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Arena season 4 over, season 5 to begin December 17th
Gnorog on the EU forums posted notice a while ago that Season 4 is over. That means that all arena teams and ratings have been cleared, and arena charter NPCs have been disabled.Your arena points will stay with you until you reach level 71 however.But the end of Season 4 isn't the news.Season 5 will begin on December 17th for those players that have reached level 80. That's just a few days away. For those that haven't, the skirmish brackets of 71-75 and 76-80 are available. The time is now to start organizing your arena teams and get them in gear for the upcoming events.With all the changes in Wrath the next arena season promises to be interesting. Here's to bigger and better weapons! /cheers
The Colosseum: Retrospective and Analysis, pt. I
The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Netherdrakes.Season 4 ended some time ago, and Wrath is only a few weeks away. While we don't have official word about when Season 5 will start, it probably won't be until Blizzard's finished balancing the classes. Right now, the Arena is a sort of blasted land, filled with teams taking advantage of the relatively unrated play to experiment with new compositions, new talents, and new strategies.We're going to take advantage of the break ourselves, by looking at the collective of interviews we've gathered in our three months of the Colosseum. There are definitely common themes across what each Arena fighter had to say, and it'd be helpful to take some time and understand what those common themes are, and what they say about the Arena.
WoW Insider Show goes live (from Paris, kind of) tomorrow
Tomorrow's podcast is going to be a big one -- not only am I back on the air after being away last week, but Matthew Rossi and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli are both going to join me, Duncor the Dependable will likely be on from WoW Radio, and oh yeah -- by the podcast tomorrow, we'll know what the hell Blizzard has been hinting at for the past week. And there's more: not only will we be talking at length both about what Blizzard announces tomorrow and also what they don't announce, but we've got an ace in the hole: Turpster is live in Paris at the Worldwide Invitational right now, and if we can get our telegraph machine working correctly, we'll have a live-on-the-spot report from the T himself. He'll probably be drunk on French wine, but still, he'll give us a Turps-eye-view of what's going down in the land of croissants.We'll probably also chat a little bit about Arena Season 4, as well as what's going on with the Midsummer Fire Festival, but my guess is that whatever Blizzard announces tomorrow will pretty much dominate the conversation. Tune in over on WoW Radio at 3:30pm Eastern for the very first audio words in what's going on in Paris.And as usually, we'll be answer your questions via email (theshow@wow.com), and chatting live on IRC at irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel, so you can ask Turpster what France smells like (I'm guessing frog's legs and the burning fires of the revolution, but I've never been, so who knows). Tune in tomorrow to the WoW Insider Show for all the news that's fit to talk about on WWI '08!
World of Warcraft Arena Season 4 begins!
WoW Insider, Massively's Azeroth-obsessed sister site, is reporting that the newest season of Arena PvP competition has begun in World of Warcraft. Season 4 is a brand-new ballgame, with stiff requirements to earn the coveted loot offered over the course of the next few months. The site has a huge wrapup post in place, working through everything they know about it ... and you can bet they know pretty much everything there is to know.Some of our favorites: A complete guide to all that fabulous gear. How to make money from the brand-new season. Why the long season has some very particular ramifications. Planning for Season 4. The new gear for sale for Honor points. Is the new gear kinda ugly? Go check it out, and tell them we sent you!
Epic Gems for Arena points coming with patch 2.4.3
Here's some nice news for Arena PvPers in the area of undocumented 2.4.3 changes: MMO Champion has discovered that the PvP gems that are currently purchasable for honor points are now available for Arena points as well -- 800 points each, to be exact. The full list of gems is as follows: Gleaming Ornate Dawnstone Smooth Ornate Dawnstone Bold Ornate Ruby Runed Ornate Ruby Inscribed Ornate Topaz Potent Ornate Topaz
The best of WoW Insider: June 10-17, 2008
You can almost hear David Bowie singing around the realm of Azeroth lately: ch-ch-ch-ch-changes are in the air. Blizzard decided to do PvE to PvP transfers for the first time this week, Season 4 is coming soon in the Arenas, and lots of changes are coming to old Azeroth (including the Dalabubble, above). But don't let change worry you -- Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider has you covered, through all the changes coming in Wrath of the Lich King. You can turn and face the strain -- we got your back. News WoW player more ashamed than porn addictAddiction is out there, and people suffering from it need to get help. Combat stats and spellpower consolidated on AlphaA huge change to the way talents and gear will work hits the expansion's Alpha servers. Seven graphical WoW generators, and one for your carSeven different ways to put your World of Warcraft character into graphical form. Starting from scratch with two weeks to Season 4The new arena season was announced this week, and even if you weren't prepared, we've got you covered. Reading between the lines: are more PvE to PvP transfers possible?Blizzard broke their precedent for the first time this week to save a dying server -- will they do it again? Features Ask WoW Insider: /roll abuse?The number one way to cause drama in the game? Be unfair with loot. Tank Talk: The better (and lesser) angels of our natureOur raid Tanking column talks about that little DPS devil on your tanking shoulder. Ask a Lore Nerd: The evil-o-meterLots of players know some things about lore, but the Lore Nerd knows all. Changes to old Azeroth coming in the next expansionWhat's changing in the old world when Wrath of the Lich King releases? A lot. 'Tis the Season 4 making moneyZach Yonzon tells you exactly how to cash in on the news that Season 4 is coming soon.
Blood Pact: Gearing a Lock for Karazhan, part 2
We continue with our look at how to get your Warlock up to speed for Karazhan content and beyond. Note that the recommendations here are intentionally narrow. I'm focusing on the easiest and surest way of making progress in the gearing game, without relying too much on dungeon drops or grind-to-exalted rep items. Yes, there are better pre-raid items out there in the various heroics - Magisters' Terrace is probably the best instance to get quality non-raid loot. Badge loot is also another good avenue for outstanding upgrades. Unfortunately, heroics may be challenging affairs for a fresh 70 lock, unless you have a group of geared friends or guildies who are willing to "carry" you through those runs.
The fate of Season 1 gear in Season 4
A lot of people -- including John, who asked us about this by email -- are a little confused about what's happening to Arena Season 1 gear when Season 4 goes live on June 24th. Season 1 gear for honor is being replaced by Season 2 gear, but at the same time, Eyonix has posted to say that they don't have plans to switch around the PvE tokens for PvP gear system implemented with patch 2.4. So wait, is Season 1 gear available during Season 4 or not? The answer is yes, but only from Tier 4 PvE tokens. When season 3 went live, as you will remember, Season 1 gear went over to Honor, and bumped the old level 70 High Warlord and Grand Marshal gear completely off the vendors. You could not longer get it. Likewise, when Season 2 gear moves to honor, it will completely knock off the Season 1 gear from the honor vendors, and you will no longer be able to purchase it for honor. However, if you have Tier 4 tokens, you'll still be able to head to the Isle of Quel'danas and turn them in for Season 1 Gladiator gear. If you want Season 2 Gladiator gear from PvE, you'll still have to turn in Tier 5 tokens from Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep. This might be Blizzard's attempt to keep the balance, although it seems like anyone with the ability to go take down Magtheridon for a Chestguard of the Fallen Hero could get Season 2 much easier and faster by grinding honor. It seems in this case that the dev team either felt that it wasn't worth it to go in and switch up the gear vendors or wanted to keep the amount of balance and challenge they implemented for the PvE token to PvP gear conversion. So is Season 1 gear going away? In short, no. You'll not be able to buy it for honor anymore, but you will be able to buy it with Tier 4 tokens.
Season 4 and PvE progression
Drysc gave a little insight into how the Arena seasons are scheduled over on the forums -- I had always thought that the Arenas were running on their own schedule (with the spaces in between augmented by when patches got released). But apparently the timing of Arena seasons has more to do with PvE content than anything else.Strange, no? But true -- Drysc said that they want Sunwell Plateau gear to "circulate" a bit more before introducing a new Arena season. That means that the players running PvE content are actually calling the shots for when the Arena season ends -- if guilds take their time getting through the Sunwell raid, it may be a long time before we see any signs of Arena season 4.That's interesting -- obviously a lot of players consider PvE and PvP to be completely different parts of the game, but not so with Blizzard. Apparently they consider them very much two sides of the same player base, so much so that even something as arbitrary as PvE gear distribution determines timing of the Arena seasons.
Are you on the path?
One factor that keeps MMORPGs running is the desire for progression. Every player who sets foot in any subscription-based game can eventually see the will of the developers creating systems that will make you dedicated time and energy to their game.Yet, the one thing that no one seems to take notice of is the way we get sucked into keep playing. Sometimes isn't not about the difficulty of the challenge itself, but the path it takes to get to there. Everyone sees the physical difficulty of doing a raid, and everyone knows that the developers make it difficult to complete a raid so you keep playing longer, but very few can see the will of the developers resonating in the path it takes to get to the challenge.Rohan at Blessing of Kings, however, locked onto that path in his latest post, entitled "Being on the Path".
Blood Sport: Tips and Tricks
PvP in its purest form is a beautiful thing. Amanda Dean, always obsessed with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat brings you news you can use in the Arena. When last seen, former Blood Sport columnist V'Ming Chew had defeated a pack of angry Gnome Warlocks and had decided to take up retirement in a lovely chateau overlooking the Ring of Trials in Nagrand. So thanks to the new point requirements for Battleground gear in Arena Season Four, many people who are not as familiar with the arena will be forced to queue up. When I first started playing arenas, I didn't see it as tremendously different from battlegrounds. After several hard-learned lessons I found that I had to be much more flexible. I've also picked up a few tricks along the way. You have to count on all of your opponents using every tool available. If you're not already doing these things, give some of them a shot.
Breakfast Topic: Brutal(lus) Gladiator gear
So I've been really excited about the coming of Arena season four. Unfortunately I'm not particularly thrilled about the gear models, and I am not alone. Perhaps the developers say reusing the tier 6.5 models from the Sunwell (Tier 6.5) as a good way to cut corners, but it just doesn't look like PvP gear. It seems to be the way the Arena gear is designed. I'm pretty sure whoever recolored these skins probably has an issue with their visual perception. The Hunter gear looks like an armored clown suit and the Shaman set is reminiscent of a test for colorblindness. I'm not usually one to rant, but these sets are a visual disappointment. I'm not asking for pink and black (although that appeals to my inner girly girl), but for the love of Christopher Walken, at least make the set match itself. To date my favorite set to look at is the Season Two gear, especially the Warrior set. I feel that they the designers really captured the uniqueness of the classes best with those sets. What do you think of Season Four gear so far?
Season 4 items unveiled
Our diligent friend Boubouille from MMO Champion has done it again -- we don't know how he does it, but he's done it again. He's tipped us to having managed to dig up files from Patch 2.4.2 and found a treasure trove of the items most people probably won't be able to get. The items are incredible upgrades from the previous season and look to be on par with Sunwell Plateau gear in terms of item points. [EDIT: Apparently, what Boubouille did was take the game files after the vendors on the PTR were unlocked and collated them -- still nothing to dismiss.]Following the trend of Patch 2.4, two new spell haste weapons have appeared in the files -- the Brutal Gladiator's Blade of Alacrity and a hammer version called the Brutal Gladiator's Hammer of Swift Judgement. The hammer has slightly more Stamina but possesses no spell hit. The two weapons have no spell damage and healing bonuses but are, if they make it to live in their current form, the highest spell haste items in the game at a whopping 227. This translates to roughly 14.5% speed increase, the highest gain from a single item. From the looks of it, these weapons alone will be worth the 2200 2050 [EDIT: my bad! i wrote this post up in five minutes before rushing out to see Iron Man! That movie rocked, by the way, so go out and watch it!] rating required to get them. Read about every single Brutal Gladiator item -- from item sets to weapons -- over at MMO Champion.
Blood Sport: Arena Season 4 in early June?
V'Ming has freed himself from the duct tape and still thinks that gnome warlocks need to be KOSed. He shares thoughts and ideas on becoming deadlier at the Arenas and dabbles in the dark arts in Blood Pact. WoW players are ravenous. The dust of patch 2.4 has barely settled and we are already looking forward to the next thing on the WoW calendar before the expansion lands - Arena Season 4. If Blizzard thinks we'd ever be content with their content rollouts, they are seriously underestimating the appetite of 10 million subscribers. After Kalgan killed expectations of Season 4 coming with patch 2.4, the big question on the minds of many players, whether they're saving honor for S2 gear or waiting to replace their Vengefuls with Brutals, is: when is Season 4?
WoW, Casually: Welfare epics
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.Almost every column, I talk about Welfare Epics since they are specifically designed for casuals to get their purplez on and I just assume that you all know what I'm talking about. But Dave recently sent in a question asking what they are and I realized that if I didn't write for WoW Insider, I probably wouldn't know either.Though some people say they heard the phrase before this, the first time I heard it was at BlizzCon. Jeff Kaplan, aka Tigole, started off the Dungeons and Raids panel by saying that the panel wasn't for people with their Welfare Epics, but for people who actually earn them. Now, I think he was partially just being funny, but I also think he was speaking up for the Raiders who are upset that all of the work they put into conquering the PvE endgame content is for naught when any casual player can pick up purples that are equal to or better than gear that drops off endgame bosses.
The best of WoW Insider: March 11-18, 2008
Yes, it's true, patch 2.4 is not dropping today. But worry not, WoW fans, because Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider still has all the WoW news you can handle and then some. For example, did you know that a onetime presidential candidate with a warning about bear threats was almost included in the WoW trading card game? It's true (or at least truthiful). Check that link and the others below from the last week in WoW Insider. News Have prot warriors been left behind?Lots of classes can tank now. Have the originals been left in the dust? The life and death of Stefan ColbearHow the champion of truthiness almost made it to the TCG. Blizzard explains hunter suspensionWhy did Blizzard ban one of the game's most famous Arena hunters? Arena Season 4: Brutal GladiatorHere's a look at the gear you'll be drooling over... whenever Season 4 starts. Blue poster Belfaire explains Blizzard's stance on multiboxingSo apparently paying for more than one account (and playing with them on more than one computer) is A-OK in Azeroth. Features Guildwatch drinks your milkshakeOur weekly column of guild drama, downings and recruiting covers all of the guild-related chaos over the last week. WoW, Casually: Patch 2.4 previewA look at the upcoming patch for casual players. Blood Pact: Warlocks are red, mages are bluePitting the demonic against the arcane. Know Your Lore: The GrimtotemsKYL goes over those not-quite-Horde Tauren and their evil plans for the rest of us. Unobtainium: Rare, ridiculous, and remarkable reputation schematicsOur weekly engineering column (with a dose of roleplaying flavor) covers some of the good stuff you can get from reputation rewards.
WoW, Casually: Patch 2.4 preview
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time. Well, it used to be weekly and it will be again, starting today.When last I wrote, which was ages ago, I promised to answer some reader mail about getting groups quickly. And then I vanished for a bit. I'm sorry about the interruption in this column and I will get to the reader mail, but not this week. With the new patch getting closer to release, I think I need to talk about some of the changes that will affect those of us with limited playtime.First of all, our coverage of Patch 2.4 is very extensive and perhaps a bit overwhelming. I do recommend, however, spending some free time that you have access to WoW Insider catching up with the changes for your class, professions and playstyle. You don't want to spend your precious WoW session discovering unexpected changes after the new patch comes out.
Kalgan says Season 4 not coming anytime soon
Although we've speculated in the past as to when Arena Season 4 will be going live, our anticipation fanned by the revelation of more and more Brutal Gladiator gear, Kalgan pops by the WoW General discussion forums to pour cold water on everyone's expectations by saying that Season 4 will start "Not very soon." He explains further that "S3 rewards have quite a bit of life left in them before they start to feel obsoleted by pve gear." Given that the Arena items uncovered so far in the PTR are only a fraction of what is supposed to be a wide collection, this sounds more than plausible.As Drysc explained earlier in the same post, PvP gear is designed to match PvE gear progression -- for instance, Arena Season 3 items are roughly on par with Black Temple and Mount Hyjal gear. The Sunwell Plateau needs to be unlocked in stages, as quests and raid drops open up more content, meaning most of the PvE gear that is a step up from BT/MH gear won't be available until at least a few weeks after Patch 2.4 goes live. It stands to reason that Arena Season 4 will only begin when most of the PvE progression has access to the Sunwell Plateau's latter bosses such as M'uru and Kil'jaeden. Considering that Patch 2.4 doesn't seem quite done yet, Season 4 is probably quite a ways off.
Brutal Gladiator and Guardian goodness
More news on the PvP item front: MMO Champion has uncovered more Season 4 items on the PTR. While they're not yet available from any vendor, it seems like the first Brutal Gladiator items have been appearing in trickles, including the first and so far only weapon, a 2-handed sword. The new sword seems to be taking after the trend started by Season 3 which added Armor Penetration into the item points. It's a good bet that all other Season 4 melee weapons will also contain Armor Penetration. The weapon also seems to be a massive upgrade over the previous season's Vengeful Gladiator's Greatsword, which has a top-end of 580 while the new weapon appears to have a top-end of 624, a full 44 more than its predecessor. In contrast, the Vengeful weapon only had 31 over the Merciless Gladiator's Greatsword. The PTR files peg the Season 4 2-hander at 144.4 damage per second, a whopping 10.2 DPS over Season 3's greatsword, which in turn was only 7.3 DPS over Season 2's greatsword. The Honor-purchasable PvP non-set items have also been revealed to be called Guardian gear, following Season 1's General, Season 2's Veteran's, and Season 3's Vindicator's items. Just like their predecessors, the new belt, boots, and bracers are a visual match for their corresponding Arena set. This should be welcome news to those who like to look their prettiest in public. While the prices haven't been specified, there's good reason to believe that they'll match current Vindicator gear Honor prices, which means it's probably a good idea to start saving up those Honor and Arena points now. It looks like Season 4 might be coming out sooner than we think.
