The Best of WoW Insider: October 2010
by Allison Robert 
Dec 29th 2010 at 8:00PM
Otherwise, this was also a great month for Blood Sport and WoW Moviewatch.
News
Cataclysm: New 600 member hard cap imposed on guilds This was a problem for many guilds -- our own <It Came From the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-H) among them.
Official 4.0.1 patch notes It begins.
World of Warcraft reaches 12 million players WoW officially reached 12 million players -- and that's not all-time, that's current subscribers. Adam observes, "That's a lot of Deadmines runs."
BlizzCon 2010: Cataclysm will be available for digital download The sound you heard was that of geeks everywhere without access to a midnight launch screaming for joy.
New Tree of Life model datamined The brand-new Tree of Life model went live on the beta shortly after this article was published and was greeted by ... well, mixed reactions. Mike Gray had some PhotoShop fun with it.
BlizzCon 2010: Update on injured man from dance contest We caught up with the guy injured during the dance contest and were relieved to discover he was okay.
BlizzCon 2010: Scarlet blouse gentleman receives NPC for fact-checking efforts Scarlet Blouse Gentleman -- or Red Shirt Guy, as he's more commonly known -- is now e-famous for catching the developers in a lore mistake during the BlizzCon 2010 Quests and Lore Panel. Blizzard thought this was pretty cool and rewarded him with an in-game nod.
Headless Horseman pumpkin shrine crashes game It's kind of a serious problem when you can't even mouse over an item needed to summon a holiday boss ... Fortunately, players provided a way to get around it.
Officers' Quarters: Raiding addons aren't optional When you've got a key player refusing to download otherwise required addons due to fear of viruses -- and the guy is equally adamant about not getting an authenticator -- you've run into Scott Andrews' Golden Rule of Raiding (GRR): "Don't waste other people's time."
Drama Mamas: Transgender bullying The most commented-upon Drama Mamas of the past year, this article delved into a number of different social issues. I was surprised (though perhaps I shouldn't have been) to see it linked by a number of sites.
All the World's a Stage: Top 10 RP hot spots in Cataclysm A trip around the Cataclysm beta produced a wonderful catalogue of potential RP sites and Azeroth's most interesting places.
Arts and entertainment
WoW Moviewatch: Acting with certainty This one has to be seen to be believed.
WoW Insider reviews The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm by Christie Golden Sacco reviewed The Shattering and gave it a thumbs-up. Behind the scenes here at WoW Insider, staffers also praised the story and were pleased to see it become Golden and Blizzard's second New York Times best seller. As for the review itself, it was a stark reminder that all politics is personal, even in Azeroth.
BlizzCon 2010: WoW Insider interviews author Christie Golden and BlizzCon 2010: WoW Insider interviews author Richard A. Knaak Anne snagged what turned out to be excellent interviews with the two most prominent WoW novelists.
WoW Moviewatch: The Day that Deathwing Came Possibly the most talked-about quest series in Cataclysm.
WoW Moviewatch: A Crit(t)ical Incident The third-place runner-up in this year's machinima contest at BlizzCon.
WoW Moviewatch: I am Forsaken The second-place runner-up, RedEye Lobine's I Am Forsaken, is a fabulous bit of story-telling and voice acting and a quiet reminder of the personal stories underlining the harsh political realities of Azeroth.
15 Minutes of Fame: Laura Shigihara, voice of WoW's singing sunflower Laura Shigihara of Plants vs. Zombies fame turned out to be a WoW player. Blizzard, just as addicted as we are to the music (and music video) of PvZ, dragooned her to voice a new noncombat pet for Cataclysm. Volleying back, she wanted blood elf druids for the trouble.
Blood Sport: Rank one Gladiator PvP secrets, part one and part two As an indifferent battlegrounds player, I never knew any of this stuff. It's a revealing look at the work that goes into being a Gladiator.
Blood Sport: Rank one Gladiator PvP secrets: Illegal and immoral edition And here's a look at the more underhanded tactics -- not that we (or Colby) endorse them.
Raid Rx: The limits of cognitive bandwidth for healers Absorbing, processing, and acting on information as quickly as possible is the hallmark of a good healer (more so these days, when you have to make strategic decisions on what spell to use and when). Matticus wonders at what point an encounter is just too much to deal with.
Blood Pact: Warlock soloing instance bosses for fun and profit Adam Panshin, our newest warlock columnist (a position since termed "The Defense Against the Dark Arts job at WoW Insider") takes a spin through instances traditionally soloed by other classes.
Blood Sport: Not every good PvPer is a Gladiator Moore had a few cogent observations for the more elitist-minded among us.
Encrypted Text: Finding combat's missing damage Post-4.0.1, combat rogue DPS took a nosedive. Chase couldn't help but notice that the spec's mastery bonus didn't play well with the rogue's most basic mechanics.
Know Your Lore: Cairne Bloodhoof "Farewell, old bull."
Gold Capped: Sleazy auctioneers and giving away trade secrets As in real life, so in WoW; some people have an uneasy relationship with money and an even uneasier relationship with those who make a lot of it. "It's not auctioneers that are hurting you; it's demand and supply not agreeing on a price you find satisfactory."
Know Your Lore: Zul'jin and the Amani The history of a very old race and the far-reaching effects it's had on even the modern world.
Know Your Lore: The tinfoil hat worgen edition Rossi observed, "This actually ended up terrifyingly close to what the comic book would say a month or so later."
All the World's a Stage: The limits of your character's knowledge A point often overlooked by roleplayers; you almost certainly know more about what's happening in Azeroth than your character does.
2010's drawing to a close, and we're wrapping up the most interesting articles we've published all year, one day at a time. Join us every day for the next twelve days with this year's best of WoW Insider!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Insider Business, Humor
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Marvs85 Dec 29th 2010 8:18PM
What is with these "best of" articles? No one wants to read months old news.
Fallacy Dec 29th 2010 8:26PM
I do. And if you don't, you needn't tell us. Just move along.
Great articles, Allison.
Saeadame Dec 29th 2010 8:38PM
Uh it's the end of the year and they're recapping the year. I don't see anything wrong with it, in fact I'm rather enjoying going back in reading articles I enjoyed.
Hih Dec 30th 2010 3:07AM
The only complaint I have of some of these is that it doesn't seem so much like it's "best of month" but more like "Every article we wrote that month"
Agony Dec 30th 2010 4:33AM
It's called a year-end recap. It's a common practice for numerous media sources when the year draws to a close.
A lot of websites do it. Radio stations do it. Television stations do it. It'll be over in less than a week, so you can go about being a complete douche in other things after that time, I'm sure.
TaurenBard Dec 30th 2010 12:37PM
I agree with the OP actually, if I want to read old articles I'll go back through the site and read them. They don't all need to be reposted again. I come here to see news, not outdated info. These are opinions of course, people should be free to express them.
He didn't personally attack anyone, unlike you Agony so really you are the douchebag here.
Agony Dec 30th 2010 1:38PM
Fallacy didn't attack, but stated opinion...and should be free to express that opinion, as you stated, yet was downvoted.
Saeadame didn't attack either and actually was very courteous...and was downvoted for freely expressing that opinion.
Admittedly, I didn't need to call the OP a douche - I was annoyed and was having a rather crappy day overall. This doesn't excuse my behavior, so I deserve that downvote...yet I'm pretty certain that THIS post will be downvoted simply for stating the above facts, especially if I mention that I'm enjoying these year-in-review posts (which I am - I missed a lot of these things while I was at work apparently).
TaurenBard Dec 30th 2010 2:10PM
Fair enough, I apologize for my name calling as well. It was kind of hypocritical I guess.
Thander Dec 30th 2010 2:22PM
There are many players coming back to the game, including myself, that welcome a recap of major WoW events in the last year. When I came back, it felt like a completely different game. I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing for a good month. So skimming through these old articles is helping me see what changed, why it changed, and how they affect my characters. WoW Insider posts many things each day for all sorts of different kinds of players. Don't expect all of the articles to be good for you.
Dantis Dec 29th 2010 8:35PM
Well it's the end-of-year retrospective which is cool for the first 7-8 months. After that it's only beneficial to those who were in a coma for the latter half of the year.
Jaq Dec 29th 2010 8:44PM
The only problem I have with this year in review stuff is that I was positive-absolutely positive-that I only started reading WoW Inside regularly a few months ago. Reading these has made me realize that in fact I started around January. Where the heck did 2010 go?
Necromann Dec 29th 2010 9:14PM
Same feeling here, except I started reading over the summer.
Harvoc Dec 29th 2010 10:54PM
I thought that I had started around summer too, but discovered to my surprise that I had actually started around spring!
fbp Dec 30th 2010 9:36AM
Try a /played
Malozing Dec 29th 2010 10:04PM
Again thanks for putting together these best of 2010 lists.
Firecrow Dec 29th 2010 10:12PM
We all know that the mobs of mages have "scared" away the warlock columnists. Next columnist, don't mind the piles of ashes at you desk.
LOTRO Dec 29th 2010 11:00PM
Old articles are SO exciting. Seriously, this site has become as boring as the game itself.
Dantis Dec 29th 2010 11:05PM
lol
itsthebrent Dec 29th 2010 11:08PM
That picture of the Tree is one of my favorite things EVER.
Perenoldian Dec 29th 2010 11:22PM
Why is everyone downrating the people who are enjoying these "Best of"s?
Is it some sarcastic thing that I'm completely missing?
Sure, these could get a little old for the people who read WoWInsider every day, but for those of us who missed a few, this is a welcome set of articles...
Peace