No punches pulled here. Right off the bat, a hot topic...unless you are wearing Fire Resist gear. Several folks are of the mind that resist-based fights need to go the way of the Dodo. This topic heats up quite a bit, and Ghostcrawler even weighs in on it. It's an argument as old as Molten Core. What IS the point of the "X Resist" fight, anyhow? The Dev's see it as a kind of pacing mechanism and way to change the instance/fights up. Most players see them as a PITA and more lost bank space to whatever "Resist du jour" is on the plate. What do you think?

 Lady Sylvanas has FINALLY gotten a unique character model, and it's a real doozy. It's been available for checking out in several formats recently, but she now looks every inch like the Queen of the Forsaken.

I've heard a lot of speculation about what healing will be like in WotLK. What class will be superior, what class will suck. How will no more down ranking effect and change healing? Matt Low writes up a very nice article about his experiences as a priest in the beta. It's a long read, but of particular interest if you are a priest, or play a priest alt a lot.

Kalgan hits the Beta boards, and speaks out on PvP, where it's at, the philosophy behind the current incarnation of it, and where Blizzard sees it going. 

 Bornakk let's us know that the Raid Mobs of TBC are going to do their part come Patch 3.0.2 and take it a bit easier on the players. Several will stop using their OP abilities, and they all consented to a roughly 30% HP reduction. Quite sporting of them, I say. Though, this is a rather impressive change on Blizzard's part. 3.0.2 will introduce huge changes across the board, and would have a huge effect on raiding in general. It's nice to see them recognize this, and go back to look at tuning things so that you can continue to do them until we are distracted by Northrend, or get the itch to steamroll an instance at 80.

There is still not much new news in the way of Diablo III, but they are filling in the Bestiary some. If you can't wait to get your hands on every bit of info, check it out and see what's new.

There is a new crew who's doing custom WoW apparel...and it looks good. 

In some pretty big news, designed to help Warriors and Druids feel a little better, it's let slip that Thunder Clap and Swipe now have no target limit. This is some pretty big news, and a lot of folks are wondering what those skills will "lose" to compensate for them having their target limit removed.

Speaking of tanks, NuurAbSaal starts up a nice topic on the future look OF tanking in WotLK. 

 In a topic designed purely to stir things up it seems, Dan O'Halloran wonders if WoW is getting too simple. Or if that's a good thing. The arguement is that it's getting easier to do everything, which is good. After all, that means that folks are playing the game, not analyzing dps charts or memorizing boss cycle attacks. Or, is the complexity of the game at the high part of it's appeal?

 Groups of Words has an article that is a rather thought provoking read. Game vs. Lore. The addition of the new motorcycle mount has a lot of folks up in arms, though whether for or against it is the question. Some folks think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Others claim it's ruined the game so much for them that they are quitting. Both seem a bit extreme to me. I don't like the bikes (the look or the sound they make), but hey...in a game with a backpack that can hold several full suits of armor and has a spaceship crashing into the planet I'm on, I can allow for some leeway in that there may, just may, be a mortorbike or two tearing around. 

Groups of Words starts us out today with some thoughts on things that are often close to Lurkers hearts, but tend to be a rarity in Blizzard's ranks. A CM who likes to talk about the reasoning behind the developing that's going on. GhostCrawler is pretty much any theorycrafter's best friend, and she's often got a lot to say. Sadly, what she has to say is often lost in the drek of the official fora, but her posts by themselves are good reads.

 I've occasionally thought about a marathon raid day, and have even led a few marathon raids pre-TBC myself. This crew breaks it down though, as to how long it'd take to go from Kara to victory over Kil'Jaeden. They end up with a back end estimate of 25 hours. The folks in the comments point out that it'd actually be done faster than that, as a group that can clear Sunwell (especially in a 1 shot of the bosses) isn't going to need an hour for Gruul.

 While it started out as my announcement post on the release date of Wrath of the Lich King,it has  turned into a discussion on the future of WoW, and where it's heading. What kind of gas it's got left in the tank, who's left to fight, that sort of thing. 

Blizzard has announced Wrath of the Lich King's release date! It's going to be Nov 13, 2008. You still have a bit of time to get whatever preparations you are planning out of the way, though!

For those not in the beta, you can get a taste of it as Patch 3.0.2 is live on the PTR's!

 There is a ton of data out there, pretty much everywhere you go is inundated with news from the Beta, or Patch 3.0.2 being on the PTR's. Due to the kindess of one of our fellow Lurkers, a Beta Key DID arrive in my email box! So I've been wandering around the Death Knight starting area, getting a feel for the Phasing technology I mentioned a few news posts back. I won't go too much into it, but it is really making me feel like I'm a useful, integral part of the storyline that is the DK starting zone. Since I'm very, veyr fond of lore, this is a fantastic step, I feel.I'd highly recommend everyone start up a Death Knight and play through the starting zone at some point, for some amazing storyline.

Boat crews have returned, for the time being. Hopefully, I want them to stick around this time. I always thought that they added a nice touch to the game. I don't care if they can or can't sell anything, but more that they are there.

In what I think is a good move, Blizzard has removed all their previous "Realm First" titles. Considering before the great pains Blizzard has gone to, to ensure that folks go through their content at their desired pace, giving an award for blowing through it as fast as possible seems counter-productive.

Some folks favorite whipping post, Racials, are also going to see some major changes come WotLK. 

In an interesting change, the chance to miss at all is being removed. This is going to make some theorycrafters quite happy.

While Mages in the beta are currently quite happy (and who can blame them) I can't help but feel that this is going to be getting a wee visit from the nerfbat.

Blizzard has added Training Dummies. They are statted out like normal and boss mobs at 80, so you can test cycles and damage output without going back to Dr.Boom and hassling that poor goblin. This is a great addition.

Gamnin releases wave two of the Rogue changes, and there are a lot of them.

To start things off on the right foot, a couple of friends decided to see just how in shape their toons were, and try to run everywhere like their toons do. The result? The realization that our toons are in really good shape.

Zarhym delivers a massive post detailing how raid buffing, debuffing and stacking is going to go. Changes to what will stack with what, what buff overrides others, and how they all apply to each other. Huge changes here.

For anyone interested in the ins and outs of online leadership, WoWInsider's "Officers' Quarters" column often has some good advice in it. In the most recent one, the author talked about some previous columns, and replies to replies generated by them. A lot of good basic info this one.

Folks like ingame titles...and now Blizzard delivers with a slew of "Server First" style titles for folks to win. First of a class to 80. First of a race. First to get a profession to 450, etc. Tons of new titles abound.

We were talking in Guild the other day about a topic I want more thoughts on. What would WoW be like today, if PvP and PvE had 100% separated, dedicated servers? If the only way to pvp in WoW was on a server like the Arena Tournament server? What are some buffs or nerfs that wouldn't have likely happened due to being able to have essentially 2 games that didn't overlap? We came up with a pretty impressive list. What do you think would be different?

Just two bits today, but they are both pretty huge.

Eyonix announces that there will be a Content Patch before WotLK launches. The 'problem' is in the wording. He says "in a few weeks". Now, knowing Blizzard's sense of time, that could jive with the November-ish date most folks have come to expect. Or it really could mean in a few weeks...in which case I'm not sure the Live servers are ready for the changes, or that the changes are even well tested at this point.

Blizzard also takes things to the next step, introducing "Phasing". In which the world is kind of 'instanced' to a single players experience. Blew that house up in a quest? For you, i'ts blown up. For the guy standing beside you who's not done the quest? It's perfectly fine. It's certainly an interesting step

Groups of Words' anonyomous blogger has made a list of some of the changes from Pre-TBC WoW to what you would find today in WoW, suggesting that they aren't so much as expansions as they are sequels. It's an interesting thought, to be sure, and any player who's been around since the start may enjoy the trip down memory lane. 

DC has released the Series 4 Collection of WoW statues. The deluxe version is a stunning statue of Lady Vashj. There is a Warlock's best friend, a Succubus. We are introduced to the brand new race, Tuskarr, and what collection of NPC's would be complete without a pair of Murlocs?

Mike Schramm asks that age old question: How do you tell an alt from a main? It's something every guild that does 10mans and up struggles with. I've heard an interesting term coined, a "malt" as well. Someone who has two (or more) toons they play enough to rate a 'main' designation. It's an interesting question, and one that the answer is changes with every person asked.

Another good question here is, What Tabard do you wear? See, I don't like tabards. I got one when I joined my first guild a long, long time ago, I wore it for the Goldshire party I was attending...and it's taken up a bank slot ever since. I've won tabards, been awarded tabards, earned them with rep grinds...and I don't wear a single one. None of them catch my eye like the armor does. So, what Tabard is your personal favorite, or not?

This seems to be a nice change from the "Discovery" method used in TBC. 

Adding to the list of classes that can solo old world raid content, Klingo, a lvl 77 Hunter, has soloed Onyxia.

Well, hunters have gotten some pretty serious love this push, and next it would seem.

However, casters of every sort have just taken a major hit. 

The new Recruit-A-Friend feature is really kicking up some flurries of feeling. You hear about folks going from level 30 to 59 in a minute, as well as a lot of other things. Seems like it's easier than ever to get to 60, but is that better? If the folks using this system really are folks who haven't played before, is one really doing them any favors by blasting their first toon up to 60 in a matter of a few days?

There are some neat Engineering goodies posted about the web. It looks like there will finally be Eng. things that can be made and applied to existing items, along the lines of enchants. This could give Engineering a much needed boost. 

Zeida of Tichonderous posts a pretty amusing list of the folks you don't want in your raiding guild. Looking over the list though, it's pretty easy folks to fall into these categories, and....you can't raid by yourself.  

Sadly, as quickly as it was in, Potion Sickness is gone. It's a shame, and I hope that it comes back. I realize that it'd be quite hard to rebalance the current encounters around Potion Sickness (if Blizz would even bother doing it in the first place) but I liked the idea of encounters balanced around one potion, and having to choose that potion carefully (not to mention the farming time it would slice out of the game) 

Lythrdskynrd starts a post on the WOW Europe forums about how the new Achievement system, and how it may promote bullying. There is also some great discussion over here, too about it. It is an interesting question. It's already 'bad enough' that folks can't be taken about their word about gear or skill or talent levels. It's quite common on the main WoW Blizzard forums to see someone say "You don't have a 2000Arena 2v2, you can't talk about 2v2" and things along that line. Is the Achievement system, if it's viewable by others than yourself, going to cause more problems than good?

Arena matches between lvl 71 to 79 will be Skirmish only, it turns out, and not count for points. This is already polarizing folks, who are either saying that it'll be a great return to skill based PvP for the duration, or those who think the only measure of a toon is their Arena Rating.

Eluminite has a nifty video up showing the new pet and mount interfaces, and then showing that non-combat pets will have a new trick to entertain us.

From the "Ask a Beta Tester" column, comes a question I had been wondering about, too.  Are the current crop of Daily quests going to be useful in levelling your toons? The answer is pretty much "no". You get around 3.5g and 9500xp/turnin for a daily. Why bother when you can be charging around Northrend getting around 4-5g and 20,000xp or so per quest. I think there might be a place for Dailies, but I'm a voracious content devourer, so you know where I'll be. 

We start this week off with a great post by Artega. In it he gives us some of the macros he uses in both PvE and PvP, and asks for others. It's already got some great ones in there, so head over, check it out, and add your own. 

Bornakk lets us know that Blizz is still working out the kinks in the "2 specs per toon" rumblings that have gone around recently. 

ExplorerPeppy gives us a look at the new Motorcycles in action. I don't know about this one, personally.  For some reason, I have no problems with the Steampunk nature of the dwarves and gnomes. But on the other hand, motorcycles just seem a bit...much? for me. Even as an Eng, I don't intend on making one (no, I don't have a helicopter, either) unless there is some other pressing reason.

Zach Yonzon takes a quick look at Runeforging, the new mechanic of Death Knights.

Space concerns are also being addressed in interesting manners. A Token Page was found in the Beta, which shows/holds all manner of things along the line of Badges of Justice.  

Additionally, Vanity Pets and Mounts will be turned into items that, when clicked, let you learn them as a "spell", so that they no longer take up any room in your inventory as well.  

Something else of note is that Blizzard is also addressing a rather interesting concern. Folks, when they are levelling, are used to looking like clowns due to mismatched, miscoloured armor.  That is being addressed, and some of the Green Items/Quest Rewards that have been found look amazing.

As well, there is extended maintenance this week, and my beta invite is still lost in the mail.  

Well, since the NDA has been lifted, WotLK info has been coming fast and furious. Tons of great stuff, so it's hard to keep up with it all. My beta invite seems to be delayed in the mail, so I'll have to make do watching other folks go at it

First off, the Official Talent Calculators are up and working. 

Pets have finally come into their own, with each Family Tree having it's own special skill. Snatch, Pin, and Nether Shock all seem like very interesting abilities. 

Blizzard has also announced it's Achievements system that will go live in WotLK. Some are looking at it as all the sudden having up to 500 or so "new mini quests" to do. It does look interesting, and reminds folks that Blizzard is/can tracking a LOT of info about your toon. 

One of the neat additions is that Gathering Professions will now have benefits. A nice little perk for being a gatherer. 

Finally, Nitefox spots some Custom Mounts that will be available in Northrend. I didn't know that they'd moved Orange County up there...