Posts with tag april fools

Tobold reports that in patch 2.1.0 Blizzard is planning on getting rid of gold farmers in just three simple steps. So in patch 2.1.0, you should expect the following:

• The ability to send items, gold, or CoD packages via mail will be removed. You will only be able to send letters via the in-game mail system.
• The ability to freely set prices in the auction house will be removed. Since players could transfer gold by putting up a worthless item for a high-price buyout, the minimum bid and buyout amounts will now be set automatically.
• The ability to transfer gold via the trade window will be removed. However, to allow people to market tradeskills, the trade window will be transformed into a tradeskill window -- allowing the crafter to select a recipe and the buyer to insert materials, for a pre-set fee. When the buyer provides materials and the money, the crafted item winds up directly in the buyer's pack after crafting.

With no ways to transfer gold to potential buyers, the gold farming industry will quickly go out of business. Huzzah to Blizzard for finally solving this problem!

Apparently the fine machinima makers over at Dementia Myndflame have managed to get a sneak preview of the next World of Warcraft expansion. And they've even managed to escape Blizzard HQ with video footage! I could explain the whole thing to you, but, really, that would spoil it -- just watch the video and enjoy!

[Thanks, Clint]

Alert reader Scytherea of Dalaran sends in this breaking news: WoWWiki, a website we all know and love for its comprehensive World of Warcraft information, has transformed into MeoWWiki, a website of comprehensive cat information. Says the website formerly known as WoWWiki:

We are proud to announce that everyone's favourite wiki is now all about the cats of Warcraft!

And if you've ever been through the Blood Elf starting zone, you know there are plenty of varieties of cat in Azeroth.

[Thanks, Scytherea]

The first of April is upon us again which means that for the rest of the day we need to be prepared for any sort of jokes by Blizzard and our fellow players -- and who knows what we can expect. Back in 2005, Blizzard announced the Pandaran Express. And in 2006, they fooled yours truly with a fake Burning Crusade race announcement. (Hey, they announced it on March 31st -- what were we to think?!) And this year? Well, nothing unusual has come from Blizzard yet -- but the day is still young!

So are you prepared to resist the onslaught of April fools' jokes -- or are you planning on playing some jokes of your own?

Blizzard is notorious for playing pranks on its customers on April Fools' Day, including the pandaren as a fifth race in Warcraft III, the 2005 "Burgercraft" fast food chain idea, and the two-headed ogre and wisp racial ideas in WoW. My personal favorite is Caydiem's "Evil Patch Notes 1.11", which is still one of the best pieces of WoW satire out there.

Now, as the end of March quickly approaches, we have to wonder what Blizzard will pull this time. They have a lot of options. How about "The Great Sea" expansion, which would be entirely underwater? Better make friends with some warlocks and shamans quickly. Or an announcement that due to "overly rapid raiding progression," all trash mobs in Karazhan, Serpentshrine Cavern, and Tempest Keep will have their HP and numbers doubled? It would be neat to have some in-game changes, but that's unlikely. I'd love a joke where for one day, you have to CHANGE history in the Caverns of Time and see that the world would actually be a better place if you killed Medivh or Thrall. Then the next day, whoops, back to preserving the timeline!

What do you think Blizzard is going to do for April 1? What sort of pranks and tricks do you think would be neat to see?

Well, it's official - I'm rolling a Gnome druid in 1.11!  Caydiem has been running around the forums posting 1.11 patch notes, and all I can say is that they're utterly hilarious and you really must read them for yourself.  I warn against trying to read them if you happen to be surfing at work right now - it's hard to help laughing. 

[Thanks, Saba]

While I could be wrong, I'm guessing this announcement of the new Alliance race is an early April Fool's joke.  Not just because the idea of a "wisp" race came completely out of the blue, but because their racial abilities seem downright odd.  My personal favorite has to be treeform, which turns the wisp into a tree for 30 seconds. During this time, spirit is increased by 300 but the wisp's chance to dodge or parry axes is reduced by 50%.

Edit: Eyonix claims this is "no joke" but I still think he's joking.