Cataclysm Beta Updates Streaming Launcher

WOW Head reports that the next beta version will update the streaming launcher that downloads game info.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=167434

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Blizzard to Abandon Players with Older Macs

! Up points out a blue posting that spells out the fact that a pre-Cataclysm update will remove the ability for older Macs to play WOW.  If your Mac has the Power PC chip, your gameplay will be effected.
http://www.1up.com/news/warcraft-patch-disabling-support

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How Long Until Cataclysm?

I have no idea.  The beta for Cataclysm started last July.  I looked up the date Wrath of the Lich King's beta hit (July 19, 2008) and when Lich King was released (November 13, 2008).  It is likely that Cataclysm will hit sometime in prime Christmas shopping season (i.e., mid-November 2010).

It won't be November 9, 2010 as that is when Call of Duty Black Ops is to be released.  Activision has spent a ton of money on Black Ops.  They won't release two big games on the same date.  I'm betting Cataclysm is released November 23.

Want to play the release date game yourself?  Here's the current info.
http://www.vgreleases.com/

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How to Publish Raid Combat Logs (with Addons)

How to enable raid combat logs, combat log addons,  where to upload and publish them, etc.  Good useful information!  I've added the URL for World of Logs which publishes combat logs in the second link in case the original link goes dead.
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&topic=Publishing%20your%20raid%20combat%20logs

http://www.worldoflogs.com/

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Fashion For the Smoking Hot Elf

Outfits for the fashionable darling, from robes to hot pants and bras, courtesy of Hanuma.
http://wowthreads.blogspot.com/2010/08/hotter-than-ragnaros.html

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Quad Does Festergut (Heroics)

Fascinating setup for handicapped player.
http://www.warcrafthuntersunion.com/2010/08/quadilious-videos/

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Put the Magic Back in MMOs

Wolfs wants the magic back in MMOs.  He uses WOW as the example what not to do when improving EverQuest, but this applies to all MMOs and MMORPGs.
http://www.wolfsheadonline.com/?p=3924#5736

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Five Man PvP Strategies

Tips on winning five man matches.  (By the way, the video is irrelevant to the topic.)
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/30/blood-sport-become-a-5v5-master-tips-and-tricks/

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Off Topic: David Thorne Has Trouble With His Electric Bill

For anyone who ever called their utility company about a bill.  (Thanks for the tip, Kotaku!)
http://www.27bslash6.com/AGL.html

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Dungeon Loot for The Enhancement Shaman

Here's a list of dungeon loot for enhancement shamen.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/28/totem-talk-enhancing-your-gear-in-only-four-dungeons

Here's a list of Triumph emblem gear for the enhancement shamen.
http://www.planetbrad.com/enhshaman-08292010.html

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Where Cataclysm Is Taking Us

Today I've found several articles that unintentionally talk about where Blizzard is taking players with Cataclysm.  First, let me quote The Noisy Rogue's description of the bulk of in-game behavior:  "The point is that this game is full of teenage boys with no social repercussions for their in-game behavior. What is there to work out here? It’s going to be a free for all. It is a free for all. This doesn’t excuse it, but you are trying to swim against the tide if you think that you are going to change this."  The article itself is a reaction to postings about sexism in-game that have been floating around the Blog-o-sphere over the last 2-3 weeks.  If you are interested in this topic, read the Comments.  (If you have noticed a lot of guys in their 20s and 30s inside WOW acting like the teenagers described above, please join me in banging my head against the desk.)
http://thenoisyrogue.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/my-brain-implodes/

Next up is Skeleton Jack's rambling rant about Blizzard and WOW. Among all the paragraphs he makes some good points:  how difficult it is to find a guild that is a good fit, how Blizzard's primary focus now is on what they can change in the game to milk more cash from the players, how this means raids can be run successfully by folks who have no idea what they are doing, new raid content is the same old stuff, that leveling is not enjoyed by anyone, and how Blizzard is revamping WOW for a new generation of players.  (See the first paragraph above.)
http://www.skeletonjack.com/2010/08/29/unbiased-honesty-skeleton-jacks-thoughts/

Perhaps I am wrong in thinking that Cataclysm is a cheap way to release reworked code that has been made easier with a few new races to appeal to the kiddies in order to keep the money flowing into Activision's pockets.  Perhaps not.

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Preparing Your Hunter for Cataclysm

Even though I think it's still really too early to start posting about Cataclysm, this looks like a good article for hunters who intend to pick up the 4.0 expansion.
http://thehuntersarsenal.blogspot.com/2010/08/preparing-for-cataclysm.html

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Pally Power (Addon)

Reading WOW Insider this morning, I came across a brief mention of Pally Power.  Apparently it is an addon that allows paladins (or raid leaders) to control blessings.  I suspect this is more useful for 25-man raids but here's the link in case you are interested.
http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/pally-power.aspx

http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info6370-PallyPower.html

I found a brief description here.
http://www.wowwiki.com/PallyPower

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Introduction to Trading Card Game

WOW Insider has a guest article about the WOW trading card game basics.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/28/guest-post-getting-into-the-wow-trading-card-game/

By the way, here's a link to an online report of the recent TCG championship.
http://worlds2010.wowtcg.com/

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The Story Behind the Bosses

Folks who have bored themselves silly running the same instances over and over might want to stop and look around.  There's lore to be found....
http://primalprecision.blogspot.com/2010/08/more-than-boss.html

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Reviews: Companies that Make Game PCs

Kotaku has republished a comparison done by TechSpot.com of two custom game machine makers and a more standard gaming machine.  The article starts here--
http://kotaku.com/5623545/gaming-desktop-round+up-puget-vs-maingear-vs-acer

Here are the company websites (in the order they are discussed in the article) for further research.
http://www.pugetsystems.com/desktop.php

http://maingear.com/gaming-pcs/

http://us.acer.com/acer/home.do?LanguageISOCtxParam=en&sp=page2&ctx2.c2att1=0&CountryISOCtxParam=US&ctx1g.c2att92=453&acond24=25&ctx1.att21k=1&CRC=4168717908

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Game Laptop Review; Alienware M17x R2

A bit about the high end Alienware laptop.
http://www.theoldergamers.com/hardware/review/review-of-the-alienware-m17x-r2/

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Battleground Holidays and Why We Love Them

What Battleground holidays are and how to profit from them.
http://blessingoffish.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-benefits-of-battleground-holidays/

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Polymorph and the Mage

Mages use Polymorph to turn folks into sheep, penguins, black cats, turtles, rabbits and pigs.  Here's information about where/how to get each spell if your mage has a whimsical side.  Thanks for the tip, Pot!
http://harpysnest.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/the-many-flavours-of-polymorph/

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The Rogue Class at Patch 3.3.5

The state of the rogue as of August 2010.  There are links to major sources of information and a few tips.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/tldr-rogues-in-august-2010/

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Gold Making Tips for Low Level Players

A few quick tips on making gold at the Auction House with a low level character discovered through a mention on The Melting Pot.  Warning: You'll get a newsletter sign up box when you click.
http://www.justmytwocopper.org/2010/08/how-to-make-15-gold-when-you-enter.html

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BBB's Cooldown Management Strategies

The Big Bear Butt lays out how he manages cooldowns and asks for Comments.
http://thebigbearbutt.com/2010/08/24/managing-cooldowns/

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Top Ten Hunter Farming Spots (Lich King)

A list of the top ten places to farm items if you are a hunter playing Lich King.
http://www.bigredkitty.net/2010/08/25/guest-post-time/

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A UI for Healers

Nice set-up based on Grid that any healing class can use.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/26/addon-spotlight-batis-healer-grid-layouts/

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Enhancement Shaman Loot List (ICC)

All the Icecrown goodies for enhancement shamen organized by slot and also by boss.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/24/totem-talk-gearing-your-casual-or-alt-enhancement-shaman/

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Blizzcon 2010 Pet Revealed

The pet (a miniature deathwing) folks who attended Blizzcon 2010 (in person or virtually) has been revealed.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/25/blizzcon-2010-pet-revealed/

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Cataclysm on WOW Head

It's still too early to start posting Cataclysm information here as there are so many changes to be made in the beta version.  However, WOW Head's Cataclysm section is worth viewing for general information.  Here's the link.
http://www.wowhead.com/guide=cataclysm&faq

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Wrath of Lich King Out August 31 in China

Finally.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/blizzard-releases-world-of-warcraft.html

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Anthropologist Looks at WOW

Another WOW Insider interview with Bonnie Nardi, a University of CA-Irvine anthropologist writing about WOW culture and art.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/24/15-minutes-of-fame-anthropologist-bonnie-nardi-on-wow-culture-a/

The article led me to this now defunct website which has the awesome 100 Rules of Warcraft listed right on top.  My personal favorite is #42 - "You could make a better living by signing guild charters at level 1 than by leveling a crafting profession."
http://dwarfpriest.com/

The three rules of adventuring are pretty funny, too.  (64-66)

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Being a Better Raiding Hunter

Tips on becoming a much better hunter in Lich King raiding.
http://thehuntersarsenal.blogspot.com/2010/08/improving-your-hunter-skill.html

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Retribution Paladin PVP Information

All about retribution pallys in PvP and Arena.
http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/08/retribution-pvp-battlegrounds-and-arena.html

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What's It Like to Play When You are Old?

Larisa speaks her mind eloquently on this topic.
http://www.pinkpigtailinn.com/2010/08/whats-it-like-to-be-older-player.html

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Cataclysm: Leveling Down and The Sightseer Report

Apparently Cataclysm will allow players to temporarily lower their level to run instances.  Here are the facts as they have been pulled from an article in The Escapist.

"Cataclysm may also eventually include a system that allows players to scale down their character's level in order to help newer players. The heirloom items unveiled in Wrath of the Lich King already scale with a character's level, so adjusting them to suit a downgraded character is already part of the design. Cataclysm will go one step further and replace individually purchased spell ranks with a scaleable system that allows a single ability to grow along with a character. Scaling down levels probably won't be possible when Cataclysm is released, but it's a feature that will be coming eventually and should help players of differing levels adventure together more easily."

Thanks to the Pink Pigtail In for publicizing the article.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_267/7999-This-Is-the-Way-the-World-Ends

Here's Tobold's reaction to how "downleveling" will work.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/downleveling-is-half-solution.html

By the way WOW Threads has been doing some Cataclysm sightseeing and writes about it here.  There are plenty of photos and spoilers.  However, handsome is as handsome does, so no matter how great the screenshots are, how the game plays is the important thing.
http://wowthreads.blogspot.com/2010/08/cataclysm-sightseeing.html

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Hunter in Icecrown Citadel

Eidotrope is starting a series on ICC heroics from the perspective of hunters, pointing out the differences on running the various parts of Icecrown in heroic mode versus normal.  I'll update this article as more items are written.
http://outdps.com/2010/08/21/heroic-storming-the-citadel/

http://outdps.com/2010/09/13/heroic-the-plagueworks/

Here is a guide to the first wing for hunters.
http://thehuntersarsenal.blogspot.com/2010/09/hunters-in-icecrown-citadel-guide-first.html

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Tips on Setting Up Your UI

Thanks to the Melting Pot, I have a very good article on how to set up your UI from Woodsoar.  It starts out recommending several bar addons, then showing you how to make choices when you set them up (based on Dominos) and goes all the way to how to make your buttons prettier once you have them set up.  Useful article.
http://jadedalt.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/clicking-confessions/

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Matticus Talks Raid Healing

Matt "everyone calls me Matticus" Low is a healer who writes about healing.  If you are interested in learning how to use Rebirth to resurrect a dead player during a raid, go here to read all about the spell and things you need to keep in mind when you use it.  Note that this is a guest posting on a druid site, so it is written from a druid perspective.
http://thestoriesofo.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/using-receiving-rebirth/

Matt's next article is for WOW Insider and it explains the tactics behind not healing someone in a raid.  Commonsense stuff, but since commonsense seems really lacking in raiding, it's worth a read.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/19/raid-rx-5-reasons-why-youre-not-getting-healed/#continued

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War Chests for Raiding Guilds

Thanks to the Pot, I've found an article on how to build up a war chest if you are a raiding guild.  The article covers guild banks, how they work and what you need to accumulate if your guild raids.
http://srsbusiness.org/building-a-warchest-guildbanks-for-raiders/

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Loremaster Addons

WOW Insider has an article up on something you don't see everyday--addons that help one get the Loremaster achievement.  If you are trying for this achievement, check out the article.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/19/addon-spotlight-loremaster-addons/

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Analyzing Blizzard Financials

This article explains the pitfalls of figuring out Blizzard's financials after the Quarter 2 financials were released August 2.  This is a good introduction to the way businesses account for their expenses.  It mentioned in passing that Activision paid its first dividend ever in the last quarter.  For me that is a warning flag.  ATVI is the stock market abbreviation for Activision, by the way.
http://deuwowlity.blogspot.com/2010/08/blizzard-made-how-much-on-celestial.html

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Cataclysm Interviews at GamesCon 2010

A 15-minute video interview with Tom Chilton, Blizzard's WOW Game Director that touches on Cataclysm topics, patch content, why Facebook will be intergrated into the game, when the new expansion will come out ("a couple of more months"), etc.  In German and English.
http://www.gamona.de/gamonatv/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm,gc-2010-interview-mit-tom-chilton-englisch:video,1798176.html

WOWHead has a transcript of another Blizzard interview at Germany's GamesCon here which adds information about the new archaeology profession.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=166540

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Cataclysm Guild Advancement Q&A

A summary of what is know of the new guild advancement reward system and how it will work in Cataclysm.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/18/cataclysm-beta-guild-advancement-qanda/

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Setting up Auctioneer Step-by-Step

http://ferarro.blogspot.com/2010/08/using-auctioneer-addon-to-make-gold.html

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Old World and Burning Crusade Content to Explore

Because Blizzard (without explaining how this will work for those who don't buy the Cataclysm expansion) plans to totally upend how the game plays, some folks are busy spending time in Vanilla WOW or Burning Crusade content.

This shadow priest is following the Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline.  Embedded in the text is a link to a PDF guide for those who want to follow along.  This file is the second link below.
http://twistedfaith.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/guide-preview-in-the-service-of-dragons/

http://twistedfaith.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/in-service-of-dragons.pdf

Zal over at Blessing of Fish is writing a series called Things You Might Not Know About [Insert Town Name].  This week's article is about Orgrimmar.
http://blessingoffish.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/things-you-might-not-know-orgrimmar/

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Will My Computer Run Cataclysm?

The short answer is if your computer runs Lich King, it'll run Cataclysm per Gazimoff who is in the Cataclysm beta.  The long answer is here.  The article looks at the main performance settings with example screenshots to help readers decide which ones they want to go with, depending on their individual machine specs.
http://www.manaobscura.com/2010/08/will-my-computer-run-cataclysm/

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Arathi Basin Bug Gives Alliance Unfair Advantage

Apparently there is a bug in the Arathi Basin that allows Alliance players to capture bases before the game starts. The Horde can't use the bug so this exploit gives Alliance teams an unfair advantage.  Hopefully Blizzard will fix the problem soon.
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/the-arathi-basin-fast-start-exploit-needs-fixing/

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Outfits of the Month

Love the yellow goggles!
http://birdfall.blogspot.com/2010/08/outfit-of-month-or-mix-it-up-with.html

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Blizzard Reveals $79.99 Cataclysm Collector's Edition

Blizzard has revealed there will be a Collector's Edition of the upcoming Cataclysm expansion.  Details here at WOWHead's blog.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=166274

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Pwnwear Reviews the Logitech G13

A full review of the G13 gamepad with examples of macros and how the keybinding was set up for one character.  Follow the link to other setups if you need fuller information.  There are links to informational resources such as the manufacturer's website at the end of the article.
http://pwnwear.com/forum/geek-review-logitech-g13-for-wow-t559.html

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Today's Topic is Mana

WOW Insider has two new articles up about mana today.  The first is about PvP (5 mans) and the draining mana strategy that was popular in Vanilla WOW, not used much in Lich King since burst damage is king these days, and which is probably going to come back in fashion with Cataclysm.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/16/blood-sport-become-a-5v5-master-2-dps-or-drain-teams/#continued

The second article explains mana from a healing priest's perspective:  how it is regenerated, what heals per second (HPS) are, which spells are boosted by glyphs, etc.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/16/spiritual-guidance-lets-talk-about-mana-baby/#continued

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Raiding Old Instances (Mostly Spoiler Free)

Hugh at the Pot describes his guild's experiences running old content cold in ten-mans.  He is having a blast and the experience has inspired him to write a list of things you absolutely need to know that doesn't reveal so much that there is no fun challenge.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/tldr-magtheridon-serpentshrine-cavern-tempest-keep-and-black-temple-at-80/

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From Holy to Discipline Priest

Darth Solo talks about his specs and glyphs as a discipline priest (Level 75) and how much easier he finds healing now that he has abandoned his holy priest spec.
http://wowalone.blogspot.com/2010/08/discipline-is-ticket.html

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Hunter Blog (ICC Mana and Crowd Control)

Euripides at OutDPS just mentioned a new hunter blog that already has great information up.  It's called The Hunter's Arsenal.  Eurip likes the ICC regeneration guide,
http://thehuntersarsenal.blogspot.com/2010/08/mana-regen-guide-for-icc.html

while I preferred the article on why crowd control is a lost art in raiding.
http://thehuntersarsenal.blogspot.com/2010/08/dying-art-of-crowd-control.html

Whichever way you lean, thanks, Rip!

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Paladin Fashion Parade

Puggin' Pally ran a paladin fashion contest on his/her blog recently.  Here are the winners. Many thanks to Karina (aka Second Place!) for mentioning this so all pally fashion plates can admire the winners.
http://puggingpally.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/and-the-winner-is/

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24 Hour Maintenance Announced for August 17

Some realms will be down for 24 hours at least next Tuesday; others will hve regular maintenance downtime.  The list is here-
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/14/24-hour-maintenance-announced-for-more-realms/

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Blizzard Wins $88 Million Lawsuit

...against a company that set up a private server for WOW and had some sort of micro transactions marketplace.  This is considered copyright infringement.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/14/private-server-company-forced-to-pay-blizzard-88-million/

Commentary:
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/assessing-damage-from-pirates.html

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How to Heal Tanks as a Holy Paladin

Various types of tanks need various types of healing.  WOW Insider looks at this from the perspective of holy paladins.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/15/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-how-to-heal-different-tanks/

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Cataclysm Beta Notes (Flying Mounts, Clients, Hunter Solo Runs)

I've been mostly ignoring Cataclysm beta information since it is all in flux. Who knows what will actually make it into the next expansion?  This is a reference site, after all, and linking to information that may or may not end up in an expansion that isn't even dated yet seems useless to me.  However, I have found a few articles I do want to mention because they are useful for beta players or have special relevance to solo players.

WOWHead has posted how to use their client to gather beta information for their database.  If you are in the beta, consider downloading their client to add to the Cataclysm database.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=163527

It looks like buying a faster flying mount will be quite expensive in Cataclysm, especially for players with a good number of characters they play.  Looks like players should start accumulating gold now.
http://wowalone.blogspot.com/2010/08/100000-gold-for-flying.html

Cold Weather Flying changes in Cataclysm.  Now you can buy it at Level 68 for less than in Patch 3.3.5.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/20/cataclysm-beta-cold-weather-flying-at-68/

The Warcraft Hunters Union has posted two articles about soloing Cataclysm, first as a Beast Master hunter--
http://www.warcrafthuntersunion.com/2010/08/cataclysm-beta-hunter-soloing-as-bm/

and secondly as a marksman hunter.
http://www.warcrafthuntersunion.com/2010/08/cataclysm-beta-hunter-preview-soloing-as-mm/

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Feral Druids' Less Used Abilities

Ideas on how to use things most feral druids ignore with sample macros.
http://thebearflank.blogspot.com/2010/08/infrequently-used-abilities.html

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How Loot Council Works UPDATED

A discussion of Loot Council and how setting up a group to distribute loot works.  It's a system with a lot of potential for abuse, so beware of joining a guild with this system in place without knowing how it works there.
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2010/08/11/behind-the-scenes-loot-council/

Why Blacksen likes it.
http://blacksen.com/?p=542

UPDATE:  Matticus likes Loot Council Lite.
http://www.nostockui.com/2010/10/loot-council-lite/

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Running WOW On Linux

The Pot plans a series about running WOW on Linux.  As always, I will update this article as more things are published.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/running-world-of-warcraft-under-linux-prologue/

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Account Hacking Discussion

Tobold mentions the huge number of spamming/phishing emails he gets at his WOW account login/email address and states his opinion that most accounts are hacked by folks being phished or having their password guessed.  As usual, the Comments section is very interesting.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/wow-account-hacking.html

One of the sites mentioned in the Comments led me to this discussion of how to choose a strong password that "dictionary hacks" can't break.  I'm going to add the Securing WOW blog to the list of favorite links as it is full of helpful information for the security-conscious.
http://securingwow.blogspot.com/2010/05/suffer-mortals-as-your-pathetic.html

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Guide to Halion (Ruby Sanctum) for Enhancement Shaman

Covers both regular and heroic mode.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/14/totem-talk-enhanced-with-halion/#continued

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Tips on Icecrown Citadel Heroic Mode

Strategy on running ICC heroics.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/12/raid-rx-welcome-to-heroic-icecrown-citadel/

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Creating a Simple Bottom Box (and More with Addons)

WOW Insider spotlights kgPanels, an addon that allows one to do all sorts of interesting panel art, including drawing a simple bottom box on your screen.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/12/addon-spotlight-create-a-simple-bottom-box-with-kgpanels/

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The MMO Forecast

I should subtitle this "Looking Into the Crystal Ball" as Pot is taking a look at various articles predicting MMO sales, that these games will be very popular in the East, and explaining why judging MMO success by whether they have more subscribers than WOW is wrong.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/game-by-night-and-broken-toys-are-mmos-in-good-shape/

On the same topic, here is a preview of Guild Wars 2, which is a PC game that will be free to play once you buy the disk (or download the software directly) but which will have microtransactions inside the game.  It is due out in 2011.
http://pwnwear.com/2010/08/12/guild-wars-2-preview-omfg/

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Transformations

If you like to change your characters' appearance, you'll enjoy reading Blessing of Fish's collection of ways he changes his.
http://blessingoffish.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/draenei-in-disguise/

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Mass Effect 2 Review

A review of Mass Effect 2 by the author of the much missed Of Teeth and Claw blog.  Note that he played the PC version of the game.  Don't forget to read the comments which have other gamers' impressions.
http://systemicbabble.com/videogames/post-mortem-mass-effect-2/

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Tobold Reviews "A Tale in the Desert"

Interested in a crafting MMO set in Egypt?  Tobold is playing A Tale in the Desert and reporting his experiences day by day.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/curious-about-a-tale-in-the-desert-tobold-shines-the-light-on/

The review continues on Tobold's blog.  Here is Day Four.  I'll add more days as he works his way around the game.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/tale-in-desert-5-day-four.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/tale-in-desert-5-day-five.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/tale-in-desert-5-day-six.html

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:  Tobold's ongoing review snagged him some free game time from the developers.  Also, please note the Comment below that explains this game is North American-concentric, which means anyone in other parts of the world are basically ignored.)
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/tale-in-desert-disclosure.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/tale-in-desert-as-social-experiment.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/casual-and-hardcore-in-tale-in-desert.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/tamagotchi-in-tale-in-desert.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/random-bunch-of-thoughts.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/player-participation-to-game.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/gathering-ore-and-herbs.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/best-mini-game-in-tale-in-desert.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/mule-in-desert.html

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/virtual-marriage.html

The Pot has started posting gathering/crafting tips.  The first one covers grass and making bricks and has some general tips.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/tldr-a-tale-in-the-desert-bricks-grass-and-other-annoying-things/

Cooking Skill, Part One
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/09/tldr-a-tale-in-the-deserts-cooking-skill-part-1/

Glassmaking
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/11/a-tale-in-the-desert-tldr-glassmaking/

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Unknown Addons Review

The MMO Melting Pot takes a look at several addons that aren't well known.  There's even one for rogues in the Comments.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/fresh-brew-new-addons-that-invite-your-raid-remember-your-crits-and-yell-about-your-fish/

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Wrath of Lich King to Launch in China

WOW Insider mentioned a Wall Street Journal report that says Wrath of the Lich King will release in China next week.  However, Death Knights have been removed from the Chinese download.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/10/china-is-finally-getting-wrath-of-the-lich-king/

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Tips for Better Progression Raiding

Things to help progression raiders.
http://www.theholypaladin.com/healing-lesson-progression-raiding.php

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Icecrown Citadel Tips

Tricks for various classes in ICC.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/09/guest-post-32-tricks-for-icecrown-citadel/

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Macintosh Repair Tools for the Cataclysm Beta

Blizzard has released in the Cataclysm beta a Mac-centric repair tool that works the same way the PC one does.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=165658

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VOIP and Your Guild

How Vent and other voice over internet protocols effect your guild with tips on how to handle issues.
http://nonelitistraiding.blogspot.com/2010/08/voip-culture.html

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The Latest Word on Protection Paladins

The Pot summarizes the latest in protection paladin theorycrafting from Maintankadin in an article here.
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/theorycrafting-tldr-protection-paladins-august-2010/

I've added Maintankadin's URL to the Protection Paladin tab information but here's the direct link to their forums if you want to keep an eye on the discussions.
http://maintankadin.failsafedesign.com/forum/

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How Not To Make Your Healer Mad

If you are in a pick-up group, you might want to avoid doing anything that makes the healer who is keeping you alive mad.  Here's a list.  Note that there are interesting tips such as why any DPS character should avoid using knockback spells in a raid, etc.
http://www.isheepthings.com/blog/5ways/

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PvP Glyphs for Hunters (with Recommended Builds)

Garwulf has posted his recommended glyphs for hunter PvP on the Huntsman's Lodge blog, along with recommended builds for each flavor of hunter.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/7752/hunter-pvp-glyphs.htm

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Using Your Mouse More Effectively

Gravity on learning to use your mouse to turn and using situational awareness--
http://pwnwear.com/2010/08/06/guide-on-learning-to-mouse-turn-and-situational-awareness/

Here are the two tutorials he references in his article.  They have great information about using your mouse, orienting yourself with the camera and learning to use situational awareness while playing.
http://looking4more.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/situational-awareness-and-you-part-1/

http://looking4more.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/situational-awareness-and-you-part-2/

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Keeping Score in Battlegrounds

The Battlefield Manual discusses the scoreboard and why it is misleading.
http://cynwise.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/the-battleground-scoreboard/

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Mobile Gaming (in a Truck)

Interesting article about specialty equipment used by a trucker who wants to play WOW on the road.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/06/guest-post-northrend-truckers-a-tale-of-wow-otr/

Here's the direct link to the Jotto laptop table mentioned above.
http://www.jottodesk.net/big-rig-jotto-desk/big-rig-jotto-desk-b100.htm

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Q2 Results for Activision

Yesterday Activision revealed its revenues were down (but earnings up) during the last three month period.
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/706744/Activision-Q2-10-Earnings-Net-Revenue-Down-Online-Sales-Exceed-Retail-For-First-Time-.html

Highpoints apparently are that Wii game sales are down a lot, Activision is selling more via digital downloads than via retail outlets, and "Worldwide subscription numbers for World of Warcraft are holding steady at more than 11.5 million players."  Blizzard is also working on adding tournament play and private chat functions to Battle.net.  As for Cataclysm, "we are on track to launch the expansion by the end of the year."  In the Q&A Activision staff say there are no new Call of Duty map packs available and that the launch of Starcraft 2 hasn't impacted the numbers of subscribers for WOW.

Kotick is claiming "The relaunch of Battle.net is a perfect example of how we are rolling out the next generation of services and online environment to our audiences, while others are just beginning their complicated and costly explorations of where to begin.  The combination of technical capability and tangible benefits Blizzard is delivering to its StarCraft audience represents the next evolution in the arenas of gaming, social networking, online commerce and customer service."  I guess he's forgotten about xBox Live, Steam, etc.?

If you want to read the transcript of the entire conference call, it is here.  The numbers are at the end, with Blizzard's numbers separate from console games. The Q&A session at the end with analysts is also quite interesting as they try to pry subscription numbers and such out of Blizzard staff.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/219068-activision-blizzard-q2-2010-earnings-call-transcript?source=thestreet

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Activision Loses Another Lawsuit

This one was a fight over use of a paintball player's name in video games. The dirt is buried in the article about his newest paintball game which I think is for the Playstation.  Thanks to 1Up for pointing this article out.
http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/greg-hastings-painball-2/preview/greg-hastings-hates-activision-and-says-crazy-things-about-greg-hastings-paintball-2/a-20100803163257556083/g-20100803123623996086

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Guild Perks in Cataclysm

Arloch has taken the guild perks list posted on MMO Champion and started to analyze them with guesses as to how they will actually work.  There's a link in the article to the MMO Champion list if you are interested.  I'll post further info here as followup articles are published.
http://clearcasting.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/guild-perks/

http://clearcasting.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/more-guild-perks/

Don't forget WOWHead has a guild perks section.  WOW Insider has published two articles to date on guild perks also.  Search on "perks" to find everything I've collected here.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=163763

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The Role of Women in WOW (and Games in General)

In the way these things seem to happen on the Internet, I've found three interesting articles about sexism and the role of women in WOW.  The first article I found via a posting on 1UP.  It explains why Activision doesn't create games starring female characters.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29719/InDepth_No_Female_Heroes_At_Activision.php

Simultaneously The MMO Melting Pot asks why there is sexism in WOW, and...
http://www.mmomeltingpot.com/2010/08/the-mental-shaman-sexism-in-wow-whats-the-problem/#respond

....links to this article exploring the problem in depth.
http://mentalshaman.com/2010/08/04/i-dont-see-your-problem-sexism-world-of-warcraft-and-geekery/

Here's the direct link to the statistical analysis of female characters in WOW mentioned above.
http://paperclipchains.livejournal.com/101267.html

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Starcraft 2 Review

If you are curious about Starcraft 2, here's a fairly comprehensive review.
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3180705&p=

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Blizzard's Going to Patrol One Role Play Realm (and Starcraft 2 mods)

Apparently a father complained to Blizzard about the behavior on Moon Guard, a role-playing realm notorious for terrible behavior and Blizzard GMs plan to patrol Goldshire Inn on this realm heavily.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/04/blizzard-to-patrol-moon-guards-goldshire-for-harassment-erotic/

I think it's about time.  Given the behavior that the Solo MMO Player sees every day, WOW should be rated M for Mature instead of T for Teen (age 13 or older).  Personally I'm astounded WOW hasn't ended up on Fox News already as the new in-game Sodom and Gomorrah.

Anna of Too Many Annas pretty much sums up what most players feel about Blizzard's new policing.
http://toomanyannas.com/feature/policing-roleplay-somewhere-else/

UPDATE:  Blizzard is apparently policing Starcraft 2 mod maps and removing those it finds offensive in any way.
http://kotaku.com/5605333/blizzard-policing-inappropriate-starcraft-ii-maps-because-they-can

According to this story, the only inoffensive item in the map that was removed was the word "badass."  I'm pretty sure my mother would disapprove if I used badass in her presence, but I don't think she'd wash my mother out with soap.
http://www.1up.com/news/blizzard-deleting-inappropriate-starcraft-maps

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Cataclysm Beta Uploader IMPORTANT UPDATE

There is a new launcher/uploader/downloader program that will be added to the Cataclysm Beta shortly.  It will arrive for all players when Cataclysm arrives this fall sometime.
http://www.wowhead.com/blog=165181

IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR OCEANIA PLAYERS:  Apparently to test the beta of this program, you have to erase your Cataclysm beta and download everything all over again. Details here about how to avoid the broken download URL.

Remember to be very careful when you get an email list this as your WOW email address login is known to every spamner or con artist on the planet.
http://pwnwear.com/2010/08/05/new-launcherinstaller-available-for-beta/


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Example of an In-Game Phishing Email

In case you want to see what you need to be wary of.
http://wowalone.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-game-phishing-email.html

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Best Pets for Raiding Hunters (PvE)

Garwulf's list of the best pets for hunters who raid, broken down by hunter type.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/garsnotes-best-dps-pets

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Activision Lawsuit and Downloads

Activision has been much criticized for the cost and skimpy content in its Call of Duty series downloads.  However, the Call of Duty map packs have been downloaded more than 20 million times.  They cost $15 each currently.  You can do the math yourselves, but at that rate, skimpy content at high prices will continue to flow.
http://kotaku.com/5602915/call-of-duty-map-packs-downloaded-over-20-million-times

In other Activision news, Kotick has lost a sexual harassment and sexual discrimination lawsuit and the appeal which seems to involve a dispute over what he owed a lawyer in the case for representing him.   Details here.  Note that he wasn't the one doing the harassing but did not prevent it.  Instead he fired the complainant.  Many thanks to Kotaku for leading me to the LA Times story.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/08/activision-ceo-kotick-loses-battle-with-top-hollywood-litigator.html

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Trinket Advice for Balance Druids

Here is what the Elitist Jerks say for PvE balance druids, updated for Patch 3.3.5.  (Scroll down toward the middle of the Gear section.)
http://elitistjerks.com/f47/t66856-druid_balance_pve_updated_3_3_5_a/

The Fluid Druid just has trinket advice for feral druids, dated March 2010 (Patch 3.3.3).
http://fluiddruid.net/2010/03/wotlk-feral-dps-trinket-roundup/

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Red Raider

An awesome red outfit, put together by Birdfall.
http://birdfall.blogspot.com/2010/07/outfit-of-month-or-arr-red.html

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The Art of Chain Pulling (Tanking 101)

How chain pulling works and why it works so well in raiding.
http://thebearflank.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-pulls-vs-chain-pulling.html

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