adam holisky

All posts tagged adam holisky

Blizzard Watch rises from WoW Insider’s ashes

Posted by Peter (Devee) on February 4, 2015
Posted in: Blog. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

blizzard watch

WoW Insider might be finished, but not all of its staff members are. From its ashes, Blizzard Watch rises. As the name implies, it’ll cover all Blizzard titles, although it’ll focus primarily on World of Warcraft. It seems that Alex Ziebart, Editor-in-Chief of WoW Insider at the time of its closure, is in charge, but that wasn’t explicitly stated. Adam Holisky, Anne Stickney, Matthew Rossi, and Elizabeth Harper are joining him, and they hope to reach out to more people later.

Blizzard Watch is using Patreon to support the site. It’s a crowd-funding site that works a little differently than sites like Kickstarter. With Patreon, you pledge a certain amount per month. Their milestone goals were $8,000/month for full operations, $9,000/month for class columns, $10,000/month for expanded class columns, and $12,000/month for expanded coverage. They quickly reached their first goal and are currently, just a day after opening, hovering near $11,000/month. That’s pretty cool!

One of the first posts (if not the first) was one calling for Queue questions. No post could have made me happier. I love the Queue, and I’m very glad to learn that it’s going to continue to be part of my morning ritual.

Thank you, Blizzard Watch and team, for continuing your great reporting and writing!

Suggested Reading: Cookie debt, Trivial Pursuit, the fall of Garrosh Hellscream, the Siege of Orgrimmar, and more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on September 26, 2013
Posted in: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Other MMOs or Related Games, Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

We may be in debt, but the chips on our shoulders are chocolate, Sarah Pine, WoW Insider, 9/18/13.

When Greg Street and Brian Holinka traded tweets about exciting changes to PVP, Olivia Grace replied to them, saying that she’d bake them each 1,000,000 cookies if the changes were cross-realm arenas. Well, they’re in patch 5.4 now, and in the Alliance PVP room in the Valley of the Four Winds, there’s an IOU note for “1,000,000 Chocolate Chip Cookies” signed “- O.D.G.” She better get on that.

WoW Trivial Pursuit now available, Sarah Pine, WoW Insider, 9/25/13.

Sweet.

Know Your Lore: This Was All Necessary, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 9/25/13.

Pandaria grew stagnant under the Sha of Pride. Garrosh was right that “such power cannot be contained.”

Hearthstone account wipe is coming, Sarah Pine, WoW Insider, 9/26/13.

Good to know if you’re still playing Hearthstone. You’ll be reimbursed with gold for your purchases, and they don’t believe there will be any additional wipes.

Queue for all the LFRs at once in patch 5.4, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/24/13.

This is a welcome change.

WoW Archivist: A rolled-back history of realms, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 9/13/13.

I remember roll-backs. Dark days, they were.

Know Your Lore: The future of the Horde, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/15/13.

What will happen to the Horde after the Siege of Orgrimmar?

Know Your Lore: Delenda est Orgrimmar, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 9/18/13.

This is a satirical piece from the Alliance perspective on why Orgrimmar should be destroyed.

Escape from Orgrimmar, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 9/19/13.

And this is the follow-up Rossi wrote after realizing that people didn’t realize the first was satirical. It lists the reasons why Orgrimmar shouldn’t be destroyed.

When the big squish happens, you’ll still be able to kill the mobs, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 9/19/13.

Some clarification for people who are still confused.

Suggested Reading: Of lore speculation, Garrosh Hellscream, faction identity, and much more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on August 23, 2013
Posted in: Diablo III, Game Mechanics, Lore, Mists of Pandaria, Reaper of Souls, Role-Playing, Story, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

What If Paladins Had Stayed Alliance-Only?, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 8/19/13.

I love this. The Alliance story was the story of their paladins. What if paladins had stayed Alliance-only and shaman had stayed Horde-only? What if Death Knights had been given to the Horde, and monks to the Alliance? It’s an interesting article.

Thoughts on Garrosh Hellscream, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 8/14/13.

Why do the orcs want to kill Garrosh? Why do players hate Garrosh but like Sylvanas? Rohan thinks that in lore, the orcs in general aren’t turning on Garrosh. As players, we like Sylvanas because she’s “all cool and calculating” while Garrosh “is a thug.” Players are more likely to identify with Sylvanas.

Window Shopper, Prinnie Powah, That Was an Accident!, 8/14/13.

Be careful with whom you /flirt.

Patch 5.4, flexible raids, dailies and more with Tom Chilton, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 8/16/13.

Chilton’s discussion of the Timeless Isle and Blizzard’s pull away from dailies are particularly interesting.

Patch 5.4 confirmed for release on September 10th, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 8/21/13.

I’m glad we have a little more time to Ahead of the Curve: Lei Shen for raid team members who missed our kill.

Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The Dark Below, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 8/18/13.

Speculation on what The Dark Below could bring.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Lore Speculation, Neinball, BlizzPro, 8/14/13.
Reaper of Souls Lore Speculation Part 2: The Usual Suspects, Neinball, BlizzPro, 8/16/13.
Reaper of Soul [sic] Lore Speculation Part Three: Eternities of Conflict, Neinball, BlizzPro, 8/19/13.
Reaper of Souls Lore Speculation Part Four: Oh, The Places We’ll Go, Neinball, BlizzPro, 8/20/13.

Reaper of Souls might have been unveiled, but I still think these speculation articles are great.

Diablo III Expansion Speculation, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 8/15/13.

Rohan’s wish list includes paladins, necromancers (or maybe druids), a no-trade, no-AH mode, and the ability for hardcore characters to become normal characters upon death. I think the no-trade, no-AH mode would be nice, although Blizzard would never do it, and the hardcore change would be great.

What If: Cult of the Mechanical, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 8/15/13.

Rossi explains how awesome it would be if we had an expansion focused on Gelbin Mekkatorque embracing technology and shunning the divine.

Old Enemies: OOC Epilogue, Anna, Too Many Annas, 8/15/13.

Even if you haven’t been reading this story, this is an interesting article about “assumed RP.” I didn’t really know anything about this, but it was a fascinating read.

Will we see an ability purge?, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 8/14/13.

If we’re going to continue to get new abilities every expansion, an ability purge seems important to me.

This epic crafted Frostsaber has ridden off with our hearts, Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider, 8/15/13.

This is so cute!

Diablo 3 to get new features, fore free, in pre-expansion patch, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 8/22/13.

No surprise here. Changes to the core mechanics will happen even if you don’t purchase Reaper of Souls.

WoW Archivist: WoW’s first legendary quest line, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 8/16/13.

A retrospective on the first legendary quest line, the series to obtain Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.

Know Your Lore: A Precarious Position Part 1 – Horde, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 8/14/13.

What will happen to the Horde after the Siege of Orgimmar?

Suggested Reading: Of the trinity, Hellscream, hatred, neutrality, and more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on August 8, 2013
Posted in: Other MMOs or Related Games, Suggested Reading, Titan, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Revisiting the Trinity, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 8/6/13.

How can you break the role trinity while keeping fantasy tropes?

Your Warchief wants YOU, The Warchief’s Command Board, 8/5/13.

I love this poster. Check it out!

Patch 5.4 PTR: Hellscream’s weapon drops are 90-100 heirlooms, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 8/7/13.

That’s pretty cool!

WoW Archivist: When Blizzard “hated” the Horde, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 8/2/13.

Many people hold the belief that Blizzard loves the Horde and hates the Alliance, but there was a time when the opposite was considered true.

Pandaren levels 1 to 60 as a neutral, not picking sides in the Alliance and Horde conflict, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 8/5/13.

Screw the factions!

Know Your Lore: The future of the Alliance, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 8/4/13.

Where is the Alliance going?

Blizzard’s new vision for Titan: ‘unlikely’ a subscription-based MMO, Michael McWhertor, Polygon, 8/1/13.

Titan won’t be subscription-based? Titan won’t be an MMO?

Patch 5.4 pulls WoW Insider team members into Azeroth, Alex Ziebart, WoW Insider, 8/2/13.

WoW Insider’s Matthew Rossi, Anne Stickney, and Olivia Grace will have items named after  them in patch 5.4.

WoW 6.0: A case for dual class dual spec, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 8/6/13.

What if you could adopt a spec from another class as your secondary spec? Personally, I hate this idea.

Suggested Reading: Of prolonged leveling, small decisions, tauren, magic, and the future of WoW

Posted by Peter (Devee) on August 1, 2013
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I Just Want to Play With My Friends! (On WoW Leveling), Balkoth, Balkoth’s Word, 7/26/13.

Leveling is fine for some people. For other people, it becomes a huge barrier to playing with their friends. Balkoth examines some scenarios and discusses the leveling process.

Small Decisions, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 7/29/13 and Small Decisions, Part II, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 7/30/13.

These two articles discuss the small decisions (reagents, arrows, talents every level) that were removed from WoW and what that’s done to the game.

Know Your Lore: The tauren peoples of Azeroth, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 7/31/13.

An examination of the three tauren peoples in World of Warcraft.

Know Your Lore: The color of magic, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 7/28/13.

There are a lot of flavors of magic in Azeroth.

New World of Warcraft class coming? Ghostcrawler drops a hint, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 7/25/13.

Could we be gaining a support class?

Ghostcrawler, potentially, details the future of WoW at Chinajoy, Sarah Pine, WoW Insider, 7/25/13.

GC sort of talks about some things that, honestly, we should probably just ignore for now.

Suggested Reading: Healing, nice guys, mounts, and lore

Posted by Peter (Devee) on July 25, 2013
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The State of Healing, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 7/21/13.

Rohan considers healing in Mists of Pandaria.

Nice Guy Award: Player gives away two 50,000g mounts, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 7/11/13.

Sadly, they weren’t given to me.

Patch 5.4 PTR: New mounts from the Siege of Orgrimmar, Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider, 7/24/13.

These look very cool.

What if: Rage of the Kaldorei, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 7/19/13.

An examination of a hypothetical expansion involving a Night Elf internal conflict with Shandris Feathermoon as the antagonist.

What If: Purge of the Aspects, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 7/18/13.

What if Alexstrasza declared war on mortals?

What If: Velen the villain, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 7/16/13.

Here’s another. What if Velen manipulates the Horde and Alliance, causing deaths on both sides, for what he considers the greater good?

Know Your Lore: A hostile universe, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 7/16/13.

What else is in the universe?

Suggestion Reading: Of the Lich King, Anduin, gear alternatives, and dying

Posted by Peter (Devee) on May 2, 2013
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Know Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich King, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 4/30/13.

What did the Lich King teach us? What did he teach Garrosh?

Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The curious neutrality of Anduin Wrynn, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 4/28/13.

Just why is Anduin so neutral? Could Onyxia have something to do with it?

Developer Q&A transcript, Alex Ziebart, WoW Insider, 4/25/13.

Lots of great answers here.

Editorial: Gear… GONE!, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 4/30/13.

Adam thinks gear should be removed. Most players would 100% reject this. I think it’s an interesting idea, but it wouldn’t fully work. While I don’t want to stress over pieces of gear (yet I do) and I just want to raid, obtaining gear feels satisfying.

Gearing & Guilds .. A New Alternative, Jods, Jods’ Blog, 1/5/13.

Some interesting ideas to gearing. That date seems wrong to me though!

Our favorite ways to die in World of Warcraft, Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider, 4/30/13.

There are a lot of great ways to die in WoW.

Suggested Reading: Of patch 5.3, player events, and BlizzCon

Posted by Peter (Devee) on April 11, 2013
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Patch 5.3 PTR: Valley of Spirits closed down by Garrosh’s goons, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 4/5/13.

I wrote about this previously. Too cool!

Massive cross-realm gathering successfully unites players from 11 realms, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 4/4/13.

This sounds really fun. I wish I could have been there. Player run events are very fascinating to me. I love that we have the ability to create our own stories in the game.

Patch 5.3: Transmog to be available from bank and void storage, Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider, 4/8/13.

This is a welcome change.

BlizzCon tickets go on sale April 24 and 27, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 4/4/13.

Should I go this year? It’s pretty far. It’s about 20 minutes from home.

Suggested Reading: Of F2P crafting, Hearthstone, Molten Core, proposals, patches, and more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on March 28, 2013
Posted in: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Suggested Reading, The Old Republic, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

F2P and Crafting, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 3/21/13.

Rohan explains why crafting conflicts with monetization in F2P games.

Hearthstone Gameplay, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 3/24/13.

Another look at Hearthstone.

The beauty of classic WoW’s Molten Core, Sarah Pine, WoW Insider, 3/19/13.

If you joined late and have ever wondered what the big deal with Molten Core was, Sarah will tell you.

Oondasta in China is full of… tombstones, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 3/20/13.

This is my wallpaper at work now.

The quest of a lifetime, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 3/21/13.

A very cute marriage proposal.

Star Wars: The Old Republic’s first expansion is BioWare’s hope to win back lapsed players, Griffin McElroy, Polygon, 3/25/13.

I’d give it a look, but we have too much content in WoW now!

Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Azeroth, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 3/24/13.

What’s so special about Azeroth?

The OverAchiever: The game’s 13 vanished titles, Allison Robert, WoW Insider, 3/21/13.

Scarab Lord, Champiuon of the Naaru, Hand of A’dal, Argent Defender, Celestial Defender, Champion of Ulduar, Conqueror of Ulduar, Conqueror of Naxxramas, Death’s Demise, Grand Crusader, The Immortal, The Undying, The Magic Seeker, and Obsidian Slayer. And none of me.

Mantid Archaeology, Cymre, Bubbles of Mischief, 3/22/13.

Check out the sweet gun!

World of Warcraft Patch 5.3 PTR Patch Notes, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 3/22/13.

Heroic scenarios, loot specialization, bonus rolls with progressively better bonuses, removal of most resilience, gear scaling in PVP, and new BGs and scenarios.

Thoughts on Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Posted by Peter (Devee) on March 25, 2013
Posted in: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft seems like it might be a cash grab at the casual market, but I’m optimistic that it’s going to be fun. I enjoy collectible card games, and I enjoy Warcraft, so what could go wrong? It seems a little odd to me that there will now be two Warcraft card games, but they seem pretty different.

Hearthstone makes me think of the card games inside the Final Fantasy series, Triple Triad in Final Fantasy VIII and Tetra Master from Final Fantasy IX. They weren’t required to completely their games’ story, they were very simple, and they were very fun. I keep thinking of them when I think of Hearthstone, although honestly, that’s probably not a very apt comparison. Triple Triad and Tetra Master existed within other games. Now if Blizzard put Hearthstone into World of Warcraft as an addon, that would be pretty amazing.

You can see some gameplay above courtesy of MMO-Champion. It appears to be similar to many other collectible card games such as Magic: The Gathering. The big differences I see are that there’s only one energy source, your total amount of energy increases automatically without the need for playing lands, and effects are resolved immediately. These seem like good changes to streamline playing. The energy system, I’d say, is better. Resolving effects immediately takes out some of the complexity and strategy that Magic: The Gathering has. This is probably good for Blizzard given that it’s a free-to-play game that’s going to be marketed to a wide variety of people. It’s probably not so good for gamers who appreciate a complex game, but I think the game still looks very enjoyable.

I’ll need to wait to try it to really form an opinion, but right now, I’m looking forward to it. It’s been a while since Blizzard has a created a relatively simple game. Their usual games are high quality (besides some problems with D3), so hopefully they keep it up with Hearthstone.

More information:

Hearthstone – WoW TCG Game Announced, Boubouille, MMO-Champion, 3/22/13
What we know so far about HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 3/22/13

Suggested Reading: Of going AFK, dungeons and scenarios, WoW being easy, and more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on March 20, 2013
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

How 5 minutes AFK cost one WoW player 476,000 gold, Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider, 3/19/13

After leaving his computer for five minutes, a man returns to find that his son spent 476,000 gold on pets on the AH.

Dungeons versus Scenarios, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 3/17/13.

In this articles, Rohan compares dungeons and scenarios. He considers loot rewards and design time among other aspects. He makes some great commentary.

Dungeons versus Scenarios, Part II, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 3/18/13

The follow-up to his previous post.

Draztal ends the “WoW is too easy now” argument in a long and beautiful post, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 3/18/13.

Draztal basically explains that the game is completely different now. His post is worth reading. However, I do want to point out that Holisky repeatedly says the read the whole article even though it’s long. It’s not long, but this tells you something about our attention spans.

A guide to looting the Troves of the Thunder King, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 3/16/13.

If you’re struggling in the scenario, give this guide a read.

WoW Archivist: 11 moments from WoW’s history that should become scenarios, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 3/15/13.

Scott has some interesting ideas, but I can’t say I agree with all of them. I should write my own post on the subject.

Feathermoon Horde players organize massive cross-realm RP event, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 3/15/13.

This sounds like a really cool RP event. It’s happening today, so if you can make it, go check it out!

What if all raids were end game raids?, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 3/15/13.

Rossi considers what the game would be like if all raids were for the current max level. It’s an interesting idea, but I doubt it’ll happen.

War is All Hell: The use of moral ambiguity in Warcraft, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 3/14/13.

War is full of moral ambiguity. Do you allow many to die to save a larger number? WoW seems to lack this in its leaders.

Advanced Video Settings: From Grayscale WoW to Vulcan Blood, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 3/18/13.

If you’d like to play around with your graphics, this could be interesting information.

Suggested Reading: Of patch 5.2, game concepts, DDO, D3, and more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on March 7, 2013
Posted in: Diablo III, Other MMOs or Related Games, Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Five reasons patch 5.2 will pull you back into WoW, Elizabeth Harper, WoW Insider, 3/6/13.

Harper provides a nice summary of 5.2 content.

Patch 5.2 official patch notes, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 3/5/13.

If Harper’s article isn’t enough information for you, this might be for you.

On the Broken Battleground Scaling of 5.2, Cynwise, Cynwise’s Warcraft Manual, 3/7/13.

Cynwise looks at how battleground scaling has only made balance worse in the lower-level brackets.

Diablo 3, the Auction House, and Efficiency, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 3/2/13.

Rohan discusses the dangers of increasing efficiency too much. He also claims that there shouldn’t be shortcuts a game’s “central fun.” It’s a great idea. It also reminds me of some tweets I saw by Bennett (@bfod) who said “well, until they charged me money to skip over it, I wasn’t thinking of playing the game as being ‘grind’” and “since they’re charging money to skip it, I know it is grind. Even the developers think of it as grind. Playing it is a penalty.” He goes on to say “here’s how it works-if you pay to play more, you’re seeing play as being valuable. If you pay to play less, you’re thinking of it as a grind” (2/27/13).

Know Your Lore: Jaina Proudmoore and the Kirin Tor, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 3/3/13.

Wondering what’s up with Jaina lately? Then pay attention to the game you pay to play! Or read this.

Know Your Lore: Aethas Sunreaver and the founding of the Sunreaver Onslaught, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 3/6/13.

This guy got totally sweet this expansion. Yup.

The Decline of Rogues, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 3/3/13.

Rohan has some ideas on why rogues are on the decline.

Secret Areas of Warcraft: Where developers go to play, Sarah Pine, WoW Insider, 2/28/13.

Secrets always fascinate me.

What does legendary really mean?, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 2/28/13.

What legendary means has been changing.

Eberron and beyond: Seven years of Dungeon and Dragons Online, Justin Olivetti, Massively, 2/28/13.

Olivetti looks back at DDO.

Suggested Reading: Of time management, the Sin’dorei, tier 15, and 5.2

Posted by Peter (Devee) on January 17, 2013
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Realization, Anna, Too Many Annas, 1/9/13.

I should have posted this last week. I’m in agreement with a lot of this. I don’t have time to do everything Blizzard wants me to do, and I miss the idea of finishing everything I needed to do for the week and just being done.

Know Your Lore: Hands drenched in blood, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 1/13/13.

A fantastic look at the lore behind the Blood elves and Lor’themar Theron. I’ve been really fascinated with the Blood elves recently, so I was very excited to see that Anne wrote this!

Stormwind and Orgrimmar get repaired, somewhat, on the patch 5.2 PTR, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 1/10/13

Title says it all. I’m excited about this!

Examining the tier 15 priest set bonuses, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 1/16/13.

Good to know for priests!

Patch 5.2 valor gear not tied to dailies, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 1/14/13.

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Patch 5.2 PTR: New notes from Ghostcrawler on tier 15 bonuses, other balance concerns, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 1/15/13.

Might be good info. Then again, things might change.

Patch 5.2: No flying mounts in the new zone, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 1/16/13.

Flying does feel like skipping content, so I’m glad about this.

Direhorn hunter pet in patch 5.2 is the triceratops we’ve been wanting, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 1/16/13.

I need a hunter. Now.

Suggested Reading: Of taking breaks, Olympic gold medals, gear upgrades, the Well of Eternity, and more

Posted by Peter (Devee) on November 8, 2012
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

A weekend without WoW, typhoonandrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 11/7/12.

Sometimes it’s good to take a break.

Over the Haste Cap: What keeps Olympic gold medalist Aries Merritt hurdling raids?, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 11/1/12.

Yes, you can totally win an Olympic gold medal and still be a hardcore raider. Well, okay, probably not you.

Patch 5.1 PTR: Upgrading items with justice and valor, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 11/6/12.

This is going to be very important soon.

Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: When is a well not a well?, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 11/4/12.

What if the Well of Eternity was the remains of a fallen Titan?

WoW Archivist: Blizzard’s hot and cold attitude toward weather, Scott Andrews, WoW Insider, 11/2/12.

Why are people excited about weather in Pandaria? This might give you a clue.

The economics of perfect gem cuts, Basil Bernsten, WoW Insider, 11/2/12.

If you’re a jewelcrafter and don’t know about perfect cuts, this is important.

Maine’s “World of Warcraft” candidate Colleen Lachowicz appears to win State Senate seat, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 11/7/12.

I honestly don’t know a thing about her political opinions.

Around Azeroth: Dragon envy, Elizabeth Wachowski, WoW Insider, 11/3/12.

I just thought this was pretty.

The Terrible Turnip is a pet collector’s best friend, Alex Ziebart, WoW Insider, 10/31/12.

I would like this pet, please.

Suggested Reading: Of leveling, bosses, 5.1, the Darkmoon Faire, TOR endgame, GW2 races, and D3

Posted by Peter (Devee) on October 18, 2012
Posted in: Diablo III, Guild Wars, Suggested Reading, The Old Republic, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Getting started with reputation at level 90, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/16/12.

As someone who isn’t 90 yet, I found this very reassuring and informative.

Guild Wars 2 writer laments racial lopsidedness, Justin Olivette, Massively, 10/16/12.

Humans are the most common GW2 race followed by norn (big humans). This makes me really sad, because some of the races are pretty interesting. I can’t believe more people don’t want to be charr or sylvari!

Questgiver PSA, Typhoon Andrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 10/12/12.

Please, everybody give this quick post a read!

Endgame PvE in The Old Republic, Rohan, Blessing of Kings, 10/14/12.

An interesting evaluation of TOR’s endgame with comparison to WoW’s.

Heroic Dungeon Bosses in 5 seconds, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/16/12.

These guides are always fantastic.

#129 The depressing Tone of Mists’ Dungeons, Spencer Nozell, Be MOP, 10/12/12.

Do the player characters in Mists’ dungeons lose? It’s an interesting idea.

Make your pet battles look like Pokemon with WoWkemon, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/15/12.

Who doesn’t want pet battles to look like Pokemon?!

This is a very, VERY fast mount, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 10/15/12.

Super fast, limited-use, and nearly uncontrollable? Sign me up!

Darkmoon Faire updates in store for patch 5.1, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/13/12.

5.1 brings the DMF a new attraction that gives an XP and rep buff, a master pet trainer who has a chance of awarding a pet when defeated, and a new pet for 90 tickets. And I was so close to not needing tickets!

World of Warcraft Patch 5.1 PTR Patch Notes, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 10/11/12.

Speaking of the 5.1 patch, here are the notes on the patch. The naval fleets are coming, and with them come outdoor PVP in Krasarang Wilds. In addition, there will be solo PVE underground fighting rings in Stormwind and Orgimmar and the ability to upgrade the quality of battle pets.

Lost and lonely dog seeks warm and loving home (on your farm), Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 10/10/12.

I want a dog!

PvP sound announcements in patch 5.1, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 10/17/12.

“The gate of the yellow moon was destroyed.” Useful or annoying? I’m not sure yet.

Diablo III Monster Power System Detailed, Andrew Goldfarb, IGN, 10/11/12.

The Monster Power System allows players to increase the power of monsters in order to increase some stats and drops.

Suggested Reading: Of Vol’jin, Theramore, privacy, priests, and a bit of Guild Wars 2

Posted by Peter (Devee) on September 20, 2012
Posted in: Guild Wars, Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Next WoW novel set to focus on Vol’jin, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/13/12.

Yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes. (Please let Vol’jin kill Garrosh at the end of Mists.)

“Appear Offline” coming soon to Battle.net, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 9/20/12.

We’ll finally have some privacy on Battle.net!

No Greg, you’re missing point, TyphoonAndrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 9/20/12.

TyphoonAndrew responds to Ghostcrawler’s post in which he states that he believes players were expecting a big event instead of the Theramore’s Fall scenario. Nope, we were just expecting something coherent.

Spiritual Guidance: Guide to Mists of Pandaria discipline priests, Dawn Moore, WoW Insider, 9/19/12.

This could be important for me.

Breakfasts Topic: Do you use items from your guild bank?, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 9/19/12.

Lisa discusses how she’s never sure what she can take from the guild bank. I know that feeling.

No nerfs, no lockouts, no consumable restrictions for Challenge Mode dungeons, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/13/12.

Some explanations for Challenge Modes.

Why the NFL’s Chris Kluwe will always be @ChrisWarcraft on Twitter, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 9/14/12.

An interesting article about and interview with NFL player and WoW player Chris Kluwe.

The Endgame Reimagined, Mike Zadorojny, GuildWars2.com, 9/13/12 (via Massively).

An interesting look at ArenaNet’s idea of endgame.

RaF Mount For Five Bucks?, JD Kenada, Amateur Azerothian, 9/15/12.

Give this a read if you want to get the RaF mount for $5.

Suggested Reading: Of weddings, friends, lore, reputations, and professions

Posted by Peter (Devee) on September 13, 2012
Posted in: Suggested Reading, World of Warcraft. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Soulbound: A World of Warcraft-themed wedding, Lisa Poisso, WoW Insider, 9/6/12.

That’s a pretty cute (and cool) wedding!

Single-serving Friends, Chris Pearson, Confessions of a Grown-up Gamer, 9/12/12.

Chris uses Chuck Palahniuk’s idea from Fight Club that people you talk to on planes are single-serving friends to describe people he meets using the LFR and LFD tool and describes why he likes it that way.

Know Your Lore, Tin Foil Hat: All according to plan, Matthew Rossi, WoW Insider, 9/12/12.

What if everything is going according to Deathwing’s plan? What if he intends Wrathion to be his untainted and unchained revenge?

Know Your Lore: Of Elune, naaru, and night elves, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/9/12.

Speculation about the relationship between Elune and the naaru.

Blizzard may be hiding information in your screenshots, but it can’t hurt you, Adam Holisky, WoW Insider, 9/11/12.

Screenshots appear to contain some sort of watermark containing data. Allegedly the data includes the server IP, account number (not e-mail or account name), and a date/time stamp. Perhaps this is to target private servers or stop exploits?

Mists of Pandaria beta: Who needs Frostmourne when you’ve got Lobstmourne?, Anne Stickney, WoW Insider, 9/11/12.

After completing a fun, continent-spanning quest series, you too can earn Lobstmourne, the coolest fist weapon ever.

The Tillers – Exalted, Cymre, Bubbles of Mischief, 9/9/12.

Look how cute those rewards are! I can’t wait to have a farm.

Alternate Transmog Idea, TyphoonAndrew, TyphoonAndrew’s – Eye of the Storm, 9/7/12.

TyphoonAndrew wants to be able to switch transmog sets from a menu (like the titles system). I want this too!

Gathering no longer needs tools, Robin Torres, WoW Insider, 9/11/12.

The title gives you a good idea. Tools now give +10 to that skill, and there’s a tool for herbalism too!

Fishing no longer requires poles, Olivia Grace, WoW Insider, 9/7/12.

See above.