Tuesday Morning Post: Premature Patching edition
I honestly did not think there would be any story this week bigger than the microtransactional action of the Blizzard Pet Store (and it's totally going to ruin the game you guys, seriously), but apparently I thought too soon. This very night, as I write this, the servers are in chaotic disarray at the premature issuance of what appears to be a minor patch (sorry, it's not Patch 3.3), causing many people to be completely unable to log into the game. It has been sorted out as of this writing, or should be by the time the servers are back up this morning. Still, I know it soured a lot of people's gaming plans for the night. Oh well, that's what Dragon Age is for, I say.
In the meantime, if you're stuck waiting for the servers to come back up and you don't have access to Dragon Age, might I suggest catching up on your WoW news reading? Here's a selection of stuff from the past 7 days or so:
Hot News and Features
Hungry for expansion news? Check out this roadmap for Cataclysm Zone Overhauls, as well as this more comprehensive list of what we know about the old world Cataclysm overhauls.
There's also more guild leveling news from the Russian E3, IgroMir.
But seriously, screw the pet store, the best new WoW pet is obviously the PuG pug.
Warning! Major spoilers ahead. There's been some very interesting sound files found in some of the latest Patch 3.3 PTR files.
The Patch 3.3 PTR notes have received a few updates. Here's one, and here's the latest.
Tirion Fordring answers your questions in the latest Ask a Faction Leader.
Meet everyone's "favorite" horse, Invicible, now appearing in Patch 3.3 as a flying mount.
Class News and Guides
Encrypted Text helps you level your rogue through Outland.
Scattered Shots covers Outland leveling for hunters.
Shifting Perspectives reflects on being a reluctant battleground healer.
Here's some thoughts on getting hit in the face for warriors.
The official Tier 10 previews have been updated with priest and paladin, and finally, with Shamans.
Items, Dungeons, Professions, PvP, and More
If you have a bunch of gold burning a hole in your pocket, Haris Pilton has a bag for you come Patch 3.3.
Here's a deeper look at the Patch 3.3 PTR quest tracking feature.
Still not sold on the Patch 3.3 random dungeon feature? Would a handy dandy buff convince you?
Blood Sport continues to sort through the Patch 3.3 changes as they affect the arena.
The Art of War(craft) has an absolute beginner's guide to Warsong Gulch.
The Blues say they're happy with Hallow's End's randomness.
WoW Rookie helps you find some rookie addons.
The Stone Keeper Shard collection buff will be tied to your realm for purposes of the random cross-server PuG mechanism.
Ready Check talks raid coaching.
Odds and Ends
Sad news for machinima fans: plans for a BLIND sequel are on indefinite hold.
Print Warcraft is now selling custom posters of your WoW character.
Curse client v4 is now in open Beta.
The Guild is up to episode 9 of season 3.
The WoW 5th Anniversary Sweepstakes is on.
The Mainstream Media is finally starting to notice the malignancy of gamer-focused malware.
Amazon is listing the release date for the Cataclysm novel as August 2010. I'm honestly calling placeholder on that, for the record.
The delays and roadblocks for WoW China may be the result of government turf wars, says the New York Times.
