Lore (with Spoilers)

This morning found two postings that center on WOW lore.  The first is full of spoilers!  WOW Insider points us to Scrolls of Lore which has compiled all sorts of worgen starting zone information from the tidbits that Blizzard has dropped. I'm linking to WOW Insider instead of directly to Scrolls of Lore so you can decide just how much you want to read before Cataclysm hits.
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/04/worgen-starting-zone-preview-from-scrolls-of-lore/

World of Matticus' had a nice article up about that details the history of legendary weapons in the game with some lore background about each.  You can read a bit about weapons that were greatly lusted over in the original version of the game all the way up to the new Shadowmourne two handed axe.
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2009/12/04/return-of-the-truly-legendary-items/

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Guides to Playing a Mage (and Laughing)

Thanks to the Hots and Dots column just mentioned below, I have some new mage guides for players to browse.  First up is Psynister's Notebook which has a recent (October 2009) multi-part series that was recommended as excellent for leveling mages.  Only the first two parts are up so this only goes to Level 39.  I'll add new articles as they appear.  Note that there are other guides on this site for Druids, Hunters, Paladins and Shamans.  Click on the Guides tab to see them.
http://psynister.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/mage-leveling-part-i-beginning/

http://psynister.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/mage-leveling-part-ii-21-39/

http://psynister.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/mage-leveling-part-iii-40-58/

The mages at Empowered Fire have a guide to playing a mage once you hit Level 80 (November 2009).  Besides specs for the various types of mages, they have a list of instances that offer good gear for mages and list crafted items also.
http://www.empoweredfire.com/2009/11/02/ding-80-now-what-the-guide/

They also have a mage leveling guide (October 2009),
http://www.empoweredfire.com/2009/10/23/mage-leveling-guide/

plus a raiding guide for mages in Patch 3.2,
http://www.empoweredfire.com/2009/10/05/mage-raiding-guide-3-2-2/

AND a guide for Arcane Mages in Patch 3.2.  I know Patch 3.3 is likely to hit next week but you still may want to read this information as it is current.
http://www.empoweredfire.com/2009/10/05/arcane-in-3-2-2/

They also host this hilarious video of how to play a mage.  Even I (and I don't play WOW) fell over laughing while watching it.
http://www.empoweredfire.com/2009/11/19/how-to-play-a-mage/

The Empowered Fire ladies are my favorite mage site of the day!

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Where Have All the Mages Gone?

Cassandri over at Hots and Dots says her guild can't find any mages.   She wonders if it is just her realm or if mages and warlocks are not played much these days.
http://www.hotsdots.com/2009/12/mages/

The comments led me to several good mage sources which I'll post separately.  Thanks to all Cassandri's readers for help!

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Arcane Mage Guide to PvE

From the WOW Forums, a guide to the arcane mage (with rotation).
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19820881780&sid=1

Another arcane mage guide to PvE from October 2009 (Patch 3.2.2)
http://www.frostnova.ch/tachyon/blogArticle.do?action=view&id=35487744

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Mages at 80: Guide to Raiding

From the WOW Forums, a guide to playing a Level 80 mage (dated December 2009).
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=18031073739&sid=1

Guide to end game raiding for mages (dated June 2009).
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=18031238370&sid=1

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Mage PvP Tips for Battlegrounds

Undated but extensive tips for mages doing PvP against specific classes.  Note the other mage guides in left hand column.  (Most seem outdated to me.)
http://www.epic-warcraft.com/magepvpguide.php

Tips for mages playing PVP on the battleground, dated April 2008.
http://internet-games.suite101.com/article.cfm/wow_mage_pvp_guide

Solo mage tips from the same site.  Very basic.
http://videoonlinegames.suite101.com/article.cfm/wow_mage_tips

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Gear Pollution and Raid Progression (with Charts!)

Fascinating discussion of how Blizzard has designed raids in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.  If you are interested in game design, read this.
http://wowhats.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/gear-pollution/

UPDATE:  Codi adds to the discussion on the topic of Rewards.
http://moarhps.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/re-gear-pollution/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Ten Ton Hammer Feral Druid Guide

Ten Ton Hammer talks feral druids in this installment of their theory crafting guide to various classes (dated September 2009).
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74432

They've also recently done a general druid gear guide.  It doesn't look as useful to me but new druids might want to take a look at it.
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/classes/druid/equipment

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Gear BEFORE Level 80: The Tools

Gnomeaggedon has written a nice guide to choosing gear before you hit Level 80.  It covers it all, using WOW Head to create a profile, how lower level is often better than new stuff, why agonizing over gear is silly, etc.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/11/26/minmaxing-gear-before-80-part-1/

Using RAWR and Character Profiler and creating a spreadsheet of your characters and their gear.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/11/27/minmaxing-gear-before-80-part-2/

More on spreadsheets and building an upgrade list.
http://gnomeaggedon.net/2009/11/30/minmaxing-gear-before-80-part-3/

You can always find this again by searching for "gear guides" using the search box at the top left corner of the page.  Many thanks to WOW Insider for pointing me to this resource.

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Why Solo an MMO?

Tobold posted a provocative question about why anyone who wants to solo plays an MMO in the first place on his blog.  He thinks it might be cheaper to play single player games.  The comments are very interesting, especially since I didn't see anyone talk about the immaturity level of players that makes groups and guilds difficult to participate in, at least on the Solo MMO Player's realm.  There are so many kids that even the most fundamental organization before a raid is impossible. Most guilds are not raiding on the Solo MMO's realm either, making raiding solo the only viable alternative.  Many thanks to Miss Medicina for pointing this out to me.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2009/12/thought-for-day-soloing.html

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