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Heroes of the Storm: New hero Murky and other changes coming soon
The Heroes of the Storm team held their fifth Developer Q&A on Twitch.tv today. The developers discussed sweeping future changes coming to the game's alpha including a complete overhaul of the game's UI. Other major additions and changes include: New hero Murky. This week is Murky Week, so a great deal of information about him is on the horizon. Many heroes will be receiving a talent overhaul based on data collected on talent usage. Not only talents chosen most often across the board, but talents chosen most often in winning and losing games. Arthas, Illidan, and Tyrael are receiving complete redesigns and are unlikely to be the only ones. Their current iteration doesn't fit the vision of the hero and were early designs, too bland/generic to be such iconic characters. Players tend to consider these three underwhelming at best. Personal achievements are being added so you can better gauge your personal performance in-game. Currently, in-game achievements only display team efforts. In addition, themed maps from all of Blizzard's IPs will be coming eventually. The current Haunted Mines is being reworked. So, too, is the Cursed Hollow, which has a tendency to snowball in favor of who gets the first round of idols.
Four new Heroes revealed at PAX East
Heroes of the Storm's PAX East panel has unveiled four new heroes, from left to right, Brightwing, Zagara, Li li and Murky. There's already a trailer for Brightwing, and the Heroes of the Storm official post supplies more information on the new heroes. While it's surprising that iconic characters which appear on the main screen of the game, such as Chen Stormstout, are not yet in the game, while these other heroes are. Nonetheless, they're really exciting additions, as the official post elucidates their roles in the game we can really see how interesting and varied the hero roles and abilities are thanks to the different playstyle. Hit the break for their abilities and information.
Reminder: Vote for your favorite plushie photo
Have you voted in the Plushie Photo Contest yet? Today is the last day to choose your favorite Plushie in the Wild and Plushie in Captivity. As of this writing, Muzz is currently in the lead in the Captivity contest and it's neck and neck between Jowell and Thatshot in the Wild contest. Time is running out for you to affect the outcome. Vote now in the polls after the break.
Vote for the Plushie Photo Contest winners
We asked you to show us your plushies and many of you sent in entries to both the Plushie in Captivity and Plushie in the Wild contests. We have narrowed down the finalists for you to vote on in each category. Once the votes have been tallied and the winners announced, we'll put all of the entries in the galleries for you to enjoy. You have until Friday, March 19th to vote for your favorite in each category. Galleries and polls are after the break.
Photo Contest reminder: Show us your plushies
The Spawn got her Wind Rider Cub on Friday and it has since been slept with, rained on and taken for a ride with Barbie. His name is now Lionel and he has become good friends with Murky the Murloc. Together they embark on great adventures and battle the nefarious deeds of the Darth Vader Happy Meal toy. (Don't get me started on the fact that McDonalds believes that Star Wars is for boys and iCarly is for girls. Seriously.) Have you shown us your plushies yet? We have some really great entries already, but yours could be even better. You have until midnight, March 10th to send us your photos of your Plushie in the Wild and/or Plushie in Captivity. WoWTCGLoot.com has generously provided the loot codes for the prizes. All of the contest details are after the break.
Plushie Photo Contest: Show us your plushies
So you hopped into the Blizzard Store and ordered yourself a plushie or two. Or maybe you picked up one from BlizzCon. Regardless, there you are, with at least one official Blizzard stuffed toy. Whether you collect them for yourself or have a child for whom you say that you bought them, you have one or more in your home... but now what? Does he sit on your desk? Does he sit on your lap? Is he used to recreate famous in-game battles? And the most important question of all: have you taken pictures of it? We here at WoW.com want to see your best plushie photos. There will be two categories: Plushies in The Wild and Plushies in Captivity. We will narrow down the best of both categories and offer them up to the readers for voting. The top three of each category will receive loot codes, provided by WoWTCGLoot.com. Details are after the break.
Murkimus mailed out today
Those who participated in this year's official arena tournament have been not-so-patiently awaiting their reward for playing 200 arena matches in the preliminary rounds on the tournament realm. It's been quite awhile since players expected to get their hands on Murkimus, but Blizzard representatives have been giving a mid-May estimate that proved true today.Players who played their 200 matches should be logging into Murkimus in their mailbox today. You can stop panicking that Blizzard cheated you out of a pet. You can stop worrying that you missed some important detail. Enjoy your murloc, folks.
Fan-made Murky plush
Reader Claire sent us these awesome pictures of a plush Murky, made of felt and fluff. She says she's been a collector of vanity pets since she first started playing WoW, and since Murky is one she'll probably never get her hands on, she decided to make one herself.As mentioned, it's made entirely out of felt and stuffing (and string and glue, I assume). It looks really good, and seems like it only would have cost a few dollars. If I'm wrong about that, hopefully Claire will correct me... and submit a pattern for the rest of us!You can check out all of her Murky pictures in the gallery below.%Gallery-63306%
WoW Moviewatch: I'm Too Pally
According to the tip from Sinnead, I'm Too Pally is Teagen's freshman effort in the wild, wonderful world of machinima. I'm glad Sinnead mentioned that, because I wouldn't have been able to tell. "I'm Too Pally" is a brief homage music video to that most legendary of 90s songs "I'm too sexy."The direction for the video was pretty spot on. It had the right mix of humor and antics to mimic the style of the original work, and the singer did a good job of singing with a Draenei accent. And, yannno, any music video in which Murky can make an appearance gets an extra few points for humor. All of the animation seemed crisp and controlled, without any of the over-the-shoulder work that can sometimes plague first timers. I feel like there was an in joke at the end I missed ("I'm looking for work!"), but it had the same thematic appeal as the rest of the video, so I didn't feel like I was missing much. Overall, it was darn good video.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
The funny, morbid, and sad coins of the Dalaran fountain
Level up fishing so you can fish in the Dalaran fountain. I'm serious. This completely nonsensible and illogical statement is brought to you by the 53 tiny lore moments you'll get if you'll just sit yourself down somewhere and level up fishing. Yes, it's boring having to fish up dozens of useless fish to get to the good stuff in Outland and Northrend. Yes, you could be farming up gold or materials that will help you level in Wrath. I don't care. Go fish.You see, while you'll be fishing up a lot of equally useless fish in the Dalaran fountain, you'll also get coins. No, not in the sense that you'll be fishing up ingame money, but you'll fish up coins tossed into the fountain of this very old city by 53 people, many of whom will be known to you if you've played the game for any length of time. Some of them, perhaps most of them, are funny. Some are serious. Some are heartbreaking. I admit to a touch of being a lore geek, and it was wonderful being allowed a peek into the irreverent or hopeful or sad heads of Jaina Proudmoore, Thrall, or Stalvan Mistmantle. It is idiosyncratic little touches like this that make WoW hopelessly fun to play, and it is my fondest wish that whatever person at Blizzard who thought this up is pulled off whatever they're doing right now and chained to a desk until they come up with more stuff like this.So, if you don't do anything else with your time between patch 3.02 hitting and Wrath going live...level up fishing so you can fish in the Dalaran fountain. But don't read any further if you're not interested in Wrath spoilers, because there are a few here...
Could there be such a thing as life without the Lich King?
In response to one player's question, "After Arthas, what's left to kill?" Bornakk has revealed a surprising tidbit about the future of World of Warcraft. The answer is: Murlocs! That's right. After we kill Arthas, "instead of adding new creatures or new continents it will be just one area of endlessly spawning murlocs." Amazing fun! This is what I've been wishing for ever since I saw my first murlocs on the shores of Darkshore. Perhaps we'll be able to collect endless varieties of Murky pets, too! They could go by all sorts of cute names like Lurky, Quirky and Turky.Ah... to dream. Anyways, later in the same thread, Nethaera stops by too and adds her own meditation on the possible death of Arthas, reminding us of a most ancient question regarding trees falling in the woods without anyone to hear them: "If Arthas dies, does the Lich King also die?" This seems to be a pretty clear indication that the death of Arthas will not mean the death of the Lich King, and that the story of the Living versus the Dead will go even after the big bad prince bites the dust.Arthas and the Lich King has been a pretty huge part of the Warcraft story ever since before most of us were even familiar with it, and for some of us it feels strange that he might one day no longer be a part of it. In our interview with WoW's lead producer, he noted that both the Maelstrom and the Emerald Dream were once considered as possibilities for WoW's second expansion, but they chose Northrend and Arthas to come before them because it seemed like the strongest idea. But how strong is Arthas really? Could he ever compare to murlocs?No, but seriously, do you think the Lich King is just way too cool not to perpetuate indefinitely as the ultimate villain? Would you like to see Arthas get killed in one patch, while the Lich King returned in another, kind of like Kael'thas showed up twice in The Burning Crusade? Or do you think we're going to get our fill of Lich Kinginess -- so much so that once Arthas is dead, the Lich King and all the Scourge should just die for good along with him?
Collector's Edition and Blizzard Events items will become "Bound to Account"
Jeff Kaplan a.k.a. "Tigole" announced today that the following items will become "Account Bound": Murky Tyrael's Hilt Murloc Costume All Collector's Edition pets This is an interesting change to say the least. Blizzard will set this change in motion on the Beta first, and if everything goes smoothly it'll go live (no word if it will happen in Wrath of the Lich King or patch 3.0.2).Kaplan notes that with this change Collector's Edition pets will no longer disappear when you put them into your pet spell book. The spell will still be added, but you will be able to send the pet item around to your other characters on your account. He does point out that if you've already put your pet into the pet spell book, you won't be able to be refunded the pet on the beta. Of course, that does not apply to the live realms – since the pet spell book isn't implemented in live.
Blood Elf tank and Murloc hair bow, as seen on Etsy
Alice Taylor has quite the eye for scoping out awesome gaming crafts, and just recently, she did a nice roundup (and another post) that had two great handmade WoW items in it. First up was this great-looking Sin'dorei (that's Blood Elf, in case you're not up on your Thalassian) tank top -- it was originally a T-shirt that the maker, smarmyclothes, turned into a tank top with some industrious cutting and stiching. Looks great -- at $52, the price is a little steep, but then again, this is a one-of-a-kind handmade item, so you get what you pay for.And second was this Murky hair bow -- to tell the truth, I have no idea what a hair bow does (it must tie hair back or something, right?), but I am a huge Murky fan, or at least a fan of /punting the little guy, so any article of clothing with him on it, no matter what it's for, gets my approval. The bows are two for $11, and it looks like there's only one in stock, so SugarPopRibbons is probably making them to order. But I'm sure if you're patient, you can get your hands (or hair, I guess) on one.Seen any other great WoW crafts, on Etsy or anywhere else? Let us know!
15 Minutes of Fame: A man and his (80+) pets
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.A couple of months ago, WoW Insider reported on the immortalization of WarcraftPets.com founder/owner Breanni with an NPC in Wrath of the Lich King. In the expansion, Breanni of US Scarlet Crusade-A appears as a NPC selling pet supplies in Dalaran. Curious about the growing public enthusiasm ("Obsession"? We think Breanni might agree ...) with non-combat pets, we contacted Breanni for more perspectives into the vanity pet craze -- as well as what it's like to run into yourself in the game as an NPC. 15 Minutes of Fame: Vanity pets – who knew? How many vanity pets are out there now, and how can players get them?Breanni: Vanity pets (also known as companions, small pets, non-combat pets and mini-pets) are those adorable little critters that follow your character around the game world, catching the eye and imagination of others. Currently, there are 98 vanity pets, and new ones are added to the game nearly every major content patch. However, not all of these pets are available in the United States - a few are region-specific.There are six ways to obtain vanity pets. Vendors, drops and quests offer players some of the most familiar pets. Additionally, there are a handful of pets crafted by engineers. Some of the rarest pets are obtained through real-world promotions, such as loot cards from the WoW trading card game and trade show giveaways. Finally, a new source has emerged for collecting certain pets: they can be earned through various feats, such as battleground victories or collecting a certain number of pets with a single character.
A case of Murky envy
Wandering Goblin's got Murky envy-- Elvyra was lucky enough to go to BlizzCon 2005 and get the special Murky pet while there, but she redeemed it on the EU servers, and now plays on the US servers, so no Murky pet for her. Despite pleading with ingame GMs and even the higher-ups, she hasn't been able to get the Murky back. And while she did go to BlizzCon 2007 and get a Murloc suit, it's no comparison-- not only does it break on combat, but it just doesn't fit. That doesn't mean it's not fun, though-- if you're waiting to hear about yours from the podcast on Saturday, wait just a little longer-- we'll be contacting the winner tomorrow.Still, Elvyra's problem isn't the biggest one with the Murky suit-- most people have the problem of not getting one at all. Yes, it's special that Blizzard gave it out only at that convention, but people who now want the pet can't currently ever get it again. Blizzard did give it out once more-- they gave Lurky out to folks who had problems with the CE of Burning Crusade-- and so why can't they do that again? Even if we never see Murky given out, what about Gurky? Or Turky (a Thanksgiving item, obviously)? Or Jerky, who's a little meaner than the other Murlocs?Doesn't matter much to me-- as I said before, I'm not a huge fan of Murky. But there are some good ways to let people in on the fun while still keeping the original pet exclusive.
Phat Loot Phriday: Blue Murloc Egg
With BlizzCon going down as we speak, what better item to cover than the hookup lots of people got at Blizzard's last big event (this event, you'll remember, we're all getting the Murloc Suit). And on a more personal note, let me just say that: God, I hate Murky.Name: Blue Murloc EggType: Noncombat PetAbilities: Summons Murky, an annoying (some say "cute"), periodically dancing Murloc When you click on him, he even makes the Murggurguguglglgg murloc sound, which you can actually download from the WoW Wiki page. Although I don't know why you would-- it sounds like a cat coughing up a hairball while trying to sing. God, I hate Murky. Whenever my guildie pulls him out, I just feel the urge to punt him (even moreso than gnomes). Murlocs are bad enough as it is, but when they're cute and tiny... Ugh. Hate, hate, hate Murky. How to Get It: You can't, unless you attended BlizzCon 2005-- Murky was one of the giveaways to attendees there, and Blizzard hasn't given him out since. They have given away a Pink Murloc Egg to European players (after they messed up their Burning Crusade netherwhelp pets)-- that summoned a very similar (but pink) dancing murloc named Gurky. And with all the possible name combinations (Lurky, Turky, Jerky), and green, purple, and orange baby murlocs found within the game files, there may be more baby murlocs coming to a giveaway near you in the future (ugh, I hope not). But for now, if Murky's not yours, he never will be.Good riddance, I say.Getting Rid of It: See? Vendors hate him too-- they won't take him. So the only way to get rid of him is by destroying the egg-- I recommend high-velocity punting.
WoW Moviewatch: So that's where that dance came from!
We've all seen the videos of different dances. We've had ones where they all dance together, ones where the original source is cited. We've even seen video of a guy dancing like a Night Elf Female. Now we have another dance movie. There's one thing about this one that sets it apart, however. This is the first one I've seen that does a really good job of putting the dances side-by-side with their inspirations. As Bowzerblack on the WoW LJ said: "I didn't know that about ogres!" All I can say is that I didn't either. And yes, I know it's the Boomkin dance too, but you don't see a lot of (completely-bare) topless Boomkins running about. Which, now that I think about it, is probably a good thing.Previously, on MovieWatch...[via the WoW LJ community]
Broken CE pet for EU players, but Blizzard makes up for it double
So Burning Crusade is now live on the European servers, and one mistake has already been made. It's also been fixed, however, and the fix is pretty darn sweet.A few players opened up their expansion packs to find that their code for the Netherwhelp pet didn't work, and they weren't able to get their pet ingame. But Blizzard wasted no time in fixing things: they put up new instructions to get the pet, and they compensated players with not only the Netherwhelp pet, but another pet named Lurky the Murloc (brother, we assume, to Murky, the Murloc pet available at Blizzcon, and Gurky, the pet Blizzard has been giving away in a few places). In addition, they gave 2 free days of play to people affected.On one hand, I'm impressed that Blizzard fixed things so quickly, and was so generous in doing so. But on the other hand, I'm wondering: maybe my expansion could be broken somehow? Please?
TCG release, Blizzcon card deadline approaches
Well look who showed up in Booty Bay unannounced! That's right, as of the latest maintenance (or maybe the latest patch, I hadn't noticed him before), Landro Longshot, he of the collectible cardgame in-game rewards, is standing by in Booty Bay for your code. He's offering everything they promised he would be, including some cool tabards, a hippogryph pet, and the fantastically awesome riding turtle.And just in time, too, because just in case you've forgotten, we'll remind you that the card game due to come out tomorrow, October 25th. Being a CCG rookie, I have no idea where you'd find such a thing (are there actual CCG stores? Maybe just look in a gaming store), but if you want it, boxes and packs will be there for the selling. I haven't quite decided whether I'm going to pick it up or not yet. I don't have anyone to play with (because card games are for, y'know, nerds), but then again, I'd really appreciate a turtle mount. I guess if I happen to be out somewhere and see them in front of my face, I might grab a pack or two and try my luck.And speaking of upcoming dates and prizes, Neth reminds us all that the Blizzcon gift cards (with beta key and Murky the murloc pets) will expire at the end of the week, on October 28th. If you've still got a card, use it, for Thrall's sakes! And if you're not going to use it, email me, because I'll pay you to ship that thing to me as fast as Fedex will go. Not because I love Murky (I want to drop kick that thing every time my guildie pulls his out), but because I'll take any chance I can get to check the expansion before 2007 shows up.Update: Um, scratch that last note. Zollo provides us with a link (thanks!) that says Blizz is giving everyone plenty of time to turn in their pets at a special page just for redemption. On the other hand, if you already dropped your card in the mail to me, you lost your chance. Sucker!
