Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/pvp/” rel=”tag”>PvP, WoW.joystiq.com/category/cataclysm/” rel=”tag”>Cataclysm

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• Tol Barad is not only an open PvP zone; it’s also a daily quest hub.
• Unlike Wintergrasp, Tol Barad won’t have a Tenacity mechanic. Instead, players will be matched up at a 1:1 ratio, with a maximum of 80 players allowed in the zone.
• Much like Eye of the Storm, players will have to claim three keeps around the zone. Unlike Eye, if a player dies while defending a tower, that will directly affect the slider bar, moving it in favor of the opposing faction. So stay alive!
• Winning Tol Barad opens a raid, just like Wintergrasp. The Tol Barad raid takes place in Baradin Hold.
• And of course there are reputation rewards, including two brand new mounts with a ghostly look.

WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider” style=”float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0″ />WoW.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/blizzard-releases-new-cataclysm-preview-tol-barad/”>Blizzard releases new Cataclysm preview: Tol Barad originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/blizzard-releases-new-cataclysm-preview-tol-barad/” rel=”bookmark” title=”Permanent link to this entry”>Permalink | WoW.joystiq.com/forward/19720999/” title=”Send this entry to a friend via email”>Email this | WoW.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/blizzard-releases-new-cataclysm-preview-tol-barad/#comments” title=”View reader comments on this entry”>Comments

Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/pvp/” rel=”tag”>PvP, WoW.joystiq.com/category/cataclysm/” rel=”tag”>Cataclysm

WoWcom-tol-barad-000-1289939981.jpg” alt=”" />

• Tol Barad is not only an open PvP zone; it’s also a daily quest hub.
• Unlike Wintergrasp, Tol Barad won’t have a Tenacity mechanic. Instead, players will be matched up at a 1:1 ratio, with a maximum of 80 players allowed in the zone.
• Much like Eye of the Storm, players will have to claim three keeps around the zone. Unlike Eye, if a player dies while defending a tower, that will directly affect the slider bar, moving it in favor of the opposing faction. So stay alive!
• Winning Tol Barad opens a raid, just like Wintergrasp. The Tol Barad raid takes place in Baradin Hold.
• And of course there are reputation rewards, including two brand new mounts with a ghostly look.

WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider” style=”float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0″ />WoW.joystiq.com/2010/11/16/blizzard-releases-new-cataclysm-preview-tol-barad/”>Blizzard releases new Cataclysm preview: Tol Barad originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/analysis-opinion/” rel=”tag”>Analysis / Opinion, WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/pvp/” rel=”tag”>PvP

Recently, players from the Emberstorm and Whirlwind groups have been noticing that they’re being grouped in the dungeon finder with each other. This isn’t a bug; the matchmaking system has been changed to allow those two battlegroups to be matched into dungeons and BGs with each other as part of the overall goal to eventually merge all battlegroups across a geographical area (think Europe or North America) and allow matchmaking across all of them.

CM Lylirra announced these changes and addressed some bugs to the process that are making it impossible to queue for BGs, which will hopefully be straightened out. Still, bugs aside, the first step of eventually allowing an entire region to be selected from for PvP and PvE seems really exciting to me and very positive overall. Finally, I’ll get to farm all the disparate old friends I have on like 20 servers! A frabjous day, all told.

WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider” style=”float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0″ />WoW.joystiq.com/2010/10/27/battlegroup-changes-in-anticipation-of-complete-merger/”>Battlegroup changes in anticipation of complete merger originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/analysis-opinion/” rel=”tag”>Analysis / Opinion, WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/pvp/” rel=”tag”>PvP

Recently, players from the Emberstorm and Whirlwind groups have been noticing that they’re being grouped in the dungeon finder with each other. This isn’t a bug; the matchmaking system has been changed to allow those two battlegroups to be matched into dungeons and BGs with each other as part of the overall goal to eventually merge all battlegroups across a geographical area (think Europe or North America) and allow matchmaking across all of them.

CM Lylirra announced these changes and addressed some bugs to the process that are making it impossible to queue for BGs, which will hopefully be straightened out. Still, bugs aside, the first step of eventually allowing an entire region to be selected from for PvP and PvE seems really exciting to me and very positive overall. Finally, I’ll get to farm all the disparate old friends I have on like 20 servers! A frabjous day, all told.

WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider” style=”float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0″ />WoW.joystiq.com/2010/10/27/battlegroup-changes-in-anticipation-of-complete-merger/”>Battlegroup changes in anticipation of complete merger originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard has, once again, topped itself in terms of cinematic quality and expression outside of its general pre-rendered cinematics. Hopefully the worgen transformation movie is just as awesome.

Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/cataclysm/” rel=”tag”>Cataclysm, WoW.joystiq.com/category/goblin/” rel=”tag”>Goblin

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/goblin-cinematic-escape-from-kezan/”>Goblin cinematic: Escape from Kezan originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard has come through with its WoW.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/blizzard-responds-to-common-real-id-concerns/”>promise of updated and more expansive options for its controversial Real ID feature, connecting Blizzard’s games through use of real names as identifiers. The new options allow you to opt out of being listed in the “Friends of Friends” of other users, to deactivate the ability to be seen in Starcraft II’s Facebook feature, or to turn off Real ID altogether.

To change your Battle.net privacy options, log in to your account’s Battle.net management page and select Settings, then Communication Preferences.

Now all we need is an “go invisible” feature on Real ID, like most instant message clients have, and I’ll be a happy Real ID user.

The full announcement by Nethaera is below:

WoW.com/media/2010/02/blizzimg4.jpg” style=”border: 0px none; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 3px;” /> Nethaera — New Battle.net Privacy Settings

We’d like to make you aware of the new Real ID-related privacy options we’ve introduced to Battle.net. These options provide Real ID users with additional tools for customizing the service based on their preferences, enabling the ability to opt in or out of the Real ID “Friends of Friends” and “Add Facebook Friends” features or to turn off Real ID altogether.

Real ID offers an optional, convenient way for keeping in touch with real-world friends you know and trust, whether they’re playing World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, or one of our future games. The “Friends of Friends” and “Add Facebook Friends” features provide you with even more options to stay connected while you play by making it easier for real-life friends to locate each other on Battle.net. You can easily enable or disable these features through your Battle.net privacy settings by logging in to your Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net/.

source

Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/account-security/” rel=”tag”>Account Security

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/real-id-and-battle-net-get-expanded-privacy-settings/”>Real ID and Battle.net get expanded privacy settings originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard has updated WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/cataclysm-currency-exchange-rates/”>the currency conversion rates to make farming instances before WoW.joystiq.com/cataclysm”>Cataclysm more lucrative. The new following conversion rates go into effect in WoW.joystiq.com/tag/patch-4.0.1/”>Patch 4.0.1:

• Emblems of Triumph = 11.58 justice points (up from 2.75)
• Emblems of Frost = 11.58 justice points (up from 2.75)
• Justice point cap = 4,000 points (around 345 emblems)
• Justice points over cap = 47.5 silver each after patch 4.0.3 (down from 2 gold)

The full statements from Blizzard are after the break.

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/29/cataclysm-justice-point-conversion-revised/” rel=”bookmark”>Continue reading Cataclysm: Justice point conversion revised

Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/cataclysm/” rel=”tag”>Cataclysm

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/29/cataclysm-justice-point-conversion-revised/”>Cataclysm: Justice point conversion revised originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In WoW.joystiq.com/tag/patch-4.0.1/”>patch 4.0.1, Blizzard will roll out a new “flexible raid lock” system in Icecrown Citadel and The Ruby Sanctum. This system has a few major changes in it, outlined below:

• You are no longer locked to the raid upon zoning in, but to a specific boss kill.
• You are no longer locked to a specific raid size or group.
• Heroics have greater restrictions placed on them.
• All Wrath raids will use this system once Cataclysm releases.
• All Cataclysm raids will use this system.
• This only applies to raids and not to normal or heroic dungeons.

The full Blizzard statement after the break.

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/10/01/flexible-raid-locks-in-patch-4-0-1/” rel=”bookmark”>Continue reading Flexible raid locks in patch 4.0.1

Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/10/01/flexible-raid-locks-in-patch-4-0-1/”>Flexible raid locks in patch 4.0.1 originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If WoWhead.com/”>WoWhead is to be believed, arena WoW.joystiq.com/tag/season-9/”>Season 9 is WoWhead.com/blog=169597″>set to begin on Dec. 14. The curious folks at our favorite WoW database (as well as Boubouille of MMO-Champion) found a little snippet of text while scrounging around the game files:

Arena battles and Rated Battlegrounds are only available during an active player versus player combat season. Season nine will begin on December 14th, so be prepared at that time to take your shot at glory!

This would coincide neatly with the recent announcement that WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/28/arena-season-8-to-end-as-early-as-oct-12/”>arena Season 8 can end as soon as Oct. 12.

What makes this finding interesting is that WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/28/cataclysm-beta-arena-season-9-available-for-testing/”>arena Season 9 actually corresponds to rated battlegrounds Season 1, which means Cataclysm should be live by then. This could mean WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/13/rumor-cataclysm-targeted-for-a-november-2nd-release-date/”>sometime in November. We’ll find out for sure at this year’s WoW.joystiq.com/category/blizzcon/”>BlizzCon, but for now, all clues point to Blizzard’s being on track to release the game before the end of the year. This gives players about a month or even less time — about a week, to be exact — to hit max level. If the uncovered code holds true, we should expect to see Cataclysm on the shelves by Dec. 7, if not sooner.

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WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/arena-season-9-to-begin-on-december-14-cataclysm-launch-dec-7th/”>Arena Season 9 to begin on Dec. 14, Cataclysm launch Dec. 7? originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fresh off the heels of WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/operation-gnomeregan-and-zalazanes-fall-events-now-available/”>Operation: Gnomeregan, Blizzard has published a web reveal of New Tinkertown. High Tinker Mekkatorque and the gnomish forces have seized control of an area on the surface just outside of Gnomeregan and have started efforts in retaking their city. Mekkatorque will ask you to complete new missions like rescuing gnomes and routing troggs, with the main goal of stopping Razlo Crushcog. New Tinkertown is the WoW.joystiq.com/2010/08/26/WoW-rookie-alliance-newbie-zone-revamps-in-cataclysm/”>new level 1-5 leveling zone for gnomes. While the quests and the content have been on beta for a while now, you can read more about the official details after the jump.

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/22/cataclysm-beta-welcome-to-new-tinkertown/” rel=”bookmark”>Continue reading Cataclysm Beta: Welcome to New Tinkertown

Filed under: WoW.joystiq.com/category/news-items/” rel=”tag”>News items, WoW.joystiq.com/category/cataclysm/” rel=”tag”>Cataclysm

WoW.joystiq.com/2010/09/22/cataclysm-beta-welcome-to-new-tinkertown/”>Cataclysm Beta: Welcome to New Tinkertown originally appeared on WoW.joystiq.com”>WoW Insider on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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