Posts with tag columnists

Hello. Your friendly neighborhood editor-in-chief here to fill you in on what is happening on various parts of WoW Insider. We get a lot of emails on our tip line, and often they are asking the same question: Where's Mankrik's wife? No, I kid. Kind of. Instead of spam answering those emails every day or cluttering up The Queue, I thought I'd clear up a few things by using the magic of posting on the site.

Contests

Notification emails to the 12 Days of Winter Veil winners are still going out, and if we don't hear back, we have to pick new ones and start the process over again. With over 100 prizes given away last month, it's taking some time. We will be posting the names of the winners when all those winners have been confirmed.

Commenting and profile system

We have have received quite a few complaints about readers not being able to comment or change their profile password, etc. Unfortunately, the current commenting system has some well-known, long-standing bugs. The good news is that we will be migrating to an entirely new commenting system soon and that will solve many of those problems. Your current profile information will be transferred over into the new system. We will post new information when we get closer to that transition.

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.

Before I get to your questions today, I have a question for all of you. What kind of dirty monster do you need to be to harvest the Little Sisters in Bioshock? My word, they're adorable. I mean, I have no problem playing jerky characters in games, but I physically could not hit the K key while looking at one of those poor little things. You people running around murdering them willy nilly should be ashamed of yourselves. You know who you are. I'm watching you.

And now we actually discuss the game this blog is named for. Fancy that.

Radioted asked...

"Is there any word on who does the voice for Krick? Every time I run PoS, I can't help but hear Wallace Shawn in the role."

Here's your weekly look at the most popular columns and weekly features from the last seven days of WoW Insider. Miss these the first time around? Don't miss them again.

	Know Your Lore: Grim Batol KYL takes a look at the Dwarven city in the wetlands, and the moral of the story is that the Bronzebeards are awesome! Wait, there's probably more.
	Insider Trader: Rounding up patch 2.4 professions changes, part 2 More about what crafters need to know for the next patch.
	Encrypted Text: The Lazy Alt's ten must-do Outland quests Ten quests that you can't miss, even after you've rolled all the way to 70.
	Totem Talk: Use the totems wisely Matthew Rossi lays down all the facts on those wooden sticks in the ground and what they can do for you, even while soloing a Shaman.

Another set of great weekly content after the jump.

We have moved our weekly features wrapup to Tuesday, since it seemed like a good idea at the time. So here's all of the weekly features from the past week (and a few days) here on WoW Insider, for your reading enjoyment.

Sunday Morning Funnies: Rogue stables
Laugh away with our weekly wrapup of WoW-related comics.

Spiritual Guidance: Holyform and lesser holy talents
Don't get your hopes up-- Holyform might not be yours to use quite yet.

All the World's a Stage: The passing of the beast
Playing a role in the Lunar Festival.

Officers' Quarters: Kicking and screaming
As in, first you do the /gkicking, and then comes the screaming.

Lots more right after the link below.

Here's our weekly content from the past seven days, all wrapped up in one big post. It's a week's worth of reading, in one list full of links.

Sunday Morning Funnies: Observations
Amanda's weekly roundup of WoW funnies will make you laugh any time.

Two Bosses Enter: Sapphiron vs. Hakkar
It's Ice Dragon vs. Blood God.

All the World's a Stage: Class is in session
David talks about how the second half of the classes can use their powers to roleplay.

Spiritual Guidance: Level 1 to 5 on your new Priest
Hint: put that mace to good use and get ready to learn how to use Smite.

Officers' Quarters: A moral dilemma
Account trading in the guild-- what do you think?

WoW Insider Show Episode 23: Mojo and other popular loot
Our podcast chats about the frog, the fans and the funny.

The Art of War(craft): Motion theory, part 1
How to move around (it's harder than it sounds).

The Light and How to Swing It: Levels 41-50
Taking a Paladin to the big five-oh.

Raid Rx: I feel the need... the need for speed, part 1
Love that Shaman screenshot! Oh, and the column, about casting time, is pretty good, too.

About the Bloggers: Elizabeth Harper
Our Senior Editor shows her hand.

Build Shop: Paladin 40/0/21
Rut roh, Chris did a shockadin. Get out the popcorn.

Guildwatch: Fish food
As in, what you do with Vashj after taking all her loot.

Blood Pact: The real Lunar Festival
Believe it or not, Omen is just something Blizzard added on their own.

Well Fed Buff: Dragonbreath Chili
Food so good it'll make you belch flames.

Totem Talk: Let's raid
Take those totems raiding!

Tales from the Lion's Pride Inn: Skirmish
Things get hacky and slashy in Chris' ongoing graphic novel.

World of WarCrafts: Buzzard Bite Wraps
I don't know how buzzard would actually taste, but these sound pretty darn good.

Blood Sport: Predictions for the year of the Rat
(That's this one.)

Ready Check: Thou hath no raid spot
Yup, being left out of the raid is sure to ruin your day. Marcie tells you how to avoid it.

Insider Trader: In stitches over BoP tailoring
Some of those clothes are made to fit.

Here is all of our weekly content from the past seven days, all wrapped up in one big post. Enjoy!

Two Bosses Enter: Gruul vs. C'thun
Will they see eye to eye? Ha!

Sunday Morning Funnies: There's a hierarchy at work
Comics about World of Warcraft are doubly awesome.

All the World's a Stage: Roleplaying with class
Using class abilities to show your character.

Officers' Quarters: A demanding role
How to lead a roleplaying guild.

WoW Insider Show Episode 22: Fake patch notes, rumored loot, and wild speculation
Dan, Matt, and Turpster go all podcasty on the big stories of last week.

The Art of War(craft): A Resilient Argument Part II
More on resilience in PvP.

Raid Rx: I can haz Al'ar-- now wut?
Tips for healing the big bird of Tempest Keep.

Shifting Pespectives: Hit Rating, Expertise, and Defense Skill for PvE
BBB has three magic numbers for you.

Build Shop: Hunter 0/45/16
A Marksman build for hunters.

15 Minutes of Fame: Confessions of a teenage warlock
That Warlock that just DoT-ted you into oblivion? He's 15.

About the Bloggers: Eliah Hecht
Readers, Eliah. Eliah, readers.

The Light and How to Swing it: The Paladin's guide to engineering
My Paladin was an engineer-- right up until I deleted her at level 20.

Guildwatch: Down for the count
The week in drama, downed, and recruiting. Tiller is good, but let's be serious: he's still not Malcin.

Mechanical mechanics: The models, makes, and manufacturing of mechanized merchants and robotic repairmen
Hoof and Horn R&D attacks automaton augmentation and assembly. See, I can do it too!

Tales from the Lion's Pride Inn: The first step
Anywhere is possible?

Encrypted Text: Levels 21-40
Sneaking through the midgame with the Rogue leveling guide.

World of Warcrafts: Flash Wand
You know, for kids! +10 style points to anyone who names the flick.

Well Fed Buff: Tauren toenails
Let's hope these taste a lot better than the real thing-- that Barrens dust is not kind, let me tell you.

Totem Talk: Pinch-hitting
Because somethings you want a resto, but all you've got is an elemental.

Blood Sport: Warrior-Druid overpowered?
Is this team rocking 2v2 for all the wrong reasons?

Ready Check: Progression
Or, how to kill a guild with just two bosses.

The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Rage and how to use it
Hint: it's not for knitting tea cozies.

Insider Trader: Crafting a future for professions
What's next for crafters?

Phat Loot Phriday: Crystal Charge
A piece of hefty loot (that's right, not phat) for non-Engineers.

Back in the Day: A week of Ebay, Karazhan, and Class QQ
Dan inspects what happened in a year ago in Warcraft: players whined. Hmm sound familiar much?

Every week, our weekly columnists post tons of commentary and analysis, just for you. And every weekend, we wrap up all that weekly content in one big post, so you can catch anything you may have missed. Enjoy!

Two Bosses Enter: Twin Emperors vs. Chromaggus
Two (actually three) old school bosses face down in our ongoing deathmatch series.

All the World's a Stage: If looks could kill
You can't judge a look by its character... or can you?

Spiritual Guidance: So, you want to play a Priest...
Good. Roll up so I can get some heals!

Officers' Quarters: The wrong stuff
After telling us who to choose for an officer last week, Scott now lays out who not to choose.

WoW Insider Show Episode 20: Droods and drama
Crank dat druid boy on our weekly podcast.

Shifting Perspectives: Leveling and talent specs
Feral building for leveling druids.

Raid Rx: Overhealing FTW?
Why overhealing is actually a good thing.

The Light and How to Swing It: Blacksmithing for the rest of us
When you want the armor, but don't want to do the crafting.

Build Shop: Rogue 19/42/0
A little stabby stabby, a little dodgy dodgy.

Guildwatch: First come, first served
You get to the gates, you get to open them.

Tales from the Lion's Pride Inn: One last sunset
Oh it's on now.

Encrypted Text: Examining your spec
If you're not speccing Subtlety, you're not really a rogue.

World of WarCrafts: Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops
Man, good luck getting fresh Chimaerok at this time of year.

Gamers on the Street: Today's small raider
So this column is all about gnome raiders, right? What? It's about raiders who raid with small guilds? Oh. Nevermind.

Know Your Lore: Anduin Lothar
KYL returns with an Alliance hero. New (old) battlecry: "For Lothar!"

Brrzzap: The requirements, regulations, and rigamarole of ray guns
'Hoof looks at the various ways to ray gun your enemies (and sometimes yourself).

Totem Talk: Beyond the Dark Portal
What happens to your shaman in Outland, says in... I can't do it. That joke is so tired.

Insider Trader: Of fishscales, glowcaps, and other crafting minutiae
A few random bits from our crafting column.

The Care and Feeding of Warriors: What comes next
Where are warriors going? Besides, you know, to the arenas to win.

Phat Loot Phriday: Cataclysm's Edge
Because sometimes you just need a big, badass sword.

It's Sunday and that means round up time for World of Warcraft posts on our sister site Massively that may be of interest to you loyal WoW readers. Let's dive right in:

AFK Gamer reviews post-2.3 Alterac Valley
The popular gaming blog takes a look at the latest changes to AV.

The Digital Continuum: Activision Blizzard vs Electronic Arts, battle of the MMO titans
Kyle Horner looks at the merger and explores how the industry is shaping up to be a battle between the two giants.

Behind the Curtain: Moral & Ethical choices
Carl Whithers steers his weekly column into the murky waters of the consequences of our online actions.

Building a better MMOusetrap: Why we fight!
Dave Moss tells us why he indulges in a battle-driven game.

MMO subscriptions report -- who is beating whom?
The latest guesses are out on MMO subscription numbers. We all know WoW is the king, but who's nipping at his heels?

Gamer Interrupted: Playing together with different playstyles
Picking up on her topic from last week, Robin Torres continues to explore gaming as a couple, this time dealing with in-game goals that are at odds with each other.

Herndandez vs IGE - IGE withdraws motion to stay/dismiss
The latest in the lawsuit against gold sellers.

Scott Jennings on how to make PvP not suck
The Broken Toys blogger gives his 13 rules of PvP and why current MMOs aren't living up to them.

MMOGology: World of why bother
Marc Knottke talks about sharding your purples for greens.

Once again, it's time for the weekly round up of WoW-related stories posted in the last seven days on our sister site Massively. If you can't wait for the round up post, you can always check out all posts tagged WoW on the site or subscribe to the RSS feed.

On with the show!

First official confirmation of new Blizzard MMO
CM Drysc confirmed that Blizzard is working on a "Next Gen MMO", but which one? Is "World of Starcraft" on the horizon?

Cinemassively: Machiniplex to hold Q & A for "Among Fables and Men"
Warcraft Movies' 1st place Drama winner in their recent Fabled Few contest was the awesome Among Fables and Men. Machiniplex is holding an online screening with remastered audio and an interview with the director over Skype.

The most influential MMOG moments
WoW's Toyota commercial made the list for showing that MMO's have gone mainstream. Check out the other watershed moments, but I don't know if any of them equal four wheels of FURY!!

Analyst talks World of Warcraft's churn rate
A Gamasutra article analyzes WoW's revenue gain in the last year as well as its ability to retain customers.

As the Worlds Turn: Neverending Stories
Adam Schumacher continues to explore the intersection of lore and MMOs, this time looking at how Warcraft's backstory affects gameplay.

Behind the Curtain: Making your own lore with Fan Fiction
Craig Whithers continues his weekly column, this time talking about using Fan Fiction to engage in roleplaying of the WoW universe (and others.)

WoW 3v3 tournament ended, videos from the finals
Team Pandemic won the $45,000 grandprize in the 3v3 tournament at Dreamhack in Sweden. Check out the details.

Building a Better MMOusetrap: Buildings, barrens and beyond (Part 4)
Dave Moss completes his 4 part series on MMO environments. Having covered architecture, cities and landscapes, he jumps into dungeons in his latest column.

Gamer Interrupted: Duos are good for relationships
Robin Torres talks about those who play together, stay together. But it isn't as easy as it looks.

Social currency and giving in MMOs
Is giving a gift in-game the same as giving it to a person in RL?

Last week there were some complaints about "why are there WoW stories on that other site and not here"? The biggest reason is that many stories posted on Massively are WoW-related but not necessarily about WoW. Being the most popular Western MMORPG on the market, it is often used as an example when talking about player behavior or game mechanics.

The other reason is that we don't tell our writers what to write. If a Massively writer wants to cover a Warcraft topic, they are free to do so. Also, you get this weekly recap right here to make sure you don't miss a thing.

And if you're really concerned about missing out on any WoW news, you can always set your browser to show you only World of Warcraft news on Massively.

Now, on to the good stuff:

Blizzard was only expecting 1 million WoW subscribers
Spotlight on an interview with former Blizzard producer reveals early plans of WoW's infancy.

Behind the Curtain: Evolving the World of Warcraft
Carl Whithers proposes a way to make the lore of WoW more meaningful.

Bioware likes WoW, but thinks it can do better
WoW did a lot of things right, but the time sink to progress in the game is still very large. Bioware thinks they can fix that.

Here at WoW Insider we cover the many aspects of World of Warcraft. Over at our sister site, Massively, we give the same in-depth coverage to all MMOs. And many of those stories cover Warcraft in one way or another.

Here is a compilation of posts from Massively this past week that will feed your need for all things WoW.

Playing by different rules: should mobs be subject to interrupts?
Chris Chester explores the reasoning behind different combat rules between players and mobs.

WoW tournament resurrected at Dreamhack, $75,000 in prizes
The WSVG may be dead, but the Dreamhack convention in Sweden is hosting a 3v3 tournament and you won't believe the 1st place cash prize amount.

Guildcafe merges with Uberguilds
Guild site hosting meets community building tools. Is it any better than Guildportal?

WoW is the "train driving PC gaming," says John Carmack
The creator of Quake and Doom talks about the enormous influence of MMOs in bringing new gamers to the PC gaming. But will the PC retain its dominant status for MMOs in development?

This just in: games are TiVo-licious
Discovery Channel is running a retrospective on video games and an upcoming episode is dedicated to MMOs, including our beloved WoW.

Building a better MMOusetrap: Buildings, barrens and beyond (Part 2)
Dave Moss continues his weekly feature exploring MMO mechanics. This week, he continues with a column about the function and design opportunities of in-game cities.

Industry panel says MMOs are just getting started
A Harvard Business School panel discussion on MMOs included Blizzard's team leader Mark Kern. See what he has to say about the future of online gaming.

Gamer Interrupted: How to turn your wife into a gamer
Our very own Robin Torres has moved her Azeroth Interrupted weekly column to Massively as Gamer Interrupted. By popular demand she gives you tips and strategies to entice your significant other to join you in your passion for gaming.

How WoW works
Amanda Rivera points us to a site that covers the basics of the game. Though many of us are veterans of WoW, there are sure to be a few tidbits in there that you never knew.

The Escapist explains how your guild can avoid a "failure cascade"
One small problem in your guild can leave it decimated in a short amount of time if you don't address it immediately. The Escapist delves into the problem and offers solutions.

Darkmoon Faire dazzles London
The World of Warcraft trading card game tournament comes to London and top players compete against Blizzard Community Managers. Who won and who took a dirt nap?

The coming of mudflation
Mike Schramm explores why mudflation may not be a bad thing. Other than being able to 5-man Onyxia.

MMOGology: Roleplaying is dead
Marc Nottke continues his weekly column, this time exploring how MMO's do away with the RP aspect that made its Pen and Paper predecessors so entertaining.

Seagate shuts the gate
After certain Seagate hard drives were discovered to have an account stealing program inserted at the manufacturer, the company remained tight lipped about the details. Until now.

Behind the Curtain: Sex sells
Should in-game brothels be allowed? Columnist Craig Whithers explores the issues surrounding the controversial idea.

Skill leveling: manual or automatic?
Akela Talamasca explores the pros and cons of leveling skills, including WoW's push button system.

The9 buys shares in ... itself
The Chinese carrier of WoW had a surprising stock plummet and used the opportunity to buy back its own shares. Smart move or bad business?

It is Saturday, and that means that not only did I get to sleep in until noon, but also that it's time once again to spotlight for you all the great work our weekly columnists are doing here on WoW Insider. Here's all of our weekly features from the past seven days, wrapped up like a California roll in one big post.

Arcane Brilliance: Gears of war, part 2
What else to wear while heading into battle.

All the World's a Stage: Drawing the line on ERP
David tackles the tough subject of ERP head on.

Azeroth Interrupted: Reader mail-- overcoming fears of raiding
Not sure you should be raiding? Nonsense! It's fun and good for you. Robin tells you how to get started. Also, a program note: this is her last column for Azeroth Interrupted. It's moving to Massively, where it will be known as Gamer Interrupted. So check Robin's great work out there from now on.

Officers' Quarters: Sweet victory
You've followed all of Scott's officer advice, and now you've succeeded as a guild? Scott's got you covered there, too.

Reader WoWspace of the Week: Chedder
I keep meaning to send my WoWspace in, as, I have to say, I think I have a pretty nice setup. But Chedder's desk is definitely nicer than mine.

/silly: Where everybody knows your name
"So a Draenei and a Dwarf walk into a bar..."

Shifting Perspectives: That special versatility, part 2 - Synergy in action
Because being a Druid in just one form isn't nearly as fun as being a Druid in all forms.

Build Shop: Rogue 16/3/42
Chris lays out a great Rogue Subtlety build. Because if you're not sneaking around and backstabbing, you're not really a Rogue.

Guildwatch: A thing of beauty
Sometimes the drama bombers just go above and beyond the call of duty.

Totem Talk: The endangered Shaman
Please, help the rare Shaman keep from becoming extinct. Invite them into your raids, and give them tons of epix. Kthx bye.

Insider Trader: Death of a Salesman
Are dailies killing crafting?

WoW, Casually: Of Arathi Basin, the Faire, and Patch 2.3
Only got an hour to play WoW? Robin tells you what to do (and this column isn't going anywhere).

The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Our name is legion, for we are many
Warriors are at the top of the heap right now, in numbers and stature.

Ask WoW Insider: Does anybody really play just one class?
Don't you think it's weird that everyone has a Hunter alt, but almost everyone also calls Hunters noobs?

Phat Loot Phriday: Amani Divining Staff
A brand new staff from Zul'Aman for you to drool over.

Every Saturday, we round up all of our great weekly features from the past week into one convenient post full of great reading. Miss one of your favorite columns during the week? Find it right here, along with everything else our talented columnists have written for you in the past seven days.

Arcane Brilliance: Should I roll a Mage?
Phenomenal cosmic power! Teeny weeny hit points.

Encrypted Text: Ten great Rogue trinkets
The hard part? Choosing only two.

Azeroth Interrupted: Using WoW to teach children values
Robin tells you how to teach your kids with WoW. And check out that cute pic of her toddler!

All the World's a Stage: And your life is a mine rich in gems
How to bring your life into your character's backstory.

Officers' Quarters: Dark pacts, part 2
Second in a series on guild alliances.

Episode 6 of the WoW Insider Show available for download
Elizabeth, Amanda, and the T chat on your favorite internet radio station.

Shifting Perspectives: The same old animal posterior
Druids in all of their various (real or otherwise) forms.

Guildwatch: Salute to guildleaders
Yes, even the petty, bank-ninjaing bastards.

BigRedKitty: Smacking the Hit Cap
Like most of BRK's great columns, it sounds more dirty than it really is.

Learn2raid: Raid speak
Exactly what do you mean by "minus 50 DKP"?

Totem Talk: Two fists of fury (or axes or maces)
Say hello to my little friends, Law and Justice.

The Care and Feeding of Warriors: What the heck just happened?
Patch 2.3, that's what. Matt Rossi breaks down the bombshells in the next patch.

Insider Trader: Professions 2.3 -- The way I are
Lisa breaks down what you need to know about your crafting professions when 2.3 hits.

Ask WoW Insider: What's your kill order?
Skull first. Always, always, always skull first.

Phat Loot Phriday: X'caliboar
See, it drops from a boar and it's a big sword and Excalibur and it's a pun and it's funny and then you laugh. The end.