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Breakfast Topic: Will you buy the TCG mounts now they're no longer BoP?
Earlier in the week, we mentioned that mounts from the WoW Trading Card Game are no longer Bind on Pickup. Do you hear that ever-advancing noise? That thunderous roar? That's the sound of a million collectors cheering their little hearts out. Ever the boon and bane of the die-hard mount addict, these cards have been known to fetch a pretty price on eBay and have been the subject of recent scams. Indeed as the owner of El Pollo Grande, the Big Battle Bear (aka The Red Bearon) and both forms of the X-51 Nether Rocket, I can relate. I really want the infamous Spectral Tiger and now, for the right sum of gold, it seems like I could have a chance.So I wonder, constant readers, does this change mean you will finally be able to get your hands on a mount without paying top dollar on an auction website? How much exactly, while we're at it, would you be willing to pay with in-game gold for a mount? Why do you think Blizzard have implemented this system? Is it just another gold sink or the answer to many players' prayers? Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
Trading card mounts no longer BoP
In what appears to be an attempt to put an end to scams capitalizing on the vanity mounts found in Upper Deck's popular World of Warcraft trading card game, the latest Patch 3.2 PTR build seems to have removed the Bind-on-Pickup restriction on the loot mounts. Originally unearthed by Boubouille on MMO Champion, the removal seems to be intended, and includes new methods for obtaining the loot items from Landro Longshot in Booty Bay (with the exception of the Riding Turtle, which reportedly remains BoP).This means it should be easier to obtain these special mounts if players are indeed selling them for copious amounts of gold - conceivably setting record amounts at the auction house. This effectively kills the scamming method of supposedly selling desireable items like the Spectral Tiger mount. On the other hand, someone with real world cash who gets one of those mounts off eBay can theoretically trade it in game for some whopper gold. That's kind of like they're selling gold in some roundabout way. Either way, score one for Blizzard. It looks like it might be time to start earning a bit of money... think anyone will sell the tiger for 500 Gold? No? Drat.Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
Time is Money: Farming in Storm Peaks
Kebina Trudough here, offering you the best gold making secrets they don't want you to know about! I was like you once, poor and homely, before I discovered my patented system. Now you too can fill your pockets with the good stuff without ever breaking a sweat! Why spend all your time toiling when you could be vacationing in the Hot Springs? I'm not offering these tips for 100 gold, or 90 gold, or even 50 gold! No, not even 20 gold! My system is yours for FREE! Satisfaction guaranteed or I'll give you a full refund (handling charges may apply).Today we'll be discussing some of the choice farming locations in the province of Storm Peaks. There are three areas in particular that I will point out, as well as some good gathering tips and information on where you can locate rare mobs. Don't forget to check the comments section, as I'm sure it will be full of sweet spots and mob-hunting information!
Preparing for Wrath Day 2: The dying wallet
Off a question on professions we recently took in Ask A Beta Tester, it occurred to me that it would probably be helpful to provide players with a few ballpark figures on budgetary expectations for Northrend. Blizzard's been pretty frank about its desire to reduce ingame inflation, so it's reasonable to expect a number of compelling demands made on your e-wallet (especially if legions of grasping guild leaders worldwide get their wish and start taxing the living hell out of you). Bottom line? You're going to bleed gold out of your ears unless you exercise some financial restraint. But...whatever. Screaming over the ingame cost of everything keeps me from looking at my real-life stock portfolio. I need a drink.PROFESSIONS: Your first few minutes on the continent, no matter where you land, are going to be pretty expensive if you train up your tradeskills immediately. Polar22 in the AABT comments provided an extremely helpful link to WarcraftEcon confirming that each major and minor trade skill, with the exception of First Aid, will cost 35g to level to Grand Master. First Aid is more expensive at 50g. So, assuming you train your two major tradeskills in addition to Fishing, Cooking, and First Aid, count on being out 190g in addition to whatever it will cost you to train new recipes. WarcraftEcon estimates the total damage for an average player will clock in around 400-500g for these initial recipes and the Grand Master skill-up. That sounds broadly accurate from my experience in the beta, so plan on toting 500g along if you want all of your professions trained up immediately. The bleed begins!
Polar Bear Mount is live and Bind on Account
If you were lucky enough to get your hands on the Polar Bear Mount loot card from BlizzCon this year (either via attending the con or through DirecTV), then you're in for some happiness tonight if you redeem it.The redemption now works. You can go to http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/misc/promotion.html and fill out the forum there to get your prize all setup. Take the code that's given to you and head to Ransin Donner in the Forlorn Cavern in Ironforge – not the guy in STV like the page says. Turn in the code to Ransin and you'll be presented with a Bind on Account Polar Bear Mount!Yes – Bind on Account! That means you can use the mount on any of your characters on the same account. Very cool for those of us with tons of alts.Take a look at the gallery below for what the polar bear mount looks like. You'll probably see a few of these pop up over the next few days in your travels around Azeroth. %Gallery-34529%
Patch 3.0.2 graveyard
There's a lot of great stuff incoming with patch 3.0.2, but there's a lot of stuff leaving as well -- here's a rundown of what we'll be missing after today. The Zul'Aman bear mount. Yes, if you haven't picked one up yourself (or paid to get one from another guild), you're out of luck. The bear mount has been replaced with other loot, so you'll have to wait until Northrend (or go for the new TCG or BlizzCon mounts) to ride a bear. The Alliance Onyxia key quest, and any other quests that mention the missing king of Stormwind. The king is back in town (or will be soon), so any references to Varian Wrynn not being around any more... aren't around any more. Naxxramas. It's gone up north (or will soon -- we know that some people actually made sure to log out in Naxxramas, so hopefully they didn't completely disappear into the ether. Dalaran, that big purple bubble in the Arathi Highlands Hillsbrad Foothills. In its place, there's nothing but a crater, because the whole city has flown North as well. That 1% chance to miss with spells that all mobs had. In an effort to take a little bit of randomness out of the game, you can now beat spell misses with hit rating. Rogue poison making. No more making poisons, rogues -- now you just buy all your poisons straight from vendors. The old Hunter pet training system. It's been replaced with the new (and really awesome) pet talent system. Mages, contrary to rumor, are actually not getting removed from the game. But it's bye-bye to bears, potions, and pet training -- it's going to be a very different game when you log in for the first time after patch 3.0.2 hits.Update: We even missed some -- more after the break. Patch 3.0.2 "Echoes of Doom" has landed and WoW Insider has you covered. From patch notes to talent guides for every class to fixing your addons to 5 easy achievements you can snag right now. Make sure to check out the latest news.
Ask a Beta Tester: Leveling, the Taunka, and mounts
All of us here at WoW Insider are staggering around somewhat zombie-like in the wake of BlizzCon with the patch (probably) coming tomorrow and the amount of information we're hoping to get out in the next 24 hours. So in all truth I don't know whether the answers to today's questions are completely factual or just stuff that started swimming in front of my eyes at 1:00 this morning. Arthas is actually a girl underneath all that armor, just like Samus Aran. The zone music to Icecrown is "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. The Hateful Gladiator cloth belt is a pink tutu. Flying bunnies will be available in the next expan-(Sound of a short scuffle in the background, followed by a whip crack)Thank you, Dan, a little perspective is always useful in these difficult times.Jason asks...Will Northrend be accessible at 68 like Outland was accessible at 58? Or do I need to be a solid 70 to quest and instance in Northrend?Technically, Northrend will be accessible to anyone with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion installed; you can hop a boat or zeppelin on any character of any level. There's no "You must be THIS HIGH to cross through the portal to Outland" restriction, but you won't be able to pick up any of the quests available in Northrend until level 68. Could you grind your way to 68 in Northrend from the mid-60's? Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend it.
BlizzCon mount not usable until after BlizzCon
Another quick note here, which I'm posting because the team at BlizzCon is at the Lost Bar right now (I make absolutely no promises as to the sobriety of anyone involved); we've found out that the polar bear mount plus attached flag-bearing murloc given to all BlizzCon attendees and DirecTV subscribers isn't actually going to be usable until after the convention ends. I've just confirmed this with a friend of mine at the con who's logged into the game from his hotel's wireless as well, so this answers a few questions we've gotten about where are on earth all the mounts are with so many people attending BlizzCon or how to get them working ingame.So if you're headed back to your home or hotel and you've been hoping to get your mount (or, like me, you've just been waiting to see it), hang tight for a few days. With BlizzCon ending late Saturday, hopefully we'll see them active in the following week.
Get your Amani War Bear before it's too late
Assuming the time table of Wrath of the Lich King's pre-patch and release will be similar to that of The Burning Crusade, we're probably looking at an early to mid October release with patch 3.0.2. The 2.0.1 patch hit on December 5th, 2006. The Burning Crusade went live January 16th, 2007. The gap was slightly over a month. Assuming Wrath makes its release date of November 13th, early October is a really safe bet. This means you have a little less than 30 days to finish the things that are going away when that patch hits. Specifically: Your Amani War Bear.Whether your guild is on the cusp of getting their first bear or you're in the queue to get your turn (or even if you're looking to buy a bear from a raid group), time is short. Remember that Zul'Aman is only on a 3 day lockout, not 7 like most raids. Most groups only run the place once a week regardless, but you may want to consider rallying your raid to push for twice a week until patch 3.0.2 hits. You may only have 8 or 9 raid resets left before you're out of luck. I very strongly recommend WoW Insider's Zul'Aman Bear Run guide from our Jennie Lees if you just need to shave off those last few minutes.Good luck, ladies and gentlemen. I hope to see many bear mounts in your future.
New PvP title and mount
Tigole announced a slight change to PvP Achievements and excited more than a few people -- myself included -- by noting that players who complete the Achievements For The Horde! and For The Alliance! will be rewarded a Black War Bear. Players who manage to reach the respectable 100,000 Honorable Kill plateau will unlock the 'of the Horde' and 'of the Alliance' titles. Currently in Beta, slaying four enemy faction leaders award the title while getting 100k HK gave no rewards.While the Amani War Bear will be unattainable when Patch 3.0 hits, but it seems like there might just be a replacement -- will guilds be organizing these new 'bear runs'? I certainly hope so. I was never a fan of the Amani War Bear, or bears as mounts in general, but a PvP mount that rewards killing all four of the opposing faction's leaders? Oh man. Where do I sign up? I certainly hope that the mount will sport a different, non-troll armor model as well as faction insignias and the requisite reds or blues. These new bear mounts might just be incentive enough to get players to raid enemy cities and, hopefully, get to 100k HK along the way.
Zul'Aman bears to disappear with next content patch
The Zul'Aman bear mount has been a popular treat -- popular enough that folks offer paid runs to get the bear mount. We already knew the chance to get the bear was going away when Wrath comes out. However, in the bad news category, Zarhym revealed over the weekend that bear mounts will no longer be obtainable when the content patch comes out. While I know a lot of folks already have their bear mounts, in my opinion, this change kind of sucks. I have a small raiding Guild who I've been working with to get our bear mounts (with a few bumps along the way). Since we knew the earliest we'd lose our opportunity would be November, all of our planning has been focused on getting the bears this month and next. And now, that's changed without enough warning to alter our plans. Heck, I can't even plan since all I know about when the patch is coming out is "soon." To be clear about it, the problem isn't that the chance to obtain the bear is going away. That's fair -- the timed event would be stupid easy after level 70. The problem is that Blizzard set one expectation (when Wrath comes out), and has now vastly reduced the opportunity without warning. That's a problem for me.
BlizzCon DIRECTV package subscribers to get BlizzCon bear mount
Here's some more information that may or may not assuage the rage if you weren't one of the lucky few who fought past the Fail Murloc to get a BlizzCon ticket. DIRECTV subscribers will have the chance to get the BlizzCon bear mount. DIRECTV will be selling a BlizzCon coverage package directly through the official BlizzCon site. This package will be free to any new DIRECTV subscribers who sign up through the site, and cost $39.95 for anyone who's already a DIRECTV subscriber. By purchasing the package, you'll not only get 16 hours of BlizzCon coverage, you'll also get the aforementioned BlizzCon bear mount, the same one that all the con attendees will get in their goodie bag. Sounds like a pretty good incentive to me. The package isn't available for purchase yet, but keep watching the official BlizzCon website to find out when it will be. [Thanks to Rob for the forward!]
Blizzard reveals some of the contents of the 2008 Blizzcon Goodie Bag
With the release date of BlizzCon 2008 coming ever closer, it should be near time for the floodgates of information to open. One of the questions that's always on everybody's lips about BlizzCons: What's in the goody bag? Blizzard gave us a sneak peek today. First, they confirmed that the goggled bear mount with a Murloc passenger MMO-Champion discovered a few days ago is in fact the BlizzCon in-game pet. That's right, just head to BlizzCon, and you too could be among the first to own a "multi-passenger" WoW mount. As for the next item, those of you who are annoyed at the prospect of any old Arthas-killing schlub getting their hands on Frostmourne may want to brace yourselves: now, any BlizzCon-attending schlub can get Frostmourne too: Namely, a 48" inflatable version of the sword. However, only half the bags will have that. The other half will have an inflatable Divine Shield ball, complete with hearthing paladin. Of course, that won't be all. Blizzard is also promising stuff like "zerg creep," Pandaren Brewmaster bottle openers, Diablo health and mana stress balls, and much more. With stuff like that, I'd say it may be worth buying a ticket on August 11th for the goody bag alone. But if you can't, don't worry. We'll be sure to have pictures of all the swag for you to drool over come BlizzCon itself, as well as all the coverage you could want on all things BlizzCon, both during the con and in the days leading up to it!
New mounts discovered in Wrath Beta
MMO Champion has dug up more amazing stuff from the Wrath of the Lich King Beta in the form of new mounts! A full gallery of the mount models are up on their site, and they look very interesting. If you don't manage to get your own Amani War Bear before the expansion hits the shelves, it looks like you'll get another shot at an ursine transport in Northrend. Model previews show several versions of a polar bear mount, from what look like ordinary bears (60% speed increase) to armored bears (100% speed increase) to... double passenger armored bears! Don't ask about the goggles, though.Are passenger-ready mounts usable anywhere? Or will they be zone-exclusive, similar to the bug mounts in Ahn'Qiraj? There's no way to tell just yet, but MMO Champion also has pictures of a three-passenger Alliance Wooly Mammoth. This means a Horde version is available, too, and likely to be part of a PvP scenario where the two factions have different mount skins. Speaking of PvP scenarios, there are also pictures of new siege vehicles as well as the previously seen Skeletal Gryphon Mount and an odd Blizzcon-tagged bear.
Poll: How much would you pay for an Amani War Bear?
We've covered the topic of an insane amount of money being paid for an Amani War Bear before, namely about 20,000g. Gold is much easier to come by now-a-days, and most people are finding it easier to amass a small fortune. This number of 20,000g for a bear mount isn't seeming all that far off.My guild is running two bear groups through Zul'Aman a few times a week, and many of us have our bear mounts now. Those that don't are going to get it quite soon. When this is done we have some different options. We can either run some of our alts and what not through and have a character in greens-galore with a bear mount, or we can sell one of the spots on our run.This selling thing has got me thinking. While our guild doesn't need any more money for repairs and such (we have plenty in the coffers), we can definitely all go to have a few thousand more gold individually. If we ran one person through on a run for 20,000g we'd each make 2,000g for doing 45 minutes of farm content. That's not too bad. %Poll-16453%
Blow a kiss to Mojo and and watch your mount grow
My friends and I discovered a nice little "bug" the other day. We were sitting around Ironforge with nothing to do other than to give a friendly ribbing to our Shadow Priest friend over that fact that she didn't have her Amani War Bear yet. We had our Mojo's out hopping around the feet of our Bears, trying not to get squished. We found out that if we blew them a kiss, we turned into a frog and our mounts grew quite a bit.Obviously this is some kind of flaw in the model coding that allows this, but it's a fun enough and harmless enough bug that I can't stop myself from doing it every chance I get. More so, drink some Winterfall Firewater and pop Heroism for a real big frog on a bear mount.This is definitely hilarious enough that I suggest everyone goes out and tries it at least once. Just leave my Mojo alone. He's spoken for.
Taming Zul'Aman bears (or not)
Mania wants to know (and so do we): can you train the bears in Zul'Aman or not? We at WoW Insider also heard a rumor over the weekend that the bears in Zul'Aman were trainable again (we heard that when the trolls riding bears split up, you had a short period of time to pick up the bear as a Hunter pet). But alas, all reports since then tell us that's not the case -- even if bears were trainable for a short period of time, they aren't now.Which isn't too surprising -- Hunters have a relationship to wild animals, not trained ones, so the fact that you can't steal bears from the trolls falls in line with Hunter lore (although, if you wanted to make the case that the bears were actually pre-trained and that it would make them easier to train, you probably could, even if Blizzard didn't listen). And it's not like there aren't other bears to get in the game. Blizzard should definitely have some fun pets to get like this (as long as there's no huge gameplay bonus to be gained), but apparently Zul'Aman bears aren't one of them.Of course, you can always go get your bear mount -- we've got a guide that tells you exactly how to do it. And hurry -- even those won't be available forever.
Tuesday Morning: Maintenance time
Good Morning Azeroth! It's Tuesday, May 13, 2008, and that means maintenance. As we mentioned earlier, it's an extended maintenance, from 3 AM to 11 AM PST (That means you have about a half an hour of play time left), and it's looking rather likely that 2.4.2's going to drop. Exciting news, but that still means that you'll have at least 8 hours in which it is impossible to play World of Warcraft. Of course, this means the perfect thing to do is browse WoW Insider. Since 2.4.2's probably on it's way, why not browse all our 2.4.2 news? The original patch notes are posted here. We break down the Undocumented changes here -- including pictures of the new mounts added to the game files. You can find the latest test realm page notes here. MMO-Champion points out two new changes: Prince Kael'thas will now drop Primal Nethers in Heroic Magisters Terrace, and the Darkmoon Card: Madness' buffs will now last 60 seconds. Check out our reports on all the Hunter class changes, Including Growl and Scare Beast, the math problems and controversy surrounding the Growl change among the Hunter community, and getting your own flight-formed Druid pet. Good News for Weaponsmiths, with the epic one-handers becoming non-unique. But enough about 2.4.2, what about the big news? First, of course, is the fact that Blizzcon 08 was announced. Check out the details and look back on some old Blizzcon 07 memories in our announcement post. You may also recall all the Wrath of the Lich King news that dropped this week. Of course, you know we have it all for you on WoW Insider. Check it out after the break.
All things Wrath of the Lich King
Over the past week, particularly in the last few days, the crisp Internet air has been abuzz with news from the upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Fear you're out of the loop? Here's a quick round-up of all the information being released, along with analysis and opinion. Don't forget to keep checking back, as this page will be updated as information becomes available:Dungeons and raids An analysis on Arthas as a ten-manned event, including its impact on the 25-man raiding structure, as well an exploration of its consistency with the lore. Did you know that all expansion raids will have a 10-man setting, as well as a 25-man? Read through some of our initial impressions on the 10-man raiding set-up. We also wrote up a concise overview of the ins and outs of dungeons post-expansion, including a new token system, similar to [Badge of Justice]. The Nexus has been announced on the official site as one of the new dungeons. The WoW Insider Show discusses 10-manning Arthas. Zones, factions, and relevant lore Alex has written an excellent overview of the Grizzly Hills, a soon-to-be zone for low to mid-seventies. With old factions reappearing, along with other surprises, it's definitely something to look forward to! If news of the Dragonblight has intrigued you, you'll be pleased to know that more information has been made available. While we're brushing up on our lore and learning about new areas and factions, Alex thought it fitting to illuminate the lore behind Azjol-Nerub, as the Nerubians will have their own role in the expansion. Alex asks us about lore figures we'd like to see in the expansion. %Gallery-20386%
Ready Check: Zul'Aman -- Getting your first bear
Ready Check is a weekly column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, Kara or BT, everyone can get in on the action and down them some bosses. This week, a bear talks about... bears.Since the introduction of Zul'Aman many raiding guilds have been fascinated by the time trial; defeat all four animal bosses within 45 minutes and the last prisoner will gift you with a scary-looking bear mount, plus the adoration of your entire server. This article will take you through preparing for, and succeeding at, the Zul'Aman timed run.Okay, so you want to get a bear. Perhaps there are ten people in your guild who, bored with farming or wiping, want a slightly different challenge to take up an evening or two a week. The end goal of getting a bear mount (or ten) is an incredibly fun one to aim for, but it's also a lot of hard work (provided you don't just want to pay 20,000 gold). The first stage in collecting your very own bear cavalry is to assemble a good team. While you can put together a run with whichever guildies feel like going from week to week, we recommend at least starting with a fixed group that's optimised for success. As you become experienced at running the gauntlet, it won't matter quite as much if the team isn't static.
