daniel-howell
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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 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 68: Sexy times with Hunter nerfs
Our podcast was rip-roaring this last weekend -- BigRedKitty was on board to talk Hunter nerfs with us (and talk Hunter nerfs we did -- there's a lot of Hunter talk on this show), and we also went down the upcoming changes for patch 3.0.8 (including all of those mage buffs), Turpster helped us dissect the ideas of dual specs and achievement looting, and of course as usual we answered reader emails and chatted live with everyone in the chat.The show is now right there below, and also available on the side of our site, and of course in iTunes as usual, where it's been phenomenally popular -- just the other week, we appeared on the top Games and Hobbies podcasts lists, along with tons of other great podcasts (and even some of our favorite Warcraft-related shows). We appreciate every bit of support we get over there -- if you've subscribed to get the shows weekly or have left a review (hopefully glowing, though constructive suggestions are fine as well), thanks very much.And of course we'll be back next weekend as always -- we tape the show live on Ustream every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern. Thanks for listening, 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:
WoW Insider Show live tomorrow afternoon
Our podcast is back on the virtual airwaves (and by that we mean our Ustream page) tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern, and we have the man himself, BRK, back on to talk about the biggest story of the past week: the Great Hunter Nerf of 2008. Turpster is also on with us, and we'll make sure to talk about more than Hunters -- there's news about dual specs, achievements and the rewards that come with them, and of course all of the class changes to cover.Plus, we'll be chatting live and answering emails as usual -- you can send us a note right now at theshow@wow.com. The show goes live at 3:30pm Eastern (here's a time zone converter), but I'm usually on a little while before that, playing some music and chatting with people about what's new in the World of Warcraft, so if you want to come by a little early, feel free. And if you can stay late, do that, too: the aftershow seems to get better and better every week.And of course we've placed the stream right on this post after the break again, so click the link below to head on down and meet some other listeners in the chat. See you tomorrow for the live show!
Wrath of the Lich King: Hunter roundup
So, Wrath of the Lich King is here, and it is awesome. We here at WoW Insider want to make sure you have all the tools you need to oil your guns, string your bows, and feed your pets. Let's take a moment and review all the basic sources of information you can use to help propel your level 70 Hunter into Northrend, on to level 80, and then on to greatness! GENERAL TIPS
