PrintWarcraft launched a few days ago, and millions of players tuned in to check it out overcrowding their servers with hundreds of thousands hits per sec. The administration noticed the heavy loads that rendered certain functions to lag or halt the order and payment of new customers. Thus they offer an apology and a special discount of 10% off your next poster purchase.

Dear Printwarcraft.com Member,

Due to the overwhelming response and heavy loads we experienced this week upon the official launch of Printwarcraft.com, many of our customers experienced performance issues with our site and were unable to complete orders or save their work. We'd like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and would like to compensate by offering a limited-time 10% discount off of your next poster purchase. In order to redeem this offer, please enter code tenpercent into the box marked "Enter special offer/discount codes here" during the check-out process any time before midnight Sunday, November 8th.

Be assured we are working diligently to resolve these performance issues and continue to provide the best customer experience possible for our members. We value your feedback and should you continue to experience difficulties using our site or have comments or suggestions on features you'd like to see on Printwarcraft.com in the future, please let us know by sending us an e-mail from our contacts page.

Best regards,
The Printwarcraft Team
Heroic Prints, LLC

Wildstorm has updated their blog The Bleed with a new sketch teaser by Mike Bowden, his last contribution to the World of Warcraft comic book's story arc which wraps up with issue # 25. Walter Simonson and Louise Simonson also depart as writers of the World of Warcraft comic book after a lengthy 25-issues run. They have done an amazing job.

The sketch shows the new Council of Tirisfal. Those who haven't been following up the comic book, I will identify them from left to right: Broll Bearmantle (night elf druid) , Jaina Proudmoore (human mage), High Priest Rohan (dwarf), Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem (tauren), Med'an (new Guardian - orc,draenei,human hybrid), Scryer Magistrix Dalynnia (blood elf), Rehgar Earthfury (orc shaman) and Vindicator Maraad (draenei paladin).

High Priestess Rohan is already in the game at the Hall of Mysteries in the Mystic Ward in Ironforge. Broll Bearmantle was introduced in Wrath of the Lich King and participates along with Valeera Sanguinar during the Battle for the Undercity event. Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem is been around since WoW shipped in the Elder Rise (Thunder Bluff). Vindicator Maraad (Garona's uncle) may be found aboard the Skybreaker gunship in Icecrown.

It's a topic building heat up lately in various forums among WoW players and other gamers. Is Blizzard's decision to introduce paid in-game pets a microtransaction? Is Blizzard evil or greedy for going this route?

There are many ways and angles to view at this new venue. And before I go into it, I have only played one MMO, and thus have no experience with Everquest or other similar MMOs, but I have read a lot of gaming news in the past eight years and have played WoW since beta 2004. Other studios that have decided to go the microtransaction route do sell in-game items for a real money value. The difference with Blizzard is that in-game pets do not offer any advantage to players either on PvE or PvP realms whatsoever. I wouldn't be surprised to see in-game Mounts at some point at their new WoW Pet Store.

Is there really a harm in selling these pets for real money? None at all. Upper Deck has been selling Trading Card Games based on World of Warcraft for years granting players a chance at randomly obtaining a card with a code that allows players to redeem an in-game pet.

Some people spend ridiculous amounts of money to collect WoW TCG cards in hopes to get ahold of a pet, a spectral tiger mount or the El Pollo Grande (The Big Chicken) mount. Or they spend over $200 on eBay to buy these cards.

How many people paid the $ 40 DirecTV's Blizzcon 2009 stream merely to get ahold of the Grunty the Marine Murloc pet? ohh ... but it is Blizzard, so they are evil and greedy for selling a in-game pet for $10.00.

Some fans might argue that they are already paying a monthly fee, and thus paying for the content. They do get a lot of content for the buck, with major content patches such as The Secrets of Ulduar, The Calling of the Crusade, and The Icecrown Citadel. There are plenty of mounts and even achievements to get 100 mounts. I already have 74 pets and 74 mounts (as you can see in the Mount 'O Mounts achievement and the Lil' Game Hunter achivement at the bottom of that page).

Is Blizzard forcing me to buy an extra pet? Certainly not. It is my choice to pass or to buy it. There is enough pets out there to complete the 75 pets achievement.

Another angle to consider -- and this doesn't mean that's the reason the Pet Store was launched -- is that Blizzard has had substantial losses in China in the June - September period due to the long approval process and power-struggle between GAPP (China's General Administration of Press and Publication) and the MOC (China's Ministry of Culture). I see the addition of the Pet Store as a means for fans to obtain these exclusive and rare pets for $10 versus spending $200+ in TCG cards -- some of the people that buys the TCG probably don't even play TCG at all, simply want the pet.

Over 20,000 players paid more or less a $1,000 dollars worth in Flight, Hotel accomodations, food and car rental simply to play Cataclysm, Starcraft II and to bring home the Grunty the Marine Murloc pet versus the $12-15 monthly subscription. But ... Blizzard is evil for charging $10?

Blizzard provided the new PTR raid schedule for this Friday and Saturday. US players will test Valithria Dreamwalker on Friday and the Gunship Battle on Saturday.

Europe is testing Lady Deathwhisper on Friday and Professor Putricide on Saturday. Don't forget checking out the official forums for the Feedback threads opened by the developers after the test. PTR has been updated today with a new build.

	Blizzard Quote:
	We are scheduling raid tests in Icecrown Citadel for November 6-7. The schedule is as follows: US Servers Friday, November 6 at 7PM EST / 4 PM PST – Valithria Dreamwalker Saturday, November 7 at 4PM EST / 1PM PST – Icecrown Gunship Battle EU Servers Friday, November 6 at 19:30 CET – Lady Deathwhisper Saturday, November 7 at 19:30 CET – Professor Putricide Only normal difficulties will be tested, although 10 and 25 player raids will be available. The Icecrown Citadel raid test schedule will be very flexible, and can change at a moment's notice due to build status, bugs, and server issues. Remember that this is the test server, so things can, do, and will break from time to time. Check this forum for the latest Icecrown Citadel raid testing schedule information in the weeks to come.

Mike Morhaime was asked a question last night during the Activision Blizzard Conference call regarding the unannounced MMO project we know Blizzard are working on. His answer was an interesting one. In response to the question asking about the ‘new IP’  he said that the unannounced MMO was not a “direct” sequel to World of Warcraft. This answer sends slightly mixed messages as it is being touted as a new IP, or perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue by Mike. However, it crossed our minds that maybe Blizzard will do what has been done with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and go back in time with the Warcraft lore to create an all-new game. An interesting thought.

Thanks IncGamers.

During Activision’s quarterly conference call last night, Mike Morhaime discussed various bits and pieces of Blizzard news. During his update he confirmed that v3.3 will be going live in the “coming weeks” but did not offer up a definitive date.

Thanks IncGamers.

Walter Simonson and Louise Simonson continue to awe fans of the World of Warcraft comics book. The conclusion of the current story arc is nigh, but every single issue comes packed with hints and info about things to come. Things that will tie-in with the upcoming Cataclysm.

The Twilight's Hammer and its leader Cho'gall await an event that will weaken the barrier between the Elemental Plane and Azeroth. Event that will trigger the upcoming Cataclysm. An event planned to herald shortly after the release of the Old gods from their prison.

Hints from the World of Warcraft comic book (SPOILER):

"When the child of three realms becomes as Light, the ancient power will be released. The earth will tremble, the seas will rise up in answer, and all will be madness. A new day will dawn, bringing with it chaos or peace...

... our master is a god of chaos! Pandemonium will aid the old one's release! To this end, we will weaken the barrier ... between Azeroth and the Elemental Plane.

This will allow our great master to reclaim its former Elemental servants ... and send them to rampage throughout our world.

The Magi of Theramore will know their source and will send the boy here to stop me. Then I -- Cho'gall -- will slaughter him, and the power released by his death will open the way for our master's return!" -- source: World of Warcraft # 23 (Nov 2009)

The child of three realms is Med'an -- son of Garona and Medivh, who is part draenei, orc and human. Med'an has learned to wield shaman, arcane and Light magic, and just got infused in World of Warcraft # 24 by some of the power of the Guardian. Medivh left behind with his echo in Karazhan a message and the power. The power of the Guardian was locked in the Chess event hall.

The chess event was merely an illusion to hide the power ... awaiting the time when Med'an arrived to Karazhan. The Echo of Medivh dissolved the Chess event illusion and infused the power of the Guardian into Med'an. On top of that, the new Council of Tirisfal commenced the ritual of the Guardian to gift Med'an as the new Guardian. In ancient times, the power came from arcane mages to infuse a Guardian to protect Azeroth from demons. This new Council of Tirisfal has united to empower a new Guardian with shaman, druid, paladin, priest and mage magics as a champion of Light to defend Azeroth from the Old gods.

The problem is that the prophecy Cho'gall wishes to fulfill is that once Med'an becomes Light ... through his death ... the powerful magic unleashed will be the key to open the prisons of the Old gods.

From that excerpt above it is clear the comic book and the MMORPG are about to merge and collapse into a single and cohesive common event ... World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

The Elemental Plane will merge with Azeroth. The Firelands are now in Mount Hyjal where Ragnaros advances to burn the healed World Tree Nordrassil. In the depths of the Great Sea, the Abyssal Maw has merged into Azeroth. Neptulon the Tidehunter awaits you. West of the Burning Steppes, Deephome has warped-in into Azeroth where Deathwing has emerged causing the Cataclysm affecting the entire world.

Cho'gall said in the comic book that the Twilight's Hammer will weaken the barrier between Azeroth and the Elemental Plane. From Blizzcon, Blizzard revealed the Twilight Highlands as one of the new regions accessible in the next expansion (formerly the region known as Grim Batol, east of Wetlands and Loch Modan).



There is no doubt there is a connection between the Twilight's Hammer operating there and Deathwing. The master of Cho'gall is the Old god C'Thun -- huh? yea, I know. We killed C'Thun ... at least, his physical form, but he is still around whispering and giving orders to his servant Cho'gall.

Is Deathwing serving the Old gods again? Has their whisperings driven him to the edge of insanity to the point he is willingly become their puppet, or is he accidentally served their purposes unbeknownst to himself?

Otherwise, why is the Twilight's Hammer working with him? Well, it is not certain what the connection between those three is, but it serves the Twilight's purpose to help Deathwing even if he didn't know he is indirectly or directly serving the Old gods with the Cataclysm.

Remember Ulduar? Isn't it curious how we don't really kill any of the Keepers of Ulduar? Hodir, Thorim, Freya, Mimiron ... none of those died. As soon as we beat them down to around 1% they came to their senses and overrode Yogg-Saron's control over them.

If Deathwing emerged from Deephome in rage and insanity due to the whisperings of the Old gods, will he find a moment of clarity too when players beat him to a pulp down to 20% health? Will Deathwing momentarily revert his consciousness to that of Neltharion -- his former-self -- and grant players the means to defeat the Old gods as a last minute redemption act?

We will find out soon enough when we get to play through all those epic-quests in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Those who haven't subscribed to the comic book should do so. This awesome story arc is about to conclude, so pick up World of Warcraft # 24 (on sale) and the upcoming issue# 25 (on sale November 18).

On December 9, Wildstorm is launching World of Warcraft Special # 1 followed by World of Warcraft: Alliance # 26 and World of Warcraft: Horde # 1 on January 6, 2010.

It's no secret the World of Warcraft developers needed to recreate Azeroth from scratch in order to allow players to use flying mounts to move around freely. The world was formerly created with geometric illusions rather than solid-to-the-eye objects.

For example, when Shamans use their ability to see over Stormwind or Orgrimmar they will see a series of see-through shapes instead of a solid wall and ceilings. In addition, before hills were fixed to prevent players from walking along walls, you could reach areas impossible to reach to explore the top of the montains along the eastern Loch Modan, Badlands and Burning Steppes.

Those areas are long expanses of land with no props, or anything. They have strange patterns instead of texture. Certainly not something someone flying with their mount would like to see.

Thus some brilliant minds came to the conclusion of revamping Azeroth in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm with a twist. Now not only can players be able to fly in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, but doing a revamp of the terrain and buildings also allow to integrate phasing technology where probably it wasn't possible before.

I have been completing several old-world quests I didn't get to finish on my lvl 80 Blood Elf character to get the Loremaster Achievement, and this has given me a chance to remember this old quests I played before Burning Crusade (and the Blood Elves) were introduced. I used to have a Undead Priest from 2004-2006 earlier.

In Brackenwall Village, located in Dustwallow Marsh, we learn that after Rexxar defeated the Ogre Leader in Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, he departed and left Overlord Mok'Morokk to lead the Stonemaul Ogres in his absence.

The Stonemaul were attacked by Onyxia's brood killing any ogre that didn't flee. Sometime after the Burning Crusade expansion, Blizzard introduced Mudsprocket Village with new quests. There we learn from Brogg (a Stonemaul ogre survivor) that he expected Overlord Mok'Morokk to rally the surviving ogres to take revenge on Onyxia's brood, but he cowardly didn't do so.

Another ogre named Draz'zlib (curiously Blizzard in reverse) asked you to duel Overlord Mok'Morokk to force him to leave Brackenwall Village, thus allowing the ogres to choose a new leader.

After you defeat him, he flees like a coward, and Draz'zlib thanks you. Except ... a minute later before you leave the premises Overlord Mok'Morokk is again standing there as leader of the Stonemaul ogres.

Phase technology didn't exist in its current state back then when this quest was designed. In modern days, Blizzard would use phase technology to switch Overlord Mok'Morokk off so that you no longer see him standing there after that quest.

The question to wonder is if Blizzard will revise all of their quests in each region to update them. For example, Brogg sent you to avenge his people by slaying the black dragonkin and to place the Stonemaul banner in front of Onyxia's lair as a challenge. Later on you get to slay Onyxia on another questline. Brogg wanted to reclaim Stonemaul.

Will World of Warcraft: Cataclysm have Stonemaul restored to an Ogre village with new lvl 80 quest hubs? Will Rexxar retake his role as new leader of the Stonemaul, or will he stay in Blade's Edge Mountain? That's an interesting thought, as much as it is whether level 30-50 players can still see the old content. We have already heard that the old world will kinda be gone forever, replaced by the lava-ish and scarred land post-Deathwing's awakening from Deepholm.

I do not understand much why the old world needs to be scrapped when phase technology could make it so that the lower quests remain there while in another phase lvl 80s roam the areas with new lvl 80 quests and mobs. Probaby it is a manpower and time-consuming aspect being considered in that decision, but all of you know that's what would be much welcome. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to do all our lvl 1-79 quests normally with the land torn asunder by Deathwing's awakening ... when that happens years after. It becomes a timeline mess ... what came first ... the chicken or the egg?

Upper Deck Prepares to Host WOW TCG and Miniatures Realm Championships Nov. 14 - 15. More than $500,000 in prizes will be awarded to top players across 21 Realms worldwide!

Carlsbad, CA (Nov. , 2009) — The Upper Deck Company is proud to announce that its 2009 Season 4 World of Warcraft Realm Championships will be taking place this month at a Realm near you. On November 14 - 15, World of Warcraft Trading Card Game players from around the globe will gather at one of 21 different Realms to compete for fame and prizes totaling more than $24,000 per venue.

Parts of North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceana have been divided and transformed into the realms of Azeroth, the world within Warcraft. TCG players from across each locale have battled in Realm Qualifiers throughout the season, earning points toward their slot at the upcoming Realm Championships and vying for the Realm Conqueror title. Those who reached 10 points for the season qualified for the Season 4 Championships, where Upper Deck will be giving away more than $8,000 in prizes per realm! Notable cities that will be hosting competitions include San Diego , Philadelphia , Helsinki , Manchester (England), Singapore and Melbourne.

Each venue’s champion will walk away with a $2,500 travel voucher, four exclusive Vol’jin Extended Art promo cards, a Spectral Tiger Loot card and an impressive World of Warcraft trophy! This is in addition to the wildly popular class deck boxes and commemorative Realm Championship pins going out to the Top 32 players. Runners-up at each of the venues can win Playstation 3s, various iPods, and other great prizes! This is your chance to take home the coveted Spectral Tiger Loot card, which can be cashed in for the ghostly MMO mount.

World of Warcraft Miniatures Realm Championship will run simultaneously with the TCG Championship, with the Realm Champion winning a one-of-a-kind "First Shot" mini! These “First Shots” are the first production minis to be printed in the world, and each Realm Champion will win this unique prize. They will also win a $2,500 travel voucher, Spectral Tiger Loot card and stunning trophy. Runners-up can earn loot cards, the Death Watcher promo figure and commemorative Realm Championship pins.

World of Warcraft TCG Realm Championships is an invitation-only tournament for those players who qualified during Season 4 through Realm Qualifiers in their Realm.

"The Realm Championships represent months of hard work by our tournament players. They spend their weekends competing in Realm Qualifiers in attempts to accumulate enough points to qualify for this event," said Mike Girard, Organized Play Programs Manager at Upper Deck. "The winner gets the prestigious Realm Champion title and can then compete in tournaments across the world as we pick up the tab on their next big trip."

If you weren’t able to earn enough Realm Points or didn’t get a chance to attend a Realm Qualifier, have no fear—the Realm Open is your chance to take home electronics and an El Pollo Grande Loot card, which gives an online character the Magic Rooster mount. Each Realm Championship weekend will also hold a Realm Open that is open to any player not already qualified for the main event. The best part is you can leave your Constructed deck at home. This will be your last chance to play the Limited format with packs from Drums of War, Blood of Gladiators and Fields of Honor. The best part is that
these packs are provided for you on site! The Realm Open winner will win an El Pollo Grande Loot card, iPod Touch, four Anduin Wrynn Extended Art promo cards and free entry to any Realm Qualifier in Season 5! Don’t stay home while your qualified friends travel to the Realm Championship weekend—go with them and take home valuable electronic prizes and Loot cards!

Be the envy of all of your MMO friends and compete to take home a Spectral Tiger or El Pollo Grande Loot card. For more information on these events and prizes, please visit Upper Deck’s Organized Play page at http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/wow/en/OP/default.aspx.

The WoW Team has put together more details about the Icecrown Raid Difficulty Functionality, and in addition inform players the possibility to play a PUG with a developer team member on the PTR. Ain't that cool? You can interact with the developers and submit live feedback.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Icecrown Raid Difficulty Functionality In the upcoming patch we are adding a new feature to the Icecrown raid instance that allows the raid leader to change the instance's difficulty setting on a boss per boss basis. The way the raid leader chooses to switch is the same as now, by right-clicking on the character portrait. The difficulty settings can be changed from inside Icecrown Citadel, with some restrictions. For example, you cannot change the difficulty in combat or during certain events specified by our design team. To enable the ability to change the raid difficulty to heroic, you must first defeat the Lich King on normal mode, as doing so unlocks the heroic version of this raid instance. There is no heroic version of trash; meaning changing the difficulty will only affect boss difficulty. We chose this particular functionality because we didn't want to use the Trial of the Crusader method, and have four versions on a raid of this size. We felt the Ulduar method of having to know a certain trick to do on the boss was difficult to communicate and tied too heavily to achievements. We might eventually convert Trial of the Crusader over to this new system but Ulduar and Naxxramas will likely never change. Also occuring today, we are asking players to join us on the PTR to test the new dungeon system. PUG with the Blues Come join the fun on the PTR and instead of getting the PUG blues, you could end up grouped with a blue. Members of the Development Team (including the encounter designers themselves) and the Community Team will be on the PTR to test out the new dungeon system and want you to come join in the fun. Join us tomorrow, November 4 beginning at 4 PM PST. For a chance to group with us, be sure to use the Dungeon system and choose the "Random Heroic" option.

Blizzard has launched the all-new Pet Store for World of Warcraft where players may purchase exclusive in-game pets. The first to join the list of pets are the Pandaren Monk Charity Pet and the Lil' K.T., the Littlest Lich. Each pet for only $ 10.00. Let us know your opinion.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Today we’re pleased to introduce the Pet Store for World of Warcraft, a new way for players to obtain in-game pets to join them on their adventures in Azeroth. Two brand-new companions are now available for purchase exclusively at the Pet Store in the online Blizzard Store: Lil’ K.T. and the Pandaren Monk. Make a Difference: Pandaren Monk Charity Pet Enter the Pandaren Monk ) a martial-arts expert who’s here to help celebrate the upcoming fifth anniversary of World of Warcraft. He may be cute, but he’s proof that even the softest of critters can overcome the hardest of circumstances. For every Pandaren Monk that finds its way to a player’s side between now and the end of the year (December 31, 2009 at 11:59 PDT), we’ll donate 50 percent of the $10 purchasing price to the Make-a-Wish Foundation in an effort to brew up a little hope, strength, and joy in a child’s life. Lil’ K.T., the Littlest Lich Lil’ K.T. is a miniature lich who bears a striking resemblance to the legendary lord of Naxxramas, Kel’Thuzad. But don’t let his diminutive stature fool you: Lil’ K.T. has a diabolical laugh and wields true power at his bony fingertips, randomly wreaking icy havoc on critters who dare to cross his path. You can now buy this new pet for $10 on the Blizzard Store In order to receive a purchased pet, you’ll need to merge your World of Warcraft account with a Battle.net account. For more information on Battle.net, please visit the FAQ. For more information on the new Pet Store, visit the Pet Store FAQ

Richard A. Knaak has a book signing tour throughout various bookstores within Texas to promote his LEGENDS OF DRAGONREALM, and as usual welcomes Warcraft and Diablo fans to come by to say hello and to get their Blizzard novels signed. On another note, Richard has made an awesome announcement that his upcoming novel World of Warcraft: Stormrage, which no doubt touches upon pre-Cataclysm lore, has been deemed worth to go HARDCOVER (US $ 25.00) following on the steps of World of Warcraft: Arthas, Rise of the Lich King which hit the New York Times Best Selling list twice last May.

Double the excitement! No one should miss WORLD OF WARCRAFT: STORMRAGE, which marks the return of Malfurion, what he's been doing in the Emerald Dream, and much more. I interviewed Richard A. Knaak at the Anaheim Convention Center this past August during BlizzCon 2009 -- watch the video interview to find out more about this novel.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: STORMRAGE contains 432 pages (HARDCOVER) and ships on February 23, 2010. You can pre-order it and read an excerpt here.

A quick note this time, due to the imminent dates involved:

LEGENDS OF THE DRAGONREALM ALREADY IN ITS 3RD PRINTING!

At the end of its first month in print, the omnibus reached its 3rd printing. It continues to do strong in stores. Thanks to all those who have picked it up!
___________________

I'll be signing in 4 locations in Texas. They are:

November 12 7PM
DALLAS - BORDERS
5500 Greenville Ave
Dallas, TX 75206

Phone: (214) 739-1166

November 13 7PM
SOUTHLAKE - BARNES & NOBLE
Southlake Town Square
1430 Plaza Place,
Southlake, TX 76092

Phone: (817) 442-0207

November 14 2:30 PM
AUSTIN - BORDERS
4477 S. Lamar street, DALLAS, TX

Phone: (512) 891-8974

November 15 2PM
SAN ANTONIO - BORDERS
Ste 350
255 E Basse Rd,
San Antonio, TX 78209

Phone: (210) 828-9496

I'll be signing for LEGENDS OF THE DRAGONREALM, but also Dragonlance, WarCraft, Diablo, etc.!

Hope you can come! If you can't and would like to order an autographed copy, they are $21 in the US. Other countries, please email.

___________________________

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: STORMRAGE TO BE HARDCOVER!

On the strength of preorders, Pocket Books and Blizzard have decided to release STORMRAGE as a hardcover marked at $25. This epic is the largest single volume story I've written and leads into events coming up in the game!

That's all for now!

Thanks for reading!

Richard A. Knaak

PTR 3.3 got a new build update with a few extra class changes and no dungeon content -- at least none reported yet. This build seems to focus more on class balance and PvP testing, thus all PTR players should focus on testing Wintergrasp, Battleground and Arenas to provide feedback on how their class is performing with these specific changes. On another note, the WoW team finally reduced the requirements of Meeting Stones all the way down to lvl 15, which means lvl 70-80 are now able to use them anywhere.

Arena:

• All abilities that have base cooldowns of 10 minutes or longer cannot be used in Arenas, down from 15 minutes.

Death Knight

• Night of the Dead (Unholy): Now reduces the damage your pet takes from area-of-effect damage by 45/90%, but no longer applies to area-of-effect damage caused by other players. In addition, this talent now reduces the cooldown of Army of the Dead by 2/4 minutes, down from 5/10 minutes.
  
  
• Army of the Dead: The cooldown on this ability has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Army Ghoul damage dropped by 50%. Cannot be used in Arenas.
  
  
• Raise Ally: The cooldown on this ability has been reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.
  
  
• Rune Strike: Threat generated by this ability increased by approximately 17%.

Priest

• Divine Hymn: The cooldown on this spell has been reduced to 8 minutes, down from 10 minutes.

Rogue (Subtlety)

• Preparation: The cooldown on this ability has been reduced to 8 minutes, down from 10 minutes.
  
  
• Filthy Tricks: The cooldown reduction this talent provides for Preparation has been reduced to 1.5/3 minutes, down from 2.5/5 minutes.

Mages (Frost)

• Fingers of Frost: This talent now triggers immediately on casting a spell rather than being delayed until the spell strikes the target.

Paladin

• Divine Intervention: Cooldown on this ability has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.
  
  
• Flash of Light: This spell no longer causes a heal-over-time effect unless the player has the Infusion of Light talent.
  
  
• Lay on Hands: This ability now places Forbearance on the target and cannot be used on a target with Forbearance.

Sacred Shield: Changes made in the previous PTR build was removed. Sacred Shield is now reverted to its former state.

Infusion of Light (Holy): This talent now causes the paladin’s Flash of Light spells to heal the target for 50/100% of the Flash of Light healing amount over 12 seconds.

Aura Mastery: This effect of this talent has been reduced in duration to 6 seconds.

Shaman

• Earth Elemental Totem: The cooldown for this totem has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.
  
  
• Fire Elemental Totem: The cooldown for this totem has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Warlock

• Inferno (Pets): The cooldown on this summoning spell has been reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

General

• Meeting Stones: To use any Meeting Stone, it is only required that the character’s minimum level be 15. There is no maximum character level requirement for any Meeting Stone.

Battlegrounds

• All level 71-80 Battleground daily quests will now award 25 Arena points in addition to their current rewards.

Wintergrasp

You must now have the following ranks to build or pilot siege vehicles.


• Rank 2: Build/pilot Catapults.
  
• Rank 3: Build/pilot Demolishers.
  
• Rank 3: Build/pilot Siege Engines.

User Interface

• Group Disenchanting Option: In addition to rolling Need or Greed on items, players now have the option to elect for an item to be disenchanted if an enchanter of the appropriate skill level is in the group. Disenchant works exactly like Greed except if a player wins the Greed roll, they will receive the disenchanted materials instead. Players who choose Need will always win the item and will always beat those that choose Greed or Disenchant.

Blizzard has announced the website launch of a new World of Warcraft merchandise partner, PrintWarcraft, which offers the service of printing posters based on custom posters of your in-game character. The amount of templates available to choose from is simply staggering with 79 pages worth of poster options.

First create an account and check your email for confirmation. Then you can type in your character name and server. A few seconds later, you will see your character image wearing all the current gear. It pulls data from the WoWarmory.com website the same way FigurePrints does. Click the add button, and select the icon on the center of the page, under "My Characters. On the right column you will see your character again and beneath are options such as Create, Remove from Account, Create a New Snapshot, View Character Album, and Set as Default Character.

Posters come in the following sizes and prices:

• 12x18 - $ 17.99
  
• 24x26 - $ 24.99
  
• 27x40 - $29.99
  
• 40x27 - $ 29.99
  
• 36x24 - $24.99
  
• 18x12 - $17.99

Heroic Prints and Blizzard Entertainment have joined forces to bring you the opportunity to create customized World of Warcraft posters featuring the character you play. PrintWarcraft.com uses specially designed rendering technology and access to character information, along with a variety of backgrounds, logos, borders, and fonts, to create the ultimate custom poster. Head over and check out all the options today.

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A new episode of the IncGamers Podcast is online ready for listening. Enjoy the usual lively banter between the guys as they discuss the week's news including Modern Warfare 2 leaked video, Amazon pulling MW2 reviews, MW2 third person mode, news on the Splinter Cell Conviction sequel, Molyneux's picks for most revolutionary games in the past 20 years, Star Wars: The Old Republic and more. The team also discuss the games they have been playing including Torchlight, RaceOn, Left 4 Dead 2 and Champions Online. Oh! And don't forget the "Special Needs Post of the Week" and the "Bullshit Story of the Week". Not to be missed! Listen here! Note: If you're easily offended it's probably not for you.

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China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) posted on its official website the World of Warcraft (Shangai) application has been canceled and expects EaseNet to halt the creation of new WoW accounts and the monetizing the service. In a worst case scenario I guess they might have to operate free of charge, but it is uncertain what's happening next.

It seems the rejection of Burning Crusade is in response to the violation of GAPP's terms which specified EaseNet was forbidden to charge players without authorization and accepted registration of new users since September 19th without GAPP's permission. Only previously registered players should have been participants of the Burning Crusade beta and post-beta. GAPP is studying whether to impose penalties for this violation. For now the application has been returned. NetEase informed it has not been reached yet by GAPP to inform their decision. The next chapter in this soap opera is likely happening in upcoming days.

NetEase.com Announcement Regarding Statement by the General Administration of Press and Publication With Respect to World of Warcraft(R)

BEIJING, Nov. 2 -- NetEase.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES), one of China's leading Internet and online game services providers, today announced that the General Administration of Press and Publication ("GAPP") of the PRC government has posted on its official website a statement that the current operation of the World of Warcraft(R) in China by NetEase's affiliated company, Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology Limited ("Shanghai EaseNet"), is being conducted without proper approval from GAPP. The statement further indicates that GAPP is returning Shanghai EaseNet's application for approval and Shanghai EaseNet should suspend charging users to play the game and not allow new account registrations. GAPP also notes in its statement that it is evaluating whether to impose administrative penalties on Shanghai EaseNet. As of the time of this press release, neither NetEase nor Shanghai EaseNet has been officially notified of GAPP's determination. Shanghai EaseNet licenses World of Warcraft(R), a massively multi-player online role-playing game, for operation in China from Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

NetEase and Shanghai EaseNet believe that they are in full compliance with applicable PRC laws and are currently seeking clarification from the relevant governmental authorities regarding this statement by GAPP. NetEase will provide further updates on the statement by GAPP as appropriate.

Ensidia have recently taken the World First A Tribute to Immortality which means complete 25 player Trial of the Crusader with all 50 attempts remaining and no raid members dying during any boss encounter.



They also picked themselves up a nice Crusader's Black Warhorse along with the achievement as shown in the screenshot above.

Gratz to Ensidia on this great achievement

Blizzard introduced a new world event achievement named Day of the Dead, which runs through November 1-2. It isn't part of the world event meta-achievement, so don't worry ... you can still get your Violet Proto-drake without completing this achievement.

To get started go to the graveyard of Orgrimmar, Undercity, or Thunderbluff (Horde). Alliance can go to the Stormwind, Ironforge or Darnassus graveyard. There you will find two NPCs: Catrina and Chapman. Talk to Catrina, and type /dance. That's the achievement. Not too hard. If you have Wrath of the Lich King installed you can go to the Dalaran graveyard, next to the Violet Citadel and the Underbelly sewer entrance. Catrina and Chapman are there too.



Grab the Bread of the Dead recipe from Chapman and learn it. Requires Cooking. If you don't have cooking profession, go to your cooking trainer. You don't need to level up cooking to be able to cook Bread of the Dead. It only requires a Simple Flour and a Ice Cold Milk.

Go to Orgrimmar/Undercity or Ironforge/Stormwind and buy the Ice Cold Milk from the Innkeeper. The Simple Flour is sold by Trade Vendors and Cooking Supplies Vendor.

Important: Don't cook the Bread of the Dead in other cities. It's not certain if it is a bug, but if you hearthstone to Dalaran or travel via Boat or Zeppelin from Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor to Northrend, the Bread of Dead will disappear from your inventory. Just keep the ingredients with you. Go to Dalaran's graveyard by the Violet Citadel and stand by the Ghostly Cooking Fire located next to Catrina.

Click on the Bouquet of Orange Marigolds (hold in off-hand) or eat an Orange Marigold. Both are sold by Chapman (Day of the Dead Vendor). This will allow you to see the ghosts and spirits dancing on the graveyard. There you will see Cheerful Dalaran Spirit.



He will give you the quest titled: The Grateful Dead which asks you to cook a Bread of Dead and to give it to him. You need to cook it right there in Dalaran and turn in the quest. He will reward you with a Macabre Marionette. It is a tiny skeleton holding the classic maracas (percusion instrument) and wearing the typical Mexican hat. More details of Day of the Dead available at the official website here.

Pop Culture Reference
In real life, the Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead, a tradition which is celebrated from November 1-2. Mexican families gather to celebrate and to honor their dead family members, or friends. They cook Bread and candy in shape of skulls, and other ornamental food. Prepare a altar or table full of all kind of food crafted to be placed by the tomb of their deceased ancestors. The tradition has been cross-referenced with ancient Mayan and other Mexican native indian festivities which they used to dedicate to the goddess Mictecacihuatl -- known as the "Lady of the Dead" -- also known as The Catrina.

Blizzard posted the lore behind the epic-blade Quel'Delar who many class players may be able to acquire through a long quest-line involving Krasus, Kalecgos, and other important characters. The questline is already in the PTR servers. The item that starts this quest is temporarily available from the glyph vendors in Dalaran.

Quel'Delar: The Sister Blade

In ages past the great Dragon Aspects worked alongside the night elves to forge powerful prismatic blades that could be used to thwart any evil that came into the world. They would become known as the blades of Quel'Serrar. One of these blades, which had become lost in time, was recently unearthed again by brave heroes of Azeroth. Now rediscovered, Quel'Serrar is revered once more as a mighty tool of raw power.

Its sister blade, however, has not been seen for many years...

The sword known as Quel'Delar was held by the group of kaldorei who would eventually become the high elves, and it was handed down from generation to generation. Most recently Quel'Delar was wielded by the valiant high elven warrior Thalorien Dawnseeker. Thalorien fought tirelessly in the Troll Wars to defend his beloved home of Silvermoon, the Sunwell, and all of Quel'Thalas. When the Scourge swept through the lands during the Third War, Thalorien was among the last lines of defense for the Sunwell. Despite the sword's power, he was ultimately slain by the overwhelming might of Arthas and his legendary runeblade, Frostmourne. Quel'Delar was thought to be lost forever.

Following the destruction of their homeland, the determined blood elves began to regroup and rebuild. It was during this time that the battle-hardened warrior Lana'thel stumbled upon Quel'Delar, and soon afterward the greatest opportunity to use the blade presented itself: Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider raised an army and combined forces with Illidan Stormrage, who led them north to Icecrown on a mission to destroy the Lich King. Lana'thel readily followed her prince with one thought in mind -- revenge against the Scourge -- but only tragedy awaited her.

In the icy hills of Northrend, Arthas ultimately defeated Illidan and Kael'thas, and the expedition's few survivors were scattered across the frozen wastes. One by one the Lich King sought out those who had challenged him, and Lana'thel found herself cornered. Using Quel'Delar, she struck at him with all her might... but Frostmourne's evil powers overwhelmed her. Through his blade, the Lich King chose Lana'thel to serve him in undeath as queen of the San'layn, a group responsible for overseeing the Scourge's operations across Azeroth.

Queen Lana'thel eagerly carried out her new duties, but every time she looked at her blade, maddening anger would swell within her as she remembered her former life. She could not afford such distractions, and with a scream that echoed throughout Icecrown, she shattered Quel'Delar and flung the fractured pieces as far as she could.

Now...

The champions of the Alliance and the Horde who confront the Lich King's armies have but a slim chance of finding the pieces of this fabled blade. If they succeed, the heroes can embark on an epic adventure to re-forge Quel'Delar. They will require the strongest materials and a source of great power to make this shattered blade into the fearsome weapon it once was. Several classes can use Quel'Delar, and the sword can fit several different play styles. For any class that is unable to wield it, however, the Sunreaver blood elves and the Silver Covenant high elves will gladly take this relic of their history in exchange for a usable weapon.

The search begins soon...

The Sindragosa event is surely one of the hardest events in Icecrown Citadel with her large set of abilities in her arsenal. First, there are two pulls of trash mobs that can be individually engaged. Each group of trash mobs is composed of one Frostwarden Handler (Vrykul) and twelve Frostwing Whelps. The whelps cast frostbolts, and the handler can hunter-mark a player ordering the whelps to attack that target. It's a good idea to pull a group of trash mobs upstairs to avoid aggro on the second group.

Once these two groups of trash mobs are dealt with, the two Frostwyrms: Rimefang and Spinestalker will descend to the platform. Both can be engaged separately, no worries. You can fight one, then the other afterward. However, it is very recommended to fight Rimefang first. This is because Spinestalker has a fear ability that could send a ranged player straight into Rimefang, aggroing it into the fight.

Rimefang will cleave, ice breath, and tail sweep while on the ground. When he goes airborne he will cast three blue runes on the ground indicating that's where he will cast Icy Blast leaving patches of ice on the ground that slow down movement and cause damage over time while standing on them. Spinestalker is cake. He cleaves, ice breaths, tail sweeps, and fears without further damage to raid players other than that. Once he dies, Sindragosa will spawn in the air and engage players below. Run all the way upstairs. You will have a very small window of time after Spinestalker dies to run upstairs to drink/eat before Sindragosa lands (roughly 15 seconds).

Spell & Abilities for each of them and videos after the break.