I don't know if you've noticed, but Blizzard's been inserting new icons in every patch. You know those little square graphics that appear next to spell or item descriptions? They've been revising some that were shared across several items and gave them entirely new icons. It doesn't appear on the patch notes, but some spells got new icons - such as the Black Tabby, which got a new icon back in Patch 3.1.

Here in Patch 3.2, we see two new cooking icons which are probably going to be related to some world events - the Bread of the Dead and Cranberry Chutney. Both have new, unique icons. Personally, I think spell and item icons are a small but important part of what makes the game feel unique. Some icons are funny, some are really colorful, and some are even plain sexy. Some icons were actually confusing - remember when flying carpets all looked like Runecloth? That was dumb, but Blizzard got around to setting things right.

There are cool spell and talent icons, too. Some icons look exactly like the item they represent, some icons are totally generic, and some icons are hard to make heads or tails of, although that's probably what Blizzard is slowly trying to eliminate. Did anybody notice how they changed icons for the Cockroach and the Magical Crawdad Box? Blizzard didn't have to, certainly, but I for one appreciate the little things. Like I said, small parts of the game that give it its unique feel. Are there any icons in particular that stand out for you? What are your favorites? Dislikes? If anything, I'll take this opportunity to give a shout out to the amazing art team at Blizzard responsible for those little square things. Oh, and if you can name all those icons pictured above... you probably need professional help.

Tags: blizzard-art-team, icons, item-icons, not-in-patch-notes, patches, spell-icons

Filed under: Odds and ends, Breakfast Topics