blizzcon2011
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Ghostcrawler introduces you to the Pandaren monk
Mists of Pandaria is bringing us the new monk class as well as the new Pandaren race, finally making its way to World of Warcraft after years of speculation and wondering. Blizzard Insider, Blizzard's own internal look at the wheelings, dealings, and development processes of the company, pulled Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street aside and asked him a bunch of questions about the Pandaren, monks, and the newest expansion. Ghostcrawler discusses the motivations behind the Pandaren and how they differ from the other races of Azeroth, how the monk class came about and was decided upon, and what monk players outside the Pandaren race will have in store for them when they travel the world. One of the more interesting pieces of information is how player character monks who choose to start as a race other than Pandaren will still have a heavy Pandaria-inspired kit and experience, since it is the Pandaren that bring the monk class to both the Horde and the Alliance. Of course, we have extra confirmation that DPS and tank monks will be sporting agility leather gear, and the healer archetype will don intellect-based leather gear. I don't believe that I am alone in this observation, but Blizzard has been out and about like crazy talking about the Pandaren and the monk class nonstop. Personally, I'm loving it. The more, the better. Over the years, Blizzard has gone from a very secretive company to pulling back many of the curtains for players and fans alike, with peeks into the development process and getting out ahead of the speculation machine. It's learned a lot from The Burning Crusade and Wrath days. Hit the jump for the full interview with Greg Street.
Why you might like Blizzard DOTA
Fans of Defense of the Ancients, the immensely popular Warcraft III mod that spawned an entirely new genre of gaming, are already conditioned to love Blizzard DOTA. I got to play it this week at BlizzCon 2011 and had a great time getting into the very familiar world. However, many Blizzard fans are not DOTA enthusiasts or even privy to the genre itself. WoW players may not really understand what this Blizzard offering is about or even why they should be interested. Warcraft fan-favorite characters Thrall and Arthas are making appearance in Blizzard DOTA, which means gamers who have ever wanted to pit these monolithic figures against other Blizzard staple characters will get the chance. Here's what you need to know about Blizzard DOTA and why you just might like playing as one of your favorite WoW personalities. Defense of the Ancients was originally a Warcraft III mod that became so incredibly popular that it spawned the genre know known as MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) or ARTS (action real-time strategy), depending on who you ask. The game consists of three paths that connect two bases with destructible buildings and towers along the path routes. Waves of minions or creeps, NPC characters that spawn endlessly from both bases, meet in the middle of these lanes to do battle. You control a powerful hero who levels up, gains skills and abilities, and can purchase items from a shop. Your goal is to fight these minions and enemy players, destroy the enemy towers and buildings, and win the game.
Spiritual Guidance: The priests of BlizzCon 2011
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore covers the healing side of things for discipline and holy priests. She also writes for LearnToRaid.com and produces the Circle of Healing Podcast. This past weekend, BlizzCon 2011 brought a plethora of announcements for World of Warcraft. Players can now look forward to pandas, a dramatically new talent system, a Pokémon-style minigame, and lots more. Priests in particular are in for radical changes with the new talents, and while I suspect some of you would like to hear my perspective on things, I'm going to wait a week and see what else unfolds from the blues as they respond to some of the more obvious questions the community is asking. This also gives me the opportunity to follow through with my original plans of introducing you guys to some of the priests I met at BlizzCon 2011.
BlizzCon 2011 virtual tickets potentially giving out last year's pet
Blizzard has posted that it is looking into an issue with players who purchased the newest BlizzCon virtual ticket for the 2011 show. Some purchasers have received last year's pet Deathy after purchasing this year's ticket. Blizzard is looking into whether or not this should be happening; whether or not this was a mistake or a miscommunication, we do not yet know. It is safe to assume, however, that a new pet will become available for BlizzCon 2011, and purchasers of the 2011 virtual ticket should not be getting last year's BlizzCon exclusive Deathy pet. One of the perks of purchasing the BlizzCon virtual ticket is that players are treated to a BlizzCon exclusive in-game companion pet. In 2010, that pet was Deathy, a Deathwing-inspired version of everyone's favorite murloc. As in every previous year, a new companion pet (or a mount, once) has been given to BlizzCon attendees. Players and purchasers were potentially confused, as the new pet for BlizzCon this year has not yet been announced. When Blizzard does announce this year's BlizzCon pet, we'll be the first to let you know.
Additional BlizzCon 2011 benefit dinner tickets on sale June 8
Missed your shot at getting tickets to the BlizzCon 2011 benefit dinner for the Children's Hospital of Orange County? You're in luck! Blizzard has just announced that another batch of benefit tickets will be going on sale June 8 at 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern. The BlizzCon benefit dinner is an annual event and fundraiser for the Children's Hospital of Orange County where you, the Blizzard fan, get to have a great meal, chat up Blizzard luminaries, developers, artists, executives, and more, all to benefit a good cause. The event happens the Thursday night before BlizzCon. Benefit dinner tickets cost $500 USD per ticket and include access to the benefit dinner, a ticket to BlizzCon, and more. Check out the BlizzCon ticket sales page for updates and the BlizzCon benefit dinner FAQ. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the people I know who have attended this benefit dinner say it's a once-in-a-lifetime awesome thing to be at and be a part of. Blizzard knows how to rock a benefit dinner.
