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The Queue: New Year's Eve edition
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.New Year's Eve! Hooray! Are you doing anything special tonight? I totally am. I'm going to play an alt. Gasp! Shock! No seriously, I have no idea what I'll be doing. Right now though, I'm answering questions!JLocke asked...I know the next big patch to hit will have Uldar raid in it, but are there any other cool things attached to it that we know of?
Account security mythbusting
So, you might have noticed the increased number of warnings and advice from Blizzard regarding account security lately. They've even popped up in the game itself, as a server message when you first log in. Needless to say, this has caused no dearth of consternation in the WoW community (read: people be trippin'). So, why the sudden notices? Has something changed? Has Blizzard lost their footing in the war against hackers and gold farmers? Is Blizzard in cahoots with them? What's this itchy pentagram-shaped rash I've developed?Now, there's a lot I can't talk about regarding this stuff, and certainly not for any sinister reason. It's a selfish reason, though, that being that I really like not getting sued. I can, however, use my experience and knowledge to bust or confirm some common account security myths. Ready? I'm a trained professional. Don't try this at home!
Encrypted Text: Hunger for Blood is terrible (to play)
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss how troublesome Assassination's new rotation is.During my regular readings of the Rogue forums, I often heard complaints regarding our Assassination 51-pointer (Hunger for Blood). The main issue is that people find with it comes from the fact that it takes our required button-pushing amounts from manageable to annoying. I was skeptical at first, as I had not been having much trouble with it in heroics and the odd Vault of Archavon run.I initially figured Mutilate would be a more interesting rotation than the old Rupture/SnD spam that was TBC Combat Swords. With Mutilate generating way more Combo Points than Sinister Strike, and simply replacing SnD with Envenom in my raiding DPS rotation, I figured it would be business as usual. I trade off using Mutilate less than Sinister Strike by having to keep HfB up. Easy enough, right? Wrong.
Shifting Perspectives: The Druid of 2008
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week, our author is completely spaced out on cold medication, and is somewhat concerned that her raid performance has improved under the circumstances.The time has come (the Allie said)To talk of many things.Of Roots and Bash and Travel Form,And Strength (which scales with Kings).Why Tauren cat form sucks so hard,And whether trees have wings!And, yes, before anyone asks, I'm tripping on too much cough syrup and ibuprofen after receiving a belated viral Christmas gift from a relative. So I'll just put this out there right now; this column's probably on the weird side. I took a long look at all three Druid specs over 2008 and saw a few sad things, a few happy things, a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants, and now I'm channeling the famous Mary Tyler Moore episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust," and that has to stop because I do not believe Mary Tyler Moore ever played a Druid.If you're completely uninterested in reading an account of any spec that's not your own -- although that would make me weep into my little cup of generic label cough syrup -- here's a set of quick links to each: Balance Feral Resto
FCC commissioner Deborah Tate resigns
The Huffington Post (among other sources) is reporting that FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate has resigned. This is the woman who, less than a month ago, said that World of Warcraft was one of the top reasons for college drop-outs. Now, I can't entirely blame someone for seeing MMOs as a bad thing, there are certainly a lot of people who don't seem to have the ability to throttle their playtime, but that really wasn't her first silly act or statement while she held her position (taking advice from corporations is bad, mmkay). A lot of people will take this news as a godsend.Of course, that doesn't mean she didn't do any good at all. Your personal views may differ from hers depending on the topic, but she's generally pretty well regarded for her efforts when it comes to issues regarding children and their protection. Personally, I don't agree with the extreme 'think of the children!' mentality (or Tate's approach to it) that's become increasingly common, but again, my opinion doesn't represent a nation. A few out of line comments don't negate her efforts entirely.
The Queue: The loot blues
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Merry No Maintenance Day, everyone! Let's not waste it and jump right into things. Chilblain asked...When my guild does 25-mans, it's not uncommon to have 2-3 Priests, 2 Warlocks and 2-3 Mages. Nearly one third of the entire raid is all rolling on Cloth armor, yet we go entire evenings where not a single piece drops.If Blizzard insists on the ridiculous notion that cloth should be all things to all people, have they addressed the poor drop rate in comparison to other items? Our Resto Druids and Shaman are all decked out in 213 and while our Priests are still healing in Heroic blues.
Massively and GamerDNA chart the MMO market in 2008
Our good friends over at Massively have teamed up with the GamerDNA site to come up with some stats of MMO playtime this year, and the results are very interesting. Unfortunately, those results are buried under some pretty confusing charts (and these are all approximations of what's happening from GamerDNA information, not actual subscription numbers), but we'll see if we can pull out the salient points for you.In (very) short, WoW rules. Two games that most pundits thought might affect WoW playtime, Warhammer Online and Age of Conan, in fact, didn't affect WoW logons in the least, according to this data. And while guest contributor (and GamerDNA writer/analyst) Sanya Weathers says she may have spotted a short decline in WoW playtime right around the release of WAR, that was quickly overshot by the release of Wrath, as WoW's numbers jumped right back up.But while Blizzard has weathered the competition this year, things might not be so hunky dory for them in the future: while games like Lord of the Rings Online and EVE Online are showing sharper increases, WoW's population seems to be leveling out. It's still growing, sure, but not at the rate that it has been (and perhaps at the slowest rate in the game's life). And you have to think, as we said on the podcast last week, that whatever other expansions Blizzard can come up with, none will be as interesting to their players as finishing off the story of Arthas Menethil and the Lich King. WoW is still the undisputed king of MMOs, but the stats say we're closer to the end of its reign than the beginning.
Tuesday Morning Post: Blinded by the Light edition
Have you seen Blind yet? Seriously. It's on the site, I swear. It's so good we posted it twice, even. Well, I guess three times, now. And seriously, guys. The music is fine. Awesome even. This is probably the most dynamic, well plotted, well choreographed WoW Movie to come across the desk here at WoW Insider, so even if you don't watch WoW videos, you are going to want to give this one a watch. Also, I just realized that the title "Blind" refers to the rogue skill, so that's cool too.If you can't find the time to watch it now, you'll have time in a little bit when the rolling restarts start. They start at 5 AM Pacific for American servers, 10 AM Pacific for the Oceanic servers. And once you're finished watching that and you pop your jaw back into place, try some of these articles:
Wrath 101: Getting your dungeon reputation tabards
Reader Paul K. sent us a query today about how to go about getting each of the champion dungeon tabards available at level 80, and since I'm about to hit level 80 (hopefully will be doing it tonight), I figured I'd do the work so the rest of you don't have to. Wearing these tabards will give you faction reputation for whatever tabard you're wearing in the endgame 5mans, so instead of running Steam Vaults over and over and over for Cenarion Expedition rep (oh man am I tired of that grind), you can just put on one of these, and then run whatever instances you want.There are currently four factions that you can champion in the game, and all of the tabards for each are available at Friendly. So you'll need at least friendly with all of the factions -- Wyrmrest Accord, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Kirin Tor, and the Argent Crusade -- before you go around to pick them all up. Getting there isn't hard at all -- if you've leveled by questing, you should have built up the necessary reputation (the one exception in my case is the Knights of the Ebon Blade -- I'm neutral right now, but I haven't really done any questing in Icecrown yet at all).After the jump, a list of where you need to go to get each tabard.
The Queue: Plate, plate and more plate
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Good afternoon, WoW Insider! I have nothing useful to say in my preface today, because I need to go put my new power supply and video card in my PC so I can actually play WoW again. Man, have you seen some of the newer video cards these days? If I had enough of these things I could build a fort capable of surviving a nuke out of them. This thing is a beast.Trech asked... A couple questions regarding DK tanking... How much Defense rating am I going to need at level 80 to hit 540 defense skill. How much base defense skill will I have at 80? I'm levelling Unholy with a DPS build. If I throw on a few pieces of +def gear can I safely go tank Nexus or Utgarde Keep at level 72?
Tattooed for the Horde
I can't say that I'm the biggest fan of tattoos out there, but that is a nice tattoo -- xstitchfla's son Christopher got it on his arm just recently, and clearly he's flying the Horde flag proudly. It took about five hours to put on there, which seems like it would hurt a lot, but then again, Hordies can take it, right?Christopher is also headed off to Iraq next year, too, so we wish him the best of luck and hope that he stays safe.And while we're at it, just what is it with the Horde and WoW tattoos? Seems like every picture we see is of the Orc/Tauren/Troll/Blood Elf/Forsaken variety. Aren't there any Humans, Gnomes or Dwarves out there getting inked up?
Ask a Lore Nerd: All about dragons
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, where each week blogger and columnist Alex Ziebart answers your questions about the lore and history of the World of Warcraft. Ask your questions in the comments section below, and we'll try to answer it in a future edition.The last Ask a Lore Nerd brought a whole load of Dragon-related questions, likely a result of the huge amounts of Dragon lore we've been given in Wrath of the Lich King. So today, we're going purely Dragon themed, and I'll be hitting a few of the bigger questions. Let's get started! Ves asked...Who are all these humanoids aiding the blue dragonflight? I did the quest where you find out one of them was a Troll forced to work for them under the threat of harm for his family, and I assume some of them are blue dragons taking human form becuase sometimes blowing up the world requires opposable thumbs, but surely they can't all be either dragons or slaves.
The Queue: Shameless
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.In today's episode of The Queue, I give our Facebook page another shameless plug. Have you seen it? Yes? Good! Let's move on, then.Jonny Dale asked...I seem to remember a post on where to find all the +hit rating gear for casters, but I can't find this anywhere on WoWInsider search or Google. Anyone care to help?
Sunday Morning Funnies: Moo for Hulkor
Although the holidays are beginning to simmer down, many people are still traveling, sleeping in, and otherwise busy with family or recreational activities. Check out this week's list of comics. It's short, but sweet! Donald for Algernon from Dark Legacy Comics. The title, and to some extent, the concept, are a reference to the Daniel Keyes novel, Flowers for Algernon. Experience Points offers up some wisdom at 80. You won't want to miss Flintlocke's holiday special. LFG needs somebody to lean on. NoObz is having a Crisis. On Teh Gladiators, it's a Family Affair. On The Scout Report, the Ogres have finally been paid. World of Warcraft, eh? released Eight Crazy Nights.
WoW, Casually: Loot
Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime.Ah the holidays. It's a time for families and friends getting together, children laughing, peace on Azeroth... and loot. Lots and lots of loot. Buying loot. Giving loot. Getting loot. Whether in the real world or in-game, when this time of year comes around, loot is all around us. So it seems as good a time as any to talk about casual players and loot.I've actually wanted to tackle this topic ever since a comment in the leveling before Wrath column. Commenter Rob said that for speedy leveling, you should never loot unless you need to -- implying only for collection quests. So I want to spend a little time explaining my position on looting.
Breakfast Topic: Soloing your way to a new ride
As Elizabeth observed a few days ago, there are certain pleasures to being 80. Even if you haven't gotten a shiny drop from a raid or a heroic yet, or finished grinding your way to exalted with a Wrath faction, you have one thing that absolutely no one can take away from you: an ever-increasing chance to leave classic and Burning Crusade-level mobs swinging fruitlessly at the air, completely unable to hit you.Just writing that gives me a disturbingly evil smile, because one of the things I've enjoyed most since hitting 80 is soloing heroic Sethekk in pursuit of the Raven Lord mount. Hi there, Syth. Remember the days when you used to mop the floor with my furry ass? I do, and this dish of revenge is being served to you at the proper temperature, courtesy of the frigid Northrend climate. How does it feel to be killed just because you're on the way to something bigger?
WRUP: Phoning it in edition
Hello? Guys? Anyone home? If you were to knock WoW Insider's office door, you probably wouldn't get an answer this weekend, as most of the WoW Insider team seems to be /afk for the holidays. At least we're pretty sure we actually have more writers than are listed here -- and at least two of those only responded to our WRUP call-out by cell phone. Whether you're in game or out this weekend, we hope you're having a happy Winter Veil!Alex Ziebart: I'm not really playing at all until the new computer parts I ordered gets to my house. The most I can do is fish in the back of Ironforge or my video card overheats. I play vicariously through my guildmates in guild chat when I'm not leveling a random alt's fishing. Someone narrating Wintergrasp to me is totally the same as being there, right?Amanda Miller: I have been gathering presents for all of my alts, as well as working on the Merrymaker title. I've also been leveling my Death Knight through Northrend, although right now I'm trying to catch up on her Blacksmithing.For the rest of the team, read on!
The Queue: Sartharion and the Twilight Dragonflight
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.We're back after our little holiday vacation, and I hope yours was way more fun than mine! Let's avoid going into detail and becoming a rambling pack of scrooges, and get into the Q&A instead! Let's start with Sl0th's very good question... Why are we going to the Obsidian Sanctum? Sartharion doesn't seem to be doing anything except watching over eggs. He's not a direct threat to anyone like Onyxia or Nefarian were. He seems like just some random Black Dragon who's minding his own business, hanging out in the Black Dragonflight's area under Wyrmrest. Did I miss our rationale for wrecking up the place every week somewhere along the way?
[1.Local]: Thank you, thank you
Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.In this last installment of [1.Local] for 2008, we'd like to thank a few people – you, our readers – with some of your own words. Here is a quick sampling of some of the more recent thank-you's we've received. For this [1.Local] only, we included notes that came in via e-mail and other methods, as well. We think these messages of appreciation point to good writing, good material, good reader perspectives ... a good deal all the way around.Be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread (not this one!) and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.Who's the tank?Readers thought this Moviewatch was a job well done – and its creator was surprised and flattered for the recognition. "I'd just like to give a big thank you to Michael Gray for posting my "Who's the Tank?" video on WoW Moviewatch," wrote Michael Schroeder of BroncoTV. "It's really hard to get a lot of recognition on YouTube, especially because our comedy sketches don't really fit the requirements for a good viral video (e.g., someone getting hit in the nuts). So I am ever so grateful that you gave the video such a boost. Again, thank you very much for showcasing my video and I'm really glad you enjoyed it!"
WoW Rookie: Your first steps in the World of Warcraft
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic. Hi there, new player -- welcome to WoW and the WoW Insider family! WoW Rookie helps you get off to a great start with all sorts of crunchy bits and nuggets of wisdom. Here's our spin on all the nuts-and-boltsy tips you won't find in the box or in the game.One note: If you've already begun your journey through Azeroth and run across something in game or in our resources below that makes you rethink your approach, don't be afraid to make a fresh start. Blizzard makes it easy for today's new players to zip through the early levels. It's much better to make adjustments early on, before you've invested significant time and effort in your character.
