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Some forum advice for the next Ghostcrawler
With Ghostcrawler's departure from Blizzard Entertainment on the horizon, one of the burning questions in everyone's minds is "who will be his replacement?" Well, I personally have no idea, but no matter who it may be, player Lubricious has taken it upon himself to offer some advice for that fortunate (or unfortunate) soul, endorsed by the man himself. How to Ghostcrawler, by Lubricious. Pretty much spot on. http://t.co/Qho6x8qoZ2 - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) December 5, 2013 The titles of the six helpful hints are as follows: Everything is your fault. Performance expectations are 100%. Sometimes, the players are right. Sometimes. Anything you ever say is a promise You can't make everyone happy. Don't try to force fun. Click on over to Lubricious's original post and check out the complete context for yourself--I think the entertaining and thoughtful advice will strike a chord with anyone who has worked in a broadly customer-facing position. We wish Ghostcrawler himself the best of luck with his future endeavors (Liz Harper's and my guess is on an Oceanography-themed MMO featuring playable giant isopods), and to whoever does step in to fill those large, crustacean shoes, we wish them luck too!
How the Sha of Happiness conquered BlizzCon 2013
It stands to reason that if someone known as Angryorc turns out to be Mr. Nice Guy in person, someone named the Sha of Happiness could turn out to be a real stinker. Fortunately for all of us, the Sha of Happiness took BlizzCon 2013 by storm in the sunniest of ways. Her relentless positivity illuminated the dark convention hall in Anaheim, and players discovered to their delight that the character they've embraced on Twitter is as welcoming and personable in the flesh. Whenever the Sha was about, BlizzCon's Meeting Stone and Community Corner positively glowed as welcoming destinations that other players found themselves returning to again and again. Inspired by Angryorc and other WoW-themed roleplay characters such as @Arakkoa on Twitter, Shappi (as she's popularly known) created the Sha of Happiness character to shine a little light into the WoW community at large. "I've been posting on the EU/NA Warcraft/D3 general forums and more for about five years now, and I've been disheartened at the farewell posts and them stating that it didn't feel like a home for them anymore," she explains. "Whether it be Sanctuary or Azeroth, everyone should have a safe space. I strive to provide something like that for people on Twitter."
Coming home to Azeroth
For a number of months, I knew my computer was dying, but it was the release of patch 5.4 that finally did it in. With a seven-year-old motherboard, processor, and a paltry two gigabytes of RAM, even just opening an internet browser was eating up a significant portion of its memory. Running WoW was definitely out of the question. So I began the process of upgrading my machine--new motherboard, new CPU, new RAM, new operating system--and along the way my monitor died too, so I got a new one of those as well. There were some wrenches thrown into the machinery, but at last I found myself once more logging into the familiar World of Warcraft. I've played WoW for six of its nine years in existence, and I sometimes struggle to explain what keeps me going. Though changes and tweaks have been made through the years, at its core the game remains the same. It's the same night elf druid that greets me on the login screen each time I load the client, the same familiar landmarks that guide my travels across Azeroth. After a two-month forced absence, however, I think I understand better what the game represents to me: it's home.
Random Acts of Uberness: Because Monday doesn't have to stink
Urgh, the Monday after a holiday. We've got a few weeks to plow through before winter breaks save us from the daily drill. Looking for something to keep your spirits up until then? It's looking like Azeroth's a pretty good place to find positive people and an uplifting experience. Caught being uber: Delvthar, Khadgar (US-Alliance) Just a shoutout to a Dwarf Hunter from Khadgar named Delvthar! My home realm is also Khadgar and I was leveling my DK Gerrico with a friend and her Warlock in Dread Wastes last week, grinding to get to lvl 90! My friend and I saw a rare elite spawn and moved over near it and started buffing up and eating some stat food to take it out. Before we could start, Delvthar swooped down on his flying mount landing just a short distance from the rare. I thought "here we go again, as has happened so many times, a lvl 90 swoops in and grabs the rare". I was more than pleasantly surprised when he not only didn't grab it, but he stood there and waited for us to tag it and then helped us kill it after which he humbly bowed, hopped on his mount and flew away! So thanks Delvthar for helping restore some faith, and for bein uber :) -- Gerrico, Khadgar (US-Alliance)
15 Minutes of Fame: Angryorc smashes into WoW community's affections
Before November and BlizzCon 2013, the man behind the runaway Twitter hit @Angryorc1 was a little hesitant about unmasking his identity. BlizzCon-bound, he seemed uncertain how to meet fans without compromising his own privacy or popping the illusion when people met a very real, very down-to-Earth dude named Gregg. "Up till now, all my interview requests have been for podcasts, which I have avoided doing," he wrote nervously in October. "I feel the character will lose something if I put my voice out there, plus I sound like Aaron Neville." But then came BlizzCon. Angryorc charged the convention head on, fully open with his identity, and fans adored him. "I signed autographs, Lisa," he marveled. "Many. How crazy is that? Totally floored by all the support. People telling you they use Twitter specifically to read your stuff or that your jokes have inspired them to come back to play WoW is very, very humbling. It's lit a fire in me to go even harder, to be funnier -- how the hell do I do that?" With more than 12,000 Twitter followers, he seems to be managing quite well. Here's our interview of the man behind the orc -- and a short interview with the orc himself, as well.
Random Acts of Uberness: The Sha of Happiness edition
So what uber thing does it take to make the Sha of Happiness happy? This week, we have a special Random Acts of -- well, maybe not Uberness but more like Happiness from the Sha of Happiness herself (shown above with her snarling buddy Angryorc). Caught being uber: Elderly couple met at BlizzCon Unfortunately, I don't have the name of the couple, but they were elderly. The lady started playing Warcraft due to her daughter asking her time and time again to play, then the daughter bought and set her up with an account. She met this man in game, and they quickly fell in love. BlizzCon was their honeymoon and for them to recognize me as someone that's a "pillar of the community" was humbling. We compared LFR battle stories and it was so interesting hearing their take on things. It is humbling and honouring that they asked lil' ol' me for a hug. -- Sha of Happiness Among our other Random Acts this week is a little doggy who's so cute he got his human a resolved game time issue plus an extra snippet of game time. Tail-waggin' good times!
Happy birthday to WoW
As Anne pointed out in today's Queue, we are wishing the inimitable Chris Metzen a happy birthday today, and it's a pleasant coincidence that Blizzard is also wishing WoW its official happy birthday today, as well. Nine years is a long time for any one game to be going strong--though, of course, we could probably argue that WoW isn't a single mere game, it's a conglomeration of all its marvelous patches, expansions, tweaks, and adjustments from over the years. Blizzard's official happy birthday announcement focuses on the strength of the WoW community, and I feel that whether or not you're entirely pleased with the direction the game is taking at the moment, the WoW community is definitely something that inspires and humbles. We're all just people, and we're not always perfect, but over the last nine years WoW has certainly had an enormous impact on the lives of its many players, myself included. World of Warcraft has catalyzed a complete transformation of my career and has formed the initial glue for some of the most cherished friendships of my life. Earlier this year I was at the wedding of two of my best friends, who met each other through WoW. What an amazing gift this game has been to my life, and to the lives of many others. Thank you Blizzard, from the bottom of my heart, and happy birthday, World of Warcraft.
15 Minutes of Fame: BlizzCon meetup balloons into mega-podcast event
It was early spring when a few BlizzCon-bound WoW players who were looking to connect and make friends in Anaheim started gathering forces on Twitter. Wow, the Blizzcon 2013 Twitter list is up to 98 already, who else is going, spread the word lets get over 100! https://t.co/M7ON63Ux3p - Ceraphus (@Ceraphus) April 28, 2013 "I will say as the list has grown, more and more folks have asked me if there was going to be something beyond just the Twitter list," mused Ceraphus, co-host of The Sundering and Azeroth Pirate Radio podcasts and sparkplug for the growing list, back in April. "So right now I am really just in a brainstorming phase and seeing who may be interested in assisting on any potential event." That must have been some pretty good brainstorming. What started out as a Twitter list of enthusiastic BlizzCon-goers turned into a full-bore pre-BlizzCon mega-podcast event called World of Podcasts. With representation from 23 podcasts across six panels, the event attracted so many fans that the venue location had to be expanded at the last moment. Ceraphus explains how the fan event unfolded across Twitter to explode onto the BlizzCon scene and teases us with a glimpse of what may be in store for future World of Podcasts events.
Random Acts of Uberness: We love the Random Uberness
Somewhat fittingly, Random Acts of Uberness is a random act of publishing. Since the content isn't time-sensitive, the editors tuck it into any open niche that happens along in the front part of the week. What's not so random, however, is that I always compile this feature on Mondays, because even the most mournfully Monday-ish Mondays brighten up when I'm editing this treasure trove of positivity. Keep 'em coming, guys -- we love publishing Random Acts of Uberness as much as you love reading (and experiencing) them! Caught being uber: Xferhorde, Steamwheedle Cartel (EU-Horde) I was redoing a lot of Azshara last week for fun, I've always loved the zones new quests. As I was questing I saw the new mail icon pop up and just left it for a while. i assumed it was one of the automated mails from npcs thanking you for your help. Imagine how surprised I was to find 1500g sent from a character called Xferhorde. I was trying to raise money for heirlooms at the same time, I was thrilled! I tried to respond with thanks but his character wasn't found. All the letter said was 'enjoy'. So I just want to thank him for his awesomeness. -- Hundraxx, Steamwheedle Cartel (EU-Horde)
15 Minutes of Fame: The friendliest cosplayer at BlizzCon 2013
It's only a very few cosplayers who make it to the top of the pyramid at Blizzard's official BlizzCon costume contests. Officially, pandaren monk cosplayer Amanda Wisley may not have among those finalists this year -- but unofficially, the bubbly redhead earned a reputation for her bright, engaging cosplay with attendees delighted to find themselves in animated conversation with a fully suited pandaren. Amanda's experience as a professional children's entertainer specializing in mascots laid the foundation for some truly magical moments. Stop to observe for a moment, and you can literally watch her audience melt. A companionable wave, a welcome with arms flung wide, or a little jig of excitement demonstrate that this is one friendly pandaren who's eager to make an in-character connection. It's a reminder that Disneyland lies just across the street, and the effect is downright irresistible. After first meeting Amanda cosplaying a paladin at BlizzCon 2010, we decided to follow her cosplay journey to BlizzCon 2013. We explored her preliminary plans, then caught up with her again just before the con. When we last left Amanda, she was agonizing over her position on the contest registration wait list, wondering if after committing to the expense, hotel and air reservations, ticket money, and preparations, she would even gain a chance to participate in the official contest. Did Amanda get her chance to walk across the stage at BlizzCon 2013?
Random Acts of Uberness: Our favorite feature on WoW Insider
We may not get as many comments as The Queue, but I'd venture to say that people who read Random Acts of Uberness are as fond of this column as Queue readers are of their daily Q&A. Just take a peek at the comments we do get! I'm wondering if now wouldn't perhaps be a good time to start counting up all the comments Random Acts gets that say "This is my favorite feature on WoW Insider." You'd all be down with posting that to make our comments the most uber comments on WoW Insider, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you? And on to today's business: WoW players were cool to one another at BlizzCon this year -- but hey hey hey, so were the ones who weren't there, too! Caught being uber: Dotup, Cenarius (US-Alliance) After a relatively clean run through wing three of SoO on LFR (it was my first time tanking in there), Dotup sent me a whisper giving me some advice for the next time we fought, saying what would make life a lot easier on the whole group. I just wanted to give a shout-out and say thanks for taking the time to help me do my job right! :D -- Anonymous LFR Tank
BlizzCon 2013 Impressions: CCed in the BlizzCon experience
The woman who approached our lunch table seemed friendly but slightly uncomfortable. "Excuse me, but do you work for Blizzard?" she asked with a tentative smile. Her brother, she went on to explain, had once known somebody who supposedly went on to the work there, but she didn't know the first thing about the game and had no idea if that was true or what he did there. We exchanged a quick glance -– incoming story about someone who once tested a Blizzard game, am I right? -– and continued to munch on our salads while nodding and making polite noises. "So what's your friend's name?" inquired the ever-personable Michael Gray. "Chris Metzen," she replied almost apologetically. "Is he ... somebody?" Our friendly local storyteller (who preferred to remain anonymous –- but my report here on the BlizzCon experience wouldn't be complete if I didn't share her story with you) went on to share a tale of growing up across the street from the Metzen family here in Southern California, where her brother played T-ball with the pint-sized future rock star of Blizzard. The thing she remembered most about "little Chris," as she called him, was the game in which he executed his task as catcher so enthusiastically that he found himself caught in the netting behind the plate -– CCed so completely, in fact, that the team's parents had to come cut him out with scissors. Everybody all together now: Awwww ... (/grin) All these years later, we find ourselves happily CCed in the net cast by Little Chris himself, the World of Warcraft of his imagination. And back at BlizzCon, our lunchtime encounter with a friendly SoCal native encapsulates the spirit of the BlizzCon weekend -- people brought together by Blizzard's games. You won't find any reveals about the expansion in this BlizzCon roundup, but if you're interested in some of the faces and places seen around the convention all weekend, read on!
15 Minutes of Fame: Road to BlizzCon cosplay -- the grind to perfection
There's simply something about Amanda. When we first spied her making the rounds with her stunning green-eyed paladin at BlizzCon 2010, we found ourselves captivated. Yet Amanda wasn't a finalist in 2010. She didn't draw crowds by displaying huge swaths of bare skin, parading up and down the promenade in front of the convention center. Not a seamstress, she doesn't even craft all of her costumes' parts and pieces personally by hand. What Amanda Wisley does is cosplay with heart. The die-hard fan outsources her imagination to create costumes that exemplify the spirit she sees in the game she loves. This WoW lover loves to bring her visions to life, sharing them over long hours walking the convention floor and grounds to visit with other fans. But while this year's BlizzCon will see her buried inside a full fur suit as a pandaren monk, will her hopes of participating in Blizzard's official costume contest get buried as well? In an upsetting discovery made long after tickets had been purchased and her costume was in progress, Amanda learned early last month that she'd not been lucky enough to snag one of the coveted sign-ups for the costume contest. She's been assured that she's high on the waiting list -- but after months of preparation, a successful race for BlizzCon tickets, booking air travel and accommodations, and of course all the expenses of creating her costume itself, will she get her shot at walking across the BlizzCon stage? Take a look at the emotional highs and lows of this determined cosplayer's road to BlizzCon 2013 as her costume and itinerary laboriously come together.
Random Acts of Uberness: Save the zombies!
It was rough going for the spirited clutch of level 1 undead (significantly smaller than the sea of zombies shown above) attempting to push its way from Grom'gol Base Camp to Stormwind on Magtheridon EU for Hallow's End, when some friendly Alliance faces appeared on the scene. Caught being uber: Sellsword and Kendrasil (Magtheridon EU-Alliance) These two players spotted our little ragtag group of level 1 undeads attempting to run from Grom'Gol Base Camp in STV to Stormwind -- a Zombiewalk to celebrate the last night of Hallow's End. As soon as they realised we were aggro'ing pretty much the whole zone, they began killing mobs as they came at us. They were patient enough to wait with us each time we stopped to regroup for those who did die en route. And they patiently looked on as we took on Hogger. (We got him!) They accompanied our little group all the way to the gates of Stormwind, where we eventually fell at the hands of those overzealous guards. Thank you both! -- Anonymous level 1 undead Hogger-slayer
15 Minutes of Fame: The rainbow world of TradeChat's Panser
The trademark pink hair of video blogger Panser of TradeChat and WoW Insider's weekly news recap should be declared a valid form of crowd control. Less enlightened viewers seem to find themselves sheeped in her v-log comments on a regular basis, bleating about her eye-popping pink coif, the peaches-and-cream looks that propelled her to the finals in the Maxim Gamer Girl competition, and (oh dear, guys, don't get out much, eh?) her gender. But it's Panser's bona fides as a gamer, not her pink hair, that make her updates one of the liveliest, most informed sources of WoW, League of Legends and gaming news on the web. A lifelong gamer with five active level 90 WoW characters and what she refers to as a "small problem with alts," Panser crunches through the weekly WoW news like a bag of Skittles, full of fun and flavor. Ready for a peek over the TradeChat rainbow?
Know Your Lore: Who speaks for the orcs?
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. A question asked via email this week on the podcast got me thinking: who is in charge of the orcs right now? All the other races of the Horde have their own faction leaders, but following Hellscream's defeat and the ascension of the new Warchief (following this paragraph, I will be using the name of the new Warchief, as Garrosh Hellscream has been available on LFR for a week now) this leads us to an unusual circumstance - for the first time ever, the Warchief is not an orc, and thus, not the direct faction leader for the orcs in addition to his role as overall leader of the Horde. Now, for those of us who saw the cinematic, this question seems to have a simple answer: clearly Thrall is now in charge of the orcish people, yes? He is the first to kneel and proclaim that he will follow where the Warchief leads. However, upon several rewatchings, one thing is clear - he says he will follow. He doesn't claim to speak for anyone else. This leads us to another question - if Thrall isn't to speak for the orcs, then who is? Of course, another question we could ask is, does it matter?
Random Acts of Uberness: Welcoming a bouncing baby Hordie
I once joined a guild in which one of my first experiences was a chat box full of conversation with a player whose spouse had just passed away. When I say "just," I mean it had been less than an hour since her death. Her passing followed a protracted illness and had long been expected. After taking care of the immediate arrangements, my guildmate simply needed a friendly place to keep himself occupied and maintain a sense of normalcy. We were glad to provide that refuge for our friend. Sometimes our fellow WoW players are the only ones around with whom we can share our real-world joys and sorrows. This week's Random Acts of Uberness begins with the story of another, albeit much happier, life event that occurred in the wee hours of the morning: the birth of a baby Hordie. New dad: Akeylese, Ravenholdt (US-Horde) Not really so much of an act of uberness but a good story anyway: I have recently started to become interested in PvPing and during a match of Deepwind gorge, I was defending the goblin mine with Akeylese, a tauren warrior. He was quiet at first and wasn't so active. He then apologized and said he had just had his baby at 3:46 a.m. and that he was talking with his guild members about the birth of his daughter. I congratulated him and we began to talk about the good ol' days of WoW -- what our favorite race was, our favorite expansion, how long we had been playing, etc. We easily won the BG and didn't have to do much, so we got to chat for a while. After the BG, we exited and I was able to whisper him and thank him and congratulate him again. So I want to congratulate him once more on his baby and wish him and his family the best! -- Ashtaron, Elune (US- Horde)
Fantasy character artist explodes onto WoW community scene
If you're headed to BlizzCon next month, will you be lucky enough to be wearing a coveted custom name badge by Noxychu? Her whimsical character portraits have become all the rage this year, and Noxychu has even turned out badges for the entire Blizzard community manager staff. As staff artist for Wowhead and well-known WoW "Twitterati," the unassuming Brit has long since had to pause taking on new commissions, and her newfound popularity promises great things post-BlizzCon. WoW Insider: Everyone wants a Noxychu! I'm betting most readers will recognize your name from the artwork you do for Wowhead. Tell us what you do there and how you got started. Noxychu: I'm not sure I have a proper title; I guess just "artist" covers it. I make logos for the various ZAM websites, and I illustrate the occasional contest and guide. I got started with Wowhead by volunteering, I made some badge art for them in 2008, and then after that the occasional Warcraft-themed web comic. And they were bloody awful. I really loved making them, and they were weekly for a while. Unfortunately I'm a terrible at writing scripts, and I have been unable to find a consistently funny writer that is willing to put up with me to try and get the Wowhead web comic back to regular updates.
Hearthstone fan sets out to craft a Hearthstone gaming box
The first time Steve watched Hearthstone's iconic in-game card box slam shut, he thought to himself "I'm going to make that!" As a hobbyist carpenter, Steve was inspired to put his woodworking skills to the test when he saw the official art of Blizzard's upcoming title, Hearthstone. Originally he set out to just recreate the box, but overtime the project has morphed into something even better. Now when the box is complete it will serve as a cabinet for a touchscreen laptop which will allow him play Hearthstone out of its own box. Did we mention it also glows? Smart Wood, Steve's blog, documents the crafting process from the first paper sketches to the nearly completed box. (And you've just got to check out the beautiful interior of the box.) He is currently in the final stages, attaching finishing touches and getting the touchscreen device mounted. When it's complete, he hopes to send it off to Blizzard to get the seal of approval from the Hearthstone Development team with some autographs.
Random Acts of Uberness: Happily wiping "as long as people are learning"
Another week, another full report for Random Acts of Uberness. You guys just can't seem to stop being nice to one another. Who knew? Caught being uber: Zerep, Area 52 (US-Horde) I'd like to extend a thank you to Zerep, <Scorn> of Area 52 (H). He queued for heroic dungeons as a tank, but I zoned in to find a ret paladin in Righteous Fury mode, swinging Hellscream's Decapitator and completely mopping the floor with dungeon after dungeon. Myself and the other DPS knew what a gravy train we were on and "rode his coattails to VP captown," as it was put. He was happy for the company, and we had a great time, periodically cycling through healers. One of us would scarcely type a warning into party chat that yes, he's in ret, yes, he's tanking, trust us and buckle up -- and Zerep would be off and running, usually doing more DPS than the rest of us combined by a healthy margin. It was a blast, and even with the occasional wipe when we'd bite off more than we could chew, it was still the fastest I've ever capped valor in a week. Zerep was fun, friendly, uber, and a @#$%ing nightmare to see in action. Thanks again for an awesome series of dungeons! P.S. Thank you for these periodic bursts of positivity in what can be a hostile and cynical community. -- Beeph, <Reprisal> of Steamwheedle Cartel (US-Horde)
