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Burning Crusade Articles Check out the most article coverage for The Burning Crusade anywhere on the Internet. More content then you can loot.
WoW has made the murlocs into an icon of sorts. At first everyone just hated them. Thene veryone loved to hate them. Then everyone wished they had the murlco pet from Blizzcon and people even starteddressing like murlocs!
So murlocs. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Know any good murloc jokes? Share your murloc stories here.
Patch 2.2 has been off the test realms for a few days and is ready for immediate release. The 2.2.2 patch will contain new holiday content for October. First Blizzard intends to test "Brewfest" and then later Hallows-End. After some minor technical difficulties, the player test realms open and MMO-Champion already has a preliminary look into Brewfest, which contains at least three new daily quests and goggles that allow the viewer to see the world through the eyes of a gnome!
WoW Insider posted a link to an interesting Se7en Samurai blog that was published on Wednesday talking about new methods gold sellers are using to deliver gold. A little while ago, Blizzard changed the mail system to provided immediate delivery between characters on your own account. Also the transfer of gold between accounts, which previously was immediate, now takes one hour. The extra one hour provides enough time for Blizzard's anti-transaction system to scan and hopefully remove the "tainted" gold. Now gold sellers are moving towards a slightly more complex buying system through selling small worthless items for sizable lump sums on the Auction House.
Blizzard continues to grow over in Europe and is expanding with a new customer support center in Cork City, Ireland. The firm already has a European base, with offices located near Paris. The new customer support center will complement the existing offices and work closely with the company's global teams. Mike Morhaime, President and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, said he was confident that the Cork office would strengthen the company's support offerings throughout Europe, and help the firm provide a higher level of support. The new center is expected to create over 100 new jobs over the next three years.
As of Thursday morning the Player Test Realms (PTRs) have been taken down. Patch 2.2, which includes voice chat among many other things, has been a long time coming and will be released "soon".
Patch will be "soon" and probably sooner than most soons you've known. :)
Depending on how you interpret that statement, the patch could even be here before Tuesday, so be sure to fire up those background downloaders for a much needed head start.
A while back Blizzard stated that they were aiming for one World of Warcraft expansion per year. Of course no one knows how literal to take this and Bornakk continues to tease with this partial answer:
This is something we talked about awhile ago and it is still a goal for us. Keep in mind that a goal isn't a guarantee. We are always trying to add as many dungeons, items, and features as possible and this of course takes time. So when will we release Wrath of the Lich King? When it's ready. :)
This was posted over in the Technical Support forum last week:
In the upcoming content patch 2.2, the in-game sound engine is being changed to a new, exclusively software-based system. This change is being made to allow for a much greater range of compatibility and should result in improved sound performance for many users. The new sound engine provides all of the same features that have always been available in the game, but now extends those features, such as reverb effects, to players who previously couldn�t take advantage of them. This change also allows us greater control and ease in supporting and developing for the wide range of sound hardware, as well as future upgrades and improvements to the in-game sound effects and options.
Watch our new World of Warcraft gameplay video of Sylvanas singing "Lament of the Highborne," a sad, ancient elven song of bravery against overwhelming odds.
Bornakk reminds us about Death Knight lore we should already know from the Lore & Quest panel at this year's BlizzCon:
The idea is that a character goes to become a Death Knight, is trained as a Death Knight, but then realizes they doesn't want to go through with the evil acts they are instructed to perform. So the character finds a new Alliance or Horde home who accept them as a necessary evil (like warlocks) to help them fight their enemies.
Season 3 of WoW's Arena is rumored for release with the 2.3 content patch. A new tier of epic PvP armor and weapons is expected, while the old season 1 gear is "downgraded" to battleground status and will become purchasable for honor. Drysc also clarified the rating requirement for the Season 3 weapons, hinting at a new mechanism to prevent team hopping.
You will only need a specific rating to purchase the items, it won't be required for their use. If you hit 1900 (for instance, this isn't a final number by any means) you'll be able to purchase and use the items, and if you dip below that you won't be able to buy them, but you'll be able to continue using those you've already purchased.
We're also well aware that this could potentially encourage players to join higher rated teams for a chance to obtain the items, and at later time we'll be discussing the solution coming that will prohibit it.
For mere chump change, a European WoW player spent 7000 Euros ($9709.70) for perhaps the best geared Rogue in Azeroth. This character had both of Illidan's Legendary Twin Blades and four out of five pieces of Tier 6. Unfortunate for the buyer, the account no longer appears accessible since September 3rd. While no official word has been made, most speculate that Blizzard brought out the ban-stick.
Drysc made a rare appearance over on the Rogue forums this week to explain the reasoning behind the haste rating changes scheduled for patch 2.2. Melee haste has been reduced in effectiveness, while spell haste has been increased.
I'll try to answer in my own words, I know this has been a large complaint from the rogue community and I've only just recently gained information about the reasoning for the change myself.
Our baseline melee stat is Attack Power, it's the stat that we use as a benchmark in which we compare all other melee stats. Haste was at about a 1:1 in relation to AP at base levels, and it scales a whole lot better. So in large quantities haste was easily overcoming AP, and trouncing all other melee stats. While it's not bad for it to be a strong stat, we don't want it to become THE stat over AP. In fewer words it's a quintessential nerf: it was too good.
In the caster case, it was difficult for us to judge just how haste would affect casts as it varies so dramatically from player to player, class to class, and even spec to spec. Originally when it was nerfed we were sort of anticipating it being required, but we're just not seeing the large use of sustained cast-time oriented spells we thought we would, and it's being brought back up to compensate.
Currently battleground marks can be used to purchase PvP mounts of each race. However when the Burning Crusade was added, Blizzard left out the Blood Elf and Draenei mounts from the PvP rewards. Bornakk had the following to say:
We do plan to add the Elekk and Hawkstrider mounts as PvP rewards in a future patch.
For clarification, as Taurens can't use the in-game Hawkstriders, I would not expect them to be able to use the PvP version. This has not been finalized though and we will have to wait for the mount to be implemented for further details.
Internet security company Symantec is warning that virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft are being targeted by organized criminals to launder money and spread key loggers and ID harvesters. CNet's Ken Lewis posted an article today about organized crime and World of Warcraft.
A criminal enterprise could open several thousand MMOG accounts. Each could be used to trade with other players in the purchase or sale of in-game assets, the funds from which would ultimately be withdrawn from the accounts. Since thousands of accounts may engage in millions of transactions, each with small profits or losses, it would be difficult to trace the true source of the funds when they are withdrawn. These transactions can be conducted worldwide without the oversight that typically accompanies international bank remittances.
BlizzPlanet secured a video interview of Richard A. Knaak, New York Times Bestselling Fantasy Author. The interview took place early Sunday directly from the Istrocon Event at Slovakia and Richard A. Knaak reveals a few details of the upcoming World of Warcraft: Night of the Dragon and the Wow: Burning Crusade Tokyopop Manga. Diablo fans get some spotlight during the interview with certain details of the last book in the Diablo: The Sin War Trilogy (due September 25th). Also a certain Diablo 3 topic was pitched at Richard A. Knaak. Find out if it was a strike or a home run.
Gamasutra was fortunate enough to catch up with Senior Vice President Frank Pearce, one of the three founders of the original Blizzard, to discussed the state of Blizzard's union in 2007, the next steps for the firm's MMO and RTS franchises, and just what else they might be working on in the mysterious back rooms of their Southern California HQ.
There's a lot of great stuff out there, and a lot of good stuff on the horizon. Certainly the Warhammer Online game has a lot of potential, Age of Conan, that looks like it has potential. There's some good stuff out there inbound so we don't spend a lot of time dwelling on what other people are doing. It�s more important that we feel that we're doing right by our customer base, regardless of what other people are doing.
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