Blizzard previews character, guild, and arena team APIs
Blizzard previously announced that certain APIs were going to become available for applications and players to access from the community website. We've finally got a preview of the information feeds that tap into character data in the near future. These feeds can be used in applications, websites, and more for user-created, World of Warcraft ... well ... anything.
Blizzard's opening up of these information feeds is pretty cool, and you will likely see some ambitious applications of this data being used in the near future. One of the illuminating aspects of this preview is that after finding the right way to do it, the devs are thinking about opening up quest ID information so that you can see what quests characters have or have not completed. There are tons of applications of that data out there and I'm sure the community is really excited to make use of this API information. Check out the full preview after the jump.
Each of the feeds below will be accessed by using a realm and name. The feeds will always contain basic information by default, and will have optional fields that can be requested via a parameter – making it possible to retrieve all the data in a single request. A locale parameter will also be available for localized strings. In addition, the feeds will support the Last-Modified HTTP header to help with caching. Just like with the realm status feed, region will be specified using the subdomain (e.g. eu.battle.net/api/.. for European realms), and both json(p) and protocol buffer output will be supported.
Character
URL: /api/wow/character/{realm}/{name}
Basic information: name, level, class, race, gender, faction, guild, achievement points
Optional fields: equipped items, stats, reputation, primary and secondary skills, achievements/statistics, talents, appearance, titles, collected mounts and companions, Hunter pets, PvP information
Guild
URL: /api/wow/guild/{realm}/{name}
Basic information: name, level, achievement points
Optional fields: members (roster), achievements
Arena Team
URL: /api/wow/arena/{realm}/{size}/{name} (size being 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5)
Basic information: name, ranking, rating
Optional fields: members (roster), weekly/season statistics
Optional fields would be requested using the 'fields' parameter, where you specify everything you need using a comma-separated list. e.g:
/api/wow/character/realm-name/grotako?fields=items,talents,mounts,titles
Sample feeds will soon be provided as we'd also like feedback on the data format. In the meantime, let us know what you think!
p.s: We'll have more details on the Auction House and Arena Ladder APIs to share in the coming weeks.
The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
