Posts with tag Zarhym

If you've been on the leveling treadmill -- or if you frequent the WoW forums -- chances are you've noticed that after patch 5.2, you stopped automatically discovering new flight paths. For those of you (myself included) who loved this feature, it's unfortunately an intentional change. According to everyone's favorite floating skull, Zarhym, the auto-discovery of flight paths -- introduced way back in patch 4.2 in June 2011 -- was never intentional.

@autumnsunxo @bubblepuffle Unfortunately, you weren't provided correct info. Auto-discovery was never intended. Post to explain coming.

- Zarhym (@CM_Zarhym) March 17, 2013

So why's it waited so long? Again, according to Zarhym, it was a complicated problem to crack -- and low on the priority list.

@reaper2352 Until 5.2 we couldn't fix it without erasing what paths any character had discovered pre-Cataclysm. It required new tech.

- Zarhym (@CM_Zarhym) March 19, 2013

While I mourn the loss of what was one of my favorite Cataclysm-era features -- the run through the Wetlands to pick up the flight path at Menethil Harbor used to be a killer, literally -- I can't complain too much. After all, with mounts starting at level 20, hearthstones on a 15 minute cooldown (with the right guild perks), and flight paths scattered conveniently around the world, getting around is easier than it's ever been, even without automatically discovering new flight paths.

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Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) will be your host today.

I wanted to throw out a challenge to Bashiok and Zarhym.

I'll donate 5,000,000g to the Alliance charity of their choice if they can prove their father was not a Sha.

Zarhym's got the whole floating skull thing going on, and Bashiok's old green-tinted tree is back. It's pretty clear to me that they've got some Sha-ness.

Prove me wrong. The ball's in your court, fellas.

Eric asked:

Does anyone have a clue if a Windows Phone Remote Armory/Auction House is in the works?

After WoW Insider's Anne Stickney rounded off Blizzard's Developer Interview schedule with her chat to Cory Stockton and Dave Kosak, discussing patch 5.1, brawler's guild, lore, dailies, proving grounds, scenarios and player housing, WoW Insider thought we should bring together all the interviews in the recent set.

Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street:

• Legendary, GAMEBREAKER.tv Ghostcrawler discusses raiding, PvP, alts, reputation, dailies and cross realm zones with the Legendary hosts.
• All Things Azeroth Design, Cataclysm vs. Mists, patch 5.2 release schedule, classes, transmogrification changes.
• Wowjuju Brawler's guild, daily quests, transmogrification, 10man vs 25man, the gear grind, pet gear for battle pets?

Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas

• Convert2Raid Scenarios, challenge modes, Brawler's Guild, dailies, and, of course, raids.
• Method Coming soon!

Lead Content Designer Cory "Mumper" Stockton:

• Curse Coming soon!
• Warcraft Pets Pet design process, pets in future expansions, pet battles, potential for pet gender and breeding, pet model updates, "boss" pets

Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak

• Darkmoon Herald Hidden quests, easter eggs, phasing, lore, future questing changes, interesting activities, tillers, dailies.
• Wowhead Patch 5.1 factions, brawlers' guild, scenarios and their lore involvement, dailies, alts, faction grinds, cooking changes.

Lead Designer Tom Chilton

• ArenaJunkies Coming soon!

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Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.

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WoW's friendly skull, Zarhym, took to Twitter last night with a hint about potential upcoming changes to the transmogrification system in patch 5.2. Essentially the main-hand vs off-hand transmog distinction may possibly be getting cut, along with adding some exceptions to the absolute restriction of similar weapon types (ie: axes vs. swords). Expect any changes make sense -- so no shields as main-hand weapons.

We need to emphasis here that these changes are only possible, and are by no means set in stone. Don't get upset if you don't see in them in patch 5.2; or ever. You haven't been promised anything.

That said, it's neat to see what Blizzard is thinking for the next patch. Zarhym's tweet as follows:

.@iizeppii Removing main-hand/off-hand Xmog restrictions maybe by 5.2. Also allowing Xmog of weaps w/ similar anims (2H axe/2H sword, etc).

- Zarhym (@CM_Zarhym) December 3, 2012

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This weekend, some of the most competitive PvP and PvE players in the World of Warcraft (alongside players from Starcraft 2) will be engaging in the Battle.net World Championship. The event, taking place at the Shanghai Expo-Mart in Shanghai, China, is the largest competitive event focused specifically at Blizzard's games. So, in case you're wondering what's going on, where the live streams are, and how to find the events you're interested in seeing, Blizzard has you covered with this extensive survival guide to the event.

Our old friend Zarhym breaks it all down for you. With links to profiles of the players, a schedule of events and everything else you'd need to find the events you're interested in, this guide should help you find the challenge mode, arena, or live raid you want to watch. The event lasts from November 17th to the 18th.

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Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.

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I'm not going to pretend that I like the process of gaining reputation in World of Warcraft, because I don't, and I never have. I remember grinding Brood of Nozdormu reputation back in vanilla for a ring that I still have in the bank. I remember gathering Scourgestones so that I could get to exalted Argent Dawn (I also still have my Seal of the Dawn), and murdering bears in Winterspring to get enchants off of other bears. As an insanely old bearded madman it is fair to say that I have dragged my ancient, grumbling carcass from expansion to expansion, finding various ways to get various groups to like me (often via the application of murdering pixels or collecting pixels off of murdered pixels) and I have always come to loathe the groups I've gained rep with along the way.

In fact, I'd go so far to call it an axiom. The more a certain group comes to like me, the more I'd willingly feed them all to a wood chipper if only that were an option. (Yes, Klaxxi, I'm looking right at you here.) That being said, it would be unfair and untrue to pretend that faction-based reputation hasn't undergone several design permutations over the years.

During Burning Crusade, for instance, there were specific dungeons that rewarded reputation with specific factions. I ran Shadow Labyrinth for Lower City reputation until my eyes quit in protest and moved to Paraguay. One of the ways that design began to change was with the Isle of Quel'Danas, which itself built upon the foundation laid by the Ogri'la and Sha'tari Skyguard factions.

These were faction grinds that allowed for the progressive unlocking of quests designed to be repeated daily, and these three faction grinds laid the basis for what we have today in Mists of Pandaria. And I'm starting to wonder if the reason I so dislike the Mists approach to reputation, with its copious daily questing, is not because of anything wrong with that system but rather because I'm incredibly spoiled.

Good news. We found a bug with Stampede being too high only in Arenas. That accounts for why feedback can be so varied. More info later.

- Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) October 31, 2012

Community Manager Zarhym emailed us late last night to inform us that the bug had been isolated and added to the beast mastery hunter-specific section of the blog. The bug is now detailed as follows:

Recently there were some complaints on the official forums (shocking, right?) about how expensive pet battles are. The argument by many is that new players should have easier access to this feature.

In the Pet Battle Q&A from about a week ago, Cory Stockton explained:

Cory Stockton

[ ... ] the 100g training cost is going to make it difficult for a new player to get caught up in Pet Battles super-early, and that's by design, because everyone should learn how to play World of Warcraft first. Having said that, a new alt that can get 100g from another character can start the Pet Battle system at level 5.

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In answer to the more recent forum post, Zarhym reiterated:

Zarhym

The cost is there, in part, because pet battles are intended to be a fun mini-game, particularly for players who've been around a while and want some new ways to spend their time while logged in -- it's not a profession. The system isn't really targeted toward new players while they're focused on leveling and character progression.

This is why there is a low level cap, but a buy-in barrier. It allows players with high-level characters and/or lots of alts easy access to the system, while reducing the risk of it being distracting or confusing for people just learning the core gameplay systems/mechanics.

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More from Zarhym after the break.

If you preordered a digital Mists of Pandaria and were wondering how it will switch over from Cataclysm to the new expansion, Zarhym has the details you thirst for, my friends. I myself got the digital deluxe this year (I love not having to go out and pick up a copy, I'm fearful of this thing you call outside) and so, I was curious. Zarhym, what do I need to know?

Zarhym - Mists of Pandaria Midnight Activation Details

The time is nearly upon us as the mists begin to part and a new age of discovery amidst turmoil begins! For those of you prepared to begin your adventures the moment Mists of Pandaria is launched in your region, we've put together some important details that should get your expedition underway.

As soon as we activate the new expansion content on launch, players who already have a Mists of Pandaria license with the data installed will gain instant access. If you're in the game when the clock strikes midnight, you don't even have to logout!

So, what happens at midnight for those of us with Mists ready to go?

• A yellow System Message will appear in your Chat Log telling you to visit Orgrimmar or Stormwind to start your travels.
• Level-85 characters will receive a new quest, no matter where they are in the world, which will guide them to Varian or Garrosh for further orders. If you're online at midnight you will receive the quest even if your Quest Log is full -- or you can visit Varian or Garrosh to get started on your journey to Pandaria.
• Level-85 players will notice their experience bars automatically change so that experience can once again be earned.
• Players who are at the Character Creation screen at midnight will notice the button to create a pandaren character will be enabled. (Reminder: This also applies to players who don't have a Mists of Pandaria license, as all races are now included with a base copy of World of Warcraft.)
• Players who are at the Character Creation screen at midnight will notice the button to create a monk character will be enabled.

We've been very hard at work on this new technology with the goal of ensuring that players can enjoy a more stable and seamless transition into the next expansion than ever before. Our staff will be monitoring realm stability and gameplay issues around the clock, as we want to provide you with the best experience possible.

We'll see you on Pandaria!

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Sounds like a fairly painless process all around. I suspect I'll find out first hand, as I'll doubtlessly be sitting there logged on waiting for it to happen.

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

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Zarhym posted this video up on Twitter last night, and it's worth sharing across the interwebs -- a great look at (nearly; well, sorta) everything coming in Mists of Pandaria. All the big zones, the dungeons, scenarios, raids, etc... Even some farming is in the video.

Zarhym notes in his tweet below that it was made for internal purposes, and we're glad they're sharing. Of course it's not as polished as something we'd see at BlizzCon or as a trailer, but it's still pretty good.

Have a look! And this just reinforces my happiness over the revamp of Scarlet Monastery.

The devs shared this video a while back w/ all at Blizzard to get us pumped. Loved it so much we had to share w/ you! bit.ly/NDqdR5

- Zarhym (@CM_Zarhym) September 20, 2012

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

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