Filed under: News items

We've been quietly downloading patch 5.3 on the background service for a little while now. Needless to say, the major question on everyone's minds today has been whether or not we'll see the new patch hit tomorrow. Wonder no longer: It's been confirmed both by blue posters and on the official Warcraft Twitter account.

@steve_cam Hah! No I guess that was misleading. No, 5.3 will not be released this week.

- World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) May 13, 2013

NetEase, one of the largest retailers of World of Warcraft and general Blizzard merchandise in China, has recently launched a new product. In a very, very limited edition of just 1,000 copies, at least for now, this set is sure to go fast. It's retailing for what a currency converter approximates to be $208, at today's rates at least, and it really is a thing of beauty.

The set is beautifully designed and crafted, with the panda footprint featuring heavily on the tiles, as seen above, as well as the accompanying poker chips, the dice, dividers, and the red wooden presentation box. The play mat is a cloth rendition of the continent of Pandaria, which appears sympathetically rendered. If this sounds a little like a sales pitch, it shouldn't, this set is just incredibly beautifully made, and warrants the praise!

Rumor has it that this limited edition of 1,000 is not just for China, but for the worldwide market, so be prepared to have to jump through some hoops if you want one. They are currently only available through NetEase's website, where some judicious use of a translation engine will land the enthusiastic shopper with a login, allowing them to sign up for one of these sets. Given the coverage it's getting, and the minimal price, don't be surprised if you lose out.

Hit the break for more pictures!

Blizzard has been blogging up a storm about patch 5.3, and there have recently been 2 more articles added to their arsenal. The first is a run-down of the new scenarios available, posted by Community Manager Nethaera, which runs players down the four new three-player scenarios coming in patch 5.3. Neth gives us a quick summary of the stories behind the scenarios, while doing a great job of not being too spoiler-heavy. She runs down the background of Blood in the Snow, Dark Heart of Pandaria, Secrets of Ragefire and Battle on the High Seas. You can also check out WoW Insider's own articles on Blood in the Snow and Dark Heart of Pandaria, but beware the light spoilers that lurk within!

Nethaera also briefly discusses the new difficulty level that will be added with patch 5.3, heroic scenarios. She clarifies that they are intended for pre-made groups of three players, and will award a hefty 120 valor, as well as bonus valor for completing the objectives.

What's more, Blizzard has recently published a guide to getting geared for 5.3, aimed at players with alts, and players who are returning to the game. They've got some great tips in there, even going so far as to acknowledge some neat tricks that'll have you running the Raid Finder in no time.

Wowhead's Perculia has been as busy as ever cataloging the new achievements currently on the patch 5.3 PTR, putting together a comprehensive guide over at Wowhead.

Do head over to check that out, but we're going to pull some of the more exciting ones out, with a focus on pets and mounts. WoW Insider also recently covered the new Gorgeous title, which comes from completing all the achievements in the new battleground, Deepwind Gorge.

First up, for completing Raiding with Leashes II: Attunement Edition, collecting all 10 of the new pets which have been dropped into the old raids listed on the achievement, players are awarded yet another pet, Tito's Basket! In the same vein of pet-related achievements awarding yet more pets, the Brutal Pet Brawler achievement awards a Stunted Direhorn. Lastly, in the pet battles category, there's an achievement called The Longest Day, which, when you look at the tooltip, you'll realise is aptly named. Carrying out that mammoth task will award you a Marked Flawless Battle Stone, which can be used to boost any pet to Rare quality.

What's more, mount collectors rejoice, because there's a new benchmark, 200 mounts, for which Mount Parade awards yet another mount, the Armored Dragonhawk, in blue for the Alliance and a fetching red for the Horde.