Sarah Pine

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Stories By Sarah Pine

  • Hearthstone hits 20 million registered players

    Blizzard hit a milestone recently with the free-to-play digital card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft breaking 20 million registered players. For scale, that's double the number of players WoW had at its peak during Wrath of the Lich King in 2010. The most amazing thing about that is Hearthstone has yet to release on all intended platforms: Android tablet, Android phone, and iOS phone versions are still forthcoming. All in all, the registration numbers indicate that there is very widespread interest in Hearthstone indeed, and for good reason. It's a ton of fun to play!

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  • Lords of War part 3: Durotan

    Hot on the heels of Lords of War: Grommash Hellscream, comes the story of Thrall's father, Durotan of the Frostwolves, along with somewhat of a change of pace. As with the previous two installments of the series, part three begins with Maraad and Varian conversing over a tactical map, deliberating on how to handle the Iron Horde threat. Maraad assures Varian that not all orcs are monsters, and tells the tale of Durotan, who braved the harsh winter of Frostfire Ridge alone, without his clan, in an attempt to save his mother. His efforts exacted a harsh toll, a lesson Durotan has never forgotten. Check out Lords of War Part One: Kargath, and Lords of War Part Two: Grommash Hellscream. The series still has one more episode remaining, and we look forward to its completion!

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  • Alterac Brew Pup 40% off this week

    Pet collectors, if you've been waffling over whether or not to pick up the adorable, fuzzy Alterac Brew Pup, this might be the week to do it. This shaggy little critter will not only keep you warm during the cold, mountainous nights, it will carry your beer for you, too. A dwarf's (or pandaren's) best friend, truly. The Alterac Brew Pup will be available for 40% off until September 6th, 2014. Get 'em while they're hot, and while the beer is cold.

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  • Warlords of Draenor: Tanaan stress test today at 3:00 p.m. Pacific

    If you've got the free time and access to the Warlords beta, consider lending a hand to the development team and joining the Tanaan Jungle stress test, today, September 10th, at 3:00 pm Pacific time. The level 100 realms will be turned off for the duration of the test, and the Blues are encouraging us all to create new level 90s in order to test the server load on the Tanaan Jungle introductory quests. This is an important aspect of Warlords of Draenor, particularly because everyone will have to do these quests at the beginning of the expansion. The more accurate data Blizzard has on what their servers can handle, the better they can make the early expansion experience for all of us.

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  • The Undermine Journal returns

    Back in July, we reported on the sad news that The Undermine Journal, long a staple resource for WoW's Auction House enthusiasts, was closing down. In their corresponding blog post, they did mention that if they were working on an Undermine Journal 2.0, and hoped to have it up and running eventually. That eventuality became reality earlier this week, when The Undermine Journal reopened it's doors. The new site is still a work in progress--there's no EU support yet, for example--but they plan on having that ready to go by the time patch 6.0 arrives, so never fear. I'm sure that news of The Undermine Journal's rebirth will be happily received by many, and may all of your auctions always be profitable. Welcome back!

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  • Warlords of Draenor: Getting resources for your Garrison

    ​ The player's Garrison is one of the central features of Warlords of Draenor, coming with its own special Hearthstone, and in many ways taking the place of a faction hub. Depending on what kind of structures you choose to build in your Garrison, you can have your own crafting centers, bank access, auction house, PvP center, and more. However, to build any of them, you need resources. In fact, to do just about anything with your Garrison you need resources. You need them for buildings, for crafting, and in order to send your followers on missions. So, just how do you get Garrison Resources? Well, I'm glad you asked. There are a variety of ways to earn your Garrison Resources in Warlords of Draenor, some easier than others.

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  • Lords of War Part Two: Grommash Hellscream

    The second installment of Blizzards animated short series Lords of War debuted today, shedding more background on the leader of the Iron Horde: Grommash Hellscream. There's not doubt that Grommash is a pivotal figure in the upcoming expansion, with his son, Garrosh, having been a central figure in the Mists of Pandaria. Like the previous installment of Lords of War, the new episode opens with Maraad urging Varian to take the offensive and march through the new Dark Portal to face the Iron Horde head on. He then goes on to tell the tale of the events that earned Grommash the undying loyalty of his Warsong clan and how he, against incredible odds, bested the ogre nations united against him. We also get a glimpse of Grommash's mate, Golka, and her fate at the hands of the retaliating ogres. Check out Lords of War Part Two: Grommash, and learn more about the senior Hellscream, and what makes him who he is.

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  • Warlords of Draenor: No more Tier vendors

    One of the more irritating and frustrating aspects of winning Tier loot from bosses is having to take the token to a vendor in order to actually get the piece of armor you won. Nowadays it's rare for me to equip a piece as soon as I get it, unless it's a truly huge upgrade, but I still find it annoying to have to take a token to a vendor in order to get the actual piece of gear. In addition, as a druid, there are four versions of everything available for each token, and scrolling through page after page of nearly-identically named armor pieces makes my eyes cross. Minor complaints, really, but nonetheless the following announcement by Lead Game Designer Ion Hazzikostas, aka Watcher, on Twitter really made my day: @RhoWoW @MeaganTC They will work that way in Warlords. No more vendors - you can get your set piece on the spot. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) September 1, 2014 This is a fantastic quality of life change for raiders. No more running to vendors and no more waiting to get your new piece of Tier gear. I'd say "no more accidentally buying the wrong piece" with your token too, but in Warlords, your primary stats will auto-change when you shift specs anyway, so that's no big deal. In any case, this new system will be more convenient for players, and I'm certainly thankful for that!

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  • Warlords of Draenor: Tank changes

    Technical Game Designer Chadd Nervig, aka Celestalon, has been answering some inquiries on Twitter lately, and hinted at a few of the changes we can look forward to with tanking. It seems all tanks are up for tweaks, in some fairly overarching ways. .@abcart311 All tanks. Current plans: Tweak the design of Resolve. Lower tank health. Lower tank mitigation. Lower boss damage. - Celestalon (@Celestalon) August 29, 2014 If you're not familiar with Resolve, it's essentially what Vengeance has become in Warlords of Draenor, albeit with some changes. Currently, Resolve improves self-healing and absorbs done by the tank to the tank and partially converts mastery to attack power. How it will be further tweaked in Warlords remains to be seen, but the overall change itself should help tanks be tanks without overshadowing the DPS. The rest of the tweet is much more intriguing, but does fit with the overall theme of scaling down we're seeing in Warlords. Lowering tank health and mitigation seems risky, but if boss damage is also reduced, then it shouldn't be a problem. For a long time, Blizzard has made noises about how they wanted to slow down the pace of boss fights, especially in the final tiers of an expansion. Damage that's less devastating, healing that is slower pace and choices that are more meaningful. To me, these changes read as being in line with that philosophy. I will be interested to see them implemented, and how they affect gameplay in the beta.

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  • Diablo Season 1 launches Friday, August 29

    The first Diablo III Season is scheduled to launch this coming Friday, August 29. If you're not familiar with the concept of Diablo III Seasons, it's a system designed to encourage rolling new characters and tackling specific types of challenges in the game. Season challenges include Conquests, accomplishments similar to Achievements but often more difficult in nature and only able to be completed by a Seasonal hero. There are also a new set of leaderboards documenting Seasonal heroes' accomplishments throughout the Season, as well as special gear and transmog rewards for participants. You can learn more about the first Diablo III Season in Blizzard's Patch 2.1.0 previews. Good luck to all the participating players!

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  • Rob Kazinsky says Azeroth sets "exceed every expectation"

    Warcraft move actor Rob Kazinsky talked a bit with website zap2it about his impressions of the movie's set, at it's all positive. He gave a glowing review of the interiors, saying that they "were some of the most amazing grandiose things I've ever seen in my entire life." Kazinsky asserted that it was clear the Warcraft team "spared no expense on quality, on building things to be representative of the game and of the highest realism." He explains that there were plenty of green-screens in filming as well, and that plenty of the creatures involved absolutely needed to be digitally rendered, and couldn't be done with makeup. That probably comes as no surprise to those of us who play the game--it would be pretty tough to create a flying dragon outside of a computer! It's good news to hear about how excited Kazinsky is about the Warcraft movie project. He was once an avid WoW player himself, and I'm sure it was a real thrill to be part of the project. Many of us are eagerly awaiting the film's release, so it's good to know that the people involved share our enthusiasm.

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  • Amazon acquires Twitch for $970 million

    Today Emmett Shear, the CEO of Twitch.tv, announced that Twitch has been acquired by Amazon. In his letter, Shear explained that they went with Amazon in the end because "they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster." We'll see what kind of changes this development brings to our favorite streaming service, and hopefully they will all be welcome ones. Amazon's interest in the streaming platform initially came as somewhat of a surprise, considering that initial reports cited Google's Youtube division as potentially interested in purchasing Twitch.

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  • Warlords of Draenor: The Drake Collector achievement (updated)

    If you want dragon mounts, WoW is choc full of them. There are all kinds of dragon mounts, including one from four of the five main Dragonflights, the conspicuous gap in the collection, of course, being and Emerald drake. Now, if you're like me, you've been dreaming of a green dragon mount since you knew dragon mounts were a thing. Thus far, us green drake mount enthusiasts have been left out in the cold. Until Warlords of Draenor, at least, it seems. Feedback welcome. pic.twitter.com/2wec2C6I7q - Jonathan LeCraft (@TheCrafticus) August 20, 2014 On Tuesday, Senior Game Designer Jonathan LeCraft tweeted the above image--a meta-achievement called "The Drake Collector," the reward for which is a coveted Emerald Drake. The meta itself is surprisingly comprehensive. In addition having to collect all of the drakes from the other dragonflights, it also requires the rare and difficult-to-obtain Onyxian Drake, Blazing Drake, and Sandstone Drake. Honestly, I'm surprised at how tough the requirements are for this achievement, particularly the inclusion of the Blazing Drake. The Onyxian Drake might have a lower drop rate, but getting to Onyxia is a lot easier than getting to Deathwing. Though, you could always amass a horde of gold and haunt the Black Market Auction House instead. Both drakes are known to appear there from time to time for a whopping 100,000+ gold. Oh, and I suppose it's time to go level my alchemist. If you've got a particularly strong opinion on this meta-achievement one way or another, be sure to let Jonathan know via twitter or the official forums. His tweet did ask for feedback, after all! Update: I somehow missed the tweet yesterday that clarified that the Sandstone Drake part of this meta will be replaced with the Purple Netherwing Drake for quality of life purposes. In my opinion, this is a nice change and will make the collection aspect significantly more straightforward!

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  • Breakfast Topic: Old school questing

    In the WoD beta, if you choose to put a Barn on the first available medium plot in your Garrison, as I did circa level 92, you immediately receive a quest from the NPCs there to head to Nagrand and trap an animal. So off I went, west out of Shadowmoon Valley, through Taladar and toward Nagrand, seeking my quarry. This was a mistake. All roads in Taladar lead to Shattrath, and Shattrath is under siege by both level 100 Iron Horde soldiers and demons of the Shadow Council. If you try to run south around Shattrath, you'll end up in Auchindoun, also overrun by Shadow Council demons and a load of other nasties who are way above level 92. Once you've finally made it into Nagrand, you'll discover that it's a level 98-100 zone. Oops. After many deaths in Nagrand, I finally managed to successfully trap a clefthoof and returned, bruised, battered, but at least triumphant, to my Garrison, where I vowed never to set foot in Nagrand again for at least another five levels, Barn resources be damned. Upon reciting my tale of woe to sympathetic colleague Liz Harper--who went through the same thing when she too chose to put a Barn in her Garrison--I realized that I felt almost like I was picking up my swim form quest in Moonglade as a level 16 night elf druid, only to find that half of the amulet I needed was off the coast of Westfall. I had the same sense of apprehension about the unknown zones I had to head through, frustration when I found I wasn't quite up to the task, and eventual elation as I managed to finish the quest anyway. I thought, "Would I want this kind of questing experience to be a regular WoW feature again?" Is the fist-pumping moment of triumph worth the reckless blundering through two zones full of red-leveled, hostile mobs? Honestly, I'm not sure. What about you? Would you be eager to rise to the challenge, or frustrated to be handed a task so far beyond your current means? How old-school do you want to go?

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  • Five days to qualify for the North American Arena Tournament

    The deadline is fast approaching for those PvP enthusiasts who wish to take part in the North American Arena Tournament. This competition will determine who goes on to represent North America in the WoW Arena World Championship at BlizzCon 2014. To qualify, teams must have an individual 3v3 Arena rating of at least 2,500 on the live realms by 10:00 am PDT on Monday, August 25th. The tournament itself will use a double-elimination format to determine the top three teams from North America, who will then move on to the competition at BlizzCon. The total purse for this year's event is an impressive US$250,000, with a winners' share of US$120,000. Not bad at all! Good luck to all those who are working to qualify!

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  • Warlords of Draenor beta: Play with the blues August 21

    For those in the Warlords of Draenor beta, this coming Thursday you'll have the opportunity to potentially test directly with some Blizzard Blues. From 3:00 to 5:00 pm PDT on Thursday, August 21, members of Blizzard's Development team, Community team, Quality Assurance, and Customer Service will be available on both the PvP and PvE level 100 premade realms to test 3v3 Arena matches and 5-person dungeon groups. Depending on faction, you'll be able to identify Blizzard representatives by their guild tag: <Blizzard Horde> or <Blizzard Alliance>. The event will be a great way to test out some dungeons and arenas while mingling with both your fellow WoW players and creators. If you can make it, I'm sure the event will be worth your while!

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  • Warlords of Draenor: Final boss revealed

    In his interview with Vanion.eu at this year's Gamescom, Tom Chilton has revealed the identity of the final boss for Warlords of Draenor. Watch the embedded video to hear it from Chilton himself (this spoiler begins at 11:00), or click on to read about it behind the cut. You ready for some spoilers? Okay!

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  • Another still from Warlords cinematic released

    Blizzard has released another still from their upcoming Warlords of Draenor cinematic trailer. Like yesterday's release, it features Grommash Hellscream, but this time we're up close and personal. This is one ominous-looking orc. It also seems like there are some sort of rockets or artillery going off behind him--tools of the Iron Horde? I guess we'll find out when the full cinematic is released tomorrow. Click the image above for the full resolution version. Also, Grom? Dang, you need a new facial cleanser. Whatever you're using now isn't doing anything for your pores.

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  • Warlords of Draenor: Transmoggable farm implements

    Our friends over at Wowhead have uncovered a new feature in Warlords of Draenor that should make dedicated transmog enthusiasts very happy--transmoggable farm weapons. These include a Garden Hoe, Garden Shovel, Garden Pitchfork, Garden Scythe, and Garden Sickle. The Garden Hoe and Garden Sickle are classified as one-hand maces, all the rest are two-hand staves. They are vendor items sold by the NPCs around your Garrison's Herb Garden, and the cost is surprisingly steep--2,375 gold plus 500 Draenic Seeds for the one-handers, and 4,750 gold plus 1,000 Draenic Seeds for the two-handers. Draenic Seeds can be either grown in your Garrison's Herb Garden, or farmed out in the world by Herbalists. If you've ever dreamed of an amazing farmer transmog, these weapons are sure to complete the look along with the Red Lumberjack Shirt and the Blue Overalls--for clothies, at least. Who'd have thought that a warlock could look so convincingly nurturing?

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  • Warlords of Draenor: The Iron Horde invasion, Alliance edition

    One of the newer additions to the Warlords of Draenor beta is the Iron Horde invasion of the Blasted Lands. I'm a bit unsure as to whether this is a permanent change or if this is a testing phase for a temporary event, but the new flight point makes me lean toward permanent. You can grab the breadcrumb quest into this series from the Hero's Call Board in Stormwind, where you are told that Vindicator Maraad awaits you in the Blasted Lands. There's a convenient portal right next to the board so you can just hop on in and head over to the new quests. Beyond this point lie some fairly hefty spoilers for the early part of Warlords of Draenor, so if you're trying to avoid those, pass this article by!

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  • Anzu cosplay takes first prize at China Joy

    The annual China Digital Entertainment Expo, also known as China Joy, is known for its cosplay, and for Blizzard Entertainment's cosplay contest. This year's winner was Zhang Lu, a well-known China Joy cosplayer who has placed in the contest before. Her winning costume is pictured above, an incredible, intricate Raven Lord Anzu. Lu created the costume herself, carving and painting each piece. As part of her prize, she and the runner up Xu Rujunn will be flown to BlizzCon later this year to stand on stage. It's an honor well-earned, because this costume is simply stunning. You can check out more pictures of the costume plus Lu's creation process over here--it's all in Chinese, but the pictures speak for themselves.

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  • World of Warcraft's 10th anniversary preview

    Ten years is a long time. Ten years ago, in 2004, I was 20 years old and entering my third semester of college--also entangled in endless piles of paperwork while I prepared to spend a year studying at the University of New South Wales in Sydney for the calender year 2005. Ten years ago, in November 2004, World of Warcraft officially launched. The mark that WoW has left on the gaming industry is indisputable--but we're not here for musing retrospectives. At least, not yet. We're here because there's going to be a whole bunch of fun in-game events to celebrate WoW's first decade of existence, and Blizzard has given us a lovely preview of what at least a few of them are.

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  • Warlords of Draenor: Updates to Darkmoon Faire

    The Darkmoon Faire has come to the beta servers, and with it, a bunch of updates and additions including games, pets, and vanity items. There are new ways to earn Darkmoon tickets, new ways to spend them, and new discoveries to be made on the mysterious Darkmoon Island. Our friends over at Wowhead have tested out the new games, and they seem like a ton of fun. The first is the Firebird's Challenge, where you have to fly through rings of fire in the air. If you miss, you lose the debuff that keeps you aloft. There are a series of achievements for staying aloft, and earning the last and most difficult of them rewards you with the Blazing Wings, a vanity item that gives you a pair of fiery but non-functional wings for an hour. The second game is a racing game around the island, with a series of quests to go with it. You have to make it to certain markers along the western part of the Faire, while zeppelins shoot at you to slow you down. There are a number of power-ups to be had along the way, from simple sprint shoes to a sack of bunnies that will distract a zeppelin from shooting at you. In addition, there is a new pet trainer--Cristoph VonFeasal--and a new pet you can win in the bag of goodies you get for defeating him. There are a bunch of new vanity items, including both skirt- and pants-set versions of NPC clothing items found only in Gilneas. Sadly, these clothing items are white-quality, which means they cannot be transmogged. Finally, there are, as ever, a whole set of new epic-quality Darkmoon deck trinkets--the Iron Deck, Moon Deck, Visions Deck, and War Deck--which I'm sure will be hot commodities come WoD. I'm glad to see the Faire getting an update, it's one of my favorite regular events, and new things to do there are always welcome.

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  • Breakfast Topic: No two birds are not on fire

    The above screenshot stands, to me, as the funniest one I have ever taken. Eagle-eyed readers might recognize the location as the flight tower in Nethergarde Keep, with some colorful flames added to make the Blasted Lands extra unappealing. Without spoiling things too much, the flaming flight tower is part of a series of introductory quests in Warlords of Draenor. Apparently those poor gryphons still haven't got the memo that they are literally on fire. They're just hanging out in their straw beds, cool as cucumbers, while they presumably burn to death in the onslaught. What's the use in having the power of flight if you won't even use it to not be on fire? I have seen many odd and interesting things in my time in the World of Warcraft, but I think that this one right here takes the cake--so far at least. I mean, who knows what Warlords of Draenor has in store? What are your best, most bizarre moments in WoW, and what would it take to top them?

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  • Spend your gold to get the Alliance Chopper in Warlords

    In a move that will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, the losing bike design from Azeroth Choppers will in fact be added to the game. Currently, the winning Horde-themed bike will be given, for free, to any account that logs into the game before September 30th. The Alliance bike, however, will be added to the game sometime after the launch of Warlords of Draenor, and be available for in-game purchase. Blizzard is being coy on the subject of cost, but their article emphasizes that it will cost "a pretty hefty sum of gold," so if you want it, best start saving now.

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  • The battle for Warsong Gulch continues in Wowcraft

    CarBot's latest Wowcraft episode continues to focus on our Horde and Alliance friends as they battle for the flags of Warsong Gulch. This episode pokes fun at lots of the typical mechanics and behavior you'll see in a battleground--the spring boots, the rez timer, and of course those infuriating, blinking mages. The game's still afoot, however, and despite the ominious (for the Alliance, anyway) ending to this short, nobody's yet won. We'll see how things continue in part four!

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  • Warlords of Draenor: New blood elf models delayed

    In a quick announcement over Twitter, Blizzard Senior Art Director Chris Robinson has confirmed that updated blood elf models will not be ready in time for the launch of Warlords of Draenor. Blood elves are indeed scheduled for an update just like all the player character models, but they will now be scheduled for addition into Warlords post-launch; perhaps along side another content patch. Robinson did quickly add that the new troll models are still scheduled to be in place at Warlord's launch, and we can expect to see an Artcraft preview of them as early as next week. As we near the end of development, it's become apparent that the new Blood Elf models won't be finished to meet our standards before launch. - Chris G. Robinson (@artofcgrobinson) July 30, 2014 As unfortunate as it is that the blood elves are being delayed, I think it's understandable. As far as the older models go, the blood elves have held up rather well. There are other player character models in far more need of updating, so if something had to be pushed back, it's no surprise that it's the blood elves. Then again, blood elves are one of the most popular choices for player characters, so I'm sure there will be at least a bit of disappointment surrounding the decision. Never fear, though, we will get new versions of our favorite mana addicts soon enough, and until then, I'm on pins and needles to see the new trolls. Will my hunter finally be able to blink? I certainly hope so!

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