- Things that were harder before13 May 2013, 8:00 pm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria
I did a post this week about raiding in previous expansions and in vanilla WoW, and how people often say those raids were harder and my opinion that it is easily demonstrable that current raids are if anything more complicated than they have ever been. I frankly believe there is almost no room for comparison between the game at 60 and today in terms of raid complexity and difficul...
- The false memory of WoW's difficult past11 May 2013, 12:00 am
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria
Vanilla raiding was not mechanically more difficult than current raiding. In fact, in terms of encounter difficulty, raiding in World of Warcraft has never been as challenging to remember and execute as it is right now. Fights like Lei Shen, Twin Consorts, Iron Qon, and Durumu ask players to learn mechanics and execute awareness at a level rivaled only by fights like Mimiron's Fire...
- World of Warcraft loses 1.3M subscribers since February, down to 8.3M8 May 2013, 10:00 pm
Filed under: Blizzard, The Burning Crusade, BlizzCon, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria
Today's Activision-Blizzard financial reports states World of Warcraft took a subscriber hit this quarter, losing 1.3 million players since February.
The loss brings the total number of WoW players down to 8.3 million, its lowest level since the launch of the Burning Crusade expansion in 2007. Subscriber levels have fallen by about a third since WoW's post-Cataclysm peak of 12 million subscribers. The loss is har...
- Incoming: 250,000 More Beta Invites 4.4.125 April 2012, 9:46 am
Bashiok postedThats right were in the process of sending 250,000 additional betatest invites to Annual Pass holders. Keep an eye on your email and......
- 100,000 More Beta-Test Invites(3.30.12)30 March 2012, 10:55 pm
Bashiok postedYesterdays 100,000 Annual Passholder betatest invites ran through the night, and were still in the process of notifying the invitees by......
- Dev Watercooler – MoP Looting Explained27 March 2012, 10:07 pm
Ghostcrawler postedHey, how about that landslide of Mists of Pandaria information? It has taken a few days, and will probably take a few more, for the......
- WoW Insider's patch 5.3 news roundup21 May 2013, 1:00 am
You've heard that patch 5.3 is arriving this week, but do you know just what is in store? There's been a lot of news, but we'll point you towards the highlights so you can get up to speed and into patch 5.3's new content immediately.
From Blizzard
Patch 5.3 PTR patch notes
Preparing for Patch 5.3: Escalation
World Event - Battlefield: Barrens Preview
Patch 5.3 Scenario Preview
PvP Preview: Deepwind Gorge and The Tiger's Peak
Patch 5.3 Adds Off-Spec Loot and Rewards
PvP Gear in Patch ... 
- Patch 5.3's pet battle changes21 May 2013, 12:00 am
If you haven't caught the pet battle fever yet, now's a great time to start. New rewards make pet battles a great way to help earn some of your raiding currency, such as Valor Points or Lesser Charms, and mechanics changes make the whole system more transparent and less frustrating.
New rewards
Tired of killing daily quest mobs for VP? Why not pet battle for it? All of the master tamers in Pandaria, as well as the Spirits and Beasts of Fable, now offer daily quests for their defeat that offer...
- How long are you willing to wait for a group to form?20 May 2013, 11:00 pm
In the leveling homestretch, I tend to follow a pattern. My main goal is to boost my ilevel as soon as I hit 90 to get in on Raid Finder. Although, once I get there, I end up feeling bitter because waiting in a Raid Finder queue isn't fun. Even if you're not into Raid Finder, WoW presents players with plenty of opportunity to wait around at some point -- battleground and dungeon queues, or even sticking around for a PUG to come together.
As a tank on my main, I groan when thinking of entering ...
- Elder Charms, LFR loot, and perception of the doubly random7 December 2012, 1:00 am
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Cheats, Raiding, Mists of Pandaria
One of the things I've noticed since Mists of Pandaria launched is rooted in a quirk of human psychology. The commonplace becomes expected, the expected becomes tedious, and what was once a reward seems less so. I'm talking about what happens when you use an Elder Charm of Good Fortune to get an extra roll on loot for a boss, whether it be in LFR or a guild raid, and you get extra gold instead of an item, or an item you alread...
- 5 tips for playing WoW with a baby on your chest14 August 2012, 1:00 am
Filed under: Cheats, Events, Humor
Seems like a lot of WoW Insider has spontaneously had a baby recently. OK, not spontaneous. A child isn't the sort of thing that creeps up on you. There's warning, is what I'm saying. You have time to plan. And that time's pretty important, because once your bundle of joy is in this world, things get a whole lot more complex. Like playing WoW.
I'm obviously not one of those folks who say you have to quit your gaming life the second you have a child, but ther...
- Blizzard issues official statement on Raid Finder exploit consequences6 December 2011, 8:00 pm
Filed under: Cheats, Blizzard, News items, Raiding
Earlier in the day, raiding group Paragon apologized for exploiting a bug in the Raid Finder tool that allowed their raiders to obtain loot from a boss more than once in a lockout period. Blizzard has followed up with a statement of its own, explaining that people who exploited the bug in a similar manner will be receiving temporary suspensions.
Raid Finder Loot Exploit Suspensions
Shortly after patch 4.3 was released, we became...
- Patch 5.3 to arrive on May 21st18 May 2013, 2:24 am
Filed under: Blizzard, News items
The guessing games are over: Blizzard has just announced that Patch 5.3: Escalation will be released this coming week. That makes launch day Tuesday, May 21st for Australian and North American realms and Wednesday, May 22nd for European realms.
If you're not aware, patch 5.3 has a bundle of new content, including new story elements, PvP changes, a new battleground, new scenarios and heroic scenarios, and a lot more. Find the full patch notes after the break.
C...
- Weekly news roundup with Panser of TradeChat18 May 2013, 1:00 am
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items
TradeChat's Panser returns with this week's WoW Insider news recap, where we look back at the hottest news from the past week and whatever other kickin' rad things may have come our way. This week's topics include:
Ill-gotten goods go to charity
Free comics!
Would you play a WoW Fighter game?
Level your professions in Pandaria!
The mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
Patch notes!
Is it ready to drop yet?
If you enjoyed the show, make sure to subscr...
- University of Texas and Blizzard COO Paul Sams launch game design academy17 May 2013, 10:00 pm
Filed under: News items
If you're looking to go pro in game design, Blizzard COO Paul Sams has teamed up with the University of Texas at Austin to create the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy. The academy will be led and taught by gaming industry executives and the curriculum will be guided by industry veteran Warren Spector. The 12-month, post-baccalaureate program will guide students through creating a game from start to finish, giving them the experience they need to join the gaming industry when th...
- Sunday Morning Funnies: Gratz19 May 2013, 5:00 pm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, Comics, Sunday Morning Funnies
Sunday Morning Funnies is your weekly list of WoW-related web comics.
Each week, SMF is placing a regularly updating WoW-related web comic under a spotlight. This week's feature is Gratz:
Gratz is a humorous comic by Lackinganame (Jason Nebeker). It is a relatively new comic, and family-friendly. It's fun and a great one to check out each week if you enjoy watching an artist evolve.
It began as a few character sketches a...
- Patch 5.3 is pending, but when will it drop?16 May 2013, 9:00 pm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor
Now, don't pretend you're not already guessing. There have been several official Blizzard blogs, on the new scenarios we're expecting, as well as a general guide to how you can best prepare for patch 5.3, and what's more the devs have begun their latest round of interviews. The official World of Warcraft twitter account even went as far as tweeting to confirm that the patch wasn't landing on Tuesday May 14. So, all this being said, what's your prediction f...
- Sunday Morning Funnies: Fox Rain12 May 2013, 5:00 pm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, Comics, Sunday Morning Funnies
Sunday Morning Funnies is your weekly list of WoW-related web comics.
Each week, SMF is putting a comic into the spotlight. This week, the focus is on Kuo's Fox Rain:
Fox Rain is a WoW-related web comic surrounding the mysteries of the Scythe of Elune. Since October 2012, it has been undergoing a reboot. Although it is being redone in a different style and feel, the comic still features a WoW-inspired world.
The story fol...
