WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.How I learned to love tanking againhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/how-i-learned-to-love-tanking-again/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/how-i-learned-to-love-tanking-again/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/how-i-learned-to-love-tanking-again/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

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So yeah, I'm tanking again. There are a few reasons for this. Reason #1 is my experiences testing prot in the Mists of Pandaria beta. Quite frankly, I think it's going to be much easier to level to 90 as a tanking warrior, what with the spec working quite well on the beta at the moment. Since I expect us to be doing so by August at the latest, I wanted to get a jump on things.

Another reason is simple necessity. We needed a tank; I happen to be capable of doing the job and doing it well. Even back when threat was harder than it is now, I always knew I was a respectable tank. I pay attention to my positioning, I know how to use my cooldowns, and I've got a lot of experience with the role. When my guild found itself short a tank, it seemed like the right thing to do. It's just plain easier to recruit a DPSer and have someone established doing the tanking.

I've asked before if it's time to kill tanking. Almost a year down the road from that question, here I am tanking again. I think what I'm learning is that, at present, it's fairly easy to tank decently and not very hard to tank well, but tanking itself is now split into two halves, and one of them is actually more difficult than it has ever been. It's easier to learn but not easier to master.

Continue reading How I learned to love tanking again

WoW InsiderHow I learned to love tanking again originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>DPSfeaturedguide-to-warriorstanktankingtankswarrior-guidewarrior-infowarrior-talentswow-warriorwow-warrior-infowow-warriorsMatthew RossiWed, 16 May 2012 14:00:00 ESTMists of Pandaria Beta: Spirit gear is coming back in fashionhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/mists-of-pandaria-beta-spirit-gear-is-coming-back-in-fashion/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/mists-of-pandaria-beta-spirit-gear-is-coming-back-in-fashion/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/mists-of-pandaria-beta-spirit-gear-is-coming-back-in-fashion/#commentsFiled under: ,

It's been known for a while that spirit gear isn't on the list for the most part right now for players leveling in Mists. DPS cloth abounds, and the idea the designers have is that you can just reforge the DPS gear into healer gear easily enough (or at least reforge it so that it's passable as healer gear).

In part, this concept comes from the new rewards system, where you don't see all the gear rewards the quest giver offers but rather only the ones that are specific to you. As a solution to this, Blizzard provides green gear vendors that distribute off-spec gear.

However, Ghostcrawler announced today that Blizzard's going to offer more spirit gear again via quest rewards. This is in part due to the constructive (read: non-trolling) feedback it's received on the issue.

Ghostcrawler
After reading more of this feedback and looking at the zones, we're concerned that there aren't enough quest rewards with Spirit on them. We are leaning towards offering more, as choices, so that players who feel like their Spirit is low can choose to have more.


So rejoice, healers! Getting geared up will be a bit easier for you now.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria Beta: Spirit gear is coming back in fashion originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>breakingghostcrawlerhealershealinghealing-gearmists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-healing-gearmists-of-pandaria-spirit-gearnot-diablospiritAdam HoliskyTue, 15 May 2012 17:00:00 ESTImproved digsites in Mists of Pandaria archaeologyhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/improved-digsites-in-mists-of-pandaria-archaeology/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/improved-digsites-in-mists-of-pandaria-archaeology/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/improved-digsites-in-mists-of-pandaria-archaeology/#commentsFiled under: ,

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When I hit the new skill cap in archaeology on beta and achieved Zen Master, someone in my beta guild remarked that 600 skill points in archaeology sounded painful. But it's not -- it's actually better! Archaeology got some buffs in Mists of Pandaria.

There are only two new races to worry about, the pandaren and the mogu, and you get nothing but these two on the continent of Pandaria. As usual, players get four random digsites across the entire continent, though it's currently bugging out to three or even two sites only. But Pandaria is so huge, you say. We're restricted to no flying until 90. How can it not be painful?

Continue reading Improved digsites in Mists of Pandaria archaeology

WoW InsiderImproved digsites in Mists of Pandaria archaeology originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>ancient hauntAncientHauntarchaeologydig sitedigsitelorewalkersmists of pandariamists of pandaria betaMistsOfPandariaMistsOfPandariaBetamogu fragmentsmogu statue pieceMoguFragmentsMoguStatuePiecenot-diablopandaren fragmentspandaren oracle bonePandarenFragmentsPandarenOracleBoneMegan O'NeillTue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 ESTMists of Pandaria says bye-bye to cookie-cutter buildshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/mists-of-pandaria-says-bye-bye-to-cookie-cutter-builds/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/mists-of-pandaria-says-bye-bye-to-cookie-cutter-builds/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/mists-of-pandaria-says-bye-bye-to-cookie-cutter-builds/#commentsFiled under: ,

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I had no idea that talents existed in vanilla WoW. I wasn't really stupid -- I just didn't know what talents were or that they were something I should be getting. I expect they were detailed somewhere in the instruction booklet that I didn't bother reading before I started running around Azeroth. I was finally clued in to their existence around level 40 or so on my first character, when a friend asked what spec I was putting points into. My blank "... points?" response garnered an immediate lesson on talent trees.

Talents received a massive overhaul between Wrath and Cataclysm, one that saw a vast majority of talents culled and the trees themselves shortened considerably. It took a little time to get used to the changes, but in the end, the changing of talents wasn't really as huge a deal as I thought it'd be. Choosing talents on a character is still just as easy as it used to be. Don't worry so much about what you pick while you're leveling, and when you reach 85, you'll find plenty of sites online that will tell you the best stuff to grab at max level and why.

Which is sort of the problem, isn't it?

Continue reading Mists of Pandaria says bye-bye to cookie-cutter builds

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria says bye-bye to cookie-cutter builds originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>mists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-talent-changesmists-of-pandaria-talentsnot-diablotalent-calculatortalent-changesworld-of-warcraftworld-of-warcraft-talentswow-talent-treeswow-talentsAnne StickneyTue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 ESTLichborne: Death knights remain in holding pattern in Mists of Pandaria betahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/lichborne-death-knights-remain-in-holding-pattern-in-mists-of-p/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/lichborne-death-knights-remain-in-holding-pattern-in-mists-of-p/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/lichborne-death-knights-remain-in-holding-pattern-in-mists-of-p/#commentsFiled under: , ,

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done.

When one takes a two-week vacation, one generally looks forward to things having changed, even slightly, when one returns. This is especially sure when speaking of the Mists of Pandaria beta test. Strangely, that hasn't been exactly the case for death knights. There have been changes, certainly, but not as drastic as we might have hoped -- and not as well-explained, either.

Today, we'll take a look at a few of the more important changes and what they imply for our class. In addition, we'll see what Ghostcrawler did and didn't say about death knights in a recent post.

Plague Leech and disease issues

There've been a few changes to death knights, but the most interesting one comes with Plague Leech. This first-tier talent, which replaces Vile Spew, will allow you to generate a death rune by canceling the diseases from your target.

The nice thing about this skill is that it gives us another much-needed Blood Tap replacement now that Blood Tap itself has been turned into a somewhat more restricted talent. The bad thing about this skill is that it's probably going to become mandatory for min-maxing DPS death knights. If your diseases are about to expire anyway and you can eat them for an extra death rune, it's hard to see how that won't become a DPS increase. Once we all reach level 90 and the math has been sufficiently mathed, it seems relatively obvious that Plague Leech will be considered mandatory by the hardcore PvE community, for better or for worse.

Continue reading Lichborne: Death knights remain in holding pattern in Mists of Pandaria beta

WoW InsiderLichborne: Death knights remain in holding pattern in Mists of Pandaria beta originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blood-death-knight-lichborneblood-presencedeath-coildeath-knight-beta-newsdeath-knight-blood-lichbornedeath-knight-diseasesdeath-knight-frost-lichbornedeath-knight-guidedeath-knight-infodeath-knight-talentsdeath-knight-unholy-lichbornediseasesdk-guidedk-infodk-talentsfeaturedfrost-death-knight-lichbornefrost-presencefrost-strikefrost-striokeghostcrawlerglyph-of-outbreakguide-to-death-knightsmists-of-pandaria-betanot-diablooutbreakplague-leechunholy-death-knight-lichborneunholy-presencevile-spewwow-death-knightwow-dkDaniel WhitcombTue, 15 May 2012 14:00:00 ESTTwo Bosses Enter: Season 4 previewhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/two-bosses-enter-season-4-preview/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/two-bosses-enter-season-4-preview/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/15/two-bosses-enter-season-4-preview/#commentsFiled under: ,

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In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title.

Two Bosses Enter's season finale was a big win for dungeon boss design, with End Time's Murozond beating out the rest of the Hour of Twilight 5-man instance bosses and even some of the Dragon Soul raid bosses, thanks to the Raid Finder. The WoW Insider community connected with an all-around fun fight that wasn't as punishing as some of the other fights in the 5-man heroic tier but made for epic moments and an important climactic battle. Murozond and his unique mechanic will have a lot to say going forward with encounter design, I would imagine, as this whole set of 5-mans has been remarkably successful, for the most part. Sorry, Arcurion.

Now that we've got season 3 tucked away, it's time to ponder the future, looking forward toward a brighter and more peaceful tomorrow. Sadly, that tomorrow isn't looking so bright or peaceful, with the Horde and the Alliance preparing to descend upon the lost continent of Pandaria, bitter rivalries and hatreds newly reignited. With war comes heroes from every faction, giving us plenty of cannon fodder for Two Bosses Enter.

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Season 4 preview

WoW InsiderTwo Bosses Enter: Season 4 preview originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featurednot-diablorole-playingwow-bosswow-boss-battlewow-bosseswow-rpMathew McCurleyTue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 ESTSkill Mastery: Ascendance takes shaman to new heightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/skill-mastery-ascendance-takes-shaman-to-new-heights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/skill-mastery-ascendance-takes-shaman-to-new-heights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/skill-mastery-ascendance-takes-shaman-to-new-heights/#commentsFiled under: , ,

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Ascendance is a new ability coming to level 87 shaman of all specs in Mists of Pandaria. For 15 seconds every 3 minutes, you'll transform yourself into an Ascended elemental form that looks very much like the trash mobs in Grim Batol or Bastion of Twilight. The actual Ascendant's appearance and the function of the form vary based on your current specialization.

For enhancement, you take on the form of an air Ascendant, making your melee auto-attacks and Stormstrike become ranged attacks that are able to be used at up to 30 yards away. They also deal pure nature damage, which means they're benefited by Enhanced Elements and ignore armor. From a PvP standpoint, melee attacks from a 30-yard range that ignore armor will be frustrating for escaping clothies and plate-wearers that you're trying to keep your distance from.

Elemental morphs into a fire Ascendant. In this form, your Chain Lightning morphs into Lava Beam. Lava Beam is similar to Chain Lightning but hits a total of five targets and doesn't reduce its damage when it jumps, which is potent AoE. For single targets, your fire Ascendancy makes your Lava Burst have no cooldown during its duration, which means back to back critical hits for 15 seconds.

The last Ascendant form is restoration's water form, which functions very similarly to the Essence of Dreams in Ultraxion. For 15 seconds, every heal you cast duplicates its healing done and splits that secondary healing amount among all nearby targets. If you cast a 100k Greater Healing Wave on your tank, she'll be healed for 100,000 and another 100,000 healing will be split among allies near her. It's very potent.

If you want more in depth views of Ascendance and the benefits and cons, Joe Perez and I recently wrote Totem Talks covering Ascendance for DPS and resto shaman.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderSkill Mastery: Ascendance takes shaman to new heights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>ascendancefeaturedguide-to-shamansmists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-abilitiesmists-of-pandaria-betamop-shamannot-diabloshaman-guideshaman-infoshaman-talentsskill-masteryskill-mastery-mopwow-shamanwow-shaman-infoJosh MyersMon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 ESTThe Queue: For shamehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/the-queue-for-shame/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/the-queue-for-shame/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/the-queue-for-shame/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Today's another short one. You have only yourselves to blame! Ask more questions!

@ravingsockmonky asked:

Do you think hunters will ever get more stable slots, or will we start having to release pets? :(

I think I might be a bad person to answer this question. The whole hoarding hunter pets thing is totally bizarre to me. Aren't you guys supposed to be bonding with your closest companion, not piling a thousand wild animals in a barn? That can't be healthy. Those animals are probably forced to stand in their own filth all day long while you're out having adventures. Do you ever stop and clean them? Do you take them all out for exercise? Do you even feed them? I don't think so. You hunters are all terrible. I'm pretty sure you can get arrested for that sort of thing.

That being said ... Blizzard might do it one day, I guess? The devs haven't said anything about it, but I think they grasp that WoW players have a weird pet/mount obsession going on and have been willing to cater to it so far.

Continue reading The Queue: For shame

WoW InsiderThe Queue: For shame originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguidemists-of-pandarianot-diabloqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questionsAlex ZiebartMon, 14 May 2012 11:00:00 ESTMists of Pandaria: Black Market Auction House offers rare and removed itemshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/mists-of-pandaria-black-market-auction-house-offers-rare-and-re/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/mists-of-pandaria-black-market-auction-house-offers-rare-and-re/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/mists-of-pandaria-black-market-auction-house-offers-rare-and-re/#commentsFiled under:

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According to reports by MMO-Champion, the Black Market Auction House is now live on beta realms. Attempts to confirm this by chatting with Madam Goya just kicked back a UI error at me, but there seem to be plenty of people stopping by to check her out. Madam Goya makes her home at the Tavern of the Mists in the Veiled Stair, north of the Valley of the Four Winds. She's not alone, as Wrathion is still quietly hanging out in the tavern as well.

So what's available at the Black Market? A little bit of everything, including rare mounts like the Ashes of Al'ar, pictured above. Also included are pets that require a grind to obtain such as the Sen'jin Fetish, previously available only from grinding out Argent Tournament reputation, and high-level crafting recipes, although we don't have a lot of information on what those recipes are exactly.

However, perhaps the most interesting note to glean from this is that the Black Market Auction House appears to be carrying the original tier 3 sets that were removed from the game when Naxxramas was moved to Northrend and changed from a 40-man raid to a 10- and 25-man raid in Wrath of the Lich King. Obviously, this means that those looking to transmogrify into these rare tier sets can now pay to do so -- provided they've got the gold to fling around.

Continue reading Mists of Pandaria: Black Market Auction House offers rare and removed items

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria: Black Market Auction House offers rare and removed items originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 12 May 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>black+market+auction+houseblack+market+auction+house+wowblack-marketblack-market-auction-houseblackmarketauctionhouseblackmarketauctionhousewowbreakingcrafting-recipiesmadam-goyamists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-betamop+black+marketmopblackmarketrare-mountsrare-petsremoved-from-gametier-3valley-of-the-four-windsveiled-stairworld-of-warcraftwow+black+marketwow+black+market+auction+housewowblackmarketwowblackmarketauctionhousewrathionwrathion-the-purifiedAnne StickneySat, 12 May 2012 19:30:00 ESTMists of Pandaria Beta: Goblin Glider proves engineering is still the best professionhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/mists-of-pandaria-beta-goblin-glider-proves-engineering-is-stil/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/mists-of-pandaria-beta-goblin-glider-proves-engineering-is-stil/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/mists-of-pandaria-beta-goblin-glider-proves-engineering-is-stil/#commentsFiled under:

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My love of engineering is no secret. Engineering is the best profession in WoW, period, as measured by the only scale that matters: awesome points. We've seen some new head pieces coming in Mists of Pandaria, but there really has not been a huge amount of engineering news. Well, that's all changed now that the Goblin Glider engineering enchant has been introduced.

What's the Goblin Glider? This new enchant attaches the Mists of Pandaria version of the Flexweave Underlay (whose update was oddly missing from Cataclysm) that looks to only use a handful of easily obtainable materials. The real kicker with this new slow-fall cloak is that it's got a built-in Nitro Boost that periodically pushes the player forward through the air. What this means is that you've got periodic forward momentum for 30 seconds of slow fall with the ability to steer your character 360 degrees. Not only is this the coolest new escape tool for engineers, it makes WoW base jumping about 900 times cooler.

I am really excited to get my hands on the new engineering stuff, and it's great to see the best profession in the game getting some love. Let's see more, Blizz!
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria Beta: Goblin Glider proves engineering is still the best profession originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 12 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>breakingengineeringengineering-best-professionengineersflexweave-underlayglidergoblingoblin-glidermists+of+pandariamistsofpandarianitro-boostspandaria+betapandariabetaslow-fallMathew McCurleySat, 12 May 2012 18:00:00 ESTArcane Brilliance: Archmage Pants expounds on Mists of Pandaria magery and magichttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/arcane-brilliance-archmage-pants-expounds-on-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/arcane-brilliance-archmage-pants-expounds-on-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/arcane-brilliance-archmage-pants-expounds-on-mists-of-pandaria/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Pandaren Female Mage
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Even when the guy who usually writes it is trapped by the ancient warlockian curse known as Long-work-hours-and-three-kids-and-no-free-time-makes-it-hard-to-write-about-Warcraft ... Bolt. A deeply sincere thank you goes out to the incredible Josh Myers, who stepped in and handled my business for me with uncommon style and undeniable skill for the past month and a half. Josh, the next warlock I kill, I will kill for you.

Holy crap, it's good to be back.

I'd toyed with the idea of quitting entirely, seeing no practical way to consistently scrape together enough time each week with the current demands on my time to provide you guys with quality mage columns. But as the weeks went by, I found I simply couldn't abide not writing about turning warlocks into sheep and then hurling volleys of Arcane Missiles at those sheep until they explode. There was a gaping hole in my life that could only be filled with a massive Pyroblast.

So this past week, after squeezing in some quality time with the Mists beta, I sat down at my keyboard and began typing. At first, I wasn't even writing with a clear goal in mind. I had no intention of posting any of my thoughts. But as I played, and wrote, and played, and wrote, I found I was becoming more and more stupidly excited about the prospect of talking to you guys about new stuff. So I had to come back, you see. And it's all your fault. I hope you're happy with yourselves.

Josh has already done a marvelous job of sharing his beta analysis with you over the course of several columns. If you haven't already, check them out here, here, and also here. Though some of the ground we cover today may overlap, what follows isn't anything resembling analysis. As I get myself back up to speed, I'll go more in-depth -- but this week, we're going the full stream of consciousness, random observational impression route. Strap in, and for God's sake, keep your arms, legs, and wands inside the vehicle.

Continue reading Arcane Brilliance: Archmage Pants expounds on Mists of Pandaria magery and magic

WoW InsiderArcane Brilliance: Archmage Pants expounds on Mists of Pandaria magery and magic originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 12 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>aoe-lootingarcane-barragearcane-mage-arcane-brilliancefeaturedfire-mage-arcane-brilliancefrost-mage-arcane-brilliancefrostfire-boltguide-to-magesi-hate-warlocksmage-arcane-arcane-brilliancemage-fire-arcane-brilliancemage-frost-arcane-brilliancemage-guidemage-infomage-talentsmists-betamists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-betamists-of-pandaria-magemistsofpandariamop-betamop-beta-testingmop-changesmop-expansionmop-mage-changesmop-mage-spellsMoP-mage-talentswandswow-magewow-mage-infowow-magesChristian BeltSat, 12 May 2012 16:00:00 EST5 upcoming hot spots for roleplay in Mists of Pandariahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/5-upcoming-hot-spots-for-roleplay-in-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/5-upcoming-hot-spots-for-roleplay-in-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/5-upcoming-hot-spots-for-roleplay-in-mists-of-pandaria/#commentsFiled under: ,

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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Maybe you're in the beta, or maybe you aren't -- either way, it's hard to avoid information coming from the beta servers. If you're a roleplayer, spoiler information is one of those double-edged swords. Sure, it's nice to know what's coming ... but at the same time, you don't want advance information leaching into your roleplay, especially if your friends and fellow roleplayers are avoiding spoilers themselves.

Thankfully, today is spoiler-free -- well, unless you count some truly gorgeous screenshots of Pandaria's scenery as spoilers, that is. While Pandaria doesn't really appear to have a neutral capital hub at this point in the beta, most of Pandaria's towns and villages are decidedly neutral. This makes them ideal roleplay hubs for both Alliance and Horde and offers something we haven't seen since the days of Dalaran: locations where both factions can roleplay out in the open and interact. Given the rising tensions between Alliance and Horde, it's an excellent chance to grab some compelling roleplay.

Plus, did I mention Pandaria is gorgeous? Seriously, you guys, once you visit, you'll never want to leave. Let's look at just a few of the locations Pandaria has to offer that are ripe for roleplay.

Continue reading 5 upcoming hot spots for roleplay in Mists of Pandaria

WoW Insider5 upcoming hot spots for roleplay in Mists of Pandaria originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 12 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-betapandariapandaria-townsrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingAnne StickneySat, 12 May 2012 14:00:00 ESTSkill Mastery: Totemic Projectionhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/skill-mastery-totemic-projection/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/skill-mastery-totemic-projection/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/skill-mastery-totemic-projection/#commentsFiled under: ,

Totemic Projection, obtainable at level 45, gives you the ability to launch your currently placed totems to any location around you within 40 yards. Fairly straightforward, really easy to use. Those of you who like setting up macros may want to start planning a little about creative uses with your totems and Totemic Projection.
  • Capacitor Totem Drop this totem and count to three, then Totemically Project it toward your target. Voilà! Instant stun!
  • Earthbind Totem Perhaps best used in PvP, you can setup Earthbind to root and slow down players as they're busy running away from you, allowing you to close the gap and Chain Lightning their faces.
Those are just some of the ideas I had off the top of my head. The other talents add extra functionality to your totems. Call of the Elements lets you finish off any totem cooldowns that are active, allowing you to use them again. The catch is that the cooldown of the totem needs to be shorter than 5 minutes. Sadly, this means you cannot use your Fire Elemental Totem, Earth Elemental Totem, or Stormlash Totem back-to-back. Totem Restoration is a passive ability that lets totems respawn if they keep getting destroyed. I'd say that's useful in PvP, more than anything else.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderSkill Mastery: Totemic Projection originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 11 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>betacall-of-the-elementscapacitor-totemearth-elemental-totemearthbind-totemfire-elemental-totemmists-of-pandariashamantotem-restorationtotemictotemic-projectiontotemsMatt LowFri, 11 May 2012 17:00:00 ESTSkill Mastery: Astral Shifthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/skill-mastery-astral-shift/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/skill-mastery-astral-shift/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/skill-mastery-astral-shift/#commentsFiled under: ,

One of the early shaman survival cooldowns that you can get at level 15 is called Astral Shift. It isn't flashy or super awesome or anything. But an emergency damage reducer on a 2-minute cooldown could be just what you need to stay alive and continue DPSing (or healing).

It doesn't reduce only magic damage.

Nor does it reduce only physical damage.

It reduces any damage!

In case you feel two minutes is too long, you have some alternatives. Nature's Guardian is an effect that can kick in once every 30 seconds, which might potentially save you (although the next hit you take could be lethal). Stone Bulwark totem is another alternative that places a shield on you which refreshes and adds additional absorb amounts every five seconds after.

The theme of the level 15 shaman talents revolves around survival and damage mitigation. Raiders may lean more toward Astral Shift, but I'm using the Stone Bulwark totem for the purposes of questing and leveling.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderSkill Mastery: Astral Shift originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>absorbastral-shiftdamagemitigationnatures-guardianpreventionraidshamanstone-bulwark-totemtalentMatt LowFri, 11 May 2012 12:00:00 ESTThe Queue: Friday night invasionhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/the-queue-friday-night-invasion/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/the-queue-friday-night-invasion/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/the-queue-friday-night-invasion/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Whoa whoa whoa, why is Alex doing The Queue on Friday? Nobody likes that guy! Get out of here, Alex!

Never.

vocenoctum asked:

I know a lot of folks that don't currently play Warlocks will try it with Mists, hopefully the changes make it fun enough to play for many. Do you think the changes are big enough that some current lock's will leave the class? (I didn't play a paladin pre-cata, but know a couple ret pal's that just ditched the class as "being too different".)

Continue reading The Queue: Friday night invasion

WoW InsiderThe Queue: Friday night invasion originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 11 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguidemists-of-pandariapet-battlesqaquestion-and-answerTGIFtransmogrificationvoid-storagewow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questionsAlex ZiebartFri, 11 May 2012 11:00:00 ESTMists of Pandaria beta: New achievements weave together exploration and lorehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/mists-of-pandaria-beta-new-achievements-weave-together-explorat/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/mists-of-pandaria-beta-new-achievements-weave-together-explorat/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/mists-of-pandaria-beta-new-achievements-weave-together-explorat/#commentsFiled under:

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There seems to be something different about exploration achievement in Mists of Pandaria, and it's different in a really amazing way. To date, all exploration achievements in WoW have involved simply uncovering areas on your map. While that's fine for viewing scenery, it lacks a certain something, doesn't it? Well, the exploration achievements in Pandaria are taking a wholly different path. Hidden away in different areas of Pandaria are shrines like the one pictured above. Each tells a different piece of a story, and each piece that you find unlocks part of the overall achievement.

These don't quite seem to be a replacement for uncovering zone maps so much as an addition to them. The stories found in the different areas involve various parts of Pandaria's history. Considering the fact that Pandaria's been shrouded in mists for 10,000 years, we don't really know a lot of that history at all. These shrines and their associated achievements are a wonderful way for lore hounds out there to find out all they can about Pandaria's past.

What's more interesting is that there seems to be a new tracker for multi-objective achievements like this one. Each time you find a shrine, a faint window will pop up and notify you that you've completed a step in the achievement's objective. Once it's completed in full, you'll get the full-on burst of light that you usually see with an achievement's success.

This is a great way to integrate lore and exploration into something new and fun for players that really love the lore of the game. While these achievements are all marked as Not Yet Implemented, they seem to be tracking progress already. The one and only plaintive request I have is that completing these achievements give the player a specific reward -- a book that contains the full story that they've just completed discovering. What can I say? I like books!

Whether or not these achievements will actually be implemented is up in the air, but I hope that they are. Searching for hidden shrines has become just as much fun as questing through the zones themselves.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria beta: New achievements weave together exploration and lore originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 11 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>explorationexploration-achievementsloremists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-achievementsmists-of-pandaria-betamists-of-pandaria-storyworld-of-warcraftworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-loreAnne StickneyFri, 11 May 2012 09:00:00 ESTMists of Pandaria Beta: New loot frames roll into viewhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-new-loot-frames-roll-into-view/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-new-loot-frames-roll-into-view/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-new-loot-frames-roll-into-view/#commentsFiled under: ,

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New loot frames! No more having to stare at your chat frames and scroll up and down to see which player won what item. Loot rolls are now condensed into a loot roll frame that appears in your screen. It lists the results of all the items that went up for grabs in the instance and who won them.

If you look at the screenshot above, you can see the roll numbers next to each player and what roll types were used. The player who won the item is listed at the top. You can expand or collapse the menu to see the list of players who rolled and what roll type they used, such as need or greed.

The only downside to this new feature is that I couldn't find a way to move the frame around. But hey, I'll take these new loot roll frames any day. What about you?
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria Beta: New loot frames roll into view originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 10 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>betadungeoninstanceinterfacelootloot-framemists-of-pandariaraiduiMatt LowThu, 10 May 2012 19:00:00 ESTCross-realm zones coming to Mists of Pandariahttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/cross-realm-zones-coming-to-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/cross-realm-zones-coming-to-mists-of-pandaria/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/cross-realm-zones-coming-to-mists-of-pandaria/#commentsFiled under: ,

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Recently, one of the criticisms most often heard about the World of Warcraft experience relates to server population or faction imbalances -- you can't always find enough players in your level range to have a fulfilling gameplay experience. It seems as if Mists of Pandaria is going to be fixing that issue in a big way: Blizzard has just announced cross-realm zones.


Cross-Realm Zones Coming to Beta
In the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria beta, we're introducing a new technology that will enable players to meet up and group with other players in under populated areas of the world such as low level zones or areas that other players may have outleveled or moved on from. This technology will allow players to form a group with other players from within a select pool of realms in order to quest just like they normally would while still allowing the social structures of their home realms to remain intact.


For the full FAQ, head over to Battle.net, or check behind the break below.

UPDATE: Blizzard has answered additional questions in the FAQ.

Continue reading Cross-realm zones coming to Mists of Pandaria

WoW InsiderCross-realm zones coming to Mists of Pandaria originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 10 May 2012 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>breakingcross-realm-questingcross-realm-zonesmists-of-pandariaAlex ZiebartThu, 10 May 2012 16:49:00 ESTMists of Pandaria Beta: The Anglers offer fabulous rewards to feisty fisherfolkhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-the-anglers-offer-fabulous-rewards-to-fe/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-the-anglers-offer-fabulous-rewards-to-fe/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-the-anglers-offer-fabulous-rewards-to-fe/#commentsFiled under:

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Love to fish? It's not my favorite thing in the world to do, but I think the Anglers may just have changed my mind with the latest set of reputation rewards released on the Mists beta. If you've been wondering where you can obtain the ultra-amazing Water Strider mount, the Anglers offer it to players with exalted reputation. But that's not all you have to look forward to! The quartermaster for the Anglers is none other than Nat Pagle, who couldn't resist a relocation to the quaint coastal village of Angler's Wharf.
  • Friendly reputation will net you two recipes, Krasarang Fritters and Viseclaw Soup.
  • Honored reputation unlocks the Pandaren Fishing Pole, a simple pole made out of bamboo that boosts fishing skill by 10. On top of that, you can also pick up a Tiny Goldfish pet for yourself.
  • Revered reputation will open up the opportunity to purchase the Dragon Fishing Pole pictured above, which also grants +25 to fishing skill. In addition, you can also pick up the Anglers Fishing Raft, an on-use item that allows you to raft across water for 10 minutes. The Fishing Raft is not a mount, it's an item, and as such, it comes with a one-hour cooldown.
  • Exalted reputation will unlock the Reins of the Water Strider, a bug mount that walks on water.
Because this is the beta, the prices shown in the screencap above are not final and could go up or go down. In addition, more rewards may be added over time. Still, the Anglers have some pretty amazing rewards, and I'll never turn down an opportunity to add another pet or mount to my collection!
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria Beta: The Anglers offer fabulous rewards to feisty fisherfolk originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>fishingfishing-dailiesfishing-polefishing-rewardsmists-of-pandariamists-of-pandaria-betanat-paglereputationreputation-rewardsthe-anglersAnne StickneyThu, 10 May 2012 16:00:00 ESTMists of Pandaria Beta: Item upgrade strings surfacehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-item-upgrade-strings-surface/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-item-upgrade-strings-surface/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/10/mists-of-pandaria-beta-item-upgrade-strings-surface/#commentsFiled under: ,

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Two interesting new client strings were unearthed early this morning on MMO-Champion related to the elusive item upgrade system that Blizzard has yet to completely flesh out for players. Valor points are changing their focus in Mists of Pandaria, to be used as a way to upgrade existing gear rather than being used to buy all-new pieces. This new system has yet be comprehensively explained, and these new client strings are our first hint at the system's actual implementation.

The basic understanding of the item upgrade system is that justice points will be used to purchase the first pieces of gear from vendors, and valor points will be used to turn that gear into better gear. What this hopefully means is that rather than having two vendors selling the same items with different stats, we can have a justice vendor who sells you items and then upgrades them via some interface dealie with valor points. Hopefully, the number of vendors decreases, because right now it's sort of a pain.
ITEM
  • ITEM_UPGRADE - Item Upgrade
ITEM_UPGRADE
  • ITEM_UPGRADE_DESCRIPTION - Use your valor points to upgrade a weapon or piece of armor that is level 375 or higher.
Honestly, I've been under the impression that Blizzard itself still had the system in flux, so anything being said about just wasn't set in stone. Now, with new client strings and references to upgrading your raid items, it looks like the system is closer to completion.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

WoW InsiderMists of Pandaria Beta: Item upgrade strings surface originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>betagearjusticemistsmoppandariapointpointsupgrade-gearvalorMathew McCurleyThu, 10 May 2012 14:00:00 EST