Rumors that patch 3.3 would come out on November 25 are squashed by Zarhym, and the fact that Daelo has posted a new PTR raiding schedule announcing the availability of Heroic Difficulty in Icecrown Citadel. We have several weeks of testing left ahead.

	Blizzard Quote:
	We are scheduling a raid test for Valithria Dreamwalker in Icecrown Citadel for November 24, since we had some server problems last week when trying to test this encounter. The schedule is as follows: US Servers Tuesday, November 24 at 7PM EST / 4 PM PST – Valithria Dreamwalker Heroic difficulties will be available for testing. 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.

Something special is happening on November 25, this Wednesday. It's a complete mystery. Blizzard has posted an enigmatic image in their @Warcraft Twitter with the text: "It's Coming."

This is going to stir some speculations. Is Patch 3.3 going to hit live realms? It's a possibility, but shouldn't it be released on a Tuesday, rather than a Wednesday? On the other hand, it could be some massive update on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Blizzard recently updated the Starcraft II website with massive juicy stuff. It might be the WoW Expansion's turn this time.

I'm a bit skeptical on either rumor. This image looks more like a piece of a photo than an artwork image. It could be a brand-new Sideshow Collectible diorama based on Wrath of the Lich King or Cataclysm. See the rotated version for a better angle here. What's your personal guess?

Some people don't really mind to play World Events and that's fine. Blizzard Entertainment adds many features and content to the MMO to satisfy different type of players: casuals, solo, raiding, pvp, etc.

How does Pilgrim's Bounty benefits someone that doesn't care about World Events, or achievements? Simple. You can level up any of your alternate characters up to 300 Cooking. Not only can you stock yourself with food and drinks with extra stats for your solo quests and daily quests, pvp or raiding, but could be a source of extra gold in the Auction House. Spend some time leveling up Cooking. It doesn't take long. Skip all the Pilgrim's Bounty quests if you wish.

Simply go to any major city. Locate the Pilgrim's Bounty Vendor and buy the Bountiful Cookbook. Open up your bags, and click the Bountiful Cookbook. Make sure to have at least 8-10 bag slots available.

The ingredients are basically free at merely 20 copper per stack of five. Most of the recipes require you to buy Honey or Autumnal Herbs. However, the main ingredient is sold by different NPCs.

ALLIANCE

Tangy Wetland Cranberries can be obtained from Elizabeth Barker Winslow outside the gates (Ironforge)

Ripe Elwynn Pumpkin can be obtained from Wilmina Holbeck outside the gates of Stormwind (Stormwind)

Teldrassil Sweet Potato can be obtained from Ikaneba Summerset at the Warrior's Terrace near the Ancient of War (Darnassus)

HORDE

Tangy Southfurry Cranberries can be obtained from Dalni Tallgrass (Orgrimmar)

Mulgore Sweet Potato can be obtained from Laha Farplain at the lift area (Thunder Bluff).

Ripe Tirisfal Pumpkin can be obtained from Rose Standish at the Ruins of Lordaeron's garden (Undercity)

The recipes can be seen after the break.

An interview on AusGamers talks to J Allen Brack about WoW and how far it has come in the five years since launch and how they approached the development of WoW. Snip:

"This year, I had another great experience like that, right after we launched Wrath of the Lich King, everyone levelled up, then they got geared up, then we started running Naxxramas, and one night, we just sort of jokingly said 'Hey, let's try to go for the Undying title', and that was an awesome experience, to get that... that was another huge kind of throw your hands up in the air and scream, high-fives all round type moment."

Were the old role play games ever that popular? I get an image of a group of people sitting in a darkened room, rolling their 20-sided dice and play-acting their characters as they venture through an imaginary world together. I know it went on, and still does in fact, but was it something that millions of people took part in on a daily basis? How, then, have MMORPGs become what they are today, and what will they become in the future?

Read on over on IncGamers.

Here's another Monday morning round-up of some WoW comics out there. Grab a coffee and enjoy

• Beyond the Tree
  
• Noobz
  
• Teh Gladiators
  
• NPC
  
• The Scout Report
  
• Looking For Group
  
• Daily Quests
  
• The Battlemasters
  
• The Adventures of Disgraph T. Dwarf
  
• Ding!

Remember, let us know if you have a WoW comic you'd like to share with the community.

Several exciting and noteworthy events occurred in the world of MMO gaming this week. Follow me, dear reader, through the week's big announcements, rumours and revelations which involve Age of Conan, The Secret World, World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Star Trek Online and Stargate Worlds.

Check out the full article over on IncGamers.

Its time for another WoW holiday and the Pilgrim’s Bounty to celebrate Thanksgiving is being launched tomorrow and runs until the 28th featuring, as you’d expect, much cooking and feasting related fun.

In other celebration news, WoW’s 5th Anniversary celebrations have begun in Europe with the delivery of the Onyxia Whelp pet in your mailbox. Note you may need to log back in to retrieve your Whelp

Blizzard has updated the Bosstiary: The Frozen Halls with lore about the bosses within the Icecrown Citadel's 5-players dungeons, and an interview with Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton and Lead Systems Designer Greg Street who explain the development of some raid dungeon encounters from concept to execution. The interview includes 13 new screenshots.

Bosstiary: The Frozen Halls Update

They say that knowledge can be a greater boon than even the most powerful spells, or armor, or weapons. The battles that lie ahead beyond the gates of Icecrown will test your mettle like none before, and you will need all the help you can get. So arm yourself with knowledge, and discover the truth about the dangers that await you within the Frozen Halls in our new Icecrown Dungeon Bosstiary.

The Heart and Souls of Icecrown Citadel

To shed some light into the chilly gloom of Icecrown Citadel, we sat down to talk about the decision-making process behind Wrath of the Lich King’s ultimate dungeon, the World of Warcraft team’s design philosophy, and the dangers that lurk in the heart of Arthas’s stronghold.

Check out the resulting interview to learn more.

A quick note to the commujity that the latest IncGamers Podcast is now online for your listening pleasure featuring all the top game news of the past week. It's great way to find out about what's happening in the world of videogames, MMOs and upcoming titles. Don't forget our regular features, the BS story of the week and the 'Special Needs Forum Post of the Week'. Listen to the podcast now and leave your comments and feedback.

WoW TCG players, set your timers because the countdown has begun for the World of Warcraft TCG: Scourgewar Sneak Preview Events at various locations around the world through November 20-21. The Scourgewar Expansion will be officially at stores on November 24. Check out at the bottom of this page your location to find out where these events take place at.

The prizes for the tournament winners are: Scourgewar Playmat, Series 2 Priest Class Deck Box, and a cool Kilix the Unraveler Extended Art Card.

Yesterday, a WoW Developers Panel was held at the IgroMir 2009 event in Russia. Those who missed the Blizzcon 2009 live stream back in August have now a briefing on the plans Blizzard has for PvP in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. More details of the Guild Advancement feature was discussed to give you an idea how guilds can strengthen their raiding experience together following common goals that benefit everyone. Check out the official IgroMir 2009 Coverage page over at Blizzard's website.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Developer panel. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm November 19 2009 Last week at the premier Russian games event IgroMir, J. Allen Brack, production director of World of Warcraft, presented the recently announced expansion for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm to the Russian audience. He spoke about three features that WoW players are especially looking forward to: rated battlegrounds, Tol Barad, and guild advancement. Rated Battlegrounds Battleground and Arena gameplay are different and currently completely separate. Some players enjoy battlegrounds more but they cannot gain Arena points in battlegrounds and thus they cannot receive Arena rewards. Rated battlegrounds will be an alternative way to get Arena points. Each week, there will be a featured battleground, helping concentrate queues and keeping the rated battleground experience exciting and different from week to week. If you win a game in a rated battleground you will gain rating, however your mileage may vary depending on the BG. Each victory in a rated BG will also give you Arena points. However, a loss will not affect your rating, nor your total number of Arena points. If you have Arena points, you should spend them on something epic! Among the possible rewards, the most exciting will be the return of the classic honor titles like Grand Marshal or Knight Lieutenant. Players will also be able to earn epic ground mounts and vanity items such as tabards and pets in addition to helping their guild acquire levels and achievements. Tol Barad Tol Barad is a brand new battleground which will have features similar to those found in both Wintergrasp and the Isle of Quel’Danas. When battle mode is active, the contest will be similar to WIntergrasp with PvP fights, vehicles and destructible buildings. When battles are not in progress, Tol Barad becomes a daily quest hub like the Isle of Quel’Danas. The faction that wins the battle in Tol Barad will not only get Tol Barad marks of honor, but also will get access to bonus daily quests and special bosses. Guild Advancement Guild advancement will be one of the biggest changes made to the World of Warcraft game system when Cataclysm arrives. Guilds will be able to level up and gain talent points, develop guild professions and gain achievements. Players earn guild experience in a variety of ways, for instance by gaining levels, reputation ranks, boss kills, rated battleground or Arena wins, or profession ranks. Each guild level grants a talent point that can be spent in a guild talent tree which works similarly to character or pet talent trees. Some of the options in this tree include repair cost reduction and increase in looted gold. Guild talents will affect all guild members. To give fair opportunities to both big and small guilds, only the top 20 earners per day in each guild will contribute to guild experience points. Guild experience will be converted into a special guild currency, which can be used to buy a variety of rewards such as profession plans, recipes and reagents; vanity items (mounts, tabards, etc.), and guild talent respecs. Guild heirlooms can be created with the help of professions and are bound to the guild, which means that if a player leaves a guild, the item will be returned to the guild. Guild items require less reagents, which can be bought with guild currency. Players will be able to earn achievements as a guild as well. To do so, at least 75% of guild members (for the moment) will need to complete an achievement to make it appear in the guild achievement tab. As players’ guilds complete achievements, players who are offline will be able to read the latest guild news through an RSS feed to the World of Warcraft Armory and get access to profession info and much more. Guild banks will receive a percentage of gold looted from a boss when guild members make boss kills. Also, it will be possible to invite other guilds to various events such as weekly battlegrounds.

The documentary entitled “World of Warcraft Stole My Life: Second Skin” will be showing for the first time on UK television next week. As we reported last year when Second Skin was first released, it's a documentary about gamers and the world of MMOs, primarily WoW.

“Second Skin takes an intimate look at computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging genre of Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs). World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Everquest allow millions of users to simultaneously interact in virtual spaces. Second Skin introduces us to couples who have fallen in love without meeting, disabled players who have found new purpose, addicts, Chinese gold-farming sweatshop workers, wealthy online entrepreneurs and legendary guild leaders - all living in a world that doesn’t quite exist.”

Current TV will be airing the programme on Monday 23 November at 10pm. See the trailer below.

Patch 3.3 is upon us and Blizzard prepares to enable the Blizzard downloader to spread files in the background. Make sure to enable background downloading using the Launcher.

	Blizzard Quote:
	The next major content patch is coming and in order to smooth the way, we will shortly enable background downloading of most of the data for this patch. Players who use the Launcher and have background downloading enabled will automatically start receiving the data. The download speed is overall faster than before, so you may want to adjust your background download settings. You can adjust these settings in the Launcher, by visiting the options page. If you want the fastest possible download, check the "Don't throttle background download" option. However, note that this choosing that option can affect the performance of other programs running at the same time.

Blizzard got a new preview available highlighting the legendary weapon Shadowmourne, and they got a crafty lore to kick. Learn the origins of Shadowmourne, and what it is made of. We may have been given hints on how to craft it, and when it's going to become available.

	Blizzard Quote:
	As the Lich King continues his dark work inside the halls of Icecrown Citadel, the warriors and smiths of the Ashen Verdict scramble to forge a weapon capable of defeating the Scourge. To aid the Verdict in its cause, you'll need to follow in Arthas's footsteps, gambling with your very soul to gather the materials that will create the legendary axe Shadowmourne. Find out more about the quest to build Shadowmourne, available in the upcoming Fall of the Lich King content update, in our new preview of the legendary weapon Shadowmourne.

Patch 3.3.0 is very near to release, but don't count on Ensidia and other top guilds rushing to kill Arthas the Lich King on the first week of patch release. Blizzard has just informed the access progression plan that separates each section of Icecrown Citadel. Basically the first section will be opened when patch 3.3.0 is installed up to the Saurfang encounter, but guilds won't be able to get past into the next section. The next section will be opened at a later time, and the same over and over for the next section up.

Further more, Heroic mode won't be unlocked until you defeat the Lich King. That means heroic mode won't be available for many months. All this separation of sections and making them available over a undetermined period of time in a sense will help guilds experience and savor each section, get to polish their skills, get to know the encounter enough to have it on farm-mode, and help you gear up your members in advance for when the next section becomes available.

Now if we extrapolate the sheer amount of weeks and months before all these sections become available and Heroic mode gets unlocked, we have a pretty picture of how far along is World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and it's not anywhere close.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Icecrown Citadel testing has been progressing very well over the last few weeks, and this has been a huge help to the encounter design team. We want to thank everyone who has logged onto the PTR and tried the encounters there. As we're now getting closer to the release of 3.3.0, we wanted to talk about our plans for access progression within Icecrown Citadel. Icecrown Citadel is going to be broken up into four distinct sections: The Lower Spire, Plagueworks, Crimson Hall, and Frostwing Halls. We plan on releasing these four sections of Icecrown Citadel over time and not all immediately when patch 3.3.0 goes live. At this point we can't give precise dates for these release dates as they are determined by when patch 3.3.0 goes live. Once dates are known with more certainty, I'll update the community so they can plan appropriately. The first section that opens will include the Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwhisper, Icecrown Gunship Battle, and Deathbringer Saurfang encounters. Progress beyond that point will be prevented for several weeks. Then the Plagueworks will open with Rotface, Festergut, and Professor Putricide becoming available. After another period of time, the Crimson Hall will open and you can then fight the Blood Princes and Blood-Queen Lana'thel. The final Frostwing Halls unlock then occurs after that, making Valithria Dreamwalker, Sindragosa, and the Lich King available. We believe a staggered release of the content will allow players to experience Icecrown Citadel at a sustainable, measured, and ultimately more enjoyable pace. There are other elements that gate access along the way. Players may not attempt any Heroic versions of 10 player encounters until they have defeated the Lich King in a 10 player raid. Similarly, players must defeat the Lich King in a 25 player raid before they can attempt a Heroic 25 player encounter. So players must master every normal difficulty encounter in Icecrown Citadel before attempting Heroic difficulty. The Lich King may not be attempted until Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, and Sindragosa are defeated. Furthermore, the Heroic difficulty of The Lich King encounter may not be attempted in any week unless the three aforementioned encounters have been defeated in Heroic difficulty that week. The Ashen Verdict provides reinforcements and material for players to assault Icecrown Citadel, but this support is not endless. Raids will have a limited number of attempts total each week to defeat the four most difficult encounters in Icecrown Citadel: Professor Putricide, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, Sindragosa, and the Lich King. As these boss encounters are unlocked, the number of attempts available per week will increase. The initial number of attempts provided for defeating Professor Putricide is only five. When Blood-Queen Lana'thel unlocks, the amount of total attempts remaining will increase to 10. Then when Sindragosa and the Lich King unlock, 15 total attempts will be available to defeat all four bosses. After a raid has exhausted their attempts for the week, the Ashen Verdict must withdraw their support and the four most difficult bosses all despawn and become unavailable for the week. The limited attempt system is a feature of both Normal and Heroic difficulty. There will be no explicit rewards for defeating the Lich King with a specific number of attempts remaining as there was with Trial of the Grand Crusader. There will also not be an achievement to complete Icecrown Citadel without being defeated by a boss encounter, or letting a raid member die. (i.e. A Tribute to Insanity). In the weeks and months after all twelve encounters are unlocked, additional attempts against the final four boss encounters become available. This represents the Ashen Verdict growing more powerful and gaining a stronger foothold in Icecrown Citadel. To further help raids, Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream will begin to provide assistance by inspiring the armies attacking Icecrown Citadel. This is represented as an additional zone wide spell effect applied to all players that will increase their hit points, damage dealt, and healing done. This effect will also increase in effectiveness over time. Players may opt out of the spell's effect if they so wish.

The developers invite you for the third round of PUG with the Blues on the PTR to test the dungeon tool. They will be playing both factions and await you this Wednesday. This allows you a unique opportunity to interact with the developers, offer feedback or suggestions.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Since our first two tests went so well, we’d like to invite everyone out again for round 3! 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), the QA team, 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. To have a chance to group up with one of us, just queue up for a random heroic through the Dungeon tool. We will be playing both Alliance and Horde and since the Dungeon tool allows players to group cross-server, it doesn’t matter which of the two PTR realms you join from. Join us Wednesday 11/18/09 at 4:00pm PST.

Introducing Revil Kost, a priest of the Holy Light! Karlain and Revil combine forces to defend Sentinel Hill from a Defias Brotherhood attack. What are the mysterious Dark Riders hunting for in Westfall?

On sale February 17
Wildstorm Comics
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by Mike Costa
Art and cover by Neil Googe

The orc known as Malgar recovers from his battle wounds and awakens in Orgrimmar – the city to which he swore he’d never return. Meanwhile, the undead warlock Felgrim is ordered to join the Horde militia, but first he embarks on his own sinister mission... a personal quest that promises only one reward: blood.

On sale February 3
Wildstorm Comics
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by DOUG WAGNER
Art and cover by POP MHAN

Blizzard Entertainment has announced the availability of the Mohawk Grenade, and to do so unveiled a new TV Commercial with Mr. T -- who curiously is wearing a J!NX Murloc Taco T-Shirt. Upper Deck and J!NX to lure people to World of Warcraft? A picture in my mind shows Paul Sams smiling with a shiny gold tooth. Now that's marketing strategy at its best.

	Blizzard Quote:
	"You gotta choice, Jack. You can watch Mr. T's new TV commercial…or you can HURT." Mr. T, outraged that any fools would doubt his hacking skills, has returned to World of Warcraft to show off his latest invention in a series of nationally televised ads. Watch them here first at World of Warcraft's YouTube channel or click to Learn more about the mohawk grenade and how you can claim your own in-game. What is the Mohawk Grenade? The Mohawk Grenade is Mr. T's latest invention: an in-game item that, when hurled at another character, gives everyone within the blast radius an instant T-riffic haircut. Don't worry, you and your friends will look gooooood. Where do I get it? Quit your jibber-jabber and claim your Mohawk Grenades from any of the Night Elf Mohawk NPCs camped outside every starting zone. What regions are eligible to claim the Mohawk Grenade? North America, Europe and Korea. Is this a permanent item? Each Mohawk Grenade has five charges before exhausting its power, and you're welcome to claim another once the charges are gone. How long will the Mohawk Grenade be available in-game? Claim Mohawk Grenades starting November 16th in North America and November 24th in Europe and Korea. They'll be available until... well, until the Night Elf Mohawk decides his work is done. Where can I see the Mr. T commercials? The commercials will be airing on major TV networks throughout North America beginning on November 16th and in Europe starting on November 27th. You can also view the ads on the official World of Warcraft YouTube channel here.