WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2015 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.Guide to Hallow's End 2014http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/18/guide-to-hallows-end-2014/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/18/guide-to-hallows-end-2014/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/10/18/guide-to-hallows-end-2014/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Headless Horseman comic.
Hallow's End 2014 begins on Saturday, Oct. 18 and runs through Saturday, Nov. 1 this year. As with most of the game's holidays, Hallow's End is required for the yearlong meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been that grants the Violet Proto-Drake. Completing the required Hallow's End achievements will also award the title the Hallowed.

In 2011, Blizzard added some major updates and improvements to the holiday, changing Tricky Treats from edible confection into a form of currency that players can use to buy pets, masks, and wands. This year has some new loot available -- three costumes for your pug pals, and a new costume for players as well, the Exquisite Costume Set: "The Lich King." And for all you pet collectors out there, this year you'll find the usual Creepy Crate, Sinister Squashling and Feline Familiar as well as Widget the Departed and Cursed Birman, two new ghostly kitties to add to your collection. Toy collectors will want to make note of the Little Wickerman and add him to your Toybox if you haven't already.

As with most of our holiday guides, I've arranged the achievements in the rough order they should be completed, noting which achievements are required for the meta and which aren't.

Continue reading Guide to Hallow's End 2014

WoW InsiderGuide to Hallow's End 2014 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>guide-to-hallows-endguide-to-hallows-end-2014guide-to-hallows-end-achievementshallows-endhallows-end-2014hallows-end-achievementshallows-end-guidehallows-end-guide-2014headless-horsemanheadless-horseman-achievementshow-to-do-hallows-endhow-to-do-hallows-end-achievementsAllison RobertSat, 18 Oct 2014 16:00:00 ESTGuide to Brewfest 2014 achievementshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/20/guide-to-brewfest-2014-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/20/guide-to-brewfest-2014-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/09/20/guide-to-brewfest-2014-achievements/#commentsFiled under: ,

Brewfest is back, as is Coren Direbrew, his cronies, and some of the easiest trinkets you'll ever farm for from the holiday boss. Now, you can get better gear for yourself and approximately 37,000 alts off the Timeless Isle if you've a mind to grind, but killing Coren can get you some quick and easy ilvl 470 trinkets without having to suffer endless "Is Huolon up?" spam in general chat.

That might be worth it. It's up to you.

Anyway, right now there's no indication that Blizzard has changed the holiday in any substantive manner, and although some new items have been found on the PTR and beta, they are not on live servers, which means the run of achievements is pretty much the same. This year, Brewfest runs from Saturday, Sept. 20 to Monday, Oct. 6. As always, check your in-game calendar for your server's exact start and end times, as they'll differ slightly by time zone. The Brewfest meta Brewmaster is required for the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so you'll want to get this done if you're working toward a Violet Proto-Drake.

Continue reading Guide to Brewfest 2014 achievements

WoW InsiderGuide to Brewfest 2014 achievements originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 20 Sep 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>brewfestbrewfest-2014brewfest-achievementsbrewfest-holidaybrewmasterhow-to-do-brewfesthow-to-do-brewfest-achievementswhat-a-long-strange-trip-its-beenwow-brewfestwow-brewfest-2014wow-brewfest-achievementswow-brewfest-guideAllison RobertSat, 20 Sep 2014 20:00:00 ESTGuide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2014http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/21/guide-to-the-midsummer-fire-festival-2014/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/21/guide-to-the-midsummer-fire-festival-2014/http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/06/21/guide-to-the-midsummer-fire-festival-2014/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Midsummer Fire Festival will run from Saturday, June 21 to Saturday, July 5 this year. As always, check your ingame calendar to determine the exact start and stop times for your server. While there aren't actually a lot of achievements associated with the Festival (the meta consists of only six), three of them require serious travel time, and one also requires a set of dangerous trips to enemy capitals. For the trouble, Alliance players are awarded the Flame Warden title, and Horde players Flame Keeper.

If you're starting from scratch, this is definitely one of the more work-intensive holidays necessary for the completion of What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. However, even a fresh character can afford to get all the rewards from holiday vendors if you're diligent about hitting all the holiday's fires, quests, and dailies.

The basics of the holiday involve "honoring" or "desecrating" a series of fires across Azeroth and Outland. For convenience, we've listed all of the fires on each continent in a specific direction so you can reach them as efficiently as possible.

Continue reading Guide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2014

WoW InsiderGuide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2014 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>2014-midsummer-fire-festivalachievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-midsummer-festival-achievementsguide-to-midsummer-fire-festivalguide-to-midsummer-fire-festival-achievementshow-to-do-midsummer-fire-festivalmidsummer-fire-festivalmidsummer-fire-festival-2014midsummer-fire-festival-achievementsmidsummer-fire-festival-questsmidsummer-fire-festival-wowworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertSat, 21 Jun 2014 14:00:00 ESTWoW Insider's Guide to Pilgrim's Bounty 2013 achievementshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/25/wow-insiders-guide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2013-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/25/wow-insiders-guide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2013-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/11/25/wow-insiders-guide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2013-achievements/#commentsFiled under: ,


While Pilgrim's Bounty isn't part of the meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, it's inarguably one of the most helpful yearly events. Yes, you can rack up some points with the Pilgrim meta and get a plump turkey pet, but the holiday has an unbeatable side benefit -- it's a fast, easy, and cheap way to level cooking to 350. If you've got a lot of alts around that haven't leveled the profession or never got around to doing it on your made, Pilgrim's Bounty will get that fixed as long as you're willing to put in a little elbow grease. As with Hallow's End and the recent anniversary tabard, you can also get a reputation boost from participating: The Spirit of Sharing from the feast tables grants an additional 10% to reputation gains.

Pilgrim's Bounty runs from Monday, Nov. 25 through Monday, Dec. 2nd this year. It's not one of the longer holidays, so if you'd like to get all the goodies, you'll want to start early. However, there's been no sign of an update to this year's version (we assume the developers are busy with Warlords of Draenor), so if you've done Pilgrim's Bounty previously on all the characters who needed to level cooking, you probably won't see additional benefit this year apart from a bit of fun.

Continue reading WoW Insider's Guide to Pilgrim's Bounty 2013 achievements

WoW InsiderWoW Insider's Guide to Pilgrim's Bounty 2013 achievements originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>how-to-do-pilgrims-bountyhow-to-do-pilgrims-bounty-wowpilgrims-bountypilgrims-bounty-2013pilgrims-bounty-2013-guidepilgrims-bounty-achievementspilgrims-bounty-guidepilgrims-bounty-holiday-wowAllison RobertMon, 25 Nov 2013 14:00:00 ESTGuide to Hallow's End 2013http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/18/guide-to-hallows-end-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/18/guide-to-hallows-end-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/10/18/guide-to-hallows-end-2013/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Headless Horseman comic.
Hallow's End 2013 begins on Friday, Oct. 18 and runs through Friday, Nov. 1 this year. As with most of the game's holidays, Hallow's End is required for the yearlong meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been that grants the Violet Proto-Drake. Completing the required Hallow's End achievements will also award the title the Hallowed.

In 2011, Blizzard added some major updates and improvements to the holiday, one of which completely eliminated the hassle behind one of WoW's most hideous RNG nightmares, and one of which left us with two very cool non-combat pets. In short, Tricky Treats -- once vomit-inducing but otherwise useless items that dropped in spades from the holiday boss, the Headless Horseman -- are now a form of currency that players can use to buy pets, masks, and wands. And for all you pet collectors out there, you'll really want to pick up a Feline Familiar, a Beast-type pet with an unusually useful moveset.

If you didn't get around to the holiday last year, please note that there's an additional 10 points available in the form of Tricks and Treats of Pandaria.

Continue reading Guide to Hallow's End 2013

WoW InsiderGuide to Hallow's End 2013 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>guide-to-hallows-endguide-to-hallows-end-2013guide-to-hallows-end-achievementshallows-endhallows-end-2013hallows-end-achievementshallows-end-guidehallows-end-guide-2013headless-horsemanheadless-horseman-achievementshow-to-do-hallows-endhow-to-do-hallows-end-achievementsAllison RobertFri, 18 Oct 2013 09:00:00 ESTGuide to Brewfest 2013 achievementshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/09/19/guide-to-brewfest-2013-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/09/19/guide-to-brewfest-2013-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/09/19/guide-to-brewfest-2013-achievements/#commentsFiled under: ,

I suspect quite a few players will be seeing the level 90 version of the Brewfest holiday boss, Coren Direbrew, for the first time this week. Last year's Brewfest arrived so soon after Mists of Pandaria launched that you had to level somewhat quickly to be able to queue for Coren at all. Fortunately, that's no longer the case, so now you've got a choice. You can get better gear for yourself and approximately 37,000 alts off the Timeless Isle if you've a mind to grind, but killing Coren can get you some ilevel 470 trinkets without having to suffer endless "Is Huolon up?" spam in general chat.

That might be worth it. It's up to you.

Anyway, right now there's no indication that Blizzard has changed the holiday in any substantive manner, and [the developers said very recently at Gamescom](http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1345) that there aren't any plans to overhaul holidays in the near future.

This year, Brewfest runs from Friday, Sept. 20 to Sunday, Oct. 6. As always, check your in-game calendar for your server's exact start and end times, as they'll differ slightly by time zone. The Brewfest meta Brewmaster is required for the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so you'll want to get this done if you're working toward a Violet Proto-Drake.

If you're leveling a monk who plans to tank, the Brewmaster title is basically mandatory. And yes, the Orgrimmar Brewfest area is smack in the middle of what's canonically a war zone at present, but when has free booze not trumped violence?

Continue reading Guide to Brewfest 2013 achievements

WoW InsiderGuide to Brewfest 2013 achievements originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>brewfestbrewfest-2013brewfest-achievementsbrewfest-holidaybrewmasterhow-to-do-brewfesthow-to-do-brewfest-achievementswhat-a-long-strange-trip-its-beenwow-brewfestwow-brewfest-2013wow-brewfest-achievementswow-brewfest-guideAllison RobertThu, 19 Sep 2013 14:00:00 ESTGuide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2013http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/20/guide-to-the-midsummer-fire-festival-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/20/guide-to-the-midsummer-fire-festival-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/20/guide-to-the-midsummer-fire-festival-2013/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Midsummer Fire Festival will run from Friday, June 21 to Friday, July 5 this year. As always, check your ingame calendar to determine the exact start and stop times for your server. While there aren't actually a lot of achievements associated with the Festival (the meta consists of only six), three of them require serious travel time, and one also requires a set of dangerous trips to enemy capitals. For the trouble, Alliance players are awarded the Flame Warden title, and Horde players Flame Keeper.

If you're starting from scratch, this is definitely one of the more work-intensive holidays necessary for the completion of What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. However, even a fresh character can afford to get all the rewards from holiday vendors if you're diligent about hitting all the holiday's fires, quests, and dailies.

The basics of the holiday involve "honoring" or "desecrating" a series of fires across Azeroth and Outland. For convenience, we've listed all of the fires on each continent in a specific direction so you can reach them as efficiently as possible. This year, Blizzard has updated the holiday boss' loot list with ilevel 480 cloaks and weapons and added a set of fires to Pandaria, but there aren't that many; you'll only have an additional 7 fires to honor and one to desecrate on the continent.

Continue reading Guide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2013

WoW InsiderGuide to the Midsummer Fire Festival 2013 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>2013-midsummer-fire-festivalachievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-midsummer-festival-achievementsguide-to-midsummer-fire-festivalguide-to-midsummer-fire-festival-achievementshow-to-do-midsummer-fire-festivalmidsummer-fire-festivalmidsummer-fire-festival-2013midsummer-fire-festival-achievementsmidsummer-fire-festival-questsmidsummer-fire-festival-wowworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 20 Jun 2013 15:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Guide to Children's Week 2013http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-overachiever-guide-to-childrens-week-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-overachiever-guide-to-childrens-week-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/the-overachiever-guide-to-childrens-week-2013/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, the children are our future, and oh, how we hate them.

In the aggregate, Children's Week is one of the most entertaining annual holidays. Dragging a small child with you around Azeroth's grand vistas and dangerous places is surprisingly fun ("I want to go to the Dark Portal." "Sure, why not?"), and it's a fairly immersive reminder that the planet's constant wars have almost certainly left a large population of orphans for each faction to rear. Also, getting a pet or the aptly-named Curmudgeon's Payoff is pretty cool too.

But.

(You knew the "but" was coming.)

Unfortunately for all of you poor sods who still don't have School of Hard Knocks, that achievement still exists. I hated it so much that it was the sole remaining achievement between me and What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been for a year. With account-wide achievements, you no longer have to do it on multiple characters (and the whole system was worth it if for no other reason than that), but you'll still need it on one. Sorry, folks.

Anyway, Children's Week 2013 runs from April 29 to May 6, and, as always, the achievements and the meta For The Children are part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Guide to Children's Week 2013

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Guide to Children's Week 2013 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidechildrens-weekchildrens-week-2013childrens-week-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-childrens-weekguide-to-childrens-week-2013how-to-do-childrens-weekhow-to-do-childrens-week-achievementsworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-childrens-weekwow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 25 Apr 2013 16:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Time zones, battle pets, and an achievement you probably don't know abouthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/the-overachiever-time-zones-battle-pets-and-an-achievement-yo/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/the-overachiever-time-zones-battle-pets-and-an-achievement-yo/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/the-overachiever-time-zones-battle-pets-and-an-achievement-yo/#commentsFiled under: ,

Courtesy of Wowhead.
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, Allison desperately wishes to return to the days of "server time."

Confession: This article was originally going to be about achievements you could get from unexpected places, because I thought it would be cool to run a column on the areas you pass by a lot without necessarily realizing there are points there for the taking. I'd worked all the way up to Wanderers, Dreamers, and You, which I've been meaning to do for a while but never got around to ... and then I hit a giant road block.

Why? This achievement was one of those unintentionally affected by changes in patch 5.1 that altered event times for a lot of servers. Most players will probably remember when the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza disappeared for a few months while Blizzard tried to figure out a way to square it with Cross-Realm Zones. The Fishing Extravaganza returned alongside a new system that standardized most event times across servers in an effort to simplify what was happening and when. The Wanderer's Festival was one of the affected events.

After spending hours trying to track down and confirm the event time schedule for servers across the European, North American, and Oceanic servers, I decided it probably merits an article all to itself because the Wowhead thread is a giant rat's nest of conflicting and outdated information. Also, it's not enough to be there while the festival is actually happening, and if you don't get there early, you probably won't have a shot at a battle pet you can't get anywhere else.

I am not too proud to admit I need help with this one.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Time zones, battle pets, and an achievement you probably don't know about

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Time zones, battle pets, and an achievement you probably don't know about originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidecross-realm-zonescrzevent-timefeaturedguidewanderers-dreamers-and-youworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 04 Apr 2013 16:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2013http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-overachiever-guide-to-noblegarden-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-overachiever-guide-to-noblegarden-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/28/the-overachiever-guide-to-noblegarden-2013/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, bunnies take over the world.

Time to get sick on candy again, folks! That seems to be a running theme with WoW holidays.

Noblegarden will run this year from Monday, April 1 until Monday, April 8. As always, check your server's in-game calendar for the exact start and stop times. If you've never done Noblegarden before, or only done its pre-2009 version, be aware that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement.

Last year, the Swift Springstrider was added to holiday vendors at the fairly steep cost of 500 Noblegarden chocolate. This year, we haven't seen anything new datamined, but Noblegarden did hit the patch 5.2 PTR in mid-February, so you never know.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2013

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2013 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-noblegardenguide-to-noblegarden-2013guide-to-noblegarden-achievementsnoblegardennoblegarden-2013noblegarden-2013-guidenoblegarden-achievementsnoblegarden-guidenoblegarden-guide-2013world-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-noblegardenwow-noblegarden-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 28 Mar 2013 13:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: The game's 13 vanished titleshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/the-overachiever-the-games-13-vanished-titles/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/the-overachiever-the-games-13-vanished-titles/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/21/the-overachiever-the-games-13-vanished-titles/#commentsFiled under: ,

The OverAchiever The game's vanished titles THURSDAY
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we rue the lack of High Poobah among the game's honorifics.

An interesting question in the Tanking forum about a month back spurred an article for readers here about which title they find most reassuring on a fellow player. The discussion that ensued was a reminder that you can't get some of the more popular picks anymore, and just why they meant -- and continue to mean -- something in the first place.

Sad to say, these titles are no longer accessible, unless you manage to find some far-flung server at the end of the universe where no one's bothered to kill Sartharion at all.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: The game's 13 vanished titles

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: The game's 13 vanished titles originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guideargent-defenderCelestial-Defenderchampion-of-the-naaruchampion-of-ulduarconqueror-of-naxxramasconqueror-of-ulduarDeaths-Demisedungeon-and-raid-titlesfeaturedgrand-crusaderguidehand-of-adalimmortalmagic-seekerobsidian-slayerscarab-lordthe-immortalthe-magic-seekerthe-undyingtitletitlesundyingvanished-titlesworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementsworld-of-warcraft-vanished-titleswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointswows-vanished-titlesAllison RobertThu, 21 Mar 2013 19:00:00 ESTGuide to Love is in the Air 2013http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/09/guide-to-love-is-in-the-air-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/09/guide-to-love-is-in-the-air-2013/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/09/guide-to-love-is-in-the-air-2013/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Love is in the Air returns this year from Sunday, Feb. 10 through Saturday, Feb. 23. As always, check your game calendar for your server's specific start and end times. After many tweaks over the years, the holiday's become one of the less annoying and RNG-riddled outings from the What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been meta. However, last year's version added a pretty grind-intensive mount to the holiday rewards, so if you're starting fresh and want the meta and the mount, be prepared for a lot of work.

Before you ask -- yep, it's required if you're still on the warpath for your Violet Proto-Drake. The finished holiday meta will also reward the title the Love Fool.

If you're completely new to Love Is In the Air, you'll probably want to read our FAQ on the holiday. Otherwise, we'll be dealing with the holiday achievements here. There are only two optional ones if you're going for the meta, so I've listed all the ones you'll need first.

Continue reading Guide to Love is in the Air 2013

WoW InsiderGuide to Love is in the Air 2013 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-love-is-in-the-airguide-to-love-is-in-the-air-achievementslove-is-in-the-airlove-is-in-the-air-2013love-is-in-the-air-2013-guidelove-is-in-the-air-achievement-guidelove-is-in-the-air-achievementslove-is-in-the-air-guidelove-is-in-the-air-wowworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertSat, 09 Feb 2013 16:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Guide to Lunar Festival 2013 achievementshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/24/the-overachiever-guide-to-lunar-festival-2013-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/24/the-overachiever-guide-to-lunar-festival-2013-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/24/the-overachiever-guide-to-lunar-festival-2013-achievements/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The OverAchiever Guide to Lunar Festival 2013 achievements
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, the Fed-Ex quest from hell.

This year, the Lunar Festival runs from Sunday, Jan. 27 to Saturday, Feb. 9. (As always, check your game calendar for specific start and stop times for your server.) On a very important note, this year cuts the length of the holiday from three to two weeks, so if you're a new player or you're starting a fresh character, you won't have as much time as you usually do to get everything done. I think Blizzard limited it so as not to clash with Love Is In the Air, which begins Sunday, Feb. 10.

If you're new to the Lunar Festival, the holiday mostly revolves around involve talking to a number of elders in order to honor them, receiving Coins of Ancestry in return, and then using the coins to purchase holiday items, including clothing and pets. The To Honor One's Elders meta-achievement is also a requirement for What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so if you're still after a Violet Proto-Drake, make sure you get this done.

The Lunar Festival is definitely not one of Azeroth's more difficult holidays, but it's time-consuming if you need all the NPCs. However, it's also a good time to do other travel-intensive achievements like World Explorer.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Guide to Lunar Festival 2013 achievements

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Guide to Lunar Festival 2013 achievements originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guideelders-of-pandariaelders-of-the-allianceelders-of-the-hordefeaturedguideguide-to-lunar-festivalguide-to-lunar-festival-2013how-to-do-lunar-festivalhow-to-do-lunar-festival-achievementslunar-festivallunar-festival-achievementslunar-festival-elderslunar-festival-guidelunar-festival-guide-2013lunar-festival-world-of-warcraftlunar-festival-wowlunar-festival-wow-guide-2013lunarfestival2013world-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 24 Jan 2013 17:00:00 ESTHoliday replayability and the Fed-Ex quests from hellhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/03/holiday-replayability-and-the-fed-ex-quests-from-hell/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/03/holiday-replayability-and-the-fed-ex-quests-from-hell/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/03/holiday-replayability-and-the-fed-ex-quests-from-hell/#commentsFiled under: ,

Holiday replayability and the FedEx quests from hell THU
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, get off our lawn.

One of the things I think about while revising and updating the holiday guides is that the audience for them is doomed to get smaller over time. It's reasonable to expect that, because people don't need the guides after they finish doing the events on characters they care about, and there's generally a few years between Blizzard's major updates. However, with the introduction of account-wide achievements, pets, and mounts, the replayability of holidays has probably suffered a bit. That doesn't mean that the content's not enjoyable, just that each successive character derives less reward from it.

This is a particularly acute problem with the approaching Lunar Festival and how one element gets a lot more onerous as the game continues to expand.

Continue reading Holiday replayability and the Fed-Ex quests from hell

WoW InsiderHoliday replayability and the Fed-Ex quests from hell originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guideeldersfeaturedguideholiday-achievementslunar-festivallunar-festival-elderslunar-festival-wowworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 03 Jan 2013 17:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Guide to Winter Veil 2012http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/13/the-overachiever-guide-to-winter-veil-2012/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/13/the-overachiever-guide-to-winter-veil-2012/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/13/the-overachiever-guide-to-winter-veil-2012/#commentsFiled under: , ,

'Tis the season! Winter Veil 2012 runs from Saturday, Dec. 15 through Tuesday, Jan. 2 this year. As with most of the WoW holidays, the Merrymaker meta is required for What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. Those of you who are still on the lookout for your Violet Proto-Drakes will want to keep an eye out for any achievements you still need.

Even if you don't want or don't need any achievements, Winter Veil also gives you the opportunity to turn your mount into a reindeer, become a snowman with a unique dance animation, and get noncombat pets and unique holiday items. This is also the only time of year where pets like Father Winter's Helper won't disappear with an excuse over how busy they are making toys, so if you want to run around for an extended time with gnomes dressed in Santa outfits, seize the day.

As always, I'll be up as the holiday goes live to make necessary additions or corrections to the guide, but we're not anticipating any major changes to Winter Veil this year.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Guide to Winter Veil 2012

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Guide to Winter Veil 2012 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-winter-veilguide-to-winter-veil-2012guide-to-winter-veil-achievementshow-to-do-winter-veilhow-to-do-winter-veil-wowwinter-veilwinter-veil-2012winter-veil-achievementswinter-veil-wowworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 13 Dec 2012 13:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Guide to Pilgrim's Bounty 2012http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/15/the-overachiever-guide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2012/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/15/the-overachiever-guide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2012/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/15/the-overachiever-guide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2012/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we advise you to stay away from the bathroom scale.

While Pilgrim's Bounty isn't part of the meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, a lot of players still find it one of most helpful yearly events. Yes, you can rack up some points with the Pilgrim meta and get a plump turkey pet, but the holiday has an absolutely unbeatable side benefit -- it's an incredibly fast, easy, and cheap way to level cooking to 350. Pilgrim's Bounty is tailor-made for anyone who wants to get cooking leveled on a bunch of alts, or anyone who never got around to doing it on his or her main. As with Hallow's End, there's an additional benefit for all those of us slaving away on Mists of Pandaria reputation grinds: The Spirit of Sharing from the feast tables grants an additional 10% to reputation gains.

As far as we know, the holiday hasn't changed from previous incarnations, but as always, I'll be around as it goes live to update or clarify any portion of this guide. This year, Pilgrim's Bounty runs from Sunday, Nov. 18 through Saturday, Nov. 24.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Guide to Pilgrim's Bounty 2012

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Guide to Pilgrim's Bounty 2012 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-pilgrims-bountyguide-to-pilgrims-bounty-2012how-to-do-pilgrims-bountyhow-to-do-pilgrims-bounty-wowpilgrims-bountypilgrims-bounty-2012pilgrims-bounty-2012-guidepilgrims-bounty-achievementspilgrims-bounty-faqpilgrims-bounty-guidepilgrims-bounty-holiday-wowworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 15 Nov 2012 15:00:00 EST20 best addons for Mists of Pandaria achievementshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/01/20-of-the-best-addons-for-mists-of-pandaria-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/01/20-of-the-best-addons-for-mists-of-pandaria-achievements/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/01/20-of-the-best-addons-for-mists-of-pandaria-achievements/#commentsFiled under:

The OverAchiever The best addons for achievement hunters
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, no more psychotic episodes with Tillers rep.

I love Wowhead to death, but what I don't love is tabbing in and out of the game in an endless search for information on any achievements I'm working on. This is where the wonderful world of addons makes its entrance, and we're blessed with an abundant supply of good ones in the early days of Mists of Pandaria.

These addons have made a significant difference to the ease and enjoyability of our achievement hunts lately. By my count, these will help you with two Pandaria rep grinds, all of the new dungeons and raids, the endlessly fascinating Glorious!, pet battles, and some oldies but goodies. If you have any additional suggestions, drop them in the comments and I'd be happy to add them to the article.

Oh, and while this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with achievements, if you can't wait for Blizzard to add a mount search function to the default UI, download Mount Search. Congratulations, you can now stop going crazy trying to find all the new cats, serpents, cranes, and goats you trained up.

Continue reading 20 best addons for Mists of Pandaria achievements

WoW Insider20 best addons for Mists of Pandaria achievements originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guideachievment-addonsaddonsaddons-for-achievementsbest-addons-for-achievementsfeaturedguideworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 01 Nov 2012 15:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: Guide to Hallow's End 2012http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/16/the-overachiever-guide-to-hallows-end-2012/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/16/the-overachiever-guide-to-hallows-end-2012/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/16/the-overachiever-guide-to-hallows-end-2012/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Headless Horseman comic.
Every week, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. Today, our yearly sugar rush.

Hallow's End 2012 begins on Thursday, Oct. 18 and runs through Wednesday, Oct. 31 this year. As with most of the game's holidays, Hallow's End is required for the yearlong meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been that grants the Violet Proto-Drake. Completing the required Hallow's End achievements will also award the title the Hallowed.

Last year, Blizzard added some major updates and improvements to the holiday, one of which completely eliminated the hassle behind one of WoW's most hideous RNG nightmares, and one of which left us with two very badass non-combat pets. In essence, Tricky Treats -- once a vomit-inducing item that dropped in spades from the holiday boss, the Headless Horseman -- are now a form of currency that players can use to buy pets, masks, wands, and other holiday items. 2011 also introduced a new set of quests associated with Hallow's End, one of which sends you into an enemy city without the fear of ugly death.

Bottom line: If you weren't around for last year's holiday, a lot of stuff may interest you this year. If you were around for last year, you'll still be interested, as the Headless Horseman's set of dropped epics are a lot more compelling at the beginning of an expansion. Hardcore achievement hunters will also be pleased to note an additional 10 points in the form of Tricks and Treats of Pandaria.

As with most of our holiday guides, I've arranged the achievements in the rough order they should be completed, noting which achievements are required for the meta and which aren't.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Guide to Hallow's End 2012

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: Guide to Hallow's End 2012 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>a-mask-for-all-occasionsachievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidefeaturedguideguide-to-hallows-endguide-to-hallows-end-2012hallowed-be-thy-namehallows-endhallows-end-2012hallows-end-achievementshallows-end-guideHeadless Horsemanhow-to-do-hallows-endhow-to-do-hallows-end-achievementsPvProtten-hallowThe Headless Horsemanthe-hallowedTrick or Treattricky-treatswhat-a-long-strange-trip-its-beenworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertTue, 16 Oct 2012 14:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: That Rabbit's Dynamite!http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/09/06/the-overachiever-that-rabbits-dynamite/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/09/06/the-overachiever-that-rabbits-dynamite/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/09/06/the-overachiever-that-rabbits-dynamite/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, the shadow of a nameless, albeit cuddly, fear.

One of the problems with WoW's complexity is how difficult it is to write about anything that you haven't personally done. As a result, most OverAchiever columns are about achievements I've either finished or am actively working on, in the hopes of avoiding outdated or inaccurate information. However, this week's option cracked me up so much that, even though my guild's largely on break until Mists of Pandaria hits, I kind of have to write about it.

Today, dear readers, we are going to address a brand-new achievement, from what is currently the most dangerous raid boss in the game as of patch 5.0.4:

The killer rabbit of Darkmoon Island.

Stop laughing and get back here. That rabbit's dynamite.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: That Rabbit's Dynamite!

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: That Rabbit's Dynamite! originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidedarkmoondarkmoon-fairedarkmoon-islanddarkmoon-rabbitfeaturedguideguide-to-that-rabbits-dynamitethat-rabbits-dynamiteworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 06 Sep 2012 20:00:00 ESTThe OverAchiever: 3 achievements to stop slacking on and do right nowhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/08/30/the-overachiever-3-achievements-to-stop-slacking-on-and-do-righ/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/08/30/the-overachiever-3-achievements-to-stop-slacking-on-and-do-righ/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/08/30/the-overachiever-3-achievements-to-stop-slacking-on-and-do-righ/#commentsFiled under: ,

The OverAchiever The triumph of the slackers THURSDAY
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, our laziness catches up with us.

There are a few achievements in every expansion that manage to get away from us. I'm not talking about stuff that we shouldn't reasonably expect to get (your completion percentage on dungeon and raid achievements will inevitably nosedive if you can't make raids anymore), but there's always some stuff that people feel they should have gotten or worked at for ages that never turned up.

Now, you're reading OverAchiever because you're a dedicated achievement hunter or enormously entertained by the people who are -- and I think you know what this is like. There's almost a sense of hostile guilt as you look at the stuff you don't have, because those unfinished percentages taunt you. Sometimes it's not your fault. Sometimes, however, you just need to get off your arse.

These are three achievements -- easy, medium, and hard -- that players often put on the back burner while occupied with other pursuits. Two of them just got a lot easier -- or at least faster -- to do after patch 5.0.4, and all three will get more inconvenient when Mists of Pandaria hits.

Oh, and for pet collectors, we have some welcome news inside about Tol Barad.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: 3 achievements to stop slacking on and do right now

WoW InsiderThe OverAchiever: 3 achievements to stop slacking on and do right now originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievement-guideachievementsachievements-guidebaradins-wardensfeaturedfox-kitglory-of-the-cataclysm-herogrey-riding-camelguidehellscreams-reachi-hate-that-songmysterious-camel-figurinenpcscanreins-of-the-grey-riding-camelreins-of-the-volcanic-stone-drakescourer-of-the-eternal-sandstol-baradworld-of-warcraft-achievement-pointsworld-of-warcraft-achievementswow-achievementwow-achievement-guidewow-achievement-pointswow-achievementswow-guidewow-pointsAllison RobertThu, 30 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST