Build of the Month
Recent Blue Posts
Limited PvP -> PvE Free Character Transfers
The Cataclysm Classic Pre-Expansion Patch Arrives April 30
Recent Forum Posts
Let's look fabulous~. A Paladin transmogrifier item list. ( Image n' link warning )
Do you consider the Horde to be "the bad guys" or is it more complex?
The official Blizzcon 2011 pet is now super-officially announced, and you're guaranteed to get your Murkablo if you attend Blizzcon 2011 or buy the stream.
An ill omen streaks across the sky over Azeroth's Great Sea, heralding the arrival of this year's BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft in-game companion: the fearsome-ish Murkablo, aquatic protégé of Diablo III's eponymous Lord of Terror! Anyone who attends BlizzCon 2011 or purchases this year's BlizzCon Virtual Ticket will receive a Murkablo to call their own, along with a yet-to-be-revealed StarCraft II in-game gift.
BlizzCon 2011 takes place on October 21 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you order the Virtual Ticket Internet stream online through Battle.net, Murkablo and the StarCraft II gift will be automatically attached to the Battle.net account you use to make your purchase shortly after BlizzCon begins. DIRECTV customers who order the BlizzCon Pay Per View event will receive a code granting access to the Internet stream and the in-game gifts via email.
BlizzCon 2011 takes place on October 21 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you order the Virtual Ticket Internet stream online through Battle.net, Murkablo and the StarCraft II gift will be automatically attached to the Battle.net account you use to make your purchase shortly after BlizzCon begins. DIRECTV customers who order the BlizzCon Pay Per View event will receive a code granting access to the Internet stream and the in-game gifts via email.
20-Year Anniversary Photo Gallery
Blizzard has been around for twenty years now and they have decided to share some pictures from the early days. Check out the full gallery here.
Official BlizzCon Twitter Feed
Every year we jam-pack BlizzCon with as many events, panels, tournaments, contests, and entertainment options as possible. To make sure you’re in the know in the weeks ahead leading up to BlizzCon, and especially during the big weekend itself, be sure to follow our brand-new Twitter feed. Rather than trying to divide our coverage and updates between the @Warcraft, @StarCraft, and @Diablo feeds, there’s now a single destination for all things BlizzCon.
Start following @BlizzCon today for all the latest news and to engage in 140-character conversations with the global BlizzCon audience. We look forward to sharing with you from the show floor!
http://twitter.com/BlizzCon
Start following @BlizzCon today for all the latest news and to engage in 140-character conversations with the global BlizzCon audience. We look forward to sharing with you from the show floor!
http://twitter.com/BlizzCon
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Plans for Alliance Leadership
Yes, there are plans. There are always plans. But, don't worry. I think you're going to see some things happen "in the future" for the Alliance and their leadership. We are trying to do what we can to make sure that it will all be as accessible as possible too (storyline wise.) (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Death Knight Starting Gear for Transmogrification
Okay, so, for clarification's sake, they'll be sold in Acherus, but, like most of its denizens, the vendor doesn't like non-DKs.
We've been pretty relaxed and playful about staying on topic in this thread, but I'm kind of reluctant to flip the serious switch and make this all about Blood tanking. There are changes coming, but I'm not in a position to discuss them just yet.
So, while I don't have a lot in the way of specifics to report, a little more information should be coming soon (likely in the form of a blog) regarding changes to Blood tanking, as well as tanking in general, and that information should hit before the patch arrives. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Character Model Updates
As I said previously, we're aware. Just remember, being aware neither means that we don't want to do it, nor does it mean it's a sure thing. It just means we know. We agree (as I mentioned before) that it would be great to do. We just need to figure out how and when we can do it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Replica armors from new Darkmoon Faire
We haven't fully solidified the list of old items/sets that will make a return via the Darkmoon Faire carnies. We'll let you know once we've locked down what's for sale there in patch 4.3, but yes, we're likely to expand the vendor list in future updates.
"Replica" does mean that these items may very well just be art skins made available specifically for use with Transmogrification, devoid of their original stats. Once you copy those skins onto another item though, I don't know that one would be able to tell the difference between whether you earned the look back in the day, or from the Darkmoon Faire. Only the name of the item from which you're pulling art will be shown in the tooltip of the item you have equipped. So if the names of the items aren't changed when placed on Darkmoon Faire vendors, a player inspecting you wouldn't know the difference once you've mogged your look.
[...] we're implementing this feature in a more conservative manner than some would even like. Ultimately, Transmogrification gives folks a wide array of new customization options, but we do want to have some restrictions in place to keep character looks from getting too ridiculous, and to make sure all previous sets in the game aren't absolutely free for all.
I'd still caution you to avoid drawing very distinct and speculative conclusions at this stage about all of the Transmogrification rule sets, features, and limitations. It's great to hear feedback on what players hope this system will (or will not) be, but it's not really worth it for anyone to spend too much time laying out concerns about details that haven't yet been provided in full.
We are in constant discussion with our developers in order that we compile a comprehensive article of the various item rules, features, and restrictions coming with Transmogrification in patch 4.3.
"I got this item a long time ago and because I did, I should be unique and special and nobody else should ever be able to get it again".
And one of the problems I personally have with anyone who might state this hypothetical, is that I did earn several cool sets back in the day which I'd love to sport once again. But as we didn't plan for this feature all along, I deleted sets I knew I'd never wear for stat benefits in order to save inventory space. I told myself, "yes, you look cool in this, but don't be a pack rat if you're not going to wander around towns in outmoded sets." I wager a lot of long-time WoW players are in the same boat. And a deleted/sold item is only kept in our database logs for so long before the record of one having owned that item is erased.
The majority of the gear sets in this game are still possible to obtain, so that's awesome. To me it's a cool side effect of this feature to encourage people to return to some old places, filled with nostalgia, to collect gear just for the look -- not the power.
There are, however, some sets or items which can no longer be found in the game. So we're keeping track of some of the items and sets players are really wanting to see make a return in some fashion. The Darkmoon Faire revamp in patch 4.3 provides but one new way players can slip into familiar looks from the past. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Transmogrification rather than content?
I've seen a lot of these sorts of overstatements or oversimplifications of the work that we're doing on our end of things and I have to honestly say that it can get a bit tiring to see repeated as fact when it's opinion. While we greatly appreciate constructive feedback and opinion, we also want to make sure to encourage people to pause and make sure that what they're sharing with us and the rest of the community is constructive to begin with.
Let's start off first by clarifying that Transmogrification is a feature we felt would benefit the community in many ways. It should open up the opportunity for people to feel as if they have the ability to customize how their character looks while still retaining the stats they really like, want, or need. It is as of yet, untested on the PTR, but it will be. The "rules" of what can and can't be used are still in development, and even after the rules are set at the live release, we may well add additional options into the system. This system should lend itself well to long term use and enjoyment for many people.
That said though, (and yes we did have to spend time on the technical end of things to make sure it is going to work well), we are also working on other things including the Void Storage, but more importantly, are working on some pretty amazing content for patch 4.3 which includes new dungeons and the Raid on Deathwing. We're not quite ready to give you all the details on these as of yet, but I can tell you that we're looking at some pretty great storylines and events to be played out. I can assure you that despite what your perception may be, Firelands was not designed by simply plopping down bosses in a field of fire, nor is anything we design quite so simple. If it was, we'd probably all get more sleep and spend more time on the company yacht. Right?
I'm sure your perception is that our only focus is Transmogrification because you've only seen us really getting into the details on it recently and it's been a hot topic for the community overall. But don't be fooled into thinking that the content to come is going to be a simple paper cut out puppet show in a cardboard box.
Again, please don't take this as me disregarding your opinion or thoughts. Just be reassured though that we're not "just" doing anything in regard to the upcoming content. There has been many many hours of work put into what is coming: many meetings, many strategy sessions, much design work, coding, artwork, music, animation, etc. If we make it look "easy" then I guess there's not much we can do about that. We have some truly talented and amazing people working on these things, so I guess we just can't help making it look that way.
[...] Unfortunately, we can't just put out foggers to kill bugs, but I can assure you that we don't choose to not fix bugs just for the heck of it. Some bugs are just harder to kill/fix than others or rely on even new technology to sort them out. Sometimes a bug is even darn near impossible to reproduce even if we've seen it ourselves. Thus why we're always very appreciative of the community taking time to report these to us (with as much detail as possible) so we can find and fix them.
That said though, that quest is never ending. World of Warcraft is a very complex game and what was fixed one moment could get glitched out again the next if a build changes or code changes. We do what we can do stay on top of it, but unfortunately, we have human limitations that get in the way despite the introduction of our new cyber-enhancement program. (It's fledgling yet so there may be bugs in that system too... (Ok, I'm kidding about cyber-enhancements)).
[...] I'll continue it and say, it's also tiring hearing that we're not addressing things in a 'satisfactory manner'. Not because we don't want to put in the effort or that we're giving up on trying, it's just that when the effort is put in, it's not enough for select people. Of course it's that way because we have such a diverse population (which is great) so we're never going to address everything to everyone's satisfaction.
That said though, I wanted to make sure you know that I appreciate you taking the time to write your post. I appreciate the constructive feedback and also wanted to acknowledge that we are well aware of the feeling that we're not delivering content fast enough. We are continuing to find ways to do just this. Just keep in mind that we do not want (nor are choosing to) deliver anything that isn't up to our standards. So, we still will hold to the idea that if we feel something isn't good enough or isn't working how we wanted it to, we will not put it out there just so we can say we did. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Yes, there are plans. There are always plans. But, don't worry. I think you're going to see some things happen "in the future" for the Alliance and their leadership. We are trying to do what we can to make sure that it will all be as accessible as possible too (storyline wise.) (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Death Knight Starting Gear for Transmogrification
Okay, so, for clarification's sake, they'll be sold in Acherus, but, like most of its denizens, the vendor doesn't like non-DKs.
We've been pretty relaxed and playful about staying on topic in this thread, but I'm kind of reluctant to flip the serious switch and make this all about Blood tanking. There are changes coming, but I'm not in a position to discuss them just yet.
So, while I don't have a lot in the way of specifics to report, a little more information should be coming soon (likely in the form of a blog) regarding changes to Blood tanking, as well as tanking in general, and that information should hit before the patch arrives. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Character Model Updates
As I said previously, we're aware. Just remember, being aware neither means that we don't want to do it, nor does it mean it's a sure thing. It just means we know. We agree (as I mentioned before) that it would be great to do. We just need to figure out how and when we can do it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Replica armors from new Darkmoon Faire
We haven't fully solidified the list of old items/sets that will make a return via the Darkmoon Faire carnies. We'll let you know once we've locked down what's for sale there in patch 4.3, but yes, we're likely to expand the vendor list in future updates.
"Replica" does mean that these items may very well just be art skins made available specifically for use with Transmogrification, devoid of their original stats. Once you copy those skins onto another item though, I don't know that one would be able to tell the difference between whether you earned the look back in the day, or from the Darkmoon Faire. Only the name of the item from which you're pulling art will be shown in the tooltip of the item you have equipped. So if the names of the items aren't changed when placed on Darkmoon Faire vendors, a player inspecting you wouldn't know the difference once you've mogged your look.
[...] we're implementing this feature in a more conservative manner than some would even like. Ultimately, Transmogrification gives folks a wide array of new customization options, but we do want to have some restrictions in place to keep character looks from getting too ridiculous, and to make sure all previous sets in the game aren't absolutely free for all.
I'd still caution you to avoid drawing very distinct and speculative conclusions at this stage about all of the Transmogrification rule sets, features, and limitations. It's great to hear feedback on what players hope this system will (or will not) be, but it's not really worth it for anyone to spend too much time laying out concerns about details that haven't yet been provided in full.
We are in constant discussion with our developers in order that we compile a comprehensive article of the various item rules, features, and restrictions coming with Transmogrification in patch 4.3.
"I got this item a long time ago and because I did, I should be unique and special and nobody else should ever be able to get it again".
And one of the problems I personally have with anyone who might state this hypothetical, is that I did earn several cool sets back in the day which I'd love to sport once again. But as we didn't plan for this feature all along, I deleted sets I knew I'd never wear for stat benefits in order to save inventory space. I told myself, "yes, you look cool in this, but don't be a pack rat if you're not going to wander around towns in outmoded sets." I wager a lot of long-time WoW players are in the same boat. And a deleted/sold item is only kept in our database logs for so long before the record of one having owned that item is erased.
The majority of the gear sets in this game are still possible to obtain, so that's awesome. To me it's a cool side effect of this feature to encourage people to return to some old places, filled with nostalgia, to collect gear just for the look -- not the power.
There are, however, some sets or items which can no longer be found in the game. So we're keeping track of some of the items and sets players are really wanting to see make a return in some fashion. The Darkmoon Faire revamp in patch 4.3 provides but one new way players can slip into familiar looks from the past. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Transmogrification rather than content?
I've seen a lot of these sorts of overstatements or oversimplifications of the work that we're doing on our end of things and I have to honestly say that it can get a bit tiring to see repeated as fact when it's opinion. While we greatly appreciate constructive feedback and opinion, we also want to make sure to encourage people to pause and make sure that what they're sharing with us and the rest of the community is constructive to begin with.
Let's start off first by clarifying that Transmogrification is a feature we felt would benefit the community in many ways. It should open up the opportunity for people to feel as if they have the ability to customize how their character looks while still retaining the stats they really like, want, or need. It is as of yet, untested on the PTR, but it will be. The "rules" of what can and can't be used are still in development, and even after the rules are set at the live release, we may well add additional options into the system. This system should lend itself well to long term use and enjoyment for many people.
That said though, (and yes we did have to spend time on the technical end of things to make sure it is going to work well), we are also working on other things including the Void Storage, but more importantly, are working on some pretty amazing content for patch 4.3 which includes new dungeons and the Raid on Deathwing. We're not quite ready to give you all the details on these as of yet, but I can tell you that we're looking at some pretty great storylines and events to be played out. I can assure you that despite what your perception may be, Firelands was not designed by simply plopping down bosses in a field of fire, nor is anything we design quite so simple. If it was, we'd probably all get more sleep and spend more time on the company yacht. Right?
I'm sure your perception is that our only focus is Transmogrification because you've only seen us really getting into the details on it recently and it's been a hot topic for the community overall. But don't be fooled into thinking that the content to come is going to be a simple paper cut out puppet show in a cardboard box.
Again, please don't take this as me disregarding your opinion or thoughts. Just be reassured though that we're not "just" doing anything in regard to the upcoming content. There has been many many hours of work put into what is coming: many meetings, many strategy sessions, much design work, coding, artwork, music, animation, etc. If we make it look "easy" then I guess there's not much we can do about that. We have some truly talented and amazing people working on these things, so I guess we just can't help making it look that way.
[...] Unfortunately, we can't just put out foggers to kill bugs, but I can assure you that we don't choose to not fix bugs just for the heck of it. Some bugs are just harder to kill/fix than others or rely on even new technology to sort them out. Sometimes a bug is even darn near impossible to reproduce even if we've seen it ourselves. Thus why we're always very appreciative of the community taking time to report these to us (with as much detail as possible) so we can find and fix them.
That said though, that quest is never ending. World of Warcraft is a very complex game and what was fixed one moment could get glitched out again the next if a build changes or code changes. We do what we can do stay on top of it, but unfortunately, we have human limitations that get in the way despite the introduction of our new cyber-enhancement program. (It's fledgling yet so there may be bugs in that system too... (Ok, I'm kidding about cyber-enhancements)).
[...] I'll continue it and say, it's also tiring hearing that we're not addressing things in a 'satisfactory manner'. Not because we don't want to put in the effort or that we're giving up on trying, it's just that when the effort is put in, it's not enough for select people. Of course it's that way because we have such a diverse population (which is great) so we're never going to address everything to everyone's satisfaction.
That said though, I wanted to make sure you know that I appreciate you taking the time to write your post. I appreciate the constructive feedback and also wanted to acknowledge that we are well aware of the feeling that we're not delivering content fast enough. We are continuing to find ways to do just this. Just keep in mind that we do not want (nor are choosing to) deliver anything that isn't up to our standards. So, we still will hold to the idea that if we feel something isn't good enough or isn't working how we wanted it to, we will not put it out there just so we can say we did. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Fan Art Update
The Blizzard Fan Art Section has been updated with five new pieces of fan artwork set within the Warcraft universe.
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