Posts with tag how-to

So you finally got into the Mists of Pandaria beta, along with all of the Annual Pass holders. You now have a chance to impact the final product, at least reducing the number of bugs it gets released with. But how do you do that, and what can you expect? We've got you covered in our Beta Testing 101 series.

• 5 things you should always report
• How to write a good bug report on the forums
• What to, and what not to, expect from the MoP beta
• Addons and the Mists of Pandaria beta
• Good group etiquette
• How to stream your beta sessions

If you have further questions not answered in the above posts, you can always try The Queue. Or you can let us know in the comments what other beta guides you'd like to see.

See you in the Wandering Isle!

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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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I think we all like to save time in game when doing mundane things so that we can get back to the fun stuff. I also find that World of Warcraft is unable to read my mind and know that I really meant "armor" when I typoed "amror." So out of necessity, I've discovered some tricks to let WoW know what I really mean in a timely fashion.

• Shift-clicking a crafting material in your inventory with the appropriate craft box open will search for patterns that include that mat. I can never remember if my jewelcrafter has already leveled past some gem or other, but with this trick I can easily check. Also, if I pick up some meat and don't know if I have a recipe for it, shift-click searching lets me know. You probably already use this trick for searching in the Auction House, as well.
• Shift-clicking the icon for a letter in your mailbox will put all items from that letter into your inventory. I find this invaluable for sending items to my bank alt. Note: This will delete the letter from your mailbox if there is nothing written in the letter itself.

Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm.

The most popular question we get goes something like this: "X is happening in my guild, but I really like the rest of my guildmates. Should I leave?" We've covered this many times throughout the history of this column, but things changed quite a bit once Guild Rewards were introduced in Cataclysm. Also, we're now going through one of those pre-patch/expansion slumps (though the excitement from BlizzCon may rejuvenate interest for a bit).

So this week is an update of our guild leaving advice -- both when to leave and how.

Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 Gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in Blood Sport.

We'll be taking a detour from our guide on how to make a new character for PvP to discuss something a bit different today. I get questions from time to time about a variety of PvP-related issues. I mean, I'm verbose, but I didn't think I could write over 1,000 words on one question, until Veni recently asked:

C. Christian,

You say that you are at your best when you are being focused in arena, and you barely let your damage slip.

I play a frost mage, and have only enjoyed success up to around 2k arena rating, and one of the areas I feel weak on, is sustaining damage when being focused. I consider myself to be very strong positionally, and mechanically.

Does the ability to sustain damage and remain strong while being focused yourself come from a great knowledge of your oppenents abilities? when you can and cannot get away with that extra cast? or exceptional communication with teammates, knowing when they are going to peel, allowing you to squeeze in an extra nuke.

Regards, a weekly reader

Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 Gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in Blood Sport.

Please check out the last two articles on how to make a new character for PvP, part 1 and part 2. Those articles discuss trying to narrow down which class is right for you before you play it at 85. We all have that friend who levels an alt up to max level expecting to play on it forever and ever, only to abandon it two weeks later. Don't be that guy!

This week, we'll be discussing the most efficient and arguably logical ways of bringing you up to speed on a new character. Keybinds, leveling strategy, and gearing up are important aspects of any class and three of the major traps new altoholics can fall into, especially for PvP.

Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 Gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more in Blood Sport.

Please check out last week's article on starting a new character for PvP; we discussed different ways to analyze your own playstyle and alluded to this week's subject of strengths and shortcomings. I asked four important questions about playstyle and gave my answers to the questions; however, because some seemed to be left wanting, here is a little more information on those questions.

Today we'll be touring the zone of Azshara, newly remade in the image of the Horde. We'll cover the achievements you can get in the zone as well as visit the major and minor landmarks of the area. As usual, I will be answering questions and comments from the chat room, which is after the break.

Update: The stream is now over. You can watch the video replay by clicking on the image above.

Hello, class, and welcome to Archaeology 101. Today, we'll show you how to get started in this profession, as well as where to go, what to do and how to do it. I know I'm not as dreamy as Indiana Jones, so I won't be expecting apples on my desk or eyelid tattoos. But I'll also not be interrupting class to run after Nazis, so I've got that going for me ... which is nice. I will be taking questions and comments from the chat room, however, which is after the break.

Update: The stream is now over. You can watch the video replay by clicking the image above.

I love the updated look of Orgrimmar, but it's hard to get used to the new layout. Blizzard didn't just give the city a more rugged, old-school paint job; almost everything has been moved! Today's live stream guide will be a mapping-out of the new Org, pointing out the important things from how to catch a zeppelin to where to get your hair cut. I'll also be taking questions from the chat room, which is after the break.

Update: The stream is now over, but you can watch the video replay by clicking on the image above.

Choose My Adventure is on a hiatus as we discuss its future and wait for Cataclysm to arrive. In its place today, I am going to be streaming my strategy for beating the Plants vs. Zombies minigame in Hillsbrad Foothills. I will take you through step by step from getting to the quest through to getting your pet. I will also be answering questions as we go, so please join us in the chat after the break.

Update: The stream is now over. You can click on the above screenshot for the video replay. Stay tuned for a full text guide to accompany the video soon.

This World of WarCrafts has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.

With the fabulous legion of blood elves dominating the Horde population, players are powerless to resist the appeal of the Sin'dorei. Even Alliance players find themselves watching their Orbs of the Sin'dorei, waiting impatiently for Fabulous Time to come off cooldown. My gift to you is your very own Orb of the Sin'dorei for personal use: leather blood elf ears. These babies are easily worn with a blonde wig -- for those of you who are not naturally fabulous -- or on a headband.

Follow us after the break for a step-by-step how-to gallery that shows you how to create your own fabulous leather blood elf ears!

I love the picture of Velen shown above for a couple of different reasons. It's a gorgeous piece of artwork, but the bigger reason is the expression on Velen's face -- he looks mildly baffled, like he's shrugging his shoulders and saying "Uhhhh, I don't know!" To me, the thought of an alien over 10,000 years making that noncommittal grunt of vague confusion is just endlessly entertaining. It's OK, Velen. Today we've got a few how-to posts from around the blogosphere. Maybe these will clear up a few things:

• Falling Leaves and Wings fills us in on how to grind Timbermaw reputation.
• Revelart's Druid Reliquary talks about how to design a heroic encounter.
• The Healz Squad has a guide on how to stream music through Ventrilo.
• I Sheep Things discusses how to keep your sanity.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself; email lisa@wow.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

The pre-expansion lull is the perfect time to pour your enthusiasm for the World of Warcraft into more creative outlets. Your stable of characters may be perfectly outfitted to face the coming Cataclysm -- but what about the person behind the keyboard? Is the entrance to your lair clearly marked? Are your earrings up to snuff? Would Thrall approve of the place you lay your head at night? Check out our how-to gallery of do-it-yourself WoW crafts below; just follow the blue text links under each photo to find simple instructions for making your own version of each craft.



World of WarCrafts is always looking for more how-to's on WoW-themed arts and crafts of every stripe. Send photos, descriptions and instructions of your not-for-profit creations to lisa@wow.com.

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World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing lisa@wow.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

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One of my favorite WoW blogs, HoTs and DoTs, has a great post up about Dungeon Groups 101 -- the very basics of running instances. You may think that there's nothing more basic to the game than getting in an instance with four people and taking down a few bosses and trash, but you'd be surprised. Even in a social game like this, one of the first hurdles newbies have to deal with is joining a group to play together. They worry that they'll do things wrong and that other people will make fun of what they're wearing or playing, and that worry keeps them from enjoying my absolute favorite part of the game.

Cassandri's writeup is an excellent read for anyone who feels that way (and feel free to pass on this post to any friends or relatives you know who've been too leery to join an instance yet). She does do some basic knowledge stuff in there, just hints on the classes and what they can all do -- and our WoW Rookie posts will help out with that stuff too -- but more importantly, she says what lots of new players need to hear: that messing up in an instance isn't that big a deal, and that playing together with others (which is the reason why we're all playing an MMO rather than a single player game in the first place) is more than worth getting past any anxiety around joining a group. I've read a lot of comments like the one Cassandri quotes in her post, too, and I'm here to tell you: if you haven't run an instance yet, it's time to stop worrying about what it'll be like and give it a try.

I know -- most of you will hear the word "chatlinks" and think of horrible times in Trade channel where people are spamming the names of abilities and items in different ways, from nonsense to offensive. But chatlinking is a skill that isn't talked about much, and there definitely are place where it's useful (telling guild members about an item that might help them, or linking an enchant to show what mats it needs). So, encouraged by this thread over on Epic Advice, let's run through a few of the ways you can put links to items in the chat channel.