Posts with tag brewfest

It's another expansion with a new class, making it a perfect time to kick back and reflect on our auspicious naming conventions. After all, certainly the most popular monk names are steeped in lore and dignity, right?

Our good pals over at GuildOx have sorted through huge, mountainous stacks of data to find the most popular monk names. These are the same folks who told us about popular warrior names like Cleaveland and Sunderwear, as well as common paladin names like Layonhooves and Unstopbubble.

So, what are the most popular names for monks? Are they roleplaying names or original creations? Well, let's take a look and unveil the top 10 most popular monk names.

Drop what you're doing, get on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H), and level a Horde character to at least level 10. Tonight's the night It came from the Blog celebrates Brewfest and we want you to join us.

• When: Saturday, Sept. 29 at 10:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. PDT, 8:30 p.m. server time)
• Where: Meet in front of the gates of Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: Any Horde player level 10 and above
• How: Ask any It came from the Blog member for an invite, if you don't already belong to our family of guilds

Beer. We'll be throwing it, drinking it, delivering it, advertising for it, and who knows what else.

So get ready. We'll be expecting you.

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Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.

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Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, Azeroth has acquired another race of happy drunks.

An early warning: Brewfest has definitely been updated for Mists of Pandaria. We don't have solid information on all of the changes yet, but in the hours after the holiday goes live, I'll be around to make sure that everything in the guide is updated and corrected for the new expansion.

This year, Brewfest runs from Friday, Sept. 28 to Sunday, Oct. 14 (check your in-game calendar for your server's exact start and end times: Different time zones mean your Brewfest may end late on Saturday, Oct. 13). Why so late and so long this year? Because Coren Direbrew's been jacked to level 90, and you can't queue for him until level 89 at the earliest. Blizzard's planned around the awkwardness of having Brewfest go live so close to the Mists launch by bumping the holiday back by a week and extending the amount of time you'll have to get everything done if you're starting from scratch.

So don't worry about leveling at a breakneck pace! If you really want to kill Coren this year -- and I'd advise doing it, because he drops ilevel 470 stuff this year -- you've got until mid-October to reach level 89.

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.

Tizzi's in her random holiday gear again and that can only mean one thing: it's time for another It came from the Blog event. We will be celebrating Brewfest together, as we usually do, and all are invited.

• When: Saturday, Sept. 29 at 10:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. PDT, 8:30 p.m. server time)
• Where: Meet in front of the gates of Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: Any Horde player level 10 and above
• How: Ask any It came from the Blog member for an invite, if you don't already belong to our family of guilds

We'll be completing quests, getting achievements, throwing steins, and other virtual beer-related activities.

We hope you'll join us!

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Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.

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It's official: Brewfest this year will be updated for Mists of Pandaria. This means you'll have 10 days from launch to get to level 89 so that you can queue for it, according to CM Nakatoir on the EU forums. You won't be able to access Coren Direbrew until after Mists ships, and you won't be able to fight him until you level to 89. This means that over the entire 15-day run of Brewfest, Coren will only be accessible for 10 days, and you'll only have as many tries at him as you can squeeze in once you hit 89, whenever that is.

You'll still be able to do the other Brewfest quests, because they don't have a level requirement. Man, I'm not going to get a lot of sleep this September and October, it seems. I need me my kodo. Someone stole the kodo from me back when it dropped directly from the boss, and I've never forgiven that person. She knows who she is.

Hope to see at least a few of you alongside me in the land of those desperately leveling to 89. At least the fight won't be undertuned, for once. Coren should be pretty hard for all of us undergeared level 89s smashing our faces against him. I won't pretend I'm not extremely disappointed by this decision. Cutting back on my available chances for that kodo in this manner is not cool by me.

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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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WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

You don't trust this bar. First of all, you had to fight your way through a legion of Dark Iron dwarves and their constructs just to get here. Secondly, it's run by a shady leper gnome who has one grumpy-looking golem for a bouncer. Third, there's an awful lot of laughter, yet no one here looks amused.

You are right to be nervous. This is the Grim Guzzler. This is not a nice place.

Welcome to Blackrock Depths

For someone who began playing WoW post-vanilla, it's hard to explain just how amazing Blackrock Depths was back in early 2005. It's true that people often got lost there, but it was also a fantastic place to simply lose yourself. No area of the game has ever been as convincingly comprehensive or offered more to discover. There always seemed to be another boss, event, or area to explore, another secret to unlock. It's no secret, however, that BRD remains a favorite dungeon of many WoW Insider bloggers.

BRD wasn't just a dungeon. It was a civilization, and you were there to bring it to its knees.

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, some holidays are easier to survive than others.

I've been getting a lot of comments and feedback from players recently over troublesome elder placement during the Lunar Festival (the one next to the Razor Hill flightmaster seems to be a particular issue -- more on this in a future article), and it spurred me to start thinking about problematic holiday achievements as a whole. Thing is, Blizzard's really put a lot of effort into its holidays over the past few years, and most of them are much less time-consuming and frustrating then they used to be.

So how many really troublesome holiday achievements are there these days, anyhow? Most of them didn't figure prominently in our evil achievements series (with one sterling exception), but I'll grant that not all of them are sunshine and roses.

But then of course, there's that one. Yes, that one -- the achievement shat into existence by Satan himself onto a bed of Ed Hardy clothing with bad Japanese pop music playing in the background. You know the one I'm talking about.

Brewfest 2011 has finally come to a close. We all had some laughs, threw a lot of mugs at Dwarves, and spent a little too much time in Blackrock Depths. So many memories, so many alcohol-fueled regrets.

From farming i365 trinkets to hoping against hope for one of the two special holiday mounts, there was certainly a lot to do during this in-game holiday. (Did you know that 99% of the Brewfest mounts go to 1% of the population? #occupythegrimguzzler) But what about you? How did you spend your time during Brewfest? Did you accomplish all your goals? Or are you bitter over the fourth consecutive year of battling Coren Direbrew with nothing to show for it?

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Working on achievements? The Overachiever is here to help! Count on us for advice on Azeroth's holidays and special events, including new achievements, how to get 310% flight speed with achievement mounts, and Cataclysm reputation factions and achievements.

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The trio rode out of Undercity with a vengeance, desperately moving away from fallen Lordaeron in hopes the guards wouldn't notice the kitty druid looked a little funny.

A tiny pony struggled to keep up, its back slightly bent by the massive kegs of beer. It sighed with relief when the men stopped for a rest in Hillsbrad.

"No way of knowing which way they came," Throgg grunted. "I think we catch them from Menethil."

The Gilnean nodded. "I can go into town and ask after her. Since the changes in the Wetlands, Menethil hasn't had nearly the traffic. Someone might have noticed a little girl by herself; they would definitely notice some Grimtotem."

"What will we do in the meantime?" Lolegolas pondered.

"Drink," Throgg replied. He gestured to the pony. "Portable Brewfest. Party on the hoof!"

The druid look bemused. "You keep a keg pony on hand?"

Lolegolas blinked in response. "You mean, you don't?"

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we talk about the concept of mage healing, which in my opinion is like the concept of warlock winning. It simply isn't a phenomena that occurs in nature.

Since those heady, halcyon days of 2004, when mages began to walk to wilds of Azeroth and players were introduced to their glass cannon awesomeness, the topic of mage healing has from time to time emerged, poking its strange and intriguing head up into the mage conversation and usually disappearing just as quickly. The idea has precedence. Healers in Final Fantasy lore are called White Mages. More recently, Dragon Age has its Spirit Mages. Archetypal wizards have had access to magical healing in one form or another throughout fantasy gaming and literature, though rarely is it their strongest focus.

And just lately, the idea has been gaining some unprecedented traction among the WoW mage community. Recently, I've seen the concept presented with consideration and clarity on the official forums, among my own contemporaries in-game, and even right here in the comments section of this very column. It bears thinking about. Though the idea is extremely unlikely to ever be implemented, its increasing popularity and the improving practicality with which its proponents conceptualize it warrant attention. Mage healing, whenever it is brought up, is immediately interesting and always at least a little bit tantalizing, even for its most vehement opponents.

Like me.

Brewfest 2011 is finally here! It's a magical in-game holiday dedicated to the fine art of getting drunk. There are achievements to be had, special holiday mounts, and Coren Direbrew, a holiday boss with a new-for-2011 loot table filled with i365 trinkets. Better yet, it's an excuse to drink pint after pint after pint! So what if it's not noon yet? It's a holiday -- get off my back.

Brewfest 2011 runs from today until Oct. 5, so you have a lot of time to enjoy all the holiday has to offer. (For more on Brewfest, check out Alison's Guide to Brewfest 2011.) What are you planning on getting done in the next two weeks? Are you heading in to Blackrock Depths to take on Direbrew? Or is this just another boring, skippable in-game holiday?

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Working on achievements? The Overachiever is here to help! Count on us for advice on Azeroth's holidays and special events, including new achievements, how to get 310% flight speed with achievement mounts, and Cataclysm reputation factions and achievements.

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Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we get a little drunk, or maybe a lot.

It's that time of year again, folks: time to get smashed with no lasting social repercussions! This year, Brewfest runs from Tuesday, Sept. 20 to Wednesday, Oct. 5 (check your in-game calendar for your server's exact start and end times), and drunken frivolity is the name of the game. 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 (and thus free 310% flight).

As with the 2010 version of this guide, I've organized the holiday's achievements in the rough order I feel they should be completed, as one is dependent on having some help from other folks around your server. As with most holidays, there's high participation at the start, which dwindles as folks get their drops and complete achievements, so I prioritize getting Down With The Dark Iron done as quickly as possible. Once that's out of the way, Brewfest achievements aren't generally difficult, though they'll require a little elbow grease if you're starting from scratch.

I've included all of the achievements attached to the holiday, but you'll only need six for the meta, and they've been marked as such. As always, I'll be around when the holiday goes live to see if there are any unannounced changes. We don't anticipate any major differences to Brewfest this year, but the holiday boss, Coren Direbrew, does have an updated loot table with ilevel 365 drops.

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we still have yet to meet anyone with the Big Love Rocket.

There aren't many mounts available from WoW's annual holidays, but they're a pretty interesting example of how Blizzard's changed content through the years in an attempt to make things -- words fail me -- less annoying.

Three of WoW's annual holidays will cough up rides, and your chances of getting them -- with the benefit of the "goody bag" system implemented in patch 3.3.3 -- are much better than they used to be. Long-time players will remember the hell of farming holiday bosses with a bevy of guild alts in order to maximize the number of boss kills per day for all the mains who wanted special drops. Sometimes you got lucky. Sometimes you were everyone else.

Also read:

• Combining The Ambassador and Mountain O' Mounts
• Mountain O' Mounts in Outland
• Mountain O' Mounts in Northrend
• Mountain O' Mounts in 5-man dungeons
• Mountain O' Mounts in raids
• Mountain O' Mounts from achievements
• Mountain O' Mounts from PVP
• Mountain O' Mounts from professions

On the patch 4.1 PTR, we saw hints of a grand new Hallow's End event would be in the works. The Cataclysm has certainly shaken things up, and the Forsaken now have a near and constant enemy in Greymane's worgen. The patch 4.2 PTR was updated this evening with a whole batch of new loot for both Hallow's End and Brewfest. The new epics (such as The Horseman's Sinister Sabre) are ilevel 365, and you can check them out right here.

Hallow's End Loot:

• Band of Ghoulish Glee
• Seal of the Petrified Pumpkin
• Wicked Witch's Ring
• The Horseman's Signet
• The Horseman's Horrific Helmet
• The Horseman's Sinister Sabre