New around here? WoW Rookie has your back! Get all our collected tips, tricks and tactics for new players in the WoW Rookie Guide.

Some of the most interesting, informative posts at WoW.com start out as rollicking debates in Pandora's Box of Geekery and Chaos (aka the WoW.com staff chat room). A screenshot of the transcript on any given day would show a couple of links to pending articles ready for editorial review, a .jpg of something completely off-topic (usually veering toward the truly bizarre), and clips from the current crop of post comments and Twitter stream, all vying for attention amidst a lengthy, heated argument over game lore or some new beta feature -- and (in regards to the latter debate) capped off with an exhortation from Editor-in-Chief Dan O'Halloran (almost certainly in LOLcat form): "Who's writing this up?"

So I wrote this up.

What piece of sheer new-player obliviousness causes WoW.com writers to snap? Find out what sets off the rage (plus links to some handy resources that'll help put out the fires) after the break. Be sure to drop by the comments to share (and solve) your own most dreaded rookie pitfalls!

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Filed under: WoW Rookie

More Operation: Gnomeregan pics? Don't mind if we do. Cirawin of <Upheaval> on Stormrage (US-A) sent us this lovely picture of what the inside of your colon looks like after eating one of those vending machine sandwiches of questionable provenance ... Wait, no? It's actually an aerial view of a bunch of people parachuting down to Gnomeregan? Shoot. I was hoping we'd get to find out what emerges when the sandwich-parasite eggs hatch.

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Filed under: Around Azeroth

Welcome to Scattered Shots, written by Frostheim of Warcraft Hunters Union and the Hunting Party Podcast. Each week, Frostheim uses logic and science (mixed with a few mugs of dwarven stout) to look deep into the hunter class. Got hunter questions? Feel free to email Frostheim.

I'm getting an increasing number of requests to know what kind of gear we should be hoarding for leveling up to 85 in Cataclysm. A lot of hunters are still grinding through ICC and want to know if they should bother with four-piece tier 10, or if making that final push to armor penetration gemming is going to be worthwhile since those ArP gems will change to something else. And what will those gems change to, anyway? What stat are we going to want to stack in Cataclysm?

Well first of all, let me say this: We don't even have a release date for Cataclysm yet. We don't know when it's coming out, but we do know it's not going to be any time real soon. I had originally planned on waiting until Cataclysm was a bit closer before hitting this, but if the amount of emails I'm getting is any indication, people want to know now.

So join me after the cut to learn what you should be paying attention to now and how best to plan for your Cataclysm hunter leveling experience.

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Filed under: Hunter, (Hunter) Scattered Shots

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

World of Warcraft puts players on a relatively fixed path in terms of loyalties. Sure, there are some very deliberate exceptions to this -- notably the Aldor/Scryer rivalry of The Burning Crusade and the Oracles/Frenzyheart feud in Wrath -- but in general, wherever a conflict arises in the game, the decision as to what side you're going to take is made for you. The rogue trainer in Northshire might tease you with the idea that joining the Defias is a potential option for you, but in reality, that can never happen.

WoW is certainly not lacking for "evil" factions one could potentially sympathize with. The aforementioned Defias, whose whole issue stems basically from getting screwed over by Onyxia's meddling, stand out as one such faction. Illidan Stormrage has long sparked controversy as to whether he was really on the side of evil, although that might be a result of his almost hopelessly confused lore. I have read suggestions that Malygos has a large (if misguided) sympathetic following. And even now, I see some already looking to figure out how to take the side of Big Bad Yet to Come, Deathwing himself.

Does this bother you? Do you wish sometimes that you could break the rules and side with a faction or villain you're not supposed to? What hostile faction or enemy character, if any, would you side with, given the opportunity to do so?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Choose the adventures of the WoW.com staff as we level our characters in <It came from the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) the Cataclysm beta.

Note: This stream is full of spoilers. You have been warned.

It's Wednesday night, so it's time for another live episode of Choose My Adventure, Cataclysm beta edition. Tonight I am streaming Robinemia, the Forsaken huntress in Silverpine Forest. As usual, I will be narrating, chatting with everyone in the chat room and taking requests from there. The stream is above and the chat is after the break.

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Filed under: Choose My Adventure

The Guild, the award-winning web series by Felicia Day, is still merrily chugging along with season 4. This season features all kinds of new problems for Codex and her cohorts in the Knights of Good. Season 4 has taken the focus a little further away (but not too far) from the game and moved it to Codex, who is still dealing with the disastrous fallout from the events at the end of season 3.

In the latest episode, "Busted," things are rapidly coming to a head as Codex tries to juggle her real-life, failing, fake relationship with her failing computer and her new job, as well as the return of Zaboo's mother -- which is creating all kinds of chaos. The gaming element is still present, of course, as the Knights of Good struggle to come up with the funds for a new guild hall, and the rakish guild leader of the Axis of Anarchy, Fawkes (played by Wil Wheaton), is stirring up all kinds of trouble in the name of mischief. Or is it in the name of something else? You can check out episode 8 above, and you can find any episodes you've missed and get caught up on The Guild's official series channel.

Looking for more on The Guild? We've previously interviewed Felicia Day at BlizzCon 2009, and Michele Boyd gave us an interview for 15 Minutes of Fame. And of course, the cast of The Guild was also kind enough to stop by our BlizzCon reader meetup and say hello to everyone.

Filed under: News items, Humor

Choose the adventures of the WoW.com staff as we level our characters in <It came from the Blog> on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H).

Prupher, the level 11 tauren druid, would like you to choose a vanity pet to accompany her on your adventures. Please suggest level-appropriate ones in the comments below and we'll have a poll for the favorites next week. The poll for next week's stream is after the break.

Schedule

• Robin Torres as Robinemia, the Forsaken huntress: Wednesday, 11 p.m. EDT. Note: This will be streamed.
• Anne Stickney as Annephora, the level 42 troll warrior, will play on Saturday at 1 a.m. EDT (which is Friday at 11 p.m. Zangarmarsh time).

Adventurers who play when they can

• Fox Van Allen as Foxlight, the level 25 blood elf paladin
• Lisa Poisso as Prupher, the level 11 tauren druid
• Michael Sacco as Shockbroker, the goblin shaman
• Christian Belt, as Selfloathius, the level 16 blood elf warlock
• Robin Torres, as Robinemia, the level 29 Forsaken mage
• Matthew Rossi as Andrenorton, the level 17 troll mage
• Michael Gray as Grayfields, the level 17 tauren hunter
• Gregg Reece as Sandwichdoc, the level 17 troll shaman

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Filed under: It Came from the Blog, Choose My Adventure

If you are one of the many people who were unable to get tickets to BlizzCon or just couldn't afford to go, the World of Warcraft Official Magazine is giving away two tickets, airfare and a hotel stay for the event. Andy Salisbury, an editor at the magazine, had this to say about the contest:

I know as well as anyone that getting a ticket to BlizzCon is difficult. Having sat in the ticket queue with six browsers open across two computers I understand that they can go fast, and despite your best efforts you'll be left peeking in through the Anaheim Convention Center's windows.

However, today those of us with the World of Warcraft Official Magazine are announcing a contest which will allow you to get your very own pair of BlizzCon tickets (with your room and airfare paid for) on us. In order to find out more, either crank up your World of Warcraft launcher, or head on over to our website at www.worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com.

No purchase is necessary to enter, but there are rules and restrictions just like with any contest. Good luck!

Filed under: News items, Contests, BlizzCon

Every week, Gold Capped (from Basil "Euripides" Berntsen) aims to educate players about how to make money on the auction house. For the inside line on crafting for disenchanting, transmutation, cross-faction arbitrage and more, check in every Wednesday. Also, feel free to email Basil any comments, questions or hate mail!

Today's inbox contained something that got me thinking about the definitions of botting and how weird the economy would be without the rules.

Pat writes:

I am looking at basic auction and mass-mail answering mods. I've just had a problem where I've found a good deal (Saronite Ore often drops below the vendor trash price once you forge it into bars), but it requires a titanic load of time to watch things. Time I could be using for other things, like sleeping at 4:00 a.m. when prices are super-low. Plus, it's a nuisance just to sit around and answer the mail to pick up the items. When you buy 500 stacks, even quick operations take a long time. Are there any tips or mods you could spotlight?

I have tips and mods a-plenty, but I do not ever advocate making purchases while you sleep. The written rule is that this is Blizzard's world, and they can and will kick you out for "economic manipulation" without needing to provide any justification. The unwritten rule (discovered empirically through hundreds of auctioneer interactions with Blizzard CS reps, as well as letters sent to some mod authors who are on the line between just enough and too much automation) is that you can not have more than one batch run per hardware event.

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Filed under: Economy, Gold Capped

The Classifieds brings you weekly news from around the WoW community, including the famous Random Acts of Uberness shout-outs to players who makeWoW memorable.

I've seen nearly as many methods for maintaining a raid's morale as I have seen raids. Everyone does something a little different. I've even participated in "strip raiding" before. (I really try not to talk about it, you know? Let's just say that wipes affected more than just one's repair cost.) My point is that every raid tends to have its own version of the old carrot and stick.

Elexiari of <Kingship of the East> from Emerald Dream (US-A) tells us that her raid has a rather unique method of keeping spirits high. She says, "We take turns singing after every boss kill, and sometimes at random times for a morale boost." I agree that it's a pretty cool way to keep the guns blazing. Elexiari does say they're struggling with Sindragosa a bit. Our own Mathew McCurley says this group may need to ...

... change its tune. (He then put on sunglasses and drove into the sunlight.)

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Filed under: The Classifieds