The best of WoW.com: October 2009
October, as with August, was mostly a lot of news reporting. The patch 3.3 PTR dropped on October 1st and everyone went nuts for the last (we think) major content patch of Wrath of the Lich King. Next up? The content patch heralding the approach of Cataclysm, but with a lot of gated content between ourselves and that, we've got a ways to go.
Ask a Faction Leader: Cairne Bloodhoof: Among all the AAFL columns he's done so far, Sacco's personal favorite is Cairne.
Spiritual Guidance: Don't be that priest: Matt Low not-so-gently lectures his fellow priests on the failings to which the class is prone while not paying attention or entering an encounter unprepared.
Searching for the most popular server: Schramm takes a look at some data and wonders -- what's the busiest and/or most crowded server out there?
Patch 3.3 PTR: New Tauren skins found: So what are those things anyway? A new set of NPCs for Icecrown? A new barbershop option? Tribal markings for the Grimtotem?
Chill of the Throne: Dodge nerfed 20% in Icecrown Citadel: The debuff is quickly termed "Icewell Radiance" by disgruntled tanks everywhere.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Forge of Souls first impressions: Greg Reece grabs some WoW.com staffers and Tristan from The Elitists to venture deep into the scary wilds of new 5-mans on the PTR.
Holy crap, Blink has sort of been fixed: I'm just going to quote Christian Belt on this one:
2004: World of Warcraft is released. Mages, the single best class in the game, have a bunch of spells. One of them is Blink. It purports to teleport the caster 20 yards forward. It doesn't really work.
2009: Blink still doesn't really work.
Patch 3.3 PTR: The fate of Bolvar Fordragon: Troubling, but I'm afraid accurate, speculation by Daniel Whitcomb on what Blizzard's likely to do with our good buddy Bolvar.
Lich King animation found: And this just lends support to that theory.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Jaina gets a makeover: The comments section on this article is funny as hell, but my personal favorite was Kylenne's: I know Jaina's basically a peacemaker and everything, but I didn't realize she'd been passing the pipe with Cairne. Girlfriend looks higher than a kite now. Then again, if Varian was my king I'd be toking too.
WoW Moviewatch: I'm on a mount: We had to slather this one in NSFW messages, but if you can deal with constant profanity (you've pugged VoA-25, right? Then you should be fine), you're in for a treat.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Dwarf, orc, and troll totem gallery: Other shamanic races (including the upcoming Dwarven shaman) finally get customized totem graphics. Tauren wonder -- can we get an update to ours?
Drama Mamas: Don't let others control your fun: A wonderful Drama Mamas; what happens when "that guy" shows up in your guild (and he eventually shows up in every guild)?
Race change available: Faction change had been live for some time, and now Blizzard lets you switch between races for better racials, better looks, or just for fun.
Cataclysm: For Gnomeregan!: Gnomes may finally get their long-lost capital city back in the upcoming expansion, but the news we saw is rather coy on exactly how long they'll keep it.
The Art of War(craft): Absolute beginner's guide to the Battlegrounds: Great guide by Zach for those lost in the battlegrounds, which at one point or another has been all of us.
Shifting Perspectives: The disappearance of the bear: Most players have noticed a huge fall in the number of druid tanks between now and the end of BC, and we ask -- why?
Blood Pact: The birth of a warlock: Dominic's article inspired me to dust off my own long-forgotten channeler of darkness, and is particularly user-friendly for new players uncertain of the lore and story behind the various racial options.
15 Minutes of Fame: Quadriplegic player attacks progression raiding: Quadilious of Sisters of Elune-H is a C4-5 quad stomping Trial of the Grand Crusader and -- with a look at his current Armory -- now Icecrown-25 as well.
2009's drawing to a close, and we're wrapping up the most interesting articles we've published all year, one day at a time. Join us every day for the next twelve days with this year's best of WoW.com!
