Below is a list of Article headlines from WOW Insider. This are used on our main page and updated daily. Each article contains links back to WOWinsider, which allow you to view the whole article

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All the World's a Stage: Joining the right circle - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:55:00 EST

One of the most common difficulties many roleplayers face is that of finding other people to roleplay with. To help overcome this challenge, All the World's a Stage presents a guide to finding roleplayers in three parts: "finding the right realm" for roleplaying, "joining the right circle" of roleplaying friends, and "wearing the right mask" to attract other roleplayers to you.

So, here you are. You decided that you want to give roleplaying a try, so you picked an RP server and started leveling up. You even tried roleplaying with one person you met along the way, saying "Hail, traveler! Would you like to undertake this task with me?" Things were going along quite nicely for a few minutes until the other person said, "Dood, this quest suxxors, lol," and you realized that something had gone horribly, terribly wrong.

A mystery baffles roleplayers everywhere: why is it that even on a space like an RP server, set aside for roleplaying, it can be so hard to find other people to roleplay with? Even if you have thoroughly researched the question of which server is the best place for roleplaying, still you will not be happy there until you find a circle of friends whose roleplaying you can appreciate, and who appreciate yours in return.

Continue reading All the World's a Stage: Joining the right circle

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Center your tanking - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST

While I'm pushing through Black Temple and Mount Hyjal nicely as my guild's tank, I am still trying to improve my style and playing elements. There's not much more I can do to build threat - the Devastates, Shield Slams, Revenges, Heroic Strikes, etc., are all going off at the right time. Gear is fine, I can pretty much tank anything in the game at this point and succeed. So why am I still dying? Why am I missing that critical moment when I could put up my Spell Reflect and live a second longer?

I think I've found it.

It's all about eye movement. Try this: focus your sight to the upper left hand corner of the screen, and now move your sight down to the bottom of the screen. If you have a large enough monitor, you completely lose focus of the text and items near the upper left corner. This is problematic for tanking in that the unit frames (those things that tell you who's in your group and who you're attacking) are by default located in the upper left corner, and the action bars are located at the bottom. So if you want to make sure you're going to hit something - or even look at your keyboard for a moment - you're moving your eyes quite a bit.

Continue reading Center your tanking

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It's Springtime for King Wrynn and Azeroth... - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EST
The days are getting longer and the nights a tad warmer. Now is a good time to go through and clean your house in the typical spring cleaning exercise. It's a good time to do that in Azeroth, too.

For me this entitles a few things with my mounds of inventory items. First, I organize my bank alts. They each are assigned certain categories of items. For instance my first bank alt gets all my gems, raw ore, processed ore, and leather. My second bank alt gets all my enchanting mats, my herbs, reputation items, food, and other tidbits. Now both these alts have been around for about 3 years. In fact, my first bank has a /played time of 10 days at level one.

As a side note having a level one bank alt at ten days really makes me question my sanity...but oh well, on with the article.

Continue reading It's Springtime for King Wrynn and Azeroth...

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Sunwell Radiance, nerf or band-aid? - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST

The Dungeons and Raids forum has been discussion the existence of an interesting buff in the Sunwell Plateau. The Sunwell Radiance, an invisible buff that everything in the 25-man raid dungeon seems to have, is ticking off quite a few people. What this buff does, is it gives the mob/boss an additional 5% To Hit, and reduces your chance to dodge their attacks by 20%.

This existence of this buff was hotly debated at first, but analysis of boss attempts and long nights of fighting in the Plateau have mostly proven it to be true. There are a few theories as to why this buff exists, the most likely being that it is a band-aid on a gearing issue as they move away from Crushing Blows. As far as I know, nothing in the raid dungeon can land a Crush. If I understand Druid tank mechanics correctly(and there's a chance I don't), removing Crushing Blows would make them nearly unbreakable. However, removing Crushing Blows and implementing this buff is decent enough way to put a band-aid on something they want to move away from before they're able to make sweeping changes in Wrath of the Lich King. There's a net increase in damage taken, but it isn't as massive as it sounds. Bosses are still being killed.

If you're interested in this little(big) buff(nerf?), take a look behind the cut!

Continue reading Sunwell Radiance, nerf or band-aid?

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Know Your Lore: The Scythe of Elune - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST

In today's Know Your Lore, we're going to take a look at something that has been requested by a few readers(and a blogger). It's not a very well known topic, it comes from a quest line tucked away in the far corners of Ashenvale that sends you running all over the world as if you had absolutely nothing better to do with your time, much like any other quest line in Kalimdor. Regardless of the annoyance of the quest line, it is probably one of the more intriguing side stories in the Warcraft universe.

It begins shortly after the destruction of the World Tree. Archimonde was gone, but a great number of demons remained. Like the Scourge, the Legion doesn't simply stop when you tear the head from the beast. Priestess and Sentinel Velinde Starsong was the Night Elf in charge of leading the forces of the Kaldorei in these regions, assaulting the Legion and pushing them back as far as they could. This held up well for quite some time, pushing the demonic hordes as far back as the borders of Felwood. Unfortunately, the Night Elves were only level 20-something at that point, and the mobs in Felwood are like level 50, so things stopped going so well.

In all seriousness, the Kaldoreian advance was slowing more and more as they pressed into Felwood, their numbers being utterly decimated. Velinde grew desperate as so many of the Night Elves fell to the Legion, and called out to her final hope: The goddess Elune. She begged the goddess for strength and power, the ability to avenge her fallen comrades.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: The Scythe of Elune

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2.4 model changes: Good or bad? - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EST
David Bowers touched on this just the other day, and the WoW community has mostly seen this change as a negative thing. Example: The original thread from the official forums.

My favorite little change out of the various, random character model changes in patch 2.4 is actually the change to the human female eyes. Sure, it looks silly in some cases, but for my own characters it was an improvement. I could never find the perfect eye choice for them before, because they all looked either empty and sunken, or incredibly angry. I'm not sure exactly how to describe how the eyes look now, but there's some sparkle that wasn't there before. I like that! Yeah, there's some that look horrible, which is lame for the players with those particular eyes. Overall, though? I like it. Even if the iris seems a little over sized, they have character.

The outcry over this very minor detail drives home a point that Blizzard has made before, too. It's a very unfortunate one. The character models most likely will not receive any substantial overhaul in the future because there will be a lot of people very angry about it. I didn't really want to buy into that, because I really want updated character models, but it seems much less likely after this. Such a big deal over eyes is not a good sign when it comes to model upgrades.

Continue reading 2.4 model changes: Good or bad?

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WoW Moviewatch: Destination Unknown - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:00:00 EST

Sometimes you have a little extra time, some nice footage, and the desire to make a movie. With no plot to speak of, Legs did just that. Viewers may remember his her previous movie, Black Angel.

His Her latest movie, Destination Unknown, involves a pimped out lady singing her song. Along the way, there are dance scenes, strange occurrences, and ... eyes? It's difficult to explain, so you'll just have to watch it yourself! I enjoyed the video, but those that aren't fans of Model Viewer footage may not like it.

[Via Warcraftmovies.com]

Previously on Moviewatch ...

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Sunday Morning Funnies: Subtle hostility - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:40:00 EST
Sunday Morning Funnies has quite the line-up this week, with even more on the horizon for next week. As always, don't forget to leave a tip about a WoW-themed comic you know!

• A new WoW-themed comic from Action Trip. I would explain but I think I'll just let you click through and see for yourselves.
• Regrettable Choice from Extra Life. Just mentally scratch out "Youtube" and replace it with "WoW Community Forums."
• A New Beginning with Shakes and Fidget. It comes complete with gratuitous Bar Maiden.
• Feel like an economic squabble? GU Comics has Just a Little Suggestion for Activision and Gibson.
  
• If you'd rather chew on politics, LFG lays out the facts of a prison break.
  
• Manic Graffiti has some insight on the Frostmourne Replica. That's pretty self-explanatory, but if you'd like more information, check out our coverage and opinions.
  
• Ding! has an opinion on Tauren hunters.
• From Teh Gladiators comes an intro, or a prequel, to soon-to-come shenanigans.
• The Brotherhood of the Hat from The Adventures of Disgraph T. Dwarf.

Head through the break in order to vote on the one you liked best.

Continue reading Sunday Morning Funnies: Subtle hostility

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Macro Anatomy: /castrandom - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:30:00 EST
Of all the macro questions I get asked, how to randomly choose a mount ranks near the top. Many of you new to macros have probably asked this one, wondering how to randomly cast a spell or use an item. Today's Macro Anatomy will address this random request.

So let us imagine that you've got a collection of mounts that you have the hardest trouble choosing from. Members of your party silently suffer while you pick through your list of options. The World of Warcraft client has a built-in function known as /castrandom that can turn your mounting troubles into one-button joy.

Pretend you're an awesome Draenei Shaman and have these mounts: Amani War Bear, Black Ram, Cobalt War Talbuk and the Great Blue Elekk. Now, you want one button which will randomly choose one of your great means of conveyance, here it is:

/castrandom Amani War Bear, Black Ram, Reins of the Cobalt War Talbuk, Great Blue Elekk

Place this on your action bar and there you have it. Wait, you are wondering about a flying mount? Well, keep reading to find out how you can put both riding and flying mounts in the same random mount-selecting macro!

Continue reading Macro Anatomy: /castrandom

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How many OTHER outfits do you have? - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST

Fellow blogger Adam Holisky covered the vast myriad of outfits that raiders and hybrids need to do their jobs recently, and it got me to thinking. I certainly know how that goes, as a feral druid, I carry 3 and half outfits on me at all times, and I still occasionally find a spare piece of Molten Core fire resistance gear I forgot to destroy when the expansion hit. But there's other outfits I have too.

My Warlock still keeps around his Silver-thread gear, because It looks pretty spiffy. My Hunter has a full set of Defias leather, because black leather is sort of an awesome look. My Druid has his old Tier 1 and Tier 2 sets because they make him look like a proper Archdruid for Roleplay events. I have Winter Clothing, Lunar Festival dresses and suits, Lovely Red Dresses, even an Easter Dress scattered about among my characters. Some of my 70s have Grayson's Torch keeping a spot in their bank just in case I ever need to join an angry mob. My Shaman still keeps his Stillpine Defender around because it's the perfect Witch Doctor shield. Even if he is a Draenei rather than a Troll. I mean, I don't even wear have this stuff more than once every 2 months, but I can't bring myself to throw it away! It looks too cool.

So as much as I sometimes complain about bank space, I have to admit that some of the fault is mine. Sometimes I can't get rid of things even when they have no direct gameplay value. You will never make me throw away my Sang'thraze, never never never!

So what about you? Do you have outfits or quest items or other things you just refuse to throw away, be it for looks or sentimental value? If you have full outfits like me, do you ever actually get to wear them?

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Around Azeroth: Through the looking glass - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:00:00 EST

Blade's Edge Mountains always looks vaguely spikey and unpleasant, but this picture looks like Google's street view image of purgatory. Pointeal of Nanosophobia on Illidan took this pic of Bash'ir Landing while tripping on the Bash'ir Phasing Device, used for the 2.4 daily Intercepting the Mana Cells. Hmm, this pic almost looks like the warlock Tier 6 shoulders. Coincidence?

Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. They make the computer monitors unpleasantly toasty.

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He said, she said: Does Blizzard support homosexual stereotyping? - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST
He Said / She Said is a new feature at WoW Insider, which looks at the game from masculine and feminine points of view. Today, Amanda and David discuss the age-old question: are male night elves and blood elves "gay?" Does Blizzard intend to give us that impression, and if so, why? If that's not what Blizzard intends, then why is gayness such a big deal when people think of elves?

Read on to see the conversation.

Continue reading He said, she said: Does Blizzard support homosexual stereotyping?

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Breakfast Topic: Adamantite and Mana Thistle on Azeroth? - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST

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Hotfix roundup for Sunday March 30 - Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:00:00 EST
Drysc is keeping a post up-to-date of all the latest hotfixes that are happening. Patch 2.4 went live without too much trouble this last Tuesday, yet there is a slow but steady stream of issues popping up in the game. Each morning for the next few days we'll let you know about all the hotfixes that have come out the previous day. You can also check out all of the hotfixes for Patch 2.4.

Yesterday's hotfixes include:

• Reliquary of Souls, Prince Kael'thas, and other bosses now properly cast their spells
  
• The time before players with flags in Warsong Gulch receive the Focused Assault and Brutal Assault debuffs has been reduced
  
• The timer for Focused Assault and Brutal Assault in Warsong Gulch will now reset whenever both Flags are returned to their bases
  

Of course, if something major comes up, expect to see it covered right away on WoW Insider. Enjoy your patch 2.4 fun!

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Realm progression rankings for the Shattered Sun questline - Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:30:00 EST

The efforts to retake the Isle of Quel'Danas proceed apace. Some realms are going faster than others, but Drysc assures us that even the low-population realms will get the phases auto-completed for them eventually if they don't have the manpower to get there fast enough on their own. What if you want to see exactly how the realms stack up? We talked last week about a manually maintained forum post; however, that has problems with trustworthiness and the difficulty of keeping it updated.

Edur, of Gorgonnash-A (EU), has created a web site that relies on game data form participants to rank the realms according to their completion of the Sunwell questline, and a very nice site it is. You can see all the US and European realms and where they stand both on the main phase quests and on the side accomplishments, like constructing the portal from Shattrath to Quel'Danas. There are also nice progress charts for each individual realm, and, most usefully, ETAs for when the objectives might be reached given current rates of completion.

Continue reading Realm progression rankings for the Shattered Sun questline

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Earth Hour and WoW - Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:30:00 EST
Tonight the world will be celebrating Earth Hour, with individuals, cities and businesses turning off and unplugging as many of their electronics and lights as possible. How can you get involved when you have a scheduled raid, or when this is the only time for you to play today?

You need not feel pressured to unplug everything. Turn out as many lights as you can throughout your home, unplug the electronics and appliances in rooms you are not using, and consult Well Fed Buff for the perfect lights-out snack you can prepare before 8:00 p.m.

This event is important, not because it will change the entire world, but because it will send a message. Not only will we have the opportunity to think about our impact, and learn about just how much power the world did save in that one dark hour, but businesses and governments will realize just how serious people are today about the environment.

Gamers should be a part of that message. Lately, we have been garnering a poor reputation for ourselves, and not because we might all turn into mass murderers from staring all day violent images.

Continue reading Earth Hour and WoW

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How Adam got his loot back - Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:00:00 EST
About a week and a half ago I reported on an experience I had in Mount Hyjal while fighting Azgalor. While the fight went fine and we did him in one try, I wasn't on Azgalor's threat list and thus did not get any loot. I wasn't on the threat table because I had to tank some spawned demons up and away from the rest of the raid. It was a rather nice conflict of game mechanics.

This all happened on Tuesday, March 18th. By Saturday, March 22nd, I had the two shiny pieces of loot that were coming to me: Glory of the Defender and Onslaught Handguards. Specialist Game Master Skelend had sent me the items, along with a form letter apologizing for the issues we experienced in game. I was quite happy to see this resolved. I was even more pleased that it was resolved quickly and did not take a few weeks; as many people, both those of you who left comments and friends of mine that I talked to, said it would.

So what are we doing to make sure this never happens again? Well for one thing, all the melee is hitting the boss now with a ranged weapon after the tank gets a couple hits in. That's pretty much all we can do to assure this problem doesn't pop up again for us. Despite a few enquires I've made, there is no word from Blizzard if they've fixed this. I suspect that one day it'll just be hotfixed without much fanfare.

All in all, not a terrible experience when something went wrong. Quick and quality support from Blizzard.

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Hybrid Theory: Magisters' Terrace, stomping all over your comfort zone - Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST

We've been talking about Magisters' Terrace a lot. I have been talking about Magisters' Terrace a lot. Lucky you, we're going to talk about it some more!

Magisters' Terrace is the brand new 5-man that came with Patch 2.4, so it comes across as much harder than it actually is. It is hard, sure, but not the soul-rending pain we're all feeling right now. All new dungeons require a period of adjustment. I remember when Dire Maul first came out, way back in the day. Everyone thought it was utterly horrifying.

During this period of adjustment, you're going to run into groups being far more strict about group composition. Once the community has become accustomed to the difficulty level of Magisters' Terrace, things will ease up. Currently, a lot of damage specced hybrids are having a rough time finding a group consistently due to one pretty large factor: A lack of crowd control. There are a lot of things you can(and should) do to make up for that, and knowing those things will do a lot to contribute to speeding up the adjustment period.

Continue reading Hybrid Theory: Magisters' Terrace, stomping all over your comfort zone

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Do you read your realm forums? - Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST
Do you read your realm forums? Simple question, eh? Personally, I make sure I at least take a look at my realm forums once a day, even if I don't post.

Admittedly, realm forums are quite often just a pile of drama. Who cybered who, who ninja'd from who, who ganked who. Blah blah blah. Hidden behind all of that, though, there is usually a lot of helpful information. Patch note discussions, recruitment notices, maybe even server progression lists or charts of who on the server has rare crafting recipes.

I've been amazed a few times by people that desperately search for raiding guilds to join on the server, but have not once looked at the official realm boards to see who is even recruiting. Plus, as an officer in a raiding guild, it's just a little bothersome to find out there are so many people that may have been interested in that open spot you had for two months, you just had no way to reach them or know about them.

I've been under the impression that most people who play more than a few hours a week read their realm boards, but I'm not so sure that's the case. That would be a lot of people, when you think about it. So what about you guys? Do you read? Do you post?

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Addon Spotlight: Starting from scratch - Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST
Since the release of Patch 2.4, Blizzard has recommended to players that they delete the contents of their Addons and WTF folders to ease the transition to the changes made with the new content patch. I've had a few people ask me how this is done, so here it is, folks; how to start from scratch.

First off, it might help to understand where your addons live and how your preferences are stored. The guts of your addons live in the Addons directory, the working parts so to speak. When you configure your addons, these preferences are stored in the WTF directory, which also provides a home for your macros, video settings and any other preferences you are able to change. In order to truly "start from scratch", you will need to remove all traces of your addons and their associated settings. This can present some frustration to those of you who don't want to reconfigure all of your settings, but it is part of the price paid for patches.

Keep reading to find out how you can do some spring cleaning in your World of Warcraft directory...

Continue reading Addon Spotlight: Starting from scratch

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