World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

After being told changes were coming to lock and dk 3 weeks ago, there have been nothing but further nerfs on the ptr. Its an actual joke at this point.
Changes on the PTR for Death Knights in regards to PVP is not yet complete. More changes for Unholy and Frost are on the way and we hope to share those with you guys soon.

One of those incoming changes for example is that we're reducing the runic power cost for Death Strike in 8.1 and increasing its healing for Unholy and Frost.

BlizzCon Floor Map
That's a big building. How many people can it accommodate?
A lot. The Anaheim Convention Center is one of the biggest in the world I think.

25,000-27,000 based on past blizzcon and other events in the anaheim convention center
It can definitely hold more than that. Last year we said we had what 35k?

Also we're only like 18 days away. I feel like if BlizzCon was a class it would definitely be a rogue, cause it sure does feel like it sneaks up on you. (Official Forums)

Blizzard Entertainment’s university relations and World of Warcraft development teams are proud to present the eighth annual World of Warcraft Student Art Contest! We’re calling on college and university students to submit original artwork or animations that would be a great fit for World of Warcraft.

Share with us your creative vision of something we’ve never seen before that still fits within the World of Warcraft universe. You can view previous winning submissions here.


Online submission forms are available on our contests page as of October 15^th and entries will be received up to 11:59 PM PST January 31, 2019.

Prizes
Four Grand prize winners from each category will be chosen by the World of Warcraft art team, and will receive the following epic prizes*:

• A Tour of Blizzard Entertainment’s headquarters in Irvine, California.
  
• A 2-hour face to face mentorship session with a senior Blizzard artist.
  
• A one-year subscription to World of Warcraft
  
• A Blizzard Entertainment notebook (featuring an original sketch by a Blizzard Artist
  
• A Blizzard T-shirt

*Blizzard reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize.

Please note that only current US and Canadian college and university students are eligible to win. Residents of North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland, and Quebec are not eligible to participate.

Learn more information on student programs at Blizzard, visit the careers page.

Good luck to all entrants!

Categories

• Environment
  
• Character
  
• FX
  
• Animation
  
• Environment Visual Development/Concept Art Contest

Environment Art Contest
Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a small environment diorama that would fit well in the game world. Your quest: Concept, model, and texture an environment piece that you could imagine stumbling upon during your travels across Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms, Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, the Broken Isles, or Argus.

Required elements are trees, rocks, grass, and props, plus a small structure (such as a shrine).

Your final piece should have a structure similar to the example provided below. We're looking for lower poly-count models (e.g.: around 1,500 polys for a mature sized tree), so keep that in mind when creating your environment.

The final submission should be a high-resolution JPEG file no larger than 5MB.

“Yang’s Moving Bar” by Zhuoyang Liu
Academy of Art University- 2017 Winner

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

Character Art Contest
Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, concept, model, and texture a non-player character (NPC) or creature that you could imagine roaming the plains of Durotar, exploring the depths of Deepholm, or just sitting in the Pig and Whistle Tavern knocking back a mug o’ Thistle Tea.

Required elements are the character or creature, along with some sort of clothing or armor. Feel free to go further by adding weapons or other accessories.

The final piece should have a structure similar to the example provided below. Stay within a budget of 6,000 polys with one 1024x1024 texture for the finished character.

The final submission should be a high-resolution JPEG file no larger than 5MB.

“Frostwhisker Otter Mount” by Natacha Nielsen
Laguna College of Art & Design- 2017 Winner

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

FX Contest
Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a player ability that could be added to the kit of one of our existing classes. You could conjure up anything from the power of the void for a massive flying ball of death, call upon the elements of nature to ensnare an entire mob, or wield the power of the Light to rip a giant fissure through the ground.

Required Elements

• Buildup of the ability, impact of the ability, and the aftermath.
  
• Feel free to go further by adding characters, creatures, props, or other 3d assets if needed.
  
• No frame length required.
  
• Submit a movie file (format can vary) as your final submission.

“Shadow Priest Void Dome” by Jason Chisolm
Ringling College of Art and Design- 2017 Winner

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

Animation
Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a unique combat animation from one of the three choices listed. Imagine entering a dungeon and battling against the Lich King and his undead army or traveling deep beneath the Firelands to take down Ragnaros.

Required elements:

• Weapon (rig) of your choice, can be a character or creature.
  
• Feel free to go further by adding weapons, additional characters/creatures, or other accessories.
  
• Provide video(s) from 3 different angles: side view, back view (player view), 3 quarter view.
  
• Must be animated at 30 fps and set to meters.
  
• No frame length required.
  
• No motion blur or camera movement.
  
• Submit a movie file (format can vary) as your final submission.

Animation Choices: Please choose one

• Two hit (combo) attack
  
  • Must start and finish in the same pose.
    
  • Model can end away from starting area if need be.
    
• Weapon spell attack
  
  • Must start and finish in the same pose.
    
  • Should include a charge up/precast and release/spell cast.
    
  • Model can end away from starting area if need be.
    
• Summon and transition
  
  • Example: Emerging from the ground or entering a room.
    
  • Should transition into a passive or combat stance.
    
  • Should have lots of personality.
    

“Skeleton Rises” by Marlowe Lexvold
Savannah College of Art and Design- 2017 Winner

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here.

*New Category!*
Environment Visual Development/Concept Art Contest
Using your creativity and ability to work within the World of Warcraft art style, create a new zone or area for a new culture in the Warcraft universe. What would the natural environment elements (mountains, tree, flowers, etc.) look like in this area? How would this culture create their architecture? What sort of story elements and motifs would they use on their everyday object and props?

Required elements are a full color painting. Focus on selling the story, mood, and atmosphere of this area in the Warcraft universe. How would you showcase your vision for this environment to art leads?

Include call out sketches (does not have to be full color) for at least 1 natural element (tree, foliage, rocks, etc.), 1 piece of architecture, and at least 1 prop object. Think of the callouts as something that would be handed off to a 3D Artist to build the in-game version of.

The final submission should be complied into 2 high-resolution JPEG files no larger than 5MB (1 full color painting and 1 compiled sheet of call-outs).

Read the complete contest rules then submit your entry here

In its 11th year, the Arena World Championship (AWC) has once again arrived on the biggest World of Warcraft esports stage of the year—BlizzCon 2018. The top-tier competition in the AWC has been dynamic since the launch of Battle for Azeroth, and the collision of regions and metas in Anaheim is sure to result in an explosive tournament.

What You Need To Know

• Format: Each match will be a best of five until the grand finals, which will be a best of seven.
  
• Map Pool: All 10 current Arena maps will be playable, including the new maps introduced in BfA—Mugambala and Hook Point.
  
• Schedule:
  
  • Monday, October 29 from 11 a.m. PDT (7 p.m. CEST)
    The first day of competition will take place during BlizzCon Opening Week in front of a live audience at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles. Tickets are still available, so if you’re in the area or traveling early to BlizzCon, we’d love for you to join us!
    
  • Friday, November 2 from 12:15 p.m. PDT (8:15 p.m. CEST)
    Saturday, November 3 from 2:15 p.m PDT (10:15 p.m. CEST)
    Live from BlizzCon 2018 in Anaheim, California, the tournament will continue with round one of the lower bracket immediately following opening ceremonies. Visit the BlizzCon schedule page for more information.
    
• Streams:
  
  • English
    
  • French
    
  • German
    
  • Russian
    
  • Spanish (EU)
    
  • Italian
    

12 teams hailing from around the globe—Asia-Pacific, China, Europe, Latin America, and North America—have proved themselves in their regions, and now will be fighting for the title of AWC 2018 champions.

The AWC Top 12
Cohesion Dream (China)
Shen “Beethovenx” Wei
Dai “Yiyang” Yuhan
Wang “Straybloopers” Yux
Jiang “Alastorlol” Zhen

The Gosu Crew (North America)
Carlos “Absterge” Correa
Jason “Pikaboo” Smith
Connor “Wizk” Torrence
Vincent “Jellybeans” Tran

Making A Movie (Europe)
Youi “Ratapai” Van de Wtering
Vasili “Akrololz” Artemev
Maro-Simon “Maro” Franke
Artur “Vilaye” Riabtchenko

Mad Dogs (Asia-Pacific)
Nicholas “Fresh” Berton
Mitchell “Oxygen” Pritchard
Jia Xing “Yoske” Foong
Jordan “Featherfeet” Thompson

Method Black (Europe)
Oscar “Whaazz” Wulff
Josef “Chas” Stoianov
Rene “Swapxy” Pinkera
Shaun “Raiku” Meaney

Method Orange (North America)
Ryan “Trill” Costello
Michael “Samiyam” Hlubek
Richard “Mes” Simpson
Charles “Cdew” Dewland

Pen and Paper (China)
Fu “Sagiy” Dongjian
Cui "Danisinner” Jinbo
Yan “Ppcat” Pan
Zhao “Dou” Guangyu

Reformed (Europe)
Marcus “Disyo” Jonsson
Miles “Relzah” Bennett-Davies
Thomas “Flappers” Gercs
Calum “Gelubaba” Fraser

Skill Capped (Europe)
Magnus “Wallirikz” Clausen
Martin “Loony” Moazzez
Emil “Zeepeye” Ek
Maro “Blizo” Molcan
* Formerly XRB To The Moon

Super Frogs (North America)
Adam “Chanimal” Chan
Marcel “Wealthyman” Rodriguez
Cameron “Kubzy” MacDonald
Xavier “Chunli” Alan

Tempo Storm (Europe)
Alexander “Alec” Sheldrick
Simon “Boetar” Heinks
Niki “Niksi” Hietala
James “Jaime” McKeever

Unitas (Latin America)
Francisco “Hozitojones” Toriello
Jaime “Aiden” Martinez
Rodrigo “Pride” Yanez
Felipe “Shdwx” Gueicha

/Inspect the Pros on Twitch


Those of you who tuned into the later part of the AWC Fall Season Cups for North America and Europe would have seen our new Twitch extension, /Inspect. This allows you to inspect your favorite Arena players in real time, just like you would in-game. So if you’re spending time in the Arena as you fight for your faction in BfA, you now have more reasons than ever to tune in and find out just how the pros dominate their foes.

Caster Team
Elliott “Venruki” Venczel
Adrian “Healingstat” Archer-Lock
Mohamed “Ziqo” Bashir
Rich Campbell
Sid “Supatease” Compston
Jared “Vhell” Coulston
Joe Fernandes

Remember, it all begins during BlizzCon Opening Week on October 29, rolling into BlizzCon 2018 over November 2–3. For access to the World of Warcraft Classic demo, panels and in-game rewards, get your hands on a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, and make sure you follow us on Twitter and Twitch to stay up to date with all things World of Warcraft.