Unbelievable WoW Macro

A WoW Player made an unbelievable Macro -simulate Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony countdown.

Arthas novel to be released April 2009

Author Christie Golden has posted a little more information about the Arthas novel coming next year -- she lists the release date as April of 2009 (Arthas will probably still be alive then -- if "alive" is what he is now), and says that it'll be a nice hardback edition, which should be cool to see. She also says that while they were considering throwing a sample chapter in the BlizzCon goodie bag, all they were able to get in is a little postcard art of the book's cover. Too bad -- it would have been fun reading a little preview of the book while waiting in line to play, say, Diablo III.

And for the Starcraft fans, she's also got a Dark Templar book coming out a month after that, in May 2009. It was supposed to be out sooner, but apparently Arthas' book got pushed forward, and she had to switch up schedules a bit. So two good pieces of extended universe fiction for Blizzard's games to look forward to next year.

The PvE to PvP transfer

The latest episode of the WoW Insider Show is now up for your listening enjoyment over on WoW Gold Radio. Unfortunately, Totalbiscuit (who runs things over there) tells us that they're having more issues with a Google false positive of malware, so this week will be the perfect week to jump on into iTunes and both subscribe to and review our show from there if you haven't yet. Right there in your music player, you can find all of our shows so far, and you can subscribe to get any new ones we do for free right on your new iPod touch (or whatever ya got). Topics on last week's show include:

The usual email answering: we answered questions about why there are no Auction Houses in Shattrath or Dalaran, what to do when your guild won't let you roll on damage gear when they ask you to heal, and why getting Champion tabards at Exalted would be a horrible idea.

We talked about PvE to PvP transfers and why they might be a problem, but probably won't be.

Racial abilites (and the suggestion to free them up a bit) came up in conversation

We hit on Mages and why they're thrilled with Mirror Image (stay tuned for more Mage talk next week).

And finally we asked around for AH tips, so if you want to make more money on the AH, definitely listen in.

Coming home to PvP

I've waited for this opportunity for years. When my wife and friends decided to re-roll on a PvP server in early 2006, I had already spent weeks after weeks of sleepless nights grinding through the punishing decaying Honor system. I was a couple of weeks removed from the next rank but we had all decided to move on. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in the game.

Over the course of the past years, I would pay my original characters -- an Undead Rogue and a Troll Hunter -- on our first server, the occasional visit. I missed playing them a whole lot, but I could never bring myself to play them seriously on a normal realm. I created a Blood Elf Rogue and a Tauren Hunter on our new home but it just wasn't the same. I missed my Ressan the Needler, a pet I'd had since Level 11. I missed my Rogue in a twill suit. I wanted nothing more than to bring over my original guys to where we were playing now.

Of course, up until two days ago, that wasn't possible. Their original reasoning, that it was easier to level on a normal server than on a PvP server, no longer held true. To be honest, I didn't think it was that big a deal two years ago. In fact, I relished it. I enjoyed the idea that there was real danger lurking everywhere, and that enemies could kill me -- and I could kill them in turn -- at any time. But the truth is, the dreaded griefing happened so occasionally I could count the number of times I got frustrated on one hand. Maybe even two fingers.

I remember when a Rogue 10 levels above me tried to kill my Shaman in Stonetalon. I almost killed her, but due to a tactical error, she managed to get a killing blow on me first. That was enough, though, and she didn't try to bother me again. A similar thing happened on my Hunter in Shimmering Flats when a Rogue about eight levels up tried to grief me. Even though I got killed, I gave that Dwarf enough of a scare at 5% health not to bother me again. That's just life on a PvP server.

I actually enjoy getting a chance to fight higher level players. It's challenging, educational, and I have nothing to lose when I get beaten. In fact, I should get beaten. If it happens otherwise, I get a good laugh out of it. Then there are those rare occasions that a max level character will grief grays. Then it gets really fun because I simply hop on my main and get them back. Back when I didn't have a max level character, I simply took a break from the game and grabbed a snack. If they were camping my corpse, they just wasted their time because I was out getting a Krispy Kreme.

I enjoy PvP so much that I tell my brothers to send me an SMS if they're getting griefed. When I get those rare text messages, I usually drop what I'm doing, log on and head over to where they are and have some fun. On our original server, there was absolutely none of that. It bored me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to get griefed and neither do I bother anyone while questing. But I like having the option and I enjoy taking up the challenge.

So I managed to get two characters to 70. I figured I had paid my dues. I wanted my two Level 60 characters moved to my PvP realm. But according to Blizzard, there was no way, no how. Until now, that is. While it shocked a lot of people, it didn't surprise me at all because there really isn't that big a deal. In fact, when Blizzard allowed it for some Oceanic realms back in June to balance the population, I knew all bets were off and that it was only a matter of time. And boy, has the time finally come.

I logged on to my Hunter for the first time in months and began cleaning up his bags. It amused me to find that everything in my bags were Battlegrounds tokens, food & bandages, along with Engineering items like my (more or less) trusty Net-o-Matic and some bombs. That toon's only purpose was to PvP. He was a square peg in a round hole, and he'd been languishing in a normal server for years. Not anymore. My wife logged on her characters, too, but only so she could finally sell everything and hand my troll some cash for the trip.

Tonight, when the last of my wife's auctions finally sell and I max out the 5,000 Gold I can transfer, I'll finally be doing the one thing I'd waited to do for two years. I don't think I've ever been as excited about the game. In fact, I'd even gotten a little bored. If Blizzard did this to get people to play again, it's working. I'm deleting my Level 48 Hunter and Level 28 Rogue to make room for my original guys. When everything is cleaned up and ready, I'll be moving my Level 60 Hunter and leveling on a PvP realm. When I hit 70, I'll probably move my Rogue and level him, too. Hopefully all before Wrath of the Lich King.

I know I could get ganked. I know I'll have to watch the skies while killing Felboars in Hellfire. I know that meeting a group of Alliance that outnumbers or outlevels me is almost guaranteed combat. That's fine. I think it's going to be fun. It'll be just a little more dangerous, just a little more troublesome, and just a lot more fun. For me and my old toons, It'll be just like coming home.

WoW Gold Guide: Faction recipes for enchanters

Last week we took a look at some of the more popular and requested enchants and how to get them for yourself. I also promised that I'd continue the faction recipe series by taking a look at enchanting for this week.

So far, I've talked about the following professions and which factions hold appropriate recipes:

Designs for jewelcrafters part one, and part two.

Plans for blacksmiths.

Recipes for alchemists.

Patterns for leatherworkers.

Patterns for tailors.

Here is a complete list of the factions to which any enchanter should "suck up" and how far you'll need to take it:

Shattered Sun Offensive, honored.

Consortium, revered.

Cenarion Expedition, exalted.

Thrallmar/Honor Hold, exalted.

Keepers of Time, exalted.

Lower City, exalted.

Sha'tar, exalted.

Violet Eye, exalted.

Shattered Sun Offensive (H)
With all of the dailies that this faction offers, you'll reach honored in no time after you hit level 70. You don't even need a flying mount for most of the quests.

The only two enchants they provide both become available at honored. [Formula: Enchant Chest - Defense] is great for tanks needing to reach or maintain their defense cap, [Formula: Void Shatter] lets you "shatter" a void crystal into two Large Prismatic Shards, which many people prefer their designated dis-enchanter to be able to do.

Consortium (R)
The Consortium will offer you one enchanting formula for each level of reputation from friendly to revered. First, you'll be able to purchase [Formula: Enchant Cloak - Spell Penetration] which is a nice caster PvP cloak enchant.

At honored, you could buy [Formula: Enchant Weapon - Major Striking], which is a bit of a bargain-basement enchant for a tank or a rogue's offhand weapon, as the effect increases with weapon speed. Still, other melee enchants such as [Enchant Weapon: Mongoose] or [Enchant Weapon: Potency] and others are more popular for players wanting to achieve the best stats they can get.

At revered, you could purchase [Formula: Enchant Ring - Striking]. Considering there are only four ring enchants, only two of which would benefit a physical damage dealer, this is a must-have if you're not a caster.

Cenarion Expedition (E)
The druids of the Cenarion Expedition only offer two enchants, one at revered and the other at exalted, but both are pretty good.

[Formula: Enchant Gloves - Spell Strike] is an amazing caster glove enchant, and even healers will take it if they are lacking in spell crit rather than +heal. This is well worth the grind to revered to be able to purchase, as it is often requested.

[Formula: Enchant Cloak - Stealth] is probably not the greatest rogue or kitty PvE cloak enchant, considering there is [Formula: Enchant Cloak - Greater Agility] to be had, but it is not a bad choice for PvP, where getting into position and landing the first hit is often critical. This is available at exalted.

Thrallmar/Honor Hold (E)
Every enchanter should reach exalted with their friendly neighborhood Hellfire Peninsula base faction, because the enchants the faction provides are some of the more popular ones available.

At a mere friendly, you can begin to offer +healing to the bracers of weary healers across your server by picking up [Formula: Enchant Bracers - Superior Healing].

Once revered, you can purchase [Formula: Enchant Chest - Exceptional Stats] which serves almost every class from time to time, and is requested a fair amount.

At exalted, you have the option to purchase [Formula: Enchant Chest - Subtlety], which reduces the wearer's threat generation by 2%. I know many raiding guilds have actually required that some classes wear this enchant.

Keepers of Time (E)
This faction can be a bit of a pain if you need to reach exalted. There are only two dungeons, the heroic modes are not for beginners, and a surprising number of PuGs fail miserably at Black Morass.

Still, once you get the hang of it, and can bring people you know, the grind is more boring than anything else, and it's worth it.

At honored you can purchase one of the four ring enchants, [Formula: Enchant Ring - Spellpower], which is ideal for casters, although healers are probably better served with the healing and/or stats versions.

[Formula: Enchant Gloves - Major Spellpower] is also unlocked at honored, which again, is ideal for damage dealing casters.

Once exalted, they'll let you buy [Formula: Enchant Gloves - Superior Agility] which is definitely sought after, and you'll make money from having it.

Lower City (E)
Lower City also offers one of the four ring enchants, [Formula: Enchant Ring - Stats], which becomes available at honored. This is beneficial to any enchanter, if for some reason you prefer it over one of the other three.

Unfortunately, you won't see another formula until exalted, at which point you can buy [Formula: Enchant Cloak - Dodge], which is one of the best tanking cloak enchants for warriors and paladins, especially if they are already defense capped.

Sha'tar (E)
I strongly recommend completing this grind, as it offers four enchants, three for healers including the final ring enchant, and a threat generation enchant.

At honored, you can purchase [Formula: Enchant Gloves - Major Healing], which is one of the best in that slot for healers, usually requested by those who need more +heal over +spell crit.

At revered, you can begin to offer healing to weapons too, with [Formula: Enchant Weapon - Major Healing]. If you're a healer yourself, pick up [Formula: Enchant Ring - Major Healing] as well.

Finally, at exalted, you can purchase [Formula: Enchant Gloves - Threat], which effectively increases the amount of threat generated by the wearer, who is hopefully the tank. It's nice to have, especially for fights where effects like silence and disarm are limiting the tank's ability to hold aggro.

Violet Eye (E)
The Violet Eye is the faction associated with the raid dungeon, Karazhan, and therefore you'll need to start raiding in order to grind enough reputation to purchase the enchant they offer.

That being said, there is only one, and in fact, there is a two-handed version that drops in Arcatraz, although it's not the best drop rate. [Formula: Enchant Weapon - Greater Agility] can be obtained at exalted. Although this is useful for dual-wielding rogues, for example, I still think that enchants like Mongoose are going to be more popular, so long as the character feels their weapon is worth the cost.

Omar the Test Dragon

Once upon a time I had a Carrot on a Stick. Then I copied my shaman to the Wrath beta server. To my surprise, when I logged onto the beta realm for the first time, waiting for me at the mailbox was the curious message above. Now, we've covered the riding enchantment ground already (that is, it may not ever go live), but what I want to talk about on this post is my new buddy, Omar the Test Dragon.

I think I have a crush on him. I wonder what he looks like. I expect Omar looks like a cross between Mr. T. and Justin Timberlake -- ohhh, dreamy! Is he a Troll, a Goblin, or is he really a member of the Dragonflight? How wonderful that would be! Nighttime flights above Netherstorm or setting fire to ogres in Stonemaul. How romantic! But if Omar really is a dragonIflight, he speaks differently than I expected. His language style is utterly intoxicating. I mean, his use of exclamation marks alone is enough to give a girl the dizzies. Maybe that's why he doesn't reply to my emails -- perhaps there is a language barrier between us? O, my dear Omar, if you can hear the sound of my voice, I have but one message for you. I am no dawg, just a simple bovine from Mulgore. Peace out.

Azerothian birthday cake

I think I've lost count of the ongoing tally between the Alliance and Horde cakes over here at WoW Insider, although I can say for certain that I've never actually eaten a WoW-themed cake (bummer!). Reader Steve tipped us in to a cake that doesn't side with either the Horde or Alliance, but features the two continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms (Northrend didn't make the cut, apparently).

While a map and faux faded parchment colors probably don't help make a visually appetizing cake -- the lower right of the cake is actually the Naga depicted on the world maps, don't worry about the green -- this literally sweet gesture was made by WoW widow girlfriend Natalie for her man Sean's 21st birthday. Sean plays on the Bronze Dragonflight EU and held a party for his guildies in May Contain Funk where this edible Azeroth was unveiled. According to Steve, the cake was vanilla sponge with raspberry jam and was, "absolutely delicious". Since those guys didn't send us a slice, we'll just have to take his word for it!

Hot on the heels of word about all the new changes to racial abilities in Wrath, reader Mike sent us a suggestion he thought up to give a little twist

Hot on the heels of word about all the new changes to racial abilities in Wrath, reader Mike sent us a suggestion he thought up to give a little twist to racial abilities in game: Blizzard could unlock some of them from a few races, and instead give players the ability to choose a few on a peronal basis -- they could pick and choose certain abilities for their characters to have from the beginning. As in, each ability would get put into a budget, and instead of merely choosing a race, players could then choose one or two skills from the budget to give to their characters. You could end up having a Troll with Escape Artist and Diplomacy, or a Human with Hardiness and Magic resistance.

Of course, some abilities are pretty strictly defined by the races themselves, so not everything could be pick and choose -- Gift of the Naaru and Will of the Forsaken would have to stick with Draenei and Undead, respectively (they'd have to stay Racial traits, not personal ones). But abilities like Endurance and Quickness are so insignificant in the bigger picture of things that it would be nice to customize your character a little bit more -- match it up to your style of play rather than just want race you'd like to be. Character creation is quickly becoming the one thing in the game that's stayed exactly the same since launch, and for many reasons, from RP to theorycrafting, players would really get a kick out of customizing their characters that little bit more.

As Mike told us, each character has their own personal background and insights, so why shouldn't each individual character have their own personal traits to shine in? It's a little late for Wrath, of course, but it's something to think about in the future -- if Pets get their own choices about their strengths, why shouldn't the different ingame races?

This little light of mine

We've all heard that shadow priests melt faces in PvP, but this is the first instance I've seen of holy priests burning your heart out from the inside in PvE. According to Taighan of Suramar, her husband Shadovare respecced from shadow to holy to help his wife out in the lower level instances. Taighan notes that this picture is of him Holy Novaing a large group inside the Stockades. For some reason, the neat rows of Defias, the sparkling lights, and the illusion of light bars across the screen remind me of Guitar Hero. Hmm ... mixing Guitar Hero and WoW -- Activision Blizzard's plan for world domination?

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

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more sunsets.

This little light of mine

We've all heard that shadow priests melt faces in PvP, but this is the first instance I've seen of holy priests burning your heart out from the inside in PvE. According to Taighan of Suramar, her husband Shadovare respecced from shadow to holy to help his wife out in the lower level instances. Taighan notes that this picture is of him Holy Novaing a large group inside the Stockades. For some reason, the neat rows of Defias, the sparkling lights, and the illusion of light bars across the screen remind me of Guitar Hero. Hmm ... mixing Guitar Hero and WoW -- Activision Blizzard's plan for world domination?

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

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more sunsets.

Try and love one another

Despite my WoW beginnings on the opening-day PvP server Magtheridon, I'm really enjoying my new life on the roleplaying haven of Moon Guard. And part of the fun is running into completely random RP events, like this Valentine's party observed in Stormwind by Farreby of on Thorium Brotherhood. Sadly, Farreby knows no back story here -- he writes that he merely walked by and took a screenshot of the synchronized dance moves. But why were no gnomes or dwarves invited? Someone call the Committee for Equal Heights!

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

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more sunsets.

Makeing WoW Gold: Popular enchants and where to get them

If you've ever spent any time sitting in trade chat, you could probably make a list of some of the most popular enchants. Requested frequently, any enchanter possessing the the knowledge to imbue a weapon or piece of armor with the proper stats stands to make a fair amount of gold.

For example, a healer seeking Major Healing, or a meleer seeking Mongoose, will know the materials, and gather them. Each time they replace their respective weapons, back into trade they will go to request the enchant.

Today, Insider Trader presents a list of some of the most requested enchants with information about how to obtain them so that you can offer them to friends, guildmates, and your server.

It is by no means a complete list, but it will get you off to a shining start and provide you with quite a to-do list. Check out the comments section for helpful details as well.

Drop rate data was gathered from the Armory, and Blizzard uses ranges such as Very Low (1-2%). This is narrowed down with data from Wowhead where appropriate, but keep in mind that some bind on pick-up recipes can only be seen by enchanters, and Wowhead cannot filter out that data, making their estimate much lower than the actual drop rate.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll be working on the faction recipes series, focusing on enchanting, so stay tuned.

Mongoose
If you'd like to be able to offer [Enchant Weapon - Mongoose] to the masses, you'll have to start farming Karazhan. This drops from Moroes, at a rate between 3 and 14%. It is of course, bind on pick-up.

While the drop rate doesn't sound too bad, keep in mind that you can really only kill Moroes once per week, and that is if you are geared and can land a solid, standing raid spot with a guild that has Karazhan on farm, and does indeed clear it each week.

Check out our Gearing For Kara Guides if you're still gearing up your character.

Dexterity
While acquiring [Enchant Boots - Dexterity] does not require that you be a raider, it is actually quite a rare drop. This drops from Raging Skeletons (trash) in Auchenai Crypts at about 1-2% of the time, on normal or heroic. They range from 66 elites to 71 elites, depending on the mode.

2H Major Agility
[Enchant 2H Weapon - Major Agility] is a great druid enchant, considering Mongoose currently doesn't work while in form. Whether you are on heroic or normal mode, you might see this drop from Eredar Deathbringer in Arcatraz, somewhere between 3 and 14%. As with many items, the drop rate is much higher in heroic mode.

Savagery
[Enchant 2H Weapon - Savagery] is another alternative to Mongoose. Hunters, for example, are likely to request either Savagery or Major Agility, simply because those stats boost their ranged DPS, while Mongoose is geared towards a melee fighter.

Savagery drops from a Shattered Hand Centurion (trash) in Shattered Halls. The drop rate on normal is from 1-2%, while the drop rate on heroic mode is closer to 5%.

Weapon, Major Spellpower
Because this adds up to 40 spell damage and healing to a caster's weapon, it's a popular request. [Formula: Enchant Weapon - Major Spellpower] drops from the Bash'ir Spell-Thieves in Blade's Edge Mountains.

You'll require a flying mount to reach Bash'ir Landing, in the northwestern area of Blade's Edge. The drop rate is a low 1-2%, but there are several quests in the area that you can pick up to complete while you're at it.

Chest, Major Resilience
This PvP enchant is a world drop, unfortunately. This means that you have no way of targeting a mob in order to farm for it. The best advice I can give you is to look for [Formula: Enchant Chest - Major Resilience] in auction.

Crusader
[Enchant Weapon - Crusader] is a popular request by player before they hit level 60. Because it gives a white, cloudy glow, can heal the bearer, and increases strength from time to time, it's a pretty handy enchant.

This one, like Major Resilience, is not bind on pick-up. The drop rate is around 1-2% from Scarlet Spellbinders and Scarlet Archmages in the Western and Eastern Plaguelands, respectively. The Archmages are elites.

Icy
[Enchant Weapon - Icy Chill] is another favorite among melee Azerothians. It drops from Anguished Highborne on the frozen lake in Winterspring. The Armory claims the drop rate at 3-14%, although I have farmed it five separate times and gotten it within minutes, to about a half hour.

You can also find this enchant on the auction house, just like Crusader and Fiery. The glow is bright white.

Fiery
While fiery might just be the most popular of the glow enchants, it definitely has the worst name. [Enchant Weapon - Fiery Weapon] drops from everyone's favorite dungeon, Blackrock Depths. If you manage not to get lost, it drops from Pyromancer Loregrain, from 15-24% according to the armory. Wowhead estimates it at about 16%.

The glow is a bright orange color, and looks especially nifty when dual wielded.

Executioner
[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Executioner] drops in the raid instance, Zul'Aman. To gear for this raid, you'll probably need at least every upgrade from Karazhan plus appropriate gems and enchants, and badge loot where necessary.

It can drop from any of the bosses, at around 3% of the time. Among the users, many warrior tanks pick up this enchant.

Weapon, Major Healing
[Enchant Weapon - Major Healing] is one of the best healing enchants in the game. It's also a guaranteed farm, because it actually comes from a faction vendor.

Becoming revered with the Sha'tar will require a flying mount, or a warlock buddy with a flying mount who will run the Tempest Keep dungeons over and over with you. Focus on full clears of Botanica, as you will net about 2000 reputation, while only getting about 1800 for Arcatraz and 1620 for Mechanar.

Once honored, grab the heroic key and start running heroic Botanica. Again, it nets the most reputation with a full clear, awarding 3245 reputation. Heroic Mechanar is a bigger waste of time unless you need gear or other drops from it, simply because it brings in about 2100 reputation, which is scarcely more than Botanica on normal.

Subtlety
[Enchant Cloak - Subtlety] is often applied by raiding casters, as there aren't many caster cloak enchants, and because it allows a caster to unload more damage without worrying about pulling aggro as early.

You'll need to be exalted with Thrallmar or Honor Hold for this one. Make sure you complete each and every quest in Hellfire Peninsula, and when you run the dungeons, bring plenty of Thrallmar or Honor Hold Favors.

They allow you to gain more reputation while in the dungeon, and can be purchased by repeatedly doing the quest to take over the towers in Hellfire Peninsula.

Fortitude
Boot enchants are somewhat rare, and here's an example of a commonly sought-after one. [Enchant Boots - Fortitude] awards stamina, which appeals to anyone in a pinch, not to mention the classes, such as tanks and warlocks, that actually stack it.

This drops at 1-2% of the time from Ethereal Priests (trash) in Mana-Tombs.

The concise list of enchant sources

1 Karazhan (Moroes)
2 Auchenai Crypts (Raging Skeletons)
3 Arcatraz (Eredar Deathbringer)
4 Shattered Halls (Shattered Hand Centurion)
5 Bash'ir Spell-Thief (Bash'ir Landing, Blade's Edge)
6 Scarlet Spellbinders (WP) and Scarlet Archmages (EP)
7 Anguished Highborne (Winterspring)
8 Pyromancer Loregrain (Blackrock Depths)
9 Any boss (Zul'Aman)
10 Revered (Sha'tar)
11 Exalted (Honor Hold/Thrallmar)
12 Ethereal Priests (Mana-Tombs)