wotlk-beta
Latest
New Darkmoon Faire cards in 8885
Two new Darkmoon Faire cards have cropped up in the latest Beta build, 8885. [Darkmoon Card: Death]: Each time you deal damage, you have a chance to do an additional 787 to 913 Shadow damage to targets with less than 35% health.I can see this coming in handy, especially since it works for casters, range and melee alike. There are many times when a group wipes because they couldn't get a boss down quite quickly enough, for example. It would also be useful for soloing, just to speed up the process and give a little boost. [Darkmoon Card: Greatness]: Chance to increase your highest stat by 85 for 30 sec when dealing or taking damage in combat.I especially like this one. It would work for anybody, and adds a bit of individuality I think. Granted, 85 isn't the highest bonus to a stat you can find on a trinket, but it has the potential to boost stats that existing trinkets don't.%Gallery-20398%
Death Knights receive unique voices
The fine folk over at DeathKnight.info have posted a video of the unique Death Knight voices we've all been promised. They don't have an entirely new set of voice emotes (at least not yet), they took a slightly different route. There's actually a sound filter over the voices, making them sound echoey and spooky. The females have been described as sounding like banshees, which is pretty accurate I think. If you're not a fan of the voice effects, you're allowed to turn them off in your Sound control panel so you won't have to hear it. Other people still will, unless they do the same.I'm definitely a fan of this for most of the race/gender combos. Some of them are lackluster (in my opinion) such as the Female Dwarves. The best? Male Blood Elf by far. That laugh? Awesome. Just awesome. I'm sure we'll see a couple of tweaks to this before the end of the beta period, but they're definitely on the right track, I think.%Poll-18836%
Ask a Beta Tester: Storms of the Divine and Thunder varieties
Preamble is for sissies. Sallix asked...Looking at the new Divine Shield (reduces damage by 50%) will it still drop aggro or work like a shield wall-like ability? Also will Hand of Protection (reworked blessing of protection) still drop it's target's threat?Divine Shield still drops aggro. It works the same way it always has. However, Divine Protection is now a Paladin's Shield wall. Divine Protection is the Protection Paladin's 'oh crap' button now, and coupled with the new Lay on Hands, they're pretty set. Protadins are going to be in a really, really good place come Wrath. As for Hand of Protection, it works exactly like Blessing of Protection did. It doesn't "drop threat" but it does make the mob/boss stop attacking the Protected person for the duration of the buff. They mob will, as always, go back to that person if they're still on top of the threat list 10 seconds later.dave asked...Do level 70 toons start off with the max amount of rest XP when we install wrath? Or will rest XP start after the game is installed?
Priest glyphs from Beta build 8885
A new batch of glyphs has come with the latest Beta push, and I can't really say the Priest ones are impressive. They're pretty boring, but not every batch of glyphs can be mind-blowing. They're not even implemented yet. Still, they're there, and it's usually some indicator of things to come so let's take a look, shall we?Glyph of Fading - Reduces the mana cost of your Fade spell by 50%.Well, I'm willing to guess this is a Minor Glyph. It's not that great and Fade isn't something you spam, though you'll be using it a lot more in PvP than PvE for sure. In the Wrath beta, Fade currently costs 13% of your base mana, according to Wowhead. At level 80, Fade will cost you around 470 mana, give or take a couple of points. With this glyph, it will cost 235 mana. If you're using a talented Fade every 24 seconds it will be equivalent to roughly an extra 50 mana per 5 seconds. According to a friend of mine, 48.95 mp5 is the exact amount. I didn't really feel like getting that crunchy about it, so I'll take his word for it. You probably won't use it immediately every cooldown, but eh. As a minor glyph, that's fairly decent, really. It sounds underwhelming, but assuming it is a minor glyph, it's likely not a terrible choice for a PvP Shadow Priest. It'll come down to whether or not vastly better glyphs are available.
Around Azeroth: The deadliest catch
There hasn't been a lot of information put out about fishing in Wrath of the Lich King. According to El's Anglin', grand master fishing was just introduced in the last couple weeks, and beta testers are still figuring out exactly what's available in the waters. But there's one thing we know for sure -- whatever new tricks and trinkets Blizzard come up with, the path to 450 fishing will involve a lot of hours spent staring at the screen, waiting for a little bobber to go up and down in the water. El's Anglin' puts it at about 1,000 catches from 375-450, or approximately four to five hours. (This is why I never made it to 375.) Beta testers may have just gotten the ability to fish, but it looks like the NPCs have been working on leveling their skill for a while. Tinuviel of <Soldiers of Fortune> on Antonidas, who writes the Steady Shot hunter blog, sat with some of the local Tuskarr while they reeled in their catches near one of the local turtle boats (which seems to also serve as a fishing vessel.) She then jumped in the water, electrocuting everyone with her shoulderpads.This image came to us straight from the Wrath of the Lich King beta -- and we'd love to have your beta screenshots, too! If you have anything our readers might like, beta or not, sharing it is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. %Gallery-1816%
Skill Mastery: Army of the Dead
Ever since we first heard about the spell, I have been without a doubt drooling over Army of the Dead. This level 80 Death Knight spell allows you to summon an army to your beck and call. In specific, it's a 6 second channel spell that summons several weak undead to taunt and fight your enemies. In addition, you take less damage equal to your dodge plus parry chance. It costs one of each basic rune type, and has a 10 minute 20 minute cooldown (You see how swiftly things change in the Beta?). You can see the spell in action above (video found on Deathknight.info). You may notice some problems. For example, some the ghouls stand around and do nothing. In addition, the damage reduction on channeling does not seem to be working. Still, it's pretty cool seeing all those ghouls decend on the enemy, even if they are lowbie scarlets.
Ask a Beta Tester: Of penguins and paladins
Reader Gary kick-starts today's Q&A with a pressing issue... Penguins. I love them. You should love them. Where are they? At WoW Insider, we also love penguins and hope to see them in non-combat-pet form soon. However, they aren't as common in Northrend as you might think. With all the snow and glaciers, one would imagine Northrend to be the penguin capitol of the known world, I've yet to encounter one. My fellow bloggers have informed me that you can occasionally catch them out on glaciers -- especially when traveling the frozen waters of Northrend. For more of your beta questions -- and our beta answers -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
WotLK bestiary update: The wendigo
The WotLK EU Bestiary has been updated with a new creature: the Wendigo. Rumored to be related to the wendigo living in Dun Morogh, the wendigo of Northrend seem to lurk close to their caves. And, like other family-minded spawns of Northrend, these wendigo are fiercely protective of their relatives. The Bestiary warns of "the sound of their savage bellows," so I definitely hope to see some kind of sonic-based attack from the cool looking monster. The Bestiary also talks about the wendigo's bone-piles, so they might have a little more habitat in their spawning areas than we're used to seeing. Like Alex mentioned previously, the Darkfallen are the hypothetical next-to-be-revealed monster. But there's only three unrevealed mobs on the total list, so at worst, the Darkfallen have a 33% chance to be the next spotlighted critter. I'm most curious about the Proto-Dragon, so my money says that's going to be the last one detailed.
Ask a Beta Tester: Hunter-o-rama
We'll kick off today with commenter Zayd and a few questions about hunters.... Have any hunters in the beta tried tanking a 5 man run with one of their tenacity pets yet? I'm very curious to know how viable that is. I approached our hunter in residence, Daniel Howell (you might know him as BigRedKitty), with this question. Here's what he had to tell us: I have not run an instance with a pet-tank, mainly because Growl -- a Hunter pet's #1 aggro-generation spell -- is a mess. Having used pet-tanks against various elites in Outland, I am fairly confident that a Tenacity-pet will be able to tank a 5-person instance boss, assuming the appropriate heals and aggro management are coordinated by the rest of the party. However, until Growl is fixed, this really cannot be conclusively proven.For more of your beta questions -- and our beta answers -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
The Tuesday Morning Post: Cinematics and content patches
Good tuesday morning, everyone! It's an extended maintenance day this week, from 3AM - 11 AM Pacific time. Of course, while we've just gotten wind of another content patch, it's probably safe to say said patch is not dropping this week. All the same, we do have 8 hours of downtime. Whether your lack of WoW playing is enforced by your job or enforced by the downtime this morning, you now have plenty of time to Browse WoW Insider, right? Check out some of our best news and articles from the past week, from the Wrath Beta and elsewhere: Hot News and Hot Features The Wrath Cinematic is out, and our sister site Big Download has direct downloads for you. Looking for a game or two to pass the time? Have you seen our crossword puzzles yet? Learn about phasing, the new technique Blizzard is using in Northrend to create dynamic content. You might also have some fun with the latest version of BlizzCon 08: The Game. As always, be sure to check out Ask a Beta Tester for answers to all your burning beta questions. Okay, so we're in the Wrath Beta. But it's not all fun and games! If you haven't seen all of our Wrath zone galleries, why not check them out now?
MTV's weekend with Lich King
In a sea of Wrath of the Lich King beta reviews, it's nice to occasionally get some that aren't aimed towards the hardest of the hardcore, consisting of flavor-of-the-week buzzwords and catchy acronyms. Over at the MTV Multiplayer blog, we get treated to a casual review of the Wrath beta, focusing on the Death Knight and the character carry-over experience.In this review, we're told of this player's thoughts on how WotLK is "more of the same - but better." They're particularly happy with how the Death Knight isn't just a new class thrown into the mix, but it has its own storyline and unique set of skills that combine elements of the other classes. The achievement system is also discussed (and praised) in detail, but just enough to interest people who may be looking at World of Warcraft for the first time. Yes, there are people like that out there somewhere. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Ask a Beta Tester: Of Northrend and Nesingwary
Today we're going on safari with a question from t_d, who asked.... Do we get to see Hemet Nesingwary do some big game hunting in Northrend and if so, who did he leave in charge of the Nagrand Expedition? Where there's new adventures to be had -- and new beasts to hunt -- you will find Hemet Nesingwary, struggling to rid the world of dangerous creatures everywhere. Though on the beta realms, his camp in Nagrand still contains Hemet himself, we're guessing that when Wrath goes live they'll replace him with a stand-in, similar to what they did when he came to Nagrand from Stranglethorn Vale. For more on on Hemet Nesingwary -- and other questions -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
Breakfast topic: What you'll be doing in Wrath
Over the past week we've run a couple of polls asking you all what classes and professions you plan to work on when Wrath hits store shelves this year. (At least we're all hoping it's this year.) And how better to start off a new week than by looking back at the results! For classes, we have: Death Knight (18.7%), Paladin (12.9%), Hunter (11%), Druid (10.2%), Mage (8.8%), Shaman (8.6%), Warrior (8%), Priest (8%), Warlock (7.2%), and Rogue (6.5%). Before you ask if the Paladin changes are really that good, I'm just going to jump right in and say yes, yes, yes. To my Paladin friends in the audience, happy days are here at last! To my Rogue friends in the audience, take heart in the fact that Rogues haven't been fully reviewed (Blizzard seems to be making updates one class at a time), and there are probably changes still to come for the class.For professions, we have: Inscription (26.6%), Engineering (14.4%), Gathering (10.9%), Blacksmithing (9.7%), Tailoring (9.2%), Alchemy (8.6%), Leatherworking (7.2%), Enchanting (6.8%), and Jewelcrafting (6.7%).It's no surprise for either of these polls that the latest and greatest Wrath content is at the top of the list, but will it live up to the hype? Are you sticking with the old or diving right into the new?
Hybrid Theory: Yet another spell power discussion
Welcome to Hybrid Theory, where we discuss all things hybrid in the World of Warcraft. Hybrid Theory is brought to you each week by columnist/blogger Alex Ziebart. Last week we talked a bit about gear and spell power, and various related things. I mostly approached it as supplying my personal experiences, but a lot of people wanted numbers. Specifically, how your current gear will translate into the new spell power mechanic.A kind fellow named Dan helped us out with a little bit of that in the comments section last week, so let's expand upon it somewhat. Again, this will focus mostly on the Healer and Caster aspects of the Hybrids. You Melee guys don't really need to worry about how spell power will change your gear.Alright, so the question is this: If you have a choice between taking +Damage gear or +Healing gear in the current game right now, which would be a better choice for taking with you into Wrath of the Lich King leveling? Let's make liberal use of Wowhead, shall we?
Ask a Lore Nerd: Books, boats and Blood Knights
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below (or e-mail us!), ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer your question in a future installment!Without further ado, let's get to the questions. Justin of Firetree-US wrote in to ask...Along the coastline in the Swamp of Sorrows there are skeletons of giant turtles with structures built onto the back of their shells. Is this a nod to the Gnome submarines used in Warcraft II? If I remember correctly, they were turtles as well.While yes, the Gnomes did use the turtles as submarines in Warcraft II, they aren't the only ones that have made use of them. According to a few quests in Darkshore, the Naga have put the Giant turtles to work as transports. Also, in Wrath of the Lich King, the Tuskarr use giant turtles with carriages on their backs as transportation as well. In fact, you can use them to get from one end of Northrend to the other. Edit: I was wrong, the Gnomes didn't use the turtles. It was a Horde unit. Same answer applies, though.
Around Azeroth: Test tube world
Beta tester Landon has stumbled upon a secret in one of the Titan-centric areas of Storm Peaks -- an entire galaxy. This miniverse is holed up inside what appears to be one of those giant test tubes that aliens use to hold people in suspended animation in bad b-movies and that Simpsons Halloween special where they kidnapped the presidential candidates. What does it contain? Is it a parallel universe? A split in the giant Trousers of Time, where the Burning Legion won at Mount Hyjal and now rules Azeroth? Is it the galaxy of Azeroth, encased forever inside itself? Or is it the most terrifying thing of all; our very own Milky Way? Landon, you fool! What have you discovered? No, don't log out! You'll destroy us all! Just play WoW for all of eternity. It's a small price to pay for not dooming existence. This image came to us straight from the Wrath of the Lich King beta -- and we'd love to have your beta screenshots, too! If you have anything our readers might like, beta or not, sharing it is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. And please, no sunsets.%Gallery-1816%
Lichborne: On Blood leveling and Beta
Welcome to Lichborne, where every week Daniel Whitcomb makes sense of the amazing, ever-changing betatastic Death Knight class So here's yet another example of how mutable Death Knights are at the moment: This week, I decided to spec Blood all week and make a genuine effort to learn all the ins and outs I could so that I could bring you a good solid overview of Blood for this weekend's column. Then build 8820 came along, and Blood, while having the same basic mechanics, got a rather big hit to its health regeneration and DPS abilities, and I'm left trying to figure out the extent of the damages. In the end, I don't think Blood was horribly nerfed in this build, but it might have been slightly overnerfed.
Ask a Beta Tester: Aurora borealis and paladin tanking
I may have mentioned this before, but I just have to say it again. Northrend is gorgeous. Gorgeous in a way that puts the rest of the game to shame. Just when you thought you'd seen all the good there was to see in Azeroth and Outland, Blizzard comes along and drops Northrend in our lap and makes everything we saw before look a bit plain and dull. Let's start off today with a question about Northrend's look: grravie asked.... Northrend is an arctic zone. Will there be aurora borealis in the northern night sky? A similar glow effect exists in Northrend's Howling Fjord zone. It appears there day and night throughout the sky. For more on of your questions -- and our answers -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
Sylvanas finally gets her makeover
It has finally happened, ladies and gentlemen. Sylvanas has finally received her true High Elf model in the latest beta push. It's about time! The lighting of Undercity does her a bit of an injustice when she doesn't have a Night Elf's skin, but things are as they should be now. Don't worry, this isn't another fake or 'fan interpretation' or anything like that. It's the real deal, seen in Undercity with my own two eyes.We haven't seen her in Northrend yet, my personal guess is that she'll be in Icecrown once that has opened up, and she'll probably look much cooler out there. This beta patch brought us the Storm Peaks, so I would guess Icecrown isn't too far off. If you want a close-up of the shiny new Sylvanas, just click the link below.
Ask a Beta Tester: Crystalsong and downranking
What exactly is going on in the screenshot above? Well, if you really want to know, there's only one answer: keep reading!slicertool asked....Any idea what these 'focusing lens' things are for Jewelcrafting?In the latest beta build, Jewelcrafting got a little love in the form of these focusing lenses and a few other patterns. At present, nothing interesting. They have 20 charges and when you use one, it sends a beam of light to your target, regardless of range or line of site. Perhaps they have a real use coming and maybe they're just in the game for the pretty light show effect -- either way, time will tell!For more on of your questions -- and our answers -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
