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Breakfast Topic: Realm type
Before we even go into this... yes -- I am a carebear. I play almost exclusively on PvE servers. I just, personally, have never been that excited by the full-out PvP experience, and the amount of PvP I can find on a PvE server has always suited me perfectly well. However, when first logging on, there are several options of realm type -- so today's question is what's your favorite? PvE, PvP, RP, or RP-PvP?
Greatly extended weekly maintenance for some realms
Do you play on one of the following realms? Azjol-Nerub, Bloodscalp, Bonechewer, Boulderfist, Bronzebeard, Crushridge, Daggerspine, Darkspear, Draenor, Dragonblight, Dragonmaw, Dunemaul, Eldre'Thalas, Feathermoon, Firetree, Frostmane, Gurubashi, Nathrezim, Perenolde, Scarlet Crusade, Shadow Council, Shadowsong, Silvermoon, Skywall, Smolderthorn, Spirestone, Stonemaul, Stormscale, Suramar, Terenas, Uldum, or Windrunner. Well, if so, I feel sorry for you, because your so-called Tuesday maintenance will be stretched out until 12:01 AM PDT Wednesday morning. They're down for hardware upgrades to -- hopefully -- improve server stability, but such extended downtime isn't exactly fun for those looking forward to logging on and playing Tuesday afternoon. As an additional downer, friend and ignore lists will be lost for those on effected realms, and paid character transfers will be offline for the duration of the maintenance period.
Breakfast Topic: Pick a Realm, Any Realm...
This post about selecting a realm to play on caught my attention, as I recently find myself in a similar predicament. After playing many months on one realm, the guild I've been in has started breaking up - with several of my friends giving up on the game - and I'm left wondering what to do next. The existing guilds on my realm hold little interest for me and the Horde population there is sufficiently small as to make establishing a new guild a difficult or impossible endeavor. So I'm faced with the thought of starting anew. Should I re-roll on another realm? Transfer to another realm? And, regardless of which one I might decide, I'm faced with the ominous decision of which realm to pick. So, how does one choose the perfect realm - or is there such a thing? What do you look for when deciding to start afresh in Azeroth?
Lag Monster Respawns Again
As you have all probably noticed, and as we've been reporting, there has been a mysterious increase in the amount of server downtime lately, with official "maintenances": being scheduled with little notice & players becoming incresingly more disgruntled as visions of outages from months past creep back into their brains like carrion worms...I guess it was only a matter of time before the ubiquitous "SERVER OUTAGES CAUSE MASS CHAOS" news posts started to creep up, and Gamespot is one of the first major sites to renew the scrutiny.Apparently, the official story from Blizzard is that server upgrades in June, undertaken to increase stability, have in fact done the exact opposite, and let loose some more ghosts in the machine. There is an official thread on the subject over at the Blizzard forums as well, with plenty of rabid responses to the boys in blue. Have you all noticed the recent increase in downtime? Has it affected your playtime? Does it seem as bad as it was before? Chime in...
The Results of Paid Realm Transfers
I've spent a long time looking forward to the idea of paid character transfers. I have two well-geared 60s on an old realm that I abandoned for various reasons, and I'm excited at the prospect of having them available for play on the realm I now call home. So I've always looked at the prospect of transferring as a way of regaining access to characters that I'd put a lot of time and effort into, but had to abandon in order to play with friends.However, one of my want-to-transfer characters is in full tier 2, with some Ahn'Qiraj gear. I'd be transferring to a server well Nefarian has not yet been slain nor the gates of Ahn'Qiraj opened. And I can't be the only one wanting to move such characters, for one reason or another. There are many impassioned cries by players on realms old and new - as characters far beyond the realm's progression transfer over and start changing the face of PvP and PvE. With the number of restrictions on the transfer service ($25 per transfer, can only transfer every 6 months, can't transfer to severs less than 3 months old) it's obvious they've thought about the potential problems. And it's equally obvious, with the effort put into rolling out this program, that it's not just going to vanish. So where's the happy medium between a free-for-all transfer and allowing players to rejoin friends on other servers without abandoning previous efforts? Blizzard seems to be listening to player concerns, but where it will go from here, and how open character transfers will continue to impact realm status, is still a mystery.[Fan art by Guillaume Bonnet]
Character Transfer Controversy Continues
The announcement that Blizzard will now be offering paid character transfers for $25 has been met with more than a little controversy within the community. Many people, including many who have commented on it here, feel that Blizzard is milking customers out of more money for a service that they could easily provide for free. Others defend Blizzard's descision, claiming that the character transfer fee is nothing more than a way to discourage players from moving servers willy nilly in a never-ending game of musical realms, which I happen to agree with.If players were allowed to freely transfer between servers as often as they wished, then it could potentially open up a huge can of worms; one scenario I can imagine is players possibly griefing or otherwise causing problems on one server, only to move to another when they wind up on too many peoples 'ignore' lists. What about you readers? How many of you are planning to take advantage of the transfer service? Why have you chosen to move realms? population? Friends on other realms? Want to start anew with a fresh reputation? Let us know...
Paid Character Transfer Confirmed
Looks like Elizabeth's earlier report on paid character transfers was right on the money, as today's report on UkGamespot confirms. They have an interview with Blizzard developer Shane Dabiri, who sheds some more light on the process, including official details for pricing & realm transfer rules.Dabiri also touches on some of the reasons for the transfer regulations, and addresses some other related questions, including the oft-mentioned cross-realm battlegrounds. So, if you're planning on switching realms when transfers become available, check it out & find out all you need to know!
Select Realm Transfers Open
For any of you currently looking to transfer your character, Blizzard is now allowing transfers of characters to the Cho'gall & Korgath realms from select PvP realms, per this announcement at the official site.The Cho'gall realm will accept transfers from Bleeding Hollow, Mannorath, and Skullcrusher, while the Korgath server will accept players from Shattered Hand, Stormreaver, and Warsong. The transfers will be available from 3 P.M. PDT until A.M. PDT, and will cease on June 15 at 3 P.M. PDT, so get in there & reserve your spot early if you're interested.
Nintendo colors the Twilight Realm [Update 1]
It's fairly well-known by now that in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link will be traveling between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm, a dark, grey place that causes him to transform into a wolf. Well, according to Eiji Aonuma, by way of an interview conducted by magazine Electronics Gaming Monthly, the Twilight Realm has received a makeover and will now feature a vibrant set of colors, distinguishing itself from Hyrule in that way. No screenshots of the changed look have made its way onto the internet at the time of this post, so hopefully we'll see something pop up soon.[Update: Photographic evidence may be seen here.]
Poll: What type of server do you play on?
With all the different playstyles available in WoW, which do you prefer? If you play on multiple types of servers, let us know! What type of server do you play on? PvE PvP RP RP-PvP Free polls from Pollhost.com
