WoW Insider http://wow.joystiq.com WoW Insider http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogobig.gif WoW Insider http://wow.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. View our terms of service here: http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Raid wipes and eternity]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/12/breakfast-topic-raid-wipes-and-eternity/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/12/breakfast-topic-raid-wipes-and-eternity/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/12/breakfast-topic-raid-wipes-and-eternity/#comments The Greek myth of Sisyphus tells the story of a self-serving king who repeatedly tricked and cheated the gods during his life. When he finally died, King Sisyphus was punished for his pride and insolence by being made to eternally push a boulder up a hill. Just endlessly toiling away in the Underworld wasn't enough of a sentence for him, though. To punish him further the gods enchanted the boulder so that whenever it neared the top of the hill it would slip from Sisyphus' grasp and tumble back to the bottom of the hill. Sisyphus' hell is one that encapsulates futility, hopelessness, and frustration.

This story came to my mind a week ago when my guild repeatedly wiped to heroic Sha of Pride in the Siege of Orgrimmar ... A boss which we technically have on farm. After the fourth or fifth attempt in which we died to the enrage timer, I leaned back in my chair and thought, "This is it. This would be my punishment in hell."

After thinking on it further I decided that while heroic Sha of Pride farm wipes are bad, there is likely another boss that I would find even more unbearable to repeatedly wipe to. Some of the long fights like Garrosh or Ragnaros 2.0 would be contenders. Then there's the fights with annoying mechanics like Razorscale or Faction champs. Then there are those two encounters at the end of the raid-instance-which-must-not-be-named ... Anyway, I still haven't decided what the ultimate punishment for myself would be, so I thought I'd ask you all for your own. Let us know which boss and why!

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: Raid wipes and eternity originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 12 May 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> Breakfast-Topicfeaturedgame-discussiongamer-discussionsha-of-pridesiege-of-orgrimmarsisyphusworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Dawn Moore) Mon, 12 May 2014 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The real reason I hate the Timeless Isle]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/28/the-real-reason-i-hate-the-timeless-isle/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/28/the-real-reason-i-hate-the-timeless-isle/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/02/28/the-real-reason-i-hate-the-timeless-isle/#comments I hate the Timeless Isle.

I hate the lack of clear objectives. I hate the pseudo-platformer elements. I hate the pouncing tigers, stomping rock monsters, and the shield bearing Ordon yaungol (all of which have abilities I'd be perfectly happy to deal with in a dungeon but am inconvenienced by when I just want 50 Lesser Charms of Good Fortune for the week). There's also the unconventional grummle mailbox that requires two clicks instead of one, and the apocalyptic typhoon of random consumable items wrecking my bag space. But above all of those there is one thing I hate more than anything about the Timeless Isle ... The yaks.

Continue reading The real reason I hate the Timeless Isle

Filed under:

The real reason I hate the Timeless Isle originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> bloody-coinsCenser-of-Eternal-Agonymists-of-pandariaordosruthersruthers-harnesstimeless-isleyakyak-mountyak-mountsyaks (Dawn Moore) Fri, 28 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Waffles of Draenor]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/01/01/the-queue-waffles-of-draenor/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/01/01/the-queue-waffles-of-draenor/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/01/01/the-queue-waffles-of-draenor/#comments Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Dawn Moore (@dawnwow) will be your host today.

Happy New Year!

I was fortunate enough to have a box of Eggo waffles in my freezer this morning when I went through yesterday's Queue looking for questions. If you didn't read yesterday's, commenter Kageokami asked ScottLeyes to spam a "Best of ScottLeyes in 2013" in the comments and he complied.

I also unlocked an achievement this morning by not getting any residual syrup on my fingers in the process of eating my delicious freezer waffles. I'm not sure what the achievement is called though, as it scrolled past too quickly and I have terrible peripheral vision. Either way, it's an excellent way to start the new year.

And given the title of today's Queue ...

ScottLeyes asked:

OK, so we need strong song suggestions for the WOW MUSICAL... I nominate:

"One Night in Halfhill" (sung to "One Night In Bangkok")
"Undercity Girls" (sung to Katy Perry's "California Gurls")

Continue reading The Queue: Waffles of Draenor

Filed under:

The Queue: Waffles of Draenor originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 01 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Dawn Moore) Wed, 01 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Hearthstone fan sets out to craft a Hearthstone gaming box]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/23/hearthstone-fan-sets-out-to-craft-a-hearthstone-gaming-box/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/23/hearthstone-fan-sets-out-to-craft-a-hearthstone-gaming-box/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/23/hearthstone-fan-sets-out-to-craft-a-hearthstone-gaming-box/#comments Hearthstone fan sets out to craft a Hearthstone gaming box The first time Steve watched Hearthstone's iconic in-game card box slam shut, he thought to himself "I'm going to make that!"

As a hobbyist carpenter, Steve was inspired to put his woodworking skills to the test when he saw the official art of Blizzard's upcoming title, Hearthstone. Originally he set out to just recreate the box, but overtime the project has morphed into something even better. Now when the box is complete it will serve as a cabinet for a touchscreen laptop which will allow him play Hearthstone out of its own box. Did we mention it also glows?

Smart Wood, Steve's blog, documents the crafting process from the first paper sketches to the nearly completed box. (And you've just got to check out the beautiful interior of the box.) He is currently in the final stages, attaching finishing touches and getting the touchscreen device mounted. When it's complete, he hopes to send it off to Blizzard to get the seal of approval from the Hearthstone Development team with some autographs.

Filed under:

Hearthstone fan sets out to craft a Hearthstone gaming box originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 23 Oct 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> hearthstonewow-community (Dawn Moore) Wed, 23 Oct 2013 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[What race needs new character models the most?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/28/what-race-needs-new-character-models-the-most/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/28/what-race-needs-new-character-models-the-most/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/28/what-race-needs-new-character-models-the-most/#comments Breakfast Topic What race needs new character models the most Over the weekend at Gamescom, Game Director Tom Chilton and Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton revealed that new character models for the older races are currently in development and are about 25% done. Chilton also added that he wasn't sure if all the new models would be launched at the same time, or if Blizzard would opt to release them over several patches as they are completed. I'm in favor of the latter myself, though I can see that resulting in an unbearable amount of QQ from players whose characters didn't initially receive model updates.

The whole thing makes me wonder which races are likely to get updated first. It's possible the developers will go after the most popular races first (humans and blood elves) since that will appease the largest number of people. It's also just as possible they'll work in order of which races need new models the most. That raises the question though, which race is in the most dire need of a character model update?

If I had to pick one I'd probably go with dwarf, specifically the female dwarf because so few people play it. Granted, I don't think female dwarves necessarily suffer from the worst looking model, but they're somehow still one of the least popular choices among players. That alone makes me feel like the model needs some time and attention to not only update it, but to broaden its appeal somewhat. Mind you, female dwarves don't need to have the same appeal as blood elves or humans, but they certainly should have more than they currently do.

Which race do you think needs a character model update the most? Tell us why.

Filed under:

What race needs new character models the most? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> character-modelcharacter-model-revampcharacter-modelscory-stocktonfemale-dwarfgamescomnew-character-modelstom-chilton (Dawn Moore) Wed, 28 Aug 2013 17:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Battlefield: Barrens ending soon]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/battlefield-barrens-ending-soon/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/battlefield-barrens-ending-soon/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/15/battlefield-barrens-ending-soon/#comments Image Still have shopping to do with the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster? Be sure to get it done before patch 5.4 goes live. In a forum post earlier this morning, Community Manager Crithto reminded players that the Battlefield: Barrens world event will be ending forever when the next patch is released.

Crithto -- Battlefield: Barrens Ending Soon
As the Orgrimmar invasion begins in 5.4, Vol'jin and his forces will move beyond gathering supplies and into a full assault on the Horde capital. This means that once the new patch goes live, the Battlefield: Barrens weekly quest will no longer be available.

Those of you who have a Radical Mojo after the patch goes live will still be able to use it with existing armor tokens. However, Ravika, the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster, will no longer be available for purchases, but you will have a rare chance at receiving the Raptorhide Boxing Gloves and Gahz'rooki's Summoning Stone by killing the Kor'kron, and other associated mobs in Northern Barrens.


So if you were planning to buy vanity items like Xan'tish's Flute and Griftah's Authentic Troll Shoes, or wanted to earn the Darkspear Revolutionary or Hordebreaker achievements on an alt, get to work! The patch could be coming as soon as Tuesday, August 27th.

Filed under:

Battlefield: Barrens ending soon originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 15 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> barrensbattle-petbattle-petsbattlefield-barrenscrithtodarkspear-rebelliondarkspear-rebellion-quartermastergahzrookipatch-5.3patch-5.4rare-drops (Dawn Moore) Thu, 15 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What will the next WoW expansion be?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/13/breakfast-topic-what-will-the-next-wow-expansion-be/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/13/breakfast-topic-what-will-the-next-wow-expansion-be/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/13/breakfast-topic-what-will-the-next-wow-expansion-be/#comments Mists of Pandaria is our Emerald Dream expansion What will the next WoW expansion be? With only one major content patch left in Mists of Pandaria, and BlizzCon 2013 around the corner, it won't be long before we know what's next. But what do you think is coming? Will we be venturing into the Emerald Dream alongside Malfurion, or was Anne Stickney onto something when she speculated that the Mists of Pandaria might be our Emerald Dream expansion?

What about the ongoing legendary questline with Wrathion? Wrathion has been referencing the return of the Burning Legion in much of his quest text. Does that mean demons will be descending upon Azeroth in the next expansion? Will we finally get to see Sargeras?

Also, you wouldn't want to forget Queen Azshara. You would think we'd have seen her and the city Nazjatar in the Cataclysm expansion, but so far she's only made minor or indirect appearances. Azshara is the perfect accompaniment to some recent fan speculation about the naga being the next possible playable race. Unfortunately, Ghostcrawler pretty much shot that down by pointing out the naga's lack of legs would make it difficult to design armor for them.

And, of course, there's always ... Trolls? Wait, really? More trolls? You wouldn't think it, but in the same interview where Ghostcrawler killed our naga dreams, he said that trolls were an option the game lore could still explore in future content. Huh ... Go figure.

So, what do you think the next WoW expansion will be?

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: What will the next WoW expansion be? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 13 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> azsharablizzcon-2013Burning-Legionemerald-dreamemerald-dream-expansionlegendary-itemsmists-of-pandarianext expansion for wownext world of warcraft expansionnext wow expansionnext wow expantionnext-expansionnext-wow-expansionnextexpansionforwownextworldofwarcraftexpansionnextwowexpansionnextwowexpantionqueen-azsharasargerastrollswhat is the next wow expansionwhat will wows next expansion bewhatisthenextwowexpansionwhatwillwowsnextexpansionbeworld of warcraftworld of warcraft next expansionworldofwarcraftworldofwarcraftnextexpansionwow expansionwow next expansiowow next expansionwow-trollswowexpansionwownextexpansiowownextexpansionwrathion (Dawn Moore) Tue, 13 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[BlizzCon 2013 Costume Contest sign up now open]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/06/blizzcon-2013-costume-contest-sign-up-now-open/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/06/blizzcon-2013-costume-contest-sign-up-now-open/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/08/06/blizzcon-2013-costume-contest-sign-up-now-open/#comments BlizzCon 2013 Costume Contest sign up now open Planning to cosplay at BlizzCon 2013? Registration for the BlizzCon 2013 Costume Contest is now open. Should you wish to compete, do not delay signing up a moment longer. There are a limited number of slots (a mere 100) which will be filled first come, first serve.

Be sure to read the contest rules before you sign up, though. The rules have changed over the years, making certain types of costumes ineligible for entry. There are much tighter restrictions on how big your costume can be this year, and the BlizzCon organizers would really like it if you could walk up a few stairs in the dark without assistance.

After you sign up, you should receive an e-mail confirmation that your submission has been received. You won't know right away if you've secured yourself a slot, however, so just keep your fingers crossed and stay patient. And should you not get into the contest initially, there is still hope! In the months and weeks approaching the convention, some entrants may drop out of the contest and open up a slot for you. Good luck!

So, any WoW Insider readers planning to cosplay at BlizzCon 2013? What are you hoping to go as? If you need some inspiration, check out some of our costume galleries from previous BlizzCons.

Filed under:

BlizzCon 2013 Costume Contest sign up now open originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> blizzconblizzcon 2013blizzcon-2013blizzcon-contestblizzcon-contestsblizzcon-cosplayblizzcon-costume-contestblizzcon-costumesblizzcon2013cosplaycosplay contest 2013cosplay-contestcosplaycontest2013costumecostume-contestwhen is blizzcon 2013whenisblizzcon2013 (Dawn Moore) Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Preparation, Readiness, and other cooldown resetting abilities may have grim future]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/18/preparation-readiness-and-other-cooldown-resetting-abilities-m/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/18/preparation-readiness-and-other-cooldown-resetting-abilities-m/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/18/preparation-readiness-and-other-cooldown-resetting-abilities-m/#comments Preparation, Readiness, and other cooldown resetting abilities may have grim future Classes with cooldown resetting abilities probably won't find one of Ghostcrawler's most recent tweet all that surprising. The abilities (Preparation, Readiness, etc.) have been targeted by several nerfs and changes this expansion. Ghostcrawler wrote the following in reply to a tweet that said it may be time to stop adding cooldown resetting abilities to the game if they're constantly going to be nerfed.


The abilities are particularly problematic in PvP, where players can chain several attacks or crowd control abilities together within a short period of time. What do you think? Do cooldown resetting abilities belong in the game? Are they overpowered?

Filed under:

Preparation, Readiness, and other cooldown resetting abilities may have grim future originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 18 Jul 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> class-nerfsghostcrawlerghostcrawler-twitterhunterhuntersmagemagesnerfspreparationreadinessroguerogues (Dawn Moore) Thu, 18 Jul 2013 15:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Still no spectator mode in the works for WoW arena]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/12/still-no-spectator-mode-in-the-works-for-wow-arena/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/12/still-no-spectator-mode-in-the-works-for-wow-arena/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/12/still-no-spectator-mode-in-the-works-for-wow-arena/#comments Still no spectator mode in the works for WoW arena While there are many changes in store for the arena in patch 5.4, there are still no development plans for a spectator mode according to EU community manager, Nakatoir.

The latest blue post on the matter reiterates much of what we've heard before -- that yes, a spectator mode would be awesome but would require great number of resources to develop. Thus it's not currently in the cards.

Nakatoir -- Spectator mode and the esport scene in general
I don't deny that getting a working spectator mode would help with community ran competitions and tournaments and it's one of the reasons that we would like to have one. Understand that this is something we know that players want and it's something that we would like to provide to you. We simply have no plans at this time to implement such a feature, but when we are able to implement this feature we'll be sure to let you know about it.


Given the incoming arena and PvP changes slated to arrive in patch 5.4, one might expect the demand for a spectator feature to increase, but who knows for sure? What do you think? Would having spectator mode increase your interest and participation in arena? Do you think the WoW eSports community would grow if there was a dedicated spectator mode like the ones found in StarCraft 2 or League of Legends?

Filed under:

Still no spectator mode in the works for WoW arena originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 12 Jul 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> arenaesportesportsnakatoirpvpspectator-modewow-arenawow-pvp (Dawn Moore) Fri, 12 Jul 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The best cloth transmogrification item ever]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/18/the-best-cloth-transmogrification-item-ever/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/18/the-best-cloth-transmogrification-item-ever/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/18/the-best-cloth-transmogrification-item-ever/#comments The best cloth transmogrification item ever Today I present you with the best cloth transmog item ever: Exiled Dabbler's Gloves. What makes these gloves so special? Well, it's that they don't really look like gloves at all. They display more like a pair of bracers, so when paired with many cloth chest pieces they appear as though your character isn't wearing any gloves at all. See why they're so awesome? Few would dispute the universal appeal of having no gloves as an option.

So far the Exiled Dabbler's Gloves appear to work best with any cloth chest that have a bell sleeve. Sleeveless, short sleeve, and fitted sleeve chest pieces don't seem to hide the gauntlet of the glove. Fortunately the gauntlet is quite simple in design, displaying as a black bracer with some silver detail. Coincidentally, they're a pretty close match to the ever popular Black Mageweave Leggings.

According to Wowhead, these gloves are a random uncommon quality drop from the Isle of Thunder and Throne of Thunder. So if needed more incentive to keep doing dailies on the Isle of Thunder, now you have one.

What do you think? Will you be chasing these down on the auction house or the Isle of Thunder? Personally I think it would be interesting to combine them with Griftah's Authentic Troll Shoes, so my character can go gloveless and shoeless.

Filed under:

The best cloth transmogrification item ever originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> best cloth transmogbest mage transmogbest transmogbest transmog everbestclothtransmogbestmagetransmogbesttransmogbesttransmogevercloth transmogcloth-transmogcloth-transmogrificationclothtransmogisle-of-thunderisle-of-thunder-dailiespretty cloth bracers for xmogprettyclothbracersforxmogtransmogtransmogrification (Dawn Moore) Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What type of character would your father play in WoW?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/16/breakfast-topic-what-type-of-character-would-your-father-play-i/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/16/breakfast-topic-what-type-of-character-would-your-father-play-i/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/16/breakfast-topic-what-type-of-character-would-your-father-play-i/#comments Breakfast Topic What type of character would your father play in WoW Happy Father's Day! In honor of the day I have a question for you: what would your father play in WoW? A rogue? A hunter? What race would he choose, and which spec would he favor? Some of you may recall I asked a similar question last month on Mother's Day, so now it's time for us to give our dads the same treatment.

I myself have always thought my father would roll as a blood elf frost mage. The mage because he was a bit of a trickster and I imagine he'd get a kick out of spells like Blink and Polymorph. An elf because he always enjoyed the wise and collected demeanor of the elves in Lord of the Rings. And frost because he'd prefer PvP over PvE, and frost offers so much control and utility for that.

As for my step father ... I've never so much as seen him touch a video game beyond Solitaire, so maybe he'd just play Hearthstone. Who knows?

What about your fathers?

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: What type of character would your father play in WoW? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> engineeringfathers-daygoblin-barbecuegoblin-bbqwow-parents (Dawn Moore) Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: An Inconvenient Expansion]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/30/wow-moviewatch-an-inconvenient-expansion/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/30/wow-moviewatch-an-inconvenient-expansion/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/30/wow-moviewatch-an-inconvenient-expansion/#comments Today's machinima from Lagspike Films is one you've probably seen before. Released just a few weeks before the launch of Cataclysm, An Inconvenient Expansion brings the climate change discussion to Azeroth in a humorous way.

I remember when this machinima was first released, I was suspicious that I might be watching something I would hate. I've found discussing real world issues with WoW players often ends in disaster so I was wary when I saw a character, named Al Boar, correlating the rise in global temperature to the rise in vanity pets. To my pleasant surprise though, the whole machinima never really gets too serious and the script is quite funny.

Beyond that, I love the animation in this video. When things really get started I found myself impressed with a lot of little things ... From the way the grounds splits open, to the way Deathwing's silhouette perches atop a mountain. It looks great without a lot of attention being directed toward it.
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: An Inconvenient Expansion originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 30 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> cataclysmdeathwingfeaturedguide-to-machinimalagspike-filmslagspikefilmmachinimamoviesow-machinimaworld-of-warcraft-moviesworld-of-warcraft-videoswow-created-movieswow-fan-movieswow-guidewow-machinima-guidewow-movie-guidewow-movieswow-video-guidewow-videos (Dawn Moore) Thu, 30 May 2013 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/whats-the-best-way-to-get-lesser-charms-of-fortune/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/whats-the-best-way-to-get-lesser-charms-of-fortune/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/whats-the-best-way-to-get-lesser-charms-of-fortune/#comments What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune every week? Although Blizzard recently reduced the amount of Lesser Charms of Fortune players need each week (by lowering the requirement for the weekly quest Mogu Coins of Fate from 90 charms to 50 charms) we've still got to get them somewhere. So what's the best way?

Prior to patch 5.3, it seemed like everyone was swearing by pet battles. Players were claiming they'd earned hundreds to thousands of Lesser Charms just killing critters in Stormwind. A hotfix eventually nerfed the drop chance for Lesser Charms in lower level pet battles, but higher level pet battles are still rewarding charms to anyone who wants to put in the time. Is it still worth it?

Patch 5.3 has also added a couple of changes to Lesser Charm collection to really mix up the equation. Level 90 creatures that are outdoors in the world now have a chance to drop Lesser Charms of Fortune, while rare spawns in Pandaria and bosses in Battlefield: Barrens are guaranteed to always drop the charms. The result of this? Hordes of players in Northern Barrens farming Lesser Charms off the new Kor'kron mobs there.

Continue reading What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune?

Filed under:

What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 24 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> 5.35.3 lesser charm farm5.3lessercharmfarmbattlefield-barrensbest way to farm lesser charm of good fortunebestwaytofarmlessercharmofgoodfortunedailiesfarming lesser charm of good fortunefarminglessercharmofgoodfortunefastest way to get lesser charmsfastestwaytogetlessercharmsgolden-lotushttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/24/whats-the-best-way-to-get-lessisle-of-thunderkor-kronkorkronlesser charm farminglesser charm farming 5.3lesser charm of good fortunelesser charm of good fortune farminglesser charms 5.3lesser-charmlesser-charm-of-good-fortunelesser-charmslesser-charms-of-good-fortunelessercharmfarminglessercharmfarming5.3lessercharmofgoodfortunelessercharmofgoodfortunefarminglessercharms5.3mogu-rune-of-fatepatch-5.2patch-5.3pet-battlepet-battles (Dawn Moore) Fri, 24 May 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Reminder: Deadline for BlizzCon ticket information is tomorrow]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/reminder-deadline-for-blizzcon-ticket-information-is-tomorrow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/reminder-deadline-for-blizzcon-ticket-information-is-tomorrow/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/reminder-deadline-for-blizzcon-ticket-information-is-tomorrow/#comments Reminder Deadline for BlizzCon ticket information is tomorrow For those of you planning to attend BlizzCon 2013, Blizzard has posted a friendly reminder on its community sites that ticket information needs to be finalized by Tuesday, May 14 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. That's tomorrow night, so get to it if you haven't already done so.
BlizzCon Ticket Reminder: Attendee Information Deadline-May 14
If you purchased BlizzCon 2013 tickets for family or friends, just a reminder you have until next Tuesday, May 14 to enter or edit attendee information, including:
  • The names to be printed on the badges.
  • Battle.net account names for the pre-show online merchandise sale for BlizzCon ticket holders-more details to come. (Please note that only registered accounts will be able to access this pre-show sale.)
  • Optional game information such as World of Warcraft character, realm, clan, and BattleTag.
If this information hasn't been entered by May 14, all badges will default to the name on the purchaser's Battle.net account. Don't miss the opportunity to customize your badges!

For more info, check out the Badge Information page.

Head to your Order History within Battle.net account management to edit attendee information before it's too late!

This information is particularly important if you're getting your ticket through a friend or family member. If the name on your ticket does not match the name on your photo ID, you will not be able to pick up your badge on your own. That, and if you don't select your franchise preferences, you might end up with a Diablo III badge instead of a World of Warcraft one. You wouldn't want that, would you?

Filed under:

Reminder: Deadline for BlizzCon ticket information is tomorrow originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 13 May 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> blizzconblizzcon-2013blizzcon-2013-ticketsbreaking (Dawn Moore) Mon, 13 May 2013 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What type of character would your mother play in WoW?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/12/breakfast-topic-what-type-of-character-would-your-mother-play-i/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/12/breakfast-topic-what-type-of-character-would-your-mother-play-i/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/12/breakfast-topic-what-type-of-character-would-your-mother-play-i/#comments Happy Mother's Day! I suspect that many WoW Insider readers are probably not mothers themselves (though surely some of you are), but I do know most of you are human, which means most of you have a mother or two. As such, I thought I'd use the day to ask this question: what would your mother play in WoW? Would she be a paladin? A warlock? Would she roll as a gnome or a tauren? What about her spec?

To answer the question myself, I really had to consider all the angles. Generally I think of my mother as being very kind and nurturing, but I've also seen her stand up to people three times her size and threaten the neighborhood bullies with a gaze of death when I got picked on as a kid. All in all, I figure she's probably a druid since she's fairly attuned to nature and can make anything grow. She'd probably go main spec kitty DPS (she has her moments of being super sneaky) and restoration as her secondary spec. As for what race she'd be ... I see her more as a night elf but I know she'd pick tauren since the cows are so cute.

My stepmother, on the other hand, would totally go dwarf elemental shaman. Granted, she'd probably also have four level 90 alts and a bunch of battleground achievements ... She's pretty hardcore when she gets into stuff. She's told me herself that she'd get addicted if she ever started.

So, what about your mothers?

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: What type of character would your mother play in WoW? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 12 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> Breakfast-Topicmothers-dayMothersDay (Dawn Moore) Sun, 12 May 2013 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The useful distinction between casual and hardcore]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-useful-distinction-between-casual-and-hardcore/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-useful-distinction-between-casual-and-hardcore/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/11/the-useful-distinction-between-casual-and-hardcore/#comments The useful distinction between casual and hardcore Earlier this week, WoW Insider's Matthew Rossi argued that there is no point in distinguishing between hardcore and casual players, and that doing so actually detracts from the game. I, however, don't agree and will be presenting a counterpoint in this article. So, if you haven't read Rossi's side yet, be sure to check it out first.

Now before I explain why I think the distinction between hardcore and casual is useful, I think it's necessary that we all be on the same page as far as what hardcore and casual actually are. I found Rossi's argument against the usage of these words particularly flawed because he was working around an assumed and rigid definition of what a hardcore player and a casual player are. Toward the end of his article he pointed out that the casual/hardcore metric doesn't work when you consider the various ways in which some players are engaging with the game. Not every player raids, he explained, but that doesn't mean they can't be hardcore.

Now, I agree with that for the most part, but I disagree with his understanding of hardcore and casual. You see, hardcore and casual are not and have never been part of any metric. It's actually impossible for them to have ever been since the definition of casual and hardcore is subjective. Ask any two people what kind of behavior distinguishes a casual player from a hardcore player and the answer will be different in some way ... And if the definition of something varies from person to person, it can't logically be used as a standard of measurement.

Continue reading The useful distinction between casual and hardcore

Filed under: ,

The useful distinction between casual and hardcore originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 11 May 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> casual-playerscasual-raidinghardcorehardcore-casualhardcore-raidinghardcore-vs-casualraiding (Dawn Moore) Sat, 11 May 2013 14:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: If WoW Was Easy... er]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/08/wow-moviewatch-if-wow-was-easy-er/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/08/wow-moviewatch-if-wow-was-easy-er/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/08/wow-moviewatch-if-wow-was-easy-er/#comments Today on WoW Moviewatch, Wowcrendor presents us with a simple question: how easy do you think World of Warcraft could become? The context for this question obviously being that players are constantly complaining how easy the game has become over the years. Thoughts, anyone? Rants? Well-argued essays?

Anyway, to answer the question, Wowcrendor employs his usual style wherein which Billy presents the question and Crendor responds with several, increasingly absurd answers. I won't spoil any of the jokes (though I really want that robot) so just give it a watch.

I have to admit, it really is astonishing that Billy has retained his innocence and naivety over the years. You'd think after being slapped around by the harshness of reality so many times he'd have become jaded by now. But I guess he really is resilient ... Or maybe just extremely oblivious. Either way, props to you Billy. I wish I had your tenacity.
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: If WoW Was Easy... er originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 08 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> featuredguide-to-machinimamachinimamoviesow-machinimaworld-of-warcraft-moviesworld-of-warcraft-videoswow-created-movieswow-crendorwow-fan-movieswow-guidewow-machinima-guidewow-movie-guidewow-movieswow-video-guidewow-videoswowcrendor (Dawn Moore) Wed, 08 May 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: Lore According to Ragnaros]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/wow-moviewatch-lore-according-to-ragnaros/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/wow-moviewatch-lore-according-to-ragnaros/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/wow-moviewatch-lore-according-to-ragnaros/#comments Did you ever think Ragnaros might not be such a bad guy, and that maybe he's just really, really misunderstood? Probably not, but you will after you watch the latest machinima from Slightly Impressive. In the video, Ragnaros explains what actually happened in Molten Core back during vanilla WoW. He also makes a fairly good point about how we shouldn't take crazy dreams too seriously. Sound advice, seeing as I once had a dream where the WoW Insider staff tried to recreate The Empire Strikes Back.

Anyway, I think this machinima shows off Griffter's strengths well. The setup and the script are genuinely funny and the voice actors execute it all perfectly. I'd actually really love to see this become a short series with a different boss each episode, provided Griff can keep the jokes fresh. Even if it stays a one-shot though, this is one of my favorites to date.
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: Lore According to Ragnaros originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> (Dawn Moore) Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: Transmog Shop (NSFW)]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/wow-moviewatch-transmog-shop-nsfw/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/wow-moviewatch-transmog-shop-nsfw/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/wow-moviewatch-transmog-shop-nsfw/#comments Warning: This video is Not Safe For Work. There's some occasional cursing and Princess Theradas flaunting her Willendorfer assets for several seconds.

I'm always excited to see new work from renowned machinima artist Ian Beckman. Mind you, I'm a bit biased since the two of us are acquainted (we briefly attended the same university -- he made me choke on my drink once while doing his Azerothian Super Villains Akama voice). Today's video is a parody of the song Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, featuring Wanz. The parody tells the story of a goblin on his quest to look awesome using vanilla tier gear and transmogrification.

As a machinima parody the piece certainly does its job in recreating the original song and music video, but it's definitely not Beckman's best parody. The lyrics don't really capture the original, lacking both the fun humor of Macklemore's rap lyrics, and the energy and clarity of Wanz's chorus. In regards to the latter point, I think this is part to Beckman doing his best to imitate Wanz's deep vocals but not quite being suited for it. Pulling in another singer to do the part probably would have made it better.

I'm probably being a bit unfair in my critique though, simply because I'm so familiar with Beckman's work. If this was produced by some no name machinima artist I'd probably be perfectly happy with it. You also have to consider what an incredibly difficult song Thrift Shop is to parody, with its many layers of instruments and vocals. Beckman certainly nails the distinct sound of the original and that's no small feat. I really do love the concept of this parody, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that Beckman might keep working on it to fine tune some of the shortcomings.

As an afterthought, I have to say I enjoy how this video clip fits in with the rest of Beckman's work. He's been playing since vanilla and it's always interesting to see how that inspires his present day work, like That's the World of Warcraft That I Used To Play. Transmog Shop gives off a similar vibe to Beckman's Gotye parody, using a new WoW feature to harken back to the old. It offers a nice contrast to other popular machinima and parody artists whose works tend to only reflect the current expansion.
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: Transmog Shop (NSFW) originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> Azerothian-Super-Villainsfeaturedgotyeguide-to-machinimaian-beckmanmachinimamacklemoremoviesow-machinimasomebody-that-I-used-to-knowthrift-shopworld-of-warcraft-moviesworld-of-warcraft-videoswow-created-movieswow-fan-movieswow-guidewow-machinima-guidewow-movie-guidewow-movieswow-video-guidewow-videos (Dawn Moore) Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Icy Veins class guides given stamp of approval by top guilds, theorycrafters]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/icy-veins-class-guides-given-stamp-of-approval-by-top-guilds-th/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/icy-veins-class-guides-given-stamp-of-approval-by-top-guilds-th/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/24/icy-veins-class-guides-given-stamp-of-approval-by-top-guilds-th/#comments Icy Veins class guides given stamp of approval by top guilds, theorycrafters The WoW community is so old and so large that there's often a dispute about where to go to get the best information about your class. In the past, Elitist Jerks was often recommended as the one-stop, hot spot, but nowadays the best class resources seem to be speckled around the web at sites like HowToPriest.com or Totem Spot. So what do you do if you want to find it all in one place? The WoW resource site Icy Veins (probably best known for their dungeon guides) is looking for an answer to that question.

Earlier today Icy Veins announced that their class guides have been reviewed and approved by players from top guilds and other notable members of the community. Looking for an up-to-date elemental shaman guide? How about one that's been approved by Leeds from the guild Method? Or maybe you'd like a mistweaver monk guide checked off by DREAM Paragon monk, Unpl?

Continue reading Icy Veins class guides given stamp of approval by top guilds, theorycrafters

Filed under:

Icy Veins class guides given stamp of approval by top guilds, theorycrafters originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> class-guideselitist jerks icyveinselitistjerksicyveinsicy veinsicy-veinsicy-veins.comicyveinswow class guildswow icy veinswow-class-helpwow-guidewow-guideswow-resourceswowclassguildswowicyveins (Dawn Moore) Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Spiritual Guidance: Discipline and holy priest stat weights and gear in tier 15]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/spiritual-guidance-discipline-and-holy-priest-stat-weights-and/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/spiritual-guidance-discipline-and-holy-priest-stat-weights-and/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/spiritual-guidance-discipline-and-holy-priest-stat-weights-and/#comments Spiritual Guidance Discipline and holy priest stat weights and gear in tier 15 WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy.

A while back Spiritual Guidance looked at the various upgrade options for priests in patch 5.2. Today we'll be discussing which of those upgrades you want to take, depending on whether you're a discipline or holy (the weighty topic of shadow will be covered next week). Discipline priests in particular saw some big changes with the release of patch 5.2 and will want to adjust their strategy for selecting new gear from here on. Since we're already talking about disc, let's start there.

Most of you probably know the basics. When gearing, don't take intellect downgrades and be sure to mostly select gear with spirit on it for mana regeneration. How much spirit do you want? There's no hard, set number to aim for; the goal is to find an amount that allows you to get through most encounters without running out of mana too early. This will be different for everyone so just go with what feels comfortable, remembering that you can always supplement a shortage of spirit with consumables (food and flasks) for fights that are more stressful on your mana pool than most others. (Rememeber that it's not necessary to gear for that one tough fight, and then be running surplus mana the rest of the time.)

With that said, let's look at what has really changed: secondary stats.

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Discipline and holy priest stat weights and gear in tier 15

Filed under: ,

Spiritual Guidance: Discipline and holy priest stat weights and gear in tier 15 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> disc-priest-geardisc-priest-gear-guidedisc-priest-spiritual-guidancediscipline-priest-spiritual-guidancefeaturedgear-guideghostcrawlerguide-to-priestsholy-priest-gearholy-priest-gear-guideholy-priest-spiritual-guidanceloot-listpatch-5.2priest-gearpriest-gear-guidepriest-guidepriest-infopriest-talentsshadshado-pan-assaultthrone-of-thunderwow-priestwow-priest-infowow-priests (Dawn Moore) Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Interview: Talking Hearthstone with the developers]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/interview-talking-hearthstone-with-the-developers/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/interview-talking-hearthstone-with-the-developers/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/25/interview-talking-hearthstone-with-the-developers/#comments Interview with Hearthstones developers Want to know more about Blizzard's new digital card game, Hearthstone? During PAX East 2013, we spoke with Hearthstone Lead Designer Eric Dodds and Production Director Jason Chayes to learn some additional information about the game.

During the 20-minute interview, I asked the developers several questions, some on behalf of the lore nerds, others for the collectors among us. We discussed some of the game features planned for launch, as well as the possibility of implementing e-sports capabilities later. Also touched upon were the game's visual aspects, like the art work and animated game boards.

And for those of you with a history playing other strategy card games like Magic: The Gathering, I learned a bit more about Hearthstone gameplay and how the Forge works.

Continue reading Interview: Talking Hearthstone with the developers

Filed under: ,

Interview: Talking Hearthstone with the developers originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> blizzarderic-doddsfeaturedHearthstonehearthstone gameplayhearthstone releasehearthstone wowhearthstone-heroes-of-warcrafthearthstonegameplayhearthstonereleasehearthstonewowjason-chayespaxpax-eastwow hearthstonewowhearthstone (Dawn Moore) Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[First impressions of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/first-impressions-of-hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/first-impressions-of-hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/23/first-impressions-of-hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/#comments First impressions of Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft Yesterday at PAX East 2013, Blizzard unveiled their first free-to-play game, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The upcoming title is a digital, collectible card game akin to Magic: The Gathering Online, but designed to be easy to learn and accessible to a larger audience. The game is currently being demonstrated on the showroom floor at PAX, and I was able to play it a couple of times.

When starting my first game, I expected to find Hearthstone confusing because I've never played Magic: The Gathering or any other strategy card game (e.g. Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh!) before. I am familiar with some of the terminology of MTG, having spent most of my life around hardcore players, but I don't really know the rules or how the game is played. This unfamiliarity didn't seem to get in the way of Hearthstone, though. Within two turns I understood my resource system, and how to play and use cards. By the fifth turn I felt like I understood all the basic mechanics of combat. Then, by the time my seventh turn came around, I was cursing paladins for being overpowered and itching to play another game.

Continue reading First impressions of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Filed under: ,

First impressions of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> blizzardhearthstonehearthstone heroes of warcrafthearthstone wowhearthstone: heroes of warcrafthearthstone:heroesofwarcrafthearthstoneheroesofwarcrafthearthstonewowheroes of warcraftheroesofwarcraftpaxpax-eastwow hearthstonewowhearthstone (Dawn Moore) Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Do you dream of a World of Warcraft simulator?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/14/do-you-dream-of-a-world-of-warcraft-simulator/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/14/do-you-dream-of-a-world-of-warcraft-simulator/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/14/do-you-dream-of-a-world-of-warcraft-simulator/#comments Years ago, before vanilla WoW became vanilla WoW, a friend of mine made the passing comment, "If only I ran as much as my night elf. I'd be in amazing shape."

I've been dreaming about a World of Warcraft simulator ever since.

Mind you, I'd suffer the fate of Pheidippides if I ran a fraction of what my night elf runs (I'm a terrible long-distance runner), but I suppose that's what makes the idea of a WoW simulator so appealing. Of course you'd be awful when you first started, but over time you could expect to get better. In my overly optimistic imagination, I saw hardcore raiders becoming sculpted athletes, sprinting from left to right to avoid boss abilities.

But in the absence of a holodeck or some other form of simulated reality, is a WoW simulator even feasible? I got my first look at an answer in 2010, when researchers at the USC Institute of Creative Technologies released a video demonstration of their Flexible Action and Articulate Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST). The middleware toolkit allows motion control to be integrated into games without existing motion control support, by translating gestures into mouse and keyboard inputs. In the demonstration video, a Microsoft Kinect is used to control a mage running around Dustwallow Marsh. Awesome, right?

Continue reading Do you dream of a World of Warcraft simulator?

Filed under:

Do you dream of a World of Warcraft simulator? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> battlefield-3faastkinectmotion-controlmotion-controlssimulatorthe-gadget-show (Dawn Moore) Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Spiritual Guidance: Priest gear in patch 5.2 and Throne of Thunder]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/07/spiritual-guidance-priest-gear-in-patch-5-2-and-throne-of-thund/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/07/spiritual-guidance-priest-gear-in-patch-5-2-and-throne-of-thund/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/07/spiritual-guidance-priest-gear-in-patch-5-2-and-throne-of-thund/#comments Spiritual Guidance Priest gear in patch 52 and Throne of Thunder WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy.

Priests have a tremendous amount of gear choices available to them in patch 5.2. There are several valor point options tied to the Shado-Pan Assault faction. Epics can also be obtained in a new, single player scenario, Troves of the Thunder King. And, well, obviously upgrades can be found in the latest raid instance, Throne of Thunder. To get started, let's take a look at the new tailoring gear priests can pick up.

In patch 5.2, tailors have a chance to learn ilvl 522 cloth armor patterns from their daily cloth cooldown. The new crafted gear is BoE, so if you're not a tailor you may be able to purchase it from the auction house or commission it from a guildmate. These items require Imperial Silk and Haunting Spirits, though, so expect them to be costly.

Head Feet

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Priest gear in patch 5.2 and Throne of Thunder

Filed under: ,

Spiritual Guidance: Priest gear in patch 5.2 and Throne of Thunder originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> disc-priest-geardisc-priest-gear-guidedisc-priest-spiritual-guidancediscipline-priest-spiritual-guidancegear-guideholy-priest-gearholy-priest-gear-guideholy-priest-spiritual-guidanceloot-listpatch-5.2priest-gearpriest-gear-guideshado-pan-assaultshadow-priest-gearshadow-priest-gear-guidetailoringthrone-of-thundertroves-of-the-thunder-king (Dawn Moore) Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Virgin sacrifices, Throne of Thunder progression, and old gods]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/27/the-queue-virgin-sacrifices-throne-of-thunder-progression-and/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/27/the-queue-virgin-sacrifices-throne-of-thunder-progression-and/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/27/the-queue-virgin-sacrifices-throne-of-thunder-progression-and/#comments The Queue Virgin sacrifices, Throne of Thunder progression, and old gods
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Dawn Moore will be your host today.

I was supposed to ritually sacrifice some virgin olive oil yesterday but I completely forgot. Fortunately the sports game the sacrifice was intended for hasn't started yet, and even if it had, it wouldn't be over for days. As it turns out though, I'm a Queue virgin -- that's right, I've never done a Queue before in my three years writing for WoW Insider. Go figure, right?

So how does this being sacrificed thing go? I assume there are cookies.

RussHada asked:

So once Throne of Thunder is released, what will be the official path of progression? Should my group (11/16N) run normal ToT after all 5.0 normal is cleared? Or are there some heroics (MSV?) we should do first, then ToT?

Continue reading The Queue: Virgin sacrifices, Throne of Thunder progression, and old gods

Filed under:

The Queue: Virgin sacrifices, Throne of Thunder progression, and old gods originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> cthunfeaturedguideklaxximantidold-godold-godsqaquestion-and-answerthrone-of-thunderwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questionsyogg-saronyshaarj (Dawn Moore) Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[A farewell to yaks]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/25/a-farewell-to-yaks/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/25/a-farewell-to-yaks/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/25/a-farewell-to-yaks/#comments A farewell to yaks It was an evening in early December when I logged in and heard the news. I hadn't taken two steps across the Valley of Strength when a whisper popped up in my chat window.

"There is a Ruthers exploit!"

A rush of excitement shot through me. What kind of exploit could have existed for my beloved yak companion?

"What? How? Explain!" I typed back.

When the answer didn't come immediately I began tugging at my brain for possible explanations. Was there some sort of raid boss mechanic that could be negated with Ruthers? Could Ruthers kill raid bosses?! I became giddy at the thought.

After minutes of trying to work out how Ruthers might tank Sha of Fear, a reply finally came.

"Ruthers isn't on the GCD. You can make a macro with '/cast Ruthers' Harness' a billion times and spam it. Raine just summoned like a thousand of them."

I booked it out to the Barrens straight away, assembling the macro as my Mimiron's Head carried me to a secluded little spot -- If this exploit did what he said it would, I couldn't go spamming it in the middle of Orgrimmar.

After a mere 11 lines I hit the 255 character limit.

"This will have to do," I thought as I landed on the grassy mountain side. Dragging the macro to my action bars, I took a deep breath, then pressed the key.

Gallery: Yaks

Continue reading A farewell to yaks

Filed under:

A farewell to yaks originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> ruthersruthers-harnessyakyaks (Dawn Moore) Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Does anything in WoW bother you?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/11/breakfast-topic-does-anything-in-wow-bother-you/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/11/breakfast-topic-does-anything-in-wow-bother-you/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/11/breakfast-topic-does-anything-in-wow-bother-you/#comments Breakfast Topic Does anything in WoW bother you During Wrath of the Lich King, I used to hate the log in screen with a passion. It all started when I loaded up the client for the first time and was tricked into turning up the volume when I heard a soft, mysterious tune whispering in my ear. A second later I was ripping my headphones off as a massive, skeletal dragon deafened me with her landing and roars. Curse you, Sindragosa!

My dislike for the log in screen peaked one evening after a long raid night in Ulduar. I remember sitting on vent with friends when I was suddenly disconnected. It was just a random connection hiccup but as I sat there waiting to reconnect I realized something ... Why are there chain guard rails in Icecrown? Seriously, what would prompt the Scourge to implement safety measures into their architecture? They're undead, it's not like they need OSHA standards.

Fast forward to Mists of Pandaria and there's still little things like that which bug me. Take, for example, Farmer Yoon. When you first meet him, he is mocked by Haohan Mudclaw for being a "citypaw." But where are there even cities in Pandaria? The biggest settlements in Pandaria are still just rural villages. Nonsense, I say!

Does anything in the game bother you like that?

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: Does anything in WoW bother you? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> farmer-yoonhaohan-mudclawsindragosawrath-of-the-lich-king (Dawn Moore) Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Spiritual Guidance: Ongoing changes to priests on the patch 5.2 PTR]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/08/spiritual-guidance-ongoing-changes-to-priests-on-the-patch-5-2/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/08/spiritual-guidance-ongoing-changes-to-priests-on-the-patch-5-2/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/08/spiritual-guidance-ongoing-changes-to-priests-on-the-patch-5-2/#comments Image
WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy.

There's been no shortage of priest changes in the development of patch 5.2. Since our last discussion, numerous adjustments and alterations have been made to our talents, spells, and glyphs. The most notable of changes is the continued redesign of Shadow Word: Insanity.
When the talent was first reworked for build 16467, it was designed to increase the damage of Mind Flay on targets afflicted with all three shadow priest DoTs (Devouring Plague, Vampiric Touch, and Shadow Word: Pain). The latest design being tested on the PTR simplifies that effect to this.
  • Your Devouring Plague increases the damage of Mind Flay by 33% per orb consumed.
Developers explained that the previous incarnation undermined the existing shadow rotation, since it eliminated the need to build up Shadow Orbs (after all, a single Shadow Orb is all you need to cast Devouring Plague on a target). The latest version also gives our rotation/spell priority better flexibility, since we wouldn't need to refresh any DoTs that might be falling off at the time we used Devouring Plague.

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Ongoing changes to priests on the patch 5.2 PTR

Filed under:

Spiritual Guidance: Ongoing changes to priests on the patch 5.2 PTR originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> featuredguide-to-priestspriest-guidepriest-infopriest-talentswow-priestwow-priest-infowow-priests (Dawn Moore) Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[WRUP: Cast the Warcraft movie, again]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/wrup-cast-the-warcraft-movie-again/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/wrup-cast-the-warcraft-movie-again/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/wrup-cast-the-warcraft-movie-again/#comments WRUP Cast the Warcraft movie, again This week the Warcraft movie secured itself a new director after losing Sam Raimi last year. The new director will be Duncan Jones, the director of Moon and Source Code, who had expressed an interest at directing the film while Sam Raimi was still attached to the project. Personally, I'm happy to see Jones taking on the project ... Not because I love Jones (he's fine) but because I was worried an adaption by Sam Raimi would be too lighthearted for my tastes. If I had it my way every film would be directed by Christopher Nolan.

So now that we have a director, let's write up our dream cast list again. For those of you who have been reading WoW Insider a long time, you'll know I already wrote mine a couple of years ago, so now it's your turn to take a stab at it.

Oh yeah, and what are you playing this weekend? Pfft, just tell us your dream cast list! It's way more fun.

Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) I'm currently trying to resist purchasing The Cave on Steam. We'll see if that holds out over the weekend or not. Other than that, a little raiding and a whole lot of writing.

Bonus question: Man I have no idea, but if they don't at least consider Michele Morrow (@michelemorrow) as Sylvanas I am going to be a little sad.

Continue reading WRUP: Cast the Warcraft movie, again

WRUP: Cast the Warcraft movie, again originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> warcraftwarcraft moviewarcraft movie 2013warcraft movie castwarcraft the moviewarcraft-moviewarcraftmoviewarcraftmovie2013warcraftmoviecastwarcraftthemovieweekendwow-moviewrup (Dawn Moore) Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Why would a top guild not use loot council?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/why-would-a-top-guild-not-use-loot-council/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/why-would-a-top-guild-not-use-loot-council/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/why-would-a-top-guild-not-use-loot-council/#comments Why would a top guild not use loot council A blog post over at World of Matticus caught my eye earlier this week. It's called Why a World Top 10 Guild Doesn't use Loot Council and tells a short story of how our own Matt Low was surprised to find out that a top guild didn't use loot council. While interviewing a potential recruit for his guild Conquest, the applicant explained that his guild used DKP for loot distribution because loot council had proven too time consuming.

Matt goes on to conclude that if you're racing for a world first, you probably wouldn't want to waste your time distributing loot of all things. A fair point, seeing as top guilds often get kills within hours of each other.

I myself have never been in a world top 10 guild, but having been in several competitive US guilds I've seen my fair share of loot council and DKP. Regardless of the system my guild was using, we were always expected to make (and sometimes post) a list of our best-in-slot gear before the start of a tier. For DKP, this was to reduce the amount of surprises in bidding and help us all get an idea of who needed what before we snagged an upgrade. For the more common loot council, this let the council put together a master list to decide who should get what first. But which one was more efficient?

Continue reading Why would a top guild not use loot council?

Filed under: ,

Why would a top guild not use loot council? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> dkploot-councilloot-sysloot-systemmatt-lowmatticusraidraidingWorld-of-Matticus (Dawn Moore) Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Do cities in Azeroth have nicknames?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/breakfast-topic-do-cities-in-azeroth-have-nicknames/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/breakfast-topic-do-cities-in-azeroth-have-nicknames/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/breakfast-topic-do-cities-in-azeroth-have-nicknames/#comments Outside of Azeroth I found myself clinging to the armrests of my seat, not fearing death but the possibility that I might vomit in sight of the cute guy (with a nice beard) sitting next to me. I was flying into Chicago for a two hour layover, and the turbulence was notably awful. At one point I thought to myself, "Maybe this is why they call it the 'Windy City?'"

Then because I'm a hopeless nerd, I immediately wondered, "Do Azerothian cities have nicknames like the 'Windy City' or the 'Big Apple?'" I had no idea myself, but I knew just the person to ask when I got home: Anne Stickney.

"You know, I don't really think so in official lore anyway," she told me. "Although the Undercity could almost be considered that, because that's actually the capital city of Lordaeron."

Just one nickname out of dozens of cities in Azeroth? Sounds to me like it's time for us to stage an intervention. What kinds of nicknames can you guys come up with for the major cities in World of Warcraft?

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: Do cities in Azeroth have nicknames? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> anne-stickneyfeaturedgame-discussiongamer-discussionlordaeronundercityworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Dawn Moore) Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Have you ever wanted to make your own machinima?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/breakfast-topic-have-you-ever-wanted-to-make-your-own-machinima/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/breakfast-topic-have-you-ever-wanted-to-make-your-own-machinima/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/breakfast-topic-have-you-ever-wanted-to-make-your-own-machinima/#comments
Most people know that I play a discipline priest in World of Warcraft. I play holy and shadow a lot too, but nothing really beats hopping around, casting bubbles on people, and preventing near death experiences. In League of Legends, I pretty much do the same exact thing, minus the hopping. In League I play a support champion named Janna, and most of what she does is float around, cast bubbles on people, and prevent near death experiences.

I guess I just like bubbling things. I've always suspected it had something to do with the fact that the first game I ever owned as a kid was Bubble Bobble on the NES. Want to know what you do in that game? You hop around blowing bubbles at things.

Anyway, ever since Wrath, I've wanted to make a video where my disc priest starts out shielding the raid on the heroic Lich King encounter, before accidentally falling through the platform and into a 2-D platform game (similar to Bubble Bobble). There she would have to use her bubbles to navigate levels and fight monsters.

The problem is I don't really think I have what it takes to make machinima. Sure, I can hit the record button and film my character running around on a live server, but I don't think I have the patience or artistic talent to do stuff like Percula or the Hackleman Brothers. What they do is closer to animation, and animation is pretty intimidating to a second-rate artist like myself. Still, it doesn't stop me from dreaming. Maybe one day ...

What about you? Have you ever wanted to make your own machinima? If so, what would it be? A short spoof, a feature length movie, or an ongoing series? Furthermore, what would it be about? Would it be the love story of your blood elf mage, or an epic war drama starring your human paladin?

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: Have you ever wanted to make your own machinima? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> blindbubble-bobbleclint-hacklemandisc-priestdiscipline-priestjannaleague-of-legendsmachinimamyndflameperculapercula-blind (Dawn Moore) Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Patch 5.2 PTR: Patch notes update for Jan. 16]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/17/patch-5-2-ptr-patch-notes-update-for-jan-16/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/17/patch-5-2-ptr-patch-notes-update-for-jan-16/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/17/patch-5-2-ptr-patch-notes-update-for-jan-16/#comments World of Warcraft Patch 52 PTR patch notes Blizzard updated the official 5.2 patch notes a few hours ago. Some of the updates are consolidated changes from the last few PTR builds, but many of them are new. You can see the full update at the official WoW community site, but we've compiled all the changes. Check out some of the highlights below.
  • The continuation of the Wrathion questline will unlock a new legendary metagem, Crown of the Heavens.
  • Three new spectral porcupine spirit beasts have appeared across Pandaria as tameable beasts.
  • There is now an option to show absorb effects (such as Power Word: Shield) on player, target, party and raid frames. This feature is currently enabled if you turn on the predictive healing option. Unlike predictive healing, absorb effects will display for enemy targets.
  • The Reputation panel on the character screen will now let players know which reputations they have purchased and used Grand Commendations for.

Continue reading Patch 5.2 PTR: Patch notes update for Jan. 16

Filed under: ,

Patch 5.2 PTR: Patch notes update for Jan. 16 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> breakingpatch-5.2patch-5.2-patch-notespatch-5.2-ptrptr-patch-noteswow-patch-5.2wow-patch-5.2-ptrwow-patch-notes (Dawn Moore) Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Examining the tier 15 priest set bonuses]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/16/examining-the-tier-15-priest-set-bonuses/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/16/examining-the-tier-15-priest-set-bonuses/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/16/examining-the-tier-15-priest-set-bonuses/#comments Spiritual Guidance Examining the tier 15 priest set bonuses
WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy.

Last week, priests (and other less amazing classes) got a first look at the tier 15 set bonuses in the works for patch 5.2. The reactions so far have been mixed. Most discipline and holy priests seem to have had their interests piqued, while many shadow priests were seen grumbling discontentedly during the first few days. Have a look for yourself.
  • Healer two-piece Your Prayer of Mending heals for 10% more each time it jumps to a new target.
  • Healer four-piece Your Penance and Circle of Healing have a 40% chance to summon a Golden Apparition, which moves to a nearby ally and heals for an additional 92500 to 107500.
  • Shadow two-piece When your Shadowy Apparitions damage their target, they have a 65% chance to extend the duration of your Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch, causing each to deal damage one additional time.
  • Shadow four-piece Periodic damage from your Vampiric Touch has a 10% chance to trigger your Shadowy Apparition.
Blizzard has been fairly responsive to many complaints and inquiries made about these bonuses. For example, when shadow priests pointed out that Shadowy Apparitions were slow, buggy, and only a small portion of shadow DPS, Blizzard responded by letting us know that the cap was going to be raised for priests with the two-piece bonus, if not removed entirely. The developers also mentioned that work had been done to improve the AI on Shadowy Apparitions and get rid of bugs. Sound good?

Update: This article has been updated for build 16467, with changes notated in bold.

Continue reading Examining the tier 15 priest set bonuses

Filed under: ,

Examining the tier 15 priest set bonuses originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> df-maindivine-aegisfeaturedguide-to-priestshow-to-priesthowtopriest.compower-word-shieldprayer-of-healingpriest-guidepriest-infopriest-talentsshadow-word-insanityspirit-shelltier-15wow-priestwow-priest-infowow-priests (Dawn Moore) Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: Malfurion and Sylvanas: Episode 3]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/15/wow-moviewatch-malfurion-and-sylvanas-episode-3/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/15/wow-moviewatch-malfurion-and-sylvanas-episode-3/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/15/wow-moviewatch-malfurion-and-sylvanas-episode-3/#comments If you haven't been keeping up with Malfurion and Sylvanas, the series explores what it would be like if major lore characters Malfurion and Sylvanas were married ... And in a sitcom. This latest episode explores how Malfurion and Sylvanas first met, and also explains what happened with Tyrande.

Personally, I think this is the best episode so far. I've always thought the set-up of this machinima series was pretty cute, but I'm now really looking forward to the next one because Slightly Impressive just keeps nailing it. Michael Gray mention that the voice acting and machinima had really started to come together in Malfurion and Sylvanas: Episode 2, and I would say that's still happening. At no point while watching this did I feel like the voices were off.

The only problem with this episode is that I don't have any cookies in the house, which will make more sense to you after you've watched the episode. Seriously ... I think I need to bake cookies now.
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: Malfurion and Sylvanas: Episode 3 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> featuredgriffterguide-to-machinimamachinimamalfurion-and-sylvanasmoviesow-machinimaslightly-impressiveworld-of-warcraft-moviesworld-of-warcraft-videoswow-created-movieswow-fan-movieswow-guidewow-machinima-guidewow-movie-guidewow-movieswow-video-guidewow-videos (Dawn Moore) Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Tier 15 set bonuses unveiled in latest PTR patch]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/10/tier-15-set-bonuses-unveiled-in-latest-ptr-patch/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/10/tier-15-set-bonuses-unveiled-in-latest-ptr-patch/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/10/tier-15-set-bonuses-unveiled-in-latest-ptr-patch/#comments Tier 15 set bonuses unveiled in latest PTR patch The latest build in development for the patch 5.2 PTR has brought us a first glimpse at the tentative set bonuses for tier 15. Wowhead released the datamined information yesterday evening and some of the set bonuses are mighty interesting. Take for example, the rogue two-piece bonus, which increases the duration of finishing moves as though the rogue had an additional combo point ... Up to a maximum of six points. The DPS death knight two-piece also sounds a bit interesting; check it out below.

Death knight
  • Blood two-piece Reduces the cooldown of your Rune Tap ability by 10 sec and removes its Rune cost.
  • Blood four-piece Your Bone Shield ability grants you 15 Runic Power each time one of its charges is consumed.
  • DPS two-piece Your attacks have a chance to raise the spirit of a fallen Zandalari as your Death Knight minion for 15 sec.
  • DPS four-piece Increases the duration of Army of the Dead by 15 sec.

Continue reading Tier 15 set bonuses unveiled in latest PTR patch

Filed under: ,

Tier 15 set bonuses unveiled in latest PTR patch originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> 5.2patch-5.2patch-5.2-ptrthunder-kingthunder-king-raidtier-15 (Dawn Moore) Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Spiritual Guidance: Priests and the 5.2 patch note preview]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/27/spiritual-guidance-priests-and-the-5-2-patch-note-preview/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/27/spiritual-guidance-priests-and-the-5-2-patch-note-preview/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/27/spiritual-guidance-priests-and-the-5-2-patch-note-preview/#comments SG WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy.

Looks like there are some big changes in store for priests on the patch 5.2 PTR. Blizzard released a PTR patch note preview late last week and I'm honestly a bit baffled by some of the changes. Keep in mind, I am not often baffled.

The biggest change is that Power Word: Solace is being redesigned. The talent will now replace Holy Fire in the player's spellbook, but interact with other priest spells and abilities just as Holy Fire does. The new version of Power Word: Solace will be instant cast, cost no mana, and restore 1% of your maximum mana on cast. Surprisingly, the patch note preview makes no mention of redesigning Shadow Word: Insanity, the shadow portion of the talent.

Now it's no shock that Blizzard decided to redesign this talent. A quick glance at WoW Popular will tell you that almost no priests are taking it (in fact, it looks like more of us are taking Dominate Mind than Power Word: Solace). Shadow priests certainly aren't taking the talent, and most healers will tell you it returns too little mana per cast to be worth it.

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Priests and the 5.2 patch note preview

Filed under: ,

Spiritual Guidance: Priests and the 5.2 patch note preview originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> 5.2angelic-featherbody-and-souldisc-priest-spiritual-guidancediscipline-priest-spiritual-guidancedominate-mindfeaturedguide-to-priestsholy-priest-spiritual-guidancepatch-5.2-ptrpower-word-solacepriest-guidepriest-infopriest-talentsraptureSHADOW-PRIEST-SPIRITUAL-GUIDANCEshadow-word-insanityspirit-shellwow-priestwow-priest-infowow-priests (Dawn Moore) Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What's your favorite vanity item in Mists of Pandaria?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/27/breakfast-topic-whats-your-favorite-vanity-item-in-mists-of-pa/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/27/breakfast-topic-whats-your-favorite-vanity-item-in-mists-of-pa/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/27/breakfast-topic-whats-your-favorite-vanity-item-in-mists-of-pa/#comments Breakfast Topic What's your favorite vanity item in Mists of Pandaria Holy punchable turnips, Batman! Mists of Pandaria is packed with an extraordinary number of vanity items to amuse us (while simultaneously stealing away our bag space). There are flippable tables, Botticelli clam shells, puppy hordes, and lovable (albeit misunderstood) yaks. Anne wrote up a nice guide to getting some of them earlier this month, but I'm certain there are still more out there.

So here's a question: which one is your favorite? Obviously my favorite is Ruthers' Harness ... Nothing beats a yak by your side, gently nuzzling you with love and affection so you don't have to be scared of the dark (and rogues). But I also like Mr. Smite's Brass Compass, since I suffer from height envy whenever I play my tiny blood elf.

What about bag space? How are you managing it all, given that the Royal Satchel is so expensive to make? Have you had to delete anything to make space for a new vanity item, and which items were worthy of that space? I myself deleted the Magic Banana and Puntable Marmot (I've never been impressed with the Prairie Dog model) but kept the Turnip Punching Bag and Covered Basket. You know, so I could go on picnics with a turnip ... And Ruthers.

Filed under:

Breakfast Topic: What's your favorite vanity item in Mists of Pandaria? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> flippable-tablemr-smiteruthersvanity-itemvanity-itemsyakyaks (Dawn Moore) Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider