Some updates over at Nerdtacular.com regarding dates, event info, etc. For those of you interested in Nerdtacular this year, it’s a good bookmark to make! I’ll post more here as we get closer to ticket reservation, etc.
Big News Of The Week
This Is A World Of Warcraft Show, Right?
It was just last week that we speculated on the coming of the Starcraft 2 beta, and sure enough, it showed up in all its glory! It’s hard to think of anything that is going to affect WoW more – before Cataclysm comes along – than Starcraft 2. At least, that’s what we think.
Rumors And Scuttlebutt
Cataclysm Is Coming Before Cataclysm
We talked last episode about signs that Cataclysm isn’t coming as hot on the heals of 3.3 as previously expected when Blizzard announced that there would be no further major content patches. This week, Game Informer increased the volume of that talk with an interview with Tom Chilton, in which he proposed that Blizzard has a pocket-full of new content to deliver before Cataclysm. Mr. Chilton said
We are looking into the possibility of having a boss in the Ruby Sanctum, which is another part of Wyrmrest Temple. It’s a little too early to have a lot of details on that, but I wouldn’t characterize it as a huge chunk of content.
On the forums, Blizzard CM Zarhym wasn’t so coy:
We’d like to tell you about an exciting new raid dungeon we are working on for content patch 3.3.5. The Ruby Sanctum A powerful war party of the Black Dragonflight, led by the fearsome Twilight dragon, Halion, have launched an assault upon the Ruby Sanctum beneath Wyrmrest Temple. By destroying the sanctum, the Black Dragonflight look to crush those that would stand in the way of their master’s reemergence into Azeroth and to ultimately shatter the Wyrmrest Accord – the sacred bond that unites the dragonflights. The battle that is to come will surely deal a crippling blow to the Red Dragonflight, however, it is up to you to stop this unprecedented offensive and defend the Ruby Sanctum. First you must face the assault of Halion’s servants, Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn, and General Zarithrian, before squaring off against Halion the Twilight Destroyer, a new and deadly force in this realm. The Ruby Sanctum will feature 10- and 25-player content, Heroic difficulties and all-new rewards! Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to its release. “
And then, Blizzard posted an early version of patch 3.3.3 to the PTR this week.
Say Goodbye To Upper Deck
As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game’s transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them.
UpperDeck had a slightly different spin on it, in this press release:
After long and careful deliberation, Upper Deck International (UDI) will not be renewing its World of Warcraft license agreements with Blizzard Entertainment… Due to gradually declining sales over the past few years and the overall downturn in the economic climate, we have had to make the tough decision to discontinue our World of Warcraft product lines.
UDI World of Warcraft products will be available until the end of March. Upcoming products such as the Class Starter Deck, Wrathgate Booster, Souls of Vengeance Starter, Deluxe Starter and Booster will not go into production.
Look out for special events at your local gaming store with some of the greatest prize support ever and a final opportunity to complete your collection.”
Town Cryer
Delmombo from Undermine writes: Much like Scott, I’ve never really enjoyed professions but Blizzard has implemented something into the game to actually make me want to fish: The Dread Pirate Ring. Being the heirloom fanatic that I am, I must have this ring. I have done some research & understand the basics of how to obtain it. My question to Randy is: Are there any tricks of the trade that can give me an edge on the competition to winning? e.g. A certain fishing pole or bait? Any tips would greatly be appreciated.
Hey Delmombo! Check out El’s Anglin’ here.
Drop Of The Week
I Love The Whole World…. Of Warcraft!
Have you seen the Discovery Channel commercial with the catchy Boom-Dee-Yada song? Yeah, that was SO January 2010. It got WoWized, and it’s funny.
Additional show content provided by Darrell the Tipgiver, Steve “Buxley” Pietrowicz, James “Acuzod” Jefferies and the outstanding Instance Community.
Special thanks to DogHouse Systems, FigurePrints!, TypeFrag and SquareSpace for sponsoring this episode.
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The MP3 File
- The iTunes Subscription
The Zune Feed
Big News Of The Week
Starcraft 2 Beta Makes All The Girls Squee
Blizzard used their Facebook page this week to announce that a lucky few will be beta testing Starcraft 2 before the end of this month. And there are really only two weeks left in this month! How cool is that?
In the Activision quarterly earnings call this week, Mike Morhaime confirmed that Cataclysm will be released in 2010. Many analysts noted that it has been 12 years since Blizzard released two games in the same year. We noticed that Blizzard has only released three new titles in the last 6.5 years.
Love Is In The Air, Only Different
The most-pink yearly holiday in-game is going on right now, and it has been freshened up.
Rumors And Scuttlebutt
Blizzard May Or May Not Have Changed Course, Maybe
Players have often wondered whether Blizzard was binding themselves too tightly to getting the Cataclysm expansion released by mid-year, in light of their statement that the most recent content via patch 3.3 would be the last major content added to the game before the next expansion. Well this week on the official forums, in a thread entitled “3.3.2 – Where next?”, Zarhym said,
We do have some additional PvE and PvP content and changes we plan to implement prior to the release of the big Cataclysm patch and subsequent retail release of that third expansion. We’ll be discussing these new features in more detail in the coming weeks.
Just How Plushy Are We Talkin’?
And is there a such thing as too plushy? The Pet Store is about to find out! Introducing the Wind Rider Cub and Gryphon Hatchling, the first in a new line of cuddly, crafty critters scheduled to arrive exclusively in the online Blizzard Store in the weeks ahead. Each plush companion will come with a code for a matching in-game, non-combat, account-bound pet to fly by your side in Azeroth. Both Horde and Alliance players will be able to adopt either pet once they hatch in the online Blizzard Store. Keep your eyes on the sky — and the official World of Warcraft website — for more information.
Town Cryer
Ben A. writes: I just hit 80 on my first character and I know better than to jump headfirst into heroics, so what should I do?
Drop Of The Week
Exclusive Interview With James Whitehead, II.
And listen to find out who won the book!
Additional show content provided by Darrell the Tipgiver, Steve “Buxley” Pietrowicz, James “Acuzod” Jefferies and the outstanding Instance Community.
Special thanks to DogHouse Systems, FigurePrints!, TypeFrag and SquareSpace for sponsoring this episode.
- The RSS Feed
The MP3 File
- The iTunes Subscription
The Zune Feed
Official word from Blizzard today finally confirms the development of a system that has been among the improvements most-requested by players for years: access to the AH from outside the game itself. Bornakk posted:
Since the launch of the World of Warcraft Armory, we’ve been regularly releasing updates and new features designed to help players stay connected to the game even when they’re not logged in. Today, we wanted to give you a heads-up about a new service now in development that will let players access the Auction House directly through the Armory website or Armory App for iPhone or iPod touch.
While there are still plenty of details to be worked out, we’re designing the service to offer auction functionality similar to what’s available in-game. Players have been requesting — and we’ve been hoping to implement — a feature like this for a long time, and we’re excited that the Armory and the game have evolved to a point that makes it possible.
This is a fairly complex service to develop, due in large part to its unprecedented integration with the game, so we don’t have an exact release date yet. It’s important to note here that certain elements of the service will be premium-based, which we’ll go into more detail on once the service functionality is finalized. As with all of the services we offer, we plan to integrate the Auction House and Armory in a way that won’t disrupt the gameplay experience, and we won’t release it until it meets the quality standards that we’ve set for our other features and services. You may be seeing bits and pieces of the Auction House service pop up in the test builds we use for the public test realms as we go through the process of internal testing. We’ll have more info to share with you here and at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as we get closer to release.
We’re very excited about this. You can join in the discussion on The Instance forums here.