mists
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How can you prepare for tonight's launch?
It's almost here! As your spy across the pond, I'll be keeping you up to date with how the launch rolls out, so that you can know what to expect when it launches in your timezone. You do, of course, need to know what time it's all going down, so you're not sitting staring at your character creation screen for hours on end, cursing the absence of a monk button. North and Latin American realms - 12:00 a.m. PDT, September 25 European realms - 12:00 a.m. CEST, September 25 Korean/Taiwan realms - 12:00 a.m. KST, September 27 But what can you be doing right now to get ready for Mists' launch? Addons Over at Addon Spotlight, we've been working hard to keep you abreast of addon updating and strategizing going into Mists. A lot of the same advice provided for 5.0.4 bears repeating for Mists, and you can check out how to get your addons ready for Mists. Mists is going to be a really interesting launch as far as your UI goes, given that there's no server shutdown and no logging on or off. Either it's all going to go beautifully, or it's all going to go horribly wrong! Make sure you have a UI setup with no addons that is playable on whatever character you're starting with.
Officers' Quarters: 4 radical ways to help your guild stand out in Mists
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Today we stand at the precipice of a new era. In less than 24 hours, Mists of Pandaria will usher in what could be called the Fifth Age of WoW. The long wait through 2012 has been hard on guilds, but that time is now over. If your guild has made it this far, you should be proud of that, but this is not a time to rest. This is a time to ensure that your guild will thrive. In this new era, the best method to recruit players will not change: finding ways to set your guild apart from the dozens of others on your server. Here are four ways to do just that -- but be warned! These are not for the faint of heart. 1. Offer tutorial runs of the new dungeons. Blizzard's new guild mentoring program is a great idea, but just because your guild wasn't selected doesn't mean you can't be a force for good on your server. This strategy requires patient guild members who have run the dungeons in beta or who get a lot of practice in the early weeks of the expansion. Start an initiative on your server in which, one night a week, you offer to run players through dungeons while teaching them the boss mechanics. Players will very much appreciate the chance to learn the runs in a low-stress and constructive environment rather than the merciless meat-grinder boot camp of the dungeon finder.
London cafe giving away goodies for Mists of Pandaria launch
The wait for the launch of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is almost over; eager players will be lining up at stores and taking part in various launch celebrations awaiting tonight's midnight release in stores. One location, Cafe de Paris in London, is sponsoring a Pandaria-themed loot giveaway through PC Gamer to help celebrate the release with players. The goodies include a Steel Series World of Warcraft Wireless MMO mouse, Deathwing's Stormwind Assault Mega Blocks, a strategy guide, t-shirts, posters, and a Mists of Pandaria Collector's Edition. For a chance at obtaining some of these collectables, check out the giveaway page for complete instructions. But you have to hurry -- the promotion ends tomorrow.
The Daily Grind: Are you returning to World of Warcraft for the expansion?
If you're at all interested in MMOs, it's been nigh-impossible not to learn about the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion through osmosis if nothing else. If you're currently playing the game, of course, buying the expansion and logging in is a no-brainer. But if you're like many people with an old account and some mixed memories about the game, buying the expansion isn't a given. It all comes down to the expansion's features and how satisfied you are with your current games. Maybe the promise of Pandaren, new levels, new systems, and a new talent system has lured you back into the fold. Or perhaps those same changes have turned you off from Mists of Pandaria. Perhaps it's even deeper than that -- perhaps one of the previous expansions killed your interest in the game to the point that this expansion can't revive it. So today we want to know: Are you returning for Mists of Pandaria, or are you staying on the sidelines? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Convert to Raid talks to Ion Hazzikostas: Theramore, Raiding, and more
This Sunday, September 23, raiding podcast Convert to Raid will be broadcasting an interview with Blizzard Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas, a.k.a. Blizzard Blue Watcher. Convert to Raid's host, Pat Krane, a.k.a. Zhug, was good enough to give WoW Insider a sneak preview of this weekend's broadcast so we could give you some snippets to whet your appetite! You guys just released the Theramore scenario, and I wanted to check how the feedback was from the players? I think we're learning a lot from player reactions to the Theramore scenario. A lot of it is what player expectations were going into it, it was never really designed to be the epic world event prior to the expansion, things like the zombie plague come to mind. It was a story-driven little sneak preview of what the scenario system had to offer, and showing players a glimpse of one of the key events that's going to lead to greater conflict between the Alliance and the Horde... Something we've learned from repeatable content is that players don't always want very lengthy dialogue or cutscenes or cinematics...
Addon Spotlight: Getting your addons ready for Mists
It's almost here! If you've been living under a rock at the bottom of the Thousand Needles lake, there is a faint possibility that you might not know about Mists of Pandaria's arrival on the 25th of September. We did a lot of work here at Addon Spotlight for 5.0.4 addons, giving you a list of addons that are ready, a survival guide, and a couple of question and answer sessions, which will carry on below. For Mists, the process is all quite similar. I'll be uploading my list of addons that are ready for Mists, much closer to launch day this time, but I'll also be relying heavily on what I've started to call the "big three" addon sites (WoWInterface, Curse and WoWAce) and their lists of addons which are ready. As I'm sure you can appreciate, there are a lot of addons out there being updated, and, unlike for 5.0.4, these sites are running dedicated, automatically generated lists of Mists-ready addons, and I'm just one girl! So, is there much you can be doing in advance? If you're a Curse Client user, then a lot of the updating process will be automated, and if you haven't set up WoWInterface's email alert system, now would be the time. Bear in mind that it's a good idea to try to check the addon's home site rather than just blindly following one site's system. Beta files and versions may not appear on each site. Additionally, these "big three" sites are the places where the vast majority of addons are hosted with the authors' permission, meaning they are in line with copyright rules, ethically sound and home to the authors' most recent updates.
Wowcrendor interviews Ghostcrawler, answers about Theramore's Fall
Blizzard Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street has joined YouTube denizen Wowcrendor for an interview. You can check out the video above, and we've pulled out some highlights below: What's the one thing Blizzard would have done differently in Cataclysm? We would have worked the story around a continent rather than having zones. There was too much teleporting, and the sense of world was eroded. There was a lot of value in coming over the hill and seeing into the next zone, the transition. The teleporting created an instanced feel, and there wasn't the novelty. Mists has a whole new continent to explore, so that's something Blizzard have changed up for this expansion. Why did Blizzard go with Cross-Realm zones over server merges? Cross-Realm Zones were designed to fix the issue of having a ton of players at max-level, but lower level zones being dead. The experience of being in a MMO is lessened, so we wanted to fix that. Closing and opening realms all the time is not the solution, we can't keep doing that incessantly. We also don't want 20,000 players running around Stormwind or other high-level zones! For players who like deserted zones, we're not really catering to that. WoW is not set up to be a single player game!
GuildOx introduces Alt Detection
WoW database site GuildOx, which ranks guilds, players and loot from World of Warcraft by reading data via the official WoW API, has introduced a sparkly new service for would-be recruiters. Thanks to the introduction of account-wide achievements, GuildOx, along with any other site that is smart enough to extract this information from the API, can use the cross-account information to tell you exactly who that new player's alts are that's applying to your guild. So, if someone claims to have amazing gear, and anything else that isn't a linkable achievement on an alt, you can now check it out on GuildOx. The functionality could allow a guild leader to see if the new person they're picking up is actually the worst trade chat troll on the server, for example. As GuildOx says, this can provide extra insight into applicants when recruiting new guild members. If you think you'd benefit from this, then you can check it out on GuildOx's new service by viewing one of the site creator's characters, and all their alts. There is, of course, a down side.
Pandaren and Monk Trainers appear in starting zones
You may think I took the above screenshot on the beta, but if the rumors are true and you really can gather my account information from secret codes embedded in every picture, you'll be able to tell that this is actually taken in the troll start zone on a live realm! As the lifting of the Mists of Pandaria draws ever closer, changes are already starting to take place, and out of nowhere, what must currently be exceedingly enigmatic pandaren are coming out of the woodwork into our game world. Tsu the Wanderer has made it to the troll island, where he can be found sparring with Zabrax, the newly arrived monk trainer, and the only trainer who is not a pandaren. In the orc start zone, Gato is standing in a group with some other trainers, enjoying what appears to be rather an awkward silence, while in the Undead zone, the amusingly named Ting, strong of Stomach, is offered various delights by Archibald Kava. Shoyu (d'you see what they did there?) seems to fit right in with the Tauren, but Pao, the lonely pandaren among the blood elves, seems a tad more incongruous.
Arcane Brilliance: Mists of Pandaria mage guide to stats and reforging
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we talk about how awesome mages are. But did you know that you can make your mage even better? I know! It's like chocolate-covered chocolate. Or a cheesecake that also grants you three wishes. Or an Avengers movie that is also directed by Joss Whedon. Or a warlock that is also dead. With just over a week of this pre-expansion/post-patch limbo to go, it's high time we covered one last piece of patch 5.0.4 mage business before we turn our eyes almost exclusively toward the impending influx of pandaren and monks and ... pandaren monks. But good news! Most, if not all, of what we discuss here today will also apply in Mists. Though there are always small shifts in stat weight at endgame, we're still quite far removed from knowing exactly how things will shake out when we're all doing hard mode raiding. This expansion brings some major changes to our stats, radically altering the benefits they do and don't provide. Before we get to each spec and its stat weights, let's look at each stat and familiarize ourselves with its Mists of Pandaria version.
Challenge Mode for Stormstout Brewery enabled in beta
Blizzard Blue Watcher, a.k.a. Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas has been back on the forums with his challenge-mode-master hat on. He's delivered the exciting news that the first of the leveling dungeons, Stormstout Brewery, has been enabled on the beta in challenge mode. Now, you can't just walk into Mordor, and the same applies for challenge modes. You have to be level 90, and you have to have completed Stormstout Brewery at least once on heroic mode. Now, having run Stormstout Brewery a lot of times on normal mode, and a few times on heroic mode, as a healer, I haven't really noticed any big differences. Mostly, the heroic mode tuning seems to be that things which really hurt in normal mode really hurt in heroic mode. Of course, since I last did the dungeon, it's entirely possible that things could have been changed or added. In the meantime, do check out our walkthrough, 5 things you need to know, and bosses in 5 seconds guides on the Stormstout Brewery if you're planning to check out the challenge mode. And if you're planning to head straight into the beta with four of your friends after you've read this article, you should know that the barrels are currently bugged. Blizzard are working on a hotfix.
World of Warcraft continues Mists of Pandaria TV coverage
"The question isn't why we fight," a wizened voice says, "but what's worth fighting for." Thus goes the third TV commercial for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. Blizzard continues to storm the airwaves in preparation for Pandaria's September 25th release. The commercial is just cobbled together from the opening cinematic, but it's still cool to see an MMO get airtime on television these days. Give it your full and undivided attention after the jump.
No nerfs, no lockouts, no consumable restrictions for Challenge Mode dungeons
Blizzard's Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas, a.k.a. Watcher, has taken to the forums a few times lately, along with Community Manager Zarhym, to provide clarification on Challenge Modes. With all the bad air swirling around Blizzard from certain minority groups within the WoW community about catering to casuals, challenge modes are something they seem very keen to stand firm on. When asked if challenge modes would ever be nerfed, Ion replied as follows: Watcher If at all feasible, we're not going to be adjusting the content itself. Persistent leaderboards are the backbone of the system, and if we make the dungeon easier, then your 14:13 time last week might actually be more impressive than my 14:05 clear today, but there would be no way of knowing that. It's conceivable that we might adjust the actual Gold/Silver/Bronze cutoff times slightly if it turns out we were badly off the mark with the tuning, but we're pretty confident in our numbers. source Zarhym also weighed in with his own input on the nerf question.
Reputation changes: Tillers don't hate you
Regular reader Drakkenfyre tipped us off this morning about a change to reputation levels in Mists, which has just been implemented on the Armory. If you head over to your character's armory entry, and have a look at the Mists Tiller reputations, you'll notice that you're no longer hated. Instead, you're a stranger. So, for my shaman, all the Tillers factions, or all the Tillers themselves, consider me a stranger, despite the fact that the red bar shows 0/8,400 and the reputation level is in red. I think this is rather sweet, and reflective of the kind nature of the pandaren -- they haven't met me yet, but they have no reason to hate me, I'm just a stranger! I don't yet know whether the reputation required to move from stranger to best friend is any different to the reputation required to turn a hated reputation on its head, but it makes sense that it might be. But don't worry, the Netherwing, Kurenai and Sporeggar still hate me. They haven't come over all fluffy. [Thanks for the tip, Drakkenfyre!]
Fishing no longer requires poles
Notice anything, well, fishy about the paladin in the header image? No? Well, look again, more closely. Do you see how she's fishing, but also holding a shield? Impossible! Hackers! Cheating! No, my friends, it's not. Why not? Well, let me tell you. Since the arrival of patch 5.0.4, there's been a change to fishing. You no longer need to equip a fishing pole to use the Fishing skill. Did you notice how the tooltip has changed? How it now says "Equip a fishing pole?" Well, the skill now does that for you. It's rather a downrgade on the old basic fishing pole, as it looks like little more than a fairly straight tree-branch with a piece of string tied to one end. To use it, you'll need to find the spell in the professions section of your spellbook and drag it onto your bars, as for me at least, the old one didn't work. But once you've done that, you no longer need to worry about remembering to re-equip your sword and board, your staff, your two-hand axe. The fishing pole doesn't replace any of your usual weapons when it appears via the new spell, so they're never un-equipped in the first place! Gone are the days of my trying to tank Morchok by waving a fishing pole at him in a semi-threatening manner. I'm a little sad about that, actually. What's more, you don't even need to have a fishing pole in your inventory. That's right, with the new Fishing spell, you have a fishing rod mysteriously stored about your person somewhere other than your bags, which you can magically whip out whenever you want to fish. I'll let you make the jokes. However, if you are the proud owner of one of the many upgraded fishing rods available in the game, and want to use it for the skill bonus, you will still need to equip it. The new fishing skill isn't smart enough to equip an upgraded rod, and as a result those who use them will need to keep them in their inventory and equip them like they did before. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Battleground Call to Arms not just for weekends anymore
Patch 5.0.4 introduced a new battleground schedule in which there is always a Call to Arms battleground instead of weekends only. The Call to Arms changes every Tuesday and Friday, so that players can earn bonus honor every day of the week. You may ask, "But, Robin, why aren't all the dates covered in that calendar over there? [points to the right sidebar]" Well, I'll tell you. The new Mists of Pandaria battlegrounds have already been scheduled on the in-game calendar, even though they won't be introduced until September 25. We are currently showing only the BGs that can be played right now, but we are also showing when the Temple of Kotmogu and the Silvershard Mines will be the Call to Arms BGs after launch. You can always verify the current schedule by viewing the in-game calendar. Just make sure the Battleground Call to Arms filter is selected from the filters dropdown menu at the top right of the calendar. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Blizzard unveils launch events for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
If you're a fan of World of Warcraft, you're buying Mists of Pandaria. We all know that. But are you just going to buy the game, or do you want to be part of an entire event surrounding the launch? If it's the latter, you'll be happy to know that the official launch event for the game's fourth expansion release has been confirmed for the 24th near the Blizzard Entertainment offices in Irvine, California. The event starts at 9:00 p.m. PDT and will include stage presentations, special guests, and giveaways for fans in attendance. As with previous launches, even if you can't get out to California for the launch event, several retailers are opening at midnight for retail release of the game as soon as it's possible. It's all heady stuff for the new expansion, and fans will definitely want to take a look at what's going on and attend if possible.
Have Group Will Travel is gone -- now what?
Patch 5.0.4 is the point at which even if you have a group, you can no longer travel. Gone are the days of sending one poor soul to wait at the instance while the raid leader hangs out in Orgrimmar or Stormwind, spamming trade chat for ranged DPSers. Have Group Will Travel will be removed from the game with this patch, replaced with a boost to flight path speed. For those of you who had gotten used to its presence in the game, what do you do to get to your instances now? There are a few methods available. Of course you can fly, ride or walk to instances. If you know roughly where you're headed -- for example, Dragon Soul is in the Caverns of Time in Tanaris -- you can hop a flight path to as near as possible to your destination. For Dragon Soul, that is probably Gadgetzan.
3 pleasant patch 5.0.4 login surprises
When I logged in to the servers this morning, I was greeted by three very pleasant surprises! The first thing I noticed was that hardly any of my addons were broken, and I seem to have successfully anticipated those that were, avoiding the usual patch palaver of updating and deleting and fixing. Then I realized I had mail, headed over to the mailbox, and got my second surprise. Waiting for me were my two Digital Collector's Edition rewards, my Lucky Quilen Cub pet and my Imperial Quilen mount! I also got two Collectors Edition achievements just for taking the two items out of my mailbox. My only frustration arose when I headed to another character, received the same mail with the mount and pet, put them in my bag and received an error message telling me that they couldn't be learnt as I already know them. I hope this doesn't happen with every new character, as having to delete all the default account-wide pet mail could become a tad tiresome. My third surprise came when I logged over to another character and realized there was a button at the bottom of my character list indicating that I could create another character. Confused, I quickly counted up the characters I already had on that server and confirmed that I did already have 10. Therefore, the 11th character slot has been added with 5.0.4! All of these surprises have brightened up my day -- and hopefully yours, too. Have you noticed any surprises in 5.0.4? It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
World of Warcraft releases pre-expansion patch
If palling around with lettuce people and giant Vikings isn't your thing today, may we interest you in the panda express lane? World of Warcraft is paving the way for next month's Mists of Pandaria with today's 5.0.4 patch, an update that includes several new features that are part of the expansion rollout. While playable Pandaren and Monks aren't available until September 25th, there's plenty to chew on with patch 5.0.4. Players will experience the massive talent revamp that eliminates the old talent trees entirely, a spellbook overhaul, AoE looting, cross-realm zones, UI changes, significant currency conversions, and account-wide achievements, mounts, and pets. The patch will be up following extended maintenance, and our sister site WoW Insider has been hard at work preparing a massive Mists of Pandaria guide for current and returning Azerothians.
