Welcome to the all-exciting weekly news recap featuring Panser of TradeChat! In our weekly recap, we'll be tackling the hottest news and whatever other kickin' rad items have come our way throughout the last week. This week's topics include:

• Better digsites for Mists of Pandaria
• Potential new warchiefs
• Diablo III transmog outfits
• Blizzard cleans up GAME's mess
• Real-life WoW abilities

Make sure you subscribe to TradeChat and check back every week for more Weekly Recaps!

Filed under: News items

WoW Insider's Weekly Recap, featuring TradeChat's Panser originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Diablo III, man. Diablo III.

Diablo III Diablo III Diablo III Diablo III, Diablo III. Diablo 3? No, no, no: Diablo III.

So, Diablo III -- What aRe yoU Playing? This week's Diablo III: What's your preferred Diablo III class?

Continue reading WRUP: Diablo 3 Diablo 3 Diablo 3 Diablo 3 Diablo 3

Filed under: WoW Insider Business, Diablo 3

WRUP: Diablo 3 Diablo 3 Diablo 3 Diablo 3 Diablo 3 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engineers, keep getting excited for Mists of Pandaria, because we've just got even more toys to make our favorite profession unequivocally still the best profession. With the recent beta patch, we've seen some new datamined recipes for engineering goodies such as Blingtron 4000, a fabulously wealthy robot companion who gives people gifts, and the Depleted-Kyparium Rocket, a new rocket mount built by engineers.

The real treat, however, is the Thermal Anvil, a new item that drops a portable anvil and forge at the engineer's feet. Yes, you read that right -- engineers are going to be able to deploy a portable anvil.

But wait, there's more. Did you want to slap some Watergliding Jets on your shoes to make swimming a breeze? What about a brand new Wormhole Generator for the Pandaria continent? Maybe you've like to pair a gathering profession with your engineering to make the best use of some brand new Mist-Piercing Goggles? Engineers, Blizzard has heard our call for more fun stuff and it is delivering. I can't wait to see what's next. Engineering -- best profession!
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

Mists of Pandaria Beta: Engineering gets more fun toys originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don't Make Me Get My Main by Legs and Cranius won first prize in the BlizzCon 2009 machinima contest. It's hard to believe that was nearly three years ago; time flies when you're ganking newbs, I guess.

With Mists of Pandaria looming around the corner like a Defias thug with bad intentions, it's time for us all to remember: That newb you gank today could actually be a PvP superstar. Choose your targets wisely.
Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: Don't Make Me Get My Main originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kun-Lai Summit is host to the Shado-pan Monastery. In Mists of Pandaria, you'll undoubtedly get a chance to experience and help rid the instance of Sha influence. Megan and I decided to check the place out and see what the deal is. We teamed up before when she carried me kindly tanked for me in the Stormstout Brewery. Like last time, I healed on my holy priest, Megan tanked on her druid, and we were accompanied with two hunters and an enhancement shaman. Your group needs to be at minimum level 87 in order to queue.

The video above is a little under 50 minutes long. We would've been able to move quicker if I hadn't been in combat all the time.

Yeesh. Even the Matticus needs a drink from time to time.

Gu Cloudstrike

Cloudstrike is the first boss your group will challenge. You'll run into Cloudstrike outside on a plateau just as you leave the first chamber. It's a three-phase encounter involving Cloudstrike and a flying serpent.

Continue reading Dungeon Mastery: Shado-pan Monastery

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mists of Pandaria

Dungeon Mastery: Shado-pan Monastery originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, and esoteroic topics that slip through the cracks.

One of the highest-profile disputes in the gaming industry has come to a settlement agreement. Blizzard has agreed that it will back off from Valve's use of the DOTA trademark for commercial use, while Blizzard retains noncommercial use of the term for modders, map creators, and the community revolving around the game. In addition to the commercial/non-commercial separation, Blizzard has officially changed the name of its upcoming Blizzard DOTA to Blizzard All-Stars, so expect a new branding push soon. At the end of the day, I am still bewildered as to why we're fighting over DOTA, an acronym and phrase that comes packed with baggage and various connotations.

Back in 2010, Rob Pardo told Eurogamer essentially that trademarking DOTA was a slap in the face to the community that created the genre, and for a company that built a great deal of its success on mods, it seemed genuinely out of place for Valve. While everything is always about money, sometimes things are about money just a little less. With its own products announced using the DOTA name and former-DOTA developers having joined S2 Games and Riot Games to create Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends respectively, the MOBA genre is healthy.

Continue reading The Lawbringer: Blizzard and Valve settle on DOTA

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Lawbringer

The Lawbringer: Blizzard and Valve settle on DOTA originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things just got real in the Mists of Pandaria beta, folks. With the most recent patch, the new moonkin forms for the druid talent Incarnation have hit MMO-Champion. I don't really have much to say other than Blizzard just might be opening a can of worms here for druid players. Armored moonkin forms actually look pretty awesome.

Druids, run with this one. While Incarnation is going to have its own special models, attaching armor to the existing moonkin form might have proven easier than imagined. Could druids get the option in the future to augment their forms with their own armor choices? Not yet, but Incarnation's forms are already shaping up to be pretty exciting for druids. Now, to dust off my druid ...

Filed under: Druid, Mists of Pandaria

Mists of Pandaria Beta: Horde and Alliance Incarnation moonkin forms originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same.

As the Mists of Pandaria beta rolls along (lots of monks are on the beta -- it's a joke about rolling), almost all of the zones are open to testing and nearing the level cap. Soon, very soon, Blizzard will flip that switch and we will be able to enable addons and it will be glorious. Until then, there are many questions about the current version of World of Warcraft (Cataclysm) that many people would like to have answered.

If you've got a question, answer, addon recommendation, complaint, invoice, or other correspondence, you should email Addon Spotlight's amazing author Mathew McCurley at mat@wowinsider.com. Through that email, you will reach me and my eyes. Let's get going.

In honor of Diablo, (H)el(l)ephant

Our first email comes from reader Jmaximus, who sounds like a totally badass paladin on the Thunderhorn server. Any name with Maximus in it is going to intimidate me to some degree. Anyway, Jmaximus has an addon recommendation for the lot of you, so thank him, because this one is pretty cool. Elephant!

Continue reading Addon Spotlight: Mailbag 5

Filed under: Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight

Addon Spotlight: Mailbag 5 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When last we left our heroes, they'd hopped in a motorcycle to ride into the sunset -- and take a boat to Pandaria. However, they lack a map and live in a microcosm that represents the overall Blizzard community, so they cannot simply walk into Pandaria. Also, click click click click click click click click ...

"I didn't think Panda-land would be so dark," Throgg commented. His eyes narrowed beneath the ridged line of his immense brow. "I don't mean young person and black jeans dark. I mean like actually hard to see. Did we take the wrong boat?"

The pair walked along a curved, narrow path. Oddly, each side of the path was closed off with walls and vines. They couldn't travel far from the walkway. "Still can't get the bike started. We're hoofing it."

Throgg pursed his lips as he look around. Suddenly, he unlatched the enormous battle-axe from his back and shouted. "To arms! Undead ahead, and they're attacking!"

Lolegolas let loose a battle cry and reached for his bow. With a practiced growl, he grasped where it should have been and pulled out a Simple Hand Crossbow. The blood elf pulled up short immediately. "Wait, what in Metzen's name is this?"

The orc cocked his head to the side. "They make crossbows that small? When did you get that?"

"Is it just me, or do those undead look funny?" Lolegolas said.

"We're not in Pandaria," Throgg said. "We really need to go back the way we came."

Lolegolas sighed as he turned around, ignoring the undead behind them. "This is great. We're losing an entire week to this nonsense."

Throgg blinked as they returned to the boat. "Uh. Where's Spot?"
Phat Loot Phriday brings you the scoop on some of the most ... interesting ... loot in the World of Warcraft, often viewed through the eyes of the stalwart Throgg and indelible Lolegolas. Suggest items you think we should feature by emailing mikeg@wowinsider.com.

Filed under: Phat Loot Phriday

Phat Loot Phriday: Simple Hand Crossbow originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Check out Fox and Basil's reboot of Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail!

The end of an expansion is a tough time to make gold. There's a lot more competition for a lot less demand. Many people see gold-making as a nice casual way to play while they wait for the next content dump, and fewer people are playing seriously (which is the root of demand for a lot of popular and profitable markets). To top it all off, we know that inflation is going to take a huge chunk out of our net worth when Mists launches, and there are a bunch of new things to save money up for. What kind of things can you still sell to make a profit?

Continue reading Gold Capped: Things that still sell at the end of an expansion

Filed under: Economy, Cataclysm, Gold Capped, Mists of Pandaria

Gold Capped: Things that still sell at the end of an expansion originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

You know, it was a tough call, but I think I'm gonna take this weapon and use it. Yep.

Kent1 asked:

This has probably been asked before so apologies. What exactly is the reasoning for the switch to class/spec specific quest rewards?

Outside of (conveniently) being able to pick items for an off-spec, I'm actually a little miffed about possibly having to take a mediocre upgrade instead of that nice weapon that vendors for an extra 20g. Just seems like they're fixing something that isn't really broken.

Really, it's about getting you more gear. Every quest that gives an item is guaranteed to give you an item that works for your spec. If you don't need it, you can always sell it, just like you would anyway.

There are other motivations too, obviously, like preventing the quest-reward misclick altogether.

Continue reading The Queue: I'll take it

Filed under: The Queue

The Queue: I'll take it originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For reasons unknown, World of Warcraft and Battle.net web services are all down for the count this morning. Social media speculation lays blame at the feet of Diablo III, but judging by my barbarian's continued ability to run roughshod over Azmodan's legions, that may not be the case -- the Diablo III service appears to be operating perfectly fine.

Of course, the possibility remains that some aspect of Diablo III's current operations is placing excessive strain on other areas of Battle.net's infrastructure, and the targeted blame may yet be accurate. We have yet to see a statement from Blizzard on the downtime, but we will update you as soon as we do.

Update: The game-side issue appears to be an issue with the login server. If you are already logged into World of Warcraft ... don't log off if you want to keep playing!

Update #2: The Battle.net downtime appears to have been resolved.

Filed under: News items

World of Warcraft and Battle.net web services currently down [Updated] originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Submitter Kittens of Earthen Ring (EU-A) set up this lovely picnic in the Valley of the Four Winds, but she was unable to find anyone to share her perfect moment with her other than a passing crane. I feel for you, Kittens -- with all the new releases out lately, Azeroth is getting a little lonely. At least I have Lego Harry Potter 2 to ease my pain, because at heart I am 10 years old and still get a thrill out of building Lego objects.

Gallery: Around Azeroth 3

Want to see your own screenshot here? Send it to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com. We strongly prefer full-sized pictures with no UI or names showing. Include "Azeroth" in the subject line to ensure your submission dodges email spam filters; if you'd like to be credited, also include your name, guild and realm.

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth Beta Edition: Unlucky in love originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USAopoly's awesome foray in WoW-themed board games comes in the form of the World of Warcraft version of Monopoly. With player pieces like a Hearthstone, Core Hound Pup, and Mechagnome and WoW-themed real estate to buy with WoW-themed money, you know you're going to have fun playing this with your friends. I call the Hearthstone piece, though, and no one lets Sacco near the bank, because I bet he's a cheater.

Check out Joystiq's unboxing gallery here. World of Warcraft Monopoly is available for sale today. Joystiq is even giving away one of the games to a lucky commenter, so head on over to the site and enter to win.

Filed under: Blizzard

Joystiq unboxes WoW Monopoly originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The next batch of WoW fill-in-your-own-words fun stories actually will totally have fun continuity. I introduce you to Jun Pao and the Tournament of Triumph, part 1.

OK, I'll do it right this time for you nerds. Here's the list, first. Hit the jump for the story, and plug in your words!

1. Common outdoor place
2. Animal
3. Intense emotion
4. Your favorite WoW race, plural
5. Something your favorite WoW race will never, ever do
6. A synonym for rock (it can be rock)
7. Adjective
8. Herbalism plant
9. A fish native to Azeroth
10. Your favorite Avenger (from the movie -- don't get smart with me, comic nerds. I'll find you.)
11. Season
12. Bodily sound
13. Adjective
14. Adjective relating to old people
15. Relationship
16. Body parts
17. Proper name

Continue reading Breakfast Topic: Another WoW fill-in-your-own-words adventure

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Breakfast Topic: Another WoW fill-in-your-own-words adventure originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Stormstout Brewery is one of the two instances you'll be running once you start on dungeons in Mists. It's available at 85 and is probably the easiest of the ones currently available in the beta. So it's a great place to start out your journey to 90!

Being lovely, helpful people, we here at WoW Insider thought we would put together a short and sweet set of tips to aid you in your attempts to cleanse the Stormstout Brewery of its pollution. This isn't intended as a full guide (although of course we have furnished you with one of those in the past) but more as a helping hand for those who don't want a step-by-step walkthrough.

So what does the brave adventurer need to know?

1. Watch your debuffs! There are a lot of debuffs flying around in the Stormstout Brewery, there really are. My favourite debuff is Bloat, which makes you shoot beer out of your ears. If you're a melee player or a ranged player who likes to cuddle up to other ranged players, you'll need to check if your healer's able to keep up with the damage you're no doubt inflicting on your teammates. If not, you should probably take your beery ears elsewhere.

Continue reading 5 things you need to know about the Stormstout Brewery

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

5 things you need to know about the Stormstout Brewery originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let's hit the wayback machine here. And I mean the wayback machine -- we're talking all the way back to January 2007. That's five and a half years ago, folks. Not only was a new science fiction series featuring a man named Adama and his trusty cohorts tearing up the TV channels, a polluted town called Gnomeregan was in desperate need of heroes.

In our little world, that's how this Battlestar-styled trailer came to be. Just remember the next time you join a dungeon group, that warrior might have a little toaster in him.
Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: Battlestar Gnomeregan originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever since the Black Market Auction House was mentioned, people wondered what the heck would be in it. We were told it would sell rare items, but what we weren't told was the extent of those rare items. It's not just level 90 recipes and things along those lines; it's also rare mounts and items that have been removed from game. This includes the elusive tier 3 that was lost presumably for all time when Naxxramas was changed from a 40-man raid to a 10- and 25-man raid and moved from the Eastern Plaguelands up to Northrend.

As shown in the screenshot above, this also includes the Ashes of Al'ar, a rare mount drop from Kael'thas Sunstrider in Tempest Keep. And that seems to be a hot topic for a lot of players right now, particularly players who already have the mount and obtained it the old-fashioned way. It's an even bigger topic among those who don't necessarily have gigantic piles of gold stashed away, because it's obvious the prices on these items are going to be incredibly high. Some have said that Blizzard is catering to the 1% of players who have stockpiled mass amounts of gold.

Well, that's not it at all, really. And the Black Market Auction House is something that we've needed for a very, very long time here.

Continue reading Is the thought of the Black Market Auction House bugging you?

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

Is the thought of the Black Market Auction House bugging you? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Azeroth is a world made of memories. Whether you're talking about mind-blowing scenery, incredible in-game experiences, or just good times with friends, you'll experience plenty of WoW moments that you'll remember for the rest of your life. Just like in real life, it's helpful to snap a quick picture to supplement your walks down memory lane.

Taking screenshots in WoW is fairly simple. Just press the Print Screen button on a PC or Command+Shift+3 on a Mac, and the photo gets dropped in your game files.

While that's all there is to actually taking a screenshot, there's a difference between getting a picture and getting an awesome picture. Let's take a few tips and tricks from seasoned photography pros and make our screenshots truly spectacular.

Continue reading Tips and tricks for taking great WoW screenshots

Filed under: WoW Rookie

Tips and tricks for taking great WoW screenshots originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I was healing a Well of Eternity PUG a few days ago when I got a whisper from the group's warrior tank.

Warrior: Could you help me out with something?

Me: Sure, what do you need?

Warrior: If Varo'then's Brooch drops at the end, would you roll on it for me?

Me: Um ...

I'd been off in my own little world watching health bars and thinking about next week's Shifting Perspectives column and hadn't paid any attention to the group's composition. It turns out the DPSers were a mage, a hunter, and -- oh, there we go -- a frost death knight. So in the event that the strength trinket dropped, the warrior tank wanted me to roll on it and, if I won, give it to him over the DK. He probably asked the mage and the priest to do the same thing, but the group was quiet in party chat, so I have no way of knowing.

We had a small and, to his credit, civil conversation over it, and there are a few issues here on which I'd like to get readers' opinions.

Continue reading The Azeroth Ethicist: Cheating (or not cheating) the roll system

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion

The Azeroth Ethicist: Cheating (or not cheating) the roll system originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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