Get That Authenticator NOW

The Solo MMO Player's account was blocked this week due to "suspicious activity."  After about a 45 minute wait on the telephone, he was able to talk to a Blizzard rep who looked at the account and found no signs of anything suspicious at all and apparently freed up the account while checking things.  Why his account was blocked by Blizzard is unknown.

He believes that all the email addresses used as logins have been compromised as his email address/login --which has never been used for anything else-- is being bombarded by WOW phishing emails.  (He doesn't get any other type of spam there.  I personally have never received WOW spam although I get plenty of other types of spam.  However, I do not play WOW.)

In other words, The Solo MMO Player thinks that Blizzard's list of email addresses used as logins has been stolen and is being passed around by gold sellers, spammers and phishing specialists.  The account rep says the credit card information to pay for WOW accounts is kept in another place.  Perhaps this is safe.

The rep told him that Blizzard would use his former login name when they sent emails to his address, except when they didn't.  So being able to tell a real Blizzard message from the fakes is going to be very hard.  Many of them are exact copies of official Blizzard messages except for the fake links they send the unwary to.

Go get an authenticator now.
http://us.blizzard.com/store/search.xml?rhtml=y&q=authenticator

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Story Forum and ICC Raid Buff

Blizzard's set up a new forum about the "story" of the game, which is intended to sell more WOW books serve as a platform for discussion of game lore.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/30/blizzard-introduces-new-official-story-forum/

In other news, the raid buff to make Icecrown Citadel easier has increased to ten percent.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/30/icecrown-citadel-raid-buff-has-been-buffed-to-10/

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Arena and the Arcane Mage

WOW Insider interviews an arcane mage who plays 3v3 in Arena.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/28/the-colosseum-abni-mage-of-malganis/

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Loading Screen Problem Continues

And folks are getting angry about it.
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=369

The things folks have tried don't work for everyone consistently, so this is almost certainly an issue on Blizzard's end.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=24038453664&sid=1

http://12.129.242.24/thread.html?topicId=24038453664&sid=1&pageNo=2

This has happened before, too.  Here's a forum posting from 2008 about the same problem.  We have no way of knowing if it is caused by the same thing as in 2008, however.
http://wow.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417926

Apparently Patch 3.3.3 broke the game for many Mac users.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=882882

Patch 3.3.3a supposedly fixed this issue.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/26/patch-3-3-3a-should-fix-issues-for-some-mac-users/

However, many many people, no matter what type of machine they use, are still getting stuck at the load character screens.  Good luck, all!

UPDATE:  The Solo MMO Player hasn't had character loading screen problems today (March 28) but has had several frozen screens.

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Kotaku's Online Gamer Survey

Results of Kotaku's survey of 30,000+ of its readers.
http://kotaku.com/5500495/kotaku-census-2010-the-results-in-full

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Problems and More Problems

Blizzard applied Patch 3.3.3a to fix problems with last Tuesday's Patch 3.3.3 and then tried again last night with more hot fixes.  As of this morning, most folks were still having trouble getting through the character loading screen which hangs and freezes your keyboard.  Details of what has been fixed are here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/26/in-game-fixes-for-march-26th-2010/

Some folks are recommending deleting your addons or disabling them (or emptying your cache) but the problem does seem to be on Blizzard's end, not at the user's, so this may be a lot of work that won't help you get into the game.

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Mage Macros

Macros to make your mage's life easier.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/27/arcane-brilliance-macros-for-mages/

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Activision and the Price for Modern Warfare 2 Downloads

The folks still in place at Infinity Ward after Activision ousted the founders say the pricing for the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 map packs (which has been criticized as very expensive compared to other similar games' downloadable content) was an Activision decision.
http://kotaku.com/5501945/infinity-ward-points-finger-at-activision-for-modern-warfare-2-pack-pricing

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Spell Power Calculator

A new tool to compare spell power.
http://penancepriest.blogspot.com/2010/03/power-word-shield-calculator.html

The article mentions a full priest spell calculator.  Here's the direct link.
http://zusterke.orderoftheathanor.eu/spells.php

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People's Choice Addons

WOW Insider invited readers to nominate their favorite addons.  Part One talks about Panda, RatingBuster and Align
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/25/addon-spotlight-community-choice-1/


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I Play WOW (and Sing About It)

Music video about playing the game.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/25/jace-hall-raps-in-music-video-i-play-w-o-w/

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2009 Arena Tournament Pet Reward Change

Apparently Blizzard hands out unique pets as rewards to tournament participants after each season.  As of Patch 3.3.3, the murkimus pets that gladiators won will be across all their characters, not just the character who used the code.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/23/patch-3-3-3-account-changes-for-murkimus/

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Mobs of Shakers

Mobs of shakers are appearing in WOW, and no, I don't mean the furniture-making type of Shakers.  These mobs seem to be causing Cataclysm earthquakes in the game. Details here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/24/cataclysm-earthquake-mobs-visible-in-stormwind/

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What is a Death Knight?

Psynister explains that death knights are melee characters but can also be played in a spell caster style at Level 60 and higher.  Intrigued?  Here are the details.
http://psynister.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/play-styles-death-knights-for-spellcasters/

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Patch 3.3.3 Known Issues and Bugs UPDATED

A listing of known issues after Patch 3.3.3.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/23/patch-3-3-3-known-issues-for-march-23rd-2010/

Details about the pet buff bug.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/23/patch-3-3-3-new-pet-bug-on-live-realms/

http://www.warcrafthuntersunion.com/2010/03/icc-raid-buff-bugged/

Help with your addons after Patch 3.3.3
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/23/patch-3-3-3-addon-survival-guide/

By the way, no one likes the endless trips to turn in your marks, Blizzard.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/03/unnecessary-click-fest-blizzard.html

UPDATE:  Level 70s with gear acquired before Wrath of the Lich King report some gems and enchants have disappeared off their old gear.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/25/patch-3-3-3-bugs-with-old-gear-missing-gems-reported/

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Battlegrounds Strategies and Ideas

An explanation of the Arathi Basin Battleground and how to win there.  His strategy also works in other battlegrounds and he explains why.
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/fight-at-the-flag/

Here is his strategy for Wintergrasp.
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/how-did-they-win-that-wintergrasp/

Many thanks to Psynister for pointing this out on his blog since this Alliance warlock has great things to say about Battlegrounds.

UPDATE:  I am starting to see more articles about strategies for various aspects of Battlegrounds as the random battleground finder pulls more people in.  The Solo MMO Player says the battleground finder means more unprepared idiots are playing now, particularly on the weekend, so perhaps these articles will help those who are totally clueless.  (Of course it isn't going to help those who are real douchebags when they attempt to play with others.)

First up we have a gnome talking about what is and isn't an objective on Battlegrounds.  This is useful information, especially for those Level 80s who mostly stand around and do nothing.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2010/04/02/midfield-is-not-an-objective/

Here are some simple strategies from Cynwise for each Battleground, who says that anything too complicated just can't be implemented in the chaos of battle.
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/simple-battleground-strategies/

OutDPS has communication suggestions to help get the group of strangers that is your side on Battlegrounds moving together.
http://outdps.com/2010/04/23/communication-in-battlegrounds/

Paladin Schmaladin talks about Wintergrasp strategies.
http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-be-wintergrasp-weapon.html

I'll add to this as more folks write about Battlegrounds strategies.

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Tanking as a Death Knight/Druid/Paladin/Shaman/Warrior

Big Bear Butt mentioned two sources of information on tanking as various classes on his blog today.  Here are the direct links--first to Brokentree's comparison of now death knights, druids, paladins and warriors tank.  He's played them all and this looks like an excellent resource as it has casting rotations.
http://waywardinitiative.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/i-like-to-stand-in-front-of-things-that-mean-me-harm/

Secondly, to a video of a shaman tanking Lord Marrowgar in Icecrown Citadel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjIuMtiT4F8

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Kae's Keyboard and Mouse Key Bindings

Kae of Dreambound talks about (and diagrams) how he keybinds macros to his Steel Series gaming mouse and his Logitech G15 gaming keyboard.
http://dreambound-druid.blogspot.com/2010/03/kaes-keybinds-and-peripherals.html

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Hunter Rotations for the New Level 80

Advice for the new Level 80 hunter, especially on casting sequences.
http://www.thehuntersmark.net/2010/03/22/running-scared-ding-80-and-join-the-fray/

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Extended Maintainence and Patch 3.3.3

The rumor mill says Patch 3.3.3 will hit today.  Maintenance is extended, starting earlier but ending at the usual 2 p.m. EDT.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/22/realm-maintenance-for-tuesday-march-23rd/

Details from Blizzard about what Patch 3.3.3 contains (from the public test realms).
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/test-realm-patchnotes.html

By the way, Arioch of Clearcasting thinks patch numbers are starting to sound like star dates in Star Trek.  LOL

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Preparing for Patch 3.3.3

Since it is very likely Patch 3.3.3 and its new Battlegrounds finder (available to Level 80s only), changes to the Auction House and characters, etc. will appear either tomorrow or next week, I've reposted WOW Head's list of the changes you can expect.
http://ptr.wowhead.com/?patchnotes=3.3.3-ptr

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Skeleton Jack's Guide To Improving Your Computer and Connection

This is a guide to testing your computer system and Internet connection (PC only although SJ asked Mac users to post similar information in the comments) with an eye to improving things.  SJ tells you what the Lich King system requirements are, gives you links where you can test your Internet connection speed, reminds you that mods and your video settings directly impact lag, and more.
http://www.skeletonjack.com/2010/03/22/improve-your-game-by-sj-wow-system-requirements/

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WOW Head: Using the Database

WOW Head is starting a series of articles on how to use their database tools on their blog.  I'll update this entry as more articles are added.

The first entry describes how to use the profiler and the WOW Head databases to build a list of gear you want to help flesh out your character.
http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=147528


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WOW Insider Video Channel (Lich King)

WOW Insider says they plan to do a lot more video guides on their website.  They've started with two videos  that are a Lich King tutorial.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/19/lich-king-strategy-and-tutorial-video/

They also have a YouTube channel just for their videos.  Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/user/WowDotCommunity

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Raid Buff Discussion

WOW Insider has done a two-part article about essential raid buffs. Part one talks about the essential buffs.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/12/ready-check-core-raid-buffs/

Part two covers other buffs.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/19/ready-check-raid-buffs-for-great-justice/#continued

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People Watching in Dungeon Finder

Big Bear Butt writes about his experiences in dungeon finder and the characters he's run into there.
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/03/18/lfd-its-making-me-a-people-watcher/

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In Search of the Perfect UI UPDATED

Gazimoff has discovered his UI is a mess and has started a series of blog postings about the search for the perfect mix of addons for his UI.  You can follow along here.  I'll update his postings as they happen.
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=238

Redesigning the buttons so only the necessary ones show
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=256

Cast bars and cool downs
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=459

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An Explorer's Guide to the Lost

Thanks to Dragonshade I have discovered a "no longer updated site" that talks about hidden portions of the game for explorers in articles, links and videos.  If you enjoy exploring secret areas you should check this out, especially since there's no telling what will disappear forever when Cataclysm comes out.
http://lostwow.com/index.shtml

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Resto Druid's Raid Healing Guide Updated

Kae has updated his/her resto druid raid healing guide.
http://dreambound-druid.blogspot.com/p/kaes-guide-to-resto-raid-healing.html

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Guidelines, Conventions and Rules on a Role Play Server

Lissana talks about role play servers, what you can expect there, the conventions, and a link to Blizzard's rules about how to conduct yourself while there.
http://www.restokin.com/2010/03/so-you-want-to-play-on-an-rp-server/

Since this must be Role Play Day*, Gazimoff wrote a long article about role play with a lot of useful links to guides, folks who wrote how to role play articles, and blogs documenting role play experience.
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=229

*I think the creation of the Single Abstract Noun guild for bloggers on a role play server has sparked new interest in learning role play conventions, which explains all the new articles.  After all, folks must be looking for things to do while waiting for Cataclysm to arrive and many bloggers have joined Single Abstract Noun on either U.S. (Alliance) or EU (Hoard) servers.

Role Play 101 from WOW Insider.
http://www.wow.com/2010/04/04/all-the-worlds-a-stage-roleplaying-101/

The mechanics of role play vary by server.  Here are some common ways to communicate with other players whether you are out of character or not.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/09/all-the-worlds-a-stage-the-basic-mechanics-of-roleplay/

UPDATE:  Naming conventions by class with links to help you choose a name that won't get you reported.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/23/all-the-worlds-a-stage-common-name-conventions/

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WOW Insider's Guide to WOW Resources

WOW Insider has published a list of WOW resources on their site.
This includes things like databases, blue postings, talent calculators, prominent blogs and character websites, etc.  It is worth browsing whenever you can't find things anywhere else, just in case they have something listed you don't know about.  I'm going to put it on the list of Favorite Links.
http://www.wow.com/resources/

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Update on Trading Card Game Plans UPDATED

WOW Insider points us to an official statement on plans for the Trading Card Game (TCG) expansions and championships.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/17/current-plans-for-the-wow-tcg/

UPDATE:  The TCG is now being run by Cryptozoic.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/24/cryptozoic-takes-over-wow-tcg-license/

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Increase Your Roguishness

All about rogues.  This seems to be as of Patch 3.3.
http://roguedps.com/guide/

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Want to Be in a WOW Survey?

This survey wants to gather data about players and try to predict "who they are" based on their player behaviors.  The authors and sponsors are very reputable.  I just wonder what they will find based on the incredibly selfish behaviors we see in the game?
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/17/gnome-rogue-with-pink-mohawk-wants-your-data/

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The Bloggers' Guild (Single Abstract Noun)

Apparently folks who write blogs are having a lot of fun with this.
http://oldergamer.com/2010/03/18/single-abstract-noun/

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The Sightseer's Guide to Dalaran

Little tidbits you might have missed during your Dalaran visits.
http://blessingoffish.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/things-you-might-not-know-dalaran/

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More Addons (Raiding, Healing, Etc.)

There were lots of addon reviews and explanations this week.  I'll summarize them all here.

First up, a guide to setting up Grid for raiders.
http://onemorealt.blogspot.com/2010/03/getting-started-with-grid.html

Useful addons for healers are mentioned here, including Grid, SmartDeBuff, Pitbull, Bartender4, SexyMap, Recount, Prat, BTex, Monkey Clock, Monkey Quest, Buffalo 3 and various Fubar addons.  Some of these aren't directly for healing but the writer uses them.  This is not an in-depth review but a list of the addons that this healer finds useful.  It'll give you names to research if anything looks useful to you.
http://sarindre.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/useful-healing-addons/

If you are always tinkering with your UI, you might find Mystic Chicanery's State of the UI series interesting.  Note the links at the bottom of the page--this player does a State of the UI periodically.
http://chicanery.fibergeek.com/2010/03/04/state-of-the-ui-march-2010/

An article about the paladin buff tracker called CLCBPT that explains how it works (the writer is a holy paladin).
http://thephysicianslog.blogspot.com/2010/03/clcbpt-your-one-stop-holy-paladin.html

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Free Character Moves on EU Servers

If you play on an EU server and want to move, Blizzard is offering free transfers.  What you can and can't do here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/18/free-character-moves-for-eu-servers/

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Raid Math

I am speechless.
http://forthebubbles.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/friday-funnys/

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The Right Pet To Raid

A discussion of various pets and which work well in certain raiding situations.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/18/scattered-shots-the-right-pet-for-the-right-situation/#continued

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Pre-Cataclysm World Event News

WOW Insider has found information about the pre-Cataclysm world events that Blizzard plans.  This link has spoilers in it, so if you want to be totally surprised, don't go here and don't read the link.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/17/blizzard-releases-official-gnomeregan-and-echo-isles-cataclysm-i/

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Interview: Cataclysm Changes to Death Knights

This is an interesting interview with Psynister's favorite tanking death knight source about what Cataclysm will do to this class.
http://psynister.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/conversations-with-the-masters-satorri/

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Warlocks in Patch 3.3

Various specs for warlocks.
http://felfire.com/warlock/warlocks-and-patch-3-3/

Destruction warlock rotation (casting sequence).
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2510443/guide_to_destruction_warlocks_pve_raiding.html?cat=19

Popular builds for destruction warlocks.
http://www.wowpopular.com/Destruction/Talents/Warlock

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Razer's Left Handed Gaming Mouse

A mouse for the lefties.  It's a Death Adder but curved the other way.
http://kotaku.com/5495193/finally-a-gaming-mouse-for-left-handers

http://www.wowhead.com/blog=155191

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Dungeon Finder Problems (with Diagrams)

This article about the problems with dungeon finder caught my eye, partly because of the diagrams and partly because it illustrates the issue of how player misbehavior makes WOW such a pain to play.  In my opinion, nothing that Blizzard can do to tweek the dungeon finder will improve PUG raids.  Only folks changing how they treat others will do that.
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=201

Look!  Two whiny posts in one day!
http://trollshaman.blogspot.com/2010/03/announcing-whiny-post-day.html

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Main Versus Alts

The Solo MMO Player doesn't have a main and alts.  Instead he has characters he plays in various situations.  Lissana is noticing that the main versus alts language just doesn't cut it anymore in WOW.  She talks about generalist and specialist players instead.
http://www.restokin.com/2010/03/whats-a-main-specialists-vs-generalists/

What's your play style and what language describes it?  (This is my Whiny post for Whiny Post Day, in case you hadn't guessed.)

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Authentication Servers Down and Background Downloader Active

Last night Blizzard announced the authenticator servers would be down for maintenance late overnight.  They should be up by 4 a.m. EST.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/17/authentication-maintenance/

Along the same lines, the Patch 3.3.3 background downloader is active with new data.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/16/patch-3-3-3-background-downloader-active-with-new-data/

If you are curious about all the changes in this new large patch, refer to the information here.  Bascially, you can expect changes to Wintergrasp and the Battleground system, changes to the Auction House, changes to quest tracking, and changes to the dungeon finder system, particularly to the Vote Kick system.
http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=145532

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Tips for the Raid Leader (Placement and Direction)

Ideas on how a raid leader can explain raid placement and strategy clearly.
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2010/03/10/raid-leading-101-placement-and-direction/

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Gear Recommendations for the Level 80 Resto Shaman

Note that this covers both resto shaman PvE and PvP play.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/16/totem-talk-restoration-gearing-for-the-new-80/

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Interview: 76 Year Old Player Looks at WOW

Interview with an older player.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/16/15-minutes-of-fame-76-year-old-player-relies-on-strategy/

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Demonology Warlocks in Patch 3.3

All about demonology warlocks.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/15/blood-pact-demonology-101/

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Big Bear Butt's Healing Priorities

BBB lists the order in which he heals.  It's a humorous and rational list.
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/03/14/healing-priorities/

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Bethesda Reveals Co-op Dungeon Crawler

Bethesda revealed a new dungeon crawler at the GDC conference, to be released for the xBox 360, PS3 and PC.  Details here.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/03/bethesdas-new-property-online-co-op-dungeon-crawler-a-hoy.ars

UPDATE:  Loooks like Bethesda is the publisher, not the developer.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178357

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Activision Strikes Again

Activision Blizzard featured strippers at their Game Developers Conference private suite.  GDC goers consider this very bad taste as the conference is supposed to be about the developers, not marketing.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/03/marketing-games-the-art-of-the-pole-dance.ars

In other bad publicity, Activsion's Modern Warfare 2 newest map pack costs 1200 points for three new maps and two old ones.  1200 points equals $15 USD.  Ars Technica points out that if people buy this, Activision makes a bundle.  If they don't, Activision can lower the price and still make a good profit.
http://kotaku.com/5493218/modern-warfare-2-map-pack-also-features-ridiculous-price

Same story, same negative response to it.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178352

To aid in price comparisons, Halo 3 map pack prices cost 600-800 points (and one is free), Call of Duty World at War prices are 800 points (unless you buy all three map sets bundled for 2000 points), the three Borderlands map packs cost 800 each, and the Gears of War 2 map packs are 400 or 800 points unless you buy collections of map packs which cost 1200 or 1600 points, depending on which one you select.

By the way, the Infinity Ward leaders Activision fired have signed on with a big time Hollywood agent.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178347

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New Healing Mechanics in Icecrown Citadel

This WOW Insider column explains how to heal the Valithria Dreamwalker encounter while talking about new healing mechanics introduced in ICC.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/14/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-healing-valithria-dreamwalker/

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Raiding Hunters and the Armor Penetration Build

WOW Insider talks about the armor penetration build for markmanship hunters who want to raid.  Please note that this has to be built from the ground up; it's not a thing you can regem current gear for.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/15/scattered-shots-marksman-102-the-armor-pen-years/

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Frost Mages in Patch 3.3 (PvE)

Another of WOW Insider's articles on the various classes, this time the frost mage in PvE.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/14/arcane-brilliance-frost-101/

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Interview: Arena Holy Paladin

WOW Insider interviews a long time arena player (3v3) about paladins in PvP.  You'll hear hear opinion about warrior nerfs, how to defend against hunters, and tips for playing your best.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/13/the-colosseum-athlete-paladin-of-mugthol/

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TourGuide Interview: Copyright, Advertising, Blizzard and Addons

A fascinating and complex interview with TourGuide's creator, touching on how it became a vehicle of a paid leveling guide service,  how other leveling services used TourGuide, and with a bit about Blizzard's policy towards addons, including the problems with Carbonite's ads, PLUS what this all means.  A very convoluted story, with implications for the future and also copyright protection issues.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/13/what-happened-to-tourguide/#continued

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From GDC: Blizzard and Game Design

An interview from the Game Developers Conference with Rob Pardo about Blizzard and game design.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/12/rob-pardo-speaks-about-blizzard-game-design/

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Razer Mice Will Have Mac Drivers

Razer announced at the GDC that in the future all their mice will have Mac drivers available.  Good news for Mac owners.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/11/mac-drivers-to-be-available-for-all-razer-mice/

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Analyze Your Healing and Raiding With World of Logs

A resto shaman explains how to analyze healing using World of Logs.
http://lifeingroup5.com/?p=727

The above link is a followup article to an earlier posting that explains how World of Logs is used to figure out what has happened in-game so you can improve your raiding.  The earlier article is very detailed and useful for those trying to figure out how to use combat parsing tools so I've included that link also.
http://lifeingroup5.com/?p=341

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The Bestiary of Rare Mobs and Spawns

Twisted Faith mentioned a new blog this morning called Glimpses of Azaroth.  It focuses on the rare mobs and spawns in the game.  Each creature mentioned gets a description and photographs of it taken from the game are included.  It's a fun read that gives you a glimpse of the intricate universe Blizzard originally built into World of Warcraft.  Thanks for pointing this out, TF!
http://glimpsesofazeroth.blogspot.com/

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Why Druids Need Haste

All about haste and its use by druids, especially resto druids.
http://rejuvo.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/guest-post-whats-the-rush-another-look-at-druid-haste/

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The Markmanship Hunter (Patch 3.3)

All about markmanship hunters from the WOW Insider series on each class and tree.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/11/scattered-shots-marksman-101/

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How to Create and Use Logs

Zeherah has done a nice guest posting on the OutDPS! blog about the creation and use of combat logs.  It's a detailed guide to making the most of these reports to understand what happened in a raid, especially on the topics of damage and healing.
http://outdps.com/2010/03/11/learning-from-logs/

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Security Tips (With Download Locations)

Birdfall lists security tips and recommends programs (I think they are all free) to help anyone who wants to update their computer security.
http://birdfall.blogspot.com/2010/02/security-programs-or-when-youre-in.html

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Tips for the WOW Fashionista UPDATED

Mania talks about questing in style and includes a link to another site with great outfits.
http://www.maniasarcania.com/2010/03/11/questing-in-style/

Here is Birdfall's outfit of the month.
http://birdfall.blogspot.com/2010/03/outfit-of-month-or-lowcut-commoner.html

Of course all fashionable raiders will want to visit Karina's Closet,
http://wowrpc.waddellconsulting.com/

and the Fashionable Gnome, too.
http://tagalongfashion.blogspot.com/

UPDATE:  Thanks to a mention by Karina's Closet, I visited Kamalia et alia and discovered a new WOW fashion site. Thanks!  I love the "dark shaman" look.
http://wowthreads.blogspot.com/

UPDATE #2:  WOW Insider, desperate for material in the pre-Cataclysm doldrums, has done a column about a sleeveless shirt.
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/21/phat-loot-phriday-sleeveless-t-shirt/

UPDATE #3:  Kirina is featured on the WOW Fashion Guru's site.  Looks like a fun place for a fashion plate to browse!  Wonder if the Fashionable Gnome knows about this?
http://www.wowfashionguru.com/

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Rogues and Stealth: How It Works

How the rogue stealth mechanics work.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/10/encrypted-text-stealth-mechanics-deep-dive/

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Mobile Authenticator Update

WOW Insider says the latest update to the mobile authenticator allows a copy/paste function so you don't have to key in the random numbers.  I suppose this will be useful for those who are using the mobile Auction House on their cell phones?
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/11/updates-to-the-iphone-mobile-authenticator/

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The Most Important Arena Item

Jurgwena says the most important item to take into Arena is focused attention so you can remember and analyze what happens.
http://outdps.com/2010/03/09/the-right-stuff-arena-edition/

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Ultimate Cataclysm Guide

Today Big Bear Butt raved about how WOWHead has organized their Cataclysm information.  Here's the link if you haven't visited them yet.  It is clear, concise and stuff is easy to find.  Nice job!
http://www.wowhead.com/?guide=cataclysm&world

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Tips to Safeguard Your Guild Bank

Tips on how to protect your guild bank from hackers that steal guild members' identities.
http://samueltempus.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/safeguarding-your-guild-bank/

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Affliction Warlocks and Drain Tanking

Der Hexenmeister pointed me towards this article about "draining tanking" which is a technique affliction warlocks use to kill mobs without taking much damage themselves.  The article discusses using this at a lower level and then how it changes when you are a high level affliction warlock and even mentions a useful macro.   Then the author introduces Goddess of Death Mode....
Thanks, Veliaf!
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/drain-tanking/

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Cataclysm Mastery System Details UPDATED

Blizzard has announced details about the new mastery system that will change the stats of your characters forever when Cataclysm hits.  WOW Head explains it all in a few words:  "In a nut shell the mastery system will basically give you bonuses that increase damage, healing or survivability according to the amount of points spent in the tree. Along with it you will get a secondary bonus to a stat that is most desirable to you, like haste or crit. There is even a third bonus which will be completely unique to the tree and will benefit from the mastery rating on high-level gear."
http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=147803

UPDATE:  WOW Insider published some clarifications Blizzard made this evening.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/09/updates-and-clarifications-on-the-mastery-system/

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Patch 3.3.3 Downloader Active

WOW Insider is reporting the downloader for Patch 3.3.3 is active.  They don't expect the patch to show up for a few weeks, however.  Not today, in other words.  By the way, the article has a link to their constantly updated article about what's planned for this new big patch.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/09/patch-3-3-3-background-downloader-active/

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WOW Not Coming To A Console Near You

Here's why not.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178263

This link is the original G4 story, but it doesn't add anything to the above.
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/703047/Blizzard-Thinks-About-A-Console-World-Of-Warcraft-All-The-Time.html

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The Goon Squad Attacks (with Video)

WOW Insider reports that the Goon Squad, a Horde guild from Mal'Ganis-US, has defeated Fordring in a victory for the Lich King.  You are probably thinking, wait a minute, aren't we supposed to be killing the Lich King, not his opponent?  You are right.  Goon Squad isn't playing the game as Blizzard intended.  They specialize in trolling, griefing, in bending the game rules, and playing the game with their own backwards logic.  There's a video, too!
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/08/goon-squad-downs-tirion-fordring/

WOW Insider calls this emergent gameplay, "that is, taking a strict set of rules and using them to produce results unintended by the rulemakers."  It is rather refreshing to see a guild whose main goal isn't accumulating pretty gear, but playing the game, even if by their own twisted rules.

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The Spamalyzer (Addons) and Other Lag Addons

Spamalyzer wins my vote for Best Addon Name.  It helps you identify addons like Carbonite or GearScore that cause lag by spamming chat during raiding.  The writer says this happens even if folks don't have the addon themselves.  If this is a problem for you, it is worth checking out.
http://pwnwear.com/2010/03/09/spamalyzer-addon-can-help-lag/

UPDATE:  Another lag fighter called Leatrix
http://www.twistednether.net/2010/03/08/resource-site-spotlight-leatrix/

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Binary Code Translations

This site has translated all the punch cards found in the gnomes' capital city.  This is for the folks who have actually punched cards, waited in line to turn in their code, waited overnight to get the program run and pick up the results, only to find a punch code error means you had to do it all over again.  Usually in a poorly ventilated basement room full of frustrated folks doing the same thing.
http://www.masterofwarcraft.net/2010/03/translating-gnomish-binary-and.html

Thanks to Kotaku for pointing this out.

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Moonkin Stat Values

An explanation of how Graylo creates the stat values needed for moonkin simulations.  He mentions Wrathcalcs and SimulationCraft.
http://graymatterwow.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-find-moonkin-stat-valuations.html

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Interview: Restoration Druid in PvP

WOW Insider does an interesting interview with a resto druid who is a long time Arena player with insights into other classes and how Arena has changed over time.  He also discusses some gameplay strategies in passing.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/07/the-colosseum-diziet-brutal-gladiator-druid/

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Spirit Beast Locations

The locations of the four tamable (by hunters) spirit beasts currently in the game (Patch 3.3.3).
http://huntsmanslodge.com/spirit-beast-resource

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A Druid Solos Kael'thas Sunstrider

Vallen is a feral druid who enjoys collecting unusual gear for his cat. The article covers how any feral druid (bear or cat) can take down this boss solo.  (I thought Kael'thas Sunstrider is the last boss in the Eye in Tempest Keep instance but Soredewa points out this is Magister’s Terrace, a 5-man Heroic.  Thanks for the correction, Soredewa!)
http://feralaggression.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/pimp-your-druid-soloing-kaelthas-sunstrider/

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The Addons Rant

We Fly Spitfires hates addons.  Here's why.
http://blog.weflyspitfires.com/2010/03/06/wow-macros-and-addons-and-how-i-hate-them/

I have to admit I'm sympathetic.  All those addons are hard to manage every time there's an update to the game, and those buttons are always blocking one's view of the action.  It would be nice if the  UI that came with the basic game was all you needed.  But that's not the case.  I should have titled this Addons:  The Necessary Evil.

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Hunters versus Rogues (in Flow Chart Form)

A diagram explaining PvP between hunters and rogues.  LOL
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wow.com/media/2010/03/hunter-rogue-pvp-flowchart.jpg

Thanks to the Daily Quest columnist at WOW Insider for pointing this out.

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The Direction WOW is Going: Right or Wrong?

WOW Head asks the question publicly we are all asking--is the casual direction Blizzard is taking the game good?  I didn't read more than the first page of comments myself since I have my own opinion about what is happening to the game and the player population, but you might be interested.  

http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=147272



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Set Bonuses for Hunters' Tier 9 and 10 Gear

All about the advantages the tier 9 and 10 set bonuses bring for each hunter spec with a recommendation for each hunter type.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/04/scattered-shots-hunter-set-bonuses/

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ATTENTION: Nvidia Drivers Causing Catastrophic Board Failures

Recent Nvidia drivers are causing catastrophic board failures as they effect the internal fans.  Details here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/05/recent-nvidia-drivers-causing-catastrophic-failures/

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Advice for the New Player

Blog Azaroth has asked member blogs to write about things that will be useful for the new player.  Many thanks to WOW Insider for pointing this out.
http://lightandleafy.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/ramblings-of-a-not-so-elder-edainne/

For new raiders
http://www.angrydwarfs.com/2010/03/01/80-elder-vrethir/

http://ahealadinstear.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/elder-tarinaes-tips/

How to Make Gold When You are New and Broke
http://www.storiesofwow.com/elder-jens-tips-for-funding-your-leveling-experience/

Leveling Tips for Any Class
http://www.wowphilosophized.com/2010/03/advice-on-leveling.html

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A History of Raid Healing

A history of healing from vanilla WOW through today from Matticus, with speculation as to what healing will be like when Cataclysm hits.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/04/raid-rx-a-history-of-organizational-healing/

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Guidelines for Purchasing a Gaming PC

PC Magazine tells you what to look for in a gaming PC.  Note the reviews of various systems at the end of this December 2009 article.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356567,00.asp

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Should Bears Gem for Agility or for Stamina?

Big Bear Butt answers a reader's question about whether a bear tank needs to gem for agility or whether stamina is more inportant.
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/03/04/gemming-question-stam-or-agility/

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The Role of Consistency in Tanking

Discussion of the role consistency plays in good tank coordination.
http://www.tankingtips.com/2010/03/01/consistency-the-unspoken-bond-between-tanks/

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The Role of Loot in Raiding

"Gear makes a good player better and a bad player prettier."
http://clearcasting.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/wow-raids-and-gear/

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The New Lock and Load for Hunters

Apparently there is a new way for hunters to use explosive shot during Lock and Load.
http://outdps.com/2010/03/04/lock-and-load-weve-been-doing-it-wrong/

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Review: Peregrine Gaming Glove

WOW Head takes a look at the Peregrine Gaming Glove, which is only available on pre-order right now.  This weird thing replaces a keyboard and the reviewer thinks it has great potential.  It has to be programmed on a PC running Windows XP but after that it'll run on any system.  The reviewer used it on his Mac after borrowing an XP system to set it up.
http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=147000

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Moonkins and Gems

Help selecting gems for your little moonkin from StrayEgg, courtesy of the Druid Reliquary.
http://druidreliquary.blogspot.com/2010/03/moonkin-gem-selection.html

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Divine Aegis Talent for Discipline Priests

The Penance Priest discusses Divine Aegis in detail, along with side exertions into Inspiration and Grace.  I am not clear as to whether this talent is available to all healers but it looks like it. Clarification in the Comments would be appreciated.
http://penancepriest.blogspot.com/2010/03/divine-aegis-revisited.html

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Clique: Adding Custom Macros and Dual Specs

How to add custom macros to Clique and how to set up dual spec profiles.
http://crankyhealer.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/advanced-clique-macros-and-dual-spec-profiles/

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Raid Icons Guide UPDATED

A guide to raid icons.  Anything with a skull on it is the main target, etc.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/04/wow-rookie-stay-on-target-with-raid-icons/#continued

UPDATE  The Solo MMO Player thinks that there are more than 1-2 standard raid icons so I dug up this six month old article that also explains raid icons.
http://dreambound-druid.blogspot.com/2009/08/raid-icons.html

WOW Wiki has its own take on the raid icon convention.  Note that as of Patch 3.3, any raid member can mark with icons.  Previously only the raid leader could do so.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Raid_target_icons

Bob Turkey uses hot keys for his raid icons.
http://bobturkey.wordpress.com/2009/02/18/a-guide-to-easy-raid-icons/

I also found this 2007 article about various addons you can use with raid icons.  I have no idea if any of the addons listed are usable with Patch 3.3.
http://flux.io/2007/12/16/mods-marking-raid-icons/

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Frost Death Knight AoE Rotation and Specs

All about AoE rotations for frost death knights with special tips for pulling successfully.
http://psynister.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/aoe-grinding-frost-death-knight-edition/

Death Knight tanking
http://psynister.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/death-knight-tanking-frost-71-80/

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Visual Cues for DPS Raiders

Visual cues for a DPSer to use to avoid pulling aggro off their tank in a raid.  The cues are broken down by tank class, from Druid to Warrior.
http://shamantics.blogspot.com/2010/03/open-fire.html

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PAWN Using WOWhead's Stat Weights (Addons)

WOWHead announces PAWN is using their stat weights now as the default.
http://www.wowhead.com/?blog=147110

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The Gathering Professions (Herbalism, Mining and Skinning)

Good information about the various gathering professions with links to other sources of information.
http://psynister.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/gathering-professions-benefits/

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Cataclysm Stat and System Changes (by Class)

Blizzard has announced what they call Stat and System Changes for Cataclysm on the official WOW forum.  MMO Champion has reposted this in a slightly easier to read form.
http://blue.mmo-champion.com/1/23425636414-cataclysm-stat--system-changes.html

WOW Insider has a series about the planned major changes in Cataclysm.  Here's the introduction.  Class information will be listed here as it is published.
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/the-daily-blues-special-cataclysm-report/

Mastery Bonuses to Encourage Sticking to the Right Gear
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/mastery-bonus-in-cataclysm-to-encourage-proper-gear-choices/

Mana Per Second and Spirit Changes
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-spirit-and-mp5/

Balance Druids
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stats-and-system-changes-for-balance-druids/

DPS Death Knights
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/03/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-dps-death-knights/

Enhancement Shamans
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-enhancement-shaman/

Feral Druids (from Big Bear Butt)
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stat-changes-early-warnings/

Feral Bears (from Big Bear Butt)
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stat-changes-bear-edition/

DPS Warriors
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stats-and-system-changes-for-dps-warriors/

Healing Priests
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-healing-priests/

Holy Paladins
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-holy-paladins/

Hunters
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-hunters/

Mages
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-mages/

Prot Warriors
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/cataclysm-and-warriors-tanking-edition/

Resto Shamans
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-resto-shaman/

Retribution Paladins
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-retribution-paladins/

Rogues
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-rogues/

Shadow Priests
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-shadow-priests/

Tanking Death Knights
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/03/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-tanking-death-knights/

Warlocks
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/cataclysm-stat-and-system-changes-for-warlocks/

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Mischievious Mages and Portal Roulette

Cold Comfort mentioned portal roulette and how his guild mages stack portals.
http://blog.cold-comfort.org/portal-roulette-mischief/

He links to Spicy Tuna's explanation of how to play portal roulette as a single mage.  Note that this is bad behavior at worse and mischief at best and other examples of mage misbehavior are listed here.
http://spicytunas.com/2009/04/how-to-be-an-asshat-mage/

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Monday Morning Addons

For some reason the Blog-o-Sphere is full of addon reviews and recommendations this morning.  UpRank scans your action bars and replaces any low ranked spell you have there with the highest ranked one you have.  Apparently this is often a problem for dual spec characters who have just leveled.
http://criticalqq.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/inout-blogger/

Dreambound recommends using Damia's customized bars to keep the boss timer DBM from being confusing.  Note that you have to reload this each time there is an update to DBM, which will be a major downside for many players.
http://dreambound-druid.blogspot.com/2010/03/customized-dbm-bars-from-damia-ui.html

No Stock UI talks about an addon that raid leaders (and ONLY raid leaders) can use to set up the vampire bite rotation when you attack the Blood Queen Lana’thel in Icecrown Citadel.  For this instance who is bitten and in what order is the difference between success and failure.  Details of the boss battle are at the second link.
http://www.nostockui.com/2010/03/blood-queen-addon/

http://www.wowwiki.com/Blood-Queen_Lana'thel_(tactics)

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