Merry Christmas! - 12.25.2007

Joe Zara and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Have fun!

-Matt Graham

Greatest Guild Leader Ever - 12.24.2007

Today, Leehotti of the US WoW General Forums made a great thread.

Troxxed, the apparent "Greatest Guild Leader" ever, leads the War Ensemble guild on the Illidan server. From what I've read, he is the biggest ass in the guild; so much so that he now has his own soundboard.

Just though I'd share this little gem with you guys.

P.S. - The soundboard is extremely NSFW!

-Matt Graham

The Sunwell - 12.20.2007

So, a few days ago, a prominent Swedish magazine interviewed Jeff Kaplan (Tigole) with regards to patch 2.4. As ever, the details he provided were sketchy and not nearly enough in quantity, but I suppose we should be glad for any new information Blizzard divulges.

Perhaps the most pertinent piece of information is the fact that Sunwell will incorporate an 'AQ style' opening event as well as a reputation based system in order to gain entry. The 5 man instance apparently will require Honored reputation in order to gain access, whilst Sunwell Plateau, the 25 man instance, will require a certain level of reputation for players to fight the end bosses of the instance.

Leaving the reputation issue aside for a moment and focusing on the opening event - apparently it will be based on daily quests completed by the server population at large. In my opinion this is a fantastic step up from the antiquated AQ opening event, which required large amounts of materials to open the gates - many of which required hours of grinding in low level areas, and some of which were worth rather more on the Auction House than in the hands of your respective faction. Daily quests are a much better incentive for everyone on the server to participate in: they're relatively quick, they give a reputation reward for the player, and (probably most importantly) they give a monetary reward. In this way I think there will be much less toil involved in opening the Sunwell, and it's something that non-raiders have a decent motivation to be a part of.

However, as good as this 'dailies policy' is, is it perhaps unfair for low population servers - who by definition will have less people doing the daily quests and therefore will not get access to the Sunwell for some time after the larger servers? I suppose Blizzard could instigate a system recognizing lower population servers and make the number of dailies required smaller, but this would be a) hard to set up and b) prone to population shifts making it unfair (i.e from free server transfers).

As always, would love to hear opinion's on this matter.

P.S. - If you haven't seen it yet, I strongly suggest watching Tales of the Past III; I'm not particularly interested in machinima, but this movie is fairly exceptional; if you're into Warcraft lore, you'll no doubt love it.

-Joe Zara [Phoee]

'Twas The Hour Before Raid - 12.18.2007

Today, Rufuscrim from the WoW General Forums posted his WoW version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas; he calls it 'Twas The Hour Before Raid.

Twas the hour before raid time, and all through the Crew,
Not a player was joining the Warsong Gulch queue;
They finished their transmutes of new Primal Mights
In hopes that the GM would send out invites;
The guildies were herded, all packed into Vent
While links to hot epics kept them on the scent;
And Note in her cat gear, and heal gear on Cam -
Does that new recruit shaman have enough stam?
When out from the leader there came such a chatter;
I asked, "WTF?" to see what was the matter.
Out of the instance I flew with a flash-
Someone had just pulled five groups of trash.
"Run back," said the leader, "don't wait for a rez!"
All but the new shaman do what he says;
He got the boot, and who entered the mix?
A pimpin’ Dwarf Warrior decked out in Tier 6!
I looked for a guild tag and found not an answer:
I knew in an instant he must be a transfer!

More rapid than Nihilum, trash mobs we cleared;
The orders then came that a lesser guild feared:
"Now Bogdon! Now Tuon! Now Rufus and Hathin!
On Trynan! On Darkblaze! On Warrax and Ultrin!
To the top of the healing and DPS meter!
Now pull the boss! Pull the boss! Pull her and beat her!"
As bones from past wipes lay scattered around,
The tank used a charge to help cover some ground;
So up to the end boss' lair, o, they flew
With eyes on the epics, and the new warrior too;
And then, over Vent, I heard some shrill cries,
"I'll @*$& up the healers if the tank dies!!"
As I mashed on the keyboard to Backstab the boss;
The raid quickly suffered its very first loss.
"The new warrior's dead! Oh no! We're so @#&$’ed!"
"Are not!" yelled the GM, "We just got bad luck’ed!
We've battled through worse! We will not relent!
She's already down to sixty percent!"
The DoTs and the heals, they hit and they flew;
Look out! Change it up! She's entered phase two!

The DPS stopped while the tank gained some threat;
(The healers still must have been worried, I bet);
"DPS on!" was the call to attack;
"Hey warlock! Too fast! Soulshatter! Pull back!"
"Twenty percent!" someone shouted with glee;
Better get ready, it's time for phase three!
"She hits so much harder! Blow cooldowns and fight!"
"That was too close! Quick, more Holy Light!"
Three percent! Two percent! One percent! Dead!
The guildies and I went to teabag her head!
"What did she drop?" the raiders all wondered;
The raid leader went to go see what was plundered.
Officers gasp... they're the first ones to see;
Rejoice! They have given an epic to me!
The portals are up, the raiders are gone;
I wonder what enchant that I should put on?

The GM did shout as the mood became lax,
"Good raid, everyone! This guild is teh hax!!"

The names in this poem are people from in Rufuscrim's guild, Strange Brew. Also, the word "Crew" in the first line refers to the guild's nickname, The Brew Crew.

I hope that this gets you all into the Holiday Spirit like it did me.

-Matt Graham

Verne Troyer's Turn - 12.17.2007

It is rumored that the highly anticipated WoW commercial starring Verne Troyer has appeared during Attack of the Show on G4 about 10 minutes ago. Check back for updates and a YouTube link if this is true.

Links to Commercial
PC Download
Mac Download



-Matt Graham

Lack of Posts - 12.12.2007

Well, some of you may know from last year that November 1st through February 1st is an extremely busy time for me - as it is for everyone. So, I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts lately. I just haven't had any time to write anything - the same goes for Joe Zara [Phoee]. Hopefully soon I can return from this holiday season better than ever! Who knows? Maybe I'll even have a few tricks up my sleeve...

-Matt Graham

Vivendi and Activision Merge - 12.2.2007

Fifty-eight minutes ago, it was officially announced that Vivendi (Blizzard's parent company) and Activision merged, creating Activision Blizzard.

Not to worry though people, Vivendi bought Activision. It wasn't Activision buying Vivendi.

Click the hyperlink in this post to find out more. I'd rather not explain all of this business "mumbo-jumbo" this early in the morning. >.>





-Matt Graham

Name Changes - 11.25.2007

Just a small post from me this week regarding the Name Change option now available for characters - is this not the stupidest thing I have seen Blizzard implement on this game so far? I mean who would be so opaque as to feel that renaming their character would have any influence on how they play or what they experience in game; or indeed have anything to do with their happiness level?

Well, apparently, quite a few people on my friends list! Came online the other day and saw this random person online in my friends list - I promptly thought I'd been keylogged and someone was messing around with my account until the guy messaged me telling me who he was and that he'd changed his name :)

Upon further investigation, most people that are considering this option/have already done it seem to have fairly justifiable reasons for doing so - this probably isn't an issue in the US, but in the EU people seem to want to change their names to avoid being 'labelled' as from a certain nationality; not for racist reasons I'm sure, but to generally escape confusion. For example, two English players I know have changed their names to avoid being stereotyped as Scandinavians - when they chose their names originally they were unaware of that name's significance in other languages - and I'm confident this situation is not uncommon.

So as it turns out there may be at least one viable reason to change your character's name. In my opinion, you need a good one before throwing your money away.

Would love to hear people's opinions on this.

-Joe Zara [Phoee]

Jungletastic or Tiresome Trolls? - 11.16.2007

So, who's ventured into Zul'Aman this week? I'm sure a large proportion of you have delved within the troll-infested walls for the first time and found a new marvel of things to tickle your fancy (my personal favourite was actually the 20 slot bag reward from the first quest, heh!).

I'm sure everyone is glad for some new content if nothing else, and a new 10 man raid instance on a 3 day timer is a great bonus for many raiders still bored out of their minds in Karazhan.

But just how long will this excitement last? Is Zul'Aman nothing more than a fleeting distraction for a few weeks? Are the encounters routine and wearisome? Are the trolls beginning to get on your nerves already?

Personally I'm fairly impressed with the instance as a whole; it is undoubtedly quite a bit more challenging than Karazhan - perhaps too much so to be an automatic step up from that level of difficulty, and the boss encounters in general are innovative and require a certain level of focus from a raid group (my favourite being the Lightning Cloud of Akil'zon that determines who is awake in the group).

The one down-side I have noticed so far is the requirement for a precisely balanced raid group in terms of classes. This is shown to be very true at Malacrass with the 4 different types of adds: humanoid, dragonkin, undead, and elemental. If your raid group happened to lack, say, a warlock and a priest, this encounter would become exponentially more difficult since the undead and elemental adds have some very nasty damaging abilities - combined with Malacrass's AOE ability this would more than certainly be a very difficult fight.

It also seems to me to be very finely tuned in terms of healing; for a Tier 4/5 clad raidgroup 3 healers would appear to be the only amount to bring - 2 healers would struggle to outheal the raid damage on various bosses, whilst bringing 4 healers would limit the group to only 4 DPS classes; which would leave the group struggling to down bosses within the enrage timers.

It is probably too soon to declare which I prefer, Karazhan or Zul'Aman, since my 'new content jitters' are still keeping ZA exciting enough to return there as soon as it resets, but overall I think Blizzard have done well with this instance.

Except of course the equipment models. Blizzard what were you thinking?!

-Joe Zara [Phoee]

The Seven and the Nerf Bat - 11.10.2007

Undoubtedly, many of you have seen China's recent first kill of Illidan by 'The Seven'. It took the guild 52 days of progress to clear all content in TBC - that's a little over 7 weeks.

Many people I know have commented on this first kill and it's implications; I personally think it is a remarkable speed in which to do it, if only you consider it from a gear point of view - 7 resets of farming tier 5 dungeons is most likely not enough time to get every raid member geared out comfortably; and as seen in the killshot many of the raid members were indeed wearing their old Tier 3 pieces.

This indeed begs the question - How hard has TBC content been hit by the 'Nerf Bat'?

Just for comparison's sake I looked at Nihilum's kill dates (Nihilum being the number 1 guild in the world in terms of PvE progress). Now if we exclude Karazhan/Gruul/Magtheridon kill dates (which used to be requirements for the Tier 5 dungeons), Nihilum killed Hydross the Unstable on the 16th of February, and defeated Illidan on the 5th of June - an 109 day period; more than double the amount used by the Chinese. Also bear in mind Nihilum would have been gearing up for a full month in TBC prior to this time period, unlike the The Seven.

Now this isn't to say that The Seven 'wtfpwnd' Nihilum; far from it. If you actually look at the Tier 5 and 6 dungeons since Nihilum were making first kills, you could quite easily say that all four instances have been altered in some way to make them easier. Just off the top of my head;

SSC - Trash respawn times changed from 45 minutes to 2 hours and all mob hitpoints reduced by some amount (around 10%).
TK - Trash respawn times changed from 45 minutes to 2 hours, Al'ar encounter significantly reworked, and Solarian encounter significantly reworked.
Hyjal - Trash waves reduced from 12 to 8 and Archimonde's Doomfire ability altered; various other tweaks to his non melee abilities.
BT- Mother Shahraz encounter significantly reworked.

These changes (of which there are many more) have made for a far easier time in TBC in recent weeks then back in Spring 2007; and this is clearly shown by The Seven's complete annihilation of the end-game content in a short space of time, with a significant lack of high end gear (I am going to assume for this article that Nihilum and The Seven's skill levels are on a par).

I guess my actual point of all this rambling is this: Will Blizzard continue to nerf content when it has reached a certain stage in order to appease the more casual gamer? In my opinion this devalues what many top-end guilds spend a large amount of time and energy on; and it seems to me that Blizzard is caving in to the concerns of the casual, rather than rewarding the skilled playerbase.

Will the Nerf Bat swing around and hit Sunwell Plateau (slated to be the final 25 man raid of TBC before the next expansion) in a few months? Only time will tell.

-Joe Zara [Phoee]

Say Hello To Joe - 11.10.2007

I have found a new co-writer to help me out here at Blogcraft!

His name is Joe Zara and his character's name is Phoee. He belongs to the EU guild Inner Sanctum who is currently ranked 17th worldwide by WoW Jutsu and Boss Killers. Using his PvE knowledge, Joe has published two popular endgame strategy guides for Teron Gorefiend and Supremus. Now, he plans to bring his overall knowledge of World of Warcraft to Blogcraft.

Joe's first post will be up soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

-Matt Graham

Linked From Tobold - 11.5.2007

My "Can WoW Be Beaten?" post has been linked on TOBOLD's MMORPG blog in his post entitled "Spoilt rotten by World of Warcraft?"!

This is a great step for Blogcraft! Thanks Tobold! :D

-Matt Graham

Blogcraft Is Hiring A Writer! - 11.2.2007

I've always wanted Blogcraft to be a blog that updates with new posts constantly. However, that it really difficult for me to do because when I'm busy, I AM BUSY! So, what is my solution? Well, I'm looking for a new writer to join me in writing for the blog.

I'm looking for anyone, age 16+, that has a passion to write and thinks that he/she can bring something new to Blogcraft. Whether you can think of cool new features to write up or just want to get your creative ideas written down, e-mail Blogcraft at worldofblogcraft@gmail.com with:

1. Your name or online handle. I know that some people don't like having their last name out there, so that's optional.
2. Your age.
3. Why you want this job.
4. What you plan to bring to Blogcraft.

So, apply now and I'll get back to all the people that follow my criteria. Good luck!

P.S. - Please know that you will not be paid for this job. It's just a fun little side-project next to real life. :D

-Matt Graham

Can WoW Be Beaten? - 11.2.2007

The question as to if WoW can be beaten or not seems often too difficult to discuss. I always wonder why though. For me, at least, the answer seems so simple. The answer is that no, World of Warcraft can not and will not be beaten.

I honestly do not think that WoW will ever be out-populated by another subscription-based MMO - ever. Just look at what games we see on the horizon that are worth mentioning: Tabula Rasa (released today), Warhammer Online, Age of Conan, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Star Trek Online, The Agency, etc.

Let's analyze the small list I provided. I bolded the names of possible competitors of WoW and italicized the games that don't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as WoW.

*Tabula Rasa: Tabula Rasa was released today, so I still included it on the list. Let me sum up the TR beta with one, excuse me, two words. Utter crap. The game play was not smooth AT ALL, and to be quite honest, that was my only huge problem with it. However, it was a BIG problem.
*Warhammer Online: "...And in other news, EA's Mythic Entertainment decided to delay WAR once more - they say this is the last time - to polish it a bit more." I hope they don't polish it so much that the paint begins to wear.
*Age of Conan: I really want this game to be great. I've been watching it for almost two years now - hell, I even did a podcast about it for awhile. However, because of it's M rating and it's low-fantasy setting, I don't think that Age of Conan will come close to beating WoW. I do believe, however, that it can and will be a healthy competitor.
*Pirates of the Burning Sea: Sony Online Entertainment. Well there are other reasons why my love for this game diminished as well, but I thought I'd just simply point out "the SOE reason".
*Star Trek Online: Finally, the Trekkies have a promising game to look forward to. Will Star Trek Online beat WoW's number? Well, because it's a Sci-Fi MMO, no, I don't think it will. Will it come close? Yes. I believe that Star Trek online will be the only MMO to come anywhere close to WoW's numbers.
*The Agency: Sony Online Entertainment... Wait... An SOE game that I'm actually checking out?! Oh my God! Well, while this game is promising many revolutionary things right now, I don't know if it can carry those out or not. Also, being a Sci-Fi MMO hurts itself against its competition.

Notice that I didn't include Guild Wars 2 in the above list. This is because NCSoft has stated that it will be a free-to-play persistent world. If it remains that way, Guild Wars 2 could very likely beat WoW's numbers, but let's just see how long that lasts... When they finally decide to add a subscription-based fee, I won't be able to consider them as any competition.

So, there you have it. The only games on the horizon that I really believe in are Age of Conan and Star Trek Online. Now, don't assume that I'll be in there with the Trekkies, because I sure as hell won't be.

P.S. - You might say that I'm being "stupid" because I'm just taking into account the MMO's on the horizon. Well, I believe that in a year or two we will have reached the high point of MMO's.

-Matt Graham

The Geek Media Donation Drive - 11.2.2007

The Geek Media will be starting a donation drive for Child's Play Charity on November 1, 2007 and it will last until December 1, 2007. If you aren't familiar with Child's Play you ought to check out their site and get familiar with them. They are a great charity that gives us gamers and geeks a chance to give back to the community. We are setting a goal to raise $4,000 USD for Child's Play. For every $5.00 you donate, you are entered to win a Nintendo Wii. The drawing for the contest will be held on December 1, 2007.

How do you donate? On November 1, 2007 all of the donation buttons on the front page of The Geek Media's website will be changing over from our regular donate buttons. Click on those buttons and donate away. All of the money received from November 1, 2007 - December 1, 2007 will be going to benefit Child's Play Charity!

Click here for the official rules, and click here for the FAQ.

Child's Play is a great charity that has been growing since it started; at first it was one local hospital to prove that gamers really do give back, now there are 38 hospitals you can choose to donate directly to in 5 countries. So even if you don't want a Wii and you can spare even a couple of dollars go to The Geek Media's site and donate!

-Matt Graham

I Apologize - 10.30.31

I apologize for my lack of posts lately, but real life has been keeping me very busy. Expect more posting coming soon. :)

-Matt Graham

Judge Judy Plays - Oh, Wait... - 10.22.2007

Today, the popular TV courtroom judge, Judge Judy, said that she has never heard of World of Warcraft. I guess it's no surprise because of her age, but shouldn't judges know about things that 9 million+ people are into? Oh well...

So anyway, some chick kicked her boyfriend out of her house because he played too much WoW - what's new?

And all this time I thought that Judy played a Paladin...

-Matt Graham

Hallow's End Is Here - 10.18.2007

w00t! It's finally here again, people!

-Matt Graham

365 Days Later - 10.13.2007

A year ago today I began writing entries on a little Wordpress blog I created, entitled "World of Blogcraft". Today, this Blogger blog spans over 115 entries and generates a healthy amount of traffic. I would like to thank all my readers and friends for supporting Blogcraft! Thanks everyone!

Here's to another great year for the World of Blogcraft! *toasts Brewfest mug*

P.S. - Now, this is only the third time in a year that I've asked this, but since it's the one year anniversary, I'm going to remind everyone. If you scroll down a bit, you'll find a donate button on the left side of the page. The smallest donation can go further than you would believe. This blog has received zero donations so far. I would love to bring out new features for the readers, but it's hard to when you don't receive any donations. Now, please don't look at this as begging, because I'm not trying to. I'm really just reminding you guys that there is a donate button for a reason. :p

-Matt Graham

Patch 2.3.0 Public Test Realm - 10.11.2007

Hortus has announced that the patch 2.3.0 Public Test Realm (PTR) will be going up tonight at 6:00 PM PST (9:00 PM EST). He tells us not to attempt to download the new client or copy our characters until 6:00 PM PST because it won't work if we try to anyways.

There are NO premades, NO equipment vendors, and only TWO servers.

Hortus has also posted the patch notes.

-Matt Graham

Hell, It's About Time - 10.11.2007

Oh, oops! Wrong game.

Well, I guess you can use that title for WoW too - in this case. Eyonix has confirmed that a new flight path for Alliance characters will be added to Stranglethorn Vale in patch 2.3. It'll be found at the Rebel Camp. I don't really play Alliance much anymore, but this would have been nice, oh I dunno, like 2 YEARS AGO?!

We're adding a new flight path to Rebel Camp in northern Stranglethorn Vale. It's coming in patch 2.3.

-Matt Graham

Leveling Improvements for Patch 2.3 - 10.8.2007

Over on the EU forums, Vaneras, a Blizzard poster, was nice enough to post everything that we need to know about the new leveling improvements coming in patch 2.3. So, read an enjoy!

As many of you already know we've been working on changes designed to improve various aspects of leveling for those making their way to level 60. These improvements, available in patch 2.3 will come in many forms and should significantly contribute to a more fluid and enjoyable leveling experience .

The first notable change was to simply reduce the amount of experience needed each level by approximately 15% between levels 20 and 60. Please note that when the patch is released, characters affected by this change will remain at their current level percentage. For example, if a character had exactly 50% of the current level's total experience before this change went into effect, the character would still have exactly 50% of the current level's total experience; only now fewer points would be needed to level.

Questing plays a very large role in World of Warcraft, especially while leveling and we felt that improvements to this front were necessary as well. Experience gained for completing quests (on average) between levels 30 and 60 is being increased. The increase becomes more substantial as you make your way towards 60. Additionally, many outdoor elite mobs will become non-elites, making many quests which were previously too difficult or required a group much easier and offer the same rewards (in some cases better!). A good example of this change would be Stromgarde Keep in Arathi Highlands, which will become a solo friendly environment when patch 2.3 goes live.

We've also added approximately 60 new quests in Dustwallow Marsh. This should help players who find themselves lacking quests in the 30-40 range. The Steamwheedle Cartel is building the new town of Mudsprocket in south-west Dustwallow Marsh, so you'll have to wait until construction is complete to learn more about these changes.

We're making other improvements to pre-bc leveling dungeons that players will likely find most agreeable. The level range for most every dungeon is being adjusted so that there is a much smaller range between the level of mobs found early in the dungeon to those found towards the end. For example, Shadowfang Keep is currently designed for levels 18-25 which means that right now, players who are towards the bottom of that range (18) will find it nearly impossible to complete the dungeon, while players towards the top of the range (25) will find most of the dungeon trivial. Using our new model (similar to what you'll notice with Burning Crusade leveling dungeons), Shadowfang Keep is being retuned for levels 18-21.

We also want to make running a leveling up dungeon more worth while. In addition to increasing quest experience for dungeon quests, we're also upgrading all pre-bc dungeon boss drops to blue quality items. Some examples are listed below:

Ragefire Chasm
Robe of Evocation old: +3 Stamina, + 4 Intelligence
Robe of Evocation new: +4 Stamina, +5 Intelligence, and +5 Spell Critical Strike Rating

Deadmines
Smite's Reaver old: +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Spirit, 11.1 dps
Smite's Reaver new: +2 Strength, +3 Stamina, +2 Hit Rating, 14.5 dps

Shadowfang Keep
Robes of Arugal old: +3 Agility, +5 Stamina, +9 Intelligence, +10 Spirit
Robes of Arugal new: +3 Spirit, +5 Stamina, +9 Intelligence, +12 Spell Damage

As you can see there is much in-store for the next major content patch, particularly a number of changes designed to benefit players who are leveling a character. Though we've given you a few examples of the things to come, we think everyone will pleasantly surprised when they see the full extent of the changes discussed above.

So, there you have it. Pretty good stuff, eh?

-Matt Graham

Toyotacraft - 10.6.2007

The following video premiered for the first time today as a commercial for the Toyota Tacoma during a Georgia/Tennessee football game. It's pretty frickin' funny. "Did you see me lay down the law? I am the lawgiver!"



-Matt Graham

Worlf of Warcraft - 10.3.2007

Note to scammers: When you claim to be the Wrath of the Lich King development team and are attempting to scam someone out of their WoW account...

1. Spell "World of Warcraft" correctly. Dumbasses...
2. Don't say that you're the development team - they don't give out the beta keys.
3. Don't use an obvious hyperlink. It's fairly easy for the person to copy + paste the URL and find out that said "URL" linked isn't a real site. *cough, http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wotlkbeta, cough*
4. Review your Greek alphabet. C'mon now, you can do it. Alpha comes BEFORE Beta.
5. Spell "World of Warcraft" correctly. Oops, already said that one.

P.S. - You can click the above picture for a larger version.

-Matt Graham

Unofficial Patch 2.3.0 Notes - 9.29.2007

THE FOLLOWING NOTES FOR PATCH 2.3.0 ARE IN NO WAY OFFICIAL. THIS EXACT LIST HAS NEVER BEEN CONFIRMED BY BLIZZARD, HOWEVER, THIS IS A COMPILATION OF "BLUE POSTS" FROM THE US AND EU FORUMS.


General
*New daily quests targeting a random battleground each day.
*Healing Reduction effects now affect all Drain spells and abilities (i.e. Mortal Strike vs Drain Life)
*Level 20-60 quest experience has been increased, while XP to level has been decreased
*New Title - Champion of the Naaru: Awarded to those who complete the Tempest Keep attunement quest at level 70
*New Flying Mount added. Requires 2,000g and Exalted with Cenarion Expedition
*New 10-Man Raid - Zul'Aman, Zul'Aman is complete and now only needs time on the PTR.
*Guild Banks added to the game with patch 2.3
*New Arena Relics have been added for more talent specs, and existing Relics have been renamed to create a more consistent naming convention
*1/3rd of +healing will count as +spell damage
*New daily dungeon quests found in lower city for both the heroic and non-heroic five person dungeons. These are one random regular dungeon AND one heroic dungeon per day. The non-heroic dungeons these will be available for are Shattered Halls, Steamvault, Shadow Labyrinth, Black Morass, Botanica, Mechanar, Arcatraz. All heroic dungeons have an associated daily quest. If a non-heroic and heroic happen to fall on the same dungeon in a single day, one heroic run will allow completion of both quests. The non-heroic quests will reward an ethereum prison key, gold and Consortium faction. The heroic quests will reward 2 Badges of Justice, gold and Consortium faction.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING THIS POST!

-Matt Graham

AFK - 9.25.2007

AFK, and you know why - so don't even ask why. :p

-Matt Graham

24 Hours Until Insanity - 9.24.2007

All Halo breaks loose.

-Matt Graham

Believe. - 9.23.2007

-Matt Graham

Patch 2.2.2 (Brewfest) On PTRs Now! - 9.23.2007

The testing for patch 2.2.2, the Brewfest patch, has now begun! Because Brewfest will be making it's appearance in October, we can understand that's it's an obvious play on the German Oktoberfest - and you know what that means... BEER!

Two days ago, Hortus confirmed the testing of Brewfest on the PTR forums. He also confirmed that the new Hallow's End content would be tested after Brewfest. Long-time Blogcraft readers will know that Hallow's End is my absolute favorite WoW holiday, so you'll definitely be seeing me on the PTRs when that comes out.

Now, as for all things Brewfest, you should probably check out the amazing guide that Boubouille has posted over on MMO-Champion. From what I've seen, it's everything that you could possibly want to know about Brewfest.

-Matt Graham

BANNED: 36 Hours - 9.16.2007

So, it's been a little over a day since I was banned from the World of Warcraft forums, and let me tell you, it's been a living Hell. I'm constantly trying to log in or respond to a post only to get a big sign screaming, "You are permanently banned!".

When you are used to spending a few hours a day posting on the forums and then suddenly you are unable to, it's tough - I'm not even kidding. Now, I love playing basketball, so I'll use it as an example; I play basketball about 2-3 hours everyday. Four months or so ago, the hoop in my driveway fell down due to strong winds. (I had thought I brought it into the garage. >.>) The backboard cracked and the rim broke off, granted I had used this hoop everyday for 5 years, I still expected it to hold up, but it didn't. So, because I didn't have the money to go out and buy a hoop right away, I was without a basketball hoop for almost a month. I was able to play a few times because I would drive to a local outdoor court, but I wasn't able to go everyday.

Maybe you see what I'm getting to. When you are used doing something you enjoy everyday, no matter what it is, it's hard when you suddenly are unable to do so.

/Cry

-Matt Graham

The End of an Era - 9.14.2007

I have been officially banned from the US World of Warcraft forums on my Punchline - the level 64 Gnome Rogue - account. For information on the banning, you can read my WoWWiki article.

-Matt Graham

Watch It - 9.11.2007

No explanation needed.



-Matt Graham

Behind The Avatar: Ellie - 9.10.2007

Ellie, a 21 year old Philosophy student from the state of California, enjoys playing her female Night Elf warrior from the Kirin Tor server during her free time.

Behind the Avatar is a new feature on World of Blogcraft. Every week, I'll post a picture of someone's avatar and the face behind them. So, if you want to be featured on Blogcraft, e-mail us at worldofblogcraft@gmail.com with a picture of you and your avatar, along with some basic, not-to-personal info.

-Matt Graham

Post #100 - 9.10.2007

Three hundred thirty-two (332) days later, and World of Blogcraft has reached 100 total posts! When I first started this blog, I never thought that I would reach this goal, but I have. It's a great feeling! :)

Now, looking forward, what do you think will happen with Blizzard between now and when World of Blogcraft reaches 200 posts? Comment this post with any thoughts you might have!

-Matt Graham

Make Love, Not Warcraft Wins An Emmy - 9.9.2007

The season ten South Park episode entitled, Make Love, Not Warcraft, has now officially won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). Congratulations to the machinimators, Terran Gregory and Tristan Pope, that helped Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the production of this episode. World of Warcraft has come to yet another milestone in the world of entertainment(craft?)!

-Matt Graham

The Art of Stealthing IRL - 9.9.2007

Around my school and work, I'm known as the funny dude who will do anything to make people laugh. However, I can safely say that the act of Stealthing IRL, is something that I'd never have the guts to do.

The linked video is probably one of the funniest WoW related videos I've seen in a while. I totally recommend that you check it out!

Now, you could call me a "closet geek". Not a whole lot of my real life friends know that I play fantasy games, much less that I play WoW and write freakin' blog entries about it. So, I give the kid that made this a LOT of credit. You get 5/5 stars from me, buddy.

P.S. - Digg this story!

-Matt Graham

WoW Den - 9.9.2007

On August 24, a guy named Jon created WoW Den. WoW Den is a new World of Warcraft blog focusing on guides, tips, and tools. Along with long and helpful posts, Jon has pages containing a list of tools, guides, and toys. For a new blog, he has some big lists. So, check out Jon's blog, WoW Den!

-Matt Graham

The Karazhan Raid Timer - 9.8.2007

Why is Karazhan, the first level 70 10-man raid instance, STILL on a 7-day reset timer? I mean c'mon, Blizzard!

According to WoW Jutsu, 99.99% of level 70 characters have seen, at least, the first trash mob group of Karazhan. With any somewhat experienced guild, you can finish Karazhan in only 3-4 hours, and with a PUG group you can finish it in about 5 hours! A raid instance that only takes one night of raiding, one small night of raiding, should NOT be on a 7-day reset timer.

Karazhan is an extremely important stepping stone for raiding in the Burning Crusade, and now that people have learned the instance, it's time for guilds to be able to get their gear a little quicker.

It's time to change Karazhan to a 5-day, or maybe even a 4-day timer, Blizzard.

This may seem like an old subject, but I thought that I should bring it up because the issue is still out there.

-Matt Graham

Bai Bai Interwebz - 9.4.2007

Starting in 45 minutes, I'm going to be without internet for 24-48 hours. Oh Joy...

Well, that's just a 'heads-up'. Peace out.

-Matt Graham

BlizzCon 2007 Beta Key - 9.3.2007

If you attended BlizzCon 2005, you received a free beta key in your 'goodie-bag'. Eventually, BlizzCon attendees were able to use that beta key to play the beta version of the Burning Crusade. So, I was wondering what you guys think the beta key from BlizzCon 2007 will be for. Starcraft II? WoW: Wrath of the Lich King? Possibly even Diablo III? Comment this post!

Personally, if I had to guess, I think (hope) it's going to be for WoW: Wrath of the Lich King, but that's just me.

-Matt Graham

Donate to Blogcraft! - 9.2.2007

If you scroll down a bit, you'll see a PayPal donate button on the left side of this page right under my Blogroll. It has been there for a while now, and has never been touched. I'm not QQing here, I'm just reminding everyone. Any donation will help - whether it's 5 cents, 5 dollars, or 5,000 dollars, it still helps.

Here at Blogcraft, we hope to attend the next BlizzCon, so let's see how much the donations can help!

-Matt Graham

Digg Blogcraft! - 9.2.2007

I have added a Digg button on the left side of this page, so Digg Blogcraft whenever you get a chance!

-Matt Graham

Web-Based Auction House Database - 9.1.2007

Someone on 'teh interwebz' has created an online database for World of Warcraft's auction house. It is a live, web-based, database that allows you to search for current auctions on your server - from your browser. It's pretty nifty, so check it out.

-Matt Graham

The Geek Media - 8.31.2007

I would like to announce that World of Blogcraft is now a founding member of The Geek Media which launched at midnight last night. Myself, as well as Blogcraft of course, has been a part of The Geek Media for quite a while now, I just couldn't tell you all yet. So, here it is!

We are not the mainstream media. We are not the underground media. We are The Geek Media. Welcome to another chapter in the world of new media.

The Geek Media is a network of all types of new media. Podcasts, animation, machinima, musical works, video, articles and so much more are right at your fingertips. All of us work together to not only create our own media but, also media for The Geek Media itself. As time goes on, we will be attending many events and bringing you video and audio coverage of these events.

On The Geek Media's website, you will find a variety of categories of different shows, visual stimulation and even intellectual stimulation. There's something for almost everyone at The Geek Media. Join us for a new look at the world of new media.

As Insomnia, another founding member of The Geek Media points out over at her blog, Playtime!, The Geek Media is a hub for everything geeky; blogs, podcasts, machinima, music, and just about everything you'd want to find that's geeky.

So, check it out. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

P.S. - You will always be able to find a link to The Geek Media directly above the archive directory.

-Matt Graham

Tigole Interview 2 - 8.25.2007

Today, Curse Gaming interviewed Tigole from the Games Convention at Leipzig. We got a little more information about WotLK, as well a some hints for further expansions. So, here is what we got out of the interview...

• Utgarde Keep, in the Howling Fjord, will be a winged dungeon with two instances. One instance is for level 70 players (demoed at BlizzCon) and the other is for level 80 players - called Utgarde Pinnacle.
• We found out that the main idea of Inscription (new profession) is not to "add 100 more spell damage", but instead to do things like increase the radius of Frost Nova or make the players trapped in the nova for a longer time.
• Tigole also touched on the leveling curve that will be implemented before the release of WotLK as a pre-expansion patch. Players between level 20 and 60 will have the experience required to level reduced as well as having the experience reward from quests increased by 30%.
• Curse asked Tigole if he had anything to say about the Hunter class, because of their current status in the game. He talked about the possibility of a woodworking profession for Hunters to allow the creation of arrows. He claims that it's an idea that's been tossed around quite a bit lately. However, don't expect this in WotLK, at least not in the retail box version. Also, because of the weakness of Hunters in the arena, Tigole claimed that they are toying around with the idea of a 'mortal strike'-type shot that would reduced the healing effectiveness of the target.

-Matt Graham

Tigole Interview - 8.22.2007

Today, buffed.de interviewed Tigole at Games Convention 2007. So, did we get any new information about WotLK? We sure did! Here are some scattered translated parts of the interview.


New Content? Stratholme as a level 80 5-man Caverns of Time instance.

Buffed: Now, to the topic: We heard a lot of things about Wrath of the Lich King at BlizzCon. Have there been any news since?
Tigole: There are a few things that we did not talk about at BlizzCon. The most important thing is the new Caverns of Time instance Stratholme. We wanted to return to the Caverns of Time concept because it is one of the coolest things we released for World of Warcraft: and we wanted to persue what the Bronze Dragon is up to. We want to show you some of the coolest moments of Warcraft. And now we chose Stratholme. Players of World of Warcraft already know Stratholme and many hardcore players are great fans of the old Stratholme instance. Warcraft 3 players however know Stratholme from a singleplayer mission, in which Arthas travels to the city and sets all buildings on fire, kills the citizens and fights Mal'Ganis. In Wrath of the Lich King you fight at Prince Arthas' side, by travelling through the Caverns of Time. We are giving you the opportunity of meeting Arthas at a time at which he was not a great villain yet. You are "cleaning" Stratholme and igniting buildings!
Buffed: Awesome! For how many players is this instance designed?
Tigole: It will be a five player instance, but for level 80 characters. We think that players will not enter the Caverns of Time while they are levelling, but return to them at level 80.


New Content? Hero classes other than the Death Knight.

Buffed: Last question: the Death Knight is only the first of many hero classes. Which hero class would you like to introduce next?
Tigole: My favority? That is hard to say. I think the Demon Hunter would be extremely cool. The Arch Mage would be cool too...
Buffed: (whispers) Blade Master!
Tigole: (laughs) There are many options, among them, of course, the fantastic Blase Master. We did a lot of brain storming and also thought about classes that were not present in Warcraft 3. But we wanted to advance slowly and introduce the Death Knight first in Wrath of the Lich King. And then we will see what is next.

P.S. - For those that are unaware, Tigole is the Warcraft handle or Jeff Kaplan - Lead Game Designer for World of Warcraft.

-Matt Graham

The WoW Forums - 8.21.2007

This just about sums it up.



-Matt Graham

Wolf Quest: The WoW Killer - 8.20.2007

Okay, so maybe it's not the next WoW killer... Actually, I think the only 'killing' that it will be doing is killing itself. Damn emo MMO...

But seriously... Please tell me that this is a joke. I mean c'mon! Wolf Quest?! This is ridiculous! Just look at the gameplay video! The kids are straight out of the '90s and they're howling at their damn computers! The kids get excited when they kill an elk and when the dog - excuse me, wolf - pisses a f**cking lake. Jack Thompson had better be all over this!

UPDATE: Looks like the system requirements are extremely high. /Sarcasm Off

And I thought that the 'Africa MMO' was bad.

-Matt Graham

George Fisher Plays WoW - 8.17.2007

George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher from Cannibal Corpse apparently plays WoW. It's not a lie either. He really knows his stuff.



P.S. - Tourettes imo. :p

-Matt Graham

Matrix? Us? Now? - 8.15.2007

I found a very interesting article today. It tells about Dr. Bostrom's (a philosopher at Oxford University) belief that there is a 20% chance that we are currently living in 'a matrix'. Plus, it uses World of Warcraft as an example of an alternate world a few times.

-Matt Graham

World of... Podcraft? - 8.13.2007

Podcasting is the new blogging, as Tobold says. He's right. However, while he won't be joining this movement, I will. Don't fear though, World of Blogcraft will still be going as usual.

I've been planning on doing a World of Warcraft podcast for a long time. So why haven't I yet? Well, I don't trust myself as a solo host, so I've been searching for a co-host.

So, if you, or you know anyone, that would like to be a co-host with me on a WoW podcast, e-mail me at worldofblogcraft@gmail.com telling me about yourself and why you should be a co-host.

P.S. - Adding a 5 minute demo of yourself talking about WoW in the e-mail would greater your chances. :)

-Matt Graham

VERY Extended Maintenance - 8.11.2007

Starting Monday at 2:55 PM EST, 34 realms will go offline for 48 hours (TWO DAYS) of maintenance. Of course, my two main realms are on that list. Lucky me. Time to roll an alt or go outside. >.>

-Matt Graham

Age of Conan Delayed - 8.11.2007

The highly anticipated MMORPG, Age of Conan, has been delayed. It was pushed back 5 months from the original release date of October 30th, 2007 to the new date of March 25th, 2008. While I've been looking forward to this game for a long time now, I can wait. Good luck, Funcom!

-Matt Graham

45-50 Sucks - 8.9.2007

Okay, so I've been playing my Orc Hunter alt lately. Currently, he's at the worst leveling period: 45-50. It seems as though all my 'yellow' quests in my quest log should really be colored 'red'. I mean, one of my quests isn't labeled as a group quest, but it's 'yellow' and requires me to take down elite mobs that are higher level than me! Looks like I'll just have to grind it out, but that's gunna take forever! Plus, Tanaris just flat out sucks on all levels.

I just want to get this character to level 70 so it'll be ready for Wrath of the Lich King and I can roll another alt. (Yes, I'm an altoholic. But, I swear that this Hunter is going to be my main! I swear!)

Hmmm... Maybe I just suck at WoW. I'm complaining about the leveling speed of a huntard. :p

-Matt Graham

WoW Jutsu - 8.8.2007

WoW Jutsu is a fairly new website (a few months old) that was created to monitor the PvE progression of all guilds. Just very recently, EU guilds were added to the site and now WoW Jutsu can be seen in all it's glory. I find it funny that only 2 US guild are in the top 10. EU guilds really know how to raid! :p Also, I was surprised to see that 40 guilds have already taken down Illidan. Let's just hope that The Lich King is a little more tough.

-Matt Graham

All Aboard! Last Zeppelin to Northrend! - 8.4.2007

So, we now know that Northrend will be our next stop, the only question is, "When does this Zeppelin leave?!".

If you didn't understand that genius metaphor, I'm asking the question of, "When will WoW: WotLK be release?!". During one of the WoW panel Q&A sessions yesterday, Tom Chilton used the infamous Blizzard line, "...When it's ready.". Obviously the players want more than that. So, I'm here to speculate.

Now, the first time we actually saw a gameplay footage trailer for the Burning Crusade, like the one we saw for Wrath of the Lich King yesterday, was at E3 2006 (May 10th-12th). Eight months later, January 2007, TBC was released.

I don't think anyone expected the trailer that we saw yesterday to have actually been so 'in-depth' for the announcement like it was. For the announcement of TBC at BlizzCon 2005, all we got was a trailer showing some concept art and text on a black background claiming the new things that we'd see. So, if my theory is at all somewhat plausible, I think we'll see WotLK somewhere around eight months from now (judging by the fact that the first gameplay trailer for TBC was shown eight months before its release).

My final verdict? I think we'll be seeing WoW: WotLK somewhere around April of 2008. Although this guess may seem fully based on when the first gameplay trailers were released and when the actual game came out, I also just think that April 2008 would be a good time for releasing it. However, this guess is subject to change. :p

-Matt Graham

Picture of the Day - 8.3.2007

This is DEFINITELY the picture of the day from BlizzCon.

Starcraft 3? - 8.3.2007

OHMAGAWDZ?!?! STARCRAFT 3?!?!

Looks like Blizzard's proofreading team didn't look trough this close enough. :p

P.S. - Click the above image for a better look.

-Matt Graham

Wrath of the Lich King Trailer - 8.3.2007

Here is the official Wrath of the Lich King trailer created by Blizzard for BlizzCon 2007 - brought to you by World of Blogcraft.



-Matt Graham

WoW: WotLK Site - 8.3.2007

WoW Europe beat WoW US to it, but both now have their sites up.

Wrath of the Lich King US
Wrath of the Lich King EU

-Matt Graham

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - 8.3.2007

It's official.

- Level Cap Raised to 80
- Northrend
- Fight and Kill Arthas
- New Battlegrounds
- Siege Weapons and Destructible Buildings
- Inscription Profession
- Death Knight Hero Class

UPDATE - 1UP has a good article on the new expansion.

-Matt Graham

Alternate Stream - 8.3.2007

The GIGA stream is down, so here is an alternate stream.

-Matt Graham

BlizzCon Play-by-Play - 8.3.2007

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend BlizzCon this year. While I will be able to post about big announcements, I won't be posting 'play-by-play' screenshots or anything. Here are some sites that I recommend for 'play-by-play' news.

LIVE Stream by GIGA

MMO-Champion
WoW Insider
World of War
Xfire

-Matt Graham

Final Confirmation - 8.3.2007

This confirms the name, Death Knights (new class; says nothing about Hero class), Northrend, level 80 cap, and new battlegrounds.

You cannot deny it now.

-Matt Graham

BlizzCon Countdown: Wrap-Up - 8.3.2007

Three hours until BlizzCon.

Here is the final wrap-up of everything that's going on today at BlizzCon.

Announcements At BlizzCon
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
- Starcraft II
- Warcraft Movie
- POSSIBLY Team 3 [Diablo 3, Warcraft IV, a new IP, etc.]

Playable at BlizzCon
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade [Zul'Aman]
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
- Starcraft II

Panels at BlizzCon
[Hall A Main Stage]
- Opening Ceremony
- World of Warcraft
- WoW Class Discussion
- WoW Dungeons and Raids
- Starcraft II Live Demo
- Contests [Sound alike, Dance, Costume, etc.]
[Room 204]
- Expanded Universe
- Blizzard Sound/Music
- Careers in Gaming
- WoW UI and Mods

Don't miss a thing! Stick close to this blog and have the Giga live stream up in another window/tab. Happy BlizzCon 2007! :)

-Matt Graham

WoW Insider/Xfire Chat - 8.2.2007

I'm so sorry that I forgot to remind you guys about this! Since I made a huge mistake, I'll post the entire transcript of the chat. Here ya go!

[Xfire] BlizzCon 2007: Hello from BlizzCon 2007!! Welcome to the first in a series of live chats brought to you by Xfire live on the scene! Our first chat is with special guests from WoW Insider! Who will now start taking your questions!
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: woot hi everybody!
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: hey all, I'm Mike Schramm, co-lead of WoW Insider, a blog about Blizzard and World of Warcraft
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: we are live from Anaheim, just seconds away from the convention center where BlizzCon will be tomorrow
amandarivera: Yo yo yo! It's Amanda here from WoW Insider, bloggette and all around Blizzard fangirl.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: and elizabeth harper should be joining us shortly
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: first question
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: ‡PL‡FaTDoG[Myspace]: Question: Will they make the Max level 80, in World of warcraft
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: amanda, what do you think, will they raise the level cap?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think the level cap will be raised
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but not in the traditional way-- I think the talents/hero points rumor is closest to the truth
amandarivera: I believe they will, the current game model is about progression, about increasing the prowess of the characters.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: if blizzard is interested in making money, they'll raise the level cap :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but if they're the game company we hope for, they'll also include some midlevel content!
amandarivera: The bosses will continue to increase in difficulty as more expansions are released, so it's natural that the level cap will also increase.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: next question
amandarivera: [TTHS]Prophet: Question: How likely do you think it is that Blizzard will announce Diablo 3 at Blizzcon this year or do you think D3 is a pipe dream...at least for the near future?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: hey elizabeth welcome :)
amandarivera: Hey Elizabeth! :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think Blizzard will announce Diablo 3, I
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: 'm just not sure it's tomorrow
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: amanda disagrees with me :)
amandarivera: I'm leaning towards a BlizzCon announcement tomorrow myself
amandarivera: If you look at the current logo art, there are images from all three franchises
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: well yeah it's blizzcon
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but starcraft II, and a new expansion, AND diablo 3?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: too much, I think
amandarivera: We do hear about there being a third dev team out there. But I see your point. I guess we'll just have to see
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: ok next question
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: cthulhutron: Question: Is it possible that there could be more than one place in the upcoming expansion (such as Northrend AND the maelstrom, or Northrend AND the emerald dream?)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: YES
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: that's what I think-- I think we'll see northrend and another area
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: either undermine, or the maelstrom, or something else
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think we will see northrend, but I don't think that's the only thing we'll see
amandarivera: I agree, there is the possiblity of seeing multiple locations, although I think it also would make sense to separate the Maelstrom from a Northrend expansion
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: there we go
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: hi elizabeth
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [TTHS]Prophet: Question: There have been rumours that they are adding a class called Death Knights, among others but I want to know if you think they are adding prestige classes...bolt ons if you wish...or brand spanking new classes?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: here's the death knight thing ::)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: what do you think about that one?
amandarivera: Honestly I'm torn
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I would love to see hero classes this expansion, but if they announce a death knight, and that's it, it's crazy
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think they're going to announce the death knight, and more hero classes in the expansion, TBA-- remember that we waited for the Draenei reveal for a long time
amandarivera: I know they said last BlizzCon there would be no Hero Classes. But I am not so sure I would want to leave my beloved main behind and start with another character
harpere: I think it would be very odd for Blizzard to add a single hero class -- at least in the way I currently think of as a "hero" class. (i.e. an improved form of existing classes.)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: right, and that goes back to the level cap-- Blizzard's game is about improving one character, not your alts
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: alts is something that's extra, not on the created game
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Infernuz: Question: Seeing the history of blizzard do you think they might come up with something totally new?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: this is what I think we'll see instead of Diablo 3
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: i think Blizzard will take all their WoW money and break new ground
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: how long has it been since they had new IP?
amandarivera: Certainly breathing new life into their creative process is always a good idea
amandarivera: I don't know if fans would be able to break with tradition though and accept something new
amandarivera: I am still behind on the other titles myself
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: here's a good one just for each of us then
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Porozny: Question: In your personal opinions, what game do you prefer out of blizzard's games? The Warcraft Universe, the StarCraft Universe, or the Diablo Universe? Or any other Blizzard released games.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: what do you think, warcraft, starcraft, or diablo?
harpere: I've always been a Diablo fan at heart!
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: or other blizzard release games haha yeah i really like rock n roll racing
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: although lost vikings = teh awesome
amandarivera: I honestly love Warcraft, because it's the world I know best
amandarivera: I actually started my Blizz experience in WoW
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: i'm going to have to go with elizabeth I think, diablo is good mindless fun
amandarivera: and then moved onto other titles sorta backwards :P
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: wow is a good time, but diablo is clicky clicky looty looty
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: it seems like we all agree northrend, so here's a good question
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Grimord: Question: Don't you think it's still too soon for the next expansion to bring us Northrend? I mean, Northrend is the lair to the Lich King Arthas... Imho I think that Northrend should be one of the ultimate goals of the game (lore-wise), don't you agree?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I don't think northrend should be an "ultimate goal"-- the seeds of northrend were laid ten years ago in Warcraft III
harpere: And even if it's an "ultimate goal" in current lore -- they're constantly adding to the lore, etc.
amandarivera: For most players that I know they have covered most of TBC backwards and forwards and are eager for new places to explore. Even though I haven't seen all the raid content, I myself am actually looking forward to new places to explore.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: err not 10 years ago that' ss starcraft
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but still
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: northrend is old news-- it's time to go after arthas, imo
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Boojangels: Question: Do you think Starcraft Ghost will FINNALY be coming, or is that game left in the digital graveyard?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: STARCRAFT GHOST IS DEAD
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: and WoW carried the coffin at the funeral :)
amandarivera: *points to shrine*
harpere: Well... I'm not convinced the idea is entirely dead. But I doubt it's going to be brought back this soon.
amandarivera: I have actually heard rumors that they will revisit the project, but that doesn't seem likely
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think it's gone forever, and I think it'll be along time before Blizzard goes on consoles
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: their development cycle is too long-- new consoles come out by the time they're done
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but watch them disprove me and announce a console title tomorrow :)
harpere: the console thing always seemed like an odd move, I agree... but that doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't still interested in the Ghost concept.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: TTHS]Prophet: Question: Starcraft is recognised for its balance and playability on a professional level like no other RTS. Do you think Blizzard are risking their identity in this respect by braving Starcraft 2 or do you beleive they will get it right and "save face" in the pro esport area?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: good question
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: if you saw me on G4, you know what I think-- I think blizzard will get it exactly right, and that's exactly what they're trying to do
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think they're trying to update the the game, and put a new RTS into esports
amandarivera: I think a good, even a perfect game can always use an update, especially considering the improvements in design that Blizzard now has under their belt.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: the big question is really if Starcraft II will have heroes
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: we haven't seen anything on that yet-- if they're not in there, it might be blizzard saying that the heroes in RTS mechanic doesn't work
harpere: They already have a history for not releasing games "until they're done," so I have full confidence that Blizzard will have SC2 as good as it gets by release time -- and they'll be building on their experience from all of their Battle.net games as well as balancing the WoW Arena system for competitive play.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: very interested to see what shows up at BlizzCon for starcraft II
amandarivera: It's a shame Metzen isn't in the chat with us :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: right, battle.net will get a nice update
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Edge: Question: blizz usually take a whole lot of time to announce let alone release new addiotns to their games... do you think blizzard will manage to release another wow expansion just after 1 year? (or could they be finally be honouring their expansion pack per year promise?)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Rob Pardo has said that they are committed to churning out one per year
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I don't think it'll happen in February, but I think they will release it in the first half of next year
harpere: ...but the CMs have sort of backtracked on that language since Pardo initially said it.
amandarivera: Actually yes, I think they are rocking with enough people on their team, and they are refining their release process as they go along. It'll happen
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: the last BlizzCon was fall 2005, and the expansion didn't come out this year, so who knows
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: *until this year
harpere: I'm really concerned over the fact that the CMs have basically denied any promise for a specific expansion release date... it makes me wonder if we're back to the same old "when it's done" game -- though Amanda makes a good point, they do have enough of a team to get the work done, I think.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: here's an arena question
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Oracle} Anime: [TTHS]Prophet: Question: Again on the pro esport area, WoW Arena 2v2 has gone pro but the mechanics mean that certain combinations being far better than others. Do you think Blizzard will aim to balance this (seeing as it has gone pro) or do you think people can accuse them of passively doctoring the outcome of the arena ladders in favour of certain class combinations?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: first of all, 2v2 isn't pro arena, according to Blizzard (who like 5v5) or the WSVG (who like 3v3)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: 2v2 isn't balanced enough to be pro, from what I've heard
harpere: I believe Blizzard is actively working to balance these things.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: meh but two classes at a time is so hard to balance
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: espcially if they start throwing in hero classes
amandarivera: In order to balance things out, there would have to be a limit on abilities and gear, and I don't see that limitation being forced upon the 2v2
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: yeah I think 2v2 will keep being a fun thing, and 3v3 and 5v5 will remain the "pro" arena ladders
harpere: Of course, even if we look at 5v5 Arenas (the finals happening at BlizzCon), 25% of the players are Warriors. I think there are some balance issues going on -- but I also think Blizzard is working on addressing them. Just look at the 2.2 patch notes, which
harpere: aim to address a large number of PvP-specific inconsistencies.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: here's a good one for us :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Boojangels: Question: What game do you think the Beta key in the goodie bag will be?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Starcraft 2 all the way
harpere: I'm holding out hope for Diablo 3 still!
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I doubt they're going to announce a new game AND give out beta keys
harpere: But SC2 is far more likely, with a smaller possibility of the next WoW expansion.
amandarivera: hmmm....well honestly, I'm still waiting for my beta key to be used from the last BlizzCon :(
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: here's a good one from the unofficial room: Kumbol wants to know if there will be a new BG in the expansion
amandarivera: I am hoping that it will be for SC2, if not for the next expansion
amandarivera: ooh how about water based pvp! that would be an awesome battleground
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: yes, I agree with SaintAvalon-- I want new maps for old BGs
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I want to see a new CTF map at 10-19
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I want to see a new Alterac where Horde has a better lay of the land :)
harpere: I think a new BG is likely, and I also think new maps for existing BGs is likely.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I don't want to see any new BGs until we get updates of the old ones :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: ĹĮĽ_ŜĂŦǺП™: question: since wow will be releasing 1 expansion every year... what will they do with all the old content? people will forget about it and not play it just like naxx and mc and ony lair now.... what to they plan to do about these lost dungeons?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: well first of all, we still need to see heroic mode on the old dungeons
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but I would LOVE LOVE Blizzard if they announce new midlevel content tomorrow
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: not only would that make alt leveling more fun again, but it would bring a whole new crowd of players back into the game, and bring people back to the old instances
amandarivera: I have heard lovely things about revisiting midlevel content. I am hoping that with the addition of Northrend we will also see the opening of Uldum, which is connected to the city on Northrend, Uldamar.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: right
harpere: I think whenever Blizzard releases the next expansion, they're going to be looking carefully at how TBC rolled out. I.e.: TBC arrived, and everyone left Azeroth and never bothered running any of the raids or dungeons there again.
harpere: What they might actuallly do about that... revamp old content, add to existing content as they add new content... that's the real question, in my mind.
harpere: I'm all for heroic Deadmines. >:)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: oh man that would be so fun
amandarivera: VC at 70 would RULE
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: heroic SM needs to happen soon too
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: SaintAvalon: ~~Question: Have you ehard anything on the new VOIP system that is built in game? What options might there be, like muting specific people, or disabling it during a pug run? Any special things that come with VOIP for raiders, or guilds?~~
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: VOIP is coming in 2.2, so pretty soon, compared to all the other stuff we're talking about
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: you will be able to mute people, and I haven't seen the guild interface yet, but I'm guessing it will be pretty involved
amandarivera: I personally don't have much more info than what I've read off the WoW site
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: the better question might be: will you use teamspeak or the ingame voip?
amandarivera: It really depends on the functionality of what Blizz offers. If I can get the same options, or even better options, and not lag to death, I will be a happy girl.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: lag will be interesting-- the game is often laggy, but TS never is
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: actually that's not true, it is laggy
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but it's not as important with voice chat as it is with pressing the right buttons at the right times
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [TTHS]Prophet: Question: With World of Warcraft being left behind graphically very quickly and the fast progression we are seeing in technology at this moment in time, do you think Blizzard will look at upgrading the graphics engine with the third expansion or even this coming exapnsion?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I think Blizzard might have more complicated models, as they did with BC
harpere: well, i'd like to point out that one of WoW's driving forces its its lack of high system requirements. it makes the game accessible to a wider audience
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but in terms of revamping the whole graphics engine, no-- Blizzard is known for polish, not cutting edge graphics
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: right
amandarivera: I don't know that its feasible to expect them to restructure the bones of the game. They have kept with the low poly models even with TBC, and I expect them to continue with this.
harpere: (as opposed to Lord of the Rings Online or Vanguard, which just look terrible or won't even run on low end systems)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: newbasaur: NewbasaurQuestion: Will/has WoW hindered blizzard from making a Warcraft 4? Or if they decide to make it will the plot suffer because of WoW?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I don't think Blizzard wants to become the Warcraft company-- they like all of their properties

[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: but I think Starcraft II hindered them from making Warcraft IV more than WoW did
amandarivera: I don't think there has been any hinderance if they decide to revisit Warcraft RTS. Also keep in mind that the writers at Blizzard are extremely inventive, and have a great tradition of weaving new lore into older storylines.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: what's after blizzcon, asks this guy
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [TTHS]Prophet: Question: It's all well and good discussing what Blizzard might announce at BlizzCon, but what do you want to see from BlizzCon 2007 and also from Blizzard over the next year to two years until the next BlizzCon?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I don't think Blizzard is thinking about anything after the next expansion-- Metzen has lots of ideas I'm sure but they'll be working on just this for now
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: guild banks are coming soon, and housing may be on the menu at some point
amandarivera: Hmm...well I do think we will see Diablo 3 in our future, and if Mike is right about a new franchise, we'll have all sorts of possiblities open up.
harpere: looking far out into the future, there's still Diablo 3 and their "next gen" MMO
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: and if we don't see Emerald Dream or Maelstrom tomorrow, we'll see it eventually
amandarivera: I also expect we will see revisting of the midlevel zones, connecting them to new content
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: yeah the other idea i had was like a "shadow world" where you could visit old zones ina new light
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: like "shadow elywnn" and "shadow darkshire"
amandarivera: Also keep in mind we have all those portals in Outland we have to go through :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: and oh yes the portals
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: ok we've got about 10 minutes left, so let's do a lightning round
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: I'll post questions, and you guys just quick punch in a yes or no answer
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: and you questioners, you ask lots of yes or no questions
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: everybody ready?
amandarivera: No :P
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: YES
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: ok here we go LIGHTNING ROUNNDDDDDD
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: cthulhutron: Question: Do you see anything in the blizzcon area which would hint to a WotLK expansion, such as banners or something?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: NO
harpere: nope
amandarivera: Nope
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: curruptmind: Question : will there be a collectors edition to new expansion if so what kind of pets do you think they will give us in it?
amandarivera: yes
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: YES, pandaren :)
harpere: yes
harpere: and who knows with blizz what sort of crazy pets they'll add
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: {Dark}Canna: Question: Can I have a Murloc Suit?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: NO!!!!
amandarivera: I'm hoping for a baby worgen
harpere: sorry, i'm keeping mine!
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [Xfire] MasterRen: Boojangels: Question: Wow breaking 10 million player mark?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: YES
amandarivera: nope
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: O RLY
harpere: yes :)
harpere: (the real question is when)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [Xfire] MasterRen: weaksauce: question: wil there be a wow 2?????????
amandarivera: and yes :)
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: there already is :)
harpere: if you aren't providing that question with any timeframe... then yes.
amandarivera: no
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [Xfire] MasterRen: SaintAvalon: YES OR NO Will hunters pets get some pathing where they don't get lost, stuck, or otherwise incompasitated?!?!?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: no, nerf hunters :)
amandarivera: down with BRK :P
harpere: (but i think they're just as likely to attempt Starcraft or Diablo as new MMO franchises in the future)
amandarivera: :D
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [Xfire] MasterRen: Emy?!?!: Question: Will there be any neutral races like lets say goblins so that both Alliance and Horde be able to chat easier with friends?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: NO
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: Oblivion: CAN I HAVE A COOKIE
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: NO
amandarivera: Neutral races I see as a third faciton, but not facilitating communication
harpere: Obl: only if you're at BlizzCon
amandarivera: NO
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [Xfire] MasterRen: [TTHS]Prophet: Question: Plate for Shadowpriests?
amandarivera: Hell no
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: HELL NO facemelters
harpere: wouldn't that be a deathknight?
amandarivera: good point
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: {Oracle} Anime: can i have sex with mike?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: eerrr maybe
amandarivera: Depends on if you're coming to the meet up
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: {Dark}Canna: Question: Do you think Warlocks will get nerfed or buffed?
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: nerf warlocks
amandarivera: neither
harpere: neither
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: [Xfire] MasterRen: Infernuz: Question: Do a barrelroll?
harpere: i don't think they need buffing or nerfing -- though some other classes need work in comparison.
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: YES, it's over ninethousasssaaannnnddd
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: ok everybody, I think the lightning round's over :)
amandarivera: Huzzah
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: and I think the chat's done too-- THANKS everyone for asking questions, see you at BlizzCon, or at wowinsider.com
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: AND THANKS XFIRE!!
amandarivera: Thanks y'all!
[WoWInsider]mikeschramm: see you at the wowinsider party tonight right? :)
[Xfire] mbg: Thank you :-)

-Matt Graham