Author Archives: WoW.com

Cataclysm Beta: Shaman changes in Build 12984

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Thanks to MMO-Champion, we've got a fresh new build from the Cataclysm beta on our hands as of last night. As you might expect, shaman have received a few notable changes; what you might not expect is that the editors of WoW Insider gave me permission to write about them. This isn't the first time in the last month that a priest has ventured in totem territory, so I'm going to guess the shaman community has been slipping something into the drinking water at Team Priest headquarters. What are you guys up to, exactly?

Anyway, right off, you'll notice some huge buffs to shaman weapon imbues, but they're not actually buffs. The increases in attack power, healing and damage are just adjustments to bring the values up to Cataclysm levels. Other major highlights include tweaking to the enhancement tree and restoration abilities, which we'll discuss after the jump. There are cookies.

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Cataclysm Beta: Shaman changes in Build 12984 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WRUP: Wherein Gregg Reece battles a hydra

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Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (otherwise known as: WRUP!). Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too.

Boldly, they strode into the lands below the mountain. As always, Ziebart the Incalculable, Holisky the Unrepentant and Sacco the Mellifluous led them, bolstered by DanO and his prodigious wisdom. Still, trepidation was their companion. Even with stout companions all alongside them, the danger was great. Dank and steaming, the fetid air rose from their destination, redolent with the reeking exhalations of their intended prey.

"Quickly now," barked dread Ziebart. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

The belimed walls of the cavern shook with the thunderous roar of the behemoth monstrosity, lurching from its ancient slumber.

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WRUP: Wherein Gregg Reece battles a hydra originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is faction antagonism story-driven or player-driven?

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Spoilers for Cataclysm in this post, me hearties.

One of the things I've noticed in my time back-and-forthing between Alliance and Horde toons is that each faction seems to have many, many vocal partisans who believe the opposite faction to be filled to the brim with churls, knaves and scalawags. Perhaps even hooligans and ne'er-do-wells. You see it all the time in general chat: "Those ally fellows are nothing but mountebanks!" Or perhaps: "Horde? Nothing but disreputable scoundrels, bounders and cads!"

What I find interesting is how much of this factional divide is created by the game itself ... how much comes from quest lines and zone design and world events ... and how much is purely based on the players. It's true that over the past several expansions, we've seen a shift in the game itself from the days of the AQ gate event and the opening of the Dark Portal, when Horde and Alliance stood shoulder-to-shoulder against threats to Azeroth, to the present Wrath/Cataclysm direction when even Old Gods, Lich Kings and insane dragon aspects can't get the Horde and Alliance to cooperate.

Still, until fairly recently, I'd never really felt much of the infamous Horde/Alliance hatred from the game itself. Even the Wrathgate /Battle for Undercity and the Broken Front quests didn't come close to matching the intensity of a forum flame war or a really acrimonious Wintergrasp battle. Playing Horde back in the day, you couldn't help but notice the perception of superiority Horde players (including myself, at the time) felt over Alliance. But the story didn't really have much to do with it.

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Is faction antagonism story-driven or player-driven? originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Around Azeroth: Eyes in the sky

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We know that incoming Warchief Garrosh Hellscream is somewhat paranoid about the intentions of the Alliance. But sending out nether rays with giant eyes on their bellies to spy for you? For shame, Garrosh. At least get the goblins to build you a less obvious bug. Perhaps a small listening device with a 10 percent chance of fatal explosions would do the trick. (Thanks to Gossamer of Frostwolf [US-A] for the screenshot.)

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Want to see your own screenshot here? Send it to aroundazeroth@wow.com. We strongly prefer full-sized pictures with no UI or names showing. Please include "Azeroth" in the subject line so your email doesn't get marked as spam, and include your name, guild and server if you want to be credited.

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Around Azeroth: Eyes in the sky originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breakfast Topic: Have you visited any old friends lately?

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This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to our pages.

It's September, and we're still waiting on Deathwing to give Azeroth a makeover (especially Desolace -- I don't know anyone who has ever had anything good to say about that zone). While Deathwing has said many times he's going to make an appearance in 2010, he has yet to say when he's coming. So for now, we're left hanging out with Arthas. I've spent more than enough time with Arthas. All he ever talks about is how cold his frozen throne is, how nobody comes to visit and when they do they bring that jerk Tirion along.

One day, I finally got tired of hanging around Arthas and decided to visit some old friends. I went to say hi to Hakkar, but he was still bitter that I took his heart, so I said my goodbyes and left. After visiting Hakkar, I went to the Molten Core; that was a very bad idea. Apparently, the Core Hounds think dwarves are a snack no matter what level they are.

After running back to my body and forcing my turtle to distract the corehounds so I could get away, I decided to visit my good friends in Shattrath. That was also a bad idea. I waved at A'dal, and as I turned to walk away, he invaded my mind and started complaining about Kael'thas. I guess people are going back to kill Kael just for laughs, so he in turns appears in Shattrath to taunt A'dal. He was also complaining about how the new adventurers refuse to help him or anyone else in the city.

You know what? Forget it. I'm done being nice. I'm not going to visit anyone else. Let me know when Deathwing comes. I'll be at the Ironforge inn with my cat. At least she doesn't hold a grudge when I leave her at the stable master ...

What about you? What old friends have you called on recently, in the slow weeks before Cataclysm?

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Breakfast Topic: Have you visited any old friends lately? originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm Beta: Warrior changes in build 12984

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The beta patches are coming fast and furious now. Heck, I was still playing in the previous patch when our friends at MMO-Champion announced beta build 12984, and wow, does it have some changes for the only class that looks this good, our friendly warriors. (OK, sometimes we're not so friendly. It's part of our charm.) Let's look at the changes for our plate-clad, dual-wielding, extremely temperamental bundles of axe-cuddling joy.

Arms
  • Mortal Strike now has a 4.5-sec. cooldown, down from 5 sec.
  • Blood Frenzy no longer improves your melee attack speed, gives your auto attacks a 5/10% chance to generate 20 additional rage instead.
  • Mastery: Strikes of Opportunity additional melee attacks now deals 75% normal damage, up from 50%.
The changes here are interesting. Looking at them, I find myself wondering if they're intended to make arms more responsive to melee attack speed increases and haste on gear. With slightly fasted MS and Blood Frenzy no longer providing the attack speed boost (but some much needed rage), haste won't be so terrible. Meanwhile, the arms mastery got the buff we all figured it needed to even remotely be viable. Fury and protection changes and discussion behind the break.

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Cataclysm Beta: Warrior changes in build 12984 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm Beta: New guild achievements added in patch 12984

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Patch 12984, the latest Cataclysm beta build, just crash landed across the net, and MMO-Champion is mining out the latest changes. Included in the changes are a bunch of new or tweaked guild achievements. Here are some examples:
Perhaps the readers can actually help explain to me what "you've been iced" means. I wasn't aware there were bros in Azeroth yet, but I guess after all those popped collars on the priest tier 10, it was bound to happen.

Hit the jump for the full list from MMO-Champion.

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Cataclysm Beta: New guild achievements added in patch 12984 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm Beta: New mounts and companion pets in build 12984

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Meet Deathy. He's one of the new companion pets that will be joining us in Cataclysm. He won't be the only one, though, as the latest build added a host of new mounts and pets.


Mounts & Pets

Mounts
  • Ultramarine Qiraji Battle Tank Summons and dismisses a rideable Ultramarine Qiraji Battle Tank. This is a very fast mount.
  • Sandstone Drake Transforms you into a Sandstone Drake, allowing you to fly very fast and carry an ally on your back.
  • Mottled Drake Summons and dismisses a rideable Mottled Drake. This is a very fast mount.
  • Kron'Kar Annihilator Summons and dismisses the Kron'Kar Annihilator. This is a very fast mount. cast
Companion Pets
  • Deathy Right Click to summon and dismiss Deathy. / Instant
  • Guild Herald Right Click to summon your guild's Herald for up to 5 min.
  • Guild Page Right Click to summon your guild's Page for up to 5 min.
  • Gold Mini Jouster Right Click to summon and dismiss a Gold Mini Jouster.
  • Blue Mini Jouster Right Click to summon and dismiss a Blue Mini Jouster.
  • Tiny Shale Spider Right Click to summon and dismiss the Tiny Shale Spider.
  • Pebble Right Click to summon and dismiss Pebble. / Instant
  • Landro's Lil' XT Right Click to set down or pick up your Landro's Lil' XT action figure.
  • Enchanted Lantern Right Click to summon and dismiss your Enchanted Lantern.
  • Magic Lamp Right Click to summon and dismiss your Magic Lamp. / Instant
  • Elementium Geode Right Click to summon and dismiss your Elementium Geode.
  • Mr. Grubbs Right Click to summon and dismiss Mr. Grubbs.
  • Brazie's Sunflower Right Click to summon and dismiss Brazie's Sunflower.

I wonder if the Gold and Blue Mini Jousters will interact with each other in some fashion. That'll be somewhat entertaining during downtime in raids. The Sandstone Drake is a mount I'd be interested in grabbing, as well, due to its shapeshifting and passenger capability.

I know there isn't a whole lot of information yet on the mounts or pets, but what are you looking forward to picking up?

[via MMO Champion]
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.

Cataclysm Beta: New mounts and companion pets in build 12984 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm Beta: Racial changes in build 12984

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A new build for the Cataclysm beta is pending and should be hitting servers fairly soon. In build 12984, we're going to see several races getting a few updates.

Racial changes
Human Undead
  • Cannibalize now also regenerates mana. (7% of total health and mana every 2 sec for 10 sec)
Tauren
  • Cultivation still increases your Herbalism skill by 15, but also lets you gather herbs faster than normal herbalists.
Gnomes

Human Perception is gone? My poor dwarf will have extra reason to be Cannibalized? Gnomes becoming experts with daggers and one-handed swords? And the change no one could have seen coming, taurens can pick flowers faster? Anyway, enough with the amazement. What do you guys think of these changes to racials so far?

[via MMO-Champion]
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.

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Cataclysm Beta: Racial changes in build 12984 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 04:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm Beta: Reputation rewards revealed

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As the beta progresses and we get closer and closer to release, new details continue to pop up over on MMO-Champion. The faction rewards popping up recently should be familiar in concept to anyone who played through Wrath of the Lich King or The Burning Crusade.

So far, we have reputation rewards for Therazane the Stonemother in Deepholm, the Baradin Watchers and Hellscream's Reach in Tol Barad, the Wildhammers and Dragonmaw Clan in the Twilight Highlands, and the Ramakhen faction of Tol'vir from Uldum. Right now, all rewards are itemized for Alliance in the case of the Hellscream's Watch and Dragonmaw, but new models and names should come in a later build. While these are not necessarily the complete lists for each faction, you get an idea of what will be available.

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Cataclysm Beta: Reputation rewards revealed originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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