Read more →

Filed under: The Queue

"As I was leveling herbalism in Westfall, I noticed something unusual," writes submitter Jkal of Alexstrasza (US-A). "A white, glowing blur would zoom across the landscape about five feet up in the air. I couldn't target it and it was fast. It was like nothing I'd seen before in game. It would always head towards Longshore and disappear. I think I got a picture. But I still don't know what it is. Sure looks like a UFO to me. This one was stationary when I found it. It just slowly blinked out as I stood there watching."

---

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

Patch 5.3 is here. As you read this, the servers should be down to apply the patch. This means you'll want to use this time get caught up on all the latest patch 5.3 news, which, as always, you can find right here. Start off with our patch 5.3 roundup for an overview of everything. You'll also want to check out our exclusive interview with Lead Systems Designer Greg Ghostcrawler Street. Gamebreaker TV also did an interview with Ghostcrawler and Senior PvP Designer Brian Holinka.

You can also check the roundup below for more of this week's WoW news, from patch 5.3 and elsewhere. Realm maintenance begins at 3 a.m. PDT today and is expected to last 8 hours, so you'll have time.

Hot news and features

• Here's what WoW newbies should know about new patches.
• We have a guide to the lore and story of patch 5.3.
• Patch 5.3 will allow you level mining and herbalism exclusively in Pandaria.
• We have a roundup of patch 5.3's battle pet changes.
• We have a preview of some new patch 5.3 scenarios, including The Secrets of Ragefire and Battle on the High Seas.
• Blizzard has posted some patch 5.3 interviews of their with Tom Chilton.
• Check out the final patch 5.3 PTR note updates for March 14.
• Ghostcrawler outlines some Vengeance changes coming to the patch 5.4 PTR.
• Convert to Raid interviews Blizzard's Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas.

Read more →

Filed under: Realm Status, News items

We recently explored how you felt about alternate characters, whether you believe they should represent true alternatives to your first character or whether they should remain secondary to a more fully developed main. Either way, there's no stuffing rapid leveling back into the bag. WoW's current leveling design pushes players forward relentlessly, whether they're experienced gamers or not. The problem is that today's leveling pace already outstrips zone content, quest lines, gearing -- you name it. Should Blizzard apply the brakes to base XP while still permitting seasoned WoW players to choose to move more rapidly?

Consider this: What if the leveling experience weren't tuned to catapult players so quickly through and past leveling zones and dungeons? What if the pace were a little looser, giving new players more time to soak up the leveling game itself -– and then at the same time, the current XP boosts were spread across tools designed for experienced players who choose to hop, skip, and jump their way to 90?

The precedents are there -- just look at the heirloom armor system. Today, you can buy Grand Commendations to boost various reputations for your characters once you've played through them once. And remember when everyone was buying the Tome of Cold Weather Flight for their alts? The tools are already in place. From leveling XP to reputation gains to player convenience, the helping hand of a level-capped main character is key.

Do you think WoW's leveling experience should remain something to be played through quickly and efficiently, even for brand new players, or do you think there's merit to allowing that part of the game to move at a more deliberate pace? Would you support more mechanics that give experienced players a way to speed up leveling for their alts, preserving a slower pace for new players and players who enjoy slower leveling? If you like a strong emphasis on mechanics like heirlooms and commendations, should those tools be simple, affordable purchases for any level 90 player, or should they take some time, effort, or money to earn?

---

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

You've heard that patch 5.3 is arriving this week, but do you know just what is in store? There's been a lot of news, but we'll point you towards the highlights so you can get up to speed and into patch 5.3's new content immediately.

From Blizzard

• Patch 5.3 PTR patch notes
• Preparing for Patch 5.3: Escalation
• World Event – Battlefield: Barrens Preview
• Patch 5.3 Scenario Preview
• PvP Preview: Deepwind Gorge and The Tiger's Peak
• Patch 5.3 Adds Off-Spec Loot and Rewards
• PvP Gear in Patch 5.3

Interviews

• WoW Insider interviews Ghostcrawler
• Convert to Raid interviews Ion Hazzikostas

Read more →

If you haven't caught the pet battle fever yet, now's a great time to start. New rewards make pet battles a great way to help earn some of your raiding currency, such as Valor Points or Lesser Charms, and mechanics changes make the whole system more transparent and less frustrating.

New rewards

Tired of killing daily quest mobs for VP? Why not pet battle for it? All of the master tamers in Pandaria, as well as the Spirits and Beasts of Fable, now offer daily quests for their defeat that offer the standard XP, 5 VP and 2 Lesser Charms per turn-in. The Beasts of Fable quest has been split into three parts, giving you a total of 14 pet battles you can do daily for VP, charms, and a chance at a battle-stone.

Those battle-stones should be more common as well, with "bad luck protection" added to the game. Every bag without a battle-stone increases the chances of the next bag containing one. If you're using pet battles to level alts, all the pet battle daily quests now award XP as well. All of these quests now show up on the map, so you can find them easily.

Read more →

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

In the leveling homestretch, I tend to follow a pattern. My main goal is to boost my ilevel as soon as I hit 90 to get in on Raid Finder. Although, once I get there, I end up feeling bitter because waiting in a Raid Finder queue isn't fun. Even if you're not into Raid Finder, WoW presents players with plenty of opportunity to wait around at some point -- battleground and dungeon queues, or even sticking around for a PUG to come together.

As a tank on my main, I groan when thinking of entering Raid Finder, mainly because of the wait. There are only two tank roles, after all. With the new loot specialization coming to 5.3, players looking to win tank gear have hope of a less painful wait in a DPS role, at least. Even if you're used to the long wait, everyone has a limit. I remember waiting as a tank in a Raid Finder queue for an hour and forty minutes. I'm not usually willing to wait that long. I'm relatively comfortable with waiting about thirty to forty minutes before moving on.

When it comes to PUGs, I'm quite patient, usually waiting longer than I probably should. In a PUG, I tend to have a personal connection to at least one of the other players in the group, so I'm not quick to leave.

How long are you willing to wait, whether it be for a dungeon, Raid Finder, battleground, or a PUG? While in queue, how do you pass the time? I usually find myself completing dailies or battling pets. But at what point do you throw up your hands and leave?

---

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mists of Pandaria

If World of Warcraft had but one holiday, it would be Patch Day: the glorious Tuesday (or Wednesday) in which the WoW servers go down for maintenance but come back online brimming with new, unexplored content. If you're new to World of Warcraft, or MMOs in general, you may not entirely understand all the fuss the community makes over patches. So just what is a patch? Why are they so important? And how can you get your hands on one? We'll do our best to explain.

What is a WoW patch?
Did you know we're playing version 5 of World of Warcraft right now? It's true: Version 1.1 was World of Warcraft's launch client and every expansion since has bumped the version number up a full number, while each patch release is a decimal place. The original game went up to patch 1.12 (the 1.1 launch client and 11 patches after), Burning Crusade (2.0) had a scant 4 patches, Wrath of the Lich King (3.0) had 3, Cataclysm (4.0) had 3, and Mists of Pandaria (5.0) is about to see the release of its 3rd patch, patch 5.3. These days, patches are coming more quickly than ever and we have no idea how many patches to expect before the next expansion arrives.

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Rookie

Work Warning: Minutely blue humor found herein.

It's been a while since we've seen a new video from Nixxiom (also known as SilverlinedPro). That makes this delicious bit of machinima even more tasty. With a somewhat painful look on those first seconds of a Tauren roleplayer's life, Not All Roleplay is Serious - Episode 7: NOOB demonstrates only the finest irony of a beginning roleplayer. Watch your flags!

---

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

---

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

---

Filed under: Blizzard