Friday, 28 March 2008

Kopic's World of Warcraft News

Kopic's World of Warcraft News

EA extends Take-Two bid to lobby shareholders - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 05:45 PM CDT


EA extends Take-Two bid to lobby shareholders
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 15 minutes ago
A merger under way between Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment, which owns the online multiplayer game World of Warcraft, and Activision Inc. could present a ...

Confessions of an MMO Polygamist - Gaming Today

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:46 PM CDT


Confessions of an MMO Polygamist
Gaming Today, TX - 1 hour ago
Maybe I'm not in the wrong, despite so many people and their seeming addictions to games like World of Warcraft. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. ...

Insider Trader: Guide to farming cloth

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 01:36 PM CDT

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Cloth is like the gathering profession for everyone. You don't have to pay to pick it up, and there are no skills to level. Because of the sheer number of tailors, the amount of cloth tailoring eats up (not to mention first aid), cloth gathering can be a lucrative pass-time. Failing that, it can provide for your own cloth needs without having to hit the auction house.

This week's Insider Trader will be going in-depth into the world of farming for cloth, and tackling the following issues:
  • The best areas to farm the cloth you need.
  • How to alleviate some of the boredom.
  • Ways to make the most out of your farming stints.
We will also be covering cloth that can be obtained by even level ones, and not just level 70s, as well as information about what it is used for, and who is going to want it.
  • Linen cloth. (lvl 1-15)
  • Wool cloth. (lvl 14-30)
  • Silk cloth. (lvl 28-40)
  • Mageweave cloth. (lvl 38-50)
  • Runecloth. (lvl 50-62)
  • Netherweave cloth. (lvl 58-70+)
  • Felcloth. (lvl 50-60).
Whether your career hinges on stacks of cloth or you're looking to finance your other exploits, you won't want to miss this week's guide.

Continue reading Insider Trader: Guide to farming cloth

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World of Warcraft Bot Maker sued by Blizzard - TechShout!

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 01:16 PM CDT


World of Warcraft Bot Maker sued by Blizzard
TechShout!, India - 34 minutes ago
... sued a programmer who has reportedly developed a tool that automates actions within one of the company's renowned game title World of Warcraft (WoW). ...

VES Awards to Air on HDNet - Animation Magazine

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 01:02 PM CDT


VES Awards to Air on HDNet
Animation Magazine - 47 minutes ago
... Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and the video games Halo 3 and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. ...

Report Card: Phase 2 daily quests

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 01:00 PM CDT

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/03/27/sunwell-phase-2-daily-roundup/So, now that phase 1 of the Shattered Sun Offensive is over on many servers, phase 2 is in full swing. Phase 2 is a little bit smaller than phase 1, but you can still do all the phase 1 quests just fine, so it's more of a question of deciding how many you want to fit into your daily rotation. So what about the phase 2 quests? Progression needs aside, are they worth doing?

Continue reading Report Card: Phase 2 daily quests

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World of Warcraft: Global Tournament Realm - Gamespy.com

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 12:49 PM CDT


World of Warcraft: Global Tournament Realm
Gamespy.com, CA - 1 hour ago
By GameSpy Staff | March 28, 2008 On March 31st, 2008, Blizzard will take its sincerest step toward realizing PvP equity in World of Warcraft. ...

For PCs and Consoles, the Singularity May Be Near - PC World

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 12:46 PM CDT


For PCs and Consoles, the Singularity May Be Near
PC World - 3 hours ago
Imagine a game like Grand Theft Auto or World of Warcraft run not from a local chunk of high-end hardware, but on incredibly powerful back-end cluster ...

'World of Warcraft': I'm swearing it off - Austin 360 (subscription)

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 12:43 PM CDT


'World of Warcraft': I'm swearing it off
Austin 360 (subscription), TX - 1 hour ago
It starts with three animated "World of Warcraft" characters choosing steeds to ride into their upcoming quest. One chooses a bright red Tacoma. ...

Phat Loot Phriday: Shivering Felspine

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 11:00 AM CDT

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Our second polearm ever is a brand new shiny piece from Sunwell Plateau, perfect for Hunters who want to talk softly and carry a big stick.

Name: Shivering Felspine (Wowhead, WOWDB, Thottbot)
Type: Epic Polearm
Damage/Speed: 393-590 / 3.50 (140.4 DPS)
Abilities:
  • +52 Agility
  • One Yellow socket (socket bonus of +4 attack power)
  • Improves Haste rating by 53, and attack power of 120
  • With the Agility on there, this thing is probably best meant for Hunters -- only they can really benefit by changing Agi directly into Ranged Attack Power. Warriors and Paladins may benefit occasionally, but since Agi translates into Armor and Dodge for them, and the goal when wielding a big two hander is to do damage, not dodge it, it's really at cross purposes with most DPS melee-ers. Armor is always good for tanks, of course, but a shield will give you much more armor than this thing's Agility will.
  • The only problem with this thing is that it doesn't really have any Stamina or hit/crit on it, so players looking to max those will probably pass on this for something else. But Hunters looking to crank ranged DPS (especially with a slow bow or gun) will like this one a lot.
How to Get It: It's brand new in the game as of patch 2.4, and while on the PTR it supposedly dropped from Felmyst, we're told that it now drops from the trash near Kalecgos. Since players are just starting to head in that way, expect this to start showing up in player hands soon.

We don't have too much info on the drop rate yet, but there's good news and bad news. Since it's from trash you'll have a lot more chance for it to drop, because it'll be in the loot tables of more than one mob. The bad news, of course, is that it is probably a super low rate, so cross your fingers and hope for it to show up if you're running Sunwell Plateau regularly.

Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Void Crystal, as usual, and sells to vendors for 18g 80s 53c.

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Does my human female look psycho to you?

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 10:20 AM CDT

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Apparently Blizzard spent some time rebuilding all the player models for Patch 2.4 in order to increase performance. What exactly does this mean to us players who loves the way our characters look? Absolutely nothing. You won't notice any differences in the models at all -- except, that is, if you happen to play a human female. Then you might look deep into your characters eyes and notice a certain "Stepford-wife" look, like a "2000-yard stare," as if her "irises are popping out of her head."

Asariah noticed this and posted his concerns in the Bug Report Forum (did you know there was a Bug Report Forum? neat huh?). Hortus spotted this report and informed us that the human female was the only one of the multiple races to receive a minor alteration from this, and that "it was decided that this was an acceptable change." Apparently someone up there at Blizzard is a big fan of 2000-yard, iris-popping, stepford-wife eyes in women!

For my part, though, I have to get up really close to my human female character to notice the difference -- and then when I do it makes me giggle uncontrollably. It's really no worse, in my opinion, than all those glowy reflections you see in anime girls' eyes. And to be honest, human women have always been a bit vacant-looking in WoW; they're better than human men, of course, but still don't usually look like paragons of profound intelligence. At least they don't bounce up and down like night-elf girls do.

[Via World of Raids]

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Gamers on the Street: Who's winning AV and WSG now?

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 10:00 AM CDT

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Gamers on the Street logs onto U.S. servers to get the word from the front on what's going on in and around the World of Warcraft.

I'll admit it: I haven't hit the Sunwell yet. My new main is a fresh 70 ("virgin" might be an appropriate word to describe her, except that - well, I PvP), and my guildies and I are simply overwhelmed with the number of things on our to-do lists right now. None of us is much interested in braving the crowds to see the new content; we'll get there once the furor has died down.

But 2.4 introduced more than just the Sunwell - we've got AV and WSG "fixes" in action! Did the fixes really fix these BGs? I have my own thoughts about AV (fine before, fine now; lots of imbalances still, but they don't prevent me from winning most instances when my team is with me), but I haven't had the time yet to get into WSG. Ever curious, I popped in on Wildhammer realm to chat with some of the folks gathered 'round the battlemasters and get their impressions.

Continue reading Gamers on the Street: Who's winning AV and WSG now?

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The MMO Report: Friday, March 28th - G4 TV

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 09:53 AM CDT


The MMO Report: Friday, March 28th
G4 TV, CA - 1 hour ago
We've also decided to throw down the gauntlet and challenge you all to close World of Warcraft and open Photoshop. You have the opportunity to design the ...

PvP all day, everyday! A roundup of repeatable PvP quests

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 09:30 AM CDT

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As exciting as Patch 2.4 has been so far, most of the attention has been on the all-new content on the Isle of Quel'danas. WoW Insider has put together a comprehensive walkthrough of all the daily and Shattered Sun Offensive-related quests to help guide you so you can coast your way to Shattered Sun rep and earn more than a few Gold along the way. Among the few additions that didn't get as much of the spotlight but deserve mention are the new PvP daily quests, so players can spice up their PvP routine beyond the usual daily Battleground quest. Now even hardcore PvP enthusiasts can earn some Gold on the side while killing enemies. How cool is that?

Click on the links after the jump to find out more about the new PvP dailies that exploded with Patch 2.4.

Continue reading PvP all day, everyday! A roundup of repeatable PvP quests

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Lich King Bestiary Update: Taunka - Allakhazam

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 09:15 AM CDT


Lich King Bestiary Update: Taunka
Allakhazam, CA - 17 minutes ago
The bestiary page for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King has been updated with a new creature and two pieces of concept art from the upcoming ...

Exclusive: Interview with Frag Doll Valkyrie! - Allakhazam

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 09:13 AM CDT


Exclusive: Interview with Frag Doll Valkyrie!
Allakhazam, CA - 18 minutes ago
Amy: I am currently addicted to World of Warcraft. I am the guild master of a raiding guild currently in SSC and TK and have a 70 Mage and Warlock, ...

The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Aftermath

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 09:00 AM CDT

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The Care and Feeding of Warriors plays catch-up this week with Patch 2.4. Matthew Rossi has been tanking the new five man, doing badge runs, and being obscenely lucky on drops this week, to the point where he's almost embarrassed about it. The word 'almost' was used advisedly.

So this week I've been running around doing as much of the new content as I can, dailies, the new five man, an abortive run into Sunwell Plateau (no matter what your friend in the Illidan guild tells you, you cannot heal that instance in Karazhan gear, not that I really expected to survive) and of course the usual raiding, which includes our badge runs into Kara and ZA. As primarily a tank, I usually pass on DPS gear unless no dedicated DPS players need/want them, so while i have a few good pieces it hasn't been my main focus.

This week, however, the loot fairy came along and just threw gear at me. On Wednesday night, our usual SSC clear netted me World Breaker, a mace I've always stared at with wonder. First off, I've always loved the model. Check it out, that thing is wicked. I never expected to get the weapon... like I said, prot spec... but nobody else who could use it wanted it. So I snatched it up greedily and made cooing Gollumesque noises about it and went on with tanking. Since I have some decent pieces for my chest and legs but lacked any plate helmet, shoulder or glove option for whackery, I ran out and picked the new Savage Plate gear for those slots and enchanted/gemmed them up. I knew I wasn't going to set the world on fire but I thought I could have some fun in BG's.

Amazingly, it turned out that I was right.

Continue reading The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Aftermath

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Second Job: Virtual Pogey - Canada.com

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 08:07 AM CDT


Second Job: Virtual Pogey
Canada.com, Canada - 1 hour ago
Second Job is a feature in which I explore the similarities between the online fantasy game "The World of Warcraft" and the trials and tribulations of ...

Sunwell Phase 3 daily quest walkthroughs

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 08:00 AM CDT

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Though no servers have reached phase 3 of the reclaiming of Quel'Danas, it's always good to be prepared. Many servers began Phase 2 just yesterday, and phase 3 is well under way. My server sits at around 14% complete of retaking the Armory after Day One, and I expect this to pick up over the weekend. Within a week, many of us will likely be transitioning into the most anticipated of the phases.

Why is it the most anticipated? Well, as soon as this phase begins, you gain access to a General Goods vendor, someone to repair your armor, as well as a handful of new daily quests. As you progress through this phase, you also gain access to the new Badge of Justice rewards vendor. The ultimate goal of this phase? Capturing the Sun's Reach Harbor.



Take a look behind the jump for walkthroughs for each of the phase 3 daily quests!

Continue reading Sunwell Phase 3 daily quest walkthroughs

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MyGamer Hardware Review: TRITTON Audio Extreme 51 5.1 Headphones ... - Mygamer.com

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 07:53 AM CDT


MyGamer Hardware Review: TRITTON Audio Extreme 51 5.1 Headphones ...
Mygamer.com, NJ - 1 hour ago
While testing, we wore the TRITTON headphones for upwards of 4-5 hours at a stretch during marathon World of Warcraft sessions, and never once experienced ...

Forum post of the Day: The Death of PvP Guilds

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 07:00 AM CDT

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Laij of Laughing Skull believes that the new battleground matching system is a blow to PvP guilds. He said, "The new patch and matchmaking system has just nerfed the hell out of any pvp guild. Why run BG premades anymore? All you do is get matched up with other premades that are going to drag games out extremely long." Unsurprisingly, this was not particularly well received.

What is notable is that the thread has elicited a response from Drysc who said "Fair and challenging gameplay? The horror..." This comment opened Drysc (as a Blizzard representative) up to both criticism and support from readers. Some cheered him on for calling out the whining of the original poster, others said that class imbalance makes battlegrounds imbalanced.

Continue reading Forum post of the Day: The Death of PvP Guilds

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WoW Moviewatch: Last Resort Vs. Kalecgos

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 06:00 AM CDT

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It's been a while since PvE machinimator, Kerp, has documented his journey on Warcraftmovies. However, it looks like Patch 2.4 has brought him out of hiding. He captured footage of his experience with the mighty Kalecgos.

The verdict on Kelecgos? Kerp claims that the boss was harder than expected, as he didn't have hours of practice beforehand. You won't have to be unprepared, as he has it in 1280x1024 goodness. It's not exactly artistic, and it's certainly no How to Paladin, but it's good to see some of the new bosses!


[Via Warcraftmovies.com]

Previously on Moviewatch ...

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NAViGaTR Awards Announced - Animation World Network

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 05:30 AM CDT


NAViGaTR Awards Announced
Animation World Network, CA - 1 hour ago
CALL OF DUTY 4 won three awards, while ASSASSIN'S CREED, SUPER MARIO GALAXY, THE ORANGE BOX, THE SIMPSONS GAME, and WORLD OF WARCRAFT: THE BURNING CRUSADE ...

Sunwell Isle Realm progression list

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 05:00 AM CDT

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Are you interested in which phase each Realm is on in the race to complete the Shattered Sun Offensive? Well then Masterdragon has the list you need. He has compiled a list of all of the servers and which phase is currently being worked on. Drysc has blessed the thread with a blue post congratulating him on his endeavors -- and presumably to make the list easier to find.

Masterdragon will be updating the list two or three times a day and requests that you check the list before posting your server's phase status.

I'm impressed that Masterdragon is putting in all this effort to update this tracking list. It's too bad that Blizzard can't provide one for us so that he doesn't have to. An official list could indicate the percentage completed for each phase as well. But I suppose they have enough work putting a spin on the undocumented changes that have popped up in Patch 2.4.

Do you think Blizzard should have an official list? Or are you just happy that a fellow player took the initiative to make one himself?

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Former Xbox Exec Proclaims Death of Consoles in 5-10 Years - GameDAILY BIZ

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 04:42 AM CDT


Former Xbox Exec Proclaims Death of Consoles in 5-10 Years
GameDAILY BIZ - 2 hours ago
"[Look] at how quickly Popcap or Oberon are growing, or look at what has happened to World of Warcraft in the last 3 to 4 years as so many more homes have ...

Warhammer Online 'technically' ready to be launched - PALGN

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 04:37 AM CDT


Warhammer Online 'technically' ready to be launched
PALGN, Australia - 30 minutes ago
... game could end up making release as early as September, potentially competing with both a new World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online expansion. ...

Around Azeroth: The long wait

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 04:00 AM CDT

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Patch days are usually wild, crazy things, full of massive world PvP and competing for quest kills and standing on top of mailboxes on a new mount. Which is why it's somewhat disturbing to see a screenshot of a brand-new area looking like The Birds. Jilira, of Perenolde's Black Dragon Clan, suggests that her servermates are waiting for 100% completion of the Sunwell opening. To me, it looks more like they're gearing up for a race around the world. What do you think?

Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. Azeroth is actually lit by an orbiting pile of blazing garbage. You're just deluding yourself.

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How to put WoW Insider on your web site and computer

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 03:00 AM CDT

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Everyone these days either has a blog or a guild site that they post to regularly; and it's especially common amongst the World of Warcraft and the greater MMORPG community. One of the neat features of most of these sites is that they allow you to subscribe to other blogs, like WoW Insider. The software of these sites and tools can put up our headlines in easy to access places, so you and all your friends can stay up to date on the latest World of Warcraft news.

Getting this setup might seem like a hard thing to do, but it's really not. In fact, with our guide, complete with pictures, you'll be able to get WoW Insider's latest news on your site in no time! We give you step-by-step instructions for sites and software like Guild Portal, Guild Launch, Blogger.com, Word Press, vBulletin, Google Reader, Outlook, and more. We also tell you the info you need to get our news setup on any other site.

Continue reading on for a complete list of guides we provide.

Continue reading How to put WoW Insider on your web site and computer

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Why World of Warcraft Made It Big - Gamasutra

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:33 AM CDT


Why World of Warcraft Made It Big
Gamasutra, CA - 32 minutes ago
[In the world of MMOs, World of Warcraft is king, and in this vibrant analysis, online game expert Michael Zenke examines just what it is that made WoW so ...

Tickets sold out for Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2008 - MMORPG blog

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:17 AM CDT


Tickets sold out for Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2008
MMORPG blog - 49 minutes ago
That is, if you're not distracted by the fact that you'll also get to sample World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft 2. ...

'World of Warcraft' Arena Tournament Sign Ups Now Open - WorthPlaying.com

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:14 AM CDT


'World of Warcraft' Arena Tournament Sign Ups Now Open
WorthPlaying.com, CA - 52 minutes ago
"We're pleased to expand World of Warcraft's tournament options for players who want to focus mainly on the competitive aspect of the game. ...

World of Warcraft: Taunka Revealed - Warcry.com

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:00 AM CDT


World of Warcraft: Taunka Revealed
Warcry.com - 1 hour ago
The Taunka has been revealed in the latest update to the Wrath of the Lich King bestiary. This tenacious, stoic race knows all too well the rigors of living ...

A New Anxiety For Gamers - UConn Daily Campus (subscription)

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:00 AM CDT


A New Anxiety For Gamers
UConn Daily Campus (subscription), CT - 1 hour ago
In her opinion piece, Alexander argues that those who play "World of Warcraft" for hours on end do so because of its "instant gratification," but also ...

Breakfast Topic: There goes the neighborhood

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 02:00 AM CDT

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Whenever I see free character transfers, I always check to see if my realm is on the list. It never is, probably because it's medium population (though apparently it also has to do with queue times). I don't think I would seriously consider transferring, even for free.

At one point I tried rolling on a low population server. I had a good group of friends to play with, but it was hard to PuG anything. I wound up transferring two characters from that server to my main realm. Several friends did the same. Unless it's an entirely new type of server, I think I'll stay where I am.

Some realms like Ghostlands have really taken off, others remain on the recommended and low population lists indefinitely. Hats off to those willing to colonize new and underpopulated realms, I have no idea how you do it.

What would make you change servers?

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Q&A: Nicholas Carr - The World Wide Computer Explained - PC Magazine

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 01:35 AM CDT


Q&A: Nicholas Carr - The World Wide Computer Explained
PC Magazine - 1 hour ago
In fact, the effective running of online software often requires the use of some local processing and storage capacity—think of World of Warcraft, ...

Hotfix roundup for Friday March 27

Posted: 28 Mar 2008 01:00 AM CDT

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Drysc is keeping a post up-to-date of all the latest hotfixes that are happening. Patch 2.4 went live without too much trouble this last Tuesday, yet there is a slow but steady stream of issues popping up in the game. Each morning for the next few days we'll let you know about all the hotfixes that have come out the previous day. You can also check out all of the hotfixes for Patch 2.4.

Yesterday's hotfixes include:
  • Veneratus the Many now spawns correctly.
  • The Horde Spirit Healers in Alterac Valley will once again teleport Horde players to a different graveyard if the current once gets captured by Alliance.
  • Kael, RoS, and other bosses will now cast all of their spells. No more Kael'Thas without birds.
Of course, if something major comes up, expect to see it covered right away on WoW Insider. Enjoy your patch 2.4 fun!

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Malware targets online gamers - Security Park

Posted: 27 Mar 2008 10:39 PM CDT


Malware targets online gamers
Security Park, UK - 1 hour ago
... is a 145% increase in the number of malicious programs specifically targeting online game players (such as World of Warcraft and Lineage II gamers). ...

Rolling Restarts for Friday, March 28th

Posted: 27 Mar 2008 08:20 PM CDT

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Hold onto the your wigs and keys, everyone, we're not quite done Ironing out the kinks from 2.4 yet. Bornakk's announced yet another run of rolling restarts, this time starting at 5 am PDT today. Each realm will be down for 15 minutes, and the entire process should take about an hour.

The last round of restarts, as you recall, became a bit more complicated, but we'll see how they do this time. Either way, expect a bit of bumpiness if early morning on the US pacific coast is your usual play time. Bornakk doesn't mention if any hotfixes will be applied during the downtime, but we'll be checking to see if anything's different on the other side.

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World of Warcraft Coming to Latin America - Gamers Hell

Posted: 27 Mar 2008 12:12 PM CDT


World of Warcraft Coming to Latin America
Gamers Hell, UK - 19 hours ago
Blizzard Entertainment also announced that World of Warcraft will be released in Latin America. The Latin American localization will be based on the ...

Blizzard to Release World of Warcraft in Latin America - Game News

Posted: 27 Mar 2008 07:28 AM CDT


Blizzard to Release World of Warcraft in Latin America
Game News, Belarus - 27 Mar 2008
Blizzard Entertainment announces that World of Warcraft, its subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is being prepared for ...