World of Warcraft Tips and Stuff

The Warcraft Movie, Farrell Like the Script

2013-11-25T17:29:00.004-08:00

So Colin Farrell, who is not confirmed for the Warcraft movie, really like the script. He called it "amazing." He doesn't actually admit to knowing anything about what's going on with it, though.

Looking forward to it, even if it's "Warcraft" and not "World of Warcraft." Yes, it's modeled after the RTS games. Does that matter?

Colin Farrell Really Loves The ‘World Of Warcraft’ Script

Dev Q&A for Warlords of Draenor

2013-11-25T13:17:00.001-08:00

Killer interview. Here are some high points.

The character models involve a lot more work than one might expect at first glance, since they have to include features such as hair and the various movement animations. Draenei, Blood elves, Worgen, and Golbins will probably not be included this time around, since they're not so old.

It's kinda time travel, sort of, going back to the older (younger???) Draenor. It's up to players to keep the world from changing. Along the way they'll meet some cool "legendary" characters.

In some games players get a virtual apartment where they can hangout and chat with friends. (I gues syoui could do that in a dungeon instance, but this is cooler.) In Warlords you will get a whole figgin' town. Ok, you have to build and staff and manage it, but still..

Items will be squished, Hit & Expertise will die as will Reforging. New stats will come in as extra stats, but they'll be more fun stats, rather than something which changes the base power level of the gear.

Cool stuff. Here's the whole article.

Justin Bieber Reveals His World Of Warcraft Love...

2013-10-09T15:27:00.003-07:00

And in the most Earth-shattering news of the day:

From PerezHilton:

Just think, next time you start up a game of World of Warcraft, you could very well be playing with Justin Bieber! But you may never know that because the singer is awfully sneaky.

Go here for the whole scoop.

Work for the World of Warcraft! Game Producer Opportunity

2013-10-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Want to work for Blizzard on the World of Warcraft? Do you have whatever it takes, since there will only be about 5 million people applying?

Bliz has posted an open, check it out:

World of Warcraft live operations team is seeking a skilled producer. We are looking for a candidate who is a very organized, who communicates well and who demonstrates great aptitude in project management.

A few of the Responsibilities

Create and track schedules for game launches, patches, and service updates.

Manage WOW development, QA, PTR, and Beta game testing environments.

Manage the daily tracking of live operations tasks such that schedules are adjusted accordingly.

Key point of contact for regional issues and requests.

Here's the whole post, with all the info, and the "apply" button: http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/careers/posting.html?id=13000FG

Zygor Guides 5.4 Patch Day Sale

2013-09-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Zygor's Guide is an in-game addon which takes you from whatever level you are now, regardless of class, and will show you the best path to take through all the quests to get to 90, as quickly as possible.

In honor of the launch of patch 5.4, for which Zygor guides is fully updated, Zygor is having a 50% off sale. But it will only last for a few days. Get yours here, before it's gone.

Raid Schedule for the Hellscream Butt Kicking (Siege of Orgrimmar)

2013-09-04T18:01:00.001-07:00

Blizzard has released the raid schedule for the Siege of Orgrimmar, where you and your associates get a chance to fire G. Hellscream for the lousy job he's been doing. Or maybe you're doing it just because he's THE Horde.

From WarCry

September 10: Patch 5.4 Release

Normal

Flex Wing 1 "Vale of Eternal Sorrows"

September 17 Heroic

(Normal Garrosh kill required)

Flex Wing 2 "Gates of Retribution"

Raid Finder Wing 1 "Vale of Eternal Sorrows"

September 24

Raid Finder Wing 2 "Gates of Retribution"

October 1

Flex Wing 3 "The Underhold"

October 8

Raid Finder Wing 3 "The Underhold"

October 15

Flex Wing 4 "Downfall"

October 22

Raid Finder Wing 4 "Downfall"

The same schedule is also on Battle.net. WoWhead has a boss list. MMO-Champ has a video of the raid testing, along with the same schedule, and another video with pics and more notes.

Read the patch notes, get leveled up (naturally,) and then test yourself before raiding.

In Detail, The Patch 5.4 Warrior Changes

2013-09-04T17:41:00.001-07:00

The Patch 5.4 Warrior Changes are much like those of the other classes. A mixed bag of buffs and other changes. Tanks should take an especially close look at the 5.4 changes, Arms could spend a glance, and Fury will just mostly yawn.

Mostly, Warriors are in a better place with the changes and Bladestorm might even be coming back. Note that these patch remarks are up to date as of 8/27. They will be updated if there are any changes before or after the 5.4 launch. Note that there may be some significant changes still coming.

The details are here: The Patch 5.4 Warrior Changes

Getting to Level 90, The Easy Way

2013-08-30T13:49:00.005-07:00

I enjoy playing World of Warcraft as much as anyone, but these days my time is limited. I started to get really frustrated because I wasn't able to get as much done as I wanted to in my play sessions, and I started to fall way behind my friends who had more time to play than me. I spent way too much of that sparse free time looking for tips and tricks online to improve my leveling speed but most were dead ends. And even those that were useful didn't save much time, with the switching back and forth from game to website.

That is until I stumbled across something called Zygor Guides, a completely in-game World of Warcraft strategy guide. With Zygor's Leveling and Loremaster Guide, I was able to level my character from 1-90 in just 5 days /played time (that's actual "in game" time.)

Sound impossible? It's not, and here's how:

Zygor's Leveling Guide isn't like the printed book guides you will see in some game stores. It is completely digital, which means it is always kept up to date, and it runs INSIDE your game telling you exactly which quests to pick up and where and how to do them. It's all automated and detects your current level and your actions, updating itself as you complete each step. As soon as you're ready to move on a pop-up will appear and let you know.

Navigation couldn't be easier with Zygor's on screen 3D Waypoint Arrow that literally points you where to go. The arrow has a built in Travel System that works like a Google Maps for Azeroth, pointing the way directly to your next location. It's not perfect, and you might have to go around some obstacles or somesuch, but it's way better than anything in the game itself.

There's also lots of different ways Zygor helps you with the more tedius aspects of the game, allowing you to just focus on the fun parts. Take talents for example. Zygor's Guide includes a Talent Advisor that helps you figure out the best way to spend your talent points. There's also something called the Gear System that pops up anytime you receieve better gear, alerting you of the upgrade and autoequipping it for you if you'd like. If you don'tlike, then it can easily be turned off. In fact, most of the features of the guide can be toggles and adjusted.

All of these features work together to power level you in lighting speed. In fact, sometimes I would level so fast that the guide would dynamically change and allow me to move to a better zone so I would get more XP. Of course, if you're a completionist the idea of skipping zones might not sound like a good idea, but never fear, Zygor Guides includes all the quests needed to get the full Loremaster achievement.

If all of this sounds too good to be true you can try out Zygor Guides for yourself today for free on their official website.

The Current Patch Notes, for 5.4

2013-08-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Blizzard updated the patchnotes on the 27th, check them out here.

These are probably pretty close to what we'll see when it goes live, on Sept. 10. However, one must keep in mind that large changes sometimes happen right before a patch. Also, after the patch lands, there will be a whole series of hot fixes and little patches to fix whatever slipped through.

Bliz didn't include hotlinks to the abilities mentioned in the notes, but you can find them on Gotwarcraft, such as on the Warrior page: http://gotwarcraft.com/wow-warrior-guides/#patch

The life and legacy of Lei Shen

2013-08-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

WoW Insider is running a series on the Lore of Azeroth. This piece is on The life and legacy of Lei Shen. A very important figure in Mogu and Pandaren history.

The post also notes the two different version of Mogu history, the Pandaren version and the Mogu's own. Naturally the points of view make a big difference here.

The life and legacy of Lei Shen

Once upon a time, somewhere in the dawn of Azeroth's history, before the Sundering split the world in two, there was a race of warlords called the mogu. Violent and cruel, the mogu fought relentlessly against everything -- including each other. That is, until one day when one mogu sought out the history and secrets of his people's past, discovering that they were creatures of far more potential, far more purpose than any had realized. It was a secret long forgotten, and the mighty Lei Shen not only uncovered it, but brought that secret back to his people.

Read it all here

What’s New in World of Warcraft Patch 5.4?

2013-08-25T14:47:00.001-07:00

IGN covers some of the changes in patch 5.4:

For a game that’s been around as long as World of Warcraft, change is essential. This week, Blizzard detailed the updates coming in WoW’s upcoming Patch 5.4: Siege of Orgrimmar, including class changes, currency conversions and much more.
In an interview at Gamescom, game director Tom Chilton and lead content designer Cory Stockton explained how the new changes will affect WoW, plus how many more updates Mists of Pandaria players can expect.

There are lots of changes. See the whole article here: World of Warcraft Patch 5.4

Part of 5.4 is the Siege of Orgrimmar. Blizzard has a post up regarding various changes and how you can prepare for 5.4 (and even join the patch testing) and then get ready to kick Hellscream's butt. Gearing up for 5.4

There will be a whole lotta class changes, most small, a few big. Check the patch notes for changes that affect your game.

Free to Play WOW? Hmmm...

2013-08-25T14:35:00.002-07:00

WoW Insider asks

Tom Chilton's recent comments about how WoW could one day be free to play have us wondering: would WoW players still want to play in a free-to-play, microtransaction-supported version of their favorite game? Would you play free-to-play WoW?

I'd play, and I'd enjoy not paying the fees. My question is whether I'd have to pay to advance? Get the better gear? What's the limit of what's available with the free game?

Some people, obviously, would be buying up every advantage that they could. Heck, someone's keeping all those gold farmers and account and item sellers in the green. I don't think they'd have any problems buying the requisite upgrades.

For those of us with a bit less ready cash, would we even be able to compete? Or will they come up with a system (assuming this is more than just a whimsical idea) where a bit more in-game effort replaces the need to buy stuff with cash. EG: some extra farming to get whatever item(s.)

Hmmm....

The Burdens of Shaohao

2013-08-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is a 6 part video series, by Blizzard, about the last Emperor of Pandaria: Shaohao. The Emperor is given a vision of what is to come and then has to deal with it.

It's a pretty slick series and I enjoyed it a lot.

Here's the first one and you can link to the rest from there.

Holy Paladin Saves Raid! Again!

2013-08-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

You are the Savior of the Weak and the Healer of Tanks. You, as a Holy Paladin, are the kind-hearted soul who strives so valiantly to keep the raid alive, even (or especially) if it's against other players.

Saving Their (Your Team's) Bacon

The healing profession, for any healer, has never been an easy rotation. You cannot just mash three or four buttons and then repeat. You have to react to who is being damaged right now. This means that you have to keep an eye on your team and must also have a good understanding of your spells and that you cannot rely on a 1 to 2 to 3 rotation.

Seal of Insight is your primary "Seal." It should be up at all times and it helps greatly with casting and mana efficiency.

Beacon of Light should always be active on a target, usually the tank. Any healing you do to the rest of the group will carry over, at least in part, to the target. This makes your job much easier.

Holy Power needs to be built up and then used on various abilities. Holy Shock allows us to build those charges of Holy Power and use them with Word of Glory and, on a critical strike/heal, grants us the Infusion of Light proc. Holy Shock should be used as often as possible to maximize Holy Power generation.

Note that a maximum of 5 Holy Power can be stored at any one time, though only 3 can be used. This allows us to pool some Holy Power for crucial moments where a quick succession of heals may be necessary. It also makes sure that we aren't wasting any HP points.

Holy Light is our default, "go to" heal. It provides good healing at a low mana cost. Use it when your other heals are unnecessary.
Word of Glory uses your charges of Holy Power, and increases in effectiveness with each charge.
Light of Dawn is another Holy Power Heal that is most effective when the raid is stacked up so they can all benefit from the effect.

There's more, but this should give you a starting point.

Holy Stat Priorities

Like all spell casters and bolt lobbers the Holy Paladin's #1 stat is Intelligence. This stat increases the amount of healing done and even adds a bit of Crit Rating, which increases it even more.

Unlike melee types, ie: Retribution, Holy doesn't need Hit or Expertise for healing or much of anything. Heck, you even have an ability, Holy Insight, which Increases yourchance to hit with Holy Shock, Judgment, and Denounce by 15%. No added Hit is necessary.

Spirit, on the other hand, is the #2 "go to" stat. Holy Paladins use a lot of mana and can easily run out, which isn't a good place to be when fighting that boss or the players in that city your team is invading. It's necessary for you to stock up on Spirits (er... Spirit) to keep the mana level high enough to be effective.

Only after gathering enough Spirit to keep from bottoming out on mana should the Holy Pally look to other stats.

Haste becomes the next important stat. The upside of Haste is that it speeds up your casting times, speeds up your "Heal over Time" effects (HoTs,) and so on. The downside is that by speeding everything up you will burn mana faster. So don't go nuts with the Haste unless your mana is strong.

Mastery may be even more important that Haste. What it does is effectively increase your healing by placing a damage absorbtion shield on your target. Damage absorbed doesn't need to be healed and it doesn't increase your mana use.

Crit should be skipped. Yes, it makes for bigger heals, when the random numbers come up, but it's not reliable, where Haste and Mastery are.

Reforging is a way to push some of your stats around. Push your Crit and any Hit or Expertise into Spirit (if you need the mana.) Once you have enough Spirit then reforge into Haste or Mastery (pick one) and stack it up. At higher gear levels your Spirit should not be an issue.

Only use the other stat if that piece of gear already has the other, ie: if you're going for Haste the only reason to reforge to Mastery is if you already have Haste on that piece of gear and the other stat is something like Crit.

Gems and Enchants

This is really pretty easy. Have a gem slot that needs to be filled? Use the priorities above. Need more mana, stick in some kind of Spirit gem, otherwise use an Int gem or Int/Haste or Int/Spirit hybrid gem. Follow the same plan with your enchants. Spirit and Int first, and then Haste or Mastery.

Holy Talents, Batman!

Talents and glyphs are easily changed, whenever you need to change them. Just click on the new one, pay one "Tome of the Clear Mind" and you're good to go. Why change either? Because your play style and what you're doing (PvP, Raids, Dungeons, etc.) will vary.

Take these Talent recommendations and feel free to modify them as necessary.

Pursuit of Justice - is a constant movement speed increase. Nice.
Repentance puts a target to sleep for awhile, long enough to keep them out of the fight.
Eternal Flame improves your Word of Glory.
Clemency lets you use your "Hand" spells more effectively.
Divine Purpose, despite being random, adds a lot to your healing over a fight.
Light's Hammer is great when your raid group piles on the target, which they often do.

As for the glyphs, there are a lot of them and some don't apply to you. Take a look at what you actually do and then if something about it bugs you see if there's a glyph to improve it. Buy them all, and by "all" I mean the important ones, and experiment with what works for you. You can

If you can't afford the gems and glyphs then you're going to have to spend some time earning some gold. The easiest way is to grab the Herbalism profession and then Mining as your second pick. Work them hard. Why Herbalism? Because when you have a high skill you get a massive Haste cooldown, and Haste is one of your best stats. (Both herbs and ores sell quite well.) Why not take skinning? Because you're Holy, and killing things isn't one of your better skills. ;) Otherwise, go for it.

It's time. The Raid needs you, again! Get to work!

Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/computer-games/holy-paladin-saves-raid-again

Prove Yourself! In the Proving Grounds

2013-07-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Blizzard has announced that in patch 5.4 players will get to test their mettle in The Proving Grounds. This is basically a dungeon for one player, sans loot and XP, that will let you "prove" your mettle against various scenarios. You will be given a rating depending on how well you do.

Naturally this rating will be used to determine your eligibility to join dungeon and raid groups. Pick Up Groups (PUGs) anyway.

To access the Proving Grounds, speak with an NPC in the Temple of the White Tiger in Kun-Lai Summit or a class trainer.

Go here for a lot more info.

China Tumbs nose at Blizzard

2013-06-29T11:58:00.002-07:00

On Bloomberg:

Chinese knockoffs have long created headaches for global tech companies, but the intellectual-property roller coaster that Activision Blizzard is riding there is a screamer.
At the World Joyland amusement park located outside Shanghai, players of Blizzard's World of Warcraft may recognize some striking similarities to characters and environments from the computer game. But don't take our word for it. Watch the video from Bloomberg Television's Stephen Engle, who gives a tour of the park and delves into the copyright issues

Here's the whole story and the video tour

Be kinda interesting if China and Bliz could come to some sort of agreement with the licensing, might become a win win? As it is, I think they're showing their, ahem, real respect for Bliz. Of course, China is well known for not respecting copyrights and trademarks, so I expect not much will happen hear.

A Retribution Paladin Guide for PvE

2012-06-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Retribution is the Paladin spec that specializes in laying down the damage and it does that very well. Ret. Paladins can still throw out some weak heals and can, if careful, do some light tanking. Their primary role, which they do very well, is damage.

When Cataclysm launched the Retribution spec was alternately whacked with the nerf bat and boosted with the buffer. Eventually it settled down into a pretty solid damage machine.

I expect the same will happen when Mists of Pandaria launches, especially since that expansion will do a large scale remake of the talent system. Still, the new system should be much easier on the Devs, so maybe the swings from god-mode to doormat won't be quite so pronounced.

For a full Retribution Paladin guide you can hop over to GotWarcraft and get everything you need to know.

ElitistJerks also has a Ret. guide with all the usual number crunching and deep detail.

WoWpopular has a listing of popular Ret builds (and every other class,) including glyphs, gear, and more.

Retribution Guide for 4.3

The video says 4.2, but the author notes (in the YouTube text) that it is still just fine for 4.3. It covers stats, your build, and more.Also covered are various addons. The end of part 2 has a 5 minute DPS test, just to see what kind of numbers can be pulled on a target dummy.

Inscription Leveling

2012-01-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a step by step guide to level Inscription, which also includes a lot of background on that skill.

To check out all of the Inscription recipes that are available, just go to WoWhead.

WoWwiki also has a guide that includes some of the various patch changes over time and other details.

Shockingly enough, Battle.net also has a page on the subject.

Practicing Inscription

4.3: Hour of Twilight Patch Notes - World of Warcraft

2011-12-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

All of the 4.3 patch notes, covering classes, gameplay, bugs, the UI, etc.

4.3: Hour of Twilight Patch Notes - World of Warcraft

How's Your WoW Secutiry?

2011-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

25 "Worst Passwords" of 2011 Revealed

If you're password is on that list the you should probably count on having a scammer steal your account.

Boss Guide for Heroic Shadowfang Keep

2011-11-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

The level 85 Heroic Shadowfang Keep is a nice update to the old favorite. In this guide to offing the bosses you see tactics and videos for..

Baron Ashbury
Baron Silverlaine
Commander Springvale
Lord Walden
Lord Godfrey

Here ya go: Heroic Shadowfang Keep Guide

300k Gold in 30 Days? Madness

2011-11-13T12:42:00.001-08:00

Yet, the last time Jon Kenins ran the Gold Speed Run one guy did just that.

Three broke 200k, including Jon (he was 2nd place overall.)

Eleven broke 100k. 40 Broke 1k.

What do you think you could do? If he showed you how to do it?

Get more info here:
300k Gold in 30 Days, From Scratch

Heroic Blackrock Caverns Guide

2011-11-03T22:08:00.001-07:00

Heroic Blackrock Caverns guide to bosses:

The first ability you’ll probably see him cast is an AoE ability called “Quake”. Everyone in your party will have a dust cloud under their feet, and will take roughly 9000 damage a second on heroic if you don’t move out of the cloud.

After the cast is finished, a total of 5 adds will spawn from the clouds (these still spawn even if you move out of the quake.) The adds will melee your tank for about 10k, so with 5 adds and the boss, your tank will need loads of healing. Even though you can kill the adds now, it’s easier to wait and take care of them with a later mechanic (Chains of Woe – Skullcracker).

To make the tank damage even worse, the boss will randomly do a “Mortal Strike” which will reduce the healing your tank receives by 25%. Because of this, you will want to use a defensive cooldown when the adds are up or your tank will get destroyed.

Here's the rest: Heroic Blackrock Caverns Guide

The Heroic Deadmines Guide

2011-11-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Running Deadmines on Heroic? Check out Gotwarcraft's guide to same:

The Heroic Deadmines Guide

Before you start, we have a pre-heroic checklist that you might find of use, especially if you’re not a veteran of the Heroics. It also includes a link to basic DPS, Heal, and Tank tactics. It’s here: Cataclysm Heroic Dungeons.

If you need the gold to pay for repairs, gear, potions, gems, enchants, mounts, 310% flying speed, pets, frivolous vanity gear, etc., then take a look at our gold guide or a far more extensive gold (and more) guide: WoW Crusher.
A lot of people, me included, think that The Deadmines is one of the very best dungeons in the game. For the level 85 crowd it’s been touched up a bit with a couple of new challenges and a bit more difficulty.

WoW Hunter Guides

2011-10-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hunters in Mists of Pandaria: Hunter minimum range (including the dead zone) and melee weapon use will be removed. It’s possible that Hunters won’t even be able to equip melee weapons. There are some other changes coming along regarding which Hunter spec can use which pets, but the expansion is a long ways away and all of that is subject to change.

Here’s our list of Hunter guides:

WoW Hunter Guides

World of Warcraft Tips and Stuff

The Warcraft Movie, Farrell Like the Script

Dev Q&A for Warlords of Draenor

Justin Bieber Reveals His World Of Warcraft Love...

Work for the World of Warcraft! Game Producer Opportunity

Zygor Guides 5.4 Patch Day Sale

Raid Schedule for the Hellscream Butt Kicking (Siege of Orgrimmar)

Related articles

In Detail, The Patch 5.4 Warrior Changes

Getting to Level 90, The Easy Way

Sound impossible? It's not, and here's how:

The Current Patch Notes, for 5.4

The life and legacy of Lei Shen

What’s New in World of Warcraft Patch 5.4?

Related articles

Free to Play WOW? Hmmm...

The Burdens of Shaohao

Holy Paladin Saves Raid! Again!

Saving Their (Your Team's) Bacon

Holy Stat Priorities

Gems and Enchants

Holy Talents, Batman!

Prove Yourself! In the Proving Grounds

China Tumbs nose at Blizzard

A Retribution Paladin Guide for PvE

Retribution Guide for 4.3

Inscription Leveling

4.3: Hour of Twilight Patch Notes - World of Warcraft

How's Your WoW Secutiry?

Boss Guide for Heroic Shadowfang Keep

300k Gold in 30 Days? Madness

Heroic Blackrock Caverns Guide

The Heroic Deadmines Guide

The Heroic Deadmines Guide

WoW Hunter Guides