Posts with tag blizzplanet

All of the Diablo 3 resources a player needs

by Michael Sacco May 15th 2012 at 1:00AM

I've been waiting a looong time for Diablo III -- over a decade, in fact. Blizzard announced the game in 2008. That's four years since the announcement alone! Needless to say, I'm excited.

But I'm also prepared. When I start playing tonight, I'll have a bevy of online resources available to help me out, and I've compiled them for you! Well, for me. But for you, too.

D3DB is the ZAM Network's answer to Wowhead for Diablo III -- an exhaustive database of items, abilities, bad guys, and more.
DiabloFans is the Curse Network's answer to MMO-Champion for Diablo III. Lots of datamining, blue posts, and all that jazz.
The official Diablo III site has the fantastic Game Guide, which has everything from talent calculators to skill videos. Blizzard knocked it out of the park.
BlizzPlanet will keep you abreast of all the latest Blizzard news, going beyond blue posts.
ForceStrategy has you covered for Diablo video, which might become pretty necessary once you roll into higher difficulties!
Our sister site Massively will be covering Diablo III as part of its daily online gaming coverage.

Evil has returned! 1.2 million WoW players are getting Diablo III for free thanks to the Annual Pass. You can get prepared for the evil with WoW Insider's launch coverage. From the lore of Diablo, to the important blue posts and the basics of Diablo gameplay, we'll get you on the inside track for the return of evil.

Filed under: Diablo 3

BlizzPlanet goes to Toy Fair 2012 in New York

by Mathew McCurley Feb 14th 2012 at 8:00PM

Toy Fair 2012 started up on Sunday, Feb. 12, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, where many companies announced awesome new licensed Blizzard products that we're definitely excited about. The event ends tomorrow on Wednesday, Feb. 15. BlizzPlanet has been on the scene to report back on all of the new products coming stamped with the Blizzard seal of approval.

MEGA Bloks showed up with new prototypes for the World of Warcraft MEGA Bloks sets coming soon, with cool catapults and orcish scenary. Giant MEGA Blok Thrall was on hand to pose with fans. Insight Editions showed off its Diablo III: Book of Cain, and USAopoly made one of the biggest announcements with World of Warcraft Monopoly and RISK: StarCraft.

DC Unlimited continued to show off its figures for the World of Warcraft series, many of which were delayed for a long time for unknown reasons. However, these figures are coming, and they look great.

Check out BlizzPlanet for coverage of all of the licensed Blizzard products showing up at the convention.

Filed under: Blizzard, News items

J!NX unveils fall 2010 World of Warcraft t-shirts

by Matthew Rossi Aug 22nd 2010 at 11:00AM

Do you wear clothing? If you do, you can wear clothing that tells everyone who sees you that you're scared of a level 11 gnoll elite. And much more, to be fair, because J!NX has announced the fall 2010 lineup, and BlizzPlanet has the details.

Paladins and death knights finally get their 'Legendary' t-shirt designs, there's a couple of nice hoodie designs (I'm partial to the Horde one myself, looks more natural as a spray style) and much more. Go check it out. Heck, while you're at it, you can always get an old favorite of mine.

Filed under: News items, Arts and Crafts

New Warcraft manga previews available

by Anne Stickney Apr 21st 2010 at 10:00PM

Warcraft: Shadow Wing, Vol. 1: Dragons of Outland, the new Warcraft manga written by Richard A. Knaak and illustrated by Jae-Hwan Kim, now has a preview available online at BlizzPlanet.com. Shadow Wing follows the continuing story of Jorad Mace and the blue dragon Tyrygosa, who parted ways with Kalecgos and Anveena at the end of the Sunwell Trilogy. Jorad and Tyri meet up in Outland -- and hopefully the manga explains what the two have been doing out on Celestial Ridge all this time, and how Tyri's research eventually ties in to Malygos' efforts up in Northrend.

In addition, there is also a preview available for Warcraft: Mage, the second in the series of class-based books that began with Warcraft: Death Knight. Unlike Death Knight, which detailed the untold story of Thassarian, Warcraft: Mage seems to be taking a different route and telling the story of a character as yet unseen in World of Warcraft. Aodhan is a young man who comes from a lineage of paladins and warriors, but finds himself drawn to an entirely different path. While training to become a mage in Dalaran, Aodhan and the rest of the city abruptly find themselves under siege by Malygos and the Blue Dragonflight. Warcraft: Mage is also written by Richard A. Knaak and illustrated by Ryo Kawakami, who has also done work for the Warcraft: Legends series.

While the manga novels still aren't available for pre-order, it looks like both novels will be released on June 1, 2010, from TOKYOPOP, and will be available at bookstores across the country.

Filed under: News items, Comics

Speculating on BlizzCon 2010

by Zach Yonzon Jan 7th 2010 at 2:00PM

It's a new year and that means another opportunity to play oracle and figure out what Blizzard's plans are for 2010. BlizzPlanet has gone ahead and tossed out some of their ideas on what will happen for BlizzCon this year, laying out their predictions and even speculating on the event date. As you might know, there was a bit of confusion stemming from supposed leaked information that pointed to BlizzCon 2010 happening in Las Vegas in July. That didn't go down so well with Blizzard, and the Las Vegas convention center later retracted its statements.

BlizzPlanet points out, quite logically, that Blizzard probably wasn't too thrilled with that. Even if they had planned to do it in Las Vegas, that kind of public relations misstep is a deal breaker. Besides, Eldorian from BlizzPlanet applies simple, sound logic to his sleuthing work and explains that examining the Anaheim Convention Center's Calendar of Events reveals an odd, blank date on the weekend of August 20-21, yet almost all the weekends of the venue are already booked. With Blizzard being the secretive bunch that they are, he figures those blank dates actually correspond with this year's BlizzCon event. It's a pretty cool theory. Read the rest of their predictions as well as a few of our own guesses after the jump.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Blizzard, BlizzCon

Naxxramas Raid Deck and Treasure Packs now available

by Zach Yonzon Dec 28th 2009 at 3:00PM

Following the success of their previous raid sets, Onyxia's Lair, Molten Core, Magtheridon's Lair, and the Black Temple, Upper Deck has released the first Wrath-themed event pack with the Naxxramas Raid Deck and Treasure Pack last December 22. Unlike their previous raid offerings, however, the Naxxramas Treasure Packs are stand-alone products which can be used separately from the raid deck.

According to Dan Bojanowski, Upper Deck's World of Warcraft TCG Senior Brand Manager, the stand-alone approach "was created as a direct result of customer feedback." Aside from containing the standard content such as exclusive foil cards, the set would also include "alternate art heroes featuring heroes from the Drums of War block in Naxxramas-themed gear and settings."

The Raid Deck, which is available for $29.99, contains a 110-card raid deck, 15 oversized boss cards, a 16-card Treasure Pack, and a UDE points card (or Loot card) and rulebook. Treasure Packs retail for $9.99 apiece and contain 15 random foil Treasure Pack cards out of a total of thirty collectible cards, a hero in Naxxramas-themed armor, and a UDE points card or Loot card. Hero cards are drawn from the Drums of War expansion set with variant art, with a total of ten cards with new art to collect. Each Treasure Pack also has a chance to contain a random Loot card from the Fields of Honor expansion set.

Filed under: Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Raiding, WoW TCG

The Queue: Picking favorites

by Alex Ziebart Dec 1st 2009 at 3:30PM

Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Like Adam, I am most pleased that this is a new week. Things are so boring around the WoWiverse lately. Pilgrims Bounty was fun (really fun, I thought) but it was only around for a little while. I need excitement! Adventure! There is a void that needs to be filled!

I guess answering your various questions will fulfill that need for now.

Jason asked...

"Since the Battle.net change has occurred, is it now possible for me to log on to WoW in Europe (like at an Internet café) with my American account? Or are they still separate like they were before?"

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue

Paul Sams owns part of the Steelers

by Mike Schramm Sep 25th 2009 at 4:00PM

Ok, admittedly, this is about as far away from the World of Warcraft as we go on this site, but stick with me here, it'll be worth it for the jokes: Blizzplanet has discovered that Blizzard COO Paul Sams and his family are now major shareholders in the Pittsburgh Steelers, of all things. The connection seems a little hard to find, until you check the rest of the list: Thomas Tull is also a shareholder, and he happens to be CEO of Legendary Pictures, the same company that has made a deal with Sams and Blizzard to make the Warcraft movie. I can't say I know that many CEOs personally, but I have to imagine that the conversation went something like, "Hey, wanna own part of a football team with me?" And who would pass up an opportunity like that?

Fortunately for Sams and his team, they're supposed to do pretty well this year (and of course they're coming off of a Super Bowl win last year), so the investment is likely a good one. But, more importantly, we can now point out that if the Steelers make their way to the conference championships and half of Blizzard travels to Pittsburgh to see the game, we'll know why the patch isn't coming out that week.

Filed under: Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Humor, Battlegrounds

Richard Knaak signing in the Midwest, Blizzard artists' forum at UC Irvine

by Mike Schramm Sep 25th 2009 at 9:00AM

Stuck in the Midwest and didn't have enough money to go see all the fun at BlizzCon 2009 this year? We've got a little (very little) bit of condolence for you: Richard Knaak, author of the Warcraft novels, is doing a signing tour this weekend around the Midwest in Missouri and Kansas. Blizzplanet has all of the dates and places -- he'll be in St. Joseph, MO on Friday (today), and then in Overland Park, KS and Lawrence, KS on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Not quite as fun as seeing Ozzy, but if you're out in the middle of the country, there's your chance at a little facetime with someone helping shape the WoW universe.

Unfortunately, I'm stuck in Chicago, and -- oh wait! I moved to Los Angeles last weekend, which means I'm actually going to get to go to this artists' forum down at UC Irvine in California. Where I am (it's still a little weird to say that). The Laguna Art Museum (which has an ongoing relationship with Blizzard) will be hosting some of Blizzard's and other artists on October 1st, and they'll be talking (we presume) about creating art and other media for games and digital entertainment. Usually this is the part of the post where I'll ask you to send us pictures if you go, but what the heck -- I'm in the neighborhood (not really, but closer than Chicago), so maybe I'll get a chance to go and check it out for myself. See you there?

Filed under: Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Blizzard, News items

Stormrage novel cover art revealed

by Alex Ziebart Aug 12th 2009 at 8:00PM

This isn't the biggest news in the world, but for those of you that really dig World of Warcraft's extended universe, it might be pretty exciting. Medievaldragon over at BlizzPlanet has an incredibly hi-res picture of the artwork that will grace the cover of the upcoming novel Stormrage, courtesy of Pocket Books.

I can't help but notice Malfurion's rather feral appearance there. Despite how much Blizzard loves the whole "falling from grace" thing for their characters, I somewhat doubt they will take that road with Malfurion, even with everything going on in the Emerald Dream.* Is he stalking some prey? Is he running from whatever gave him those scars? Is he pissed that Tyrande went Shadow and made him respec Resto, hence the foliage? Who knows, but I'm curious to find out, even if my least favorite Warcraft novelist is tackling this one. Maybe we'll get an excerpt to read in our swag bags at BlizzCon? We can hope, right?

*If they do, I assume it will be temporary. Chris Metzen seems awfully attached to Malfurion when he talks about him, so I don't expect they'll kill the poor guy off.

Filed under: Druid, Analysis / Opinion, BlizzCon

The Daily Quest: Tanking, esports, and comics

by Alex Ziebart Jul 17th 2009 at 3:00PM

We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere.

If you're into the esports scene, you might be interested to know that Fnatic has just assembled a new team!
Are you a Death Knight? Are you new to tanking? Blood Barrier has 10 tips for you!
Rolling Hots isn't a fan of the Tier 9 Druid armor. Behold, their deconstruction of both the Horde and Alliance sets.
Lorecrafted reviews (and spoils, be warned) the latest issue of the World of Warcraft comic.
BlizzPlanet speculates on the future of the Warcraft universe. How many worlds are out there in the 'verse, anyway?

Click here to submit a link to TDQ

Filed under: The Daily Quest

The Daily Quest: Best in slot

by Adam Holisky Jun 29th 2009 at 9:00PM

We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere.

Wildstorm has hired a new artist to create #20 in the World of Warcraft comic book series. BlizzPlanet has the low down, along with a sample image.
No Stock UI takes a look at the Taeo UI Compilation.
Skeleton Jack is back, and this time covering the 10 Best in Slot Death Knight Bracers.
4Healz shows how you can Use Recount to its Full Potential.
Rolling Hots studies the Resto Druid Gems in Patch 3.2.

Click here to submit a link to TDQ

Filed under: Druid, Add-Ons, Jewelcrafting, Death Knight, Comics, The Daily Quest

The Daily Quest: Purple gems are delicious

by Alex Ziebart Jun 27th 2009 at 5:00PM

We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere.

LostShard is at it again, getting his hands on everything there is to get on the PTR and filming it! Check out his YouTube channel to see most of the new pets and mounts in action.
BlizzPlanet takes a critical look at the World of Warcraft comic's newest artist, Pop Mhan.
It's Flowchart Friday once again over at I Like Bubbles, this week with a user submitted flowchart!
Kaliope is busy as a bee, prospecting Titanium for epic gems on the PTR. Go see the results!

Click here to submit a link to TDQ

Filed under: The Daily Quest

Video of Christie Golden's Long Island reading

by Mike Schramm Jun 16th 2009 at 11:00AM

I wasn't anywhere near Huntington, NY on Saturday, but our friend Medievaldragon from BlizzPlanet was, and he did stop by the Christie Golden reading at the Book Revue bookstore. He even brought videos back with him, and so if you're a Golden fan (she is a New York Times-bestselling author, after all) and want to see her reading from Arthas, there you go.

Apparently the reading was a pretty full house, too, and you can see from the video that there were all kinds of people there. Golden also says early in the video that Arthas is Blizzard's first big bestseller, and she repeats what we've heard before: that Blizzard loves having her write for them and she loves coming up with stories from their settings. The only big bit of news for fans from the reading is that while Blizzard is producing three different Warcraft books (of which Arthas is the first), they won't be a trilogy at all, just stand-alone stories. Big thanks to Medievaldragon once again for stopping by the event and grabbing video for those of us who couldn't go.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Lore

BlizzPlanet is giving away some BlizzCon tix

by Mike Schramm May 20th 2009 at 4:00PM

Our good friends at BlizzPlanet have obtained a ticket to the happiest place on Earth (BlizzCon, of course -- right next to some dump called Disneyland), and they're giving it away over on their site. There are a few hoops to jump through, but then again, how much do you want to go to BlizzCon? They will have you hunting around their archives for a few things, running over to the Mountain Dew website to earn some points and take a screenshot, and even checking out some comic books over at DC (their contest is probably part of the official fansite program, which would explain why you'll be visiting lots of Blizzard's licensing partners).

Do all that stuff by June 9th, and be one of the lucky winners, and you'll pick yourself up one of three shiny tickets to Blizzard's big event in Anaheim. It looks like airfare and hotel might be on your own, but no worries -- you can eBay the goodie bag stuff and use that money to put yourself up in Anaheim for both nights. Everybody wins! Good luck -- if you end up being chosen as the winner, be sure to come say hi to us while you're there.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Contests, BlizzCon

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