The pet pane has been updated. Selecting the different pets shows you aspects like types and different abilities. Many of your pets won't have a full list of abilities yet. Naturally, your pets will start off at level 1, and as you enter engagements, they'll gain levels and gain access to stronger abilities. It's important to use the creature type that will give you an advantage over your opponent.
Mists of Pandaria can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned, and that anticipation is palpable. Hopefully we'll learn more about Pet Battles soon, especially with all of that hinted Pandaria information coming in the near future. Enterprising players have begun to create their own visions of the future of Pet Battles, including the above video that features an all-too-familiar scenario occurring in an all-too-unnatural place.
Have you seen any other fan mockups of the upcoming Pet Battle system, whether humorous or realistic? Show off your favorites in the comments below.
The WoW Insider Weekly News Update is your source for all the biggest stories from the past week wrapped up in a neat little video package. Mathew McCurley hosts your quick look at this week's biggest news.
The WoW Insider Weekly News Update is your source for all the biggest stories from the past week wrapped up in a neat little video package. Mathew McCurley hosts your quick look at this week's biggest news.
Earlier this morning, I popped on to the PTR to test out patch 4.3 and jump into the new 5-man dungeons coming with the new patch. The first dungeon in the three-part series is End Time, where the players are escorted into the future by Nozdormu to do battle with echoes of the past and to confront Murozond, the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight.
This was my first run-through of the dungeon, and you can watch me as I learn the new fights and explore the new instance. It's a fun learning experience full of mistakes, Dungeon Journal reading, and unmitigated excitement. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Earlier this month, Paragon earned the high honor of world-first heroic Ragnaros kill, downing the Firelord after over 400 attempts on his fight. Heroic mode encounters add something new and difficult to the mix, but it is rare that we see an entirely new phase to an encounter. Paragon's heroic Ragnaros kill video shows the final stage of the heroic fight, in which Ragnaros submerges in his lava pool and emerges at full strength on new legs allowing him movement all over the encounter room.
The final stage of the fight involves Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem, Malfurion Stormrage, and Cenarius assisting players in dealing with the entirely new mechanics this new heroic mode phase presents. If you've been trying Ragnaros or have killed him, you already have experienced the hilarious Living Meteor ability. In that new phase, meteors must be kited over patches of ice on the ground to freeze them, and then players must DPS down meteors to control the number up at any time. At that point, players are also frantically running around extinguishing ground fires and trapping Ragnaros in roots on the ground.
All in all, it looks incredibly fun and challenging, and it's very nice to see Ragnaros putting his new legs to good use kicking the crap out of guilds across the world. My favorite part of the video has to be the end, with the custom death animation for Ragnaros. Watch until the very end -- it's worth it. Congratulations again to DREAM Paragon for their heroic first kill and for this awesome video of the accomplshment.
The Memories of Blizzard contest, which asked you (all of you, really) for videos containing your memories of Blizzard games over the past 20 years, has announced the lucky winners. Who won for their efforts in crafting videos of their memories? Well, I'll tell you. (He's going to tell, he's going to tell.) Stop singing, please.
Blizzard has just announced the Memories of Blizzard video contest as part of the company's 20th anniversary celebration. Fans can capture their favorite Blizzard memories on camera and submit them for a chance to win loads of prizes from Razer, Steelseries, Creative Labs, TavernCraft, DC Direct, PrintWarcraft, and even an all-expenses-paid trip to BlizzCon. Fire up your video cameras and get creating. Check out the official details here. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
Friend of WoW Insider and longtime enhancement shaman guru Rich Maloy runs the raiding guild <Big Crits>, and he documents their comings and goings in video format as a web series. Coming strong off of its sophomore season, Big Crits shows no signs of stopping -- season 3 has just started, offering longer episodes than last season.
Big Crits is unscripted, getting its drama from the natural excitement that facing and downing raid content as a guild provides, so if you're looking for a series based around real raiders (as opposed to the other kind), check out its third season.
The Alliance has vanquished their Horde foes in the first (incredibly unofficial) PvP battle of Cataclysm, the Darkmoon Faire: Your Fortune Awaits community unlockable "contest." As a result of their stunning victory, the Alliance won ... nothing. Don't spend it all in one place, guys!
An hour or two after the Alliance reached 100 percent, the Horde too reached their 100 percent goal. With both factions at 100 percent, the final community video, "Reforging of the World," was unlocked (above). It's a look at some of the zones changed in the shattering, along with some videos of the new post-level-80 zones unlocked in Cataclysm.World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
Last month, we held our annual Brewfest event in <It came from the Blog>. We completed the quests together, drank a lot of virtual brew and did a lot of running around. Unfortunately, we all found out that Robinemia can't hold her booze. How embarrassing.
Though Blizzard has made us split our guild into a few smaller ones, our family of guilds will still be participating in holiday events. Look for the Hallow's End event in the week after BlizzCon and a Pilgrim's Bounty event next month. As usual, you are all welcome to join us, as long as you aren't a funsucker.
The picture above links to the video of the event and below are a few snapshots. Join us next time!
Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in <It came from the Blog>. Guild ranks of Blog Lurker or above can invite, so /whisper Robiness 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.
Spoiler warning: Robinemia's story and video after the break are full of Cataclysm spoilers. You have been warned.
Peenk the gnome priestess is winning the polls as of this writing, but some boring human to see the new starting quests is close behind, if you want to tip the votes toward that instead. Of course, if worgen females are actually playable by Wednesday's stream, I'll drop everything to play a worgen druidess instead. Recaps from last week are after the break, but first, here's the schedule.
Schedule
Adam Holisky as Adammentat, the level 65 tauren druid, will play on Monday at 10 p.m. EDT.
Anne Stickney as Annephora, the level 42 troll warrior, will play on Tuesday at 1 a.m. EDT (which is Monday at 11 p.m. Zangarmarsh time).
Robin Torres will play whomever wins the polls: Wednesday, 1 p.m. EDT. Note: This will be streamed.
Adventurers who play when they can
Fox Van Allen as Foxlight, the level 26 blood elf paladin
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider. Today's post is the third of a three-part series on preparing your computer for Cataclysm. In our first post, we covered upgrading your current system; last week, we discussed how to assemble a hot gaming rig. Today, we'll look at building a high-end system that will last.
Today, I will cover building a high-end system for under $2,000 that will last you many expansions into the future. In this article, I will be listing specific parts as opposed to making general suggestions. Computer geek opinions vary drastically; this is just my two cents.
When you're considering a rig that will last you for years to come, you need to consider key components including the case, the power supply, the motherboard, a processor, heatsinks, hard drives the video card and more.
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to our pages. Today's post is the second of a three-part series on preparing your computer for Cataclysm. Last week, we covered upgrading your current system. Today, we'll look at building a system that will play WoW at max settings without breaking the bank.
I like my cases how I like my women -- lightweight and protective. A computer case has three purposes in life: to house all the components, to protect them and to provide good airflow to them. Owning the most epic set of plate mail ever created does you no good if you cannot move or breathe in it. However, running around in your auction house tux is also a bad idea if you're the main tank. It's important to find a happy middle ground between the two.
When it comes to computer cases, first, pick out something you like. A case should be an expression of its owner! Pick out a few different cases you like and then narrow down the search by the number of fans the case supports. Modern systems will require at least one 120mm front intake fan and one 120mm rear exhaust fan. A top exhaust fan is a nice bonus, since (as everyone knows) heat rises. You should be able to find a decent enough case for around $50 with free shipping.
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com.
The Lich King is dead, your GearScore is 6,000+, and you have enough alts to run your own 25-man ICC. You cannot wait for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion, but along with the new instances, gear and level cap, there are also significantly increased graphics to consider. You may be ready for Cataclysm -- but is your computer?
While we have yet to hear official system requirements from Blizzard, we do know from the Cataclysm FAQ that "there will be incremental tweaks and updates to the graphics engine in this expansion. For example, we've made improvements to the way that water is rendered. We'll announce the exact system requirements closer to the expansion's release."
This is the first part of a three-part series on getting your computer up to speed for Cataclysm. Today, we will cover how to cheaply upgrade your current system. Part 2 will look at how to build a cost-effective, brand new system that will still run WoW at full settings. Finally, part 3 will focus on building a future-proof monster computer capable of soloing the Blood Queen herself!