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The Daily Grind: Are you excited for Warlords of Draenor?
As I sat and watched the news pour in about World of Warcraft's fifth expansion, I was of two minds. On the one hand, when you start diving into the past, it's often a sign that the present is less interesting. On the other hand, this is a time that has been alluded to but never explored, and this trailer is not forgetting draenei. On the third hand, there's some interesting stuff here even without a time skip. On the fourth hand, where did all of these extra hands come from? The point is that I'm not sure if I'm excited about Warlords of Draenor yet. Maybe you're a bit more clear-headed than I am, ladies and gentlemen of the audience. Are you excited for this new expansion? Were you sitting in your chair looking forward to another chapter for World of Warcraft? Or are you ready to declare it a failure from just the title alone? 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!
EverQuest II posts a preview for Chains of Eternity on the last day to pre-order
Are you ready for the ninth expansion for EverQuest II, Chains of Eternity? It's coming out tomorrow, so if you're not ready, you should probably get ready pretty quickly if you play the game. This also means that today is the last day to pre-order and get an exclusive cape as a pre-order customer. Technically you have until 2:59 a.m. EST on the 13th, but it's best to just take care of that now if you've been meaning to order it and haven't gotten around to it. But what if you're still undecided? The team at Sony Online Entertainment has put together one last preview video to help tempt you over with information about the expansion's dungeons. It's a quick video hitting the highlights of the nine new dungeons included with the expansion, complete with commentary from the developers regarding the design and the visual points of interest. Jump past the break for the preview, and if you're still on the fence about ordering, you'll need to make up your mind quickly.
WoW Moviewatch: New Expansion
This is a rap parody video from J's Video Productions, which is a relatively new one on me. This is what J had to say about the New Expansion: With the new expansion "Mists of Pandaria" coming soon, there was alot of wonder leading up to its announcement and even now its launch. So i decided to make a video based off of that. And I'd like to apologize in advance for the mic quality, I plan on getting a decent one soon hopefully. I was pleasantly surprised to see this video, since I hope it's the herald of lots of new machinima coming around for the MoP launch. The video was decent, and definitely worth taking the time to check it out. As J says, the mic definitely betrayed him. Homepfully, the equipment upgrade will help. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
How do you prepare raiders for a new expansion?
Raiding last week was tough all around for my guild. Between completing all of Dragon Soul on heroic, the release of Diablo III, and the simple nightmare of trying to field a 25-man raid guild these days, it's not easy to keep everyone's spirits high. My guild does a remarkable job with it, but the main issue isn't really the content itself, which we can easily clear. It's keeping raiders interested and logging on so we have a full team to work with. Mists of Pandaria is just over the horizon, however, and for the first time since I joined the guild, we've got a fairly substantial amount of time to farm until we're blue in the face. Heroic Lich King died at the end of Wrath of the Lich King, but we didn't get more than a few weeks to breathe before we were all hurriedly leveling through Cataclysm and preparing to throw ourselves at the raid grind all over again. With my previous raid guild, we pretty much called a halt to raids after umpteen Black Temple clears, a few months before Wrath of the Lich King launched. While Sunwell seemed interesting to me, the rest of the guild -- who had all been around far longer than I, mind you -- didn't feel up to the challenge. It does make me wonder, though, how different raid guilds handle prepping for that new expansion experience. Is there protocol to follow?
Taking charge of your gold in the first days of Mists of Pandaria
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Check out Fox and Basil's reboot of Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! The first few days of an expansion are a little like the wild west. This week, Gold Capped received an email about these first days: I love your column on WoW Insider. It's been an eye opener for me on just how easy it can be to make some serious gold. That said, I didn't discover it until well after Cataclysm had launched, and so my question to you is; what were the first few days of the Cataclysm launch like economically, and what do you think I can expect from Mists of Pandaria? I had a blacksmith at the time of the Cata launch, and I remember spending exorbitant amounts of gold on ore/bars (he wasn't a miner). Is it a situation where, for the first few days, farming actually is worth doing, or are goods still worth making then? I have a bunch of 85s, all with worthwhile trade skills, and I'm just wondering what the best way will be to capitalize on the newness of the expansion. The first few days of every new expansion, including Cataclysm, were a little crazy. The first thing you need to prepare for is the hyperinflation. Everyone will have more money, and they will all be spending it. Nothing gets people spending their savings like a new expansion. Pets will be battleable, new glyphs will be available, and everyone will be leveling professions. All this new demand is going to overwhelm the farmers, and for a while at least, the only cheap way to get materials will be to farm them yourself.
CCP releases EVE Quarterly Economic Newsletter
It's time for another in-depth look at New Eden's thriving economy, and as you'd expect in a game built around interminable conflict, business is booming. CCP's resident economist, Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, is back with the latest EVE Online Quarterly Economic Newsletter (QEN), and while it's a bit on the old news side for those lucky enough to attend last month's Fanfest where it was initially presented, the trends, observations, and raw data are still relevant for the rest of us. In a nutshell, keep killing your friends and neighbors, as the constant bloodletting is integral to New Eden's economic well-being. "Warfare and the EVE Online economy thrive on each other. Without warfare there is very little consumption in EVE Online and without a strong economy (and lots of personal wealth) wars can't be won," Guðmundsson explains.
Coming back for the Cataclysm
Tomorrow sees the launch of the third expansion to World of Warcraft... but odds are you already knew that. It's been hard to miss the lead-up, even if you weren't playing the game and thereby missed out on seeing the entire planet get blown apart. And it's probably been equally difficult to fight back the siren song of the game, taunting you to come back and play again... or play for the first time if you've never tried it. If you've been proud of yourself for resisting, you might want to look away, because there are many reasons to start playing again or start up for the first time. The expansion has brought with it a number of improvements and boosts to the game, some obvious and some not. If you've been considering coming back or trying the game out, there's never been a better occasion than right this moment -- whatever your reason for leaving might have been.
Breakfast Topic: Predicting the future: Patch 5.0.1
Patch 4.0.1 is live on the public test realm. The data is being downloaded onto your computer as you read this, if it isn't there already. The prologue for Cataclysm is about to begin. Here at WoW Insider, we've put an incredible amount of cumulative effort into reporting what's going on both in the Cataclysm beta and on the PTR. We've already got that new-instruction-book smell flooding our nostrils. And quite frankly, we're a little exhausted. So instead of spending this morning reflecting on Cataclysm yet again, let's do something different. It's time to look to the future. The future, Fox? That's right, friends for life, it's time we all look into the future. All the way to the year 2000 ... and, um, 12. 2012. Cataclysm will be two years old. A new expansion -- or perhaps even a brand new World of Warcraft MMO -- will be upon us. We first started speculating on what would happen in patch 4.0.2 4.0.1 all the way back in 2008, so there's no reason why we can't start speculating about World of Warcraft 5.0.1 now. So, what do you think we're in for? What's going to be the theme of the next major expansion? Are we in for new races? (Come on, Ethereals!) Are we in for new classes? And most importantly, what horrifying quest will involve the two-year-old remains of Old Blanchy?
First Impressions: City of Heroes Going Rogue
To hear the team talk about it, Going Rogue isn't simply an expansion for City of Heroes but a full-on reboot of the game in general. It's hard to see how, on some level; outside of the new powersets and a new starting area, not much is visibly being added with the expansion. But sitting down and playing through the starting area and the game's opening suddenly feels like an entirely different experience. It's not a new game -- but it feels like a leap forward from where the game had been just a few days before. I didn't get nearly as much time with the Going Rogue beta as I would have liked, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm biased when it comes to City of Heroes. But even with those standards set, I was impressed right away with how the game has been revamped from the start -- and what these revamps mean for the game as a whole and moving forward. Click on past the cut for the first impressions of the latest expansion, which launches today. (Coincidental, yes?) %Gallery-99455%
Sound Blaster site may hint at expansion details
Creative Labs posted a teaser flash video on their Sound Blaster site today; though to what they're announcing or counting down is currently unknown, we can definitely see that it's WoW-related, given the Horde crest in the center of the screen, and the Lament of the Highborne playing in the background.Now, normally this wouldn't be very interesting, but when brightness and contrast are adjusted on the image's background, two distinct maps appear. The first is what is clearly Azshara on the left side of the image, and the second is the peninsula of Gilneas on the right side.So why is this interesting? Well, those are the starting zones that the leaked Cataclysm information states are for the new races coming with the expansion. It seems that the zones are in the spotlight a bit too much for it to be a coincidence. It very well could be an announcement meant to be timed with BlizzCon, or it could just be that the maps typically surround the Maelstrom and thus their positioning makes sense with the swirling Maelstrom graphic in the center. We'll see what Creative has to say when the teaser ticks down some more!
Age of Conan to unveil new expansion at GamesCom
The first proper expansion for Age of Conan will be unveiled this August at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany. Funcom's Erling Ellingsen confirmed the news:"Yes, we will be revealing the first expansion for Age of Conan at the GamesCom show in August. We have lots of exciting stuff to reveal and Conan players and gamers in general are in for a real treat, but for now, our lips are sealed until then!"The unveil will feature in-game footage and a preview of the quests, monsters, new environments and other additions that will make up the expansion. This news comes not long after the release of a major content patch for AoC, and should help keep that positive momentum going.
EA looking for beta testers for new Ultima Online expansion
If you're one of the devoted nation of Ultima Online players, you already know that EA are making good on their agreement to continue to develop the game, and that there is another expansion coming. What you may not know is that the developer team is currently looking for some good players - especially those with beta testing experience - to give them a hand testing the new Stygian Abyss expansion! Beta testers will have the chance to step into the claws of the new Gargoyle race and stomp around the new areas before anyone else. This expansion purportedly has 'the largest dungeon area ever introduced to Ultima Online', as well as PvP zones and of course, the new Gargoyle homelands. Those who are interested in joining the beta test have to be current Ultima Online subscribers, and will be based on "computer system specs, previous testing experience, community involvement and other criteria." Signups are currently open on their site, so you'd better hurry if you're interested.
The Daily Grind: What are your plans for Moria?
On Tuesday, players will be able to experience Turbine's eagerly-anticipated new expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online, Mines of Moria. With two new classes, the Warden and Rune-Keeper, tons of new content and lore to explore, and new monsters to slay, players are excited about all the goodness about to come. With new classes, a trip into the dark and foreboding Misty Mountains, and new legendary items, what's not to love?Of course, with any new expansion comes a few questions. Will you be shelving your beloved adventurer(s) to roll one of the two new character classes? Will you stick with the character you've worked hard at and continue onwards? Perhaps take a couple of days off to really sink your teeth into all the delicious newness that Moria has to offer and do both! What are your plans for Moria's launch?
Horde plans attack for Northrend on a map without Northrend
Reader Dale from Grim Batol-EU (I don't think that's his character name) sent in a screenshot of the war map the leaders of the Horde stand around while debating their assault on Northrend in the latest (and probably final) stage of the Scourge Invasion. He sent it to us wondering if it holds any hints of future expansions, because the map includes a number of land masses we haven't seen in-game and have only appeared on a few maps of the world we've seen. I think there is something much more dire in the image.There is no next expansion. Why? Because Northrend isn't even on that map. The Horde is using a map that lacks Northrend to discuss an assault on Northrend. I think I have some idea of how their conversation really went down at their war council. Check it out behind the cut below.
What we're expecting from BlizzCon
As we announced earlier, BlizzCon tickets are on sale. Sort of. Kind of. If you can fight past the store servers. I know I've been getting nothing but the fail murloc pretty much all day. Still, I and the rest of WoW Insider's crack live team will be there come hell or high water, and we'll bring you the news you need to know. In the meantime, we're stuck here refreshing the Blizzard Store. To pass the time, we did a bit of speculation about what we might see in Anaheim on October 10th and 11th. Here's what we decided: What we're sure to see The Wrath of the Lich King Cinematic: Though we still have no solid announcement, Blizzard's already stated that they want to get Wrath out before 2008 is up. Considering that, they must have the opening cinematic pretty close to done. I would be surprised if we don't see it open the opening ceremony, to be completely honest. I'm expecting Arthas and/or a "rebel" Human Death Knight to feature prominently, as well as our first cinematic Gnome shot.
