WoW Insider - WoW News, Guides, and Analysis

3 things Battlegrounds should borrow from SW:TOR's Warzones

by Michael Gray on Feb 22nd 2012 (12 minutes ago)

We talked the other day about three things I learned to love about Battlegrounds by playing Star Wars: The Old Republic's Warzones. Honestly, I stopped at three on purpose. There's so much to complain about in Warzones that it could keep a retribution paladin (which I am) busy for weeks. But I didn't want to give the wrong impression; I really do enjoy SW:TOR Warzones.

Warzones offer a different game, different playstyle, and significant change of pace for a grizzled PvP veteran. While I could just go all mushy about my assault cannon, I'm more interested in the design aspects that really work well in Warzones. With that in mind, here are three things I think WoW should borrow from Warzones.

(And no, I'm not talking about Huttball here. Huttball is fun and all, but it's just a specific game. That'd be like saying "SW:TOR isn't good because of Alterac Valley." That's not particularly helpful, even if I do love scoring a goal through a sweet ball-passing chain. I'm talking about overall game dynamics.)

Filed under: PvP

Spiritual Guidance: The Mists of Pandaria pre-beta shadow priest

by Fox Van Allen on Feb 22nd 2012 (1 hour ago)

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. On Wednesdays, shadow priesting expert Fox Van Allen comes from out of the shadows to bask in your loving adoration.

In case you haven't noticed, WoW Insider's class columnists have been on a pretty big Mists of Pandaria kick lately. It's because Blizzard just released a pretty big update to the talent calculator. Certain spells got shifted around; certain spells got changed.

I'm damn starved for MoP info, so naturally, I was eager to pore over all the new changes. But admittedly, I was a little bit disappointed. There's not a whole lot of new information for shadow priests since the last time we talked last MoP back in November.

But perhaps that is the news. There were some shocking omissions last time, namely Mind Blast and Devouring Plague, two spells that help define shadow priesting. I was quite confident we'd see both of them again -- their omissions from the MoP leveling experience just had to be accidental.

But here were are, four months later. Guess what's still not in the game?

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Dragon Soul Power of the Aspects buff to increase next week

by Adam Holisky on Feb 22nd 2012 (2 hours ago)

Starting at server maintenance next Tuesday, the Power of the Aspects buff will increase in Dragon Soul. This means that the health and damage output from enemies will be reduced by 10%. Remember that this only applies to normal and heroic versions and that it can always be shut off.

The Power of the Aspects buff currently stands at 5%, which went into effect on Jan. 31, 2011. So it took about a month for the buff to increase to the next level. Blizzard has said the spell will continue to increase but not at a set interval, as was done in Icecrown Citadel.

The full blue post is as follows:

Blizzard Entertainment

During the scheduled server maintenance on the week of February 28, the "Power of the Aspects" spell will grow more powerful, reducing the health and damage dealt of all enemies in the Dragon Soul raid by 10%. This spell will grow progressively stronger over time to reduce the difficulty and make the encounters more accessible. The spell will affect both normal and Heroic difficulties, but it will not affect the Raid Finder difficulty.

Don't need the help of the Dragon Aspects? The spell can be disabled by talking to Lord Afrasastrasz at the beginning of Dragon Soul.

We hope you continue to enjoy Dragon Soul, and that these changes encourage you to attempt a higher difficulty, or just keep pushing to down that next boss.

source

Filed under: News items, Raiding

WoW Insider's Weekly Webcomic: Safe Passage -- Convergence

by Kelly Aarons on Feb 22nd 2012 (3 hours ago)

Welcome to Safe Passage: Convergence, another edition of WoW Insider's Weekly Comic.

Sneaking into enemy territory -- it's kind of like getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar, except you can die from it!

Check out the full comic right here, and tune in next Wednesday for a new page. You can also see all the previous pages in the gallery below.

Gallery: Safe Passage: Convergence

Filed under: WoW Insider's Weekly Comic

The Queue: Yaks are cool, I guess

by Mathew McCurley on Feb 22nd 2012 (4 hours ago)

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mathew McCurley (@gomatgo) will be your host today.

I still want the frog.

hystrico asked:

any word on recipes in MoP? Like, should I be stocking up on Chef's Awards?

I had an issue with the original removal of the limit on Chef's Awards because of just this question. Obviously we have no idea how the new recipes and stuff will work for new dailies and all that, but one of the reasons I liked the limit on how many awards you could store up was because it kept that currency artificially deflated. When Blizzard removed that limit, everyone stocked up on Chef's Awards, so how do you fairly price new recipes with that currency? Who do you design for -- the guy who saved up 2,000 Chef's Awards or the guy who didn't? Which is fair?

Personally, I'd like to see Blizzard reinstate the limit, making one currency for each profession's dailies and recipe purchases and simplifying the whole thing once and for all. Hoarding tokens isn't fun, just like hoarding points isn't fun. Well, it's kind of fun.

Around Azeroth: The heart is a lonely hunter

by Elizabeth Wachowski on Feb 22nd 2012 (5 hours ago)

After Mishkan of The Honor Guard on Earthen Ring (US-A) was lucky enough to receive a Lovely Black Dress during Love is in the Air, his guildmates asked him to pose in it and take a screenshot, possibly as some sort of elaborate hazing ritual. If, while looking at this screenshot, you find yourself hitting the space bar over and over again in a desperate attempt to get the heart container, you may want to take a break from whichever Legend of Zelda you're currently playing.

Gallery: Around Azeroth 3

Want to see your own screenshot here? Send it to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com. We strongly prefer full-sized pictures with no UI or names showing. Include "Azeroth" in the subject line to ensure your submission dodges email spam filters; if you'd like to be credited, also include your name, guild and realm.

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Encrypted Text: Rogue poisons dramatically redesigned in Mists of Pandaria

by Chase Christian on Feb 22nd 2012 (6 hours ago)

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here.

Throw out everything you know about rogue poisons. No, we need to go deeper than that. Throw out everything you know about rogues altogether. In the past few days, we've seen more blue posts on the official rogue forums than we'd seen since Cataclysm's launch. Poisons have been at the heart and soul of the rogue kit from day one. Even though parts of the poison system have changed over the years, the general concept has always remained the same.

Let me blow your mind: In Mists, you can have two poisons on each of your weapons at once. Let me do it again: All poison proc rates will be percentage-based. And a third time: Poisons are no longer applied to your individual weapons but to both weapons at once.

What does it even mean to put your poisons on both hands at once? What in the world am I supposed to write this column about if nobody's asking which hand to put Deadly Poison on any more? I'm going to slip and tell some new rogue that IP/DP is the best, and he's going to laugh and call me an old man.

Filed under: Rogue, (Rogue) Encrypted Text

Breakfast Topic: I found a tol'vir rare... oh, no

by Mathew McCurley on Feb 22nd 2012 (7 hours ago)

I'm not kidding you guys. Seriously. I was doing archaeology the other day, flying around happily on the new Heart of the Aspects, listening to some music, when the most amazing thing happened. After solving for a Castle of Sand, I began my tol'vir archaeology ritual of pressing the solve button, closing my eyes, turning around and running out of the room. When I return, hopefully a rare tol'vir artifact will be waiting for me to obsess over.

This phenomenon known as the tol'vir rare find is an anomaly. Two quickly made their appearance for me, then vanished, forever leaving me to a storeroom full of Canopic Jars and Sketches of Desert Palaces. It's getting quite full in there. But not this faithful day. This day would be different.

Finally, the impossible happened -- another tol'vir rare. I'm freaking out, man. It's the monkey paw! And the worst part about this blessed miracle is that I can't go to sleep until I solve it.

Have you ever experienced the pain of the double-edged sword in World of Warcraft? Have you ever been the victim of something lucky that turned into an obsession?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Blue Posts: API questions, Rotface and Festergut

by Adam Holisky on Feb 21st 2012 (18 hours ago)

Join us every weekday evening as Today in WoW runs down all the WoW news that you could possibly want. From comments from Blizzard's blues to the latest datamining info -- we've got you covered.

I heard the floating skull was a little scary for some people. So here are some sheep. They shouldn't be that bad. It's not like the all explode or anything crazy...

Don't forget to check out our Weekly Podcast Roundup to find out what else is going on in the WoW community. And if you have a news tip, feel free to drop us a line and let us know.

Filed under: Today in WoW

Yak mounts lumbering your way in Mists of Pandaria

by Michael Sacco on Feb 21st 2012 (19 hours ago)

Yak mounts? In my Asia-inspired continent? It's more likely than you think, according to Blizzard community rep Bashiok. Today, he confirmed on Twitter that the shaggy beasts of burden we saw in Mists of Pandaria preview screenshots will be available as mounts when the expansion hits. What wasn't indicated was whether or not the yaks are the official pandaren mounts; I'm leaning toward no, but we'll see.

We were actually just discussing what the pandaren mount might be when this news came out. Blizzard joked about it at BlizzCon, with its mockup of a pandaren mount as a huge bouncy ball with a seat on top. Mat McCurley's personal opinion is (verbatim) "probably, like, a big frog maybe?" I feel it'll probably be something a little more dignified. Like a rickshaw.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion, raising the level cap to 90, introducing a brand new talent system, and bringing forth the long-lost pandaren race to both Horde and Alliance. Check out the trailer and follow us for all the latest MoP news!

WoW Insider Show

Subscribe via iTunes for our latest show.

Hot Topics

WoW Insider Social Links

Put WoW Insider headlines on your site
Follow WoW Insider on Twitter
Find us on Facebook

Upcoming Events

Event	Date
Love is in the Air	2/5 - 2/18
Call to Arms: Warsong Gulch	2/17 - 2/19
Call to Arms: Strand of the Ancients	2/24 - 2/27
Call to Arms: Isle of Conquest	3/2 - 3/5
Darkmoon Faire	3/4 - 3/10
Call to Arms: The Battle for Gilneas	3/9 - 3/12
Call to Arms: Twin Peaks	3/16 - 3/19
Call to Arms: Arathi Basin	3/23 - 3/26
Call to Arms: Eye of the Storm	3/30 - 4/2
Call to Arms: Alterac Valley	4/6 - 4/9
Noblegarden	4/8 - 4/14