Last Week on Massively: WoW-related stories

Explore the halls and amenities of Blizzard HQ
Blizzcon is this weekend, and journalists and bloggers the world over are descending upon California to report on everything from Diablo 3 classes to -- you guessed it -- World of Warcraft. MTV's Multiplayer blog counts itself a member of that gaming press Horde, and in addition to your usual Blizzcon coverage, it visited Blizzard's headquarters and took lots of photos.

Chinese gamer sued for using WoW add-on
What if World of Warcraft had no add-ons, would you still play? Worse yet, what if they had the add-ons, and you were aware of them, but it was actually illegal to use them? That's the state of the game in China right now, thanks to the country's licensed WoW distributor, The9.

Behind the Curtain: Guilds are serious business
How serious are you when you're either creating a guild, when you're inviting people to join, or when you're looking to join one yourself?

LucasArts and BioWare confirm impending announcement
LucasArts and BioWare have invited members of the press to attend an event later this month at which the two companies will finally officially announce the game they've been working on together. They did not say what the game is, of course -- then how could they officially announce it at the event?

One WoW player controls 36 characters simultaneously
If your family or friends ever tell you that dual-boxing is insane and you need to get a life, show them this story. A World of Warcraft player aptly-named Prepared owns 36 accounts that he can actually run simultaneously through his 11-computer set-up shown here.

Ask Massively: How to avoid being 'that guy'
This week's Ask Massively is a radical departure from recent weeks' columns. I'm not going to criticize anybody, nor will I blame you, the player, for the ills of the MMO industry. It will be a difficult job, but that's why they pay me the big bucks. (I almost kept a straight face... honest!)

Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online concept art sneak peek
Batman. Superman. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter. Black Canary, Oracle, The Question. The world of DC Comics is populated with amazing characters and fantastic stories. The entire four-color experience is coming to fans of the MMO genre in the form of DC Universe Online, a title in Sony Online Entertainment's stable of next-gen MMOs.

Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups
Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.

The Digital Continuum: WAR's resistant early gratifitanktion
Crubz is standing on my screen with a choppa in one hand and a blocka in the other, waiting for me to select him and log into Warhammer Online for some RvR action. My cursor glides onto the "character" button. I'd feel bad for what I'm about to do if it didn't seem so right.

The Daily Grind: Has Warhammer earned your money for another month?
f you picked up Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning at launch, your one month of free playtime is coming to an end very soon. As with Age of Conan, that makes us wonder: are you going to subscribe for further months?

The Best of Massively: Hands-on with upcoming games
Massively's first birthday is only a couple of weeks a way! We've been having fun looking back at our first year of coverage -- first with our ten most important interviews, then our most helpful guides, and most recently our top 5 weirdest news stories. This week we've compiled six of our hands-on previews of games that are yet to be released.

Making/Money: Auctioneer Wishlist
A few weeks ago, a reader e-mailed me with questions about some Auctioneer data that they have been collecting. Though the question was regarding trying to determine inflation patterns on their server, it got me to thinking about what Auctioneer actually captures.