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Patch 6.1: Twitter integration live on the PTR
The functionality for posting on Twitter within World of Warcraft is now up and running on the PTR servers. For those that have been wondering, this is a completely optional feature -- if you don't have Twitter, or don't care for Twitter at all, you don't have to use the service. It's just a fun side perk that was thrown in for World of Warcraft -- one that is curiously, strangely addicting. Using it is fairly simple, all you need is a Twitter account and you're good to go. In the Interface/Social menu, there is an option to begin using the Twitter access. It's not a default feature, so you have to checkmark the box in order to get started. Once you've done that, a button in the UI will open a window that allows you to log in to your Twitter account and authorize World of Warcraft as an application -- it's the same screen that you'll see if you try and log into our comment system using your Twitter account. Click allow access, and you'll be logged in and ready to go! To post to Twitter, type /share into the chat window, and it'll bring up the Twitter interface. Once you've created your tweet, you can submit it and it will post to your Twitter feed in a minute or two.
39 Things About Patch 6.1 with TradeChat
When a new patch is on the horizon, news is fast, furious, and ever-changing. So we couldn't blame you if you're having trouble keeping up with all the patch 6.1 news (and the changes to that news). Fortunately for all of us, TradeChat has pulled together a list of 39 things you should know about patch 6.1 to get you up to speed on everything that's coming to the game in the next patch. Sure, it could all change at a moment's notice, but you'll be caught up for now. If you enjoyed the show, make sure to subscribe to TradeChat, leave a comment, and come back next week for the next episode!
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The ordering of Draenor and Azeroth
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. According to various accounts, the Titans have had their hands on almost every inhabitable world in the universe. Certainly Algalon had to keep an eye on more than one planet in his impossibly-long life -- he says as much when we stop him from sending the signal that would re-originate our world. This fact alone is enough to indicate that in the Warcraft universe, worlds aren't quite as unique as we'd expect them to be. If the Titans had a hand in their ordering, they're likely going to have at least some similarities. But it doesn't mean that every world we come across is going to be just like Azeroth. We've been presented with the idea, time and time again, that Azeroth is unique in the universe. It's special. There's something about it that sets it apart from every other world. And yet, when you hold Azeroth and Draenor next to each other and take a good long look at what they are, you can see the bare bones of what was once upon a time, a blueprint shared between the two. Unfortunately, the comparison raises more questions that it seems to answer -- but those questions are pretty important. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Patch 6.1: Finally, you can take a S.E.L.F.I.E.
I honestly didn't know how much I needed this particular item until I finally managed to snag one on the PTR. Behold, patch 6.1 is bringing us the S.E.L.F.I.E. Camera, a marvelous device that finally lets us egomaniacs turn our cameras on the one person in game we care about the most -- ourselves. The camera is a reward from a new, rare level 100 garrison mission called Field Photography -- a four hour mission that requires no special traits to complete. Simply get the mission to show up on your list and the camera is pretty much yours. The interface for the camera is really easy to use -- simply click the item to use it, and your camera will automatically turn around to face you. You can swivel the angle to whatever you feel is most pleasing, and press 1 to snap a photo. No need to alt-z the frame out of the picture first, the camera automatically does it for you, snapping the screenshot and putting it in your screenshots folder. As the camera faces your character, they'll make a host of suitably emotive faces, so you don't have to worry about smiling for the camera.
Patch 6.1: Rogues have a new use for Dingy Iron Coins
Rogues who are stealthy fans of pickpocketing in Warlords of Draenor have more to cheer about in the upcoming patch 6.1. Griftah, the fence of dubious motives who has been taking Dingy Iron Coins and turning them around, in a roundabout way, for gold, has now expanded his inventory. Along with the usual fencing duties and quests to turn in coins for gold, Griftah also sells a variety of leather masks in a variety of colors, all for the low low price of a thousands or so Dingy Iron Coins -- more, if the masks are fancier. And if you're a toy collector to boot, Griftah's got a deal for you -- for 10,000 Dingy Iron Coins, you can be the proud owner of a Barrel of Bandanas. This toy summons a barrel of random bandanas for you and all your friends, so everyone can get in on the bandana-wearing fun. It's nice to see that Griftah hasn't forgotten his rogue pals -- and even nicer to see a steady supply of fashionable masks. Pickpocketing has never been this much fun. Check out the slideshow for screenshots of all available bandanas and their costs.
Warcraft Art, Fan Art, and Community Comic updates
A fresh round of updates have been added to the World of Warcraft Fan Art section of the official site, as well as new pieces for the Warlords of Draenor Art gallery, and a new World of Warcraft comic. The fan art in particular features some really stunning pieces highlighting the various Warlords of Draenor, as well as a creepy and perfectly suited idea for a warlock armor set. The full images are all available for download, and I might just be changing the wallpaper on my computer this time around. The concept art takes a look at what appears to be some concept work of Gorgrond, and two shots of Shattrath City. It's the Shattrath pieces that are really interesting, because you get a view of the city with the dome in place, and removed -- and the removed version is far more similar to what we've got in Outland today. What's interesting though is that the dome in-game cannot be traveled through, which makes me wonder -- is A'dal's future home under there, or did the design elements change at some point? More importantly, are we going to get in there at some point in the future? Head to the official post to check out all of the new goodies. And if you have a Warcraft fan comic or fan art of your own, don't forget that you can always submit them to Blizzard to be considered for future updates!
WoW's new Blood Elves arrive in update 6.1
Our sister site WoW Insider reports this morning that World of Warcraft's Blood Elves, left off the roster of races that received model revamps with the Warlords of Draenor expansion last November, will finally meet their new faces. Actually, it's just the bodies: The male faces aren't entirely done yet and currently share the same facial geometry. "While we're excited to share with you our progress on these new models, I do want to stress that the models, textures, and animations are not entirely finished. Bug fixing and iteration can and will occur, and that's where you come in!" writes Blizzard QA on the US and EU forums, soliciting costructive feedback. MMO Champion has full-size, head-to-toe bikini shots of both the female and male models because of course it does. Also arriving in update 6.1 are class tweaks, new heirloom gear, garrison expansions, follower mission fixes, and the chance to buy (with gold) those followers you missed while questing. The first iteration of the update landed on the PTR in early January; the patch's launch date on production servers has not been announced.
Know Your Lore: Breakers and Primals
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. What is Draenor, exactly? It's a world beset by war on many different levels -- there's the threat of the Iron Horde, of course, and battling clans among the orcs, fighting with the ogres, skirmishes between orc and draenei. But beyond that, there's another layer of conflict on the world, one that seems like a much larger struggle, one far more ancient and primal than anything the orcs, ogres, draenei, or even the arakkoa could conjure up. In the wilds of Gorgrond, a struggle is taking place that almost seems to serve as a backdrop to the main Iron Horde-centered story we're concerned with. While we struggle with the Iron Horde and their plans, massive creatures both plant and rock are embroiled in a constant battle with each other, either unaware of our presence, or so intent on their purpose that we are simply being ignored. Or, to turn that around, we are so insignificant in the face of this conflict that to these giants of the world, we don't even register as being anything of importance at all.
Know Your Lore: Highmaul and the Gorian Empire
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. "Why Highmaul?" is one of the most frequently asked questions I get these days. It does seem a little strange that we are raiding the capital of ogre civilization when one would think we should be facing down the leaders of all of the Iron Horde we've been fighting against throughout the leveling process. But there's method and reasoning as to why we're invading the ogre stronghold, and it absolutely ties back into the Iron Horde. When one thinks of ogres, one hardly thinks of things like intelligence or cunning -- it's usually the complete opposite. But the ogres of Azeroth are a far, far cry from what they once were, not so long before the events that opened the Dark Portal and began the First War. The Draenor we're currently visiting may be a slightly altered universe, but the history remains by and large the same. And in both instances, there was a point in time where the ogre race ruled supreme.
Patch 6.1 PTR: New Battle Pets and achievement
Battle Pet collectors have something to look forward to with Patch 6.1 -- new Battle Pets and a new achievement are being added, according to information Wowhead has datamined from the 6.1 PTR. New Battle Pets have been added to bosses in Sunwell Plateau, Black Temple, and Hyjal Summit, and another tier has been added to the raid-collecting achievement, Raiding With Leashes III: Drinkin' From the Sunwell. A dozen new pets have been added to the raids. Grotesque Statue Leviathan Egg Shard of Supremus Fragment of Anger Fragment of Suffering Fragment of Desire Sultry Grimoire Smelly Gravestone Hyjal Wisp Sunblade Rune of Activation Void Collar Servant's Bell Completing the raid collection achievement awards the Battle Pet K'ute, a mini-naaru. Thankfully, at this point in the game, all three of the Burning Crusade raids are easily soloable -- no unusual tricks that would require a second or third person, unless you want to bring a friend along. For Pet Battle enthusiasts, Patch 6.1 is already shaping up to be pretty sweet.
Patch 6.1 build headed to the PTR
According to a tweet by Blizzard QAZorbrix, Patch 6.1 is in the process of being released to the PTR servers for testing. In addition, PTR forums will be making a return next week. While we haven't seen patch notes for 6.1 just yet, datamining website MMO-Champion has been busy at work digging through the new build and pulling out interesting material. Among the highlights of what we may be seeing in 6.1: New Battle Pets from Sunwell Plateau, Hyjal Summit and Black Temple Harrison Jones as a new Garrison follower Platinum level for Garrison invasions New game for the Darkmoon Faire: The Real Big Race Collectible music Possible Heirloom Tab Please note that all information is currently being datamined, which means that none of it has been finalized by Blizzard, and it may or may not actually make it to live realms with 6.1. To get the PTR for yourself, simply install it via the Battle.net launcher by selecting PTR: World of Warcraft from the Region/Account dropdown bar.
You'll soon be able to buy WoW garrison followers directly
If you missed out on snagging one of your World of Warcraft garrison followers or are willing to trade gold for time to complete your collection, then Blizzard is prepared to humbly accept your patronage. The studio announced on the forums that it will be adding a follower vendor in the next patch. "One specific change I can share is in the next patch we're planning to add a new NPC to tier 3 garrisons who will sell followers you might not have access to based upon which buildings and outposts you've chosen," Community Manager Crithto wrote. "You'll be able to browse for followers you did not choose from quests and any you might have missed from failed missions."
World of Warcraft brings back its anniversary event
Did you get everything done that you wanted during World of Warcraft's 10-year anniversary event? If you did, great, but if you didn't... well, still great because you're getting another shot at it. Community manager Bashiok posted on the forums that the team is bringing back the anniversary event for one more week, starting today at 1:00 p.m. EST and ending on January 13th at the same time. The reactivation is confined to the North American servers, so players elsewhere in the world hoping for more time with anniversary antics will be sadly disappointed. There's also nothing new in the event, so if you have everything, you can sit this round out. Otherwise, log in today and start celebrating a decade of the game's operation... like, again.
Know Your Lore: Archimonde and the Burning Legion
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. He is what some would call the lesser known of the triumvirate that led the eredar of Argus prior to Sargeras' intervention. Certainly he lacked the camaraderie of Kil'jaeden and Velen -- he had little to do with the grudge match Kil'jaeden carried, nor did he particularly care where Velen had gone, or what he was doing with the eredar who chose to turn down Sargeras' offer. What he was, however, was far more deadly in comparison. With no grudges to distract him, Archimonde was easily one of Sargeras' most effective military commanders -- cunning, incredibly powerful, and deadly. Archimonde's tale stretches two different points in Warcraft's history. The first, thousands upon thousands of years ago, before Azeroth's continents had split and settled into the familiar placement we see on maps today. The second, not so long ago at all -- and his appearance leveled a city, brought together and united a world divided in hatred, and ended the precious gift of immortality given to an ancient race long secluded and hidden away. Please note: The following Know Your Lore contains a few small spoilers for Warlords of Draenor.
Pick up Peckers the Majestic for your garrison
Sure, collecting followers for your garrison is pretty fun -- after all, they head out on missions and can potentially bring you back all kinds of valuable rewards. But what about your garrison while everyone is away? Oddly enough, there are a few different potential garrison denizens that aren't followers. You'll never send them on a single mission. But they'll come hang out at your garrison anyway, if you go out of your way and rescue them from whatever unfortunate situation they've accidentally stumbled into. That's where Peckers the Majestic comes in. This fearsome looking raptor will gladly follow you back to your garrison if you take the time to help him out. Don't expect him to be too terribly friendly, though. While you can pet the raptor, he'll respond by promptly giving you a swift kick and running away. Apparently, he's been taking lessons from Ruthers the bad yak. Yet despite his temperamental disposition, he's a pretty cool addition to any garrison -- so how do you get this ornery raptor? You'll want to head to Gorgrond.
Choose My Adventure: World of Warcraft High
Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft launched on November 23rd, 2004. For anyone having a hard time putting that date into context, consider this: My sister, who's now in college, was eight years old when WoW's gates first opened. Some of our readers with nice jobs and adorable children were still in middle school or high school. I've personally been playing WoW off and on since 2005, giving me about nine years of history with the game. This month's Choose My Adventure was two parts adventure and one part nostalgia. And as it turns out, sometimes the past really does belong in the past.
Is this the most efficient way to make gold?
I was watching this video from Bellular Gaming and it got me thinking - is that really the most efficient way to make gold in Warlords of Draenor? What they're doing is fairly simple. They're going into Cataclysm raids Bastion of Twilight, Blackwing Descent and Firelands on 25 heroic. Then they vendor everything. It seems like the exact kind of thing that we were doing back before they nerfed raid boss gold for soloing, but it works with the current rules for dungeons in that you basically have to collect every single thing that drops and vendor it. Still, it will net you 4000 gold in around an hour or two, and for every level 100 you have that's another 4000 gold you can farm up. That's not bad at all, really. I'm not sure it'll remain so lucrative. It does work with the new gold normalization system, which was implemented because you could collect all the trash and vendor it, and it's a series of raids from two expansion ago, so being able to solo them isn't unexpected. For now, if you're gold strapped, keep it in mind. [Via Kotaku]
Choose My Adventure: On autopilot in World of Warcraft
Life as a shadow Priest in World of Warcraft is pretty mellow. Mostly you bounce around from quest to quest and enemy to enemy, ticking off objectives by murdering orcs with dark magic and scaring everyone with your spooky shadow face. It's not a career path I'd recommend for your average citizen, but if you're looking to become an instigator in the clan wars of Warlords of Draenor, there are worse paths to take. We accomplished quite a bit this week in Choose My Adventure. Our Blood Elf Priest gained a couple of levels, DPSed his very first Warlords of Draenor dungeon, and completed the Frostfire Ridge set of story quests. And while it's all been very, very good, I'm still having a hard time connecting to this latest World of Warcraft expansion.
Blizzard opens new dedicated Ashran forum
If you have an opinion about Ashran, now there's a place for you to take it. Blizzard CM Kaivax posted that there's a new forum dedicated solely to Ashran. It's right here, although it doesn't appear to have a counterpart in Europe yet. Ashran's been a hot topic as of late for problems with queue times and difficulty in balancing it - with some players having used Ashran to gear up it's not not uncommon to see people discussing one faction utterly dominating the zone now. If you're interested in Ashran and possibly in contributing your voice to the discussion (you may have a good suggestion for fixing the issues, or just a perspective that hasn't been considered yet) then head over to the new official forum for the PvP zone and make your voice heard.
On Professions in Warlords of Draenor
I struggled with how to start this post off -- I didn't want to be negative and rant against professions in Warlords, or be blind and not cover their current state at all. So instead I decided upon a little bit of a meta introductory paragraph that simply says professions are not what we expected. They lack the feel of traditional professions, and seem to exist in a hybrid state of being utterly worthless worthless and slightly annoying. As the game stands right now, you could never touch professions and you'd miss almost nothing of importance. There is no gear that you need (you may want some of it, but not much, and it is easily substituted with LFR drops), there are no battle pets that are required, and there's nothing but enchanting and inscription that are mildly necessary for a casual player to engage in the game (and at that, all those benefits can be obtained by buying the crafted items off the auction house). What can be done? Three relatively easy things: more levels of crafted gear, revamping the resource model, and decreasing the reliance on daily cooldowns.
