Amanda Rivera

PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

To WoW, perchance to dream

Last night I dreamt of Mudsprocket. I was questing with one of my alts -- I assume my shadow priest, but I can't be certain because I was seeing the perspective from her eyes -- and I came across a new NPC standing next to the flight master. She was a female orc named Robin Torres, and I realized she was named after our Robin of WoW Insider fame.The dream switches to me having a discussion at a party with a friend of mine. Over drinks I mention what I found in the game and she doesn't seem the least bit surprised. "Well, Azeroth Interrupted was incredibly popular" she tells me.Now this isn't the first time I've dreamt about the game. I do so pretty much all the time. Since I play so much my unconscious mind feeds on what is on my mind at the time. What intrigued me looking back on it was my creation of my own NPC to place into the game. So I wondered what other NPCs players might like to see referenced in WoW. I know the game is riddled with references, from Caretaker Ophera Windfury to Eyonix himself. I'm interested to see what the readers would select for new NPCs to add to the game. Who would you like to meet lounging at the bar in a tavern in Howling Fjord or standing guard at the Sunwell?

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Arcane Brilliance: Speccing for AoE

Last week in the leveling 1-20 guide I promised that we would spend some time today talking about the specifics of the AoE spec here on Arcane Brilliance. AoE grinding is a skill that I have only recently put to good use, namely in my desire to raise some cash for an epic flying mount. A mage friend of mine spent some time sifting through Bangy's guide on the European Forums, and built a spec that maximizes talents for AoE grindage. He pointed me to the core talents required for the build, and explained that he routinely is able to gather large crowds and burn them down with ease. Intrigued, I tried it myself, and was surprised and happy with the results. We've been told that mages are supposed to be the kings (and queens) of AoE damage, so why not take advantage of our strengths to maximize our potential for destruction? There are several talents that are very important in this particular spec, but more interesting are those talents that can completely ruin your build. First, let's look at the talents that will help you own with AoE:

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Diamonds are a Mage's best friend

You've got your gear, you've got your enchants, but as they say you're not properly dressed unless you wear something with sparkle. This is where Andúnë's thread on the European forums comes in. He took the time to enumerate the advantages and disadvantages surrounding several of the meta gems at a Mage's disposal.Now that the Mystical Skyfire Diamond now walks with a bit of a limp, this sort of thread is an excellent reference for selecting something else to toss in your Collar of the Uber Mage. Basically the commentary goes something like this:

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Breakfast Topic: 100 useful warrior tips

There is much on the forums these days to be avoided, but luckily Grimdan's thread doesn't fall into this category. He created a topic on the European forums asking for suggestions for the 100 most useful tips for warriors. It's difficult to come up with a list of 100 on your own, but I'm sure you can think of a few.If you were a new warrior just starting out, what words of wisdom would benefit you most? Or perhaps there are warriors out there just getting into PvP, or new to raiding, or trying a new spec. You don't have to be brand new to the class to benefit from some good advice. By the same token, you don't necessarily have to be an uber leet warrior sporting Tier 6 to hand out advice to your fellow players. What one tip would you give to warriors?

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PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Happy birthday WoW, where's mah cake?

Three years ago next week, Blizzard unleashed the Massively Multiplayer Online experience that is World of Warcraft, changing online gaming forever. Since then, the throng of believers, err players, have ballooned to 9.3 million. Many of those players have loyally played the game since that chilly day in November, watching the game unfold into the semi-polished gem it is today. But with all that time spent in the game, playing since open beta, since closed beta, some even since alpha, these players are receiving no rewards for their efforts, and that, according to Causal WoW, is a shame. Veteran rewards take many shapes and sizes in MMOs today. In games such as City of Heroes, players who have stuck with the game for years receive special abilities and costumes. Not so in WoW. The thing is, yes players like playing the game, otherwise they would play something else. But we as people like to be acknowledged for sticking with it, for being there from the beginning. We love to be able to prove that we were there before all these new people flooded the market with Netherweave and Arcanite Reapers. It seems that despite the call for such a system, Blizzard has left this one out of the equation. This might be simply because there are many other vanity rewards to show off in the game, that we collectors can build a stable of non-combat pets, can grind reputation with every faction possible and ride a different epic mount every day of the week. Perhaps this is enough for us, and perhaps adding veteran rewards to the game would mean cheapening the experience. Personally, I think if you can have a title for your previous prowess in PvP, you should have a title for being a beta tester.

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Arcane Brilliance: Leveling your baby mage

It's only been a few days since Patch 2.3 was released, and you are already itching to create some new alts, aren't you? Totally understandable, lots of lower level characters are getting some love now that the experience gain has been accelerated. But seeing as how that exp boost doesn't kick in until level 20, Arcane Brilliance is here to provide you with some tips and tricks for getting your mage leveled with speed and style. Now, we've already talked about low-level gear, so let's move on to some of the more juicy parts of leveling your baby mage. So roll your new mage in your starting area of choice and meet us after the jump. For the super mage gods out there: I realize that there are plenty of ways to level a mage, but this guide is my take on the quick and dirty way to get to 20. Perhaps you did it differently, and perhaps you don't even think this worthy of a guide. But that's the lovely thing about our class: we go with what works. In my experience having leveled a couple of mages past their 20's, these tips work, and so I share them with those looking to level their mage alts. This guide is for those who are new to the class, and as such might seem elementary to you, but we all had to learn the basics as some point, right?

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News

News By Amanda Rivera

Adieu to double trapping

As Robin discussed earlier today, hunters are going through a some growing pains with the release of Patch 2.3. As with many topics that you are interested about, this sparked a discussion amongst the WoW Insider staff about the changes to trapping now that the patch is live. While some hunters lamented the loss of something called "Chain Trapping," our own beloved BRK stepped in to clarify what exactly has changed in Patch 2.3.There are three types of hunter trapping strategies that pertain to this discussion. They are:Chain Trapping: Our hunter friend drops a trap, plinks away at a mob to pull him into the trap and then runs back to drop a second trap for when the first one breaks. This strategy is excellent for keeping one mob controlled.Double Trapping: This same hunter drops his first trap and lures a monster into it. He then drops a second trap before the first breaks and draws a second mob into it, thus controlling two mobs at once.Triple Trapping: Now, if our hunter friend has taken certain Survival talents, he can also drop a third trap along with the first two to control three monsters at the same time.Chain trapping is still a viable hunter strategy even after the patch. Double and Triple trapping, however, have gone the way of parachute pants and the dodo bird. Many of us will miss the hunter's ability to control multiple mobs at once in an instance (I'm leaving kiting out of this because we're talking traps here), but I suppose the real issue was how multiple trapping was being used in PvP. In any case, now that it is gone, is the hunter class more balanced, or have they been dealt a blow that will take them a while to recover from?

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Additional Ravenholdt rep hints at more

Tipster Juro wrote in to let us know of another change that has popped up after Patch 2.3 went live. It seems that those slaying the Syndicate in Hillsbrad are receiving Raveholdt faction. Excited about the prospects of additional quests I ran on up to Ravenholdt Manor with my rogue only to find that I was out of luck.But allowing other classes access to the reputation in conjunction with the new Syndicate rep indicates that more is on the way. What could it be? I am thinking that the story of Ravenholdt will likely be continued in the months leading up to the release of WotLK. It makes sense when you think about it, since Dalaran will be lifting off, as it were, to have an update of the area much like we've recently seen in Dustwallow Marsh. I also remember Chris Metzen mentioning something at BlizzCon about Garona Halforcen and how they would like her to have a role in the next expansion, possibly as a partner for Thrall. Since she was last seen ingame during the closed beta at Ravenholdt Manor, it would therefore make sense that the mother of all assassins would usher in a continuation of the Ravenholdt mysteries. In any case, I know a couple of my characters are going to work on grinding Ravenholdt rep, just in case.[thanks Juro!]

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Don't name the baby Thrall

WoW is a phenomenon that extends beyond the virtual world and into our everyday lives. An excellent example of this is Bunnypasta's recent forum post. She asked players for suggestions of WoW-related names for her as-yet unborn bundle of joy.This isn't the first time I have heard of something like this. In fact, one of my former guildies recently had a child, and gave the little girl the middle name of his best-friend's character. Now I'm not sure that carrying around the name of a rogue will influence her personality, come to think of it.

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Breakfast Topic: Does WoW ever make you feel old?

So much has changed in the game of late. The acceleration to experience has some grumbling "I remember when you had to grind your levels," a la Grandpa Simpson. In fact, for those who have been playing the game for a couple of years, nostalgia not only kicks in, but a little dementia as well. The_ivorytower recently posted on the WoW LJ about this very topic, about all those moments that add up in WoW to just make you feel just plain old.Among the things she brings up are those times in long past when spells like Consecration and Evocation were talents. Or how about the Unending Breath that never actually ended, allowing the Undead to sit underwater untouchable by their opponents? She mentions also Mor'Ladim and his insane aggro radius; he would basically run straight at you once you set foot in Raven Hill. And the Sons of Arugal that would descend in a pack to pick your bones clean in Silverpine before you even knew they were there.Because this game has changed so very much since launch, often times you can date yourself from the elements you remember before they were removed. Plains Running anyone?

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Gifts from the Patch 2.3 fairy

I, like so many others, eagerly logged in to the game last night to survey all the new goodies brought by the Patch 2.3 fairy. Many things were not a surprise, if only because we've been reporting so assiduously on what was coming here on Wow Insider, coupled with the fact that I spent a little time on the PTR myself nosing around. A few things though changed without any formal announcement, and it's these little gems that make patch day a true joy.First I noticed the changes to the mail system. You can now attach up to seven items to a mail message, making my use of the CT Mail Mod obsolete. Also, when you hover over the mail icon now, it tells you who has sent you that letter waiting for you in the mailbox. I know the new hover icons with NPCs were already on the PTR, but their addition to the game makes navigating cities a delight. Each icon tells you instantly who has a quest, who can repair, and who just wants to chat.

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PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Official Zul'Aman trailer

With the release of Patch 2.3, Blizzard brought us a new instance, Zul'Aman. As with the release of the Black Temple, Blizzard put together a trailer introducing the instance that gives us some background on exactly why Zul'jin is so very cranky these days.Now I don't know about you, but I was personally a little confused as to why Zul'jin, a guy that's pretty much a god amongst trolls, would all of a sudden turn against the Horde. As it turns out, having to saw your own arm off will do that to a troll.

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PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Where did you get your WoW name?

Ippy on LJ has been thinking names of late. He asked for people to tell him how they came up with the names for their characters. Coming up with a character name is always a challenge for me. It's not that I don't have ideas, it's just that for the most part, when I start a new alt, they are a blank slate on that character selection screen, and I find it hard to pigeon-hole someone I barely know with a name that might only allow them to play a certain way or take certain talents.As it turns out, there are all kinds of places that players get their names, from mythology to foreign languages to household pets. I currently tend to use two different types of naming conventions. I have those boring character names I have been toting from game to game with me over the years, and I have the "I should so name a druid Roflmeow" inspiration moments. Yes, I can be silly too on occasion.In any case, I extend this question to you, the reader. Where do you glean your inspiration for naming your characters? Or are you the brave type to choose names from the randomizer and have done with?

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Level 1-60 in less than 6 days

So, as we all wait for the servers to come up, let's talk leveling a bit, shall we? I know what I will do when I first log in: switch over to my little shadow priest and check out the changes to the increased leveling exp. It's high time she left the 40's, don't you think?Now a couple weeks ago I started a little experiment to see fast it took to level before and after the patch. I didn't get far -- I blame NaNoWriMo -- but luckily I wasn't the only one with this idea. Agent of Shattered Hand recently finished leveling a character from 1-60 on the PTR. So exactly how long did it take? In the end his /played was a 5 days, 5 hours. He did a few things differently than we would have to prove exactly how improved the experience gains really are. For instance he logged his character out without using inns in order to minimize the amount of rested XP he received, presumably so that the experiment would run mostly using normal experience as a condition.

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Xbox

Xbox By Amanda Rivera

Arcane Brilliance: Gears of War, part 3

As it turns out, there's a whole heap of great items out there for leveling mages. There's so very much available that sometimes it's hard to pick and choose what to look for at any given level. That's where we come in. The last couple of weeks we've been doing the research so you don't have to, coming up with suggestions for items that will help you in your quest for magey world domination. As the levels get higher, the situation with mage gear gets more complicated. While on the one hand more options are open to you, selecting between those options becomes more important, as this is gear you will wear longer. Simply put, since it takes longer to level between levels 40 and 60 than it does to level between 20 and 40, the gear matters more. It's at this point in the game that you want to start looking into getting some lower level enchants on your gear to give you the best possible performance out of your armor. If you happen to have trained in enchanting along with your tailoring, then you're ahead of the game.

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PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Breakfast Topic: Dustwallow, the new STV

Dvons of WoW Ladies brought up an interesting point the other day. For those who play on PvP servers, Dustwallow Marsh is looking to be the new gank-a-palooza zone after Patch 2.3. Players in their 30s will now have a second quest hub to work through, although I don't know how much different a swamp really is from a jungle in terms of terrain. Less trolls perhaps, but still a lot of water, a lot of trees, and a lot of crocolisks.When I got a chance to hop on in to the PTR and try the new marsh on for size, I was delighted. Once again, I feel like I have been given a zone back. Not only will we finally get a chance to continue quest lines that have dropped by the wayside, there are entire new ones that absolutely rock. I won't tell you much, but there's a certain large fish, and some cannons, and suddenly Nat Pagle is asking you to do completely wrong things with fish bait. Dustwallow is no longer "that zone I travel through on my way to the Barrens." It only makes sense that the place will be flooded with people trying to get their quests done. I personally don't play on a PvP server, unless you count that belf mage I made on a whim, but I imagine that the craziness in the next couple of weeks will eventually die down as people speed through the levels toward 60. Or perhaps the marsh will become everyone's favorite contested zone. Either way, bring extra socks. That's what they always say when you're preparing for battle in the swamps.

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News

News By Amanda Rivera

A new class, why not a new race?

The DK is coming in WotLK, adding another class to the mix along with the concept of Hero Classes. In a forum post yesterday players voiced their desire to play new races in addition to having access to the Death Knight class. Looking at it logically, it only makes sense that since the first expansion brought us two new races we would see new classes in the next one. It's like a new-content see-saw. But some of us don't look at things logically, and I can totally understand this too. I mean, yes I want to play nymphs and Pandaren and Worgen. I would also like to have a viable MageTank set that gives me enough armor to stand up against Illidan. Oh, oh and infinite mana. And a pony. It simply isn't going to happen.My concern is not that we aren't getting new races. I am worried that adding only one class will toss things out of whack. When TBC was announced, they let us know that the Horde would be able to play paladins, and so for balance they added shaman to the Alliance side. Balance is the key word here. When we have Death Knights added to the game, there will be only one Hero Class, albeit available to both factions. I get the feeling that this will throw off the balance more than they realize. Not so much because there will be another tanking class, but more because Blizzard cannot anticipate how players will actually play the character. Sure it's a tanking class, but if players start using it as a DPS class despite the best intentions of the devs, things could go badly.Considering the magic-centric storylines in Northrend, I would feel more comfortable if they added the Archmage along with the Death Knight. Adding the Archmage would allow players to play a mage of any race, opening up a whole new world of role play possibilities. Or how about the Demon Hunter? With so much going on in Outland, couldn't we use an anti-Illidan to clean house, so-to-speak? What do you think? Is Blizzard making a mistake by adding only one class into the game?

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Wintersaber rep guide

The folks over at Ten Ton Hammer have released a reputation guide focusing on getting yourself a Wintersaber. While this is nothing new to the game, I was thinking about all those new players that have joined the fold in recent years. Perhaps you haven't gotten a chance to experience some of the older rep grinds. For those of us who have been playing for a while and are fond of prestige mounts, you might remember the Wintersaber fondly. Good news is that the reputation with Wintersaber Riders is being revamped on Tuesday, so it will be easier to try your hand at getting yourself a big white (or are they purple?) kitty.At its essence the Wintersaber is another Alliance epic mount, attainable as a faction reward from doing quests for the Wintersaber Riders in Winterspring. Yes, people actually used to go to Winterspring for something other than Mountain Silversage and the Midsummer Fire Festival. The Ten Ton guide gives you nice simple tips for how to get to exalted so that you too can ride the winter(saber.)

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PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Updating the graphics of WoW

The times they are a changin'. If you've ogled the latest WotLK screenshots as much as I have, then you'll notice that the art department at Blizzard has been pushing the envelope style-wise of late. It seems that since TBC the graphics in WoW have gotten not just better, but measurably more detailed and stylistic. Each new instance, area, race -- heck, even the new weapons added to the game -- they all just get more interesting and creative as time goes on. I am continually amazed at what these artists do with 1000 polygons. Some players are asking about updating the older models in the game to reflect the updated style evidenced in the newer content. Anyone who's run Old Hillsbrad can see exactly how far we've come from the WoW original models, and some would like to be able to have new choices as we progress into WotLK. Drysc reminds us, though, that some people are very attached to their character's physical appearance. Some players have been with those characters since 2004. To change their faces would be like giving a friend plastic surgery. Or what about body types? Would you feel that you were playing the same character if there was suddenly a major change to their physique?Personally, I am eager for the hairstyle changes coming in the expansion. I don't feel like my character needs a new face perse, but the difference between a Blood Elf or Draenei hairstyle and a human one is pretty drastic. I actually considered rerolling my main character because the new races just look a whole lot cooler than she does. Faces though, I'm not sure. How would you react if Blizz changed the models, or gave you more choices?

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Arena talent guide for baby mages

Shaan on the European forums has taken the time to write out a guide to building a mage Arena spec. Although the guide itself is not new, the information within it is still extremely valuable. Now, while PvP pros out there probably know all this information, this is the sort of post that gives me the massive amount of information I need as an Arena beginner. Think of the thread as a spec buffet, only each dish is laid out with pros, cons, and a rating on a scale between 1 and 10. Shaan not only talks about PvP builds in the thread, he also gives some pretty sound advice for those of us new to Arena battles. For example, he suggests using rank 1 spells for many of the standard mage actions: Polymorph, Frost Nova, rank 1 Frostbolt and rank 1Cone of Cold keybound for kiting. Yes yes, I realize that you've already got a 1800 rating and this is all baby stuff to you, but there are plenty of us out there that simply need direction when it comes to the Arena, myself included. It's a good enough guide that Salthem recently added it to the useful mage sticky thread, which is how I found this gem of a guide. Do you have any suggestions to add to the guide now that Patch 2.3 is changing things up a bit?

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TV & Movies

TV & Movies By Amanda Rivera

Warcraft the TV show

I'm sure that many of us would like to have more WoW time in our day. That's the reason I started reading WoW Insider, so that I would be able to be as close to the game I love while I was doing the annoying part -- working to pay for my subscription and the utility bills that run my computer. Now this doesn't mean I spend the majority of my day perusing the latest theorycraft threads trying to figure out the best spell rotation for a 5v5 arena battle versus one warrior, two shammies, a priest and a rogue. What it does mean, however, is that I look for interesting ways to tap into WoW when I am not able to log in.So when Ray tipped us off that there was a new Justin.TV channel where I could watch someone level a character all the way to 70, I wasn't all that surprised. Sure it might sound a little strange to watch someone else play, but really, don't we do this all the time in real life? I know I have more than once sat down to watch another person run an instance I wasn't a part of. That's how I experienced the Sunken Temple for the first time. WoW Adventures runs without a specific schedule, so you will have to catch it when it's playing. I assume this is because Gelu Nex enjoys sleeping and eating on occasion, and I suspect might also need to do the annoying work part. If you would like to watch someone else play the game when you aren't able to, stop by WoW Adventures and perhaps we can nail down exactly how long it takes to get to 70.[thanks Ray!]

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Mysterious Mysteries: What's that NPC about?

Recently on an research mission in Dun Morogh (read starting yet another alt) I came across Father Gavin, an elderly gentleman standing in the Dwarven starting area with a pleasant enough expression on his mustachioed face. What makes Father Gavin so very intriguing is not what we know about him -- he wears the tabard of the Argent Dawn, and I must assume is the Dwarves first introduction to the human race in Azeroth -- but what we don't know about him, which is just about everything else. Looking this fellow up on WoW Wiki yeilds little more than a description of his location, because, really well, there's no quest line connected to him. There are a couple NPCs out there who seem to be disconnected from society in a way Tabatha the recluse could never hope to be. How about my favorite Wetlands cipher Terl Arakor? According to WoW Head he was supposed to be a vendor, but his only use these days appears to be keeping his wagon from rolling away and providing the Horde with an easy source of wool cloth. Was he once a sheep perhaps?There are stories out there for these people, but we can't seem to find them. What exactly is the story behind Jane and Nova (besides the obvious Final Fantasy 7 reference) trying to wake their father on the shores of Eversong Woods? Perhaps he was on a bender, and will wake up with a Thrall-sized headache just about the time the Sunwell raid instance opens. Have you seen any NPCs that seemed to have a name, seemed to have been meant to be linked to quests that no one is able to get?

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PC Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Series 1 Warcraft action figures on sale

WorldofWarcraft.com yesterday announced that the Series 1 World of Warcraft Action Figures are now in stores and ready to fill up your Christmas shopping list. Series 1, created by DC Unlimited, currently has five figures in it, and they are exquisite in their detail. These are high quality babies with multiple points of articulation, and I know I am definitely going to want to get me a set. Comic book stores across the country currently have them in stock and ready to take home, or if you prefer, stop by your local Toy-R-Us. I did a little web digging and found that they are also available on ToysRUs.com for about $12.00, although they are listed as a Pre-Order item still, so you might have to wait a couple of weeks on an Internet purchase.

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

Will merging servers help low pop realms?

When the subject of low population realms comes up, some people suggest the ultimate way to fix the problem is to merge servers. On the surface it looks like the perfect solution. If you have two servers struggling with low populations, mixing them together would create one medium population server. Problem solved. Not really.Coriel on Blessing of Kings mentions that the real problem isn't simply the low population, it's also player retention. Hardcore gamers leave the low population realms to go where they can achieve their goals, namely raiding end-game content (I would also add high -level PvP to this.) Simply having more bodies to a server won't keep that player there. Coriel's analogy of server buckets with holes is a valid one. The only thing that keeps a hardcore player on a server is a guild (or arena team) that can get them where they need to go. The guild is the plug that keeps the leaky bucket full.

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Gaming By Amanda Rivera

March of the loot cards

We've heard for a while now about the new TCG loot items coming into the game. Upper Deck today made a formal announcement about the three loot cards available with the March of the Legion set soon to be released. It only makes sense that we talk about these. When you hear about any new battle you're about to fight, your first inclination is to find out what items you'll receive. Let's take a look at our loots, shall we?The first Legion Loot card available with March of the Legion is the Paper Airplane. This is exactly as much fun as it sounds. The code is turned in for the paper airplane manual, an on-use item that creates either paper zeppelins or paper gyrocopters. It's a 50/50 chance which one you'll get. What's the point of these? Why paper airplane fights of course! Throw them at your friends, and best of all, since you can keep several in your bag at once, you can throw a bunch at once and no one will suspect a thing until they see them soaring through the air.

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