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WoW TCG: Throne of the Tides monster preview
The World of Warcraft Trading Card Game is getting a monstrous new expansion set on Oct. 11, bringing new creatures such as the ogres, murlocs, and naga into the game as playable characters. Aftermath: Throne of the Tides is the first set in the Aftermath series, set after the Cataclysm and Deathwing's rage-fueled destruction across Azeroth. Matt Place, the head designer of WoW TCG and lead designer on Aftermath: Throne of the Tides, wrote up a comprehensive preview of the new mechanics and many new heroes coming with the newest set. New monster heroes and allies will be given brand new rule sets that make them unique and fun, providing lots of flexibility for deck builders and new game play experiences. Monster allies, for instance, have no restrictions based on the hero that the deck is built around, giving them added flexibility. On the flipside, a monster hero deck featuring only monsters gets some cool benefits as well. Monster heroes each have a permanent power on the back of their cards. The murlocs run in packs, granting each other bonuses that the others possess. I immediately thought back to my Magic: The Gathering days with the Slivers and was instantly excited, since the Slivers were some of the coolest creations in TCG history. The murlocs sound like they are going to be a numerous force at all times, swarming your opponent and building up lots of cool bonuses.
Ask the Devs Round 11 answers your healing questions
Ask the Devs Round 11 focuses on healer and healer-related topics, as Blizzard wraps up this format of questions and answers. Blizzard gave some long and detailed answers for healers this time around, ranging from topics about the nature of the changed healing game in Cataclysm to the choices healers must make in terms of which heal to use in 5-man content versus raid content. The devs also made an interesting remark about a radical new type of healing class that could appear in a later expansion -- a radically different type of healer that might bring back players who have become burned out on the role. As a raider, I think the best answer came for the question about raid healing being hard for healers and why it sometimes feels like damage is unhealable. The devs commented that raids are not meant to be unhealable, and in most circumstances when the fight seems unhealable, players might be taking the wrong approach to the mechanics. Translated: It might not always be the healer's fault. Check out all of the questions and answers after the jump.
Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects discounted for preorder on Amazon
Christie Golden's second Cataclysm novel, Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, is coming out on July 19, and Amazon has the cheapest copies around. The hardcover edition is currently available for preorder for $16.21 and the Kindle version for just $12.99. The first Cataclysm novel by Golden, The Shattering, told the prequel story of the newest expansion. Garrosh's rise to power and duel with Cairne, as well as Anduin Wrynn's involvement with the dwarven civil war, took center stage, while Thrall left leadership of the Horde to train as a shaman on the orcish home world of Draenor. Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, continues Thrall's journey as a pivotal personality as the cataclysm and Deathwing ravage Azeroth. Thrall's journey will begin with a task for Ysera that eventually becomes fraught with green dragons, nightmares, and a bleak vision from Ysera herself, the Hour of Twilight. We will know more in a week, and I couldn't be more excited.
Ask the Devs scrapped, new Q&A coming soon
Ask the Devs, Blizzard's question and answer series with the developers from topics ranging from tanking, raiding, guild advancement, and more, will be coming to an end after the final role-oriented feature on healing. Criticism for Ask the Devs was occasionally harsh. Players submitted questions and then voted on which questions would be answered by the developers. Blizzard acknowledged that this system did not work as they had intended and will most likely be changing the format to meet the needs of the question and answer format. Bashiok took to the forums to discuss why Ask the Devs hadn't panned out for Blizzard the way they would have liked. Much like many of the arguments against the format, Bashiok agreed that the popularity-based scheduled Q&A system was not something that provided the developers with the best questions, nor the best questions that had salient answers. In this tricky business of game design, sometimes asking the right question is more important then the answer you get. Bashiok assures the community that something new is in the works and up his sleeves, and I eagerly await the new and improved Q&A format. Hit the jump for Bashiok's full post on the Ask the Devs feature.
Ask the Devs Round 9 mitigates your tanking questions
Ask the Devs is back for Round 9, which deals with the most awesome role in WoW ever -- tanking. Of course, coming from a tank, that might be a bit biased -- but deal with it, healers and DPSers. I've got creatures to keep from punching you in your squishy little faces. Of note this time around is Blizzard's tough time dealing with tanks wanting threat stats (hit and expertise) and the current struggle with making it work. Currently, in cutting-edge content, threat stats are pretty good for initial aggro, but over time, Vengeance does its job admirably and keeps bosses on tanks with relative ease. I think that design decision is hitting the sweet spot, but it begs the question of why even have the threat stats in the first place? Blizzard also discussed the mastery bonuses for each tank. The devs feel that death knights and druids are doing pretty well, all things considered, and that paladins and warriors have a similar problem in "capping" mastery, but that paladins are more susceptible to problems. There is still the sentiment in the community that Blizzard needs to add its own visual threat meters or some type of aggro status, but there is a reluctance on Blizzard's part to clutter up its own default UI -- understandable, but this may potentially be a part of Blizzard's forthcoming (but not discussed) "how to tank" solution. Buried in this discussion, however, was a little tidbit about patch 4.3. Blizzard states that the design for the patch 4.2 legendary, Dragonwrath, has wide appeal to a number of staff-wielding ranged DPS classes. However, it then mentions the "patch 4.3 legendary" and its more narrow appeal. Will we be seeing a tanking legendary in the near future, or potentially another healer item? We do know for sure that it will not be as widespread, class-wise, as Dragonwrath, so we can only sit back and assume. What is interesting, though, is that patch 4.3 also looks to be a raid tier and not a patch 4.1-style dungeon content update. Could patch 4.3 be bringing us the War of the Ancients raid that we have been eagerly anticipating, especially with the return of Nozdormu and his crazy time antics? Only time (heh) will tell. Also, don't expect a new tanking class any time soon. Hit the jump for the full question and answer session.
Cryptozoic announces WoW TCG Twilight of the Dragons expansion
WoW Trading Card Game fans are about to get really excited, as Cryptozoic has just released details on the third installment of the Worldbreaker set, Twilight of the Dragons. From the details released, this set will be Deathwing's break into Azeroth, releasing the Twilight dragonflight upon us all. Hit the jump for all the details and an awesome artwork gallery. %Gallery-122227%
Final issue of Curse of the Worgen now available
Curse of the Worgen is a pretty cool look at the worgen story and the lead-up to Cataclysm from the Gilnean point of view, and the series' final issue is now available. Not only that, but to celebrate this great series coming to an end, Blizzard has a treat for everyone: hi-res wallpapers of each of the Curse of the Worgen covers.
WoW TCG: War of the Elements worldwide release April 26
Cryptozoic has just announced that War of the Elements, the first WoW TCG Worldbreaker expansion, will be released worldwide on April 26, 2011. The expansion is being released in four languages at the same time around the world, a first for the trading card game. War of the Elements also features loot cards, as usual, for WoW players to redeem cool pets, mounts, and other in-game items from WoW TCG cards. War of the Elements will include Landros' Lichling, Fool's Gold, and the Savage Raptor mount. War of the Elements will also feature two new dragonflights: the bronze and blue flights, with respective leaders Nozdormu and Kalecgos. What is interesting is that the TCG has solidified Metzen's statement that Kalecgos would become the new leader of the Blue Dragonflight and plays up the importance of these two flights in the coming patches and content in Cataclysm. %Gallery-119621%
Speech bubble-shaped Speak-er now on sale, we take a listen
Even for a renowned outlet like Art Lebedev Studios, it's hard to get quirky, design-centric products out in a commercialized, race-to-the-bottom world. Far too often, dreams die at the production line, and some of the best designed gear in the world stalls on the drawing board. Somehow or another, Sherwood Forlee and Mihoko Ouchi have managed to overcome the traditional production limitations and bring this particular fantasy to life. If you'll recall, we heard about The.'s Speak-er back in January of this year, and while we knew plans were in place to start shipping 'em to end-users before the dawn of 2011, we maintained a healthy level of skepticism -- there's nothing quite as heart-wrenching as having your bubble burst after ratcheting your hopes up too high, you know? Today, we're thrilled to say that the Speak-er is now shipping to those with $99.95 to spare, and if you care to hear what we think about the most awesome set of desk speakers this planet has ever known, head right on past the break. %Gallery-109234%
About the Bloggers: Adam Holisky
Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves, and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more About the Bloggers.What do you do for WoW Insider?I'm a standard issues blogger, reporting on just about everything I can get my hands on. I like to concentrate on raid and high-end PvE issues, since that's where I spend most of my time in game. I've also go a few projects in the work for our sister site, Massively. I think my first article should pop up over there next week (knock on wood)...What's your main right now?My main is a Protection Spec Human Warrior on Eldre'Thalas. He's been my main since March of 2005. However, I have flirted at times with the possibility of switching to a Priest full time, but that was back in November of 2006. However that said, I also have many other alts that I give a lot of care and love. One of my favorite things to do is to run the level 70 five mans with friends, all of us running on our fourth or fifth alt. It's kinda fun!More after the break!
Raid Over the River trailer
Hot on the heels of the smaller tech demo that NIBRIS recently showed us is this fairly lengthy trailer for Raid Over the River. While mostly comprised of cutscenes, the trailer does feature some gameplay that looks very exciting. Now that we've actually seen something concrete on the game from NIBRIS, we're anxious to get our hands on the game.
Screenshot roundup: The Settlers
With my undying love for Age of Empires: Age of Kings and good impressions of the small build I saw for Panzer Tactics at E3, I'm full of anticipation for Blue Byte's The Settlers. I feel it my duty to report to you fine readers that a new batch of screenshots for the game have been posted up at Gamespot. The images show several different locales and some of the stat-tracking of the game through its graphs.So while The Settlers is a real-time strategy game where Age of Empires and Panzer Tactics are both turn-based, some fans firmly aligned with one side might not be so willing to see what the other has to offer. Regardless, the DS, with its touchscreen capabilities and wonderfully-portable nature, is perfect for these types of games and we would love to see them keep on coming.
