WoW.com http://www.wow.com WoW.com http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.wow.com/media/feedlogo.gif WoW.com http://www.wow.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2010 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Crimson and Azure Deathchargers: where do they come from?]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/crimson-and-azure-deathchargers-where-do-they-come-from/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/crimson-and-azure-deathchargers-where-do-they-come-from/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/crimson-and-azure-deathchargers-where-do-they-come-from/#comments Boubouille over at MMO-Champion uncovered two new recolors of the stock deathcharger mount in Patch 3.3.2; one red one, one blue one. There's a summon spell for one of them, the Crimson Deathcharger, corresponding to the red recolored Crimson Deathcharger creature, and while there isn't a spell for the blue one, the files also contain an Azure Deathcharger creature.

There's little information on where these come from, and judging from the state of the various spells involved, it's likely that they're simply not fully implemented yet. We can speculate, though! BB notes that Blizzard has said that there'll be at least one more patch before 4.0, and these could be a faction- or quest-based reward involving Icecrown or the Ashen Verdict.

I got a little antsy about making the iconic death knight amount available to the general public, if that's even happening, but then my brain turned on and I remembered that the forsaken, human, dwarf, tauren, night elf, blood elf, and troll mounts have been available to other races in one way for a very long time. Of course, no other class can get the paladin charger model, for example, so maybe I'm approaching it all wrong.

Either way. We'll likely see these bony ponies pop up again at a later date, and we'll keep you posted.

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Crimson and Azure Deathchargers: where do they come from? originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ashen-verdictazure-deathchargercrimson-deathchargerdeath-knightdeathchargerdeathcharger-mountdkicecrownicecrown-citadelmountmounts (Michael Sacco) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Battle.net preview: Real ID]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/battle-net-preview-real-id/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/battle-net-preview-real-id/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/battle-net-preview-real-id/#comments There is a Battle.net preview up at the official StarCraft II site. While much of it talks of the integration of the StarCraft with the new Battle.net, including new mod functionality and better matchmaking, it also discusses something that affects WoW players: Real ID.

Blizzard mentioned this new cross-game social aspect of Bnet at last year's BlizzCon. Real ID is an optional system for chatting with and keeping track of "real life" friends in any Battle.net game. You invite friends with your Real ID. If they accept, you can find out what game they are playing and on what realm and character. You can also chat across realms or games. You won't have to remember the usernames of your Real ID friends and family, because you will see their real names on the interface. And you will also be able to broadcast messages to all on your Real ID friends list, rather than just chatting one at a time.

I cannot wait for this to be implemented for WoW accounts. I would love to be able to chat with my friends who are scattered across many realms and who defect to play StarCraft. I really think this is great for more hardcore players (I'll be on my Alliance alt until you Hordies can get your act together for the raid) or very casual, chatty altoholics.

Will you use the Real ID system?

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Battle.net preview: Real ID originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> battle-netbattlenetpreviewreal-idrealidstarcraftstarcraft-2starcraft-ii (Robin Torres) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Reader UI of the Week: Your Addon/UI Columnist]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/reader-ui-of-the-week-your-addon-ui-columnist/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/reader-ui-of-the-week-your-addon-ui-columnist/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/reader-ui-of-the-week-your-addon-ui-columnist/#comments

Each week WoW.com will bring you a fresh look at reader submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send your screenshots, along with info on what mods you're using, to readerui@wow.com.

As the new addon and user interface columnist, I've been given the task of not only finding and informing the WoW.com community about new, useful and awesome addons, but also the unique job of taking a look at the community's user interfaces and highlighting some of the awesome creativity and innovations that the community can share. I want this column to be very reader oriented - let's go on this amazing addon journey together!

Continue reading Reader UI of the Week: Your Addon/UI Columnist

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Reader UI of the Week: Your Addon/UI Columnist originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> add-onadd-on-configurationadd-on-examplesadd-on-guideaddon-configurationaddon-examplesaddon-guideaddonsbutton-facadebuttonfacadechatterdamage metersDamageMetersdominosfeaturedguidehealing metersHealingMeterskgpanelsomenomen-threat-meterpratsexymapshadowed-unit-framesskadauiui-configurationui-guideuser-interfaceuser-interface-guidewow-add-onwow-add-on-guidewow-add-onswow-addon-guidewow-addonswow-guidewow-ui-configuration (Mathew McCurley) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[15 Minutes of Fame: Master of add-ons]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/15-minutes-of-fame-the-add-ons-that-make-it-all-work/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/15-minutes-of-fame-the-add-ons-that-make-it-all-work/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/15-minutes-of-fame-the-add-ons-that-make-it-all-work/#comments 15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.

If James Whitehead II knocked on my door right now, I might not recognize him -- but once I realized who he was, I'd throw my arms around his neck in gleeful gratitude. You see, Jim is the brains behind Clique, the popular click-casting add-on that's saved the aching fingers of healers across the globe. (That's worth a little gleeful gratitude, yes sir. And probably a little foot-washing and maybe even a little toe-sucking, too, truth be told. Not to descend into TMI right here in the intro or anything. Ahem.) He's also the creator of mods like PerfectRaid and TomTom and the author of Hacking World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft Programming: A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Add-ons, now going into its second edition. He's working on a Ph.D. at Oxford University. He rows competitively, he mods, he knits and crochets, he raids ... Ok, ok, let's invite him in for a chat, shall we?

Meanwhile, be sure to enter to win our giveaway of six copies of the new, updated edition of World of Warcraft Programming.

Continue reading 15 Minutes of Fame: Master of add-ons

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15 Minutes of Fame: Master of add-ons originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> click-castingcliquefeaturedhacking-world-of-warcraftjames-whitehead-iijim-whiteheadperfectraidtomtomworld-of-warcraft-interviewsworld-of-warcraft-peopleworld-of-warcraft-programmingworld-of-warcraft-programming-second-editionwow-communitywow-interviewswow-people (Lisa Poisso) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[The Queue: Shoo map, don't bother me]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/the-queue-shoo-map-dont-bother-me/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/the-queue-shoo-map-dont-bother-me/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/the-queue-shoo-map-dont-bother-me/#comments
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.

Today's introduction video is something... special. Since people got a kick out of what I liked to call the Worst Video Ever, I figured I'd let you all see another misadventure is moviemaking from Sunday morning. One of my early attempts at recording the Love is in the Air boss went poorly, to say the least. Alternate title to the above video: When Addons Attack

Jaena Vashj asked...

"I was leveling my death knight in Dragonblight the other day and notice Ysera in the Emerald Dragonshrine. Didn't think much of her till I got closer and I noticed she was on top on this statue of a figure, what is this thing and why is it so special to Ysera?"

Continue reading The Queue: Shoo map, don't bother me

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The Queue: Shoo map, don't bother me originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> alcoholboozeemerald-dragonshrinefeaturedguideliquorqaquestion-and-answerrelics-of-ulduarscotchsons-of-hodirwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Alex Ziebart) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Lichborne: Blood DPS 101]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/lichborne-blood-dps-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/lichborne-blood-dps-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/lichborne-blood-dps-101/#comments
Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly look into the bloody business of being a death knight. This week, said business is especially bloody as we take a look at the most popular death knight tree.

According to recent armory analysis, blood is the most popular death knight spec. It's not hard to see why, it's a simple yet robust tree that provides lots of power with a minimum of fuss. If you're interested in getting in the DPS side of the tree but aren't sure where to start, or if you're just looking to brush up on the basics of the tree, this is the Lichborne for you. While this guide doesn't necessarily cover some of the more advanced aspects of the tree, it does covers the basic ways to get the most out of your gear, rotation, and spec as a blood DPSer.

1. What is blood DPS?

 Blood is the death knight tree that focuses the most on pure physical damage. It also has superior health regeneration. Like all three trees, it can be used for both tanking and DPS, but we'll focus on DPS for this guide.

2. Blood DPS Benefits
  • Superior single target damage.
  • Superior self healing and health stealing abilities mean you probably die less and can survive through a less than stellar healer or tank more consistently than many other DPS.
  • Some very nice group and raid melee buffs in the form of Hysteria and Abomination's Might.
3. Blood DPS Drawbacks
  • Not quite as much AoE potential as the other two trees.

Continue reading Lichborne: Blood DPS 101

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Lichborne: Blood DPS 101 originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 101blood-buildblood-dpsblood-dps-101blood-dps-buildblood-talent-specblood-talentsblood-treeclass-101class-helpdeath-knight-blooddeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talent-builddeath-knight-talentsdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedguideguide-to-death-knightstalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-death-knightwow-dkwow-guidewow-talent-guide (Daniel Whitcomb) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Resto shaman and auction house columnist chosen]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/resto-shaman-and-auction-house-columnist-chosen/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/resto-shaman-and-auction-house-columnist-chosen/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/resto-shaman-and-auction-house-columnist-chosen/#comments Putting a call out for a pure resto shaman columnist brought out the best in applicants and this time we came out with a clear winner. We know him as Joe Perez, but you may know him as Lodur, the resto shaman columnist at World of Matticus. He will be joining Michael Sacco and Rich Maloy on Totem Talk in the next week or two when we get him contracted and set up.

When Euripides of OutDPS wasn't chosen as our hunter columnist, he came back with a proposal to write a weekly column about the auction house. We liked what we saw and asked him to join us. In addition to writing for one of the premiere hunter blogs, Basil Berntsen also runs a podcast on Auction House gold making and hopefully will be making appearances on our own podcast as well. He will be coordinating with Amanda Miller on Time Is Money and Michael Gray on Insider Trader to bring you even more tips on making gold in-game.

Thanks to all who applied! If you didn't make it, make sure to check out our new call-out for guest writing.

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Resto shaman and auction house columnist chosen originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> auction-house-columnistlfmshaman-columnist (Dan O'Halloran) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Maintenance extended [Updatedx6]]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/maintenance-extended/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/maintenance-extended/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/maintenance-extended/#comments Maintenance has been extended until "approximately" 2:59pm EST. In the official post on the forums, Blizzard recommends looking into your account security and making sure that everything is up to date. I agree and to that end, I'll also link you to the WoW Rookie account security roundup.

We'll update this post with any changes to the realm status.

Update 8:14pm: All realms are up, theoretically. However, many are having severe latency issues and others can't get past the character loading screen. Blizzard says they are working on it.
Update 7:21pm: All realms are up, but expect some latency issues.
Update 6:24pm: Some realms are up. They will give us another update on the rest of the realms by 7pm EST. Bored? Come visit It came from the Blog, Zangarmarsh U.S. Horde side. Send a tell to Robiness or any Lurker for a guild invite.
Update 5:10pm: Even more issues have been found and they'll get back to us at 6pm EST.
Update 4:21pm: They are resolving more issues and have extended maintenance again to 5pm EST.
Update 3:26pm: Maintenance has been extended to 4pm EST.

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Maintenance extended [Updatedx6] originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> breakingextended-maintenancemaintenancetuesday (Robin Torres) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:45:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/mmo-roundup-last-week-on-massively/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/mmo-roundup-last-week-on-massively/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/mmo-roundup-last-week-on-massively/#comments
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all those other shiny MMOs! Check out this roundup of the latest news from the wider MMO world.
Tips for a WoW player in EverQuest II
Greetings and fair travels to you, adventurers. Once again it is I, Seccia Ravenloft, here to present this week's look into the world of Norrath. Now, from what these humans on this spiderweb site tell me, some of you are more familiar with other worlds than you are with Norrath. Blasphemy, I say! This week, I wish to mend that little problem of yours by teaching you how to adapt quickly to our world, lest you coddle yourself with the pillow armor other worlds offer you.
Making it as an MMO blogger: An interview with top community managers
Ahh, that eternal debate about what differentiates a gaming blogger from a gaming journalist. We could go on and on about specifics on both sides, but the fact is, we all have the same goals in mind: writing about what we love.
Free Realms reaches 8 million registered accounts
No matter which way you spin it, 8 million accounts is a ton of accounts. Free Realms has recently hit that magical milestone, celebrating a huge amount of fan interest in the game and a recent nomination for Best New Social/Online game in the Game Developer's Choice Awards. In fact, it's the only traditional MMO to be nominated for an award this year (outside of Nexon's Dungeon Fighter Online.)
Warhammer 40k MMO to be fully revealed this summer
Have you been looking forward to the Warhammer 40K MMO for what feels like forever? The people at THQ have been offering up small pieces of information since they announced the game a few years ago -- last April we finally got a release year of 2012, and just in December we were given some beautiful concept art.

Continue reading MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively

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MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredlast-week-on-massivelymassivelymmo-rounduproundup (Shawn Schuster) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue!]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-coms-weekly-comic-byron-the-tauren-rogue/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-coms-weekly-comic-byron-the-tauren-rogue/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-coms-weekly-comic-byron-the-tauren-rogue/#comments Welcome to another edition of the WoW.com Weekly Comic -- Byron the Tauren Rogue!

From the deepest depths of a child's mind, we have Byron's first invention - the Cookie-Getting Bird. He knows that there would probably be more gears and stuff, but those are really hard to draw...or so he says.

Check out the full version right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page! You can also check out all the previous pages in the gallery below.

Gallery: Byron The Tauren Rogue

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WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue! originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> byronbyron-the-tauren-roguefeaturedroguetaurenworld-of-warcraft-comicworld-of-warcraft-comicsworld-of-warcraft-funnieswow-comicwow-comicswow-funnieswow-rogue-comicwow-taurenwow-tauren-comicwow-weekly-comic (Kelly Aarons) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: Nerf You]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-moviewatch-nerf-you/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-moviewatch-nerf-you/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-moviewatch-nerf-you/#comments Nyhm originally released Nerf You in December 2009. This video is a proud continuation of his work through the years. However, I feel like Nyhm's really nailed down a particular dynamic in the lifestyle of playing WoW. Getting nerfed sucks, there's no doubt about it. But for every person who feels like the nerf hammer hit them especially hard, there's probably a few who realize that it was probably for a good reason.

I especially think Nyhm's vocal skills are on display in this video. It not only has a pretty catchy tune, but he really gets to show off his ability to use verse and intonation to bring it up to another level. The video is pretty fun also, and I'm thankful for the pseudo-subtitles for helping to keep me up with the lyrics.

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.

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WoW Moviewatch: Nerf You originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> guide-to-machinimamachinimamoviesnerf-younerfsnyhmworld-of-warcraft-moviesworld-of-warcraft-videoswow-created-movieswow-fan-movieswow-guidewow-machinimawow-machinima-guidewow-movie-guidewow-movieswow-video-guidewow-videos (Michael Gray) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Shifting Perspectives: Cat 101]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/shifting-perspectives-cat-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/shifting-perspectives-cat-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/shifting-perspectives-cat-101/#comments Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week, we are polite, professional, and have a plan to kill everyone we meet.

There's a bit of a gentlemen's wager going on here behind the scenes at WoW.com; the author of the weekly feature that gets the most hits by the end of the month will get cookies from Elizabeth Harper.

And I like cookies.

The following is a list of titles that were subsequently rejected by the editors for inclusion in this week's edition of Shifting Perspectives:

Shifting Perspectives: Naked women playing Cataclysm alpha.
Shifting Perspectives: Paladins suck.
Shifting Perspectives: Everyone should be nerfed but me.
Shifting Perspectives: Gear Score is amazing.

Continue reading Shifting Perspectives: Cat 101

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Shifting Perspectives: Cat 101 originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 101cat-101cat-dpscat-dps-guidecat-druidcat-druid-101cat-druid-guidecat-druid-helpclass-helpdruid-dpsdruid-guidedruid-infodruid-talentsfeaturedguideguide-to-cat-dpsguide-to-cat-druidguide-to-druidshow-to-cat-dpstalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-druidwow-druid-infowow-druidswow-guidewow-talent-guide (Allison Robert) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Around Azeroth: I'd rather be lonely]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/around-azeroth-id-rather-be-lonely/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/around-azeroth-id-rather-be-lonely/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/around-azeroth-id-rather-be-lonely/#comments As Valentine's Day approaches, it's important to be sensitive to the needs of those people who have no one special to celebrate with, like Cutaia of <The Cunning Linguists> on Bronzebeard. "After seeing how much the Horde enjoys this holiday, I decided to ditch the hustle and bustle of Stormwind to take a romantic boat ride through the Undercity," he wrote. "Sadly, nobody wanted to join me. I'm so lonely. /cry." Think his guild name might be driving away the ladies?

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val'kyr on mounts, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here.

Gallery: Around Azeroth

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Around Azeroth: I'd rather be lonely originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> around azerotharound-azerothAroundAzerothscreen-shotsscreenshotsworld-of-warcraft-picturesworld-of-warcraft-screenshotswow-screen-shotswow-screenshotwow-screenshotswow-ss (Elizabeth Wachowski) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[WoW.com Giveaway: World of Warcraft Programming, 2nd Ed]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-com-giveaway-world-of-warcraft-programming-2nd-ed/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-com-giveaway-world-of-warcraft-programming-2nd-ed/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/wow-com-giveaway-world-of-warcraft-programming-2nd-ed/#comments
WoW.com has in its possession six copies of World of Warcraft Programming: A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Addons, Second Edition. And guess what? We're giving them all away to you! Five copies haven't even been cracked open, and one copy is the book that we've used to write the review of the programming guide -- lightly used and still in perfect condition.

The contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), and everyone who enters must be 18 or older. To enter, leave a comment on this post before 11:59pm ET Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Please be sure to use a real email that you check often to enter, so we can contact you should you be a winner. You may enter only once and six winners will be selected randomly. Each winner will receive one copy of the book, valued at $49.99 US. Click here to read the official contest rules.

If you don't win a book via our giveaway, you can pickup a copy of WoW Programming over at Amazon. Be sure to stay tuned for our review of the book, as well as an interview with author James Whitehead.

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WoW.com Giveaway: World of Warcraft Programming, 2nd Ed originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredworld-of-warcraft-addon-programmingworld-of-warcraft-programming-second-editionwow-contestwow-giveawayswow-programming (Adam Holisky) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Are You Ready for Some Football?]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/breakfast-topic-are-you-ready-for-some-football/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/breakfast-topic-are-you-ready-for-some-football/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/breakfast-topic-are-you-ready-for-some-football/#comments It was sort of lost in the shuffle between Love Is in the Air and the fact that we're technically not a sports blog, but this weekend featured one of the biggest events in American sporting, the Super Bowl. Believe it or not, even some of us uber geeks here at WoW.com's world headquarters like sports. Some of us even watched the Super Bowl. Some of us even watched it for a reason other than the commercials. (And honestly, the commercials sucked this year. Except the Google one. That made me melt and go all gooey and squeal with warm fuzzies.)

Anyhow, it was a good game, if not the best Super Bowl I've seen in years. But what it really got me thinking of was Warcraft football. Believe it or not, football in Warcraft is totally canon. If you don't believe me, you should watch the end credits for Warcraft III. With that in mind, I got to thinking about what an Azerothian football league might look like, what cities and villages would field teams, and who'd win the superbowl.

Continue reading Breakfast Topic: Are You Ready for Some Football?

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Breakfast Topic: Are You Ready for Some Football? originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> american-footballfootballgame-discussiongamer-discussionsuper-bowlsuperbowlsuperbowl-xlivsuperbowlxlivworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-hot-topicsworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Daniel Whitcomb) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Clarification on normal mode functionality]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/clarification-on-normal-mode-functionality/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/clarification-on-normal-mode-functionality/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/clarification-on-normal-mode-functionality/#comments Over on the EU forums, Slorkuz has clarified a few questions players may have about the new changes coming to normal mode ICC, namely the removal of limited attempts from the final bosses in each wing. While limited attempts will still be in place on heroic mode, they will no longer be in effect on normal mode as of the end of maintenance this morning. To quote:
Q: If you extend your raid lockout this week, will you still lose attempts on Normal after the hotfix?
A: No.

Q: If you run completely out of attempts on Heroic, will the wing bosses and Lich King no longer respawn, even if the difficulty is switched to Normal?
A: YES. So leave an attempt left if you wish to kill them on Normal. We'll try and correct this in a future update.

Q: Why is the counter still visible in Normal?
A: The hotfix being applied just stops the counter decrementing, and nothing more.
In other words, raiders attempting the final bosses of these wings on normal difficulty will still see the counter, it simply won't count down if they wipe. More importantly however is the news that players wishing to attempt bosses on Heroic difficulty will need to leave one attempt up if they want to clear the boss on normal mode.

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Clarification on normal mode functionality originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blood-queen-lanathelheroiciccicecrown-citadellich-kingprofessor-putricidesindragosaslorkuz (Anne Stickney) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:30:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Tuesday Morning Post: In the Air edition]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/tuesday-morning-post-in-the-air-edition/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/tuesday-morning-post-in-the-air-edition/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/09/tuesday-morning-post-in-the-air-edition/#comments It's been a pretty busy week here in WoW. With Patch 3.3.2 live and the Frostwing Halls open, we quickly saw our first 10-man Lich King kill, followed by our first 25-man Lich King kill, followed shortly by a ban, followed a bit later by the first legitimate 25-man Lich King kill. But if you haven't managed to get him down yet, you're in luck. Blizzard's already making it easier to get to him by removing the limited number of attempts on ICC wing bosses in normal mode.

Beyond Icecrown Citadel, we also saw some pretty interesting stuff in and outside the game: Blizzard's planning to offer a premium AH app for the iPhone so you can corner the linen market on the downtown bus. The Love is in the Air holiday is active and completely redesigned, with new achievements, easier existing achievements, and a new boss fight with new holiday loot. Check our Love is In The Air FAQ for information on all the new stuff. Arena season 8 is up and running as well.

Unfortunately, even with all this activity, weekly downtime is still upon us. You'll have from 5 AM to 11 AM pacific time to take a break from all this new stuff. As always, I'll suggest that that's an excellent time to read about it instead. Here's a summary of some of our articles from the past 7 days.

Continue reading Tuesday Morning Post: In the Air edition

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Tuesday Morning Post: In the Air edition originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> downtimemaintenancerealm-downtimerealm-maintenancerealm-statusroundupscheduled-downtimescheduled-maintenanceserver-downtimeServer-Maintenanceserver-statustuesdaytuesday-maintenancetuesday-morningtuesday-morning-postTuesdayMaintenance (Daniel Whitcomb) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Icecrown Citadel normal modes no longer limited by attempts]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/icecrown-citadel-normal-modes-no-longer-limited-by-attempts/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/icecrown-citadel-normal-modes-no-longer-limited-by-attempts/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/icecrown-citadel-normal-modes-no-longer-limited-by-attempts/#comments Far earlier than any of us had expected, Daelo has announced that the normal modes of Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, Sindragosa, and the Lich King will no longer have limited attempts. The heroic modes of these encounters will still have limited attempts, however. To quote:
After each region's maintenance this week, raids will no longer lose attempts on wipes in Normal mode for Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, Sindragosa, and the Lich King. There will still be limited attempts in Heroic mode.

We will continue to monitor developments in Icecrown Citadel in the future, especially since the Heroic difficulty has been unlocked by a significant number of raids.
A very interesting development, and I'm curious why they decided to lift the attempts system from normal modes entirely. Is it due to a relatively low number of guilds actually killing these bosses right now, or is there some other reason?

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Icecrown Citadel normal modes no longer limited by attempts originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blood-queen-lanathelbreakingdaeloiccicecrown-citadellich-kingprofessor-putricidesindragosa (Alex Ziebart) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:05:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Debunking another hacked authenticator story]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/debunking-another-hacked-authenticator-story/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/debunking-another-hacked-authenticator-story/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/debunking-another-hacked-authenticator-story/#comments One of our readers, Bill, sent us a tip about a WoW account issue on The Consumerist. It seems that the ownership of Anonymous's friend's account is under dispute and Blizzard won't let him use it in the meantime. The ownership became disputed after the account was allegedly hacked, even though there was allegedly a mobile authenticator on the account. His friend has given up on the account, complete with Val'anyr, and has created a new one.

We can't confirm any of the facts in this case. I am willing to believe that Anonymous is truly upset and believes the story he tells to be true, even though he is posting anonymously. There are some serious red flags, however, that seem to point to Anonymous not having all of the facts:

Continue reading Debunking another hacked authenticator story

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Debunking another hacked authenticator story originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> account-managementaccount-securityauthenticatorblizzarddebunkhackershackinglawscamsthe-consumeristTOSvalanyr (Robin Torres) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[The Lawbringer: Contracts and the achievement tracker]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-lawbringer-contracts-and-the-achievement-tracker/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-lawbringer-contracts-and-the-achievement-tracker/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-lawbringer-contracts-and-the-achievement-tracker/#comments Welcome to this week's episode of the Lawbringer! Each week we'll dive into the intricacies of law and the World of Warcraft. Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to slay demons of ignorance for the benefit of your fellow denizens of Azeroth. Demons of ignorance slain: 1/4782*.

*Number of ignorant demons may be subject to nerfing.

So last week I introduced y'all to a bit of legal theorizing about how law and WoW might mix if they got pugged together. (Hint: not very well.) Y'all also were clamoring for my dissertation on gold farming. I want to give a big thank you to commentator Arnold for his excellent suggestions for improvements to make, and I promise I will be making those corrections soon. This week we'll be moving into some more concrete topics, prompted by a email from my mailbag:
The new armory prints out date and timestamps for every little move you make in game. Run a heroic, it will show the date and time for every boss you kill. I didn't mind when it printed a date for achievements. But such fine-grained detail being so publicly available is .. invasive of privacy.
This is an excellent issue, Wendy, and a subject of much qq-ing on the forums. However, before we can look into what privacy Blizzard may be invading, we need to understand our relationship with Blizzard; to do that, we need to look at a bit of contract law.

Continue reading The Lawbringer: Contracts and the achievement tracker

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The Lawbringer: Contracts and the achievement tracker originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> contractsend-user-license-agreementeulafeaturedgame-lawlawlegal-gamingterms-of-usetouwow-contractswow-eulawow-lawwow-law-guidewow-legalwow-legal-guidewow-tou (Amy Schley) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Upon logging into World of Warcraft, I immediately...]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/upon-logging-into-world-of-warcraft-i-immediately/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/upon-logging-into-world-of-warcraft-i-immediately/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/upon-logging-into-world-of-warcraft-i-immediately/#comments Last week Eyonix started a poll on the forums asking players what they do directly after logging in (all of the options are listed in the picture above). For me, it's no contest -- before I do anything else, I always pop the friends list up to see who's around. The only time this doesn't happen is if I'm logging on in a rush for the night's raid, but I try to limit the number of times that occurs. Reading this poll has made me realize the extent to which I depend on my bank alt for mail and AH-related business; my main very rarely needs to check her mail.

If you're interested in responding to the poll, it'll be running for another day or so, and you can find it here. Because it's on the official forums, you'll be prompted to log in to your forum account before replying.

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Upon logging into World of Warcraft, I immediately... originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> eyonixforumforumsofficial-forumsofficial-forums-pollpoll (Allison Robert) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[No new WoW accounts in China]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/no-new-wow-accounts-in-china/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/no-new-wow-accounts-in-china/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/no-new-wow-accounts-in-china/#comments Reuters reports that Netease, the company that operates WoW in China, has stopped accepting new accounts and has reapplied to GAPP (General Administration of Press and Publication) for permission to release The Burning Crusade. The article does not mention if this was voluntary, or if this was part of the ruling that was scheduled to be handed down in January.

For those unfamiliar with this story, Netease was told to cease WoW operations last year by GAPP and the Chinese Ministry of Culture stepped in and contradicted the ruling. Netease has continued taking new accounts until now, while waiting for the decision of these governmental bodies. Assuming Netease can finally get approval to release The Burning Crusade, they will still need to apply for permission to release Wrath of the Lich King. At this rate, the rest of the world will get Cataclysm before mainland China sees Northrend.

The timing of this is unfortunate, considering that Lunar Festival begins next week. Lunar Festival is based on Chinese New Year.

We'll keep you posted as this seemingly never-ending drama continues.

[via Joystiq]

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No new WoW accounts in China originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> chinagappgovernment bailoutGovernmentBailoutministry-of-culturenetease (Robin Torres) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[It came from the Blog: Love is in the Blog]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/it-came-from-the-blog-love-is-in-the-blog/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/it-came-from-the-blog-love-is-in-the-blog/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/it-came-from-the-blog-love-is-in-the-blog/#comments Love is in the air and that means it's time for another It came from the Blog get-together:
  • When: 5:30pm EST (2:30pm PST, 3:30pm realm time) Saturday, February 13 2010 (Show up at 5pm EST for the Meet and Greet)
  • Where: Court of the Sun fountain, Silvermoon City Zangarmarsh U.S.
  • Who: Any Horde character, any level.
  • What: Love is in the Air daily quests.
  • How: Ask Robinator, Robiness or any It came from the Blog Lurker or above for an invite to the guild.
As you can see, we are also going to be having a pre-event mixer. Many of our bloggers will be showing up for a meet and greet a half an hour before the event. They will be chatting with readers and posing for photos to be posted on the site. So show up early if you wish to hangout with some of the WoW.com staff.

If you have any questions about It came from the Blog, like why Horde or why U.S., please see our FAQ.

We hope to see you there!

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It came from the Blog: Love is in the Blog originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguild-eventguild-eventsholidaylovelove-is-in-the-airvalentinesvalentines-daywow-com-guildwow-dot-com-guildwow-eventwow-eventswow-insiderwow-insider-guildwow-insider-guild-eventwowinsider (Robin Torres) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Call for Posts: What I want to see at BlizzCon 2010]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/call-for-posts-what-i-want-to-see-at-blizzcon-2010/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/call-for-posts-what-i-want-to-see-at-blizzcon-2010/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/call-for-posts-what-i-want-to-see-at-blizzcon-2010/#comments Last week we did a test run of our Guest Writer program asking our Twitter followers to write an article giving five tips to DPSers running random heroics. Our test run was a success (the winning article will be published later this week), and we're now ready to begin allowing everyone to have the chance to become a Guest Writer on WoW.com!

WoW.com runs the program through Aol's Seed. You can find out more about the program in our announcement post about the Guest Writer program, and at our newly re-vamped Contributing to WoW.com page. This week we're looking for contributions from writers telling us what they want to see at BlizzCon 2010. We're looking for between 75 and 150 words, and we'll select 3 to 7 entries for publication on WoW.com. If your entry is selected, you'll be paid $10 through Seed. Last week we found out that BlizzCon could be returning to the Anaheim Convention Center and that Jay Mohr is hosting again.

In order to get started read up about the program, sign up, and then submit your paragraph over on the article page (you can't see the article page unless you have a Seed account). We are accepting submissions until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday February 14th. Please follow all instructions exactly. US residents only right now, although we're told our international friends will be able to submit work through Seed soon.

Good luck!

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Call for Posts: What I want to see at BlizzCon 2010 originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> aol-seedblizzcon-10blizzcon-2010breakingguest-postseed (Adam Holisky) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[The Queue: Fluffy]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-queue-fluffy/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-queue-fluffy/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-queue-fluffy/#comments
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. Adam Holisky will be your host today.

Today's Queue is dedicated to snow. May all your flakes be fluffy.

Xan asked...

"Kind of a lore question... I understand that resurrection type spells are part of game mechanics, but as far as lore goes, is there such a thing as resurrection, and if so would your standard run of the mill (ie: low level) Priest, Pally, etc, have this capability?"

Continue reading The Queue: Fluffy

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The Queue: Fluffy originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Adam Holisky) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Lich King weapon drop changes]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/lich-king-weapon-drop-changes/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/lich-king-weapon-drop-changes/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/lich-king-weapon-drop-changes/#comments Although this probably won't affect too many of us in the near future, Blizzard is already tinkering with many of the stats supplied by the Lich King's weapon drops. A community manager on the Korean site posted about upcoming changes to one Lich King-10 and four Lich King-25 weapons, and Boubouille's posted a translation with help from user Locriani. A lot of raiders had been surprised at the itemization decisions, and as a raiding healer, I've seen a lot of commentary concerning the uninspiring presence of MP5 on the Royal Scepter of Terenas II. Blizzard's specifically addressing these concerns.

The following is the list of changes Blizzard's planning to make to Lich King-25 weapons: We're not sure when these changes are going to go live, but we'll update you when they do.

EDIT: The changes have been confirmed by Ancilorn on the EU forums now as well.

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Lich King weapon drop changes originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> archus-greatstaff-of-antonidasfalinrush-defender-of-quelthalasheavens-fall-kryss-of-a-thousand-liesiccicecrown-citadelicecrown-citadel-raidicecrown-citadel-weaponslich-kinglich-king-weapon-dropslich-king-weapon-stats-changeslich-king-weaponslootroyal-scepter-of-terenas-IIstormfury-black-blade-of-the-betrayerweapon-stats (Allison Robert) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Blood Pact: Affliction 101]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/blood-pact-affliction-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/blood-pact-affliction-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/blood-pact-affliction-101/#comments Blood Pact is your weekly warlock digest brought to you by Dominic Hobbs. "I suppose you may stay as my guest for the time being. But you must be on some pressing business--perhaps you're here seeking lost power? Maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe corruption isn't too far away from you after all." ~ Tabetha

You may have noticed a certain theme of class articles cropping up on WoW.com recently -- various pieces giving a brief introduction to one spec or the other. While they are fairly basic guides, don't be mislead by the titles, they are not "lol" articles, they're one-on-one (except maybe the mage one). This week on Blood Pact I felt it was time to take a look at affliction. We've spoken about it many times and with great fondness but never really focused on it. As with the other lol articles this is not intended to be an in-depth guide but a taster or intro to the build. A "starting point" if you like. So, open your notebooks and turn to page 101, let's get started.

Continue reading Blood Pact: Affliction 101

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Blood Pact: Affliction 101 originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> affliction-rotationaffliction-talentsclass-helpfeaturedguideguide-to-locksguide-to-warlockslock-guidelock-infolock-talentstalenttalentswarlock-enchantswarlock-gemswarlock-glyphswarlock-guidewarlock-infowarlock-talentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-lockwow-lock-infowow-lockswow-talent-guidewow-warlockwow-warlock-infowow-warlocks (Dominic Hobbs) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Insider Trader: Advanced Trade Skill Window]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/insider-trader-advanced-trade-skill-window/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/insider-trader-advanced-trade-skill-window/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/insider-trader-advanced-trade-skill-window/#comments A tradesman without tools would be challenged to create any final product. WoW isn't much different. If you're looking to master multiple professions across multiple toons, and make the most of your crafting time, you may eventually consider picking up a mod or two to help you.

I was recently introduced to Advanced Trade Skill Window by a guild mate who, like myself, has multiple characters with many, many professions. The idea in my alt farm is that I'm trying to produce myself any final product I might need. This includes enchants, reagents, and even the transmutes required to produce gems. As we were chatting about this kind of set up, she immediately filled me in on the basics of ATSW. Gregg first looked at ATSW for AddOn Spotlight back in October. But considering how helpful it is to profession-hounds, I wanted to spend a little more time with it now.

Advanced Trade Skill Window replaces your standard in-game trade skill windows. Whenever you hit the action button for your profession, Advanced Trade Skill Window will automatically open. Right off the bat, you'll get one of my favorite benefits of the mod. The screen is much, much bigger than the native interface, which gives you a lot more room to scroll through your recipes. But, obviously, there's a lot more to the tool.

Continue reading Insider Trader: Advanced Trade Skill Window

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Insider Trader: Advanced Trade Skill Window originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> advanced-trade-skill-windowatswfeaturedgold-guidegold-making-guideguideprofession-guidewow-craftwow-craftableswow-craftingwow-crafting-guidewow-goldwow-gold-makingwow-guidewow-itemswow-makewow-professions (Michael Gray) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Officers' Quarters: Multiple personalities]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/officers-quarters-multiple-personalities/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/officers-quarters-multiple-personalities/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/officers-quarters-multiple-personalities/#comments
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.

Sharing accounts is an issue that I've talked about in the past (and I'm sure, in some people's opinions, beaten to death). Previously I've covered a few different situations. First there was a general question about the issue, which I answered back in 2007. Then there was an officer who shared his account with his girlfriend (which is still a terrible idea in my opinion). Finally, a guild leader's account was banned because he bought it from another player, and his guild's progression subsequently skidded to a halt. As if those examples weren't enough to convince you that account sharing can cause a lot of problems, here's another one:

Recently, my fellow guild officers and I decided to kick a member from our guild, which also caused three other members to leave. The person who we initially kicked from the guild had asked our guild leader for a BoE Epic item in the "Ask an Officer" tab of the bank. Our guild leader responded by saying he'd ask the officers about it before handing the axe out.

Not less than an hour later he asked another guild member to take it out of the guild bank for him. Being a good guild member, they asked the guild leader if it was okay. It was instantly perceived as being an attempt to ninja the item from the bank by trying to avoid the guild leader.

Continue reading Officers' Quarters: Multiple personalities

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Officers' Quarters: Multiple personalities originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> account-sharingaccountsbuilding-guildsfeaturedguideguide-to-officersguild-leadershipguild-managementguild-officersguilds-guideillegalleadershipofficers-quartersterms-of-usewow-guidewow-guild-managementwow-guildswow-leadership (Scott Andrews) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[WoW Moviewatch: Craft of War: Blind rerun]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/wow-moviewatch-craft-of-war-blind-rerun/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/wow-moviewatch-craft-of-war-blind-rerun/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/wow-moviewatch-craft-of-war-blind-rerun/#comments Our intrepid Moviewatch host, Michael Gray, is fine but is dealing with the aftermath of far too much snow and has asked me to show a rerun. He tells me that he's been receiving submissions again for Craft of War: Blind. Percula's wonderful machinima is easily our most requested video and rather than try to fight it, we just succumb to reader pressure and show it every few months or so.

The history: Percula made this amazing movie and promised us more. He hosted it on Vimeo, who decided that it was gameplay footage (which they don't allow) and deleted it without warning, taking all of the comments and views with it. Percula was able to get it rehosted with a promise not to delete it again. In the meantime, Percula has stopped playing WoW and is no longer planning on creating the much anticipated sequel. A sad, sad thing.

Of course, we're mostly playing this again for our pleasure. We don't really think our readers will stop submitting this, telling us it's a crime that we've never posted it in Moviewatch before. But just to set the record straight, we showed it here first on December 26, 2008 and often since then. Enjoy!

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.

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WoW Moviewatch: Craft of War: Blind rerun originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blindcraft-of-war-blindfan-faveguide-to-machinimamachinimamoviespercularerunworld-of-warcraft-moviesworld-of-warcraft-videoswow-created-movieswow-fan-movieswow-guidewow-machinimawow-machinima-guidewow-movie-guidewow-movieswow-video-guidewow-videos (Robin Torres) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Scattered Shots: Grandpappy Frostheim on death knights]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/scattered-shots-grandpappy-frostheim-on-death-knights/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/scattered-shots-grandpappy-frostheim-on-death-knights/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/scattered-shots-grandpappy-frostheim-on-death-knights/#comments

Scattered Shots is brought to you by Grandpappy Frostheim, who spends his evenings in an Ironforge tavern telling young hunters how much harder things were in his day, when they had to kite mobs up hill, both ways.

All I hear from kids these days is whining about death knights. Whining about how bad they are at tanking in their PUGs or how they can't even do 2k DPS. You hunters these days should be grateful for death knights. You don't know how good you got it, 'cause you have no sense of history!

Let me tell you, back in my day we didn't have death knights. If we saw an undead servant of the Lich King walking around, we shot it on sight. In those days a bullet to the skull was redemption, not the sissy politically correct version you got now. We had redemption piled taller than your head over in the Plaguelands, I can tell you that.

So take a seat, put away your new-fangled dungeon finders and take a break from your crazy barber shop haircuts and let Grandpappy Frostheim tell you how things were back in my day, and why you should be thankful for those death knights.

Continue reading Scattered Shots: Grandpappy Frostheim on death knights

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Scattered Shots: Grandpappy Frostheim on death knights originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> class-helpfeaturedgrandpappy-frostheimguideguide-to-huntershunter-guidehunter-infohunter-talentstalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-hunterwow-hunter-infowow-hunterswow-talent-guide (Brian Wood) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Around Azeroth: Team spirit]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/around-azeroth-team-spirit/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/around-azeroth-team-spirit/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/around-azeroth-team-spirit/#comments As a tauren druid, Kits didn't mind working with Thrall and Sylvanas to clean out the Undercity, even if his own faction leader wasn't there to fight. He didn't mind guarding their backs while they fought their way through hordes of undead. And he didn't even mind when Sylvanas started scratching him behind the ears and giving him fish treats. But he drew the line when she bought him the collar with bells on it. He still had some pride left.

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word "Azeroth" in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val'kyr on mounts, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here.

Gallery: Around Azeroth

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Around Azeroth: Team spirit originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> around azerotharound-azerothAroundAzerothscreen-shotsscreenshotsworld-of-warcraft-picturesworld-of-warcraft-screenshotswow-screen-shotswow-screenshotwow-screenshotswow-ss (Elizabeth Wachowski) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[World of WarCrafts: A WoW-inspired grab bag of creativity]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/world-of-warcrafts-a-wow-inspired-grab-bag-of-creativity/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/world-of-warcrafts-a-wow-inspired-grab-bag-of-creativity/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/world-of-warcrafts-a-wow-inspired-grab-bag-of-creativity/#comments 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; contact our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

It's catch-up day at World of WarCrafts! We have all sorts of little goodies to pass along that have been piling up in the submissions box. So tuck in and get comfy with this snuggly little fellow from Serthida of US Bloodhoof, the crafter who brought us last year's plush moonkin. Don't worry, he won't drain your mana ... or your creativity.

Gallery: Serthida's felhunter plushie



More from the World of WarCrafts, after the break.

Continue reading World of WarCrafts: A WoW-inspired grab bag of creativity

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World of WarCrafts: A WoW-inspired grab bag of creativity originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> craftcraftsfeaturedgame-craftshearthstonemachinimamixpencil-cuppillowrapscreensaverstatuevideoworld-of-wacraft-craftswow-artwow-artworkwow-craftswow-fanwow-fan-artwow-fan-madewow-fan-made-artwow-fan-made-artworkwow-fans (Lisa Poisso) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: That damned race/class combo you can never find]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/breakfast-topic-that-damned-race-class-combo-you-can-never-find/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/breakfast-topic-that-damned-race-class-combo-you-can-never-find/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/breakfast-topic-that-damned-race-class-combo-you-can-never-find/#comments In every holiday that has you chase after a specific race/class combo, there's always that one, that elusive combo that makes the whole thing feel like a snipe hunt. For the Love is in the Air holiday, the Fistful of Love achievement requires us to shower 11 specific race/class combos with rose petals.

By the end of the holiday, you'll inevitably be wanting to give a fistful of something to one combo, and it sure ain't love.

For me it's the troll rogue. I swear they don't really exist, and it's just a cruel prank played on us by Blizzard. I've even gone so far as to stage a James Bondesque infiltration of the Horde district, complete with helicopters and a dashing dwarf parachuting onto rooftops. It's not that they just aren't out in public, but that they don't frickin' exist at all!

On the other hand, as a dwarf hunter, I know what it feels like to be the hunted. I do get sick of being constantly showered with petals at times. I even found myself hanging out in out of the way places and disguising myself as a ninja to avoid it. Perhaps I am someone else's troll rogue.

What race/class combo is your curse? Have you found yourself hiding from achievement seekers, and if so, how?

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Breakfast Topic: That damned race/class combo you can never find originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> fistful-of-lovegame-discussiongamer-discussionlove-is-in-the-airworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-hot-topicsworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Brian Wood) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Spiritual Guidance: Holy 101]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/spiritual-guidance-holy-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/spiritual-guidance-holy-101/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/spiritual-guidance-holy-101/#comments
Every Sunday (and the occasional weekday) Spiritual Guidance offers holy and discipline priests advice on how to wield the holy light and groove to the disco night. Your hostess Dawn Moore will provide the music.

There is this priest trial in my guild right now. He applied as a discipline priest but what we were looking for at the time was a holy priest. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to play holy, so I'm exploiting my veteran status and making him learn it. Coincidentally, the big bosses also want all of us here at WoW.com to work on these 101 columns, so this kills two anything-but-birds with one stone. I really like birds, by the way.

The following is meant to be an introductory guide to the priest holy tree. It is not going to tell you what to do step by step (at least not until you get to the enchants section) instead it intends to show you some options from which you can get started. If you're already a veteran holy priest, feel free to add anything I left out in the comments so readers who use this column as a resource can get as much help as possible.

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Holy 101

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Spiritual Guidance: Holy 101 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 101cakecircle-of-healingclass-guideclass-helpcupcakecupcakesenchantsfeaturedfrostingguideguide-to-priestsholyholy-glyphholy-guideholy-treeprayer-of-healingprayer-of-mendingpreist-infopriest-enchantspriest-gear-guidepriest-glyphspriest-guidepriest-helppriest-statspriest-talentsstatstalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-101wow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-priestwow-priest-infowow-priestswow-talent-guide (Dawn Moore) Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[All the World's a Stage: You can't be a vampire]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/all-the-worlds-a-stage-you-cant-be-a-vampire/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/all-the-worlds-a-stage-you-cant-be-a-vampire/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/all-the-worlds-a-stage-you-cant-be-a-vampire/#comments It's not my goal to discuss whether or not there are actually vampires in WoW. The Crimson Halls certainly seems to support the idea that the Cullen-crowd can get their bite on in Azeroth, maybe even cuddled up against the vampire LARPers. But even with the Sanlayn rocking the vampire thing in Northrend, there still aren't any playable vampires in WoW. (Blood death knights are arguably similar, but they still don't sprout fangs and lay the nom down on unsuspecting victims.)

Yet, people still yearn to play vampires. It happens. And I don't actually mind people playing these type of characters in the free-form style roleplay you see in Goldshire and Silvermoon, because that tends to be the sort of place where anything goes. And I'll admit. In a former life I've LARPed a vampire.

But in troupe-style roleplay, there are usually particular character conventions. A roleplay guild focused on defending Ashenvale from the encroaching Horde, for example, would have some trouble accepting a Draenei Shaman who is actually roleplaying an apologetic ex-Eredar making amends for his crimes.

It falls on the leaders of these troupes and guilds, therefore, to talk to the person playing an outside-the-box character. You don't want to just leave your junior vampire going down a bad track, leaving him without folks with whom to roleplay. Even worse, it can lead to backbiting, disruption in the troupe, and other negative things. Roleplay groups are fragile enough -- don't leave a wingman hanging, when you can help them with the trouble.

Take a look behind the jump, and let's see how you can help bring an Edward Cullen back into Azeroth, while still making everyone as happy as possible.

Continue reading All the World's a Stage: You can't be a vampire

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All the World's a Stage: You can't be a vampire originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cullendemonsedward-cullenfaeriesfeaturedguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guiderole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guidevampirevampireswerewolvesworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rping (Michael Gray) Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[[1.Local]: An Ensidia-free zone]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/1-local-an-ensidia-free-zone/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/1-local-an-ensidia-free-zone/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/1-local-an-ensidia-free-zone/#comments Reader comments -- ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.

Grab a cushion, flop down and give your weary dogs (puppies?) a rest. The photo above notwithstanding, rest assured that the rest of [1.Local] this week is an Ensidia-free zone. (So is the world-first 25-man Lich King kill, for that matter.) Can you imagine having to hash that out yet again? What a relief that [1.Local] isn't merely a tally sheet for comments from stories with the most views -- or even the stories with the most comments, or the most positive comments, or (as comment trolls hold fast to believing) the most negative comments ... We can follow our own little quirky path through the conversation of the past week.

Let's bite into the rest of this week's goodies just like we all like it: nice and meaty, with a little bit of hot, runny juices from the odd little beasts we discovered just down yonder, off the beaten track...

Continue reading [1.Local]: An Ensidia-free zone

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[1.Local]: An Ensidia-free zone originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> archmage-pantsarmor-typesArthascommentcommentsensidiaensidia-bannedfacebookfacebook-armory-appfeaturedGnomeregan-princesshybrid-taxmiley-cyrusone-dot-localone-localpremium-AHpremium-contentworld-of-warcraft-communitywow-com-commentswow-commentswow-communitywow-dot-com-commentswow-insider-commentswow-playerswow-userswowinsider-comments (Lisa Poisso) Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[The Light and How to Swing It: Essential addons and macros for holy]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-essential-addons-and-macros-for-h/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-essential-addons-and-macros-for-h/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-essential-addons-and-macros-for-h/#comments Every Sunday, Chase Christian of The Light and How to Swing It invites you to discuss the finer side of the paladin class: the holy specialization. This week, we examine the addons and macros that can be used to make your life easier.

Holy paladins have come a long way since our days in vanilla WoW. Back then, we were a three button class: Cleanse, Flash of Light, Holy Light. The infamous addon Decursive even did all the dispelling for us, leave the human user simply casting Flash or HL for hours on end. Seals and Judgments were for retribution and protection: we were standing 40 yards away filling up life bars. Things didn't improve much in TBC either: while Holy Shock was fun to finally use, we ended up being purely FoL bots in most raid situations.

Blizzard took a new approach to healing in Wrath, including completely revamping each existing healing tree to make sure each one was balanced, viable, and most importantly, enjoyable. Holy paladins now enjoy a complexity that is multiple times more entertaining to play than anything that we've seen in the past. However, with this added functionality comes added complexity. To help us lighten the load, we can use a few amazing addons and macros manage our "holy 3.0" paladins; this allows us to focus on keeping people alive.

Continue reading The Light and How to Swing It: Essential addons and macros for holy

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The Light and How to Swing It: Essential addons and macros for holy originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> addonsbeacon-of-lightclass-helpclcbptfeaturedguideguide-to-paladinsguide-to-palliesguide-to-pallysholy-paladin-addonsholy-paladin-macrospaladin-addonpaladin-guidepaladin-infopaladin-macropaladin-talentspally-guidepally-infopally-powerpally-talentspallypowertalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-paladinwow-paladin-infowow-paladinswow-pallywow-pally-infowow-talent-guide (Chase Christian) Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Love is in the Air achievements retroactive?]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/love-is-in-the-air-achievements-retroactive/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/love-is-in-the-air-achievements-retroactive/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/love-is-in-the-air-achievements-retroactive/#comments
If you were like me and had the wonderful fortune last year to complete the Love is in the Air meta-achievement Fool for Love, there is some interesting news for you. Upon logging on this morning I noticed that the achievements for Charming, Nation of Adoration, and Dangerous Love were completed for me on the date I had originally earned the meta-achievement, last year. Is this a bug or Blizzard's way of allowing those of us who already completed the meta-achievement to not worry about the new holiday tasks?

We would love some more confirmation from people who completed the Fool for Love meta-achievement last year, but at this moment, it seems like we have a little less work to do this holiday season. More love rockets for me to annoy my raids with...

Love is in the Air achievements retroactive? originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> (Mathew McCurley) Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST WoW.com <![CDATA[Sunday Morning Funnies: Epic win]]> http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/sunday-morning-funnies-epic-win/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/sunday-morning-funnies-epic-win/ http://www.wow.com/2010/02/07/sunday-morning-funnies-epic-win/#comments First of all, I would like to congratulate Keyra for winning the virtual cookies! This batch is vegan upon request, comes with a nice tall glass of cold soy milk, and I'll even throw in some fresh berries. Khloe Kardashian was the right answer to last week's impromptu trivia question!

Watch out for this week's trivia question, buried in amongst the comics.

Unfortunately, I didn't receive any new comic tips, but I don't think you'll be disappointed!

On a side note, I feel very lucky that photographing one's collection of My Little Ponies is a relatively popular occurrence, for how else would I have found such a lovely epic pony? I had more to choose from than I would have imagined, but I finally narrowed it down to the lucky pony on the right.

Continue reading Sunday Morning Funnies: Epic win

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Sunday Morning Funnies: Epic win originally appeared on WoW.com on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> awkward-zombiebeyond-the-treebyron-the-tauren-roguecomplex-actionsdark-legacy-comicsdlcdungeons-and-draeneiextra-lifefeaturedghostcrawler-promised-me-a-ponyguilded-agekhloe-kardashianlfglooking-for-groupmonkey-punchersmy-little-ponynon-player-characternpcslash-afktales-from-the-crossroadsteh-gladiatorsthe-daily-blinkthe-daily-questthe-warcraft-herotorment-of-the-weektriviaworld-of-warcraft-comicworld-of-warcraft-comicsworld-of-warcraft-ehworld-of-warcraft-funnieswow-comicwow-comicswow-ehwow-funnieswow-trivia (Amanda Miller) Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST WoW.com