Greetings, Azerothians! It's time for another Friday edition of Ask WoW Insider, where we publish your questions for the world (... of Warcraft) to answer. Last week we looked at how to find a new server, and this week we examine the curious and culturally diverse practice of marking targets in instances. Djinni on Anvilmar-A relates the following tale of falling down the rabbit hole:

I was in a 5-man the other day with 4 members of one guild, and me, the non-guildy. Not exactly a PUG, since I know 2 of the people, and they asked me to join. For the first 10-15 minutes of this instance, I was getting crazy aggro and had either died or had to Vanish on every pull. I also noticed that I seemed to be the only one doing damage to my target. Finally, I stopped the group and asked what was going wrong...telling them that no one else seems to be attacking Skull. And that's when this became the weirdest instance run ever. They dropped the Kill Order Bomb. Square, X (if it exists), Triangle (Sap), Skull, Moon (Sheep). And this didn't seem strange to any of them. To this day, it remains the only group I've ever been in that didn't make Skull first target. For the next hour or so, I was in Bizarro world...as if the water in the toilet would spin backwards (and maybe up) if I flushed it. I wonder if anyone else has had a completely unintuitive Kill Order imposed on them? What's your Kill Order?

To some it seems obvious that the skull symbolizes death and death quickly, but to others, X marks the spot. Still others have been thrown into a murderous rage at the mere sight of the orange nipple. What's your preferred kill order when marking instances, and have you ever been subject to one that seemed particularly daft?

Naturally whilst struggling against a Burning Crusade you build up a few burning questions -- Ask WoW Insider can help! Send us your questions at ask AT wow insider DOT com.

Welcome everyone to Ask WoW Insider, where we publish one of your questions every Friday (feed us new questions at ask AT wowinsider DOT com!). Last week we looked at how to level a character far from home in another race's starting zone. This week we look at solutions to a common problem: finding a new server. MrRaist writes:

This week's question is: What is the best way about moving on, and finding a new server to play on? WoW has so many possibilities when it comes to servers, but what's the best way to find a good one? I play on a US PVE server (won't say the name to protect the lousy players) and I've reached a point where the server doesn't do anything for me anymore. The economy is terrible, the players are terrible, and finding a decent group of players to do anything is just this side of impossible. So how do I move on? Read the forums? Ask WoW Insider? Just take a random stab in the dark with a new toon and then move my old ones over to the new server when I get a feel for the new one? I have 4 toons I want to move, so I'm looking at $100 to move them. I want to be sure before I move any of them to a new home.

What do you think?

We've looked at correlated issues before, particularly how to find a good guild, but switching servers en masse presents a different set of problems as well. How would you go about finding a new home for your toons, or do you have experiences to relate about having gone through the process?

LFG KZ has had some ideas on this topic, and of course before you make the leap you'll want to know the best way to /gquit (does anyone else feel a mashup coming on?). Let us know your tried and true methods for finding the best server for you in the comments, and send us your questions for next week to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.

Welcome to Ask WoW Insider where we publish one of your questions every week. Last time we looked at whether or not healing can be as competitive as dpsing, and this week we return our attention to one of everybody's favorite topics: loot. Sephran writes:

I started karazhan about 4 months ago. I was a resto druid and I was looking for that Shard of the Virtuous. The 1st time we rolled, another resto druid got it.. she promptly left the guild the following week... The 2nd time I passed it on to someone else who needed it A LOT more then I did. The 3rd time.. lost the roll again. Once I transfered guilds I thought it would be better.. but alas.. it dropped with more new people to kara.. I once again passed the hammer to another person for a super mega upgrade to them. The 5th time.. it dropped and I finnally won it!!!

Tops my Happiest moments in WoW, thats for sure. Then on Opera my priest friend finally got her Masquerade gown that she had never seen drop since the 1st time I got it 4 months ago. So I'm wondering what TBC drop has escaped you? Any good stories to go along with why you haven't gotten it?

We looked at this question shortly before BC came out, "in memoriam" for items we might truly never see now that focus would be shifting to all the new gear that would await in Outland. So now that the expansion is out, what gear has been eluding you? What is that one drop you just can't seem to get, or finally found its way to you after a long and strange journey?

We need your questions! Send us your inquiries for next week to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.

Gather 'round the screen, orcs and gnomes, it's time for another edition of Ask WoW Insider. Last week we debated the post powerful character in Warcraft, and this week we return to contemplating game mechanics with a question from Valyre, healing lead of the Ascent guild on Scarlet Crusade (H):

Is healing competitive? And should it be?

The fundamental mechanics of playing a dps class seem to encourage competition. Your target has an unlimited pool of health to act upon, so if you have the mana/rage/energy, you always have an outlet. Each ability you use to create damage stacks with the other fifteen people in the raid doing the same thing. You never hear "Your melee attack made my spell worthless." Some buffs will aid your party members, but for the most part it's individuals striving to do the most damage. And there are meters to chart your progress.

Healing mechanics tend to work against themselves. Your target may or may not have enough of a hp deficit at any given time for you to act on. Your abilities don't universally stack. If your heal tops off someone's health but beats out another healer's heal, you've just wasted their heal on a healthy person and threw their mana in the trash. To make things worse, "divide and conquer" assignments are more based on being able to heal through an encounter than to actually provide a level playing field for all healers. How many times do you see 3 healers on a tank that might take 30k damage, but 4 healers on the raid that takes well over 100k damage? At the end of the night, meters show love to the people with the highest damage assignments.

With this system, can you be competitive? Should you be competitive? If so, how?

What do you think, people -- are healers just as competitive as face-melters? How do you determine the "best" healer?

WTB your questions! Send us what you want to know and we just may publish it next week. Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com.

TGIF folks -- that means it's time for another installment of Ask WoW Insider. Last week we looked at the etiquette surrounding leaving an instance early as well as a bit of a trip down memory lane to highlight the best of Ask WoW Insider to date. This week we'll be speculating about a lore issue: who is the most badass character of all in Warcraft history? Killah writes:

Because of the recent activity regarding the new expansion set Wrath of the Lich King, it has come to my interest to find out about more about the lore in Warcraft. I was reading about the Lich King, his rise and fall, on WoWwiki. It suddenly appeared to me that the Lich King indeed possessed great powers, but yet there must've been someone stronger than him. My question to you guys is: What character is the strongest (physically, magically, powerful, fearful) in Warcraft history? This character might be deceased now, but still might the strong throughout history.

Who's your pick for the most badass Warcraft figure of all time (excepting Leeroy for simplicity's sake)? Is it Illidan, or Neltharion, or that nasty murloc that pwned your ass in the Wetlands last week? Who's your top of the tops?

WTB your questions! Send us your WoW-related inquiries to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.

New to WoW Insider and want to know what's in our back catalogue? Looking for our more reference-oriented posts? We know stories and features drop off the front page all too quickly and search isn't always the best way to find something, so we're always looking for ways to give you access to some of our older content that's still informative. We've started a new WoW Insider directory page to help you find some of our best guides, resources and original features. Is there a guide we haven't done yet that you'd like to see? Let us know what you want to know in the comments!

WoW Insider directory

Fridays are a time for early happy hour quiet contemplation and reflection upon the past, and in that spirit we're taking a look back at some of the best posts from over the lifespan of Ask WoW Insider. Now that we're all older and wiser -- who *did* end up being the top PvP classes at 70?

• Best duo for PvP or grinding
  "What team of classes make the best duo for PVP or for grinding?"
• Top PvP classes at level 70
  Just after Burning Crusade came out, we speculated on which classes would dominate in PvP. Were we right? Would you change the answer you gave then?
• Best ways to make money in Burning Crusade
  "What are some good ways of making money for levels 60-70 in Burning Crusade? Are there people making money from jewelcrafting yet, should I pick that up? What about good mobs to grind or drops that sell well to vendors or on the AH?"
• Best way to get instance invites
  "What are your tips and tricks for convincing a group you've got the goods despite not having seen the inside of the dungeon?"
• Why are you overpowered?
  "Dig deep, self-examine and admit it: what makes your class overpowered?"
• How's WoW performance on a Mac?
  "I play Wow on a PC, and am looking towards a new computer purchase. One thing that influences my purchase is how well WoW will run on my new computer. I'm leaning towards a Mac, but how well does WoW run on a Mac?"
• Best way to power level alts
  "What's your strategy for the quickest power leveling? How do you maximize your time with your alts?"
• How would you design your own battleground?
  "What if you could design your own battleground? What would you do different or better than what is currently in the game?"
• When is it fair to upgrade an epic?
  "All DKP ideas aside, when is it fair to upgrade an epic over an epic?"
• Best healing class
  "Which class would you roll for a purely healing role? Which would you roll for a powerfully healing hybrid who might want to take on other roles from time to time? Relatedly, which healing class is the worst?"
• Best DPS class
  "Which classes can dish out the most DPS and which ones make the least amount of DPS?"
• Favorite WoW podcasts
  "There are a ton of WoW-themed podcasts out there now -- which would you recommend? What are your favorites?"
• Great ding stories
  "Any fun or interesting stories to tell about hitting the level cap? Or more generally, any memorable or unusual dings at any level?"

We see that look in your eye, and we know it means you want to send us questions. Ask WoW Insider needs 'em -- send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com!

It's time once again for Ask WoW Insider to publish one of your questions for the community to answer. Last week we heard a ton of great ding stories, and this week we examine a possible breach of instance etiquette. Pelia on Greymane writes:

Last night I was leading a PUG into DM East and about 10 minutes into the instance our mage says "hey guys, i g2g in 20 minutes..." Since we were just starting the instance, I dropped him and instantly started looking for a replacement that would be able to run the whole instance with us. The mage was surprised and said "I said 20 minutes!"

Should I have let him stay in our group until he really needed to go? The group had just formed, so I didn't really feel I owed anything to him. Plus I couldn't use the LFG tool/channel if he stayed since we already had 5 people... I figured I owed it to the rest of the group to find a 5th person that was in it for the long haul...

Was I being a good leader, or a jerk... or both?

What say you, readers -- did the mage commit an instance faux pas? Most of us have rushed to complete a dungeon whilst an exasperated significant other/parent/child/spouse/friend waited for our tardy asses to show up somewhere, but what's an acceptable limit for a "gtg soon!" announcement? Would you go into a dungeon knowing you had to replace a member part way through?

Our kingdom for your questions! Please send us what you'd like to know for next week at ask AT wowinsider DOT com.

Welcome one and all to this week's edition of Ask WoW Insider, wherein your questions are published for the public to answer. Last week we looked at optimizing rep grinding, and this week we turn our attention to a more nostalgic question -- what's your best "ding!" story? Obron from Zangarmarsh (ICftB reprazent!) writes:

I was thinking, that it always makes my friends laugh when I tell them how I ding'd 70, by discovering a forge camp in Blade's Edge while running by it.

Does anybody have some entertaining or funny stories about when they hit 60 or 70?

Any fun or interesting stories to tell about hitting the level cap? Or more generally, any memorable or unusual dings at any level?

As always, we at Ask WoW Insider are starving for your questions! Send them our way at ask AT wowinsider DOT com.

It's been another Warcraft-filled day here in Anaheim, with several meaty sessions with the Blizzard developers digging in to the mechanics of the game and some of the changes we might expect in future patches and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Once again we camped out near the life-giving sustenance of two 110-volt friends to bring you as close to the action as it happened as possible -- here's a roundup of the sessions we liveblogged today at BlizzCon:

• Professions and items
• Legendary Pictures Warcraft film panel
• WoW PvP Panel
• Day 2 Class panel Q & A
• Lore and quests panel

For those of you who missed it, here are all the sessions from day 1:

• Opening Ceremony
• Wrath of the Lich King live demo session
• WoW Class Panel
• Dungeons and Raids Panel

Just a short note to let you all know about our mobile feed here at WoW Insider -- if you're out and about and want to check in on the latest BlizzCon news, or just want to get a WoW fix whilst on the go, tune in to m.wowinsider.com on your cellphone or mobile device of choice and get the latest headlines and stories from WoW Insider. We're also reminding you that we're updating to Twitter during BlizzCon if you're interested in following our updates from the show floor.

More eye candy for you -- this gallery contains concept art from Wrath of the Lich King. We're pretty sure the Tuskar Chief is moonlighting from Grant Theft Walrus.

We've got some WotLK screenies for you, including some areas of note from around the Northrend continent including scenery from Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra and Grizzly Hills. We'll keep this short and sweet so you can get on with the ogling.

We've managed to commandeer a patch of the press seating area located conveniently next to a dear, beloved power outlet and have been camped out all day bringing you live coverage of all the presentations here in the BlizzCon main hall. The big news of the day was the official confirmation of Wrath of the Lich King as the next expansion, to be released, in true Blizzard style, "whenever it's ready." We've got loads of pics and specs from both the opening keynote and the Wrath of the Lich King live demo session earlier today, as well as some great mechanics discussions from the Class Panel and Dungeons and Raids Panel. Here's a roundup of all the session liveblogs from Day 1:

• Opening Ceremony
• Wrath of the Lich King live demo session
• WoW Class Panel
• Dungeons and Raids Panel

We've got some nice eye candy from Zul'Aman for you, including some images of the animal aspect bosses Nalorakk, Akil'Zon (above) and Halazzi. We had a chance to stealth into the instance earlier in the press room, and our initial visual impression of the dungeon can be described in two words: Indiana Jones. Or rather, a cross between Indiana Jones and Zul'Gurub on steroids. A 20-minute "sacrifice" timer started counting down as soon as we zoned in, and at the end of the timer Hex Lord Malacrass's voice yelled across the zone that we had failed in our mission, and that every sacrifice made him stronger.

There were a couple of closed doors barring our way from exploring further into the instance, but we were able to get a first-hand look at Nalorakk, the bear avatar boss, and Jan'alai the dragonhawk avatar before being detected and mercilessly pwned by a 4-pack Amani'shi patrol. The interior is incredibly picturesque, with cascading waterfalls, carved stone altars and a lagoon area. Populating the area are a number of elite Amani'shi mobs including Flame Casters, Guardians, Handlers with crocolisk pets, and the good old Beserkers we know and love. Shortly after the zone-in point and down a flight of stairs are a line of Amani'shi troll guards that look like a formidable initial pull -- we're so looking forward to getting 9 of our closest friends together, flexing our bad mojo and making our way through Zul'Aman.