The OverAchiever: Pimp thy ride

As you've probably already read, players will be able to purchase 310 percent flying speed from trainers in Cataclysm. While this is good news for people who hate raiding, think arena was shat into existence by the most sociopathic among the development team, or spent School of Hard Knocks trying to drown themselves in the nearest body of water, the bad news is that buying your way to super-fast flying will run you a cool 5,000 gold.

Outrageous, says this dyed-in-the-wool cheapskate. For anyone else who'd rather die than part with a centavo of hard-earned gold, the good news is that having even a single 310 percent flyer in your stable is enough to get you the skill free. Fortunately, there's plenty of time to snag yourself one of these coveted mounts before Cataclysm hits, and just as fortunately, each mount is the reward (or subject) of an achievement.

Strategy guides for obtaining each of the remaining 310 percent mounts is definitely beyond the scope of this article (although I'll probably devote an edition of OverAchiever to nabbing the Rusted Proto-Drake, above) but we can take a visual tour of the fast flyers that any hard-working player can still get in Wrath of the Lich King.

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The OverAchiever: Pimp thy ride originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are invisible mobs ushering in the Cataclysm world event?

There's been some interesting chatter going on around the internet lately about mysterious in-game earthquakes happening throughout Azeroth. Seemingly at random the screen will shake back and forth for a few moments. There are no visible mobs or other occurrences that would cause this. However, these earthquakes are being reported by more and more people.

We know that Deathwing is going to tear Azeroth up in a big way. Take a look at the Cataclysm trailer for how destroyed the land is going to be. Barrens ripped in half, parts of Azeroth's climate will change, and general hell will come forth unto the plentiful lands. We also know that the world event ushering in the Cataclysm is going to be big, really big. The event itself is not in the patch files yet.

Or is it?

There are invisible mobs called Shakers in the game right now. There are two types of these mobs. The first is just called [DND] Shaker that was potentially in the game as early as patch 3.2.2, based on comments left on the live version of WoWHead. There was also another mob added in patch 3.3 called [DND] Shaker - Small.

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Are invisible mobs ushering in the Cataclysm world event? originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are invisible mobs ushering in the Cataclysm world event?

There's been some interesting chatter going on around the internet lately about mysterious in-game earthquakes happening throughout Azeroth. Seemingly at random the screen will shake back and forth for a few moments. There are no visible mobs or other occurrences that would cause this. However, these earthquakes are being reported by more and more people.

We know that Deathwing is going to tear Azeroth up in a big way. Take a look at the Cataclysm trailer for how destroyed the land is going to be. Barrens ripped in half, parts of Azeroth's climate will change, and general hell will come forth unto the plentiful lands. We also know that the world event ushering in the Cataclysm is going to be big, really big. The event itself is not in the patch files yet.

Or is it?

There are invisible mobs called Shakers in the game right now. There are two types of these mobs. The first is just called [DND] Shaker that was potentially in the game as early as patch 3.2.2, based on comments left on the live version of WoWHead. There was also another mob added in patch 3.3 called [DND] Shaker - Small.

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Are invisible mobs ushering in the Cataclysm world event? originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SteelSeries WoW mouse gets new functionality

Long after its initial release, which saw the mouse come under fire for its dubious EULA-breaking built-in functionality, WoWVault at IGN reports that the Steelseries World of Warcraft mouse has received a functional upgrade in that players can now "bind all 15 buttons without leaving the game." Patch 3.2.2 introduced a new interface for the mouse, which allows for the creation and customization of macros and key bindings from within the game, and assigned to different character profiles. The game now recognizes the mouse buttons as completely new and unique buttons, adding more buttons to augment players' normal keyboard buttons.

This should make the mouse completely usable out of the box for all players without fear of breaking the game's end-user policies, as opposed to how it was when it first shipped as it took advantage of disallowed automated and timed scripts. The Steelseries website notes that players can "achieve faster response time(s) by customizing (their) mouse setup in-game and thereby removing a layer of software." It was this "layer of software" outside the game that delivered commands to the mouse and conflicted with the game's policies. So fear not, players! The Steelseries WoW mouse is now completely EULA-compliant! I mean, it still kind of looks like a robotic turtle, but at least it won't get you banned from the game anymore.

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SteelSeries WoW mouse gets new functionality originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blood Sport: Patch 3.2.2, the times they are a-changin, Part II and a half



I don't care for a lot of music that was made in the last decade. The Killers are something of a breather for me. They're one of those bands I'm glad exist. When I'm forced to listen to a terrible radio station, and hear change your mind sandwiched in between auto-tuned, unoriginal dross -- I'm satisfied there is still music being made that can intrigue. (Brandon Flowers has some epic bard tier 10 shoulders there too)

This is part two of part two of a three part article. Confusing? Join the fun! Surprising Patch 3.3 timing, i.e. wrenches in cogs, is a blast!

In our first installment, we covered pillars changing shape in great detail, and also mentioned a few other tweaks. Our second article dealt with five classes -- paladin, priest, rogue, shaman, and warrior. Warlocks were left out of the 3.2.2 patch notes. This article is going to talk about the other four classes - death knight, druid, hunter, and mage.

Being "TheArenaGuy" here at WoW.com lends to forcing myself to a very balanced perspective on classes. It makes me feel guilty if I understand armor penetration less than spell penetration. Well, actually, it doesn't because ArP is confusing. The main thing I'm trying to say here is that I don't want to write anything that is opinionated without being grounded in something. I don't want to make any mistakes when it comes to reporting to our viewers what changes will impact arena games (and how).

I'm satisfied to critique changes instead of having the responsibility to make them. The developers have very difficult decisions to make with regard to arena balance and we should applaud them for making decisions in the name of equity, even if some of them might be unpopular.

With that, let's get into the juicy, juicy 3.2.2 patch notes.

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Blood Sport: Patch 3.2.2, the times they are a-changin, Part II and a half originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blood Sport: Patch 3.2.2, the times they are a-changin, Part II


In keeping with our musical theme, here's David Bowie's Changes. Most of you have probably heard it, but most of us have not really listened to it. Take some time to enjoy one of Bowie's most renowned pieces with the article today.

Last time, I went over a few significant arena modifications that 3.2.2 brought us. Square pillars for line-of-sight, the armor penetration nerf, focus frames, flying in battlegrounds, and the Onyxia loot table can be found here.

This article is going to talk about five of the nine classes discussed in the 3.2.2 patch notes (warlocks were left out). The reason we won't be talking about the other four is sheer article size. I'm not getting blamed for breaking anyone's scroll wheel today! We'll go over death knights, hunters, druids, and mages in the second part of this part II (which should be in a day or two).

I'm giving analysis on class changes; I hope we will agree on most things, but if you disagree or decide I don't understand a mechanic properly, please let me know in the comments below. I read all your comments and am often stunned with how gracious our readers have been towards me. Thank you for all the kind words, those of you who took the time to write them!

Please don't assume that I don't care if I don't write a large amount about the horrors of nerfing or the glories of buffing your main character's class (triple negative hooray). I probably don't know enough about the intricacies of the change to make an educated prediction, and would say little rather than proclaim "this will gimp class X vs. class Y" and have it fail to come to fruition.

I'm going to be ignoring all non-pvp related notes. If you think I left something out, please post a comment below and I will (most likely) edit the post accordingly.

Also, 3.3 patch notes are out already! Next week, part III will be merged with the 3.3 patch notes that are coming; there's a lot to talk about!

So, without further ado, here's what 3.2.2 is cha-cha-cha-cha-changing in the arena world.

Continue reading Blood Sport: Patch 3.2.2, the times they are a-changin, Part II

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Blood Sport: Patch 3.2.2, the times they are a-changin, Part II originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holy crap, Blink has sort of been fixed



Before you ask:

No, it still doesn't work going into or out of the flag rooms in Warsong Gulch.

Places it does work:

Going into and out of most other doorways. Up stairs. Through a great many smaller objects. Over unusual terrain, far more frequently than it used to. Overall: it works a lot more often than it doesn't work.

See, in case you missed it (as I did until helpful tipster James pointed it out to me this morning), Ghostcrawler dropped by a thread on the Damage Dealing forums (ironically titled "Blink Will Never Be Fixed") to drop this bombshell on us:

"There was a fix to Blink crossing terrain (such as indoor to outdoor) in 3.2.2."

I don't know about you, but I've been vigorously combing the book of Revelation for other signs of the coming apocalypse to be on the lookout for, just so I'm ready. Details after the break.

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Holy crap, Blink has sort of been fixed originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lichborne: Emblem of Triumph Gear for Death Knights


Welcome to Lichborne, your look into the issues of the moment for the death knight class.

Ah, Emblems of Triumph, the new hotness. Even if you're not running the coliseum, you still have chance to grab them in the heroic daily, and by now, surely most of us have at least had the opportunity to save up enough to buy something. Deciding what to buy, however, is a whole different question. Let's take a look at the badge loot and see what's in it for a death knight.

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Lichborne: Emblem of Triumph Gear for Death Knights originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WoW Insider Show Episode 109: Drakes for everyone


We recorded our latest podcast last Saturday afternoon, and it was a good one -- not only did we have Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington and Turpster on from here at WoW.com, but we welcomed two special guests: Fimlys and Nibuca from the Twisted Nether Blogcast. They were on to talk about their podcast and what they do with Twisted Nether, as well as their new Azeroth United project and what they'll be doing with that in the future. And of course, after we introduced everybody, we sat down and chatted about the most popular stories from the last week in Warcraft, including Brewfest and Onyxia, as well as patch 3.2.2 and the bugs contained therein. Enjoy the show.

And if you've heard something you'd like to respond to on the show, feel free to drop us a note via email -- the address is theshow@wow.com. We'll see you next Saturday as usual, thanks for listening!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.
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[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Listen here on the page:

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WoW Insider Show Episode 109: Drakes for everyone originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raid Rx: Healing Onyxia

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. Onyxia's the latest raid boss to challenge healers. Here's some phase-by-phase tips to help you get through the ordeal.

I finally managed to heal this fight through a lag infested night when patch 3.2.2 landed. Onyxia was a pain in the butt to heal at level 60. Have things changed since then?

No, not by much. In some of the pickup Onyxia groups I joined on my alts, I've seen tanks drop several times. I don't want to guess who the blame should go on to (tank or healer) but I'll provide some pointers and observations for all the healing classes to help streamline the entire healing process.

My colleague, Matthew Rossi, has written a fairly detailed piece on what the entire raid can expect throughout Onyxia's various phases. While the encounter is easy in terms of theory, in practice it can still be challenging for healers if they let their guard down. Do not take Onyxia too lightly.

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Raid Rx: Healing Onyxia originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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