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The Queue: I feel pretty
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Oh, so pretty. JeffLaBowski asked: Now that Mists has been out for a while, what would you have changed storywise? From the way the Pandaren were introduced to how both major plot lines were dealt with? I know a lot was changed in Beta. Do you think it played out as well as was planned?
The Broken Doll roleplaying storyline chills hundreds on Moon Guard
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. Your days are numbered. It takes you a moment to realize that's all that's in the letter you just opened in your in-game mailbox -- that, and the Hangman's Noose ("It's shiny with blood!") attached at the bottom. You flick open the guild roster, but nobody's online yet. You run the sender's name through the Armory, only to come up with ... nothing. You're not involved in any active roleplaying storylines, and you can't think of anyone you've roleplayed with recently who seems threatening in the least ... Fine, then. You take it to the forums. You're met with the usual banter for a page or so -- but then another player reports that a friend received a similar note. Then another shows up. And another. Before you know it, the entire realm, Alliance and Horde alike, is roiling with intrigue. Hundreds of players are sucked in. Who are the letters from? What is the threat striking again and again at seemingly unlinked players? What is behind the unfolding string of horror unfolding before you? Who is The Broken Doll?
The OverAchiever: Examining patch 4.3's new achievements
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, all hell breaks loose. Hey folks. The Littlest Pet Shop option was the most popular choice in last week's The OverAchiever: Wrapping up Mountain O' Mounts, but that was before all manner of patch 4.3 goodness was datamined on Tuesday night. I spent the subsequent 24 hours in a caffeine-fueled haze running three characters around the PTR investigating the new achievements for you. I bring tidings of great, albeit currently bugged, joy to you all.
15 Minutes of Fame: Care packages spur renaissance of community spirit
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. All we need to introduce the topic of this week's 15 Minutes of Fame is a simple realm name: Moon Guard. Aha! I see some of you out there have been paying attention ... That's right, Moon Guard's the realm with the reputation for, shall we say, a somewhat more exotic (or was that erotic?) playstyle. Ready to go behind the scenes with a leading realm figure who'll give us the inside scoop on what really goes down on Moon Guard? Well, hang on there, Hoss -- because this ain't yo' mama's Moon Guard (or even your creepy Uncle Harold's). This is a decidedly more respectable Moon Guard. This is a Moon Guard that helps out new players with free care packages, no strings attached. This is a Moon Guard that's building an entire YouTube channel to spotlight interesting realm personalities. This is a Moon Guard whose players josh around with an in-character advice column run by a goblin. This is a Moon Guard boasting a recent player-run roleplaying event that virtually exploded onto the forum scene. Meet Venita, who's spurred on a huge part of this renaissance of community spirit with a wildly popular care package program for realm newbies plus an upcoming community spotlight program making its debut next month on YouTube. %Gallery-134438%
Free character migrations for select realms
As of yesterday afternoon and lasting through January 28th at 2:00 PM PST, a number of free realm transfers have opened up in the US in an attempt to repair some harsh population imbalance. Bornakk does warn, however, that if they fulfill the transfer quota before January 28th, they will end transfers early so they don't end up in the exact same situation on opposite ends. If any of the below transfer offers suit your fancy, get it done before it's too late. What's interesting is that in a few of these instances, they're only extended the offer to Horde players. These servers include Illidan, Mal'Ganis, and Warsong. Considering Mal'Ganis is home to the infamous Goon Squad, this isn't the most surprising thing in the world. Interesting, yes. Surprising? Not in the slightest. For further information on the available transfers, hit the forum thread. You can also check out the source and destination realms behind the cut below.
Searching for the most popular server
Kris over on the WoW LJ has an interesting question: what's the most popular server in the game? Blizzard never has (and likely never will) singled out one server as the most popular in the game, as the QQ that would ensue might bring the forums down (not to mention that it must change pretty often, as people transfer and reroll on other realms. It seems that everyone on a high population server thinks they must be top dog when they see queues during prime time, but the most widespread concrete numbers we have are probably from the unofficial Warcraft Realms census: they claim that, with over 35,000 characters on it, Whisperwind is number one.Of course, even that can't be trusted -- those numbers are picked up from the site's addon, all within the last 30 days, and it could just be that WR has more info about more people on that server. But at the same time, I'd guess that Warcraft Realms' numbers are in the ballpark, as long as you're talking about Yankee Stadium. Whisperwind, Cenarion Circle, Stormrage, Moon Guard, and Proudmoore are all big servers, I can promise you anecdotally, while Laughing Skull, Blood Furnace, and Malorne are definitely at the other end of the spectrum. As for a most popular realm, there probably isn't one specifically (it changes periodically, if not even at different times of the day). But if your realm is near the top of Warcraft Realms' list, it's probably busier than the others.
Dwarf levels solely by exploring, gains World Explorer at level 17
Here's a cute story to brighten up your Sunday. Tenen, a Dwarf Warrior in Modan Co on Moon Guard, decided that he would start at level one and only explore. No quests, no killing mobs, no PvP. Just exploration. Seventeen levels later, he's explored every single outdoor zone in the game, and completed the World Explorer achievement. So if you wanted to know how much XP you could get just from exploring, there's your answer. It took four days of playtime to accomplish. Of course, he couldn't do it all on his own; aside from the ravenous mobs, some areas are simply inaccessible without a flying mount. He got some summoning help from a cooperative Warlock. The Charge skill was also apparently useful in getting to some hard-to-reach places. Congrats to Tenen! It's always nice to see players do something a little different. [Thanks, Frijona]
All the World's a Stage: Guild themes
All the World's a Stage, and all the orcs and humans merely players. They have their stories and their characters; and one man in his time plays many roles.Every guild tries to make itself unique in one way or another, and yet much of the time it's hard to tell many guilds apart. Most guilds say something like "we are a group of friends" who "focus on casual play" or "on raiding progression" or something which can make clear its priorities in the game, whether in PvP, PvE, or RP.Roleplaying guilds have a special opportunity to distinguish themselves with all these elements and then some. In addition to raiding schedules, loot distribution rules, and whatnot, they also have a story -- some idea of where the people in this guild come from, and what binds them together. The story theme that binds them may be something as simple as striving to fight against all evil threats to their homeland, or it could be as involved as running a weekly faire, full of trading, performance, and all manner of festivities. Most roleplayers seem to just drift into an RP guild based on who they happen to meet in the course of their travels and what sorts of friendships they are able to develop. I worked this way for a long time, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, and in the end I gave up, feeling increasingly frustrated that I wasn't drifting into guilds that could really meet my needs. Finally I decided to steer my own ship and I realized that the theme of any particular guild could make a big difference as to whether or not I enjoyed being in it.
A walking tour around the Roleplaying realms
Someone named wowgossip on livejournal (though I think her character -- I'm assuming she's a woman, though that might be wrong -- is named Mary Sue, like the lead of so much bad fan fiction) is conducting a pretty exhaustive tour of roleplaying on the servers, both good and bad. As is clearly stated, this is not a review -- it's more of a "state of the game" of Warcraft roleplaying, so the good, the bad, and even the ugly are included. She's already stopped by Argent Dawn, Blackwater Raiders, Earthen Ring, and Moon Guard, and Sisters of Elune.The sights range from the disgusting (you get offered to cyber by just being a lowbie and hanging around Elwynn, apparently), to the boring (there is some really, really bad vampire RP), to the fascinating (some of the character descriptions are very well written, and use some commonplace ingame gear to portray a character's backstory very well). There's no judging involved -- it's basically a (pretty) objective survey of what RP players are doing on RP servers lately. Even if you're not an RPer, it's an interesting read (though some of the images and situations are NSFW, depending on where you work).There's more info in a Q&A on the journal, including a plan to possibly do some group RPing, but just the idea of surveying what's out there is cool. There is so much happening on the realms (in terms of RPing and grouping and PvPing), and even here at WoW insider we can only document so much of it. Definitely cool to get another look inside what players are coming up with (no matter how weird or boring or wild) on the realms.
A new round of free character transfers announced
As of noon today, a new set of free character transfers are available from select realms due to their exceedingly high population. Bornakk says that these transfers will last until Wednesday, September 10th unless their transfer goal is met early. In that case, the character transfers will end early as well. Get in while you can, if you're on one of these realms!The realms Illidan, Mal'Ganis and Warsong have the option to transfer to the Zuluhed server. Aerie Peak, Area 52, Moon Guard, and Zul'Jin have the option of transferring to Muradin. On the Oceanic side of things, the servers Barthilas and Frostmourne may transfer to Dreadmaul if they so choose. Forum links embedded for your new-home-researching convenience.Remember, these transfers are only open until September 10th or until their transfer quota is met. If you're interested in moving, do it as soon as you can so you don't miss out.
BlizzCon ticket fiasco sparks fan-created game
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/BlizzCon_ticket_fiasco_sparks_fanmade_game'; If you've been one of the many frustrated players attempting to purchase BlizzCon tickets online since yesterday, then you'll really get a kick out of BlizzCon 08, a mini-game created by Belneiros of Moon Guard (or Toneslice of Exodar). It's extremely simple to learn how to play, and follows a classic arcade pattern. The premise is that, as a Failbot aka Blizzard employee, you arrive at work only to learn that (gasp) Blizzard forgot that the BlizzCon tickets are going on sale that day! In order to save face, you're going to have to start shooting as many down as possible. After all, there's no superior diversionary tactic. Armed with your gun, you must do everything possible to prevent the sale of BlizzCon tickets. The more customers that get tickets, the closer you are to death. It's actually a fun little pass-time that doesn't use much processing power at all. It's a quick play, and its inspiration came from the same refreshing, Failoc ordeal that we've all had to endure. If you sift through our live coverage yesterday, you'll notice that Belneiros wasn't the only bored player that got creative!Stay tuned to our live blog today for news on ticket sales and our luck (or lack thereof) with acquiring some of the elusive tickets.
Zandalari on Moon Guard hosting a Story Circle tonight
Here's another player-run RP event that looks like a lot of fun -- the Zandalari, a 'tribe' (read: guild) on the Moon Guard server apparently hosts a weekly "story circle," in which they sit around and tell stories of all kinds. As usual, I remain not so into RP, but I am very much into storytelling and fun player-run events, and this evening sounds like a good time, especially if you just sit and listen (or read, as the case may be).If you'd like to go, it'll be at the Grom'gol base camp in Stranglethorn (so it's Horde only, but you can roll an alt and fly from Orgrimmar) over on Moon Guard this evening (and every Thursday) at 8pm server. And I'm sure I don't have to say this, but if you do go, be sure to be respectful, or they'll definitely whip out the ignore stick on you, or worse -- it's an RP server, so no monkey business.And be sure to take lots of pics and send them to us if you like -- we always love hearing about creative player-run events on the servers.
Gamers on the Street: Playing with roleplaying
Gamers on the Street logs onto U.S. servers to get the word from the front on what's going on in and around the World of Warcraft.The WoW roleplayer is a strange creature -- in a game universe almost completely designed for the non-roleplayer (there are enough pop culture references to make anyone sensitive to anachronisms apoplectic), they soldier on insider RP servers, taking their time leveling up, and having perhaps much more fun than anyone who races towards the endgame might otherwise have.So for this Gamers on the Street, I decided to head to Moon Guard, an RP server. I had hoped to chat about what players were expecting for season 4, and maybe find out what casual players thought of all the new things coming in Wrath of the Lich King, but when I sent out my query for interviewees, what I found were two roleplayers. people who were taking the game at their own pace and having fun doing it.I also made sure, due to past reader comments, to speak to Alliance this time. After the jump, meet two roleplayers who are playing the game their own way.
Tuar Annwn holds another Date Auction Friday night
Tuar Annwn is holding another Date Auction on the Moon Guard server in order to get a nice RP event together on the first of May (video NSFW) -- they did this last December and from what we heard, it was a rousing success (get it? "a rousing"? I kill me). Ten of their finest members will be auctioned off for dates of the winning bidder and auctionee's choosing. And this time around, both women and men will be auctioned off, so they're now equal opportunity date sellers. Although, just like last time, there's probably no guarantee whether the character you win is actually the same sex as the player you win, but those are the perils of dating online, apparently.So whether you want a romantic dinner in Booty Bay or just someone to help you run through Shadowfang Keep, stop by the Moon Guard server on April 25th in Silvermoon City (they didn't mention a time, but the last event went down at 9 server time). And even if you don't have gold for a date, they probably won't mind too much if you just show up to say hi at their RP event, held on May 1st.Always love to hear about this RP stuff, especially when it's fun like this -- if you have any events going down in the future that you'd like us to report on, feel free to drop us a note on the tipline, and we'll get you some attention. Good luck to Tuar Annwn with the Date Auction this weekend -- bid high!
All the World's a Stage: Finding the right realm
One of the most common difficulties many roleplayers face is that of finding other people to roleplay with. To help overcome this challenge, All the World's a Stage presents a guide to finding roleplayers in three parts: "finding the right realm" for roleplaying, "joining the right circle" of roleplaying friends, and "wearing the right mask" to attract other roleplayers to you.Due to reasons we have discussed earlier, RP servers can vary widely from a very few who maintain their immersive roleplaying atmosphere, to the majority which often seem little different from a normal PvE or PvP server. Although Blizzard takes their RP server guidelines "seriously," they cannot enforce these rules wholesale, and rely on the players themselves to do much of their own policing and reporting where necessary. RP servers thus vary a great deal in terms of how many people there actually make roleplaying a priority, how many will report someone breaking the RP rules, and how many will strive to maintain that precious gem of mass cooperation: the roleplaying atmosphere.It may not be obvious to a new player, but there are tools roleplayers can use to find the realm that suits them best. There may be no standardized way to group up for RP, but the fact holds true: "seek, and ye shall find."
Fandral Staghelm kill simulator
If you've been following along with the podcast, you've heard of the Fandral Staghelm killshot thread over on WoW Radio-- it's a place where those who hate Fandral Staghelm, Archdruid of Darnassus and generally obnoxious jerk, can get their kicks seeing the guy dead on the ground. Originally, the thread was supposed to be a compendium for killshots, but Rembrant on the Moon Guard server has taken it to a whole new level-- he's created a Flash-based kill simulator of the Archdruid. Don't have a whole raid of Horde to go into Darnassus and take him down in game? Just click the "Die Staghelm!!" button, and you get a surprisingly satisfying animation of Staghelm's demise.I love it (and wish I had seen it sooner-- looks like it was posted last week sometime). All day today I've been randomly killing Staghelm, and it has a relaxing effect. Bad day at work? Kill Staghelm. Fight with your girlfriend? Kill Staghelm! Couldn't get your raid to kill Staghelm? Kill Staghelm anyway!I only hope the site survives the masses of people who will jump onto it to kill Staghelm. Because there certainly are a lot of them.Update: Yup, looks like we burned it. Sorry, Rembrant, everybody hates Staghelm. Here's the new link to the simulator he gave us in the comments. Hope that holds up.
Alliance leaders slaughtered on Moon Guard
Good news from Moon Guard-- despite a despicable assault by the Alliance on the Horde outpost of Orgrimmar, the valiant Horde there have grabbed their sword and fought the.. Alliance, taking the battle straight to their capital cities. Ok, "factionalism" aside, what the Horde on Moon Guard did is pretty impressive. They downed Velen, Bolvar, Mekkatorque, Magni, Staghelm (yay!), Tyrande, and Jaina. I'm surprised they didn't storm into Northshire Abbey and down Paxton, just for completeness' sake.And just like we said on last week's podcast, it's a shame that they didn't get much for their trouble. High level faction targets give a little honor, and they give some money, but other than that, there are no major rewards for the downings. A special title or a factionwide buff would be great, and wouldn't cause overfarming chaos in these cities, which we believe is Blizzard's main reason for keeping these bosses lootless.At any rate, grats to all the guilds on Moon Guard (the Horde guilds, and the Alliance guilds that killed Thrall and brought on this slaughter) for making this happen. Blizzard won't give you much but a little honor and some change, but we'll give you our gratitude for making sure there is war in Warcraft.Thanks, Paul!
Four new realms in Central
More news from Nethaera, my new favorite Blue poster: We've opened four brand new realms to be added to the Emberstorm Battlegroup. These realms are new non-transfer realms and as such The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj are closed and the realms will not be available for Paid Character Moves for six months. We invite new and old players alike to join these realms and begin fresh adventures in Azeroth. Moon Guard- RP Central Hydraxis- PvE Central Quel'dorei- PvE Central Mok'Nathal- PvE Central Chicagoites, Houstonians, Little Rockers, Kansas Cityfolk, and other assorted Central time denizens, rejoice! And here's that RP server you asked for, Pougen (don't worry, I deleted him).
