Posts with tag email

Email notifications for the Mists of Pandaria beta have started arriving in people's inboxes -- and this means that we'll likely see an upswing in beta invite scams, as well. If you have received an email stating that you've been invited to participate in the Mists beta, be aware of the following:

• Don't click any link in the email. Blizzard will never ask you for your account information via email, nor will it usually provide any kind of link to click on.
• Do head to Battle.net. Type the URL into your browser (don't follow a search or email link) and use the secure login on that page to log into your account.

If you have been invited for the first round of Mists beta, you will see your normal World of Warcraft: Cataclysm account listed under your game accounts -- and underneath that, you will see a listing for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Beta. If you do not see a link to the Mists of Pandaria beta under your game accounts, you are not in this round of testing, and the email you were sent was a fake.

The same applies with beta keys as well. If you receive a notification with a beta key, do not click on any links in the email. Go to your Battle.net account as listed above, head to Manage My Games, choose Add or Upgrade a Game, and manually enter the beta key. If the beta key works, you're in; if it doesn't work, you may have been the recipient of a fake key.

Remember, any time there is a beta or a trial period for a new game, there will usually be an upswing in attempts to nab accounts, too. Keep your account safe -- and if you made it in the beta, have fun!

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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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People are getting actual StarCraft II beta invites, but that doesn't mean that all beta invites (or any other emails that look like they are from Blizzard) are real. If you got an email saying that you have been invited to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, don't click anything in that email. Instead take the following steps:

• Type battle.net into your browser (no typos) and it will go to the secure battle.net site appropriate to your region.
• Enter your account info.
• Under Manage My Games, choose Add or Upgrade a Game.
• Enter the Beta Key provided in the email where it says Enter Game Key.
• Press Add Game.

If you are able to successfully add the game to your library, then you received a real beta invite. If the email tells you to go someplace else for the beta key or the key provided did not work, then you received a phishing email.

Our podcast (which, if you haven't heard, is award-nominated now -- please give us your vote every day until the end of November) returns to the series of tubes this afternoon on Ustream, and the great Michael "Belfaire" Sacco is coming along with it. Turpster, Sacco and I will chat about night elf mohawks, and what's up with the patch 3.3 PTR (including how to get the gear and some axe that people might like) and the next expansion. And as usual we'll chat live with the chat channel, answer your emails, and just generally have a good time talking about the World of Warcraft.

The show kicks off at 3:30pm Eastern/ 8:30pm GMT on our Ustream page, or we've also embedded a feed in the second half of this post, so you can just go there. If you're planning to be out and about, you can also listen to the show on your iPhone or iPod touch (assuming you've got the Internet connection required to do so). And of course even if you can't make it to the live recording, we'll have the show on the feed next Monday as we usually do -- you'll miss the aftershow, but such, as they say, is life. Hopefully we'll see you today.

A few readers have sent us notes asking what happened to their World of Warcraft: The Magazine subscription, and so here's a quick followup to the magazine you might not have heard about since BlizzCon. As far as we know, it's still on track for release in "late 2009" -- the website went live a while back, and they're updating on Twitter. The first issue should almost be done, and it's supposed to have a feature on the WoW TCG, something about Inscription, and memories of the game for the 5th anniversary, as well as lots of other stuff, we're sure.

Additionally, even if you haven't ordered a subscription yet (I haven't, actually, but I meant to), there will be previews of the issue online at some point. Or, on the other hand, if you're tired of waiting, you can contact them with support help and questions via email as well. But as far as we've heard, it's still coming before the end of the year, so keep an eye on your mailbox. It'll be a little different from some of the news you've seen online (it's completely official, which means everything in there is approved by Blizzard before it goes out, not to mention that they'll have some nice access in terms of news about upcoming content), but it definitely seems like it'll be an interesting read.

New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.

It doesn't take keyboard gymnastics to prevent your account from getting hacked. As a new player, you're bound to be concerned – and if you do any digging at all, you're also bound to uncover a tangle of acerbic, rather arcane-sounding comments (many of them on posts right here at WoW Insider) about what operating systems, browsers and browser add-ons are most secure.

You really don't have to change your entire computer system simply to keep your WoW account safe. This week, WoW Rookie rounds up a selection of WoW Insider posts that show you how (and why) to keep your WoW account from being hacked and prevent your computer from spilling its beans to the world at large.

This AP story is making its way around the community -- Jerald Spangleberg's daughter was faced with a growing problem when he passed a way: figuring out how to notify the guy's in-game friends. As online relationships grow more and more prevalent, relatives of those who pass away are often having trouble notifying some of the deceased closest friends. Even Blizzard can't help in this situation, apparently -- they have no policy or rules to deal with players who have died, and no way for relatives to log in to the game without the password to let guilds know what has happened.

You might suggest that these relationships aren't that big a deal, but when you think that guildies are encountered almost nightly, while real-life friends connect only when schedules allow (maybe once or twice a week), you can see why it might be important to let the ingame associates know what has happened. Unfortunately, all of the solutions so far are pretty morbid -- there are sites that will send email for you, or some players have left lists of contacts to reach when they move on.

The importance of online relationships is likely to increase in the future if the past few years are any indication. And given that the average player is getting older even as they're making more and stronger friends online, it might not be long until we've got a much better solution to deal with this problem.

Our good friend Medros is just about to hit episode 100 of his podcast, All Things Azeroth (and come to think of it, our podcast isn't that far off, either), and to celebrate, he's doing one of our favorite things: giving stuff away. He's got two different contests going on. The first one is giving away a Papa Hummel's Pet Biscuit (made with love by Papa Hummel himself), and to win that one, you've got to listen during the 100th show and be in the live chat, which starts at 8pm EST next Monday.

And the second contest starts right now: Medros wants your best WoW screenshot -- drop him an email (the address is on his site) with the screenshot attached, and they're choosing the best one to win a copy of all three soundtracks from the Collector's Editions of the game. Very cool -- this isn't that big soundtrack set, as we understand it. This is the actual soundtrack CDs from each of the Collector's Editions. Nice prize for sure.

You don't have to be listening to the show for that second prize, but if you're around next Monday night, be sure to tune in and give him a listen. Congrats to Medros and All Things Azeroth on the 100th episode of their show -- here's to many more!

It seems like a long time since we've done our live podcast, and that's because it has been -- we talked to Felicia Day last week, but the interview was taped because of the holiday. So tomorrow afternoon, we're happy that we'll be back live over at Ustream to record our weekly podcast. On the docket tomorrow, we've invited Michael Zenke of our sister site Massively (it's like our site, but for all MMOs) -- he was kind enough to invite us on their podcast the other week, so we're returning the favor, and he'll be on to talk about what he thinks of Wrath so far (and we may even get in some MMO comparing, just in time for the gift season). Matthew Rossi will also be on board to talk about that Blacksmithing bug, and we'll have some good tips for reputation gear that all classes should be seeking out ASAP.

The show starts at 3:30pm Eastern (time zone converter) over on our Ustream page, or we've even embedded the feed right after the break, so just come back here and you'll be able to listen, chat, take part in our polls, and join in on all of the fun live. And if you have a question or comment for the show already, just email it to us: theshow@wow.com is the address, and anything you send in, be they questions, comments, or whatever, might just end up on the show tomorrow afternoon.

If you can't make it, the new show will be out in iTunes and here on the site Monday morning, so you won't miss the show itself. But you might miss our aftershow -- we've been hanging out for a few minutes after we turn the recording off, so if you can tune in live, please do so, and you'll have an exclusive chance to talk to us directly after the broadcast. See you then!

We were live on WoW Radio as usual last Saturday with our weekly podcast, and this past week we welcomed Krystalle Voecks of our sister site Massively into the mix, as well as Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell, and of course the Turpster. Krystalle chatted with us about what's planned for the big DragonCon event in Atlanta this weekend (WoW Insider will be there, even though I unfortunately won't be), and we also talked about:

• The pending release of Warhammer Online and what it means for WoW players.
• More beta talk, including those changes to Warriors that made it into the game and BRK's favorite things about all the pets he's been trying out.
• Sylvanas' model change, and whether she's hot or not.
• And of course we answered emails, including your questions about our legendary missing show, why female Draenei broken are the only ones who wear hoods, and what exactly private servers are.

It was a fun show -- we wandered around a bit, but don't we always? You can listen to it right now over on WoW Radio's website, and of course in iTunes as well. If you have questions or comments about something we said, send them along to theshow@wow.com and you might even hear them next time around.

And if you missed the live show this past week, we do this every Saturday afternoon at 3:30 Eastern, so tune in live on WoW Radio's website, and you'll even be able to join us in IRC chat. Enjoy the show this week, and have a good one.

Vrakthris, a Blizzard blue poster over in the Customer Service forums, posted that any people having issues with their Wrath of the Lich King beta key should send them an email to the address contained in the beta email.

Last night we were pursuing a key issue of our own, and all we got was an automated response from the email address pointed to in the Beta invitation. Tonight however, that no longer happens – so it appears as if this email address is being staffed by a live person.

This is great news for those that have issues, including any that might revolve around a WWI '08 EU key not working with a US account. Hopefully Blizzard will respond promptly to all of us that have been emailing this address. If Blizzard or any of the blues release any more statements you'll see them here at WoW Insider.

While we've had some fake Wrath of the Lich King login screens before, this one is the real deal. It's being reported on by numerous sites, and several people have confirmed its authenticity. The image itself is of a ice fortress. You can see the version, 3.0.1, along with the latest build number and date: July 15, 2008.

Many people will notice that you have to sign in via an email address. This is part of a new system that Blizzard has put into place for the Wrath beta. Essentially, you'll have to create a new "Blizzard Account" to log into the beta. This account is separate from your retail WoW account, however you still have to have a retail WoW account and a beta key to get one. There's not a ton of information out on the new account system they are using for this, but when we have more information on it we'll post it.

For now, enjoy your new login screen!

If you're like me, you're constantly refreshing your email box right now waiting for a beta invite. Also if you're like me, you'll probably get bored eventually and go find some Horde to kill in a Batteground. After all, taking out your aggression on Orcs is what it's all about. But after that PvP session, you'll probably go right back to checking.

There's a few key things you can do to constantly check your email and make sure you know when the beta key comes. Let's take a look at them.

Press F5

That's the magic refresh key. It works on all browsers, and is a throwback to the old days of computers.

Press Control-R or Apple-R

Does the same thing as F5.

Auto check your email every minute

Most email programs allow you to "grab" email off the server as often as every minute. This is how I have my clients setup, and it will more or less let you know as soon as you get an email.

Edit: This beta e-mail has been confirmed fake by Nethaera. Sorry for the scare, ladies and gentlemen. You can disregard the rest of this post. A few trusted Alpha testers are just having fun, apparently. That'll teach us! -Alex

According to Deathknight.info, European beta invitations are being sent out at this very moment. This is great news for all of our friends overseas! Please be sure to check your email to see if you've received one.

The above photo is from Deathknight.info and is an example of an email they have obtained. It would stand that U.S. invites are soon to follow, and that will mean those lucky enough will get to explore new areas of Northrend very soon.

Click the image for a high res view.

More Wrath of the Lich King information as the night goes on...

Edit: I want to share an interesting fact a friend of mine found out during the wait for the U.S. Beta Opt-In to start a few weeks ago. He noticed that the Beta Opt-In accessibility started at 12:00 p.m. (noon) France time for the European servers. He then predicted that they would start in the U.S. at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time. He was correct. European beta invites appear to have started going out at 6:00 a.m. France time, and we can venture a guess as to when U.S. invites may begin: 6:00 a.m. Pacific time. Again, this is only a guess, but a good one.

Right now there is no WotLK beta, there is no chance you'll get in the alpha if you're not already in it, and there is no email that's going to be coming to your inbox anytime soon about it. But when it comes, it's going to make you one happy gamer. This is a very important thing for people to understand, especially with the flood of fake emails lately.

Blizzard will make an announcement on their forums and/or their homepage letting all of us know that WotLK beta invites are going out. The email that you'll get if you're lucky enough to get invited will be sent from an @blizzard.com address, will come through the blizzard.com servers (you can check the extended email headers in your email program to see this). The email will have tons of identifiable information in it that only points to blizzard.com or worldofwarcraft.com and nowhere else.

For a reference, let's that a look at what the Burning Crusade beta email looked like that I got back in 2006