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UPDATED: Season 5 FAQ
Just like that, Arena Season 5 sprang upon Wrath of the Lich King. Even though Blizzard already made the announcement, it still feels kind of sudden. If Season 5 caught you with your pants down (we really hope not), then let's get you up to speed with what's happening in the latest and (hopefully) the greatest Arena season yet. Here's a quick FAQ about the new Arena Season 5.NOTE: Most of these answers are based on information taken from the Patch 3.0.8 PTR, such as gear availability and ratings requirements. If the items don't show up when servers go live today, this post will be updated when they finally do.At what level can I join Arenas?You can enter Arena skirmishes at any level, with brackets at Level 71-75 and 76-80. However, only Level 70 and Level 80 players may participate in rated Arena matches, acquire personal and team ratings, and earn Arena Points to purchase Arena gear. Only Level 80 players are eligible for end-of-season rewards such as titles and possible new 310% speed flying mounts, although none have been announced or found in the data files as of this writing.
A look at hiring mercenaries in EVE Online
The galactic setting of EVE Online is always buzzing with conflict, somewhere. The game is very PvP-centric, although not all players have an interest in the violent side of EVE. That's all fine and good, even those who concentrate on industry (EVE's take on the crafting system) have a powerful weapon at their disposal to fend off, or spark, hostilities from other players -- their in-game currrency. The power of the Inter Stellar Kredit (ISK) makes many things possible in EVE, and there are a number of mercenary corporations active in the game that are willing to kill or die for you, for the right price. While many players are aware that mercs can be contracted for industrial warfare, to force retractions of war declarations from aggressors, to secure territory, and complete a wide range of objectives for their clients, the protocols involved with making this happen are less transparent. That's where the Guide to Hiring Mercenaries comes in, written by Alekseyev Karrde, founder and CEO of the mercenary corp Noir.
CCP Games launches EVElopedia beta
As anyone who's ever tried to use EVE Online's item database knows, it's woefully out of date. Given the complexity of EVE, and the fact that the collective knowledge of the players is a resource unto itself, the developers announced they would create a sort of Wikipedia for EVE.This player resource, dubbed the "EVElopedia", would also be available via EVE Online's in-game web browser, as confirmed in July. Indeed, CCP Games is putting more emphasis on making EVE into a game that's better integrated with the web and social networking in general. What we didn't know, however, was when this would actually start to happen. At least, not until today. EVE developer "CCP VonSometime" announced this afternoon that a beta version of the EVElopedia is live, and already has over 6000 pages of content. The official EVE wiki is still in its infancy, but already it's looking to be a useful resource that EVE players didn't have before (beyond combing the forums.) Have a look at the EVElopedia and see for yourself. Or, in the words of CCP VonSometime, "Go forth, explore, and grow the EVE universe. Your community awaits it."
Wrath of the Lich King 101
The much-anticipated Wrath of the Lich King expansion has arrived for World of Warcraft, and may well be one of the most popular expansions we've ever seen in the MMO industry. That said, WoW players may find themselves a bit overwhelmed by their unfamiliar surroundings. Fortunately, our friends over at our sister site WoW Insider have been tearing into WotLK, and put together a series of guides called "Wrath 101." The WoW Insider guides will give you an in-depth look at the Wrath expansion's geography, and help you to find your way around. We've rounded up the entire guide series and assembled them for you here. Enjoy, and keep watching Massively for our ongoing news and features focusing on the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Wrath 101: How to get to Northrend and where to go once you're thereHow do I get to Northrend? For Alliance, head to the northernmost dock at Stormwind Harbor to get to Borean Tundra or take the boat out of Menethil Harbor in the Wetlands to be dropped off in Howling Fjord. Wrath 101: Level 70 PvP gearIf you were looking forward to getting gear upgrades through Honor at Level 70 when Wrath of the Lich King finally arrives in a few days, you probably shouldn't hold your breath. I know I advised doing a lot of PvP, but I meant that you should be keeping all that Honor for Level 80 rewards. Wrath 101: Getting from Borean Tundra to Howling Fjord and vice versaOne of the questions frequently asked is which zone will you be leveling in first? A large majority of players will pick Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord. Why not both? Wrath 101: Alliance flight paths in Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, and DragonblightWe'll all be storming the (figurative) gates of Northrend, in one of two zones: Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord. The zones are pretty large, but fortunately, they're replete with flight paths. Wrath 101: Horde flight paths in Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, and DragonblightPreviously, we covered the Alliance flight paths of the first three zones in Northrend. Now it's the Horde's turn.
EVE University explains benefits of cooperative mining
Dee Carson is a Director at EVE University, a corporation in EVE Online devoted to showing newer players the ropes of the game. Budding industry-types in EVE (as well as players interested in other professions) will want to refer to Carson's recent post at the Miner with Fangs blog -- he's made his 'EVE University Co-Operative Mining Guide' available as a pdf, and is definitely worth a read.The guide walks a newer player through all aspects of mining in groups, from the skills required to the different ship choices and their relative merits. Most importantly, he lays out why players should mine cooperatively rather than it simply being a solo pursuit, namely that it's more profitable and adds a social dynamic to the activity. Of course there's safety in numbers, particularly when you've got a good mix of the different professions in EVE represented in the operation -- an ideal operation being comprised of miners, haulers, salvagers and 'top cover' damage dealers. Given that the guide was originally intended for EVE University students, the terminology and information imparted in the guide are accessible to most any pilot in the game, regardless of their familiarity with the industry side of EVE Online. It serves as an excellent introduction to the mining profession, and a stepping stone to more advanced guides like Halada's 'The Complete Mining Guide'. You can find the link to EVE University's guide in Carson's post over at Miner with Fangs.
Patch 3.0.2 primer for Holy Paladins
This was supposed to go up before the servers did, but as you probably already know, Patch 3.0.2 wasn't quite what we all expected. Now that servers are starting to go back up online, I can better write up this handy guide for the brave new world. Let's try to get as much of this right as possible. If you were as excited as I am -- and you should be -- you probably logged on as soon as your Realm went up, picked out all those cool talents you've been drooling over these past months, and went off reveling in your newfound power.Good for you. Even though Patch 3.0.2 had a few hiccups, most of the important class changes made it through. I had to delete a lot of my macros and change a few. For one thing, Judgement and a Seal can no longer be cast within the same macro. This is because Seals aren't consumed by Judgements anymore, so they now share the same GCD. If you have macros for your Blessings of Freedom, Protection, and Sacrifice, you should edit them to cast Hands instead of Blessings. Lots of little things. I'll probably talk about that in The Light and How to Swing It. For now, we'll take a look at the talent trees and how we'll settle into the 3.0.2 world.
Patch 3.0.2 primer for Warlocks part II
DemonologyLet's now take a look at the Demonology tree. Out of all the trees, Demonology has always been about utility. Obviously the most pet-centric spec, Patch 3.0.2 brings interesting synergies with the pet and Warlock that also brings significant gains in DPS. It's also still a great PvP spec, although Warlocks who choose to pursue SL/SL take a hit from the survivability nerfs in Demonology and miss out on some cool 51-point toys.On the first tier, we already discussed the nerf to Demonic Embrace, which now only grants 10% total Stamina instead of 15%. The Spirit penalty was removed, however, and it actually matters because we actually get spell power gains from Spirit through Fel Armor. Five points here is mandatory. There's also Improved Imp, which we'll skip because we won't be using the Imp much as a Demonologist, anyway. And then there's Improved Healthstone, which I highly recommend whether you raid or PvP. It's notable that when I tested it in Beta, players are no longer allowed to possess more than one Healthstone, regardless of rank. Because of this change, you might as well have the best one. Your raid or team will thank you for it.On the second tier we'll find Improved Health Funnel, which was buffed to grant a mitigation mechanic while our pet is under the effect of Health Funnel. I'd normally say take it, but we'll have our hands full with other talents later on. If you use your pet to tank a lot, this talent helps. Otherwise, you can skip it. On the other hand, you have to put three points in Fel Vitality, which rolls Fel Intellect and Stamina together. This one is a no-brainer. Demonic Brutality is a tougher choice. This is the buffed Improved Voidwalker which also increases the DPS of our Felguard. This is about as close as we'll get to an Improved Felguard for now, so it just might be worth investing in. Improved Succubus in tier three has been reworked to a more usable form by making Seduction instant cast, which is awesome. It's not like we ever used her for Lash of Pain or Soothing Kiss, anyway. If you really want pure utility, pick this up as it will also situationally be handy in PvP. Despite the improvement, though, I'd much rather spend three points in Demonic Aegis on the same tier for the spell power bonus to Fel Armor. Two key talents are also on the third tier -- the weaker but more accessible Soul Link and life-saving Fel Domination. Take them. Speaking of key talents, max out all the talents in tier four. Unholy Power opens up three different talents and Master Summoner is necessary to make Fel Domination absolutely worth it.The good news is that Demonic Sacrifice is now completely optional. If you're a fan of demon-less raiding, which I admittedly am not, then pick this up to go along with a hybrid Destruction spec. Otherwise you can skip this talent and Master Conjuror, both on the fifth tier. It's important to note, however, that Firestones and Spellstones have been reworked to be weapon buffs like Mana Oils. They no longer need to be equipped but instead are a 5-charge consumable item that grants significant bonuses to direct damage spells or DoTs.Mana Feed on the sixth tier is a good investment, particularly because Felguards eat through their mana extremely fast. Master Demonologist is another vital talent not only for the passive benefits but because it's required for Demonic Empowerment. That's about eight talents spent on this tier, so it's good that we can skip the underwhelming Improved Enslave Demon completely.Tier seven is a mixed bag. If you're heavy into PvP, you should probably max out Demonic Reslience, specially with the weaker Soul Link. Otherwise, you can skip it and invest in the more DPS-oriented Demonic Knowledge, which should do wonders for you in PvE. Also on this tier is the utility spell Demonic Empowerment, which I've enthused about. I like it. I have it hotkeyed. I hope you like it, too.Past the seventh tier we will be foregoing hybridization and should be committing to full Demonology. It's also where all these master and demon synergies start falling into place. Demonic Tactics on tier nine is a flat out DPS boost that should be maxed out. We'll also need it for another cool talent on the next tier. If we plan on sending our pet into the fray -- which we should, really -- Fel Synergy will help keep it alive. The more damage we deal, the more our demons stay up. How cool is that?Improved Demonic Tactics is on the ninth tier and gives our demons that necessary punch for Demonic Empathy. The DPS boost is moderate at 3%, but is virtually guaranteed to be up for either the Warlock or her pet at all times. It's pretty weak for something so deep in the tree, however, so I recommend skipping it. What we're not skipping, however, is Summon Felguard. No, really.Improved Demonic Tactics will come in handy for Demonic Pact, which grants a raidwide buff whenever our pet crits. If you're a raider, you'll want this. It won't stack with Shaman totems, though, so it's only good if you have considerable spell power. If you mostly PvP, you can skip it.Finally, we have Metamorphosis. I wanted to do a Skill Mastery on this talent because it really needs to be discussed. First of all, I honestly don't think it's a finished spell. At its best, it's a 30 second DPS boost every three minutes and a perfect panic button for PvP. It boosts a Demonology Warlock's survivability to the stratosphere because of the 600% armor bonus and snare and stun duration reductions. It's very nearly a Warlock's version of The Beast Within.Be warned, however, that the associated abilities in demon form are situational and even downright silly. Shadow Cleave gives you a low-damage melee strike... that also hits allies. I mean, if you have 30 seconds in this godly, er, demonic form, why would you waste your GCD on a silly melee strike? Then there's Challenging Howl, an AoE taunt for those Warlocks who've always dreamed of being Tankadins. Of course, the only thing vaguely tank-ish about a Warlock in demon form is the armor, and it's not even that high. Oh, and once 30 seconds are up, you're quite certain to die.Immolation Aura is great, though. It scales very well with spell damage and is there to teach those big, bad Warriors a lesson for picking on us. It lasts 15 seconds, so if you can't get out of melee range within that span of time, at least you're dealing some hurt. It's pretty much the best demon form ability, although you'll rarely use it while raiding. There's also Demon Charge, which is like a Warrior's Intercept. The trouble is, it works from a minimum of 8 yards, meaning you'll actually have to get close to someone you're already far away from to begin with. [CLARIFICATION: That statement was supposed to mean "you're already 8 yards away, why the hell would I charge to my opponent?"]I don't know about you, but I was fairly certain that our strategy was to kite things, not to tank things. Pretty much everything about Metamorphosis is counter-intuitive. That said, the ability does have its uses, and can be considered a boost to DPS when raiding. Hopefully it'll still get fixed at some point and, for the love of demons, it should get a female form. Even if you go deep into Demonology, you're completely excused if you skip Metamorphosis. << BACK NEXT >> Zach helps guide you through the changes in 3.0.2, so you can be enthralled in all the demonic love Blizzard's thrown together. Check out other 3.0.2 Talent Guides, too, as well as everything about the so-called Echoes of Doom.
Breakfast Topic: Power-leveling Inscription
When the realms come back up this afternoon, patch 3.0.2 will bring with it new talents, new skills, and a whole new profession: Inscription. This is one major Wrath feature we'll be getting early. The new profession will allow players to augment their spells with glyphs, which are ultimately made from herbs. The herb markets on some realms have already surged from people stocking up to power-level Inscription. I'll probably take advantage of the high prices to make a few gold, myself, and become a scribe later when it's cheaper. But if you are interested in becoming one of the first scribes on your server (which could be quite lucrative), you may want to look at this power-leveling guide over at WoW Economist. It details exactly what you'll need to rush from 1 to 350, and what you can make to do it. In total, it looks like it should take about 72 stacks of assorted herbs, so I hope you're stocked up. %Poll-20858%
38 Studios buys WoW newsletter
Here's a strange little story -- 38 Studios is the MMO/entertainment company owned by baseball player Curt Schilling (who is himself a very big WoW fan). They're working on a secret project codenamed Copernicus (which our sister site Massively has been covering closely), but apparently they have other interests as well -- they've picked up a company called Mentor Media, whose main product is the Azeroth Advisor, a custom newsletter about World of Warcraft.I don't know if we've ever mentioned Azeroth Advisor on the site before -- they claim to send you a custom newsletter (for a fee) built around your own personal character, but most of the information and guides you can actually get from them are pretty much equivalent to what you'd find here on WoW Insider (or less helpful, if we may say so ourselves see update below*). Still, for casual players who just can't get enough information (and who don't want to browse our WoW insider Directory to find guides for your specific class), it might give you something else to read.But what's strangest about this is why 38 Studios, a company working on its own MMO, has chosen to pick up a company that produces an unofficial newsletter about World of Warcraft. It's like Bioware buying World of Matticus (not that Matt is for sale or anything like that). Maybe they eventually have plans to have Mentor Media start producing content about Copernicus, or maybe Curt Schilling just found the guides really helpful and figured he'd like to own the company that made them. Stay tuned for a possible interview with 38 Studios to see if we can figure out the reasons behind the purchase.Update: I let my obvious bias for our site show a little too much there -- Azeroth Advisor provides a valuable service to some players, and they work hard to do so. I apologize for hinting otherwise. Stay tuned for an interview to learn more about the site and the people behind it.Update2: The guys at The Instance actually asked Curt about all of this (including this very post), and he told them a lot of the reasons why they picked Mentor Media up, including that the newsletter is going free within the week, that they see the platform of delivering customizable newsletters as expanding even beyond the gaming market, and that Mentor is seeking writers for all kinds of content, including even other games.
Massively's guide to reducing your Second Life lag
One of the most misunderstood concepts in any online medium is lag. Lag essentially refers to a delay. Most commonly we're referring to the delay between when you expect something to happen and when it actually does happen. What makes lag difficult to understand is that it is a syndrome. There are multiple possible causes for lag, some under your control, and some not -- all of which contribute to that molasses-like feeling, and occasionally crashes or disconnections. To help you make the most of your Second Life experience, we'll look over how to easily and simply identify what kind of lag you're getting, and what (if anything) you can do to reduce it. Jump to a section: Your computer The servers The network Final thoughts Your computer >> Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
The Best of Massively: Our most helpful guides
In just over one month, Massively will celebrate its first birthday! Last week we started a countdown to the event by kicking off a series of features highlighting the best stuff from the site so far. We started with our ten most important interviews. Today, we're continuing the weekly countdown by listing some of your (and our) favorite guides!We broke them out into six categories, counting down to the best and most popular. A wide variety of games are covered, so chances are you'll find something useful in here. This list can serve as a springboard to a ton of content -- dozens and dozens of articles. So consider this your go-to place for info on some of the hottest games.Without further ado, here's the guide to our best guides. Wow, how meta is that! Click to start >> %Gallery-32805%
Keeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots
Learning how to create safespots in EVE Online is an essential survival skill, but it's one that takes some time to get the hang of. The Goonfleet video tutorial to safespotting is an excellent start, but other player resources are popping up and explain how important it is to have and properly use different types of safespots.EVE blogger Manasi has written an excellent guide to safespotting called "Getting your A$$ out of the fire" that covers the different types of safespots a player in EVE can make use of. Namely, "gate" safespots (useful for watching a gate at range while cloaked), "deep" safespots (used most often, numerous such bookmarks are needed), and "station" safespots (within docking range of a given station, allowing you to evade attackers by docking up). Manasi goes into detail about how to create each type of safespot, and -- most importantly -- how to use them. Manasi's "Getting your A$$ out of the fire" paired with the aforementioned Goonfleet Safespotting 101 are all you need to get a handle on safespotting in EVE Online. Be sure to check them both out if you're a new pilot. Goonfleet's Safespotting 101 video tutorial is embedded below the cut.
EVE Visual Guide: Before you undock
There are a few essential things any pilot in EVE Online should do before they undock from a station and get themselves into a potentially hostile situation. Come to think of it, anytime you undock there's at least some chance of hostility. Keeping that in mind, think of this as a visual checklist you should go through before entering space, as you're not only risking your ship, but your skillpoints if you bite off more than you can chew. This happens all too often, to novice and veteran pilots alike in EVE. So to help you avoid this fate... Head to the guide >> %Gallery-30109%
Resources galore for new EVE Online players
Veteran EVE Online blogger CrazyKinux is on top of his game. He's put together a collection of resources geared towards new players of EVE, or for those who are curious about what the game entails. He culled roughly three years of his own content to select ten of his most useful posts, out of the hundreds he's written. The list hits topics ranging from the simple -- acronyms, mission running, and finding the right corporation to join -- to the more complex, such as exploration tips and faction standings. He strikes a good balance between content for new players and info for veteran players who could use a refresher on these aspects of the game. Also of interest there is the ever-growing EVE Online Blog Pack, which provides an easy way to keep up to date with what the EVE blogging community is up to. Check out "10 Posts for the EVE Online Newbie" and its related discussion on the EVE Online forums.
Celebrating 10 years of EverQuest customer service volunteers
SOE and the EverQuest II community are celebrating the ten year anniversary of EverQuest's Guide program. Guides are folks who volunteer to provide customer support to players, as well as host in-game events. Rremember back in the day when Qeynos Hills was invaded by skeletons, and all the newbies died before higher levels came in from the Karanas to save the day? That event was the work of Guides!An article over at EverQuest II Players heralds the celebration with memories from both a former and a current Guide Liaison, as well as a story by well-known Elder Guide Ozymandias honoring all the folks who have served the community over the years. The story is written like an historical lore entry. It contains a few references to legendary names that should be familiar to EverQuest veterans.Volunteer guides are a very old tradition in MMOs. Of course there were the Wizards of the MUD era. But after that, both Meridian 59 and Ultima Online made use of volunteer customer service and event folks too.
CCP Games releases faction overview for EVE Online
For participants in EVE Online's factional warfare in the Empyrean Age expansion, it's common knowledge that there are four races embroiled in conflict. However, CCP Games has decided to add some more variety to the roles that EVE players can assume. To that end, EVE dev Matthew Woodward (aka CCP Greyscale) created a political overview for those who wish to immerse themselves a bit more in the backstory, or for those who wish to assume roles in the factional struggle beyond what is currently known about the key races in EVE's setting of New Eden. The cruel yet devoutly religious Amarr bring worlds and systems under their heel to 'save them from themselves.' They're opposed by the fractious Minmatar, a group of tribes resisting Amarr tyranny -- many of whom are chemically enslaved by a tailored virus and regular fixes of its narcotic treatment, ensuring their continued servitude to the Amarr.
The Light and How to Swing It: Gearing up your Retadin for Karazhan part IV
Alright. Let's call a spade a spade. I nubbed last week's installment by putting down Agility as a stat. Agility is good -- still not a Retadin's primary strength (pun intended), but definitely part of the equation. An informative article can be found on WoWWiki comparing Strength to Agility and determining the point where investing points in Agility gives better DPS returns than investing in Strength. Unlike Rogues or Hunters, who will never reach a point where Strength gives better returns, there is a certain point for Paladins (or Shamans and Warriors, for that matter) where it becomes better to invest in Agility. It's quite a bit of math, but suffice it to say that the equilibrium point is pretty high and not achievable by a fresh 70 gearing up for Karazhan. I also dismissed Expertise (pfft, why make one mistake when you can make two!), a new stat introduced in Patch 2.3, which reduces the chance a mob will Dodge or Parry your attacks. If you can manage it, you should always attack from behind, negating Parry to begin with, but barring that, Expertise is a good stat to pursue after you're Hit capped. In fact, as some readers pointed out, the Shard of Contempt is the best melee DPS trinket in the game right now as it prevents even yellow, or special, attacks from being Dodged or Parried. With all the technical stuff out of the way, let's move on to the last part of this series, where we'll take a look at all the permanent enchants, gems, and even consumables that you'll need to do a good job in Karazhan.
Rulers for everyone
I'm a heavy user of the IconFactory's xScope, a great universal tool for designers which we've covered several times. For those of us with a need for it, it's worth every cent. I happened upon a freeware application today, though, which provides a subset of xScope's very useful features: omnidea Rulers. This free app does a great job of providing on-screen guides, allowing the insertion of horizontal, vertical and intersection rules. It also gives you Photoshop-style rulers at the top and side of your screen for positioning. A HUD provides mouse coordinates and a magnifying glass, with two minimal views and one that shows all of the data at once. Rulers provides screenshot capabilities. More useful than that, though, it also has an auto-measure tool similar to xScope's "Dimensions" mode. This is infinitely useful for quickly determining the pixel size of any on-screen area of which it can discern the edges. When Rulers is in the foreground, pressing Command-A will instantly show cross-hairs and a measurement for the area surrounding the mouse cursor. Rulers is pretty darn useful, especially for web designers, and it's free. Pick up a copy from omnidea and enjoy.
Show and Tell: Surviving Civilization Revolution
This week is a bit of a departure from the regular Show and Tell format, but if you think about it, we're not really making much of a turn. We've celebrated the products of all sorts of fandom in this space, but there's one devoted group we haven't addressed: the writers of guides and walkthroughs and FAQs of all sorts.Maybe you've looked a few things up now and again: a short cut, a question about deleting a save, or a hint when you were stuck. Guides are freely available, and there are all different sorts ... and most of them are written by just plain folks. So why are we bringing it up? The folks at WiiHD recently put out a preview of sorts for the recent release Civilization Revolution -- a preview that includes vital game information. There's no Civilopedia in the DS version of the title (for the uninitiated: the massive information files common in Civ games). Even veteran Civ players might miss the information in the new handheld for its descriptions of unit capabilities, terrain types, and resources. Luckily, fans have swept in to fill the void. WiiHD isn't the only site working to provide information to new (and old) Civilization Revolution players. We've got a list of a few of the guides after the break, and we offer our hearty thanks to the people who work to put them together. That's really all this week is about: the people who take the time to help others with their gaming. Next week, we'll be back to the stuff.%Gallery-14922% Show and Tell is all about your stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts. Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest.
[UPDATED] Blood Sport: Arena for dummies I
Arena Season 6 is just around the corner. For many players, it's simply another chapter in the controversial Arena saga. Some love it and thrive in the Arenas, while others loathe it. Whatever players might think, however, it seems like Arenas are here to stay. For those players who have only recently hit Level 80, or for carebears suddenly willing to take the plunge, there might be a lot of questions about these "Arenas" that everyone seems to be talking about these days.I want to do Arenas, how do I start?Forming an Arena team is similar to forming a guild. Once you are Level 70, you can purchase an Arena Team Charter from any Arena Organizer, such as "King" Dond in Nagrand, Steamwheedle Sam in Blade's Edge Mountains, and Bip Nigstrom in Tanaris. Of course, nowadays, it's easier to go to Dalaran and talk to "Baroness" Llana or Kanika Goldwell in the sewers.The cost of the charter depends on the size of the team you're creating, costing roughly 40 Gold per team member. A 2v2 charter costs 80G, a 3v3 costs 120G, and a 5v5 costs 200G.When you purchase a charter, you will need to give it a name. Don't worry about it too much at this point because you can change it later when you hand in the charter. Similar to Guild Charters, you select a Level 70 player, right-click on the Team Charter, and ask them to sign it. Once you have all the necessary signatures (one more for a 2v2, two for a 3v3, and four for a 5v5 -- you count as the first), go back to any of the Arena Organizers and turn it in. Finalize your team name before handing it in, and then design a logo for your team. Once you hand it in, you'll be able to participate in Arenas by talking to an Arena Promoter and queueing up for a match just as you would for a Battleground.
