BC
Latest
Breakfast Topic: What do you expect on the 16th?
Looking forward to release day? A quick poll of the forums suggests that you wouldn't be the only one -- with plenty of players making big plans for the 16th. We've got people taking vacation days and skipping classes, but I have to wonder whether all this is worth it. After all, with so many players new and old planning on hitting up the Outland come release day, how many of you expect the realms to be stable at all, much less playable? So that's today's question -- what do you expect to see on release day? Has Blizzard done enough to lead to a smooth roll-out or are you more pessimistic of playability on the 16th?
Faience's adventures in Outland: Through the Dark Portal
Ah, Faience. A pink-haired Gnome warlock, Faience was my very first level 60 character. (And in full Nemesis, even a pink-haired Gnome can look a little intimidating.) I raided with her through Ahn'Qiraj before deciding I was exhausted of the raiding grind and re-rolled a Horde priest on another realm with the intent of playing more casually. Of course, with all of the recent warlock changes, I've got to wonder what I was thinking... Fortunately, in the Burning Crusade beta, where soling matters more to me than group utility, I've been able to dust off Faience -- renamed, uncreatively, Faiences on the beta realm -- and travel through the Outland. And, if you read on, you get to come along for the ride!
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 5
You still have 45 minutes to win a Leeroy t-shirt. Today's Countdown to Burning Crusade contest also brings you yet another chance to score a 60-day game card, and to take it home you'll have to give us the best description of World of Warcraft -- the only catch is, you only get four little words in which to do it. We've stolen borrowed the idea from our friends at Second Life Insider (you know, that other world) -- you'll have to boil down your expansive experience of WoW into a four-word extract and leave it in this thread by 3pm EST tomorrow, January 6. We'll pick the best four-word summary of World of Warcraft to win a 60-day game card. Ready? You're up!
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 3 winner
We were duly impressed by your l33t Photoshop wizardry, and would like to thank all who entered the day 3 Photoshop contest (peep the original photo here). It was a very close call, but we've chosen the winner, who will receive all three books of the original Warcraft trilogy: grats to Wraith Martinek, whose entry appears above (click the image for a full-size version). The very close runner-up is Roy Unij, whose entry is shown below. Great job, everyone -- for a look at the honorable mentions just join us after the break. As ever, don't forget to get your entries in for the three grand prize contests, and join us later today for another episode of the Countdown to Burning Crusade. Join us after the jump for the honorable mentions.
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 2 winner
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Day 2 caption contest. You made it tough to pick a winner, but the results are in -- commenter Odgit is going to take home the 60-day game card! We've listed the winner and a close runner-up below, and the honorable mentions after the break -- and a general hats off to everyone for all the great Matrix, Hitchhiker's, and Star Wars references and general pop culture pot pourri. Don't forget, you have three chances to win our grand prizes as we Countdown to Burning Crusade. Grats to Odgit for taking the prize for Day 2, you've still got plenty of time to win a Leeroy t-shirt, and join us tomorrow for Day 5 of the Countdown. Day 2 caption contest Winner: "Nerf warlocks" by Odgit Runner up: Lazor was concerned when he stumbled upon his friend getting high. by larek
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 4
Alright folks, it's that time again -- time to announce the day's Countdown to BC contest. Yesterday you were faced with the difficult task of Photoshopping this image to win the original Warcraft book trilogy (stay tuned for the winner announcement later today for day 2 and day 3 winners). Today we're going to make it easy on you again -- all you have to do is comment in this thread to win a Leeroy Jenkins t-shirt in your choice of size. You have until 3:45 pm EST tomorrow, January 5 to leave your comment, and we'll /Need roll to determine the lucky winner. On your marks... get set... go!
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 3
Welcome to day 3 of our Countdown to Burning Crusade! You have a precious short few minutes to enter the day 2 caption contest, so head over there for a chance to win a 60-day game card. For today's contest, we're going to stretch you even further -- it's going to require some Photoshop-fu (or The Gimp, or whatever you use to do that thing you do) to take home today's prize, which is the complete original Warcraft book trilogy: Day of the Dragon, Lord of the Clans and The Last Guardian. In the venerable tradition of Fark, you'll need to apply your creativity and your Photoshop skills to the above image (just right-click to download a copy). You can do whatever you like -- add caption bubbles, drop in a new background, graft on real human heads, whatever you want -- the only rule is your result cannot be NSFW. To submit your entry, send a JPG version of your image to us at countdowntobc AT wow.com, and make sure to include "Countdown day 3" in the subject. Your file size must be under 5MB and it must be received by us no later than 3:30pm EST tomorrow, Thursday January 4. We'll choose one lucky winner to receive the original Warcraft Universe trilogy and publish the best of the bunch tomorrow. Good luck![Image courtesy of Games Suche]
Nifty maps of Outland zones
Since this is the international year of the spy (2-007), and every spy needs reliable intelligence, I humbly present to you the following. Gnomeproblem.com has posted some lovely maps of 5 of the 7 Outland zones (they're missing Netherstorm and Shadowmoon Valley [thanks, Kaziel]). The maps include sub-zones, so you should have no trouble figuring out where exactly that quest secret mission is trying to send you to.In case you guys haven't noticed yet, by the way, you can now see Outland and its zones in the in-game map. I particularly like the furthest-zoomed-out map, with the demon and the white-haired guy. But what's that thing just to the left of Azeroth, with the propellor?[via Tobold's MMORPG Blog]
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 1 winner
Thanks to everybody for participating in the Countdown to BC day 1 contest. The lucky winner of one 60-day game card is commenter number 181, freehugz! Grats to freehugz (we hope it's an upgrade for you, and if you're a hunter don't let anyone else in the thread know) and condolences to all those who entered, but do not let your hearts be troubled -- in addition to today's gamecard giveaway you will have at least a couple more chances to win a 60-day time card, as well as a bunch of other prizes (you are working on your masterpiece for the grand prize contests, amirite??). So stay tuned -- we'll see you tomorrow for day 3 of Countdown to Burning Crusade!
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 2
Welcome to day 2 of our Countdown to Burning Crusade! Yesterday you got off easy with a need roll to win a 60-day game card (we'll announce the winner later today), but you'll have to work a little bit harder to take one home today -- it's a caption contest! The reader who leaves the best caption (judged by the WoW Insider staff) for the image above (click the image for a link to a full-size version) will be the lucky winner of another 60-day time card. You must post your entry by 3:30pm EST tomorrow, Wednesday January 3 to be eligible to win the caption contest. And again, no duplicate entries -- pick your best and make your comment. Let's see what you got! [Image courtesy of Warcraft Gallery]
Countdown to Burning Crusade: grand prize contests and rules
You will be able to participate in most of the Countdown to BC contests each day as they're announced, but you'll have to work a little harder to take home any of the three grand prizes. We're laying out the rules for the final three contests here so you can get your creativity on for a chance to win a Logitech G15 keyboard and a Jinx World of Warcraft hoodie, a Sennheiser PC 160 headset and mic set and a More Dots! t-shirt, or a Belkin N52 gamepad and a Green Linen t-shirt. Read on for the skinny on the three grand prize contests and get details on how to enter.
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Day 1
Welcome to our Countdown to Burning Crusade extravaganza, wherein we're giving away prizes every day until the expansion hits on January 16. Be sure to check back every day for what the day's contest and giveaway will be -- you can also subscribe to an RSS feed for contest-related entries if you like. We're kicking off with something dead easy for you: using the tried and true Need roll method, you have a chance to win a 60 day pre-paid time card just by leaving a comment in this thread during the next 24 hours (contest ends 3:01pm EST tomorrow, January 2). We'll /roll to choose the winner from the commenters below and announce the lucky player tomorrow. Of course, you must enter with a real email address so we have a method of contacting you. Any duplicate entries will be automagically disqualified, so don't even think about entering more than once, capish? Ready... set... go!
Breakfast Topic: Wishlist
2006 was a year of much change for our favorite MMO, from patch 1.9 through 2.0.1 (not to mention the BC beta). Here's a quick rundown: 1.9 saw the first world event in the form of the opening of AQ. It also contributed further to server unification by linking auction houses. Paladin talents were updated. 1.10 gave us weather effects, new Priest talents, and Tier 0.5. 1.11 introduced Naxx, keyrings, nifty Mage talents, and a global LFG channel, which was quickly patched to default to off. 1.12 had cross-realm BGs, the EPL and Silithus PvP objectives, and new Rogue talents 2.0.1, as I'm sure you all know, was the day the add-ons died, honor got completely overhauled, and we all got shiny new abilities and talents to tide us over till the expansion. What would you all like to see come to with WoW in 2007? Is the Burning Crusade giving you all your wishes, or do you have more burning desires for the game?
Burning Crusade goes gold, expected to meet January 16 release date
Tseric is confirming on the Blizzard forums that BC has already gone gold (i.e. been shipped for mass duplication -- "going gold" in the software industry doesn't refer to sales numbers as it does in the music industry), indicating that Blizzard has every expectation that the expansion will meet its planned January 16 ship date. This comes as a response to recent rumours claiming yet another delay for Burning Crusade. No more delays -- time to pen in the release date on your calendars. Can we get a /cheer up in this piece?! Speaking of January 16, here's a heads up to tune in to WoW Insider starting January 1 for our official Countdown to Burning Crusade -- every day we're going to be giving away Free StuffTM via a series of daily contests. So be sure to check in for some fun and some cool prizes, and join us to share in the excitement as we count down to BC on (confirmed!) January 16. [via Blues News]
A few BC items available now
I found out about this when I spotted a player trying to sell the Ring of Bitter Shadows in chat. I asked them where they got it, since I remembered that it was jewelcrafted, and they sent me to a vendor named Jase Farlan up at Light's Hope Chapel, who sells it for a pretty decent price, in my opinion. It looks like a few other jewelcrafting items are currently available from vendors. This includes some of the figurines -- at least Figurine - Black Pearl Panther and Figurine - Truesilver Crab. The question in my mind is whether these items will remain available post-expansion. My bet would be that they'll vanish, and this will just have been a fun little jewelcrafting preview. As far as I know, no significant crafted items are currently available from vendors, but maybe that's set to change.Additionally, new and more powerful water, food, arrows, and bullets can be bought from an orc vendor named Galgrom deep in the Caverns of Time in Tanaris. The arrows and bullets are also available from general goods vendors throughout Azeroth, and seem to be a much better deal than the water, which as far as I can tell is exclusive to Galgrom. At over 10s for one drink, I probably won't be buying the water for general use, at least not until after I get my epic mount; the ammo costs 10s for a whole stack.Have you all spotted any other BC items that have snuck in with the patch? And those of you who have tried the Filtered Draenic Water, how would you rate it? Does it make financial sense for someone with a mana pool around 6k?
.jpg.cf.jpg)
Adventures in Beta: Draenei Shaman, 6-10
I logged back into my draenei shaman where I left her -- stuck in Azure Watch, with a handful of new quests and no professions. Having already decided on jewelcrafting for my Blood Elf Paladin, I was stumped on what to give my shaman. I decided to pick up leatherworking and skinning so I could at least make some of my own armor - after all, it's not like I was out to make a ton of money on the test server. But there were no leatherworking trainers in Azure Watch (and no jewelcrafting either, which shocked me.) The local guards advised me to head to a furbolg camp in the north, filled with new allies that would be happy to teach me how to skin and make clothes.
The Burning Crusade -- you vs. your guild
New races, new (to your chosen faction) classes, 10 more levels. That's the short-form of what The Burning Crusade is going to deliver to us, come January 16th. Many guilds are focusing on the push to 70 and refining strategies for 25-man raiding. Many players are understandably eager to try out the new races and classes available to their chosen faction. Can these two goals mesh, or are we going to see a shift in the player-guild dynamic? My earliest guild wasn't started to beat endgame content. It was there for a group of people who enjoyed playing in each other's company and so that these people would have an easily accessible pool of resources for leveling and grinding up to 60. When we hit 60, the usual drama set in, as not everyone hit the level cap at the same time. Some people got bored or frustrated with the lack of progression at 60 and went off to look for raiding guilds. Others were happy just hanging out with friends, and still others were a bit upset that they were left behind and were feeling pressured to level to 60 so the guild could progress together. Now that the expansion is going to be upon us, I see the potential for the same type of splits amongst guild memberships. Some are going to want to power level to 70 to get back on the raiding wagon, while others will start fresh new characters that they hope to one day get to level 70. Then there are those people who want to savor the new content and while do a bit of leveling and a bit of playing around with the new low-level content.
.jpg.cf.jpg)
Adventures in Beta: Blood Elf Paladin, Level 1-5
Having successfully leveling my draenei shaman to 6 without breaking the beta, I decided to skip over to the other server and check out how my beloved Horde are handling their new blood elf pals. Since I had made a draenei shaman, I decided on a horde paladin -- though not without trepidation, because I might want to play one in live someday. Unfortunately, most of the blood elf faces and hairstyles scream "I would have made fun of you for playing World of Warcraft in high school!" I finally made a kind-faced, black-haired paladin and entered the new starting area. It was just as I feared. Although the blood elf area was beautiful, it was also filled with dancing, flirting Paris Hilton clones. It struck me that unlike the draenei, the blood elves were clearly a well-organized society. Their area is clean and beautiful, and whereas with the draenei you're a survivor and one of the few that can save the race, with the blood elves, you're ... just another blood elf.
Canadian billboard gets pedal-powered, shows off LED efficiency
Considering our everyone's infatuation with everything LED is fairly evident, we couldn't help but stop and stare at a Canadian billboard sporting no fewer than 1,500 LED lights, all brightly shining to spread some holiday cheer. But the method to the madness is what's important here, as this particular poster had no direct contact with an AC outlet, and reverted to getting its juice from some 120 pedal-pushing volunteers instead. The DDB/Vancouver project was lit for five consecutive days on behalf of BC Hydro, and was setup to display just how efficient LED lighting really is. According to BC Hydro, the same amount of wheel-turning energy would've only lit up 120 incandescent bulbs, which would've left Rudolph a bit dimmer than expected. The only thing missing, however, was a government-employed robot to crank out a few more miles once the humans went home for the holidays.[Via OhGizmo]
Adventures in Beta: Draenei Shaman, Level 1-5
A couple weeks ago, I won a beta key. Pleased at getting to test out the expansion content, I happily waited for my key. And waited. And waited. Finally, on Wednesday, I received my World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Beta Key and installed the expansion. Then uninstalled the expansion. Then uninstalled my regular WoW, reinstalled it without patching, installed the Burning Crusade and patched that. I saved re-patching the live WoW for later, in case I began crying. Finally, at 2:30 in the morning, I logged on and created my first character (my 60 main had yet to copy over.) Because I am lazy and want to see how the Horde and Alliance integrate their new classes, I chose to roll a draenei shaman. Also, I've never really tried to play a shaman or paladin, so it would be an experiment for me as well. I picked the "cute" draenei face, the Princess Leia buns that show off the the weird ear-tentacles draenei have, and some curly horns that looked slightly like racing stripes. And I was off!
