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, no one had ever heard of the kind of nationwide midnight madness lines associated with iPhone and Xbox launches for a game expansion. Sure enough, however, people lined up at game stores everywhere for hours for the right to be among the very first to buy Burning Crusade, and the update went on to sell millions of copies.

And now, with the second major WoW expansion, The Wrath of the Lich King, in beta testing, Blizzard is getting ready to prove yet again that when it comes to American MMOs, it is the undisputed gold standard.

"It's just beautiful," said longtime WoW player and Lich King beta player Katrina Glerum. "The game really feels epic in a way that The Burning Crusade didn't....Burning Crusade felt like an extension of the (original) game. This really feels epic, and that you're part of something grand."

All Lich King players will have to upgrade from Burning Crusade, in particular because the new expansion extends the top level players can reach to 80 from 70 in Burning Crusade, and 60 in the original game.

Right now, the Lich King beta has only recently opened up to those lucky enough to get invitations--or those they have passed their access codes onto. Indeed, the codes are selling on eBay for $150 or more, a testament to the passion or many hardcore WoW players, especially given that the game is still months away from its public launch and riddled with the kinds of bugs common to early beta releases.

There's no way to be sure, of course, that the new expansion--for which an official launch date has not been announced--will be a success, but there does seem to be a lot of enthusiasm being expressed for it, both among players like Glerum and on various WoW blogs and forums.

"I think it'll be just as big, if not bigger" than the Burning Crusade expansion," said Mike Schramm, the editor of WoW Insider. "BC was the biggest-selling PC game sequel ever, I think. Wrath might be a little lower than that, but there'll certainly be lines for it."

Much of the early adoption of the expansion will almost certainly come from the most accomplished Burning Crusade players who want to continue to take the game as far as is possible.

One of the most important new feature of Lich King, according to J. Allen Brack, the production director for WoW, is that it introduces death knights, which are a hero class of character and the first new class to be brought into the game since the original version.

"There will be a lot of pressure to buy it, and anyone who has a character at the highest level will pretty much consider it a necessity," said Schramm. "You'll be walking through the Barrens (an area in WoW), and you'll see a steam tank drive past you with five people sitting in it, or you'll see a death knight clad in frozen armor with five ghouls walking behind him. This stuff is Wrath only. After seeing that, who wouldn't want the expansion?"

To Glerum, there are several areas of the game that Blizzard has made major strides with. Some are practical, while others are directly related to the visceral feeling of being in the WoW universe.

"They took it up a notch, with the complexity of the scenes and the intricacy," said Glerum. "They have some areas which are now misty, which is a really interesting effect, walking through a mist. Previously, they had sort of grayed out the scene and called it mist, but now it's hard to peer through."

More...

Tradeskill Recipe Merchants

2008-03-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Alright, will try to compose a list over the different Merchants who sells rare/limited Tradeskill recipes...

Becoming a Master Merchant - World of Warcraft

2008-03-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm probably going to nerf the hell out of my strategy but I've been milking it enough I
guess. :-) This takes what other people have said to a new level.

I have 6 characters so this is pretty easy for me. I have one character that just sits in front of
the bank in Ironforge, which of course is right across from the auctionhouse and has a handy
mailbox nearby.

Remember all of those supply vendors you pass by? Well look at their inventory and always
check the last page. There's usually some limited supply recipes that you can buy. The ones
that are in weird places are even better. The goblin in moonbrook sells rage potion recipes,
there are 2 goblins in duskwood, the one on raven hill sells shadow oil recipes and the one on
the road north out of duskwood sells goblin jumper cables. All of these recipes sell for 200-
1000% profit in the auction house.

My biggest secret? I buy 5 different tuxedo patterns from the tailor in ironforge for around 40s
each and turn around and sell them in the auction house for 2g or more! There are also 2
thorium recipes off of the engineer supplier in the gnome area that sells for pretty good. People
are just lazy or don't know that vendors sell these recipes. Keep in mind they're all limited sell
so if a recipe isn't there check back in 20 minutes.

I also have a night elf druid and when she good her port to moonvale i was in heaven. Port over
to moonvale and buy the runecloth recipe from the tailer there. I can't remember which one but
one of the recipes soulbinds to you so be careful. I think it was the boots recipe. Also in
moonvale is the arcanite rod enchantement and some other high level recipes. All of them can
be purchased for 1-2g and buyout in auction for 5-7g. Once you have your recipes hearthstone
back to auberdine and drop them in the mail to your mule guy in front of the auction house.
Periodically while your other characters are doing their thing look up the nearest supply vendor
and buy out their recipes. If you're always logging out in an Inn (which you should) this should
be a piece of cake. If you have a character logged out in Darnassus, be sure to pick up the
Greater Rage potion recipe, Free Action Potion, Martial Linnen Shirt and Greater Adapt Robe
pattern.

If you do it right you should have about 20 auctions going at a time and it doesn't draw
suscpicion like putting up 10 auctions all for the same item (a great way to kill your profits by
the way). I make about 20-30 gold a day from about 30min work. The best part is you can do it
at any level.

Some other good places for recipes, Ashenvale has a ton of good stuff at Astranar and that
other post. You can get the expert cooking book and the big bear steak recipes (the bear
recipes cost like 20s and you can sell it for 1g alot of times, and its unlimited supply). The
Wetlands has a vendor in the middle of the map. Stormwind in the old town district has a pub
and upstairs a guy sells about 20 different cooking recipes, many of the same ones you have to
quest for.

Link

Make 100 World of Warcraft Gold a Week in Just Minutes a Day

2008-03-12T20:42:00.001-07:00

Make 100 World of Warcraft Gold a Week in Just Minutes a Day

WOW!

2008-02-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I haven't posted anything since September. Well, yes I can, I stopped playing then.

But, as of about two weeks ago I started back up. And, for now, I'm pretty addicted. We'll see how long that will last. I started a male Draenei shaman. He's level 19. And I have done pretty well at the Auction House, I have 15 gold and nice bags and wearing alot of good green stuff. I'm doing herbalism/alchemy and my alchemy is a little over 100.

I'll see if I can't get back on Allakhazam and get his profile up on the right-hand side.

- Marc

Ok, got back on Allakhazam. Here is Treesyin's (an anagram of Serenity) WoWReader profile.

Fun and Profit at the Auction House

2007-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Introduction

This guide was written to help players enjoy the time they spend at the Auction House (AH). Every player of WoW will visit the AH many, many times during their gaming career. Why not get the most out of it? Spend a little less gold for the items that you need and get a little more gold for the items that you are selling. Do that often enough and those expensive materials for that high level enchantment will now be affordable. The advanced section is for those gamers that want to become traders on the AH and make some serious gold.

The basics of selling on the AH

In this guide I will be using examples of AH prices. A notation of 12/20 (17) means opening price of 12g, a buyout of 20g and an expected selling price of 17g. The expected selling price is your own personal opinion of what you think that item will sell for on that day. That number will become easier to predict as your experience grows. If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what something is worth then talk to a trusted group mate or guildee. If your friend from school plays on a different server his/her advice may be wrong as prices can vary considerably from server to server.

Never create an auction like 1/50 (40). Nobody will buy it out at 50, they will bid 1g and hope for a windfall. It takes many, many bids to move a 1g starting price up to around a fair price of 40g. You will likely end up selling that 40g item for 5g. You would be much better off listing it as 35/50 (40) particularly if the initial fee is high. The 35g initial price should attract some bids and then you can hope for either continued bidding or a buyout by some player with more gold than brains. Even an auction like 1/30 (40) can backfire on you. Buying a 40g item for 30g is attractive to players but a lot of them will try to bid the 1g and hope for the big score.

Try to bracket the estimated selling price when you set the initial and buyout prices. The example of 35/50 (40) is smart. The initial bid price is a little below what you think the item will sell for. The buyout is about 25% higher than the expected sell price. Always set a buyout since many players simply refuse to bid and will only buy items. If they need something now they buy it now. Not a smart way to buy but their loss is your gain.

You can see if other identical items are for sale on the AH by browsing. Many players just undercut the lowest price currently on the AH when they create an auction. Simple, but effective. The problem is that you may be entering a price war. You can often maximize your selling price by waiting until there is less competition for your item (More on this in the advanced section.).

The AH charges a fee for every item that you try to sell. You will see the fee listed when you place the item in the auction box. It varies, from nothing on nexus crystals to multiple gold for a weapon. Also the longer the item will be listed, the greater the fee. You will pay this fee immediately when you create the auction. If the item sells, the AH will charge you a 5% commission, and you will then get the initial fee back. That is why the item you sold on the AH for 100g shows up as 97g in your mailbox. Think of it as 100 – 5g (5% commission) + 2g initial fee = 97g. It is important to note that you only netted 95g even though 97g was in the mailbox. You paid the initial 2g fee when the auction was created. If the item doesn’t sell then it will show up in your mailbox when the time expires and you will have lost the 2g initial fee.

You can set the length of the auction as 2, 8 or 24 hours. A lot of items are best sold on the 24 hour basis. This gives you the best chance of finding a customer. The 24 hour fee is negligible if you are fairly certain of selling the item in that time period. Some items like player equipment have very high initial fees and are best sold on an 8 hour basis during a busy time on your server. It can be brutal to list an item for multiple 24 hour periods and end up paying more in fees than the item was worth. This is the situation for Darkmoon Faire cards on my server. I laugh every time I see a time limit of very long on a card that has a 2g buyout. Somebody is just giving his or her gold back to Blizzard. Be mindful of the time when your auction expires. Starting an 8 hour auction at 7pm means it expires at 3am. If you have a low minimum bid compared to the buyout then it may sell at minimum price.

It is an old saying in business that the secret to success is to “buy low and sell high”. That is very true for the AH. Most players make the mistake as thinking of the AH as just another NPC vendor in the game. It is not. The difference is that vendor prices are static and AH prices change over time. Recognizing those price cycles is very important. Some price cycles are predictable and you need to take them into account.

Each server has a varying number of players online at any given time. I will use North American servers as an example as they are the most common. In the early morning (2am to 8am server), the players are at a minimum. During the day the number of players is increasing. A lot of players start logging on around 4pm and the numbers peak from 6pm to 11pm. Why is this important? Say you were lucky enough to win a lifestone by rolling 100. When should you sell it? If you rush to the AH at 1am and try and sell it you will only have a few potential buyers online. You’d be far better off waiting until 5pm the next day and trying to sell it then. If everyone is off on guild raids from 7pm to 11pm on your server then you might try to list the item at around 5pm on a 2 hour basis. Seeing a short or medium time limit on an auction does tend to attract more bids.

Server load also varies on a weekly basis. Some players have a life and Friday and Saturday evenings are generally lighter load than other evenings. However, Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoons are busier than weekdays. Generally, it is better for selling when you have more potential customers online.

The basics of buying on the AH

Buying items on the AH for resale will be covered in the advanced section. In this section, I will be discussing buying items for personal use. Items that fall into this category are materials for enchantments, potions and equipment purchases. If you have no gold then you are at the mercy of the sellers in the AH. Without some gold on hand you are unable to take advantage of bargains that you find in the AH. Go farm some herbs, minerals, cloth or leather until you have made some gold.

Mats and potions are commodity items. They will have dozens or hundreds of that item for sale at any given time. The key to getting the items that you need cheaply, is to buy over time. If you are looking to buy 3 x nexus crystals for that uber enchantment then start looking at nexus crystal prices at least a week in advance. Why pay 60g each on Thursday when they are selling for 42g each on Saturday? If you know what nexus crystals are selling for on your server then you can spot the bargains and snap them up.

Potions are the same except you probably want to maintain a stockpile. If you are using 2 stacks of major mana pots a week then you should try to have (say) 8 stacks in the bank. This allows you to avoid buying them at high prices and stock up when a price war is ongoing.

You can sometimes spot bargains by looking at the quantity for sale. If the quantities of illusion dust for sale are 1, 1, 3, 4, 8, 5, 5, 7, 10 (when listed in order by price) then take a closer look at the 8 quantity. Its current bid is lower than the 5’s that follow. If the 5’s are fair priced then the 8’s minimum bid is a deal, it might be worth a bid or even a buyout if the buyout price is also a deal. Be aware that if the 5’s are overpriced then the 8 may not be a bargain. Even if you only need 6 illusion dust, it may still be cheaper to buy the 8 set and sell the 2 leftover.

Equipment purchases are different because they are unique and often expensive items. You will only be buying one in your lifetime. If you are leveling up your character and want a certain item then start browsing for it in advance. That way you will be able to spot the bargain when you see it. If you buy it at a good price and haven’t equipped it yet then you can still resell it if a BoP item comes to you while leveling. An expensive rare item for sale in the AH for 100/200 (150) may be an opportunity to make a deal. If the seller is online and close to you then you might send him a tell offering him 125g. If he takes the item out of auction he doesn’t have to pay the 5% AH fee. So a 125g selling price to him is roughly equal to 131g at auction. A certain 125g may be just what he wants at the time. Yes, you can hope for getting a deal if you bid 100g but low bids like that don’t often end up the winning bid.

You can see if an item already has a bid on it or not. If you click on the item you will see the amount that you will bid on the bottom of the screen. If that is the same as the current bid price then nobody has bid on that item yet. Some sharp player will have an alt place a bid on their items just to make you think that you should buy it out now instead of bidding. If you want to bump a bid up faster than the small increments the AH goes by then you can fill in your bid amount in the same box.

It is harder to find the right time to buy something than to sell something. Basically, you want to find the time when the AH has lots of items for sale but players haven’t snapped up the bargains yet. On my server that seems to be about 5pm, but I am sure that it will vary from server to server. At 5pm a lot of the prior day’s 24 hour auctions are close to expiring and you can buy at minimum bid instead of buyout. Also, the sellers will be creating their new auctions and an occasional deal can be found.

Advanced AH

Think of the AH as a mini game within WoW with gold as the scorecard. To many players, that game would be boring but to a few of us it is worth playing. The benefits are that your character will have the very best enchantments available at all times. You can use pots and oils to enhance your effectiveness. You can help your guild and your guildees with donations. You and your alts will be sporting epics and enchantments and using pots and oils and be wicked solo and very popular in groups.

What does it cost to win the AH game? You need a starting fund of about 200 gold and about 30 minutes a day of time spent in the AH. You have to be willing to take some risks. By spreading your risks around you lower your total risk. Over a few months you will see a solid return on your investment.

The skills you need to sharpen in the AH are knowing what the fair price at the moment for a particular item is and predicting where the price is headed. Once you reach that point you can easily spot the bargains and know when to buy and when to sell. It may take a week or a month of watching the pricing before you have the confidence to invest your hard earned gold. That is not time wasted.

The timing cycles discussed earlier are still applicable but now you have some larger timing cycles to track. You have to watch out for major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, March break etc as they break up the raiding schedule. Less raiding means fewer consumables used but the farming continues steadily. School summer holidays means more farming. These all influence pricing as it is based on supply and demand at the AH. The Darkmoon Faire also can affect pricing of certain items when it is active.

Other larger changes in your server are also important. On a server that is just reaching Molten Core raiding, you can expect the prices on fire resist gear and pots to rise along with the mats to make them. A mature server with many high level players may have a strong market for items that appeal to alts. As I write this I am anticipating the changes from new instances and the importance of nature resistance. A trader in the stock market pays attention to the business cycle and the news. An AH trader has to think ahead as well.

It is almost impossible to be an expert in pricing of every item at all times. It would take hours each day just to track the market. You need to specialize. I specialized in herbs and alchemy, but any category of items will work. Every day or two, I take the time to look at pricing of key herbs and potions to see how they are doing. If I spot any bargains I bid on or buy them out. I have no idea about equipment, leatherworking, tailoring, mining, enchanting, fishing or cooking pricing. I only pay attention to some herbs and some alchemy.

As stated before the key is to buy low and to sell high. It works even better if you provide a service like turning herbs into potions but it can work with just buying and selling. You have to be much sharper on your pricing when you are reselling as the AH fees will wipe out your profits very quickly. I used to sell on AH with pricing like 9/16 (13?) and now I sell at 12/14 (13) because I know the 13 much more accurately.

The initial fee that the AH charges for listing an item can get expensive if a lot of your items fail to sell. You should be targeting a sell through rate of over 50%. At that level, more than 50% of your listed items are selling in 24 hours. If you sell through rate approaches 80% then your prices are too low. Some items like nexus crystals have no initial fee. Players go a little crazy with pricing in those cases. They have nothing to lose.

You also have to understand the quantity of each item that is being used each day. If you know that roughly 8 stacks of major mana pots are being bought each evening then it allows you to get a better price as a supplier of major mana pots. You no longer have to sell at the lowest price. Say that 13g is the fair price for major mana and it is busy time in the AH just before major raiding starts. Say I saw a price listing in AH of 7, 9, 9, 10, 10, 15, 15, 15. There is no need to undercut the lowest price. I would buy the 7g stack and offer 3 stacks at 13g and probably sell them. The 9g is not worth buying and reselling as major mana cost 45s a stack to put in the AH for 24 hours. Too risky to buy and sell for thin margin. If the pricing in the AH was 11, 15, 15, 17, 17, 17 then I might put 5 stacks up for sale at 14g. If the listing were 10, 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 18, 18 then I would not try to sell that day. The key is knowing that roughly 8 stacks are what your server is selling an evening at this time.

You have to know your market. If the market only buys 2 of an item a day on average then it is pointless to offer 10 of those items for sale at one time. In fact, if you offer 10 on the market a lot of buyers will stop buying as they anticipate a drop in market price with such an oversupply in existence.

With few exceptions, items that are listed for sale by your competition will eventually be sold. Maybe they won’t sell today or this week, but eventually the owner will drop the price and dump them. If they get tired of paying 45s to list their major mana pots at 18g then they may dump 20 stacks on the market at one time at 10g a stack. Such are the ups and downs of the market place. If they are desperate enough in their selling prices then an opportunity may be available to you to buy and resell.

It costs about 20g to create an alt with 12 or 14 slot bags, bank and a couple of bags in the bank. That can hold about 100 slots. I highly recommend creating a selling alt. My main manufactures potions for resale and mails them to my alt. The only things my alt does is sell items on the AH and mail gold back to my main. It keeps things simple and reduces the storage load on my main.

You can also invest in a stockpile alt that holds stuff for the long term. Investing in a stockpile of an item can be risky. If the price crashes or even just stagnates then you lose. If artha’s tears or elemental air ever skyrocket then I am going to make a killing. Early in my career I stockpiled a lot of elemental items and did well on fire and earth but other items were dogs. Since then I learned to specialize more. The biggest risk I ever took was stockpiling 200 stacks of dreamfoil. Yes 4,000 dreamfoil or enough to fill two alts bags and their banks. I did well but sold out long before dreamfoil reached its current silly price on my server. I had so much gold invested in dreamfoil I had to delay the purchase of an epic mount for over a month. Sorry, I wont tell you what I am stockpiling at the moment but it wouldn’t help you very much anyways as each server is unique.

Stockpiling allows you to ride out the price fluctuations of day-to-day and week-to-week. If the price of dreamfoil skyrockets then I just use my stockpile to continue to offer major mana pots in the AH. When the price of dreamfoil crashes then I refill my stockpile. In a sense stockpiles is provide server stability on prices.

Mods

There are some popular mods out there for AH trading. I know some players swear by them but they never worked well for me. They also take away the fun factor. The thrill of finding a great deal on the AH is gone. If many people are using the same mod then your profits from running that mod will be minimal. As mods are constantly changing my comments here may be quickly out of date.

Auctioneer tracks pricing history. It finds deals on the AH for you. The problem is that it fails if prices are declining. In the early days of WoW prices were rising steadily. Auctioneer tells you that a particular item is a good buy but it turns out that it only looks cheap compared to what it was selling for a month ago. It is also very slow on a laggy server. As far as I know every server is laggy. When Auctioneer was creating error messages on my screen deep inside BWL I removed it.

I am currently using Auctionit. It has some interesting features and does speed up things a bit. It helps you offer multiple items for sale at the same price by filling in the pricing details for you after the first auction is created. Unfortunately, it is out of date and doesn’t save its settings very well because of a conflict. It has no ability to find deals for you on the AH. That is fine as I am capable of finding my own deals.

Conclusion

An average of thirty minutes a day can yield you thousands of gold in profit after a few months. Yes, you could kill mobs and sell the loot but you are probably pretty tired of that. If you think of the AH as a mini-game within WoW, then why not play the game to win? Some of the skills you acquire at the AH may benefit you in real life. Good luck and good profits.

This was a comment that I thought needed posting...

2007-09-13T21:39:00.001-07:00

Anonymous said...: I disagree with Sirg and a bit with the Origial poster.

Leveling in the outlands is easy and doesn't take much time.

The quests in the outlands seem more clustered together. You go to the various forts/bases in any given zone and you grab between 4 and 8 quests at each fort.

Then you go out and do the quests, many of which may overlap.

Additionally, to level up faster, only play when you have rest experience. The best way to maximize this is to play ever other day when leveling up, and then logout when you have used up your "rest-experience" bonus.

If you have ever wondered how those people who brag about hitting lvl xx in 6-13 days. It's because they only play when they have rest experience and they collect all the quests at once to reduce the time running back and forth to the quest givers.

You don't need to know where everything is.

There are very useful mods to help with questing.

I recommend. Doublewide, TomTom, and lightheaded.

These all affect questing in great ways.

Doublewide improves the quest log display. Lightheaded displays everything you need to know about the quest and TomTom (while using Lightheaded) allows you to click on NPC's related to the quest in the quest log and have them show up as a dot on your minimap and regular map.

So no more wasting time looking for quest goals/targets, etc.

How to Break a World of Warcraft Addiction

2007-08-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

The definition of "addiction" is the state of being enslaved to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (such as narcotics), to such an extent that to discontinue the habit or practice can lead to severe trauma. In other words, you love something so much that you have developed a habit of using it or playing it, to such an extent that not doing so leaves you feeling cranky or nervous; and you are becoming rather inept in other areas of life.

Some experts believe World of Warcraft can be "addictive". Here's a way to break your WoW "addiction".

WoW: Lich King Announced

2007-08-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Blizzard Entertainment on Aug. 3 announced plans for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The news came at the company's BlizzCon gaming festival in Anaheim, Calif., before an audience of more than 8,000 gamers.

Wrath of the Lich King will open the forbidding wasteland of Northrend to exploration, with new levels of power, new dungeons and encounters, a new character profession and the game's first hero class.

Players last visited Northrend in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner'zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful beings in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the forces of the Alliance and the Horde will battle the Scourge.

WoW Film Details Emerge

2007-08-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

Representatives from Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures hosted a panel at the BlizzCon gaming festival in Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend in which they discussed the upcoming film based on the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, according to video-game blog Kotaku.

Speaking at the panel were Blizzard's Paul Sams and Chris Metzen, as well as Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull and Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni. They confirmed that the film will be live-action and will feature some computer-generated environments and effects. The script is still in development, but according to Metzen, the story will take place about a year before the events of World of Warcraft and will be told from the Alliance perspective. There is no director attached yet, but the producers are anticipating a release date in 2009.

'Warcraft' in China replaces skeletons with healthy humans

2007-07-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

HONG KONG — The operators of "World of Warcraft" in China have replaced skeletons with healthy human bodies in the local version of the popular monster-killing online game, a spokesman said Friday, amid a recent government campaign to clean up Internet content.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the changes had sparked a backlash among Chinese players, and that 500 players signed a petition saying they would boycott the game.

James Zhao, spokesman at the Shanghai-based online gaming company The9 Ltd., which is licensed to run "World of Warcraft" in China, said the changes were made to match designs due to be unveiled in an updated version of the game called "The Burning Crusade."

"These are just small operational changes," Zhao said in a phone interview, denying that they were motivated by government policy.

Asked why the skeletons will be replaced by human bodies in the updated version of the game, Zhao said he wouldn't comment on details of the update.

New York-listed The9 launched the new designs amid stricter government scrutiny of Internet content.

President Hu Jintao ordered regulators in January to promote a "healthy online culture" to protect the government's stability, according to state media. In April, Hu was quoted in state media as urging Communist Party leaders to "curb the spread of decadent and backward ideological and cultural material online."

Though China's communist government supports Internet use, it has also set up an extensive surveillance and filtering system to prevent Chinese from accessing material it considers obscene or politically subversive.

The government has banned local authorities from approving new Internet cafes this year.

Xinhua also reported earlier this week that the Chinese update to "World of Warcraft," "The Burning Crusade," is still awaiting government approval. Zhao declined comment.

The report identified a second change to the current game — bones symbolizing dead characters in the game were replaced by graves. Spokesman Zhao said he wasn't aware of any changes other than the bodies for skeletons swap.

Launched by Irvine, Calif.-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc., "World of Warcraft" is the world's most popular online game. In China, it has more than 3.5 million subscribers. Blizzard is a unit of French media company Vivendi SA.

Report: 'World of Warcraft' fan site sold for $1 million

2007-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Posted by Daniel Terdiman

Editor's Note: This blog originally implied that Wowhead trafficked in the secondary market for World of Warcraft gold. But the company says it does not.

There's a lot of buzz in the World of Warcraft fan site universe this morning, with reports and rumors flying about fan sites being sold, about $1 million sale prices and even scuttlebutt about the uber company in the business of selling WoW gold, IGE, having been sold.

According to a report from the blog, TechSoapBox, the WoW site Wowhead has been sold for $1 million.

Another blog, meanwhile, claims that, in fact, Wowhead was purchased by IGE's ex-parent Affinity Media.

Getting away for a second from the complexities of what it all means in the WoW, that's a pretty impressive number if it's true.

Whether or not Wowhead is involved in the WoW gold business--the company says it's not--it's huge business, and it's changing with the sale of IGE, and other recent developments. I don't know any exact numbers--nor does anyone else since the buying and selling of WoW virtual assets, and those of most online games, is prohibited by the games' publishers. But by some estimates, the so-called secondary market for these virtual assets (of all online games) is approaching $1 billion a year.

And if Wowhead doesn't traffic in gold as it claims, then $1 million for a fan site is a lot of money.

More interesting, perhaps, is the fact that IGE has been sold.

When I was at the Virtual Goods Summit at Stanford yesterday, I had a talk with Brock Pierce, IGE's founder, and he didn't say anything about it. It's true, he was wearing a badge from "Affinity Media," and admittedly, I am not entirely up to speed on the latest news in this industry, but rather than suggesting IGE had been sold and Affinity was getting out of the secondary market business, he hinted he wanted to get out.

WoW Visa Credit Card

2007-05-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

The card that pays you to play.

Thoughts on Powerleveling..

2007-04-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

“Level 1 – 60 in 20 days guaranteed! Only $XXX!”

I’m sure these ads look familiar. You seem them on blogs and WoW-related sites. How many of us have used such services? Some Wow players despite it while others are active users.

Sites such as the The Unknown Gamer level your account as a service, and I see no reason as to why someone should be penalized for using such a service. If I want my to skip some of the boring, early levels of the game and get right into the later game action, I shouldn’t be penalized for using a power-leveling service.

Though others would argue it to be ridiculous to pay for a game and pay someone else to play it. Such is the controversy associated with power-leveling in WoW. Furthermore, there is tons of basic knowledge and strategy to the game that only game play experience would provide. Power-leveling overlooks that for first time players.

On the other hand, at the higher levels, it takes an incredible amount of time to just go up a few levels. And what if I want another rogue? Starting a rogue or warrior all over again is entirely out of the question. Leveling from 52 – 57 is ridiculously hard, and I’d prefer to have no part of it. I shouldn’t have to bother of leveling just because I’m on a new realm.

Is Power-leveling for WoW worth the risk of Blizzard or suspending your account? When might it be worth the risk?

Outsourcing your 'Warcraft' skills

2007-02-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

According to an estimate from a company called Power-levels.com, it would take someone starting from scratch 768 hours to reach the highest level you can hit in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

Or, for someone who had already topped out at level 60 in the original WoW, it would take 384 hours to get to the top level, 70, of Burning Crusade.

That's a lot of hours, and if you're one of the many people with limited time who still wants to play online games like WoW at the highest levels, Power-levels.com and a growing number of competitors may have just the solution. That is, if you're OK with breaking the rules, as well as what some say is the spirit of the games.

These game consultants sell what are known as power-leveling services. Essentially, that means that for a fee, they will take over your account in any one of a large number of online games and put in the work required to get you where you want to be.

That level 70 Burning Crusade power-up costs $556. The jump from level 60 to 70: $239.

For some time, high-level wannabes have been able to go to places like eBay to purchase entire accounts from retiring players. In doing so, they acquire special weapons, armor, tools or spells with the aim of getting to a place in a game beyond what they could do without help.

But in the wake of eBay's decision to delist all auctions for the assets of online games, some may be wondering where else they can turn. The power-leveling companies think they have the answer.

"They give us their character name, their password and they tell us which level they want us to reach for them," said Flora Chen, manager of Guy4Game, a power-leveling company based in Canada that also has operations in China, Korea, Japan and Mexico. "Some just want to reach levels as fast as possible, so they say to (play for them) 24 hours a day."

Outfits like Guy4Game, Power-levels.com, Power-level.net and GmLvl.com say they're pulling in serious business. For example, GmLvl.com says on its Web site that it employs more than 2,000 people solely for the purpose of helping clients get where they want to be. By comparison, Guy4Game's has a staff of 150 full-time workers.

Chen said Guy4Game has a client list of more than 100,000 customers, though there is no way to verify that number.

There's no telling how many power-leveling companies exist: online searches using various terms easily produce dozens. But that such an industry exists--for dozens of online games--is noteworthy, particularly because publishers of online games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest and City of Heroes don't allow their players to engage in such behavior.

Against terms of service
"Sony Online is aware that it happens, and we do not condone it," said Courtney Simmons, head of public relations for EverQuest II publisher Sony Online Entertainment. "It is against our terms of service...You (cannot) give anyone else access to (your) account."

Blizzard Entertainment, publisher of WoW, takes the same position as Sony Online.

"Making use of a power-leveling service," Blizzard said in an e-mail statement Monday, "is a violation of our account-sharing policy. This policy is discussed in World of Warcraft's terms of use, which players agree to prior to playing."

Blizzard added that because customers paying power-leveling services give over full access to their accounts, there is no way to prove that the services perpetrated any fraud (if a customer has such a complaint) while those accounts were in use.

Fraud or no fraud, if a customer wants to jump to level 70 of Burning Crusade and have a flying mount and a high riding score, but doesn't have the time to achieve such a goal, he can have someone else do it for him.

Chen said Guy4Game's clients ask for all kinds of things. Some want to rise to their desired level as fast as possible. Others want steady progress, but still want to be able to play when they want. So they ask to have access to their own accounts for certain hours of the day. The rest of the time, Guy4Game is in charge.

Similarly, some players demand to deal with power-leveling service representatives who speak English, or Japanese, or Korean. That's why Guy4Game has employees in those countries, Chen said.

In the eyes of regular players, however, those who utilize power-leveling services aren't sticking to the spirit of the games.

"Using a service to level a character is pretty universally regarded as a 'lamer' move," said Eric Haller, a San Francisco investor and long-time WoW player. "You will definitely not earn anyone's respect if they know you have paid for your levels."

In fact, Haller said he thinks the general perception of people who use power-leveling services, as well as those who buy well-stocked characters or advanced weaponry off of eBay or other secondary markets is that they are unfairly cutting corners.

"I think it is perceived as a form of cheating," Haller said. "Not necessarily in the sense of breaking the rules, but more in the sense of being a somewhat weak player who is unable to use (their) skills to acquire things. (It's) sort of like it is confusing to me why someone would pay $50 for a game and then $20 for a guide to walk them through it. Isn't the fun in the play?"

To Simmons, the problem behind power leveling has to do more with logistics than with fun. That, she said, is because Sony Online Entertainment gets customer service complaints all the time from players who have had their accounts stolen or compromised after using power-leveling services. Sony won't ban players who get caught using contractors, but they're on their own with customer service problems.

But Sony has little sympathy for such customers.

"Players are responsible for the security of their own accounts," Simmons said. "And players that use those types of services are at risk of having their accounts stolen or compromised."

By Daniel Terdiman
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

'Warcraft': A world in transition

2007-02-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

It might seem odd that World of Warcraft's publisher decided to tinker with the game's core experience in releasing the new expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

The massively multiplayer online role-playing game, after all, has reached more than 8 million players and is among the most popular online games of all time, especially in the United States. Why mess with that kind of success?

Yet tinker Blizzard Entertainment did, and the WoW community has responded with enthusiasm: the company sold more than 2.4 million copies of the $39.99 Burning Crusade expansion in the first 24 hours after its January 16 launch. Among other additions, the expansion includes a new continent, two new races and a new profession: jewel crafting.

But while players seem largely satisfied with BC, as it's known, some also worry that the millions of people still playing the original game, especially those at the highest levels, are left with a somewhat barren version of the adventure they're used to.

"Blizzard deliberately killed their (original) game," said Katrina Glerum, a veteran WoW player who, like thousands of others, stood in line for hours to be among the first to purchase the expansion. The original game "is dead," she said. "Most of the work Blizzard did for the past two years building interesting content to keep (players of the original game) amused is dead."

World of Warcraft launched in 2004. Players in the U.S. pay $15 a month to play, and that has brought hundreds of millions of dollars into Blizzard's coffers.

Glerum said she is, for the most part, enjoying her experiences with BC, but it's clear she and the millions of other players who have upgraded are in transition. That adjustment is fueled mainly by the fact that players of the original WoW topped out at level 60, while BC permits going up to level 70 (higher levels give players access to stronger weapons, tools and so on).

A higher maximum level means several things for players, Glerum said.

First, many guilds (groups of players) that previously spent much of their time on raids in search of loot or in battles with monsters or other enemies, have either disbanded altogether or been forced into a waiting period as players busily try to work their way up the level scale.

"(Raiding) guilds' main activities were organizing and holding raids and high-level runs for loot," Glerum said. "They are all completely on hiatus until everyone gets their (characters) up to 70. In fact, many of the super high-end raiding guilds stopped playing and even broke up a couple months ago in preparation for BC."

For its part, Blizzard said it hasn't abandoned the original game, though it does acknowledge wanting to give it a swift kick in the pants.

"I don't feel we deliberately killed the (original) game," said Jeff Kaplan, lead designer of WoW. "What we were attempting to do was give people a new ceiling on the game. In a level-capped game (where people can't rise above a certain level), when the level is raised, what people came to know would grow. We would have ended up losing a lot of people for lack of anything new."

Kaplan added that by extending WoW, raising the level cap and adding new races and content, Blizzard was trying to ensure the continued existence of the WoW franchise.

"We have no intention of letting it stagnate," Kaplan said. "What I think we attempted to do with BC is extend the life of World of Warcraft a little longer and give people more of the WoW that they had come to love."

For the Rev. A.K.M. Adam, a real-life Evanston, Ill., priest who also plays the role of a priest in BC, the expansion has been an enjoyable experience, albeit one that leaves him a little wistful for the original version.

Adam said he likes the scene design in BC, as well as some of the content that's been added. But he noted that one change, which limits raiding parties to 25 players instead of the old limit of 40, has been disappointing, even if it is understandable.

"I miss the large 40-(person) raids," Adam said.

At the same time, he sees how smaller raiding parties mean individual players play a more important role than in the larger ones found in the original version.

"By making the smaller-group instances as valuable as the large raids, they allow players to enjoy the game to the fullest in ways that differ along with their preferred style," Adam said.

Kaplan agreed, saying Blizzard felt that the 40-player raiding groups left some feeling marginalized.

"Certain players started to feel a little bit alienated by the larger raid size," Kaplan said. "With the smaller raid size, your individual contribution counts a little bit more...We felt that 25 was enough to capture the epic feel of raiding."

For Kelly Wallace, an Atlanta attorney who had been playing with four level-60 characters in the original game, BC is an entirely new experience.

"In my opinion, it's really made WoW a very different game for those folks who had been playing at level 60," Wallace said. "It is as if a big reset button was pressed."

Wallace said he has had little trouble transitioning to BC, but notes, like Glerum, that the expansion has basically rendered the original game moot.

"This is now the game of Warcraft," Wallace said. "There is absolutely zero reason for players to ever go back to (the original game) because the rewards available in (BC) are better and, for the most part, easier to obtain."

But he noted that central locations from the original game, like Ironforge, an important city, are now nearly empty.

"Previously, players on my server with slower or older computers had a hard time navigating in Ironforge because of all the other players in that zone," Wallace said. "These days, Ironforge is a ghost town. Just about everyone is in Outland (a main region in the expansion), and I can't imagine that any of the old capitals will ever experience the bustle that they had pre-BC."

Kaplan said Blizzard has made a point of ensuring that there are still things to do in the original cities like Ironforge and that there is still plenty of traffic there.

"There's not the same density as there used to be," Kaplan said, "but I don't think it's hit the level of ghost town yet either."

To Glerum, one consequence of the expansion is that there are relatively few opportunities for level-60 players to continue to participate in player vs. player battles without upgrading.

That, she said, is because there are few battlefields left on which to fight non-upgraded players, a condition that's exacerbated because the WoW universe is in transition as most players are off fighting non-player characters in their attempt to "level up" to 70.

Still, that is more an observation than a complaint. In fact, Glerum said she's very impressed with BC.

"The art is gorgeous," Glerum said. The writing of the two new races of characters introduced in BC and the new quests "is beautiful," she said. "The new music is generally good (and) sometimes inspired. I am finding it just fun to play."

1UP's World of Warcraft blog

2007-01-29T21:13:00.000-08:00

1UP's World of Warcraft blog

WOW: Crusade Breaks Records

2007-01-25T21:07:00.001-08:00

Blizzard Entertainment announced that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, the first expansion of its massively multiplayer online role-playing game, has broken first-day sales records to become the fastest-selling PC game ever in North America and Europe. The title has sold a total of nearly 2.4 million copies worldwide in its first 24 hours of availability, the company said.

The Burning Crusade was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia on Jan. 16 and in Australia and New Zealand the following day.

Blizzard supplied more than 4 million game boxes to retailers worldwide, and more than 5,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players.

Day-one sales totals on both continents were similar, with an estimated 1.2 million copies sold on the first day in North America and an estimated 1.1 million copies sold in Europe within the first 24 hours of launch. By the end of the first day of availability on both continents, a total of more than 1.7 million players had already logged in and upgraded World of Warcraft to play The Burning Crusade.

The first expansion for Blizzard's uber-selling online RPG launches. Here's our day one review.

2007-01-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

By: Mike Smith

Posted: 16 Jan 2007

Logged into World of Warcraft lately? Yeah, you and 7,999,999 other people around the world. Very soon, you'll notice Azeroth suddenly filling with female Blood Elf paladins and male Draeni shamans, while all the level 60 characters suddenly discover lots of new and exciting things to do. That is, if you can log in at all. Yup, the Burning Crusade is upon us, and we have the skinny.

First up, Burning Crusade tackles three problems that have faced Warcraft's character range ever since its launch. Specifically, the Horde can't play paladins, the Alliance can't play shamans, and all the Horde races are an ugly bunch (which is, admittedly, aligned with the faction's nature). Now the full set of character classes is open to both Horde and Alliance players, plus, perhaps more importantly for Alliance-skewed PvP servers, the Horde has a race with cute-looking female models.

Meanwhile, the Alliance has a race with ugly blue blobby models. It's tough to get too excited about the Draeni just because of that, although their racial abilities -- a heal, a couple of passive party bonuses, and a bonus to the new trade skill Jewelcrafting -- are decent. The Draeni city, Exodar, is constructed from the wreck of a giant dimension-jumping spacecraft, even. Best of all, their dance animation is inspired by the great Daler Mehndi.

Sure, these pseudo-sci-fi lands of the Draeni are appealing, in a sterile sort of way. We're wondering what a race that can build spaceships is doing poncing about in fields waving swords, but that's another story -- and there's probably some hackneyed Warcraft lore explanation for it all. No, the Blood Elf lands are the place to be, with their second stopping zone, Ghostlands, being the best looking WOW zone so far.

Besides, Blood Elves get to ride on chocobos. Chocobos, man! Sure, the game calls them something else, but we don't care. That's reason enough to play a Blood Elf right there, as if the lithe models and appealing magic-focused racial abilities weren't enough.

Jewelcrafting, the new trade skill added by Burning Crusade, promises to add more customizability to your kit. Experienced jewelcrafters can make rings and necklaces, but most of the appeal comes from their ability to prepare gems for insertion in special "socketed" armor and weapons. Diablo II player will recognize this idea, of course.

Is it worth giving up an existing profession for it? You'll need a lot of materials to level jewelcrafting up, and they'll command high prices in the early days of the expansion as everyone and their dog tries it out. All this supply will also mean you'll have a hard time selling goods you create. It's quite the money sink, but it's certainly worth checking out if you're creating a new character.

So how about the new zones? Your trip to the Outlands will start with a stroll through the imposing Dark Portal and continue with what'll likely be quite some time in Hellfire Peninsula, probably the largest and most complex zone in the game so far. Your journey to level 70 will take in plenty of new zones, new instances, flying mounts -- you know, the usual stuff.

Did we say flying mounts? Yes: gryphons for Alliance characters and wyverns for the Horde, although there are rarer ones for the more uber players. Some Outlands content simply can't be accessed without one, so even without the considerable coolness factor, they're an essential purchase on reaching 70. Sadly, you can't use them outside the Outlands - these zones simply aren't set up for flying, although there's a chance that'll change in future.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to head through the portal, though, especially if you're on a PvP server. Remember how crowded the starting zones were when the game first released? Although Blizzard promise they have new strategies to adjust spawn rates to cope with demand, it remains to be seen how well they'll handle the launch day crowds. If you are on a PvP server, you'll not only have crowds, you'll have gankers to contend with as well. In other words, it's not going to be pretty, even if the servers can take the strain. If they can, it'll be a first for Blizzard.

Those who opt to leave the Outlands for another day and create Blood Elf or Draeni characters aren't guaranteed a smooth ride, either -- those zones will be nearly as crowded, although new characters should leave the 1-10 starting zones faster than the level 60 crowd will vacate Hellfire Peninsula. However you slice it, you're not going to find a low-stress Burning Crusade experience for some time.

But you should buy it anyway. Why? Because we're all ready for more, and there's plenty more here. Burning Crusade is an essential purchase for any serious World of Warcraft player -- but then we knew that, right? Any serious World of Warcraft player has had their Collector's Edition on pre-order for months already, and they've already polished their staffs in anticipation of dressing up for the midnight launch ceremony. (Speaking of, check back later this week for our video coverage of this event!)

Casual players, unless you're hurting for things to do with your level 60s or just can't live without playing a Blood Elf, need not be in so much of a hurry. Skip the queues and the aggro; let the hardcore, poop-in-a-sock crowd have their fun, because the Outlands will still be there when they've all raced through it and are farming whichever new instance has the best loot-to-effort ratio. In fact, casual players -- or, indeed, anyone with a low frustration threshold -- might just as well plan on finding something else to do with the next few weeks.

When it finally smoothes out, Burning Crusade players will have a whole new continent to explore, two compelling new races, a useful new profession, and a pile of other worthwhile changes. Launch issues aside, there's absolutely no reason why any World of Warcraft player should hesitate to pick it up. Consider it essential.

Finally, the Warcraft wait is over

2007-01-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Blizzard Entertainment due to release new expansion today

By MATT SLAGLE
Associated Press

DALLAS -- Each day, millions of people around the world gaze at their computer screens to explore a dangerous fantasy world of treasure-filled dungeons and flame-breathing dragons, a land where mortal enemies lurk around every corner.

It's the World of Warcraft, the most successful online game ever, and it's a world about to get a whole lot bigger with today's release of a $39.99 enhancement called The Burning Crusade.

From China to the United States, from Australia to Europe, more than 8 million registered users now pay up to $15 a month to gather with hundreds of other real people who masquerade as digital avatars in the never-ending fantasy world of Azeroth.

The Burning Crusade adds new locales such as Karazhan, Hellfire Citadel and Tempest Keep to Azeroth, and presents a spiraling war against demonic forces where the game's two opposing factions — the Alliance and the Horde — will face powerful new enemies.

Trey Hancock, 26, has been shooting fireballs and frost novas to crush his mortal enemies in the video game World of Warcraft since it first launched in 2004. In his years of playing, the Houston resident led a guild of more than 200 people and raised four characters to the current top level of 60 — including his main character, a mage named Oraj.

Like many others, Hancock said he took a break in anticipation of the expansion, where his first goal will be to take Oraj to level 70.

"I haven't played for the last week because I know once it comes out, I'm going to be playing it nonstop," he said.

It's just the sort of enthusiasm the company behind the game, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., is banking on.

"We were going to be happy if we got a million worldwide subscribers; we didn't feel like that was shooting the moon," said Rob Pardo, Blizzard's vice president of game design and the lead designer for World of Warcraft. "The way it blew up is far beyond our wildest expectations. But now that we are at the mark we are, we feel there's still an ability to grow that customer base even further."

Released in November 2004, World of Warcraft brought several new elements to the genre of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs. Most significant, it was simple to play and a had high level of polish, according to Jon Wood, managing editor of the gaming Web site MMORPG.com.

"I think Blizzard looked at what was out there and found out what worked and what didn't work," he said. "The truth of the matter is, the game is very polished. The fact that it's very smooth and easy to learn has put them out front."

Pardo said polish has always been the mantra for the game's creators.

"It's extremely complicated, all the things we have to get right," he said. "We were on track for a Christmas release, but we really felt like we should make sure the product's right for our customers."

Warcraft's popularity has transcended video game culture and spawned a series of action figures, comic books, novels and trading cards.

The game was even the focus of a recent South Park episode where Eric Cartman and friends balloon into overweight, pimply video addicts bent on defeating a rampaging player who threatens the very existence of the game.

The pop culture references extend into the game world, too. If you type "/dance" as a male Blood Elf, for example, your character will strut around with moves similar to the überdorky hero of Napoleon Dynamite.

"We're all entertainment geeks ourselves," Pardo said. "Part of our design process is having fun and putting in those references. It's kind of our way of giving homage to the things that inspire us."

David Daryani, owner of Tru-Gamerz video gaming center in Dallas, said his customers regularly queue up to play the game, especially on the weekends. As a longtime WoW player himself, Daryani, 38, said he hasn't played much lately but was looking forward to seeing the new content and returning to his favorite activity: player versus player combat.

"If you have a bad day, you get on and say 'I'm just going to kick some Alliance butt,' " he said. "It just relieves some stress."

Late 'Warcraft' expansion pack to debut

2007-01-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

DALLAS — Each day, millions of people around the world gaze at their computer screens to explore a dangerous fantasy world of treasure-filled dungeons and flame-breathing dragons, a land where mortal enemies lurk around every corner.

It's the "World of Warcraft," the most successful online game ever, and it's a world about to get a whole lot bigger with Tuesday's release of a $39.99 enhancement called "The Burning Crusade."

"The Burning Crusade" adds new locales such as Karazhan, Hellfire Citadel and Tempest Keep to Azeroth, and presents a spiraling war against demonic forces where the game's two opposing factions — the Alliance and the Horde — will face powerful new enemies.

Players will have access to the new realm of Outland that's nearly as large as the existing game world, and the highest level characters can achieve has been raised from 60 to 70.

There are two new races to choose from as well: the remnants of an ancient space-faring civilization called the Draenei, and the Blood Elves, who are addicted to arcane magic.

But in a market already overpopulated with dwarves, paladins and trolls, is there room for even more of the same? If fans are any indication, the answer is a definite yes.

Trey Hancock, 26, has been shooting fireballs and frost novas to crush his mortal enemies in the video game "World of Warcraft" since it first launched in 2004. In his years of playing, the Houston resident led a guild of more than 200 people and raised four characters to the current top level of 60 — including his main character, a mage named Oraj.

Like many others, Hancock said he took a break in anticipation of the expansion, where his first goal will be to take Oraj to level 70.

"I haven't played for the last week because I know once it comes out I'm going to be playing it nonstop," he said.

It's just the sort of enthusiasm the company behind the game, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., is banking on.

"We were going to be happy if we got a million worldwide subscribers, we didn't feel like that was shooting the moon," said Rob Pardo, Blizzard's vice president of game design and the lead designer for "World of Warcraft." "The way it blew up is far beyond our wildest expectations. But now that we are at the mark we are, we feel there's still an ability to grow that customer base even further."

Released in November 2004, "World of Warcraft" brought several new elements to the genre of massive multiplayer online roleplaying games, or MMORPGs. Most significantly, it was simple to play and a had high level of polish, according to Jon Wood, managing editor of the gaming Web site MMORPG.com.

Pardo said polish has always been the mantra for the game's creators.

"It's extremely complicated, all the things we have to get right," he said. "We were on track for a Christmas release but we really felt like we should make sure the product's right for our customers."

"Warcraft's" popularity has transcended video game culture and spawned a series of action figures, comic books, novels and trading cards.

The game was even the focus of a recent "South Park" episode where Eric Cartman and friends balloon into overweight, pimply video addicts bent on defeating a rampaging player who threatens the very existence of the game.

The pop culture references extend into the game world, too. If you type "/dance" as a male Blood Elf, for example, your character will strut around with moves similar to the uberdorky hero of the movie "Napoleon Dynamite."

"We're all entertainment geeks ourselves," Pardo said. "Part of our design process is having fun and putting in those references. It's kind of our way of giving homage to the things that inspire us."

David Daryani, owner of Tru-Gamerz video gaming center in Dallas, said his customers regularly queue up to play the game, especially on the weekends. As a longtime "WoW" player himself, Daryani, 38, said he hasn't played much lately but was looking forward to seeing the new content and returning to his favorite activity: player versus player combat.

"If you have a bad day, you get on and say 'I'm just going to kick some Alliance butt,'" he said. "It just relieves some stress."

Burning Crusade CE fetching $$$ on eBay

2007-01-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

Sold-out deluxe edition of first expansion to popular MMOG is drawing almost three times its retail price on online auction site.

By Tim Surette, GameSpot

Posted Jan 4, 2007 4:58 pm PT

The eBay bonanza of next-gen console auctions was all the rage over the holiday season, with shoppers hoping to snag a hard-to-find Wii or PlayStation 3 and willing to pay extra for the convenience. The console auctions have since settled down dramatically, but now a new gaming product high in demand and low in supply is getting attention in auctions.

The Collector's Edition of the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Expansion Pack is drawing bids of almost three times its retail price on eBay. The add-on to the popular PC game will be launched in mid-January, and preorders of the expansion's deluxe edition have been sold out for months.

The CE of The Burning Crusade retails for $69.99 and includes the Art of the Burning Crusade book, a behind-the-scenes DVD, two WOW trading card packs with three exclusive cards, a mouse pad, the soundtrack, and an exclusive in-game pet.

In addition to the aforementioned goodies, the CE is a rare commodity for those who play the game, which had amassed 7.5 million subscribers worldwide as of November.

When asked how many copies of the Collector's Edition would be released, a Blizzard representative told GameSpot, "We're unable to provide a specific number, but we can say that a very limited quantity of them will be made and no more will be reprinted after the initial allotment."

Currently, some auctions for the CE of the original World of Warcraft are going for more than $300.

On the Blogger home page...

2006-12-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

The new version of Blogger in beta is dead!
Long live the new version of Blogger!

(P.S. The old version of Blogger is not dead, but it would like to retire for a little while... maybe go to Hawaii or play World of Warcraft all day? It begs you to let it play World of Warcraft all day.)

I'm still playing...

2006-11-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

I have been 29 since August playing in the BGs. I play nearly every night too.

I so enjoy the PvP.

Game Statistics

2006-11-29T21:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Game Stats page! This page provides you with up-to-date statistics about some of the most important aspects of World of Warcraft: most sought-after items in the Auction House, most common player-created items, the fiercest killers in the NPC kingdom, most gathered and found items, most looted items, and the most popular quests. Click on one of the banners below to see more.

These stats are updated daily and you can even do a side-by-side comparison for up to seven days to see how the statistics are progressing, so make sure to check back often!

WoW Screenshots

2006-10-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

a WoW blog I ran into

WoW meets South Park

2006-10-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft Addict Blog

2006-09-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

Nice looking new WoW blog

Kaliban's Class Loot Lists

2006-09-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

Kaliban's Class Loot Lists

I started playing again...

2006-09-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Back in the second week of June thanks to my buddy TK.

I started a mage and have been enjoying him. I did not want to try PvP but TK had me play one game of WSG and I was hooked. I stayed 19 for weeks and now I have been 29 for weeks. I hate to move on.

Chinese Coke / WoW commercial

2006-09-09T06:07:00.000-07:00

Warcraft Conquers The World

2006-09-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

Less than two years after its introduction, World of Warcraft, made by Blizzard Entertainment, is on pace to generate more than $1 billion in revenue this year with almost 7 million paying subscribers and has become the first truly global video game hit since Pac-Man in the early 1980s, The New York Times reported.

That makes the massively multiplayer online role-playing game one of the most lucrative entertainment media properties of any kind, the newspaper reported. Almost every other subscription online game, including EverQuest II and Star Wars: Galaxies, measures its customers in hundreds of thousands or even just tens of thousands.

Warcraft has more players in China, where it has engaged in co-promotions with major brands such as Coca-Cola, than in the United States: There are more than 3 million players in China and slightly fewer than 2 million in the United States. And as with most video games, a clear majority of players worldwide are male.

There is also a rabid legion of fans in South Korea, which has the world's most fervent gaming culture, and more than a million people play in Europe.

Since the game’s introduction in November 2004, the company has expanded to more than 1,800 employees from around 400. Almost all of the additions have been customer-service representatives to handle World of Warcraft players.

There are servers customized for six written languages: English, both simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, German and French. Spanish is in development.

Recipe Database

2006-06-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

If you have ever wanted to know what recipes are available for your profession, Warcry's World of Warcraft fan site now has a complete list of recipes, including what reagents they require, and what they create, all able to be arranged by profession type.
World of Warcraft WarCry : Recipe Database

ALL YOUR BLOG ARE BELONG TO US

2006-06-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

A nice looking WoW blog.
ALL YOUR BLOG ARE BELONG TO US

Guides - Darkmoon Faire

2006-06-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Guides - Darkmoon Faire

Truefaith Vestments

2006-06-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Robe for Priests
Thottbot World of Warcraft: Truefaith Vestments

Robe of the Archmage

2006-06-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Thottbot World of Warcraft: Robe of the Archmage

Warcraft's Azeroth Gets Blogged

2006-04-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

The international blog site Metroblogging has added Azeroth, a fictional territory in the world of the online role-playing game World of Warcraft, to its list of 45 real cities from around the world. This is the first "virtual city" listed on Metroblogging and could be the beginning of a whole new niche of blogging that Boingboing.net facetiously called "MMORPBLOGGING."

Metroblogging co-founder Sean Bonner told SCI FI Wire that the Azeroth blog is different from other Warcraft blogs because writers "living in the city" are posting information related to life in Azeroth itself, versus the news commonly found on most other Warcraft blogs.

"Since we use WoW so much like a physical place, we wanted to see if talking about something virtual—as opposed to a physical city, like the other blogs—would work," Bonner said in an interview. "WoW is really a space where people go and hang out and 'live,' so to speak. Our approach to the Azeroth blog is the same [as] with other cities on Metroblogging. It's a bunch of people who live in the city talking about life in that city. And instead of reporting that Blizzard's going to release this patch or that macro, like the 20 or 30 blog sites out there now, this is more about the people playing the game and treating it like a place, rather than a game that's being played."

The Azeroth blog was launched on April 14 and has since grown in content and traffic by the day. The site receives on average 5,000 hits per day and is updated regularly with new content, such as a recently added glossary of commonly used words.

Bonner and his co-founding friend, Jason Defillippo, launched Metroblogging in November 2003 with the Los Angeles blog. Since then, Metroblogging has expanded to cover cities around the world, including Istanbul, Tokyo and cities in Pakistan, as well as most major American cities.

"There's already tons of blogs for every game," Bonner said. "They're usually news-type sites or blogs reporting on the game itself. There's even role-playing blogs, where people are blogging as their character in specific cities in games. But we didn't want to take that approach, either."
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel

'World of Warcraft' battles server problems

2006-04-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

With 6 million subscribers, each of whom pays $15 a month, Blizzard Entertainment's online game "World of Warcraft" has become a billion-dollar enterprise.

Now comes the hard part: Making sure WoW is always up and running. Some players are angered by ongoing server problems that have led the game to crash without warning while they were playing. Complaints have also surfaced about long lag times and frustrating waits to even play.

Despite Blizzard's contention that it's been keeping WoW customers informed of system problems at all times, some players contend that the company has been slow to react to complaints and reluctant to offer support when problems arise.

According to players, the problems have been especially acute since Blizzard implemented its last major patch to WoW, in late March. At that time, the company acknowledged it had some temporary server problems but said they'd resolve themselves within hours. But some players say that ever since then, they're routinely encountered "urgent maintenance" that can result in being booted from the game at any time.

"Being a system administrator myself, I have some understanding of what goes on in a corporate data center," said Evgeny Krevets, a sometimes-frustrated WoW player. "I don't know Blizzard's system setup. What I do know is that if I kept performing 'urgent maintenance' and taking the service down without warning for eight-hour periods, I would be out of a job."

Blizzard blames some of the problems--such as the disconnection, for several hours on Friday, of players linked to several servers--on AT&T, its network provider. (AT&T did not respond to a request for comment.)

It also argues that online games like WoW that have to manage hundreds of thousands, or millions, of accounts, are simply prone to network issues.

"Due to the complex nature of massively multiplayer games like 'World of Warcraft,' technical issues such as the ones some of our players have experienced recently may occur on occasion," Blizzard spokeswoman Lisa Jensen, said in an e-mail to CNET News.com. "Our commitment to our players is to provide effective solutions as quickly and carefully as possible whenever any such situation occurs."

WoW is what is known as a "sharded" online game. That means the game's many players are divided up among a large number of servers, or "shards," because no individual server could handle the full player base. This is common in the online games space.

As a result, players can usually choose which server they wish to play on, and each server can take on its own characteristics due to the specific guilds that play on them. In some games, like "EverQuest II," different servers can even have different operating rules.

Certainly, WoW is hardly the first online service to be hit by network and server problems. Over the years, services like eBay, Amazon.com and E*Trade have all dealt with various forms of outages.

And even some WoW players who are frustrated by the inconsistency of their game acknowledge that providing constant uptime is tricky, especially considering how fast the service has grown.

"I don't know how much I fault (Blizzard), since many of my own companies have had scaling problems," said Joi Ito, a venture capitalist who has put money into well-known online outfits such as Technorati, and who runs a WoW guild--or team--filled with other tech executives and well-known bloggers. "However, the uptime is really not (at an acceptable) level for a real commercial service, so I hope they get better."
Ito said the server problems have been particularly frustrating for him and his guild members because of the particular flavor of virtual "quests" they often run in WoW.

"Difficulty logging in (and) servers going down--it's become a normal part of our lives," Ito said. "It really does suck for us because we're running higher-level (quests) where it takes us a few hours to get to the (goal) and sometimes the server suddenly goes down right near the end before we finish. And they are unannounced (and) you just see people on the server--guild list--start dropping off."

Another member of Ito's guild said he too had been having problems with the WoW servers, though of a different nature.
"I have waited to get online the last couple times I have played," said Eric Haller, a San Francisco blogger and investor.
"We moved (servers) because the old server was doing that, and now the brand new server is having the same issues."
Haller said he attributes the wait times--often about 10 to 15 minutes--to WoW's growth being so fast. He joked about how long he has to wait.

"When you live on Internet time, 10 minutes can seem like an eternity of delayed gratification," Haller said, "so it can be pretty frustrating."

Not all WoW players have experienced the server problems, and even some who have complained note that the issue may be slowly resolving itself.

"I decided to switch to another server over a week ago," Krevets said. "The amount of issues and problems I experienced were just too much for me. The new server that I've been playing on has not experienced any log-in problems or queues, so I've been quite happy so far."

In any case, with no shortage of massively multiplayer online games, such as "EverQuest," "City of Heroes," "Ultima Online" and others, on the market, some might wonder why angry WoW players don't just walk away.

But some say WoW has reached its 6 million subscriber threshold--no other American massively multiplayer online game has even broken a million--because its game play is easier to grasp for mainstream players. And because there are few other practical options for many such players, they feel Blizzard should take the performance problems more seriously.

"The thing is, there is no other real alternative" to WoW, Ito said. "So they sort of have a natural monopoly, and that's why people are so mad, I think. They can't vote with their feet. They just have to wait. And 'Blizz' has to realize that they have millions of hours of people's time hostage and should feel that responsibility."
'World of Warcraft' battles server problems CNET News.com

Families unite for online games

2006-04-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

The Holman family gets together practically every weeknight and most weekends these days, even though Jean is in Dupont Circle, her father and sister Susan are in Pennsylvania, and her uncle and cousin are in Texas.

Together, they're also in Tyria, the virtual world of a fantasy computer game called Guild Wars, where they form the "Jelo" team, fighting the undead and other groups of players as a family unit. Along the way, they also might plan vacations or share family gossip.

Although computer games have often been thought of as a pastime for the antisocial, communal online worlds such as the one in Guild Wars are the hottest things in games these days. The most popular title in this genre, World of Warcraft, has more than 5 million subscribers -- all text-chatting with their fellow players or using microphones and headsets to collaborate on the latest monster-killing mission.

Game companies don't track how many families play online games together, but they say the trend helps drive their popularity. Some families play games to maintain contact from far-flung towns; some parents play online games with their kids in the next room as a way of bonding with them. Game designer Jack Emmert, at Guild Wars publisher NCsoft Corp., played his own game, City of Heroes, to stay in touch when his brother was serving in the Army and based in Korea.

If games are sometimes used to preserve familial bonds, they also can create those bonds. The game designers at Mythic Entertainment Inc. in Fairfax were recently invited to a wedding taking place this fall; the bride and groom met inside the online world of Mythic's flagship title, Dark Age of Camelot.

Academics are just starting to dig in to the effects of computer and video games on players, and there isn't much consensus. Professor James Paul Gee, in the department of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin and the author of books examining the educational aspects of video games, argues that games are more a social pastime than an antisocial one.

"The prediction that this was going to be an isolating technology turned out to be so thoroughly wrong," said Gee, who sees the worlds forming in these games as a new type of public space. Gee started studying video games five years ago and ended up with a World of Warcraft habit of his own -- he plays on a team with other professors and academics.

Constant conversation
The Holman family formed its game squad after Christmas. On a recent rainy Saturday, Jean Holman is parked on her sofa with her dog, Scooter, and a bloody mary. On her laptop computer, team Jelo is fighting to clear out members of the Undead Army, which has taken over the Temple of Tolerance. There is a constant stream of conversation among the Holmans as they play, carried via a separate voice-chat program they installed on their computers.

Everybody on the team has a job. Jean, 34, who goes by the name Heather Greer in Guild Wars, is Jelo's "healer" -- a magical medic who patches up her teammates as they incur battle wounds from Grasping Ghouls and Skeleton Mesmers. A box on the right of the screen tells her which of her teammates' game characters are healthy and which are about to get killed; by clicking a few buttons on her keyboard and mouse, she's able to help keep her team alive by casting spells, though sometimes the magic runs low and they die.

As the mission progresses, sister Susan, 30, and Jean argue about who should get to set off certain events in the game or interact with some of the in-game characters. When the monsters are all safely dispatched, an hour or so later, Jean's dad takes his character down to a nearby beach for a swim. Jean's and Susan's characters run off and talk about the fashion choices they have made for their online personas.

"We fight; we get lost," is how Jean summarizes a typical session, which can run three or four hours. "In fact, it's identical to some of the summer vacations we've taken together." She plays the game so much, she's gotten behind on favorite TV show, "Smallville," which she records on her TiVo. When Tom DeLay announced he would resign from Congress, the family heard the news from Mike, Jean's uncle, while they were online, playing the game.

In some ways, the Holmans replicate their real-world relationships in the game. It was Jean's dad, Pat, who got hooked on the game first, so his character, Rex Rexter, has the most money and experience points in this world. When Susan or Jean wants virtual money for a new virtual outfit, they turn to him. He's also the one who tries to dictate the family's strategy.

But there are other ways of playing these games, and some fans say they use them as a means of switching around or breaking down the roles they have in the real world.

Psychologist Roger Fouts, a professor at Central Washington University, plays World of Warcraft in an online team with his son, daughter and son-in-law. For Fouts, World of Warcraft was one way of getting to know his son-in-law, and he said the game reveals personality traits he might not have noticed otherwise. For example, his son-in-law is skilled at getting fellow players organized for a mission and for making new players feel welcome to the team.

"I was very impressed," Fouts said.

Florida to Afghanistan
While they play, the family members can catch up on comings and goings. Recently, Fouts's son signed on to the game and let his dad know he was in the District for a conference, staying -- and playing World of Warcraft -- at the Mayflower Hotel.

For a family separated by the military, such games can be an intimate way of "being together" that goes beyond phone calls or e-mail. Rhonda Carswell lives in Florida, and her husband, Randy, is an Army National Guard medic stationed in Afghanistan, but they meet routinely in Paragon City of the superhero-themed game City of Heroes.

"It sounds silly to our non-gamer friends, but when I see his hero or villain, I feel like I am looking at him. . . . His choices of appearance and powers personify him perfectly," Rhonda said in an e-mail. The couple run missions together, and at the end of the day, they put their characters in yoga position in a "safe" part of the game's world and just talk.

Sometimes they run out of things to say; he can't talk about his duties, and she doesn't always have interesting news from home. But they always have the game and their favorite corners of the online world.

"Florida and Afghanistan may be half a world apart," she said, "but we can be together in Paragon City."

Cyberspace offers venue for a social pastime

'World of Warcraft' patch keeps servers down for hours

2006-03-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

The latest patch to the popular online game "World of Warcraft" has led to the game's servers being down for hours longer than expected.

According to Gil Shif, public relations manager for "World of Warcraft" publisher Blizzard Entertainment, the latest major patch to the game--version 1.10, which is designed to adjust the talents of priests--caused some "snags" that have affected the servers going back online as planned.

"It's part of the normal process," said Shif, "and unfortunately, it went a little longer than expected today."

Blizzard regularly devotes Tuesdays to scheduled maintenance and has implemented eight previous major patches, the most recent being version 1.09 in January. But while the company routinely requires server downtime for its patches and maintenance procedures, today's implementation caught it off guard.

"With previous patches, it hasn't taken (this) long," said Shif. "But you never know until you can full identify the issues and take care of it."

In addition, the main "World of Warcraft" Web site was experiencing extended delays Tuesday, but Shif said that had more to do with the site being slammed by users seeking the patch than any kind of technological problem.

And in any case, he said, Blizzard has been providing regular updates throughout the patch process, including notices beforehand that it was imminent.

At 6 p.m. PST Tuesday, Shif said that some servers were beginning to come back online, but that the process of getting all players up and running would be slow.
'World of Warcraft' patch keeps servers down for hours CNET News.com

Illegal Danish - Super Snacks

2006-03-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack

2006-03-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

Here is just a partial list of what you can expect from the World of Warcraft expansion:

* An increase in the level cap to 70

* Two new playable races, including the magical Blood Elves

* New starting zones in Quel'Thalas and beyond

* The entire new continent of Outland, reachable through the Dark Portal

* Many new high-level dungeons to explore in Azeroth, Outland, and elsewhere

* New flying mounts in Outland

* Many new and dangerous monsters, including epic world bosses

* Hundreds of new quests

* Hundreds of new items

* A new profession: Jewelcrafting

* Socketed items
Gamestop.com - World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack

Interesting

2006-03-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

"From January to February, for three weeks in game I had my Warrior, Looks, offer herself as a Girlfriend to anyone pathetic or gullible enough to take me up on the business. To my surprise, business was good."
Something Awful

G4 Wow video, pretty funny!

2006-02-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Dailymotion - Share Your Videos - warcraft :: pub, warcraft, jeu

WoW Level 60 Quest Guide

2006-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

So you've finally done it. You've reached level 60 in World of Warcraft. It's taken months, hundreds of quests, and thousands and thousands of dead monsters. But you've finally done it. You're level 60.

So ... what now?

For many players, reaching level 60 is actually the beginning of an all-new game within World of Warcraft. There's epic lewt to be won, bosses to be beaten, and raids to be, uh, raided. This content, however, can be an impenetrable maze of intersecting quests and raid instances. For someone who's just reached 60, simply figuring out where to start can be a daunting task. The chat channels in Ironforge and Orgrimmar are a nonstop flood of abbreviations and acronyms: "UBRS." "Scholo." "Strat." "DM." "LF3M BRD EMP RUN PST!" What does it all mean? What should you be doing first?

That's where this guide comes in. It's not a step-by-step strategy guide; it's simply a roadmap, a "user's manual" to being level 60. On the following pages, you'll find a listing of just about every high-level quest chain in World of Warcraft, overviews of how the major raids work, and other diversions that level 60 players have been known to enjoy.

Whether you've been level 60 for a day or raiding for months, hopefully this guide will take some of the mystery out of WoW's endgame content and help you enjoy life after 60. Happy Raiding!
GameSpy: World of Warcraft Level 60 Quest Guide

Blizzard warns gay-lesbian guild

2006-01-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

What's new:
A member of a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender virtual gaming guild posted a welcome message on the "World of Warcraft" site saying that the guild was "glbt friendly." She was warned by the site publisher to stop on-site recruiting, or risk being banned from the site.

Bottom line:
The incident has generated debate about the way the site's rules are being enforced by the game's publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, which says it is only trying to protect the guild from harassment by other gamers. The GLBT guild and others in the gaming world dispute that contention.

Read the full story in the link below
Online game warns gay-lesbian guild CNET News.com

MapWoW.com

2006-01-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

Pretty cool, check it out!

Google Map API used for WoW
MapWoW.com World of Warcraft Maps

For Porn

2006-01-13T20:48:00.000-08:00

OMFGWTFBBQROTFLOL!!!!!11111111
A WoW video
Rated - Mature
For Porn - Google Video

Tripod performs at a Comedy Festival

2006-01-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

Pay attention to the lyrics, any gamer can appreciate this one. :-)
Tripod perform at a Comedy Festival - Google Video

Technical Support Site

2006-01-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

What ports are required and with what settings?

In order to connect to Battle.net, through your Local Area Network, while allowing others to connect to games you create, make sure you have the following ports setup as described below.

Warcraft III:
Allow port 6112 TCP out and allow established sessions in
Allow port 6112 TCP in (hosting custom games)
Allow port 6113-6119 TCP out and in (hosting custom games if you’ve changed the default port in the Options/Gameplay screen)

Blizzard Entertainment: Technical Support Site

Check out this WoW blog!

2006-01-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Looks like she has alot of great info, especially if you are just beginning to play WoW.

Take a look.
WoWgrrl's World of Warcraft blog

Warcraft Hammers Bad Players

2005-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

Blizzard, developer of the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, has suspended 18,000 accounts for violations of the game's terms of use, the GameSpot Web site reported. That amounts to roughly 200 accounts per day, the site reported.

Most of the suspensions were of computer-run characters made to farm gold and items for resale in the real world. Blizzard is asking legitimate Warcraft players to report suspicious activity.

VU Games recently announced that the game had reached the 5-million player level.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel

Elysian - One of Santa's Elves?

2005-12-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

Warcraft Hits 5 Million Mark

2005-12-20T04:58:00.000-08:00

Blizzard Entertainment announced that World of Warcraft, its hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game, has surpassed 5 million customers worldwide. The subscription-based MMORPG launched about a year ago in North America, Australia and New Zealand and has since been released in Europe and Asia. The game was launched in Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong on Nov. 8.

Blizzard's announcement coincided with word of its next Warcraft expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, set for release in 2006. The expansion will add new lands, quests, monsters, magic items, spells and abilities, two new player races, a new player profession, 10 new levels of power for players to achieve and more.

eBay: World of Warcraft WOW Epic 4 lvl 60 Account gold epics

2005-12-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Impressive!
World of Warcraft WOW Epic 4 lvl 60 Account gold epics

Warcraft III - Basics -> Creeping

2005-12-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

WC3

Timbermaw Hold

2005-11-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

World of Warcraft Community Site -> Info -> Basics -> Factions -> Timbermaw Hold

Warcraft III

2005-11-30T19:25:00.001-08:00

I just installed WC3 last night.

Maybe if I play it awhile it'll get me in the mood to pick WoW back up.

2005-11-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

Goodwisa Links
Goodwisa Links

The end of WoW for me?

2005-11-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

When my desktop died for several weeks, I decided to cancel my account since I wasn't using it. I did get my computer up and running again but November 14th was my last day in WoW.

I don't know at this point when or if I'll ever play again.

I will check the WoW site occassionally. Looks like they are adding ALOT of stuff in the future.

If I don't play WoW, what should I be playing?

VN Boards - ebayed accounts, 2nd hand copies, and so on...word from bliz

2005-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

My blog here
VN Boards - ebayed accounts, 2nd hand copies, and so on...word from bliz

Catastrophic Success � Blog Archive � Girls of Warcraft

2005-11-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

My blog here
Catastrophic Success � Blog Archive � Girls of Warcraft

WomenGamers.Com - Because Women DO Play

2005-11-15T16:50:00.002-08:00

WomenGamers.Com - Because Women DO Play

Resolute Blades

2005-11-15T16:50:00.001-08:00

My blog here
Resolute Blades :: lolol

IGN Boards - A fat chicks crusade against WoW!!!

2005-11-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

My blog here

Save King's Quest IX!

2005-11-12T18:53:00.000-08:00

Proof again that Vivendi sucks!!

http://badanimal2.blogspot.com/2005/11/save-kings-quest-ix.html

the Raven, Mythic :: L0rd 0f t3H R1nGz

2005-10-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

LOL

Allakhazam.com: World of Warcraft: Item: Benediction

2005-10-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Allakhazam.com: World of Warcraft: Item: Benediction

Allakhazam.com: World of Warcraft: Item: Golden Pearl

2005-10-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Allakhazam.com: World of Warcraft: Item: Golden Pearl

Elysian hits lvl 59 and 300 tailoring tonight

2005-10-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

After only 7 1/2 months. :-D

I created her on Feb. 21.

And I did no quests during lvl 58, I killed Jadefire demons the whole level.

Now, I need some golden pearls...

Return - A Warcraft Motion Picture

2005-09-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Return

WoWRankings.com: Where do you rank?

2005-09-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Surefoot

Hohertz Family Album :: SOK Houston Meet 2005

2005-09-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

SOK Houston Meet 2005

TravelWOWcity

2005-09-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Funny

Finally - 10,000 gold!

2005-09-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is a repost from the Hellscream realm forums. The hints for making money in the AH may be of interest to a wider audience.

Posted 9/5/2005:
I am happy to announce that my AH slave Cancela has hit 10,000 gold by just trading the AH, buying low and selling high.

I seeded Cancela with 10g early May this year as an experiment after my main hit 60 to see if I could work the system and understand the laws of supply and demand well enough to make money. Blue daggers and epic weapons has been the mainstay of my business but there are many surprising areas where bargains can be found. My goal was to reach 10k gold and having achieved that I will be winding down my trading.

http://img5.picsplace.to/img.php?file=img5/3/WoWScrnShot_090505_152101.jpg

The picture is not photo shopped (I can’t even use it) and no, you can’t have my stuff :)

Posted 9/7/2005:
First, thanks for all the feedback, good as well as bad. It is even nice to hear from the obvious trolls and non-believers :)

After some thinking, I have decided to share my methods with everyone. I have reached my goal so it is only fair that others try their luck if they want to. I'll start with a couple of disclaimers :

a) There are some generalizations below. While they may not be correct all the time every time, they are correct almost all of the time.

b) These are my personal observations only. They are not facts. They worked for me but they may not work for you.

c) One possible effect of me posting this is that the number of bargains in the AH is reduced since many more people will know what to look for. Fewer people will then get really rich but more people will gain some money.

Now on to my methods:

1) Learn the prices before trying to enter the market. While looking at what other people ask for an item is a good indication, it doesn't actually tell you if if sells for that price or not. The absolute best way is to sell items yourself. The second best is to get the item pricing from Allakhazam.com. They list the 200 last prices for every AH item.

2) Blue daggers always sell at high prices. This is especially true for daggers below lvl 34 (if I remember right) since there are no blue dagger quest rewards below that lvl.

3) People will always spend money on weapons before spending money on armor. Blue and purple weapons are therefore a mainstay of my trading.

4) On the alliance side, these weapon types are the easiest to sell (in order easy to hard): Daggers, 1h sword, staves, 1h axes, 2h sword, 2h axes, 1h maces, ranged weapons, wands, 2h maces. There are of course a number of individual exceptions to this.

5) Do not try to trade in items that can be crafted. You can never compete with someone who dumps items just to lvl skill. A good example is 1h swords lvl 40-50. There is a multitude of craftable 1h swords in this lvl range so prices are very depressed.

6) People will pay a lot to twink their alts. As a result, blue weapons lvl 15-20 can command higher prices than blue weapons lvl 30-40.

7) People will pay exorbitant amounts to have the best. Good examples of this is Glowing Brightwood staff (epic lvl 49) going for 800-1000g while Hammer of the Northern Wind (epic lvl 49) goes for less than 100g.

8) Never carry more than 2 items of the same kind. Even if you can snap up more to what seems to be a good price, you may end up being overstocked and having to dump them off cheap.

9) There are bargains to be had anywhere if you know the pricing. I almsot exclusively trade weapons/armor and recipes but trade goods have bargains too fo you know the pricing.

10) Be patient. If something doesn't sell, relist and try again. I usually list 24 hr except if it costs me more than 1g to list, then I list 8 hr.

11) The AH charge of 5% will eat into your profits. Remember this when you buy out and relist.

12) If you find something at a good price, consider carefully whether to take it on buyout or whether to just put a bid on it. I normally only do buyout if I know that someone else will snap it up before the auction time is up. Often I just put a bid in and hope for the best. Note that you will loose a lot of items if you do this, but depending on how many you are bidding on you will also win a lot of them.

13) Items that do not have a buyout on them will usually go for less than items with buyout. The reason is simple: When people buy, the want the item now. Therefore less people will bid on items without buyout and there are some nice bargains to be had here.

14) When listing items, I usually try to put up a price that I can live with with a buyout just 5-10% higher. This is because I want people to take the buyout to increase my turnover. When there are several items of the same listed, you have to decide if you want to undercut or not. This is a matter of preference. I usually undercut by a little, but that's up to you.

15) Crosstrading between the horde and alliance AH using the Gadgetzan AH can be extremely profitable, but only if you have 2 accounts. The Gadget AH has a very high percentage fee on what you sell, so unless you can buy and sell stuff through the Gadgetzan AH at a very low price the fee will kill your profit. With 2 accounts, you can list items for 1s buyout and as soon as you list it with your horde char, buy it with your alliance char or vice versa. This way nobody else can snap up the auction and the fee (10%? can't remember) gets taken only as a percentage of the 1s price, ie costing almost nothing. If you pay attention to the pricing in the horde and alliance AH you can make a lot of money. For example, I have bought several purple epics (Krol blade, Glowing Brightwood staff, Brain Hacker) for 350-500g on the horde side and sold them for 700-900g on the alliance side.

16) There are some obvious things to look for when crosstrading. Look for pally items on horde side where they are priced lower. Same with shaman items on the alliance side.

17) If you want to crosstrade, you will be most profitable if you can send items both ways and never have to send money from one side to the other. If all the bargains are on the horde side, you will quickly end up with a pile of alliance money and no horde gold. Therefore, look for items that can go the other way, even if you dont make any money on them. It just has to be better than the fee that you pay for gold transfers through Gadgetzan AH.

Happy trading!
10,000 gold

2005-09-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

1. An Open Letter To Bushbashing Hippies | 9/5/2005 7:45:37 AM CDT

Dear WoW-forum raging teenangster wannacommies,

I come before you today to plead for rational thought. Given that you probably blame your ping problem and shocking single digit rolls in MC on Bush, Big Oil and his refusal to ratify Kyoto, I by and large expect this to fall on deaf ears.

But before you begin your rant to counter my rant - there are a few things I'd like you to think about. For many of you, that concept may be a little overwhelming, so please ensure you are seated.

First, you are angry at Gorgeous George because he was on holidays, and didnt immediately cancel his plans to.... do something else you are now widely criticise him on: Take grandstanding photo-ops and pontificate on what a tradgedy this is. Do you understand that as President, in a time of national disaster, you ask the FEMA head guy if everything is being done, he replies "Sir yes sir", and that you have now reached the limit of your usefulness? You could grab a hat, leap on a helicopter and head on down to rescue some refugee's, but you'd probably be a hinderance, given all the security you'd need.

Second, you are angry that this is somehow related to global warming. I implore you to recognise, as those of us who arent currently browsing through a haze of smoke from a 30ft bong, that GWB has only been in office for 5 odd years, and even if he'd completely destroyed every single industry in your nation, there was no way he could have had any impact on the environment to reduce the impact of Katrina.

Third, you somehow feel that Federal incompetence is to blame. This is remarkable, given that preparing states for natural disasters, especially predictable ones like a big bloody hurricane, is a Local and State affair, not Federal. If you stopped screaming at Bush for 30 seconds, you might recognise that your beloved Democrat overlords failed you in ways far more tragic then taking an extra 24 hours holiday before pracing around on TV:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html

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Q u o t e:

Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.

A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.

Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.

"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fourth, you might wonder why people were left in the Superdome for so long without being evacuated. But here is the good news - your friendly State and Local Democrats had a superb plan in place. Here it is: Tell everyone to rally at the Superdome, store up exactly %@$% all water and food there, and then bus everyone out to safety. Ingenious! But where were all the buses?

Right here:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17362_The_Ray_Nagin_Memorial_Motor_Pool&only

Your tax dollars hard at work folks. They left all the buses exactly where they would get flooded. Good thing only smart people are Democrat...

Fifth, you cant have a crack at Bush and somehow not bring in Iraq. You are probably thinking that somehow the deployment of National Guard in Iraq meant there were less American Military Personnel left at home to deal with this emergency. Again, you are miles off target. Current troop levels in Iraq hover at the 140000 mark. Far be it for an Australian to lecture Americans on their military strength, but that represents a little over 10% of your Military strength.

Sixth, you do realise that the Governor has the power to send in the National Guard, and the blame for their absence for the past few days cannot be laid soley at the feet of the Bush Administration. Given that the Democrat Governor hadnt even announced a state of Emergency on Saturday, dont you feel that Blanco deserves the hard questions?

Seventh, before blaming Federal funding for levee's as a cause of the disaster, are you aware that it was decided over thirty years ago for "cost reasons" that the levee's were only designed to protect against lvl 3 hurricanes, and Katrina was lvl 4? Are you also aware that the levee's that fail were levee's in good condition and were not considered a serious risk? Being a hippy, you are doubtless woefully ill-informed about levee funding and Iraq, so I shall enlighten you:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050901corps,1,7189346.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q u o t e:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that a lack of funding for hurricane-protection projects around New Orleans did not contribute to the disastrous flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina.

In a telephone interview with reporters, corps officials said that although portions of the flood-protection levees remain incomplete, the levees near Lake Pontchartrain that gave way—inundating much of the city—were completed and in good condition before the hurricane.

However, they noted that the levees were designed for a Category 3 hurricane and couldn’t handle the ferocious winds and raging waters from Hurricane Katrina, which was a Category 4 storm when it hit the coastline. The decision to build levees for a Category 3 hurricane was made decades ago based on a cost-benefit analysis.

“I don’t see that the level of funding was really a contributing factor in this case,” said Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, chief of engineers for the corps. “Had this project been fully complete, it is my opinion that based on the intensity of this storm that the flooding of the business district and the French Quarter would have still taken place.”

Strock also denied that escalating costs from the war in Iraq contributed to reductions in funding for hurricane projects in Louisiana, as some critics have suggested. Records show that corps funding for the Louisiana projects has generally decreased in recent years.
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Eighth, are you aware that the complusory evacution order was given following a personal request from your President to the State Governors? Do you seriously believe that GWB actually likes to see dead black people? Are you aware of the PR nightmare this causes for him? Even if he was a callous and indifferent ragin $%$ member, he would still attempt to be helpin those colored folks out because hell, at least he wouldnt look bad?

Ninth, are you aware that full 2/3's of the NOPD abandoned their post and went awol? Given that New Orleans went heavily for Kerry last election, their complete lack of spine surprises few, but dont you feel that those men and women somehow let you down a little more than GWB? Dont believe me?

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050903-3850.html

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Q u o t e:
Q: Does that explain why it took several days to get to this point?

GEN. BLUM: No, there was no delay. The fortunate thing is with modern technology they faxed the agreement back and forth, the two governors signed it. It was a matter of moments. That was not the delay.

The delay was in, if you want to call it a delay. I really don't call it a delay, I'll be honest about that. When we first went in there law enforcement was not the highest priority, saving lives was. You have to remember how this thing started. Before the hurricane hit there were 5,000 National Guardsmen in Mississippi and 5,000 National Guardsmen -- excuse me. Let me correct the record. There were 2,500 National Guardsmen in Mississippi and almost 4,000 National Guardsmen in Louisiana that were sheltered and taken out of the affected area so as soon as the storm passed they could immediately go into the area and start their search and lifesaving work, and stand up their command and control apparatus, and start standing up the vital functions that would be required such as providing food, water, shelter and security for the people of the town. So it was phased in. There was no delay.

The real issue, particularly in New Orleans, is that no one anticipated the disintegration or the erosion of the civilian police force in New Orleans. Once that assessment was made, that the normal 1500 man police force in New Orleans was substantially degraded, which contributed obviously to less police presence and less police capability, then the requirement became obvious and that's when we started flowing military police into the theater.

Two days ago we flowed 1400 military policemen in. Yesterday, 1400 more. Today 1400 more. Today there are 7,000 citizen soldiers -- Army National Guard, badge-carrying military policemen and other soldiers trained in support to civil law enforcement -- that are on the streets, available to the mayor, provided by the governor to the mayor to assist the New Orleans police department.

I am absolutely confident that the security situation as it has improved in the last 24 hours will improve two-fold in the next 24 hours, and soon it won't be an issue at all.

Will something ever go wrong in New Orleans? Sure. Things went wrong in New Orleans and every other populated area around in our country and around the world every day. But I think you'll see a return to normal levels very soon, perhaps in the next 24 hours.

Q: General, you mentioned a disintegration of the New Orleans Police Department. Do you know how many officers are still on duty?

GEN. BLUM: I would rather not say. I think you'd be better to refer that question to the mayor of New Orleans. I have my own estimate. I would say they are significantly degraded and they have less than one-third of their original capability.

Q: So is it fair to say it is the National Guard that's keeping law and order in New Orleans?

GEN. BLUM: No. As long as there's one uniformed police officer in the city of New Orleans, we will send as many National Guard soldiers to augment, support and work in support of that lone law enforcement officer as necessary. So if hypothetically there's only one left, who's in charge? It's still that lone police officer supported by the National Guard in their role as military support to law enforcement.

We are not in the lead. We have no need nor intention of imposing martial law or having the military police the United States of America.

Q: What happened to the other police, general?

GEN. BLUM: Again, that can be best addressed, but what was told to me by the Mayor day before yesterday is many of them lost their homes, many of them lost ability to get to the precinct, many of them who did show up found what they were dealing with so overwhelming and dangerous or threatening to them as an individual that they made the personal decision to not risk their life until the situation made more sense to them. That was an individual decision, it was not the police chief's decision or the mayor's decision. I think that the mayor and police chief are working right now to reconstitute the New Orleans Police Department, but that question would much better be addressed to them for detail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally - where the hell are all the mods?

Sincerely,

An Australian Conservative,

Me

WoW General Discussion -: "4750015"

A World of Warcraft World

2005-08-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

A World of Warcraft World

Planet Game Cam

2005-08-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Game Cam allows the recording of real-time in game movies with sound via hot keys or an easy to use in game interface. Game Cam was designed to work with most DirectX 7, 8, 9 and OpenGL games.

Map of SOKers

2005-08-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sterling Order of Knights :: Home

VN Boards - How much do one of the Epics from Darkmoon really cost you?

2005-08-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

VN Boards - How much do one of the Epics from Darkmoon really cost you?

Goblin Workshop - Darkmoon Faire Guide

2005-08-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Goblin Workshop - Darkmoon Faire Guide - World of Warcraft, WoW

World of Warcraft Healers

2005-07-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft Healers - Home

Sterling Order of Knights :: Thursday. 7/28 9pm PDT - Strat, Dead Side

2005-07-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sterling Order of Knights :: View topic - Thursday. 7/28 9pm PDT - Strat, Dead Side

2005-07-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Do any girls play WoW?
WoW General Discussion -: "4201413"

World of Warcraft Guru - Databases on Items, Spells, Zones, NPCs, Maps, and More

2005-07-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft Guru - Databases on Items, Spells, Zones, NPCs, Maps, and More

An open letter from the Priest in your party.

2005-07-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

This document is to enlighten people who play with priests on a regular basis. I'd say this applies mostly to the 30 through 50 crowd. Any lower, and the spells are pretty simple, and any higher, I would hope you already know a little. On with the show...

Say, who's that skinny fellow wearing cloth who's always in the rear with the gear?

He's the priest keeping you alive! Here's a few notable facts and tips to keep you informed on how a priest operates... [I'm Horde, so I don't deal with Paladins]

A Holy Priest is only a better healer than a Shadow or Discipline priest. A priest is a priest, and we all heal pretty well.

Flash heal is a fast-cast spell that heals moderate damage. Greater heal takes a long time to cast, and heals a lot. If I'm in your group, you won't need to call out for healing. If your health is getting low, chances are I am about to hit you with a major heal spell.

Don't run. Let me rephrase that. DO NOT FSCKING RUN. Our spells have a range, and if you are outside it, you are not getting healed. If a mob is attacking you, and you think you are going to die, do not run. It will only make things worse. If your dead corpse is 100 yards away, surrounded by a dozen mobs, I'm going to have a harder time rezzing you.

Power Word: Fortitude is not free. It costs a LOT of mana. In fact, I cast a lot of spells, and use a lot of mana. Mana is my livelihood. If I don't have it, I don't live. If I don't live, chances are you don't live. That said, I am happy to take a break and buff everyone up (usually takes almost 2 bars to buff 5 people). Just let me recover the mana, before we head out again.

I repeat, if I don't live, you probably won't either. I am probably the softest target there is. That being said, I DO have means of defending myself. I consider myself a good priest, and I can manage aggro with fade, distance, spell choice, and Shield. This doesn't mean I can tank mobs myself. I happen to be a shadow priest, and I can rock non-elite mobs up to 2 or 3 levels above me. But consider this - the more time I spend defending myself, the less time and mana I'm spending healing you.

Slow down. Slow your roll, buddy. Unless I'm decked out on crazy +Spirit and/or +Mana regen gear, I'm going to need to sit and drink. A lot. Usually after every other fight, if not every fight. I try not to go into a fight with less than ~4,000 mana. And I'm 54th level. In the late 40s, it was no less than 3,000. That's usually at least 2/3rds of a mana bar for most priests.

Resurrection takes 10 seconds to cast, and requires a lot of mana. If I am out of mana, I cannot cast Resurrection. If you think I have forgotten your corpse (chances are I haven't), check my mana bar, if it's empty, you're going to have to wait. If it's not, just give me a friendly reminder like "Rez when you get a chance?" ... demands like "REZ ME ALREADY" do not earn you any brownie points.

Time to face the facts: I may have simply let you die. If you are not the main tank, you may have died because I simply couldn't get a spell off on you quick enough, because I've been healing the main tank. I'm looking at you, mages & warlocks. Yelling at me for healing is not going to get you anywhere. My entire job in a tough instance is watching health bars. Your health is not as important to me as the main tank's. If I can't save you, I will rez you after the fight. I'm sorry that the loot system sucks and sometimes you get screwed out of boss loot, it happens to me, too. I hope they fix it.

Warlocks: Always, always, ALWAYS Soulstone the priest. Stone the druid only if you think it will be absolutely necessary for a combat rez from them for me. I can rez more with a larger mana bar pool, and most times, with more health and mana on resurrection. Also, control your aggro. You can nuke pretty hard, but can't back it up with armor. Make sure the tanks have cemented aggro. Generally a warlock who can't manage his aggro properly is the first to die in the group. And that means a big waste in my mana pool from healing them.

Druids: I'm sorry, but in general, the priests are better healers than you. Please get over it. I appreciate all the help I can get, but if you wanted to be a better healer, you should have rolled a priest. If you want to argue about how much your spells heal, maybe you should ask yourself how much is in your mana pool, how much HP you can actually heal before tapping your pool and how quickly you regen. If it isn't agreed on beforehand that you will be healing, don't heal unless the situation becomes bad. If I waste mana because your heal landed a split second before mine, I am going to be totally ripsh!t. Because when your mana pool is empty, you can still fight. When mine is gone, I just wait for the wipe. Aside from that, A druid and a priest in a tough instance can be an incredible combination, and save a lot of runs from the graveyard for everyone. Also, Mark of the Wild is a great buff I like to have whenever possible - more Stam and Int means I can stay alive longer and cast more heals.

Mages: I love getting the AI buff. Don't pass me up, it adds a few hundred more mana that can make or break a tough fight if I run out of mana - and I can move faster with a larger mana pool in easier instances. And until they add mana drinks to Alchemy, I'd love to get a bunch of water, too. I can go through about 15 or 20 high end waters in a couple hours of instance running. Thanks in advance.

Hunters: Use your feign death if things get hairy and you've got bad aggro - but not if you think the mobs will aggro the casters when you do. Try to be sure that mobs you aggro will transfer to the main tank. I can generally take care of you with healing (or the off-healer can), so it shouldn't be necessary. I'm sorry, but you are not high on the list of priority heals.

Rogues: You generally do fine until you get too much aggro. Along with warlocks, I find rogues to be some of the worst to try and keep alive when they've attracted too much aggro. Always coordinate with us and the mages with Sap/Poly/MC/Shackle. That is some deadly Crowd Control combinations, and I've steamrolled some tough instances with a Mage, Rogue and Warrior. The key is working out the details and strategy in advance. Managing aggro is the most important.

Warriors: Yes, I'm healing you - stop asking. We are a good combo. A warrior and a priest are a powerful combination - but you aren't invincable, and neither am I. Try to hang back and pull with a gun, or let the hunter pull. Use Charge on single mobs, or right before the pulled mob gets to us. Manage that aggro! Hit different mobs and use Taunt to keep them stabbing you. Healing you with Greater Heal and Renew (most mana efficient) is way better for everyone than casting Flash Heal 5 times and Shield twice on a warlock who can't get aggro off him. Trust me, it's a recipe for disaster. Most importantly, keep the aggro off me. I can heal everyone else, but when there's a mob interrupting my spells or forcing me to cast spells on myself, it's bad times.

Mind Control, where applicable, is better to use than Polymorph. I'll tell you why. Mind Control lasts 1 minute, and I can actually use the controlled target to attack other targets and hold aggro. I can also use mobs that have healing spells (Witch Doctors, Priests, etc), and heal my own party members. It works out even better that way, because I can fight, still heal, and when the mob comes out of Mind Control, they have less mana, and their spells are still cooling down. It can be broken infrequently, and at random times, but some of the best groups I've been with, have used MC, sheep and sap to effectively control massive groups or tough mobs - and defeat them handily. Also, Shackle Undead seems to be excellent in places where there are Undead. This is about on par with a sheep, though. It lasts ~40 seconds, and acts the same way. Striking a shackled undead breaks the shackle.

If you are dangerously low on health, and/or taking serious damage, I will probably cast a shield on you. Shields last for 30 seconds, take moderate damage (500-750), but have a 30 second 'cooldown' effect. This can be reduced to 15 seconds with talents. This gives me a little time to cast some heals on you.

If I am in shadowform (all purple and shadowy and badass looking), that means I can't cast any healing spells. I'm a good enough priest where I won't be in shadowform if the group needs healing. In fact, I mostly use SF when solo, or in a really easy instance (ie: no one really needs any healing).

Being in the Rear with the Gear generally means I get very little loot. I have accepted this, and Group Loot rules or Round Robin is relatively fair. However, if there are quest objectives that are not multi-use (single quest drops on mobs, regular drops, or ground pickups, for example), please leave me a few. Check with the group as to who needs what, and try to make sure everyone has the same amount. I get screwed constantly trying to fulfill quest drops because the warrior or rogue in the front scoops up all the quest drops.

And finally - please do not anger the priest. Making demands, exhibiting poor regard for strategy, or generally playing like a moron will usually draw ire from the entire party - but especially me, because I'm the one who has to keep an asshat's health bar full. And that's aggravating. And sometimes we fail to keep an asshat's health bar full, and that doesn't help anyone.

Psiphon

[edit] I left Shaman out because I rarely have problems with Shaman (unless they are tanking!)

And on the other side of the coin, I want to throw in some things to look for in a good priest for your party.

Anyone can simply say "Hey, I died!" and think that their priest sucks. Maybe so, but maybe not. Think about the following, when heading into a tough instance:

First off, always try to have a secondary rez to the priest - A Druid or Warlock are the best examples.

The priest shouldn't spend all his time healing secondary tanks. Most of the aggro should be on the main tank, and the priest healing that tank. There are several good reasons. First, the tank usually has more HP and more armor, and can handle the hits better. Second, because of the larger health pool, the priest can let the tank's health drain and cast Greater Heal - which is much more mana efficient than Flash Heal.

The main tank, and just about anyone else who is taking damage, should have Renew on them throughout most of the fight. It's efficient, and uses very little mana. I think it takes me about 4 seconds of regen time to recover mana lost from Renew. You should almost always have it during a fight if you're taking damage.

A good rule of thumb in just about any instance is to not use any Fear abilities or spells. For Priests it is no different. Priests can fear up to 4 targets at my level, but should never, EVER be used unless as a complete last resort (like if 4 mobs are attacking the priest, and everyone is going to die, no one has mana, the tank is dead, and the sky is falling). Fearing targets in an instance can and most likely WILL get you kicked. That is wipe-city.

If your priest isn't using Shield (when they can) to stop the bleeding to give them time to cast a heal, they might not be managing their cast times right. Shield takes a bit of mana, but it's instant and is good for emergencies.

Handling emergencies is key to good priesthood. If everyone is down on HP, and it looks like a big wipe, and the priest comes through with a Prayer of healing or something that turns the tide of a fight, that's a good priest. If people start dropping like flies, the priest is out of mana, and/or they did not manage their spells and mana well.

Priests will die consistently in about three scenarios. One is if they simply mismanage their aggro. Casting too many greater heals, prayers of healing, and doing too much damage will draw too much aggro. Second is if they outlevel their party members by too much. The higher level you are (the more healing/damage you do), the more aggro you draw. If I'm healing a main tank that is 5+ levels below me, that mob is generally going to be more interested in killing me than him. Third is if the other party member are terrible at holding aggro. Not using Cower, Taunt, etc, will not put the tanks in priority over the Priest. Considering those things, being smart with aggro, and even having a priest that is a level or two lower than most of the party proves to be a good scenario.

If you're in an instance that is so easy the priest doesn't need to heal, they should know that they can switch to laying out more damage. Priests have incredible nukes and damage spells. When my party is breezing so well, it only makes it faster if I'm laying on my 175~200 dps with DoTs and nukes. On the flip side, a good priest knows when to lay off the agression and focus on healing.

Specialization isn't terribly important until you get into the 50s. As I said before, a priest can heal, whether they are Holy or Shadow. Even at that point, a good priest with a solid spec (either way) is effective as a healer and a tertiary damage dealer.

Good priests take their own advice. They don't run. When I have aggro on me, I cast shield and renew on myself, and go back to healing everyone else. Sometimes I throw an Inner fire on, too. But my attention is almost never on my own health, it's always on yours, and I will stay exactly where I am.

Those are a couple things to look for in a priest. It's important, because it may save you a lot of aggravation and wipes.
WoW General Discussion -

2005-07-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Useful Macro:self heal/announcing - V2
WoW Priest Discussion -

Why Anikan is far superior to Kirk.

2005-07-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

WoW General Discussion -

World of Warcraft Professions Compendium

2005-07-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft Professions Compendium - Home

Coolest Quest in Game

2005-07-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

WoW General Discussion -: "3945898"

(Supposed) Game Pro article about WoW

2005-06-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Thought you all would like this. I find it to be so true

Posted: 06/28/05

Who is the average MMORPG gamer, and what's the stereotypical image? An Avante Garde hipster humming A Love Supreme? A social #&%&erfly getting in a couple minutes between going clubbing? The average blue-collar, white-collar Joe? Nope, you probably think up of a socially defunct, greasy-haired recluse that wears an old freebie T-shirt won from signing up for a credit-card. (But of course I'm not like that. Other video game journalists may be dorks, but not myself.) Many stereotypes exist because at some level they're true. So what's true about the overwhelming majority of MMORPGs?
They're not for the meek, light-hearted gamer.

Part of it has to do with the conventional pricing model. With a game demanding $15 a month, you can't afford to just casually log in a few hours on the weekend without feeling jipped. So the casual gamer's MMO has to be a game entertaining enough to pull people away from their usual games (let's face it, most MMOs are boring), and rewarding enough in a 1-2 hour timeframe so it doesn't require you to neglect your daily routines.

After being traumatized by Star Wars Galaxies (20 minute of traveling, 30 minutes waiting in line for buffs meant 40 minutes of downtime before actually grinding), I thought my MMORPG days were over--but eventually I was drawn into the casual friendly-ness of World of Warcraft. Blizzard seemed to be the first to take casual playing elements to the next level--no forced grouping at early levels (say Final Fantasy XI), or tediously long exp grinds from furry fuzzy animals too cute to be called mobs (Lineage II). It seemed to offer fill that void of a casual gamer's MMO.

But the dream lasts only for a couple months (or 10 /played days if you grind). Unfortunately, you hit the end-game and it turns into any other MMO: a long grind. Unlike Diablo II, which spewed phat loot rewards in a span of 10 minutes, the instances are long and unrewarding. Enduring mammoth 4-5 hour runs of Scholomance a couple times, and I've discovered that watching paint peel is more fulfilling. Strat is a great length at 1.5-2 hours, but the low drop rates mean you can go on 50 runs and not get that piece of set gear you need.

The much anticipated Battlegrounds turned out to be just as un-casual, especially the half-day events of Alterac Valley. Best way to win AV? Log in at the wee hours of the morning, wait for the other side to get tired and log off so you win by default. Of course, unless you're on a more Horde-heavy server like Illidan, this mostly works only for Alliance. Honor system, even with the recently announced change in the reward system, is still a grind, forcing you to repeat Warsong Gulch till you get queezy of the phrase, "He's on the roof!"

This isn't to say that MC should be trivialized to quick 2-hr excursions. But what's the logic in offering casual gaming elements from levels 1-59, then focusing only on hardcore gamers at 60? Why not have casual game experiences at 60? Keep appeasing the hardcore with carrots dangled on a distant stick, but add more content catering to Saturday night gamers.

Solutions:
1) Instanced 5-on-5 PvP battlegrounds similar to what Guild Wars is doing. Have hundreds of instances available to remove those annoying and unpredictable queues (Estimated Wait Time: < 1 minute. Current wait time: 3 hour 45 minutes). When your 5-man group wins, you go on to a different map rather than staying in the same trite level for eternity. Escort/destroy objectives that don't involve the ubiquitous gear icon. 5-on-5 would be especially beneficial for Rogues, who are nothing but fattened cattle waiting for slaughter in Alterac Valley.

2) Quests/Dungeons that give stackable upgrades: Have stackable minor upgrades that can be mixed and matched with different combinations, offering more customizability of weapons (or armor). Make it require you to go into a five-man instance that's 1-2 hours long.

Of course, it can't screw up Enchants, so have it separate from those. As a simple example, maybe have a dungeon where you need to retrieve a rare mineral, and each time it gives +2 max damage to your weapon, for a max of +10. Or mix and match so you get +5 damage and -.2 speed to your weapon.

Power gamers will zip through them, but casual gamers will spend only a couple hours and still leave feeling a sense of accomplishment. Plus, customizability is sorely lacking in WoW as it is, and it'd be nice to be able to trick out your favorite weapon (cus let's face it, Earthshaker's minimalist aesthetics are far from earthshaking when compared to a Doomsaw).

3) Solo instances: Class-specific instances that are long (10 hours), but progress in couple-hour increments where you can log off and continue later. They could be given from a class trainer, and provide class-specific perks as a reward.

Well, there's always hoping--but in the mean time it's back to ninja-looting corpses in Alterac to hit exalted ...only 1500 more quests to turn in.

Link

http://gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/features/46245.shtml

WoW General Discussion -

Janus' Addon of the Week: Scrolling Combat Text

2005-06-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

Anyway, this week I picked Scrolling Combat Text.

In short, this mod lets you easily see all sorts of combat information easily. It gives you scrolling text above your character's head for a variety of events: Taking spell or melee damage, debuffs, or special effects firing off like Clearcasting or Windfury.

It gives a very Final Fantasy-ish feel to the game, and is very customizable. You can adjust the speed and colors in addition to what exactly shows up.
Sterling Order of Knights :: View topic - Janus' Addon of the Week: Scrolling Combat Text

G4 - Feature - World of Warcraft Secrets

2005-06-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Azeroth can be a dangerous place, full of monsters and warring clans and races. But it can also be a land of great wonders and undiscovered treasures just waiting to be claimed by adventurers brave, smart, and patient enough to uncover them. Or, then again, you could just read these tips and skip all of that work.

Easter Eggs

TREKKIE REFERENCE: In Booty Bay, just outside the inn, you’ll encounter Chief Engineer Scooty manning a teleportation device. If you have a quest that takes you through the device, you’ll find a character named Sprok and his away team.

MATRIX REFERENCE: On your way to the Ironforge Auction House, ask one of the guards the location of the alchemy trainer. One of his answers will be, “why, oh why didn’t I take the blue potion?”

FIGHT CLUB: Further into the Undercity, in the War Quarter, there’s an honest to God Fight Club where you’ll find two NPC fighters named Edward and Tyler.

GHOSTBUSTERS REFERENCE: Another movie reference can be found in the Mage Quarters of Stormwind. There, you’ll find three mages-in-training talking shop. Hang around long enough and one of them will say “wouldn’t that be bad, like crossing the streams bad?”

STAR WARS: The Shimmering Flats. Peek around a bit and you’ll find a goblin race team with a very familiar looking vehicle—Blizzard’s version of Sebulba’s podracer from Episode I. Do a little more exploring and you’ll also find a wrecked podracer which smacked into a canyon walls.

CONAN: In the Badlands around the middle of the map is a semi-hidden crypt. Enter the crypt and you’ll see a decomposed guy sitting on a throne with a sword to his side. It’s a scene from the first Conan movie.

BRUCE CAMPBELL TRIBUTE: In Dun Mo-rogh, just south of Kharanos, there’s a small camp where a group of dwarves are taking target practice. Hang around long enough and you’ll hear one of the dwarves scream out: “This is my boomstick!”

BOOK REFRERENCES: In the upper levels of Booty Bay, there’s a clothing shop named “A Tailor to Cities,” an homage to Charles Dicken’s A Tales of Two Cities. And in the Undead capital, the Undercity, you’ll find Algernon at the alchemy trainer’s holding a flower. This is a nod to Daniel Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon.

MEMORIAL: Blizzard designers also left a tribute to fallen comrade. In the Barrens, atop a hill just southwest of Crossroads sits a small shrine. Here, you’ll find a memorial dedicated to an Orc with the initials “M-K.” In the real world, M K was Michel Koiter, a Blizzard illustrator who passed away during production of World of Warcraft.

To reach the memorial, follow a ridge to the southeast and half-way up the hill you’ll find the base of a mound. Go up the short trail to reach the shrine. As a little bonus, if you visit the memorial in spirit form you’ll find a spirit healer named Koiter.

GAME REFERENCES: While fighting your way through the Deadmines to get VanCleef’s head you’ll encounter a Goblin Shredder. Take it down and look at the dashboard and you’ll see a familiar face: Kerrigan, The Zerg Queen from Starcraft: Brood War. She appears to be the ruler of the goblins as well. Other goblin shredders can be found in Strangle-thorn Vale and Gadget-zan.

In northern Un’goro Crater, there’s a place we’ve started calling “Camp Nintendo.” Two residents of the camp are the feuding brothers, Larion and Muigi. If those names sound a bit familiar, they should, they’re anagrams of Mario and Luigi; and the battling brothers are even decked out in red and green overalls.

Deep in the Uldaman instance, you’ll find a friendly refuge manned by three dwarves: Baelog, Olaf and Erik “The Swift.” Dedicated gamers should recognize these dudes from The Lost Vikings—the first game Blizzard created for the Super Nintendo back in ‘92.

RARE PETS

LIL' TIMMY: Lil’ Timmy is one of the game’s best pet dealers. Timmy doesn’t spawn often, but when he does, he wanders the streets of Stormwind trying to sell his one and only white kitten. This animal costs sixty silvers, but can be sold for five gold.

Even we couldn’t determine exactly when Timmy materializes, but we discovered that he spawns at the end of the canal between Old Town and the Trade District in Stormwind. You can camp at the bridge between the two districts and work on your fishing skill while you wait for him to come by.

Once Lil’ Timmy appears he wanders along the canal outside Old Town and Dwarven District. If you don’t catch him before he passes through Cathedral Square and turns right, poof!--he’ll be gone....

TINY CRIMSON WHELPLING: This beastie must be farmed from the gameworld. Your grinding begins in the Eastern Wetlands where you have to kill Crimson, Red and Flamesnorting whelps to find the drop. The drop rate of Tiny Crimson Whelplings is about one in a thousand (we got ours in 30 minutes). These little guys are worth much more then their weight in gold. If you decide to sell your rare pet, he’ll fetch about 40 gold pieces at auction.

TINY EMERALD WELPLING: In the southwest corner of the Swamp of Sorrows you’ll find Dreaming Whelps. Farm these badboys long enough and eventually they’ll drop a Tiny Emerald Whelpling.

HIDDEN QUESTS

THE CHICKEN QUEST: Head to Sal-deans’ Farm in Westfall and find a chicken. To unlock the secret you have to do the “Chicken Dance” for the chicken about a hundred times. Set up a macro to enter the command easily--bring up Options, select Macros, choose the icon you want and enter the command "/chicken". Then put the icon in an action bar.

Soon you’ll see the message, “Chicken looks at you quizzically. Maybe you should inspect it?” Accept the quest and purchase the special chicken feed from Farmer Saldean. Return to the chicken and type "/cheer" before feeding the chicken. Do this right and the chicken will lay an egg. This egg is your new pet, a prairie chicken.

ZELDA TRIBUTE QUESTS: This is only available when you reach level 47. Head to Un’Goro Crater and in the marshlands you’ll find a wrecked raft and a faded photograph. This find will initiate the quest “It’s a Secret to Everybody” (a quote from the original Legend of Zelda).

There is a Link counterpart in Marshal’s Refuge named Linken, whom you’ll be helping find his lost memories. This quest has you trekking all over Azeroth completing a chain of 13 tasks. Eventually the trail will lead you back to Un’Goro and the final part of the quest, “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone”.

The next tribute can be found by beating Blazerunner at Fire Plume Ridge. Blazerunner is a level 56 elite (we whupped him by pairing up with a paladin and casting Fire Resistance Aura, then having another party member use the Silver Totem of Aquamentas to take down Blazerunner’s protective shields). After he’s beaten, pick up the Golden Flame in the back of the cave, which looks like a piece of the Tri-Force. Now return to Linken in Marshal’s Refuge and claim your reward--Linken’s Sword of Mastery and Linken’s Boomerang.

G4 - Feature - World of Warcraft Secrets

QuickMountEquip by Merrem

2005-06-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

Curse Gaming - WoW ultimate addons database - QuickMountEquip by Merrem : QuickMountEquip - Automatically switch gear when you Mount / Dismount....

How to please a Priest

2005-06-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

originaly posted by Laena

-Please don't get the aggro off me. I like it when the baddies beat on me, I swear! I have 3000HP, and I can take the beating MUCH better than the Paladin/Warrior/Rogue. After all, I can heal myself, so I have a nearly endless supply of HP. If I die,it's my fault, ALWAYS. I just didn't heal myself fast enough. My favorite thing to do in an instance when our oh-so-talented rogue pulls 6 mobs is to shield myself, get beat on by the 5 mobs that aggroed me when I healed that awesome rogue and hold all 5 of them off while the other 4 party members beat on the one mob that is not on me. Yep! Love it!

-Casters don't need loot! Nope! Bet you didn't know that, either. We don't need armor... we don't get hit. We don't need weapons! We cast! We don't need quest items because the rewards are usually armor, and since we don't need armor, we don't quest. So by all means, melee classes, make sure you loot those kills the instant they fall and NEVER let a caster get the chance to get to the corpse. WE DON'T NEED TO LOOT.

-Priests aren't main healers... Paladins are! That's right pallies... the instant you notice a health bar start to drop, YOU should be casting your heals. I bet that priest didn't even notice anyway. I never start casting a heal only to have a pallies heal go off an instant before mine and I just wasted my mana. We're just back-up healers, to be called upon only by a paladin, who is out of mana and is down to a perilous 80% health. This calling always should come in the form of "HEAL ME PRIEST". The demanding tone, self-righteous attitude, all caps and title of "Priest" are all necessary, as we are just priests, and won't understand you otherwise. We're not used to healing and really do need paladins to hold our hands through everything.

-If any member of your group dies, it's always the priest's fault. ALWAYS. If you pulled eight lvl 60 Elite mobs and even one of your party members dies in the fray, it's the priests fault, not yours. If you are a hunter, and your pet dies, no matter how low everyones health bar is, it's the priest's fault for not healing your pet. Your pet is your own personal tank, so it clearly takes precedence over the members of the party who are actual people. Also, you should NEVER heal your own pet... not even when the priest's mana is completely gone. She should have a mana pot up and ready to go JUST FOR YOUR PET.

-When grouped for an instance, always make sure you run into an instance while the priest is still on the griffon flying to you. Nevermind that there tend to be numerous elite mobs hanging around outside instances... the priest won't need your help to get in. After all, she has that endless supply of HP at her disposal from her heals. If, on the off chance that the priest does die on her way in, be sure to mock her.

-Warlocks! You guys are so awesome with your soulstone ressurection! You should never put that on the priest. We are the last person you should care about living or dying in a group. Put it on yourself or the rogue always, k?

-When looking for a priest for your group, always do a /who priest and just start sending random, unintelligible whispers to anyone at or above the level range you're looking for. Make sure you never do any of the following: Introduce yourself, say please, speak in a complete sentence, use real words. Also, don't bother ASKING them to join you. You must DEMAND it. A great example is "come 2 BRD mah grp needs u". We're priests! We're giving by our very nature, and appreciate being treated as your own personal heal monkeys. This is especially effective if you've never even spoken to the priest in question before.
WoW General Discussion -: "3620593"

2005-06-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

The origins of the female Night Elf dance?
SHERMIX.COM

Discipline/holy > Shadow for PVP

2005-06-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

WoW Priest Discussion -

Everything you need to know about ... Priests

2005-06-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

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