The ultimate massively multiplayer online role-playing game news source
Posts tagged Battle.net
Breakfast Topic: We heard you like gaming so we put a game in your game so you can game while you game
Jul 28th
The release of StarCraft II brought about a surprise for the observant player — an object in the cantina of ship that lets you play an arcade game called Lost Viking right in StarCraft II. This is a fun little shooter that’s a cross between Asteroids and Space Invaders (Alex tells me it’s a lot like Touhou, although I’ve never played that), and easily took up an hour of my night. Just the kind of thing to do while waiting for a raid to begin.
The name of the game is a nod to an original Blizzard game called The Lost Vikings which was released back in 1994. In that game you are a Viking and have to find your way home as you escape the evil Tomator. In the StarCraft II arcade game you’re a mighty Viking on a ship and must fight your way back to Vikingville. And watch out for the evil Terra-Tron, he does not like you!!!
I hope that Blizzard sees this game as a success and includes a minigame like this in Cataclysm. Something that can be accessed from the mini-menu would be perfect. Given the awesomeness of Blizzard’s newly released Lost Viking (see screenshots below for more pictures), let’s give Blizzard a More >
Shifting Perspectives: Pulling 101: Deeper into the dungeon
Jul 27th
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting feral/restoration druids and those who group with them. This week, we continue to get hit in the face.
This week, we’re continuing our series on Pulling 101 with a look at what happens during the dungeon itself. I was surprised to discover exactly how much of this advice concerns rage management, but shouldn’t have been; any discussion concerning how to pull as a rage tank invariably touches on how to get the most out of an eccentric resource system. A good chunk of this advice will become obsolete as of the Cataclysm content patch, but if you’re leveling and gearing a bear through the dungeon finder, there are still an awful lot of 5-mans between yourself and this fall.
Continue reading Shifting Perspectives: Pulling 101: Deeper into the dungeon
Totem Talk: Leveling as a restoration shaman in Cataclysm
Jul 27th
Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration will show you how, brought to you by Joe Perez, otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and the For The Lore podcast The Cataclysm beta has been offering us many things. From talent trees being changed to revealing new voices for bosses and audio for events, there really has been something new discovered almost every day. This is not too surprising considering the world is going through a massive series of changes as well as the game mechanics themselves.
One of the things that is being watched very carefully are the changes to healing and the mechanics not only of healing output but also mana regeneration. Sadly, though, there is still a lot missing from the client, making it hard to get an idea of exactly how it will all wind up being balanced. That said, there are still a lot of changes in place for healers in the way we quest and level. New talents and spells make it a different experience than before. On top of that, there are also a plethora of quests that seem to be tailored at least somewhat with a More >
Reader UI of the Week: Fizziks’ UI Mk. II
Jul 27th
Each week, WoW.com brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send your screenshots, along with info on what mods you’re using, to readerui@wow.com. Greetings, Reader UI of the Week fans, and welcome aboard the good ship Addons. Today, we travel back in time, way back, to March of 2010, when man still lived in a terrible age of despair and ignorance. We have come so far since that terrible time. A light, a blindingly bright light, shown through the heavens, illuminated one column. One column for you, dear readers, to submit your user interfaces to …
Fizziks was one of my first reader UI column subjects and has graciously sent in a redux of his awesome-then and awesome-now user interface. I am happy to say that this is the 25th Reader UI of the Week that I have written, and am happy to have an old friend come back for this special number.
Continue reading Reader UI of the Week: Fizziks’ UI Mk. II
Insider Trader: Enchanting the Cataclysm
Jul 27th
Cataclysm is probably still a little bit away. Blizzard has not announced the final launch date, though, so there’s really not any way to guess. Still, we’re seeing more and more information slough out of the beta like so much tantalizing ice cream falling from the soft serve dispenser. The flavor of the week for professions, of course, is enchanting.
Enchanting is probably the most fundamental template for improving a character beyond levels and gear. Even though jewelcrafters have been around for two expansions, people still talk about enchanted gear as being the baseline for character improvement. It makes sense, then, that the foundation is a flagship for gear enhancement in Cataclysm.
However, with a few small exceptions, the rules about which stats get enchantments are changing. As you’ll see as we go through the new enchants one by one, many of the new enchanting standards will be based on procs. We can guess this change is in the interest of making the stat bonuses more interesting and “deep,” so it’s going to be interesting to see which enchants different classes prefer.
As warning, though, it’s beta. It’s almost certain some of these stats are placeholders or subject to change.
Continue reading Insider Trader: More >
15 Minutes of Fame: Psychologist and games researcher John Hopson
Jul 27th
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We’re giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame.
What keeps gamers hooked on their game of choice? Chances are, it’s an element of the gameplay that was teased out with the help of games researcher John Hopson. The experimental psychologist and beta program head for Microsoft Game Studios examines what makes gamers do the things they do and then designs ways to keep them happily doing just that — most recently, in titles such as Shadow Complex, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.
All that, and he’s a WoW player to the core. “I mostly play in the two semi-official Microsoft WoW guilds, and lately I’ve been a hardcore player in a casual’s body,” he notes. “My wife and I had our first child a few months ago, so we’ve both dropped raiding and have been levelling alts instead since that doesn’t require a fixed schedule. So far, we’re both up to 5 level 80s apiece. ” We thought it was time to turn the tables on Hopson, a loyal reader and occasional commenter at WoW.com, and More >
Lichborne: Festering Strike and other beta news
Jul 27th
Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly source for news, guides, tips and opinions on the death knight class.
With the latest beta build, death knights have seen yet another series of small adjustments to their talent trees, but the biggest news is the addition of a solution to those hanging frost runes in unholy’s rotation: Festering Strike. What’s really surprisingly unique about Festering Strike though, is the rune setup: It uses one frost and one blood rune, the first attack to do so. In this week’s column, we’ll discuss how Festering Strike is fitting in, as well as looking at other talent tree issues and bugs on beta.
Continue reading Lichborne: Festering Strike and other beta news
WoW Moviewatch: Icecrown Gunship Battle: Now in Real Life!
Jul 27th
The creation of WoW movies — whether it is machinima or live-action — stems from the author’s love of game, cinema, or just raw creation. It takes a lot of love to create a WoW movie. And sometimes, just sometimes, you manage to do something unique. Sometimes, you can do something so completely awesome that it nearly defies description.
The Icecrown Gunship Battle: Now in Real Life! is one such unique movie. A guild got together and built cardboard replicas of the gunships floating above Icecrown. They loaded these replicas with firework cannons. And then they let them do battle.
I won’t spoil the ending for you. This movie is beautiful in its simplicity. Its pureness lends it elegance. It is, in a word, awesome.
Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.Death Knight Haiku Contest Has Begun!
Jul 27th
Our Death Knight Haiku Contest has begun! Head on over to our Death Knight Forums to participate! The most creative Haiku will receive a Custom Death Knight Vinyl Sticker courtesy of West Concept Designs! Runner-ups will receive 2 weeks of VIP! Check out the Contest Thread for more details.
The Lore and History of Death Knights
Jul 27th
Darion Mograine “The Knights of the Ebon Blade will not falter.”
Darion Mograine was stillborn but his father, Alexandros, dipped him in a freezing cold stream of water and he awoke. His mother died from complications from his birth. In Darions younger years he insisted on fighting with his father in the plagued city of Stratholme. He took a serious wound that nearly killed him. While he was unconscious, his brother, Renault, betrayed his father and Alexandros the Ashbringer was slain. In the act of killing his father with his own sword, Renault corrupted the Ashbringer and trapped his fathers soul with it. Unable to use the blade, Renault left it with the body of his father. His treachery went unknown to anyone.
Upon learning of his fathers death, Darion began to question the Light and was confronted by a troll priest named Zabra Hexx. Zabra tells Darion that his fathers spirit has not passed on and that he can feel the connection to Alexandros through the Light. Darion asks him where his father can be found and Zabra tells him that he had seen a vision of a fortress floating above a burning city then vanishes mysteriously.
With the Argent Dawn to More >