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Rs we dug through historical screens and sketches to use in our feature on World of Warcraft's 5* anniver-ary, this picturesque image of Stormwind Cathedral stood out — majestic and iconic, but at the same time.
It’s a literal example of what we’re trying to achieve with the World of Warcraft Official Msgaz ne. Our main goal is to show you Azeroth from a different perspective. And
Welcome to the first issue
Truth is, were wholly dedicated to finding new angles on Azeroth Rather than simply teD you how to play, we’re go-
ploring, and extending the game’s fun beyond the borders
Crusaders' Coliseum when the top raiding guilds can show
Blizzard, but what about Mike the musician, or the poker
own rules’ This issue is full of strategies, lore, and advice
well as insight from the game's development team — but it
goal, anyway
World of Warcraft players have notoriously strong opinions, and we welcome yours Drop us a noteat
your thoughts We’ve got plenty of ideas about how
too — because we never underestimate the power of a
Julian Rignall
Editorial Director.
World of Warcraft Official Magfizme
01
IN THIS ISSUE
A VIEW TO A KILL
Battlegrounds is also one of
78
DEEP TACTICS:
CRUSADER’S COLISEUM
some serious challenges We got the top guilds to tell you their tricks.
118
BATTLEGROUNDS:
ARATHI BASIN
48
BATTLEGROUNDS:
ISLE OF CONQUEST
The Horde and Alliance dash on
W RTURES 1
They don't make finishing quests any easier. They’re just tiny points of personal pride So why do we
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ANIMAL MAGNETISM
60
FROM OUT OF NOWHERE
56 CROWNING ACHIEVEMENTS
iktics
craft players do that literally.
immunny <
Bui why are they so popular? We hunted down some of Azeroth’s
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WANTED POSTERS
126 IN THECARDS
COMMUNITY CORNER: RING OF PROTECTION
14Л
cooldown
Welt, we thought it was funny.
BOOTY CALLS
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THE CRAFTY CRAFTER'S
GUIDE TO...INSCRIPTION
Scrolls, glyphs, tomes, maybe the pen really is mightier than the
to hero overnight winning $75K in
PLAY IT YOUR WAY: HEALERS
V jLumns <
136 TANKING: MAJOR THREAT
DPS: ON THE
OTHER-OTHER HAND
140
HEALING: GRIDLOCKED Do you get hyprxrtired by health
142
THE GUILD HALL:
THERE GO THE BRIDES?
5
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR-NOT-IN-CHIEF EUROPEAN EDITOR
Official Magazine
Julian Rignall, human priest Dan Amrich, blood elf rogue Josh Augustine, troll rogue Tim Edwards, tauren druid
CONTRIBUTORS
Cody Bye, Alan Dexter, Teresa Dun, Todd Leveen, Casey Lynch, Jamie Madison, David Murphy, Tyler Nagata, Luis Villazon
COPY EDITOR Mary Ricci
ART
GROUP ART DIRECTOR
ART DIRECTOR
CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS
Sean DallasKidd
Ryan Vulk, dwarf death knight Katrin Auch, Elie Cardenas, Jenny Esdaile
FUTURE US, INC.
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И FEATURE
THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN_
ГПТПС1
EXPANSION PREVIEW
THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING — ARE YOU READY? SEE HOW THE LATEST EXPANSION WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF AZEROTH.
hen ancient magic tears the world apart, what can possibly escape unscathed? Not a whole lot. So when Cataclysm, World of Warcraft's next expansion, makes massive changes to the lands of Azeroth next year, it'll not only affect the scenery, it will also improve a whole heap of other features.
A robust guild-leveling system, goblins, worgen, flying mounts in Azeroth, Ragnaros' vengeful return, underwater gameplay, rated Battlegrounds, new progression systems like Path of the Titans for max-level characters — oh. and did we mention that the entire world has been ripped apart by a terrifying magma dragon bursting out from Deepholm onto the surface of Azeroth, ready to destroy all life on the planet? So, yeah, there's that too.
Our editors dig deep into nine key aspects of the expansion to help you prepare for the end of the world as you know it. Azeroth is changing — .nd it will inevitably change you with it.
P
ARMOR PLATING Deathwing's corruption is more than just mental; it's physical and total. Only by the use of goblin-forged adamantium armor can Deathwing's ravaged body survive.
Delieve it or not, Deathwing didn't always want to murder everyone and enslave Dragon Aspects like Alexstrasza to be his mate. He actually used to be pretty cool. Originally known as Neltharion the Earth-Warder, Deathwing is the leader of the black dragonflight and one of five dragons who were chosen by the titans in ancient times to watch over Azeroth. With supreme power over earth, magma, and all those other fiery terrestrial goodies, Neltharion was once the caretaker of the continents of Azeroth. Back then, he was using his powers with wisdom and benevolence to forge mountains and rivers for the benefit of the mortal races. Nowadays, though, he's more into using those powers to forge world-wrecking volcanoes and giant beds of skulls to lie upon.
You can blame his personality shift from Neltharion the Earth-Warder to Deathwing the Destroyer on the Old Gods (those guys spoil everything). From their prison deep within the earth, the Old Gods assaulted Neltharion's mind with promises of power. Despite his nobility and power, Neltharion couldn't resist the Old Gods' manipulative lies forever, and he eventually succumbed. The Earth-Warder faded away, and in his place rose the terrible Deathwing, who was determined to wipe out all non-Ыаск dragons...save for a few
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slaves and consorts, of course.
The tricky thing about betrayal is that you rarely see it coming; the other Dragon Aspects certainly didn’t. Deathwing tricked all four of them into pouring a portion of their power and essence (while withholding his own) into the Dragon Soul, a goblin-forged disc that was made of gold, mixed with his own blood, and fused with the taint of the Old Gods. The Burning Legion, mortal forces, and draconic armies — everything but the black dragonflight — could not stand against this potent weapon.
But the Dragon Soul, now known as the Demon Soul, emanated so much corrupting power that no one could possess the artifact without ill effects. This corruption tore apart Deathwing's body, exposing his molten core. Only powerful adamantium armor, once again forged by the goblins, is able to keep what's left of his ravaged body from falling apart.
Deathwing’s dream of total obliteration of life on Azeroth would likely be reality if it weren’t for the night elven druid Malfurion Stormrage, who stole the Demon Soul from the dragon's lair and hid it after the other Dragon Aspects had sealed the artifact so that Deathwing could never use it again.
Deathwing suffered another major defeat ten thousand years later, when the archmagi of Dalaran forced him
AND WHY DOES HE WANT TO KILL US ALL?
into battle and sent him crashing into the sea. Clever as always, Deathwing used the opportunity to assume the form of a human noble, infiltrate the Alliance, and sabotage it from within. As Lord Daval Prestor, Deathwing used magic to manipulate other nobles as part of his scheme to be appointed king of Alterac.
Worse yet, during the Second War, Deathwing uncovered the location of the Demon Soul. Unable to wield it himself, Deathwing used minions to control mortals who could wield it for him. At one point even Rhonin, a member of the Kirin Tor and its future leader, was under Deathwing's influence. However, Rhonin was able to maintain enough of his right mind to destroy the Demon Soul as soon as he discovered a weakness in it, ending Deathwing's plan.
Suddenly restored to their full power by the Demon Soul's destruction, the other four Dragon Aspects fought back and forced Deathwing into hiding. Now he lies in wait in Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane, held together only by seething hatred and ancient armor, dreaming of the world's destruction. The Old Gods' voices are clear and powerful...and they demand Deathwing's return to the surface to herald the destruction of all life. Brace yourself, for the one who safeguarded your world has returned to destroy it.
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"The Barrens is one of those zones we've always had a lot of feedback on," says Game Director Tom Chilton. "It's probably the ultimate example of a monotonous
zone for us, so that made it a really
CHECK OUT WHAT DEATHWING’S DONE TO YOUR OLD STOMPING GROUNDS.
prime candidate for touching up." And by "touching up," he means "rending in twain.”
A giant chasm dramatically separates the Horde's most chatty area into two separate zones: north and south. "From an artistic viewpoint, the Barrens is a very important place on Kalimdor," explains Alex Afrasiabi, Lead World Designer. "It sort of cuts the whole continent in half, so it was a nice place to say, 'BAM! This thing's been destroyed.'"
"Some areas are much more lush and green than they were in the past," adds Tom, "but large parts of the zone are still very Barrens-esque."
And the giant scar in the land isn't the only major change. After years of help from players, Mank-rik has finally recovered his wife's body for a proper funeral. The
northern Barrens will remain at
a similar level for the Horde, but the southern Barrens will feature a strong Alliance presence and be targeted at levels 30 to 35. What's more, the Emerald Nightmare is pouring out into the southern Barrens, causing all sorts of trouble. And those loveable pirates near Ratchet have been forced out as Alliance and Horde forces clash in the zone (you'll discover Baron Longshore in a cage), with some pirates escaping to set camp nearby.
And remember, veterans need no bridges. Cataclysm players will be able to soar over the entire zone and survey the destruction from their flying mounts. Wheel
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Tauren paladin
THE CHANGED WORLD
TAUREN PALADINS? HOLY COW!
Heroes of Azeroth are showing up in all-new shapes and sizes, as class options for most of the races are being expanded.
Check out some of the highlights:
SUNDERED LANDS
The screenshot (above) and concept art (left) demonstrate the damage Deathwing inflicts upon the Barrens. No zone will be spared some sort of change, but the Barrens is definitely among the hardest hit.
WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
REV ISIT THOSE OLD DL NGEONS TOUR GUILD FIRST R AN TOGETHER...NOW AS BRU FAL LEVEL-85 HEROICS!
The Deadmines is getting a fresh coat of paint, with reappearances from memorable bosses like Mr. Smite ("You landlubbers are tougher than I thought! I'll have to improvise!") and Cookie (Who doesn't want one-handed maces that look like rolling pins?). "Some boss mechanics will definitely change, but I don't think the dungeon itself is undergoing any significant changes," says Tom. "It's pretty much the same; the characters are the same." "Subject to change, of course!" chimes in Alex. "It's all subject to change." The other classic dungeon making a comeback as a Heroic instance is Shadowfang Keep, located in Silverpine Forest just north of the new worgen starting area.
15
Feralas
Silithus
Un Goro
At BlizzCon, the development team revealed that the flow between zones would be changing along with the terrain. But if you've studied the diagrams from the BlizzCon presentations or even had the chance to play some of the early
I Barrens
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SHIFTING THE ZONES OF AZEROTH FOR EASIER TRAVERSAL AND SMARTER LEVEL PROGRESSION
levels at the show, you might not have the full picture. Alex Afrasiabi explains that the new zones incorporate more than just one leveling path for each faction on each continent. "We are a lot more directed in the really early experience, especially when it comes to the goblins and worgen," he says. "There's no doubt that it’s a very directed experience, but as you get back into the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, then you're looking at having a lot of different options for what zone to go to, a lot like you used to; it's just that the zones will have a lot more content."
"There's just a lot better direction," he continues. "We're actually specifically building in more ports, which is really important for making sure players don't feel limited in their options. We don’t necessarily want you to do your entire Alliance leveling experience 1 to 60 on Kalimdor, even though you can. So there are break points along the level flow that will take you to the Eastern Kingdoms if you so choose, and vice versa. You can mix and match, so you can still do what you do today; it's just a lot cleaner."
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SOU! HERN KALIMDOR
Southern zones Silithus, Un'Goro Crater, and Tanaris won't see a large shift in their level range, but Thousand Needles will be made into a level 40 to 45 zone to bridge the gap between Dustwallow Marsh and Tanaris.
Southern Barrens is being redesigned for levels 30 to 35, significantly higher than the current version.
NORTHERN EASTERN KINGDOMS
The Plaguelands' level ranges are being lowered to smooth out the flow of the northern part of the continent. They will cater to a wider range of players (35 to 50) instead of competing with the many other 50 to 60 level zones currently in the game. The Forsaken and worgen are neighbors and will face-off often while leveling.
DISCUSSING AMONGST THEMSELVES
Q; Will the game feel any less epic without the long quests that send you all around the world?
J. Allen Brack, Production Director: If by "epic" you mean "annoying"...
One example that comes to mind are the quests to get your shaman totems. There're certain things you have to do for those quests that require you to go all over the world to get your totems.
Alex Afrasiabi, Lead World Designer: That’s epically annoying.
J.: That is epically annoying! For people who have done that, it's like a rite of passage. "I got my totems, and I did it all the hard way." There is value in that; that's like the people who beat the original Naxxramas and Kel'Thuzad. Yeah, they did it the hard way back when it was hardcore and all that stuff, but I don’t think that's an approach that all players enjoy. The majority is turned off by that.
Tom Chilton, Game Director: I think that epicness has way more to do with the content of the quests themselves: how the quests are presented, how compelling the story arcs are, how good the rewards are.
J.: Absolutely. We've made some improvements as storytellers and content creators today compared to back in the original days. You may not be moving all over the world, but what you're actually doing is going to be more fun, more compelling. It's actually going to be better.
Tom: And that's not to say that we can't send you to crazy places in the world; it's just that when we do it, I think we'll be smarter about how we do it and probably give you tools to get there in a reasonable amount of time.
NEW LAND, NEW RACES
SO YOU WANT TO BE A GOBLIN?
SO YOU WANT TO BE A WORGEN?
THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN MONEY. THERE’S ALSO EXPLOSIONS!
THEY PUT THE “FUR” IN “FURY,” BUT IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS.
“The goblins bring that comic relief to the Horde. You'll really get a taste of their over-the-top humor as you go through the early goblin zones like Kezan, Lost Isles, and even Azshara.” Tom Chilton, Game Director
Cheap plastic flamingos, obnoxious neon billboard advertisements, football matches with shredders on cheap astroturf squares, the largest gun you've ever seen — the goblins certainly have a unique charm. When they aren't devising ways to swindle your money or building bombs large enough to decimate entire continents, they're tinkering with gadgets
such as their multipurpose belt, which players will be able to utilize with the goblins’ racial abilities to fire rockets or launch themselves at their enemies. Excited about being welcomed into the Horde? You or I might send Thrall a thank-you card or a small gift of cooked meats, but that's not really the goblins' style. To show their appreciation, goblins would rather blow up the entire zone of Azshara, terraforming it to look like the Horde symbol from space (where their rocket at Area 52 is sure to take them soon). Night elves and gnomes, beware: The tiny kings and queens of greed fight for the Horde now.
“The worgen bring a new level of badass to the Alliance. All of Gilneas is themed so strongly for them in that spooky, industrial-revolution-London vibe kind of setting.”
Tom Chilton, Game Director
The next time you get bummed out about a bad hair day, pause and remember the noble people of Gilneas. Just south of Silverpine Forest, this human settlement locked itself away from the rest of the Alliance to resist the Scourge's advances. However, things didn’t go quite as planned: Not only did the nation get overrun anyway (though by the Forsaken), but everyone
the Gilneans ever loved was slowly corrupted by the worgen curse and transformed into feral, bloodthirsty wolfmen. Now that's a bad day, and you'll be right in the middle of it as a newly restored (mentally, at least) Gilnean citizen with the worgen curse. Your racial abilities will give you Just enough control over your condition to maintain your human form out of combat, but as soon as you get the scent of blood, you'll uncontrol lably revert to your worgen form through a wicked animation. Orcs, tauren, and especially Forsaken, beware: These prodigal sons of the Alliance are back with a nasty grudge and even nastier claws.
15
ward, and kind of embarrassing afterward, but you look back on it
fun since the game's inception, but it's about to get a whole lot better.
► SHARE IN THE GLORY
Guilds come and go, but theres never been an easy way to know a guild's history (save for the few Greatmother-like storytellers who have chronicled major events like the great Molten Core raid of 05 and the all-guild Stranglethorn cookout in the hot summer of ’07). The new guild system will change the way guilds play together, forever. Guilds level up and earn achievements just like players, rising in status by their members gaining levels, downing raid bosses, winning rated Battlegrounds or Arenas, leveling professions, and doing all the other great things that increase the otherwise intangible prestige of their guilds. Smaller guilds need not worry about being left behind, though, because only the top 20 contributors each month will count toward a guild's level.
GUILD UPGRADES
► WE’RE SO TALENTED
Leveling by itself is pretty great, but we all know that one of the best parts about leveling a character is getting more and more talent points to spend on cool bonuses and abilities. Why should it be any different with guilds? In Cataclysm, guilds will have their own talent tree (with PvE and PvP talents) that will grant guild-wide boons. The benefits range from the pragmatic — 10% gold drop/honor increases, no more reagents for raid-wide buffs — to the mind-blowingly fantastic like a mass-resurrection ability to give your raid quick wipe recovery. Talent trees are designed to reward all different types of guilds, not just dedicated raiders, but it gets tricky sometimes, especially when PvP comes into play. As Tom Chilton explains, "Some things that are purely convenience in PvE become character power in PvP because there’s direct competition."
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CATACLYSM PROMISES SOME RADICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BENEFITS OF BEING IN A GUILD
with fondness because of its blissful innocence. Sure, we all made a few noob missteps as we explored the wonders of Azeroth for the first time ("Why aren't the quest items
dropping? I thought a 10-player raid for questing would be faster!"), but we made them together and made
The social benefits are staying, but there’s an entire avalanche of tangible in-game benefits headed each guild’s way soon. If you re not m a guild, consider this fair warning: Find a
good group of people you enjoy playing with ASAP. You won't want to miss out on these perks.
► KEEP IN TOUCH
One of Cataclysm's most exciting updates has nothing to do with improving your stats or giving you more gold and achievement points. It doesn't even really have any tangible in-game benefit, but it's going to be invaluable to every guildmate nonetheless. Everything happening in your guild will be displayed on an easy to read, fully filterable RSS news feed accessible in game or through the World of Warcraft Armory. You don't have to be left out of the loop if you re logged out; when your buddies finally down Yogg-Saron, you'll be able to contribute your own victory dance to the mass celebration in real time.
17
RUnniiinD ТИС WORLD, тисп тис шппгппгт
IT’S NOT JUST THE LANDSCAPE THAT’S GETTING A FACELIFT. EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS CHANGING — AND FOR THE BETTER.
►	UNDER DA SF А
Water effects are getting an impressive revamp, but where's the fun in that if you can t explore the sea properly? Thankfully, Cataclysm will introduce new underwater gameplay mechanics to let you explore the new big blue with all of its shimmering waves and pretty particle effects. In the underwater Sunken City of Vashj’ir, one of Cataclysm's new high-level zones, players will have access to a buff that allows them to sink to the ocean floor and play under the sea as if they were walking on land (mounts included). Vashj'ir is also the gateway to a new dungeon, the Abyssal Maw (seen above) In Vashj'ir, you'll be able to switch back to traditional underwater gameplay whenever you need to swim over an obstacle, reach a platform above you, or chase that sparkly fish that just darted by. Ooh, shiny!
►	CRAFTING FOR THE FUTURE
A plethora of benefits is coming to guild members in the expansion, but nothing matches the sheer stat-boosting, timesaving prowess of guild heirlooms. Players with high profession skills will be able to buy the recipes and most of the materials for these level-scaling items, which operate just like the current heirloom items, but on a larger, guildwide scale. Plus, they'll be able to do this without spending a silver of their own cash. Instead, the system will use guild currency, which is acquired the same way as guild experience points. In addition to being a great — and practically free — benefit for your whole guild, heirloom gear will be available for a wider variety of class specializations and slots. According to J. Allen Brack, "The idea is that we want to itemize heirlooms more than we have in the past."
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SUBTLE CHANGES
► U OULD YOU LIKE PVP WITH YOUR DAILIES? With brash and violent Garrosh Hellscream ascending as warchief of the Horde, and orc-loathing Varian Wrynn restored as king of Stormwind, the period of tenuous peace between the Horde and the Alliance is over. Expect a lot less cooperation between the two factions going forward; even Cataclysm’s major daily-quest hub (think the Isle of Quel'Danas in The Burning Crusade) will have to be claimed in fierce battle. Tol Barad Island in Eastern Kingdoms will host the primary world PvP objective (a la Wintergrasp) every few hours, and it will be the main daily quest hub in between. Although both factions will be able to do some daily quests regardless of who owns Tol Barad, bonus quests will be given to whoever currently controls the city. If you want access to the most lucrative daily quests, pack your PvP gear and don't forget your game face.
► MISSING: STAT HASSLES
Spell Power, Defense, Mana/5 seconds, Attack Power, Block Value, and Armor Penetration - you won't be seeing these stats on weapons and armor any more. You won't be losing these benefits; you'll just lose the irritation of staring at a new piece of gear without ever being quite sure if it's an upgrade, a side grade, or a total stinker. Bonuses like Spell Power and Armor Penetration will now come from talent trees and the main attribute stats (for example, Intellect will now also increase Spell Power). A new stat, Mastery, is an all-purpose, flexible stat that gives benefits based on your primary talent tree (assassination rogues may see it increase their poison damage, and beast mastery hunters may see it increase their pets' damage). Have you found a piece of gear you love, but the stats are just a little less than perfect for you? The new reforging system will allow you to remove one stat from a piece of gear and transform it into a different stat. Players will have more control than ever over customizing their characters any way they want.
к DIGGING UP THE PAST
Those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it — and the last time Deathwing had free rein, he caused enough trouble that the world still has not fully recovered. With that in mind, all players will be given access to a new secondary profession, Archaeol ogy. By unearthing remnants of the past all over the world, players will be able to align themselves with one of the titans. Tom Chilton explains, "One of the main purposes of the Path of the Titans is to give us postmax-level character advancement that you can look forward to with each content patch. Right now, power increase in each patch is really just gear inflation, but gear inflation doesn't tend to change your character all that much or make it feel like your character plays differently." The boosts from the Path of the Titans, says Tom, should provide a "20% character power increase over the course of the expansion" and be compatible with dual specialization.
► MAKING BATTLEGROUNDS COUNT
Although Arenas have been wildly successful across the whole spectrum of players, from the super casual to professional eSports gamers — which has led to World of Warcraft's inclusion in professional tournaments around the world — some players still long for the "good of days" of PvP that revolved more around large-scale, PuG-friendly skirmishes (if not the outright chaos that often broke out around Hillsbrad Foothills). Battlegrounds are still around, of course, but you currently can't purchase most of the game's highest quality PvP gear without succeeding in Arenas as well. No more, my Arena shy friends! With the introduction of rated Battlegrounds, players will be able to queue up for Battlegrounds as a group and compete for Arena points, with comprehensive tools calculating player contributions during the fight.
NEW PLACE LIKE HOME?
Will trolls and gnomes finally get their own capital cities? Maybe. When Garrosh takes command of the Horde he orders Orgrimmar retrofitted with black iron from Northrend and kicks all non-orc and non tauren residents out from the main section of the city, believing only they possess the strength to truly defend the city. The development team also teased, "The trolls definitely do have a new place. We can't go too far into that, but every race is still accounted for. While Garrosh is a tough leader, he does see value in all the races that belong to the Horde, and he’ll use them to the best of that value." And will the gnomes finally take back Gnomeregan from those nasty level-27 elite troggs? "We'll see; possibilities like that are always intriguing to us," Alex Afrasiabi hints with a grin.
IP
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT’S PRESIDENT
JTlihe rRorhnime
Photos: Joe Toreno
TALKS ABOUT THE BIRTH OF BLIZZARD,
HOW WORLD OF WARCRAFT EVOLVED INTO THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MMO, AND WHY 12 MILLION IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY SMALL NUMBER.
00
INTERVIEW
« NOT AFRAID OF A FEW VOICES CRITICIZING THE THINGS WE'RE DOING: WEJL T NEED TO LOOK AT THEIR
COMMENTS OOJECTIVELY."
It’s hard to miss Blizzard Entertainment’s headquarters. Fully fenced within the immaculately trimmed landscaping of a large Orange County business park, the offices have a gated and guarded entry point that feels similar to that of a movie studio, complete with metal cutout letters spelling out the company name over the roadway.
Dominating the main welcome area is an enormous, incredibly detailed, and frankly quite intimidating bronze statue of an orc riding a wolf — a stark contrast to the otherwise innocuous low-rise business offices that surround it. Sometimes you’ll spot Blizzard employees playing hacky-sack around it.
The halls are lined with everything you’d want to see: life-size statues of night elves, framed artwork from the games, and various mementos from the past. Discretely tucked away on the top floor of the main building, the office of the company’s president, Mike Morhaime, is no exception — it feels like a combination of cool-stuff showcase and Blizzard historical archive. Shelves are lined with
almost every release of every Blizzard product in every language you can think of — from a Genesis edition of The Lost Vikings to a Japanese PlayStation copy of Diablo through to collector’s edition ana international boxes of World of Warcraft There are action figures, framed Warcraft Visa cards, toys, books, and — of course! — a mounted Frostmourne replica.
It’s from here that Mike has led the Alliance and the Horde to a force nearly 12 million strong, but he’s no power-hungry Arthas. “I think that 1 have a very strong team around me, and really no one person is responsible for all of this,” he says. “There are too many things going on, so we really have to rely on each other. That’s just something I think a lot of people at Blizzard see — that it’s a team effort and everybody needs to feel passionately about what Blizzard’s doing and feel ownership of it.”
And so, in the inner sanctum, Mike discusses his personal past, the vocal players of the present, and the company’s future.
Buch in tt]E Day
Mike Morhaime’s office in 1993, back when the company was still called Silicon & Synapse, was somewhat sparse.
The developer had its first hit with The Lost Vikings.
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►	I EARNING HOW THINGS WORK
By his own admission, Mike is a geek who made good. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles in the ’70s and '80s, he liked Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, and Star Trek. “I was also really interested in technology," he says. “My first computer was a Bally Professional Arcade System, which I got when I was in 6th grade I definitely liked playing games. I had a notebook where I listed every single game and who got the high scores on them so I could keep track of everything. But I was more interested in what I could do with the machine itself, and what the possibilities were. It had a BASIC cartridge, which is where I first learned how to program. You had access to 1.5K RAM, which wasn’t a lot back then either,” he laughs.
we took a family trip to Alaska; my dad took a video camera and shot a bunch of footage. When we got home, I edited it down to my own version of the trip, and tacked on an intro piece like it was a feature for a talk show. Then I added a second piece where 1 experimented using the footage with some video feedback and then added my own music — and that was kinda cool.”
“At the time, it was all about experimenting,” Mike continues. “I’d think. ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if I could do this,’ and then I’d sit down and figure out if it was possible — and in the process learn more about the things I was using. I wanted to understand how things worked. I wanted to know how radios could pick up signals coming through the air and turn them into awesome audio that came out of a speaker. Or how TVs received video
“THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST GETTING BROADBAND— THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO AF NOT PLAYING ШШЖ
Before long, Mike’s curiosity led him to start digging into how the machine worked. “I used to subscribe to a newsletter that a guy in the Bay Area published; it featured type in BASIC pro grams and articles explaining how to get the Bally to do things that weren’t documented,” he says with nostalgic enthusiasm. “I just loved it. I waited by the mailbox for that letter — I knew exactly what day every month it was going to arrive, and I’d take it to school and read it 15 times. I’d go home and type in the programs, debug them, and store them on cassette through a 300-baud connection. Most of them weren't that interesting, but I was fascinated to learn what they' were making the machine do, and how they worked.”
It wasn’t just computers that piqued Mike s curiosity. “If there was any way you could connect one thing to something else and use it to control that thing, that was really fascinating to me,” he explains. “Like with audio equipment — if there was a way of connecting someth ng to a stereo system so you could transfer recordings from one device to another, or replace the video or the audio — that would really get my interest. I remember when
and audio — I wanted to know how it was encoded. How was it broadcast? How did the circuitry interpret it? How could I switch channels and pick what I wanted? There was so much cool stuff — computers that could store and interpret data, and telephones that could take your voice and send it to anywhere in the world. How the hell did it all work? I figured electrical engineers knew how this stuff worked, and if I was one, I’d know, too.”
►	SILICON, VIKINGS, AND ROCK & ROLL
When Mike graduated from high school in 1985, he headed to UCLA to study electrical engineering, and found he was most interested in computer architecture and digital circuit design “In my last year I took a bunch of software classes,” he recalls. “It was there where I met Allen Adham, who was a computer science engineer. We’d hang out a lot and talk about some of the things we were learning and what we were interested in. When we graduated, Allen recruited Frank Pearce and me to join him in what were the beginnings of this company.”
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A I ’
meet Olaf
e5ports
HOW BLIZZARD WANTS TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF ELECTRONIC COMPETITION.
One subject that has certainly created some spirited discussions is the emergence of competitive gaming — commonly called eSports — which Mike says is an “investment in the community, outside the game, which we think adds a lot of depth to the whole experience.”
In a similar approach to the way World of Warcraft is being engineered to deliver an experience that can be enjoyed by all, Mike feels that eSports also needs to be accessible to a broad audience.
He explains, “We’re trying to make it more enjoyable to watch games as a spectator. Some of the things we’re doing with StarCraft II are designed to facilitate that, such as implementing an observer mode, and holding live tournaments at events like BlizzCon and then posting replays so that people who aren’t present can watch the tournaments as they unfold. That way they can see what the top players are doing and why they are so successful, and learn from

that. It elevates the game for everybody.”
“We think it’s just the beginning and it’s our role to make the matches more enjoyable and more understandable to people who are watching. We look at what happened to poker when they brought in the hole cam [a small camera that shows the TV audience what cards each player is holding]. If you watched a televised tournament before the hole cam, it was pretty boring. But you bring in the hole cam, and it’s
a totally different experience — suddenly you have more information than the people who are playing the game, and you can second-guess things as they’re happening, look at the different strategies — you’re in the game. We’re trying to learn from that and see how we can apply that to computer games. It’s not a trivial problem to solve, but it’s something we intuitively feel we can achieve. And I think that will be good for the industry and the games.”
If early Blizzard superstars Baleog the Fierce, Olaf the Stout, and Erik the Swift look vaguely familiar, just think back to Uldaman — all three Lost Vikings
appear as cameo questgivers in World of Warcraft.
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Rampage
This epic statue graces the Blizzard Entertainment campus in Irvine, California. It was created by New Zealandbased Weta, famed for its work on The Lord of the Rings films.
INTERVIEW
That beginning was called Silicon & Synapse. As part of the founding trio, Mike felt his contributions were “a lot of curiosity, a lot of passion, and a lot of time." he laughs "And a desire to learn. Allen had way more experience than Frank and me in terms of game development, and he convinced both of us that it wasn't rocket science. So we really had this belief that we could learn anything by reading books or observing how other companies were doing things."
"We initially started out doing ports and conversions of existing games from one platform to another," he continues. "It was a great learning experience because we got to see how other companies solved a lot of challenges in gaming. But in parallel to doing those conversions, we were also working on new games. Almost from the beginning we were working on RPM Racing, which was a sequel to the old Commodore 64
‘THE MISSION OF THE COMPANY
IS TO CREATE AHEPIC EXPERIENCE.”
game Racing Destruction Set, but we gave it a facelift and really evolved the game. We did Rock n' Roll Racing after that and pushed it even further."
In 1992, the company released one of its defining hits: The Lost Vikings, an action/puzzle game with a lot of humor and style. "It was a completely original title inspired by Lemmings" says Mike. "We thought it was a rftdly cool idea to have puzzles where you had to figure out how to get past obstacles using a cert'ain set of tools. When we first started designing it we had tons of these little Vikings wandering around. But then we evolved the design from there into more of an action-puzzle game that used three specialized Vikings. It really found itself out of this evolution. We’ve always been kind of like that: we start off with an idea, but we’re always ready to be flexible along the way to adapt it with any new information that comes in.”
► EVOLVING A MONSTER
That evolutionary approach played an important part in helping influence the company’s direction in the early days. “We’d go to CES every year and look at what everyone was doing," remembers Mike. "When we returned to the office, we’d have an allhands meeting — which at the time was maybe seven or eight people — and we’d talk about what we’d seen, what direction we thought the industry was going, and what we needed to do to incorporate what we’d learned into our approach to the games
we were working on. We were constantly trying to understand why some games were cool and why some games weren't. There was a general idea that technology was advancing rapidly and there would be this convergence of different kinds of media. We felt that at some point in the future, interactive stories would take place in a virtual fantasy world where you have an avatar and you interact with other people who also have avatars. Down the road, we knew we wanted to do that kind of thing.”
Down the road, Blizzard would certainly do that kind of thing, and actually flirted with the idea as earl)' as 1994 during the development of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. “We thought that it was a really cool fantasy universe we were creating — wouldn’t it be great if one day you could be one of the guys who existed in the Warcraft world? We knew that would be really cool, but it wasn’t really technically feasible, so we put the idea on the shelf.
Then in 1997 Origin Systems created Ultima Online, and we looked at that and said, ‘Wow! It’s technically feasible to do this now.' But,” he adds with a grin, “we still didn’t start on it.”
Another two years would pass before work finally began in earnest on what would become World of Warcraft, and even then it wasn’t a straightforward beginning; it required a sacrificed project to really set the team on the right road Mike explains that after StarCraft shipped in March 1998, a new internal team was formed to start work on a squad based sci-fi game, codenamed Nomad. “They were trying to create a new style of game in a new genre set in a brand-new world,” he continues. “But they were struggling in a variety of different areas. After a few months, we looked at what the team had done so far and started to wonder if Nomad was really the game we wanted to make at that time. And we decided that no, it probably wasn’t. Instead, the consensus was that we’d rather be working on a massively multiplayer game set in the Warcraft universe. So we asked ourselves why we weren't doing that, and we couldn’t think of a good reason.” With that, Nomad was cancelled and the team shifted its focus to developing a Warcraft MMO.
'I hat was in 1999. but World of Warcraft still wouldn't appear for another five years. “It was a very large and very complicated project, and it took quite a bit of time for it to find itself. We went through a lot of different iterations in terms of the game design and gameplay, and what kind of engine and architecture
Earning l^onor
In 2008, Mike Morhaime was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. That same year, World of Warcraft was honored with a Technical and Engineering Emmy.
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was required to run it."
What’s more, early designs of the game-to-be incorporated a single-player mode. "We originally went down different paths in terms of what we wanted the game to be,” says Mike. "We’d just released Diablo II, which was both a single-player and free-toplay multiplayer game, and our initial thoughts were, why don't we do the same with this? But as we headed down that path, the team realized designing a single-player game and a massively multiplayer game were two totally different things. We questioned whether we really wanted to design two games, or whether we wanted to pick one and make sure we did that really well. So we dropped single-player.”
"Then we realized in order to make a massively multiplayer game that’s competitive with all the other MMOs, you really have to leave the dev team on the project for years after the game’s release and let them continue to evolve new content to keep it interesting. But that requires a lot of resources, which
“WE DON'T HAVE THE GAME PLANNED OUT
FIVEDRTENYEAR8..ANDPR0BABLYSH0ULDNV
means you really need a recurring revenue stream to support that, and if you have a recurring revenue stream, that means you need to have a higher level of customer service to support these paying customers. All of these business decisions were driven by what the game needed. Which is why we now have 3,000 customer service people around the world, and a large development staff that continues to create content and provide support functionality. When we started World of Warcraft, we weren’t thinking, "Hey, let’s grow the company to 4,000 people in five years.’ We were thinking; ‘Let’s keep the company small and make a really cool game.’ But ultimately what won was, ‘Let’s make a really cool game and do whatever it takes to provide what the game requires.’ And that’s what this game required.”
► LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE
K.
Making a cool game sounds like a very simple goal, but it’s one that requires a large array of complex solutions and decisions. Is that the way Blizzard normally thinks — goal first, solutions second? “The mission of the company is to create an epic experience,” Mike clarifies. “Every step of the way we thinl< about what type of game we want to play; once we decide what we want to play, we try to make it. We always want to invest in the player experience so that they walk away feeling like they got at least
the amount of value that they contributed. If they walk away feeling ‘that was great,’ that increases their sense of trust in the Blizzard name. Ultimately, that’s what we want to invest in — we want to build loyal players who want to come back and play our next game.”
The games currently in development — StarCraft II, Diablo III, and the unnamed MMO — all have a few things in common: they are designed to be intuitive and to run well on your system. “We try to make games that are accessible to a wide audience, which means putting out games that run on a wide range of hardware,” explains Mike, who considers accessibility one of the company s core strengths. “We think that if you’ve bought a computer in the last year or two, you should be able to run a Blizzard game. We also think that when you sit down and play the game, you shouldn't have to be an expert in the genre to play it. In fact, even if you've never played a computer game before, we think you should be able to sit down and play a Blizzard
game with very little assistance from those around you. Ideally, that means a really friendly learning curve where the game gives you enough information, so that you know what you’re supposed to do from the beginning. If those first few minutes are frustrating, we could potentially lose the player’s interest not only in this game but in other games we make in the future."
► STRIKING A HAPPY BALANCE
Of course, keeping existing players happy is another challenge that’s fundamentally important to Blizzard, and Mike is very clear about the company 's priorities in that respect. “One of our core values is Gameplay First. That really is the main thing. Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not the game is fun. We wouldn’t want to do anything that's going to break the fun of the game.”
Mike explains that this applies not only to Blizzard’s approach to game design, but to the different services the company offers. “For some people, there are certain things standing in the way of them having fun. If you're a level-80 night elf and your best friend is a level-80 orc, it used to be that you couldn't play together unless one of you rerolled. We took the time to develop the faction-change service in response to the requests of those players who were in this situation. This service provides an
26
INTERVIEW
It]E
For the ultimate test of wits and wills, many strategy fans turn to poker — and Mike Morhaime is no exception. In addition to enjoying friendly games with fellow Blizzard employees, Mike has competed in the World Series of Poker, and placed second in the 2006 DICE Celebrity Poker Tournament, best ing WSoP pros like Perry Friedman and Scott Fischman, losing only to BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka.
For an analytical mind like Mike’s, the appeal is in the diversity "I think it’s one of the most fascinating games that there is,” he explains. “It’s interesting on so many different levels. It’s different with minor changes to the rules, it’s different with more or les* people at the table, with different people in a tournament - who are the people, how are they playing today, what is the hand history you’ve had with them that day, and what information have you exposed to them - it’s so fascinating. There's not that many decisions you have tn make, but they’re really impactful. And based on the cards they have and based on the information you know, there are optimal ways to play — trying to figure those out on the fly while you’re playing is part of the fun.”
Mike Morhaime is more than just Blizzard’s president; he’s also its bassist. Well, he’s the bassist for The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, the company’s in-house metal band, which you may have seen perform at BlizzCon...or at the World’s End Tavern in Shattrath City.
Mike's love affair with music goes back to his formative years. “It all began in first grade or so when I started to take piano lessons,” he recalls. “I wanted to play the organ — there was this guy who lived across the street from my grandmother, and he had this triple-decker organ with all of these knobs and dials and buttons and pedals and three levels of keys — I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I said T want to learn how to play that!’ And my mom told me, ‘You can get an organ as soon as you master the piano.’ So I said, ‘Okay, let’s start!’ Yeah...‘master the piano!”’ he says, laughing hard. “It took me years to realize how ridicu lous that was.”
Growing up in the ’70s and '80s, his musical tastes run to the classic rock — “The Who, Chicago, Pink Floyd. I like Billy Joel a lot, too. Kansas, Boston.” But a few years
after 15-year-old Mike got a guitar, he discovered Canadian progressive rockers Rush. That was enough to push him into becoming a public performer. “I started this band, IRS — Incredible Rush Simulation — with some friends," he says, almost sheepishly.
But Mike’s biggest musical influence was the fab four. "Growing up, I was a huge Beatles fan,” he says. “I read every Beatles book that I could get my hands on in high school and
ГМ THE BASS PLAYER. I DON’T DETERMINE
THE GENRE, I JUST PLAY ALONG WITH IT!”
junior high, so I know quite a lot about Beatles history and trivia.” Many years later, Blizzard gave him a rare opportunity to enjoy Beat-lemania on a personal level. "One of the Wings’ guitarists, Laurence Juber, is a good friend of Russell Brower, our audio director,” explains Mike. “We had him play when we made the Diablo III announcement in Paris. Russell mentioned that I was a big Beatles fan, and Laurence said 'At some point we’re going to have to talk Beatles,’ and I said,
‘Oh, I am so there,’ ” he says with a laugh. “So at the after-party at the Worldwide Invitational, I had a solid half-hour and he just let me grill him about stuff — what was it like, how did you meet Paul McCartney, how’d you get into Wings, were you a Beatles fan growing up, what was Paul McCartney like...it was so cool. I'm two degrees now!”
But Liverpool’s favorite sons gave Mike an example for his own musical path, too. “Before the Beatles,
Paul McCartney was a guitarist. But he wasn’t the best guitarist in the band, and generally, the worst guitarist becomes the bassist. You don’t have to be good at math to realize that if you’re not that great of a guitarist and you want to be in a band, then maybe you should buy a bass. So that’s what I did!”
Armed with that bass, he went on to play in Blizzard’s just-for-fun metal band. It’s unusual when the big office band includes the guy who has the big office, but the whole
endeavor can trace its origins to... Mike’s garage. “We had a group that was playing covers at my house for fun right up until StarCraft went into crunch. And then we pretty much stopped doing that for a while. When we started playing again, Sammy [lead singer Sam-wise Didier] was very interested in writing our own original songs. The guys in the band are pretty inspired by Metallica and bands like that. I’m the bass player, so I don’t determine the genre,” he says with a laugh. “I just play along with it!”
“Playing along with it” has included some pretty major stagemates, like opening for Ozzy Osbourne at this year’s BlizzCon (which Mike humbly chalks up to “a really cool life experience”). “Our first gig was opening for The Offspring at BlizzCon,” says Mike with a chuckle. “When someone says 'Would your band like to open for the Offspring,’ you say yes! But I have to admit that being up there totally scares me — I’m usually thinking, ‘Man, I just want to get through this without screwing up.’”
"We haven’t played that many gigs,” Mike confesses. “In the beginning it was like, ‘We don’t think they understand we’re not a real band.’ But we said yes, and we’re going to practice like crazy, and we’re going to try to make this an enjoyable experience for everybody, and we’re not going to take ourselves too seriously. Because we’re not a real band; we’re just kind of a joke band. It’s about fun, it’s not about us, it’s about the games, about having fun with the universes, and a little bit of role-playing.”
So is it a case of life imitating art — is Mike role-playing a rock star? “Well, maybe,” he admits with a smile. “But I’m just the bassist. I’m in the background trying not to be noticed too much.”
Photo: Tristan Pope
opportunity for one of these people to make a decision, pay a little extra money, and be able to play with their friend — which enhances the experience for both of them. That’s the kind of thing we look at: Is this going to add value for the people who choose to do it? Is it going to detract from the people who don’t choose to do it? With faction changes, we felt like it’s going to add a lot of value for the people who want it, and it's really not going to detrimentally impact anybody.”
What’s more, tweaks like faction swaps support another core value of the company. “We also feel a big part of having a fulfilling, enjoyable experience is being able to connect with other humans," explains Mike. “As the platform creator, the more we can allow you to not only meet people in-game and connect with thpm, but also connect with your real-life friends and have shared virtual experiences with them, and then take those experiences back into the real world...1 think that makes playing games online more meaningful. Those are
you’ll see that there’s a pendulum that swings; when someone makes a statement that the community doesn’t agree with, the silent majority will become loud.”
Mike reads the forums himself, calling them “a good litmus test” for where the game is at any point in time. “Our players are definitely vocal. Another one of our values is ‘every voice matters' — which I think is critical at Blizzard. To speak up, to listen, to listen to players, to listen to other voices within the company and constantly iterate to make sure that everything we’re doing is as good as it can be.’’
► WHAT NEXT?
Mike feels Blizzard’s approach to development is flexible enough to lead the way into the future. “We really don’t have [World of Warcraft] planned out five or ten years,” he admits. “We have it planned through the next expansion and we have ideas for what should come after that, but nothing’s really set
“ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES IS GAMEPLAY FIRST.'
some of the things we’re thinking about in the design of Battle.net, for example. We want to create a community of Blizzard gamers that spans across all of our games, and help them have great experiences online with friends, family, and other people they know.”
And while Mike says player reactions are “always a factor,” he admits that keeping players informed is the key to keeping them happy. “If we don’t do a good job of explaining why we’re making certain decisions, even if they’re the right decisions, ^he community might not understand them,” he figures. “Sometimes the community will react negatively to upcoming features - even though nobody out there has actually experienced the changes we’re talking about yet. That can be our fault, because maybe we didn't communicate our vision well and players are extrapolating out based on limited information. Communicating our vision and the reasoning behind changes is an important part of the process.”
Mike agrees that’s easier said than done. “I think the other thing we have realized is that you can’t please everybody all of the time,” he admits. “What you want to do is please most people most of the time...or most people all the time, really. „ But no matter what we do, whenever we change something, somebody is not going to be happy about it. We’re not afraid of a few lone voices criticizing things we’re doing; we just need to look at their comments objectively and be guided by doing what we think is right for the game. We also get a lot of positive feedback, and we listen to that, too. If you read the forums
in stone...and probably shouldn't be. Things change, people come up with new ideas, as the game evolves, as the industry evolves.”
But with World of Warcraft now being played by nearly 12 million people, how much higher can that player base really grow? “Well... 12 million doesn’t sound like a big number to me,” Mike says with a laugh. “Think about the number of people around the world who are getting onto the Internet for the first time, the people who are just now getting broadband, and the people who will be getting broadband over the next five years — that's a lot of people who are not playing World of Warcraft. I think there’s an opportunity for us to continue evolving the game, and to continue to make it more accessible, so that when those people do decide to play World of Warcraft. the game is ready for them." So where does that quest for new players end? Mike laughs again, “Maybe if there are 12 million people who aren’t playing.”
But ultimately, Mike doesn’t gauge success by the number of players so much as player satisfaction. “If we think our next game is the greatest thing ever and we put it out and the reaction is completely negative but it sells a gazillion copies, I don't think you can call it a success," he muses. “If our players are happy and think we're delivering an experience that meets or exceeds their expectations, if our employees feel good about the experience we’re delivering and the way the company is treating them, I think those are the things that really matter." X
Of the People
On the eve of the Wrath of the Lich King launch, Mike Morhaime visited some of the dedicated players that lined up to be the first into
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BRIAN BROLIN - HEAD ZOOLOGIST AT WARCRAFTPETS.COM — TALKS ABOUT AWKWARD AUTOGRAPHS, HIS UNIQUE IN-GAME IMMORTALITY, AND THE LUCKIEST DAY OF FISHING EVER.
any given time? — but chooses to rotate his bestiary with an add-on called NugMimPet (available for download at the site, along with several other useful pet-collector tools). "Sometimes 1'11 manually break out my newest pet," he admits. "It makes me smile to
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MEET BREANNl
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Arcana	Doobjanka	Vivica
Earthen Ring-w."> • N mber of pet~
ScILLA-L.'• NUMBER OF ГЕТЬ 126
Dark Iron-C-> • j\umber of pet » 88
in real life. I have two dogs and a cat, plus the
MOST SENTIME4TA1
"The Tiny Crimson Whelpling, because it was the
in the Wetlands with a little red dragon fluttering behind them. I thought it was so adorable and whimsical and couldn’t wait to get one of my own”
”1 started collecting pets when 1 founds Disgusting Oozehng on my realm’s auction house for 2 gold, so I bought it to make a friend jealous — but ] didn't really get into pet collecting until I had the tab to store them."
“The Panda Cub was the very first pet 1 received, and he was my constant companion with every toon 1 leveled. You always remember your first as the best!"
collecting them 1 don't know. It's like I’m finding them in the world I feel like they need mv help."
MOST St4TI.ME4 I tL
“My Phoenix Hatchling has special meaning to me, because I think I was the realm first, or Horde first, to get it. I was in there the moment Mag-
from the boss, and I won it."
WHY DO YOU COLLECT PETS? AND WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
3596
Sold by Vendors
2996
Looted off Monsters
1696
Promotional Pets
1296
Quest Reward Pets
596 Achtevem-nt Rewards
396
Player- Crafted Pets
Pay in gold, Champion's Seals, and oik r forms
reserve the right to
at the right place at the right time
Accomplish great things to earn these companjms.
refuse service if you look
at th.m wrong
SOURCE:
WarcraftP ts.com
"They exist only for fun, and they last through all the expansions and gear updates Once The Burning Crusade came out, everyone replaced al) of their
“I have fivecats and dozens of chickens in real life, so 1 couldn’t resist."
"When I first started playing, someone ran past me with the Panda Cub, and [ started bunting down all the companions I love how they faith
in the collecting, not the collection"
"The Deviate Hatchling, because my 10-year-old
“My favorite is the Ethereal Soul-Trader* He's huge, he talks, and he sells toys and potions. He’s also
him and try to buy from him’
looking for rare spawns, she was quietly spending
a Deviate Hatchling in the mail What a thoughtful kid — especially considering that raptor hatchlings were selling for 2,000 to 3,000 gold at the time1”
“When Squishiest wasa level-10 noob, she ran around Darnassus for about two hours looking for a Panda Cub vendor. When my boyfriend found out — and after be stopped laughing — he bought me the Snowshoe Rabbit so that my efforts weren't wasted.”
54
• Mojo Requirements TWoor three £n uds at level 70+, plus a lot of luck
Д Wlsi fall Chicken
Requirements' Easy at any level.
* Peng u
Requirements: Level 7*+ and d dication-
How to get Pengn: You 11 need to achieve Exalted reputation with the Kalu’ak faction, which can be done by repeating the factions daily quests in Dragonblight, Howling fjord, and Borean Tundra Either Tanatka in Howling Fjord or Sairuk m Dragonblight will sell him to you for Just 12 gold. It's not really the money that will stand in the way; it could take a few weeks to achieve the necessary reputation. But look into his big, adorable eyes: isn't the little guy worth It? Plus, for fun, throw him a /sexy and see what happens.
How to get Mojo: Collect Amanl Hex Sticks from trash mobs m Zul'Aman, then use them to remove hexes on Zul'Aman Forest Frogs. If you're lucky, you U get Mojo. If not, you'll get gold, Amanl Charms (which give temporary buffs), or vendors that sell rare goods. Warning: If you log out or leave Zul’Aman, your Hex Sticks will disappear. If anyone throws a /kiss to Mojo, he II whisper something seductive back. That player will then turn into a random frog for 15 seconds and be stalked by Mojo.
FUN AND UNUSUAL PETS
TO JUMPSTART YOUR COLLECTION
How to get Westfall Chicken: Find any chicken in Azeroth and /chicken at it multiple times until it gives you the secret CLUCK! quest. Then, head to either Westfall or Brill, depending on your faction, and buy Special Chicken Feed from Farmer Saldean in Westfall or William Saldean in Brill. Go back to the chicken (or any similar chicken) and give it the feed- It'll drop an egg; loot it to g«t your very own Westfall Chicken.
Once the exclusive pet _ of Alliance players, this qu .St was made available to Horde players with Secrets of Ulduar (3.1).
ADMIT IT, THEY’RE CUTE
* Disgusting Oozeling
Requir em bnts' Level 50-r and a lot of luck Or check the Auction House.
How to get DUgu ting Oozeling: Kill a lot of slime- and ooze-type mobs in a zone like Felwood. Un’Goro Crater, or Western/Eastern Plaguelands The slimes and oozes have a small chance to drop an Oozing Bag and the Oozing Bag has a chance to drop the Disgusting Oozeling. If you take out this pet, you 11 be affected by its 'disgusting aura,' which minuses 20 to your defense and all your resistances. It 11 also make you glow green. Toss the Oozeling a Dark Iron Ale Mug
9 Kirin Tor Familiar
Requirements' Access to Dalaran and a lot of patience.
How to get Kirin Tor	J
Familiar: Obtaining this pet is like taking part in an elusive treasure hunt. j In Dalaran, there are eight books you need to read	’ *
to earn the Higher Learning achievement, but these books spawn randomly and are only present. a short while It can take weeks to find In the meantime, seek out other book • on your realm in chat; many players er dedicated chat channel just for tome r Once you earn the achievement, you U a book that teleports you to a room wi who gives you the pet.
55
THE SIEGE OF
Icecrown
Citadel
THE EPIC CONFLICT BETWEEN SYLVANAS AND ART HAS WILL SOON REACH ITS CONCLUSION. KNOW THE HISTORY - AND PREPARE FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.
In the shadow of the spiked towers of Icecrown Citadel, the final confrontation between Arthas Menethil and Syivanas Windrunner — an encounter sure to be steeped in hatred, vengeance, and blood — is about to imfold...and the results of their clash will determine the future of Azeroth.
* abject hatred. During the Third War, Arthas Menethil and his Scourge army invaded Quel'Thalas and laid siege to the high elves' crumbling defenses. Syivanas Windrunner, the ranger-general of Slivermoon, pul up a valiant fight. She challenged Arthas s forces and harassed them as the undead
SYLVANAS VS. ARTHAS:
A Woman Scorned
mmsylvanaswas VT
FORCEDTOAIDTHESCOURGEIN
DEFILING HER HOMELAND. f
ICECROWN CITADEL
dreadlords Balnazzar, Detheroc. and Variniathras
and the Lich King Arthas's armies thwarted Illi
Lordaeron Vowing to defeat the Scourge and the
so that the Burning Legion could retake control of
Arthas then finished his journey to the Frozen
as the Forsaken, constructed their own bastion
the Scourge and the Plaguelands. Syivanas agreed
Throne Using his runeblade. Frostmourne, Arthas
beneath the wrecked city.
to aid the demons, but only on her own terms. She
shattered the Lich King's icy prison and released
Syivanas continued to recruit undead into the
b ICECROWN CITADEL
THE BEGINNING
of the End
While the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade have temporarily joined forces to bust through Icecrown Citadel's front door (in
with their respective leaders, are sneaking through the side passages. Jaina Proudmoore and Sylvanas lead their dungeon runs to find crucial information- How do the heroes defeat the Lich King? This fact-finding mission will take players through the Forge of Souls, the Pit of Saron, and ultimately, the Halls of Reflection.
“IT’S FARANDAWAYOURMOST EPIC ENCOUNIER...EVER.”
-ШШК
SPOILER ALERT: In these halls, Sylvanas has a big revelation. She finds what she needs by communing with
with the runebiade, the Lich King arrives on the scene.
lieutenants to attack the players. Sylvanas sees this as her
» FIGHT AND FLIGHT
The Banshee Queen will not be denied her vengeance — the
private quarters (this confrontation is depicted on this issue's cover). But will players actually be a part of the fight, or does the Banshee Queen get to have all the fun?
explains. "When players get to the throne room, they see the battle happening, and Sylvanas is clearly losing. Arthas has
playing through Trial of the Crusader The developers explain that this pacing is designed to fit the storyline of the Horde and the Alliance progressively breaking their way through
 WHO'S YOUR DADDY?
While Icecrown C tadel encounters like
mg encounters players will ever face, nothing
of King Terenas," teases f-> only to be quickly shushed by his colleagues.
Although King Terenas Menethil II has
THIS DUNGEON WILL END WITH AN ENCOUNTER THAT
THE DEV TEAM HAS NEVER ATTEMPTED: AN ESCAPE.
roth — he has a tombstone in old Lordaeron and it s his voice that players hear in the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic — Terenas’s
behind the old throne room of Lordaeron
for that final moment with the Lich King And then there s the simple reality that "Players tend to take on everything we give them as soon
attacked by the combined spirits of Arthas
far and away our most epic encounter jever,"
found is that if we give them access to twelve
"With the most epic ending ever"
night until they beat them all, to |the pfevcis'l
fight between the players and the Lich King
developers did slip one particular detail into
43
LOOT SYSTEMS
>ИЖ
Cal
WHEN THE LOOT DROPS, DON’T LET THE SPOILS OF WAR SPOIL THE PARTY
The raid is over! The boss finally falls, the delicious loot appears, and.. .you’re not sure what to do next. Greed and confusion wash over you in equal measure. Is that yours? Is that someone else’s? Do I deserve that more than the other people... or does my alt?
Effective loot management is one of the biggest challenges for any raiding guild. There’s rarely going to be just one player who wants a particular piece of loot, so how do you ensure that everyone feels that they have a fair chance to win — and that peoples' efforts are recognized and
rewarded? Over the years, many different systems and approaches to loot management have evolved; some are strictly regimented, whereas others are very casual. We talk to a variety of raiders about what works best for them, so you can figure out which one might work for you.
s
-S I tc a
LOOT COUNCIL
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
loot council system relies on human discretion to award items. A small and select group of players are deemed the loot council, there is no point system and no lists are involved. When an item drops, the council weighs the guild’s players against the item in question and determines who should get it.
The criteria tend to vary from council to council. Some examples include things like:
ATTENDANCE: Does this player show up for every raid? Have they had multiple unexplained absences? If a player doesn't play very often, it may not be worth it to the guild to award an item to them. PERFORMANCE: Are players dealing damage at a level expected of their current gear set’’ Are they dying in fires multiple times? Are they playing at a high enough level concurrent with the guild’ REWARD: Did a player do some specific action that enabled a raid to defeat an encounter? For instance, say the main tank goes down during Mimiron’s fourth phase in Ulduar. A quickthinking death knight turns on Frost Presence and taunts the boss. The healers keep him alive long enough for the DPS players to finish Mimiron. That heroic save deserves a reward!
BIGGEST UPGRADE: Sometimes it’s a matter of which player would benefit the most from an item. If it's a minor upgrade for most players but a significant upgrade for another, the council will consider sending it to that player.
one person wants an item, it's automatically theirs. On items like tier tokens, where many people are interested in it, discussion can take a few minutes.
The effectiveness of this system rests entirely on the group of players that comprise the loot council. There must be a level of trust and respect between the leadership and the rest of the guild; without it, there might be the potential for controversy. This system involves players taking a leap of faith with their leaders and possessing a level of understanding. The loot council isn't always going to make popular decisions, but with enough faith and some human understanding, it can work very well.
‘‘I CHOOSE YOU, LOOT COUNCIL!
Name: Jenn Rickert Character Shebalo Realm Akama US Guild Hello Kitty Club (healing officer, loot council member)
LADY LUCK, MAY YOU SMILE UPON ME
If a loot council is not able to come to a consensus they can ask for the players involved to do a roll. Another alternative is to give one player (such as the guild master) the authority to rule on such cases, with no questions asked.
Flexibility is a key strength of loot council (as opposed to DKP or list-based systems, which are addressed later in this article). Leaders can make the call on awarding loot based on what will help the guild progress the most. For example, the main tank could be given a particular tanking weapon without a second thought if it would help. In other systems, it's not uncommon for a DPS warrior to simply spend their points and pick up a tanking weapon for his or her off set.
Also, loot council can be one of the quickest ways to settle loot disputes.. .or it can be one of the slowest. It all depends on the council itself. If only
We have a really good basis for loot council. Our guild leader is amazing, and all of our officers are fair and as unbiased as one can be when dealing with these kinds of matters. There are always going to be arguments between guildies about who deserves something the most, but that's like any other system. 1 think it works most for us because of guild trust If you don't have the trust of your guild or your officers, you're not going to really believe that loot council can work. When people believe that loot is distributed fairly and evenly, they’re less likely to squabble about what goes where.
"A lot of our guild members like loot council because they don’t have to worry about people hoarding or misusing points. It's not just a question of a straight numbers game. They know if they show up and progress with us, they'll eventually get what they need. If they don't get it right away, they don't have to continue stockpiling points and miss out on other items that may benefit them. At the end of the day, we basically try to give as much loot to as great a variety of people as possible.”
mW
g I ass rail (guild officer)
If you don’t want to fiddle about with comph cated rules and systems, use the game’s built in l-to-100 die-rolling Need/Greed system to determine who gets the loot.
It couldn’t be simpler — when an item drops, players who feel they need the item can click Need on the box that pops up to так» a random virtual dice roll Everyone else (an pns-s Greed so that if nobody needs the item, the Greed-rollers will have their chance to roll the dice If nobody Needs or Greeds the iter.i, it gets given to an enchanter to be disenchanted, and the mats can either be rolled on at the old of the run, or put into the guild bank
Because this is one of the most ample and straightforward systems, it’s very well suited for use with a pick-up group, or a group of players that hasn't run together much, as th, system leaves very little room for argument All disputes are setded by a non-partisan, random dice roll What can be more impartial than thui

aun Lorrain
‘ aphala
“My definition of fairness Is splitting loot over the whole guild, not just every-night raidei:, That way, when we have mem bers come into raids, we all have the same average gear, which make, our performance better If people get loot often, they usually come bad- ’
LOOT SYSTEMS
“DKP WORKS FOR ME!”
Name:	.
Character:
Realm:	Jr
Guild:
"When we first formed a guild, the biggest drama I saw in raiding guilds on our realm was over loot. 1 wanted a system where everything was above board, where points weren't awarded arbitrarily, and where there could be no reasonable accusations of favoritism from officers or a loot council. I didn’t want a loot system where new members can never catch up to the DKP of old members because of huge past balances and point inflation. The actual process of getting loot is just an old-fashioned auction. People keep bidding until whoever wants to pay the most gets it. Once that person wins, the points they spent are divided equally among the other members of the raid. There's a mechanic for pooling 'leftover' points for even distribution later.
"You have to be present at the raid to get points. Thus, those who attend more often will still earn more points overall than those who don't frequently — but at the same time, it doesn't lock out the people who can't attend all the time, and gives them a decent shot at loot when they are there."
DKP WHERE POINTS MAKE PRIZES
LET IT ROLL!
“IN OUR GUILD, SUICIDE IS PAINLESS!”
BOSS KILLS: This system rewards the raid performance itself. Every time a raid boss gets taken down, every member earns a flat amount of points.
SUICIDE KINGS
EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY
As you might expect, since there are multiple ways to earn DKP, there are different ways to spend them, too:
MAIN ROLL/OPEN ROLL
CASUAL but fair
Name: Matthew Nelson Character: Bullpucky Realiv Doomhammer-US
Guild We Are All At Work (officer)
"Our group would say we are a casual progression group. We want to gear our characters and kill bosses, but we aren't hardcore or anything. Suicide Kings makes it really easy for the raid leader, and now we have no looting arguments. It allows loot to be distributed in a fair, quick, and easy way by removing the random number generator. This is truly an amazing system and every group should give it a shot.”
Name: Kathy Todd Character: Kiele
Realm Earthen Ring-US
Guild ELMO (raid leader)
"It keeps everyone pretty even. It makes it so even though you might not have the most DKP, if an item drops that vou really want, you feel like you have a chance at it since you're willing to risk the most for it. It keeps people pretty motivated. I find it fairly simple to conduct and track DKP after every boss, which is nice for me DKP is earned with attendance. Attendance points are given to anyone that logs on for raid invites and is on until the raid ends, either in the raid or on standby. People will get 1 DKP for the start of the raid, and 1 DKP for the end, and then the occasional bonus DKP will be given for new content.'
"This system works well with my guild because while we have a solid core of regular raiders, we often bolster our numbers — particularly for 25-person raids — with friends from other guilds, or even PuGs. This means a more formalized DKP or Suicide Kings system doesn’t work because that would exclude people who don’t regularly run with us. Main/Open rolling is pretty selfregulated, so you don’t end up with someone with lucky dice walking off with a bunch of loot, but at the same time it does let people win a ton of stuff if nobody else wants it.”
Steve Anker	_
Ellach
Sisters of Elune-US
Apples (officer, DKP administrator)
DKP stands for dragon kill points, and dates back to the reptile-slaying days of earlier MMOs. Its simple concept has proven quite appealing: you raid to earn points, which you can then use as currency to "purchase" item drops from bosses. Because of the many variants in terms of earning and spending methods, DKP is often one of the most difficult and complicated systems to maintain, but it’s still quite popular and clearly time-tested.
Different guilds use different criteria for earning DKP. For instance:
ATTENDANCE: By simply showing up on time, a player can earn points. Everyone wants to start on schedule, so it's useful in discouraging tardiness. TIME-BASED: Some systems are based on the exact amount of time a player spends raiding — or spends waiting ready on the sidelines even when the raid is full. This is a useful reward for players who are standing by outside and ready to jump in if their guild needs them.
YOU RAID TO EARN POINTS TO "PURCHASE" ITEM DROPS.
Suicide Kings doesn’t rely on a points system nor does it involve much in terms of human decision-making. It uses a list of players to determine who has first dibs on an item when it drops.
How is that list created? When a guild decides to use Suicide Kings, all the raiders in the guild roll, which determines their place on the list. The higher the roll, the higher up the list they are. Then, when an item drops, the person at the top of the list is asked whether he or she wants it (assuming they can use it), and if not, the choice goes to the next player on the list, and so on until someone takes it. Whoever takes the item is put to the bottom
rolls prioritized over players who’ve already won something. That means players can win multiple items on a run but won’t clean up if other people are less lucky with their rolls.
This system isn’t particularly complicated; it just needs a raid leader/loot master who’s paying attention and taking a note of who’s won what, so that they can quickly remove rolls by players who’ve already won items from consideration.
of the list — which is where the term “suicide” comes in.
As time goes on, the distribution evens itself out. New raiders or alts go to the bottom of the list, which might initially seem a little off-putting, but it’s surprising how fast one can rise up the ranks — and indeed how often people will pass on items because they might be waiting for a specific item such as a particular weapon.
One strong point for Suicide Kings is that the rate at which players acquire gear is evenly distributed across the board. This helps introduce a positive feeling to players; rewards are constantly handed out, and no one will be left behind.
BIDDING SYSTEMS: After an item is dropped from a boss, an auction is held to determine the winner. Bids can be taken either publicly or privately by the loot master. The highest bidder gets the item and forfeits the amount of DKP that they have bid.
NO-BIDDING SYSTEMS: Items are designated with set prices. Players with the highest amounts of DKP are given first option on whether they want an item or not. After paying the set price, their DKP is deducted.
This is similar to the Need/Greed rolling system but it’s a little more formalized, with the raid leader or loot master overseeing the proceedings to make sure everything goes smoothly and that loot distribution is fair. Rather than using the game’s built-in dice system, players roll manually (usually by typing “/rand 100”) and the results are tallied by hand.
Basically, when a piece of loot drops, it’s first put up for a “main roll.” Players can main roll on each item until they’ve won one; after that, they cannot main roll again for the rest of the run. If nobody main rolls on an item, it goes to “open roll.” Players can open roll as many times as they want on a run, but once a player has won, other players who’ve not won anything will have their
X fficncs
«Аттшашк
ISLE OF Ci JNCILIEST
THE HORDE AND ALLIANCE CLASH ON THIS TINY, RESOURCELADEN ISLAND IN ONE OF WORLD OF WARCRAFTS MOST INTENSE PVP BATTLEGROUNDS. OUR EDITORS TURN TO THE COMMUNITY TO GIVE YOU THEIR EXPERT INSIGHTS.
Location: An island off the northwest coast of Northrend, near Icecrown.
Objective: Capture nodes and assault the enemy's fortress.
Maximum players per team: 40
Win Conditions: Kill the enemy's general, or obliterate your opponents until their reinforcements are depleted.
1 J
SIEGE FOR YOURSELF
Mix one part Arathi Basin, one part Alterac Valley, one small island, and stir briskly; season with siege weapons to taste. Voila! You’ve got the latest Battleground for the Horde and Alliance. Isle of Conquest takes elements from previous Battlegrounds and combines them into one fast-paced explosive struggle for victory. The multiple levels of conflict occurring simultaneously (node capture, resource management, and fortress assault) allow for deep strategies to develop between teams but can also make the Battleground appear intimidating at first glance to new players.
That’s where this handy look at Isle of Conquest comes into play. Whether you’re wondering how you get onto that big flying ship you keep seeing above you, how many seconds it takes for bomb piles to respawn inside the enemy fortress, or which node to focus on capturing first, we’ve compiled the wisdom, advice, and strategy of World of Warcraft community members who clash on the latest Battleground.
Open to: Level 71-80
Level Brackets: 71-79, 80
"ISLE OF CONQUEST IS A RACE: THE FIRST TEAM TO TAKE DOWN A GATE WINS."
- Jimbowie, Kil'jaeden-US
40

z ш u
DOCKS
Thanks to the Catapults and Glaive
Throwers awarded here, the Docks
is the proverbial gold mine of siege
weaponry on this tiny island. Often
the most hotly contested point
during the beginning rush, there s
usually only four or five players left
standing to capture the node out
of the initial 50 or so that headed
there. The vehicles arrive by ship
and will appear near the water s
edge.
faction’s starting keep) are neutral, waiting to be claimed by members of the Horde or Alliance. Taking a point of interest by assaulting the flag and defending it from attackers not only nets your side a graveyard closer to the front lines, but । each node also gives additional benefits to help turn the tide 1 in your favor. Combining the benefits of each of these nodes is central to any successful strategv
REFINERY
Provides: 1 resource every 30 seconds and +15% siege damage. It’s easy for one Horde player to grab and defend the Refinery right at the start of the battle. The flag is at the top of a goblin-styled oil rig station, making it easy to see non-stealthed attackers coming from a distance and call for help or prepare to defend accordingly.
► ALLIANCE KEEP Grey stone, gold edges, and a distinct lack of tusks or green skin among its citizens marks this mighty fortress as the Alliance starting point (and Horde end goal) for the Battleground. "The Horde and Alliance keeps are identical in layout and defenses, including matching generals holed up inside the keep’s inner sanctum.
Catapult spawning location
Bombs spawning location
Glaive Thrower attack spot
Glaive Thrower spawning location
Siege Engine spawning location
Gunship docking location
Catapult launch spot
Turrets available
Demolisher spawning location
к.;
50
LAY OF THE LAND
Gunship & Keep Turrets Both types of turrets do massive fire damage from a stationary location, but Keep Turrets can also light whole patches of ground on fire.
WEAPONS OF WAR HOW TO BEST USE EACH OF THE FIVE SIEGE WEAPONS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Siege Engine
The hard hitting battering ram of the group, send in the Siege Engine fully manned to the keep gate your team is attacking to crush it into submission.
Demolisher
Part Siege Engine, part Glaive Thrower, the Demolisher hurls flaming boulders and rams keep gates. Drive it into the fray.
HANGAR
Horde and Alliance can now
duke it out in the air — Isle of
Conquest is the first Battle-
ground to take the war to the
skies. Whoever controls the
Hangar has access to their
factions gunship (and all the
turrets/parachutes on board)
as it flies between the enemy
base and the Hangar to refuel.
Other than launching yourself
in a catapult from the Docks,
parachuting from the gunship
the enemy keep before the
wall is breached.
► HORDE KEEP
Black iron, spiky walls, and bright red banners? Must be a Horde base. Horde players prepare for the battle within their keep’s walls. Turrets perched on the keep's towers repel attackers, while teleporters lining the base of its walls allow defenders to move in and out of the keep with ease,
► WORKSHOP
The second-largest producer of siege weapons and the central point of interest in loC, the Workshop is hotly contested. Demolishers are handy for assaulting enemy walls and ferrying allies into enemy territory, but the big threat is the Siege Engine produced after one side controls the Workshop for 3 minutes.
QUARRY
Provides: 1 resource every 30 seconds and +15% siege damage. Frequently the first node grabbed by Alliance players, the resource rewards will rarely be a game-maker or game-breaker, but the siege damage bonus is a big aid in the race to break down the enemy keep’s walls — especially if you’re able to capture the Quarry and Refinery for a total 30% siege damage bonus.
Catapult
Uses an unusual type of ammunition — you. Stealth by the other team and launch yourself over the enemy keep's walls.
is the only way to get inside
Glaive Thrower
If ninjas were siege weapons, they'd be Glaive Throwers. Hide them in the hills and hurl their giant ninja stars at the enemy's gate from outside the range of keep turrets.

51
(M’lEHATlIJM:
1ЛЕЛТН AlitlVIE
TAKE TO THE SKIES AND COORDINATE A DEVASTATING AIR RAID TO TEAR APART THE ENEMY KEEP FROM WITHIN.
“When defending your keep, you need players on the inside to kill enemies that sneak in and players outside to kill the (often unproteci ed) Catapults that they’re using to get inside.”
- Gains, Durotan-US
GENERAL GENERAL ADVICE
Defense: Man the turrets on the top of your veep’s wall and take out any players or siege vehicles that get within range. If enemies destroy a turret, it only takes a few seconds to repair it back to full strength
Unlike Alterac Valley, the additional troops inside the general’s room are non-elite and go down very quickly with a large group of players assaulting the keep at once. Players with area-of-effect attacks should focus on taking down the adds at the start of the fight before shifting solely to the general. This will also give the tank additional time to build threat.
The generals themselves are not nearly as tough as their Alterac Valley counterparts. Eight to ten players should be able to kill them easily, but you will still need a tank and some healers to mitigate the general’s damage while you chew through his 799,998 HP.
At the beginning of the match, half of your team goes to the Docks, the other half goes to the Hangar. One player captures Quarry or Refinery, depending on faction.
The Docks team isn’t expected to capture the node, but should kill enough enemy players to limit the initial wave assaulting your keep. Players who die should focus on defense, with as many of the 12 available turrets as possible firing at enemy players and vehicles.
The Hangar team should leave a couple players behind to guard the flag while the rest board the gunship. While five stay onboard to man the turrets, the rest parachute into the enemy base to bomb the gate from within.
* BL
52
J
ONE WAY TO DO IT
INSIDE THE ENEMY KEEP, THERE ARE SOME THINGS
YOU SHOULD KNOW...
BOMB SAFETY AND YOU
DO plant bombs at the target gate as often as possible. Bomb piles reappear 10 seconds after someone picks them up.
DON’T get distracted by enemy players fighting inside or plant bombs at a different gate than the one the rest of your team is attacking.
DO give your life defending a ticking bomb until it detonates in a fireball of glory. It takes 10 seconds for a bomb to go off once it’s planted.
DON’T suicide run just to plant a bomb. Enemies will flick you aside and disarm the bomb before it explodes.
“LARGE SEAFORIUM BOMBS + SIDE GATE = WIN.”
- Xenburn, Bloodscalp-US
An indirect benefit of holding the Hangar is knowing that the only way players are getting inside your base is by launching from Catapults, so you know their strategy and can be read" counter it.
SECOND OPINION
“Always take the Docks for the Glaive Throwers. You can take down a gate very fast with two Glaive Throwers and both the Quarry and Refinery giving +30% siege damage bonus. Then capture the enemy keep and rush in to kill the general. That will win 100% of the time.”
-	Immaaresto, Kil’jaeden-US
“The Hangar sucks. As soon as you capture it and go into flight, you lose the node. But if you waste people defending the node, you can’t pull off the attack inside the keep. The enemy will be able to divide and conquer, as they say. Zerg the middle, capture the Docks, and catapult over the wall.”
-	Jimbowie, Kil’jaeden-US

°и| While defenders focus on destroying Glaive Throwers and enemies within the keep, the offense focuses turret fire and bomb-planting on the front gate (which is the gate most exposed to the gunship’s turrets), killing enemy players within the keep as necessary.
With an effective assembly line of bombers and all five turrets manned, your team should breach the enemy's wall in just a few gunship passes.
Г When the wall is breached, the gate to the central structure w,ll open. Rush in and kill the general with a group of at least 8 to 10 players. Celebrate accordingly.
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ANOTHER WAY TO DO IT
4 »
Check up on the Hangar from time to time and see if it’s well defended. If you can capture it, you’ll pin the enemy team inside their base.
It’s tempting to jump off the Hangar cliff onto the roof of the Workshop and shoot/heal people from up there. Do it! You get +10 style points and extra protection against enemy melee.
“DOCKS, DOCKS, AND MORE DOCKS.” *
- Shipwrecked. Stonemaul-US
Expect to take heavy casualties capturing and holding the Docks, but the rewards are well worth it.
After holding the Workshop for 3 minutes, a Siege Engine will spawn for your team. Make getting this manned and to the west gate a priority.
"Getting greedy and trying to take all three main nodes at the beginning spreads your forces thin — too thin."
- Xenburn, Bloodscalp-US
"WITH THE G1AIVE THROWERS AND CATAPULTS, YOU CAN ATTACK THE WEST WALL WITHOUT GETTING HIT BY THE TURRETS.
- Dazzn, BlacJtruck-US
t f .

Try not to fight in front of the enemy base, but if you must, force the fight to where their turrets can’t blast rockets at you from above.
"TRY TO TAKE THE QU THE REFINERY TO M.1 ASSAULT ON THE ENE GO 30% FASTER."
- Immaaresto, Kil’Jaeden-US
[JPEBATIUM: SURF AMU TURF
The first step is capturing the Docks and Workshop. At the start of the game, send 10 to 15 players to the Workshop in the middle of the map. One player captures the Quarry or Refinery (Alliance or Horde, respectively), and the rest go directly to the Docks on the west coast of the island.
TEAR INTO THE ENEMY KEEP WITH A STRONG, UNIFIED SIEGE VEHICLE PUSH FROM DOCKS AND WORKSHOP.
After the Docks are captured, players ride the Catapults and Glaive Throwers to their designated attack areas near the enemy keep’s west wall.
Five players stay to defend the Workshop while the rest pile into Demolishers and join up with the Docks team outside the enemy keep. Be sure to defend the vehicles.
Glaive Throwers assault the west gate from their protected attack location (marked on map on pages 50 and 51), remaining careful to stay out of line of sight of enemy turrets. Five players stay back to protect the Glaive Throwers and Catapults.
The remaining players use the Catapults to launch inside of the enemy keep’s walls. Once inside, they grab a bomb from the bomb piles in front of the central building and plant it at the west gate. Keep planting bombs until the gate is destroyed.
When the wall is breached, the gate to the central structure that houses the general will open. Rush in and kill the general with a group of at least 8 to 10 players.
SECOND OPINIONS
“Stick with the Workshop and Hangar. The game revolves around Siege Engines and Demolishers and the gunship turrets can do a lot of damage from above."
- Deejaykay, Ghostlands-US
" The Hangar is the most vital link. If you can maintain control of the skies, victory is usually near." Twilighthorn, Steamwheedle
Cartel-EU
54
55


1 J
THEIR OWN REWARDS
rowninq pchievenxnls
THEY DON’T HELP YOU IN COMBAT. THEY DON’T MAKE FINISHING QUESTS ANY EASIER. THEY’RE JUST TINY POINTS OF PERSONAL PRIDE. SO WHY DO FOLKS LOVE ACHIEVEMENTS SO MUCH?
This sounds corny, but it’s true: Playing World of Warcraft is its own reward. In fact, the game was thoroughly enjoyable for years before achievements joined the mix with Echoes of Doom (patch 3.0.2). But that doesn’t mean we’d give up those achievements, either. Azeroth has a lot to offer; what’s the downside to having a personal, flexible yardstick for your progress ?
Achievements are basically little, friendly dares. "Betcha cant do this)' says the game “Betcha I can," you reply. Some players choose to seek them out; others collect them by happy accident But it's hard not to earn an achievement for something - and more often than not, it makes you smile.
Of course, some players are more dedicated than others. We met two players who have crossed the hallowed 10,000-point barrier — Shaun “Vosk ” Diamond and Jonathan “Lolipokicake" Wolf — to find out how they became achievement royalty.
You’re two of thefirst people in the entire world to have 10,000 achievement points. What drove you to get so many? Was it a goalfrom the start?
VOSK: Most people I know only focus on one aspect of the game, but I enjoy Ulduar, the Ring of Valor, and Warsong Gulch almost equally. Second, I’m a completion-ist. When I’m leveling, I absolutely positively must wipe out every quest before I move to the next area. As a side effect of those two factors, I ended up with a hefty number of achievement points naturally. It wasn't a conscious goal from the beginning, but somewhere around the 7,000-point mark, I started seeking out achievements to complete. It took about ten months to build my throne of "nerdpoints.”
LOLIPOKICAKE: Ever since I started playing, I would do things like earn reputations, level up professions, collect mounts and pets, participate in world events...basically, I
was already doing what the achievement system asks you to do long before it came into existence. The real push for me to really start going crazy for achievements began when the Wrath of the Lich King beta came out. I copied my character [to the public test realm], then started looking at what achievements could be done before the system came out and began completing as many as I could.
Which achievement was the Hardest to obtain?
LOLIPOKICAKE: The main thing about getting achievements is finding people who are willing to spend the time trying to accomplish them. Most of them just take time; for example, getting 100 victories in a Battleground simply requires you to play that Battleground. While you work towards your 100 victories, you should manage to get most of the other achievements for that particular Battleground. As far as the dungeon achievements go, you have to convince the raid to try them, and that is something that can be difficult to do since most of them involve the group putting in some extra effort. One of the hardest achievements to obtain is The Immortal [an achievement that requires a raid to complete 25-player Naxxramas without anyone dying on a boss —Ed.]. What makes it hard is that you want to get it, but then someone messes up on a fight in some way that you've never had happen. So then you try to learn from that mistake and wait until next week to try it again, only to end up having someone else die to something different. The boss fights in the instance have multiple ways to kill people, and the worst part about this particular achievement is that you can make it all the way to Kel'Thuzad, in which there are numerous ways for a player to die.
VOSK: Gladiator has the highest skill requirement and probably one of the highest time investments required [to earn Gladiator, you have to be level 80 and in the top 0.5%
57
Shaun Diamond
Vosk, a tauren warrior uu MaHganis-US
Student
23
Leet speak drives me crazy, lulz pwned u nOOb.
Running Battlegrounds with a couple of healers is always entertaining.
Jonathan Wolf
Lolipokicake, an undead rogue on Forgotten Cc ast-US 19 Student People who feel
the need to log on to my realm to tell me how I've wasted my time and tell me how much they hate
me...for no logical reason. Raiding new content and getting to kill new bosses.
of your battlegroup at the end of an Arena season. —Ed.]. When you factor in the time necessary to develop a working relationship with your teammates and the fact that you can only get Gladiator once every season, it's hard to compare any of the other achievements with it.
Insane in the Membrane is one achievement 1 do not have, and never plan to acquire. [Insane in the Membrane requires you to simultaneously be exalted with all the goblin factions while honored with the Bloodsail Buccaneers. —Ed.] Even for 100 points, I’d still have a hard time convincing myself to go for it.
The most difficult achievement for me personally was probably winning the Booty Bay fishing contest
INOWVIEWTHEGAMEASONEGIANTPIAYGROUND.’’ -W
on my realm for Master Angler of Stranglethorn. It took me 12 weeks before I managed to pull it off. Between Horde jumping on mounts in my pools, Alliance assaulting me, and low-level Horde mobbing the areas I was in, I had a heck of a time.
What was the craziest thing you’ve done to get an achievement?
LOLIPOKICAKE: I got For the Horde at level 70 on Frostmane, where Alliance had a player advantage. There were strong rivalries between factions such that guilds were determined to prevent the
faction leaders from dying. We would go into one of the Alliance cities at around 1:00 to 2:00 a.m.
realm time, and around 60 Alliance would come wipe our raid. On one of the nights that we were going for the king of Ironforge, he was guarded by about 100 Alliance, all waiting for us. To try to get them to go away, everyone logged off for about an hour, but when we checked back, most of them were still there. So we decided to meet back in three more hours, and amazingly we got 40 of our people back online in the wee hours of the morning, and found a much more manageable group of Alliance to battle. The fight took a long time due to the bosses being level 80 and resisting/mitigating most of our damage, but once we managed to kill
the king, we decided to make sure everyone in the group got their mount, so we went and killed the other three bosses.
What’s the appeal of achievement, anyway?
VOSK: Simply put, most of them are fun. Take Earth, Wind, and Fire. This achievement requires you to kill Archavon, Koraion, and Emalon within 60 seconds of one another in the Vault of Archavon. It's a logistical challenge, first and foremost. You should have this many tanks to counteract this ability, this amount of healing to
counteract that ability. All three bosses have an enrage timer, so there's a DPS requirement. Once you've got your planning all figured out, you've got to actually convince the proper people to come in and perform, so it's a social challenge as well. Then, lastly, because of the requirements, your team has to play pretty well to succeed. Figuring it all out, organizing it, and then executing it is immensely satisfying. Beyond that mental gratification, the rewards are pretty nice. Having a cool-looking mount or an awesome title always adds to the playing experience. Everyone likes to show off when they've done something difficult.
The competitive aspect of it also entertains me.
1 went to BlizzCon with a group of friends and played Warsong Gulch against another 10 players in the community tournaments area After we crushed them, we had about 15 minutes before the next team showed up. So with these blank pre-made characters that had no achievements at all, we had a race: Get the most achievement points possible armed with 5,000 gold, one hearthstone, and 15 minutes. I ended up with a couple mounts, a pet, a haircut, Crystalsong Forest explored, a "Gigantique Bag,” and a few others — maybe 400 points, all said and done. It was an absolute blast.
To a degree, I play that out on a grander scale on the live realms. It's a competition between myself and the other top achievers to get the highest score. However, in the last few months, we've all pretty much completed all of the available achievements. The only things left are the harder raiding
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ACHIEVEMENTS
FOUR QUICK & EASY ACHIEVEMENTS
THE CASE AGAINST!
“I must be a miserable git, but 1 don’t really pay much attention to the vast majority of achievements. The ones that reward mounts or titles are more attractive, and of course the raid achievements are a real badge of hon< but achievements like ‘kill x number critters’ seem like a complete waste ol time to me. If there were more tangible rewards for doing the achievements, 1 would be far more inclined to do them.”

Get caught in 10 consecutive land mine explosions in the Sparksocket Minefield without landing.
— Spectrus, blood elf priest on Steamwheedle Cartel-EU (2,735 achievement points)
n
Storm Peaks, and be prepared to I e tossed around like a potato s«G (It helps if you have an in .tant heal abilgy. I
Illustration: Daren Bader
achievements, so it’s become a competition between guilds. The flip side to this is a sense of responsibility. I represent my guild, and to a degree, the U.S. realms. I have to do well!
Are there any achievements that you think are missing that you hope will be included in the future?
LOLIPOKICAKE: With guild-based achievements coming soon, the only thing missing is some type of bonus to players who have a certain number of achievement points. I think it would be cool to add a Feat of Strength for hitting certain milestones in achievement points.
VOSK: I’d love to see class-specific PvP or PvE achievements. Something like “interrupt 100 enemy casts with Pummel,” "Spell Reflect a mage s Polymorph” — little things that help people learn about their class.
How, specifically, have achievement points changed the way you play the game?
VOSK: I now view the game as one giant playground in which to acquire achievements. So when I'm in Warsong Gulch, I calculate how we can integrate achievement point acquisition with winning. Rather than fighting in the midfield, for example, my friends and 1 kill enemy flag carriers in the base for progress on Supreme Defender.
LOLIPOKICAKE: If there wasn’t the Spore Loser achievement, I don’t think too many people would even care to try and kill Loatheb without using the spores. I
am always trying to convince players in my guild that they should try certain fights different ways.
Do you think achievement points distract from or enhance the core gameplay?
VOSK: This is a complex issue. If you look at achievements as a reward for doing things that you're already doing, they're phenomenal. However...take The Dedicated Few as an example |where you’re rewarded for defeating the Naxx bosses with 20 players in your group instead of 25 —Ed.]. If you happen to be short a few people for a week and underman a boss, it’s a nifty challenge and a cool reward. But having a full raid and forcing people out of it because you want the achievement... not quite so cool, in my opinion. So achievements are a double-edged sword, but I feel the system adds more than it detracts.
LOLIPOKICAKE: I believe that overall achievements enhance gameplay, but He’s Not Getting Any Older (the 7-minute Yogg Saron kill) or Lumberjacked, which wants you to take down Freya’s three elders in 15 seconds in Ulduar, pretty much require you to throw away your chances of getting hard-mode loot from that encounter, which is a bad thing for guilds that enjoy doing achievements but also want to gear up their raiders with the best gear available to them. However, it looks as though Blizzard is aware of this issue with the introduction of separate instances for easy and hard modes, so that guilds can earn their gimmick mechanic achievements for a boss on easy mode and still have a shot at hard mode I look forward to seeing how the system will evolve with time. X
Using Critter Bites, coerce 10 critters to be your pet within 3 minutes or less.
reate your very own, s "ry tern and very useless army oi < utters 11 lint Try the rats inside D> , prun Tr un <>r the pigs our i de Drgnmmar Other wise, sm i m or fly out to the penguins in
Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord i
Slav 15 turkeys in three minutes.
Find the gobbi - bbl и Н» -wltng Fjord, but don’t expect them to take your senseless act of pnultt ycide sitting down...
Goinb Down!
Sure, you could jump off cl i fl s uni il you get lucky. But we’d rr omm id heading to Shattrath City and leaping off the elevator of the Scryrr's Tier
NOT TOO SHABBY
Zilea, the holy paladin on TSG's 3v3 Arena team, healed his team to a 2nd place finish at the North American regionals this year in Germany, which qualified them for the 2009 BlizzCon 3v3 Arena tournament — and there, they placed first.
tin
 OUT №
NOWHERE
You probably know this much already: ever since The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft's first expansion, introduced PvP Arenas in 2007, Blizzard’s seasonal Arena Tournaments have become the destination for a lot of teams, all vying for titles, sweet lewt, and ultimately a hopeful berth into the global finals at BlizzCon. This year, the 3-person multinational (U.S. and Canadian) cadre known as TSG swept the 3v3 bracket in Anaheim, claiming victory., and a $75,000 team purse in the process What you probably don't know is that Zilea, the holy paladin throwing down massive heals for TSG, only recently joined the team after receiving a private message following a public session. That one mes-
к MEET THE CHAMP
FABIAN SIFFREDI WENT FROM ZERO TO HERO OVERNIGHT — AND MADE $25K IN THE PROCESS. MEET THE ARENA TOURNAMENT'S TOP HEALADIN.
entirely sure what I'm going to do, as I’m kind of just bumbling around with my life."
In the meantime, he just happens to rule at team-based PvP. He prefers Arena to Battlegrounds because he finds the latter to "be a grind where most of the people around you have blue gear.” And in the ongoing war between the factions, he would roll Horde over Alliance any day — but if you disagree, know that you’ll need some serious skills to try to change his mind.
►	RIGHT REALM, RIGHT TIME
Some people dream of joining a championship team — World of Warcraft or otherwise — and dedicate their lives to reaching their goal. Zilea’s
“IWASJUSTAPALADINONARANDOMREALM. NEVER NMY WILDEST DREAMS EXPECTED US TO GET AS FAR AS WE DID.”
sage would transform Zilea, a.k.a. Fabian Marcelo Siffredi. from Arena regular to global champ.
►	JUST THIS GUY, YOU KNOW?
You wouldn’t recognize Zilea on the street; his rap sheet reads like a lot of World of Warcraft players' would. As a student and blogger, Siffredi is a fairly normal 21-year-old dude. "Right now I’m going to college at Cal State University Fullerton and plan on getting my bachelor's degree in political science by the end of the year,” he says. “After that I'm not
path was a little different. "1 was just a paladin on a random realm,” he explains. "I never participated in any tournaments or anything at the time.” Instead, one of the top teams came to him. "TSG have been around for a long time, with the two main people being the team’s warrior and death knight, Veex [Bennett Lynch] and Valrath [David Kovacs].” TSG, or “Teh Supeh Gosus" (the term “gosu” comes from the StarCraft lexicon, meaning “really good player"), handpicked Zilea, which meant a lot considering the team’s killer rep on Kil’Jaeden-US. That
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said, TSG needed an experienced healer if they wanted to have any hope of placing in the 2009 U.S. online qualifiers. Enter Zilea.
A seasoned Arena player in his own right as well as an active member of the Arena community, Siffredi had made a name for himself as a great healer. "I played a lot with a bunch of friends,” he says. “Every season 1 had been top-five in pretty much every bracket, so I guess that was an accom plishment, too.” Zilea had even faced off against Veex in season 4, so they were hardly strangers.
Siffredi admits he had a detached amusement about joining TSG at first, but that quickly changed as the team began racking up big wins. “I was fully expecting it to just be a ‘for fun thing that never went anywhere, but after six weeks we managed to be in first place. We were flown out to Germany for the [North American] regionals and we placed second, which granted us the trip to the global finals at BlizzCon, as only the top two teams from each regional got invited. But I never in my wildest dreams expected us to get as far as we did.”
►	THE MISSING WARLOCK
For the uninitiated, assembling the right composition — or "comp" — of character classes is an important part of successful ranked PvP Arena play. By the time the more competitive players start thinking about making a run for the title, most have a good idea of the comp they'll play.
"For the online qualifiers, we ran paladin, warlock, and death knight because, at the time, warlocks and death knights were both very powerful," Zilea explains. “As soon as the content update hit on the last week of the online qualifiers, death knights and warlocks were changed pretty dramatically, so we started to feel we needed to change comps or we would not have a shot to win. We gave paladin, death knight, and warrior a chance and we were amazed at how good it was.”
Once Zilea joined the team, TSG spent weeks practicing, which was no trivial feat considering that the three players reside in different countries. In fact, the team has only met twice in-person to date: for the 2009 North American regionals
“I WAS FULLY EXPECTING ITTOJUSTBEAFORFUN’
THING THATNEVER WENT ANYWHERE, BUT AFTERSX WEEKS WE MANAGED TO BE
IN FIRST place:
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MEET THE CHAMP
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ARENA T^iwRNAMENT
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Zilea and TSG took the prize at BlizzCon 2009, but with the team’s future uncertain, who will battle to the top for season 7? Arena teams are battling it out right now on every realm, and you can follow their weekly progress at the World of Warcraft Armory — www.wowarmory.com for North America, or eu.wowarmory.com for Europe. Select your battlegroup at the main menu to track the teams on your realm, and dive into their statistics for each match — great for following rivalries and analyzing future opponents. And even if you’re not registered for the Arena Tournament, you can still read the dedicated Arena Tournament forum at www.worldofwarcraft.com to follow the competitors and watch the drama unfold.
and BlizzCon itself for the global finals. Thankfully, World of Warcraft happens to be designed to connect players across the globe, which meant lots of long nights of voice-chat strategy talks and practice matches. “Whenever we thought we could all be on at a certain time was when we played,” explains Zilea.
And what did that training entail? Some of the same core rudiments that a lot of teams consider when building their strategies. “Generally, the first thing to always consider is which target we should focus on, where there is the least amount of pressure against us," he reveals. “And it isn’t always about training one target from start to finish. Swaps have to be made, cooldowns need to be used at the right times, et cetera.”
►	NUMBER ONE AND DONE?
Despite winning a combined $81,000 and the team's victory at this year’s finals, don’t expect to see another appearance from Teh Supeh Gosus anytime soon, at least not with the same lineup.
However, even if his team is going through a period of uncertain transition, don’t think BlizzCon 2009 was the last you’ll see of Zilea.
“I'm still playing,” he says. “We may pick up a new warrior since Veex wants to take a break. Right now I'm playing with Hoodrych as a paladin-and-warrior team in the 2v2 bracket. In the 3v3 bracket I'm playing with a different warrior called Handbag and a shaman named Survey. Truthfully, TSG is still up in the air.”
If TSG really is on the prowl for a warrior, that somehow seems apropos. Not only does it mean the possible beginning of yet another meteoric ride for some lucky and capable player, it means Zilea has crossed over from “new guy” to veteran team member. He doesn’t focus on that sort of thing though, instead keeping his mind on the road ahead. “Since the finals I've talked to Valrath a lot about going to the next tournament in November, which is held by Major League Gaming," he says. "If and when we get a third player, you may see us in the tournament scene again." X
65
LINE OF SIGHT
H
MANAGING LINE OF SIGHT IS A KEY SKILL FOR ALL ARENA PLAYERS — AND THE EXPERTS CAN SHOW YOU HOW TO USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.
ny player ever to brandish a blade, claw the eyes out of a murloc, or cast a spell at a raid boss understands the joys of PvE gameplay; but these thrills are mirrored in the glory of smiting a better-geared opponent, as well as the agony
of suffering a severe ganking at the hands of a slimesucking rogue. Nowhere is the lure for PvP dominance stronger though than in the Arena, where teams must continually adapt to reign victorious in 2v2, 3v3, or 5v5 matches.
In today’s heavily populated Arenas and seasonal Arena tournaments, it’s obvious that there’s much more required for teams to win than simply knowing how to play their classes or
65
X
even expertly using their abilities. Nagrand and Dalaran Arena chat is filled with creative strategies employed to burn, bleed, trap, or mana-drain your opponents into submission, and skilled players know you must always keep eyes on your competition in order to emerge a champion. To that end, line of sight (LoS) plays a crucial and sometimes overlooked role in Arena victory that serious players can’t ignore. But don’t just take our word for it; we scoured realms far and wide, across the United States, Canada, and Europe to find top Arena players willing to share their secrets about the oft-misunderstood mechanic of line of sight.
EN GARDE!
When the gates open or the platform raises and combat begins, it’s game on. And even though you might be tempted to run out and blindly throw the first stun, both teams must quickly situate themselves to establish line of sight for both the opponent and their teammates alike.
The lines of vision between your
partners or opponents can mean the difference between victory and utter defeat. If you can’t be seen, you can’t be hit by ranged attacks...or healed by your teammates, so it’s definitely a double-edged sword. With the fast pace of Arena matches, keeping a bead on your team and the lines of sight is crucial. Supernatural, a Guatemalan Arena stalwart on Ragnaros LA, suggests the best way to quickly determine LoS is to set your point of view out to the maximum range; this gives you more information in making tactical decisions.
"Line of sight corresponds to the chance that you will interact with players by way of positioning yourself within the Arena,” explains Thomas Zilio, a.k.a. Neelia on Ner'zhul-EU, a globally ranked 2v2 blood elf hunter from France
This positioning, or staging, plays out like a concert of lightningfast actions that employs objects, distance, and movement to attack, defend, or heal during each match.
And that’s just the physical considerations; throw in all the variables of class and compositions—whether you’re facing a double melee team or a ranged/melee team — and you
begin to understand the complexities of positioning each teammate. Your team’s LoS can put you at
a distinct disadvantage if you run headlong into the open without regard for where your opponents are staged,” says Massivez, a topranked undead death ki.ight on Blackrock-US.
When considering your
opponents at the onset of a match, Haraw of Ner'zhul-EU (in real life, Nicolas Gangneux), who is currently ranked 6th overall in European 2v2, uses LoS to avoid control spells, mana burns, and death grips. “As a healer, if I see an opponent positioned on the left of a post, I'll place my druid on the right and work to keep LoS on my team. But you always have to be careful, because the aggressor may attempt
to cross in front of your sight or have another teammate flank you.”
Often, avoiding crowd control, traps, or slowing actions dictates
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your initial moves and positioning just as much as getting in the fu st fear, making defensive LoS moves just as important as offensive. By keeping obstructions between you and the vision of your aggressor, you break that line and provide time

LINE OF SIGHT
PARDON ME, DID YOU SAY... PILLAR HUMPING?
Terms like “kiting” and “pillar humping” are familiar to many Arena players. Kiting involves leading an opponent in a specific direction, where pillar humping refers to players circling an object to keep from taking damage. How do the experts see these techniques?
“They’re cheesy to some and necessary to win for others” — Zilea (Kil’jaeden-US)
Dance among the Ruins ofLordaeron in the Undercity; you'll find those stone slabs provide excellent cover fro .a ranged attackers.
“Never run circles around pillars. Scrape the edges and hug the corners. If you round a corner, you risk increasing your LoS and may lose your advantage. Also,
for valuable heals or to interrupt additional attacks. Fabian “Zilea” Siffredi (Kil’jaeden-US) from team TSG — who took home the Global Champion title in 3v3 with his holy paladin at this year’s BlizzCon — feels LoS is especially important when facing rogue/mage/priest teams. “Gaining defensive LoS will oftentimes mitigate damage, which is important during the first phases of these types of matches,” he says. “Teams tend to burn their big offensive cooldowns very quickly. We rely heavily on the cover provided within the Arenas to stay alive through the initial phase of combat.”
ROUND HOLE, SQUARE PEG Regardless of how you approach combat, eventually all players are forced to contend with an obstruction and will have to utilize a LoS strategy. Canadian player Narathos from Kilrogg-US uses cover to gain advantage against casting classes to avoid various control spells: “They can’t stop what they can’t see.” He goes on to
explain that effective healers should kite opponents around pillars while quick-healing teammates between passes (see sidebar). Casters also have the ability to pop out from hiding to briefly sight an opponent, drop a spell, and duck back behind cover — and that’s just frightening.
With the changes of the 3.2.2 update, the shape of some obstructions went from mostly circular to square. “The post changes really hit players who relied on LoS damage because now it is easier to burn targets,” notes Zilea. “This cut down a lot of surface area, fixing irritants where melee would be in range to auto attack while chasing somebody and not being able use their abilities. For me, the change is a buff and will make pursuing targets behind posts much easier than before.”
When dealing with casters, LoS becomes the highest priority “My LoS becomes the most important weapon," says Neelia. “I have to avoid all fear, sheep, and hex spells by breaking the line of sight of the casters. If I am forced to blow mv
trinket to avoid an early control spell, my partner will take the full duration of the next crowd control and be left alone against the opponents.” This becomes increasingly problematic with the update, since straight edges will open LoS for these attacks Traps can also wreak havoc on LoS.
“Those who know how to use LoS will kite teams to minimize or completely stop damage output,” says Haraw. “They are especially deadly when one player knows how to intercept a trap that was intended for another.”
ALL CLEAR
Line of sight is a valuable element at your disposal in the Arena, but like anything else in the game, it certainly isn’t everything. In fact, as Supernatural puts it, relying too heavily on LoS “can be a waste of time, since most people know how to break it. You have to burn your cooldowns and it can be hard to keep an eye on one another.” To this, we respectfully respond, “Seeing is believing.” ~
bind your mouse so you can turn immediately backwards should an opponent cut your forward kiting position off!’
— Ball (Bonechewer-US)
“A marriage of sorts; never leave your pillar”
— Narathos (Kilrogg-US)
“Don’t use your keyboard to turn. That is the worst possible thing to do with square pillars. Use your mouse to maintain angles and it will save you time."
— Neelia (Ner’zhul-EU)
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LINE OF SIGHT
THE ARENA POWER TRIO
THE EXPERTS NAMED THEIR THREE FAVORITE ARENAS -AND YOU CAN TRY THEIR TACTICS.
BLADE’S EDGE MOUNTAINS
CIRCLE OF BLOOD
NAGRAND
RING OF TRIALS
The beauty of this Arena is the sheer number of LoS points at the player’s disposal. Two ramps at opposing ends are connected by a long bridge with two pillars extending just away from the middle of the bridge. Many consider this map the most difficult with respect to LoS. Massivez likes to control the bridge from the center of it: “We exchange blows and try to overpower teams in the center while the healers LoS from the ramp’s edge.” Ball, a small-team specialist from Bonechewer-US, rushes to the ramp and will seek to stay up top throughout the match. “It is very difficult to control a battle from below the bridge from an LoS perspective,” he notes. "The best part is being able to coordinate a jump off the side with your healer when you are in trouble so you can recover quickly out of attacking LoS.” Zilea believes that this, among all other Arenas, provides the biggest tool for escape by being able to drop off the bridge when things get hairy.
Keep LoS on your teammates to heal (green), while blocking your enemies' LoS (red) and retreating to heal (blue) when you're targeted.
Pillar-hugging heaven: three pillars at the top of each ramp, four along the bottom of the bridge, and two stand-alone pillars in the middle on the side of the bridge.
The Ring of Trials, with its tour large equidistant pillars set in a large open Arena, is often hailed as the best of the five current Arenas. “This Arena is probably the most enjoyable because it offers great opportunities for defensive play due to the large size and ability to use the pillars to kite, heal, and break LoS,” says Neelia. Narathos will periodically hide behind the pillars to break LoS from attackers, then quickly locate a secondary target to work on before reacquiring his original focus. “As long as you are mindful of the distance and LoS of your target and you’re throwing or receiving HoTs, this strategy works very well," he says.
“Ring of Trials has the fewest gimmicks,” reasons Zilea. “Generally speaking, priests and warlocks are easier to LoS with the update that came out in late 2009. Even with the large pillars, the square configuration allows for teams to target healers more often.”
As a healer, you need to be aware of where both your teammates and enemies are at all times. Here, the druid has wandered out a little too far, exposing himself to the enemy's attacks and crowd control.
Four main pillars define the Arena layout, but the edges of the map have nooks and sharp edges that you can also use to your advantage.
RUINS OF LORD AERON
This Arena has a sizeable sarcophagus in the center and a small hillside littered with gravestones. Narathos calls it a two-zone LoS Arena. “Try to be mindful of your healer’s distance between you and the DPS. We like to hide in the starting zone, forcing teams to come to us, and then we will push them out to the center with the healer peeling off to the graveyard for cover.” Ball uses the tomb to block out LoS and to kite the enemy to the outer walls. “We wait for pursuit and look for LoS to be cut off or for the chasing player when he is out of healing range, and we burst him down while slowing the healer’s movement." The use of traps also plays a role in this Arena. "We like to rush to the tomb and set traps down out of the enemy’s LoS. Our healer will push to the top and kite them back down to the traps," said Massivez. Tactics like these don’t always work, according to Zilea, explaining that teams often change focus, cross over the top of the tomb, and catch the kiting individual before this type of defensive measure is in place.
Remember, no matter what objects you're using to LoS enemy players, if you can see them, they can see you. The druid should shift to the left side of this gravestone to heal his teammate safely.
Players can climb on top of the tombstone centerpiece, while the three large gravestones function exactly like pillars. Four small alcoves give the edge of the Arena extra strategic value.

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CUSTOM PRINTS
LOTS OF PEOPLE PUT POSTERS OF THEIR HEROES UP ON THEIR WALLS. BUT ONLY HEROIC PRINTS LETS WORLD OF WARCRAFT PLAYERS DO THAT LITERALLY...
BlizzCon 2009 featured a lot of stunning sights, not the least of which was the diminutive booth for PrintWarcraft.com.
The print-on-demand service made its not-so-quiet debut at this year’s player celebration, and
the service's first patrons.
The team behind Heroic Prints — and, by proxy, PrintWarcraft.com — allows any World of Warcraft player to create their own customized print of any character, on any realm, and in any
characters, getting so invested in them, why wouldn’t they want something personal to commemorate it?” says Matt Hoffman, Heroic Prints’ Chief Operating Officer and an avid player of World of Warcraft since its alpha test
attendees were among the first to get a frame
form, based on information drawn directly from
in 2003. “Our products are a testament to the
worthy World of Warcraft poster featuring the character they play — customized to their exacting tastes. And nobody looked unhappy to wait for the unique honor of being among
the World of Warcraft Armory. These aren’t just any posters: They’re you.
“Once we realized that players were spending hundreds of days with these
players themselves, to the time they’ve spent, and it gives them a way to take a direct piece of their energy and their passion for this game and put it on their wall.”
А
CUSTOM PRINTS
► HEROIC HISTORY
Heroic Prints started out as a level-1 idea in early 2008 as a way to merge print-on-demand services with the fan passion of World of Warcraft. When customized posters came up as a potential opportunity, the launch of Heroic Prints, the company, soon followed.
“I wanted posters because I played the game,” says Hoffman, who estimates that he’s spent around three days a week raiding since World of Warcraft's launch. “I had some idea of what people would want because of the sort of things I like myself. I had discussions with my guildmates informally, without exactly telling them what I had in mind, asking them, 'What do you think about X or Y?’ So I got feedback from people that I knew who played the game, as well.”
Heroic Prints contacted Blizzard and set up a meeting to showcase samples of PrintWarcraft’s user interface and poster concepts. And when it came to the approval process, the samples had to say a lot. “Everyone in the company has to think it’s cool, basically, and feel they would want one themselves,” says Hoffman. Apparently, cool factor was not an issue — Heroic Prints got the go-ahead.
an interesting software puzzle behind PrintWarcraft’s customizable posters: integration with World of Warcraft's existing character databases to generate the necessary production art elements. Throw a character into PrintWarcraft’s poster-building application and the site extracts character information right out of the Armory, from the character’s latest armor set down to the face, skin tone, and hair style. With this backpack full
which future-proofs potential buffs for physical poster sizes.
► BUILDING THE PERFECT PRINT Since PrintWarcraft.com uses the Armory as the basis for its posters, creating a new piece of work on Heroic Prints’ “Builder” Web application does come with a few restrictions. For instance, you’re limited to whatever your character happens to be wearing at the
THE ACTUAL DENDEHING PDOCESS CAN СНЕЛТЕ MODELS OF AN UNLIM TED S ZE.
► FULLY LICENSED
License in hand, the company then solved
of data, Heroic Prints can then go into the game files and extract the 3D models and texture maps for both its lower-res online poster-building utility and the high-quality final print.
Creating a print requires a number of different art assets, including final 3D renders of the actual game elements in thousands of pixels. The printer Heroic Prints uses to create the posters is currently limited in the size of the physical print it can construct, but don't give up your dreams for billboard-sized goblin artwork — the actual rendering process can create models of an unlimited size,
time. If you want to swap out your fishing pole for your Warglaive of Azzinoth, you’ll have to log in and make the switch in-game. However, you can
still bring along your sentient accessories; hunters and warlocks can pose alongside their faithful companions.
When you select a character as the basis for your print (which can be any character on any realm — so you can pretty easily make one for a friend as a gift), you’re given a series of preconfigured looks that you can use as the inspiration for your final poster. If you don’t like any of these templates, you
can put your poster together piecemeal using the numerous options found in the builder tool.
The first screen you’ll interact with is the character screen (Screen 1 in the "How to Make a Hero" sidebar, below), which offers 30 poses for your character. It’s here where you’ll load in any warlock or hunter pets, as well as toggle your helmet, cloak, tabard, and glowing armor/ weaponry on and off. You can scale your art assets to any size you want — even if these lower-resolution “proxies" look a little scruffy in the preview window, they’ll print in full quality on your final poster. Like Photoshop, this feature allows you to select the order in which images appear, analogous to what you would do if you were making a World of Warcraft sandwich. When you click on the Foreground button (2), you’re given a list of 17 different icons that you can add to your image, including emblems for factions and races. As before, you can layer and scale these however you desire. Currently, Heroic Prints offers 196 different artwork selections and in-game environments for use as a background (3), with new additions on the way. You can select various options like a character's name, realm, and guild to appear anywhere you want on the poster, amongst other choices (4).
Once you’ve added a Blizzard-themed logo (5) and/or an optional border, you can save your template for future tweaking or you can email your idea to your guildmates or friends for third-party input (6). One neat element of the site is that it's not dynamically connected to the Armory in the sense that your posters need to always reflect the current look of a character. In other words, if you want to create a poster draft every 10 levels during your World of Warcraft progression, the site will save your art without automatically updating the character to its most current incarnation.
The actual printing process for the posters takes up to two business days to complete, and you can select the following sizes in both portrait and landscape modes: 12” by 18”, 24” by 36” and 27” by 40” Heroic Prints officially launched PrintWarcraft.com in early November in both North America and Europe; Hoffman notes that Heroic Prints uses local vendors for its international markets to keep prices and shipping times relatively equal across the board.
► FINISHING THE QUEST
At BlizzCon 2009, the attendees lined up to be the first to use PrintWarcraft com. If they didn’t like what they saw, Hoffman and his team would hear about
it in person. As players created poster after poster in Heroic Prints 10-foot by 10-foot booth throughout the entire duration of BlizzCon. a similar feature request kept returning to the table: the ability to place multiple characters into one poster, akin to a raiding party school portrait. That feature is currently on deck: Heroic Prints plans to roll out increased guild-themed functionality and multi-character support in a future iteration of its Builder application.
For Heroic Prints, the company’s first BlizzCon outing felt like a validation for the concept of custom posters on demand, and visible proof that World of Warcraft players put a lot of thought and pride into their virtual alter-egos. And as Hoffman found out, the power of customization is sometimes...surprising.
“People were making things that, to me...” He pauses and smiles, looking for a polite way to put it. “I looked at their screen and thought, 'that looks kind of weird,’ or simply acknowledged I would have done something differently. But then I asked them if they’re happy with it and they said, 'Yes, this is exactly what I want.’ That floored me for a second because 1 realized that you can’t judge, in general, whether or not something looks better or worse. The whole point,” he says, “is that it’s theirs" X
HOW TO MAKE A HERO
« Start with the basics — strike a pose! Choose from 30 predetermined looks for your character, from friendly and mellow to ready for action.
The Foreground button offers 17 different icons, representing various factions and races. Make it as big as you like; you can scale any element up or down.
Where do you want to be immortalized today? You'll get to pick from 196 different artwork selections and in-game environments for your background.
П Show your guild pride by listing your character’s name, realm, and affiliation on your poster. You can place it wherever you like.
Next, add borders and logos to complement your design or to represent the core game or one of the expansions.
All done? Maybe you'd like to sleep on it, or want a second set of eyes on your finished design. Save your template fror future use, or email it to a guildmate.
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INSCRIPTION

VAtjr
«Crafty Craftcro «tgutOeto •
Inscription
SCROLLS, GLYPHS, TOMES...MAYBE THE PEN REALLY IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD. HERE’S WHY INSCRIPTION JUST MIGHT BE YOUR NEXT PROFESSION.
mechanics. But some are called to the quill, creating magical scrolls, books, and glyphs. These are the scribes of Azeroth, masters of Inscription.
Added as part of Echoes of Doom (patch 3.0.2) just prior to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the Inscription profession focuses on the use of magically infused inks and paper to create enhancements and other items. It’s a great complement to Herbalism, as herbs are milled to make various inks for Inscription. Put the inks to parchment and you'll be able to create everything from scrolls and off-hand tomes to Darkmoon decks and character-boosting glyphs.
“I like the fact you can help others, and the material costs aren't horrendous." says Dwight Wallbridge, known to some players as Medros, host of podcast All Things Azeroth; his
character Connroe on Argent Dawn US is a scribe. “It’s a fun profession to level and helps out a lot of friends and guildies.” While some people choose a profession out of charactei
leveling logic or for role-playing reasons, it seems that altruism is a strong motivator for most scribes. “At first, I wasn't sure why I’d want to waste all those valuable herbs on anything but health potions, since they’re always in demand in my guild,” says Brian Carnegie, who is currently playing Ludea on Sentinels-US. “Then when my Inscription skill hit 75,1 started making Midnight Ink and saw all the glyphs I could create...I thought, ‘Holy cow, my guild is going to love me.’ I immediately raided the guild bank for herbs and sent glyphs to as many friends as I could, because I knew it was only going to make all of us more powerful the next time we
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> THE NEW KID
Others came to the profession out of sheer novel curiosity. “I really only knew a little about Inscription, since it was brand new at the time,” explains Brian Graham, who plays as Senbashi on Ravencrest-US. "I have a number of alts, each with professions, so rather than drop a profession I'd already spent time on, I chose Inscription for my death knight to level up concurrently. My first thought, however, was rather than pay other people to outfit all my alts with glyphs, I d just create them myself.” El of Ravenholdt-EU, who maintains an Inscription website, shares that perspective. “Personally, I learned the profession because I wanted to feel self-reliant," he says. “Glyphs
WHEN I SAW ALL THE GM I COULD CREATE, I THOUGHT, HOLY COW, MY GUILD IS GOING TO LOVE ME.'
'5
£
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are so important that I didn't want to be without them. They can also be sold for profit, but I already had more gold than I needed.”
Is there such a thing as too much gold? Depending on what you create, Inscription can be a lucrative profession. It certainly was in late 2008, when basic herbs sold for many times their normal value, and glyphs went for major gold. "I'm sure there were many people who jumped on board the glyph market immediately,” says Senbashi. “Glyphs were an almost essential component for serious players who wanted to stay competitive, and the auction house market reflected that immediately. In fact, the prices on the auction house were one of the contributing factors to my decision to adopt Inscription — not to compete, initially, but so 1 wouldn't have to pay those prices!”
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Each capital city has an Inscription trainer as well as a supply vendor and a Lexicon of Power — a floating book inscribed with runes. When the profession launched, you couldn’t attach a glyph to your character’s glyph sheet unless you were standing next to a Lexicon of Power. With Secrets of Ulduar (content update 3.1), that restriction was removed; now glyphs are easily installed simply with a left-click and a drag. The Lexicons of Power remain as visible markers for Inscription trainers in capital cities.
Just as skinners wouldn't be able to work without a knife, scribes need to buy a Virtuoso Inking Set before they can start putting pen to paper. For that matter, they need paper! As your skill advances, so will your choice of parchment — Light, Common. Heavy, and Resilient. The necessary pigments to put on those parchments are created by milling stacks of five herbs; similar to a jewelcrafter’s unpredictable prospecting results, there’s an element of surprise when milling, since some pigments appear less frequently than others. For instance, milling Fadeleaf will generally produce between two to four Emerald Pigments, but every so often, you’ll get an Indigo Pigment as well. "It’s like winning the lottery on a much smaller scale,” says Ludea with a laugh. "It's always a little exciting.”
!
I I!
> PAPERBACK WRITERS
Inscription gives players — especially casual ones — a way to enhance their gear and spells without spending hours raiding or clashing in PvP Battlegrounds. It also supports in-game individuality: You choose the glyphs and tomes that boost the spells you feel are most important and match your play style. Choosing the Inscription profession is one way to make your character truly your own. X
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INSCRIPTION
>
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As many players will tell you, mining’s a profitable profession, as are jewelcrafting and herbal-
ism — but print is not dead. Straight up: "The
profit margin on Inscription is better than my other professions by far,” says Anexxia, shad ow priestess of Bronzebeard-US. “The market
has gotten a lot tougher since dual specs were introduced, but I still manage around 200 to 300 gold a week,” adds Senbashi. “This isn't a huge amount, but for a casual player such as myself, it's a decent income.”
As with any business, you’ll need to learn how to manage your inventory — and with roughly 300 glyphs out there, this takes dedication. "Managing the manufacture and sale of such a huge variety of glyphs is a logistical headache,’’ says El. "An expert scribe will eventually focus on the best sellers, but that still leaves over a hundred glyphs to manage.” The answer, then, is to know your

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The bread and butter for many scribes are glyphs, since nearly every player in the game can use them — and all scribes can create glyphs for every class. Each player’s glyph sheet is located as a tab under Talents; it’s split into three minor and three major glyphs, and the slots unlock at specific levels. You’ll get your first major and minor slots at level 15, another major at 30, minors at 50 and 70 respectively, and the final major when your toon hits 80.
Glyphs themselves are a bit like
relics, in that they enable improvements for specific abilities or spells. So, if you’re a balance druid, for example, you’ll find glyphs that improve your Moonfire or Wrath spells, whereas a frost mage can
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market. “On my realm/' says Medros, ’’the warlock demon-based ones don't sell well. But druid, priest, and paladin glyphs are in huge demand. Also, if you have the recipes from the Book of Glyph Mastery [a random world drop from Northrend that teaches players new Inscription recipes — Ed.], you’re ahead of the game.”
"At the moment, my favorite items would be the Darkmoon cards,” says Richard de )ong (Chocksa on Daggerspine-EU). Senbashi agrees, but suggests you be patient with your investment: “The individual Darkmoon cards run for hundreds of gold on the AH, but they move very, very slowly. The other item I keep a full stack of is Scroll of Recall III. Having a shorter cooldown on your hearthstone nowadays is nice, but an additional hearth ability on top of that when you need it, out on the other end of Northrend running dailies? Priceless.”
to the hilt.
select Ice Lance and Frost Nova glyphs to match their specialty. They don’t make any player completely unique, but they do offer an extra level of fine-tuning for players who really enjoy playing their role
Major glyphs take a lot of work; they can be both class and treespecific and usually involve rare inks or the most expensive parchments. By contrast, minor glyphs are tied into a scribespecific skill called Minor Inscription Research. Roughly once a day, scribes get the chance to
discover a minor glyph recipe. It’s a popular way to level up Inscription, but it also includes a chance for a low-level scribe to find a higher-level glyph that might sell for big bucks at the auction house.
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Inscription trainers and vendors can be found in every major city; The Scribes' Sacellum in Dalaran is particularly,..vertical.

77
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO
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СОЮТ1

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THE MOST INTENSE TRAINING GROUND FOR THE IMPENDING FINAL BATTLE AGAINST THE LICH KING, CRUSADERS' COLISEUM OFFERS SURPRISES, OLD "FRIENDS," AND SOME SERIOUS CHALLENGES. WE GOT THE TOP GUILDS TO TELL YOU THEIR TRICKS.
r
CRUSADERS' COLISEUM
Lich King must be stopped.
I He and his army of undead
I Scourge are the true enemies of all inhabitants of Azeroth. There is no greater priority than his defeat
To this end, the Argent Crusade, led by Tirion Fordring, aims to unite the Alliance and Horde against Icecrown in the Crusaders’ Coliseum, an epic training ground designed,
THE CRUSADERS' COLISEUM INCLUDES:
►	TRIAL OF THE CHAMPION
A five-player dungeon with three encounters, available in both normal and Heroic modes. The first of these
according to Fordring himself, to test "your prowess, your might, and your cunning." As well as being a prov ing ground for those who believe defending Azeroth is the highest calling, the tournament is also the source of powerful items that will
help these champions best the worst of Northrend, with a vast array of armor, weapons, trinkets, and more available to those who can defeat the challenges of the tournament.
offers a different set of faction-based foes for the Alliance and Horde. The second is randomly selected from two possible encounters. The third involves an unexpected guest.
TRIAL OF THE CRUSADER
A 10 and 25-player raid dungeon with five encounters. This instance also delivers a slightly different experience for Horde and Alliance players, depending on their faction.
►	TRIAL OF THE GRAND CRUSADER
A Heroic version of the 10 and 25 person raid dungeon that can only be attempted once a player has defeated Trial of the Crusader. This is
a far more challenging version of the instance, designed as a test for the very best.
To help you get the most out of your trials within the Crusaders' Col
iseum, we spoke with some of the top Horde and Alliance guilds on North American and European realms. Comparing and contrasting the way the top guilds play may give your guild valuable insight into what could
work best for you. We've also added a few tips from the World of Warcraft: Official Magazine staff to help those who are PUG-ing or tackling these dungeons for the first time.

Method
an Alliance guild on Sylvanas-EU
www.nihilum.eu
Sco (Scott McMillan)
Guild Officer, night elf warrior
Protec (Guido Bottcher)
Guild Officer, human paladin
Ensidia
a Horde guild on Tarren Mill-EU
www.ensidia.com
Mek (Phil Curry)
Guild Master, troll shaman
Kungen (Thomas Bengtsson)
Guild Master, tauren warrior
Poptisse (Therese Johansson)
Raider, undead priest
Premonition
an Alliance guild on Sen'Jin-US
www.premoguild.com
Xav (Andrew Vassallo)
Main Tank, Guild Officer and Raid
Leader, human warrior
Cheesycraft (Aamir Mahboob)
Guild Officer, human mage
Blood Legion
a Horde guild on Illidan-US
www.bloodlegion.com
Lawliepop (Sabina Hemmi)
Recruitment/Healing Officer, blood elf priest
Ararat (Eric Abramian)
Officer, orc warrior
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HISTORY OF THE COLISEUM
In Call of the Crusade, the Horde
semblance of a unified Horde and Al-
and Alliance have been asked by the Argent Crusade to set aside their differences and join forces to defeat a common foe: the evil Lich King, who commands his undead army from the Frozen Throne atop Icecrown Citadel. To that end, the Argent Crusade began the construction of the Crusaders’ Coliseum.
The need for the Crusaders’ Coliseum is evidenced in the battle at Angrathar the Wrath Gate. At the barred entrance to Icecrown Citadel in the northwest of Dragonblight, High-lord Bolvar Fordragon and Saurfang the Younger challenged the Lich King to battle. Saurfang died at the hands of the Lich King, and the Forsaken, led by Grand Apothecary Putress, attacked with a new plague from the cliffs above the gate, killing most of the Alliance and Horde forces and driving the Lich King back into his fortress. Sadly, any
liance effort was also lost in the chaos, and the final fate of Bolvar Fordragon remains unknown.
Seeking to create a more united force, Tirion Fordring, leader of the Argent Crusade, plans to assemble a relatively small force of very skilled, well-equipped champions to move on the citadel and end the threat that is
To the south lies our goal. We will march to the citadel and cut out the heart of the Scourge where it dwells.
the Lich King.
The knowledge of what lies ahead draws many powerful enemies together, including Thrall and Garrosh Hellscream of the Horde, and Jaina Proudmoore and King Varian Wrynn of the Alliance. However, tensions continue to build throughout the efforts, and long-held hatreds threaten the tenuous mission that Fordring and the Argent Crusade have undertaken.
Set on his goal, Tirion Fordring calls the heroes of both factions within Azeroth to battle:
But this is no task to be taken lightly.
A massive attack with every able-bodied man would end in needless slaughter. Every soldier lost would rise as the enemy. Azeroth would be left defenseless against the undead threat.
Instead, we require a small, concentrated strike force for the attack to succeed. For that reason, we have created the Argent Tournament.
Within these walls, you will be tested. Your skill in combat will be matched against the fiercest dangers Northrend has to offer under the watchful eyes of your leaders.
Your prowess, your might, and your cunning will be under close watch. These games will determine the best Azeroth has to offer.
The victors will take their rightful place in the assault upon the citadel. We will stand together in the face of evil, and Arthas WILL fall!
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In the five-player Trial of the Champion, Fordring pits the Alliance and Horde against champions of the opposite faction, testing their skills in both mounted combat and traditional battle. Players then encounter a member of the Argent Crusade, further testing their strength.
The first encounter is broken into two parts: three sets of jousting knights followed by a combination of
Ы
IFYOUCANSUCCESSFULLYCOMPinETHE DA LY DUEL QUEST, YOU SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM HANDLING THE FIRST PACKS.'
three Horde Champions, chosen from a pool of five. Players utilize lances on Argent Warhorses, similar to the daily jousting quests in Icecrown. "You can get a feel for mounted combat by doing the Icecrown daily duel quests before doing the instance," says Scott McMillan, known as Sco to members of Method.
However, players should stay alert for an increase in difficulty. "The damage output and abilities used by the mobs in this instance are certainly stepped up a lot, and it feels a bit like Magisters’ Terrace in that regard,” according to Andrew Vassallo, also known as Xav of Premonition.
So, how to handle those first three packs of enemies? “If you can successfully complete the daily duel quests, you should have no problem
handling the first three packs of trash,” according to Sco. Both Xav and Sco advise staying alert and running to the edge of the arena to pick up a new mount if your health is low, letting you remount an Argent Warhorse with full health. "The fact that there is no real trash to speak of, save a few packs accompanying
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TRIAL OF THE CHAMPION
select encounters, is a great feature of Trial of the Champion," says Aamir Mahboob, a.k.a. Cheesycraft of Premonition.
Naturally, the Horde Champions present more difficult challenges. The encounter is composed of three randomly selected champions, each with their own unique set of abilities. Everyone begins the fight on Warhorses. Our experts prefer to focus fire on an individual target during the jousting phase, utilizing the charge and shield-breaking abilities while making sure to keep their own shield stacked up to three charges.
The guilds we spoke to also suggested that it helps if the group leader marks the Champions before the beginning of the fight and clearly states the fight order. This is par-
ticularly important if you’re working with a pick-up group or new people. That way everyone knows what to focus on - if you all start fighting different targets, you’ll get into trouble.
and reset by the gates to get ready for the next part of the encounter, giving everyone a chance to re-equip their weapons and prepare themselves for combat on foot
IT HELPS IF THE GROUP LEADER MARKS THE CHAMPIONS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE FIGHT ANDCLEARLYSTATESTHEFIGHTORDER.
Also, remember that if the worst happens and you die, release and run straight back in. This is one of the few instances that allows you do that during a boss fight.
Upon defeating the three champions on their mounts, they dismount
Once dismounted, Alliance players will have to fight three of the five Horde Champions at the same time, each offering a different challenge. The selection of these champions is random; it could be any trio from the quintet shown below.
JOUSTING 101
DEFEN
Reduces damage taken by 30%. Stack this ability three times before the fight and refresh it whenever you have fewer than three stacks
for maximum protection.
Charges the target and removes one layer of Defend from it; this is your most powerful attack.
CHARG
SHIELD-BREAKF
moves one layer of Defend from the target from range; use it to soften up the enemy before you Charge.
Basic melee attack
on a different global cooldown than the other abilities; spam whenever possible
THR
HORDE CHfllllPIOIlS
DEATHSTALKER VISCERI
AN UNDEAD ROGUE
Biggest Threats: Throws poison clouds on the ground that deal damage to all players in the area.
"Visceri has the potential to do a great deal of damage,” advises Cheesycraft, “so eliminate him before he has the opportunity to eliminate you."
Sco agrees. "Utilize your melee DPS to kill Deathstalker first, due to Fan of Knives, which also applies Deadly Poison. Move out of the poison clouds from the Vial of Poison that he will use on players periodically during the tight. Also, remove the Deadly Poison!"
ERESSEA DAWNSINGER A BLOOD ELF MAGE
Biggest threats: Casts Polymorph on a random party member; Haste buff that increases cast speed by 100%.
Cheesycraft feels Dawnsinger’s complement of standard mage spells makes her less of a threat than the other Champions. As long as her Haste buff is repeatedly stolen or dispelled, she’s “quite simple.” And of course, it makes sense to keep your distance to avoid Blast Wave damage. Sco notes that standard mage rules of engagement apply. "Interrupt as many of the casts as possible, especially if Polymorph is being cast on your healer," advises Sco.
MOKRA THE SKULLCRUSHER AN ORC WARRIOR
Biggest threats: Mortal Strike reduces healing received Dy the tank by 50%; Bladestorm dishes out massive AoE damage.
"Mokra is potentially as threatening as Visceri," warns Cheesycraft. "If Visceri is not present, I suggest killing Mokra first. Keep your cloth classes and ranged attackers away from him, and be sure to react if he targets someone other than your tank."
"Kite him during Bladestorm, as his movement speed is reduced," says Sco. "Stun him as often as possible to try to reduce Mortal Strike uptime on the tank."
RUNOK WILDMANE A TAUREN SHAMAN
Biggest threats: Healing Wave and Earth Shield heal himself and allies.
"Interrupt as many of the casts as possible, which include Chain Lightning, Healing Wave, and Hex of Mending," advises Sco. If possible, decurse Hex of Mending and use Spellsteal and dispel liberally.
Cheesycraft suggests that Wildmane’s relative threat compared to other Champions is low. "Interrupting his heals should be the only obstacle to success," he says.
ZUL'TORE
A TROLL HUNTER
Biggest threat: Disengage launches him away from the tank; Lightning Arrows adds massive nature damage to his regular shots.
In Cheesycraft’s eyes, Zul’torc is the third most dangerous Champion, after Mokra and Visceri, due to the high ranged DPS. "From range, Zul'tore can do massive damage to any target, so it's important to deal with him quickly.” "Interrupt Lightning Arrows," advises Sco. "The tank should try and stay within his melee range to stop him from using Multi-Shot."
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members of the Horde face
Alliance Champions, utilizing lances on wolf mounts similar to the daily quests in Icecrown. Much like the Alliance version of the encounter, it can be broken into two parts: a set of three sets of "trash" mobs to joust, and a combination of three Alliance Champions, chosen from a set of five.
"If you've done the dailies, it’s easy," according to Therese Johansson, known as Poptisse in Ensidia. "It's a
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> GENERAL TACTICS
The luck of the draw can work against you, so be prepared for the worst and be grateful if you get an easier combination. "The combination of the hunter, the mage, and the rogue is just awful," according to Poptisse. "That usually comes with a wipe."
Whenever possible, Ararat says Blood Legion eliminates the healers first. "The shaman is the only one who actually heals, so take him down first. Then, kill the melee." Guildmate Lawliepop agrees. "Your priority should be the shaman, the rogue, the warrior the hunter, and then the mage."
"Once you knock the Champions off the mounts, immediately equip your weapon and get to your tank as soon as you can," suggests Mek. "Otherwise it will be very hard for the tank to pick it up. And when you re killing the champions, make sure the leader marks a mob so everyone knows which one to attack That's pretty important in my opinion."
"Try to kill them at the same spot so it's easier for the tank," advises Poptisse. "If you can do it with some precision, you'll get them in the same area, so your tank isn't running from side to side."
JOUSTING 101
DEFENl
Reduces damage taken by 30%. Stack this ability three times before the fight
and refresh it whenever you have fewer than three stacks
for maximum protection.
Charges the target and removes one layer of Defend from it; this is your most powerful attack.
CHAR
SHIELD-BREAKER:
Removes one layer of Defend from the target from range; use it to soften up the enemy before you Charge.
Basic melee
1HRUS
attack on a different global cooldown than the other
abilities; spam whenever possible.
you just pick up how to use the horse during the dailies, so everyone should do at least a bit of it to understand the mechanic.”
When dealing with the three initial mobs, Mek suggests players let it all hang out and use the Z-word. "Zerg," he says. "Just rush. The encounter is more about what you do when you have to fight the three Champions." By contrast Sabina Hemmi — Lawliepop of Blood Legion — says her guild approaches it in a very structured man-
ЙШЙПСЕ CHfllDPIOnS
IT'SAGOODTHINGTOIHYTHEDAILESONCEOR TWICESOYOUKNOWWHATTHEABILITIESARE.
good thing to try the dailies once or twice so you know what the abilities are and how you use them."
"You just want to make sure that you keep up your defenses, which will keep your damage down," says her guildmate Mek, also known as Phil Curry. And he agrees there's no substitute for experience: "Generally,
ner, marking the groups and going after them individually. Obviously, this one’s a matter of personal preference.
AMBROSE BOLTSPARK A GNOME MAGE
Biggest Threats: Casts Polymorph on a random party member; Haste buff that increases cast speed by 100%.
Boltspark utilizes the same mage abilities as Dawnsinger for the Alliance version of the instance. He should be interrupted as much as possible while the group stays back to avoid his Blast Waves. "He casts a Haste buff on himself that you can Spellsteal," notes Lawliepop. "He also casts Polymorph, but it only lasts four seconds, so it's not that important."
COLOSOS
A DRAENEI SHAMAN
Biggest threats: Healing Wave and Earth Shield heal himself and allies.
Colosos uses the same powers as his Horde counterpart, Wildmane, including a Chain Lightning spell used against the party and a Healing Wave spell used on his allies. Both spells are interruptible. As a result, Lawliepop pegs Boltspark and Colosos as the easiest of the bunch.
JACOB ALERIUS
A HUMAN WARRIOR
Biggest Threats: Mortal Strike reduces healing received by the tank by 50%; Bladestorm dishes out massive AoE damage.
Similar in abilities to his orc counterpart Mokra, Alerius utilizes a Mortal Strike, Bladestorm, Rolling Throw, and Intercept. "The warrior's Rolling Throw is something that you need to watch out for. He's very annoying," says Eric Abramian, Ararat of Blood Legion.
JAELYNE EVENSONG
A NIGHT ELF HUNTER
Biggest threats: Disengage launches her away from the tank; Lightning Arrows adds massive nature damage to her regular shots.
Evensong is one to avoid, like her Horde equivalent Zul'tore. "When you get dismounted, the hunter can kick your butt faster than you can react," says Poptisse. "The hunter is annoying to tank, so she might just rail on some random member of your party," says Lawliepop. "And that makes it a lot more difficult to heal."
LANA STOUTHAMMER A DWARF ROGUE
Biggest threat: Throws poiso; clouds on the ground that deal damage to all players in the area.
This dwarf rogue deals fast damage like the Horde's Visceri. "The rogue throws poison on the ground, and it's important to stay away," says Ararat. "She does a decent amount of damage in a large space,” adds Lawliepop.
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8 seconds; Lays down Fountains of Light that heal nearby enemies unless destroyed.
► ARGENT CONFESSOR PALETRESS
Biggest Threats: Summons an enemy in the
► EADRIC THE PURE
Biggest Threats: Periodically casts Radiance to
►	ARGENT MONK
Biggest Threat: Final Meditation applies a movement and attack speed debuff to all nearby party members.
►	ARGENT LIGHTWIELDER
Biggest Threat: Blazing Light heals all enemies in the area.
Following the battle against Grand Champions, both sides must face three mobs, each containing an Argent Priestess, and Argent Monk, and an Argent Lightwielder. To tackle the priests, "Interrupt their Mind Control and destroy the Fountain of Light," says Sco. Monks will cast Final Meditation just before they die, which reduces the party’s attack and movement speed. They’re also protected by Divine Shield, but Sco suggests having a priest dispel it or
a warrior break it with a Shattering Throw. And Sco sums up the Lightwielders in three words: "Interrupt Blazing Light."
The main difference to keep in mind between normal and Heroic is the amount of enemies you pull at once. Mek suggests caution. "Take one at a time," he says. "The monks go immune, which can be removed by Mass Dispel." Ararat suggests taking the Priestesses first, the Monks last, and offers a warning: "As the last pack is still going down, the boss will spawn."
Players will next face one of two Argent Champions in a duel.
shape of an old foe to fight, herself becoming invincible until it is killed; casts Holy Fire on random party members.
"Paletress casts Holy Smite and Holy Fire on random party members," says Sco. "When you get her down to 25% health, she stuns the group and spawns a Memory — a random boss mob that already exists in the game. At this point, she puts up a shield and the group switches focus to the Memory. Paletress will cast Renew on the Memory, which needs to be spellstolen, dispelled, or purged. The Memory will cast Waking Nightmare, which will fear everyone; if a priest is in the party, have him or her cast a Fear Ward on the healer or tank. Once the Memory has been killed, Confessor Paletress loses her shield."
"All of the Memories she summons have the exact
same abilities and damage, which is an AoE fear, a stacking DoT on the tank, and a moderate-damage AoE nuke to the whole party, which also reduces casting and attacking speed for a short duration,” explains Xav. "Paletress puts more pressure on the healer than anyone else, as she continues to cast spells on the group while you fight the Memory. The fears and casting-speed reductions can make it troublesome to keep everyone alive. I suggest interrupting Paletress's casts while you combat her, even when fighting the Memory, as this will reduce the damage taken significantly." Mek notes that her spells can be interrupted with a kick.
disorient anyone facing him; hurls Hammers of the Righteous, dealing damage to random players.
"Eadric casts an ability called Radiance, with a 3-second cast time," says Sco. "It will only affect players who face him. In order to avoid it, you should turn your back to him. Failure to avoid Radiance will cause you to become disorientated for a few seconds."
"He also throws a Hammer of the Righteous at a player," adds Xav. "If the player gets dispelled, they can actually throw the hammer back; their ability bar changes to a special one with a Throw Hammer button. It deals around 15,000 damage to Eadric." Lawliepop adds that delivering the killing blow with the hammer gets you an achievement, too.
"I think Eadric is the easier of the two," says Ararat. "It's basically a tank and spank with two
abilities." Whichever you manage to defeat, you're in for a surprise shortly thereafter. The Black Knight, resurrected by the Scourge's Cult of the Damned, flies in and swiftly kills the Argent Crusade herald (Jaeren Sunsworn for the Horde, Arelas Brightstar for the Alliance) for having spoiled his "grand entrance."
"Did you honestly think that an agent of the Lich King would be bested on the field of your pathetic little tournament?” threatens the Black Knight. "I've come to finish my task." The fight consists of three phases.
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THE BLACKK
HT
► PHASE 1: CORPOREAL FORM
Biggest Threat: Applies DoTs to his target; summons a ghoul to fight with him who changes targets constantly.
► PHASE 3: GHOST FORM
Biggest Threat: AoE damage; marks a target for death, increasing magic damage taken by 200%.
► PHASE 2: SKELETAL FORM
Biggest Threat: Raises eight ghouls from the ground to fight with him.
"The Black Knight uses several different Death Knight abilities and spawns a ghoul to assist him,” explains Cheesycraft. “This is a straightforward tank and spank encounter." Sco agrees with the tactical approach: "Simply tank and DPS, offtank, shackle, and snare the ghoul," he says. "When phase one ends, the ghoul will cast Explode, so move away to avoid the damage." And, as Poptisse notes, if the whole group manages to avoid being hit by any explosions during the entire fight, there’s another achievement in it for you. Her only other advice is for the party’s healer to be readv to remove diseases in between spamming heals.
"When you 'kill' him, he talks about how he isn’t dying..." notes Ararat. And he doesn't. The Black Knight quickly resurrects in his new form.
"The skeletal form phase summons an army of the dead that may be exploded,” warns Cheesycraft. "Stay away from the ghouls when they begin to explode, and use area of effect abilities to dispense with the adds quickly. Stay out of the area that the skeletal Black Knight desecrates."
Everybody agrees that Desecration is, well, a bad thing. "The tank has to get away from Desecration," warns Mek. "It does insane damage." Ararat also notes Desecration's reduced movement speed, in addition to the shadow damage. "Phase two could wipe a party," he warns. "If you have bad gear, you will probably die."
And then there's some crowd control. "The tank should gather all ghouls up immediately," advises Sco. "This is easier if the group is gathered close to the tank. The group then AoEs them down quickly before they can explode. If the gathering tactic isn't working for your group due to limited damage, then have your group spread out and deal with the ghouls one on one, ensuring that multiple explodes won't happen in the same place at the same time." Xav notes that the ghouls will cover their faces as they cast, giving you a signal that it’s time to move away and avoid damage altogether.
Following the Black Knight's defeat, he rises once again, taunting, "I have no need for bones to best you!"
"In the final phase,” says Xav, “the Black Knight’s spectral form has a soft enrage, by repeatedly casting an AoE nuke Death's Bite on the whole party, which also stacks and increases damage taken. After enough time, the AoE nuke will kill players. It's advisable to save all cooldowns that increase DPS for this phase, so you can kill him as quickly as possible, before the group’s healer can't keep people up any longer."
"Do as much AoE healing as you can, and give extra attention to the person marked for death," adds Lawliepop. "Burn the ghost as fast as possible."
Also, be aware that this encounter may include unavoidable allusions to pop culture. "I think the Black Knight is one large Monty Python reference," notes Ararat with a laugh. "The Black Knight just... won't... die!"
But here, the Black Knight does not always triumph. He will eventually fall, and when he does, Alliance and Horde heroes alike will conquer the Trial of the Champion.
"My congratulations, champions!" shouts Tirion Fordring to the victorious party below. "Through trials both planned and unexpected, you have triumphed. Go now and rest; you've earned it."
You'll need that rest — the Trial of the Crusader lies just ahead....
Trial of the Crusaher
TRIAL OF THE CRUSADER IS A 10- AND 25-PLAYER RAID DUNGEON WITH FIVE ENCOUNTERS. ONLY AFTER DEFEATING TRIAL OF THE CRUSADER ARE PLAYERS ELIGIBLE TO ATTEMPT TRIAL OF THE GRAND CRUSADER, A HEROIC VERSION OF THE 10- AND 25-PERSON RUNS. THE GUILDS WE CONTACTED OFFERED ADVICE FOR BOTH; EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED, SUGGESTIONS HERE CAN APPLY TO ANY VERSION OF THE INSTANCE.
TO BEGIN THE TEST, FORDRING HAS ASSEMBLED A MENAGERIE OF DANGEROUS AND DEADLY BOSSES, COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS NORTHREND BEASTS.
BIGGEST THREATS:
Impales his target, stacking a heavy bleed DoT on the tank over the duration of the fight. Periodically throws Snobolds that latch onto raid members' heads that stun and interrupt spell casts.
Gormok the Impaler is a magnataur. Cheesycraft of Premonition feels “there aren’t many ways to fight this guy...I’d say you should just bring three tanks to minimize the chance of a wipe,” when running the 25-player version. Mek advises the use of six healers in 25-player, but notes that only two tanks are needed for the 10-player version.
“Impale stacks on the tanks, so you have to make sure to switch them out,” adds Thomas Bengtsson, who plays Kungen in Ensidia. “The higher the stacks, the more damage they take. Make sure they swap every third debuff on normal mode, and every two on Heroic. Bring the boss down first so he isn’t on your back when the other bosses arrive. Keep all casters 15 yards from the boss so Staggering Stomp does not interrupt them.”
Lawliepop says, “Alternating tanks is best so Impale doesn't get stacked so high that the fight becomes unhealable. You can easily manage the healing if everyone coordinates.” As a reminder, Sco notes that Impale can be removed with
Blessing of Protection.
During the fight, beware of fire. To avoid large-scale AoE damage, make sure the entire group spreads out to avoid fire hitting several people at once. It requires situational awareness, so just stay alert and remember — if there’s glowy stuff under your feet and your health is going down, RUN!
The final thing to remember about this fight are the Snobold Vassal adds. Guido Buttcher known as Protec of Method, says they’re less important than managing your tanks: “The damage of the Snobolds is not an issue, but keep non-plate users with Snobold Vassals topped off when they are in range of the Staggering Stomp ability.” Sco agrees that you can ignore the Snobold Vassals that are on melee and tanks, and use ranged DPS to kill the ones that find their way to healers.
If you are a healer and get a Snobold Vassal on you, communicate quickly to the team so they can kill it. While it's on you, you can cast instants without interruption, but long-cast spells can be interrupted, causing you to be silenced for a few seconds. Depending on the circumstances, that can be disastrous.
When Gormok is killed, DPS players need to make sure all the Snobolds are eliminated before starting in earnest on the next pair of bosses in the encounter.
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BIGGEST THREAT:
(Acidmaw) Paralytic Spray inflicts nature damage and applies a toxin that reduces movement speed by 10% every 2 seconds for 60 seconds, and eventually stuns the victim. (Dreadscale) Burning Bile inflicts fire damage every 2 seconds to allies within 10 yards. Both spawn slime pools on the ground that damage players standing in them.
Ararat believes the addition of the third tank for Gormok can also help with the two jormungar worms, Acidmaw and Dreadscale, especially in 25-player or Heroic. "The tanks have to use the Paralytic Toxin and Burning Bile debuffs from each jormungar to cure players with the opposite debuff. The main tank should taunt; that will keep the worms from breathing on the raid. Having three tanks can help you juggle.” Kungen believes you can use two tanks, one per worm, and notes "it’s really important to turn the jormungars away from the raid. Frontal attacks have led to a few wipes in the past.”
"You can kill the jormungars at the same time for an achievement,” reminds Lawliepop. “They do enrage when you kill one before the other, so we kill them at the same time. But if you can’t, kill Acidmaw first. It is a bit easier to
have all DPS concentrated on one target, and Acidmaw is really annoying. Dealing with Paralytic Spray takes awaj from raid DPS while you’re constantly having someone slowly walk over to Burning Bile.”
Sco agrees with taking out both at the same time and dropping Acidmaw if you have no choice, but he also suggests a player arrangement that Method worked out, paying attention as the worms take turns moving. “Ranged and healers spread out about 10 yards to avoid multiple Paralytic Toxin and Burning Bile debuffs. Melee DPS should always be on the worm that is moving to avoid the chance of Burning Bile and Sweep at the same time. The first Burning Bile is always cast on the Dreadscale tank. They should wait for a breath, or be replaced by another tank before moving into the raid to cure Paralytic Toxin.”
“The healers need to make sure they cover the whole area while being perfectly spread,” suggests Protec. “Watch out for fire hitting the melee camp. Holy paladins are really great for this phase because of their Beacon ability; they can easily heal the tanks while staying in a safe range to the other raid members. And communication is important — every healer of the raid needs to know who has the debuffs since those players need extra healing.”
BIGGEST THREATS:
Charges at the location of a chosen target, damaging everybody in its path. Breathes ice at a target dealing damage and stunning and silencing all players caught in the middle.
and let him hit the wall. He’ll be stunned for 15 seconds and takes 100% more damage during that time. If he does hit a player, he gains Frothing Rage, which increases his damage and attack speed by 100%.” Hunters and rogues can help here — Frothing Rage can be removed by Tranquiliz-
THEN COMES THE LAST OF THE NORTHREND BEASTS: ICEHOWL, A YETI.
Lawliepop believes you only need one tank for Icehowl. “You don’t want a huge clump of people near each other, because they'll all get frozen and no one can heal anyone,” she says. "Have everyone, including melee, spread out around him and behind him. He does a Whirl which knocks melee attackers back. We either have the tank with their back to the wall so they can’t get kicked back...or have a druid tank and then charge to get back to the boss. Periodically, Icehowl will go to the center of the room and knock everyone back to the wall with Massive Crash, preparing to charge. Everyone is stunned for a few seconds before he picks someone and charges toward them to the wall. If he targets you or anyone near you, run directly left or right along the wall as soon as the stun wears off
ing Shot and Anesthetic Poison.
Whirl can also be used to gain an advantage. "Melee DPS can increase their damage time if they stand in a place ensuring they will be knocked into a wall during the Whirl,” suggests Sco. "That lets them get back to the boss faster."
For the healers, Protec notes, “dont underestimate the Arctic Breath. Shamans and priests are the best choice to counter it. Try to time the healer and tank cooldowns after the boss has charged into the wall and is about to start his melee attacks on the tank."
Also, Sco notes that if Icehowl hits with Ferocious Butt, he’ll stun the player for three seconds, then hit for high damage — that’s also a good time to use cooldowns on the tank. “It’s essential to make proper use of the cooldowns,” warns Protec, “because the tank can get a normal melee hit and a whirlwind at the exact same time." The healers need to make sure that the raid’s health is topped off before Icehowl performs Massive Crash and throws everyone against the walls, or else the damage might finish off some of your raid members with low HP.''
BIGGEST THREAT:
Incinerate Flesh absorbs healing done to the target and reduces damage done by 50%. If the spell is not removed by healing, it will cause damage to all nearby allies. Also summons Infernal and Mistress of Pain minions that attack the raid.
The best-laid plans go awry once again. Grand Warlock Wilfred Fizzlebang attempts to summon a doomguard for the next challenge. The gnome accidentally summons the demon Lord Jaraxxus, who swiftly kills Fizzlebang for his efforts. Jaraxxus immediately turns his attention to you.
Mek suggests you spread your healers around the room — "at least two or three healers should have range on all in the raid” in 25-player. But Protec feels the battle against Jaraxxus is all about avoiding damage rather than a healing battle.
On that note, Jaraxxus likes playing with fire. Lawliepop advises to be aware of the Legion Flame debuff and Legion Fire, and walk away from the flames you're creating under your feet. "Incinerate Flesh absorbs a fixed amount of healing, and morphs into the Burning Inferno debuff if not healed or removed,” she warns. "Generally, just make sure your healers heal the person hit by Incinerate Flesh. If you stay on top of it, the healing requirements for the fight are pretty low.”
Jaraxxus also summons Mistresses of Pain. “They spawn and do quite a bit of damage,” says Ararat. "One of them counterspells multiple people for a long time, so you can't really ignore them. There’s
also an achievement for killing Jaraxxus with two Mistresses alive; you just have to be careful.” Mek particularly warns against Soothing Kiss, “which locks out a spell school. It’s particularly bad for healers to be interrupted and lose their healing powers. Priests need to cast shadow spells to avoid their heal getting locked, and shamans should use fire spells. It’s really important
to handle the Mistresses well."
Sco notes that all DPS should focus on the Mistresses, and ranged DPS should focus on the Fel Flame Infernals. “Infernals are stationary a lot of the time, just spamming fire — so move out of it. And in Heroic, all DPS should focus on killing the volcanoes and portals as soon as they spawn. The boss will be dragged next to them.” For tanks. Kungen notes some of the Jaraxxus logistics are a bit difficult. “The boss doesn't deal that much damage, and as a warrior you
need damage to get rage. Better to use a death knight
or paladin.”
Xav sums it up in a few thoughts. “It isn’t a very difficult fight, you just have to be alert and pay attention. Making mistakes is what makes the encounter hard, so if you’re on your game you should finish it up no problem. And kill those adds!”
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Accusations regarding the summoning of Lord Jaraxxus fly, the Horde claiming they were victims of a treacherous Alliance plot, while the Alliance deny the claim and hurl their own accusations.
Tirion Fordring originally planned the next encounter to be a battle against the Argent Crusade s most powerful knights. But upon
“IF YOU DON'T CONTROL EVERYTH NG, IT WILL BE A MESS AND YOU'LL DE. IT'S ZERG-Y AND NASTY."
urging from the factions, the next battle pits Horde and Alliance against each other, facing their opposing Faction Champions in what many refer to as a PvP-style encounter. With so many enemies running around attacking at once, there are a lot of debuffs and crowd control that must be dispelled off of your raid
(and buffs purged off the enemy targets) during the fight in addition to the usual healing, tanking, and DPSing.
Mek warns about the danger of the melee Champions. “ They hurt a lot and tend to train one person. If two melees attack one caster, it’s really easy to die. Keep the DPS classes off the healers to avoid trouble. If you don't control
everything, it will be a mess and you’ll die. It’s zerg-y and nasty, and you can’t have much of an outlined strategy beforehand.”
Lawliepop suggests taking out the healers first and Kungen agrees, adding pets to the list. “Pets have low HP, and the healers keep the fight going longer,” he says. “So assign one
person to interrupt each healer, and kill the restoration shaman or holy priest first, depending what you get. Then we down the dangerous DPS classes like hunters, warlocks, and rogues. It’s also important to avoid using DoTs, so you can utilize Polymorph. Don’t use AoE damage, just spam CC on a single target. Make sure you have Earthbind Totems and hunter traps down, and if melee enemies get free, kite them into a safe area.” Kungen also notes the fight is difficult to tank, as taunts and normal tanking don’t work, similar to a PvP encounter. Indeed it can be a boon for tanks to switch to DPS gear and help with the burndown, since they’re not really tanking this fight at all.
Protec believes the battle can be a pain for the PvE healers, but offers a little trick to outplay them. "Assign your healers by a target-to-target frame," he says. "For example, the shadow priest’s Mind Flay can be devastating, especially when paired with any other DPS class attacking a raid member. Focus a
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paladin’s fast, big heals on the shadow priest’s targets and you won’t have any problems. Mean debuffs should get instantly dispelled and your raid should also try to avoid damage instead of just taking it — remember, your healers are also at risk of being Mind Controlled. Do not save your life-saving cooldowns for later; use everything in the first minutes of the encounter. The pressure is completely gone with one or two dead Champions.”
Sco suggests assigning an interrupter to any Faction Champion healers. "Remove the most dangerous Faction Champion DPS classes first, using Heroism and cooldowns on the pull, and utilize burst damage to quickly eliminate one target. We often choose to kill the rogue first, due to Shadow Step, Fan of Knives, and poisons. Faction Champion melee are kited through slowing effects such as Earthbind Totem or a Frost Trap. Death Grip the Faction Champion priests just outside the main pack to avoid Psychic Scream spam.”
Xav says that Premonition uses “death knights and Death Grips. By the time snare wears off, your cooldowns are ready to go again. We did that for the most threatening melee, and let natural crowd control handle the rest. Stop healers, especially the shaman. Use crowd control on the other healers, and burn down the rest of the raid."
Having full-time dispellers on the healers that cast Heal over Time spells is also a good move, since a combination of constant HoT dispels and interruption of long-cast heals can effectively nullify the druid's healthgaining abilities.
Whatever you do, prepare for a lengthy conflict going in. "In Heroic mode, this is a long fight,” warns Lawliepop. "If you want to be very hardcore about it, you could organize two equal groups organized by class for every mob. The fight can be really fun and chaotic. It feels pretty similar to the third boss in a Magisters’ five-person run.”
> BIGGEST THREATS:
Players are aligned as “dark” or “light” during the fight and must move to avoid orbs of the opposite alignment and collect orbs of the same alignment.
FOLLOWING THE FACTION CHAMPIONS, FORDRING GETS BACK ON TRACK AND UNLEASHES HIS MOST CHALLENGING FIGHT: EDYIS DARKBANE AND FJOLA LIGHTBANE, THE TWIN VAL'KYR.
Lawliepop sets the stage: “There are two pairs of portals in the room, and they alternate light and dark. You can touch the portal to charge yourself with light or dark. During the fight, light and dark orbs float through the room — collect an orb that matches your charge to power up and do additional damage, and avoid getting hit by the opposite color orbs, as
they will explode and do damage if they hit a person with an opposing charge.”
“We have the raid split up evenly by class
have everyone ready to get either charge within 10 seconds. During Twin's Pact, they shield themselves and start casting for 15 seconds and absorb a fixed amount of damage and then heal for a percentage of their HP Make sure to burn through the shields on time to interrupt the heal."
It might help to think of managing the light and dark orbs moving around the room in terms of goal keeping. “We have one tank covering the west side, one healer and DPS covering the east side, and one healer and DPS covering south or north side, depending on the fight," says
Sco. “The two healers and DPS select the opposite color of the raid they are protecting.' They use the vortex to switch color as necessary. Shields
on either side of the room,” she explains. “Watch
don't require color switches, but all DPS players
for Power of the Twins, which puts out 30% more damage. A periodic emote will tell you to switch light or dark, so
assist on the shield. You gain Empowered Light or Empowered Darkness when the stacks reach 100 for one side.”
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TRIAL OF THE CRUSADER
Ensidia also uses four camps: two melee and two ranged, one of each color. Mek lays out the basics: “We stand near portals of opposite color, and DPS the opposite Val’kyr. We actually use one soaker’ on each portal behind the team. Usually our ranged DPS works as soakers, since they do more damage with the higher stacks of orbs. But, you have to have good players, and good communication with the person on your side.”
Premonition also likes the four-group approach. “We put the twins in a central position," says Cheesycraft. "Then we spread the ranged DPS around to create four groups near the four portals, in a circle around the twins. If you can avoid the orbs, you should be able to deal with everything else going on.”
“The hard part is when the twins start casting Vortex and Twin's Pact at the same time and all the balls spawn while you’re trying to change colors,” says Kungen. "You have to remember you can’t go after the same color anymore. It’s pretty hectic. Healers have to watch the raid and orbs at the same time...it’s a heal-heavy fight. We usually use seven healers. Keep ev
eryone alive, because you need the DPS to get through Twin’s Pact. Constantly be aware what color you are and the color of the balls around you. And things get tight...save Bloodlust or Heroism for the end of the Twin s Pact shield.”
Protec recommends, “One or two healers should heal the tank, depending on the dif ficulty. Even this high raid damage can be taken care of pretty easily since it’s static. The only thing that can go wrong is someone getting hit by the wrong-colored orb. Your raid healers need to keep track of Touch of Light and Touch of Darkness so that they can react fast and heal the ones having those debuffs.”
Ararat reiterates the absolute madness. “The fight is so chaotic, so fast-paced, and so easy to mess up and wipe your entire raid. On Heroic, if one person touches the wrong orb, your whole group could die. It’s a great challenge, but 25 people have to get their specific task right.”
Lawliepop enjoys the fight overall, in part because of its high degree of challenge for healers. “I like the fights that are hardest to heal,” she says. "The design is the most interesting and requires the most coordination.”
P5
. BIGGEST THREATS:
All Phases: Frequently summons minions with varied abilities to help him in battle Phase 2: Shoots spikes out of the ground at raid members while submerged Phase 3: Drains life from his target constantly
The Lich King seems to be well aware of the plans and training occurring at the Crusaders' Coliseum. As the heroes defeat the Twin Valkyr, the floor is literally dropped from under them. They must engage in a surprise encounter against Anub'arak, former king of Azjol-Nerub, raised by the Lich King to serve him.
The battle is best dissected by discussing Anub’arak’s three phases. They repeat in a specific order:
PHASE 1 ► PHASE 2	PHASE 1 ►
PHASE 2 ► PHASE 1	PHASE 3
We’ll dig into each guild’s suggestions individually, starting with Method. Sco notes, “If your damage is high enough, you can avoid the second phase 2 by bringing Anub’arak to 30% dur
ing the second phase 1, which triggers phase 3. This is common in normal mode but requires very high damage to happen on Heroic mode."
PHASE 1:
At the beginning of the fight, players will see ice orbs floating above them. On Heroic difficulty, raids are limited to six orbs for the duration of the encounter, which Method utilizes as follows:
First Phase 1: Anub’arak is tanked in "normal” mid/north position (using the two middle orbs) Second Phase 1: Anub’arak is moved to the entrance (using the two south orbs)
Third Phase 1: Anub’arak is tanked in "normal" north position (using the two north orbs)
“Death knights pull the orbs down to the correct location using Death Grip,” says Sco. “One assigned DPS assists each death knight to ensure the orbs are killed when pulled and so they don’t have time to move away from the designated position." Sco adds that even though normal-mode players have access to an unlimited number of orbs, utilizing the orbs
with this strategy will allow players to practice placement and strategy for the more difficult Heroic version.
There are also adds to contend with during this phase; Method uses two warrior tanks in block gear to handle them. “This significantly decreases the damage potential, and Shockwave is a perfect interrupt for the Shadow Strike ability cast by the adds," says Sco. “These tanks pick up the adds themselves — one takes east, and one takes west — on the ice on either side of Anub'arak. Phase 1 is simply about doing maximum damage to Anub'arak while killing the adds that spawn throughout.” These careful tactics have proven effective in Heroic mode, and were developed and practiced in 10- and 25-player normal mode, preparing for the 25-player Heroic runs where every move really counts.
PHASE 2:
About 10 seconds before Anub’arak burrows, the main tank drags him away from the ice. “This ensures that you can tank the adds on the ice, and it isn’t instantly wasted by Anub'arak's first Impale, since Anub'arak is normally be-
PP
TRIAL OF THE CRUSADER
BUGHUNT
Pull the floating ice spheres Q from the ceiling and create slicks on the ground; stand on those to avoid getting hit by the spikes J. Watch the spawn points for additional enemies.
ing tanked on the same position as the adds,” explains Sco. “The Impale target runs as far away from the ice as possible before receiving Hand of Protection from a paladin, then uses a Swiftness potion to run back through the Impale and finally stops the chase by running through ice. Meanwhile, small bugs are brought down by the ranged DPS and melee DPS when possible. As phase 2 comes to an end, the death knights pull down the orbs for the next phase 1, dictating where Anub'arak will be tanked when he re-emerges.”
► PHASE 3:
Anub’arak is at 30% health at the start of phase 3, which Sco notes is the same as phase 1 with the addition of the Leeching Swarm ability. “Heroism or Bloodlust should be used during this phase,” he says. “Leeching Swarm ticks for a minimum of 250 health, so passive healing such as Vampiric Embrace, a Healing Stream Totem, or Judgment of Light is enough to keep the raid alive, and allows healers to focus on healing Penetrating Cold targets and the tanks.”
But Protec says you shouldn’t think of Anub'arak as a heavy-damage encounter just because of his third phase. "In the first two phases, make sure your healers keep the tanks alive and outheal the Penetrating Cold debuff,” he advises. "The raid doesn’t need any active healing in the third phase; passive healing is enough. But healers have to watch who gets hit by the Penetrating Cold debuff... this is important! Your tanks should be spam-healed by their respective healers. Targets affected by Penetrating Cold need to be kept at around 50% of their health pool, to avoid any extra healing on the boss.”
Premonitions Cheesycraft feels Anub’arak is an “interesting encounter. There’s a lot of damage on tanks, and the adds spawn frequently. When the adds are near each other, they gain a buff to do massive damage. We developed a strategy where the tank wears a block set and we bring all the adds to Anub'arak, and wear them down with AoE attacks. The encounter has a strict DPS requirement, and you have to be able to deal with adds to succeed. Also,
remember you have a limited number of frost orbs, and if you run out of those, you can’t stop Anub’arak from impaling people during the second phase.”
"During the second phase, Anub'arak picks a target and gets ready to charge,” explains Xav. “He can do a massive amount of damage and one-shot someone if you aren’t careful. But Anub'arak will hit a different target if he hits the Permafrost patches, so put them in his path. A death knight should use Death Grip to put orbs in the end of the room, and run to the opposite side. The rest of the raid should be positioned on the other side of the room to maximize the time between impales and save frost patches.
“During the Leeching Swarm phase, you should actually keep the entire raid at low health,” Xav continues. "Heal less, and take a minimum amount of damage. The Penetrating Cold debuff will land on five random targets, which requires quick action from the healers to keep them alive. Deal with the adds that keep spawning, and slowly burn Anub’arak down."
"Tanking is the worst part of this fight,” says Ensidia’s Kungen. "One main tank is on the boss — he has the easy job! But the two other tanks have some work to do. Of the six ice orbs, two are
er, with the boss in the middle of them. There are four adds that constantly spawn, two on each side. You have to pull them on the ice so they don't burrow and come back up, or you’ll be
deal with the debuff until Anub’arak is down to 30%.”
When Anub’arak submerges, "pull him to the south of the room, and kite him to the north, using Blessing
dealing with too many adds. Both tanks
have to drag adds, but you can't drag them together. We handle two each, and take them as close to the boss as possible, on each side on top of the orbs so they can’t burrow. You have to keep them far enough apart so they won't stack a buff on each other and hit harder. It’s also important to do high threat so you can get high AoE from the entire raid on them.”
Mek warns that if you don t interrupt the adds, you can fall victim to a one-shot. “Keep them on the ice, so you don’t worry about the burrow. They’ll stack debuffs on the tank. You can’t just zerg or spam heal; you have to
tank orbs, shot down close to each oth
of Protection so you take no damage
for 8 seconds. Only use two patches
“MENTALLY, HEALERS ARE FREAKING OUT, nUT THEY CANT DO ANYTHING."
per submerge phase. Never use the two tanking patches you started with, because you’ll wipe if you pull the boss through them. Blessing of Protection is the most important — use it and you can't fail.”
During Phase 3, Xav says their healing needs are small to account for the
TRIAL OF THE CRUSADER
Leeching Swarm. "About 300 health per second is good Most raid members can get this from Blessing of Light or Improved Leader of the Pack. Five healers in the group watch for Penetrating Cold and keep everyone going. You have to stay alert."
Blood Legion’s Ararat says the "fight involves so much more finesse than actual brute force. People think they don’t have DPS to handle phase 3, but it's more about knowing how to play it than actions per minute. The key to winning was spending all the time talking about how to deal with the fight.”
Lawliepop cites an interesting point of panic in the third phase: healers who aren t supposed to
A surprised Fordring calls out to the heroes who defeat Anub’arak. "Champions, you’re alive! Not only have you defeated every chai lenge of the Trial of the Crusader, but thwarted Arthas directly!” he exclaims. "Your skill and cunning will prove to be a powerful weapon against the Scourge. Well done!"
And with this. Fordring has found more heroes for his impending battle. Icecrown Citadel looms.... Ж
heal. "Mentally, healers are freaking out, but they can't do anything,” she says. "The entire raid is at 2% health, but they’re supposed to be. Zonker, another guild officer, wrote a mod that marks targets that are assigned to a healer. For example, I might get star, and as soon as a star pops above someone, I heal that person. All five healers are looking for their mark. But sitting and watching everyone so close to death is almost physically painful for me to watch.”
Ararat chalks it up to simple faith in your guild. “The most important thing was learning to trust that 1 wasn't going to die. Bloodthirst made it a bit easier for me, but you learn to trust passive healing.”
AND NOW, TRINKETS
To the victor go the spoils, and the same is true in the Crusaders' Coliseum. The instance offers the tier-9 armor set, which features a customized look for the Horde and Alliance while retaining the same set of stats.
The 25-player Heroic version offers loot with an item level of 258, the 25-player normal and 10-player Heroic instances offer items at 245, while 10-player normal tops off at 232. Xav believes that “the best gear should come from the hardest fights and most difficult encounters.”
However, the guilds we talked with seemed most interested in the trinkets. Xav notes, “They basically wear two of the same trinket, because they're slightly different from normal to Heroic.”
Lawliepop was particularly excited for the Death's Choice trinket. "It’s basically a souped-up Darkmoon card. It's the sweetest trinket ever — nothing comes close Now you can get TWO, and everyone is super excited. Trinkets transcend instances.”
Illustration: Brandon Kitkouski
Р У У ВИ
THERE M AY BE 99 WAYS TO DIE, BUT THE BEST HEALERS KNOW HOW TO PREVENT THEM ALL. CHECK OUT SOME TOP HEALERS’ CUSTOMIZED INTERFACES USING COMMUNITY-CRAFTED ADD-ONS - THEY’RE RE AL LIFESAVERS.
CUSTOM HEALER UIs
ИШИ1ИИ
Erica Schoonmaker
ForteXorcist keeps track of all the buffs I put on people. This shows
Prat is my chat mod of choice.
It will show a player's level and class. Every chat channel is colorized so I won’t have to wonder which channel a player is coming from, Fane is an
heal anyone in the raid by mousing over a player and pressing mouse 4 without switching my primary target.
about buffs 1 place on them. I don’t filter debuffs, but I do see all debuffs on the target.
Class Gulls Realm. Speclalt
Holy Priest
Axiom
Scarlet Crusade-US
Raid Healing
My UI is designed to contain rel
{I I use Dominos to handle the different spells and abilities — I find it more simple and streamlined than Bartender4. The buttons themselves display a timer due to OmniCC', when a cooldown is finished, it produces a “shing." The green numbers on the buttons represent the approximate amount of healing that a spell deals. A quick glance over to
who has what buff and the amount of time remaining before it wears off. The add on is capable of tracking multiple targets but will only high
add-on that handles the chat tabs. MiniChat is the little arrow that shrinks the chat window down to one line.
evant elements to the job at hand. Most of the healing add-ons take up the bottom of the screen.
Q) The central area contains the main player and target frames. My focus appears directly above my frame and the target of target directly across above the target’s frame. I settled on PitBull due to its ridiculous customizability.
When I’m healing a target, 1 care
the right shows damage deficits. After that, it’s a matter of selecting the right spell to heal the right amount.
Q) Grid shows health numbers when players take damage, are dead, become AFK, go offline, or are in a vehicle. What isn't shown is another add-on called Clique, which lets me bind spells to mouse clicks. For instance, Flash Heal is my mouse 4 button on the side; this allows me to
light the bars of my current target.
Spell and ability procs (an activated or triggered effect) are displayed with Power Auras. Each proc has its own unique design that represents a buff or debuff. It can be configured to show trinket procs, Borrowed Time, and other such abilities. Power Auras is used to keep track of procs on Lil while ForteXor-cist handles everyone else.
One element not shown is MikScrollingBattleText. Above the main character, it displays mana return, buffs, and debuffs, then fades upwards. On the right side, it shows all spells that have been cast; I’ve got damage taken on the left side. Also, I prefer BindPad for keybinds on all my spells — Lil can simply drag and drop spells accordingly. It also allows for longer macros that don’t take up space in the macro bin.
101
CUSTOM HEALER UIs
Class
Guili
Dieter Standaert
Holy Priest Order of the Athanor Spinebreaker-EU
Heroics and Raid Healing
Reals
When it comes to my UI, my primary concern is to isolate and remove excessive information. Information must be shown only when relevant — action bars that show when hovered over, timers and warnings...those are all good starts. At the same time, information must remain convenient.
I display buffs in the top right;
they’re purely aesthetic in nature. Buffalo allows for buff repositioning, while ButtonFacade allows specific styles or textures to be applied to different buff icons.
I use PitBull in a standard left-and-right configuration. The party is on the left side, while a few other add-ons handle information on the right side. I use it because it's highly configurable; the text seen here is customized, and certain frames can be removed to avoid duplicate information. That’s a frustration for me — I’ve made a strong effort to try to remove duplicate information, and too few add-ons offer that ability.
his is a cooldown warning from an add-on called CooldownTimers. For priests, spells are always going to be on cooldown. I need to know when spells like Prayer of Mending are available. There is no alternative other than to use a cooldown timer.
Power Auras was the most promising, but it has thwarted my attempts to make the Prayer of Mending warning work.
The focus frame above the bar timers displays the most detailed information about its target, including detailed stats and cast information.
INFOBMATION SHOWS ONLY WHEN RELEVANT.
Focused targets will show different things: a Shackled target will have a timer displaying the amount of time left before the shackle breaks, while tanks show buffs like Inspiration.
The bars are controlled by Bartender4, but about 60% of the icons are hidden. Three bars will pop up with various spells and abilities with a hover. The lower bar contains targeting spells, while the top bar has actions tha. will only affect
the character.
Clique allows me to bind spells to mouse clicks. For example, the mouse 1 button will cast a Renew on the frame I clicked on. All instant heal spells have either a mouseover macro or a Clique shortcut so I can comfortably move (using the keyboard) while casting them.
The white arrows below the player name demonstrate the amount of Serendipity stacks that are available.
There is still room for improvement; I don’t think UIs are ever completely finished. The party frame on the left is complete, but the timers on the right require more tweaking. The more sober my style becomes, the more satisfied I am with its efficiency... but the more I crave aesthetics.
If you’re healing someone in a Battleground, you’re keeping them alive while they’re working on an enemy. This is a catch-22: Do you continue to heal the target, or do you help focus fire on the enemy simultaneously? These displays help me make the necessary decisions.
FuBar is a modular add-on similar to Titan Panel. One of the add-ons I use is LuckyChanns, which makes target-marking convenient. Another add-on keeps track of experience gains along with social stuff like friends or guildies who are online.
Recount can do a lot: show healing and damage meters, report which player is doing what damage, show threat gains by players. For healing, this is handy because I can preemptively switch to a player who is on the verge of surpassing the tank on threat.
I use Bartende>4 to handle various spells, abilities, and items. I won’t have to go fishing for tabs in the spellbook or inventory. Not only that, I don’t use a conventional mouse; I play left-handed and use a trackball to control my actions. Other add-ons I’ve tried simply do
not work with two buttons.
Also, I rely on OmniCC to track spell cooldowns and buffs. For example, it lets me know how much time is left before Nature’s Swiftness is ready to go.
IceHUD was inspired by first-person shooters; it feeds information directly to me in the middle of the screen, right where all the action is, and I find that very important. IceHUD shows my health and mana along with my target’s health and
MILLISECONDS HERE ANDTHERE ADD UP!
mana, plus my target’s target and other buffs and debuffs.
X-Perl is my raid-frame add-on of choice. It’s a suite of bars that keep track of players in the raid or in the party. Name plates are colored based on debuffs applied to the
target. Some debuffs can be filtered to display what can be removed. Non-removable debuffs don’t even appear. There is no point if I can’t remove them. Different transparency levels signify player range. Transparent players are not within range of healing.
X-Perl also handles player and target frames on the top left.
The biggest factor that influenced my UI design was performance. The
more add-ons a player has going, the more vulnerable they will be to lag, and low lag is especially important when a player is healing. Milliseconds here and milliseconds there will add up! The more streamlined the interface, the more efficient the healing.
102
105
5 ГН ANNIVERSARY

THE TRADITIONAL 5™ ANNIVERSARY GIFT IS WOOD, BUT WE’RE GIVING LOVE INSTEAD, WITH A GEEKY LOOK BACK AT AZEROTH’S PAST.
Nowadays, players are al) used to
inns giving double experience while
leveling their characters, thanks to
vtrtrioc INSIDE WORLD OF WARCRAFT’S SECRET, UVUUUll vlVl IV?	DELETED WORLD OF...SLEEP.
The might)' heroes of Azeroth often take the little guys that hold down the fort while they’re off adventuring
probably gathered from the names, these weren't all good things.
Well Rested was the equivalent
practically demand it, scoffing at the
fish to fry. but no one would have
offering 200% experience to the
in a Rested state "Only 1.000 XP for
weren't for the trusty innkeepers
Tuskarr Villager Your seaside town
pating in combat would cause your
200% to 100% bonus as you went to
players between excursions into the
once you arrived at Normal Play-
contributed to World ofWarcraJfs
be saved from the ravaging undead." Admit it — getting the same reward for half the effort is awesome.
wide-ranging success by allowing it
lifestyles. But, believe it or not,
always been around, as some players
prior to its official launch can attest.
and get comfy, we’re going to tell
of Warcraft you never knew, with
XP debuffs
WE WERE ALL VAGABONDS
would slowly be nudged away from
And that's a luxury players haven't always enjoyed Early on in the beta, there were no inns for players to rest
Logout delays of 20-seconds were
First, you would become Fatigued,
DURINGBETA.ITTOOK8HOURSTOGOFROM
EXHAIISEED TO WELL RESTED WHILE IN AN INN
incurring a-50% XP penalty. Endure the experience penalty long enough, and you would drop to the lowest energy level. Exhausted, with its -75% XP penalty, making it hard to justify killing just about anything
ARE YOU WELL RESTED OR JUST, WELL, RESTED? Even when innkeepers did show up
ing powers, it wasn't the deal players
more like ancient gods, demanding
to wrath if you did not visit them
switch of being Rested or not Rested.
ergy levels your character could fall
Fatigued, and Exhausted. And as you
100
SIH AAMVtiMARY
8-HOUR TIMEOUTS
But resetting your energy level to
system was tweaked and molded into
The dev team explained that the beta
to "free up time for exploring other
helpful to players — only rewarding them for taking time off (positive reinforcement) without penalizing
such as tradeskilling and social
(negative punishment).
level-grinding?’ When the difference
Rested and Fatigued is a whopping
Rest system haven't changed since that first update in 2004. Rested states still only affect monster kills
encouraging players to pursue other
by quests; the system is on a per-
did a good jobof bringing players
play one character while your others
focus on non-combat activities.
still bind Hearthstones so players can
Exhausted to Well Rested while m an inn (removing any debuffs on the characters as an added bonus), there was no reason to not spend time chatting with friends and exploring Orgrimmar Logging out anywhere else in the world outside an inn would limit your rest state to a maximum of Normal
regular basis for a daily nap. Those
bit of prophecy in them, hinting that Rest would even benefit “future PvP experience rewards” — a tease that's
realms Apparently, some good ideas take time to develop; you just have to sleep on them.
THE HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE, NOT EXACTLY OFFICIAL WORLD OF WARCRAFT PLAYER’S TIMELINE
1994	1998	•’001
SOMETIME IN 1994
SEPTEMBER
World oJWanrafi
“DOWNINGRAGNAROSFORTHEFIRSTIIME
WAS LIKE WINNING THE WORLD.'
—Lorallenne, Dragonnunv-US
from mooching, 1 decided he wasn't as bad as J had initially thought
—lorlin, Quel’dorei-US
nuts with his narcissism Anyway, 1 was mid-30-ish during the first Scourge invasion and
headed out to Tanaris with him and he AoEed the heck out of those Scourge guys while
2003 __,	2004	2005
I was feeling real down because my
to have so much more money than
killing mobs than me. That same priest friend bought and gave me a blue two-handed mace. The Shoveler,
put on it. To this day, [still feel sad that 1 vendored it somewhere along the line.
—Vellence, Blackwing Lair-US
SEPTEMBER
ТакГоп the Blood God in Zul’Gurub. But
JUNE
lures 40-ptayer
ing alone by himself:
full damage 
“REALMHRSTTO8O GEniMOWHISPERSATONCEWmWESOME
FrA Elects mcs really caught by urpriaa, we certainly didn't expect that many people to be th re at the midnight opening We thought the launch would be
lot longer to convince people to try a new MMO with a tnon..
□bscription - ui upright Outofthegatt he response hvas
2007
SFPTF.MBF.fi
NOVEMBER
through 60 gets rebalanced Guilds get their
JANUARY
The Dark Portal opens!
head again, isnt it?]
without a fight.
between Battlegrounds.
№
Things you Can't Live Without...
But, Once Upon a Time, Didn’t Have
a buffet A really violent buffet
not make you look fat. it kinda makes you look like a medieval superhero.
Is that what vou were going for’
The login interlace remembers your name. Don’t pretend like you don’t appreciate it, every second counts when you're late for a raid.
> May aoos
Normal realms features user-toggled PvP flag. Getting ganked outside
Ratchet is not a privilege — it’s a nght' (And a right-click)
и !лиилт аооб
Sign up for multiple Battleground
9 /лыилп аооб
Tip of the Day arrives. We can /dance if we want to’ You don't say1
J Л!лЛс 11 aooc
Chat bubbles pop up over characters' heads ‘Look at the box in the lower left when Гт talking to you!"
t March aoos
You can see how many people in your group share your quests.
And yet. despite the little number
September aoos
You can see your own location on the large map. Wherever you go.
stopped many of us from calling out “Who else needs Steelsnap?"
SEPTEM <1 R
cfose,'‘4arned the
death knights. Data ran,
online, and the Globa] Arena Tournament
OCTOBER
The plagued tendrils
NOVEMBER
More than ?.8 million
JANUARY Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision added.
> September aoos
You can audition clothing in the
You can disable the scrolling quest text It’s not that we’re not interested in what youhaveto say, Tonga Runetotem, it’s just that we can read faster than you can talk, and we’ve got blood to spill

MARCH The Isle of Quel'Danai
Keyringsappear finally, all keys unlock extra bag space'
with that, the Scourge attacked.
Raiders get a ready check and raid info button Now, when you plunge headfirst into Onyxia's Deep Breath, everyone will know you were truly
September 3007
AFK buster on Battlegrounds. The
foiled! Take that, deserters.
ONYX1AS RETLliN

FOR YEARS, ONYXIA WAS THE MOST FEARED
RAID BOSS IN ALL OF KALIMDOR. BUT NOW THAT SHE'S BEEN RE-EQUIPPED FOR THE MODERN ERA, WHAT DOES THE DAUGHTER OF DEATHWING OFFER CURRENT PLAYERS? TWO WORDS: MORE DOTS.
he’s big. She’s bad. She breathes fire. She is among the most deadly enemies the heroes of Azeroth have ever known. And she’s taunting you.
To celebrate World of Warcraft's fifth anniversary, the encounter with the brood mother Onyxia has been retooled, bringing her up to a level that once again poses a threat to Azeroth's mightiest adventurers. For those lore buffs who are twitching in their chairs at the idea of retconning — didn't we see Onyxia's head, you know, strung up outside of Orgrimmar and Stormwind every so often? — now's a good time to take an appropriately deep breath. The history of the world hasn’t been adjusted with Onyxia's return; her instance has just been updated in celebration of the game's fifth anniversary, so she's still a valid part of the current raiding culture. In other words, it's the Onyxia you already know, with the same story and importance... just much, much meaner.
115
* 	ь 1
► THE LORE
As the daughter of the black Dragon Aspect, Deathwing, Onyxia rose to power after her father's departure from the lands of Azeroth. She drove the Stonemaul ogres from their
► THE LEGEND
Onyxia's Lair was one of two 40-person raids included in the original World of Warcraft. For many players, Onyxia proved to be one of the hardest fights they had ever encountered. With more
ONYXIA'S RETURN
caves in the Dragonmurk so that she could raise her growing brood. This location in Dustwallow Marsh became the perfect area in which to lay her eggs, and Onyxia’s brood protected the caves and the precious eggs inside.
For many years, however, Onyxia took on a human form as Lady Katrana Prestor, one of the highest advisors to Stormwind's child king, Anduin Wrynn. Through her control of the young king's other advisor, Bolvar Fordragon, Onyxia worked to corrupt a vast segment of the kingdom. It was rumored that she orchestrated the kidnapping of Anduin's father, Varian Wrynn, the true king of Stormwind. When Onyxia's deception was revealed by Alliance knight Reginald Windsor, she fled to her lair only to face King Varian, who impaled her with a pair of elven swords. He took her head back to Stormwind, where it was hung from the gates.
than 20 abilities spread over three phases of fighting, Onyxia's Deep Breaths, Tail Sweeps, and whelp spawns led to many brutal guild wipes. Due to the seeming randomness of Onyxia's use of powers, especially in the second phase, many players died screaming as they tried to deduce patterns in her attacks.
Some of that screaming bled over into the real world, too. When raid leader Dives of the Boulderfist-EU guild Wipe Club lost his temper during an attack on Onyxia, the profanity-laced audio recording spawned a viral Flash animation (see sidebar) and several community catchphrases, including "There is no aggro reset" and "Hit it like you mean it." And just as Leeroy Jenkins was honored with his own in-game title, some of the Onyxia Wipe dialog has been immortalized as a series of achievements for the revamped dungeon, including More Dots! and Many Whelps! Handle It!
The 310% speed Brood of Onyxia mount (bottom center) isn't the beast herself, but one of her offspring, tamed and ready for you to ride. That is, assuming you score the rare drop.
► THE REBIRTH
Of course, there are more than just achievements to earn from facing Onyxia again. In keeping with the fifth-anniversary nostalgia, Onyxia’s drops feature the old tier-2 skins and upgraded statistics on the weapons and equipment to stay in line with current level-80 gear. Along with coveted helms and weapons, Onyxia also has accumulated some of the other updated tier-2-styled pieces from raids that were outside of her own. Items like the epic one-handed sword Quel'Serrar (now available in both Burning and Gleaming varieties) have warriors and paladins itching to take her down.
Plus, mount collectors are drooling over one of the rarest Onyxia drops: Brood of Onyxia, a speedy (310% increase) flying mount that looks exactly like the brood mother...only slightly smaller. The matching pet was given as a gift to any and all players who logged into the game during its fifth-anniversary period.
CUTE. EVIL.
As a thank-you to players for five years of loyal support, anyone who logged in during the Sth anniversary got a whelpling pet.
Even if Onyxia's return doesn't officially open a new chapter in World of Warcraft's lore, gamers who missed experiencing this raid during the pre-Burning Crusade era will finally come to understand why her legend is so fearsome. Onyxia never throws around taunts lightly. As she herself promises, "One thing that I can and will assure is your death." And when you hear that, well...you'd better be prepared to hit it like you mean it. Ж
The Man Who Took Onyxia Viral
If you're reading this, you've almost certainly seen the YouTube video "Onyxia Wipe Animation." If you're at all familiar with raiding and the stress many guild leaders feel while trying to herd their teammates through often-complex encounter mechanics, you probably laughed at the manic screaming of Dives, the former guild master of the infamous Wipe Club. During its time in the spotlight, Wipe Club was notorious for posting audio clips of its exploits, often focusing on Dives's verbal outbursts.
But the man who made Wipe Club famous (or infamous) wasn't even a part of the guild. David "Alachas" Lambkin hadn’t spoken to any member of Wipe Club, but he thought it was hilarious and "also felt as though 1 knew what he was going through," Lambkin says.
-"I had been on many S'taids that got screwed up thanks to someone not listening. When my guild mate first linked the audio clip to me, I half-jokingly wrote back Tm totally gonna make an animation to that.1"
After 15 hours (and one accidental deletion of the whole project -Onyxia, it seems, makes everybody wipe), Lambkin's work was done, but he had no idea it was going to be so popular. Since its upload in December 2007, the animation has been viewed more than 3 million times. "I guess 1 wasn't really thinking about it at the time," he says. "I was just working to make something I thought would be funny."
116
KNOW YOUR NODES
GOLD MINE
X
BLACKSMITH
Thanks to its position right in the center of the Basin, the Blacksmith is the most strategically valuable node. Team members at the Blacksmith can move to any node very quickly, either to defend it or to launch an attack, and have full visibility of virtually all enemy troop movements, enabling them to see exactly what’s going on at all times. Because it’s such an important node, Aelwyd and Peace recommend that you rush the Blacksmith at the beginning of every match. But do so in significant numbers — at least eight or so. “If you rush it with fewer and are met with significantly greater numbers, don't feel too embarrassed to turn tail and run to another node,” says Aelwyd. "You might be able to launch a more effective counterattack with greater numbers.’
►
a
1
Because the Gold Mine offers virtually zero visibility of the battlefield and is vulnerable to "sneak” attacks from slow-falling characters jumping off the cliff down to the capture point, many players feel it doesn’t have much of a strategic value compared to the Blacksmith and Lumber Mill. “Players defending it can’t help out their teammates by calling out enemy movement,” says Aelwyd, "and since you can’t see much of the action from the Mine, it’s not a particularly fun place to hang out and defend.” Because of this, Gold Mine defenders often wander away looking for something more interesting to do, which makes it an ideal node for you to capture with a coordinated sneak attack from your home base. It’s also a great place for a couple of stealthy rogues to creep into and quietly capture the node if they can coordinate their efforts.
FARM/ STABLES
Due to the close proximity of the graveyard, the nodes closest to each faction’s home base are the easiest to defend (and most difficult to attack). Peace and Aelwyd consider these the “bread and butter” nodes that each faction can expect to control for most of the game. However, if the opposition does control your home node and you’re killed trying to attack the capture point, be careful. You’ll rez in your home base graveyard and will have to run past the enemy to get to a safe node. If the opposing faction is camping your graveyard, run past them as a ghost, head to a graveyard you control, and rez there.
LUMBER MILL
The Lumber Mill is another node that's strategically valuable for several different reasons. First, it’s easy to defend thanks to the fact that there are only two ways to get to it. Second, it offers excellent views across the Battleground so you can see what the opposite faction is doing. And third, it’s the only node from which players can launch what Peace calls a "paratroop attack” on another node — players that have a Slow Fall (mage) or Levitate (priest) can cast it on others so they can float down to the Blacksmith within a few seconds to quickly engage in a surprise attack or help defend.
120
LAY OF THE LAND
BEFORE THE GATES OPEN
► PREPARATION
Buff up! This might sound obvious, but take advantage of the free buff
time before the fight. Buffs make
l
everyone stronger, so make sure your
teammates are buffed to the nines
so they can operate at maximum efficiency. "I have a really simple buff macro,” says Peace. "All I have to do is press it a few times and everyone is buffed.”
► TAKING CHARGE
If you feel you’re up to the burden of leadership (and nobody else has offered any tactical advice), suggest an attack strategy for your team. It’s often a good idea to offer to protect the home node yourself — give everybody else fun combat jobs and add "...and I’ll take Stables/Farm.” “Leading from the home node also gives you the chance to watch like a
THE BALANCE CAN 8E TIPPEO IN YOUR FAVOR SIMPLY BYWORKINGTOGETHER ASA SMALL STRIKE SQUAO.
► THE BUDDY SYSTEM
If you’re not playing with friends, the experts advise you to check out who’s in your Battleground. If you’re a DPS class, look to see if tjiere are any healers and follow them. They’ll probably be attacked first — if you help them out, they will very likely help you, creating a good DPS/ healing combo. The balance can be tipped in your favor simply by working together as a small strike squad, so try to figure out whom you might be able to work with to create a tough-to-beat combo.
proper commander-in-chief should, rather than being tied up in a crazy fight over a node,” adds Aelwyd.
Suggest two groups (yours and another) go and attack one node — probably the Blacksmith since it’s the most desirable node strategically — and send another group to the Lumber Mill or Gold Mine. Be prepared to call in reinforcements to your home node fairly quickly, as in most games, there will always be at least one or two of the opposite faction running through to the home node to try to capture it. However, don’t bother to call in reinforcements if you see people getting killed at the nodes they’re attacking — they will rez at your home node and will be able to help you defend.
121
Here's a great place to hold up attacking Horde If they break through, you can follow them to the Blacksmith or Lumber Mill and continue to fight there.
LUMBER MILL ______ .
BLACKSMITH
This is a great spot for Alliance defenders to hang out, allowing them to defend both the Blacksmith and Stables, or pester the Gold Mine as a distraction.
STABLES
attack is underway, you definitely need to be on the capture point, killing the opposition and disrupting their attempts to claim the node. However, if there is no immediate threat, more experienced players
ALLIANCE
DEFENSIVE POSITIONING
Many players will tell you that the best place to defend is right on the capture point. That is true...sort of. If an
GENERAL TIPS
►	CAPTURE THREE AND PLAY “D"
"You only need three nodes to win,” reminds Peace. “So take those and then lock down your defenses.” Although it’s tempting to try to take a fourth node, only do so if it’s safe and it’s clear your team is outplaying the other. If you mount an attack, look to see if there are enough defenders at the nodes you occupy to resist an attack at least long enough for your teammates to come back to help. Otherwise you might be putting your team in danger of overex tending, leaving one or two of your nodes open to attack, allowing the enemy to swing the advantage in their favor.
►	FIGHTING AWAY FROM A NODE IS BAD...AND GOOD
If you’re fighting away from a node, two things are happening, which can either be good or bad depending on which side is in the lead. If the enemy controls more nodes than you, fighting on the road isn’t as helpful as trying to capture a node. The only exception to that is if you're outnumbered on the road — that means they’re not guarding their own nodes and perhaps your teammates can quickly grab one while it’s lightly defended. Likewise, if you’re in a winning position, tying up the enemy away from any node means they’re not going to be able to capture it. Stay aware of what the other enemy players are doing — they might be intentionally distracting you while their mates capture the node.
►	HIT THEM WHERE THEY AREN’T	--------
“Switching up your attack locations and moving fast is key to being successful in Arathi Basin,” says Peace. "Keep in mind that if your attempted cap on a node was unsuccessful, the next best node to attack is the one that will take the enemy the longest to get to. So for example, if you attacked Lumber Mill and that was strongly reinforced by the opposite faction, the next attack target should probably be Gold Mine. Since you’ll either be rezzing at your home node or Blacksmith (if you control it), you’ll be able to get to the Gold Mine much, much faster than the people who were just defending Lumber Mill. A quick bit of thinking while you’re rezzing, followed by a clear attack call can help tip the balance in your favor.”
►	PROTECTING A CAPPER
When someone is claiming a capture point, help them out by crowd controlling ranged characters that might interrupt their capture, or fearing melee characters out of the way. Even running around to the graveyard to fear freshly rezzed enemies might help buy a fraction of a second that might be the difference between making a capture and not. “In the excitement of battle, players often get distracted by the fighting around the flag and forget that the reason why they’re there is to capture the flag,” says Aelwyd with a laugh. ‘‘Don’t be one of those players!”
122
EXPERT PLAYER STRATEGIES
LUMBER MILL
BLACKSMITH
FARM
HORDE
opportunity presents itself). It’s this flexible positioning that can help keep a team extremely mobile, enabling them to get to a node almost as quickly as the opposition and making it very difficult for them to mount a successful node capture.
Here's another top defensive spot for Horde characters. Easy access to the Gold Mine and Blacksmith means the Alliance will have a really tough time breaking through and recapping either of those nodes.
will often position themselves slightly away from the capture point in a place where they can watch the capture point they're defending, but also where they can quickly run to help another node if it’s attacked (or indeed launch a counter-attack if the
This is a great Horde defensive position, with easy access to help both the Farm and Blacksmith, and launch attacks at the Lumber Mill when the opportunity arises.
IN THE THICK OF BATTLE
►	COMMUNICATION
This is one of the easiest things you can do to further your chances of victory, but it’s also one of the most sadly underutilized. As any experienced Battleground veteran knows, a lot of people are quick to criticize and tell you what you should be doing, but not many players provide useful information. But when they do, and it’s presented in a straightforward way, more often than not, other players in the Battleground will respond.
“If you want to be a positive contributor, call out opposite-faction movement,” suggests Aelwyd. “That’s something that is easy to type, and tells everyone what is going on.” Usually it's best to say how many, where they’re attacking, and if possible, where they 're coming from. Definitely take a quick look at the minimap before calling “incs” — there’s no point in yelling about two incoming people to your node if you already have four of your teammates there.
Yelling at players for not doing something you think they should be doing is generally not productive. A lot of the time, people will stop and argue with you, and as soon as that happens, you’re not fighting the enemy, you’re fighting yourselves — and that gives the opposite faction the advantage.
►	PREMADE STRATEGY
“If you re a team of 15 and can communicate verbally, you should all be able to move together effectively and be a very tough team to beat,” suggests Ael wyd. “Back in the original game, I was part of a daily premade team that liter ally ran hundreds of Arathi Basin games when we were ranking up through the old school PvP system. We used to run nine to Blacksmith and five to the Mill. In the unlikely event that Mill was swamped, Blacksmith people would go and reinforce the Mill, then immediately attack the opposition's home node. Otherwise we’d send seven to Gold Mine from the Blacksmith (leaving a healer-DPS combo defending Blacksmith) and then both the Mill and Gold Mine teams would rush the enemy home node. We used to five-cap a lot of the time with that strategy, or at the very least control four nodes and simply be able to pile pressure onto the home node.”
►	ONE BY ONE
“When attacking a node, it’s very important to go in together,” says Peace. “If you go in one at a time, the enemy will simply pick you off individually with ease. Sometimes it’s hard to coordinate, but it’s imperative that the team moves in groups and supports one another. Just a little patience waiting for everyone to catch up and move in together can really pay off.”
12$
IN THE THICK OF BATTLE
► DON’T RUN AROUND SOLO
Almost any class will have difficulty confronting two or more enemy players solo, so try not to wander off on your own. There are some exceptions to this situation - Peace advises, "You might want to take a calculated risk such as capping an unattended node (watch for stealthed and/or hidden players), or if you think you can take on and beat a solo or pair of defenders. But most of the time, the best rule of thumb is safety in numbers."
►	PROXIMITY
Staying aware of your proximity to your teammates can be the difference between life and death. As Peace points out, “If you’re a healer, don’t rush in first. Sit back behind your fellow players so that the opposition will have to go through your front line to get to you. Use buildings and obstacles to hide yourself temporarily or to gain a line-of-sight advantage. If you’re a melee fighter on the attack, keep an eye on everyone else. If you run out of range of your healers, for example, you won’t get any heals, so try to stay reasonably close to them. Also be aware that some healers need to be able to stand still to cast some of their bigger spells. Try not to get yourself isolated."
►	REMEMBER WHERE PEOPLE REZ
If you’ve just repelled an attacking force and want to counterattack, remember that the people you've just killed will be rezzing at their closest graveyard. Aelwyd has a good example: "If you’ve just repelled an attack at your home node and the enemy controls the Blacksmith, that’s where they’ll be rezzing. So while that one person sitting on the flag at the Blacksmith might look vulnerable, by the time you get there, everyone you killed will have rezzed and will be looking for revenge! A good strategy is to remember where they won't be rezzing, and attack that node instead."
IT S VERY COMMON ID SEE Д PLAYER CAP Д NODE AND THEN SIMPLY RUN OFF... ТДКЕ RESPONSIBILITY AND HELP DEFEND
►	ASSESS THE SITUATION
"Watch what’s going on,” says Peace. "Often, inexperienced PvP players tend to just focus on killing the nearest enemy player. More experienced players, however, will constantly assess the situation and leverage the strengths of their character to help turn the tide of battle in their favor. For example, if your healer is taking a pasting, use crowd control on the players who are hitting them to give him or her some breathing space to heal. If the opposition has healers, use crowd control, silences, or stuns on them to disrupt their efforts to keep their teammates alive."
>	DON’T CAP AND GO
It’s very common to see a player capture a node and then simply run off in search of new adventure and fun times. Aelwyd suggests you don’t be one of those people — take responsibility and help defend. “It might not be the most exciting thing to do,” she says, “but if you want to win, this is the best way to go about it.”
POINTS OF INTEREST
PEACE, ZUL'JIN-US
MORE ADVICE FROM ARATHI VETERANS
“It's great to have a clear plan, but if your strategy isn't effective, always be prepared to change up your tactics. Assess the situation to s»e what's not working, adapt your plan accordingly, and communicate it very clearly-so everyone knows what they pted to do.”
— Peace, Zul’jin-US
Sometimes other players think I’m an idiot for harassing the three or four people guarding a flag on my own. But they don’t think that wjrile I'm keeping those players oc-» cupied killing me, the other 14 people on the team are essentially playing against 11 or 12. Sometimes that’s enough to tip the balance of the game in our favor.”
— Taurenish, Kil’jaeden-US
“Don’t just stick to offense. Defend — it’s not that bad. Especially now that you get 50% more honor for defending a flag.”
— Ewengan, Stonemaul-US
“I bring spyglasses to every Battleground. One of my companion players makes them. I often pass them out to the others in the Battleground as well. What helps one helps all.”
— Paroxymsal, Moon Guard-US
“I’m a stealth-class character, and find I can cap flags with my healer partner frequently, simply by exploiting human nature. I get my partner to run close to a node and pause as if waiting for reinforcement, while I hide out of view and wait. Almost always, the people guarding the flag will chase after them for an easy kill, allowing me to cap the flag while they’re distracted.”
— Teleri, Zul’jin-US
"I use the moat around the Blacksmith to hide myself from scouting enemies, but watch out for hunters and other ranged attackers.”
— Phiir, Moon Guard-US
“Alliance death knights can use their Path of Frost ability to help create a faster route to the Blacksmith. Bear to the right instead of using the bridge and run straight across the water. Just make sure to keep up with the death knight, or you’ll end up having to swim!”
— Mochia, Shadowsong-US
IF YOUR STRATEGY ISN'T EFFECTIVE ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO CHANGE UP



TRADING CARD GAME
Prometha
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If you control another Shaman: Flip Prometha target Melee weapon.
You’ve probably felt that familiar pang: “I'd rather be playing World of Warcraft than [fill in the blank].1' Maybe you can’t always play the MMO when you want, but there’s a more portable option: The World of Warcraft Trading Card Game from Upper Deck. Now entering its fourth year, the TCG has enjoyed great success as both a casual pastime and a competitive battleground for strategy gamers .. .and maybe that’s kept you at arm’s length. But there’s no need to be intimidated; in fact, you might be surprised that you already know most of what you need to know to play. Everything else, we’ll cover in this primer.
Trading card games have been popular since the mid 90s; generally, they’re one-on one affairs where each player custom-creates a deck of cards from a large pool of several hundred. While some powerful cards are rare and harder to find, it's not a matter of simply getting all the most powerful pieces of paper in your hand and then say-
7've never seen such fervor. Even the Burning Legion wojiri retreat on occasion, but the Scourge are relentless."	i
•	-----r o7n WtiffimmcffijiwanW	1
ing "I win" — the luck of the draw and player skill are also big factors, so a flexible strategy is key. It also means that no two games are ever alike.
Like other trading card games, the World of Warcraft TCG regularly introduces new sets of cards with different themes and occasionally even new gameplay mechanics. As you pick up booster packs from the various World of Warcraft TCG sets, it’s a little like earning experience points; you’ll visit new areas, learn new attacks, meet new characters — and maybe run into them in battle.
Each expansion pack focuses on a different part of Warcraft lore, and every set features rare Loot cards with codes that can be redeemed for exclusive in- game items. Cards from different sets work together, so if you like what you see in expansions like Servants of the Betrayer or Through the Dark Portal, you can mix and match cards to hone your deck into an efficient, war-stomping machine.

► HOW WILL YOU DEAL
DEATH TODAY?
It all starts with some class. You can choose your hero from across all sets in the World of Warcraft TCG, including products like the Death Knight Deluxe Starter, which introduced the class to the TCG after its debut in Wrath of the Lich King. (Death knights will be available in booster packs starting in this fall’s Scourgewar.) Some sets feature a mix of one of each class per faction, while others feature unique heroes with special rules, such as the Demon heroes in The Hunt for Illidan. You play as the hero you select, and you build your deck (a minimum of 60 cards for tournament play) around that hero.
If you picture yourself as a high warlord or grand marshal commanding troops, you can pump your deck full of allies. Allies range from simple followers that attack at your command to legendary figures straight from Azeroth lore. If you’re lucky enough to find him and hardy enough to command his respect, you can recruit High Overlord Saurfang and give him orders. If you’ve found
a Leeroy Jenkins in your Heroes of Azeroth booster pack, you can let loose his battle cry and send him screaming across the field at some Onyxian Whelps. Hunters and warlocks can even summon pets for support — eerie voidwalkers and ferocious tigers give the two classes a big boost.
If you want only a few support allies, or you’re willing to brave the blood-stained fields
TSNOTAMATT POWERFUL CAR
alone, you must search for the finest pieces of gear available from the weaponsmiths and armorsmiths of Azeroth. A popular strategy among melee-class heroes is to defend with armor while either hacking a path through the army of allies with two handed axes like Gorehowl or cutting through opposing defenses with the potent power of Dual Wield. Rings, bags, trinkets, and even mounts can
augment your hero. Caster classes have equipment as well, though their weapons generally aren't made for striking and often have special powers — weapons like The Bringer of Death, for example, sweep everything out of play.
If that makes spell-slingers sound intriguing, you can build your deck with a focus on abilities such as instant interrupts and giant spell blasts. Fire, frost, arcane, holy, shadow,
ER OF SIMPLY GETTING ALL THE MOST SIN YOUR HAND AND SAY NG “I WIN."
or nature — whichever color you want your hands to glow as you conjure up a ball of burnination, it’s covered. Taking too much damage? Have your healer fire up a Greater Heal right in the opponent’s face — but don’t let him Kick or Pummel it. The TCG shares a lot in common with the MMO, so you may find the mechanics of combat very comfortable right out of the gate.
12$
TRADING CARD GAME
►	THE WHERES AND WHYS
The TCG features “resources” — the currency of combat — which you will use to play cards out of your hand. Unlike many other TCGs, any card can be used as a resource — it just gets placed facedown in front of you. This is where a good chunk of strategy comes in; what attacks or allies do you want to bring into battle, and which ones are you willing to sacrifice as resources?
While resources are placed face-down, quests are placed face-up. If you meet the requirements on the quest card, you can complete these quests and reap the profits. For instance, the Proving Grounds quest card lets you draw a card when you pay two resources.
Completed quests turn face-down, but locations always stay face-up. Representing landmarks across Azeroth, Outland, and Northrend, locations entered the TCG starting with The Darkmoon Faire expansion and expanded in Drums of War. They’re familiar places like the Undercity or Alterac Valley that give you benefits, such as better armor or boosts to your hero, over the course of your battle. You may only have one location out at a time, but you use it over and over again for
massive long-term gains.
The only other key concept to understand about the TCG is the "chain” — as m chain of events — but if it helps to envision real iron shackles, we won’t stop you. While there’s a bit more to it than we can get into here, the chain basically works like this: When you play an attack on your opponent, they get a chance to respond or defend; your attack goes on the chain first, and their response goes on top of it. And back and forth it goes, until one player can no longer act; then the damage is dealt.
It might look imposing at first, but once you understand the chain you’ll see that it’s meant to keep the chaos of battle simple, understandable, organized, and fair.
►	READY UP
As you explore each new set, more options will open up, but once you pick up a starter deck or build a deck from cards found in booster packs, you’re ready to start playing right then and there. Now you just need a friend...or at least an opponent...and you can start trying out your strategies. What happens next is up to you.
ALL DECKS ON HAND
If you’re new to the Trading Card Game, here’s the good stuff you’ve missed:
You’ve got your choice of starter kits, booster packs, and raid decks with which to begin. Any starter kit will give you the basic instructions and solid cards to build upon; the rest is a matter ot customizing your deck by collecting the cards that match your play style. Raid decks can be integrated into your arsenal, too; all cards tvork with all other cards for customization without compromise. Happy hunting!
Heroes of Azeroth
Boosters & Starters, October 2006 Notable Cards: Leeroy Jenkins, King Magni Bronzebeard
Onyxia's Lair
Raid Deck, December 2006
Notable Cards: Onyxia, Nemesis Skullcap
Through the Dark Portal
Boosters & Starters, April 2007
Notable Cards: Hootie, Queen Sylvanas
Windrunner
Molten Core
Raid Deck, May 2007
Notable Cards: Ragnaros, Sulfuras
Fires of Outland
Boosters, August 2007
Notable Cards: Spectral Tiger Loot card, Chen Stormstout
Feast of Winter Veil
Collector s Set, November 2007
Notable Cards: The Abominable Greench, Metzen the Reindeer
March of the Legion
Boosters & Starters, December 2007 Notable Cards: Aldor/Scryer, The Bringer of Death
Magtheridon's Lair
Raid Deck, January 2008
Notable Cards: Magtheridon, Aegis of the Vindicator
Servants of	.
the Betrayer Л Boosters, April 2008 Notable Cards: Traitor Heroes, Lady Katrana Prestor
^KVAN
Continued on 131 •

129
ATWAst
WITH THE COURGE
WORLD OF WARCRAFT TRADE
CARD GAME GAME DESIGNER JEFF LIU TALKS ABOUT THE LATEST EXPANSION, SCOURGEWAR
^^Why focus on the Scourge for this booster set?
ANorthrend was introduced in the most recent World of Warcraft expansion, and the main baddies are the Scourge. Since we did a year focusing new card sets on the last MMORPG expansion's major enemies, it seems only natural to do one for this expansion, also.
Q What were your design goals for Scourgewar?
A One of our major focuses was keeping it simple, so that new potential players would have an easier "hopping-on point" to start with the game. Many of the mechanics and individual cards have to do with the graveyard because that seems to feel like a Scourge-related part of the TCG. Relating the set and the upcoming sets with the graveyard in various ways was definitely a goal this time around.
Q Scourgewar includes new Strand of the Ancients cards. How do they factor in?
A Like the Warsong Gulch mini-game found in the Fields of Honor TCG set, it's just an alternative-rules set for people looking for a change of pace. By making small tweaks in the rules, people change what cards are good or bad in their own areas. By doing this occasionally and officially ourselves, we give people a uniform set of changes that they can choose to agree to play by. The result is added value from the rest of your collection — the different format makes old cards that were never used into superstars in this rules set.
While death knights were the focus of a starter deck earlier this year, they weren’t quite as powerful as some of the other heroes in the TCG. It looks like Scourgewar will make them more competitive.
Do they come with any special powers that traditional allies do not?
TRADING CARD GAME
Illustration: Dave Allsop
A They’ll have their own identity and textboxes and powers that will eventually become familiar for players. Obviously, something new can't be familiar right away, but I'm confident that as we come out with more of them, people will be able to look at certain powers and be able to say, "Yep, that power feels death knight-y."
Q The Death Knight set
came out just this past summer, and Scourgewar is only the second TCG expansion to address Wrath of the Lich King content. Why does the TCG trail behind World of Warcraft content?
•. Well, Blizzard has to build the expansion first. Some of the last things they do to finalize an expansion are cementing what powers do; play patterns of new spells powers, and classes; names of their items, quests, and whatnot; and models of how things look. Now, one of the first things we do here at Upper Deck is order art for the set. We do this first because of how long it takes for us to write the art descriptions, take screenshots of everything from the game, send them to the appropriate artists, have them make sketches, allow Blizzard to approve the ones we like, have the artist finish the drawing, go through a round of changes, then more approvals, and so on...you get the idea. None of this can start until after the World of Warcraft expansion basically hits the shelves and is finalized, since the information we need to start is the same thing they change right up to the last minute. By the time people are leveling in the game, we are starting a near yearlong process to make a set
related to that TCG expansion. The result? Our content lags behind by a significant portion of time.
Do you have the latitude to create new char acters, or are all the allies and heroes pulled from World of Warcraft?
A Most of the allies and heroes are not directly from World of Warcraft, but we do stick to the
naming conventions and guidelines. For example, "Sprocketcrasher" might be an okay name for a gnome, but not an undead
Q How much input do you get from the community, and how much of it can you implement?
A We read our forums. Organized Play results, and whatever else becomes available to us. This gives us at least some idea of what our tournament players are thinking. Our more casual players, we can only guess at by asking them whenever we come in contact with them — like on the March of the Legion Tour — and thinking about our own casual gaming pasts and presents. Based on these things, we can mold sets to be closer to what we believe people will enjoy more. We definitely keep in mind that those who speak the loudest and most often are only in the majority some of the time, and therefore have to try to take every clue with a grain of salt. It's not a perfect science, but I'd like to believe that we are improving the process with every attempt.
Last year's World Champion Jim Fleckenstein also got to try his hand at helping to design a card, which will be making its debut in Scourgewar. For individual card designs, it’s much harder for us to take any suggestions
from the public because they don't have the months of extra knowledge about the other sets that we do, and their answers would be, to no fault of their own, out of context and outdated. They wouldn't have the information about the themes, mechanics, and play patterns

Continued from 129
ALL DECKS ON HAND
The Hunt for Illidan
Boosters, July 2008
Notable Cards: Demon Heroes, Maiev Shadowsong
Darkmoon Faire
Collector's Set, September 2008 Notable Cards: Sayge, Darkmoon Faire location
Black Temple
Raid Deck, September 2008 Notable Cards: Illidan Stormrage Warglaives of Azzinoth
Drums of War
Boosters & Starters, November 200.
Notable Cards: ALAMO, Cairne
Bloodhoof
Blood of Gladiators
Boosters, March 2009
Notable Cards: Broil Bearmantle, Lo'Gosh
Arena Grand Melee
Special Set, May 2009
Notable Cards: Shredder, Brutal Gladiator's
Greatsword
Death Knight
Deluxe Starter, June 2009
Notable Cards: Darkness Calling, Death Grip
Fields of Honor
Boosters, June 2009
Notable Cards: Drek'thar, El Polio Grande Loot card
Scourgewar
Boosters, November 2009
Notable Cards: King Varian Wrynn, Kel'Thuzad master hero
Naxxramas
Raid Deck & Treasure Pack, December 2009 Notable Cards: Mr. Bigglesworth
131
The top performing player of2008, Hero of the Year Brad Watson (and his elite minions) travel the globe playing the Warcraft TCG. Beat him and win a prize.
THE COMPETITION CIRCUIT
As you start developing your deck
and learning what you like best, you can start searching out single cards and trading with players. Check your local hobby shop to meet folks in your area, or head to WoWTCG.com and use the Player Locator.
If you want to keep it casual, you’ll find Achievements matches in your local store. Just for playing there, you’ll unlock TCG achievements and maybe win prizes for your feats of strength. Also be on the lookout for the Darkmoon Faire, a traveling event
gaming store as the portal to Arathi
Basin. Once in, you’ll be dueling other competitors for real loot — promotional cards, playmats, dice, and other exclusive stuff. But the stakes get higher if you compete on a regional
we are trying to promote in the future, and it would make it quite difficult for suggestions to fit in perfectly with what we are working on at any given time.
Q TCGs are famous for their flexibility — that’s a strength, but it can also be a weakness. How do you keep everything balanced?
A Trial and error is a bulk of what we do. Just like players "test” to find the best decks after we release a set, that’s part of our process when a freshly designed set hits development. The main difference is, when they find something that seems way better than everything else, they take it to a tournament. When we find something that is way better than everything else, we ask a series of questions. "Is this what we think people will enjoy playing?" "Will this suppress other things we find fun and make them unplayable?" "Is this outside of the range of what we are comfortable with this play pattern existing in, powerlevel-wise?" Dozens of questions come up for every new play pattern or concept, and given time and experiencing it, we try to guess how our players will react to it and whether we want that response. We keep testing everything repeatedly, even if we think we already know how a group of cards will
play. Then we do it again and again.
that brings the World of Warcraft TCG to you. Meet players, learn new tactics, take home some freebies, and if you’re in the chase for the Spectral Tiger Loot card, the Darkmoon Faire is your best chance — everybody in the top 8 rides the mount home.
If you’re ready for a more intense contest, you’ll find a very active competitive community and several events on the site’s Organized Play page and the Tournament Locator. The most common type of event you’ll find is Battlegrounds. Like the online game, think of your local hobby or
"Realm” level. Upper Deck splits pieces of Europe, Oceania, and North America and reshapes the landscape into Ashenvale, Durotar, and other familiar zones, and their Organized Play offers Realm Qualifiers that feed into the Realm Championships. Across the globe, players smash and bash each other twice a year to win the title of Realm Champion and collect thousands of dollars in prizes.
Your local Realm also supports the game with Regional Qualifiers that feed into National Championships across the globe and the North American Continental Championship for those in Canada and the United States. This is the big time, and as a result, this level of play has significant rewards: travel vouchers, computer equipment, game systems...and slots to the World Championship. Every Fall, hundreds of World of Warcraft TCG players descend upon an unprepared city for outright war! This past October, competitors clashed in Austin, TX for the fame of being World Champion and the fortune of $50,000. If you’ve always wanted to hold up a giant check with your name on it, this might be your best shot.
INTO THE DUNGEONS
The core mechanics of the TCG might make it sound like the game is one big PvP encounter, but that’s not the case; it wouldn't be World of Warcraft without raid dungeons and cooperative gaming. This alternate style of play is a little too big to pack into a single 19-card booster, so you’ll find it in special standalone decks instead.
In raid play, one human player essentially plays the dungeon and all the bosses that dwell within it; three or more other players work together to defeat the dungeon's encounters.
These decks also feature randomly inserted Loot cards for cosmetic upgrades to your characters in World of Warcraft. So far, there are TCG editions of Onyxia’s Lair, Molten Core, Magtheri-don’s Lair, The Black Temple, and (coming in December) Naxxra-mas — so yes, that means you’ll be facing all the enemies you know and love to hate.
If this sounds intimidating, don’t worry; these trading-card raids are customizable. Just as World of Warcraft allows you to customize dungeon difficulty, both the Black Temple and Molten Core raid decks allow you to tweak the number of bosses you’ll face. Scale back the difficulty to get your bearings...then dial up the doom.
152
illustration: Dan Scott
FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
TO 2008V ORLIJ CHAMPION JIM Fl ECKENSTllN, THE TCG IS ABOl .MORI 1 H AN JUS I PILI S OF GLII I ERING PRIZES. THE ACE TAI KS IN HIS OWN WORDS
In December of 2004, a few Warcraft III friends convinced me that it was time to move on to World of Warcraft. I’d never played an MMO before, and when I logged into Destromath and made a character, I was woefully unprepared for what awaited me. However, I was a quick study, and in short order I had not only caught up to my friends but also had changed characters and caught up again. It’s a testament to how intuitive the game is that, even as a player completely unaccustomed to the genre, I was able to take to it so quickly.
Years would go by, and I would grow to love endgame raiding content. Over the span of countless content updates, 1 raided with Colonial Space Marines of Destromath, Eclipsed of Anetheron, Insomnia of Tichondrius, and Reason of Kael’thas. In that time I’ve played five different classes in a raid setting, seen everything (and I mean everything) dead from Molten Core through the rerelease of Naxxramas.
Through the TCG, I’ve gotten to relive some of my favorite MMO memories again in card form. I’ve completed Counterattack!, I’ve been to Onyxia’s Lair, I’ve conquered Warsong Gulch, and I have seen the splendor of A’dal face-to-windchimes. From stabbing clothies with Perdition’s Blade to teaming up with my team (guild) mates to
storm Illidan’s Black Temple, the trading card game has introduced me to countless new people and let me travel all over the world to play. Not bad for a hobby!
Upper Deck has gone out of its way to try to offer outstanding prizes for tournament players. From gaming systems, to trips to play in TCG events, to unique products and gadgets (not to mention cold, hard cash!), the payoff for performing well is outstanding. Last year, the prize included the chance to immortalize your character as a card in the TCG. I’m honored that when my character Twilight Vanquisher Knolan (that's him to the right) arrives in Scourgewar, I’ll be ready to melt faces everywhere.
I've met some great folks and have played with some of the craftiest card players in any game. And despite the obvious competitive aspect, the community is such that after we're done with a long day at the gaming table, we'll all get up and go to a restaurant as friends, just enjoying the camaraderie that comes from knowing that everyone else is in it to have fun, too.
It's something I don’t think any other card game can duplicate, and it's an experience I wouldn’t trade for much else. Win or lose, there's a lot of entertainment to be had.
For the Horde!
— Jim Fleckenstein X
TANKING
ШЖ1
YOU WANT THEM TO HIT YOU AS HARD AS THEY CAN. MAKING THAT HAPPEN, HOWEVER, TAKES SOME PLANNING.
By AlanDcxtik
ould this be a wipe? An ill-timed pick up of Onyxia has scattered my raid party to the
everyone is running back, a Tail Sweep throws healers and damage dealers into her egg chambers. Countless whelps stream forth, the healers areout of range and the whelp battlers go down ina flurry of swipes, along with me. the wamor main tank. Quick off the mark, the off-tank picks up Onyxia and tries to grab the whelps, but more Dl'Sers fall as everyone franticallv tries to reign in thechaos. Surely, were doomed
And then, from my fixed viewpoint I suddenly spot a pair of healers desperately trying to make it to the new MT as he battles the remaining whelps and Onyxia herself Surely this isn't
the-seat action later and the ven table
That’sthe rawpower of tanking
perfect healing). But this situation also highlights a weakness. The tank has to be the one that's getting hit. Holding
especially since DPSers often react to being hit by hitting back, .which produces their untim-ly demise. It's
get upset when your teammates litter
the ground
As players takeon more challenging
threat on the planet, those same dam-
Research and build your rotation around the highest threat skills. They're not necessarily guaranteed to
and interrupts tend to create a lot of threat. It doesn't matter if they're trying to cast a spell or not: it's all about annoying them
Gear can tweak your ability to build threat, too. Gemming and enchanting are obvious options, but changing your gearcanalsobevalid it takes time, but you’re not the only one having to do so. Our DPS brethren have been knocking themselves out trying to get preusctv
UNLIKETHERUMP-GAZINGDPS MELEECLASSES, TANKSSTAREDOWNTHEIRFOES.
enough Hit to make sure that those big
grade can lead to a complete reworking of their existing gear. While we're on the subject of Hit, if you want to ensure
80, theorvcrafters in the community
up to 8% (a Hit rating of263). This will
well aware of this stat, but for them.
going higher than 6.5% (or 26 points of Expertise).
Unlike the rump-gazing DPS tnelee
foes face to face, which meansbosses can also parry Parryinga tank's attack is all kinds of bad, as it speeds up the mobs next attack, which means more horrible damage incoming and a drop in your threat production. However, the theorycrafters tell us you'll need a massice 56 Expertise to knock the 14% Parry off the table. This is why if s wise to go for the same 6.5% as your fellow DPSers first (each percent equates to a
two-percent chance to land as it affects Dodge and Parry) and only start chipping away at the parry chance once your Hit is at 8%.
Ifyouke capped for both Hit and
do more damage. This might focus
style; if you’rea warrior, you might
stats, you should find yourself producing great threat.
Also, be prepared to adapt to your situation If you're facing multiple mobs that need to be kept under control, use your Rage/Energy/Rune dump on swiping or area of effect abilities rather than damaging your main target. For instance, if you’re trying to tank a group of mobs as a warrior tank, you’d want to dump excess Rage into Cleave rather than Heroic Strike. Those little changes can make a difference
Finally, you could get the DPS to back oft and in some fights this will be
to asking you to not get hit so much.
the same for them. Even so, it could be the DPS aren't managing their threat-reducing cooldowns properly—Sou]
on. Watch the threat meters. If you're
group, get them todrop Vigilance on the biggest threat producer, and see if that helps. You're not tied to leaving
fight, either; swap it around if someone
essential in fights where therearebuffs for the DPS to gobble up, such as when facing General Vezax and Hodir
keep the healers alive They'll beonly
ing threat has become an essential
if you've got a bevy of damage dealers
But if you focuson building the best
normal blows find their target.
be aware of, and that's Expertise; this
or parry your attacks. DPSers are
Shield Slams hit harder, or it could be simply gemming for Stamina or to hit a socket bonus that fits your build. As
ing reasonable avoidance and Stamina
Hoot ute the tauten warrior has been protection spec since themidSOsandhas beenhitbyfustabouteverybossout there.
Maa of the time he Uves to teU the tale.
137
HOLEHANK
YOU CAN’T WIELD THREE DAGGERS... OR CAN YOU? CLEVER TIME AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CAN MAKE YOU DEADLIER STILL.
By Josh Augustine
damage when it hits; it only needs
pickpocketing oafish ogres, efficient
lay ing DPS is like fixing a sink, t, u could just pick up the first
off-hand dagger with Instant Poison and seize a little extra damage —
genera] direction — but you're prob ably going to fail Epically. It pays to be methodical If you're looking at a bolt, you need a wrench; if you're looking at a clogged pipe, it's time to get the snake
It s the same for us damage-dealing denizens of Azeroth, only instead of sinks to fix, we have people to kill and heals to interrupt Whether you're tasked with taking down mobs, felling gigantic bosses, or blasting fellow players in Arena, you need options — and swappingout weapons might be just what you need to turn the tide of
This can result in some "wasted" poison procs, as you don’t gain very much benefit from it refreshing the DoT prematurely Thankfully, with the Master Poisoner talent. Envenom won’t consume Deadly Poison stacks on the target when used, but you still need to get the Deadly Poison on the target first. If rogues want to maximize their damage-dealing effi
an eye on the duration of your Deadly
fast dagger with Deadly Poison after the Envenom buff wears off and before the Deadly Poison DoT runs out. If you get unlucky on refreshing
that five-stack DoT active
Of course, this is just one very specific example of how weaponswapping can fit into your game plan. Sometimes, increasing damage
Shield Slam to dispel a magic buff on your target, and Shield Wall to drastically reduce damage taken for a short while. (Don't forget to swap back to that big-hander before you use those heavy-hitting abilities like Whirlwind, Overpower, and Mortal Strike.) Warriors already do the stance dance" (switching between Battle, Fury, and Protection stances during combat) to
just a little more effort spent weaponswapping. they can reach even higher levels of effectiveness in combat —
SOMRIMESYOUNEEDTOUSE WEAPON-SWAPPINGTOSTAYALIVE,
from their healers.
Putting weapon-swapping into practice is actually pretty easy, no matter which class you play The Equipment Manager, which you can
manage weapons on top of abilities.
buffs, cooldowns, and boss timers can be a bit daunting at first, if you can afford to set aside a portion of your grey matter (and your action bar) for	EVENATTHEEXPENSEOFYOURDAMAGE.		enable from the Interface menu (select Features), allows you to create sets of equipment and bind them to your action bar so you can changeout as
weapon-swapping, you'll be able to be	damage dealing is what most rogues	output isn't your highest priority and	many or as few pieces of gear as you
a lot more flexible in combat, always	live for), we need a better solution	you need to use weapon-swapping to simply stay alive— as the saying goes, “a dead character’s DPS is zero? This	want with one click. Create a few of
proper situation	seconds after a five-combo-point		your action bars so you can swap out
Lets look at one rogue-centric	Envenom, the rogue has а г 15%	is especially true in PvP for classes	weapons on the fly in combat In battle.
example. An Assassination rogue's	chance to apply Deadly Poison and	that can equip shields, such as war-	every second counts—and with this
finishing move Envenom bypasses	a 75% increase to Instant Poison's	riors, paladins, and shaman. When	method, maximizing your weapon
enemy armor and provides a temporary boost to poisons afterwards, but	chance to do extra damage We can time the Deadly Poison applications	taking heavy damage, help your healers out by swapping in a shield to buy	damage iseasier than fixing a sink ж
it requires Deadly Poison to already	so that the potential "wasted proc"	some time for them to heal you. This	Josh Augustine is a severe diabolic
be on the victim. To take advantage ot	time occurs exactly when we have a	is even more important for warriors.	who has played almost every class
this, you might choose to put Deadly	buff to increase our Instant Poison	who have several skills that require	at endgame, but enjoys his three
Poison on a fast ott hand, but unlike	damage. This is the perfect time to	a shield to be equipped, such as	high-level rogues the most. He
Instant Poison or Wound Poison,	swap in another (preferably slow)	Spell Reflection to turn the tables on	enjoys stabbing things in the face.
I®
HEALING
GRIDLOCKED
DO YOU GET HYPNOTIZED BY HEALTH BARS?
REDUCING
INFORMATION OVERLOAD WILL LET YOU SURVIVE THE FIGHT AND ENJOY IT. By Luis Viliazon
Rs a healer, 1 ought to have the fest view in the house. The me-b* classes are all so close to the
toe. Ranged DPS have their Mew ob-
ice, and lightning from their fingertips, or the smoke and muzzle flash from their D warven Machine Gun of
Tree felling. Meanwhile, we healers gel to stand 40 yards back from the mayhem with a grandstand view of the entire, magnificent encounter.
And what do we do instead?
colored boxes and ignore the game
] have a suspicion that a lot of healers secretly like playing this way Healing is all about splitting
at once and making complicated
gets the next heal and which spell
much information to process just
screen In the heat of the moment.
through the Spanish countryside b) just watching the Sat Nav (GPS) instead of the view out of the window
watch those health bars — otherwise
frames don't need to take up your
the temptation, if you are using an add on like Grid, to include every possible piece of information about a
and text And while it’s possible to argue a case for any piece of informa-
WEAREN’TREALLYINTHEGAMEWORLD ANYMORE;WE’REINTHEMETA-GAME, WHtREPLAYERSAREHEALTHBARS THATSTANDINFORMATIONS.
isn’t one you can dispel, it might be
taking extra damage in the near fu-
But that icon is a magnet for your
the Moroes fight in Karazhan, I used to get mesmerized by the Garrote debufis spreading across the raid and
Shackle had broken and Dorothea Millstipe was loose and busy burning off al) my mana And after all, the Garrote debuff is just a DoT, 1 couldn't personally do anything to
turned off in Grid and 1 use the
debuffs 1 can cure
sion raids. The more unfamiliar and
difficult a fight is, the less distraction I want on the screen The first time
I fought Grobbulus in Naxxramas, both Grid and BigWigs, an add-on that 1 use to help with raid bosses.
one was hit by the Mutating Injection. This would make me mentally jump, take my eyes off the poison clouds on the floor, and rush to start casting big heals. But players can see their own debufis perfectly well, and since the Mutating Injection causes AoE damage, they would all be running away from the main raid group By taking off the Grid alert, I could just listen for the BigWigs chime
running frantically away Suddenly,]
I was healing the player, not just the
It's easy to feel as if being the best
annoying distraction.
FLYING ON AUTOPILOT
face breaks immersion. We aren't
situation, it all comes at a price The more info you display through your add-on, the more of your attention
the environment On busy fights, it
bars were already a perfectly good
STRESS IS DANGEROUS
Every extra instrument on your game
ational awareness of everyone in
the big picture Everyone else only
bar- the boss’s We healers have five.
we're in the meta game, where play
stand in precise, rectangular forma
threatening villain any more; he’s just
the fight is done This is like driving
you get to watch the fight is when
you die early. Which, if you get too blinkered, can easily happen
Lets take debuffs as an example. By default. Grid will show all debuffs on a player as icons in the middle of their Grid box Even if the debuff
your concentration to monitor, and it all adds up. ft makes the fight more stressful and increases your tunnel vision 1 find that the fight becomes much more fun for me if I stop try-
status effect. I have the center icon
simply no time to get bogged down by detail. Ж
HI
KEEPING YOUR GUILD ENTERTAINED, ONE TOURNAMENT AT A TIME.
Bv TIM EDWARDS
THERE GO THE BRIDES?
wry, very special, when it started
with different guilds. The road to80
characters, and then set on a course
Hello. My name's Tim — editor of the UK edition of PC Gamer magazine, and a guild leader A year
stick with us we need to keep them
the low-level character makes it
players against teams of newbies, asking them to take on four or five equal-level players, until they're
It’s a free download for the iPhone
Authenticator protection will soon
decided to create a guild in World of Warcraft specifically for our readers The two of us had bounced from small guild to small guild from day one, never getting the chance to see raids. Wmth of the Lich Kingtisd just come out, and we wanted a shot at killing Arthas. At the time, enlisting the help of our readers seemed like the easiest solution.
afternoons, we schedule regular events. Not raids, not Battlegrounds, not instances or dungeons. These events are what binds our guild together, what makes us special And rather than feeling like you have to make your evening pilgrimage to the
any tricks they want (aside from flight points and mounts) to reach their goal. We once tried to ban all ‘cheaty’’effects, like Aspect of the
is too clever and they always had a
We have duel tournaments. Not
and we'll fight” tournaments — oh.
with announcers dressed in tuxedos.
99 cents for a bunch of other phones
tangible, the physical Blizzard Au-
and cauterizing Core Hound Pup
»ENC( ,1 it
COMPUTING.
Today, our guild is massive, and still growing. With 500 active members, we"re by far the biggest guild
WE MAKE THEM FIGHT ON THE WALKWAYS TOTHE GREATLIFT.
BECAUSE IT'S EUNNY WHEN THEY FALL OFF.
flares and fireworks being fired off at the kill. Oh, and we make them fight on the walkways to the Great Lift. Because it's funny when they fall off.
Speaking of the Great Lift, we
and can be attached to your keychain or kept right alongside your com puter. If you play on multiple World of Warcraft accounts within the same Battle.net account, one Authenticator can provide protection forthem all
dog’s being added in an upcoming patch, look for a special molten-mutt-themed Blizzard Authenticator in the Blizzard Store around the same time. Meanwhile, you and youi guild can find full info on the Blizzard Authenticator at us.blizzard com/support or eu.blizzard.com/
looking to take advantage of others on the Internet, it's easier than you might think to protect yourself from
things such as using unique pass-
summoning stone, l‘d like to recom-
IT'S EASIER THAN YOU MIGHT THINKTO
and keeping your operating system and antivirus software up-to-date
can go a long way
Warcraft's hardest raids, and we've developed into an awesome PvP force We've raided every city, killed
We have irregular cow races.
and have to make it to the gates of
Now, that's al) part of the fun
We have free-for-all Arena tournaments. We hog the Gurubashi Arena — Iaunching40or 50 players into anything goes, no-holds-barrcd com-
But that isn't the best bit of the
pot of gold out of the guild bank
something more We pride ourselves
through the Barrens, being picked
We were building a guild from
arresting sight Your guild should try it. We host a vanant where low-level
The first is simple: on my command, everyone leaps into the pit The last one standing wins Or, we line them up. sending a new combatant in on 15-sccond intervals. Royal Rumblestyle Sometimes, we pit the best
to play You lose your armor and put on a wedding dress. At the bottom of the lift, place flares of different colors The guild lines up, with each player receiving a Slow Fall spell from a mage officer before leaping off
If the jumpers hit a target, they win a prize. If they miss, they get laughed at. To hit the target, they'll have to cancel their Slow Fall spell Hence, Azeroth starts raining cows.
There's a whole world out there Take advantage of it. Ж
Tim Edwards is the dashing editor-in
There are a number of preventative
» vDVOC/ E
AUTHENTICATORS
Mobile Authenticator is an app
PRDTECT YOURSELF FROM NEFARIOUS TYPES.
» LK	NCE
If you find out a guildie’s account has
should contact customer support im-
149
protect themselves and others within their guild—and people who can help should you or oneofyour friends
and Battle.net Mobile Authenticator
unique, one-time password to use in
'authenticator’’ into the search bar to
ing characters with guildmates for
reason account sharing is against the
players up to account compromises —
к DISCOURAGE ACCO1INT SHARING-
As a guild leader, you’ll constantly
to organize, disputes to settle, and
follow the advice above, account
things that keeps you up at night Ж
Even though this article is printed ut
H5