World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

Dear Subscriber,

The World of Warcraft Official Magazine is ending its run, and the current issue, #5, will be the last one.

This has been a difficult decision to come to. Although both Blizzard Entertainment and Future US are very proud of the magazines that we have created together, we have each decided to focus our efforts on other areas.

We really appreciate your support for the magazine and would like to offer you a premium based on your remaining subscription term, or, if you prefer, a full refund of your remaining balance instead. To redeem your premium or request a refund, please visit www.worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com by September 30, 2011.

On the website, you'll need to input the following code to access your options:

[Code removed, obviously]

(Please be aware this code is non-transferable and can only be used once.)

Again, we would like to thank you for your continued support and hope you enjoy reading issue 5 as much as we enjoyed making it.

With thanks,
Future US and Blizzard Entertainment

Have a ticket to BlizzCon 2011? Planning to purchase some souvenirs at the show? Between now and Tuesday, September 20 at 9:59 a.m. Pacific time, BlizzCon 2011 ticket holders attending the show in person are able to shop for items from the BlizzCon 2011 store (while supplies last) during our limited-time-only, online BlizzCon Pre-Sale. Items purchased through this sale will be shipped directly to your home, allowing you to avoid store lines at the show and giving you more time to take in the panels, tournaments, and other events at BlizzCon 2011.

To participate, simply log in to the online Blizzard Store using the Battle.net account you provided when you purchased your BlizzCon 2011 tickets, and click the BlizzCon Sale button in the lower right-hand corner of your screen to browse this year’s selection. Please note that only ticket-holders who provided Battle.net account info will have access to BlizzCon 2011 merchandise during this online sale -- you can view this information in the ticket buyer’s Order History.

Shop BlizzCon now!

If you're planning to purchase this year's BlizzCon Virtual Ticket to watch BlizzCon from home, you'll have an opportunity to participate in a second BlizzCon merchandise pre-sale September 23 through September 27. Check out our previous BlizzCon Pre-Sale blog post for more information.

Enjoy, and we look forward to seeing you at BlizzCon 2011!

Tier 13
[...] Most of this tier was attempting to play off a new ability the class got in Cataclysm, so for instance Time Warp for mages and Wild Mushroom for druid, in some cases (like warrior or warlock) there's playing off of the raid and those themes, and then for others it's a bit more just doing something we think represents the class in a more abstract manner. We're putting them up as soon as they're done, essentially, so from here on out they're likely to be posted rather randomly. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Wind Shear
It's still a part of the plan and you'll find out more information once we get into discussing patch 4.3 class balance. I'm not really able to reveal any plans as of yet. Without any context the information I could provide would only lead to a slew of follow-up questions, which will be answered better in our upcoming announcements. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Tier 13 and Future Armor Art
There is only one objective truth about every single armor set we've ever made -- some people love, and some people hate, each of 'em. The art is completely subjective and your tastes reflect your viewpoint.

That said, our design philosophy for epic sets is not changing at all with the introduction of Transmogrification. We're still going to keep designing what we think is fitting and awesome for each class and tier. We want people to want to wear all of the major armor sets we release. In the future you'll just have the option of deciding what set fits you best aesthetically and adventuring to obtain it, without worrying about the stats. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Paypal and Diablo III Auction House
We're pleased to announce that in most regions, PayPal will be our payment-service partner for the Diablo III auction house, allowing players who trade with real-world currency the ability to cash out the spoils of their battle-torn adventures via a PayPal account.

PayPal will also soon be added in several regions as a payment option on Battle.net, providing another convenient and secure payment method for digital purchases of Blizzard products and services.

We’ll share region-related specifics, as well as further details on everything mentioned above, in the near future. Stay tuned! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Adventurers will be tested like never before in World of Warcraft patch 4.3 as they take on Deathwing and his minions, emerging from the conflict with powerful new treasures. Please enjoy this preview of the mage tier 13 armor set, as well as a visual guide to tiers 1 through 12 for Transmogrification purposes.


It’s fun to put a spin on any caster class that moves it away from the usual wizardly archetype, and this set provided the perfect opportunity to do just that. Gnomish clockwork technology is an established part of the Warcraft universe, but it’s not something we’ve incorporated into a tier of player armor before. The combination of moving cogs, quilted fabric, and lots of buckled straps give the set an intriguing "techno-mage" flavor.

Adventurers will be tested like never before in World of Warcraft patch 4.3 as they take on Deathwing and his minions, emerging from the conflict with powerful new treasures. Please enjoy this preview of the shaman tier 13 armor set, as well as a visual guide to tiers 1 through 12 for Transmogrification purposes.


The best shaman sets are a mix of the animal and the elemental. This tier combines huge wolf-skull shoulder pads, bone fetishes, and fur with glowing shards of amber crystal. The entire set is lashed together with lengths of rope and heavily stitched leather, which lends the set a savage bearing.

Dungeons & Raids
The Deadmines

• Foe Reaper 5000
  
  • Molten Shield has been reduced from 50,000 fire damage to 20,000 fire damage on Heroic difficulty.
  • Molten Slag's spawn timer has been increased in both phases of the encounter on Heroic difficulty.

Firelands

• Flamewaker Subjugator and Animator packs should now behave as originally intended. As Flamewaker Subjugators become damaged, Flamewaker Animators will be attackable, and must be killed quickly to prevent a significant buildup of Unstable Magma.

Items

• Bottle of Dalaran Red, Bottle of Aged Dalaran Red, Cask of Dalaran Red, and Cask of Aged Dalaran Red should no longer award the player the next tier of Dalaran Red when placed on the ground
  

Quests and Creatures

• The Brunnhildar transformation in the Storm Peaks should again be applied correctly to flying characters, and will not cause mounted characters to dismount. The transformation should not affect druids in Flight Form.
  
• Alliance and Horde players are able to teleport to Anachronos as many times as they wish even after abandoning and re-accepting the quest "A Legendary Engagement".
  
• Players will no longer go invisible in Uldum during the quest "Premature Explosionation". If players logout or disconnect during the cutscene, they will return to Khartut's Tomb instead of being ported to a nearby graveyard.