Category Archives: blue-post

Darkmoon artifacts will drop even when there is no Faire

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Bashiok has provided further clarification on the Darkmoon Island artifacts that drop from dungeons, Battlegrounds, and raids that are turned in for Darkmoon tickets -- these will continue to drop for players who have a Darkmoon Adventurer's Guide regardless of whether the Faire is in town. These artifacts can be saved up and turned in when the Darkmoon Island event is taking place, so don't worry about grinding out these artifacts this week only. This makes me a very happy Faire-goer.

Darkmoon Artifacts will drop regardless of whether the faire is in town
Just to clarify one point, the quest drops that happen in the dungeons/raids/BG's happen all the time, even if the faire isn't in town. Think of it sort of like the Darkmoon Card redemptions. You're out playing all month, while you're doing stuff you're getting chances at the items, then when the faire is in town you turn it all in. (It's also worth pointing out that the turn-in items aren't soulbound, so just like the cards I'd expect some people to farm them just to put them up on the AH.)

It's really just this first week and appearance of the faire that's off because the Darkmoon Adventurer's Guide wasn't available for the 3 weeks prior. When it rolls around next month there should be better feel for how the whole system and ticket acquisition rate feels.

Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

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Darkmoon artifacts will drop even when there is no Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Darkmoon Faire ticket clarifications

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One of the coolest features in patch 4.3 was the introduction of the Darkmoon Faire Island, a brand new, self-contained island packed with new games, pets, mounts, prizes, and everything Silas Darkmoon and his merry band of carnies and personalities can muster for your enjoyment. Players earn tickets from completing games, bringing in Darkmoon artifacts from dungeons, PvP, and raids and from doing profession quests. Many players (myself included) were confused as to how many tickets players could earn each week, considering there is so much we want to buy and so many tickets needed to save up for it all. Bashiok has put together a great forum post that outlines just how many tickets you can get per month.

Bashiok's post clearly points out that the max number of tickets a player can get during each Darkmoon Island week is 145 tickets. The only issue is that a mount from the Darkmoon Faire costs 180 tickets, so players will have to wait until the next Darkmoon Island opens to claim their first mount reward. Now that the number of tickets is spelled out, it doesn't actually seem as bad as I originally thought it was going to be.

However, the weird thing that still permeates all of this is why playing the games at the Faire, the real focus of the island, rewards players with the lowest amount of tickets. The random Darkmoon artifacts that you get as drops from PvP, dungeons, and raids give substantially more in terms of tickets than the games themselves; the random pickups or Auction House items eclipse the daily games in terms of rewards. I really like the new Faire and hope that the prize ticket changes for the games can be upped to reflect their focus.

Hit the jump to read Bashiok's breakdown of Darkmoon Faire tickets.

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Darkmoon Faire ticket clarifications originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 4.3 PTR to go live potentially within the week

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It looks like Community Manager Zarhym is clocking some weekend hours, as he's posted today with what should be a very welcome tidbit for most players: The patch 4.3 PTR is almost ready and could go live with the next week. He also revealed that the PTR will likely have incremental changes. Transmogrification, void storage, and a few UI and balance tweaks will likely show up right away, but it may take some time for the new dungeon and raid content to go live.

What this means for the release of patch 4.3 is a little foggier. Will we be going to BlizzCon with the PTR still chugging away? It sounds like Blizzard's not planning a rush job on this one, so it remains to be seen. Regardless, you'll want to keep it right here. When the PTR goes up, we'll be there with all the news and analysis you'll need to start planning your moves. Check after the break full for the full text of Zarhym's message.

Continue reading Patch 4.3 PTR to go live potentially within the week

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Patch 4.3 PTR to go live potentially within the week originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard clarifies transmogrification rules

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Blizzard has been getting loads of questions about transmogrification, the new system coming in patch 4.3 that allows players to change the look of the gear they currently possess. Many players have been asking for more gear customization, and Blizzard has answered with this new system. However, there are rules, and Blizzard has finally laid out the full list of what can and cannot be transmogrified, as well as what types of restrictions apply. The list is not intended to be all-encompassing, but does give players a good idea about what is acceptable and what is not.

Personally, I am still of the opinion that a lot of the fun items that will not be available for transmog purposes should be. It's Warcraft, after all, and the goofy aesthetic has permeated all aspects of the game. It's not a huge loss, but one that would have its fun purposes. All in all, these transmog rules feel pretty lenient and acceptable to me, and I think that the new system is a great step in the right direction for more player customization.

Continue reading Blizzard clarifies transmogrification rules

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Blizzard clarifies transmogrification rules originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods

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One of the most intriguing non-story tidbits to come out of the recent flood of patch 4.3 news is the fact that tier 13 will not be purchasable with valor points. If you want your tier 13 set, you will have to raid for it. Zarhym has clarified how this will all work in a forum post. Here's the juicy stuff:
  • All pieces will drop from multi-class set tokens. Ten-man raids will see a slight buff to drop rates to compensate for the lack of purchasable tier pieces.
  • Valor point gear will feature a wider array of gear for a wider array of slots, meant both for people who are having trouble with token drops and for people who don't raid at all.
  • There will be three tier 13 sets for each class: Looking For Raid level, normal level, and heroic level. Each will have a different item level, but you'll be able to mix and match pieces from all three sets for your set bonuses as needed.
For the complete text of Zarhym's post, check after the break.

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Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods

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One of the most intriguing non-story tidbits to come out of the recent flood of patch 4.3 news is the fact that tier 13 will not be purchasable with valor points. If you want your tier 13 set, you will have to raid for it. Zarhym has clarified how this will all work in a forum post. Here's the juicy stuff:
  • All pieces will drop from multi-class set tokens. Ten-man raids will see a slight buff to drop rates to compensate for the lack of purchasable tier pieces.
  • Valor point gear will feature a wider array of gear for a wider array of slots, meant both for people who are having trouble with token drops and for people who don't raid at all.
  • There will be three tier 13 sets for each class: Looking For Raid level, normal level, and heroic level. Each will have a different item level, but you'll be able to mix and match pieces from all three sets for your set bonuses as needed.
For the complete text of Zarhym's post, check after the break.

Continue reading Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods

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Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods

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One of the most intriguing non-story tidbits to come out of the recent flood of patch 4.3 news is the fact that tier 13 will not be purchasable with valor points. If you want your tier 13 set, you will have to raid for it. Zarhym has clarified how this will all work in a forum post. Here's the juicy stuff:
  • All pieces will drop from multi-class set tokens. Ten-man raids will see a slight buff to drop rates to compensate for the lack of purchasable tier pieces.
  • Valor point gear will feature a wider array of gear for a wider array of slots, meant both for people who are having trouble with token drops and for people who don't raid at all.
  • There will be three tier 13 sets for each class: Looking For Raid level, normal level, and heroic level. Each will have a different item level, but you'll be able to mix and match pieces from all three sets for your set bonuses as needed.
For the complete text of Zarhym's post, check after the break.

Continue reading Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods

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Patch 4.3: Zarhym clarifies tier 13 drop methods originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bashiok comments on WoW’s difficulty, accessibility

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Players have remarked on the changing difficulty and accessibility of WoW (as well as the MMO genre in general) over the years. What once was a raiding environment based on the grueling EverQuest model has evolved into a new type of accessible/challenging hybrid. One of these discussion posts on the forums has been addressed by Bashiok, who gave quite the answer to players who long for the days of grueling grinds and oppressive content.

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Bashiok comments on WoW's difficulty, accessibility originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blues explain nature of archaeology cooldowns

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Several players and Community Manager Lylirra shared some discussion today on the official World of Warcraft forums about the cooldowns of novelty items crafted through the archaeology profession.

In the thread, the original poster suggested that the cooldowns of certain novelty items were too long in comparison to others and that Blizzard should consider fixing the discrepancies. The poster used Pendant of the Scarab Storm and Bones of Transformation as an example, noting that both items have a vanity effect that lasts 20 seconds but a cooldown difference of 90 minutes.

Lylirra responded, explaining that the cooldowns, though seemingly random, were chosen with specific issues in mind. She explains that with the Pendant of the Scarab Storm specifically, developers were concerned that the item's effect might strain certain players' computers.

Archaeology Items' Cooldowns
The current cooldown was chosen deliberately, but I can see why you might think otherwise (100 minutes is kind of strange for a cooldown time).

Anyway, summoning a harem of scarabs can be pretty taxing on some systems, so there were some initial concerns about putting the pendant on a short cooldown. Based on the feedback we've received, though, we're looking into reducing it. We agree that the effect is pretty cool and would be nice to use it more frequently.


Personally, a little lore logic behind the items might be nice as well. How is it that my character can summon a god every 3 minutes, but it takes 10 minutes to round up some sassy dwarven ladies?

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Blues explain nature of archaeology cooldowns originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm hotfixes for Dec. 27

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Community Manager Zarhym's list of Cataclysm hotfixes has received yet another update for Dec. 27. I have to admit, my heart skipped a beat when I first saw today's list. Is that a Tol Barad fix? Be still my beating heart! Has Blizzard finally -- Wait. Nevermind. The fix won't really fix anything. Still, maybe it's a sign Blizzard's noticed how broken the zone is. Here's the fix, along with a few other interesting changes:
  • Winning as an attacker in Tol Barad now rewards players with 1800 Honor Points, up from 180. Winning as a defender still rewards players with 180 Honor Points.
  • Vashj'ir archaeology dig sites no longer unlock for players. They felt too punishing without additional benefits compared to low-level sites, and were much more difficult to obtain artifacts in due to the way Vashj'ir navigation works.
  • Gyreworms, Enormous Gyreworms, and Gorged Gyreworms no longer drop money or elite-level loot.
For a complete list of the latest hotfixes, check after the break.

Continue reading Cataclysm hotfixes for Dec. 27

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Cataclysm hotfixes for Dec. 27 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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