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Patch 3.3.3: Account changes for Murkimus
Gladiators, rejoice! Or at least those of you that participated in the 2009 Arena Tournament -- Murkimus, gladiator murloc extraordinaire has been changed as of today's patch. The pet, which was previously only available on whatever character you used the code with, will now apply to your entire Battle.net account. So if you claimed your Murkimus on one character, be prepared to receive a surprise in the mail on your other characters when you log in. Watch your fingers, that spear is sharp. Here's the full announcement: Bashiok With the release of patch 3.3.3 those who received the Murkimus pet for their participation in the 2009 Arena Tournament will notice that the pet is being changed to apply to their entire Battle.net account and all associated World of Warcraft licenses. If you previously claimed a Murkimus code for one character on an account this change will mean that all characters on that account, as well as characters on any other World of Warcraft licenses registered to the same Battle.net account, will receive a Murkimus in their in-game mailboxes. With this change you'll finally be able to play any of your characters, stand up defiantly, and exclaim "I'm Murkimus!" source So Gladiators, enjoy your pet -- on whatever character you'd like. I'll be over here, wishing I'd participated in it!
Blizzard ponders merits of licensing Battle.net to third parties
We've spent quite a bit of time with the new and improved Battle.net, both in the StarCraft 2 beta and on its lonesome. It seems like it wouldn't be a bad platform for other, non-Blizzard games. The Escapist asked Blizzard VP Rob Pardo at GDC last week about just such a possibility. "It's something that we've definitely always talked about," Pardo told The Escapist. "The problem for us is that it takes a lot of work from our other teams. Every time we have the discussion, we try to figure out what's going to happen if let's say a Blizzard game was coming out and a third party game was coming out at the same time. Could we be agnostic in that way? Could we offer the same level of support that we offer our games to third parties? We just never know. It just seems like a big job for us." It's certainly an interesting question, one which we'd say begs comparison to other digital distribution platforms like Steam. The two aren't identical by any stretch, but in essence both deliver content. We'd say emulating Steam and its competitors certainly wouldn't be the worst first step in making Battle.net a viable service for third parties.
BlizzCon attendees getting StarCraft 2 beta invites 'possibly within the next two weeks'
Apparently, not everyone who received one of those fancy voucher codes from BlizzCon 2008 was accepted into the first wave of invites for StarCraft 2. A Blizzard representative explained on the Battle.net forums that "due to the sheer number of BlizzCon attendees, we could not get everyone in with the first wave." That being said, you might want to reconsider dropping $300 on one of those vouchers. The poster confirmed that these neglected BlizzCon attendees "will be included in a future wave, possibly within the next two weeks." We're hoping the wave isn't restricted to just this group of globetrotters, and that us plebes can get our hands on the highly sought-after strategy title as well. [Via Big Download]
Battle.net preview: Real ID
There is a Battle.net preview up at the official StarCraft II site. While much of it talks of the integration of the StarCraft with the new Battle.net, including new mod functionality and better matchmaking, it also discusses something that affects WoW players: Real ID. Blizzard mentioned this new cross-game social aspect of Bnet at last year's BlizzCon. Real ID is an optional system for chatting with and keeping track of "real life" friends in any Battle.net game. You invite friends with your Real ID. If they accept, you can find out what game they are playing and on what realm and character. You can also chat across realms or games. You won't have to remember the usernames of your Real ID friends and family, because you will see their real names on the interface. And you will also be able to broadcast messages to all on your Real ID friends list, rather than just chatting one at a time. I cannot wait for this to be implemented for WoW accounts. I would love to be able to chat with my friends who are scattered across many realms and who defect to play StarCraft. I really think this is great for more hardcore players (I'll be on my Alliance alt until you Hordies can get your act together for the raid) or very casual, chatty altoholics. Will you use the Real ID system?
Blizzard shines the spotlight on account security
At least judging by the number of emails we've been getting about them, WoW scams have never been more popular than they are now. So I'm very happy to see that Blizzard has launched a new Account Security section on their Battle.net site, featuring tips on how to keep your Battle.net account safe. A lot of it is common sense - things like using an authenticator (which also gets you a nifty Corehound pet), not giving your account name/password to anyone (even if they say they're a Blizzard employee), and keeping up-to-date browser software and anti-virus on your computer. It never hurts to reiterate these things, though; many accounts get compromised every day through not observing these rules.
Blizzard giving serious consideration to mandatory authenticators
WoW.com has learned through trusted sources close to the situation that Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making authenticators mandatory on all accounts. According to our sources, while this policy has not been implemented yet and the details are not finalized, it is a virtually forgone conclusion that it will happen. This response is a direct effort to stop the massive number of compromised accounts by gold sellers and keyloggers. The seriousness of the situation with compromised accounts has reached such a level that wait times for item and character restoration are entirely unacceptable, even to Blizzard executives. Blizzard has taken other internal measures to deal with long wait times of people in account restoration queues, and we'll be covering those measures tomorrow. However, with the inclusion of mandatory authenticators, this should solve a major problem for Blizzard's support and account administration teams.
The Queue: Wherein we are aghast
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Oh ho, what is this? Another edition of The Queue, approximately one day after the one before it? How unexpected! Who knew that daily features could be so... daily? I, for one, am shocked. And perhaps a little appalled. Tori asked... "What do you think will happen with the Undead after the Lich King is defeated? I realize for gameplay purposes they won't suddenly disappear from the Horde, but from a lore view Sylvanas' entire grudge against Arthas was most of the reason for using the Horde as a means to her end. Plus after all the Wrath Gate drama... it just seems as though the Forsaken should almost be their own faction or something."
Dungeon Finder tricks and tips
When we last talked about this on the podcast, I said we'd basically have to wait and see how it all worked, but now that players have had their hands on the Dungeon Finder out on the live realms for a while, they're learning a few more tricks and tips about how to use it. As Rohan brings up over on the WoW Ladies LJ, it's easy enough to keep a good player once you've found them through the system: as long as none of you drop group once you're done with an instance, you can go back in and run as many as you want. Unfortunately, you can't friend them yet (hopefully that will show up whenever Battle.net functionality does), but the comments on that post point out that if you both sign up for an unpopular instance at the same time, chances are good you'll end up in the same group together (of course, that requires coordination, but maybe you can set up a time out of game). More tips and tricks for the new system after the break.
How reputation governs the game
Ravius over at Kill Ten Rats ruminates on the importance of reputation in these very social games that we're playing with each other, and it resonated with me in terms of a few different things going on in World of Warcraft right now. We've talked lots before about ninjas and how that back-and-forth works -- in that case, karma is directly driven by what other people think of you, and of course that's seen more weakly in lots of other places around the game, including guild recruitment, your friends list, and just the general server at large. Ravius talks mostly about the negative reputations we earn, and certainly that's a powerful motivator for a lot of people. But positive reputation is also a strong force in this game -- I'm interested to see how we deal with earning and keeping positive reputation in the new Dungeon Finder and eventually the Battle.net system. Gone may be the days when you build up a good reputation by saying "remember me if you need a good DPS" at the end of a run. It'll be interesting to see what methods we replace that one with.
Create a Battle.net account, or don't play anymore
Wondering why you can't log into the game? Mr. Chilly knows why. It's because you spurned him. He was ready to be your bestest bud, and look what you did. You missed the deadline to get Mr. Chilly express-delivered to your mailbox by merging your WoW account into a Battle.net account. You had all the time in the world. You made Mr. Chilly cry. And now you can't even log in! Serves you right! Well, it's way too late to reconcile with Mr. Chilly, but you can at least get back into the game if you go and create a Battle.net account now. Remember that, aside from being forced to do it now anyway, this also conveniently organizes all of your Blizzard game accounts into one place, lets you re-download any game for which you lost the CDs, and, uh, has a neat menu, I guess. Just go do it so you can play. Your mother and I are very disappointed in you.
Last day for non-Battle.net accounts to log on
Okay, guys. You've had plenty of time to do it, and now the countdown's just about over. As of tomorrow, only Battle.net accounts will be able to log into the game. If you merge your account before the deadline, you get Mr. Chilly, the adorable penguin pet, but if you do it after the deadline, all you get is a permeating sense of failure. Just go and merge your account(s) while you're on your break and reading this! It takes almost no time, the process is painless, and you get a small flightless bird that serves no useful purpose. If you don't take care of it now, don't say we didn't warn you when you log in tomorrow and you're spending an extended amount of time with Roary McFrostwyrm. We're not legally liable for the damage that might cause. We've done our part. The rest is up to you. The account management page is over here. For those of you who've already merged your account, just read the next post. Don't stare. These guys were just busy, that's all.
Incoming newbies, but why?
I think this is an interesting post by Grancran over on the official forums. We've already talked about how Blizzard is revamping the newbie experience in upcoming releases (including the next patch and the expansion), but he wants to know: for whom? Sure, there are going to be lots and lots of people going through the starting experience again when the expansion rolls around, both because of the new class combinations and the new races, but all of those people have already played the game. Why update a tutorial system when the majority of gamers have already played WoW? It's an interesting question. Neth answers pretty tamely, saying that we were all noobs at one point, and that they want to make the starting areas as welcome as possible. But the question remains: is Blizzard expecting an influx of new players at some point in the future?
Friendly reminder from WoW.com: Convert to Battle.net now!
In two weeks time, on November 11 (November 12th for EU folks), all World of Warcraft players will be required to have a Battle.net account in order to access the game. The reminder has been counting down on the game's log-in screen for the past week, urging players to create an account on Battle.net merge it with their World of Warcraft accounts, with the promise of a cute little penguin to sweeten the deal. As if the threat of being unable to play the game weren't enough. Blizzard has big plans for their new Battle.net upgrade, which they announced during BlizzCon 2009, and the mandatory merge works towards their long-term goals for all their games. Exciting features such as cross-realm, cross-faction, and even cross-game chat will be part of the new Battle.net, which some people have pointed out is reminiscent of XBox LIVE. Of course, we at WoW.com are dedicated to making sure you make the merge because aside from wanting our readers to cozy up to monochromatic, flightless birds, having them locked out from the game we talk about on the site all the time is kind of a lose-lose situation for everybody. So hey, two weeks to go. Merge that baby.
The best of WoW.com: October 13-20, 2009
It's that magical time of year in Azeroth -- pumpkins adorn the inns, players are chowing down on candy like crazy, and a deep rhyming voice echoes throughout the world, originating from somewhere in the Scarlet Monastery. Yes, it's the in-game Hallow's End holiday again, and the Headless Horseman is terrorizing newbies and veterans alike. Head past the break for all the information you need about trick-or-treating your way through Azeroth.
Mr. Chilly is in the mail on Battle.net accounts
You have until November 11th to switch your account to Battle.net, but the penguin pets are already in-game. I converted my account when I was first able to (which has had its ups and downs) and I logged on this afternoon to find Mr. Chilly in my mailbox on all characters. Like most Blizzard promotional pets, they are Bind on Account and sent to every character you have on every realm. They are also collectible, in that they don't disappear from your inventory after you "learn" them. So, if you have already switched to Battle.net, log in and pick up your new little penguin buddy.
The pros and cons of Battle.net
Well it's finally happened -- as of next month, you'll be required to have a Battle.net login to get into the game, so you might as well head over and merge your account up right now. It's not like we have a choice in the matter any more, but that doesn't mean lots of players still have apprehensions about the process. Naissa puts some of the concerns together clearly over on her blog -- putting all of her accounts under one username scares her, and that's a legit point. Not only can Blizzard presumably cut access to all of their games for just one (or even one false positive) ToS violation, but presumably, one hacker could now gain access to all of your Blizzard games with one hack. The online profile is another concern -- Bungie already has something like this running with Halo, and from my online profile, you can see clearly just how bad I am. With the Armory, there's a level of anonymity (you can't see your account name, just character names), but if Blizzard starts posting profiles under account names -- or even worse, "Real IDs," which are apparently real names -- that's one more layer of separation lost. Surely, they'll have to have a way to opt out of that.Of course, the changeover isn't all bad.
EU Battle.net problems
Many folks this afternoon playing on EU servers have tipped us to the issues going on with Battle.net. It seems that they are unable to logon, with all accounts being stuck on the "Connecting" phase. This is really bad timing for this to be happening, as it was just announced yesterday that on November 11th in the US and November 12th in the EU all accounts will have to be converted to Battle.net accounts. Many people are concerned that these problems will persist through the conversion, although it's important to remember that these issues have existed before Battle.net came about as well.There has not been any official word from Blizzard on today's EU problems, but that hopefully be coming along shortly -- along with an idea of when it all will be fixed.
Breakfast Topic: The great Battle.net merge
It was announced yesterday that Battle.net accounts would be mandatory for us World of Warcraft players. I'm not sure if November 11th is supposed to coincide with a patch drop or anything (unlikely). It's been a pain in the derriere (that's French for ass) for GMs to unmerge compromised accounts. A common tactic hackers like to use is to commandeer a WoW account and merge it with their own Battle.net account. It's not something that can be easily undone. Of course, an announcement like this comes with all sorts of complaints. I've perused the forums on the topic and checked out some of the comments when we announced it here. Here's a few common reasons players are against it. Just for kicks, I've offered some solutions!
Battle.net accounts required by November 11th
As of November 11, players will no longer be able to log in with non-Battle.net accounts. If you haven't merged your World of Warcraft account with a Battle.net account yet, you better do it soon! As a bonus incentive, players who do merge their accounts will receive Oswald the penguin! Those who already have merged their accounts need not worry as they will also get Oswald. Players that were involved with the Wrath beta may remember receiving one of these in the mail except he was known as Mr. Chilly then. I'm sure Oswald will make an excellent companion to Pengu (another penguin pet). Receiving Oswald is going to be a limited time offer. Blizzard hasn't officially announced a date yet, but they do plan on removing the ability to get him at some point. Of course, not being allowed access into the game might be incentive enough to begin the account merging process! For additional information, check out the Battle.net account FAQ, Instructions on creating a Battle.net account, a video tutorial on how to convert your account, or just make your account a Battle.net account now (US) (EU).Note: There is a blue post saying November 12th, and the in-game announcement saying November 11th. If appears that EU players need to convert by the 12th, and NA/US players need to convert by the 11th. But be on the safe side and just convert your account now.
The Queue: Prelude to drunken frivolity edition
Welcome to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Allison Robert is your hostess today.I think the title is fairly self-explanatory, n'est-ce pas?Radioted asks...With the recent implementation of faction change thinning the walls between Horde and Alliance all the more, has there been any talking bubbling up of implementing cross-faction mail, even if only fore stuff like heirlooms?Battle.net 2.0 will allow cross-faction chat, but we haven't heard anything concrete concerning cross-faction mail. Wryxian has mentioned that it's something they'd like to do, however. Heirloom items do transfer with your character if you switch them from Horde to Alliance and vice versa, and right now that's the only way to get an heirloom to your cross-faction toons.
