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by Published on 2010-06-05 08:09 AM

Update - And Blizzcon tickets are all gone.

MLG Columbus WoW 3v3 Arena Tournament
The 2nd day of the tournament has just started!

Live Stream
The live stream is available on MLGPro.com.

Day 2 Schedule
Saturday
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Warm-Up
10:00 AM - 10:35 AM - Pool Play
10:35 AM - 11:10 AM - Pool Play
11:10 AM - 11:45 AM - Pool Play
11:45 AM - 12:20 PM - Pool Play
12:20 PM - 1:00 PM - Break
1:00 PM - 1:35 PM - Pool Play
1:35 PM - 2:10 PM - Pool Play
2:10 PM - 2:45 PM - Pool Play
2:45 PM - 3:20 PM - Pool Play
3:20 PM - 3:55 PM - Pool Play
3:55 PM - 4:30 PM - Pool Play
4:30 PM - 5:05 PM - Pool Play
5:05 PM - 6:00 PM - Break
6:00 PM - 6:35 PM - Pool Play
6:35 PM - 7:10 PM - Pool Play
7:10 PM - 7:45 PM - Pool Play
7:45 PM - 8:20 PM - Pool Play
8:20 PM - 8:55 PM - Pool Play
8:55 PM - 9:30 PM - Pool Play
9:30 PM - 10:05 PM - Pool Play

Cataclysm Screenshots of the Day
The Screenshot of the Day Gallery has been updated and 5 more screenshots have been added. That's enough screenshots until Tuesday... I want to believe.


The Thousand Needles
Stormwind Bank
Desolace

Stonetalon Mountains

Mulgore

BlizzCon Tickets on Sale 6/5/10 at 10 AM PDT
[blizzquote author=Zarhym source=http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25172121579/blizzcon-tickets-on-sale-6-5-10-at-10-am-pdt/]If you were unable to purchase BlizzCon tickets during the first round of ticket sales, we just wanted to remind you that our second batch of BlizzCon 2010 tickets will be going on sale Saturday, June 5 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Visit the ticket sales page then for a chance to get yours.

BlizzCon 2010 will take place October 22 and 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center, and tickets cost $150 USD each. For those unable to attend the show, in-depth coverage of BlizzCon will also be offered by DIRECTV as a Pay Per View event, available both via satellite and multi-channel Internet stream -- keep an eye on http://BlizzCon.com for more information in the near future.

Click here to go to the BlizzCon 2010 ticket-sales page: http://us.blizzard.com/store/blizzcon-tickets.xml[/blizzquote]

Blue posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Cataclysm Beta
We'll make it very clear when the time comes that the beta has started and what to expect if you are selected. Currently, with the StarCraft II beta, players who were selected were sent an email and were asked to log into their Battle.net account to access the beta download. Cataclysm beta should work similarly. We'll do our best to be as clear in the process as we can so that everyone can hopefully avoid the more unscrupulous schemers who attempt to phish for accounts.

Just to be clear now, we have not started any beta invites at this time. Please be cautious of any emails you may receive until we say otherwise. (Source)
by Published on 2010-06-04 10:52 PM

MLG Columbus WoW 3v3 Arena Tournament
From June 4-6 in Columbus, Ohio, 16 of the top World of Warcraft 3v3 Arena teams from around the world will compete for over $15,000. Teams will compete in two groups of eight teams each, in a round robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to a double-elimination Championship Bracket. The competition will be fierce, and only the best will remain standing in the end.

Stream
The live stream is available on MLGPro.com.

Competition Format
See the rules on MLGPro.com

Rules & Settings
See the rules on MLGPro.com

Teams
For more details on each team don't miss the team preview on Gotfrag.com.


1. Nerdstomper.com (Hoodrych, Velsuz, Nadagast)
2. Fnatic (Yog, Douja, Woundman)
3. Complexity Red (Snutz, Venruki, Reckful, Sodah)
4. Complexity Black (Toez, Flexx, Twixz)
5. PK Cards (Zilea, Valrath, Veex)
6. Team EG (Azael, Pookz, Cdew)
7. Loaded Blue (Didy, Deltons, Brogo)
8. Loaded Black (Orangemarmalade, Numberone, Satz)
9. Team Fierce (Kekki, Bubler, Deceased)
10. Skill-Capped.net Central (Filovirus, Nevershock, Zyz)
11. Skill-Capped.net East (Enforcer, Verty, Jigslol)
12. Skill-Capped.net West (Vidra, Pollee, Diziet, Bothi)
13. ArenaPwnage.com (Talbadar, Nuvos, Drmayonaise)
14. SK Gaming U.S. (Realz, Glickz, Kollektiv)


Schedule
All times are EST Time.

Friday
10:30 AM - 1:30 PM - Early Check-In
1:30 PM - 6:30 PM - Check-In / Warm-Up / Account Setup
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM - Welcome
7:00 PM - 7:35 PM - Pool Play
7:35 PM - 8:10 PM - Pool Play
8:10 PM - 8:45 PM - Pool Play
8:45 PM - 9:20 PM - Pool Play

Saturday
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Warm-Up
10:00 AM - 10:35 AM - Pool Play
10:35 AM - 11:10 AM - Pool Play
11:10 AM - 11:45 AM - Pool Play
11:45 AM - 12:20 PM - Pool Play
12:20 PM - 1:00 PM - Break
1:00 PM - 1:35 PM - Pool Play
1:35 PM - 2:10 PM - Pool Play
2:10 PM - 2:45 PM - Pool Play
2:45 PM - 3:20 PM - Pool Play
3:20 PM - 3:55 PM - Pool Play
3:55 PM - 4:30 PM - Pool Play
4:30 PM - 5:05 PM - Pool Play
5:05 PM - 6:00 PM - Break
6:00 PM - 6:35 PM - Pool Play
6:35 PM - 7:10 PM - Pool Play
7:10 PM - 7:45 PM - Pool Play
7:45 PM - 8:20 PM - Pool Play
8:20 PM - 8:55 PM - Pool Play
8:55 PM - 9:30 PM - Pool Play
9:30 PM - 10:05 PM - Pool Play
Sunday
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Warm-Up
10:00 AM - 10:35 AM - Pool Play
10:35 AM - 11:10 AM - Pool Play
11:10 AM - 11:45 AM - Pool Play
11:45 AM - 12:20 PM - Pool Play
12:20 PM - 12:55 PM - Pool Play
12:55 PM - 1:30 PM - Pool Play
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM - Break
2:00 PM - 2:35 PM - Championship Bracket: Winners Round 1A
2:35 PM - 3:10 PM - Championship Bracket: Winners Round 1B
3:10 PM - 3:45 PM - Championship Bracket: Losers Round 1A
3:45 PM - 4:20 PM - Championship Bracket: Winners Finals
4:20 PM - 5:05 PM - Championship Bracket: Losers Finals
5:05 PM - 5:20 PM - Break
5:20 PM - 6:05 PM - Championship Bracket: Finals
by Published on 2010-06-04 05:06 PM

Cataclysm: Twin Peaks Battleground
[blizzquote author=Blizzard source=http://www.wow-europe.com/cataclysm/features/twinpeaks.html]Located within the Twilight Highlands, the Twin Peaks remains a crucial point of high ground for staging effective and debilitating attacks against the black dragonflight and the Twilight's Hammer, who dominate this foreboding environment. And now, two previous occupants of the nearby city of Grim Batol vie once again for control of the peaks' defenses. The Wildhammer clan, architects and original owners of the once-great fortress city, maintains some operations in forested outposts of the highlands. The Wildhammers now call upon heroes of the Alliance to help claim the peaks and fend off the Dragonmaw orcs. The Dragonmaw clan, having spent years working to enslave red dragons, once again provides strategic importance to the Horde. As the Dragonmaw and Wildhammers fight for territory they once called home, the Alliance and Horde carry out the struggle to control the Twin Peaks.

Capture the Flag
Twin Peaks is a new 10 vs. 10, capture-the-flag-style battleground. Much like in Warsong Gulch, players must work to dominate variable terrain, infiltrate the enemy base, and steal the enemy flag, returning it to their fortress while remaining in control of their own flag. The first faction to capture three enemy flags before time expires will win the battle.

Dominating the Terrain
Although the Wildhammer and Dragonmaw bases are virtually identical, the terrain surrounding each base is not. Players will need to work to control an asymmetrical field where the mountain peaks are divided by a valley river. A single bridge over the river serves as a choke point in the center of the map; although deep, the river can be crossed. On either side of the river sits an outpost where temporary character enhancements can be claimed. In addition, tree stumps and rocks throughout the valley create strategic points for you to use line of sight to your advantage. To prevent absolute domination by one faction through its control of the enemy graveyard, the Horde and Alliance players resurrected in Twin Peaks will spawn from one of two graveyards per faction.

Wildhammer Longhouse
Serving as the Alliance stronghold in the north, the Wildhammer Longhouse hovers above the valley, atop a series of plateaus. With three entrances to the complex, players have two primary means of reaching the longhouse: scaling the plateaus to the northwest, or using the stairwell up the middle in order to access any of the three openings. Be careful, though! Falling or being knocked off the cliff can not only cause damage, but it can also hinder a successful offensive against or defense of the base.

Dragonmaw Clan Compound
Acting as the Horde base in the south, the Dragonmaw Clan Compound sits over a body of water into which the valley's river feeds. With three entrances to the compound, players have a few means of getting inside. One entrance on the southeast side requires riding up an incline and crossing a knee-deep river. A second entrance is through a water pipeline leading from the surrounding lake, while the main entrance can be accessed via a bridge over the waterfront. You'll want to be aware of your surroundings when you use the main entrance, though, because players can be knocked down into the water, slowing their advance or crippling their defense.

Those who seek to control Twin Peaks will face an intense battle. The lands surrounding this ever-troubled location are key strategic strongholds of Deathwing and all of his followers. The Twilight Highlands are as rich with history as they are fraught with disaster and tragedy. Will the Dragonmaw clan, reinforced by Garrosh's Horde, take control? Or will it be the Wildhammer dwarves, reunited with their Ironforge brethren and accepted into the Alliance, who seize the peaks? [/blizzquote]



by Published on 2010-06-04 04:41 AM

Cataclysm Screenshot of the Day
The Screenshot of the Day Gallery has been updated with a new screenshot of the Speed Barge in the Shimmering Flats (Thousand Needles)



Concept Arts
The official Concept Art Gallery has been updated with two new pieces of artwork.



Blue posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Numbers scaling up over time
They are just numbers. Automobiles used to cost hundreds of dollars a few generations ago and now they cost tens of thousands of dollars. But most everything else economic related has scaled up as well.

There isn't any inherent scaling problem with WoW's numbers getting absurdly large. The only real issue is comprehension when you're looking at a rogue doing 240,000 dps to a boss a billion health. But consider that we aren't that far away from character levels themselves being in the triple digits.

To fix the issue, we would have to go back and have level 1 characters do less than 1 point of damage, which would be pretty weird. Or we could use some kind of metric system where the last few zeros just get lopped off after a certain point. We joke about breastplates with megastamina and megadamage and megadps. (Source)

Haste / Attack Speed Bonus
Yeah, it went from "melee haste" (which needed a modifier to distinguish it from spell haste) to just "melee attack speed." At this point it's probably safe to just call it "attack speed" since that sounds like weapons (melee and ranged) and not spells. (Source)

"Unique" Item Procs
The main problem they bring is how to balance them. You mention several items that were definitely cool back in the day, but some of they also had to be nurfed into oblivion due to the problems they caused. Then on the other side is that a proc sounds cool but to keep it balanced the proc chance is super low or something like that which makes a stat-stick item more consistent and more useful.

That said, the unique item procs idea made a bit of a comeback in Icecrown Citadel and is something we like doing. We have learned a lot of the years on how to balance these types of items while also trying to prevent it from interfering with something like arena PvP. We would like to keep doing procs and we'll see how things go in Cataclysm.

[...] When examples are used that doesn't mean they are the be-all-end-all reasoning for things. We have also run into problems with procs that are so awesome the item is used way beyond the expected range for it. (Hi Thunderfury, how are you today? Have you been chatting with your buddy Stormherald lately?)

We want the procs to be cool, fun, but not overpowered. The overpowered aspect applies to both PvP and PvE. While we would love to make procs that just ignore the min/max factor of gear, we can't really do that as it will either make the item overpowered (see above) or possibly so bad that even the previous tier is ahead. Also, while we stayed away from them for awhile, we did make a bunch in ICC and they were pretty successful so will see how things go in the future. (Source)

Warlock (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Warlocks in Cataclysm
We like Shadow Bolt being the nuke for both Demonology and Affliction. That isn't likely to change. Talents don't have to be in "your tree" for them to be good talents for your build. We generally consider 0 / 0 / 71 builds to be a failure.

Fel Flame's role is for situations where you have to move a lot, or possibly in situations where you don't have time to get multiple dots up. We don't anticipate it becoming a rotational ability for any warlock.

None of this is to say that talent trees and possibly even rotations won't be changing. I'm pretty excited with the current state of the Cataclysm warlock talent trees. We've fixed up some awkward parts and come up with some cool mechanics. Hopefully we can share them soon. (Source)

The MMO Report
Yes. I was kidding. And I love you so much Casey.

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by Published on 2010-06-03 05:28 AM

Cataclysm Screenshot of the Day
The official Screenshot of the Day Gallery has been updated with a new screenshot of the Stonetalon Mountains.


First Batch of BlizzCon Tickets Sold Out
[blizzquote author=Zarhym source=http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25172120362/first-batch-of-blizzcon-tickets-sold-out/]The initial allotment of tickets for BlizzCon 2010 has now been sold out. If you weren't able to get tickets this time, you'll have another chance on Saturday, June 5 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, when a second batch goes on sale. Coverage of the gaming festival will also be offered by DIRECTV as a Pay Per View event, available both via satellite and multi-channel Internet stream -- keep an eye on http://BlizzCon.com for more details in the near future. [/blizzquote]

Blue posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
PTR:Operation Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall
The event has been turned off. Thanks for your participation! (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator)
"Boring" talents
Every player is going to have a different definition of "boring or bland talents" so that's not going to be a great litmus test. We're probably keeping Improved Overpower. It's the kind of talent that makes Overpower more powerful for an Arms warrior or just makes the ability more powerful in general. Because the talent affects one ability it can have a greater magnitude which is more noticeable than say a 5% damage buff.

Cruelty is the kind of talent we'll replace (probably by making it affect only a handful of abilities) and tanking talents like Anticipation (if we can get away with it). (Source)

Vigilance
The Taunt renew part of Vigilance is cool and being able to essentially Salv someone can be useful to. Actually gaining threat from using the ability makes it feel like Defiance 2.0 though. You feel like you have to use it all the time (not that that's a huge burden, but still) to achieve the threat levels that other tanks essentially get without the talent. (Source)

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