Curse

League of Legends Holiday Seasons Snowdown Showdown Festival!

DoranM — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:44:02 GMT

Riot Games is kicking off this holiday season with its first annual League of Legends Snowdown Showdown winter festival. From December 16, 2009 to January 6, 2010, Riot is offering limited edition in-game content for the recently launched PC game, to commemorate the holiday festivities.

Some of the special themed content includes a holiday variation of the game map, festive Champion skins, seasonal Runes and joyful consumable items.

Map: The winter map will be replaced with Snowdown Rift, a seasonal variant of the winter version of Summoner's Rift that includes many holiday elements.

Champion skins:

·         Snow Bunny Nidalee
·         Happy Elf Teemo
·         Workshop Nunu

Riot will also be releasing 2 limited edition skins which will only be available during the following periods:

· Old St. Zilean (only available from 12/24-12/27)
· Earnest Elf Tristana (only available from 12/31-1/3)

Runes:

·         Mark of the Crippling Candy Cane
·         Mark of the Yuletide Tannenbaum
·         Glyph of the Special Stocking
·         Seal of the Elusive Snowflake
·         Glyph of the Gracious Gift
·         Seal of the Stout Snowman

Consumable item: The health potion in the in-game store will be replaced by the Riot Nog potion. The effect of the potion will remain identical to the effect of the health potion.

For more information on the Snowdown Showdown event and League of Legends please visit the following community posting http://www.leagueoflegends. com/board/showthread.php?t= 36037 or http://www.leagueoflegends.com .

WoW 5-year Anniversary: WorldofWar.de Chats With Kalgan

Kody — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:15:46 GMT

The latest anniversary interview is from WorldofWar.de, an official German fansite, in which they had a chance to talk with Tom "Kalgan" Chilton, currently the Game Director for World of Warcraft. As with the recent Frank Pearce interview, Chilton provides some very interesting information, including the fact that there are no plans for player housing currently, and an "if we could do it all over" scenario related to PvP.

Chilton feels that, while arenas are certainly popular, it may have not been the best way to progress player-versus-player gameplay in World of Warcraft. If they could do it over again, he would like to have done rated battlegrounds in Burning Crusade first, and then branch out to arenas at a later time.

In addition to this, the biggest info drop has to be that there will likely be another patch before Cataclysm ships -- patch 3.3 probably wasn't the last -- and it could include a round of class changes, bug fixes, possibly some of the Battle.net 2.0 features, and maybe even a raid boss. This goes hand-in-hand with some hints from the Twitter dev chat where Chamber of the Aspects was brought up. Sartharion's gotta be lonely, so maybe we'll see another single-encounter instance before 4.0?

Finally, Kalgan also talked a bit about the 40-player raid game and that it was actually debated for Ulduar because the content needed to feel "epic," but in the end, they realized the raid size isn't the limiting factor on something feeling epic. Anyone who has run Halls of Reflection can certainly attest to this. It's a very fun instance, with a fairly epic feeling because of the story and on heroic mode is actually quite challenging if you don't outgear it. Thus, the chance of seeing 40-player raids ever again falls into the realm of "very unlikely," though you should never always count something out.

This of course wasn't all that was discussed in the interview, so head over to WorldofWar.de and their exclusive interview with Tom Chiltin, either in English or in Deutsch!

Unlimited Free Trial: Play Age of Conan Free Forever

Kody — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:50:35 GMT

Funcom is getting into the holiday cheer by announcing a special promotion today called the Unlimited Free Trial campaign, which will allow players free acces to the 1-20 game forever, assuming you sign up by January 1st, 2010.

"Our original seven day trial has been very successful so far," says Morten Larssen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom. "But with the holiday season coming up this is the perfect time to shake up our trial offer a bit and try out something new. So everyone who downloads the trial before January 1st will be able to play the first part of the game for free, forever. We are confident that many of those taking advantage of this offer will choose to become permanent players, allowing them to experience all of what the game has to offer including all the additions and improvements introduced since launch."

If you haven't yet had the chance to see what the world of Hyboria has to offer, now is your chance to do so risk free. Play through what is lauded as the best starting experience in any MMO due to its storytelling aspects, and do so as many times as you want, for as long as you want.

The entire Island of Tortage experience is waiting, so head over to http://www.ageofconan.com/trial to sign up and give it a try!

Back in the WoW

crashpretty — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:35:46 GMT

After a solid 3 month break, I reactivated my WoW account. I wasn't sure if I wanted to play all that much, I just missed sitting down for a session of quick heroics or a battleground. I was surprised and delighted by the new grouping features for heroics farming - and proceded to spend several hours in a steady, fast-paced grind with my beloved dr00d tonk and three dps'ers of great skill. It took me a while to remember all my skills, and to think to use them, such a remembering to stick fear ward on or thinking to use Pain Suppression instead of panic-spamming Flash Heal. But after the evening's round of badge farming, most of those instincts have returned, and I could finally set up my UI properly. Configuring one's UI when one's forgotten how to play is tricky, I tell you. The new style of play available with the grouping feature is much more fun, so much so that I'm tempted to stick around for more. Still, we'll see how quickly the old fatigue returns, though if any class and spec can hold my interest, it is always a healing build for the priest. With my gear outdated by 3 months, however, (item level 200 is blasphemous) I need to identify the key upgrades available. Clearly, one are of great interest is the new IC instance, and the next challenge is to try it heroic...

Scourge Strike and Hunger for Blood Nerfed

Kody — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:08:06 GMT

Last night Blizzard pushed another round of 3.3 hotfixes live, including nerfs to both Scourge Strike and Hunger for Blood, as well as a bug fix for rolling Corruptions.

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

Onyxia will now move at a normal speed when performing a Deep Breath.

Players will no longer die while zoning into Icecrown citadel as the Gunship event resets.

The Battered Hilt will show it's appropriate faction-racial restrictions.

Hunters, Rogues, and Shaman will once again be able to roll need on off-hand weapons when the need before greed looting system is active.

Earthen Power now properly removes snare effects.

Hunger for Blood now increases a rogues damage by 10% down from 15%.

The Ephemeral Snowflake trinket now has a very short cooldown to prevent it from restoring inappropriately large amounts of mana.

The Shadow damage from Scourge Strike will no longer be able to critically strike. The physical component will continue to be able to critically strike.

You are now able to recast Mind Flay after missing with the spell without receiving a "This spell is not ready yet" message.

In addition to this, Ghostcrawler posted an explanation as to why Scourge Strike was nerfed, which you can check out below.

Quote from: Ghostcrawler (Source)

Players have made several requests for more explanation on the Scourge Strike nerf. I tried to find a post to respond to, but the ones I found were very angry and I didn't feel like a response in there was going to do anything to discourage more angry posts. So I'll just do it here.

We initially started mucking around with Scourge Strike based on numerous requests and complaints from Unholy DKs that their talented strike wasn't very appealing. At the time a lot of Unholy DKs were just using Obliterate instead, especially in PvE. Their logic made a lot of sense. It's obvious that the tree is built around Scourge Strike to some extent. There are many talents that are less interesting without Scourge Strike.

Side note 1: *You* personally may have been happy with Scourge Strike as it was. We don't take a public vote on these things. When players make a lot of sense, the designers sit down and discuss whether we agree with them and whether than warrants any changes. In this case we thought it did.

Side note 2: We have a design law around the office, named for one of the designers here, that anything overpowered is fun. There was a time when Scourge Strike hit for silly numbers. Many DKs knew it did too much damage. Others were nostalgic for that day, perhaps even subconsciously. I've read several times before something else that makes a lot of sense: too many DKs want a class that hits as often as a rogue but hits as hard as a warrior. You can see the problem there. As long as DKs do so much spell and disease damage, their strikes can't hit for really big numbers. (If you don't care about spells and disease damage, then you're probably playing the wrong class.)

In any event, we tried a lot of different things with the talent. You can probably find my old posts. There were many, which makes these claims that DKs were ignored ring a little hollow. We couldn't make it just hit as hard as a physical swing since it completely ignored armor. The problem was that in a raid environment in which armor was routinely sundered / exposed or otherwise bypassed, Scourge Strike's smaller base damage fell short. Again, you can find more detail in older posts.

That's why we came upon the answer of letting Scourge Strike do half physical damage. Half of the attack would respect armor (and therefore sundered armor as well) but the other half could still benefit from all of the DK abilities that improve Shadow damage. As a side bonus, this made the armor penetration on so much of the dps plate slightly more attractive to Unholy DKs. Players argued that this made the ability less interesting or even compromised. We understood the logic there, so we tried to let the physical and Shadow portions crit separately. We knew there was a risk of it feeling too RNG, and some players brought up that risk. But remember we were still trying to solve two other problems (SS needs to hit hard and not be boring) so we decided to try it anyway.

The parses that came out of the PTR weren't too bad. There were some big hits of course, but they didn't happen too often and in PvP the damage didn't seem out of control. Remember though, our PTRs are voluntary. We get some great players trying things out and sending feedback, which is awesome and much appreciated. We have great internal testers who beat on the raid encounters over and over again before they're ready to go public. But none of that testing compares to the flood of data we get the day something goes live. The handful of Icecrown raid parses grew by thousands over night, and many of those had Unholy DKs doing much higher damage than was warranted. Go check out any parse by a decent guild for the Icecrown raid. Once you skip over all the Mutilate rogues, there are all the Unholy DKs.

Maybe in retrospect we made a mistake messing with Scourge Strike at all. Maybe a superior solution would have been to let some Unholy DKs just migrate over to Obliterate or whatever. Just remember as passionately as you feel about things now, many DKs felt just as passionately back then when they urged us to reconsider Scourge Strike. As another designer commented recently "You rarely see indifferent players come to the forums to post their indifference."

Will it stay this way for long? It's too early to tell. This implementation has a chance of working out, but we also want to see the Icecrown hard modes start up as well as the new Arena season kick in.

c-c-c-c-cooold

Exxoz — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:12:02 GMT

Hai all!

Today i finally reached northrend in lvl 68 and dinged 69 after some quests, then i took the random lich king dungeon thingy and failed. Healers! STAY IN GROUP PLZ DO NOT LEAVE IN BOSS FIGHTS!!

-Exxoz

Intel Core i7 Extreme Editions and The Saboteur Game Sweepstakes! (Less than a week left!)

DoranM — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:56:11 GMT

There's less than a week left on our Viva La Vengence Sweepstakes where we're giving out several amazing Intel Core i7 Extreme Editions, 19 copies of The Saboteur, and some Curse Premium Memberships!

Don't miss out on the chance to surprise yourself this Holiday Season with one of these incredible prizes!

Here's a look at the prizes and more information on how you can enter to win:

Grand Prize: Intel® Core™ i7 965 EE (1 Winner) Intel® Core™ i7 965 Extreme Edition, retail value is $1,195.70. Copy of the Saboteur™ game, retail value $59.99. 30-day Curse Premium Membership, retail value $4.95.

1st Place: 2 Winners Intel® Core™ i7 920 Extreme Edition, retail value is $353.95. Copy of the Saboteur™ game, retail value $59.99. 30-day Curse Premium Membership, retail value $4.95.

2nd Place: 15 Winners Copy of the Saboteur™ game, retail value $59.99. 30-day Curse Premium Membership, retail value $4.95.

To enter this sweepstakes visit the Viva La Vengeance page!

F2PMMO Launched Heroes of Gaia With Massive Giveaways!

DoranM — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:37:36 GMT

Heroes of Gaia has been launched by F2pmmo.com on Facebook! To commemorate the launch of the game they're offering cool prizes and incentives to get players in game and leveling up!

Here's a look at what they're giving away:

1. Free rare in-games items for everybody! (CB Event)
Become famous and win free in-games items! Login now!

Event Rules & Prizes:
If you reach 1000 fame by 10PM PST December 15th, 2009, you will receive:

5x lucky chest set
1x rice dumpling
1x hero card box
1x 6 hours diplomacy card
1x Bronze VIP Card

If you reach 3000 fame, you will receive:
Super value gift pack：
1x Platinum resource box
1x bronze accelerate card
1x gold experience pill
5x lucky chest set
1x rice dumpling
1x hero card box
1x 6 hours diplomacy card
1x Bronze VIP Card

2. Top Players Contest (CB) <- Click here for more info.

You think you can become the top player in the world of Gaia?
Now it's your chance to prove it and also win many rare in-game items!

3. Blog'n Contest! Chances to win rare in-game items and more!

Are you a blogger? If you are, then you are in luck! We are proud to announce our first ever blogging contest! Write about Heroes of Gaia provided by F2PMMO.com on your blog for your chances to win rare-in game items and bidding rights on www.highle.com! You will be able to win discounts up to 98% off real-world items, including gaming hardware.

4. Youtube Video Contest! Many chances to win!

Create videos about Heroes of Gaia provided by F2PMMO.com on youtube for your chances to win rare-in game items and bidding rights on www.highle.com! You will be able to win discounts up to 98% off real-world items, including gaming hardware.

To learn more about the game visit the Heroes of Gaia page on Facebook!

ArenaJunkies and ESL TV MsPaint Competition!

DoranM — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:05:11 GMT

ArenaJunkies.com is hosting a super cool Holiday Paint Competition! The competition will end this Saturday, November 12th, and nearly 30 gifts will be given out to winners!

Here's a look at the original post from ArenaJunkies.com:

If you didn't already read in the IEM thread, this week we are hosting a competition in cooperation with ESLTV and WoWverload.

We have loved seeing all the creativity and humor coming out of the MSPaint Rage thread, so we're asking you guys to push your Paint creativity and laughs a little more for this competition.

You can submit your artwork in any or all of the categories for a chance to win one of 29 awesome prizes.

The competition will officially end Saturday evening so that we can pick winners for each category. The winners will then be announced and have their work featured on next week's WoWverload show.

This competition is open to all members. If you can not post in this forum please place your submissions here.

Categories:

What will arena look like in 1 year.
IEM Tournament
Arena Junkies or WoWverload
Open Arena Category (for anything else you want to submit that's arena related)

Prizes:

Blizzcon 2009 Exclusive Marine "Grunty" Pet (20)
1 Year Curse Premium Membership (4)
4gb Curse USB Thumb Drive (5)

Rules:

Each entry should clearly state what category they are entering for.
You can enter in any category as many times as you like, but you can only win one prize.
Entries will close on Saturday evening EST
Entries and posts still follow the rules here on ArenaJunkies - so make sure you are clear on what is acceptable and what is not before posting.
Winners will be determined either by a vote or by ESLTV/AJ admins (Still working out the details on this one).
Be Creative.

Jade Dynasty Announces Releases New Ascension Trailer!

DoranM — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:30:53 GMT

Jade Dynasty has sent us the most recent release trailer for the expansion to their game dubbed "Ascension"! This trailer shows a little more gameplay than the last and should give everyone a better look at what this expansion brings to the game!

Take a look:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

World of Warcraft vs. Halo For Game of the Decade!

DoranM — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:10:49 GMT

World of Warcraft is up for Game of the Decade over at CrispyGamer.com! Right now they're facing off against Halo and Master Chief in the final four lineup!

Who do you think should win game of the decade, everyone's favorite alien smashing badass or the game that put orcs and goblins into the hearts of millions! So which one has had a bigger impact on you?

Vote now: http://www.crispygamer.com/features/2009-12-10/game-of-the-decade-final-four.aspx

Core Hound Pup FAQ

Kody — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:48:05 GMT

There have been a lot of questions about the Core Hound Pup since patch 3.3 went live on Tuesday (Wednesday in Europe). Nethaera recently posted a FAQ for the new pet on the official forums which answers many of them. Check it out below!

Quote from: Nethaera (Source)

Show everyone in Azeroth that you're serious about account security with man's (and orc's) best friend! Beginning today, any World of Warcraft player who protects his or her Battle.net account using either a Blizzard Authenticator ( http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=24660 ) or the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator ( http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26109 ) will get their very own in-game Core Hound Pup, a fiery and feisty guard-dog pet. Adopting this molten mutt is easy: If you've got any kind of Authenticator attached to your account, you'll find your new canine companion waiting for you the next time you log in.

We've also just released a new Blizzard Authenticator token featuring a Core Hound-themed look and design.Click here ( http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000822 ) to order one through the online Blizzard Store. For more information on account security and the various Authenticator options available to you, check out our Account Security ( http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20572 ) and Authenticator ( http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=24986 ) pages.

Core Hound Pup Pet FAQ

Q: How do I get the special Core Hound Pup pet for Authenticator users?
If you have a Blizzard Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator attached to your Battle.net account, you'll find the Core Hound Pup item waiting for you in your in-game mailbox the next time you log in. Simply use the item to add the pet to your collection.

Q: Can the Core Hound Pup help me in combat?
No, his bark is infinitely worse than his bite. The Core Hound Pup is a non-combat guard dog, trained to intimidate rather than eviscerate.

Q: What if I remove my Authenticator?
If you remove the Authenticator from your Battle.net account, the Core Hound Pup will disappear from the pets collection of all of your characters after you log out of the game. You'll need to reattach an Authenticator to receive the pet again, at which point you'll find him in your mailbox once more. If you switch Authenticators while in-game, your pet will remain intact.

Q: Which characters will receive the Core Hound Pup pet?
Each existing character on every World of Warcraft account associated with the Authenticator-protec

ted Battle.net account will receive the Core Hound Pup pet, as will each character you create in the future while the Authenticator is attached.

Q: In what regions is the Core Hound Pup available?
The Core Hound Pup is available to players on realms located in North America, Europe, and Korea. A Battle.net account is required in all of these regions in order to claim the pet.

Q: Do I need to buy the Core Hound-themed Blizzard Authenticator to get the pet?
Nope. Any Blizzard Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator product will do!

World of Warcraft Announces Fall of the Lich King Screenshot Contest!

DoranM — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:55:52 GMT

The folks at World of Warcraft have announced the Lich King screenshot contest! They're looking for your best screenshot highlighting the Fall of the Lich King, one winner will receive a signed Lich King Stein from Taverncraft!

Here's a look at the official announcement:

The Rise and Fall of the Lich King Screenshot Contest

The cold winds of the north are not stayed by armor or weaponry, but slip through the chinks in the armor and bite at the flesh beneath. The Scourge answers to but one king and he is a terrifying foe. Enter the heroes of the Horde and the Alliance to match steel with steel and face down this walking terror and his minions in the cold steppes of Northrend.

We're looking for your best screenshot of your own effort to put a damper on the machinations of the Lich King and the Scourge in Northrend; you could win a Rise of the Lich King Stein.

Visit the contest page for rules and submission information here.

Please note that : One grand prize winner will be chosen to receive the signed #1 of 750 limited quantity Legendary Edition Rise of the Lich King Stein by Taverncraft. Ten additional runners-up will be chosen to win an Epic Edition Rise of the Lich King stein by Taverncraft.

My New Blog

melesha12 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:20:49 GMT

Going to try my hand at blogging.

Melesha

Using SpellFlash

matthewdryden — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:26:14 GMT

I started playing World of Warcraft this week. Through the help of a few forums (and friends), I managed to get a handle of what was going on in the game. The real kicker came from using an addon called SpellFlash (found here as Curse!).

The addon does little more than highlight the the skills it thinks you should be using based on what your fighting, what buffs you have, what is available on your skillbar, and so on and so forth. It seems so simple, but this is one of the biggest problems anybody faces when playing a game as complicated as WoW.

SpellFlash helps me understand what skills need to be used in various different situations, and when. It helps me figure out what skills I am using and what ones need to go.

Kudos to the creator!

World of Warcraft Weekly Community Update For U.S. And EU Players!

DoranM — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:09:31 GMT

The World of Warcraft community team has had a few busy days with the 3.3 Fall of the Lich King announcement, The Authenticator update, and the recent Shane Dabiri intervew! They're back with more today to give us a full update on important news for the U.S. and EU communities! They've also highlighted several developer posts, enjoy:

EU Forums:

Here are some of the most recent blue-posts made on the EU forums:

·         Poll: What is the most exciting part of patch 3.3?
·         3.3 Patch Notes
·         3.3 Patch Support
·         09/12 Realms and Migration
·         07/12 Dungeon Finder Tool Mini-FAQ
·         04/12 Community News
·         03/12 Community Events
·         DreamHack 2009 Recap!
·         Heroic Dungeons
·         Dark Herring Drop Rate
·         Strange profession suggestions
·         Faction Ratios
·         Remembering to activate trinkets
·         S8 When?
·         Arena Match Making Rating...
·         Rep enchants BOA?

Other noteworthy threads:

·         Warcraft Anniversary: Second Tile Revealed!
·         Arena Shoutcast Contest Winners!
·         the coolest class in wow :)
·         most embarashing ways to die in PvP

US Forums:

·         Crashin' & Trashin' achievement
·         Compensation for Players on Select Realms
·         Battle.Net Improved Communication
·         Individual servers and cross realm connectivity
·         Subscription fees and paid services
·         Battle.net improved communication
·         Quest tracker in 3.3
·         Favourite WoW cinematic
·         WoW and upcoming plans after Cataclysm
·         Question about the daily random dungeon
·         More updates on LFG tool
·         Triumph badges in 3.3
·         Why pvp ranks disappeared

Developer Posts:

·         PvE Rogues
·         Warriors and MT
·         Moonkin PvP Feedback
·         PvE/P in Cataclysm
·         Warlocks in 3.3
·         Elemental Shaman DPS
·         Shards - technical question
·         Healing in cataclysm
·         Hunters
·         Shadowpriests and cata
·         Clarification on Shadowmourne Quest
·         Hunter fixes missing for 3.3?
·         IC 5man heal loot
·         Why all out AoE nerf?
·         Blocked attacks and hamstring/mutilate
·         First tier 10 DK tank chest bug
·         DPS problem with LFG system
·         Mutilate and Quel'Delar
·         New Interface as a tank

curse not keep up wit their end of the bargain, which I PAID FOR

jayde41 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:08:56 GMT

You know i go on tonight and always I updeate me curse because for some reason it wont update itself.

I updated three time only to be told that the add on I had chosen whas not working and down.

and the bit with asking me me to update my info every 3 days that it will help curse grwatly" thats what I paid the yearly fee for, was to play wow and not be botherwed by this or that crap every five seconds, I have died ten times tonight due to curse not properly working, noi wonder so many people told me I was crazy to pay for it, it never frieki8ng works.

Some days of gaming.

Exxoz — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:17:26 GMT

Ok the weekend plan didnt go quite well so i just took a point in my screens and are going to just add links to pics and the description.

Hanging out in bg pwning a priest.

Defending in BG

Taking a walk in Org.

Doing this quest that i had to google to find out what i was suppose to do, and every comment on the quest was that it was a waste of time and really hard to do. I DISSAGREE.

Looking for some action in dalaran. Didnt find anything exept 1 ToC HC that failed BADLY.

Escort quests suck when your are wearing blankets.(cloth n00b)

SERIOUS TAURISH BUISNESS IN BG!!! :D ^^

Having lunch in ZF. No not rly i was boosting my brother. (46 pala now)

Its a really easy instance to boost rly but i fucked up at those sand piles, no one told me that there is like 100 mobs inside them... -.-"

Thats pretty much 3 days of some slack gaming with me :D I have a pic of my "gear and food" Candy ´+ my macbook YEA WHAT YA GONNA DO BOUT IT.! .... :P

BB SO LONG NEW PATCH NEW POSSABILITYS!!!

-Exxoz

P.S. Any tips and advises are concidered. Exept for the bad ones.

Attach An Authenticator, Get a Core Hound Pup!

Kody — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:04:54 GMT

If you've been looking for a reason to add an authenticator to your account beyond the extra security it provides, now you have one. When you attach an authenticator to your account, you'll receive a Core Hound Pup on any current and future characters on that Battle.net account! Thanks to Athrynn of Might for the in-game screenshots below.

Quote from: Nethaera (Source)

The Core Hound Pup is a gift for anyone using an authenticator (attached to an account) whether it's the physical authenticator or the mobile authenticator. Anyone who attaches an authenticator will also receive this lovable new pet. Think of it as your own personal guard dog.

Blizzard Insider Interviews Shane Dabiri

DoranM — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:36:36 GMT

Blizzard Insider just completed an interview with former World of Warcraft Lead Producer Shane Dabiri that talks about the conception, creation, and early reception of World of Warcraft, and how building a successful MMORPG has shaped Blizzard Entertainment.

Here's a look at some of the Q&A between Blizzard Insider and Shane Dabiri:

When you started working on World of Warcraft, did you come on from the very conception of the idea, or did you join later in development?

There were actually two important milestones before I started working on World of Warcraft. I was the lead producer on Starcraft: Brood War. After that wrapped up, we were trying to figure out what kind of project I would go on to next. I was doing some localization work for Brood War, but then we started up a new team, working on a top-secret internal project. It ended up that we spent probably six months to a year on that game before we realized that it wasn't any good and didn't live up to our standard of quality.

What do you see as the legacy of World of Warcraft? When, 20 years from now, people are reading game development textbooks, and they come to the page on World of Warcraft, what is it going to say about the game?

There are so many things, things that I won't know for the next 10 or 20 years. I can say that we revitalized a genre that people thought was too expensive, and not lucrative enough to get into. At the time, a lot of people were trying MMOs, and their success was limited. When World of Warcraft came out with millions of subscribers after five years, people saw the possibilities. If you do things right, appeal to the amusement park style of gaming, create an environment that's open, appealing, and makes people laugh and smile, there's immense possibility.

There's many more questions, and lots of discussion about the past, present, and future of World of Warcraft in the full Shane Dabiri Interview!

Fall of the Lich King: Patch 3.3.0 Notes

Kody — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:45:05 GMT

As expected, patch 3.3 is going live this week. Check out the official live patch notes below for everything that's changed and new. Also, stay tuned later today for live streams of Icecrown Citadel for those of you who won't be getting the patch today or can't raid!

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

Fall of the Lich King, the latest World of Warcraft content update, is coming! The heroes of the Horde and the Alliance have faced unimaginable horrors and suffered terrible losses in their desperate struggle against the Scourge. Now the time has come to break through the fortified gates of Icecrown Citadel and confront the Lich King in the frozen heart of his domain. Follow Jaina Proudmoore or Sylvanas Windrunner through the Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection in an attempt to subvert the Lich King's army in a new multi-wing 5-player dungeon. Join the Ashen Verdict as they charge through the citadel's main gate to take on the Scourge's most powerful leaders and fearsome monstrosities in a new 10- and 25-player raid. Fall of the Lich King also introduces the cross-realm Dungeon Finder interface, new quest-tracking features designed to make it easier to find objectives, and much more.

Check out the official patch notes below for more details.

World of Warcraft Client Patch 3.3.0: Fall of the Lich King

The latest test realm patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/test-realm-patchnotes.html

The latest patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/

Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Halls

Looming over the stark wastes of Northrend, Icecrown Citadel awaits those who would see the Lich King and his Scourge brought low and the threat they pose wiped from the face of Azeroth. The heroes who venture within will face some of the greatest horrors yet seen. But before you burst into the front gate of the citadel, an alternate means of entry beckons. Journey through three separate wings of the new five-player dungeon, Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Halls, and follow Jaina Proudmoore or Sylvanas Windrunner into the Lich King's domain.

Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Throne

All across Northrend, many battles have been fought against the vile Scourge. Countless lives have been lost since the Alliance and the Horde first reached these frozen wastes, but the champions of Azeroth continue to march forward -- and Icecrown Citadel, the cornerstone of the Scourge's power and the home base of the Lich King, is their final target. Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade have forged an accord with Darion Mograine and the Knights of the Ebon Blade to form the Ashen Verdict. This coalition's strongest combatants, along with the champions of the Alliance and the Horde, will lead the charge against the citadel. In the new Icecrown Citadel raid dungeon, Azeroth's mightiest will face terrifying challenges before ascending to the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King and his runeblade, Frostmourne, await to deliver the heroes to their deaths....

Cross-Realm Dungeon Finder

The Dungeon Finder is now available, providing players with quick and easy access to five-player parties. This feature connects all realms within a battlegroup using an advanced matchmaking system, making it easier for players of all levels to find a dungeon group. In addition, players can reap additional rewards through the Dungeon Finder by choosing the Random option, which is available to both pick-up and pre-formed groups. Check out the User Interface section for more details.

Getting Started and Quest Tracking

A number of changes have been made to World of Warcraft's introductory experience, including updated character and class information at the character-selection screen, more robust tooltips with images, improved health and mana regeneration at lower levels, and adjustments to various classes designed to make it easier for players to get started. In addition, all-new quest-tracking features have been added to assist players in finding objectives, including new interface functionality in the quest log, the map ("M" key), and the Objectives pane.

General

Icecrown Citadel

Three separate 5-player dungeons - The Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection - containing all new challenges and missions of discovery, await players in normal and Heroic modes.

10- and 25-player challenges await players in Icecrown Citadel. Only when all challenges have been overcome in the raid dungeon can players unlock hard modes for individual bosses. For more information on how the Icecrown Citadel raid content will be made available, please visit our Dungeons & Raids forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=11126&sid=1

Character Creation: The descriptions for races, classes, and race/class combinations have been improved to provide new players with a better idea of the roles and advantages of each class and race.

Dazed: Creatures attacking a player from behind can no longer cause players level 1-5 to be dazed, and have a reduced chance to cause players level 6-10 to be dazed.

Knockbacks no longer dismount players. If on a flying mount, you will be knocked back a short distance before being able to resume flying.

The existing /welcome emote now greets/welcomes targets (character says "hello"), while the new /yw is for saying "you're welcome."

Many of the tail sweeps with knockback effects will no longer hit players' pets.

Level 1 characters no longer start with food or water in their inventory.

Attack is now called Auto Attack. The tooltip has been changed to reflect that the player will continue automatically attacking a target.

Meeting Stones: To use any Meeting Stone, it is only required that the character's minimum level be 15. There is no maximum character level requirement for any Meeting Stone.

Classes: General

Area-of-Effect Damage Caps: We've redesigned the way area damage is capped when hitting many targets. Instead of a hard cap on total damage done, the game now caps the total damage done at a value equal to the damage the spell would do if it hit 10 targets. In other words, if a spell does 1000 damage to each target, it would hit up to 10 targets for 1000 each, but with more than 10 targets, each target would take 1000 damage divided by the number of targets. 20 targets would be hit for 500 damage each in that example.

Attack: Level 1 druids, mages, priests, and warlocks will no longer start with the Attack button placed on their action bars by default.

Default Equipment: Starting weapons are now more uniform. Rogues now start with a pair of daggers equipped. All other classes except shamans start with a 2-handed weapon equipped and the required skill already known. Shamans start with a 1-handed weapon and a shield, as they benefit more from the shield than they would from a 2-handed weapon.

Glancing Blows: The mage, warlock, and priest classes no longer have an increased chance for their melee attacks to be glancing blows; and the damage penalty due to their glancing blows is the same as for other classes.

Health and Mana Regeneration: These regeneration rates have been increased by up to 200% for low level characters. As a player's level increases, the regeneration rates gradually reduce, returning to normal rates at level 15.

Pet Resilience: All player pets now get 100% of their master's resilience.

Spell Mana Costs: These costs have been reduced for almost all lower level spell ranks. In general, if a spell decreased in cost with a higher level rank in patch 3.2.0, that spell now has the decreased cost at all ranks. In addition, spells learned before level 20 with reduced cast times and/or durations have even further reduced mana costs, proportionate to their reduction in cast time or damage.

Taunt Diminishing Returns: We've revised the system for diminishing returns on Taunt so that creatures do not become immune to Taunt until after 5 Taunts have landed. The duration of the Taunt effect will be reduced by 35% instead of 50% for each taunt landed. In addition, most creatures in the world will not be affected by Taunt diminishing returns at all. Creatures will only have Taunt diminishing returns if they have been specifically flagged for that behavior based on the design of a given encounter.

Races: General

Orc and troll shamans now have their own unique totem art.

Racial Attribute Bonuses: These bonuses have been recalibrated to even out the amount of starting health on the various races. All races start with a standardized level of stamina, except for orcs, dwarves, and tauren who now start with 1 extra point of stamina. For each class, bonuses and penalties to all attributes have been adjusted so that each race has an equal attribute total.

Will of the Forsaken now shares a 45-second cooldown with similar effects, including the Medallion of the Horde, Titan-Forged runes, Insignia of the Horde, etc.

PvP

Arenas

All abilities that have base cooldowns of 10 minutes or longer cannot be used in Arenas, down from 15 minutes.

Battlegrounds

Battleground Experience: Battleground experience gained is now based on the level of the player gaining experience, rather than the highest possible player level in that Battleground.

All level 71-80 Battleground daily quests will now award 25 Arena points in addition to their current rewards.

Wintergrasp

You must now have the following ranks to build or pilot siege vehicles:

Rank 2: Build/pilot Catapults.

Rank 3: Build/pilot Demolishers.

Rank 3: Build/pilot Siege Engines.

Dungeons & Raids

Naxxramas

Players no longer need to kill the final bosses in all four wings of this dungeon in order to teleport to Sapphiron. Teleportation orbs have been added to allow players access back and forth from Sapphiron's lair.

Oculus

Azure Ring Guardians agro distance changed from 50 to 40 yards.

Many bosses and creatures have had their total health reduced.

Several bosses and creatures have had cooldowns on specific abilities increased, effect durations reduced, and damage on some of these abilities reduced.

Ring-Lord Conjurers and Sorceresses now hang out in packs of 4 instead of packs of 5.

Vehicle scaling on the drakes based on the rider's item level has been increased to make them more powerful.

Death Knights

Army of the Dead: The cooldown on this ability has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Army Ghoul damage dropped by 50%. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Raise Ally: The cooldown on this ability has been reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Rune of the Stoneskin Gargoyle: There is now a 1-handed version of this rune in addition to the current 2-handed rune.

Rune Strike: Threat generated by this ability increased by approximately 17%.

Talents

Unholy

Night of the Dead: Now reduces the damage your pet takes from area-of-effect damage by 45/90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players. In addition, this talent now reduces the cooldown of Army of the Dead by 2/4 minutes, down from 5/10 minutes.

Scourge Strike: Redesigned. The base ability now deals 50% weapon damage plus an additional amount as physical damage. However, for each disease the death knight has on the target, the target will take additional shadow damage equal to 25% of the physical damage done.

Unholy Blight: This talent now deals only 10% of Death Coil damage as a damage-over-time effect on the target.

Druids

Prowl: This ability no longer has multiple ranks and penalizes movement speed by 30%.

Rebirth: The cooldown on this spell has been lowered from 20 minutes down to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Rejuvenation: The base duration on all ranks of this spell is now 15 seconds.

Tranquility: The cooldown on this spell has been reduced to 8 minutes, down from 10 minutes.

Talents

Balance

Eclipse: This effect will not activate again within 15 seconds of either type of Eclipse effect firing, in addition to the existing 30-second cooldown for each type of Eclipse. In addition, Eclipse now grants a 40% critical strike chance to Starfire and 40% increased damage to Wrath, up from 30%.

Force of Nature: Health on the treants has been increased.

Feral Combat

Predatory Strikes: The Predatory Swiftness buff from this talent now has an 8-second duration.

Restoration

Gift of the Earthmother: Redesigned. This talent now increases spell haste by 2/4/6/8/10% and reduces the base global cooldown of Lifebloom by 2/4/6/8/10% instead of its previous effects.

Pets

Avoidance (passive): Now reduces the damage your pets take from area-of-effect damage by 90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players.

Hunters

Call Stabled Pet: Cooldown reduced from 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Deterrence: Now also increases the chance for ranged attacks to miss the hunter by 100% while under its effect.

Misdirection: Redesigned. Instead of having finite charges, it now begins a 4-second timer when the hunter using Misdirection performs a threat-generating attack, during which all threat generated by the hunter goes to the friendly target. In addition, multiple hunters can now misdirect threat to the same friendly target simultaneously.

Talents

Beast Mastery

Intimidation: If the hunter's pet is in melee range of its target, the stun from Intimidation will now be applied immediately instead of on the pet's next swing or attack.

Pets

Avoidance: This talent has been replaced by Culling the Herd. Hunter pets now innately take 90% less damage from area-of-effect abilities like all other class pets. This does not apply to area-of-effect damage caused by other players.

Cower: Redesigned. This ability no longer affects threat, and instead reduces damage taken by the pet by 40% for 6 seconds with a 45-second cooldown. While cowering, the pet's movement speed is 50% of normal speed. Cower now only has a single rank and is available at pet level 20.

Culling the Herd: This pet talent has replaced the Avoidance talent in the pet trees (Hunter pets now gain that benefit automatically without expenditure of talent points). Culling the Herd increases pet and hunter damage by 1/2/3% for 10 seconds each time the pet deals a critical strike with Claw, Bite, or Smack.

Demoralizing Screech: The attack power reduction from this ability has been increased by 40%, equaling the maximum possible attack power reduction from the abilities of other classes.

Improved Cower: Redesigned. This ability now reduces the movement penalty of Cower by 50%/100%.

Pet Leveling: Hunter pets now need only 5% of the experience a player needs to level, down from 10%.

Venom Web Spray: Range increased from 20 yards to 30 yards.

Web: Range increased from 20 yards to 30 yards.

Wolverine Bite: This talent is now enabled when the pet lands a critical strike rather than from the target dodging the pet's attacks. In addition, this talent no longer has a prerequisite.

Mages

Talents

Arcane

Arcane Empowerment: This talent now also grants 1/2/3% increased damage done by the mage's party or raid for 10 seconds after the mage gets a critical strike with Arcane Explosion, Arcane Missiles, Arcane Barrage, or Arcane Blast. This effect is exclusive with Ferocious Inspiration and Sanctified Retribution.

Fire

Blast Wave: The mana cost of this talent has been significantly reduced.

Burning Determination: The duration of interrupt immunity granted by this talent is now 20 seconds.

Dragon's Breath: The mana cost of this talent has been significantly reduced.

Firestarter: When this talent is triggered, it makes the next Flamestrike cost no mana in addition to being instant.

Improved Scorch: The debuff from this talent no longer stacks, and instead can apply the full effect from a single cast of Scorch.

Frost

Deep Freeze: This spell now deals a large amount of damage to targets permanently immune to stuns. In addition, when this ability deals damage it will no longer consume two charges of Fingers of Frost for those mages with the Shatter talent.

Fingers of Frost: This talent now triggers immediately on casting a spell rather than being delayed until the spell strikes the target.

Pets

Avoidance (passive): Now reduces the damage your pets take from area-of-effect damage by 90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players.

Mirror Image: Health on the mirror images has been increased.

Water Elemental: Waterbolt mana cost reduced by 80%.

Paladins

Divine Intervention: This ability now also removes Exhaustion or Sated from a target if the recipient is out of combat when the effect ends. In addition, the cooldown on this ability has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Flash of Light: This spell no longer causes a heal-over-time effect unless the player has the Infusion of Light talent.

Lay on Hands: This ability will place Forbearance on the paladin if used on his or herself. It will not place Forbearance on others.

Talents

Holy

Aura Mastery: This effect of this talent has been reduced in duration to 6 seconds.

Infusion of Light: This talent now causes the paladin's Flash of Light spells to heal the target for 50/100% of the Flash of Light healing amount over 12 seconds.

Protection

Divine Guardian: This talent no longer increases the amount of damage transferred to the paladin from Divine Sacrifice. Instead it causes all raid and party members to take 10/20% reduced damage while Divine Sacrifice is active. In addition, the duration has been changed to 6 seconds, however the effect does not terminate when Divine Sacrifice is removed before its full duration.

Divine Sacrifice: Redesigned. The effect of Divine Sacrifice is now party-only and the maximum damage which can be transferred is now limited to 40% of the paladin's health multiplied by the number of party members. In addition, the bug which allowed Divine Sacrifice to sometimes persist despite reaching its maximum damage has been fixed. Divine Sacrifice will now cancel as soon as its maximum damage value is exceeded in all cases. Finally, Damage which reduces the paladin's health below 20% now cancels the effect early.

Retribution

Repentance: This crowd control effect will no longer break early from the damage done by Righteous Vengeance.

Priests

Divine Hymn: The cooldown on this spell has been reduced to 8 minutes, down from 10 minutes.

Power Word: Shield: This spell can now be cast on non-raid/party friendly targets.

Talents

Shadow

Improved Devouring Plague: This spell now deals 10/20/30% of its total periodic effect instantly, up from 5/10/15%.

Mind Flay: The range of this ability has been increased to 30 yards, up from 20.

Shadowform: This talent also now causes Devouring Plague and Vampiric Touch to benefit from haste. Both the period length and the duration of these spells will be reduced by haste. In addition, the mana cost has been reduced from 32% to 13% of base mana.

Vampiric Embrace: This ability is now provides a 30-minute buff that cannot be dispelled, instead of a target debuff and only generates healing for single-target shadow damage spells.

Pet

Avoidance (passive): Now reduces the damage your pet takes from area-of-effect damage by 90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players.

Rogues

Deadly Poison: In addition to its existing effects, when a rogue applies Deadly Poison to a target which has already reached the maximum number of applications, this will also trigger the poison which the rogue is using on his or her other weapon.

Dual Wield: Rogues now know this ability upon logging into the game at level 1.

Stealth: This ability no longer has multiple ranks. While active, the single rank of this ability (available at level 1) allows rogues to move at 70% movement speed.

Talents

Assassination

Improved Poisons: Bonus chance to trigger Deadly Poison from this talent increased.

Murder: This talent now provides a flat damage increase of 2/4% against all targets, instead of only targets which do not appear in Icecrown.

Subtlety

Preparation: The cooldown on this ability has been reduced to 8 minutes, down from 10 minutes.

Filthy Tricks: The cooldown reduction this talent provides for Preparation has been reduced to 1.5/3 minutes, down from 2.5/5 minutes.

Shamans

Earth Elemental Totem: The cooldown for this totem has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Fire Elemental Totem: The cooldown for this totem has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Fire Nova Totem: This totem has been replaced with a new spell, Fire Nova, which is available at the same ranks as the old Fire Nova Totem. Existing characters will automatically learn this new spell in place of the totem. With a Fire Totem active, shamans will be able to use Fire Nova (fire magic) to emit the same area-of-effect damage as the old Fire Nova Totem from the active Fire Totem, not consuming the totem in the process. Fire Nova will activate a 1.5-second global cooldown when used and has a 10-second spell cooldown. The caster must be within 30 yards of the totem to use this ability, but does not need to be within line of sight of the totem.

Reincarnation: The cooldown on this spell has been lowered from 60 minutes down to 30 minutes.

Talents

Elemental Combat

Elemental Mastery: This talent now increases spell haste by 15% instead of critical strike chance while active.

Improved Fire Nova Totem: Renamed Improved Fire Nova. This talent now provides an additional 10/20% damage to the spell and reduces the cooldown by 2/4 seconds.

Enhancement

Earth's Grasp: This talent now also reduces the cooldown of the Stoneclaw and Earthbind totems by 15/30%.

Restoration

Improved Reincarnation: This talent now reduces the cooldown of Reincarnation by 7/15 minutes, down from 10/20 minutes. Reincarnation cannot be used in Arenas.

Warlocks

Create Soulstone: The cooldown on this spell and duration of its buff have been lowered from 30 minutes down to 15 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Talents

Affliction

Improved Drain Soul: This talent now reduces threat by 10%/20%, up from 5%/10%.

Improved Felhunter: This talent now also reduces the cooldown on the felhunter's Shadow Bite ability by 2/4 seconds.

Shadow Mastery: This talent now also increases the damage done by the felhunter's Shadow Bite ability by 3/6/9/12/15%.

Demonology

Decimation: Redesigned. When Shadowbolt, Incinerate or Soul Fire hit a target that is at or below 35% health, the cast time of Soul Fire is reduced by 20/40% for 8 seconds. Soul Fires cast under the effect of Decimation cost no shards.

Demonic Pact: This talent now also increases the warlock's spell damage by 1/2/3/4/5%.

Molten Core: Redesigned. This talent now increases the duration of Immolate by 3/6/9 seconds and provides a 4/8/12% chance to gain the Molten Core effect when Corruption deals damage. The Molten Core effect empowers the next 3 Incinerate or Soul Fire spells cast within 15 seconds (Incinerate: increases damage done by 6/12/18% and reduces cast time by 10/20/30%; Soul Fire: increases damage done by 6/12/18% and increases critical strike chance by 5/10/15%). Molten Core now has a new spell effect.

Destruction

Conflagrate: Redesigned. This talent now consumes an Immolate or Shadowflame effect on the enemy target to instantly deal damage equal to 9 seconds of Immolate or 8 seconds of Shadowflame, and causes additional damage over 3 seconds equal to 3 seconds of Immolate or 2 seconds of Shadowflame. In addition, the periodic damage of Conflagrate is capable of critically striking the afflicted target.

Destructive Reach: This talent now reduces threat by 10%/20%, up from 5%/10%.

Ruin: This talent now also increases the critical strike damage bonus of the imp's Firebolt spell by 100%.

Pets

Avoidance (passive): Now reduces the damage your pets take from area-of-effect damage by 90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players.

Doomguard/Infernal: These pets now innately have Avoidance like all other warlock pets.

Inferno: The cooldown on this summoning spell has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Shadow Bite: This pet ability now does 15% increased damage for each of the warlock's damage-over-time effects on the target.

Summon Imp: This ability is now available from the trainer for level 1 warlocks and no longer requires a quest to learn.

Warriors

Victory Rush: This ability is now trainable at level 6.

Talents

Protection

Damage Shield: This ability will no longer trigger any chance-on-hit effects from the warrior or the opponent it damages.

User Interface

Many of the default Interface Options settings have been changed for greater ease of use by new players. Existing players who create new characters may want to review the Interface Options in the event that the default settings feel different.

Quest Tracking Feature

Players can now track quest objectives on the map ('M' key).

Quest Log

A Show Map button has been added to the Quest Log. Selecting a quest and pressing this button will open the map for the zone in which the quest objective is located displaying the associated area of interest. Any other active quests in a player's Quest Log for that zone will also be displayed.

Map

The map interface has been separated into four separate panes: a map pane (left), a pane listing active quest names for the zone being viewed (right), a pane listing the full quest text for any highlighted quest (bottom left), and a pane listing the quest rewards for any highlighted quest (bottom right).

All active quests listed in the right pane for the zone being viewed on the map will be assigned a number. These numbers will be displayed on the map according to the areas of interest for each quest.

Highlighting a quest name in the right pane will highlight the corresponding area of interest on the map in the left pane, show its quest text in the lower left pane, and list the quest rewards in the lower right pane.

Given that some quest objectives can be achieved in multiple locations within a given zone, highlighting such a quest will highlight an area of interest closest in proximity to the character's current location.

This feature can be disabled by un-checking the Show Quest Objectives box in the bottom right corner of the new map interface, restoring the map to its standard full-screen display.

Clicking on the arrow in the top right corner of the new map interface will hide all but the map pane, bringing the map out of full-screen mode and allowing players to leave it open while navigating a zone or engaging in combat.

Objectives Tracking

This frame has been improved to offer new functionality and can be used with the new shrunken map option.

The Objectives frame is now docked below the mini-map next to the right 2 action bars and will track up to 10 quests for a zone.

Numbers have been added next to each quest name and objective corresponding with those areas of interest displayed on the map.

If a quest objective has been completed, the number will be replaced with a yellow question mark symbol.

The arrow button in the top right corner of the Objectives frame can be used to toggle between minimizing and maximizing the quest objective display.

Quest Difficulty Tracking

This feature is off by default and can be enabled in the Objectives window from the Interface Options menu. Turning this feature on will color-code all quest names displayed in the map interface according to difficulty (grey, green, yellow, orange, and red).

Dungeon Finder

This feature has replaced the Looking For Group tool and provides all-new dungeon party creation functionality.

Players can join as individuals, as a full group, or a partial group to look for additional party members.

Groups using this tool will be able to teleport directly to the selected instance. Upon leaving the instance, players will be returned to their original location. If any party member needs to temporarily leave the instance for reagents or repairs, they will have the option to teleport back to the instance.

Players can choose the Random Dungeon option.

The Heroic Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Frost no more than once a day.

The normal Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Triumph no more than once a day.

Continuing to complete Wrath of the Lich King Heroic instances using the Daily Random Dungeon option will award players two additional Emblems of Triumph each time.

Daily Heroic and normal dungeon quests have been removed. These quests have been replaced with weekly raid quests (see the "Quests" section for details).

Level-appropriate rewards will be offered to players who choose the Random Dungeon option for pre-Wrath of the Lich King dungeons.

Players can be placed in a group for a random dungeon no more than once every 15 minutes.

Random Dungeon rewards will be placed in each player's inventory automatically upon completion of the dungeon (final boss killed). A pop-up notification will display any rewards earned through the Dungeon Finder.

Instead of choosing a random dungeon, players can also choose specific dungeons appropriate for their level range. Multiple instances can be selected at one time. The feature no longer limits the choice to look for only 3 dungeon groups at one time.

Pick-Up Groups

Cross-realm instances are now available and use an improved matchmaking system to assist players in looking for additional party members. As with Battlegrounds, the realms in each Battlegroup are connected.

As part of the matchmaking system, some of the more difficult dungeons will have a minimum gear requirement. Players also need to meet the requirements for dungeons that require attunement, such as keys or quests. If a player does not meet the requirements for a particular dungeon, a lock icon will be displayed next to that dungeon. Hovering over this icon will display the requirements which have not been met.

Only conjured items and loot dropped in a dungeon for which other party members are eligible can be traded between players from different realms.

A Vote Kick feature will be available in the event a member of a party is not performing to the expectations of the other members.

Players who leave the group prematurely are subject to a Deserter debuff preventing them from using the Dungeon Finder for 15 minutes.

If an existing group loses a member, the leader will be asked if he or she wants to continue the dungeon. Choosing to continue will automatically place the group back into the Dungeon Finder queue.

A Player will not be placed in a group with people on his or her Ignore list.

Players who take part in groups who have one or more members who have been matched with them randomly from within the Dungeon Finder will receive extra rewards, up to and including the coveted Perky Pug non-combat pet. The more random players with whom one groups, the faster the pet can be obtained.

The Need Before Greed loot system will be the unalterable default looting system for pick-up groups in the Dungeon Finder and has been updated.[ul]

Need Before Greed will now recognize gear appropriate for a class in three ways: the class must be able to equip the item, pure melee will be unable to roll on spell power items, and classes are limited to their dominant armor type (ex. paladins for plate). All items will still be available via Greed rolls as well as the new Disenchant option should no member be able to use the item.

Players will be able to roll on items with a required minimum level higher than a player's current level.

User Interface

Looking For Raid

There is a new Looking For Raid option available to players that can be accessed via the Raid Information screen in the interface or by typing "/LFR."

Players will be able to browse the system manually for any other players looking for a raid dungeon group.

While browsing LFR players may sort the list ascending or descending by left-clicking the following headers: Name, Level, Class, Tank Role, Healer Role, and Damage Role. The crown is the Leader Role (representing a raid group with 2 or more people). Players can left-click on this header to sort the list with groups at the top or at the bottom.

Hovering over players listed in LFR will display their name, class, level, roles and comments. Hovering over a raid/group will display the leader's name, the raid information (number of people in the raid), comments, if there are any bosses dead (and which ones), and if there are any friends from your Friends list or ignored players from your Ignore list in the raid group.

The Looking For Group chat channel has returned and can be accessed in all major cities (similar to the Trade chat channel) without the use of the Dungeon Finder interface.

Players may only be queued or listed in one of the following systems at a time: Dungeons, LFR, Battlegrounds, or Arenas.

Ignore List: The amount of characters a person can ignore has been increased to 50. In addition, players on other realms can be placed on the Ignore list.

Buffs and Debuffs: This is a new section added to Interface Options.

New option - Castable Debuffs: Enabling this will cause only debuffs you have cast on an enemy target to appear.

New option - Consolidate Buffs: Enabling this adds a buff consolidation box near the mini-map. Very short term buffs (e.g. Replenishment) and very long term buffs (e.g. Prayer of Fortitude) are filtered into the buff box. The icons are stacked here, but they can still be seen by moving the mouse cursor over the buff box. Long term buffs will move out of the box when they are about to expire. Buffs such as important procs (e.g. Art of War, Maelstrom Weapon), cooldowns (e.g. Bloodlust / Heroism, Combustion) or limited in range (e.g. totems and paladin auras) are always displayed.

Tutorial System: The tutorial pop-ups are now larger, contain images, and better try to direct players to the relevant locations or user interface elements on the screen. In addition, several new tips have been added, while some existing tips will now appear at more appropriate times for new players.

Dungeon & Raid Difficulty Display: A group's dungeon or raid difficulty setting will now be displayed via an icon off of the mini-map.

Group Disenchanting Option: In addition to rolling Need or Greed on items, players now have the option to elect for an item to be disenchanted if an enchanter of the appropriate skill level is in the group. Disenchant works exactly like Greed except if a player wins the Greed roll, they will receive the disenchanted materials instead. Players who choose Need will always win the item and will always beat those that choose Greed or Disenchant.

Lag Reports: Players can now report high latency or lag by accessing the Help Request menu.

Unit Nameplates

The range at which players can see unit nameplates has been increased by 40 yards.

Unit nameplates are now subject to line-of-sight limitations in certain situations (this does not pertain to objects like Arena pillars or bridges).

Players can now adjust select unit nameplate display settings listed below under Interface Options via the Names tab.

Friendly/enemy pet nameplates can be toggled.

Enemy totem nameplates can be toggled (friendly totem nameplates are never displayed).

Players can choose whether or not unit nameplates overlap.

Unit nameplates for critters are never displayed.

Non spell-based tracking now persists through logout.

Any party member may mark targets (this does not apply to raid groups).

Players will be warned when their talents are reset due to a new patch.

"/Settitle" command has been added.

Instant quest text is on by default.

Tentative status added for calendar responses.

Players below level 10 may not join raids.

Ignore list expanded to 50 to match the friends list.

Unit frames added for special encounters.

Interface element added next to the mini-map to show what dungeon you are in (ex: 10- and 25-player Heroic dungeons marked with a skull).

Experience earned for a quest will display in the Quest Rewards section.

Confirmation box added when buying stable slots.

Macro Changes

Symbol "@" added as a synonym for "target=";. For example, "/cast [@focus] Flash Heal".

New macro conditionals: "vehicleui" (if the player has a vehicle UI) and "unithasvehicleui" (if the target of the macro has a vehicle UI).

Addon Author Changes

"registerForClicks" added to xml buttons.

"MouseIsOver" has been converted to a "C" function for increased efficiency (e.g. /dump PlayerFrame:IsMouseOver() ).

When an addon file is loaded, the addon name and an addon table are passed to the file through '…'. The same addon table is passed to every file loaded by a particular TOC file (example at the top of a Lua file: "local addonName, addonTable = …;".

"motionScriptsWhileDisabled" attribute added to buttons. This allows "OnEnter"; and "OnLeave"; to fire while the button is disabled.

"GetFileHeight()" and "GetFileWidth()" added to Texture objects. 0 is returned if no texture file is associated with the texture.

You can now query for a list of completed quests with "QueryQuestsCompleted()" then wait for the "QUEST_QUERY_COMPLETE" event, and call "GetQuestsCompleted(<luatable>)".

For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros Forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?sid=1&forumId=11114

Graphics

A new feature has been added to the D3D graphics engine to improve texture management (particularly for Windows XP users). If you are experiencing random crashes related to file read errors or out of memory, this new backend may help. To enable the new backend, add the following line to your Config.WTF file: SET gxApi "d3d9ex". For more information please visit our Technical Support forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=11110&sid=1

Professions

Enchanting

Enchant Weapon - Black Magic: This enchantment now sometimes increases haste rating for the caster rather than inflicting the caster's target with a damage-over-time effect. It is also now triggered by landing any harmful spell rather than inflicting damage with a spell. Enchant Weapon - Unholy: This enchantment now inflicts Shadow damage in addition to its original effect.

First Aid

The training costs for most bandages have been reduced.

Fishing

The all-new Kalu'ak Fishing Derby, a test of fishing skill with a healthy dash of luck, has come to Northrend! Every Saturday beginning at 2 PM players can try to catch the elusive Blacktip Shark. Elder Clearwater sits in Dalaran for one hour awaiting the return of the quickest, most experienced fisher to bring him this shark. This champion fisher will be rewarded in-kind for returning with the first catch. Those who aren't able to return with the first catch will still receive just reward for getting the Blacktip Shark to Elder Clearwater before he takes his leave. It is said that these sharks' favorite meal are the bite-sized Pygmy Suckerfish. Perhaps a hook in their waters will do the trick.

Mining

Enchanted Thorium: This ability now uses the Mining skill and is learned from trainers at a skill level of 250.

Quests

Weekly raid quests are now available from Archmage Lan'dalock in Dalaran. Every Tuesday at 3 AM the Council of Six will choose a different strategic target that must die from either: The Obsidian Sanctum, Naxxramas, The Eye of Eternity, Ulduar, Trial of the Crusader, or Icecrown Citadel.

For the various Icecrown Bomber quests at Aldur'thar: The Desolation Gate, players can now choose to eject from their bomber seats mid-run. If you do so, a rescue vehicle will transport your character back to the safety of your infra-green platform.

Azure Drakes and Dragons will now attack back when attacked by characters not riding Wyrmrest Defenders.

Brittle Revenants, quest creatures fought for the Sons of Hodir daily quest "Hot and Cold," no longer cast Shield Slam.

Achievements

The Achievements to get exalted with the Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley factions have been removed from their respective "Master of" Meta-Achievements. Special titles will be offered to those who reach exalted with these factions.

"The Party's Over" has been removed from Achievements and is no longer a part of the "Glory of the Hero" Meta-Achievement.

"Master Angler of Stranglethorn" has been changed to "Master Angler of Azeroth" and can be achieved by winning either the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby or the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza.

Reputation

Commendation Badges which award reputation with various Wrath of the Lich King factions can be purchased with Emblems of Triumph in Dalaran. Each badge costs 1 Emblem of Triumph.

Gaining reputation with the Ashen Verdict in Icecrown Citadel will grant players access to upgradeable rings from Ormus the Penitent. Players can switch between the type of ring (melee/caster/tank/healer) at any point in the upgrade path for 200g.

The following reputations have been sped up by roughly 30%:

Argent Crusade

Alliance Vanguard

Horde Expedition

Kirin Tor

Knights of the Ebon Blade

Sons of Hodir

Wyrmrest Accord

Sons of Hodir quests now give more reputation overall.

Top-level helm and shoulder faction-related enchants are now available as Bind-on-Account items that do not require any faction to use once purchased (they still require the appropriate faction level to purchase).

Items

Arena Set Bonuses: The two-piece set bonus for all Wrath of the Lich King Arena sets now provides 100 resilience and 29 spell power or 50 attack power. The current four-piece bonus will remain, however it also now provides 88 spell power or 150 attack power.

Bind-on-Account Items: Players can now mail Bind-on-Account items to characters on the same account and realm regardless of faction. Please note this only applies to Bind-on-Account items. Other items or gold cannot be sent via mail to characters on the same realm and account if they are from differing factions.

Death Knight Tier-9 4-Piece Bonus (Damage-Dealing): This set bonus no longer grants Frost Fever a chance to be a critical strike. It still grants that possibility to Blood Plague.

Glyphs

Death Knights

Glyph of Icy Touch: Instead of granting additional runic power, this glyph now causes Frost Fever to deal 20% additional damage.

Druids

Glyph of Rapid Rejuvenation: This glyph allows for the druid's haste to reduce the time between the periodic healing effects of Rejuvenation.

Mages

Glyph of Improved Scorch: Renamed Glyph of Scorch. This glyph now increases the damage of Scorch by 20%.

Glyph of Eternal Water: This glyph allows for a summoned Water Elemental to last indefinitely, but it can no longer cast Freeze.

Priests

Glyph of Mind Flay: This glyph now increases the damage done by Mind Flay by 10% when the target is afflicted with Shadow Word: Pain.

Glyph of Shadow Word: Pain: The periodic damage ticks of Shadow Word: Pain now restore 1% of the priest's base mana with this glyph.

Glyph of Shadow: While in Shadowform, this glyph causes non-periodic spell critical strikes to increase spell power by 30%, up from 10%, of the priest's total spirit for 10 seconds.

Shamans

Glyph of Fire Nova Totem: Renamed Glyph of Fire Nova. This glyph now reduces the cooldown of Fire Nova by 3 seconds.

Warlocks

Glyph of Life Tap: The effect of this glyph now has a chance of activating when Dark Pact is used.

Glyph of Quick Decay: This glyph allows for the warlock's haste to reduce the time between periodic damage effects of Corruption.

Warriors

Glyph of Victory Rush: This glyph now increases the critical strike chance of Victory Rush by 30%, regardless of the percentage of the target's remaining health.

Haris Pilton now sells a new 24-slot bag! She has stubbornly decided to remain in Shattrath City, so those interested should seek her out there.

Icecrown Citadel Items: Normal and Heroic versions of Icecrown Citadel rings and trinkets are considered Unique-Equipped and cannot be used at the same time.

Hatchlings: Leaping, Darting, Razormaw, and Ravasaur Hatchlings no longer drop from their associated rare creatures. Instead, there are now rare nests that spawn which contain these hatchlings. For example, the Leaping Hatchling can now be found in Takk's Nest rather than as a drop from Takk the Leaper.

Sceptor of Celebras: Since this item is no longer needed as a key, Celebras will no longer give one out to a player who loses it. The item can now be sold or disenchanted as normal.

Shaman Tier-9 4-Piece Set Bonus (Elemental): This set bonus now does an additional 10% of Lava Burst's initial damage over time instead of increasing the size of the Lava Burst.

Bug Fixes

Items

Ancient Pickled Egg: This item can no longer be triggered by Life Tap.

Brutal Hauberk: The tooltip on this item no longer references granting energy (as energy-based classes cannot equip it).

Costumes: Various costumes from holidays, items, and quests that previously were cancelled by getting on a mount will now cause an error message when the player attempts to mount instead of cancelling the costume.

Carapace of the Old God: Now tradable using the Bind-on-Pickup trade system.

Crystalforged Trinket: Can now be refunded at its vendor.

Dragonslayer Set: No longer displays a duration on the Nature's Ally buff.

Drums of the Forgotten Kings: The buff from this item will no longer be cancelled when the player who used the item swaps talent specializations.

Drums of the Wild: The buff from this item will no longer be cancelled when the player who used the item swaps talent specializations.

Eating and Drinking: Eating and drinking are now cancelled and prevented while in a vehicle as a passenger.

Figurine: Emerald Owl: Now grants mana properly to druids in Bear Form, Cat Form, and Dire Bear Form.

Figurine: Talasite Owl: Now grants mana properly to druids in Bear Form, Cat Form, and Dire Bear Form.

Fire Hardened Hauberk: The tooltip on this item no longer references granting energy (as energy-based classes cannot equip it).

Giantstalker Set: No longer displays a duration on the Nature's Ally buff.Glyph of Immolation Trap: Now properly increases damage by 100%.

Gul'dan's Regalia Set: Tooltip corrected to indicate increased damage for all pet attacks, not just abilities.

Husk of the Old God: Now tradable using the Bind-on-Pickup trade system.

Idol of Flaring Growth: Now has a detailed combat log tooltip.

Idol of Lunar Fury: Now has a detailed Combat log tooltip.

Idol of The Corruptor: Now has a detailed Combat log tooltip.

Insignia of the Alliance: Item level changed to 60.

Insignia of the Horde: Item level changed to 60.

Level 58 PvP Items: A variety of PvP items with a minimum level of 58 were not being translated properly when a player used the Paid Faction Change service. That has been corrected. Paladin- and shaman-specific items still will not be translated, as there is no opposite version to translate them into.

Liadrin's Plate Set: No longer incorrectly reduces the cooldown on Divine Shield.

Lightning Capacitor: Combat log tooltip for Electrical Charge updated to include more detailed information.

Nightsong Regalia Set: The bonus to Rejuvenation from this set will now work properly with the Idol of Rejuvenation equipped. In addition, the instant heal provided now has a correct combat log tooltip.

Noggenfogger Elixir: Players shrunk while under the effects of this item will now be able to mount.

Quel'dorei Channeling Rod: Spelling error corrected.

Quel'dorei Sash: Spelling error corrected.

Quel'dorei Guard: Spelling error corrected.

Qiraji Bindings of Command: Now tradable using the Bind-on-Pickup trade system.

Qiraji Bindings of Dominance: Now tradable using the Bind-on-Pickup trade system.

Reclaimed Shadowstrike: No longer has a cooldown to create Reclaimed Thunderstrike.

Reinforced Shadowstrike: No longer has a cooldown to create Reinforced Thunderstrike.

Reins of the Swift Frostsaber: The mount learned from this item no longer triggers a global cooldown.

Runescroll of Fortitude: The buff from this item will no longer be cancelled when the player who used the item swaps talent specializations.

Seaspray Albatross: Now grants mana properly to druids in Bear Form, Cat Form, and Dire Bear Form.

Sigil of Virulence: Now has a detailed combat log tooltip.

Solace of the Defeated: Can no longer be triggered by spells with a base cost of 0.

Solace of the Fallen: Can no longer be triggered by spells with a base cost of 0.

Spirit of Eskhandar Set: This set no longer requires Eskhandar's Collar to complete (that item can no longer be acquired).

Swift Horde Wolf: The mount learned from this item no longer triggers a global cooldown.

The Egg of Mortal Essence: This item can no longer be triggered by Life Tap.

Tier 2 Helmets: Looting these items from Nefarion in Blackwing Lair will no longer trigger the Onyxia's Lair (level 60) Feat of Strength achievement.

Totem of Quaking Earth: This totem will no longer sometimes grant unintended bonus healing.

Turalyon's Plate Set: No longer incorrectly reduces the cooldown on Divine Shield.

Veklor';s Diadem: Now tradable using the Bind-on-Pickup trade system.

Warmth of Forgiveness: Now grants mana properly to druids in Bear Form, Cat Form, and Dire Bear Form.

Windrunner Set: The set bonus which grants Greatness to the hunter's pet will no longer spuriously show the hunter also gaining that buff.

Worldbreaker Garb Set: The Electrified effect caused by this set now has detailed combat log tooltips.

Racial Abilities

Arcane Torrent: Updated tooltip to include the functionality that this ability also interrupts spellcasting on NPCs. In addition, this ability will now be properly noted and displayed as an interrupt in the cast bar UI.

Every Man for Himself: Disconnecting while rooted will no longer sometimes trigger this ability.

Classes

Death Knights

Bloody Strikes: Now properly increases the damage displayed in the tooltips of Blood Strike and Heart Strike.

Bone Shield: Tooltip corrected to indicate the player has the correct number of bones.

Chains of Ice: This ability will no longer appear to land on targets which are immune.

Desecration: The debuff from this ability will no longer sometimes appear as if it were cast by someone else. In addition, the visual and snare from this ability will now both dissipate at the same time. Further, this talent will now respect snare immunities, and no longer sometimes snare immune targets.

Frost Presence: The animation for activating this presence will no longer also have the animation for Blood Presence played at the same time.

Glyph of Bone Shield: Now updates the number of charges in the Bone Shield tooltip.

Glyph of Dark Death: Now updates the tooltip on Death Coil. In addition, its own tooltip has been clarified to indicate it also applies to healing from Death Coil.

Glyph of Death's Embrace: Now updates the tooltip on Death Coil to indicate runic power is refunded.

Glyph of Heart Strike: Now updates the tooltip on Heart Strike to indicate Heart Strike applies a movement snare.

Glyph of Icebound Fortitude: Now updates the tooltip on Icebound Fortitude to show increased damage reduction.

Glyph of Plague Strike: Now updates the damage shown in Plague Strike's tooltip.

Glyph of Unbreakable Armor: Now updates the tooltip on Unbreakable Armor. Tooltip on glyph modified to make its effect more clear as well.

Master of Ghouls: Tooltip typo corrected.

Night of the Dead: Tooltip typo corrected.

Obliterate: This ability will no longer sometimes fail to do additional damage based on diseases on the target.

Raise Ally: While this spell is active on a target, they will not be sent to the graveyard, prematurely ending the spell.

Raise Dead: It is no longer possible under some circumstances to use a Risen Ghoul to cause neutral guards to attack opposite faction players.

Strangulate: Updated tooltip to include the functionality that this ability also interrupts spellcasting on NPCs.

Taste of Blood: Corrected inaccurate information in combat log tooltip.

Unholy Presence: The animation for activating this presence will no longer also have the animation for Blood Presence played at the same time.

Druids

Glyph of Hurricane: Now modifies the spell tooltip on Hurricane to indicate the spell also applies a movement slowing effect.

Hurricane: When cast from Bear Form, Cat Form, or Dire Bear Form, this spell will now channel properly instead of stopping the channel as soon as the shapeshift is cancelled.

Infected Wounds: This ability is no longer considered to be in the magical defense category; therefore spell hit no longer applies to its activation. Tooltip error corrected.

Nature's Grace: The tooltip now correctly indicates that it will not be activated from periodic spell critical strikes.

Swipe (Bear): Tooltip corrected to display 8 yard range.

Rejuvenation: Druids will no longer get a more powerful spell error message when attempting to overwrite a Rejuvenation they cast.

Hunters

Concussive Barrage: This ability is no longer subject to spell reflects.

Explosive Trap: The damage from this trap will now scale properly with the hunter's attack power.

Glyph of Immolation Trap: Now properly increases damage by 100%. In addition, this glyph will now modify the tooltip of Immolation Trap correctly.

Glyph of Mending: This glyph will now modify the amount healed in the tooltip on Mend Pet.

Point of No Escape: It is no longer possible to gain benefit from this talent multiple times by having a target affected by multiple of the same hunter's traps. In addition, Freezing Arrow will no longer incorrectly provide a critical strike bonus to players beyond the hunter with this talent.

Roar of Sacrifice: Corrected tooltip error.

Silencing Shot: Updated tooltip to include the functionality that this ability also interrupts spellcasting on NPCs.

Volley: The tooltip for this ability will now update properly from haste.

Bug Fixes

Classes

Mages

Arcane Concentration: The interaction of this talent with Arcane Missiles has been restructured. Instead of an Arcane Missiles cast triggering the talent, each missile has an independent (but reduced) chance to trigger this talent. In addition, the talent will no longer sometimes be triggered from misses by Arcane Missiles, Arcane Blast, and Blizzard.

Blast Wave: Tooltip typo corrected.

Blizzard: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from all talents which increase its damage by a percentage. Also fixed a bug where some trinkets were not triggered by this spell.

Cone of Cold: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from all talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Dalaran Intellect: Mages will now be properly blocked from casting this spell when the target has a more powerful version of the buff.

Deep Freeze: This spell will no longer consume two charges of Fingers of Frost when it misses its target.

Flame Strike: Some ranks of this spell had an incorrect cast time of 3 seconds. All ranks now share a 2-second cast time.

Frost Nova: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from all talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Frostbolt: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from all talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Glyph of Mirror Image: Now updates the tooltip on Mirror Image to show 4 images are summoned.

Ignite: Now correctly benefits from the dispel resistance granted by the Arcane Subtlety talent. In addition, this talent will now properly include in its damage calculation any damage of the initial fire critical strike that was absorbed.

Ice Lance: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from all talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Improved Scorch: This talent no longer causes a bug that removes all resilience from pets.

Mirror Image: The mirror images summoned will no longer sometimes appear as shades before taking on the appearance of the casting mage.

Prismatic Cloak: Rank three of this talent will now properly modify the tooltip on Invisibility to indicate the effect is instant.

Slow Fall: This spell can now activate trinkets that can trigger from casting a helpful spell.

Winter';s Chill: This talent no longer causes a bug that removes all resilience from pets.

Paladins

Aura Mastery: The animation for this ability will no longer be extra bright when used with Concentration Aura active.

Beacon of Light: The effect of this ability will no longer sometimes continue past the duration of its buff. In addition, the duration when used with the Glyph of Beacon of light will now correctly be 1.5 minutes. Finally, the tooltip was corrected to indicate benefitting targets must be in the paladin's party or raid.

Blessing of Kings: It is no longer possible to have multiple buff icons from this spell.

Blessing of Sacrifice: Damage transferred via this ability can now be prevented by damage absorption effects.

Blessing of Sanctuary: It is no longer possible to have multiple buff icons from this spell. In addition, the tooltip has been corrected to include 10% increased strength.

Devotion Aura: When in a party with another paladin using a different rank of this ability, it is no longer possible to see two different Devotion Aura icons displayed as buffs.

Divine Sacrifice: This ability now properly counts all damage transferred against its limit, instead of not counting some damage.

Greater Blessing of Kings: It is no longer possible to have multiple buff icons from this spell.

Greater Blessing of Sanctuary: It is no longer possible to have multiple buff icons from this spell. In addition, the tooltip has been corrected to include 10% increased strength.

Guardian's Favor: Corrected a tooltip error in rank 1 of this ability.

Hand of Freedom: It is no longer possible to use this ability while under the effects of the druid spell Cyclone. In addition, disconnecting while rooted will no longer sometimes trigger casting this on oneself.

Hand of Reckoning: Tooltip clarified to indicate taunt immune targets will not take damage from this ability.

Hand of Sacrifice: Damage transferred via this ability can now be prevented by damage absorption effects.

Heart of the Crusader: The effect of this talent is now always removed when the target no longer has an active Judgement debuff.

Judgements of the Just: The effect of this talent is now always removed when the target no longer has an active Judgement debuff.

Judgement of Righteousness: The damage from this ability will no longer sometimes increase when the paladin's agility increases (only occurred with low strength and high agility).

Judgement of Wisdom: Corrected incorrect information in the combat log tooltip.

Retribution Aura: It is no longer possible under some circumstances for the UI to display buffs from two different ranks of this ability.

Seal of Corruption: Tooltip corrected to list the actual amount of damage done instead of a higher number.

Priests

Glyph of Power Word: Shield: The heal caused by this glyph will now correctly use the casting priest's critical strike chance instead of the target's.

Inspiration: The tooltip now correctly indicates that it also functions with Prayer of Mending.

Levitate: This spell can now activate trinkets that can trigger from casting a helpful spell.

Mass Dispel: Some trinkets which were not triggered properly by this spell will now work correctly when Mass Dispel is cast.

Mind Flay: The rank 1 tooltip has been corrected to indicate the accurate damage and snare effect. In addition, this ability will now work correctly with [target=focus] and [target=mouseover] macros.

Prayer of Mending: Inspiration and Divine Aegis can no longer be incorrectly triggered by this spell for priests who do not have those talents.

Silence: Updated tooltip to include the functionality that this ability also interrupts spellcasting on NPCs.

Spirit Tap: This talent can no longer be triggered by the death of the priest's Jewelcrafter Stone Statues.

Rogues

Ambush: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Backstab: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Deadly Poison: Another rogue using a higher rank of this poison will no longer prevent the lower rank Deadly Poison from being applied to the target.

Eviscerate: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Glyph of Rupture: Now updates the duration on Rupture's tooltip.

Killing Spree: Entering a vehicle will now cause this ability to halt, and attempting to use it while on a vehicle will result in an error message.

Mutilate: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from talents which increase its damage by a percentage. In addition, the damage from this ability can now be blocked.

Sinister Strike: The tooltip on this ability will now update properly from talents which increase its damage by a percentage.

Slice and Dice: Improved Slice and Dice and Glyph of Slice and Dice now update the duration of this ability.

Throwing Specialization: Deadly Throw will no longer cause multiple spell interruption combat log entries when used with this talent.

Shamans

Glyph of Earthliving Weapon: Now updates the tooltip for Earthliving Weapon.

Glyph of Lesser Healing Wave: Tooltip and functionality corrected to ensure this glyph will cause extra healing from Lesser Healing Wave regardless of which shaman cast Earth Shield on the target.

Hex: Players are no longer able to use Battlemaster trinkets while under the effects of this spell.

Mana Tide Totem: The tooltip on this spell will now be modified properly by the Glyph of Mana Tide Totem.

Thunderstorm: It is no longer possible to use this ability while under the effects of the Druid spell Cyclone.

Warlocks

Conflagrate: This spell will no longer benefit inconsistently from the talents Emberstorm and Improved Immolate, as well as the Glyph of Immolate and Tier 9 set bonus. Just as for Immolate, all stacking percentage increases will be applied additively instead of multiplicatively (+10% and +20% make +30% instead of +32%). In addition, Conflagrate used with Shadowflame will now scale properly from spell power.

Curse of the Elements: Rank 4 has been increased to 11%, up from 10%.

Drain Soul: This spell now deals 4 times the normal damage for all ranks. Previously it was only ranks 6 and above.

Glyph of Conflagrate: Now updates the tooltip of Conflagrate to remove reference to Conflagrate removing an Immolate or Shadowflame effect on the target.

Glyph of Siphon Life: This glyph will now modify the tooltip on Siphon Life correctly.

Glyph of Unending Breath: Now updates the tooltip on Unending Breath to indicate it increases swim speed.

Hellfire: Dealing damage to another player with this ability will now put the Warlock in combat.

Improved Shadow Bolt: This talent no longer causes a bug that removes all resilience from pets.

Soul Link: Damage transferred via this ability can now be prevented by damage absorption effects.

Suffering (Voidwalker): Ranks 5-8 had the incorrect taunt radius of 5 yards and have all been adjusted to a 10-yard radius.

Bug Fixes

Classes

Warriors

Blood Frenzy: This debuff is no longer considered a Bleed effect that can be removed separately from the actual Bleed effect which caused it.

Bloodrage: Tooltip now adjusts to show effect of Anger Management on this ability.

Glyph of Cleaving: Now updates the tooltip of Cleave to show that more targets are struck by the ability.

Glyph of Hamstring: Now updates the tooltip of Hamstring to indicate it has a chance to immobilize.

Glyph of Vigilance: Now updates the tooltip on Vigilance to show that more threat is transferred.

Mocking Blow: Tooltip clarified to indicate taunt immune targets will not take damage from this ability.

Rampage: Rampage now behaves correctly as an Enrage effect when interacting with the Enraged Regeneration ability.

Recklessness: Heroic Throw and Shattering Throw will now benefit from this ability and consume charges of this ability. In addition, Recklessness now behaves correctly as an Enrage effect when interacting with the Enraged Regeneration ability.

Sudden Death: Corrected inaccurate information in combat log tooltip.

Sweeping Strikes: Corrected inaccurate information in combat log tooltip.

Vigilance: The threat transfer granted by this ability will now reactivate when Tricks of the Trade or Misdirection cast by the Vigilance target expires.

Warbringer: Tooltip typo corrected.

Game Systems

Target Effects: When this UI feature is activated, Fear, Silence, Frostbolt, and Hamstring will all now display text over the target's head indicating what type of effect has been applied.

Battlegrounds

Strand of the Ancients

The "Let the Battle for the Strand of the Ancients" message should no longer appear twice in round 2. It also now appears correctly at the beginning of round 1.

Storm the Beach should now be correctly granted to the Horde when they start round 1 on offense.

The east Antipersonnel Cannon at the Amethyst gate should no longer be able to shell the graveyard flag.

Fixed an order of operations issue where players would sometimes not be resurrected or clear their Inactive debuff at the end of the 1st round.

Mac Client Changes and Fixes

Rewrote OpenGL implementation for Intel Macs with Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later.

Fixed an issue with TrackPad scrolling on Macbooks/Macbook Pros behaving erratically.

Fixed the lightning effect on Thorim's hammer in Ulduar.

Fixed a crash that could occur on low-end Macs during the second phase of The Black Knight encounter.

Fixed a crash when recording in-game movies on Macs that have Intel GMA x3100 video chipsets.

Added support for mapping all 15 buttons on the SteelSeries WoW Mouse via the in-game key bindings.

World of Warcraft Patch 3.3 Recap

Kody — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:10:15 GMT

Patch 3.3 is live this week, so check out the content sections below for everything going into the patch.

3.3 Patch Notes
Icecrown Citadel - Encounters: Raid Access Progression, Chill of the Throne, Tanking, and You!
Icecrown Citadel - Items: Shadowmourne, Quel'Delar, Icecrown Raid Tier-10 Armor Sets, Icecrown Raid Recipe Stats
General - Items: New Kirin Tor Rings, Icecrown Dungeon 5-player Armor
Reputations: The Ashen Verdict
Weekly Raid Quests
New Achievements
Dungeon Finder
Quest Tracker
Kalu'ak Fishing Derby
Cross-Faction Bind on Account Mailing

Patch 3.3: Dungeon Finder Tool Mini-FAQ

Kody — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:05:27 GMT

The EU team put together a Dungeon Finder mini-FAQ based on some posts by Zarhym on the US forums this weekend. While nothing is truly new, it's a nice chance to brush up on this new tool going live with patch 3.3.

Quote from: Slorkuz (Source)

Will the random heroic search have the option of excluding certain Heroic instances?
The dungeon finder will not let you exclude a specific instance, however - if you have already run a specific dungeon it is much less likely that the random heroic search will place you in the same dungeon again (on the same day).

Will players still need to purchase keys to queue for TBC heroics?
The tool complies with all standard requirements for entering a heroic dungeon. For example, if you log into the game right after 3.3 is released and queue for a random heroic dungeon, you will not be placed in instances such as Icecrown Citadel - Pit of Saron or Halls of Reflection unless you have cleared all the pre-requisites (previous wings in those cases) to unlock said instance entering (i.e. you must still clear Forge of Souls to enter Pit of Saron, and Pit of Saron to enter Halls of Reflection).

Is it true that players will no longer be saved to heroics? Does this mean players can chain farm heroics for Champion's Seals?
The Heroic lockouts still exist, however the difference is that the random heroic option will ignore any potential lockouts a player might have. This means that even if you run every single WotLK heroic dungeon in a day, you can still choose the random heroic option to continue running WotLK heroics that day. As mentioned above though, the heroic dungeons you have run the most that day will be the least likely to be randomly selected for your continued play by the dungeon finder system.

Does this mean that raid-lockouts are unaffected and you can enter multiple raid instances through the random heroic dungeon finder?
The new dungeon finder is designed only for 5 man dungeons, and the lockouts and accessibility to raid content remains unchanged/unaffected by the "override" in heroic instance lockouts for 5 man dungeons.

Mass Effect 2 Engineer Trailer Released!

DoranM — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:58:43 GMT

The folks at BioWare have sent us the latest Mass Effect 2 video! This new video highlights the Engineer class!

Here's a brief introduction, some screenshots, and the latest video:

The Engineer is one of 6 classes available in Mass Effect 2. They are tech specialists, the only class able to employ combat drones on the battlefield. Additionally Engineers can hack mechanized opponents turning deadly enemies into powerful allies.

Engineer Trailer:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Engineers are even more powerful in Mass Effect 2. With the ability to use tech powers to manipulate combat, they turn difficult battles into victories. Summon combat drones to harass enemies, knocking them out of cover and drawing fire away from you. Upgrade your drones, turning them into a powerful energy blast or into a deadly bomb. Additionally Engineers have potent offensive capabilities including Incinerate and Overload.

Learn more about Engineers in this Mass Effect 2 Engineer Class feature video, where lead combat designer Christina Norman shows you the destructive prowess of Mass Effect's most skilled tech specialist.

Aion Visions Trailer Explained By The AionSource.com Team!

DoranM — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:03:06 GMT

Recently the NCSoft team posted the Vision Trailer(See below), which is a glimpse at all the enhancements and goodies coming to the world of Aion in the near future. While the video was exciting and caused lots of excitement, it also raised some questions about what exactly we were seeing!

Our team at AionSource.com has put together a post highlighting several stills from the video and summarizing what those segments of the video could mean for players and the future of the game! Take a look:

Visions Trailer:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Stills & Speculation:
Please note that all the information in this section is unconfirmed speculation and is not an official word by any means until we are told so by the NCsoft devs or through patch notes.

Upgraded Graphics! DX10? Dynamic lighting and overall crisper visuals
New Zones! We saw a dangerous jungle, a vast living desert, an underwater city and world, and residential zones outside of the major cities!
Dynamic Weather and seasons! Falling leaves, Accumulating and melting snow!
Player Cities! Customizable houses and skins, multiple styles, customizable furniture and layout, city bulletin board, city decor. Did we see anything about legion halls?
Mounts! One and two person mounts of at least 5 varieties, mounted combat, creature taming abilities.
Improved Combat! Fluid motions, collision detection, unarmed combat, new weapons (Crossbow and Whip) and abilities! Finishing moves?
New Classes? Fans have speculated Monk and Tamer classes.
Player City Sieges! Bring the fight right to the doorsteps of your enemy! Houses appear to be destructible! Summon a Colossus to help? New defensive siege weapons- Aether Cannon?
Vehicles- Boats were shown in front of player cities and also as a means to reach the underwater areas, but can players own and control them? Airships were also seen bringing a player to the city siege.

Here we see the new graphics and lighting being highlighted. We can only assume that this is DirectX 10 at work. This is a significant upgrade to an already gorgeous game and while it wasn't necessary, it is very welcome!

This city appears to be build on the walls of a canyon that overlooks a new zone with a lush jungle setting. By the construction I'd assume this an Elyos zone as the protruding buildings are reminiscent of Sanctum's towers and style.

For more stills and a look at what they could mean visit the AionSource.com Visions speculation thread!

Curse

League of Legends Holiday Seasons Snowdown Showdown Festival!

WoW 5-year Anniversary: WorldofWar.de Chats With Kalgan

Unlimited Free Trial: Play Age of Conan Free Forever

Back in the WoW

Scourge Strike and Hunger for Blood Nerfed

c-c-c-c-cooold

Intel Core i7 Extreme Editions and The Saboteur Game Sweepstakes! (Less than a week left!)

F2PMMO Launched Heroes of Gaia With Massive Giveaways!

ArenaJunkies and ESL TV MsPaint Competition!

Jade Dynasty Announces Releases New Ascension Trailer!

World of Warcraft vs. Halo For Game of the Decade!

Core Hound Pup FAQ

World of Warcraft Announces Fall of the Lich King Screenshot Contest!

My New Blog

Using SpellFlash

World of Warcraft Weekly Community Update For U.S. And EU Players!

curse not keep up wit their end of the bargain, which I PAID FOR

Some days of gaming.

Attach An Authenticator, Get a Core Hound Pup!

Blizzard Insider Interviews Shane Dabiri

Fall of the Lich King: Patch 3.3.0 Notes

World of Warcraft Patch 3.3 Recap

Patch 3.3: Dungeon Finder Tool Mini-FAQ

Mass Effect 2 Engineer Trailer Released!

Aion Visions Trailer Explained By The AionSource.com Team!

Visions Trailer:

Stills & Speculation: Please note that all the information in this section is unconfirmed speculation and is not an official word by any means until we are told so by the NCsoft devs or through patch notes.

Stills & Speculation:
Please note that all the information in this section is unconfirmed speculation and is not an official word by any means until we are told so by the NCsoft devs or through patch notes.