World of Warcraft : bluewatch

Blue Post: Naxxramas, Battleground

Teza — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:25:57 GMT

WotLK: Naxxramas and tuning (src)

About Naxxramas changes, our Lead Designer talked about this a bit in the past, a fight like Thaddius will be pretty much the same where a fight like the Four Horsemen will need a fair amount of changes.
The Four Horsemen encounter wont be nerfed, Think of it like this, if a 40 person fight requires numerous people to be continuously rotating around and sharing debuffs and whatnot, when we remove 15 people from the raid group, we can't require the same number of people to rotate, so it has to be updated to fit accordingly. How exactly it will be changed is unknown, but I'm sure we'll find out eventually.

Bug: Black Bow of the Betrayer still not fixed (src)

This bow still breaks scatter shot. This problem has been in place ever since the bow was in place, and has gone ignored.

This issue was briefly fixed but appears to be re-occurring, a new fix will be in a future patch.

Bug: Eye of the Storm Battleground ending early (src)

We are aware of the issues with Eye of the Storm Battleground on some battle groups, it is being investigated.

Bug: Fozruk loot glitch to be fixed in a future patch (src)

We are aware of these issues (Fozruk cant be looted) with Fozfuk and they will be fixed in an upcoming patch.

Daily Blue: patch 2.4, season 4 and bug

Teza — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:17:55 GMT

2.4: "you'll have to wait" (src)

The Blizzcast is now out and we are working on compiling information on the Under Development for patch 2.4 to give everyone updates. It takes some time to do, but we will be updating before long. I'm sure what everyone is really waiting for are the actual patch notes, but you'll have to wait for those to hit the test realm.

Arena: no date for season 4 (src)

We haven't said as of yet, so no one will be able to answer on season 4 start date. Sorry.

Bug: Skullocs Soul (src)

There is a bug preventing players from looting Skullocs Soul, we are aware of it and a fix will be included in an upcoming patch.

Daily Blue and "What's your favorite WoW Music?"

Kody — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:55:23 GMT

You could call this the Daily Blues, but maybe it's better off being called the "Are these bugs?" section thanks to Hortus, who took the time to reply to a few threads in the Bug Reports section of the forums today.

Spectras reports that the Halaa turn-in of 20 dusts for a research token does not properly convert XP to gold.

Hortus wrote:

Hi Spectras,

Non-daily repeatable quests do not get the xp to gold conversion sot hey still show the xp generated.

Oskilieth reports that disabling the UI now turns off chat bubbles since 2.3.

Hortus wrote:

Hi Oskilieth,

This was changed intentionally, but as I understand it in a future patch there will be a new option that will allow you to turn them back on.

Pelonfour reports that the AFK reporting feature in battlegrounds is not working properly.

Hortus wrote:

Hi Pelonfour. The AFK reporting feature does not remove players from the battleground, it merely causes them to gain no honor.

Tauntsauce reports that certain Arena NPCs are unfriendly to someone hated by Steamwheedle Cartel.

Hortus wrote:

Which specific Arena NPCs are not friendly to you? Some arena NPCs are intended to be on goblin factions and hostile to Bloodsail Buccaneers, but there should be at least one vendor and one arena master that is friendly to everyone.

Daltus reports issues where the Rebirth resurrection confirmation box does not appear for players.

Hortus wrote:

Hi Daltus, This sounds like UI taint.

When this happens have the player who you are resing check their chat log, if they see a message that says "Interface action failed because of an AddOn" then they have a bad add-on that is preventing them from seeing the res window. They should uninstall/update their add-ons.

Finally, what's your favorite music in WoW? Here's Nethaera's take on it:

Nethaera wrote:

It's the track that plays in the undead taverns and Lament of the Highborne. While I love all of the music, those two stand out.

I know of many people saying they just want to sit in Karazhan just to listen to the music as well. :)

Share your favorite zone/area music in the comments below!

Patch 2.4, Death Knight, Hero classes

Teza — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:20:54 GMT

As you can see, Blue Posters are back in the office.

WotLK: Sacrificing a high level character to get a buffed Death Knight? (src)

"The ability to convert a high-level character into a DK, and carrying over reputation, titles (including legacy PvP titles), and perhaps starting at a higher level than the "fresh" DK and a unique title (like "Fallen Warrior" or "Fallen Priest")."

If you want to "sacrifice" a character, you are welcome to role-play it out that way, but we don't plan to force this on players just to try out a new class.
I see what you are saying, the option is there for you to role-play it in such a way, but we have no current plans for characters and their items (which I'm guessing is primary concern for this) to be converted into a Deathknight.

Live Servers: Cross Realm BGs Broken on Bloodlust (src)

Yes, we're aware and our network admins are working to address the issue. It is affecting the entire battlegroup.

Patch 2.4: No plans to add new Badge of Justice gear (src)

We currently don't have plans to implement new Badge of Justice gear.

About Hero Classes (src)

We have announced and are developing the first (and currently only) Hero Class, the Deathknight. Because of this a lot of discussions have come up regarding future Hero Classes and the Demon Hunter is near the top of the "most often brought up" list due to its popularity and strong lore background.
Would a Demon Hunter be fun to play? Yes, but so would a number of other possibilities.
To be straight to the point: We have not announced any other Hero Classes at this point in time and we will have to wait and see what the future holds after the Deathknight makes its impact on Azeroth.

Details on patch 2.4 coming soon, No WotLK info (src)

I hope you aren't holding your breath on this as I don't believe any of this information (release date, talents, abilities) is imminent. Information and updates on future content comes slowly so please be patient while we finalize and iron things out.
Details on patch 2.4 will be coming "soon" though.

What is the direction Blizzard intend this game to go towards? (src)

"Can you give us some indication of where you stand with regards to the question of PVP and PVE and the relationship between the two."

We intend to keep focusing on fun, advancing the storyline of World of Warcraft and Azeroth and finding ways to continue giving players a challenge while making as much as possible still accessible. We intend to add siege weapons in PvP and we intend on continuing to make great PvE encounters.
There will always be argument about direction and many will argue for or against a direction as if it is the way to go or the way not to go, but World of Warcraft offers alot of things to alot of people and we like it that way. We want to continue to entice players to take part in many facets of the game.

Naxxramas, Head Enchants, and New Race talk

Kody — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:10:33 GMT

There's not a whole lot of action today on the official forums, but here are the pertinent blue posts from today, as well as two cool videos for your enjoyment -- the first of which is holiday-themed.

No server downtime during the holidays.

Nethaera wrote:

Over the holidays, on December 25th and January 1st, we will be performing a series of rolling restarts for all realms starting at 5:00 AM PDT, in lieu of weekly maintenance. Each realm is anticipated to be down for no more than 15 minutes, and should additional maintenance be necessary, we will notify our players in advance. Have a happy holiday!

Tier 3 skins will be re-used for WotLK Naxxramas.

Bornakk wrote:

We have said that we really thought these armor models worked perfectly for coming out of this dungeon and we plan to reuse them for the "updated" version in Wrath of the Lich King.

As far as the actual statistics are concerns, I wouldn't expect them to remain anything like the original Tier 3 version.

Should the old rank titles be brought back? Probably not.

Bornakk wrote:

I can't say for sure as it was done a long time ago, but I believe it happened at the same time that we removed the old honor system and with a completely new honor system put in place we didn't feel earning the same titles in a completely different way made a lot of sense.

Head Enchants haven't been finalized for Lich King yet.

Bornakk wrote:

First off, the head enchants for Wrath of the Lich King aren't finalized so I don't know what they will be.

That said, from a history perspective, I think this was brought up when The Burning Crusade was coming out. People feared they'd be running Zul'Gurub to get their head enchant and while it's still an option if you want to get that specific one, most people appear to be using the new ones.

Don't expect an "Anonymous" status option.

Nethaera wrote:

This has been brought up quite a few times before, but we don't feel that having this option is a beneficial addition to a multi-player game. In the end, we'd end up with a bunch of "invisible" or silent players in what is supposed to be a social environment.

No new races in Wrath of the Lich King.

Bornakk wrote:

We are not "against" new races so to speak, but we don't want to force new ones into the game just for the sake of having them either.

In The Burning Crusade we launched 2 new races, we put a lot of development time into making them fit into the game along with the 2 starting zones that each of them now have.

In Wrath of the Lich King we are focusing on the first ever Hero Class, the Deathknight. While you may think a lot of people aren't excited over it, I think a lot of people really are. Right now there really isn't a lot of information to share beyond what was shown at BlizzCon four months ago. We are working really hard on developing it and when we are happy with the results more details will be shared and I'd bet the talks and excitement will flare up for it.

So why no new races? There are a lot of things that are fun ideas, but we did do this recently and we want to focus on other bigger and better things for out players to experience.

Will we never add new races then? Never is a bad word to use, there is always the possibility of this happening in the future, we just don't plan to do it for Wrath of the Lich King. :)

Finally, two videos for you. The first is from Pure Pwnage and is called "Christmas Time in Dun Morogh." The second is a throwback to the "good ol' days" -- a Ragnaros kill submitted by Azaradel.

Christmas Time in Dun Morogh by Pure Pwnage

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Infinitas vs Ragnaros 1st kill - March 2nd, 2006

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No 2.5 planned yet, Blizzard's MMO discussion & more

Kody — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:12:35 GMT

There weren't as many informative posts today as there were yesterday, but we have something on a few Wrath of the Lich King subjects to share, as well as a few miscellaneous topics. At the end, the usual video, so read on to check everything out!

Will there ever be another event like the AQ war-effort?

Bornakk wrote:

The war-effort for Ahn'Qiraj was definitely a fun and unique event while it lasted. We continue to learn and develop our methods for implementing things in the game and this certainly applies to all of our in-game events. There are never any guarantees, but if we ever do something like this again I would not expect it to be the exact same, but probably a lot better instead.

What about something like the Scourge Invasion?

Bornakk wrote:

A lot of things can change in a year too, heh. The Scourge Invasion is something that falls into the "possible but no guarantee" category too. It would have to feel right for it to happen and we would like want to make sure it is nicely updated and improved. If we aren't happy with it, it won't be implemented. :)

The people handling the non-game WoW-related memorabilia like Laptops, Card Games, Calendars, etc. do not make the game

Bornakk wrote:

The calendars, laptops, card games, clothing and other licensed products are handled by people outside of our dev team and they allow for some fun new items to be purchased by a lot of people.

We do wish that we could add everything into the game instantly and spot free but development and implementation takes time unfortunately. We are working on getting everything added as quickly as possible though and hope you enjoy it when it's released.

Why is it so hard to sell Greens and Blues?

Bornakk wrote:

I think this is could be part of the game evolving over time. Demands for items like this can fluctuate on a per-realm basis depending on things like preparing to level multiple characters versus a quiet leveling period while people save up money/resources. For me the game had a real different change of pace a little before and definitely after the launch of The Burning Crusade and it's possible that we will see this again when we are near the launch of Wrath of the Lich King.

Will Lake Wintergrasp buildings respawn?

Bornakk wrote:

A lot of the details like this regarding Lake Wintergrasp still need to be fleshed out and tested before we want to say they are finalized. We are focusing on making it as fun as possible for everybody who wants to participate while also delivering a sense of accomplishment for those who "win".

Will Blizzard's new MMO be the death of WoW?

Nethaera wrote:

*Scratches her head* We sort of like the idea of continuing to make World of Warcraft the best MMORPG out there. We also like the idea of continuing to push the envelope and developing something new as well. But, these fears, conjectures, and discussions are a bit premature yet. Let's stick to discussing WoW for now and when we get to a point in time where there is more concrete information about the new project, we'll share it and discuss it then. ;)

No patches post-2.4.0 are planned right now

Eyonix wrote:

Right now, we're focused on patch 2.4 and nothing beyond that is currently planned. Time will tell, however.

Mark of the Wild may see improvements in WotLK

Eyonix wrote:

We recongize the concerns expressed in regards to mark of the wild and it may very well see improvement for Wrath of the Lich King. I do strongly disagree that it's anywhere as useless as you claim, however.

Also keep in mind, because it affects all stats, some class/specs benefit from it more than others.

No Taunt in PvP?

Eyonix wrote:

In short, not every ability is meant to be used in PvP, and visa versa.

What is Blizzard's obsession with the word "Storm?"

Bornakk wrote:

When you end up with thousands of things that require naming from items to locations to monsters, there will be some overlap in wording. And yes, I will go on record to say that Storm Bornakk is cool... but Timbal really owns the storm title.

Last but not least for the post recap. It's not a blue post, but check out this cool Winter's Veil Event on EU-Stormreaver.

Finally, another great video from Popojiju -- this one is of his guild's third Gurtogg Bloodboil kill.

Gurtogg Bloodboil

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2.3.2, 2.4, Lich King, and more -- a fun day of blues

Kody — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:54:06 GMT

We have quite a few blue posts for everyone today in this recap, with some of the news surely giving you that nudge needed to get over Hump Day. Everything ranging from what's coming in 2.3.2, what's coming in 2.4, what's coming in Wrath of the Lich King, and what isn't coming any time soon, maybe even ever.

Tired of being right-handed? No left-handed option is coming in Lich King.

Bornakk wrote:

This isn't outside the realm of possibility, but we have no plans to implement it at this time. Sorry to burst any bubbles but for model updates we are focusing on the hair styles and dances for Wrath of the Lich King. We'll have to wait to see what comes after that. :)

Hemorrhage wasn't changed because it's 'popular' -- Subtlety is getting more tweaks though.

Eyonix wrote:

To clarify we don't simply make changes to an ability because it becomes popular. The changes done to hemorrhage (lowering its damage) is being done because we never intended for hemo rogues to do more damage, rather, our goal was to make the subtlety tree a viable alternative to combat and assassination. What resulted however, was not an increased number of subtlety rogues, but an increased number of rogues going just far enough down the subtlety tree to get hemorrhage.

We intend to tweak subtlety some more in upcoming patches, but ultimately won’t be able to flesh it out until Wrath of the Lich King.

Reagents aren't covered by the "cast spell for free" buff in BGs, and it's intended.

Nethaera wrote:

No. It works the same way as it does in the Arena. If you want to use a spell with a reagent such as a group buff, it will cost. Otherwise, there is no mana cost associated with casting pre-match buffs or casting just after being resurrected by a Spirit Healer.

ZA no-summoning is intentional (and will be fixed in 2.3.2), but summoning from the world into instances may come back in 2.4.

Tigole wrote:

We had to disable summoning yesterday via emergency hotfix due to some exploits. We're hoping to re-enable summoning as soon as possible. We know it's a big inconvenience and we apologize.

On a related note, we're looking into fixing some issues with summoning that would once again enable us to allow warlocks to summon people into an instance from anywhere in the world. This could happen as soon as the next big content patch (2.4.0) if all of the technical issues can be resolved by then.

Don't expect a Molten Core revamp any time soon... if ever.

Eyonix wrote:

We've just gotten off the phone with Majordomo Executus who has apparently been reading this thread, and he's asked that players please let his master sleep.

King Varian storyline is still at a stand-still in terms of progression, and will be for a while.

Bornakk wrote:

I am not Chris Metzen (obviously), but I can tell you that the information you got in Dustwallow Marsh is all you are getting at this time regarding this quest line.

If there are any stories or secrets in Northrend relating to this, they will need to be discovered at a later time by some brave adventurers who traverse these dangerous lands.

There are no plans to add the Tomb of Sargeras to World of Warcraft.

Bornakk wrote:

We have no current plans to add this place that was in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne to the playable areas of World of Warcraft. If memory servers the place lays in ruins now after the events that happened during that game...

The Blizzard UI team gets a new member.

Slouken wrote:

I’d like to welcome the newest member of our Blizzard UI team, Zootfizzle!

You’ll see him posting regularly on the forum, helping out. Please be gentle. :)

Welcome!

Can we have some "good looking" items in Wrath of the Lich King?

Nethaera wrote:

Weapons and items will be suitable for the expansion and like anything else will be designed to fit within the expansion.

Beyond that, I couldn't guarantee a trend toward "good" items so much as say that items serve the purpose they are given whether it is good or evil. Not every hero carries a gleaming sword that shines like the sun. Some have carried things that seemed counter to their very nature and yet still succeeded in achieving their lofty goals for a better end.

For now, we'll have to wait and see what the artists have cooked up when the time comes.

Finally, a video created by Surgee. This is Surgee's unofficial WoW trailer. It's hilarious, and very well done, so be sure to click through on the title to rate or comment on it!

WoW Unofficial Trailer by Surgee

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WoW comes to Russia, WotLK discussion, and more

Kody — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:09:14 GMT

There are a few interesting posts on the official forums today; World of Warcraft is being localized in Russia in 2008, a third profession for characters is fairly unlikely for Wrath of the Lich King, and players can expect TBC gear degredation to be similar in Wrath of the Lich King as Azeroth's was when Burning Crusade came out, meaning you'll have to replace your epics fairly soon after reaching level 80, if not before in some cases.

Additionally, there's a lot more information on FingerPrints today, thanks to a FAQ that the company released. World of Raids has a great recap of the FingerPrints FAQ in their latest news article.

World of Warcraft to launch localized version in Russia

Tharfor wrote:

2.4 Cooking, World Events, WoW Commercials and more

Kody — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 07:05:17 GMT

The WoW forums are fairly active again today, so here's a quick recap of the things going on -- both on the NA and EU forums. We've also got a cool video for you, so be sure to check it out!

Subtlety is a support tree -- no more super-Hemo

Vaneras wrote:

We realise that there are some confusion regarding the Hemo change, and that many of you feel that the damage reduction is too much.

The developers felt that Hemo was overpowered. Pretty much every rogue was switching to Hemo because of this, so they made the change to tone it down somewhat. The developers want the subtlety tree to be a good support tree instead.

New Cooking recipes to support 275-300 in 2.4

Salthem wrote:

It was not intended to make fishing a requirement to level cooking in this way. We will introduce some new recipes in 2.4 to bridge the gap.

Using the Free Character Moves does not invoke a cooldown on Paid Transfers

Bornakk wrote:

These cooldowns are separate. If you use the Free Character Move service you will still be able to use the Paid Character Transfer service until you transfer the character with the Paid Character Transfer feature and enact that cooldown.

Uh, no more world events?

Bornakk wrote:

World Events can be a double edged sword. I definitely took part in the opening of Ahn'Qiraj and had a great time, but it took a lot of development work and now that is lost to the winds. There is also the problem of forcing an entire server into one location and we prefer to avoid that.

I am not saying that they won't happen ever again, these epic one-time events are a lot of fun for the people who are there, but they are something we have to consider carefully before implementing.

Cloak of Shadows and Vanish issue being investigated

Vaneras wrote:

The developers have identified at least one issue with Cloak of Shadows and Vanish, which at times can cause these abilities to work incorrectly. These issues are under continued investigation and we will post more information as soon as it becomes available.

Please, remember that there are situations where Vanish can be broken by attacks due to client/server latency, this in an unfortunate limitation of our game and it will not change in the foreseeable future.

Boat Crews temporarily disabled

Nethaera wrote:

There are some propulsion issues being worked out by the technicians for both boats and Zeppelins. Once this is resolved, we should be able to put the vendors and NPCs back on duty.

Salthem moves on to other duties at Blizzard

Salthem wrote:

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the trolls.

Well, it feels like only yesterday that I was a young Boglord still wet behind the ears freshly arrived at the steps of the Community Team Doom Fortress (Office), but the time has come for us to part ways.

I'm moving on to other duties in Blizzard, so I'm not going anywhere, but this is my last post as Salthem: You shan't see me shuffling through the forums any more.

Over my time here I've got to know a few of you and I've learned alot from many of you. It has certainly been shorter than I had planned and I haven't achieved everything I hoped to, but, in my own little way, I hope I've made the world (of Warcraft) a little bit brighter.

I will miss you all (mostly),

Salthem signing off :-)

P.S. This cake is great, it's so delicious and moist.

Does anyone actually buy the WoW Holiday gear?

Nethaera wrote:

I of course own the Kobold T-Shirt. I like the Jinx shirts. They're soft and comfortable. Buy or don't buy as you wish. It's ultimately your choice.

Mr T. got a custom model, but you're not going to!

Bornakk wrote:

You are not Mr. T.

Finally, Salthem added The big Ret Arena Thread to the stickied list of useful threads on the Paladin forum.

And the video! This is very cool -- a WoW player, Hunts, has created a parody commercial similar to the official "What's Your Game?" commercials. Check it out.

Afternoon Snack: Blue posts

Kody — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:29:47 GMT

There are a few blue posts to talk about this morning -- most importantly regarding the incorrect awarding of Season 2 titles and mounts. There will also be free character moves for select high population realms starting today and ending Thursday, December 13th at 12:01 PM PDT.

Season 2 Titles & Mounts Update

Salthem wrote:

The investigation into the incorrect awarding of Season 2 titles and mounts is still ongoing across all regions (Europe, the US and Korea).

Though we are aware of your concerns over the delay to resolving this issue, due to the scale and intricacies involved implementing a full solution requires further time and attention. We ask for your patience while the investigation continues, and assure you that it is still a top priority.

Free Character Moves - US; December 6th to December 13th

Drysc wrote:

We will be offering free character moves from selected high population realms to other, lower populated realms to assist in population dispersal. The ability to move a character on the selected source realms will become available on Thursday, December 6 at 12:01 PM PDT, and are scheduled to run until Thursday, December 13 at 12:01 PM PDT.

In the event that a realm meets our transfer goals before the scheduled end date, the transfers to that realm will be disabled. We highly recommend that if you are planning to transfer that you do so at your earliest convenience.

Once the transfers open you can begin your transfer by visiting the Character Move page located here: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/accou.../character-move.html

Source Group A
Burning Blade
Warsong**
Laughing Skull
Arthas

Destination Realm A

Jaedenar

Source Group B
Spinebreaker
Mug'thol
Mal'Ganis
Tichondrius

Destination Realm B

Nazjatar

Source Group C
Sargeras
Dragonmaw
Bonechewer
Illidan

Destination Realm C

Maiev

- An error was made in the original posting, Kel'Thuzad will not be available for transfers. Warsong was the intended realm for that group.

Free Character Moves - EU; December 5th to December 11th

Thundgot wrote:

Due to population differences between some of the highest and lowest populated PvP realms, the following Free Character Migration will be available December 5th to 11th:

From: Crushridge, Frostmane, Grim Batol, Kazzak, Outland

To: Boulderfist, Daggerspine, Kor'gall

Please note that the migration may be closed at any time should a destination realm's population rise too high.

FAQ: http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/faq/charactermove.html...

There were also some noteworthy responses to questions, so read on for information on that.

Comments on Hemorrhage changes

Nethaera wrote:

The intent at this point with this change is to remove some of the front load damage in favor of more group utility. This was the intention of the original Hemorrhage buff and we're working toward getting it back where we feel it's going to be the most balanced and beneficial both. That said, we are always on the lookout for constructive feedback on these changes.

Doomguard and Infernal to be improved at some point

Eyonix wrote:

We do plan to make improvements for both the Doomguard and Infernal at some point in the future, quite possibly in Wrath of the Lich King.

Regarding Arena queue times

Drysc wrote:

We're definitely aware of the concern and wait times as they stand, and we're looking into what our options are to help. That's a bit vague I know, but the options vary so drastically that all we can say is we're not ignoring it.

Joining AV as a group

Nethaera wrote:

We still haven't decided if we want to add this back into the available options for AV. It's understood that people want this ability, but we also are being careful about how this could affect the queue times for this battleground.

Gas Cloud issues fixed in 2.3.2

Nethaera wrote:

Hello everyone. i just thought I'd drop in to let you know that it has been confirmed by QA that respawns of gas clouds are not working properly at current.

This is slated to be fixed in the next patch (2.3.2).

Daily Dose of WoW: Tuesday

Kody — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:26:01 GMT

Hopefully everyone's Tuesday went well. We've got a few blue posts for you in today's dose of WoW news, as well as some comics, a video and a few other community news bits.

Blue Posts

Amazon.com's January 18th date for WotLK is not correct

Nethaera wrote:

There are no official dates until we announce one. All other dates are there because retailers are required to have one if they presell an item.

Buying TBC keys online is temporarily disabled for WoW Europe

Liasanai wrote:

Unfortunately this facility was disabled a while back so that we could make some improvements to the system. While we are working towards providing this in the future, there is no ETA, and we would thus recommend you purchase a retail copy of the game from a store.

November Comic Contest - Winner

Congratulations to the November 2007 WoW Comic Contest Winner, Thundersnow, who created the comic below.

Thundersnow is the winner of a $100 J!nx Gift Certificate. To participate in the December contest, head over to the official rules and find out how to submit your comic.

In other news, WoWInsider has a few interesting articles up today. Ryan Carter's Shifting Perspectives: The Forgotten Feral Form, Arthur Orneck's /silly: Arturis's farewell, Amanda Miller's Defense wins all but one Alterac Valley node and Elizabeth Harper's Around Azeroth: Meet the Family are all good reads if you haven't checked them out.

Finally, a video! This one is by xarephonic and takes a look at the AV Rush in 2.3. Don't forget to click through on the video's title if you'd like to comment on or rate it!

AV Rush 2.3

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It's that time: Get your daily WoW!

Kody — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 08:35:43 GMT

There isn't a whole lot of worthwhile information today, so I'm going to rectify that by providing a few cool community links in the update as well. In addition to that, don't forget to check out the makeover we gave the portal pages like WoW's. We removed a ton of the navigation redundancy by introducing a single navigation bar that changes based on the portal you're on. We also got rid of the annoying tabbed content where we could -- instead pushing it out into its own visible module.

This is a continuation of our goal to make Curse your destination for everything related to the MMO community you're a part of; including the introduction of the Community News Feed -- a feed of hot-topic news from all of the popular community sites for your favorite game.

Only one Blue Post of note today; here it is:

Low level daily quests are unlikely right now

Bornakk wrote:

While adding more quests to lower levels isn't necessarily a bad idea, by continually going through all of the quests that are available and leveling with them, we haven't seen any big issues with people building up money.

It's not a Blue Post, but who else wants to see L70ETC's Power of the Horde in Guitar Hero III? Deadlast does and I wouldn't mind it one bit either. Be sure to click through to jump in on the conversation.

Oh and Eyonix's hands are starting to get sticky, so if you've seen some cool class content on the forums, be sure to get his attention on it for a possible sticky.

Vivendi's announcement that merges Blizzard with Activision sure has sparked a lot of debate. Folks are talking about it all over the place, including our news article, World of Raids, WoWInsider, the Fires of Heaven Forums, the official WoW forums and countless other places. This is literally the hot-topic news of the past week.

If you're still scratching your head about the whole thing, head over to the Activision Blizzard FAQ for all the pertinent information on the merger, or hit up 1UP's interview with Mike Morhaime for Blizzard's take on it, and how it'll affect Blizzard Entertainment as a whole.

Popojiju's guild taking on Archimonde in Caverns of Time: Battle for Mount Hyjal. If you haven't been there yet, here's your opportunity to check out the final encounter in the zone -- one of the hardest currently in the game.

Archimonde - Final Boss in Mount Hyjal

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Trainable Ice Block, Aimed Shot Change, 2.4 and more

Kody — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:09:55 GMT

A major bit of news for Mages - quite possibly the biggest change that could be made for the class. Kalgan announced in a forum post today that Ice Block will become trainable some time after 2.3, in the near future (so probably 2.4). There was also an additional change to Aimed Shot announced, so here's a quick recap of today's blue posts.

Ice Block to be trainable in near future!

Kalgan wrote:

It's a deliberate change. We initially felt like it was too quick at 30s and decided to test it out at 45s, but after playing with it for a while we felt like it opened mages to focus fire a little too much so we decided to keep it at 30s. It's worth pointing out that making changes like this and later un-doing them is not at all uncommon, it's just most of you generally don't see that process in action since it often happens before the patch even gets to the PTR.

Since I'm here, I'll also make a small pre-emptive strike against the incoming "what about other mage concerns!" replies I'm about to get and say the following.

Two things we'll be making improvements to in the near future (although these aren't likely to make it in on time for 2.3) are having iceblock be trainable (to make sure all mages have it as a tool for pve encounters and to open up other trees as being more viable options for pvp), and to-be-finalized improvements to mana issues in longer fights.

Mana Gems will receive a buff as well.

Kalgan wrote:

We do plan to buff mana gems, although I don't see that as a "fix", just an improvement that needs to be made regardless.

Aimed Shot cast time reduced by 0.5 seconds in 2.3.

Eyonix wrote:

In patch 2.3, aimed shot will not only reduces healing done to the target by 50% for a ten seconds, but we're also reducing the shot time by 0.5 seconds.

Bon appetite!

So what is the deal with Malygos in Northrend? Tell us, Bornakk!

Bornakk wrote:

Malygos is supposed to be the Guardian of Magic. After ignoring the world of mortals for so long he realizes he may have failed and is trying to right his mistake.

The fate of Malygos however remains to be seen...

So then Malygos isn't killed, hah!

Bornakk wrote:

This guess you made is one option, the other is that he is killed, not exactly a long list of possibilities here.

So give us some 2.4 info then, if no Lich King!

Bornakk wrote:

I know waiting can be a bit frustrating, but this, like many Wrath of the Lich King topics/questions, is just too early to have an answer for.

If you want information on something soon, assuming patch 2.3 is launched next week as we announced, we should have details on patch 2.4 available in the near future. ;)

There's also new Fan Art available on Blizzard's Fan Art Gallery section. Check them out through the links below!

Finally, AT&T is offering a special deal for anyone who switches from cable internet to their new High Speed Internet: 3 free months of World of Warcraft. Head over to the special promo page to find out more.

2.3 next Tuesday, Season 3 November 20th!

Kody — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:22:55 GMT

Big news in regards to 2.3's release! According to WoWInsider, 2.3 is releasing in Taiwan on November 15th, which likely means that it will be releasing in North America on Tuesday, November 13th and in Europe on Wednesday, November 14th. There's also a new PTR build going up tonight, so keep an eye out for any possible updates on that.

UPDATE: 2.3 release on November 13th has been confirmed on the North American forums. Season 3 will be starting on November 20th, exactly one week after the release of 2.3. Thanks to GodzFire for the tip!

UPDATE #2: Melee Weapon Racials for Humans and Orcs were changed to Expertise for that specific weapon.

In other news, there are a few noteworthy blue posts today, so here's a quick recap.

No major changes to Azeroth with Wrath of the Lich King.

Bornakk wrote:

While changes to the original continents are always possible, we don’t have any current plans to make drastic changes or update any dungeons for max level players beyond Naxxramas.

2.2 Farmer's Broom model is a bug.

Hortus wrote:

The model in 2.2 was a bug. It has been changed back to the correct model.

Earning old PvP titles probably won't ever be possible again.

Drysc wrote:

It's not something we've made a final decision on, and we're definitely taking into account what the old honor rank titles mean, and certainly what they required. As far as I'm aware they aren't planned to be implemented for anything yet, and we have been seriously considering just leaving them as "legacy" type titles, leaving them unused forever more, that not only show your participation in a difficult PvP ranking system, but also to show you're owld skewl. As I said there's been no final determination though, and if we feel there's a way for the titles to become available again without diminishing the efforts of the original holders of them, we may still consider it.

Secrets in the Cities?!

Nethaera wrote:

Put see invis on and you'll see the ghostly inhabitants of the Ruins of Lordaeron as well.

So what secrets have you found in the cities?

Finally, an amazing new fan wallpaper was released on the official site called "Cloud Sky." This wallpaper depicts a Human Female Priest standing next to a tree in Nagrand with a beautiful skyline behind her. Check it out below!

No 2.3 tomorrow! Cheer up, we've got your blue recap!

Kody — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:01:04 GMT

No 2.3 tomorrow, sorry everyone! On the bright side, there's some good news for Shaman - the Interrupt DR change in PvP has been reverted. Read on for a blue post recap as well as some cool new stuff available on the World of Warcraft site and beyond.

2.3 is not tomorrow!

Bornakk wrote:

I declare your proof as completely false... because it isn't tomorrow.

Champion of the Naaru can be obtained post-2.3.

Eyonix wrote:

Players can still work towards this title even after patch 2.3 is released. It's very likely, however, that we'll be hard capping the title so that it cannot be obtained once you're higher than level 70.

Background Downloader does not mean "Coming this Tuesday".

Bornakk wrote:

We have had a number of patches begin downloading the content before they are released, especially when they have a lot of new content like in this case the new dungeon Zul'Aman. This download doesn't guarantee any specific release dates, just that it will be soon.

Silence & Interrupts suffering diminishing returns in PvP reverted.

Eyonix wrote:

After further discussion about the change in patch 2.3 which adds diminishing returns to silencing effects, we've decided to revert the change. Though we do feel that being chain school locked is a problem and plan to address it at some point in the future, we weren't comfortable with the amount of testing this particular change received.

Now that the blue recap is over, the World of Warcraft website has been updated with new Fishing Screenshots as part of the Fishing profession guide.

There's also a new Comic Contest Honorable Mention, the first for the month of November. This comic was submitted by the player Nexia of Uldum.

Another cool thing on the official site is the announcement that the special DC Unlimited World of Warcraft Action Figures are now available for purchase at Toys "R" Us, comic book stores, and specialty stores across the United States. You can either call 1-888-266-4226 or visit the Comic Shop Locator Service to find the comic shop closest to you.

Finally, Teza over at World of Raids has updated the 2.3 Encyclopedia. For those that haven't checked it out you, I highly encourage you to; it contains a host of information on the Zul'Aman patch, including maps, overviews, new items, etc. It's definitely worth the visit, so check it out.