Dawn Moore

PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

The real reason I hate the Timeless Isle

I hate the Timeless Isle. I hate the lack of clear objectives. I hate the pseudo-platformer elements. I hate the pouncing tigers, stomping rock monsters, and the shield bearing Ordon yaungol (all of which have abilities I'd be perfectly happy to deal with in a dungeon but am inconvenienced by when I just want 50 Lesser Charms of Good Fortune for the week). There's also the unconventional grummle mailbox that requires two clicks instead of one, and the apocalyptic typhoon of random consumable items wrecking my bag space. But above all of those there is one thing I hate more than anything about the Timeless Isle ... The yaks.

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

The Queue: Waffles of Draenor

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Dawn Moore (@dawnwow) will be your host today. Happy New Year! I was fortunate enough to have a box of Eggo waffles in my freezer this morning when I went through yesterday's Queue looking for questions. If you didn't read yesterday's, commenter Kageokami asked ScottLeyes to spam a "Best of ScottLeyes in 2013" in the comments and he complied. I also unlocked an achievement this morning by not getting any residual syrup on my fingers in the process of eating my delicious freezer waffles. I'm not sure what the achievement is called though, as it scrolled past too quickly and I have terrible peripheral vision. Either way, it's an excellent way to start the new year. And given the title of today's Queue ... ScottLeyes asked: OK, so we need strong song suggestions for the WOW MUSICAL... I nominate: "One Night in Halfhill" (sung to "One Night In Bangkok") "Undercity Girls" (sung to Katy Perry's "California Gurls")

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Hearthstone fan sets out to craft a Hearthstone gaming box

The first time Steve watched Hearthstone's iconic in-game card box slam shut, he thought to himself "I'm going to make that!" As a hobbyist carpenter, Steve was inspired to put his woodworking skills to the test when he saw the official art of Blizzard's upcoming title, Hearthstone. Originally he set out to just recreate the box, but overtime the project has morphed into something even better. Now when the box is complete it will serve as a cabinet for a touchscreen laptop which will allow him play Hearthstone out of its own box. Did we mention it also glows? Smart Wood, Steve's blog, documents the crafting process from the first paper sketches to the nearly completed box. (And you've just got to check out the beautiful interior of the box.) He is currently in the final stages, attaching finishing touches and getting the touchscreen device mounted. When it's complete, he hopes to send it off to Blizzard to get the seal of approval from the Hearthstone Development team with some autographs.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

What race needs new character models the most?

Over the weekend at Gamescom, Game Director Tom Chilton and Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton revealed that new character models for the older races are currently in development and are about 25% done. Chilton also added that he wasn't sure if all the new models would be launched at the same time, or if Blizzard would opt to release them over several patches as they are completed. I'm in favor of the latter myself, though I can see that resulting in an unbearable amount of QQ from players whose characters didn't initially receive model updates. The whole thing makes me wonder which races are likely to get updated first. It's possible the developers will go after the most popular races first (humans and blood elves) since that will appease the largest number of people. It's also just as possible they'll work in order of which races need new models the most. That raises the question though, which race is in the most dire need of a character model update? If I had to pick one I'd probably go with dwarf, specifically the female dwarf because so few people play it. Granted, I don't think female dwarves necessarily suffer from the worst looking model, but they're somehow still one of the least popular choices among players. That alone makes me feel like the model needs some time and attention to not only update it, but to broaden its appeal somewhat. Mind you, female dwarves don't need to have the same appeal as blood elves or humans, but they certainly should have more than they currently do. Which race do you think needs a character model update the most? Tell us why.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Battlefield: Barrens ending soon

Still have shopping to do with the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster? Be sure to get it done before patch 5.4 goes live. In a forum post earlier this morning, Community Manager Crithto reminded players that the Battlefield: Barrens world event will be ending forever when the next patch is released. Crithto -- Battlefield: Barrens Ending Soon As the Orgrimmar invasion begins in 5.4, Vol'jin and his forces will move beyond gathering supplies and into a full assault on the Horde capital. This means that once the new patch goes live, the Battlefield: Barrens weekly quest will no longer be available. Those of you who have a Radical Mojo after the patch goes live will still be able to use it with existing armor tokens. However, Ravika, the Darkspear Rebellion Quartermaster, will no longer be available for purchases, but you will have a rare chance at receiving the Raptorhide Boxing Gloves and Gahz'rooki's Summoning Stone by killing the Kor'kron, and other associated mobs in Northern Barrens. source So if you were planning to buy vanity items like Xan'tish's Flute and Griftah's Authentic Troll Shoes, or wanted to earn the Darkspear Revolutionary or Hordebreaker achievements on an alt, get to work! The patch could be coming as soon as Tuesday, August 27th.

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

Breakfast Topic: What will the next WoW expansion be?

What will the next WoW expansion be? With only one major content patch left in Mists of Pandaria, and BlizzCon 2013 around the corner, it won't be long before we know what's next. But what do you think is coming? Will we be venturing into the Emerald Dream alongside Malfurion, or was Anne Stickney onto something when she speculated that the Mists of Pandaria might be our Emerald Dream expansion? What about the ongoing legendary questline with Wrathion? Wrathion has been referencing the return of the Burning Legion in much of his quest text. Does that mean demons will be descending upon Azeroth in the next expansion? Will we finally get to see Sargeras? Also, you wouldn't want to forget Queen Azshara. You would think we'd have seen her and the city Nazjatar in the Cataclysm expansion, but so far she's only made minor or indirect appearances. Azshara is the perfect accompaniment to some recent fan speculation about the naga being the next possible playable race. Unfortunately, Ghostcrawler pretty much shot that down by pointing out the naga's lack of legs would make it difficult to design armor for them. And, of course, there's always ... Trolls? Wait, really? More trolls? You wouldn't think it, but in the same interview where Ghostcrawler killed our naga dreams, he said that trolls were an option the game lore could still explore in future content. Huh ... Go figure. So, what do you think the next WoW expansion will be?

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

BlizzCon 2013 Costume Contest sign up now open

Planning to cosplay at BlizzCon 2013? Registration for the BlizzCon 2013 Costume Contest is now open. Should you wish to compete, do not delay signing up a moment longer. There are a limited number of slots (a mere 100) which will be filled first come, first serve. Be sure to read the contest rules before you sign up, though. The rules have changed over the years, making certain types of costumes ineligible for entry. There are much tighter restrictions on how big your costume can be this year, and the BlizzCon organizers would really like it if you could walk up a few stairs in the dark without assistance. After you sign up, you should receive an e-mail confirmation that your submission has been received. You won't know right away if you've secured yourself a slot, however, so just keep your fingers crossed and stay patient. And should you not get into the contest initially, there is still hope! In the months and weeks approaching the convention, some entrants may drop out of the contest and open up a slot for you. Good luck! So, any WoW Insider readers planning to cosplay at BlizzCon 2013? What are you hoping to go as? If you need some inspiration, check out some of our costume galleries from previous BlizzCons.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Preparation, Readiness, and other cooldown resetting abilities may have grim future

Classes with cooldown resetting abilities probably won't find one of Ghostcrawler's most recent tweet all that surprising. The abilities (Preparation, Readiness, etc.) have been targeted by several nerfs and changes this expansion. Ghostcrawler wrote the following in reply to a tweet that said it may be time to stop adding cooldown resetting abilities to the game if they're constantly going to be nerfed. @Divine_Namjoo We agree. I'm not sure that design angle has payed out well. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) July 16, 2013 The abilities are particularly problematic in PvP, where players can chain several attacks or crowd control abilities together within a short period of time. What do you think? Do cooldown resetting abilities belong in the game? Are they overpowered?

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

Still no spectator mode in the works for WoW arena

While there are many changes in store for the arena in patch 5.4, there are still no development plans for a spectator mode according to EU community manager, Nakatoir. The latest blue post on the matter reiterates much of what we've heard before -- that yes, a spectator mode would be awesome but would require great number of resources to develop. Thus it's not currently in the cards. Nakatoir -- Spectator mode and the esport scene in general I don't deny that getting a working spectator mode would help with community ran competitions and tournaments and it's one of the reasons that we would like to have one. Understand that this is something we know that players want and it's something that we would like to provide to you. We simply have no plans at this time to implement such a feature, but when we are able to implement this feature we'll be sure to let you know about it. source Given the incoming arena and PvP changes slated to arrive in patch 5.4, one might expect the demand for a spectator feature to increase, but who knows for sure? What do you think? Would having spectator mode increase your interest and participation in arena? Do you think the WoW eSports community would grow if there was a dedicated spectator mode like the ones found in StarCraft 2 or League of Legends?

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Buying Guides

Buying Guides By Dawn Moore

The best cloth transmogrification item ever

Today I present you with the best cloth transmog item ever: Exiled Dabbler's Gloves. What makes these gloves so special? Well, it's that they don't really look like gloves at all. They display more like a pair of bracers, so when paired with many cloth chest pieces they appear as though your character isn't wearing any gloves at all. See why they're so awesome? Few would dispute the universal appeal of having no gloves as an option. So far the Exiled Dabbler's Gloves appear to work best with any cloth chest that have a bell sleeve. Sleeveless, short sleeve, and fitted sleeve chest pieces don't seem to hide the gauntlet of the glove. Fortunately the gauntlet is quite simple in design, displaying as a black bracer with some silver detail. Coincidentally, they're a pretty close match to the ever popular Black Mageweave Leggings. According to Wowhead, these gloves are a random uncommon quality drop from the Isle of Thunder and Throne of Thunder. So if needed more incentive to keep doing dailies on the Isle of Thunder, now you have one. What do you think? Will you be chasing these down on the auction house or the Isle of Thunder? Personally I think it would be interesting to combine them with Griftah's Authentic Troll Shoes, so my character can go gloveless and shoeless.

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

Breakfast Topic: What type of character would your father play in WoW?

Happy Father's Day! In honor of the day I have a question for you: what would your father play in WoW? A rogue? A hunter? What race would he choose, and which spec would he favor? Some of you may recall I asked a similar question last month on Mother's Day, so now it's time for us to give our dads the same treatment. I myself have always thought my father would roll as a blood elf frost mage. The mage because he was a bit of a trickster and I imagine he'd get a kick out of spells like Blink and Polymorph. An elf because he always enjoyed the wise and collected demeanor of the elves in Lord of the Rings. And frost because he'd prefer PvP over PvE, and frost offers so much control and utility for that. As for my step father ... I've never so much as seen him touch a video game beyond Solitaire, so maybe he'd just play Hearthstone. Who knows? What about your fathers?

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

WoW Moviewatch: An Inconvenient Expansion

Today's machinima from Lagspike Films is one you've probably seen before. Released just a few weeks before the launch of Cataclysm, An Inconvenient Expansion brings the climate change discussion to Azeroth in a humorous way. I remember when this machinima was first released, I was suspicious that I might be watching something I would hate. I've found discussing real world issues with WoW players often ends in disaster so I was wary when I saw a character, named Al Boar, correlating the rise in global temperature to the rise in vanity pets. To my pleasant surprise though, the whole machinima never really gets too serious and the script is quite funny. Beyond that, I love the animation in this video. When things really get started I found myself impressed with a lot of little things ... From the way the grounds splits open, to the way Deathwing's silhouette perches atop a mountain. It looks great without a lot of attention being directed toward it. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Buying Guides

Buying Guides By Dawn Moore

What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune?

What's the best way to get Lesser Charms of Fortune every week? Although Blizzard recently reduced the amount of Lesser Charms of Fortune players need each week (by lowering the requirement for the weekly quest Mogu Coins of Fate from 90 charms to 50 charms) we've still got to get them somewhere. So what's the best way? Prior to patch 5.3, it seemed like everyone was swearing by pet battles. Players were claiming they'd earned hundreds to thousands of Lesser Charms just killing critters in Stormwind. A hotfix eventually nerfed the drop chance for Lesser Charms in lower level pet battles, but higher level pet battles are still rewarding charms to anyone who wants to put in the time. Is it still worth it? Patch 5.3 has also added a couple of changes to Lesser Charm collection to really mix up the equation. Level 90 creatures that are outdoors in the world now have a chance to drop Lesser Charms of Fortune, while rare spawns in Pandaria and bosses in Battlefield: Barrens are guaranteed to always drop the charms. The result of this? Hordes of players in Northern Barrens farming Lesser Charms off the new Kor'kron mobs there.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Reminder: Deadline for BlizzCon ticket information is tomorrow

For those of you planning to attend BlizzCon 2013, Blizzard has posted a friendly reminder on its community sites that ticket information needs to be finalized by Tuesday, May 14 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. That's tomorrow night, so get to it if you haven't already done so. BlizzCon Ticket Reminder: Attendee Information Deadline-May 14 If you purchased BlizzCon 2013 tickets for family or friends, just a reminder you have until next Tuesday, May 14 to enter or edit attendee information, including: The names to be printed on the badges. Battle.net account names for the pre-show online merchandise sale for BlizzCon ticket holders-more details to come. (Please note that only registered accounts will be able to access this pre-show sale.) Optional game information such as World of Warcraft character, realm, clan, and BattleTag. If this information hasn't been entered by May 14, all badges will default to the name on the purchaser's Battle.net account. Don't miss the opportunity to customize your badges! For more info, check out the Badge Information page. Head to your Order History within Battle.net account management to edit attendee information before it's too late! source This information is particularly important if you're getting your ticket through a friend or family member. If the name on your ticket does not match the name on your photo ID, you will not be able to pick up your badge on your own. That, and if you don't select your franchise preferences, you might end up with a Diablo III badge instead of a World of Warcraft one. You wouldn't want that, would you?

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Breakfast Topic: What type of character would your mother play in WoW?

Happy Mother's Day! I suspect that many WoW Insider readers are probably not mothers themselves (though surely some of you are), but I do know most of you are human, which means most of you have a mother or two. As such, I thought I'd use the day to ask this question: what would your mother play in WoW? Would she be a paladin? A warlock? Would she roll as a gnome or a tauren? What about her spec? To answer the question myself, I really had to consider all the angles. Generally I think of my mother as being very kind and nurturing, but I've also seen her stand up to people three times her size and threaten the neighborhood bullies with a gaze of death when I got picked on as a kid. All in all, I figure she's probably a druid since she's fairly attuned to nature and can make anything grow. She'd probably go main spec kitty DPS (she has her moments of being super sneaky) and restoration as her secondary spec. As for what race she'd be ... I see her more as a night elf but I know she'd pick tauren since the cows are so cute. My stepmother, on the other hand, would totally go dwarf elemental shaman. Granted, she'd probably also have four level 90 alts and a bunch of battleground achievements ... She's pretty hardcore when she gets into stuff. She's told me herself that she'd get addicted if she ever started. So, what about your mothers?

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

The useful distinction between casual and hardcore

Earlier this week, WoW Insider's Matthew Rossi argued that there is no point in distinguishing between hardcore and casual players, and that doing so actually detracts from the game. I, however, don't agree and will be presenting a counterpoint in this article. So, if you haven't read Rossi's side yet, be sure to check it out first. Now before I explain why I think the distinction between hardcore and casual is useful, I think it's necessary that we all be on the same page as far as what hardcore and casual actually are. I found Rossi's argument against the usage of these words particularly flawed because he was working around an assumed and rigid definition of what a hardcore player and a casual player are. Toward the end of his article he pointed out that the casual/hardcore metric doesn't work when you consider the various ways in which some players are engaging with the game. Not every player raids, he explained, but that doesn't mean they can't be hardcore. Now, I agree with that for the most part, but I disagree with his understanding of hardcore and casual. You see, hardcore and casual are not and have never been part of any metric. It's actually impossible for them to have ever been since the definition of casual and hardcore is subjective. Ask any two people what kind of behavior distinguishes a casual player from a hardcore player and the answer will be different in some way ... And if the definition of something varies from person to person, it can't logically be used as a standard of measurement.

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

WoW Moviewatch: If WoW Was Easy... er

Today on WoW Moviewatch, Wowcrendor presents us with a simple question: how easy do you think World of Warcraft could become? The context for this question obviously being that players are constantly complaining how easy the game has become over the years. Thoughts, anyone? Rants? Well-argued essays? Anyway, to answer the question, Wowcrendor employs his usual style wherein which Billy presents the question and Crendor responds with several, increasingly absurd answers. I won't spoil any of the jokes (though I really want that robot) so just give it a watch. I have to admit, it really is astonishing that Billy has retained his innocence and naivety over the years. You'd think after being slapped around by the harshness of reality so many times he'd have become jaded by now. But I guess he really is resilient ... Or maybe just extremely oblivious. Either way, props to you Billy. I wish I had your tenacity. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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News

News By Dawn Moore

WoW Moviewatch: Lore According to Ragnaros

Did you ever think Ragnaros might not be such a bad guy, and that maybe he's just really, really misunderstood? Probably not, but you will after you watch the latest machinima from Slightly Impressive. In the video, Ragnaros explains what actually happened in Molten Core back during vanilla WoW. He also makes a fairly good point about how we shouldn't take crazy dreams too seriously. Sound advice, seeing as I once had a dream where the WoW Insider staff tried to recreate The Empire Strikes Back. Anyway, I think this machinima shows off Griffter's strengths well. The setup and the script are genuinely funny and the voice actors execute it all perfectly. I'd actually really love to see this become a short series with a different boss each episode, provided Griff can keep the jokes fresh. Even if it stays a one-shot though, this is one of my favorites to date. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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News

News By Dawn Moore

WoW Moviewatch: Transmog Shop (NSFW)

Warning: This video is Not Safe For Work. There's some occasional cursing and Princess Theradas flaunting her Willendorfer assets for several seconds. I'm always excited to see new work from renowned machinima artist Ian Beckman. Mind you, I'm a bit biased since the two of us are acquainted (we briefly attended the same university -- he made me choke on my drink once while doing his Azerothian Super Villains Akama voice). Today's video is a parody of the song Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, featuring Wanz. The parody tells the story of a goblin on his quest to look awesome using vanilla tier gear and transmogrification. As a machinima parody the piece certainly does its job in recreating the original song and music video, but it's definitely not Beckman's best parody. The lyrics don't really capture the original, lacking both the fun humor of Macklemore's rap lyrics, and the energy and clarity of Wanz's chorus. In regards to the latter point, I think this is part to Beckman doing his best to imitate Wanz's deep vocals but not quite being suited for it. Pulling in another singer to do the part probably would have made it better. I'm probably being a bit unfair in my critique though, simply because I'm so familiar with Beckman's work. If this was produced by some no name machinima artist I'd probably be perfectly happy with it. You also have to consider what an incredibly difficult song Thrift Shop is to parody, with its many layers of instruments and vocals. Beckman certainly nails the distinct sound of the original and that's no small feat. I really do love the concept of this parody, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that Beckman might keep working on it to fine tune some of the shortcomings. As an afterthought, I have to say I enjoy how this video clip fits in with the rest of Beckman's work. He's been playing since vanilla and it's always interesting to see how that inspires his present day work, like That's the World of Warcraft That I Used To Play. Transmog Shop gives off a similar vibe to Beckman's Gotye parody, using a new WoW feature to harken back to the old. It offers a nice contrast to other popular machinima and parody artists whose works tend to only reflect the current expansion. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Icy Veins class guides given stamp of approval by top guilds, theorycrafters

The WoW community is so old and so large that there's often a dispute about where to go to get the best information about your class. In the past, Elitist Jerks was often recommended as the one-stop, hot spot, but nowadays the best class resources seem to be speckled around the web at sites like HowToPriest.com or Totem Spot. So what do you do if you want to find it all in one place? The WoW resource site Icy Veins (probably best known for their dungeon guides) is looking for an answer to that question. Earlier today Icy Veins announced that their class guides have been reviewed and approved by players from top guilds and other notable members of the community. Looking for an up-to-date elemental shaman guide? How about one that's been approved by Leeds from the guild Method? Or maybe you'd like a mistweaver monk guide checked off by DREAM Paragon monk, Unpl?

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Spiritual Guidance: Discipline and holy priest stat weights and gear in tier 15

WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy. A while back Spiritual Guidance looked at the various upgrade options for priests in patch 5.2. Today we'll be discussing which of those upgrades you want to take, depending on whether you're a discipline or holy (the weighty topic of shadow will be covered next week). Discipline priests in particular saw some big changes with the release of patch 5.2 and will want to adjust their strategy for selecting new gear from here on. Since we're already talking about disc, let's start there. Most of you probably know the basics. When gearing, don't take intellect downgrades and be sure to mostly select gear with spirit on it for mana regeneration. How much spirit do you want? There's no hard, set number to aim for; the goal is to find an amount that allows you to get through most encounters without running out of mana too early. This will be different for everyone so just go with what feels comfortable, remembering that you can always supplement a shortage of spirit with consumables (food and flasks) for fights that are more stressful on your mana pool than most others. (Rememeber that it's not necessary to gear for that one tough fight, and then be running surplus mana the rest of the time.) With that said, let's look at what has really changed: secondary stats.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

Interview: Talking Hearthstone with the developers

Want to know more about Blizzard's new digital card game, Hearthstone? During PAX East 2013, we spoke with Hearthstone Lead Designer Eric Dodds and Production Director Jason Chayes to learn some additional information about the game. During the 20-minute interview, I asked the developers several questions, some on behalf of the lore nerds, others for the collectors among us. We discussed some of the game features planned for launch, as well as the possibility of implementing e-sports capabilities later. Also touched upon were the game's visual aspects, like the art work and animated game boards. And for those of you with a history playing other strategy card games like Magic: The Gathering, I learned a bit more about Hearthstone gameplay and how the Forge works.

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Gaming By Dawn Moore

First impressions of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Yesterday at PAX East 2013, Blizzard unveiled their first free-to-play game, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The upcoming title is a digital, collectible card game akin to Magic: The Gathering Online, but designed to be easy to learn and accessible to a larger audience. The game is currently being demonstrated on the showroom floor at PAX, and I was able to play it a couple of times. When starting my first game, I expected to find Hearthstone confusing because I've never played Magic: The Gathering or any other strategy card game (e.g. Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh!) before. I am familiar with some of the terminology of MTG, having spent most of my life around hardcore players, but I don't really know the rules or how the game is played. This unfamiliarity didn't seem to get in the way of Hearthstone, though. Within two turns I understood my resource system, and how to play and use cards. By the fifth turn I felt like I understood all the basic mechanics of combat. Then, by the time my seventh turn came around, I was cursing paladins for being overpowered and itching to play another game.

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Entertainment

Entertainment By Dawn Moore

Do you dream of a World of Warcraft simulator?

Years ago, before vanilla WoW became vanilla WoW, a friend of mine made the passing comment, "If only I ran as much as my night elf. I'd be in amazing shape." I've been dreaming about a World of Warcraft simulator ever since. Mind you, I'd suffer the fate of Pheidippides if I ran a fraction of what my night elf runs (I'm a terrible long-distance runner), but I suppose that's what makes the idea of a WoW simulator so appealing. Of course you'd be awful when you first started, but over time you could expect to get better. In my overly optimistic imagination, I saw hardcore raiders becoming sculpted athletes, sprinting from left to right to avoid boss abilities. But in the absence of a holodeck or some other form of simulated reality, is a WoW simulator even feasible? I got my first look at an answer in 2010, when researchers at the USC Institute of Creative Technologies released a video demonstration of their Flexible Action and Articulate Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST). The middleware toolkit allows motion control to be integrated into games without existing motion control support, by translating gestures into mouse and keyboard inputs. In the demonstration video, a Microsoft Kinect is used to control a mage running around Dustwallow Marsh. Awesome, right?

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PC Gaming By Dawn Moore

Spiritual Guidance: Priest gear in patch 5.2 and Throne of Thunder

WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore is a discipline priest by reputation, but still enjoys melting faces as shadow and bugging her raid to click the Lightwell as holy. Priests have a tremendous amount of gear choices available to them in patch 5.2. There are several valor point options tied to the Shado-Pan Assault faction. Epics can also be obtained in a new, single player scenario, Troves of the Thunder King. And, well, obviously upgrades can be found in the latest raid instance, Throne of Thunder. To get started, let's take a look at the new tailoring gear priests can pick up. In patch 5.2, tailors have a chance to learn ilvl 522 cloth armor patterns from their daily cloth cooldown. The new crafted gear is BoE, so if you're not a tailor you may be able to purchase it from the auction house or commission it from a guildmate. These items require Imperial Silk and Haunting Spirits, though, so expect them to be costly. Head Falling Blossom Cowl (hit/mastery) 6 Imperial Silk and 8 Haunting spirit Falling Blossom Hood (spirit/mastery) 6 Imperial Silk and 8 Haunting spirit Feet Falling Blossom Treads (hit/mastery) 4 Imperial Silk and 6 Haunting spirit Falling Blossom Sandals (spirt/haste) 4 Imperial Silk and 6 Haunting spirit

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