World of Warcraft Leveling Guide

Mage Build is the Key to Leveling Mage

2009-01-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

I didn't intend to write a post about what is a good mage build and tips for leveling a mage, but I decided to look and see what the guys at Killer Guide's have been up to.

Well, it's been a while since I reviewed Killer Guide's Hunter's Guide and Paladin's Guide and I thought I'd give each a look to see if they've been updated with all the new content from Wrath of the Lich King.

I was afraid I'd have to take Killer Guides off my recommend list, but both guides have been updated for WOTLK. That led me to check out The Unofficial World of Warcraft Mage Guide. I just started an alt and as my first mage, I can use some help.

I figured this would be a nice time to review the mage guide as well in case any of you were looking for a guide on how to play your mage.

The first thing I noticed about the Mage Guide is that it is written by Joe Prime (a pen name no doubt), who also wrote the Hunter Guide and the Paladin Guide - both of which are of very high quality.

The Guide is available as a PDF download and is 203 pages. I don't personally print my guides but the formatting looks very nice and I'm sure it would look great on paper. I'm also sure that it would take a ton of ink to print out these guides.

The first section of the guide is Character Creation. It starts by giving you server selection ideas which is pretty self-explanatory for most of us, but if you are brand new to WoW, I guess it would be helpful.

Next there are a few pages describing the different races and how each plays as a mage in WoW. I won't spoil all the details, but I'll say race isn't a huge factor in the success or failure of your mage. That's a good thing since I think most of us have already made that decision. If you want to make a brand new mage though, the info in here will help you squeeze every last drop of power out of your new toon.

The next section talks about the different stats and formulas and how useful each is for the mage. I find this information fascinating and it certainly helps me in gear selection.

General advice on how to play a mage along with the basic mage archetypes makes up the next section. Again, quite useful if you haven't already made your mage, but if you're already been playing your mage for a while this section is less useful. The information is still good and there are some good nuggets in there, but you've probably already learned a good deal of it by playing your mage. A short section regardless.

The next section is very useful if you PvP. It deals with how to PvP. As someone relatively new to PvP, I love this section. I feel like it evens the odds a bit for me. I make up for a lack of experience with knowledge.

The PvP section includes information about how to duel individuals of each class. Very useful info including how to best defeat each class based on how the class is specced.

Group PvP is also covered including the mage's role in PvP and specific group situations encountered in Battlegrounds and Arenas. Strategies are included for each separate Battleground and for all three arena possibilities. Great stuff.

If the PvP section is great, than the Talents section is incredible. This is by far my favorite section of the Killer Guides products. The talents are broken down into the three different talent trees.

These talents are then each given a page and are broken down with regards to a description, ranks, usefulness, and commentary.

The description tells what the talent does. It's good stuff, but a pretty basic description that you can get anywhere.

Ranks describes what you get for each rank invested in the talent. Again, this information is available all over the place.

Usefulness is where this section shines. Each talent is evaluated for its usefulness in group vs solo play and raid vs PvP play. Some talents are universally useful or useless, but others a situationally useful and this section shows you when each talent is useful.

Commentary is also quite useful as a short write-up of the talent is recorded. I generally agree with almost everything the authors says about the talents so I love this part.

The talents section is the meat of the guide and also takes up the most space. Almost half the guide covers the different talents available to mages.

Next up is the Build Section. This section is also golden. It lists six PVE builds including at least one devoted primarily to each tree. There are also seven PVP builds again with at least one from each tree. Choose the Mage Build that you think is right for you and experiment with it. Try another mage build out. With thirteen builds, you should find something you like.

My only real desire for this section would be to show the actual progression from 1-80 as opposed to what the final build looks like at 80. A minor point, but one that would make the guide better in my opinion.

The next section is one I could do without. It's the leveling guide, but it's really just generalities about where you should level as opposed to exactly what to do to level quickly. I much prefer the leveling guides that are just leveling guides as they do an outstanding job of showing you how to level quickly.

If you are seeking a Horde leveling guide, Joana's 1-80 Horde Leveling Guide is still the best. If you want an Alliance Leveling Guide, I'd go for Penn's Alliance Leveling Guide.

The section dealing with addons and macros comes next and is also quite handy. It lists a number of addons that each mage should have in addition to some very, very useful macros. I never fully utilized macros, but the few listed in here make my job much easier. A short section, but a good one.

Equipment is covered next and this section is quite useful. There are numerous pieces of equipment you can look for at different stages of your career and each are linked to wowhead for easy reference. There is also a discussion about gems which comes in handy. Another nice section.

The last two sections are rather bland to me. The first deals with Mage Quests and is useful, but the information is freely available from a number of sources. The nice thing is if you want to find out how to do a mage quest, you can look in your guide instead of Google, but I certainly wouldn't buy the guide for the quest section.

Likewise, I wouldn't buy the guide for the last section either - the money making section. It's not that there aren't good tips - it's just there are other guides that do a much better job if you are seriously interested in making gold.

Much like with the leveling guides, you'd be better off getting a specialized guide if you are looking to make money. I recommend the Gold Secrets Guide.

Overall, Killer Guides The Unofficial World of Warcraft Mage Guide is an outstanding resource for Mages. It's especially useful if you are trying to decide on a build or if you are interested in which talents best match your play style. If you are interested in it as a leveling guide or a gold guide, there are much better options.

The Mage Guide by itself is $29.99 and is a good value, but if you really want a lot of information about WoW and play multiple classes, you should consider Killer Guides' WoW Guides Package. It includes 20 different WoW Guides at an 84% discount at $79.99. I personally got the whole package and can tell you that Killer Guides does update the information and as they do, you get updates free of charge. I highly recommend Killer Guides.

New WoW Realm

2009-01-17T15:15:00.001-08:00

“I love new realms. Think I'll go roll a new toon here right now. Maybe I'll give a Druid a second shot.”

Filed under: Realm News, News items

On top of free transfers for both North American and European servers, a brand new realm has opened up for the US! The vital stats:

Name: Borean Tundra
Type: PvE
Time Zone: Central
Battlegroup: Emberstorm
As a non-transfer realm, you can't transfer characters to it (duh) or create Death Knights on it (unless you have another level 55+ character on that realm) for the next 3 months.
AQ gates are closed.

Reroll locusts, get ready to swarm. When I was on a few hours ago, the highest level was 13 (a hunter); it seems like the realm opened around when Bornakk did his post (9:30 PST/12:30 EST).

There is also, apparently, a new RP transfer realm planned to open at some point; we'll let you know as soon as we find out anything more.

P.S. Hi to Justin, Nerdan, and Healinator.

New PvE realm open for character creation originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST.

Druid Changes with WoW Patch 3.0.8

2009-01-17T15:05:00.001-08:00

“I've only tooled around with the Druid a little bit, but I might give it a second shot. Looks like there will be a lot of changes for the Druid, but unfortunately I can't really comment on them.”

Filed under: Druid, Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Guides, Buffs, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives, Wrath of the Lich King

Every Tuesday, or sometimes Friday when the writer's internet has gone AWOL between Sunday evening and Thursday afternoon, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we take a look at the upcoming patch 3.0.8. while penning an angry letter to our ISP.

Greetings, folks. Patch 3.0.8 is coming, bringing a few significant changes for the Druid class. Feral attack power is disappearing from the game entirely alongside bonus armor contribution from non-leather items. Restoration is receiving a nerf in the form of a 6-second cooldown to Wild Growth but is otherwise getting some buffs. Balance is also getting a few buffs, including one that will make a big difference to PvP combat versus Rogues and Hunters. But I think, dear readers, we are overlooking the most important part of patch 3.0.8:

Fixed a bug with a Wild Mustard plant that was under the ground in Dalaran.

Oh, thank God. That drove me nuts.

(Really).

(I'd also love to see them do something about the underground Tiger Lily spawn in Sholazar).

(It's just south of River's Heart).

(Really annoying).

(Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?).

Continue reading Shifting Perspectives: Patch 3.0.8 for Druids

Shifting Perspectives: Patch 3.0.8 for Druids originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST.

New WoW Patch Info

2009-01-17T14:22:00.001-08:00


	“Some nice little changes in the patch. A bit of a buff for the rogue and a nerf for the DK. The repair bot sounds pretty cool.”

Filed under: Rogue, Patches, Death Knight

A new build, number 9464, went up on the PTR last night for the perpetually predicted, not quite here yet patch 3.0.8. The changes aren't huge; for the few list, you can check out MMO Champion. But there are a few that interest me.

Scrapbot repairs equipment, as we discussed previously.

Vampiric Blood, which got a huge buff in early 3.0.8 builds, has been taken down a little bit, although still better than it is now. In the latest build, it temporarily gives the DK 15% of his maximum health, and increases the amount of health generated through spells and effects by 35%, for 20 sec. Previously in 3.0.8, it was 20% max health and 50% increased healing. In live, it's just 50% increased healing.

Continue reading PTR updated to build 9464

PTR updated to build 9464 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST.

New WoW Priest Video Movie

2009-01-17T14:20:00.001-08:00

“Some people must have a lot of time on their hands. Although I don't have the time or patience to pull this off, I am impressed. I really like the "ad" at the end for Ghouls Gone Wild. Classic.”

Filed under: Priest, Machinima, WoW Moviewatch

Popout It's like it's song week here on WoW Moviewatch, but today's entry is
something I know many of our readers have probably been eagerly
anticipating. Nyhm has released his newvideo, titled (Holy) Priest.
(It's a take-off of Notorious B.I.G.'s Hypnotize, if you don't
recognize the music.) He dedicates this piece to what he calls one of
the most underappreciated, but most needed, classes in the game. And,
of course, he's sure to thank them in that dedication also.

The video itself is pretty standard Nyhm work, thematically. It has some
creative music video shots of himself and Summergale as they sing. (Well,
shots of their avatar personas.) The tricks Nyhm uses to create a variety
of dance moves and poses are always impressive, and his work really
brings the Blood Elf and Troll models to life.

While this genre of music isn't my cup of tea, Nyhm uses creative cadence
and lyrics to morph the lines of B.I.G.'s song into a great song about the
struggles of healing in WoW. There's praise, jokes, complaints, and a little
bit of everything else thrown into the song. Check it out, and enjoy!

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to
us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Previously on Moviewatch ...WoW Moviewatch: (Holy) Priest originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST.

The Problem with Priests in WoW?

2009-01-17T14:19:00.001-08:00


	“Since my first character was a priest, I read this post with a lot of interest. I don't dust off my priest anymore and haven't really given it much thought why other than my priest isn't as fun to play as my other toons. I think the OP and commenters hit the nail on the head with the priest.”

Filed under: Priest, Analysis / Opinion, Expansions, Wrath of the Lich King, Forums

Yesterday, Ghostcrawler got into a discussion with some Priests on the Healing forum.
It's in a thread that started out pretty negative, but unfortunately
reflected an opinion rippling its way through the Priest 'community.'
Many (not all, not nearly) Priest players are getting sort of grumpy
about their Healing role, and that's not actually a new sentiment. It's
been sort of an everpresent issue since well before Wrath. Priests don't feel they have a role. They sort of exist, without any clear purpose.

The issue that came up is that a number of Priests think Blizzard is down
on them, they're subpar, the devs don't care, blah blah blah.
Ghostcrawler is of the opinion that Priests are actually pretty great
(not said in those words) and I gotta be honest, I agree with him on
that. On all things? No. On that? Yes. Priests are very, very capable Healers. But capability is not actually the issue at all! It's an issue much harder to pinpoint.

Priests, when you look at their spells as a whole product and don't get hung up
on any one ability in particular, work great. It's a well rounded
class, and operates very well on its own. Holy Priests are great
healers, and there's really no situation where they're completely
helpless. I am not sure what the phrase "healing dynamo" means exactly,
but for some reason that pops into my head when I think of Holy
Priests, so it's probably a good thing.

Continue reading The role of today's Priest

The role of today's Priest originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST.

WOTLK Quests

2009-01-16T01:00:00.001-08:00


	“Unlike the author, I love WoW Quests. I agree that they can sometimes be redundant, but I love to follow the story line in Azeroth through the quests. I love that I can level from 1-80 just by questing without random mob grinding. This is what makes WoW special to me.”

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Quests, Wrath of the Lich King

I've never been a big fan of quests. I've always done them as a means
to an end, whether to level up or to earn a bit of Gold. My questing
rate dropped considerably once I hit Level 80, with the only quests I
did consisting mostly of Wintergrasp dailies and about a week's worth of Ebon Blade dailies in Icecrown to raise my reputation. But the truth is, quests in Wrath of the Lich King
have been downright phenomenal. They are well-designed, fun to do, and
-- if you actually stop to read the quest text (something I'm often
guilty of skipping) -- wonderfully written and filled with story.

I finally got off my lazy butt to do the long Sons of Hodir quest chain, a "necessary evil" to raise reputation with what Alex has dubbed one of the most important factions in Wrath. There was little urgency for me to do the chain, considering I was satisfied with the Wintergrasp shoulder enchants even though they wasted points on Resilience. On the other hand, it became increasingly frustrating for me not to be able to assist my wife
whenever her character (often) became the target of merciless gankage.
You see, like many parts of Northrend, the Storm Peaks zones where you
do Sons of Hodir quests are phased. I simply wanted to get to the point where we would be in the same phased stage, so using Alex's handy guide to the Sons of Hodir quest chain, I set off on what was a surprisingly good and fun adventure.

Continue reading When questing is the reward

When questing is the reward originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST.

WoW 101 - Literally!

2009-01-16T00:58:00.001-08:00

“Hmm. Something tells me I'd never miss my homework in this class. I'd also gladly "study" for this course. That said, there is a lot to learn from WoW, but I'm not sure academia is ready for WoW in the classrooms.”

PC World

Could World of Warcraft be a College Class?
PC World - Jan 13, 2009
If World of Warcraft
were a college course, would you enroll? David Friedman, an academic
economist "who teaches at a law school and has never taken a ...

WoW Talents for Newbs!

2009-01-16T00:55:00.001-08:00

“I remember when I first started playing WoW and I had no clue about talents. I didn't even know they existed until my late teens. Then at that point I was deathly afraid to choose talents fearing I would pick "wrong". Now I love trying out new specs and find this to be one of the most enjoyable parts of WoW.”

Filed under: How-tos, Features, WoW Rookie

New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.

Are you a talentless n00b? It's really ok to admit it here, among friends
-- you wouldn't be the first player in the world to have overlooked (or
been completely befuddled by) talent points. Just take a peek at this
post about a player who purposely skipped training his talent points,
just to see what would happen. If you read through the comments after
the post, you'll find plenty of players who missed training their
talents along the way, either through not knowing that talent points
existed or after becoming paralyzed by the sheer variety of choices.

The talents you choose for your character can completely change the way you
play the game. Your "spec" (specialization) is determined by where
you've distributed your points among the three talent trees available
to your class. So-called "hybrid" classes such as Druids or Paladins
take on entirely different roles depending how they are specced:
tanking, DPSing or healing. For other classes, spec is more of a flavor
tool that determines how your character goes about doing his or her
thing.

Continue reading WoW Rookie: Do you have talent(s)?

WoW Rookie: Do you have talent(s)? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

WoW PvP and Resilience - Is Resilience dead in WoW?

2009-01-14T20:22:00.001-08:00

“An interesting analysis of the effect (or lack thereof) of resilience in PvP. Resilience was a nice feature, but now it's been nerfed to near uselessness.”

Ghostcrawler talks a bit about Resilience - WoW Insider

Another Great Wrath of the Lich King Review

2009-01-10T02:33:00.001-08:00

The folks at Gaming Excellence have given Wrath of the Lich King 9.5 stars out of ten. Once again, the latest expansion for World of Warcraft is well-received by reviewers. Blizzard keeps knocking home run after home run.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC) Review at GamingExcellence

WoWers go to Bat Against Leukemia and Lymphoma

2009-01-10T02:15:00.001-08:00

As the daughter-in-law of a lymphoma survivor, it makes me really happy to see that Blizzard was able to raise over $30,000 to help fight Leukemia and Lymphoma. And one of those lucky contributors will get a LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION to WoW. Great job!

Blizzard and Fans Team up to Support a Great Cause

Here come the Death Knights!

2009-01-10T01:58:00.001-08:00

Blizzard is removing the restrictions they've had regarding who could roll Death Knight. I never liked the idea that you had to have a character of level 55 to play a Death Knight anyhow. It'll be interesting to see now how many Death Knights we'll see in Azeroth.

GameSpy: Death Knight Restrictions to Lift

Wrath of the Lich King Update

2008-02-25T20:54:00.001-08:00

Here's some more exciting news about the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Everything sounds awesome. I can't wait for the expansion.

read more | digg story

World of Warcraft Minis Game to be released by Upper Deck

2008-02-25T20:48:00.001-08:00

Apparently Upper Deck is going to release a new Minis game based on WoW. This isn't too surprising considering the quality of the card game and the board game. I don't know how well those two games sold, but they are both of high quality. I'm not a huge Minis game fan, but I'm sure I'll give it a shot.

read more | digg story

WoW Lessons

2008-02-25T20:40:00.001-08:00

Funny article by screenwriter, John August, deals with seven practical things learned about he real world from Mr. August's time in Azeroth. Although the article is written in a tongue-in-cheek style, it goes to show that we can learn some lessons from our time spent playing World of Warcraft. I think I'm going to go learn some more right now.

read more | digg story

Paladin Guide

2008-02-24T21:22:00.000-08:00

This article is going to review The Unofficial World of Warcraft Paladin Guide by Killer Guides. The Paladin Guide will follow the same format that I used for Killer Guide's The Unofficial World of Warcraft Hunter Guide which I reviewed a while back.

Before I get into the review, a bit of back story is in order. I'd never played a Paladin before in WoW, but a little over a week ago, my server was down so I decided to start a toon on another server. I wanted to try something new. As someone who's played the Horde exclusively, I figured not only would I give the Alliance a try, but I'd got for a class I've never played before. Am I glad I did. The Paladin has been very fun for me and I've enjoyed all the new content available to me. On to my review.

First off, the Paladin Guide is 193 pages long and is in PDF format. The first thing you'll notice about the guide is the title page with a dwarven Paladin that really captures the feel of the Paladin. The Guide is very attractive and would look great printed out - although I didn't print out my guide. My favorite part of the PDF format is that everything is bookmarked for you. Very, very handy.

The writing style is very similar to the Hunter's Guide I previously reviewed. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they were written by the same person. There are a few spelling and grammar errors, but overall the guide is well-written. I love how the guide is organized - everything flows very well.

The Paladin Guide's first section deals with character creation. For me this was helpful since I was starting from scratch. The two primary areas covered are server selection and race selection. If you've played WoW for a while, you're probably familiar with the differences between PvE, PvP, and RP servers. If not, the info is here. The race portion of the guide was quite useful to me. I chose Draenei - largely for the Heroic Presence ability. This section will be largely useless if you've already rolled your Paladin, but will be of some use if you are starting from square one.

Next comes stats and formulas. This section goes into great detail about the different stats and formulas that will affect your Paladin and tells you what stats and attributes are most important for your knight. Some of this stuff is real basic, but much of it goes into much greater depth than I was aware of. This section is very handy unless you have a very strong grasp on what all the numbers mean on your character screen.

Fighting as a Paladin is the next section. I relied heavily on this to help me understand my Paladin early on. The majority of this section deals with how to juggle your Seals and Judgments. There is also a page about buffing which is obviously one of our biggest strengths. How much this section will help you depends largely on how much you've played your Paladin. Being a new Paladin player, it helped me a great deal. If you've got lots of experience with a Paladin, this will likely be largely a refresher course for you.

Healing is naturally another of our signature abilities and the next section goes over this in detail over three pages. As someone, who primarily solos I can't speak too much to this section. The strategies seem sound to me and since the rest of the guide is well-researched, I have no reason to believe this section isn't as well.

The little bit of grouping I've done, I've generally been the tank and the section dealing with Tanking as a Paladin has been invaluable. This section tells you which Seals, Judgments, and Auras are best for tanking as well as other spell that will help you generate threat. There's also a small section on mitigating damage. Very important info if you are going to tank much as a Paladin.

If you like PvP, this next section will be one of your favorites. This section tells you how to beat different classes in one on one duels. If you play on a PvP server, you need to read this section multiple times. You'll want to know exactly what to do against each class without having to think about it so internalize the information. There is also great information about group PvP including Battleground and Arena specific strategies. Very, very handy section!

The next section deals with weapons. Details regarding what types of weapons, the use of two handers vs one handers plus shield, and which stats you should look for as a Paladin on your weapons. There's quite a bit of info packed into those two pages, but if you've been playing a Paladin for a while you probably already have a good idea about how to answer those questions.

The equipment section, dealing with armor, including what armor (also includes weapons to watch for) you should strive for at each level, is pretty lengthy and detailed. For levels 60-70, there are four different "equipment builds" depending on what your Paladin's role is, ie, Healing, Spell Damage, Melee, or Tanking. Each role is subdivided by level: 60-62, 63-64, 65-66, and 67-70. All equipment is linked to thottbot for easy reference. Finally, there is a section on Librams which is very nice as well and includes some sample macros to take advantage of your Librams. I really like this section.

Speaking of macros, the next section deals with macros and addons. I'm embarassed to admit how long I played without using macros or addons. I've since rectified that mistake. These macros and addons are specifically geared toward the Paladin. It amazes me how much easier using macros and addons can make your gaming experience. Love it!

Well, it can't all be good, and if the guide fails in one area, the Leveling Guide section is it. If you are looking for a simple guide giving you general ideas of where to go to level at different points along your path to Paladinhood, this should be fine for you. However, if you are looking for a detailed guide showing you exactly what quest to do at what point including the correct order to do everything to level as quickly as possible, this isn't the right guide for you. If you are looking for a leveling guide specifically, I recommend either Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide. Those two guides are the ones the speed levelers use to hit 70 at record speeds. This is my least favorite portion of the guide.

Back to the good parts of the guide, Paladin Quests are next. This was a time saver for me as it gives walk-throughs for the various Paladin quests from the first quests on up to the epic mount quests. Quests are also listed for Blood Elves. Strong.

The next two sections of the guide are my favorites. The first of those sections deal with talents. The talents are divided into three parts: Holy, Protection, and Retribution. Each talent is defined, described, and shows what each rank in the talent will do for you. No big deal, right? You can get that info anywhere. True, but the other data provided for each talent is what makes this section shine. First, each talent is graphically rated for usefulness in Raid vs PvP and Group vs Solo. I love this! Second, Commentary is provided giving more specific info regarding what builds the talent works best with. Each talent gets a full page. I absolutely love this section!

As you can probably guess, the next section deals with Talent Builds. There are three Holy Builds, two Protection Builds, and three Retribution Builds. Additionally , there is a Leveling build because the other builds are best suited for the end game. The leveling build will help you get there quicker. I'm still using the leveling build and am extremely thankful to have a map to follow. I figure by the time I get to my upper 60's, I can re-spec to one of the other builds. I really love this section.

Unfortunately, the guide closes with the second section of the guide that I'm not a fan of - the Money Making section. This section isn't bad, but if you are looking for a money making guide, there are much better options. Personally, I recommend, World of Warcraft Gold Secrets if you are looking for a guide to show you how to make lots of gold in Azeroth. Not the best section of the guide.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend this Paladin Guide if you are looking for a guide to show you how to play a Paladin better or if you are interested in using your Paladin for PvP. The Unofficial World of Warcraft Paladin Guide sells for $29.99 and is a great value for people serious about playing Paladins. One thing to keep in mind is that Killer Guides offers all 17 of their guides at a special package price of $79.99. I've got this package, but I've only reviewed the Paladin Guide and The Unofficial World of Warcraft Hunter Guide, so I can't speak to the other 15 guides. If they are of the same quality of these two, the package is the way to go as you will save over $450 by buying the package. Finally, as Blizzard releases new content, these guides will be updated and updates will be available free of charge.

WoW Hunter Guide Review

2008-01-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

I recently came across the Unofficial World of Warcraft Hunter Guide and decided I should check it out. My main toon on WoW is a Hunter so I figured I would review the guide and let you all know what I think of it.

First off, the physical characteristics. The guide is available for instant download in PDF format. The guide checks in at 173 pages. The pages are very attractive and with bookmarks available, getting around in the guide is quite easy. So far, so good!

The writing style of the guide is easy to read and follow. There are a few misspellings and typographical errors, but overall it is well written. Most importantly the information is well organized.

The first section of the WoW Hunter Guide is Character creation. I'd already created my hunter, but I read this section anyhow. Server selection is pretty basic for most of us, but it goes into short detail about the differences between the PVE, PVP, and RP servers. The heart of the character creation section is the race selection. The guide covers each of the different races that can be hunters along with each of the racial abilities and then breaks down the pros and cons of each race. Again, this information is of more use to a person new to playing a hunter. If you've already rolled your hunter it's too late to make any changes here. That said, the info is very good.

The next section is Stats and Formulas. The stats is a good refresher for those of us that have been playing for a while, but I learned some new stuff in the formula area. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on how the different formulas worked, but I had a few things wrong. The guide also tells how important each stat, attribute and formula is for the hunter. Very handy little section.

Fighting as a hunter is the next section. This is a pretty small section, but goes over some strategy that every hunter should know if they want to play their toon effectively. This section's usability will depend on how long you've been playing your hunter. I learned a bit and had a refresher on a lot.

When I first started my hunter I had some trouble understanding how to train my pet, release my pet, basically how to use my pet effectively. I sincerely wish I had this guide when I was low to mid levels just for the information on pets. A very handy portion of this guide deals with how to determine which pets are best at tanking, DPSing, and a balance of the two.

If you PvP with your Hunter, this next section will be of interest to you as it covers the hunter in PvP. There are general tips, tips to use one-on-one against each class, and group PvP tips including the Battlegrounds and Arena. I have very little experience in PvP because I didn't know where to start. Now I've got a lot of strategies and understand much better what to do in PvP. Excellent portion of the guide!

OK, now we get to the meat and potatoes of this WoW Hunter Guide - the talents. The talents are broken down by to three sections - Beast Mastery, Marksman, and Survival. There is one page devoted to each talent and there is a lot to like about this section. Each talent has a description that tells what the talent does, followed by a ranks section that tells how the number of ranks invested will affect your toon. But you can get that anywhere you say? You're right, but the next two parts are great. The next area covered is usefulness. Usefulness details how helpful the talent will be in Group vs solo play and Raid vs PvP. Very, very good stuff. The final section is commentary in which the author expresses his views on the talent. I agree with almost all of what he has to say. I LOVE this section.

OK, I'm pretty sure you can guess what's next. Builds! This guide includes three builds each for Beast Mastery, Marksman, and Survival - that's nine builds overall. The builds show what talents you should have at level 70. I'm thinking seriously of re-speccing my hunter after reading this section.

The next section probably isn't overly useful if you've been playing your hunter for any time since it covers Hunter Quests. For the most part it provides a walk-through for how to complete your pet taming quests for each race. It's very useful it you haven't done this yet, but that would mean you are under level 10. The only other quest is the Green Drake Quest, your level 52 quest. It's a very good spoiler for the quest so use it if you are at ready for this quest.

I'm least inclined to use the following section of any in the guide. Not that it's bad, but I've got much, much better information from two other sources. I'm referring to the Leveling Section of the guide. In very general terms, this guide shows you were to go to level from 1-70 for Alliance and Horde. I much prefer Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide and Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide since both go into very specific details of exactly what you need to do to level the quickest.

Next, the guide takes a look at some of the equipment you should be looking for as you level. The guide takes a look at what weapons and armor are best at 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, then every two or three levels after that. Each piece of equipment is linked to wowhead.com so you can easily take a look at what each piece gives you.

If good equipment makes life easier for your toon, then add-ons and macros make your life easier. This chapter looks at add-ons that are good for the hunter as well as some commonly used macros. There are links to the add-ons too. Another outstanding feature of this guide!

The final section is one of my least favorite. It deals with making money with your hunter. Much like the leveling section, the reason I'm not so fond of this guide is because I've got one that does it better, World of Warcraft Gold Secrets. Don't get me wrong, there's good stuff in here, but if you are serious about making gold, there are better options.

Overall, this guide is very good. It's well written, very well organized and covers everything you could want to know about your hunter. The Unofficial World of Warcraft Hunter Guide sells for $29.99 and is a great value for people that want to have a deeper understanding of the hunter class. One thing to keep in mind is that the folks that publish this guide, Killer Guides, offer all 17 of their guides at a special package price of $79.99. I've got the package, but this is the first product I've reviewed. I can tell you though that if the rest of the guides are as well done as this one, the package is the way to go as you will save over $450 over buying them individually. Finally, each guide will be updated as Blizzard releases new content. If you are interested in playing a hunter or if you have one and want to know how to play him or her more effectively, check out this WoW Hunter Guide.

Work at BK or Raid?

2008-01-06T15:03:00.001-08:00

This blogger posts that he'd rather work at Burger King than participate in end game raiding in WoW. That's a bit extreme, but I get his point. The end game can seem like a job and often the rewards are minimal, but I'd take raiding over going back to work in fast food any day.

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WoW Makes the News Again

2008-01-05T11:53:00.001-08:00

World of Warcraft makes the news again as this story examines the addiction of a teen that plays WoW up to twelve hours in a row. The reporter interviews the teen, his mother, and a mental health professional. Part of me feels bad for the mother, but part of me wonders why she allows his behavior to continue. If my kid was punching holes in my walls due to frustration with a game, my kid would be done with that game. Likewise if my kid dropped out of school and didn't have a job, he'd be given a deadline to go back to school and/or get a job. What do you think?

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PoP Culture in WoW

2008-01-05T11:37:00.001-08:00

This blogger found 14 Pop culture references in World of Warcraft. I'd heard of some of these and am not aware of some others, but very interesting reading. The comments post even more easter eggs that Blizzard left for us.

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WoW on your Cell Phone?

2008-01-05T11:23:00.001-08:00

I can't see this working, but some are predicting your will be able to play a "lite" version of World of Warcraft on your cell phone. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound fun in the least. The screens are too small and theirs no way you could have nearly as many options as you do on your computer. I wouldn't even give such a game a shot. Would you?

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Ron Paul's World of Warcraft March to Freedom

2008-01-02T22:11:00.001-08:00

For you political junkies, here's a video of the Ron Paul March. I'll be honest, I didn't watch the whole thing, but I know some of you will so I thought I'd post it.

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Ron Paul World of Warcraft March covered by Game Politics

2008-01-02T22:08:00.001-08:00

Well, if Ron Paul is going to have a march in WoW who better to cover it than GamePolitics.com? It's an interesting read on the Texas Republican running for President taking his campaign to the virtual world of Azeroth. I don't know much about Ron Paul other than that he seems to be unconventional. I never thought I'd see a Republican Presidential campaign looking for votes in WoW. Heck, I never thought the Democrats would do that. Not sure how much it helps, but it does get Mr. Paul some free publicity.

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70 by 2008?

2007-12-31T16:43:00.001-08:00

Have you ever set a goal in WoW? I've set goals, hit level X by the end of th weekend. Make enough for my mount by the end of the month. Well, this guy made a goal to hit 70 by the end of the year. He left himself with just over 24 hours and was a bit into 69 when he started. He blogged his results here. To make a long story short, he took over 24 days to hit 70. If he used Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide, he would have hit 70 in about half the time. But it sounds like he had fun.

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Your Fired!

2007-12-31T16:36:00.001-08:00

This guy claims he was fired due to a World of Warcraft screen shot. I don't know this guy and have only read his one post, but if I were management, it looks like I'd find a reason to can him too. He's got a bit of an attitude. What do you think?

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Mages in World of Warcraft

2007-12-29T20:52:00.001-08:00

Have you wondered how to spec your mage for use in the arena? This article takes a look at the advantages and disadvantages of fire mages and frost mages. The article deals primarily with how to spec a mage for the arena. If you are looking for the best way to level your Mage, check out either Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide.

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Warhammer Online vs. World of Warcraft

2007-12-29T20:37:00.001-08:00

This blog post takes a look at the impact Warhammer Online will have on World of Warcraft. I'd expect Warhammer to have a fairly strong following, but nowhere near the following WoW does. The realm vs. realm feature of Warhammer sounds very interesting, but will probably be a turnoff for some players.

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Make Gold at Level 30 on World of Warcraft

2007-12-29T20:33:00.001-08:00

Here's a real basic Gold Making Guide for low level World of Warcraft characters. As is the case in most MMORPG's, one of the best ways to make money early on is to sell tradeskill items in the auction house. If you really want to see the best ways to get gold in WoW, you need World of Warcraft Gold Secrets.

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'WoW' Gamers Plan In-Game Ron Paul Rally

2007-12-29T16:49:00.001-08:00

This guy is all over the internet, but can't seem to garner much support in the polls. At the very least Ron Paul deserves a lot of credit for generating buzz. Can you picture Hillary or Rudy trying something like this? I wonder how many will people will participate. I'm sure we'll have an update in a couple of days.

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World of Warcraft debate: Grind vs. Quest

2007-12-23T23:10:00.001-08:00

This blog post examines the Grinding vs Questing debate. The poster comes to the same conclusion that I do - questing is definitely the fastest way to level especially if you have a plan. There's a reason that the best speed-levelers all quest to level their World of Warcraft toons and that's because it's the fastest way to level. The key is to work multiple quests at once and don't waste steps. Grab a guide, like Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide, and they will detail exactly what quests you should be working on at all times in the most efficient manner possible. There is no quicker way to level in WoW than following the information in these guides.

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Make Easy Gold in World of Warcraft

2007-12-23T23:02:00.001-08:00

One player tells how he's made some money on World of Warcraft during Winter's Veil. He even gives a tip how you can continue to make money after Winter Veil is finished. For even more information about how to make gold in WoW, check out WoW Gold Secrets

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Real Flaws in Virtual Worlds

2007-12-23T22:59:00.001-08:00

An interesting interview with Gary McGraw, co-author of Exploiting Online Games, which takes a look at cheating and hacks that occur in MMOs such as WoW. An interesting read if only to know what some others are doing.

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World of Warcraft's Secret ( 30 ) - Mage Mechanics FAQ v.1

2007-12-23T22:54:00.001-08:00

This is a great explanation of how combat ratings affect mages. The information is designed with mages in mind, however it is useful for pretty much any WoW character. The info is very technical, but is also quite useful.

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World of Warcraft Rap

2007-12-23T20:45:00.001-08:00

Nice rap video about WoW. Pretty funny stuff.

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World of Warcraft's Secret ( 29 ) - Mage Mechanics FAQ v.1 P

2007-12-20T20:43:00.001-08:00

Very nice examination of Mage damage. If you play a mage, use this information to help you maximize your mage's abilities. Then use Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide to help you level your toon to 70.

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China Kid Plays World of Warcraft Fire Mage, Burns Classmate

2007-12-20T20:33:00.001-08:00

A 17 year old Chinese boy got in a fight with a classmate and lost. He decided the way to get back at him was to douse him with gasoline and set him on fire. Luckily the boy survived, although he's severely burned. The perpetrator blamed the incident on World of Warcraft saying he was just acting the role of a fire mage. Obviously the real blame lies with the boy and WoW is merely a scapegoat.

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Very Cool World of Warcraft Video Site

2007-12-19T23:45:00.001-08:00

7,748 World of Warcraft Videos. Are there really that many. This site has all of em and I assume it updates when new ones come available.

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Gamespy PC Awards announced.

2007-12-19T23:32:00.001-08:00

Gamespy gave Burning Crusade the #5 game spot of the year. Not bad. Since WoW eats up so much of my time, I can't really comment on the other games. I guess I'll have to take them at their word. Have you tried some of the other highly rated games? How do they compare?

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World of Warcraft Commercial Stars Mini Me

2007-12-18T19:24:00.001-08:00

Verne Troyer, better known as Mini Me, is Blizzards latest spokesman for WoW. They've really done a good job on this ad campaign. I can hardly wait to see who the next spokesperson is going to be.

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WoW: Blizzard explains estimated and received honor

2007-12-17T21:35:00.001-08:00

Some players have complained there's a discrepancy between their estimated honor and their actual honor received. There were concerns that honor wasn't being handled properly, but according to Blizzard, honor is working just as planned.

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RoleCraft: Roleplay Role-Call

2007-12-17T21:28:00.001-08:00

Here's an article that shows how one MMO player keeps things fresh. He plays multiple games and has multiple characters. He roleplays and decides which game and character he's going to play based on how he feels at that time. Interesting concept, but I think four games would be too many for me. I do like to have alts and play them based on my mood.

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WoW Christmas Gifts

2007-12-17T21:22:00.001-08:00

Here's a nice selection of WoW Christmas gifts available from Amazon. Very interesting selection.

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How I Won the Stranglethorn Vale Fishing Contest

2007-12-17T20:42:00.001-08:00

Have you heard about the fishing contest done every week at Stranglethorn Vale? I've heard about it, but this post provided more details about the contest and how to participate than any I've seen before. Must read if you want to win the contest.

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Dungeon Tips for Your Shaman - Part 1

2007-12-17T20:35:00.001-08:00

Part one of a blog post showing young shaman what they need to know for their first dungeon instances. Very nice info for me since I have a young shaman alt.

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Blizzard Requests Class Feedback

2007-12-16T21:19:00.001-08:00

OK. Blizzard has asked for our feedback. They want to know what your class needs improved from your perspective. It looks like classes will be redesigned for Wrath of the Lich King, so if you have ideas, go to Blizzard's boards and share them.

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The Patchie Chronicles [ENG]

2007-12-16T21:17:00.001-08:00

A World of Warcraft Video from Taiwan. It has subtitles in English. Pretty well done.

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World of Warcraft 2.3.2 PTR updates: druid and rogue changes

2007-12-15T19:51:00.001-08:00

Here's a forum post that details some of the updates to rogues and druids with the 2.3.2 update. Looks like some good news for those of you who prefer the stealthy or natural arts. Now would be a good time to pick up Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide and try a druid or rogue.

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The WoW Roadblock.

2007-12-15T19:49:00.001-08:00

A long-time EQ and WoW player takes a look at some other games to see if there's anything that can move him from WoW. He finds some good games and some bad games, but only one that might be up with WoW in his opinion. I'll keep you in suspense. You'll have to read his post to find out.

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Phat Loot Phriday: Delicious Chocolate Cake

2007-12-15T19:42:00.001-08:00

Blizzard gave us a new recipe that you can only get doing the daily cooking quests in Shattrath. The cake itself does nothing except give you a one hour buff that makes you very happy. Mechanically the buff does nothing. Definitely not for powergamers, but for roleplayers, this will be cool.

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Winter Veil comes to World of Warcraft

2007-12-15T19:36:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again. World of Warcraft brings us the Winter Veil to celebrate the Holiday season. Find out how you can get your own Santa hat.

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Leotheras the Blind Raid Strategy Guide

2007-12-14T20:08:00.001-08:00

I am so impressed by the raid guides here. I'm not ready to take on Leotheras the Blind yet, but I will definitely check this out when I am. If you're 70 and ready for raiding, check out some of the strats at this site, otherwise, get to 70! Use Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide and get to 70 so you to can raid!

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How to Win Warsong Gulch

2007-12-14T20:05:00.001-08:00

Very solid and comprehensive strategies for use in the Battlegrounds. If you spend much time in Warsong Gulch or plan to in the future, this is a must read. Makes me want to log in right now.

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World Of Warcraft: Ten Years Later

2007-12-14T19:53:00.001-08:00

Here's a basic article about the history of Warcraft and World of Warcraft. If you already play WoW, you probably know most of this stuff already. If you don't, this is a decent primer.

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Route to find Herbs/Ore - World of Warcraft Farming

2007-12-14T19:45:00.001-08:00

Here's an interesting add-on if you are a Gatherer or Miner. It will show where spawn points are even if there isn't currently anything spawned. It also will show you the best route to take if you want to harvest materials. Watch the video. I think I'll try this myself.

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Pelides discusses his 5 worst raid wipes

2007-12-14T19:35:00.001-08:00

Funny blog post detailing Pelides worst raid wipes. Five humorous stories that I'm sure most raiders can identify with.

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WoW Gold-Making Myths

2007-12-13T22:44:00.001-08:00

This post claims that you are losing money by farming materials for your profession if you can sell the materials for more than the finished product. While this is strictly true, it's a necessary evil if you want to advance in most professions. I agree that farming mats will make you more money than mastering a tradeskill, but many people enjoy their professions. For those people, farming on your own is the most cost-effective way to go. For even more ideas of how to make gold in WoW, check out WoW Gold Secrets

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Christmas Time in Dun Morogh

2007-12-13T22:37:00.001-08:00

Original WoW Christmas Video with an original World of Warcraft song. Lyrics are pretty funny. Worth a holiday watch.

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Video game addiction all too real

2007-12-13T22:31:00.001-08:00

An article in the Orange County Register explores the possibility that some video games, including World of Wacraft, are addictive to some people. I know that WoW can be a challenge for some people, but I imagine people can become addicted to just about anything.

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World Of Warcraft Dancing

2007-12-12T22:29:00.001-08:00

Cute video showing WoW character dancing with real life celebs.

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Warcraft skills pay off in business world

2007-12-12T22:27:00.001-08:00

Ryan Poon (sounds like a made-up name to me) credits WoW with helping him do well in an international business simulation featuring students from around the world. Who knew the next Donald Trump might have developed his skills in Azeroth.

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World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

2007-12-12T22:23:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of the game box for Wrath of the Lich King and the trailer. I sincerely hope the decrease in server population doesn't impact this expansion. It looks top-notch!

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World of Warcraft population falling below projected numbers

2007-12-12T22:12:00.001-08:00

Blizzard CEO, Paul Sams, reports that World of Warcraft server population is down about 30% from a year ago. Part of the blame goes to Turbine and their Lord of the Rings Online. Regardless of the reason, it was hinted that further development of Wrath of the Lich King might have to be suspended.

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Blizzard confirms new MMOG

2007-12-12T22:02:00.001-08:00

A Blizzard representative has confirmed that they are producing another MMO, but didn't give any specifics. Will they be able to hit another out of the park? With their merger with Activision, it will be worth watching.

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World of Warcraft Players Game the Longers

2007-12-12T21:58:00.001-08:00

World of Warcraft leads the way amongst games for the number of hours logged. The average WoW player quests his or her way to 17 hours per week.

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Shaman Guide For Noobs and Veterans

2007-12-11T23:13:00.001-08:00

So you've got a shaman or maybe you're thinking of rolling one. Here's a guide that will help you understand the shaman. You will get more information on the shaman than you do in the game manual, but you won't find the top shaman builds here. You also don't find leveling tips. For leveling tips, try Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide.

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Pelides discusses aggro management again

2007-12-11T22:56:00.001-08:00

Nice post on how a Hunter can and should deal with aggro specifically on the raid level.

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Merriam-Webster Add w00t to Dictionary - Teachers Weep

2007-12-11T22:50:00.001-08:00

Are you kidding me? Merriam-Webster makes w00t the word of the year? It's a great choice, but they really have a word of the year? Scary.

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Void Reaver Raid Strategy Guide

2007-12-07T19:13:00.001-08:00

I love what this guy does. This guide is for a tier 5 boss and is very comprehensive. If you're not ready for raiding yet, you might want to try Joana's 1-70 Horde Levling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide to get to 70.

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Essay on Welfare Epics, in World of Warcraft's Arena S3

2007-12-07T19:03:00.001-08:00

Lengthy post dealing with the issue of PvP "loot" vs PvE loot. Apparently a lot of PvEer's are miffed that PvPers can get such good equipment. In actuality, though, the equipment is good for PvP and not nearly as good for PvE.

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Christmas Comes to World of Warcraft

2007-12-07T18:50:00.001-08:00

Are you ready for the Christmas gifts, Blizzard is giving us. I'll offer one spoiler, you can ride on a flying reindeer. Check out this article for the plans Blizzard has to celebrate the Christmas season.

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Best World of Warcraft videos of all time

2007-12-07T18:44:00.001-08:00

Here are the top WoW videos according to this WoW player. You be the judge.

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PvP Video showing giving you a leg up on your competition

2007-12-07T18:42:00.001-08:00

This 1.5 minute video shows how to "slow" down your internet connection giving you ad advantage in the arena. With the new update, a poor connection outperforms a good connection and this guy shows you how to slow down your connection to improve your arena results. I'm not a die-hard arena guy so I don't have much to add. Let me know if this works and if you think it's legit.

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Jean-Claude Van Damme on World of Warcraft TV Commercial

2007-12-07T18:35:00.001-08:00

I don't speak French, but this commercial running in Europe is very similar to the commercials starring Mr T and William Shattner. It amazes me how mainstream this game is becoming.

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Fulltime WOW addict

2007-12-06T15:46:00.001-08:00

Cool blog by a self-described WoW addict. He posts about the exploits of his level 70 Warrior and 70 Hunter. Some good insights.

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Turn Your WoW Character into a 3D Model!

2007-12-06T15:39:00.001-08:00

I posted something about these figures earlier this week, but didn't have pricing info. Well, apparently it's going to cost about $100 to own your very own World of Warcraft Character model. I think I'll pass.

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Lessons learned from playing girl toons in MMORPGs

2007-12-06T15:37:00.001-08:00

An article written about cross-gender playing of World of Warcraft. This guy sometimes plays on a secondary server as female characters and discusses the differences with how he is treated as a "woman" than as a man. Interesting.

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Partying 101: Spicing things up in World of Warcraft

2007-12-06T14:04:00.001-08:00

I'm not a big fan of grouping for the sake of grouping. By all means if you are in a guild or are at the end game, grouping can be quite fun. If you are less than level 70, the fastest way to level, however, is to solo. I avoid pickup groups like the plague. Dying frustrates me and I die much more often in pickup groups than any other way. If you get tired of grinding, this article gives you some ideas - pickup groups (yuck), instances, guild groups, PVP, or raiding.

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Answers to World of Warcraft anachronisms

2007-12-06T13:54:00.001-08:00

Here's a cute little post about some "inconsistencies" in World of Warcraft. Meant to be funny and actually is.

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Mage Guide by Nihilum

2007-12-05T21:03:00.001-08:00

Like the previous guide for Druids, this is a end game raiding guide for Mages. I have very little experience leveling a mage, but the information looks sound. Used in conjunction with Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide, you will have your mage ready for Wrath of the Lich King.

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Druid Guide by Nihilum

2007-12-05T18:39:00.001-08:00

OK. I have an alt druid and this guide is made primarily for the end-game druid. It sounds good to me, but I can't verify the merits of this guide. If you're not 70 yet, get Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide or Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide and get to 70 before trying the builds recommended here.

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Boy Attacked By Moose "Feigns Death," Thanks WoW

2007-12-05T18:26:00.001-08:00

Reportedly a Norwegian boy and his sister were attacked by a moose and the boy taunted the moose off his sister and then feigned death. He credited WoW. If true, that's pretty amazing.

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World Of Warcraft - Riding With A Pet - Free Guide

2007-12-04T21:54:00.001-08:00

This article deals specifically with how a hunter should effectively use his/her pet. He talks about the advantages and disadvantages of certain pets as well as what talents in Beast Mastery are useful. Personally, I'm going to use some of the advice the author proposes with my hunter. Since I originally found this little guide to hunters, I've found a much more comprehensive guide Unofficial World of Warcraft Hunter Guide. Check out this post for a comprehensive review of the new hunter guide I found.

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The Epic World of Warcraft Prank

2007-12-04T21:44:00.001-08:00

Here are three pranks you can play on your World of Warcraft playing friends if you know their passwords. Make sure your friend can take a joke and it would help if you are nearby for two reasons. First, if you are going to play a prank you want to see the reaction. Secondly, you don't want your friend to get too upset and some of these pranks would be very upsetting.

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World of warcraft:The sad state of Battle Stance

2007-12-04T21:39:00.001-08:00

A look at the deficiencies of the Battle Stance for Warriors. The author doesn't just lament the fact that Battle Stance is subpar, but also proposes some solutions for Blizzard. Worth a read if you're playing a warrior.

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Bring Your WoW Character To Life

2007-12-04T21:32:00.001-08:00

This company is going to start making miniature World of Warcraft characters starting next week. The samples online look pretty cool and include the character name on the base. There is no mention of cost.

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South Park Episode - Make Love, Not Warcraft - 1008

2007-12-04T21:29:00.001-08:00

I've never logged time with South Park, but gave this a watch and laughed out loud. This is a whole episode, but without commercials!

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Five Reasons Im NOT Excited About WoW Wrath of the Lich King

2007-12-04T21:00:00.001-08:00

This guy's not to happy about Wrath of the Lich King. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. I'm looking forward to the new expansion, although I do agree that some of the new features aren't exciting to me. Overall, I'm excited with the new content. Bring it on!

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Dell World of Warcraft XPS M1730 Gaming Notebook Unboxing

2007-12-04T20:58:00.001-08:00

Whoops. This is the machine I was talking about earlier. I wouldn't mind the other one since I don't have a laptop, but this is the baby I'd really like!

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William Shatner and Mr T. Play World of Warcraft Too

2007-12-04T20:55:00.001-08:00

I'm continuously amazed how mainstream World of Warcraft has become. There are commercials for it during football games. You would think someone would come and knock them off their perch, but WoW is still growing. Ad campaigns like this will surely help the growth continue. Good job Blizzard. Or should I say good job Activision-Blizzard?

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World of Warcraft Wedding

2007-12-04T20:52:00.001-08:00

WoW wedding video. Almost as long as a real wedding video. I couldn't watch the whole thing. Maybe I'll give it another go on Valentine's Day.

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The Ultimate WoW Laptop [PICS]

2007-12-04T20:48:00.001-08:00

Check out this Laptop. I'm jealous. I'd love to roam Azeroth on that baby. Maybe in two years when it's a second-tier machine, I'll be able to pick up something like this. For now, I'm stuck on my old desktop. What do you play WoW on?

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Baywatch World of Warcraft Intro

2007-12-04T20:44:00.001-08:00

Another cute WoW video. This one's a spoof of Baywatch.

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World of Warcraft TCG Champion Walk of With $100,000

2007-12-03T15:46:00.001-08:00

Guillaume Matignon won the first ever World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Championship. The Frenchman won the $100,000 Grand prize. If you haven't seen this game yet, you might want to give it a look. It does a pretty good job of capturing the feel of WoW.

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Q&A: Morhaime on Activision-Blizzard union

2007-12-03T15:42:00.001-08:00

WoW creator, Blizzard joins up with Activision to form Activision-Blizzard. There will certainly be implications felt throughout the gaming industry. Read World of Warcraft President and co-founder, Mike Morhaime's thoughts on the merger.

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World Of Warcraft - Warrior Or Rogue - Who is Better And Why

2007-12-02T00:57:00.001-08:00

This is an interesting debate and probably comes down to personal preference. The author breaks down what he likes and dislikes about each class. Get Brian Kopps 1-70 Alliance Leveling Guide or Joana's 1-70 Horde Leveling Guide and you will be able to level either one to 70 very quickly.

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World Of Warcraft Flying machine new gallery

2007-12-02T00:55:00.001-08:00

Here's a new gallery showing new flying mounts that can only be made by engineers. Looks like a good reason to train engineering to me.

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World of Warcraft Mail, Part 3

2007-12-02T00:49:00.001-08:00

Doctor Insano brings us another funny WoW comic.

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Is World of Warcraft to Blame For Baby Grace's Death?

2007-12-02T00:48:00.001-08:00

This article in the Houston Chronicle details the role World of Warcraft played in the death of "Baby Grace". For once, blame is not heaped on the game, but on the perpetrators of the crime. Apparently, Grace's mother met the man that is also accused of killing Baby Grace while playing WoW. She moved, along with her daughter to Texas from Ohio. Many articles seem to stop there and much of the blame ends up on the game company. In this instance, the article rightly points out that WoW isn't to blame for the death of the little girl, but the actions of two sick individuals.

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Origin of Addiction

2007-12-02T00:41:00.001-08:00

Great blog post about a woman in college and her friend that's addicted to World of Warcraft. Hopefully we'll all stay grounded and remember this is a game not our life itself.

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