spirit-of-competition
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No Spirit of Competition reward this year
Zarhym broke the news to us via his usual gentle tweeting: There's no Spirit of Competition for this year's Olympics. It's understandable that pretty much all companion pet development time has gone into things like Mists of Pandaria's pet battles, a whole host of new tameable pets for said system, and so on. It's understandable that people would be bummed, as the Gold Medallion is no longer available within the game -- and thus, if you don't have the Spirit of Competition, you won't be getting one. Perhaps the Spirit of Competition can be brought back as a prize for being the very best, which up to this point no one ever was. 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!
The Queue: I want a siege tank IRL
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Today's edition of The Queue is brought to you by my bruised ego after a half-dozen rounds of crushing defeats in StarCraft II. Seriously? Twenty mutalisks in my base while I'm still trying to figure out where my dragoon buddies went? I hate everyone and everything. Yes, even you. Especially you, Taylor. You know who you are. Tethra asked... "Any idea when we're going to get our Olympics pets, other than 'soon'?"
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.
Forum post of the day: The thrill and the agony
Forticia of Dragonblight does not care for battlegrounds, but was tempted by the Spirit of Competition event to give it a go. She discovered her own secret to finding a little enjoyment in PvP: "Don't look at your health bar." She realized that death isn't permanent and that sometime you just need to jump in do what needs to be done. Other posters joined in with more suggestions: Palpatina of Uldum, "Play smart (i.e. don't let your team down) but don't worry too much about whether you're winning or losing. Enjoy outsmarting and outlasting your enemies. Have fun." Abracapocus of Whisperwind, "I'm frankly amazed at how when I run into a group of Alliance and hit Ice Block, LOTS sit there trying to hit me even though I'm invulnerable" Nevermore of Malfurion, "The secret to enjoying BGs is winning. Sorry, but that's all that does it for me." Kalerender of Thaurissan, "I like to go in, annoy pvp whingers who sook because I'm wearing T6 and not pvp gear, and then 2-3 shot people as a super-duper glass cannon." I love the battlegrounds, but I understand that not everyone does. I get frustrated when players refuse to work as a team. I enjoy the battleground most when grouped with my buddies so that we can work together toward a given objective. I disagree that winning is everything, but it is a lot of fun. I find it a great way to take out frustration. Have you gotten into the Spirit of Competition?
Arena Junkies hosts Arena Olympics
If you haven't heard, Arena Junkies is hosting their own Arena Junkies Olympic Contest. So while many of us are working on getting our own Spirit of Competition from the Azeroth Olympics, the Arena minded can compete to win a key to the Wrath of the Lich King beta. Basically, you start a team with the phrase "AJOlympics" included in its name. Then, you go play in the Arena. The better you do, the more chances you get to win a key in the final drawing. You have to get at least a 2k Rating to even get one chance, so finally a 2000 rating will mean something again. They'll keep updating their leaderboards until the end of the contest, so you can see how many people you'll be facing off against in the final drawing. I think it's a pretty cool contest, and I wouldn't mind seeing one of our readers win it. Not that I'm hinting at y'all or anything.
Olympic battleground rewards appear on European and Chinese servers
Despite the extensive problems and human violations rights perpetuated by the Chinese government, some in service of the Olympic games themselves, most of the world seems to content to settle in and watch the Beijing Olympics one way or another. Apparently, that attitude has spread to Blizzard itself. Currently on the European and Chinese servers, there are NPCs at each major Battlemaster area in the capital cities who proclaim that Battlegrounds are hosting some type of "Spirit of Competition." For simply participating in a battleground, you are sent a Competitor's Tabard, which features 4 multi-colored rings on a white background, a clear reference to the Olympics itself. If you win a battleground during this time period, you may also have a chance at receiving a gold medal which summons a spirit of competition, which looks like a small Chinese dragon according to tipster Ichthallus. This competition does not appear to be live on the US Servers, nor has anyone from Blizzard spoken up to reveal if it ever will be as of this writing. We'll have to watch and see what happens. As Blizzard does not appear to be an official Olympic partner, there is some concern from some quarters that this could simply be a copyright issue. It's also possible that this was meant to be a Chinese servers only event, and it only accidentally got onto the EU servers. Thanks to everyone who sent us tips on this! EDIT: Belfaire has confirmed that this event will be coming to US and Oceanic servers starting at Midnight server time. Thanks to those who let us know in the comments!
