WoW patch 4.3 Dragon Soul interview, part three: Void storage and Darkmoon Faire revamp
With World of Warcraft’s Patch 4.3 set for release with tomorrow’s update, we’re more excited to jump back into Azeroth than we’ve been since Cataclysm’s released. Today, we conclude our interview with WoW’s lead designer Tom Chilton, who gave us the 411 on the battle against Deathwing and the new Transmogrification system. He’s got more info to share on the new-and-improved Darkmoon Faire, the Void Storage system (that’s overflowing with slots), and what needs to happen for WoW’s design in order to keep players happy.
WoW patch 4.3 Dragon Soul interview, part two: It’s transmogrif’ time
In part one of our interview with WoW’s lead designer Tom Chilton, we got insight into the fight against Deathwing in the game’s most grandiose encounter yet. But who cares about killing raid bosses if you can’t do it in style? We’re getting into the nitty-gritty of transmogrification in today’s installment, the feature that lets you graft the look of your favorite gear sets onto the items with the stats you need to survive. And what’s the verdict on Legendary weapons, anyway?
WoW patch 4.3 Dragon Soul interview, part one: Downing Deathwing
Yesterday, we gave you a look at Dragon Soul, the upcoming Patch 4.3 for World of Warcraft that’ll finally let you face off against Catacylsm’s biggest baddie: Deathwing. We had the pleasure of speaking to WoW’s Lead Designer, Tom “Kalgan” Chilton, and picked his brain about what’s coming up in the lore-riffic patch and just how crazy the big boss of this expansion will be. Be warned: if you want to encounter Deathwing entirely spoiler-free, you’ll need to cover your eyes for some bits. But if you want a leg up on how to take down the colossal black dragon, read on.
World of Warcraft 4.3 patch is a loregasm. Plus: why 4.3 can’t be the end for Cataclysm
Deathwing skewered on the perch of Wyrmrest Temple. The tortured ghosts of Sylvanas, Jaina and Tyrande. Mannaroth! Again! Last night, Blizzard released details of the new dungeons and raids coming to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. I’ve got some bad news.
They sound amazing. Prepare for a loregasm.
There are three five-mans and one raid coming to 4.3. The five-mans tell the story of heroes charging through time and space to retrieve the Dragon Soul, an ancient weapon that Thrall and the remaining sane Dragon Aspects reckon could defeat Deathwing. The raid is the run up to, and the final Deathwing fight – running up Wyrmrest Temple before being plunged into the Maelstrom.
So: first to the end of the World. Of Warcraft. In End Times.
Blizzard music store now open, World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 music for sale
Ever wanted to stride down to the local store while listening to World of Warcraft soundtrack, turning your sortie for sundries into a grandiose quest to obtain milk because you suspect the milk you have has gone off and you’re not sure but screw it you can never have enough milk anyway? Well then you’ll be delighted to discover that Blizzard have opened up a music store, selling soundtracks to World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, Diablo 2 and even a bit of music from Diablo 3.
Each individual track costs $0.99 and albums cost $9.99. Stick the StarCraft 2 music on in the background while preparing dinner this evening, and use your skyrocketing actions per minute ratio to make a feast fit for a Zerg brood.
World of Warcraft subscription decline “makes sense” says lead dev. PC is “re-emerging”
Tom Chilton, lead developer on life-altering MMO, World of Warcraft, has been speaking to us about the recent dip in World of Warcraft’s playerbase and the value of PC as a gaming platform.
Tom says that PCs are on the up, and that the “big spike” and “bigger dip” in player numbers post-Cataclysm is not a cause for concern. This is good news for everyone.
World of Warcraft patch 4.3 to add Deathwing raid, Transmogrifier and Void Storage. Real ID party system now live
World of Warcraft lead developer Tom Chilton has been talking to Gamona.de about the contents of WoW’s next big patch. MMO Champion spotted the article, which confirms that patch 4.3 will add the long awaited Deathwing raid, as well as a couple of intriguing new NPC vendors.
World of Warcraft Real ID Party beta lets friends on different Realms play together
On Battle.net, Blizzard announce that a new World of Warcraft Real ID Party system has gone into public beta. The system will let players on different Realms unite to take on 5-layer normal or heroic dungeons as long as they’re from the same faction. If you can’t form a five man party, the remaining slots can be filled using Dungeon Finder. Blizzard haven’t said how long the beta will last, or whether it will eventually be available exclusively to subscribers, but they have posted more information in the form of a FAQ.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm hitting China next month
WoW: Cataclysm is due to launch in China on July 12. Netease will be responsible for the launch.
Other regions have been enjoying the most recent expansion for the past seven months, but Blizzard have only just got around to preparing the content for China-based players. We doubt they’re complaining though – Wrath of the Lich King took almost two years to appear in their territory.
Blizzard co-founder, Mike Morhaime is predictably happy about the announcement, saying: “We’ve always appreciated Chinese gamers’ passion and support for World of Warcraft, and we’re excited that they’ll soon be able to enjoy all of the great new content this expansion has to offer.”
WoW patch 4.2 is due to launch soon. See the first footage of it here and read the extensive patch notes here.
World of Wacraft patch 4.2 video dives into Thrall’s nightmares
Patch 4.2 for World of Warcraft will add the Firelands, a new outdoor 10 and 25 player raid that pits players against the great fire lord Ragnaros and his six protectors. The new Rage of the Firelands trailer above gives us an advanced glimpse of the new bosses through the medium of a vision. It’s the fever dream of an Orc who has spent far too much time brooding on a ledge. During the course of the hallucination, Thrall gets to meet Ragnaros, and captures a glimpse of the bosses that guard the Firelands.
The bosses look great. They are huge. There’s a giant fire-man, a giant fire-spider, a giant fire-bat, and a horned demon called Shannox who has two giant guard dogs. They are made of fire. Patch 4.2 also makes a large collection of balance changes. You can find the full patch notes here. Check out the Firelands preview on the World of Warcraft site for more on the new raid.
World of Warcraft patch 4.2 live on test servers, full patch notes released
Patch 4.2 has hit the World of Warcraft test servers, and Blizzard have released the full patch notes. The new patch will add The Firelands, and outdoor 10 and 25 man raid instance guarded by six unique bosses and ruled over by the fiery form of Ragnos himself. You can find out all about the Firelands in the new Encounter Journal.
Other additions include a new epic quest to complete the legendary Dragonwrath staff. Reforging the staff will let its wielder turn into a member of the Blue Dragonflight, and will grant every member of the guild involved a new non-combat pet. There are a ton of rebalancing tweaks to Cataclysm’s dungeons to make them easier. You’ll find the full patch notes below, nabbed from World of Warcraft blog.
World of Warcraft Encounter Journal to detail boss fights, Firelands raid previewed
The new Encounter Journal has landed on the World of Warcraft test realms, providing full details of the boss fights in the upcoming Firelands raid. The Journal is set to act as a one stop, in-game wiki that will provide in depth information on every raid boss, gathering the huge amount of information normally only available on sites like WoWhead and WoWwiki into one official document.
The Journal will list detailed descriptions of each bosses’ attacks, and the exact challenges players will encounter in each boss chamber, but will the new addition ruin the surprise of WoW’s raids? And will listing every boss attack make them too easy to defeat?
EU giveaway: win boxes and boxes of World of Warcraft loot
To celebrate the release of the Worldbreaker expansion pack and the Assault on Icecrown boxed set for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, we’ve got a crate-load of World of Warcraft loot to give away to our European readers, with first, second and third prizes up for grabs.
First prize includes – deep breath – the now-rare World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector’s Edition boxed set, a super-rare Mottled Drake loot card that unlocks an in-game flying mount, the Assault on Icecrown boxed set, the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Worldbreaker Epic Collection, a World of Warcraft Trading Card Game booster pack, the Wrath of the Lich King soundtrack, enormous Horde and Alliance flags and an inflatable Frostmourne sword, as seen modeled by the PC Gamer UK team here. PHEW.
We really have to give them away as soon as possible, because we keep falling over them. If you live in Europe, read on for details on how to win.
UPDATE: The winners have been chosen! First prize – NoX, because that sounds like exactly the sort of thing Tim might do if he owned a continent. Second prize – Eccles, because there aren’t enough Laser Death Cats or Plasma Doom Dogs in games. Last but not least, slaaneshi611, because Incontinent is a brilliant name for a continent. Winners, please check your forum account messages for details on how to claim your prize. Thanks to all who entered!
World of Warcraft’s first subscription drop: are you still playing?
During the recent Activision-Blizzard investor call, Blizzard CEO Mike Morheime released figures that showed the numbers of subscribers to World of Warcraft had dropped by around 5% – the first such drop recorded. The 5% doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but I’ve certainly noticed that the servers we play on are way quieter, and the PC Gamer UK guild on Steamwheedle Cartel is in a full on recruitment drive right now. So, if you were a WoW player, but aren’t any longer, tell us why you’ve quit? What happened? What changed? And what could the World of Warcraft development team do to win you back?
Try out World of Warcraft’s Auction House and Remote Chat for free
World of Warcraft players with smartphones can now test out the World of Warcraft Remote‘s guild chat functionality for one week without charge. Residents of Azeroth/Outland have been able to trial the Auction House tools for a few weeks, but Blizzard have only just added remote chatting to the deal.
You’ll get the tools for free until May 10, so it’s worth signing up asap if you want to see what the fuss is about. You’ll can bid on and post auctions from anywhere in the world (reception-allowing).
iPhone or iPod touch users should download the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory, whereas those of you with Android phones should get the World of Warcraft Remote App. It usually costs £2.49/$2.99 per month for the services.
In a comforting touch, Blizzard have already boosted loyal existing subscriber’s accounts by one week.
