wwi08
Latest
BlizzCon 2008 UI panel liveblog
12:00 PM: The gang just showed up on stage. Hellos answered with... silence.12:02 PM: Tom Thompson and Derek Sakamoto introducing themselves, lots of applause.Check the rest behind the cut!%Gallery-34226%
Win beta keys and a Tyrael pet in a level 1 race
This Friday and Saturday, Worldofwar.net will be holding two "level 1 character" race events on as-yet undisclosed U.S. servers. 5 Worldwide Invitational cards, entitling the bearer to a Wrath of the Lich King beta key and a Tyrael pet, will be awarded to the winners. The character you enter in the race must be level 1, cannot have any weapons or armor equipped, and will be disqualified if you die, disconnect, or try to sneak any stat-enhancing item on the toon. Apart from saying that they'll be holding the races at 6:00 PM server time on both days, they're staying mum on which server or starting area they'll be using in an effort to minimize potential cheating or a mob of ganking spectators. Two things: I'm not sure how they're planning on splitting 5 WWI cards among the winner/s of two races, so you'll probably have a slightly higher chance of winning a card in one out of the two events. Secondly, although they haven't given out server names, they do say that both races will take place at "18:00 PST (server time)," so it's possible that both will happen on Pacific servers. They'll post the server names and starting areas on their site before each race starts, so check back, and good luck!
Blizzcast #5 takes care of post-Worldwide Invitational 2008 business
The latest Blizzcast is live! This fifth outing is the post-Worldwide Invitational episode. The bulk of its running time is dedicated to Diablo 3. If you're interested in that pseudo-MMO, action-RPG goodness, then there is a ton of information in there. Diablo 3 Community Manager Bashiok interviews Lead Designer Jay Wilson about the game. It's detailed stuff (e.g., several minutes dedicated to Blizzard's reasons for abandoning the grid-like inventory management of the earlier Diablo games), so Blizzard fans should check it out.Of course, here at Massively we have a special interest in World of Warcraft. We're sad to report that Blizzcast #5 is a little light on WoW or Wrath of the Lich King discussion. Community Manager Nethaera participates in the first half of the podcast, and she talks a little bit about WotLK, but she mostly shares in the post-Diablo 3 announcement glee. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Last remaning BlizzCon tickets go on sale at 8:00 p.m. PDT tonight
If you want to go to BlizzCon in October, you have one last window to buy your tickets: 8:00 p.m. PDT tonight. That's 11:00 p.m. Eastern, and 10:00 p.m. Central. This news comes from an announcement on the main page of the WoW website. The announcement further tells us that all the available tickets were sold out within minutes of the Blizzard Store coming on-line this afternoon.Considering there will be a third hall open this year, we believe around 12,000 tickets have been made available (this number has also been reportedly confirmed by phone sales reps), which is 50% more than the 8,000 that were sold last year. The World Wide Invitational that took place in June also sold out very quickly.In the case of the WWI, additional tickets were made available after the primary batch had sold out. However, and this is important, there is no indication Blizzard will do this again.We'll update with any further information when we have it.
What to do if you have issues with your Beta key
Vrakthris, a Blizzard blue poster over in the Customer Service forums, posted that any people having issues with their Wrath of the Lich King beta key should send them an email to the address contained in the beta email.Last night we were pursuing a key issue of our own, and all we got was an automated response from the email address pointed to in the Beta invitation. Tonight however, that no longer happens – so it appears as if this email address is being staffed by a live person. This is great news for those that have issues, including any that might revolve around a WWI '08 EU key not working with a US account. Hopefully Blizzard will respond promptly to all of us that have been emailing this address. If Blizzard or any of the blues release any more statements you'll see them here at WoW Insider.
2nd Qualifying round of the official 3v3 Arena Tournament ends
In the midst of the hubbub over the Worldwide Invitational 3v3 Arena tournament and the MLG PC Circuit tournaments in San Diego and Orlando, the official 3v3 Arena Tournament seems to have fallen by the wayside -- At the least, people don't seem to remember it much. It looks like it's looking to burst back onto the scene in a big way, though, as Blizzard announced the end of the 2nd qualifying round of the tournament today. The next round will see the winning teams from the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds facing off in live matches in Boston, Madrid, Seoul, and Taipei in the coming months. The list of first round winners has some familiar faces in it already. MLG San Diego winners Frag Dominant will be competing in the Boston event, WWI winner Council of Mages will be competing in Seoul, and WWI runner up Improved Clicks will be headed to Madrid. There's no word yet on which teams won the 2nd round, or when the next round's matches will take place, or whether we'll get live streaming from the events. We'll be sure to let you know all the details right here as soon as they're available though.
Worldwide Invitational 3v3 Arena Tournament replays available
If you missed the WoW PvP action at the Worldwide Invitational, now's your chance to catch up. Selections from the 3v3 Arena Tournament action in Paris, including the final match between Council of Mages and Improved Clicks, are now available for download at the WWI tournament page. If you're interested in improving your PvP game, it's amazing how much watching videos of good players in action can help. You learn a lot about how to use your class, and how other classes operate when you look at them from a 3rd person point of view and watch for patterns. Of course, if you need a bit more help getting a handle on the action, you can also check our coverage of the tournament, as well as Amanda Dean's wrap-up thoughts.
The best of WoW Insider, July 1-8, 2008
Aw, look how cute! Diablo 3 fans might be a little surprised to see that as powerful as Tyrael is in the world of Sanctuary, he's just a little noncombat pet in the World of Warcraft. Look at his cute little hood! Fortunately for you, Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider is rolling like a raid boss in Azeroth -- we've got every little bit of WoW news you need, from Wrath of the Lich King rumors to biting commentary about the biggest online game in the world. Here's our best from the last week. News WWI attendees get their own pet, Archangel TyraelTurns out the folks at WWI were even luckier than we thought. Rumor: Wrath of the Lich King box revealedSee what the game you'll be buying later this year actually looks like. US registration for Wrath beta now openBlizzard has opened up an opt-in for players in the US and EU, and we're that much closer to release. Rumor: Wrath of the Lich King collector's edition boxBut what we really want to know is what's inside it. Kisirani implies the return of the Scourge Invasion eventLooks like Arthas and his cronies will step foot back in Azeroth at least once more. Features Things that annoy meAllison Robert open up a legendary can of rant for the Fourth of July weekend. Ask a Lore Nerd: The swirling vortex of deathThe Lore Nerd ruins his cool forever by knowing so much nerdy history about Azeroth, but you get to reap the benefits! The Creamy GUI Center: Big bag blowoutOur UI column tells you how to make the most of those bags in your inventory. WoW CrosswordWe premiere a brand new Sunday morning feature on WoW Insider for you xword fans. Archangel Tyrael pet revealedThe world of Diablo visits the world of Warcraft yet again.
WoW Insider Show Episode 45: Turpster every four minutes
Last Saturday, as always, we sat down and spent about an hour discussing the latest and greatest in the World of Warcraft, and the results are now online for your listening enjoyment. Turpster and I were both on, as well as John "BigBearButt" Patricelli, and Kyle Horner, a blogger on our sister sites Massively and Big Download. Turpster talked with us about WWI, what he thought of the big event in Paris, what it was like to play a Death Knight, and why he thought it was even better than last year's BlizzCon (including why this year's BlizzCon might be even better). Kyle spoke with us about being a player who's just now getting back into WoW, and what he's excited for in the next expansion. We talked a little bit about TCG cards, and whether it's fair for Upper Deck to give away the TCG loot. Mages didn't get a lot of news during WWI, so we chatted about what they might get before Wrath of the Lich King. We talked about the timing of the beta, and what the plan is for the rest of the Wrath release. Definitely a fun show (and it features the only time I've ever gotten really angry at Turpster, though it turned out to be no big deal, and he's probably not fired from the show. Probably.). Give it a listen over on the WoW Radio page, and if you have a question comment, or insight about something we said, don't hesitate to email the show itself -- theshow@wow.com is the address.Thanks for listening as always, we'll see you next week.
The Tuesday Morning Post: I want a pet Tyrael edition
Good Morning everyone. On this Tuesday morning, most of us can rest easy: Just a quick restart at 5 AM PDT, and we'll be good to get back in the game. There a few servers, however, that will have to deal with an extended maintenance period, lasting until 11 AM PDT. You can see the full list of those servers here. For players on those servers, and those of us who can't sneak in some WoW time at school or work, I bring you the perfect solution: A roundup of some of the best news and analysis from the past week here at WoW Insider. Dig in, and keep it here throughout the day for more breaking news, guides, and analysis. Starting your day with a crossword puzzle can be both fun and mentally stimulating. How about giving this WoW-themed one a try? Here's a friendly reminder from Nexus Prince Haramad, just in case you forgot last week: be sure to get your gems for July! There are an amazing amount of actions that annoy Allison. Here's an interesting world first: A multiboxer makes Gladiator in the Arenas. If being Myspace friends with a Murloc isn't enough, how about buying your own? Blizzard COO Paul Sams is calling out Microsoft on the subject of PC gaming. Not only is the Blizzard Authenticator sold out, but some people who made it in under the wire are having trouble actually getting their order. Will we ever see the Scourge Invasion event again? Kisirani is hinting that we might finally get a return engagement. With tank shortages reaching critical levels almost everywhere, now's a good time to discuss how to build and keep a good tanking corps. Be sure to check part 2 as well. The 4th of July was this past week, and nothing says 4th of July like good old fashioned... copyright infringement? Is buying your way through tier 6 raid content an insult to those who work hard to take down bosses on their own, or is a win-win situation for rich casuals and guilds in need of reagent and repair money? Join the discussion. If that's not enough for you, we have fresh Wrath of the Lich King and Worldwide Invitational news waiting after the break.
Arcane Brilliance: How to fix Mages
Each week, Arcane Brilliance puts a Mage-related joke at the beginning of a column about Mages. This week, though, after the class panels at the WWI, Arcane Brilliance is not in a joking mood.Warriors are unique in that they are the strongest, most durable melee class, can use all of the biggest and best weapons and armor in the game, and make highly-sought-after tanks.Rogues are unique in that they can Stealth past almost anything, are downright impossible to hit at times, and can contribute incredibly high single-target DPS in groups.Druids are unique in that they can shape-shift into awesome animal forms that amount to slightly lesser versions of several other classes, can be excellent tanks, DPS, and healers, have incredible buffs, and are the single most annoying Arena class in the game.Priests are unique in that they can be both an incredibly effective caster DPS class as well as the best (and surprisingly durable) pure healing class, while providing some of the best buffs around.Hunters are unique in that they can tame their own pets, then use them to tank for them while they sit back and provide top-tier ranged DPS.Paladins are unique in that they are the only healing class that can wear plate, can perform the duties of the best multiple mob tanking class, the best single-target healing class, or an effective melee DPS class. Also, they have a bubble.Shamans are broken currently, but will soon have some of the best raid-wide buffs in the game via their totems, and are still sort of unique in that they can spec to provide both melee and caster DPS, as well as very nice healing, and have an incredibly nice panic button.Warlocks are unique in that they can provide what is possibly the best caster DPS, both single-target and AoE, have Life Tap, which makes their mana almost never-ending in groups where they have a healer willing to throw them a heal every now and again, have a pet which can add to their DPS, tank for them, destroy casters in PvP, or provide CC.Mages...Mages are Warlocks without pets.Ok, to be entirely fair, we can also make food and open a portal to Shattrath at the end of every instance.Mages need help (Shamans need help too, but Arcane Brilliance isn't a column about Shamans). Come back after the break and we'll talk about what needs to be done.
WoW Insider Show goes live tomorrow
Our weekly podcast is back on the air tomorrow afternoon, and Turpster should be back at home in England, ready to tell us all about the rest of his WWI trip. I'll be on, along with John "BBB" Patricelli, and we'll also welcome Kyle Horner from our sister sites Massively and Big Download -- he's just recently gotten back into WoW, so we'll chat with him about what's changed since he left and why he's coming back. We'll also read your email (since we missed it last week, we'll have a lot to go through, I'm sure) as well as other tidbits from WWI, what's up with the Wrath world event, and when all of these beta registrations might actually start meaning something.So join us, won't you? Just tune in to WoW Radio live tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 Eastern, and you'll be able to hear the show live on the virtual airwaves. And you can join us in IRC if you'd like as well -- either chat on the site, or send your IRC client of choice to irc.mmoirc.com and the #wowradio channel. And if you'd rather email the show, you can do that, too -- theshow@wow.com is the address for all your complaints, queries, and general Turpster praise.We'll see you tomorrow afternoon as always.
Totem Talk: What you will and will not be
Totem Talk, the column for shamans, was hit right between the eyes with news from the Worldwide this weekend. Matthew Rossi, our intrepid columnist, tries to make sense of it all this week.Okay, I know we're behind on the Kara gear articles, but this weekend's news from the Worldwide Invitational was too much for me to ignore. Both for all the awesome news for shamans and for what it all doesn't mean. (And yes, I had to steal Mike's image from the roundup post... I even went out and bought that statue I like it so much.) Since we know the Beta Opt-In is live and the Wrath beta can't be far away, I thought we should spend some time discussing what we just found out.I admit that part of the reason for wanting to discuss this in detail is that I am stoked about it. Some of you readers are, in fact, very good for providing a bucket of cold water in the form of reality checking, and I expect you to do me that service now. But maybe we're all excited, which would be awesome, for shamans to once all be excited.I know Hex is the greatness, but what it isn't is real CC for five man instances. It's a panic button, like so many other shaman abilities can be, not a long-term solution. To use hex as CC in an instance in the manner of Polymorph, you'd have to renew it every ten seconds. You're taking yourself out of DPSing entirely if you intend to use it that way, basically. Make no mistake, it's a great ability and great utility for the class, but it's more akin to Cyclone than Sap or Poly. What, you may well be turning to me to ask, is it good for then if it's not going to be good for CCing in instances?
The Archangel Tyrael pet revealed
You may remember that we recently told you that Worldwide Invitational attendees would be receiving a Tyrael pet as part of their goodie bag haul as soon as patch 2.4.3 went live. The PTR servers when down for a little bit of an update a while ago, and when they came back up, WoW Insider commenter Darkra came through with the picture of my new favorite pet, which you can see above. It's actually pretty strange, he looks both cute and bad ass at the exact same time. I'm not sure how it pulls it off, but I suppose that's just the awesomeness that is Tyrael. Congratulations to all you WWI attendees on what is surely the coolest non-combat pet to date, and for those of us unlucky enough not to make it to the WWI in person, let the Ebaying begin!
Bornakk doesn't outright deny the July 3rd rumor
Of course, he hasn't confirmed it, either. Ever since that German CM apparently hinted at a July 3rd start date for the WoTLK Beta at the Worldwide Invitational, people have been searching for further confirmation or denial of the rumor. Bornakk, in true Blizzard style, has been staying mum, saying only that a date for the beta test has yet to be announced. When someone expressed fear that we'd only hear about the beta at Blizzcon, Bornakk assured them that Blizzcon is not the only place to release information, but reiterated that there's no actual start date for the beta announced yet. On a later thread, when someone said that the WoTLK Beta would start this week, he linked back to that same thread, once again not outright denying it, but saying only that it had not yet been announced. So what does this mean, exactly?
WoW Moviewatch: The Scarlet Thorn
For those of you that have complained about Baron Soosdon's music videos that have no plot and are merely a bunch of color filters, this may be a breath of fresh air. The Scarlet Thorn, one of Baron's entries in Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational machinima contest, centers around Lady Sylvanas. While there is no dialogue in this epic movie about beating the Scarlet Crusaders to a bloody pulp, you can expect plenty of action![Via #machinima on Quakenet IRC]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
WWI attendees to get their own pet Archangel Tyrael [Updated with Picture]
The identity of the free pet that Worldwide Invitational Paris attendees received with a code in their goodie bag has been a closely guarded secret, with the identity not known even at the WWI itself. Yesterday, Bornakk broke the silence on the pet and announced that after patch 2.4.3 goes live, WWI attendees will be able to turn in their pet codes for their own miniature version of Diablo's Archangel Tyrael! Tyrael, as you may remember, is an angel that assists the Horadrim -- and later the heroes of Diablo 2 -- in fighting back the Prime Evils as they attempt to assault and take over the world of Sanctuary. He is one of the few angels who will directly assist humanity in fighting Hell, even when he is specifically forbidden from interfering by Heaven itself. He eventually destroys the Worldstone after Baal corrupts it at the end of the Lord of Destruction expansion. So far, his fate after that has not been told, although it seems practically a given that he will appear in Diablo 3 in some capacity, as the official Diablo 3 site features his visage prominently.
WWI '08 notes from WoW Insider's chat with Xfire
Our very own Mark "Turpster" Turpin and Jennie Lees were invited to sit down with Xfire users and chat about their thoughts from the Worldwide Invitational. You can read the entire transcript, but we've encapsulated most of the goodies for you in this post.Mounts and battlegroundsAnswering a question about water mounts, Jennie said that they don't seem to be in the works. Still, you can get your H2O kicks with the non-player-controllable boats in Lake Wintergrasp. Another questioner asked whether the flying combat mounts will take damage. Some of these combat mounts will have shielding to protect the player from damage, but the mount will take damage instead.Killing ArthasConsensus in the chat was that there is a lot of excitement around the idea of being able to kill Arthas, the Lich King, even if it takes up the same progression as Kil'Jaeden currently does in TBC. The hope is that Frostmourne will drop, but the consequences of getting the sword are not yet known. Will it corrupt the player and take away stats? Will players become the new Lich King if they pick it up? We'll have to wait and see.That's just one of the questions awaiting an answer for us in the post-Wrath world. Another came from a chat question about whether there would be any future for the Warcraft franchise after Arthas is dead. From what our bloggers have heard, there's no standing still for the franchise. Turpster says, "I think a favourite King of mine might be making a return to a Stormy City!"
WoW Insider Show, Episode 44: Live from Paris (kind of)
Excellent podcast this week, if I do say so myself. Last Saturday, right smack dab in the middle of the Worldwide Invitational, I took to the virtual airwaves with Duncor of WoW Radio, and Matthew Rossi and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli of WoW Insider, and we chatted about all of the news coming out of the Worldwide Invitational. On this show, which is now live on WoW Radio, you can hear us talk about: What Turpster is up to -- we talked live with him directly from Paris about what he thought of the convention and what he'd seen out there. The announcement of Diablo 3, and what is isn't (an MMO or a console game) All the class changes that we saw on Saturday, including Warriors' Titan's Grip, Shamans' Hex, and Warlocks' Demonform, and what they meant for each class. And finally, what Blizzard meant exactly by that little talent trees comment they threw in on one of the panels. It's a rip-roaring show, and no matter what you love to do in the World of Warcraft, Matthew, John and Duncor definitely hit on a topic that will interest you. Definitely give it a listen, and don't forget to subscribe in iTunes if you want to get the podcast sent to you automatically every week.Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to hit on any email because of all the amazing WWI news, but that's OK, because we'll just talk about twice as much of it next week. If you want to ask a question or have a comment for us, drop us a note at theshow@wow.com, and you might even hear it on next week's show. We do this every Saturday at 3:30pm over on WoW Radio, so tune in next week to hear more commentary and insight about all the news from the last week of WoW.
WoW Moviewatch: Video Games Live
If you missed the live stream of the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational closing ceremony, you'll probably be regretting it right about now. They brought back Video Games Live, a group that works with local orchestras and choirs to perform music from video games, to play a montage of Blizzard's greatest music from games such as Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, and WoW. It was so amazing that I immediately bought tickets for VGL's upcoming performance in Austin!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
