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WoW Insider Show Episode 102: Stupid big-tongues
We had a terrific time (as always) on the live podcast last Saturday afternoon, as Zach Yonzon, Mike "Belfaire" Sacco, and Turpster and I sat down to talk about the most popular stories in the World of Warcraft. Of course patch 3.2 was at the forefront of our minds, and we chatted about what each of us was most interested in, from the new BG to the 5-man Trial instance. And we got a little bit of discussion in about the various classes and roles they play in instances.Of course we answered your emails as well -- we talked with Michael Sacco about the "Additional instances can't be launched" issue that's going around (that I got hit with for the first time yesterday, actually), and a reader emailed us about BRK's gun -- so awesome to see our friend get recognized, and deservedly so. It was an excellent show, in my humble opinion, and a great way to squeeze a week's worth of WoW news into just one hour.This week, the podcast will be at a special time -- we'll be going live on Thursday at 1pm Eastern. That's a little earlier than we usually do it, but it should give our friends overseas a chance to tune in when they might not have been able to before (and if you can't make it live, don't worry, the recording will be in iTunes soon after). See you then!Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
Breakfast Topic: How would you be honored ingame?
Being honored ingame with an NPC or an item is, I think we can all agree, the height of player cool. Not that this will ever happen to me, mind you. Realistically, the only thing I expect to get from Blizzard is a letter bomb, or possibly a bloodstained horse head for going live with that article on the Death Grip bug, and perhaps I deserve it. To this day I feel kind of bad, or at least I do until I remember my guild leader's Death Knight sending a goblin NPC flying off the dock, and then I laugh and laugh, and realize that I am a terrible person who should probably be locked up somewhere. It's fun to wonder, though, and I've settled on two wishes. The first would be making my beloved main into a Thunder Bluff NPC among the Druid trainers, kitted in full Tier 6 with an Origin of Nightmares. She would be friend and counselor to all young Druids and full of unsolicited advice for them, most of it incorrect. The second, less dignified, and perhaps more realistic legacy I would leave to the game is a series of cow-shaped impact craters at the bottom of various Northrend cliffs and in Crystalsong under the Dalaran sewers' exit pipe, in tribute to the several falling deaths incurred while mindlessly jumping from heights without the benefit of Cold Weather Flying. Little signs could be posted below informing players of the sites' historical significance, although I'm not sure how Blizzard could squeeze the phrase "Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.........." onto the flavor text.On the chance that Blizzard ever decides to honor your august self ingame, what would you want honored and how?
BigRedKitty gets his own gun in Azeroth
We've already seen Blizzard developers give subtle, in-game nods to hard-working WoW community personalities. These special folks have gone an extra mile in helping us all feel like one big community. They help bring joy, fun, and some extra knowledge to help us all get a little more out of our game time, and they've gone a long way towards making our play a little smoother. For example, when well-known Resto4Life blogger Phaelia tapped out due to focus on family, Blizzard gave her a shout-out with the in-game item, Phaelia's Vestments of the Sprouting Seeds.It's been four months since our good friend Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell announced his own break from World of Warcraft. He's been desperately missed, and his fans created a goodbye video for him in April. It's just not the same firing off a gun or notching an arrow, without the watchful eye of BRK helping us out.Blizzard has tipped their own hat to BigRedKitty with the inclusion of the BRK-1000 in patch 3.2. It even drops from the Argent Crusade Tribute Chest, though that's probably just happy circumstance. The BRK-1000 is a fairly respectable Hunter weapon and is appropriately a gun. The very best part? It smells faintly of raspberries.[Thanks to Ken for the tip!]Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
BRK fans post a goodbye video
A little while after BigRedKitty closed shop on his blog last week, there was another post from TJ on there asking for help with a "secret project" (that lots of you let us know about -- thanks!). And now, the secret has been revealed: a few of BRK's fans have put together a goodbye video for the knowledgeable Hunter with the big red cat, and you can watch the whole thing above.Very touching, and very cool to see a community come together to thank someone who's done a lot for them. BRK also reported on his blog this week that he hasn't left Warcraft for good, but it does sound like the choice to focus on his real life and family rather than what happens in Azeroth was an excellent one. We've also heard, through the grapevine, that Blizzard may be honoring BRK in their own way in the future, much like they did with Phaelia of Resto4Life. We'll keep an eye out for nay Big Red items we may come across.
BRK taking a break from World of Warcraft
Our good friend and colleague Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell has announced on his blog that he is taking a break from World of Warcraft. He's taking time off of the game and his blog to, as he says, "rededicate myself to my family." He thanks readers for their attention and kind words, and hopes that everyone will understand his decision, as well as examine their own lives to make sure that they focus on what's most important to them.We of course wish him well -- BRK was an excellent contributor to our site and podcast, and we commend him on making the decision to do what's right for him and his family. We hope that everything turns out OK. And as many of his commenters have said, we wish him the best of luck in everything, WoW-related and otherwise.Phaelia of Resto4Life, you'll remember, also closed her blog down recently, also choosing to focus on her family (and the sapling about to grow into it). Trying to figure out a good balance between your free time and your work and family life is a tough thing -- our Azeroth Interrupted column has covered exactly that battle. And as even Blizzard says, if any other part of your life is suffering because you're choosing to play this game or be a part of this community, it's time to make a break. Raiding the wilds of Azeroth is a lot of fun, and it's possible to do it while leading a healthy life. But if that balance ever gets thrown off, it's time to take a step back and do what's right for you and those closest to you.
WoW Insider Show Episode 82: Knock it off? Get it on!
Hoo boy, what a show at our podcast on Saturday. After one of the craziest starts our show has ever had (BRK's house decided to go a little nuts right before we started), we got as professional as we could and got down to business. After answering emails (including more on why you should listen to your mother), we talked about the addon changes and how they'll affect players and developers, Blizzard's plans for a mobile authenticator, and more of the latest news out of patch 3.1. We also brainstormed new flavors for Mountain Dew, and finally, we played what everyone was waiting to hear: Turpster's new WoW Insider song.Yes, because our fans were kind enough to get 4,000 people to join in on our Facebook page, we recorded that abomination of hilarity. You can download it as an mp3 right here, for use in remixes or machinima or whatever you want to do with it, and I've posted the lyrics and liner notes after the break. Enjoy.And don't forget we're currently in a campaign for OVER 9000 Twitter followers. Join up to Twitter and follow us, and please tell your guilds and friends to do the same -- if we can meet our goal there, we'll do a live video version of the podcast that you'll be able to see right here on the site. Enjoy the show as always, and we'll see you next week.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
Spirit Beast pull toy available from BRK
Big Red Kitty may have just created the most ideal training tool for up-and-coming Hunters within an age range of "walking" to "why do you still play with toys?" If you've yearned for the elusive Spirit Beast from Sholazar, you can now own one yourself with this unique Spirit Beast pull toy. I have to admit, I didn't expect to ever see this. Now that I do, it's totally cool, and I wish I'd thought of it myself.You can order one of the "SBPTs" to either include the wheels, or leave the wheels off. Of course, without the wheels, it's not much of a pull toy, but I don't think anyone will judge your choices. Wheel-less, the silhouette would probably look good mounted.If you get the wheeled-and-ready-for-rolling version, the Spirit Beast is about 4 inches tall and 9 inches long. It's only about 40 bucks from his store. These are only available to be ordered through this upcoming weekend (March 14th). You should probably hurry if you want one.While I don't foresee myself rocking one of these in my workplace, I have a certain nephew who should expect one for Christmas. I don't know if Mr. Kitty is signing these pieces, but maybe that can happen if I ask real nicely. For my nephew, you see. He's a fan.
WoW Insider Show Episode 79: Argently competing
We had a great time as usual last weekend on the podcast -- Dan O'Halloran and BigRedKitty joined me on the WoW Insider Show, and we chatted about the most popular stories in WoW from the last week. We answered your emails, including how to fill up your guild with quality raiders and what kinds of things you can do to make leveling an alt easier (including not leveling an alt at all).And of course we talked 3.1 -- a little bit of class changes, lots of information about the new dual spec system, what the equipment manager is like (and what it can do for you), Ulduar and the bosses we've seen so far, and finally, the Argent Tournament: what we know and what we don't know just yet. And of course we updated folks on Turpster's new song (almost done, but not quite mastered yet), and on our drive to get over 9000 Twitter followers. If you aren't following us yet, head over to Twitter and hit follow so we can hit our goal and do a video podcast.Was a fun show to make, and hopefully you'll have just as much fun listening to it. We'll see you next week.Update: As promised, here's BRK's intro in mp3 form. No idea what you all wanted it for, but there you go.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[Ustream] Listen to the unedited recording in Ustream.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
WoW Insider Show live this afternoon on Ustream
Our podcast returns yet again this afternoon -- we'll be live for your listening enjoyment over on the Ustream page at 3:30pm Eastern as always. This time around, we'll be joined by our illustrious Managing Editor Dan O'Halloran, and (assuming that he's not too busy launching shuttles into space) our good friend BRK will also be making an appearance. And of course Turpster and I will be on as well -- we'll be chatting about all of the news out of patch 3.1, including the undocumented changes and the new dual spec and gear management systems in the game. And I'm sure the Argent Tournament will make an appearance as well.Whew. If you guessed it would be a busy show, you're probably right. Plus, if all goes according to plan (I know Turpster is having some issues with some of the musicians he's hired), we will hopefully have the new song all ready to play for you, as the reward for hitting 4,000 fans on our Facebook page. And don't forget that our Twitter challenge is still ongoing -- if we can get "over 9000" followers on our Twitter account, we'll do a video version of the podcast. So join Twitter (if you haven't yet) and get all of your friends to follow us as well!Should be a good time. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern, or 20:30 GMT, or whatever time that is in your neck of the woods, either over on the Ustream page or right here on the feed after the break. Talk to you then.
BigRedKitty: Trust me
Daniel Howell contributes BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the Hunter class, sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary. The announcements for Hunter-changes in 3.1 was published, but it's all rubbish and lies. Don't believe it! Seriously, who are you going to trust: Blizzard or BigRedKitty?The BRK Department of Secrets, Lies, Inane Babble, and Outrageous Shenanigans are doing the voodoo that they do so well. While Blizzard is busy filling your head with deceit and false hope, we're going to give it to you straight.We all know that Blizz has lately just been rolling a d20 for our class's specs and talents; it's either that or they're playing quarters and winning extremely frequently. But according to our spies, things are looking up! New talent points, reworked hunter-pets, and some general developer-love are on tap for us all.BM-nerf got ya down? Explosive Shot tweaking freaking you out? Non-consumable ammo just not hitting your sweet-spot? That's OK, we've got the prescription!For your reading pleasure, we present the totally true, honest to Elune, no way we'd make 'em up, Hunter Changes for 3.1.
WoW Insider Show Episode 75: The Meat of the Show
Wacky times on the podcast this past week -- along with BRK and Turpster, we were able to welcome our good friends Shawn Coons and Patrick Beja of the How I WoW podcast. They talked with us about themselves, including Shawn's recent move, and Patrick's ongoing campaign to get his parents to play videogames, and we talked a whole lot of World of Warcraft, too. We answered emails about the correct pronounciation of "Fah-jord", how Blizzard can get more players on the PTR, and what to do to get into a good guild, and during the show we broke down the latest bugfix patch, talked about the Lunar Festival (and why we weren't interested in it), a little bit about group management and how best to do it, and we ran down exactly how we WoW, too.Also, we've got some great fan audio in the show as well -- an excellent intro, and perhaps the best thing we've ever played on the song ever: a "Meat of the Show" intro by listener Sammy T. Seriously, give this thing a listen -- we played part of it during the show, but you can hear the whole thing afterwards, and it's great. If you'd like to send us an intro or just a note about something you've heard on the show or want us to answer, the email address is theshow@wow.com -- just drop an mp3 attachment in there or speak your mind, and you might hear it on next week's show.Remember, we do this live every Saturday at 3:30pm Eastern over on the Ustream page, so if you're around next Saturday, be sure to stop by and say hi. We'll see you next week -- enjoy the show.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[Ustream] Listen to the unedited recording in Ustream.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
BigRedKitty: Power Auras
Daniel Howell contributes BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the Hunter class, sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary. Since BRK Worldwide Amalgamated switched to Survivalist with the massive Beastmaster Hunter Nerf of 2009, we've started using a new addon called Power Auras. It puts pretty pictures on our GUI when conditions the user sets are met.Although the movie covers a great deal about the addon, something we didn't mention was the fact that one can export and import codes for any aura one creates. On the continued page, you'll find the codes for all seven auras we demonstrate in the movie.
BRK's top ten weird things my WoW client is doing after 3.0.8.9506 installed
10. Blizz has given up on gold-ads and just made the Launcher scan my hard drive for credit card information, charge me $10, then I receive 5000 gold in an in-game email. 9. The Frogger gauntlet in Naxx has been moved to west-door of Ogrimmar. Alliance raids going for Thrall shall be forced to go through the front door.8. The daily quest to steal 12 puppies for the walruses has been modified. We now have to hand out 12 packages of contraception to the Wolvar.7. The hunter Beastmastery tree has a new talent, "Shutdah3llup", which adjusts all damage-meter addons so that the BM hunter's numbers are always 150DPS higher than anybody else's.6. Warlocks get a new spell, "Invite2RaidPlz" which allows any warlock to transform into an Arcane-spec'd mage for five minutes
WoW Insider Show Episode 74: True opinions
Last weekend's podcast was an excellent one: Turpster and BRK were on with me, and we had a great time chatting with chatters, answering your emails, and covering the most popular posts of the past week. We answered some emails about the best Rogue spec to choose at level 35, the People in Chicago who Drink and WoW group (and don't forget to join the official WoW Insider page), and we talked about the 3.0.8 bugs and what's up with the Lunar Festival, going on all this week.And we have a great time throughout. Don't forget that we do the show live every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern, so if you're around next Saturday, be sure to join us for the live show (and when you do, you get a free aftershow with us at no extra charge). In the meantime, you can hear this past week's show by clicking any of the links below, and listening in on the media of your choice. If you have any comments or questions or want to send us an intro to play, drop us a note at theshow@wow.com.Thanks for listening as always, have a great week. Oh, and I almost forgot. Listener Traenall made this video after hearing Turpster's plans for gaining rep from the Timbermaw this week. Very funny.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[Ustream] Listen to the unedited recording in Ustream.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
BigRedKitty: Trap-Dancing
Daniel Howell contributes BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the Hunter class, sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary. Patch 3.0.8. has introduced a new term to many hunters: Trap Dancing. A mainstay of the en-vogue 2/18/51 Survivalist hunter, the concept is to keep your enemy engulfed in an Immolation Trap to provide 100% chance that Lock and Load will proc, after which the SV hunter will reap mondo-benefits. The trick is: how to stay in melee-range to trap while continuing to fire from range. This movie will give you the basics of how this is accomplished.
WoW Insider Show live tomorrow on Ustream at 3:30pm EST
(Or 20:30 GMT, or whatever time it is then where you are. We live in a global society people, it's not that hard!) Yes, our world famous podcast returns to the airwaves tomorrow, as Turpster, BRK and I will be on the Ustream channel (we've also embedded right on this post, so you can just come right back here) talking about all of the most popular stories in the last week of Warcraft. We'll definitely bring up patch 3.0.8, and talk about the Lunar Festival (which also starts tomorrow). And of course we'll answer your emails and chat live with everyone during the show and the aftershow.Don't forget, too, that we're still trying to round up some more fans on Facebook -- we've just recently topped the 3,000 mark, which means we're on the home stretch to 4,000, where Turpster says he will create a brand new song for us to play on the WoW Insider Show. So get your Facebook profile on there (or create one if you haven't yet, and then sign on as a fan), and tell your friends and guilds to get over there and become a fan of ours.The show starts up tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern, and I usually come on a little bit before then to chat with whoever shows up and play some tunes. Should be fun -- see you then.
WoW Insider Show Episode 72: Expletive included
Our podcast returned once again last Saturday, and this time we had Turpster, Adam Holisky, BigRedKitty, and myself all on and talking about the most popular posts of the past week. We covered the updated patch 3.0.8 notes and a few of the new (and old) changes therein,WoW being listed as one of the most offensive videogames, and we touched on the 45 minute time limit being placed on Arena matches, and whether it matters at all. Additionally, we answered some listener email, which includes some good hints about expertise for melee-ers and, errr, Turpster singing. Yeah.But other than that it was a great show -- you can listen in right now by following the link of your choice below, and if you're subscribed in iTunes it should be out on the feeds now. As always, if you've got questions or comments (or you'd like to record an intro of your own in mp3 and send it to us), the email address is theshow AT wow.com.Enjoy the show, and we'll be back live as always on Ustream next Saturday at 3:30pm Eastern.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[Ustream] Listen to the unedited recording in Ustream.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
WRUP: We love Food Network edition
Or, perhaps, we'd love to slaughter the Food Network. In World of Warcraft, of course. This week when I asked what everyone was up to, Daniel Howell (whom you may also know as BigRedKitty) graced us with one of his infamous top ten lists:BRK's Top Ten Things to Do in WoW This Weekend 10. Install IE 6 on a 80386 PC so I too can complain about the menus on WoW Insider. 9. Claim I'm raising money for a very reputable charity, then /ninja everything and boogie to Monte Carlos. 8. Show up buzzed to the maxx from Jolt Cola for the WoW Insider podcast, then fake a French accent and ridicule England until Turpster explodes in a profanity-laced tirade. 7. Write an interview with the farmer who leveled Mike's hunter. "You should see his bags, BRK! Nothing but flowers, rum, and non-combat cat-pets. My boss said, 'Level that toon, but then delete it from our database. Eww.'" 6. Do a video reminiscent of "The Super Fans" from SNL, but all of us are hunters. "Daaaaaa huntahs!"More silliness and WRUP for the rest of the team after the break!
BigRedKitty: Crocolisks?
Daniel Howell contributes BigRedKitty, a column with strategies, tips and tricks for and about the Hunter class, sprinkled with a healthy dose of completely improper, sometimes libelous, personal commentary. The Oracles have some nice stuff for hunters, the least of which is a pretty trinket, the Oracle Talisman of Ablution. But there's more to the Oralces than loot and a cool hipster named Lafoo. (Don't mention Moodle to us; he's a cad and very ungentlemanly.) You are invited to download the full-sized version (82MB) of this movie here.As always, a great big Thank You to the WoW Insider editors for allowing us to publish this movie both here and on our little blog at the same time! Nobody covers raid Hunters like BRK. Looking for more Hunter goodness? Check out our non-raid Hunter column, Scattered Shots or the WoW Insider Directory of Hunter Guides.
WoW Insider Show Episode 71: In da (guild) house
Quite a podcast last Saturday -- Turpster came back and BigRedKitty joined us as well, so it was a rip-roaring time. We talked about our predictions for 2009, talked once again about which reps to work towards, where WoW might get more players from, answered lots and lots of emails from listeners, and we even made plans to give away an authenticator. More about your chance to win the authenticator, how to get a brand new song from Turpster, and how to get your voice on the podcast after the break below.We do this every Saturday on Ustream at 3:30pm Eastern, and then post the results here every Monday morning, so you can listen to the show any way you'd like. It's always a great time -- as Turpster said this week, it's just like reading WoW Insider, except we do the reading for you.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[Ustream] Listen to the unedited recording in Ustream.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
