WOW: Faction Change Service Now Available

Sass: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19717481652&sid=1&pageNo=1

Faction Change Service Now Available 09/02/2009 04:44:03 PM PDT

The new World of Warcraft Faction Change service is now live. As we mentioned previously, [ http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=18031079410&sid=1 ] we’ve been in the process of developing a new service for World of Warcraft that will allow players to change their faction from Alliance to Horde or Horde to Alliance for a fee. After purchasing a Faction Change for a character, a player can choose any race of the opposite faction that is compatible with the character’s class. For more information on the Faction Change service, please read the FAQ, [ http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&tag=FCFAQ ] or visit the Faction Change page [ https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/faction-change-intro.html ] to get started. Based on further community feedback, we have also decided to offer a race change service in the future. Players who choose to switch races will be able to change their race within their same faction and class. Additional details will be released at a future date.

Blizzcon: WoW Cosplay At Its Best

Video Games | BlizzCon 2009 | BlizzCon 09: WoW Costume Contest

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

I'm going to order me a Meeting Stone costume for Halloween fer shure!!

WoW: Worgen Transformation Video

Since I'll NEVAH defect, it was kinda' cool to watch. Can't wait to kill them on my Goblin Priest.

WoW: Cataclysm Expansion Confirmed

And the info is all here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/

Woo!

And the Trailer:


I noticed that you could play a Goblin Priest, so guess who'll be switching up when the expac hits. Mwahahahaah! Little goblin on a fat kodo!

WoW: "Cataclysm" Expansion Details Leaked

I won't post it all for you to see since if it's true--IF--it's pretty radical. Not only is the info coming from MMO-Champion though, but it's also nowhere near Tin Foil Hat April Fool's Day.

I will however reveal one sexy possibility: "Flying in Azeroth!"

So if your heart can take anymore, check it out!

http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=92919.0

We should be hearing something soon from BlizzCon.

WoW: Onyxia Returns!

Oh sisnaps!!

The Brood Mother Returns

She has lurked in her lair and done battle with the many brave adventurers who travelled to that familiar location over the years. Now, in honor of the World of Warcraft 5-year anniversary, the dreaded brood mother Onyxia is being revamped to make a return to the forefront of Azeroth, as part of our big plans for the upcoming 3.2.2 content patch.

This permanent update to Onyxia will convert the dungeon into 10- and 25-player modes. We will be adding new items to Onyxia’s loot table that have the same model as some of the classic loot from this dungeon, like Tier 2 helms, with stats updated to match the current level of content. There will be a special new item too: a normal drake-sized 310% speed flying mount modeled after Onyxia herself called Brood of Onyxia. We will also be updating the encounter mechanics to be more fitting for modern raiding, but we can guarantee players will get to experience the frightening horror of deep breaths once again.

Then for a limited time, after the 5-year anniversary event officially begins in November, anybody who logs in will receive an Onyxia Brood Whelpling pet.

We’re very excited to bring this classic encounter back to provide a fun new experience for both new and veteran players. Further details will be available in the near future, and we will be setting up the Public Test Realms soon to help test out this fight along with all the new content we have planned for the patch. Keep an eye on the forums for updates!

Sadly, I was advised that I was much harsher as a raid leader. :(

WoW: Add Ons I Can't Live Without

No no no, I'm not talking about Deadly Boss Mods or Omen Threat Meter. I'm talking about the really important add-ons you may or may not know about.

First up! And I guarantee that once you get this, you'll never go back:

1) BEJEWELED. Stuck dead in an instance because someone's wireless mouse ran out of batteries and they ran into the 4 Horsemen? No worries! Accidentally took the flight path to Booty Bay from Undercity? It's all good! Because Bejeweled can be set up to pop up in Classic or Timed mode whenever something goes horribly wrong for you. You can even compare your scores with friends and guildies and mock them for not dying as long as you. You can try PEGGLE too, but it's just not as fun as Bejeweled.

Just a warning though. If you don't pay attention when you're manually flying, your proto-drake can crash into a mountain and somehow fall (with you on its back) to its death. Of course, that means one thing...MORE BEJEWELED FOR YOU!

2) GearScore. Mouse over anyone at any time and see their Gear Score proudly displayed for you. Load up the GearScore Recount option and you can compare GearScore vs HPS/DPS. My warning for this one is that when you first get it, it's HELLA' addicting. I barely made it through to Krasus Landing from the Horde Inn in 30 minutes because I was having too much fun mousing over everyone. Hours of fun! Guaranteed!

3) Event Horizon. Didn't think I'd ever use something like this, but I tried it out and to my gerbil like brain, it's awesome. I can't stop looking at the timers. A great gadget for keeping your DoTs, HoTs and Buffs up. Unfortunately, it won't be getting anymore upgrades as the developers are quitting WoW. (I bet because of all the shitty ass players pouring back in thanks to 3.2).

Give 'em a look see!

WoW Patch 3.2: The Welfare Epic Extravaganzaaaaaa Rant

I'm not a 48/7 end game raider, nor am I a casual, log in for an hour or two a day player. I play enough to rival anyone in a raiding guild (whether it's productive or not is a different story), and while I'm not infatuated with WoW, I find it to be an entertaining, solid game to play while I wait for things like "Aion" or "Modern Warfare 2" to come out.

But 3.2 is driving me nuts.

In the new 5 man, Trial of the Champion, even on normal, you practically sneeze and a Naxx 10 item gets thrown in your face. Win at the heroic version, and it's Ulduar 10 level loot. And how guilty do I feel getting 5 Conquest Emblems for rolling through H VH!?!?! How many times did I have to suffer through dumb asses running into me with eye beams on Kologarn for one measely badge? HOW MANY?

What next, Blizz? Our own in game bot like in Jade Dynasty so the ridiculously easy road to 80 gets even easier? How about Epics for mounting and dismounting? Better yet, just for logging in?

*sigh*

I do like that casual players and non-raiders are now able to trick themselves out (my friends who don't get to play as much love the patch for allowing them to catch up on gear), but I cannot stand that every single awful, "terribad" player to ever exist is also now able to trick themselves out.

There was quite a bit of incompetance before, but in their sexy new T8s, I've had Tankadins scream bloody murder at me not to AOE because they can't hold aggro on 3 mobs, and cried just a little inside when I see Frost Manges having trouble pulling 1000 dps on the SPIDER WING trash mobs.

Somehow, Gear Score has been equated to being a good player, and the shittiest of the shitty now consider themselves the elite. Just yesterday in H UP, the following conversation took place:

1200 dps Warlock: "Dood, i keepz puling teh agroz i need 2 dps slowwer" (Gear Score: 4200)
1600 dps Paladin: "We r roooooooooling dis jizzoint!" (Gear Score: 4300)
Me: "How much slower can you get?"
Lock: "Nub"

Yeah, I was being catty, but that's after 15 minutes of him boasting about his UBAH dps. Now, I am not the best geared Shadow Priest, nor am I the best player, but suffice to say I was doing over their combined DPS and 20% more over all damage despite having to kite mobs when the Pally tank would forget to put on Righteous Fury. (This happened twice.)

Am I an elitist? Hellz yeah. Because if expecting someone to do their job is being an elitist, I am so there.

Curse you, Aion! September 22nd can't come quick enough. :(

WoW: 3.2 Call of the Crusade Goes Live!

Well, for some of us. Me, I gotta' wait for the end of "extended maintenance" ending "soon." (TM.)

Read all the patchy goodness here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/implemented/3p2.xml

And definitely check out the trailer too!

Blizzard Appoints Sam Raimi To Direct World of Warcraft Movie

Sass: Posted on 22 July 2009

World of Warcraft is probably the most popular MMORPG on the Internet, and Sam Raimi is one of the best movie director in the world. Raimi is best known for directing the SpiderMan series, and at first you’d think that he doesn’t have anything in common with WoW. Well, you are wrong as Blizzard and Legendary Pictures agreed to develop the Warcraft movie which will be directed by Sam Raimi and produced by Charles Roven, the producer of The Dark Knight.

Although nobody thought that a Warcraft movie could happen, Blizzard and Legendary Pictures moved quickly and signed an agreement to develop the movie. Next, they needed a director and thought that Sam Raimi would be the perfect man for the job thanks to his imagination for the SpiderMan movies (I’m not a Spiderman fan, I somewhat liked only the first movie).

There are about 11 million World of Warcraft subscribers who are currently waiting for the WoW Patch 3.2 Call of the Crusade which will be released years sooner than the movie. According to Blizzard, the movie will be called “Warcraft” and it should be ready in a few years. At the moment there aren’t too many details about the movie, but we should hear more soon so stay tuned.

Ohhhh, Ziiiisnaps! Will it be more of a train wreck than the Dragon Ball Movie? Or will it become a classic like the Super Mario Bros movie? Alls I know is, I gotta watch it!

I hope they have dirty tree rape in it! (L2Sam Raimi if that offends you.)

And I just added the official Blizz Press Release.

Mountain Dew Game Fuel: The WoW Edition

Okies, let me preface by saying, "I don't like Mountain Dew." That being said, my mom of all peeps was hanging around one day and caught this commercial:



So as most old Asian women do, she started to bug me about whether I was an "angel or a demon," which I'm gonna' assume she meant, "Alliance or Horde." I wasn't gonna' try them because I tend not to drink things that are brighter than anime hair, but since my MOM of all folks was really into the ad, we picked some up to do the obligatory taste test.

Lemme tell you, I am Horde through and through, so I was like, fuck you orange/red Mountain Dew, I spit on you. But holy shit, that stuff tastes like medicine. It was bad enough to make me hate WoW (oh wait, not like it was that far of a leap since I opted for FFXI vs WoW back in the day). My friend told me that the Horde stuff was better but guess who ended up in the hospital a few days later with a stomach irritation? That's right, NO HORDE DEW FOR YOU!

To wash the taste out of my mouth, I did try the Alliance Dew and sadly, though vile, it wasn't as vile as the Horde Dew. A little piece of me died as I eyed the NElf on the bottle, and then I pulled up my NCSoft screen and saw I had the AION Collector's Edition ordered and suddenly I didn't feel as sorry.

p.s. My mom said, after drinking the Horde Dew, "My Listerine tastes better than this." Listerine which can burn holes into your throat. I rest my case.

Anyhow, you Dew Heads ought to try some Diet Pepsi (fountain soda version). So dericious.

Blizzard Being Suspected of Illegal Joint Venture, WOW Facing Suspension Forever in China

Oh please, oh please, let this be true, Ernie!

Sauce: http://news.mmosite.com/content/2009-07-14/20090714054025804.shtml

According to a source, the General Administration of Press and Publication of PRC has assigned Shanghai News and Publication Bureau to make a thorough investigation into the issue relating to the joint venture established by Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase. If it is proved that this joint venture is established to operate games, NetEase and Blizzard will be punished for violating the relevant regulations of China.

The US-based Blizzard Entertainment (a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Inc, NASDAQ:ATVI, hereinafter referred to as "Blizzard"), renowned for the successful launch of World of Warcraft in China, is now trying to play "edge ball" against China's regulatory policy. As for the operation of World of Warcraft and other games in China, Blizzard is no longer content with the role of game provider any more, instead, it's trying to achieve "absolute control" through various methods.

Several Chinese online game operators analyzed, "The licensing mode grants foreign game developers little control over channels and clients, and they consequently receive drastically less revenue from the game." In such situation, how to effectively evade policy supervision so as to actually control the operation of their online game products in China has become one of the important strategic concerns of some foreign online game developers.

The Chinese law stipulates that, foreign enterprises are not allowed to operate online games in the Chinese market in the form of wholly owned company or joint venture. On April 16, 2009, Blizzard and NetEase jointly announced that the operating right of World of Warcraft in China Mainland would be handed over to NetEase after the contract with The9 expired. Since then, there have been many rumors about how NetEase had obtained the operating right of the "No. 1 online game in the world" in China. There are two issues most concerned by the people. One is NetEase paid a sky-high revenue share to Blizzard, which will quadruple the gains of Blizzard compared to the gains obtained from the cooperation with The9. And the other is Blizzard and NetEase established a joint venture to operate World of Warcraft and other games in the name of providing technical support. And particularly, recently some medias analyzed the relevant information disclosed in the financial statements (20-F) of 2008 submitted by NetEase, which attracted the attention of the game industry and the relevant competent authorities. It's learned that the government authority in charge of investigating this case has obtained a great deal of relevant information.

Because recently, many game medias and players are paying close attention to World of Warcraf's operating right transition, and because it relates to the key question whether joint venture companies can operate games in China, the General Administration of Press and Publication of PRC has specially assigned Shanghai News and Publication Bureau to investigate deep into this case. Industry analysts pointed out that, because the case involves some major regulations and policies, it's highly likely that the approval of World of Warcraft operating right transition will have been suspended before the investigation results come out.

Quit Your Job! Play WoW! ???!? Profit! (Or not.)

The first post is a WTF. For real. WTF.

BBC UK wins all.

The high cost of playing Warcraft
By Cristina Jimenez
Technology reporter

A record has been set for the sale of virtual items in an online game as a World of Warcraft account is believed to have changed hands for almost £5,000 (7,000 euros).

The deal was done in early September and for their money the new owner got a level 70 night elf rogue called Zeuzo.

The price was so high because Zeuzo possessed magical items, including the twin Warglaives of Azzinoth, owned by only a handful of Warcraft's nine million active players.

The powerful items were gained by the character's original owner completing some of the most challenging parts of the game.

Cash call

World of Warcraft is an online fantasy world in which players create characters and take them adventuring. The characters gain experience and become more powerful by doing all sorts of quests (kill this, find that, deliver this).

At the higher levels many players band together to go on raids to kill the most powerful enemies and get the best loot.

Zeuzo's creator, who took the rogue from level zero to high level hero, was contacted for the BBC by other players but he would not confirm or deny reports of the sale.

The Method guild of which Zeuzo was a member also declined to comment on the the sale.

However, the BBC does have independent confirmation that the account was sold for a figure of about 7,000 euros.

Some Warcraft players who know Zeuzo's creator did speak out.

On condition of anonymity one said: "The trade was simple. It was a case of the buyer finding out that Zeuzo was currently the best geared rogue in game."

"Zeuzo received a whisper from a person who said that wanted to buy his account and convinced him by offering more and more money each time for it."

He said Method was disappointed to lose such a good character, but at the same time, understood the final decision.

Oliver Koppany, a fellow player chosen by Zeuzo as a "spokesperson" added: "He had been undergoing financial hardship and that was the only reason why he sold the account."

The new owner moved the valuable rogue to another server and re-named it Shaks.

High risk

Bill Vaughan, editor of IncGame's World of Warcraft website, said many people bought accounts to get over the grind of taking a character to the highest levels of the game.

"It generally takes an average person anything up to 600 game play hours to reach the current highest level," said Ms Vaughan.

Account selling is a growing phenomenon and the average price currently hovers around the £200 mark.

"The problem is," said Ms Vaughan, "you have no idea how to play the character properly."

"Within a short space of time, you would be subject to the embarrassment of other players noticing your lack of skills, and it would be very apparent that you had either bought your account, or had paid to have your character levelled," she said.

But, said Ms Vaughan, worse than other players noticing someone has bought their account is catching the attention of Warcraft creator Blizzard. Selling accounts and in-game items is against the terms and conditions people sign up to when they start playing.

Blizzard has banned up to 100,000 accounts in a month for illegal gold trading or cheating in the game. In a statement the company said it took the action: "to promote a fun and fair environment for all our players."

It is easy to find places to buy and sell accounts
"Blizzard has an interest in enforcing its rules, but it has to spend substantial amounts of money to do so," said Greg Lastowka, a law professor from Rutgers University who specialises in intellectual property and technology regulation.

"Account sales can sometimes be hard to detect, depending on the technology that a game company uses to gather information about users," he added.

In this case Blizzard caught on quick. It banned the account about five days after it was sold.

Big business

While account selling is controversial among Warcraft players, for some it has become a business prospect.

"Account selling is a ludicrous business indeed. I have friends who make good money without moving one finger," the BBC was told by one player. "You can earn 200 euros without doing absolutely anything."

He said many buy a new account for 12 euros, then pay a gold farmer to power-level the character in 20 days and then when it had reached level 70 sell it back for 400 euros.

Dee Patel, an ex-Warcraft player and a game industry professional, admitted having sold his account for £650 on eBay.

"I could have been offered a lot more for my account but I was just wanting to stop playing and wanted to get rid of it," he said.

Last January, eBay banned on-line games account selling on its website. But thousands of other sites offer similar auction services.

Globally the business is huge. Edward Castronova, an academic studying the economics of online gaming at the University of Indiana, estimates that the real money trade - people paying real cash for virtual items - is worth around $300-$400m.

Oh lawds.

But then, the story got bettah:

$10,000 WoW Character Banned?

What does roughly $10K get you in the MMORPG aftermarket? For the online buyer under the pseudonym Shaks, his 7,000 Euros bought him a Level 70 Night Elf Rogue character from World of Warcraft, sometimes referred to as World of WarCrack for its highly addictive nature. The character also came with four out of five pieces of the Tier 6 armor set, and the Twin Blades of Azzinoth (for WoW virgins, the Twin Blades can be picked off Illidan's defeated corpse in The Black Temple. Bet you were just dying to ask!). Had that been the whole story, it'd still qualify for headline status, but the fact that the $10K account appears to have been banned by Blizzard propels it into 'must-post' status. Blizzard pooh-poohs selling accounts, stating that they do not "recognize the transfer of Accounts between individuals." Based on their policy regarding account transfers, and because the Level 70 Night Elf Rogue hasn't logged on since September 3, the real question appears to be who Shaks decides to sue, rather than whether or not his character has been banned.

AHAHAHAHAHHAHA.

WOW Movie Details from Blizz Con 2007 (2009 Release)

In an article dated August 4th, 2007:

BlizzCon '07: Details surface on WOW movie Live-action fantasy adaptation targeted for $100 million budget, 2009 release.

By Brad Shoemaker

ANAHEIM, Calif.--Hundreds of attendees here at BlizzCon took time off from playing Starcraft II and the newly announced World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, to attend a spirited panel on the upcoming WOW movie, plans for which finally seem to be coalescing. Blizzard COO Paul Sams and chief creative officer Chris Metzen joined Legendary Pictures' CEO Thomas Tull and chief creative officer Jon Jashni onstage to dish on the current production status of Blizzard's first movie, which the company has been trying to get off the ground for a good five years now.

The audience of diehard fans seemed pleased with Blizzard's choice to partner with Legendary on the WOW movie, given the cheers that erupted at the mention of the company's recent fan-favorite hits like 300 and Batman Begins. Tull reiterated several times his company's commitment to creating "not a video game movie," but rather a grand fantasy epic on the order of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings adaptation that happens to be based on a video game property. He also said Legendary is targeting a roughly $100 million budget for a film it hopes to release in 2009, and confirmed emphatically that the movie will be live-action rather than animated. No firm decisions have yet been made on director, cast, or the use of practical versus computer-generated special effects.

Blizzard lore-master Metzen then took over to discuss the story aspects of the movie. Metzen considered first setting the movie at the Warcraft franchise's origin, during the clash between humans and orcs seen in the original game. But given the need for a storyline relevant to the critical mass of World of Warcraft players, Blizzard has instead opted to set the movie firmly within the WOW timeline, specifically about one year before the game itself begins. In answer to a fan question, Metzen said this won't be a quest or journey film, like The Lord of the Rings. Instead, "it's absolutely a war movie" that will focus on the large-scale conflict between the alliance and horde.

The film's storyline will be presented chiefly from the alliance perspective, which met with considerable boos from the devoted assemblage, though Metzen said the creative team would do its best to represent all of Azeroth's races in some fashion. Familiar characters like Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore may appear, though those names were only given as examples of the caliber of existing characters that will show up in the movie. Metzen also said a new hero has been devised specifically for the movie, and that he will be "badass."

As the fan question-and-answer session drew to a close, Metzen and Tull addressed a couple of the most important lingering questions. What rating are Legendary and Blizzard targeting? The final rating is clearly in the hands of the MPAA, but Tull did say the team desires to create a movie with as much intensity as it can muster, while allowing as wide an audience to see it as possible. He once again mentioned The Lord of the Rings as an example of a highly intense film that maintained a PG-13 rating. How about the direction of the inevitable sequel? Tull: "Let's nail the first one, and we'll go from there."

Before leaving the eager crowd with so many unanswered questions, Metzen tossed Blizzard's legions of fans one last bone in the form of a single piece of concept art depicting Teldrassil, the gigantic world tree that grows north of Kalimdor in World of Warcraft. Tull also mentioned nonchalantly that hopefully the next time all of these fans are assembled in one place again, he hopes to have a little more--like a teaser trailer--to show them.

I wonder what pimple faced 11 year old (wait, are they old enough for pimples?) will be playing the role of Human Warrior 2 who's 1337er than Chuck Norris, ZOMGZ ROFLCOPTER (or whatever the fuck those fuckin' whores say on Barren's Chat.)

As you can tell, I have little love for the game...except for fishing. WHO'S THE MASTER ANGLER X2 WITH A MAGICAL CRAWDAD PET!!!???? ZOMGZ, I'M 1337ER THAN CHUCK NORRIZ, ULTIMATE SHODOWN PWNZ JOO IN THE FACE!! THE FACE!!