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<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: 10 years, 10 amazing moments]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/wow-archivist-10-years-10-amazing-moments/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Uldaman portal" data-credit="AOL" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/9c247b505827756fe32959ecb060fbe7/201394769/ten+moments+ulda.jpg" data-mep="664690" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
In 2004, I bought a brown box with some discs inside it. On the cover was a close-up of a woman with crazy purple eyebrows and an angry bearded guy -- possibly <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/18/about-the-bloggers-matthew-rossi/">Matt Rossi</a> -- holding a gun. I didn't know anything about the <em>Warcraft</em> universe at the time. I'd watched someone play <em>Warcraft III</em> once (or was it <em>II</em>?). I remember chuckling at the peons' comments as they got to work. That was the extent of my experience.<br />
<br />
I'd been playing <em>Final Fantasy XI</em> and I loved the concept of an online world. I was hoping for a game that was more accessible than <em>FFXI</em> but with all the cool monsters, grouping, exploration, and loot. I never imagined the journey that I was about to take, the people I would meet, the opportunities that would become open to me as a result of that purchase. Many of us who played back then had no idea what was about to happen to the gaming world because of that brown box.<br />
<br />
<img alt="world of warcraft game box" data-credit="AOL" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/c9cf6824ab60d8a9310be9ac83494a51/201394762/ten+moments+box.jpg" style="float: right;" data-mep="664691" />With all the hoopla surrounding <em>Warlords of Draenor</em>, Archivist has been busy covering yesterday's precursors to current content, such as the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/05/wow-archivist-the-zombie-plague-event/">zombie plague pre-expansion event</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/">patch 3.0</a>, and the original <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/04/wow-archivist-upper-blackrock-spire/">Upper Blackrock Spire</a>. <em>WoW</em>'s 10th anniversary events officially ended this week (after an unscheduled extension), and it is past time that I looked back on my own ten years in Azeroth.<br />
<br />
Here are ten of my favorite <em>WoW</em> moments, in order.<br />
<br />
<strong>1. Showdown at Uldaman.</strong> One of my first PvP experiences in <em>WoW</em> was a complete accident. In late 2004, a friend and I were questing in the cave outside of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/zone=1337/uldaman">Uldaman</a> in the Badlands. We were in our mid to high 30s at the time on our first characters. One of the mushrooms we had to gather sat behind an Alliance NPC. I went to right-click to gather it but instead I clicked the NPC and started attacking him. We were flagged for PvP on a PvE realm. We knew it was now open season on us. And on Khadgar-US, Horde players were heavily outnumbered by the Alliance.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/wow-archivist-10-years-10-amazing-moments/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: 10 years, 10 amazing moments</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/wow-archivist-10-years-10-amazing-moments/">WoW Archivist: 10 years, 10 amazing moments</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 16 Jan 2015 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/wow-archivist-10-years-10-amazing-moments/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/21128106/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/wow-archivist-10-years-10-amazing-moments/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>amazing-moments</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>dark-portal</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>gnomeregan</category><category>guild-leadership</category><category>hunter-quests</category><category>hunters</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>officers-quarters</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>rhokdelar</category><category>rhokdelar-longbow-of-the-ancient-keepers</category><category>ten-year-anniversary</category><category>uldaman</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>world-pvp</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2015 14:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: 3.0.8, the "disaster" patch]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/wow-archivist-3-0-8-the-disaster-patch/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A Wintergrasp battle" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="639539" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/e61d5a4e0b1524b20836b70563ed73d4/201316557/disaster+wintergrasp+2.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Any game that survives for 10 years and counting will have its growing pains. There will be moments when the urge to deliver the best possible content gets the better of the developers, when they reach too far but only figure that out after it's too late.<br />
<br />
<em>Wrath of the Lich King</em> was so ambitious in scope, as originally conceived, that Blizzard simply couldn't deliver what they announced. Blizzard cut major features before the expansion even went into beta testing. <em>Wrath</em>'s systems went live with <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/">patch 3.0.2</a> in October 2008, and the expansion hit live realms two months later. As with most expansions, there were early problems.<br />
<br />
In patch 3.0.8, Blizzard tried to fix those problems. Instead, they made them worse. Far worse. WoW Insider called the patch a "<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2009/01/21/the-disaster-of-patch-3-0-8/">disaster</a>." Read on to find out why!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Wintercrash</span><br />
<br />
Rebalancing the popular Wintergrasp outdoor battle was one of the patch's biggest features. Blizzard buffed vehicles and turrets to make them less fragile. The keep walls also became sturdier, while the final door received a nerf. Other adjustments and fixes went into effect.<br />
<br />
So did a bug so catastrophic that players couldn't believe it ever found its way to a live realm.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/wow-archivist-3-0-8-the-disaster-patch/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: 3.0.8, the "disaster" patch</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wrath-of-the-lich-king/" rel="tag">Wrath of the Lich King</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/wow-archivist-3-0-8-the-disaster-patch/">WoW Archivist: 3.0.8, the "disaster" patch</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/wow-archivist-3-0-8-the-disaster-patch/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/21122789/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/wow-archivist-3-0-8-the-disaster-patch/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>bugs</category><category>cower</category><category>Death-Knight</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>graveyards</category><category>hunter-pets</category><category>lag</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>patch-3.0.8</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>raid-lockouts</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wintergrasp</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: A Glyphmas story]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/17/wow-archivist-a-glyphmas-story/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Scrolls of glyphs" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="617532" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/629e6c619a834fec3e9e7e337501823f/201252816/glyphmas+art.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Professions in <em>Warlords of Draenor</em> feel completely different than at any other era in <em>WoW</em>. Creating powerful items is no longer a matter of farming, luck, or gold. Instead, we have to produce their key ingredients via garrison work orders. Leveling crafting professions is no longer about creating a bunch of useless items that we instantly vendor or disenchant, and reaching max level is now a slow burn instead of a quick grind. This is the first expansion where I haven't hit max level on all my professions within the first week or two.<br />
<br />
The profession that has changed the most is the most recent: <em>Wrath of the Lich King</em>'s inscription, added in 2008. Even the interface changed: the glyph window was originally part of the spellbook UI, not the talent pane. Because of those changes, for a few very special weeks, inscription transformed the financial futures of countless <em>WoW</em> players. I was one of them. We called it Glyphmas, and it was magical.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/17/wow-archivist-a-glyphmas-story/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: A Glyphmas story</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/17/wow-archivist-a-glyphmas-story/">WoW Archivist: A Glyphmas story</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/17/wow-archivist-a-glyphmas-story/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/21115738/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/17/wow-archivist-a-glyphmas-story/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>auction-house</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>cataclysm</category><category>crafting</category><category>economy</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>glyphmas</category><category>glyphs</category><category>inscription</category><category>major-glyphs</category><category>minor-glyphs</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>prime-glyphs</category><category>professions</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Upper Blackrock Spire]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/04/wow-archivist-upper-blackrock-spire/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Whelps and eggs in the Rookery" data-credit="Wowhead" data-mep="596496" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/301332c7b4265634ee70c83e28ea4e6a/201192774/ubrs+solakar.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
You may have taken Upper Blackrock Spire, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=77120">Warlord Zaela</a>, but the classic version lives in our hearts, where your orc friends can't get to it. In 2005, UBRS was the dungeon everyone desperately aspired to run. They begged to run it. They paid to run it. They sat in capital cities for hours just hoping, dreaming, that someone, somehow, would put together a UBRS group.<br />
<br />
The dungeon was the pinnacle of content for classic <em>WoW</em>'s "nonraiders" and the gateway to raiding for raiders. Quests here attuned you for Onyxia's Lair and Blackwing Lair. (And who doesn't love a good lair?) Another quest allowed your Molten Core raid to summon Majordomo Executus. No endgame PvE'er could avoid UBRS, even if they wanted to. We didn't avoid it, though, because the original "Ubers" (OO bers), as players affectionately called it, was awesome.<br />
<br />
What made it so special? Why was it so revered, and why are some players sad that it has been removed from <em>WoW</em> forever? Let's turn back the Empowered Hourglass to 2005 to find out.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Ascension</span><br />
<br />
UBRS, like many of <em>WoW</em>'s classic endgame dungeons, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/wow-archivist-the-keys-to-content/">required a key</a> to enter. It was not nearly as simple as grinding out some reputation -- click the link for the full rundown of just how painful getting this key was. Even the <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Quest:Seal_of_Ascension">quest giver</a> knew trying to get a key would be awful. He told you, "Understand this, mortal: the chance that one of the three generals of the lower citadel would carry a gemstone at any given time is rare. You must be vigilant in your quest. Remain determined!"<br />
<br />
In early 2005, when many players were finally hitting the endgame, <em>very </em>few had a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=12344/seal-of-ascension">Seal of Ascension</a> to grant UBRS access. To put this in perspective, by the end of classic, my guild of more than 200 people only had about five or six keys. If you had a key, you had two choices. You could hide in your guild and only do guild runs. Or you could advertise that you had one to your realm, find yourself on everyone's friend list, and get requests day and night, every time you logged in, to run UBRS. Even if you tried to keep it a secret, someone in your guild may have outed you. Once that cat was out of the bag, your <em>WoW</em> experience changed dramatically. You were now a realm celebrity.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/04/wow-archivist-upper-blackrock-spire/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Upper Blackrock Spire</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/04/wow-archivist-upper-blackrock-spire/">WoW Archivist: Upper Blackrock Spire</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 04 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/04/wow-archivist-upper-blackrock-spire/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/21001384/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/04/wow-archivist-upper-blackrock-spire/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>awbee</category><category>blackwing-lair-attunement</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>chromatic-carapace</category><category>dalrends</category><category>drakkisath</category><category>featured</category><category>finkles-skinner</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>Karazhan</category><category>leeroy-jenkins</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>Onyxia-Attunement</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>pristine-hide-of-the-beast</category><category>rend-blackhand</category><category>ubers</category><category>ubrs</category><category>upper-blackrock-spire</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>whelps</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>zaela</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Epics]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/21/wow-archivist-epics/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Bulwark of Azzinoth" data-credit="Wowhead" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/f369c342aed302b1f2d481a9d55077fd/201118044/epics+bulwark.jpg" data-mep="570960" /></div>

<div><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em></div>
<br />
Leveling through Draenor has been a blast, but as a player from classic <em>WoW</em>, a few things have struck me as incredibly strange. Triple-digit numbers in the guild panel. Sending NPCs to do quests on my behalf. And most of all, getting epic armor and weapons from solo leveling quests.<br />
<br />
Many players in classic <em>WoW</em> (and not just raiders) opposed making epics more available to players. They called Blizzard's evolving attitude a slippery slope. "What's next," they argued, "epics for doing solo quests?" They never actually imagined that would happen. In 2005 it would have been unthinkable. Eight years later, here we are. But it's all been by design -- an evolving design with many steps along the way. Let's look at how we got here, one random drop at a time.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The few, the proud, the epic</span><br />
<br />
In early classic <em>WoW</em>, only one path allowed you to deck out your character in purple items: 40-player raiding. Other raiding didn't cut it. Bosses in the 15-player (later 10-player) Upper Blackrock Spire dropped rares. Even bosses in the 20-player raids, Zul'Gurub and Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, dropped mostly rares when they first opened their instance portals. Only their end bosses consistently dropped epic loot.<br />
<br />
Outside of 40-man raids, a handful of bosses had a very small chance to drop an epic item. Emperor Thaurissan in <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/06/29/wow-archivist-blackrock-depths-wows-ultimate-dungeon/">Blackrock Depths</a> had a tiny chance to drop <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=11684">Ironfoe</a>. The "tribute run" chest from Dire Maul very rarely offered up <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=18538">Treant's Bane</a> -- and I'll never forget the joy in my warrior friend's voice when it dropped for him, all those years ago. DM was also the source of the highly coveted tanking weapon <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=18348">Quel'Serrar</a>, but the <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Foror%27s_Compendium_of_Dragon_Slaying">quest item</a> to obtain it had an incredibly low drop rate.<br />
<br />
Back then, even the recipes to craft epics (such as the awesome <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=18168/force-reactive-disk">Force Reactive Disk</a>) could only be obtained from 40-player raids.<br />
<br />
Even if you were raiding with 39 of your closest online friends, earning purples was no picnic. With two drops per boss at first, odds of getting an item on any given run were slim. You could complete a full clear without a single drop for your class and spec. Each epic you equipped generally represented several weeks of endgame effort. When a player sauntered through Orgrimmar or Ironforge in head-to-toe purples, players knew this was a person who had spent many, many hours on that character.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/21/wow-archivist-epics/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Epics</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/21/wow-archivist-epics/">WoW Archivist: Epics</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/21/wow-archivist-epics/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20995741/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/21/wow-archivist-epics/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>crafting</category><category>epic-items</category><category>epics</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>heroic-dungeons</category><category>history-of-epics</category><category>loot</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>professions</category><category>raiding</category><category>timeless-isle</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Broken garrisons and other issues on launch day]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/13/broken-garrisons-and-other-issues-on-launch-day/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Bugged garrison" data-credit="Ikolism" data-mep="560172" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/437c19d8cf4e0e7cb11d3b619ac81ac2/201086415/bugged+garrison.PNG" /></div>
<br />
<strong>UPDATE:</strong> Bashiok posted that Blizzard will be "<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/15256475673#1">restarting</a> some Garrison services" to address access and progression issues. He also says that Blizzard has implemented "dozens of hotfixes" over the last few hours.<br />
<br />
<strong>UPDATE 2:</strong> For those experiencing long queue times, this is <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/15269366792#1">working as intended</a>. Bashiok has said that Blizzard is reducing realm population caps in order to address latency. Rygarius has posted a <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/16561637#nov13">list of hotfixes</a> for November 13.<br />
<br />
<strong>UPDATE 3:</strong> Lore <a href="https://twitter.com/CM_Lore/status/533014159051333632">tweeted</a> about the issues: "So obviously launch not going as smoothly as we wanted. Will be many discussions in the near future about what could have been done better. Right now, however, we're focusing 100% on just fixing issues so everyone can play. Can worry about what went wrong later."<br />
<br />
<strong>UPDATE 4:</strong> Lore says <a href="https://twitter.com/CM_Lore/status/533039381548765184">fixes</a> have been implemented for garrisons, but he recommends walking to your garrison instead of flying there or using a hearthstone.<br />
<br />
Despite a <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/13/breakfast-topic-relatively-painless/">mostly smooth launch</a> so far, some realms are now experiencing major problems as more and more players crowd the servers. Garrisons on Argent Dawn, Cenarion Circle, Khadgar, and other realms are currently bugged and not always phasing properly. Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/ikolism">@ikolism</a> posted the image above of players in an unphased Horde garrison. Normally you're only supposed to see the players you've invited to your version of the fortress...<br />
<br />
Players can become stuck inside their garrisons, or stuck outside and unable to "zone in." If the entire garrison server crashes when players are inside it, they are reportedly sent back to where their hearthstones are set. For many that means an unexpected trip back to Orgrimmar, Stormwind, or Pandaria.<br />
<br />
High population realms, particularly in the EU, have experienced world server lag and crashes.<br />
<br />
CM Lore tweeted an update on the problems, but did not provide an ETA:
<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Still working on server and garrison issues. Making some headway, exploring as many options as we can find.</p>
- Lore (@CM_Lore) <a href="https://twitter.com/CM_Lore/status/532981721033998336">November 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>
Earlier, rolling restarts were required to fix <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=34378">Establish Your Garrison</a> for Horde players. A number of hotfixes have already gone out today to fix problems with <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=33526">These Colors Don't Run</a> in Frostfire Ridge and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/object=231826">Drudgeboat Salvage</a> quest objects in Shadowmoon Valley. Lore also says a hotfix is "in testing" for <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=33784">Gormaul Tower</a>. Another for Gorgrond NPCs that are reluctant to spawn is "being developed."<p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/bugs/" rel="tag">Bugs</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/hotfixes/" rel="tag">Hotfixes</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/warlords-of-draenor/" rel="tag">Warlords of Draenor</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/13/broken-garrisons-and-other-issues-on-launch-day/">Broken garrisons and other issues on launch day</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:40:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/13/broken-garrisons-and-other-issues-on-launch-day/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20993387/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/13/broken-garrisons-and-other-issues-on-launch-day/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>bugs</category><category>garrisons</category><category>hotfixes</category><category>realm-problems</category><category>warlords-of-draenor</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:40:00 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: The zombie plague event]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/05/wow-archivist-the-zombie-plague-event/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Zombies attack" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="544431" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/da27ed51bfcd790755a16604522e8500/201039198/zombie+crazy.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
We have one more week of the Iron Horde invasion event before we can take the fight through the portal to Draenor. Most players seem to think this event is serviceable, if unexciting. Like all such events, it lives in the shadow of the most memorable pre-expansion event in <em>WoW</em>'s long history: the zombie plague. It debuted almost exactly six years ago, and Blizzard has never topped it.<br />
<br />
If you need evidence, just look at the comments on the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/">previous WoW Archivist</a> about patch 3.0. I only mentioned the event in passing as a topic for a future column. Even so, readers posted more about the plague event than about any of the other 3.0 features like achievements, glyphs, or pally nerfs.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Shaking the foundations</span><br />
<br />
Although the players knew some kind of Scourge-based event awaited us, no one knew the details or the scope. At midnight on October 22, 2008, it began. Argent Dawn members appeared in capital cities to warn us. "The Lich King is attempting to make his presence known," they said. "We must not let this occur."<br />
<br />
At the event's inception, WoW Insider posted an article <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/10/22/the-argent-dawn-spreads-word-of-the-lich-kings-arrival/">speculating</a> on what we might soon face, and our hopes turned out to be prophetic:

<blockquote>
<p>Will it be a simple replay of the Scourge Invasion that brought Naxxramas to our shores for the first time? Or will it be something even more sinister, a world event that shakes the very foundations of the World of Warcraft as we know it?<br />
<br />
Call us destructive, but we're kind of hoping for the second.</p>
</blockquote><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/05/wow-archivist-the-zombie-plague-event/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: The zombie plague event</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/05/wow-archivist-the-zombie-plague-event/">WoW Archivist: The zombie plague event</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/05/wow-archivist-the-zombie-plague-event/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20988128/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/11/05/wow-archivist-the-zombie-plague-event/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>events</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>in-game-events</category><category>iron-horde</category><category>iron-horde-invasion</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>scourge</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category><category>Zombie-Infestation</category><category>zombie-plague</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0.2 notes part 1]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-1/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<br />
 
<center>
<div style="width: 98%; text-align: left; position: relative; padding: 3px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(51, 73, 138); border: 1px solid rgb(51, 51, 51);"><img align="absMiddle" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wow.com/media/2010/02/blizzimg4.jpg" style="border: 0px none; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 3px;" //> World of Warcraft Patch 3.0.2</div>

<div style="width: 98%; text-align: left; position: relative; padding: 3px; color: rgb(153, 204, 255); background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(32, 32, 32); border: 1px solid rgb(51, 51, 51);">
<div style="padding: 5px;"><strong>General</strong>

<ul>
	<li>All players will have their talent points reimbursed and will have access to new talents throughout their trees; this includes the 51-point talents. Several new spells and abilities have been added for all classes. Players will need to visit their class trainer to learn new spells.</li>
	<li>The Kirin Tor have made their move and so has Dalaran.Please watch your step around the crater that has been left behind!</li>
	<li>The Barber Shop has been implemented and you can now visit one of the Barber Shops in the major cities to change your appearance. Be sure to get your Shave and a Haircut!</li>
	<li>The all new Achievement System has been implemented and the Achievement panel can be accessed via the interface. While many achievements are not retroactive, we have done our best to credit as many as possible. Gamemasters will not be able to grant achievements for past accomplishements.</li>
	<li>Stormwind Harbor is now open for business.</li>
	<li>New towers have been added outside Of Orgrimmar and in Tirisfal Glades. Crews are currently at work to establish a new Zeppelin route to Northrend for your travel pleasure. Please no /spit off of the towers.</li>
	<li>A new entrance is now viewable in the Caverns of Time.</li>
	<li>Hit Rating, Critical Strike Rating, and Haste Rating now modify both melee attacks and spells.</li>
	<li>Spell casting and spell channeling pushback has been changed to the following:
	<ul>
		<li>When casting a spell:
		<ul>
			<li>The first and second hit will add .5 secs each to the cast time.</li>
			<li>All hits after the second will have no effect.</li>
		</ul>
		</li>
		<li>When channeling a spell:
		<ul>
			<li>The first and second hit reduces current duration by 25% of total duration each.</li>
			<li>All hits after the second will have no effect.[/u][/b]</li>
		</ul>
		</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Spellpower:
	<ul>
		<li>All items and effects which grant bonuses to spell damage and spell healing are being consolidated into a single stat, Spellpower. This stat will appear with the same values found on items which grant "increased spell damage and healing" such as on typical Mage and Warlock itemization.</li>
		<li>For classes which do not heal, they should see no change in the character sheet other than new tooltip wording.</li>
		<li>Healing characters will see their bonus healing numbers on the character sheet decrease, however, all healing spells have been modified to receive more benefit from spellpower than they received from bonus healing, with a net effect of no change to the amount healed by their spells. Some talents have had to be rebalanced to accommodate this change, but the amount healed will remain roughly the same. In addition, some talents will provide only healing spell power.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>
<strong>Druids</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Brambles (Balance): Now increases the damage done by your Treants, and also damage caused from your Treants and Barkskin has a 5/10/15% chance to Daze the target for 3 sec.</li>
	<li>Celestial Focus (Balance): The stun proc now works with Starfall. This talent no longer has Wrath pushback protection, but instead increases your total spell haste by 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Challenging Roar now has a 3 minute cooldown, reduced from 10 minutes.</li>
	<li>Control of Nature (Balance) has been removed.</li>
	<li>Entangling Roots: Can now be used indoors.</li>
	<li>Faerie Fire (Feral): Now an 11-point talent, down from being a 21-point talent.</li>
	<li>Feral Charge (Feral) is now a 21-point talent, up from being a 11-point talent.</li>
	<li>Feral Charge (Feral): Can now be used in Cat form.</li>
	<li>Feral Instinct (Feral) no longer increases threat generated in Bear form, but now increases damage done by your Swipe ability by 5/10/15%.</li>
	<li>Feral Swiftness: The movement speed buff can now be used indoors.</li>
	<li>Focused Starlight (Balance)is now Nature's Majesty (Balance): Increases the critical strike chance of your Wrath, Starfire, Starfall, Nourish, and Healing Touch spells by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Force of Nature (Balance): Cooldown reduced to 2 minutes, down from 3.</li>
	<li>Furor (Restoration): Now increases your total Intellect while in Moonkin form by 2/4/6/8/10%.</li>
	<li>Hurricane: No longer has a cooldown (was 1 minute).</li>
	<li>Improved Faerie Fire (Feral): Now also works with spell hit, in addition to ranged and melee hit %.</li>
	<li>Improved Mark of the Wild (Restoration): Now a 2-point talent, down from a 5-point talent.</li>
	<li>Improved Tranquility (Restoration): Now also reduces the cooldown of your Tranquility spell by 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Mangle (Feral): Now increases the damage done by Maul in addition to Shred.</li>
	<li>Moonglow (Balance): Now also works with Starfall. Moved to tier 2, up from tier 5.</li>
	<li>Moonkin Form (Balance) no longer increases your attack power or causes you to regenerate mana off melee attacks, but now has a chance to cause you to instantly regenerate 2% of your total mana every time you critically hit with a spell.</li>
	<li>Nature's Focus (Restoration): Now a 3 point talent, down from a 5-point talent. Also moved to Tier 1, up from Tier 2. Now also includes Nourish, Entangling Roots, Wrath, and Cyclone.</li>
	<li>Nature's Grace (Balance): Now also reduces the global cooldown of your Wrath spell by 50% while in effect.</li>
	<li>Nature's Grasp (Balance): Can now be used and can proc indoors. This is now a base ability at level 11 and has a 100% chance to proc.</li>
	<li>New Talent- Protector of the Pack (Feral): Increases the bonus attack power for Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by an additional 20/40/60% for each friendly player in your party, damage taken is reduced while in Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Nature's Reach (Balance): Now also reduces threat generated by Balance spells by 15/30%.</li>
	<li>Nature's Splendor now increases the duration of Lifebloow by 2 secs, (down from 3.)</li>
	<li>New Spell: Revive - Returns the spirit to the body, restoring a dead target to life with health and mana. Cannot be cast when in combat. (Ranks 1-7 added)</li>
	<li>New Talent - Genesis (Balance): Increases the damage and healing done by your periodic spells by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Improved Insect Swarm (Balance): Increases your damage done by your Wrath spell to targets afflicted by your Insect Swarm by 1/2/3%, and increases the critical strike chance of your Starfire spell by 1/2/3% on targets afflicted by your Moonfire spell.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Mother Bear (Feral): Increases the bonus attack power for Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by an additional 20/40/60%, and for each friendly player in your party, damage you take is reduced while in Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Natural Reaction (Feral): Increases your dodge chance while in Bear Form or Dire Bear Form by 2/4/6%, and you regenerate 1/2/3 rage everytime you dodge while in Bear Form or Dire Bear Form.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Nature's Splendor (Balance): Increases the duration of your Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Rejuvenation, Regrowth, Lifebloom and Flourish spells by 10/20/30%.</li>
	<li>Omen of Clarity (Restoration): Now a passive spell. Now also works for spells (healing and damage). Proc rate is roughly 6% with a 10 second internal cooldown.</li>
	<li>Primal Tenacity (Feral) now reduces damage while stunned by 5/10/15%, and reduces the duration of fear effects by 5/10/15%.</li>
	<li>Rake: The damage for this ability has been increased.</li>
	<li>Remove Curse can now be used in Tree of Life form.</li>
	<li>Soothe Animal can now be used on Dragonkin as well as Beasts.</li>
	<li>Soothe Animal is now instant cast.</li>
	<li>Subtlety (Restoration): Now a 3-point talent, down from a 5-point talent. Also moved to Tier 2, up from Tier 3. Also now only reduced threat for Restoration spells, and reduces the chance that your healing over time spells (Lifebloom, Regrowth and Rejuvenation) will be dispelled, rather than all Druid spells. Threat management for Balance can now be found in the Balance tree, within Nature's Reach.</li>
	<li>Survival of the Fittest (Feral): Increased to 2/4/6%, up from 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Swipe now affects targets within a range.</li>
	<li>The mana regeneration penalty when in Bear Form, Dire Bear Form and Cat Form has been removed.</li>
	<li>Tranquil Spirit (Restoration) now also includes Nourish.</li>
	<li>Tree of Life (Restoration): 30% snare penalty has been removed.</li>
	<li>Tree of Life (Restoration): Can now cast Dispel Curse.</li>
	<li>Tree of Life (Restoration): You can now cast all Restoration spells (Healing Touch) in the form, but Tree of Life now only reduces the mana cost of your healing over time spells (Rejuvenation, Lifebloom, Regrowth and Flourish) by 20%.</li>
	<li>Vengeance (Balance): Now also works with Starfall.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Hunters</strong>

<ul>
	<li>All aspects now have a 1 second global cooldown, down from a 1.5 global cooldown.</li>
	<li>All pet families now have one unique ability. New abilities have been added for families such as bears and sporebats.</li>
	<li>Stablemasters can now accommodate two additional pets.</li>
	<li>Pets now have their own trees. These can be accessed via the talent panel.</li>
	<li>Aimed shot mana cost has been reduced from 11% of base mana to 8%, casting time reduced from 2.5 sec to instant. Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 10 seconds and damage reduced.</li>
	<li>Animal Handler (Beast Mastery): No longer increases speed while mounted, but now reduces the cooldown of your Master's Call ability by 5/10 sec.</li>
	<li>Arcane Shot: No longer dispels magic effects.</li>
	<li>Aspects now no longer cost mana.</li>
	<li>Aspect of the Beast: Now increases melee attack power by 10% for the hunter and the hunter's pet.The hunter can't be tracked while using this Aspect. Only one Aspect can be active at a time.</li>
	<li>Aspect of the Viper - The hunter takes on the aspect of the viper, causing ranged attacks to regenerate mana but reducing total damage done by 50%. Mana is gained based on ranged weapons speed. Only one Aspect can be active at a time.</li>
	<li>Aspect of the Wild (Rank 4) now increases Nature resistence by 130, (up from 70.)</li>
	<li>Avoidance, Dash / Dive and Cobra Reflexes are now pet talents instead of pet skills.</li>
	<li>Bestial Swiftness is now a pet talent tree talent, and has been removed from the Beast Mastery Hunter tree.</li>
	<li>Bite now has no cooldown, does the same damage and costs the same Focus as Claw, so works as a Focus dump.</li>
	<li>Clever Traps (Survival) has been renamed "Trap Mastery."</li>
	<li>Combat Experience (Marksmanship): Now grants 3/6% Agility, up from 1/2%.</li>
	<li>Concussive Barrage (Marksmanship): Can now proc from Volley and Multi-shot attacks.</li>
	<li>Counterattack: Damage increased by 20%, and now also scales with your Ranged Attack Power.</li>
	<li>Deterrence (Survival): Cooldown reduced to 3 minutes, and now also increases your chance to resist spells by 60%. Now has a new spell effect.</li>
	<li>Disengage: This ability has been re-designed. Now leaps the Hunter backwards up to 13 yards. 30 second cooldown. Disengage now also only has one rank (rank 1).</li>
	<li>Distracting Shot: This shot now "taunts" the target onto the Hunter. The taunt effect will last 6 seconds. Distracting Shot now only has one rank (rank 1).</li>
	<li>Every hunter pet can learn Growl, Cower and either Bite or Claw (never both).</li>
	<li>Focused Aim no longer affects Aimed Shot and now increases chance to hit by 1/2/3 %.</li>
	<li>Focused Fire (Beast Mastery): Now increases the critical strike chance of your Kill Command by 10/20/30% while Kill Command is active. This effect can stack up to 3 times, but diminishes for each charge of Kill Command.</li>
	<li>Freezing Arrow now breaks on damage.</li>
	<li>Freezing Trap now breaks on damage.</li>
	<li>Hunter pets can now learn talents in one of three trees depending on family. Pets gain talent points starting at level 20 and earn an extra talent point every 4 levels.</li>
	<li>If a hunter tames a pet that is more than five levels beneath their own level, the pet will then have their level increased to five levels beneath the hunter's own level.</li>
	<li>Improved Arcane Shot (Marksmanship): Now increases the damage done by your Arcane Shot by 5/10/15%.</li>
	<li>Improved Feign Death (Survival): This talent has been replaced with Survival Tactics.</li>
	<li>Improved Hunter's Mark (Marksmanship): Now a 3-point talent, and now increases the amount of attack power granted by your Hunter's Mark ability by 10/20/30% and reduces the mana cost of your Hunter's Mark ability by 33/66/100%.</li>
	<li>Improved Stings (Marksmanship): Now a 3-point talent, down from 5-points.</li>
	<li>Kill Command: This ability now increases the damage done by your pet's special abilities by 60%. Each attack will reduce the damage bonus by 20%. 1 minute cooldown.</li>
	<li>Kill Shot damage slightly reduced.</li>
	<li>Kindred Spirits will no longer stack with other movement enhancing buffs.</li>
	<li>Lock and Load now has a chance to proc periodic damage by 2/4/6% (down from 5/10/15%.)</li>
	<li>Loyalty, Training Points and the hunter Beast Training button no longer exist. Hunter pets can now learn all skills at their level. They will get new ranks automatically as they gain levels.</li>
	<li>Marked for Death now increases damage done by ranged and by pets special abilities by 4% on marked targets (down from 8%.)</li>
	<li>Master Tactician (Survival): Chance to proc increased to 10%, up from 6%.</li>
	<li>Mongoose Bite: No longer requires you to dodge in order to use this ability.</li>
	<li>Monster Slaying (Survival) and Humanoid Slaying (Survival) has been combined into "Improved Tracking".</li>
	<li>Multi-shot mana cost has been increased slightly to 9% base mana (up from 8%.)</li>
	<li>New Talent - Aspect Mastery (Beast Mastery)</li>
	<li>New Talent - Hunter vs. Wild (Survival): Increases you and your pet's attack power and ranged attack power equal to 10/20/30% of your total Stamina.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Improved Tracking (Survival): Increases all damage done to targets that are being tracked 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Lock and Load (Survival): You have a 33/66/100% chance when you trap a target and a 10/20/30% chance when you sting a target to cause your next 3 Arcane Shot or Explosive Shot spells to trigger no cooldown, cost no mana and consume no ammo.</li>
	<li>New Talent - Survival Tactics (Survival): Reduces the chance your Feign Death ability and all trap spells will be resisted by 2/4%, and reduces the cooldown of your Disengage ability by 2/4 sec.</li>
	<li>New Talent - T.N.T. (Survival): Your Immolation Trap, Explosive Trap and Explosive Shot have a 5/10/15% to stun targets for 2 sec when they deal damage, and increases the critical strike chance of your Explosive Shot and Explosive Trap by 5/10/15%.</li>
	<li>Pathfinding (Beast Mastery): Now also increases the movement speed while mounted by 5/10%.</li>
	<li>Point of No Escape reduced to a 2 point talent and now affects Freezing Arrow. The critical strike chance has increased to 3/6% (up from 2/4/6%.)</li>
	<li>Rapid Killing (Marksmanship): This will now proc off Chimera Shot, but no longer works with auto-shot.</li>
	<li>Readiness (Marksmanship): Cooldown reduced to 3 minutes, down from 5 minutes, and has been moved to Tier 5 of the Marksmanship Tree from the Survival Tree.</li>
	<li>Savage Strikes (Survival): Now includes Counterattack.</li>
	<li>Scattershot has been moved from the Marksmanship Tree to Tier 3 of the Survival Tree.</li>
	<li>Silencing Shot (Marksmanship): This spell will now interrupt the current spell being cast on the target and lock out that school for 3 sec if the target is immune to silence effects.</li>
	<li>Spirit Bond (Beast Mastery): Also increases healing done to you and your pet by 5/10%.</li>
	<li>Steady Shot now uses ammo. In result, its bonus damage has been slightly reduced. Players can notice a damage increase based upon what ammo they use.</li>
	<li>Steady Shot: Now has a 2.0 cast time, up from 1.5.</li>
	<li>Surefooted (Survival) now reduces the duration of movement impairing effects by 16/25/50% (instead of resist % chance). Moved from tier 4 to tier 2 and no longer increases hit chance.</li>
	<li>Survival Instincts (Survival): This has been moved to tier-2, up from tier 6.</li>
	<li>Survivalist (Survival): Now increases your total Stamina, instead of your total Health.</li>
	<li>The arming time has been reduced to 1 second, from 2 seconds for all traps.</li>
	<li>T.N.T. has been moved from Tier 2 to Tier 4.</li>
	<li>Tranquilizing Shot: Cooldown reduced to 15 seconds (down from 20), and now dispels Enrage and Magic effects.</li>
	<li>Trap Mastery (Survival) is now an 11-point talenttalent and has been moved from tier 3 to tier 9 and increases the duration by 30% fo both Freezing Trap and Frost Trap.</li>
	<li>Trueshot Aura - This aura is now raid-wide and now increases all ranged and melee attack power by 10%. In addition, this spell now only has one rank. All other ranks have been removed.</li>
	<li>Wingclip: No longer does damage.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Mages</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Arcane Blast effect duration reduced to 3 seconds, and now increases damage by 25/50/75% instead of reducing cast time.</li>
	<li>Arcane Focus (Arcane) is now 3 ranks and increases chance to hit and reduces mana cost of Arcane spells by 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Arcane Fortitude moved to tier 2, increased to 3 ranks, now increases armor equal to 50/100/150% of Intellect.</li>
	<li>Arcane Impact renamed Spell Impact and now affects Blast Wave, Fire Blast, Cone of Cold, and Ice Lance.</li>
	<li>Arcane Potency now applies when Presence of Mind is active, talent prerequisite changed to Presence of Mind.</li>
	<li>Arcane Subtlety now reduces the chance your spells will be dispelled by 15/35%, and no longer reduces the resistance of targets.</li>
	<li>Arctic Reach now also affects Deep Freeze.</li>
	<li>Blast Wave now knocks all affected targets back.</li>
	<li>Conjured mana gems no longer disappear from your backpack after being logged out for more than 15 minutes. Higher ranks of Conjure Mana Gem will recharge an existing mana gem to maximum charges.</li>
	<li>Counterspell now costs 9% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Deep Freeze will no longer do damage, and will now stun the target for 5 seconds.</li>
	<li>Elemental Precision moved to tier 2.</li>
	<li>Empowered Arcane Missiles renamed Arcane Empowerment and no longer increases mana cost. It now also increases damage caused by Arcane Blast.</li>
	<li>Empowered Fireball renamed to Empower Fire, reduced to 3 ranks, now increases damage by 5/10/15% of spell powerand now affects Frostfire Bolt.</li>
	<li>Empowered Frostbolt reduced to 2 ranks, increases damage by 5/10% of spell power and increases critical hit chance by 2/4%.</li>
	<li>Evocation has had its cooldown reduced from 8 minutes to 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Flame Throwing moved to tier 3.</li>
	<li>Frost Armor, Ice Armor, Mage Armor and Molten Armor are no longer Magic effects and cannot be dispelled.</li>
	<li>Frostbite relocated from Tier 2 to Tier 1.</li>
	<li>Frost Channeling now reduces mana cost of all spells by 4/7/10%.</li>
	<li>Frost Warding now increases armor and resistances of Frost/Ice Armor by 25/50%, now gives Frost Ward and Fire Ward a 15/30/5 chance to negate damage caused and restore mana equal to damage caused by the warded spell.</li>
	<li>Hot Streak will now also affect Fire Blast.</li>
	<li>Ice Floes renamed Cold as Ice, now reduces cooldown of Cold Snap, Ice Barrier, Summon Water Elemental, and Deep Freeze by 10/20%.</li>
	<li>Impact moved to tier 3, reduced to 3 ranks for 4/7/10% chance to trigger, now triggers from any damaging spell (Fire, Frost or Arcane).</li>
	<li>Improved Blink now also reduces mana cost by 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Counterspell now always silences the target for 2/4 seconds.</li>
	<li>Improved Fire Blast moved to tier 1, reduced to 2 ranks, reduces the cooldown by 1/2 seconds.</li>
	<li>Improved Flamestrike moved to tier 2, renamed World in Flames, now increases the critical hit chance of Flamestrike, Blast Wave, Dragon's Breath, Living Bomb, Blizzard, and Arcane Explosion by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Improved Frost Nova renamed Ice Floes, moved to tier 1, increased to 3 ranks, now reduces cooldown of Frost Nova, Cone of Cold, Ice Block, and Icy Veins by 7/14/20%.</li>
	<li>Improved Mana Shield has been renamed to Arcane Shielding, reduces mana lost per damage absorbed by 17/33%,and now also increases resistances granted by Mage Armor by 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Scorch now increases Fire, Frost, and Arcane damage done to the target by 2/4/6/8/10%.</li>
	<li>Incineration moved to tier 1, increases the critical hit chance of Fire Blast, Scorch, Arcane Blast, and Cone of Cold by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Invisibility now makes the caster invisible after 3 seconds, reduced from 5 seconds.</li>
	<li>Living Bomb will no longer knock all targets into the air.</li>
	<li>Magic Absorption reduced to 2 ranks, increases resistances by .5/1 point per level, and restores 1/3% of total mana on a resist.</li>
	<li>Magic Attunement (Arcane) now also increases the range of your Arcane spells by 3/6 yards.</li>
	<li>Mana Shield now drains 1.5 mana per damage absorbed.</li>
	<li>Master of Elements now affects all spell criticals.</li>
	<li>Mind Mastery reduced to 3/6/9/12/15%.</li>
	<li>Missile Barrage will now affect Arcane Barrage and the (R5) proc chance has been adjusted from 12% to 20%.</li>
	<li>Molten Shields now gives Fire Ward and Frost Ward spells a 15/30% chance to reflect the warded spell.</li>
	<li>Polymorph now costs 12% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Portal spells now cost 18% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Prismatic Cloak (Arcane) increased to 3 ranks for 1/2/3% and now also reduces the fade time of Invisibility by 1/2/3 seconds.</li>
	<li>Pyroblast cast time has been reduced to 5 seconds.</li>
	<li>Remove Lesser Curse has been renamed to Remove Curse.</li>
	<li>Shatter no longer has a prerequisite.</li>
	<li>Slow Fall now costs 6% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Slow mana cost reduced.</li>
	<li>Summoned Water Elemental's Waterbolt range increased, mana cost reduced, Freeze range increased, mana cost increased.</li>
	<li>Teleport spells now cost 9% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Winter's Chill reduced to 3 ranks, Frost damage spells have a 33/66/100% chance to trigger the effect and the effect increases chance to crit with Arcane, Fire and Frost spells.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Paladins</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Attack Power and Spell Power scaling on all Seals and Judgements other than Command and Blood has been reduced.</li>
	<li>All Auras now affect all party and raid members within the area of effect.</li>
	<li>Anticipation (Protection) moved to tier 1, now increases chance to dodge by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Avenger's Shield (Protection) cast time reduced to .5 seconds, duration increased to 10 seconds.</li>
	<li>Avenging Wrath no longer causes Forbearance, damage increase reduced to 20%, now increases healing done by 20%.</li>
	<li>Blessing of Freedom renamed Hand of Freedom. Only one Hand spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Blessing of Light and Greater Blessing of Light removed. Their effects have been folded into all relevant abilities.</li>
	<li>Blessing of Protection renamed Hand of Protection. Only one Hand spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. All ranks now cost 6% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Blessing of Sacrifice renamed Hand of Sacrifice, is now only 1 rank and transfers 20% of the damage taken to the caster, duration reduced to 12 seconds, cooldown increased to 2 minutes. Only one Hand spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Blessing of Salvation renamed Hand of Salvation, now reduces total threat on the target by 2% per second for 10 seconds while also reducing all damage and healing done by 10%. Only one Hand spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Blessing of Sanctuary reduced to 1 rank, now reduces all damage taken by 3% and generates rage, mana or runic power when a parry/dodge/block occurs.</li>
	<li>Consecration now scales with attack power and spell power.</li>
	<li>Conviction (Retribution) now increases critical chance with all spells and melee attacks.</li>
	<li>Divine Intellect (Holy) moved to tier 2, increases total Intellect by 3/6/9/12/15%.</li>
	<li>Divine Intervention cooldown reduced to 20 minutes.</li>
	<li>Divine Plea will now fall within the school of Magic and reduces healing output by 20% (from 100%.)</li>
	<li>Divine Protection and Divine Shield now cost 3% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Divine Protection now reduces all damage taken by 50% and increases time between attacks by 100%.</li>
	<li>Divine Purpose (Retribution) now reduces chance to be hit by spells and ranged attacks by 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Divine Strength (Holy) moved to tier 1 in the Protection tree.</li>
	<li>Exorcism mana cost reduced and now scales with attack power and spell power.</li>
	<li>Eye for an Eye now reflects 10/20% damage from all critical hits.</li>
	<li>Fanaticism now increases chance to critically hit by 5/10/15/20/25%.</li>
	<li>Forbearance duration increased to 3 minutes.</li>
	<li>Greater Blessing of Salvation removed.</li>
	<li>Hammer of Justice now costs 3% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Hammer of Wrath is now considered a Retribution spell, moved from Holy, mana cost reduced, now instant cast, global cooldown increased to 1.5, missile speed increased, now usable on targets below 35% health and now scales with attack power and spell power.</li>
	<li>Healing Light (Holy) moved to tier 2.</li>
	<li>Holy Shield (Protection) cooldown reduced to 8 seconds, charges increased to 8.</li>
	<li>Holy Shock (Holy) range changed to 20/40 yards when used on enemies/friends respectively, cooldown reduced to 6 seconds.</li>
	<li>Holy Wrath is now instant cast, causes a 3 second stun, cooldown reduced to 30 seconds, radius reduced to 10 yards.</li>
	<li>Illumination (Holy) moved to tier 3.</li>
	<li>Improved Blessing of Might increased to 10/20/30/40/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Concentration Aura (Protection) moved to the Holy tree.</li>
	<li>Improved Concentration Aura moved from the Protection tree to tier 4 in the Holy tree.</li>
	<li>Improved Devotion Aura (Protection) moved to tier 4, reduced to 3 ranks, now increases armor of Devotion Aura by 17/34/50% and increases all healing done to units affected by Devotion Aura by 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Improved Hammer of Justice (Protection) now reduces cooldown by 10/20/30 secs.</li>
	<li>Improved Holy Shield removed.</li>
	<li>Improved Righteous Fury (Protection) threat bonus folded into base spell, talent still reduces all damage taken by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Improved Sanctity Aura (Retribution) renamed Sanctified Retribution, now causes all units affected by Retribution Aura to cause 2% more damage.</li>
	<li>Improved Seal of Righteousness (Holy) moved to tier 1, renamed Seals of the Pure, now affects Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Vengeance and Seal of Corruption.</li>
	<li>Improved Seal of the Crusader (Retribution) renamed Heart of the Crusader and the effects now apply to all Judgement spells.</li>
	<li>Infusion of Light now reduces the cast time of Holy Light by .5 second/1 second (instead of 1.2.5 second /2.5 seconds.)</li>
	<li>Judgement has been replaced with 3 new spells; Judgement of Light, Judgement of Wisdom, and Judgement of Justice. All Judgement spells are considered ranged attacks for purposes of how they hit and how they critically hit. All cause damage based on attack power and spell power.</li>
	<li>Judgement of Light now heals based on the Paladin's attack power and spell power, the effect can not trigger more than once ever 4 seconds.</li>
	<li>Judgement of Justice will no longer prevent Fear effects, but will only prevent NPCs from fleeing (e.g. at low health).</li>
	<li>Judgement of Wisdom now restores mana based on the Paladin's attack power and spell power, the effect can not trigger more than once every 4 seconds.</li>
	<li>Judgements of the Pure will now last for 1 minute (up from 30 seconds.)</li>
	<li>Judgements of the Wise will now grant 33% of base mana instead of 20% of maximum mana.</li>
	<li>Lay on Hands no longer drains all mana, cooldown reduced to 20 minutes.</li>
	<li>One-Handed Weapon Specialization now increases damage by 2/4/6/8/10%.</li>
	<li>Precision has been removed.</li>
	<li>Pure of Heart (Holy) reduced to 2 ranks, now reduces duration of Curse and Disease effects by 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Pursuit of Justice reduced to 2 ranks for 8/15% movement increase and 1/2% less chance to be hit by spells.</li>
	<li>Redoubt (Protection) moved to tier 2, reduced to 3 ranks, increases block chance by 10/20/30%, now also increases block value by 10/20/30% at all times.</li>
	<li>Repentance (Retribution) mana cost changed to 9% of base, duration increased to 1 minute (10 second PvP duration), now usable against Demons, Dragonkin, Giants, Humanoids and Undead.</li>
	<li>Retribution Aura damage increased and now gains damage based on Holy spell power.</li>
	<li>Righteous Defense no longer costs mana and the global cooldown has been removed, cooldown reduced to 10 seconds.</li>
	<li>Righteous Fury now increases threat caused by Holy damage by 90%.</li>
	<li>Sacred Duty now also reduces the cooldown of Divine Protection.</li>
	<li>Sanctified Light (Holy) now also increases the critical chance of Holy Shock.</li>
	<li>Sanctity Aura (Retribution) removed.</li>
	<li>All Seals have been reduced to 1 rank and now cost 14% of base mana. The duration has been increased to 2 minutes and are no longer consumed when a Judgement spell is cast. The effects can be triggered from all weapon based special abilities.</li>
	<li>Seal of Blood now increases Judgement damage by 45% of weapon damage.</li>
	<li>Seal of Command now increases Judgement damage by 30% of weapon damage, 60% on stunned targets.</li>
	<li>Seal of the Crusader has been removed. The effects of Judgement of the Crusader have been folded into all relevant abilities.</li>
	<li>Seal of Righteousness deals damage based on weapon speed plus an amount based on attack power and spell power, increases Judgement damage by 25%.</li>
	<li>Seal of Vengeance now applies its effect on every swing, causes damage based on attack power and spell power, increases Judgement damage by 10% per stack of the damage over time effect.</li>
	<li>Shield Specialization removed, effects merged with Redoubt.</li>
	<li>Spiritual Focus (Holy) moved to tier 1.</li>
	<li>Stoicism (Protection) moved to tier 2, now reduces duration of Stun effects by 10/20/30% and reduces chance your spells will be resisted by 10/20/30%.</li>
	<li>Summon Warhorse and Summon Charger mana cost removed and no longer causes a global cooldown.</li>
	<li>Toughness (Protection) moved to tier 3 , now also reduces the duration of movement slowing effects by 10/20/30/40/50%.</li>
	<li>Turn Undead (ranks 1 and 2) removed. Turn Evil now granted at level 24, mana cost changed to 9% of base.</li>
	<li>Unyielding Faith (Holy) moved to tier 2.</li>
	<li>Vengeance (Retribution) now stacks up to 2 times, reduced from 3.</li>
	<li>Vindication reduced to 2 ranks for 10/20% attribute reduction.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Priests</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Absolution: This talent has swapped positions in the talent tree with Improved Inner Fire.</li>
	<li>Circle of Healing (Holy): Now works on any targets in the caster's raid, and is now a "smart" heal and chooses the lowest health targets to heal first within its range. Also now has a 6 second cooldown. Also no longer will heal summoned Snakes from Hunter's Snake Trap.</li>
	<li>Enlightenment: Increases your total Stamina, Spirit and Spell haste by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Focused Will (Discipline): Now increases healing effects on you by 3/4/5%, down from 4/7/10%.</li>
	<li>Force of Will (Discipline): This talent now increases your spell damage by a flat amount, rather than increasing your spells by a %. (Now increases school %, rather than selected spells damage %). In other words, your spell damage gained from this talent is now reflected on your character sheet, rather than the skill tool-tips.</li>
	<li>Focused Power: Increases your total spell damage and healing done by 2/4%, but no longer increases your chance to hit with Mind Blast, and Mass Dispel.</li>
	<li>Guardian Spirit will now heal the target 50% of their maximum health.</li>
	<li>Holy Fire: Cast time reduced to to 2 seconds, down from 3.5. Damage increased roughly 60%. Duration for the damage over time effect reduced to 7 seconds, down from 10. Holy Fire now has a 10 second cooldown.</li>
	<li>Holy Nova mana cost reduced.</li>
	<li>Improved Inner Fire (Discipline) - Now also increases the effect of Inner Fire spell by 20/40/60% (Includes the +spell power on higher ranks, as well as total number of charges).Moved from tier 3 to tier 2.</li>
	<li>Improved Power Word: Fortitude moved from tier 3 to tier 2.</li>
	<li>Improved Shadow Word: Pain (Shadow) - Now increases damage done by your Shadow Word: Pain by 5/10%, but no longer increases the duration of your Shadow Word: Pain.</li>
	<li>Levitate now costs 3% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Lightwell (Holy): Cast time reduced to .5 sec, down from 1.5 sec. Charges increased to 10, up from 5. Now breaks from any attack that hits you for 30% or more of your total health. Cooldown reduced to 3 minutes, down from 5.</li>
	<li>Mind Control now has only one rank and costs 12% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Mind Flay can now periodically critcally hit. The spell coefficient has been increased approximately 30%.</li>
	<li>Mind Soothe now has only one rank, costs 6% of base mana and has no max target level.</li>
	<li>Mind Vision now costs 3% of base mana.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Improved Spirit Tap (Shadow) - Gives you a 50/100% chance to gain a 50% bonus to your Spirit after gaining a critical effect chance from your Mind Blast or Shadow Word: Death spells. For the duration, your mana will regenerate at a 25% rate while casting. Lasts 8 sec.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Twin Faiths (Discipline) - Increases your damage and healing by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Pain Suppression (Discipline): Cooldown increased to 3 minutes, up from 2.</li>
	<li>Power Infusion (Discipline): Cooldown reduced to 2 minutes, down from 3.</li>
	<li>Prayer of Mending - This spell can now critically hit.</li>
	<li>Psychic Scream now costs 15% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Searing Light (Holy): Now also increases the damage of your Holy Nova and Penance spells.</li>
	<li>Shackle Undead now costs 9% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Shadow Focus (Shadow): Now a 3 point talent, down from 5. Now also reduces the mana cost of your Shadow spells by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Shadow Resilience (Shadow): Now reduces physical damage taken by 2/4%, but no longer reduces the chance to be critically hit by spells.</li>
	<li>Shadowform (Shadow): Now has an innate 30% threat reduction. Now has a shapeshift UI.</li>
	<li>Silence (Shadow) global cooldown removed.</li>
	<li>Silent Resolve (Discipline): Now a 3 point talent, down from 5 points.</li>
	<li>Spirit Tap (Shadow) - Talent reduced to 3 points, down from 5. Now also leads into "Improved Spirit Tap"</li>
	<li>Twisted Faith will now work when the target is afflicted by Shadow Word: Pain (instead of Mind Flay.)</li>
	<li>Wand Specialization (Discipline) has been removed.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Rogues</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Aggression has been moved up 1 tier and now adds 3/6/9/12/15% damage to Sinister Strike, Backstab, and Eviscerate.</li>
	<li>Anesthetic Poison now also dispels one Enrage effect on the target.</li>
	<li>Blade Twisting (Combat) now cause all damaging melee attacks to have a 10% chance to daze for 4/8 seconds movement speed reduced by 70%, also adds 5/15% dmg to Sinister Strike and Backstab.</li>
	<li>Camouflage (Subtlety) reduced to 3 ranks for 5/10/15% speed and 2/4/6 secs off the cooldown of Stealth.</li>
	<li>Cloak of Shadows cooldown increased to 1.5 min.</li>
	<li>Crippling Poison reduced to 1 rank, slowing movement by 70%.</li>
	<li>Dagger Specialization (Combat) renamed Close Quarters Combat, moved to tier 3, now increases critical strike chance with Daggers and Fist Weapons by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Damaging poisons now scale with attack power.</li>
	<li>Deadened Nerves (Assassination) reduced to 3 ranks, now reduces all damage taken by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Deflection (Combat) reduced to 3 ranks, increasing parry by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Disarm Trap range increased to 20 yards, cast time reduced, now requires stealth.</li>
	<li>Dual Wield Specialization (Combat) moved to tier 1.</li>
	<li>Elusiveness (Subtlety) moved to Tier 3, now reduces cooldown of Vanish and Blind by 30/60 sec and Cloak of Shadows by 15/30 sec.</li>
	<li>Energy regeneration should now be smoother.</li>
	<li>Endurance (Combat) now reduces cooldown of Evasion and Sprint by 30/60 secs.</li>
	<li>Envenom now also increases your chance to apply poisons by 25% for 2-6 seconds (based on combo points).</li>
	<li>Evasion, Sprint and Vanish cooldowns reduced to 3 min.</li>
	<li>Find Weakness (Assassination) is now a passive talent, reduced to 3 ranks, increases damage of offensive abilities by 3/6/9%.</li>
	<li>Fist Weapon Specialization (Combat) removed.</li>
	<li>Fleet Footed (Assassination) now reduces duration of movement impairing effects by 25/50% rather than increasing resist chance.</li>
	<li>Focused Attacks now gives 2 energy regardless of rank.</li>
	<li>Gouge is now only 1 rank and causes damage based on attack power.</li>
	<li>Improved Ambush (Subtlety) moved to Tier 4, reduced to 2 ranks for 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Eviscerate (Assassination) now increases damage by 7/14/20%.</li>
	<li>Improved Expose Armor (Assassination) now reduces the energy cost by 5/10, no longer increases duration.</li>
	<li>Improved Poisons (Assassination) now increases chance to apply poisons by 5/10/15/20/25%.</li>
	<li>Improved Slice and Dice (Combat) reduced to 2 ranks, increases duration by 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Sprint (Combat) moved to Tier 4.</li>
	<li>Initiative (Subtlety) moved to Tier 4, increased to 33/66/100% chance.</li>
	<li>Kick is now only 1 rank and no longer causes damage.</li>
	<li>Lethality (Assassination) now also affects Riposte.</li>
	<li>Lightning Reflexes (Combat) moved to tier 4.</li>
	<li>Mace Specialization (Combat) no longer stuns enemiesnow ignores 3/6/9/12/15% of target's armor.</li>
	<li>Master of Deception (Subtlety) reduced to 3 ranks.</li>
	<li>Mind-Numbing Poison reduced to 1 rank, slowing casting speed by 60%.</li>
	<li>Murder (Assassination) moved to tier 6, increases damage by 2/4%.</li>
	<li>Mutilate (Assassination) no longer requires you be behind the target.</li>
	<li>Nerves of Steel (Combat) now reduces damage taken while Stunned or Feared by 15/30%.</li>
	<li>Opportunity (Subtlety) reduced to 2 ranks for 10/20%.</li>
	<li>Pick Lock and Disarm Trap no longer require Thieve's Tools.</li>
	<li>Poisons skill removed. All finished poisons are available on vendors rather than created by the rogue.</li>
	<li>Precision (Combat) now also increases chance to hit with poison attacks by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Premeditation (Subtlety) duration increased to 20 seconds, cooldown reduced to 20 seconds.</li>
	<li>Preparation (Subtlety) no longer refreshes the cooldown of Premeditation.</li>
	<li>Relentless Strikes (Assassination) moved to Tier 1 Subtlety, made 5 ranks for 4/8/12/16/20% chance.</li>
	<li>Riposte (Combat) now slows the target's melee attacks by 20% instead of disarming them, awards one combo point.</li>
	<li>Serrated Blades (Subtlety) moved to Tier 3.</li>
	<li>Setup (Subtlety) chance to gain a combo point increased to 33/66/100%.</li>
	<li>Shadowstep (Subtlety) is no longer usable while rooted.</li>
	<li>Surprise Attacks (Combat) now also increases Hemorrhage damage.</li>
	<li>Vanish no longer requires the reagent Flash Powder.</li>
	<li>Vigor (Assassination) moved to Tier 3.</li>
	<li>Vile Poisons (Assassination) reduced to 3 ranks, now increases damage of poisons and Envenom by 7/14/20% and increases dispel resistance by 10/20/30%.</li>
	<li>Vitality now regenerates 8/16/25% energy.</li>
	<li>Wounding Poison no longer stacks, reduces healing by 50%.</li>
</ul>

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Click through for <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-2/">part 2</a> of the notes!<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-1/">WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0.2 notes part 1</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-1/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20982561/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-1/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>


<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0.2 notes part 2]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-2/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<br />
 
<center>
<div style="width: 98%; text-align: left; position: relative; padding: 3px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(51, 73, 138); border: 1px solid rgb(51, 51, 51);"><img align="absMiddle" alt="" border="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wow.com/media/2010/02/blizzimg4.jpg" style="border: 0px none; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 3px;" //> WoW Patch 3.0.2 Part 2</div>

<div style="width: 98%; text-align: left; position: relative; padding: 3px; color: rgb(153, 204, 255); background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(32, 32, 32); border: 1px solid rgb(51, 51, 51);">
<div style="padding: 5px;"><strong>Shaman</strong>

<ul>
	<li>All totems are now considered on the "Physical" school, and no longer magical spells.</li>
	<li>Anticipation (Enhancement): Now is a 3-point talent, down from a 5-point talent and now reduces the duration of disarm effects on you by 16/25/50%.</li>
	<li>Ancestral Awakening and Improved Water Shield will now affect Riptide.</li>
	<li>Ancestral Knowledge (Enhancement): Now increases your Intellect by 2/4/6%, instead of increasing your total Mana by 2/4/6/8/10%.</li>
	<li>Call of Flame (Elemental): Now also increases the damage of your Lava Burst spell by 2/4/6%.</li>
	<li>Call of Thunder (Elemental) now also increases the critical strike chance of your Thunder spell.</li>
	<li>Concussion (Elemental) now increases the damage of your Thunder and Lava Burst spells.</li>
	<li>Convection (Elemental) is now a 3-point talent, down from a 5-point talent. Now lowers the mana cost of Thunder and Lava Burst.</li>
	<li>Dual Wield Specialization will now increase the chance to hit while dual wielding by an additional 1/2/3%.</li>
	<li>Earth's Grasp (Elemental) is now a tier-1 talent, up from tier-2.</li>
	<li>Elemental Devastation (Elemental) is now a tier-2 talent, up from tier-4.</li>
	<li>Elemental Focus (Elemental): Now also can proc off Lesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave, and can be used on all healing spells.</li>
	<li>Elemental Fury (Elemental) now requires Elemental Focus as a pre-requisite</li>
	<li>Elemental Precision (Elemental): Chance to hit reduced to 1/2/3% from 2/4/6%, but threat reduction increased to 10/20/30% up from 4/7/10%.</li>
	<li>Enhancing (Enhancement) Totems is now a Tier 1 talent, up from Tier-2.</li>
	<li>Fire Resistance Totem will now increase fire resistance by 130 and lasts for 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Flametongue Totem is now a flat spell damage totem. All ranks have been modified.</li>
	<li>Flametongue Weapon: Now has a passive spell damage.</li>
	<li>Flurry now increases attack speed by 5/10/15/20/25% for your next 3 swings after dealing a critical strike.</li>
	<li>Frostbrand's snare effect has been increased to 50%, up from 25%.</li>
	<li>Ghost Wolf's mana cost is now 13% base.</li>
	<li>Grace of Air Totem has been removed. (Agility has been rolled over into Strength of Earth Totem)</li>
	<li>Healing Grace (Restoration): Healing Way and Ancestral Fortitude are now affected by the dispel resistance portion of this talent.</li>
	<li>Maelstrom Weapon proc chance reduced to 3/6/9/12/15% on critical hit when you deal damage with a melee weapon. Now affects chain heal.</li>
	<li>Improved Fire Totems (Elemental) is now (again) Improved Fire Nova Totem. It now has a 50/100% chance to stun all targets for 2 sec.</li>
	<li>Improved Lightning Shield (Enhancement) is now Improved Shields, and is in Tier-2.</li>
	<li>Nature's Blessing no longer increases spell damage from Intellect, and the effect has been reduced to 5/10/15% from 10/20/30%. This is in result of the new spell power system. Players should notice little to no change in the power of the spell relevant to healing spells.</li>
	<li>New ranks have been added of Water Shield, starting at level 20. (Level 20, 27, 34, 41, 48, 55, 62, 69)</li>
	<li>New Spell: Earthliving Weapon - Imbue the Shaman's weapon with earthen life. Increases healing done by x and each heal has a 20% chance to proc Earthliving on the target, healing an additionaly over 12 sec. Lasts 30 minutes.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Cleanse Spirit (Restoration) - Cleanse the spirit of a friendly target, removing 1 poison effect, 1 disease effect, and 1 curse effect.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Elemental Shields (Enhancement): Increases the damage done by your Lightning Shield orbs by 5/10/15%, increases the amount of mana gained from your Mana Shield orbs by 5/10/15% and increases the amount of healing done by your Earth Shield orbs by 5/10/15%.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Mental Dexterity (Enhancement) - Increases your Attack Power by 33/66/100% of your Intellect.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Tidal Force(Restoration): Increases the critical effect chance of your Healing Wave, Lesser Healing Wave and Chain Heal by 60%. Each critical heal reduces the chance by 20% and lasts 20 seconds.</li>
	<li>Rockbiter ranks 5 through 9 have been removed. Windfury Weapon is intended to replace Rockbiter at level 30.</li>
	<li>Shapeshifting will no longer cancel Water Walking.</li>
	<li>Stoneclaw Totem: Health of the Stoneclaw totem is increased by 5% of the Shaman's total health.</li>
	<li>Stoneskin Totem now increases armor instead of reducing physical damage.</li>
	<li>Storm Reach (Elemental): Now also increases the radius of your Thunder spell by 10/20%.</li>
	<li>Stormstrike will no longer affect Fire or Frost damage.</li>
	<li>Strength of Earth Totem now also increases agility.</li>
	<li>The range of all "friendly totems" has been increased to 30 yards, up from 20.</li>
	<li>Tidal Focus (Restoration): Now works with Earth Shield.</li>
	<li>Totemic Mastery talent removed and replaced with "Tidal Force".</li>
	<li>Totem of Wrath will now last 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Tranquil Air Totem has been removed. (Threat is being addressed by modifications to the base threat of players and/or "baked" into tanking abilities.)</li>
	<li>Unleashed Rage is now raid wide and increases melee and ranged attack power within 45 yards.</li>
	<li>Windfury Totem is now a flat 20% melee haste totem. All ranks have been modified.</li>
	<li>Windwall Totem has been removed.</li>
	<li>Wrath of Air is now a flat 10% spell haste totem.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Warlock</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Aftermath (Destruction) - Now a 2-point talent, down from 5.</li>
	<li>All demon abilities and spells will automatically be learned as pets gain levels. Demon Master trainers will be removed.</li>
	<li>Avoidance (Felguard): Now reduces damage taken from area of effect attacks by an additional 80% and is automatically learned for the Succubus, Imp, Voidwalker, and Felhunter at level 10.</li>
	<li>Bane now reduces the cast time of your Haunt spell.</li>
	<li>Blood Pact now works raid-wide (not just in party).</li>
	<li>Cataclysm (Destruction) - Now also increases your chance to hit with Destruction spells by 1% per point.</li>
	<li>Chaos Bolt now does Fire damage instead of Chaos damage.</li>
	<li>Conflagrate can now only be cast on targets afflicted by Shadowflame.</li>
	<li>Consume Shadows (Voidwalker): Duration reduced to 6 seconds, and effect increased 66%. Now also greatly increases all nearby allies' stealth detection while channeled.</li>
	<li>Curse of Doom will now only summon a Doomguard if the target yields experience or honor.</li>
	<li>Curse of Recklessness will no longer prevent Fear effects, only prevent NPCs from fleeing (e.g. at low health).</li>
	<li>Dark Pact: Tooltip updated to be more consistent with other similar effects and now restores 200% mana leeched from your summoned Demon, up from 100%.</li>
	<li>Demon Armor - Now increases healing done by spells and effects by 20%, but no longer has in-combat health regeneration.</li>
	<li>Demonic Circle now lasts for 6 mins.</li>
	<li>Demonic Pact will no longer work on enslaved demons.</li>
	<li>Demon Skin, Demon Armor and Fel Armor are no longer Magic effects and cannot be dispelled.</li>
	<li>Demonic Sacrifice: Succubus effect reduced to 10% increased shadow damage, down from 15%. Imp effect reduced to 10% increased fire damage, down from 15%. Felguard effect now increases Fire and Shadow damage, instead of just Shadow.</li>
	<li>Doomguard: Health increased 20%, mana increased 24%.</li>
	<li>Drain Soul will now cause four times the damage if the target is at or below 25% health.</li>
	<li>Everlasting Affliction will no longer affect Shadow Bolt and affects Haunt instead.</li>
	<li>Emberstorm now reduces the cast time of your incinerate by 0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4/0.5 seconds.</li>
	<li>Fel Armor - Now increases your spell damage equal to 30% of your total Spirit, but no longer increases healing done by spells and effects by 20%.</li>
	<li>Felguard: Health increased by 10%.</li>
	<li>Felhunter: Paranoia and Tainted Blood have been replaced with Fel Intelligence and Shadow Bite.</li>
	<li>Fel Intelligence (Felhunter): Increases total Intellect and Spirit of party and raid members by 3%. Lasts until cancelled.</li>
	<li>Fel Stamina (Demonology) has been merged with Fel Intellect into Fel Vitality.</li>
	<li>Haunt will now heal for 100%.</li>
	<li>Howl of Terror now costs 15% of base mana.</li>
	<li>Infernal: Cooldown reduced to 15 minutes, down from 1 hour. Duration reduced to 1 minute, down from 5 minutes+. Health increased by 30%, damage increased by 60%, and armor increased by 30%.</li>
	<li>Inferno now summons an Infernal which lasts for 1 minute.</li>
	<li>Imp: Health increased by 20% , Armor increased 16%, mana regeneration increased 200%.</li>
	<li>Improved Curse of Weakness (Affliction) is now "Frailty" - Increases the amount of attack power reduced by your Curse of Weakness spell by 10/20%, and increases the amount of armor reduced by your Curse of Recklessness by 10/20%.</li>
	<li>Improved Enslave Demon (Demonology) is now a Tier 5 talent, up from Tier 4.</li>
	<li>Improved Lash of Pain (Destruction) and Improved Firebolt (Destruction) have been merged into one talent, Demonic Power.</li>
	<li>Improved Shadow Bolt (Destruction) - Now increases damage by your next Shadow damage spells by 3/6/9/12/15%, down from 4/8/12/16/20%.</li>
	<li>Mana Feed: Tooltip updated to be more consistent with other similar effects.</li>
	<li>Master Demonologist (Demonology) - Most effects have been altered.</li>
	<li>Master Demonologist - Felguard (Demonology) - Now increases all damage by 1/2/3/4/5%, and reduces all damage done to you by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Master Demonologist - Imp (Demonology) - Now increases Fire damage by 1/2/3/4/5%, and critical hit chance with Fire spells by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Master Demonologist - Succubus (Demonology) - Now increases Shadow damage by 1/2/3/4/5%, and critical hit chance with Shadow spells by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Nether Protection has been reworked. It now has a 10/20/30% chance when you're hit with a spell to reduce all damage by that spell school by 60% for 10 seconds.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Demonic Empowerment (Demonology) - Grants your Summoned Demon power for a short time.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Eradication (Affliction) - Your Corruption, Siphon Life and Curse of Agony ticks have a 5/10/15% chance to increase your spell haste by 20% for 8 sec. This effect has a 10 second cooldown.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Improved Felhunter (Affliction): Your Felhunter gains mana equal to 50/100% of the damage done by its Shadow Bite ability, and increases the effect of your Felhunter's Fel Intelligence by 1/2%.</li>
	<li>New Talent: Molten Core (Destruction) - Your Shadow spells and damage over time effects have a 5/10/15% chance to increase the damage of your Fire spells by 10% for 6 sec.</li>
	<li>Pyroclasm (Destruction) - Now also includes Conflagrate.</li>
	<li>Rain of Fire (Doomguard): A bug has been fixed which caused each tick of Rain of Fire to consume its mana cost.</li>
	<li>Ritual of Souls: Charges increased to 25, up from 10.</li>
	<li>Shadow Bite (Felhunter): Deals Shadow damage plus an additional 5% Shadow damage over time effect on the target. 6 second cooldown.</li>
	<li>Shadowfury (Destruction) - Can now be cast while moving. Stun duration increased to 3 seconds, up from 2.</li>
	<li>Soul Link (Demonology) is now an 11-point talent (used to be a 31-point talent), but the 5% bonus damage from this talent has been removed. In addition, the damage absorbed by Soul Link is now 15%, down from 20%.</li>
	<li>Soul Siphon (Affliction): Now also increases the damage of your Drain Soul.</li>
	<li>Soulstone now generates a log entry indicating who casted and received a soulstone.</li>
	<li>Spell Lock (Felhunter) global cooldown removed.</li>
	<li>Succubus: Health increased by 20%, armor increased 22%.</li>
	<li>Summon Dreadsteed/Felsteed: Mana cost removed, global cooldown removed.</li>
	<li>Suppression (Affliction) is now a 3-point talent, down from 5. Now increases your chance to hit with Affliction spells by 1/2/3%, down from 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Unstable Affliction (Affliction): Silence effect reduced to 3 seconds, down from 5.</li>
	<li>Voidwalker: Health increased by 20%, Damage increased by 16%. The amount of attack power the Voidwalker gains from its master's spell damage has been increased by 45%.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Warrior</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Armored to the Teeth now increases attack power by 3 for every 180 Armor value.</li>
	<li>Anticipation (Protection) now increases chance to dodge by 1/2/3/4/5%, moved to tier 2.</li>
	<li>Battle Shout attack power has been slightly decreased.</li>
	<li>Berserker Rage is now usable in all stances.</li>
	<li>Blood Craze (Fury) now regenerates 2/4/6% of total health over 6 seconds.</li>
	<li>Blood Frenzy (Arms) moved to Tier 9, now increases physical damage caused by 1/2%.</li>
	<li>Bloodthirst (Fury) now restores health based on a % of total health.</li>
	<li>Challenging Shout cooldown reduced to 3 minutes.</li>
	<li>Concussion Blow (Protection) now causes damage based on attack power.</li>
	<li>Death Wish (Fury) no longer makes you immune to Fear effects.</li>
	<li>Death Wish and Sweeping Strikes have swapped locations in their respective talent trees.</li>
	<li>Deep Wounds (Arms) now requires Impale, causes 16/32/48% of weapon damage over 6 seconds.</li>
	<li>Defensive Stance now increases threat by 45%.</li>
	<li>Defiance (Protection) removed, replaced by Incite and moved to a new location on tier 2.</li>
	<li>Disarm rage cost reduced to 15.</li>
	<li>Enrage (Fury) now increases damage done by 3/6/9/12/15%, limitation on number of attacks removed.</li>
	<li>Hamstring now only has one rank and no longer causes damage.</li>
	<li>Impale (Arms) moved to Tier 3, no longer requires Deep Wounds.</li>
	<li>Improved Berserker Rage (Fury) now generates 10/20 rage.</li>
	<li>Improved Bloodrage (Protection) now increases rage generation of both the instant and over-time effects by 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Charge (Arms) now generates 5/10 rage.</li>
	<li>Improved Defensive Stance (Protection) reduced to 2 ranks, now reduces spell damage taken by 3/6% and any block/parry/dodge has a 50/100% chance to enrage the warrior causing 5/10% more damage for 12 sec.</li>
	<li>Improved Disarm (Protection) reduced to 2 ranks, now reduces the cooldown of Disarm by 10/20 sec and increases damage taken by disarmed targets by 5/10%.</li>
	<li>Improved Disciplines (Arms) removed.</li>
	<li>Improved Mortal Strike (Arms) now increases damage by 2/4/6/8/10%, no longer reduces cooldown.</li>
	<li>Improved Rend (Arms) reduced to 2 ranks for 25/50%.</li>
	<li>Improved Revenge (Protection) now increases damage Revenge causes by 10/20% and gives a 25/50% chance to stun.</li>
	<li>Improved Shield Bash (Protection) now also increases the damage of your Shield Slam ability by 5/10%.</li>
	<li>Improved Shield Block (Protection) now has 2 ranks and reduces cooldown of Shield Block by 5/10 secs. It no longer increases the number of blocks.</li>
	<li>Improved Shield Wall will now increases the damage reduction by an additional 5/10% and reduces cooldown by 30/60 seconds.</li>
	<li>Improved Slam (Fury) moved to Arms.</li>
	<li>Improved Sunder Armor (Protection) renamed Puncture ,reduced to 2 ranks for 1/2 rage cost reduction.</li>
	<li>Improved Taunt (Protection) removed, effect made baseline.</li>
	<li>Improved Whirlwind (Fury) now increases damage of Whirlwind by 10/20%, no longer reduces cooldown.</li>
	<li>Iron Will (Arms) now has only 3 ranks, reducing the duration of Stun and Charm effects by 10/20/30%.</li>
	<li>Last Stand (Protection) cooldown reduced to 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Mace Specialization (Arms) now ignores 3/6/9/12/15% of target's armor.</li>
	<li>Mocking Blow now only has one rank and causes weapon damage, cooldown reduced to 1 min and can now be used in Defensive Stance.</li>
	<li>Overpower now only has one rank and no longer causes any bonus damage (i.e. weapon damage only).</li>
	<li>Poleaxe Specialization (Arms) now also increases critical damage done by Axes and Polearms by 1/2/3/4/5%.</li>
	<li>Precision (Fury) moved to Tier 5.</li>
	<li>Pummel now only has one rank and no longer causes damage.</li>
	<li>Rampage now causes all party and raid members within 20 yards of the Warrior to go on a rampage, increasing melee critical hit chance by 5% for 10 seconds when the warrior scores a melee critical.</li>
	<li>Recklessness now increases the critical hit chance of the next 3 special ability attacks by 100%, lasts 12 seconds, cooldown reduced to 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Retaliation duration reduced to 12 seconds, charges reduced to 12, cooldown reduced to 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Revenge damage increased.</li>
	<li>Shield Bash now only has one rank and will cause damage based on a % of AP.</li>
	<li>Shield Block now increases chance to block and amount blocked by 100% for 10 seconds. Cooldown increased to 60 seconds, rage cost reduced.</li>
	<li>Shield Slam is now available to all warriors, starting at level 40 and damage slightly increased.</li>
	<li>Shield Specialization (Protection) moved to Tier 1, now increases rage by 2 on a successful block.</li>
	<li>Shield Wall now reduces all damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds, cooldown reduced to 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Slam now suspends the weapon swing timer rather than resetting it.</li>
	<li>Sword and Board now has a chance to proc from Revenge.</li>
	<li>Sword Specialization (Arms) can no longer trigger more than once per 6 seconds.</li>
	<li>Taunt cooldown reduced to 8 sec.</li>
	<li>Thunder Clap damage increased, cooldown increased, will now affect all targets within a range..</li>
	<li>Toughness (Protection) moved to tier 3 now also reduces the duration of movement slowing effects by 10/20/30/40/50%.</li>
	<li>Vigilance now transfers 10% of target threat to the warrior.</li>
</ul>
<strong>PvP</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Many new items are available for purchase from the honor vendors.</li>
	<li>Arenas
	<ul>
		<li>Two new Arenas have been added; the Ogrimmar Arena and the Dalaran Arena can now be accessed.</li>
		<li>Buffs that have 30 seconds or less remaining will be removed once the game starts. However, the mage spell "Invisibility" is not affected by this change.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>
<strong>Professions</strong>

<ul>
	<li>New Profession: Inscription is available to train up to 375.</li>
	<li>Enchantment
	<ul>
		<li>The Surefooted enchantment now provides additional critical strike rating instead of root and snare resistance.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>
<strong>Dungeons and Raids</strong>

<ul>
	<li>The Sunwell Plateau, Black Temple, and Serpentshrine Cavern Raid dungeons have all had their mobs and bosses adjusted and now have less health points.</li>
	<li>Ahn'Qiraj</li>
	<li>Mounting is now permitted in Ahn'Qiraj</li>
	<li>The Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal is now a normal mount.</li>
</ul>
<strong>User Interface</strong>

<ul>
	<li>New Calendar feature: Players will be able to access the new Calendar feature by clicking on the new icon located in the top right corner of their mini map. The calendar will track in game events, allow raid scheduling, and more.</li>
	<li>New Vanity Pet and Mount changes: Players will now be able to access their non-combat pets and mounts by clicking on the pets tab in the Character Info panel. These pets and mounts will be now learnable much like spells or abilities. Once a vanity pet or mount is learned, the icon will disappear from within a player's inventory and reappear in the appropriate tab under the pet tab under Character Info. Say goodbye to your vanity pets and mounts taking up bag and bank slots!</li>
	<li>Lost pets and mounts (one time quest rewards) can be recovered by visiting a stablemaster.</li>
	<li>A new Agro Warning is now available and currently functioning in dungeons.</li>
	<li>Focus Frame is now available. Players will be able to right click on any unit frame and select "Set Focus". The focus frame will only display when the focus is set. Players may also set a "Focus Cast Key" in the options/combat panel that can be bound to shift, alt, or ctrl. When holding the focus cast key and triggering an action, the action will be performed on your focus and not on your target.</li>
	<li>Lost tabards (one time quest rewards) may now be restored by visiting a tabard vendor.</li>
	<li>Lost keys (one time quest rewards) may now be restored by visiting a blacksmith.</li>
	<li>Error messages should play less frequently.</li>
	<li>Tradeskills can now be linked by shift-clicking the tradeskill icon.</li>
	<li>Quests can be shared with party members at any distance.</li>
	<li>Quests can be shared with party members by linking the quest into party chat.</li>
	<li>Quests can be shared in raids but not battlegrounds.</li>
	<li>Randomized Daily quests may now be shared, but only on the same day as the quest is given.</li>
	<li>A 5 minute timer will appear over the player's unit frame showing the countdown until your PvP flag is cleared.</li>
	<li>The /cower emote now has an animation.</li>
	<li>Macros and key bindings are now saved server-side so there is no longer a need to reconfigure them when logging in using another computer.</li>
	<li>Shift-clicking to loot mail: You can now hold Shift and click on mail in your inbox to automatically loot any items and gold without opening the mail. This default behavior can be changed via Auto Loot Mail in the Interface Options (Controls).</li>
	<li>Combat Log Changes:
	<ul>
		<li>The combat log now differentiates between a spell failure due to resistance and spell failure due to missing the target. Where once both events reported as a resist; a spell missing the target is now reported as a miss.</li>
		<li>Overhealing is now reported in the combat log.</li>
		<li>When a source of damage is entirely prevented (by a shield block, a full resist, or a damage shield like Power Word:Shield, the prevented amount will now be displayed.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>V-key color is now available. Classes will now be identified with the appropriate color while the V-key option is engaged.</li>
	<li>For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI &amp; Macros Forum.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Items</strong>

<ul>
	<li>Druids and Shaman can now use items while shapeshifted.</li>
	<li>The Abyss Shard has been changed to grant a passive 15 stamina bonus, but no longer removes the soul shard requirement from casting a voidwalker.</li>
	<li>Devilsaur Eye now increases your pet's attack power for a short duration instead of increasing its critical strike chance. It also provides a small amount of passive Agility.</li>
</ul>

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</center><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-2/">WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0.2 notes part 2</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20982568/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-2-notes-part-2/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>


<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0 -- Echoes of Doom]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Patch 3.0.2 official poster" data-credit="Blizzard" data-mep="521351" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/4d5eb99a9b5155e0ceffc488aff3e05b/200965787/3+point+0+echoes.png" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/tag/patch-6.0.2/">Patch 6.0</a> is finally upon us. Like all pre-expansion patches, it has been both invigorating and chaotic. Almost exactly six years ago, a similar patch went live to begin a new era in <em>WoW</em>. Blizzard called <em>Wrath of the Lich King</em>'s pre-expansion patch "Echoes of Doom." On October 14, 2008, this third version of the game gave us the brand-new achievement system, inscription and glyphs, 51-point talent trees, the zombie plague event, and TO THE GROUND, BABY. Read on to see what <em>WoW</em> was like for those turbulent few weeks before <em>Wrath of the Lich King's</em> launch.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Dalaran, where art thou?</span><br />
<br />
Through all of classic and <em>The Burning Crusade</em>, Dalaran sat in northern Hillsbrad, but players couldn't see it. An opaque purple dome walled off the Kirin Tor from the world at large. At the time, the enormous structure was one of the most striking landmarks in Azeroth. Although a few quests hinted at what lay beneath it, players new to the <em>WoW</em> universe had no idea what was there.<br />
<br />
And then it was gone.<br />
<br />
All that remained was a city-sized crater. I remember making a pilgrimage to this site during the 3.0 prepatch just to see it for myself. We couldn't go to Northrend yet to see the city first-hand. We had to wait for the launch of <em>Wrath</em> to do that. But looking at that crater certainly fired the imagination. I couldn't wait to find out what had been lurking under that dome for the first four years of the game.<br />
<br />
I have to say, the city lived up to my high expectations.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0 -- Echoes of Doom</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/">WoW Archivist: Patch 3.0 -- Echoes of Doom</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20980474/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/23/wow-archivist-patch-3-0-echoes-of-doom/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>51-point-talents</category><category>Achievements</category><category>barber-shop</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>dalaran</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>glyphs</category><category>inscription</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>patch-3.0.2</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>stormwind</category><category>talent-trees</category><category>to-the-ground-baby</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: BFFs with Huggalon]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-bffs-with-huggalon/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Huggalon" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="515867" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/7a80525033c2966ded1192b79c9ebf27/200946694/huggalon.jpg" /></div>
Looking to build toward 150 toys for the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=9673">Toymaster</a> achievement? There's an easily obtainable toy in Townlong Steppes, but it's quite hidden, and also ... kind of disturbing.<br />
<br />
In the caves beneath Niuzao Temple lurks an ancient watcher, apparently from the same Titan brand as <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=31125">Archavon</a>. His name is Huggalon the Heart Watcher. He looks just like the <em>Wrath</em>-era raid boss, if you ignore the giant purple bow on his head. And you should.<br />
<br />
To find him, enter the caves on the west side of the island. Take the first right and follow the right-hand walls. Just before you pass through an entrance lit by glowing beetles, you'll see a small passage up and to the right. At the end of this passage, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=66900">Huggalon</a> waits. You won't see a rare icon on your map because he is not a rare spawn.<br />
<br />
He's easily soloable in Siege of Orgrimmar gear, but feel free to bring friends if you might need backup. He does hit hard against cloth and has a decent chunk of health. Or, you can give this lonely giant the hug he yearns for and walk away.<br />
<br />
If you opt for murder, you'll be rewarded with the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=90067">B.F.F. Necklace</a>. You can place it in your toybox and then choose a player to be <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=131493">Friends Forever!</a> with once per day. But honestly, who wants to be friends with a cold-blooded killer like you?<br />
<br />
While you're in the cave, keep an eye out for <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/object=213956">Fragment of Dread</a>, part of the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/">Riches of Pandaria achievement</a>.

<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-bffs-with-huggalon/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: BFFs with Huggalon</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-bffs-with-huggalon/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20980785/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/20/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-bffs-with-huggalon/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>Archavon</category><category>bff-necklace</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>huggalon</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>toy-box</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Class protests and the Million Gnome March]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/08/wow-archivist-class-protests-and-the-million-gnome-march/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Naked gnomes everywhere" data-credit="http://www.cesspit.net/" data-mep="498809" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/28897bee772294c12b29ce66f67b3cb7/200891248/protest+gnomes.gif" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Betas make players nervous about their class. It happens every time. Blizzard makes changes, often drastically, and for better or worse some people hate the changes. I've been keeping my eye on the beta class forums since the <em>Warlords</em> beta began, and I've seen a lot of unhappiness this time around. The ability pruning that was one of Blizzard's major design goals for classes this year has removed depth from rotations, taken away both utility and cosmetic options, and in some cases radically altered or deleted abilities that players enjoyed. Beta testers have voiced strong opposition to many of the changes.<br />
<br />
In ten years, I haven't seen players this up in arms about class issues since classic <em>WoW</em> -- an era when many specs and mechanics were simply broken in PvE, PvP, or both.<br />
<br />
This past Friday, something happened that I believed would never again happen in <em>WoW</em>: an in-game class protest. With much more open lines of communication from developers to players in recent years, I thought the game had matured beyond the point where such things would ever be necessary. But here we are, almost ten years after the most famous class protest in <em>WoW</em>'s history, and players once again felt the need to gather in Azeroth to voice their complaints.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/08/wow-archivist-class-protests-and-the-million-gnome-march/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Class protests and the Million Gnome March</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/08/wow-archivist-class-protests-and-the-million-gnome-march/">WoW Archivist: Class protests and the Million Gnome March</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/08/wow-archivist-class-protests-and-the-million-gnome-march/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20972396/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/08/wow-archivist-class-protests-and-the-million-gnome-march/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>class-protests</category><category>dot-shock</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>hunter</category><category>million-gnome-march</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>naked-gnomes</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>paladin</category><category>pally-rally</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>priest</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>warlock</category><category>warrior</category><category>warrior-protest</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
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<title><![CDATA[Who is the Celestial Tournament for?]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/29/who-is-the-celestial-tournament-for/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Wrathion's pet battle team" data-credit="Wowhead" data-mep="482090" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/5973b880e72a761fb33a482fcba07f34/200838332/wrathion.jpg" /></div>
As we wait (and wait) for new content to arrive, I've been fiddling around in the game with all the things I never bothered to do before. I got my <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Sha%27tari_Skyguard">Sha'tari Skyguard</a> rep to exalted for the creepy nether ray mounts. I hunted the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/">treasures of Pandaria</a>. I completed a full circuit of gold challenge mode runs. And most recently I've been doing pet battles. My goal was to start completing the Celestial Tournament every week so I could eventually earn all four celestial pets.<br />
<br />
I took my first stab at it this week. The first time I tried to enter the scenario, I was disappointed to learn that you had to <em>level</em> 15 pets to 25, not just possess them. The two that I'd purchased on the auction house didn't help me get there. Extra level grinding was required. I came back with 17 max-level pets and thought I'd have more than enough to beat the tourney and start adopting baby immortal spirit animals. Boy was I wrong.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/29/who-is-the-celestial-tournament-for/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Who is the Celestial Tournament for?</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/29/who-is-the-celestial-tournament-for/">Who is the Celestial Tournament for?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/29/who-is-the-celestial-tournament-for/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20969460/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/29/who-is-the-celestial-tournament-for/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>celestial-tournament</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>pet-battles</category><category>who-is-the-celestial-tournament-for</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: Timeless vendors]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/25/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-timeless-vendors/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Whizzig the snail rider" data-credit="Wowhead" data-mep="475358" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/2dd1866df5d666f7a06708ec627982e2/200819326/whizzig.jpg" /></div>
I've spent so many hours on the (now ironically named) Timeless Isle that I thought I knew everything about it. I was researching how I could help <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=72970">Golganarr</a> to spawn to finally complete the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=8714">Timeless Champion</a> achievement, and I realized I'd missed something.<br />
<br />
I never thought to look for anything interesting by the Celestial Court itself. I figured it was static, like every other quest hub in the game, more or less. I thought the two vendors standing next to the emperor were the only ones who sold anything of note.<br />
<br />
Then I stumbled across <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=73293">Whizzig</a> &lt;Merchant of Time&gt; in Wowhead's excellent <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/news=219459/timeless-isle-guide-coins-achievements-maps-rares-and-more">Timeless Isle guide</a>. I was sure I'd seen this snail-riding gentlemen before. But it never occurred to me that he was, in fact, a "rare vendor." He sells four different vanity items for your Perky Pug, such as <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=103795">Dread Pirate Costume</a>. He also sells <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=71153">Magical Pet Biscuits</a> and (for some reason) a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=104230">glyph recipe</a>. All of his items cost Timeless Coins. If you've got thousands of extra coins laying around, you might as well spoil your pup.<br />
<br />
Once I made this discovery, I took a closer look around the court. There are so many NPCs and so many of them sell useless things that it's easy to overlook things you might actually care about. At this point I also found a pandaren boy named Ku-Mo &lt;Hand-Made Kites&gt;. He sells the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=104332">Sky Lantern</a> pet for 7500 coins and a consumable <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=104346">Golden Glider</a> for 1000. The latter works just like the engineer's version, but it only works on the island -- if you're willing to risk your neck on a makeshift glider a little kid cobbled together.<br />
<br />
You can't help Golganarr to spawn, by the way. You just have to get lucky. Fortunately he has a zone-wide announcement like the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=73281">Dread Ship Vazuvius</a>, and he takes much longer to kill than the average rare.

<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/25/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-timeless-vendors/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: Timeless vendors</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/25/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-timeless-vendors/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20967829/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/25/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-timeless-vendors/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>companion-pets</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>glyph-recipe</category><category>golganarr</category><category>ku-mo</category><category>perky-pug</category><category>pets</category><category>rare-vendor</category><category>timeless-coins</category><category>timeless-isle</category><category>vendors</category><category>whizzig</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Bottlenecks]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/24/wow-archivist-bottlenecks/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Gyrocopter jam" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="470949" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/1247d9f3728cd3f8a3492a1162012d52/200806828/bottle+mop+copters+2.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Wherever thousands of players try to complete on-rails content, bottlenecks are inevitable. For <em>Warlords of Draenor</em>, Blizzard is trying to be proactive about eliminating them. Back in July, CM Zorbrix posted a "targeted feedback request" <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/31/blizzard-seeks-targeted-feedback-on-beta-quest-bottlenecks/">about bottlenecks</a> in the beta. Given that the introductory experience is completely on rails before the expansion unleashes players into its less structured zones, this is a real concern.<br />
<br />
<em>WoW</em> hasn't had the best track record when it comes to bottlenecks. As we help Blizzard loosen the bottlenecks of the future, let's revisit those of the past.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The great gyrocopter jam of 2012</span><br />
<br />
Blizzard's server tech has come a long way since the game's launch. Lag and crashes are no longer rampant during expansion launches. But sometimes, other problems can prohibit players from progressing on Day 1. If we're talking bottlenecks, we have to start with the most infamous one in all of <em>WoW</em>, which also happens to be one of the most recent.<br />
<br />
This was a problem that people saw coming. I found a thread on MMO Champion from September 2012 where <a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1201188-MoP-Alliance-That-first-quest?p=18535378">a poster writes</a>, "On Beta - everyone had to funnel through a single vehicle quest to proceed on the Jade Forest quest line. I'm a touch concerned that this is going to be way worse than any other expansion..."<br />
<br />
And this guy was totally right. OK, maybe <em>Mists </em>wasn't as bad as <em>The Burning Crusade</em> overall, but the ironically named <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=31732/unleash-hell">Unleash Hell</a> was still the biggest -- and most dramatic -- bottleneck ever caused by a single quest.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/24/wow-archivist-bottlenecks/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Bottlenecks</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/24/wow-archivist-bottlenecks/">WoW Archivist: Bottlenecks</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/24/wow-archivist-bottlenecks/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20965552/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/24/wow-archivist-bottlenecks/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>battle-of-gilneas</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>bottlenecks</category><category>dark-portal-event</category><category>Death-Knight-starting-experience</category><category>edict-of-temperance</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>gilneas</category><category>gyrocopter</category><category>hellfire-peninsula</category><category>jade-forest</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>Tier-0.5</category><category>unleash-hell</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>vashj-ir</category><category>vashjir</category><category>wandering-isle</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience, part 3]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/12/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-3/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ragnaros" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="445049" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/512dee67acff21f21a230c31197f8ced/200728006/mc+rags+crouch.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
If you missed <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/">part 1</a> and <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/26/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-2/">part 2</a>, that means you were late for the raid and we're docking you 50 DKP. Next time get here early to help the warlocks farm soul shards.<br />
<br />
OK, fellow archivists! We've cleared trash, we've decursed, we've pulled Geddon to Garr's room, we've brefriended the Duke, and we've doused every fiery rune. It's time to delve into the core of the Core to take on the Majordomo and Ragnaros himself, 2005 edition.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The invincible majordomo</span><br />
<br />
Undefeated in battle, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=12018">Executus</a> rose through the ranks of Ragnaros's lieutenants to become the Firelord's majordomo. He did not appear until you doused all the runes, so the earliest raids on Molten Core had to stop after Golemagg and Sulfuron due to an <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=17333">Aqual Quintessence</a> shortage.<br />
<br />
After raiders repped up with the Hydraxian Waterlords and could finally summon the Majordomo, they were faced with an invincible warrior -- literally. Executus could not be killed. His <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20620">Aegis of Ragnaros</a> spell gave him a 30K damage absorb buff and healed him to full, so it was pointless to DPS him.<br />
<br />
Instead, raids had to manage his eight adds: four <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=11664">Flamewaker Elites</a> and four <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=11663">Flamewaker Healers</a>. Mages were the key to this fight as they had the only reliable, long-term crowd control spell for humanoids. The fight required at least five tanks, one for the majordomo and one for each elite. All four healers were sheeped until all the elites were dead. Then the raid could kill the healers one at a time.<br />
<br />
But it wasn't that simple. The fight had some interesting complications.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/12/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-3/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience, part 3</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/12/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-3/">WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience, part 3</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/12/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20959114/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/12/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-3/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>featured</category><category>fire-resistance</category><category>firelands</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>majordomo-executus</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>molten-core</category><category>molten-core-console</category><category>molten-core-lfr</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>ragnaros</category><category>Sulfuras</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: Hopling hunt]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/08/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-hopling-hunt/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mrandmrswow.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/hunting-hoplings/"><img alt="Finding a golden hopling" data-credit="https://mrandmrswow.wordpress.com/" data-mep="441907" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/ea7b721cf023b0874ffde7a128efb801/200718719/hopling.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.wowhead.com/zone=5963">Stormstout Brewery</a> is all about the beer, but the coolest item from this dungeon actually involves tea. Specifically, you'll need <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=80313">Ling-Ting's Favorite Tea</a>, which "may cause the user to see strange things." Who is Ling-Ting? What is she into? We don't know, but we can guess.<br />
<br />
You can buy this tea from <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=59822">Auntie Stormstout</a> at the beginning of the dungeon for 5 gold. I recommend buying more than one if you're going to try for this achievement during a run, since the buff only lasts 5 minutes. However, it's probably best to complete the dungeon first and go back so you aren't holding up the group.<br />
<br />
With the buff active, you can see <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=59824">Golden Hoplings</a> scattered around the dungeon. Turning on nameplates allows for easier hop-spotting. Track Humanoids abilities also reveal the hoplings on your minimap. Another way to find them is to target and mark them with a macro:<br />
<br />
/target Golden Hopling<br />
/script SetRaidTarget("target",4)<br />
<br />
(Credit to <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/user=Rakenaid">Rakenaid</a> on Wowhead.com)<br />
<br />
You need to find 30 hoplings. The final one sits underneath the mask of the defeated <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=59479">Yan-Zhu the Uncasked</a>, assuming you've cleared the place. Once you find them all, you'll earn the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6402">Ling-Ting's Herbal Journey</a> achievement, which is required for the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6927">Glory of the Pandaria Hero</a> meta.<br />
<br />
You'll also receive the excellent <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=86562">Hopling</a> pet in the mail. The only other way to get a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=63621">virmen battle pet</a> is to collect 250 pets for the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=7500">Going to Need More Leashes</a> achievement, which is much harder if you don't already have a large collection.

<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/08/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-hopling-hunt/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: Hopling hunt</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/08/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-hopling-hunt/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20959176/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/08/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-hopling-hunt/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>Achievements</category><category>battle-pets</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>glory-of-the-pandaria-hero</category><category>Hopling</category><category>Ling-Tings-Herbal-Journey</category><category>pandaria-dungeons</category><category>stormstout-brewery</category><category>virmen</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria? Gold from lost treasures]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Swarmkeeper's Medallion in the marsh" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="430110" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/48bf4f28a0b5e399bef0fb830ec1fb7b/200682045/medallion.jpg" /></div>

<div>Looking to increase your liquid assets before <em>Warlords of Draenor</em> launches? A little treasure hunting now can help you prepare for expansion expenses.</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Mine smarter, not harder</span><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=85777">Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick</a> grants more than just the basic +10 to mining bonus that any ordinary pick provides. It also gives you a chance to mine gems from ore nodes in Pandaria.<br />
<br />
The pick is part of the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=7281">Lost and Found</a> achievement chain that eventually asks you to find 20 lost treasures. To find it, you'll need to travel to the Jade Forest and search the Greenstone Mine. It can spawn in several locations throughout the cave, either leaning against a wall or embedded in a vein of jade.<br />
<br />
Even today, the pick is one of the more highly sought lost treasures. I recommend choosing a character you don't use very often and parking him or her in the mine to check for the pick every so often. Just note that you can't see any lost treasures unless your character is at least level 85. This ancient tool is bind on account, so you can mail it to your miner after you unearth it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Swiftness of the swarm</span><br />
<br />
While you're mining (or doing anything else) in the Dread Wastes, the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=86526">Swarmkeeper's Medallion</a> can help you get around the zone faster, increasing your income per hour. Look for a tiny necklace on a mound of dirt in a marshy area just north of Kypari Zar.<br />
<br />
Unlike the pick, the medallion is bind on pickup. Make sure the character who loots it is the one who can use this speed boost to best effect.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Did you miss in Pandaria? Gold from lost treasures</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/">Did you miss in Pandaria? Gold from lost treasures</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20956148/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-gold-from-lost-treasures/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>ancient-pandaren-fishing-charm</category><category>ancient-pandaren-mining-pick</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>fishing</category><category>lost-and-found</category><category>lost-riches</category><category>lost-treasures</category><category>mining</category><category>relic-hunter</category><category>riches-of-pandaria</category><category>swarmkeepers-medallion</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: The (other) Butcher]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/30/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-other-butcher/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Transformed into Krastinov" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="424800" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/3d46a289578cd75c4825c4c0873f1e96/200667373/krastinov.jpg" /></div>
The <em>Diablo</em> series has a boss called The Butcher who's been more prominent lately with his appearance in <em>Diablo III</em>. But let's not forget that <em>WoW</em> has its own. <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Doctor_Theolen_Krastinov_(original)">Doctor Theolen "The Butcher" Krastinov</a> was a boss in the original version of Scholomance. Upon engaging him, he would let you know that "The doctor is in!" You had to kill him to summon the optional boss <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Kirtonos_the_Herald">Kirtonos</a>. Like many other bosses, he was removed from Scholomance during its revamp.<br />
<br />
Or was he?<br />
<br />
Now, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=59369">Krastinov</a> is actually a rare spawn that has a small chance to replace one of the trash packs following <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=59153">Rattlegore</a>. He only spawns in the level 90 heroic version of Scholomance. Krastinov has the same abilities as his first incarnation: a bleed, a stun, and a self-Bloodlust effect.<br />
<br />
He only has one item on his loot table, with a 100% chance to drop. <a href="http://wod.wowhead.com/item=88566">Krastinov's Bag of Horrors</a> is a transformation item that lets you sport the doctor's fashion, including his trademark bloody cleavers, for 10 minutes. It's a tribute to the <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Krastinov%27s_Bag_of_Horrors_(quest_item)">quest item</a> of the same name from classic <em>WoW</em>'s <a href="http://wowpedia.org/The_Ghosts_of_Caer_Darrow_quest_chain">Ghosts of Caer Darrow</a> chain. We never knew exactly what was in that bag, and we never wanted to.<br />
<br />
For you collectors out there, the bag has already been flagged as a toy in <em>Warlords of Draenor</em>.<br />
<br />
 
<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/30/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-other-butcher/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: The (other) Butcher</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Sat, 30 Aug 2014 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/30/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-other-butcher/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20954769/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/30/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-other-butcher/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>butcher</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>krastinov</category><category>krastinovs-bag-of-horrors</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>rare-spawns</category><category>scholomance</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Sat, 30 Aug 2014 14:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: The broken burner]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/27/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-broken-burner/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Shrine of Fellowship incense burner" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="420953" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/e481a7e03001773da15c3b81560fa559/200653580/restore+balance.jpg" /></div>
Not long ago, Blizzard unveiled the action-packed <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/14/warlords-of-draenor-cinematic/"><em>Warlords of Draenor</em> cinematic</a>, a worthy follow-up to the one <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/mists-of-pandaria-cinematic-now-available/">for <em>Mists of Pandaria</em></a>. But did you know there's an achievement that ties in to the <em>Mists</em> trailer?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=7381">Restore Balance</a> sounds like it's just for druids, but anyone can earn it. The achievement asks you to "Visit the Shrine of Fellowship in the Jade Forest and follow in the footsteps of Chen Stormstout." What these cryptic instructions really mean is to find the in-game location where the <em>Mists</em> trailer happened.<br />
<br />
Head northeast from Grookin Hill toward the mountain on your map. When you see Shrine of Fellowship pop up on your screen, you're in the right place. It's a flat, misty plateau with a prominent jade bell (it was featured in the cinematic).<br />
<br />
Look for the Broken Incense Burner. You'll notice it's a bit crooked, just like in the trailer before Chen straightens it. Click on it to "restore balance" and you'll earn the achievement. I wonder if there will be a similar achievement for the <em>Warlords</em> trailer...

<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/27/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-broken-burner/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: The broken burner</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 27 Aug 2014 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/27/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-broken-burner/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20953449/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/27/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-broken-burner/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>achievements</category><category>cinematics</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>jade-forest</category><category>mists-of-pandaria-cinematic</category><category>restore-balance</category><category>trailers</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2014 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience, part 2]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/26/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-2/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A rune in Molten Core" data-credit="Blizzard" data-mep="416411" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/6404eb3b4328b6f2c32f3725355373e6/200638942/mc+rune+douse.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
In the last WoW Archivist, we covered the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/">early parts of Molten Core</a>: the "attunement," the grueling trash clear to Lucifron, and the weird hunter-focused mechanics of Magmadar. As we left off, the raid had just reached its first rune. To douse the rune and (eventually) summon Majordomo Executus, you had to make friends with an angry royal guy made of water.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The duke of douse</span><br />
<br />
Duke Hydraxis, as a water elemental, wasn't very fond of other elemental types, particularly Ragnaros or his fiery kin. His <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Hydraxian_Waterlords">Hydraxian Waterlords</a> were the first raid-based reputation in <em>WoW</em>. You could rep up with them before setting foot in Molten Core by killing certain elementals out in the world, but only up to just shy of honored. After that, you had to run MC to get additional rep. Trash gave rep until revered, but only boss kills got you through the slow grind to exalted.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, you could complete a small quest chain for the Duke. He first sent you to kill elementals in Plaguelands and Silithus, and then to <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Quest:Eye_of_the_Emberseer">obtain an item</a> from Pyroguard Emberseer in Blackrock Spire. Further quests involved killing specific trash mobs and bosses in Molten Core. <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Quest:Hands_of_the_Enemy">Hands of the Enemy</a> quite literally asked you to bring him the severed hands of Lucifron, Gehennas, Shazzrah, and Sulfuron. Once completed, you could <a href="http://wowpedia.org/Quest:A_Hero%27s_Reward">loot the duke's coffer</a> and choose one of two very valuable fire resistance rings. At this point, the duke also gave you an <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=17333">Aqual Quintessence</a>, one of the most famous items from classic <em>WoW</em>.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/26/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-2/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience, part 2</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/26/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-2/">WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience, part 2</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Tue, 26 Aug 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/26/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20951694/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/26/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience-part-2/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>aqual-quintessence</category><category>baron-geddon</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>garr</category><category>gehennas</category><category>Golemagg</category><category>hydraxian-waterlords</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>molten-core</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>ragnaros</category><category>shadowstrike</category><category>shazzrah</category><category>Sulfuras</category><category>sulfuron-ingot</category><category>SulfuronHarbinger</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: Shado-Pan Geyser Gun]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/23/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-shado-pan-geyser-gun/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Geyser gun in action" data-credit="Wowhead" data-mep="413308" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/ec3a3047cdc2168f36e08f9a9fa0108e/200628793/geyser+gun.jpg" /></div>
The latest build of the <em>Warlords</em> beta shows a number of achievements for toy collecting. You can earn a "Robo-Gnomebulator" (whatever that is) when you amass <a href="http://wod.wowhead.com/achievement=9673">150 of them</a>. For those dedicated collectors, one of the most obscure toys in <em>Mists</em> is the <a href="http://wod.wowhead.com/item=98132">Shado-Pan Geyser Gun</a>.<br />
<br />
To earn it, you must return to the Throne of Thunder raid. You can queue for the <a href="http://wod.wowhead.com/achievement=8070">Forgotten Depths</a> section of ToT's LFR if you can't convince your guild to clear to Tortos. Once your LFR group has defeated Ji-Kun, you can return to the Tortos area by clicking on a feather and flying into the red portal above. Make sure you don't aggro any leftover trash on the way back!<br />
<br />
The geysers in ToT have a hidden minigame. Standing on top of one gives you a stacking debuff called <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=140814">Spray Water</a>. Continue riding the geysers until the debuff stacks to 250, which takes both practice and patience. There's no achievement for this, so look for the "new mail" icon instead. You'll receive a message in your mailbox from Taoshi of the Shado-Pan congratulating you on your "ninja-like geyser-jumping abilities." She includes the geyser gun as a reward. Now you can douse friend and foe alike in lukewarm water that smells strongly of Tortos.<br />
<br />
If you want to be a really awesome person, you can earn the gun for several friends at once by allowing them to ride on your mount while you deal with those fickle geysers. Good luck!<br />
<br />
 
<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/23/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-shado-pan-geyser-gun/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: Shado-Pan Geyser Gun</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Sat, 23 Aug 2014 14:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/23/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-shado-pan-geyser-gun/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20951358/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/23/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-shado-pan-geyser-gun/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>geyser-gun</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>shado-pan</category><category>throne-of-thunder</category><category>toybox</category><category>toys</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Aug 2014 14:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: Carefully packaged rodents]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-carefully-packaged-rodents/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Deployed rodent crate" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="398875" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/9fc6eda3059b10ebac2a1da47bdefab2/200586689/rodent+crate.jpg" /></div>
As we approach the end of <em>Mists</em>, you may have characters with a vast pile of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=91838">Lion's Landing</a>/<a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=91877">Domination Point Commissions</a> from patch 5.1's Krasarang war clogging up your bags. Temporary world PvP boosts probably aren't of much interest these days, so here is a great way to spend them that will give you a more permanent reward.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=92532">Rodent Crate</a> costs 2000 commissions. But what does it actually do? The tooltip doesn't specify.<br />
<br />
Using it will spawn <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=68506">Sumprush Rodents</a> for one hour that can be battled and captured by anyone wandering by. Like other battle pets, they have a chance to be rare when you engage them.<br />
<br />
The crate is the only way to get this particular pet. If you haven't heard of these beaver-like rats, that may be because they are not part of the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6589">Pandaria Safari</a> achievement. They have different abilities and colors than the similar <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=62992">Bucktooth Flapper</a> from Jade Forest.<br />
<br />
Be sure to tell your friends when you're releasing the rodents so everyone can get one. The actual crate is so cute and weird when you place it down, I hope it becomes a Toybox item someday.<br />
<br />
 
<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-carefully-packaged-rodents/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: Carefully packaged rodents</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 15 Aug 2014 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-carefully-packaged-rodents/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20947272/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-carefully-packaged-rodents/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>battle-pets</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>krasarang-wilds</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>patch-5.1</category><category>rodent-crate</category><category>sumprush-rodent</category><category>toybox</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 20:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Lucifron" data-credit="Blizzard" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/e9191dddc34aedc97abff32c2a829613/200572666/mc+art+1.jpg" data-mep="395176" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Are you ready to return to the Core? Last week, we learned that Blizzard is planning a <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/world-of-warcrafts-10th-anniversary-preview/">40-player LFR version</a> of classic's Molten Core raid as part of <em>WoW</em>'s 10th anniversary celebration. Regardless of what they have in mind, the experience is certain to be very different than it was back in 2005.<br />
<br />
Sure, you've probably solo'ed MC or cleared it with a few friends. But what was a Molten Core run like during classic <em>WoW</em>, when conquering Ragnaros and his fiery lieutenants was the pinnacle of endgame content? Read on to find out.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Zoning in</span><br />
<br />
To access Molten Core at release, raids had to fight their way through the 5-player <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/06/29/wow-archivist-blackrock-depths-wows-ultimate-dungeon/">Blackrock Depths dungeon</a> in order to access the raid. Today that would be impossible, but originally, dungeons had the same 40-player cap as raids.<br />
<br />
Those poor, poor fools in BRD didn't stand a chance with three dozen+ players carving their way through. Since clearing it offered nothing but a timesink, Blizzard changed the Molten Core discovery quest into an attunement in March 2005. You had to reach the entrance of Molten Core once, and then you could port there directly by jumping out of a small window in Blackrock Mountain.<br />
<br />
The game sometimes failed to register the instance transfer and you plummeted into a vast lake of lava. Yes, Molten Core could kill you before you even set foot in it.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/">WoW Archivist: The classic Molten Core experience</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20944620/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/15/wow-archivist-the-classic-molten-core-experience/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>anniversary</category><category>blackrock-depths</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>core-hound</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>lucifron</category><category>magmadar</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>molten-core</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>respawn-timer</category><category>talisman-of-ephemeral-power</category><category>threat</category><category>tranquilizing-shot</category><category>trash</category><category>trash-respawn</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: Lost treasure of Old Man Thistle]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/10/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-lost-treasure-of-old-man-thistle/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fighting Toxiclaw" data-credit="http://frostwolves.blogspot.com/" data-mep="390769" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/cb575f967802b15560ac74e08c62b0eb/200557749/toxiclaw.jpg" /></div>
As we reach the end of the <em>Mists</em> era, it's a great time to finish up some of the achievements and questlines we may have missed. Like the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-pinch-king/">Pinch King</a>, this questline is hidden. No marker indicates it. But you are given clues.<br />
<br />
Once <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=58705">Fish Fellreed</a> gets to know you better, she will tell you the story of Old Man Thistle, a farmer who found a secret cave full of treasure. It collapsed behind him after his mushan Bobo smashed through a wall, but he drew a map to its location. Unfortunately, the location of the map, like the cave, has been forgotten.<br />
<br />
In order to start the questline, you need to be exalted with the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/tag/the-tillers/">Tillers faction</a> and Best Friends with all of the Halfhill Market characters. You'll know you're done when the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=6552">Friends on the Farm</a> achievement pops up.<br />
<br />
There's no quest for this, but you should head to Cattail Lake and hunt the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=59639">Enormous Cattail Grouper</a>. Be careful, though -- he's big enough to <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=117898">swallow</a> you whole. (These groupers are also the target of the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=30477">Gift for Haohan</a> daily.) If you meet the requirements, the grouper will drop an <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=86404">Old Map</a> and launch you on a brief but lucrative adventure.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/10/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-lost-treasure-of-old-man-thistle/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Did you miss in Pandaria?: Lost treasure of Old Man Thistle</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/10/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-lost-treasure-of-old-man-thistle/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: Lost treasure of Old Man Thistle</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Sun, 10 Aug 2014 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/10/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-lost-treasure-of-old-man-thistle/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20944606/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/10/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-lost-treasure-of-old-man-thistle/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>aint-lost-no-more</category><category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>fish-fellreed</category><category>halfhill</category><category>halfhill-market</category><category>hunter-pets</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>old-man-thistle</category><category>secret-cave</category><category>spider</category><category>tillers</category><category>treasure-chest</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Aug 2014 18:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Did you miss in Pandaria?: The Pinch King]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-pinch-king/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Kril'Mandar Point" data-credit="Wowpedia.org" data-mep="382125" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/4050f24e573bf90977265f1b86487097/200529737/Kril%27Mandar_Point.jpg" /></div>
A few days ago, I was fishing along the coast of the northwestern Dread Wastes and something caught my eye: a red-named mob pathing back and forth behind a rock. It was a pretty obscure location, and the only enemies nearby were swimming in the water, so I decided to investigate. It was a makrura named <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=66938">Odd'nirok</a>. It wasn't considered a rare spawn or a quest objective. Curious, I killed him. He put up a tougher fight than I expected, though by no means difficult. He dropped <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=90171">Odd'nirok's Clamshell</a> and a book called <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=66938">Troubles From Without</a>.<br />
<br />
The book reads as follows:
<blockquote>
<p>Brothers and Sisters,<br />
<br />
We need to keep our eyes beyond our shores. The mists have fallen. We, the Shado-Pan are the next and final line of defense.<br />
<br />
The first to come, as you know, were the Horde and Alliance. While they have not shown themselves to be hostile, we continue to follow them with a wary eye.<br />
<br />
The next to come did not arrive by air, but from beneath the sea. The makrura have shown increased activity on our shores, which suggests a possible future attack. I will highlight a few high-priority targets to look out for.</p>
</blockquote>
As I read through the book, it became clear that I had stumbled upon something awesome, and also something very much hidden. No skull marker or exclamation point indicates this "quest." No achievement hints at it. You just have to find one of these makrura, like I did, and then you're off. I was determined to find the five others that the book identified and see where this crazy clamshell led me.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-pinch-king/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Did you miss in Pandaria?: The Pinch King</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/mists-of-pandaria/" rel="tag">Mists of Pandaria</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-pinch-king/">Did you miss in Pandaria?: The Pinch King</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-pinch-king/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20941738/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/06/did-you-miss-in-pandaria-the-pinch-king/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>did-you-miss-in-pandaria</category><category>fishing</category><category>hidden-quests</category><category>krilmandar</category><category>lobstmourne</category><category>makrura</category><category>pinch-king</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: One night of payback in 2006]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/01/wow-archivist-one-night-of-payback-in-2006-friday/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Theramore" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="375499" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/2e6be672aedd9e53d3b96af070cb533/200508910/theramore+2.png" /></div>

<div><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em></div>
<br />
An interesting aspect of the ongoing Ashran <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/28/blizzards-vision-and-player-choice/">faction hub debate</a> is the fear people express that their hubs will be raided by enemy players, since the new hubs are adjacent to a PvP zone. Blizzard pointed out that the hubs will be better defended by NPCs than the Shrines are now -- and the Shrines currently see few serious attacks on live realms, despite their close proximity.<br />
<br />
On most realms today, little large-scale world PvP occurs, and even fewer faction raids. Faction raids were once a huge part of the game, even on PvE realms. You couldn't kill opposing players on PvE realms if they didn't want to be killed, but you could deny them their questgivers, flightmasters, and other crucial NPCs. And we did that, on both sides, throughout classic <em>WoW</em>.<br />
<br />
Easy targets like the Crossroads, Astranaar, Grom'gol, and Refuge Pointe were raided almost daily. If your faction was heavily outnumbered, like mine was on Khadgar-US back then, it could be infuriating. We had our small victories at times, as I covered in my <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/06/15/wow-archivist-massacre-at-the-crossroads/">first Archivist column</a>. But many days, all we could do was stand by and watch as the Alliance occupied our towns for hours at a time and took away our ability to level effectively.<br />
<br />
On our first anniversary in 2006, my guild set out for some payback. Today I'd like to share that tale of classic world PvP, from the era when faction raids were serious business.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/01/wow-archivist-one-night-of-payback-in-2006-friday/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: One night of payback in 2006</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/01/wow-archivist-one-night-of-payback-in-2006-friday/">WoW Archivist: One night of payback in 2006</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 01 Aug 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/01/wow-archivist-one-night-of-payback-in-2006-friday/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20938390/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/08/01/wow-archivist-one-night-of-payback-in-2006-friday/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>city-raids</category><category>darnassus</category><category>faction-raid</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>Honor-System</category><category>jaina-proudmoore</category><category>menethil-harbor</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>PvP</category><category>theramore</category><category>tyrande-whisperwind</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>world-pvp</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: More beta surprises]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/18/wow-archivist-more-beta-surprises/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sylvanas models through the years" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="350558" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/6d3f8fc194aaaa2e785b3d4e8c8da184/200427861/beta+sylvanas+2.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
As the <em>Warlords of Draenor</em> beta rolls onward, Blizzard keeps managing to surprise us. Recently we've learned about a huge <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/30/warlords-of-draenor-guild-leveling-and-guild-perk-changes/">overhaul to guild systems</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/06/warlords-of-draenor-random-quest-item-upgrades/">random upgrades</a> for quest rewards, and an extra-awesome <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/12/warlords-of-draenor-forget-looting-the-hounds-we-can-ride-them/">core hound mount</a>.<br />
<br />
In the last WoW Archivist column, we looked at the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/02/wow-archivist-beta-surprises">surprises</a> from the original beta and the betas of <em>The Burning Crusade</em> and <em>Wrath of the Lich King</em> expansions. This time, we continue with <em>Wrath</em> and also look at the surprises during the <em>Cataclysm</em> and <em>Mists of Pandaria</em> betas.<br />
<br />
(As before, I won't go into storyline surprises here. And I won't cover surprises announced at BlizzCon outside of a beta. BlizzCon already has its own feature for <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/08/wow-archivist-controversies-of-blizzcon/">controversial surprises</a>.)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Beta of the Lich King (continued)</span><br />
<br />
<strong>Goodbye, night elf Sylvanas.</strong> Through vanilla and <em>TBC</em>, the Sylvanas model looked like a night elf rather than an undead high elf. With Sylvanas poised to play a big role in Northrend, Blizzard clearly needed to revamp her model. Players worried that they would have to look at the old night elf model through all her lore moments in <em>Wrath</em>.<br />
<br />
A build in August 2008 gave her an <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/08/22/sylvanas-finally-gets-her-makeover/">initial makeover</a> (middle image above) and lore-focused players breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly she still needed some work, but at least she wasn't a night elf anymore.<br />
<br />
A <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/boss-models-updated-in-wrath-beta/">later build</a> in September gave her the fantastic model we see today. The same build also updated the models for Varian Wrynn and Alexstraza.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/18/wow-archivist-more-beta-surprises/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: More beta surprises</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/18/wow-archivist-more-beta-surprises/">WoW Archivist: More beta surprises</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/18/wow-archivist-more-beta-surprises/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20931606/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/18/wow-archivist-more-beta-surprises/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>cataclysm</category><category>cataclysm-beta</category><category>cloud-serpents</category><category>daily-quests</category><category>enrage</category><category>featured</category><category>female-worgen</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>jade-forest</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>mists-of-pandaria-beta</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>poisons</category><category>Priest-Racials</category><category>priests</category><category>raid-markers</category><category>rogue-poison</category><category>sylvanas</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>worgen</category><category>worgen-female</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category><category>wrath-of-the-lich-king-beta</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Beta surprises]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/02/wow-archivist-beta-surprises/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Death knights bomb the plaguelands" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="328451" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/b840c2e4534eebba8245413f4f2db0a4/200353565/beta+phasing.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Last week, we launched into the newest beta in <em>WoW</em>'s history -- its sixth! -- for <em>Warlords of Draenor.</em> It's an exciting time for the game. Every beta has its surprises, good and bad. New things that were never announced. Prior announcements that changed unexpectedly. We've already had a number of surprises in the <em>Warlords </em>beta: the faction hub <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/27/warlords-of-draenor-faction-hubs-moved-to-outskirts-of-ashran/">shift to Ashran</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/01/auction-houses-will-be-cross-faction-in-warlords-of-draenor/">cross-faction auctions</a>, and the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/30/warlords-of-draenor-guild-leveling-and-guild-perk-changes/">removal of guild leveling</a>.<br />
<br />
Beta is just ramping up. We are sure to encounter more than one surprise over the next few months as we test the Draenor experience and gear up for the expansion's launch. Let's take a look back at the previous five betas and examine some of the twists that greeted testers -- and often shocked the <em>WoW</em> community. <em>Caveat: I'm excluding storyline surprises. </em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The original beta</span><br />
<br />
In 2003 and early 2004, players didn't really know what to expect from a <em>World of Warcraft</em> MMO. Blizzard, after all, had never made one before. Most of the original beta served up surprise after surprise. Yet, a few stand out.<br />
<br />
<strong>Tired heroes.</strong> <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2009/07/07/the-patches-of-yesteryear-patch-0-6/">Patch 0.6</a> introduced the first incarnation of the rest system. Today it is simply a bonus for players who don't have time to log in every day. The original version was more like the Chinese government's "<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/01/17/wow-archivist-wow-in-china-an-uncensored-history/">anti-obsession measures</a>": it punished you for playing too long. The system looked like this:

<ul>
	<li style="list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; padding-left: 5px;">Well rested gave 200% of the XP from a mob kill</li>
	<li style="list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; padding-left: 5px;">Rested gave between 100% and 200% XP</li>
	<li style="list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; padding-left: 5px;">Normal gave 100% XP</li>
	<li style="list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; padding-left: 5px;">Fatigued gave 50% XP</li>
	<li style="list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; padding-left: 5px;">Exhausted gave 25% XP</li>
</ul>
Your hero needed a good night's rest -- a full eight hours at an inn -- to go from exhausted to normal.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/02/wow-archivist-beta-surprises/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Beta surprises</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/burning-crusade/" rel="tag">The Burning Crusade</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wrath-of-the-lich-king/" rel="tag">Wrath of the Lich King</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/02/wow-archivist-beta-surprises/">WoW Archivist: Beta surprises</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/02/wow-archivist-beta-surprises/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20922062/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/07/02/wow-archivist-beta-surprises/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>auction-house</category><category>beta</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>blood-elves</category><category>bucklers</category><category>Classic-WoW</category><category>classic-wow-beta</category><category>dr.-boom</category><category>fatigue</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>gutterspeak</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>NDA</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>phasing</category><category>potion-sickness</category><category>potions</category><category>rest-system</category><category>south-park</category><category>sword-of-a-thousand-truths</category><category>the-burning-crusade</category><category>training-dummies</category><category>training-dummy</category><category>vanilla-beta</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-beta</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Blizzard's vision and player choice]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/28/blizzards-vision-and-player-choice/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Temple of Karabor assaulted" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="323729" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/9c3371e8b8bebccda42e162c8b534e0/200338063/karabor+2.jpg" /></div>
This past Thursday, Cory Stockton (aka Mumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/mumper/status/482381728393072641">answered a simple question</a> on Twitter. He told players that the faction hubs would <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/27/warlords-of-draenor-faction-hubs-moved-to-outskirts-of-ashran/">no longer be located</a> in the Temple of Karabor and Bladespire Fortress, but on the island of Ashran.<br />
<br />
The firestorm of controversy that followed seemed to take Blizzard by surprise. Lore took to the forums to <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/27/warlords-of-draenor-more-details-on-the-ashram-faction-hubs/">explain the change</a>. He gave Blizzard's reasoning, including the lore explanation for the new hubs. Far from mollifying the player base, it only served to inflame those who disagreed with the shift in locale.<br />
<br />
My response is this: <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/why-not-both-why-dont-we-have-both">Why not both?</a> Why must one city or the other be the One Hub to Rule Them All? Why can't we, the players, choose which city to bind our hearthstone to -- without being punished for it? Why does there have to be one "right" answer on such a basic quality of life issue? Let us choose and use phasing so we only see our own choice as a hub.<br />
<br />
Although I don't condone the extremely negative way that some reacted to the announcement, the anger didn't surprise me at all. It points to a problem that has loomed over <em>WoW</em> for a long time: lack of player options and personalization.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/28/blizzards-vision-and-player-choice/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Blizzard's vision and player choice</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/analysis-opinion/" rel="tag">Analysis / Opinion</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/warlords-of-draenor/" rel="tag">Warlords of Draenor</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/28/blizzards-vision-and-player-choice/">Blizzard's vision and player choice</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/28/blizzards-vision-and-player-choice/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20921518/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/28/blizzards-vision-and-player-choice/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>ashran</category><category>Bladespire</category><category>capital-cities</category><category>customization</category><category>faction-hubs</category><category>Karabor</category><category>personalization</category><category>transmog</category><category>transmogrification</category><category>warlords-of-draenor</category><category>warlords-of-draenor-beta</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Expansion gaps]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/20/wow-archivist-expansion-gaps/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Gap in the bridge on the Timeless Isle" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="309809" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/80b5d61b946a23c72d15217875624025/200297797/gap+timeless+bridge.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Expansion gaps are the most reviled of all content gaps. It's not just because they are the longest -- it's because at the other end of the gap lies so much to look forward to. Expansions change <em>WoW</em> from top to bottom. They usher in brand new worlds to explore and bring us new ways to play the game. That's part of why it takes Blizzard so long to release them.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, we wait, mired in the old, but excited about the new.<br />
<br />
We are experiencing what is likely to be the longest expansion gap so far in <em>WoW</em>'s 10-year history. But what about the expansion gaps of the past? How do they stack up? What did Blizzard offer and what were players' reactions to them? Read on to find out!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Classic <em>WoW</em> to <em>The Burning Crusade</em></span><br />
<br />
<strong>Dates:</strong> August 22, 2006 to January 16, 2007<br />
<strong>Duration:</strong> 4 months, 25 days<br />
<strong>Subscriptions:</strong> Rising<br />
<strong>Mood:</strong> Excited<br />
<br />
The first expansion gap was also the shortest. It felt like a long time to players back then, since classic <em>WoW </em>offered patches and content at a blistering pace for the first two years of the game. Players were impatient, yes. That never changes. But we knew <em>WoW</em> was a hit and we were thrilled that the success of the game had made an expansion possible. We couldn't wait to roll a blood elf or a draenei, or take to the skies and <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/05/wow-archivist-flight/">fly</a> for the first time. Plus, most raiding guilds hadn't conquered every boss (or even close), so they had plenty to keep them busy.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/20/wow-archivist-expansion-gaps/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Expansion gaps</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/20/wow-archivist-expansion-gaps/">WoW Archivist: Expansion gaps</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/20/wow-archivist-expansion-gaps/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20912969/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/20/wow-archivist-expansion-gaps/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>annual-pass</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>cataclysm</category><category>content-gap</category><category>expansion</category><category>expansion-gap</category><category>expansion-release</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>Ghostcrawler</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>release-date-speculation</category><category>release-dates</category><category>subscription</category><category>the-burning-crusade</category><category>tom-chilton</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>warlords-of-draenor</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<item>
<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Flight]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/05/wow-archivist-flight/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sparkle Pony" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="287652" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/dc43ff9a1578d75493407253e9f944ba/200230161/flying+sparkle+pony4.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Flying is second nature to <em>WoW</em> players. We've been doing it for almost eight years now. Sure, we've adventured in a few flightless places, like the Isle of Thunder, the Isle of Giants, and the Timeless Isle. Even <em>The Burning Crusade</em>, where flying originated, had a no-fly zone on the Isle of Quel'Danas. (What is it with these isles anyway?) But almost always, since 2006, we've flown. And we always expected to, for the vast majority of our in-game time.<br />
<br />
Now, because of Blizzard's impassioned <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/26/bashiok-on-the-lack-of-flight-in-warlords-of-draenor/">arguments against flight</a> on Draenor, flying is suddenly controversial. If you look back, you can see why: flying has changed the game like no other feature before or since. Let's start where it all began, however, with classic <em>WoW</em>'s humble flight paths.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">They used to be cool</span><br />
<br />
I'm about to express something that you may not believe. Once upon a time, flight paths were cool. Yep, I said it. Before flying mounts, when you couldn't even get a ground mount until level 40 and epic ground mounts were just a dream for most due to the steep cost, in that early version of the game where you spent most of your travel time walking or riding at the pace of a Throne of Thunder <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/25/wow-archivist-wows-most-terrifying-monsters/">gastropod</a>, flight paths were cool.<br />
<br />
Not only did they get you around the continent at the fastest possible speed, they gave you a cinematic view of Azeroth from the skies. It was the only time you could get that view from above. The first time most classic <em>WoW</em> players rode a gryphon or wyvern from A to B, we loved it.<br />
<br />
No other MMO at the time had anything like it. We felt like masters of the world -- at least, when we could afford to take the trip. Most players were broke in the early days, and using flight paths too liberally often meant forgoing buying a new skill when you leveled. Taking a flight path was an indulgence, a treat, instead of the annoying hassle we see them as today.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/05/wow-archivist-flight/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Flight</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/05/wow-archivist-flight/">WoW Archivist: Flight</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 05 Jun 2014 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/05/wow-archivist-flight/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20904295/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/05/wow-archivist-flight/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>cataclysm</category><category>cloud-serpents</category><category>featured</category><category>flight</category><category>flight-paths</category><category>flight-points</category><category>flying</category><category>flying-mounts</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>netherwing</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>sparkle-pony</category><category>the-burning-crusade</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>warlords-of-draenor</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category><category>Wrath-of-the-Lich-King</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2014 17:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<title><![CDATA[Behold Placeholder, Blessed Holder of Places]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/30/behold-placeholder-blessed-holder-of-places/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Admiral Placeholder" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="278337" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/cea6c1fcf32721b79b74bf62342a5d43/200188186/admiral+placeholder.jpg" /></div>
A new <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/warlords-of-draenor/">Warlords of Draenor</a> alpha build went live yesterday. Along with the usual assortment of new creature models, maps, icons, and class changes, datamining revealed perhaps the single greatest sword in Azeroth's history: <a href="http://wod.wowhead.com/item=112991">Placeholder, Blessed Holder of Places</a>.<br />
<br />
The Placeholder name has a storied place in <em>WoW</em>'s history. Long ago in the original beta, an NPC named Captain Placeholder teleported players from Menethil Harbor to Auberdine before the transport ships had been created. He triumphantly returned to live realms for a time after a bug broke the ships. Years later, he showed up in the <em>Cataclysm</em> beta as <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=42976">Cap'n Placeholder</a>, though he served no purpose and never appeared in the release version of the expansion. An NPC conversation in Menethil harbor spoke of him as an Alliance hero, stating "Nobody could hold a place like him. Nobody."<br />
<br />
In the <em>Mists </em>beta, a <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/06/15/mists-of-pandaria-beta-captain-placeholder-gets-a-promotion/">newly promoted Adm'rl Placeholder</a> once again saved the day. He transported players from Orgrimmar and Stormwind to the Valley of the Four Winds while the Jade Forest zone was closed for remodeling.<br />
<br />
Is Placeholder the famous captain's sword? What item will it become? Why is it marked as junk? Why does it stack to 20, and what "reward not yet complete" will eventually find its way into our backpacks? A future patch will reveal all! Until then, hold a place in your heart for this amazing sword.<br /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/warlords-of-draenor/" rel="tag">Warlords of Draenor</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/30/behold-placeholder-blessed-holder-of-places/">Behold Placeholder, Blessed Holder of Places</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 30 May 2014 15:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/30/behold-placeholder-blessed-holder-of-places/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20900972/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/30/behold-placeholder-blessed-holder-of-places/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>captain-placeholder</category><category>placeholder</category><category>placeholder-blessed-holder-of-places</category><category>warlords-of-draenor</category><category>warlords-of-draenor-alpha</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2014 15:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<title><![CDATA[The complexity of Heroes of the Storm]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/is-heroes-of-the-storm-too-simple/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Heroes of the Storm official art" data-credit="Blizzard" data-mep="266985" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/59e61211fb8f6214b9454fb706017c/200147012/heroes+3.jpg" /></div>
Ten years ago, players told Blizzard that <em>WoW</em> was too simple compared to past MMOs like <em>Ultima Online</em>, <em>EverQuest</em>, and <em>Asheron's Call</em>. More recently, many (including me <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/03/18/how-hearthstone-won-over-a-skeptical-magic-veteran/">at one point</a>) said the same about <em>Hearthstone</em> -- that too much complexity had been removed from the genre compared to games like <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. Today, Polygon posted an interview with <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/heroes-of-the-storm/"><em>Heroes of the Storm</em></a> game director Dustin Browder. His message: <em>HOTS</em> <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/21/5735230/heroes-of-the-storm-casual-dota-league-of-legends-complex">isn't "DOTA for babies."</a><br />
<br />
"If you come looking for complexity in exactly the same places," Browder said, "you will be disappointed. If you come looking for complexity wherever it may be, I think you're going to be surprised and have a great time."<br />
<br />
Blizzard has stripped away many MOBA hallmarks, such as the item store. Browder says that other features make up for this loss of complexity. Talent selection is crucial. Map-specific objectives also play a huge role in determining the course of the battle and require careful strategy to accomplish.<br />
<br />
In a video included with the story, Polygon's "MOBA expert" Emily Gera had some further comments on the game: "The masses don't want to play big, scary MOBA games... Blizzard is trying to create a game that has less of a barrier to entry and bypass the classic issue of MOBA games -- that MOBA games are full of jerks... There's a lot of infighting. In <em>HOTS</em>, everyone on the team is in it together."<br />
<br />
What do you think? Is <em>HOTS</em> dumbing down the genre too much, or are these the changes the genre needs?

<hr /><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/heroes-of-the-storm/" rel="tag">Heroes of the Storm</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/is-heroes-of-the-storm-too-simple/">The complexity of Heroes of the Storm</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 21 May 2014 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href=http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/21/5735230/heroes-of-the-storm-casual-dota-league-of-legends-complex>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/is-heroes-of-the-storm-too-simple/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20890225/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/is-heroes-of-the-storm-too-simple/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>complexity</category><category>dustin-browder</category><category>heroes-of-the-storm</category><category>interview</category><category>polygon</category><category>simple</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2014 18:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Tier 0.5, the epic conclusion]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-the-epic-conclusion/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Incendius" data-credit="Wowhead.com" data-mep="265099" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/875da27d63e812040cbeb2f23cf2cc16/200141726/tier+incendius.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
Last time on WoW Archivist, we reviewed the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/09/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-and-the-birth-of-modern-dungeons/">first half</a> of the Tier 0.5 quest line, including the controversial <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/07/27/wow-archivist-strat-45-the-original-challenge-mode/">45-minute Baron run</a> in Stratholme. As we left off, the ghost of Anthion Harmon had asked us to assemble the pieces of Valthalak's medallion. He sent you into Blackrock Depths with an enchanted banner to <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=9015">challenge</a> the gladiator Theldren.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Laying down the law</span><br />
<br />
The next step required a 5-player group to enter the Ring of Law inside Blackrock Depths. As you are being sentenced, you summon the Banner of Provocation. Theldren and his team step in instead of the usual BRD bosses. Now you were in for a scrap, and it was a wildly different fight that any other in classic <em>WoW</em>.<br />
<br />
Theldren spawned with a mix of four teammates chosen from a pool of eight:
<ul>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16053">Korv</a>, a tauren shaman</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16055">Va'jashni</a>, a troll priest</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16050">Rotfang</a>, a gnoll rogue</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16051">Snokh Blackspine</a>, a quillboar fire mage</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16058">Volida</a>, an undead frost mage</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16052">Malgen Longspear</a>, a centaur hunter</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16054">Rezznik</a>, a goblin engineer</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=16049">Lefty</a>, a gnome monk</li>
</ul>
Yes, you read that last one right. Lefty even had an ability called <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=27673">Five Fat Finger Exploding Heart Technique</a>. Theldren himself was a warrior. Each boss had a potent set of class abilities. For example, Korv had Earthbind Totem, Fire Nova Totem, Frost Shock, Lesser Healing Wave, and Purge.<br />
<br />
What made this fight so unique -- and so infuriating for many -- was that the NPCs had no traditional aggro table.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-the-epic-conclusion/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Tier 0.5, the epic conclusion</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-the-epic-conclusion/">WoW Archivist: Tier 0.5, the epic conclusion</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Wed, 21 May 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-the-epic-conclusion/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20881235/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/21/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-the-epic-conclusion/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>bodley</category><category>brazier</category><category>dungeon-set-2</category><category>dungeon-set-two</category><category>epic-items</category><category>epics</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>mokvar</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>Tier-0.5</category><category>valthalak</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Diablo III's Crusader at 70: Post-patch impressions]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/15/diablo-iiis-crusader-at-70-post-patch-impressions/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/10076/title/may-the-darkness-be-consumed-by-the-light/cat/501"><img alt="A crusader fights a demon" data-credit="Vablo" data-mep="256055" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/ebba5f2e48ded1c75a4ed9f929cee68/200112297/crusader+fan+art+vablo.jpg" /></a></div>
The <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/tag/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls/"><em>Diablo III: Reaper of Souls</em></a> expansion changed the game from top to bottom. With the extra 10 levels came an almost complete reimagining of how <em>Diablo 3</em> would play: from the relentlessly on-rails story mode to the free-form adventure mode, from wheeling and dealing on the auction house for the items you wanted to hoping for those items to pop out of a freshly slain enemy.<br />
<br />
In the wake of the game's sweeping changes, the new Crusader class has been something of an afterthought for many. However, Blizzard hasn't been shy to make adjustments to the newest member of their demon-slaying team. A patch just two weeks after the expansion's launch brought <a href="http://www.diablofans.com/news/48020-patch-2-0-4-notes">major buffs</a> to the Crusader. This week, <a href="http://www.diablofans.com/news/48065-patch-2-0-5-now-live-official-patch-notes">another patch</a> featured a long list of changes that revamped the class from top to bottom.<br />
<br />
If you're wondering whether you should invest the time to level a Crusader, join me past the break for my impressions. The class has come a long way in just seven weeks, and this latest patch has been a gamechanger.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/15/diablo-iiis-crusader-at-70-post-patch-impressions/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Diablo III's Crusader at 70: Post-patch impressions</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/analysis-opinion/" rel="tag">Analysis / Opinion</a>, <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/diablo-3/" rel="tag">Diablo 3</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/15/diablo-iiis-crusader-at-70-post-patch-impressions/">Diablo III's Crusader at 70: Post-patch impressions</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 15 May 2014 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/15/diablo-iiis-crusader-at-70-post-patch-impressions/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20884640/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/15/diablo-iiis-crusader-at-70-post-patch-impressions/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>crusader</category><category>diablo-3</category><category>diablo-3-reaper-of-souls</category><category>diablo-crusader</category><category>diablo-iii</category><category>diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls</category><category>diablo-patch</category><category>diablo-patch-2.0.5</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2014 19:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[About the Bloggers: Scott Andrews]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/10/about-the-bloggers-scott-andrews/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Blessing from the village elder" data-credit="Scott Andrews" data-mep="251946" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/ec792c03babf085f9aeb9b4905f57ba6/200105713/blessing.jpg" /></div>

<div><em>About the Bloggers introduces you to the people behind WoW Insider. You can find articles on more of our staffers in earlier <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/about-the-bloggers/">About the Bloggers</a> profiles.</em><br />
 </div>
<strong>What do you do for WoW Insider?</strong><br />
<br />
I contribute the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/">WoW Archivist</a> features and <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/03/18/how-hearthstone-won-over-a-skeptical-magic-veteran/">other</a> articles. Recently I <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/14/warlords-of-draenor-new-info-from-pax-east/">interviewed</a> several Blizzard developers at PAX East 2014. For seven years, I also wrote <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/officers-quarters/">Officers' Quarters</a>, an advice column for officers and guild leaders.<br />
<br />
If you have an idea for an Archivist feature that you'd like to see, please let me know! Keep in mind that the topic has to be meaty enough for 2000 words. That's almost double the length of this post.<br />
<br />
<strong>How did you get started at WoW Insider?</strong><br />
<br />
When WoW Insider put out a call for contributors in 2007, I pitched the Officers' Quarters column. Since almost no one was writing about guild leadership back then, the editors loved the idea. I'm sure the master's degree in writing didn't hurt, either.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/10/about-the-bloggers-scott-andrews/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>About the Bloggers: Scott Andrews</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/about-the-bloggers/" rel="tag">About the Bloggers</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/10/about-the-bloggers-scott-andrews/">About the Bloggers: Scott Andrews</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Sat, 10 May 2014 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/10/about-the-bloggers-scott-andrews/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20878372/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/10/about-the-bloggers-scott-andrews/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>about-the-bloggers</category><category>blackrock-depths</category><category>feral-druid</category><category>fire-hydrants</category><category>guild-leaders-handbook</category><category>horde</category><category>rhokdelar</category><category>scott-andrews</category><category>ulduar</category><category>wow-insider-staff</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2014 20:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<source url="http://wow.joystiq.com/rss.xml">WoW Insider</source>

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<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: Tier 0.5 and the birth of modern dungeons]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/09/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-and-the-birth-of-modern-dungeons/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Bokk" data-credit="wowhead.com" data-mep="247283" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/b306f36f3e975201630b5afd37299c03/200095883/tier+bokk+2.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
<br />
For a long time in classic <em>WoW</em>, nonraiders felt neglected. Dungeons were the only endgame PvE option for nonraiders. Back then, dungeons didn't have a 5-player limit. They could be "raided," even though they weren't considered raids. Blizzard added new raiding content on a regular basis, but the developers didn't release new dungeons after adding Dire Maul in patch 1.3, four months after the game's release.<br />
<br />
Until the launch of <em>The Burning Crusade</em> in early 2007, nonraiders ran the same dungeons for almost two years.<br />
<br />
Amidst a storm of complaints, Blizzard said they wanted to offer additional content for nonraiders. In <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/23/wow-archivist-patch-1-10-storms-of-azeroth/">patch 1.10</a>, Blizzard delivered a new endgame quest line using existing dungeons. Comprised of 29 steps in all, this was one of the game's most elaborate -- and most punishing -- quest lines ever.<br />
<br />
Blizzard called it the "high-level armor set" quest line. Players called it Tier 0.5. To create it, Blizzard had to reimagine what <em>WoW</em>'s dungeons should be.<br />
<br />
This quest line was removed, like many others, when Deathwing brought the Cataclysm. Let's walk through what once was, and explore how it gave rise to the modern dungeons we tackle today.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/09/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-and-the-birth-of-modern-dungeons/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: Tier 0.5 and the birth of modern dungeons</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/09/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-and-the-birth-of-modern-dungeons/">WoW Archivist: Tier 0.5 and the birth of modern dungeons</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 09 May 2014 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/09/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-and-the-birth-of-modern-dungeons/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20880445/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/09/wow-archivist-tier-0-5-and-the-birth-of-modern-dungeons/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>45-minute-baron</category><category>blackrock-depths</category><category>blackrock-spire</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-archives</category><category>blizzard-archivist</category><category>blizzard-history</category><category>dire-maul</category><category>dungeon-caps</category><category>dungeon-set</category><category>dungeon-set-1</category><category>dungeon-set-2</category><category>dungeon-set-one</category><category>dungeon-set-two</category><category>dungeons</category><category>epic-items</category><category>featured</category><category>gaming-history</category><category>mmo-history</category><category>online-gaming-history</category><category>patch-1.10</category><category>PC-gaming-history</category><category>scholomance</category><category>strat-45</category><category>stratholme</category><category>Tier-0.5</category><category>vanilla-warcraft</category><category>vanilla-wow</category><category>warcraft-archives</category><category>warcraft-archivist</category><category>warcraft-development</category><category>warcraft-history</category><category>warcraft-nostalgia</category><category>wow-archives</category><category>wow-archivist</category><category>wow-development</category><category>wow-history</category><category>wow-nostalgia</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2014 12:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Blizzard should rethink their content release model]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/blizzard-should-rethink-their-content-release-model/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sleeping druids" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="240476" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/9e516bebc1d8b2849bfb4ac919c3d116/200083816/sleepy+druids.jpg" /></div>
Blizzard changes many things for each new expansion: raid structures, class spells and talents, game systems, UI elements -- few aspects of <em>WoW</em> survive an X.0 patch untouched.<br />
<br />
It's time for Blizzard to change the one thing that has stayed the same since <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/03/28/wow-archivist-warlords-of-draenor-hates-the-burning-crusade/"><em>The Burning Crusade</em></a>: the "event patch" release cycle. In <em>WoW</em> today, every patch is a big deal. We get previews. We get a trailer. We get fancy artwork with the X.X numbers. The patch release is an event.<br />
<br />
Every patch has tons of content for nearly every aspect of the game. It's exciting -- there's almost too much to do. When a new patch releases, we're in <em>WoW</em> heaven.<br />
<br />
Then months go by and that content grows stale. Blizzard doesn't give us new content at that point, but peeks at future content. We're starving for a delicious content meal, but we can only look at pictures of the food.<br />
<br />
It's a feast and famine cycle that has to end. It creates this massive gap between the final content patch of one expansion and the release of the next. We must cross it once again in 2014. Players put up with it because we know Blizzard will deliver, eventually, a tremendously fun experience. But should we have to endure this, still, after the game has been around for almost ten years?<br />
<br />
It's time for Blizzard to rethink the way they release content.<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/blizzard-should-rethink-their-content-release-model/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Blizzard should rethink their content release model</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/analysis-opinion/" rel="tag">Analysis / Opinion</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/blizzard-should-rethink-their-content-release-model/">Blizzard should rethink their content release model</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Thu, 01 May 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/blizzard-should-rethink-their-content-release-model/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20878387/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/05/01/blizzard-should-rethink-their-content-release-model/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
<category>blizzard</category><category>burnout</category><category>content</category><category>content-release-model</category><category>content-schedules</category><category>Expansions</category><category>game-development</category><category>gap-between-expansions</category><category>mists-of-pandaria</category><category>patch-releases</category><category>patches</category><category>raiding</category><category>raiding-guilds</category><category>terrace-of-endless-spring</category>

<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[WoW Archivist: The Martin Fury incident]]></title>
<link>http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/25/wow-archivist-the-martin-fury-incident-friday/</link>
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<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Flame Leviathan" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="226969" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/30d8a0fdbb0f3a71c00ed78e6e40710f/200053591/fury+flame+levi+3.jpg" /></div>
<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist">WoW</a><em><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist"> Archivist</a> explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into </em>WoW<em>'s history? What secrets does the game still hold?</em><br />
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Almost exactly five years ago today, WoW Insider broke the news about one of the <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/player-receives-developer-item-in-the-mail-one-shots-ulduar/">craziest stories</a> in <em>WoW</em>'s history. Some called it a "scandal," but I disagree with the term. Everyone involved, I believe, acted without malice. The entire affair was a matter of one colossal blunder, followed by a series of unfortunate assumptions and, ultimately, heavy-handed repercussions.<br />
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The real victims here, after all, were the bosses.<br />
<br />
But the event is a fascinating and unique one: one player, given the kind of unlimited power that only a game master or developer was meant to wield. How did it all go down? Read on to find out!<p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/25/wow-archivist-the-martin-fury-incident-friday/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>WoW Archivist: The Martin Fury incident</em></a></p><p>Filed under: <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-archivist/" rel="tag">WoW Archivist</a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/25/wow-archivist-the-martin-fury-incident-friday/">WoW Archivist: The Martin Fury incident</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://wow.joystiq.com">WoW Insider</a> on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><p><a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/25/wow-archivist-the-martin-fury-incident-friday/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/forward/20872404/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/04/25/wow-archivist-the-martin-fury-incident-friday/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description>
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<author> (Scott Andrews)</author>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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