WRUP: The sound of crickets chirping
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!
Here at WoW Insider, weekends are a rather quiet time. We operate on a skeleton crew. Tumbleweeds blow through. Crickets chirp. Why? Because we all have lives, damnit.
We all celebrate our days off in different ways, of course. Mike Sacco spends it washing and combing his hair (and writing The Queue). Mat McCurley spends it playing with cats and eating big gay ice cream. Tyler Caraway? Reading the Garfield books he bought off the Scholastic Book Club 16 years ago. Alone. (Totally true. I would not lie to you about that.)
The one thing that all your WoW Insider writers do get done on the weekend? Why, answering the ever recurring WRUP question, of course! This week, as usual, we asked our writers and editors a bonus question: Blizzard suggested that there will be a new legendary in patch 4.3 with "limited appeal." What do you think it'll be?
Alex Ziebart (@AlexZiebart) My playtime this weekend will be split across WoW, Terraria, and the first Red Faction game since Steam was selling it for $2.50 earlier this week. The 4.3 legendary? It's obviously a 2-handed sword with a holy damage proc that can only be used by human female retribution paladins.
Allison Robert (@AllisonRobert) After a nasty thunderstorm last night, the odds are good that I'm going to be spending the weekend not having power, so there's no WoW on the docket for me at present -- or much of anything else, apart from clearing wrecked trees off my lawn and trying not to keel over from the heat. Re: legendary, I would love for it to be the game's first legendary for ferals, but the proc is likely to be DPS-oriented. Sad dedicated bear player is sad.
Anne Stickney (@shadesogrey) This weekend will be spent getting the A/C units installed in the house, as it has gone from unbearably stormy to unbearably hot in a heartbeat out here. I've also got family visiting, so I expect to be inundated with energetic nephews at some point over the weekend. As for the legendary, I don't think we'll see Broxigar's axe -- it would be odd for it to appear in game, considering Broxigar's niece was hauling it around in Stormrage and I'm fairly certain one would have to pry the thing from her cold dead hands. I'm idly hoping for a dagger of some sort -- honestly, while my roguish heart would love an agi dagger to poke things with, a spellcasting dagger would be kind of neat too -- we've never had a legendary dagger before, but we've had a legendary everything else.
Basil Berntsen (@outdps) It's grand prix weekend so I'll be hiding from the rude foreigners that have invaded Montreal. The 4.3 legendary will be a hunter pet. It will have its own gun and will copy its master's shot rotation.
Chase Christian (@madsushi) I am going to be exploring Terraria this weekend, as well as reviewing any new tank applications to my guild. I am hoping the legendary will be an epic agility axe, giving rogues and enhancement shamans a power one-hander. The proc could be the old Thrash Blade proc -- a chance for double damage.
Daniel Whitcomb (@danielwhitcomb) I think I will primarily be going through Mass Effect 3 news withdrawal. Why is it not March 2012 yet? Other than that, I've been looking into low level DK tanking for a possible future guide, so I may be working on a new lowbie DK for that purpose. The 4.3 weapon is going to be a +Agi Feral Cat/Hunter staff that once belonged to Malfurion. As a proc, it will summon treants who attack your target.
Dawn Moore (@dawnwow) Catching up on more work this weekend. I emo quit my guild this week so I won't have much to do in WoW until I find a new place to play. I'll use the extra time to work on my ladder ranking in SC2 though. As for the legendary in 4.3, I'm not a big gear nut so I'll speak on behalf of other priests and suggest that Blizzard make a legendary wand with a healing proc. 'Cause you know... Only one type of healer can use wands!
Elizabeth Wachowski (@leeatwaterlives) In an Ambien-induced haze, I decided to switch my druid to herbalism and mining, and have my paladin drop mining for blacksmithing and my shaman drop herbalism for alchemy. So I now have a herbalist/miner, a jewelcrafter/blacksmith, and an alchemist/scribe. So I'll be trying get everybody leveled up and evened out. Otherwise, I've gotten super into iPhone gaming for some reason, so I'll be playing Infinity Blade and dream.scape.
Fox Van Allen (@foxvanallen) Probably making the last of my Darkmoon Decks before patch 4.2 comes along and renders them less valuable. Aside from that, I'll be hanging out with Tyler, and ... oh, wait, what's that he wrote for his WRUP? *reads below* Yeah, he resisted my offer for about half a second. Went with me to an open bar party Friday night. And the weirdest thing? Even though he wasn't alone, he still took his Garfield books with him. Yeah. Totally weird.
Joe Perez (@Lodurzj) alts alts and more alts. My Goblin Rogue, Zabonk, is going to be tearing it up in the levels, as well as my little warrior. That's pretty much my plan for the whole weekend until the new American McGee's Alice: Return to Madness comes out.
As for the legendary in 4.3, I think 1 handed DPS Axe, namely Broxigar's. We've had a 2 handed caster, 2 handed DPS, 1 handed Tank, Two one handed DPS weapons as a set, A bow for ranged DPS, a 1 handed healing weapon and another 2 handed DPS / Tanking weapon. So I think a 1 handed DPS weapon is what we're going to see. That and it made the most recent appearance in written form.
Josh Myers (@Elamqt)vPreparing for another in a long line of job interviews, as well as hopefully playing my balance druid some more. I've been leveling him primarily through PvP, and it's been a much longer task than it had been for my hunter/rogue/feral/warrior had been in the past.
As for the legendary, it's going to be an agility axe for enhancement/combat rogues OR an agility polearm for ferals and hunters. The second would be nearly impossible to have a good proc on, though, as the classes are so different.
Kelly Aarons (@Cadistra) I'm going to continue taking my warrior through Hillsbrad, and maybe my paladin through the Southern Barrens. I'm also hoping to finally finish Outland (XBLA game) and Dante's Inferno while I'm at it. On TOP of that, I'm going to a festival in downtown Vancouver (go Canucks go!), a friends' birthday BBQ, and the Richmond Night Market on Sunday! As for the legendary? Not gonna lie, I'd love a feral druid staff, but Broxigar's Axe with an agi bonus seems like a solid guess.
Lisa Poisso (@emused) I'm headed off the grid for two weeks, so I'll be lazing beneath the pines beside a mountain stream playing Magic: The Gathering with my whole clan. Our motto: Kill Daddy first!
Mat McCurley (@gomatgo) This weekend is all about finishing L.A. Noire (still haven't finished) and changing around my desk getting ready for recording. I'm going to start up a little WoW vlog. People like listening to me so I might as well give them more of it. As for the bonus question, I think Sacco is right and, if we get a War of the Ancients raid, the legendary will be a +agi Broxigar's axe.
Matt Low (@Matticus) Probably doing some raiding on my Priest. No, not my main priest. My alt Priest! Yeah, I've got multiple Priests. What of it? I Just really like Priests! Also beat Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Just picked up the new Red Faction: Armageddon. Going to give that a go too.
Matt Walsh (@Rhidach) Playing some Portal 2 co-op with a friend tonight, which should be verrryy interesting as he hasn't even finished the single player game yet. Otherwise, thinking of finally starting my Goblin Warrior alt this weekend and leveling him as prot. Gap closers!
As for the legendary weapon. Allow me to mangle a quote from the Q&A: "we could just design an item for a more narrow audience (such as a shield) ... and the 4.3 legendary will have much more narrow appeal." I think it's obvious that it'll be a tanking shield. And to make it even more narrow, "Class: Paladin." Perfect.
Michael Gray (@writegray) This weekend, I'm building a standing desk. The health benefits of standing while working have been repeatedly proven, as well as productivity gains. I want them, I want them all. In addition, my wife's first professional wedding shoot is this weekend, so I'll likely be busy with that.
Bonus Question: I expect a legendary that rogues can use; its proc will lead to the tears of shaman.
Sarah Nichol (@mentalshaman) I will be playing my shaman and paladin alts! And also managing a 'situation' that has arisen in my beloved guild. Very hush hush, mind. As for narrow, limited appeal legendaries I would suggest a spellcaster shield or a totem. Hopefully a totem. As in an actual totem, like the one in the cinematic.
Tyler Caraway (@murmursofadruid) It's Pride Week in Boston, so presumably I'll end up being dragged out to something. So far I've managed to resist the offers, but I may break down in the end. Otherwise, Steam had some really get midweek sales going and I snagged a pack of around eight Indie games for $5, so I'll spend some time seeing if any of them were worth it. As for a legendary; even though we just got a caster staff, Blizzard should totally make a caster fist weapon for shamans and druids. I'd even be willing to share it with enhancement!
The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend!
