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Dan O'Halloran Los Angeles, CA - http://www.wowinsider.com
Dan O'Halloran is co-lead at WoW Insider with Elizabeth Harper and Mike Schramm. He's been playing MMORPG's nightly for 8 years now. In WoW, he can be found in cat form on his feral Druid on the Silver Hand server.
Today I'm going to focus on the Zul'Aman drops. Here's a list by boss:
Nalorakk the Bear Avatar
(Cat) Bladeangel's Money Belt (Leather Waist) 227 AC, +25agi, +27sta, Blue Socket, +4atk socket bonus, +21 crit, +58 atk, 77 armor negation. A solid upgrade to the Girdle of Treachery from Karazhan, but not quite as good if you can get a Belt of Deep Shadow crafted. Arguably, one of the top 3 or 4 belts in the game. Be ready to /roll against rogues for this belt for your Cat Druid.
Every piece has +Resilience and has set bonuses for the same stat. Sprinkled through the armor (and the weapons/ranged slot items) are small enhancements to existing abilities for each class as well.
Head over to WoR and check it out, then let us know if you think Blizzard has made a class PvP set that works for you or is it totally off base.
The festive tents are coming down. The Pink Elekks are fading away. The Wolpertingers are are scurrying back to their hutch in Wolpertingerland. What? You've never heard of Wolpertinger- land? Trust me, you are noy prepared.
Of course, neither was Blizzard. Nothing could prepare them for the combination of enthusiasm and technical glitches that made the inaugural Brewfest event something of a bugfest. But for the love of schnitzel and parading through Ogrimmar as a Tauren on a Riding Ram (so, so wrong) players dove in to the Daily Quests, both steins at the ready.
But with Brewfest winding down today we figured it was time to count your tickets and see if that Pony Keg will be making an appearance at the next Gruul wipe. I bring you, the question of the day:
Let us know what you accomplished and what got left behind like a bad hangover. I, for one, know that I shall never remove from my memory the site of a Blood Elf in Brewfest Regalia. How about you?
We've already covered the new Engineering Flying Machines (and what it takes to get them!), but there are also many other new recipes introduced with Patch 2.3. Our very own Insider Trader gave us an overview of profession additions and changes, but I wanted to focus on some of the new recipes that will be available.
First, there is a new weapon enchant in town that drops from the bosses in Zul'aman: Executioner. It ignores 840 of your opponent's armor, which is an increase of 2-5% dps according to the commenters on WoW Head. The proc rate isn't clear yet. There are two movies of it on YouTube. This one showcases the glowy effect and this one shows the weapon in action. It's a 375 enchant and takes 6 Void Crystals, 10 Large Prismatic Shards, 6 Greater Planar Essences, 30 Arcane Dusts and 3 Elixirs of Major Strength.
New Jewelcrafting , Engineering and Cooking recipes after the jump!
With the new 10-main, post-Karazhan instance, Zul'Aman, the centerpiece of Patch 2.3, I have to wonder just how much of the WoW population it's going to service. There's the non-raiders who will never put in the time commitment to do even the 10-man raids and then there's the 25-man raiders who see the new 10-man zones as not worth the time.
So I figured I would take a poll:
If you are active 10-man raider, and you answer "no" I'd love to hear your reason below. If you are a non-raider or a 25-man raider and answer "yes" also please explain.
This video has been around since Spring, but I'm pretty sure we haven't spotlighted it. It's a creative way to use a WoW private server. Instead of lining up raid bosses and making them do the Macarena, these players created an event.
They built a staircase in Azeroth a couple of miles high, allowed other players on to their private server, then had a race to the top. Let's just say not everyone made it to the top without falling. A very long way.
Check it out for a fun event that should be in the game.
EDIT: I should add that while videos created on Private Servers are great fun to watch, playing or creating a Private Server is frowned on by Blizzard. And we don't recommend doing anything that might affect your game account with them.
Sevenfold loves the Horde. Not like "I will die for the Horde! And then switch to Rogue to farm primals for awhile." I mean "is there any way to make my arm bigger so the tattoo will fit?" That's how much he loves the Horde.
I've heard of people getting married at Blizzard conventions or doing outrageous things for Murloc suits, but permanent ink doesn't come out in the wash, if you know what I mean.
This one is just one in the latest of Warcraft ink we've talked about, but I have to throw in my two cents here.
I love the game. I really do. And I have a tattoo, though not Warcraft related, so I understand the passion that moves on to get inked. But I'm not sure I would get a Warcraft themed tattoo. Think about it. Would it have to go next to your Everquest tat? Your Meridian59 piercing? Your picture of your son named Zork?
What about you? Do you love Warcraft so much you would permanently emblazon it on your body? And, if so, why?
Ret Paladins are currently in an uproar. They want their dps increased so they can be viable at raiding, yet they are given no way to shed aggro.
The idea behind the paladin class is tanking and healing. Most classes have two roles they can play very well given the proper spec and equipment. But Druids can play more, why shouldn't other classes?
This isn't a qq moar ret pally question or a n3rf druids question. The question I'm putting forth is: should all classes get to do all things? And should they be able to do them very, very well to get raid slots?
With Patch 2.3 landing on the PTR, it seems like the special mount news is never ending. Flying machines, special Hippogryphs, PvP Hawkstrider mounts and the new bear mount from Zul'Aman are all new choices available to players when the patch goes live.
This video shows a player on a polar bear mount. I have to assume a private server was used. But I can't tell if the polar bear mount is a modification of the Zul'Aman bear mount or something truly in the game. Either way, get your Golden Compass fix by checking out the short video above.
We already knew the plot was about an amnesiac human enslaved by an orc shaman to compete in an Arena tournament. What we learn in this interview is some of the other major characters. They include a blood elf, a night elf druid and a dwarven warrior.
All of these characters are also available as action figures. In fact, we here at Wow Insider just finished up a contest to give away the Thargas Anvilmar action figure in a Brewfest contest.
Simonson promises a mix of the familiar and the surprising. While deeply immersing himself in the lore of Azeroth, he also found new stories to tell. Blizzard themselves have approval, so we know the lore will be spot on.
You can read the entire interview and see all five sneak peak pages here. Or you can wait til November for the comic to hit the shelves.
We're planning to shrink the min range on ranged attacks to reduce or eliminate the "dead zone". The only point to the dead zone was to ensure the min range on ranged weapons was enough such that ranged weapon attacks wouldn't be used while also being melee'd (at least by mobs... players have a bit of slush built in).
Players are understandably elated. For those who don't play Hunters, the deadzone is an area that other players could stand in that was too far for the Hunter to melee and too close for the Hunter to use a ranged attack. This vulnerability in the Hunter's ability to deal damage is often used against them in PvP.
It's surprising that after all this time Blizzard is finally addressing this long overdue class flaw. But coming on the heels of all the other massive class changes in Patch 2.3, perhaps it's not so surprising at all.
The only thing missing from this announcement is what Patch it will happen in. I'm sure the Hunters' cries of elation will soon turn to demands for swift implementation. But don't hold your breath. Patch 2.3 currently on the PTR is very large and will take at least a month or two to go live. If that happens right before the holidays, don't expect a new patch until well into January and for that one to go live in February or March depending on its size.
Look at the screenshot. It's like Christmas came early courtesy of Patch 2.3. Seriously, that is one of the coolest flying mounts in the game. And if that's not good enough for you, click here to see an animated gif of it in action. This mechanical wonder can all be yours if you have the skill.
MMO-Champion was able to get a scrounge up the recipe for the two Engineering Flying Machine schematics:
Engineering: Flying Machine Reagents:
Adamantite Frame (2)
Fel Iron Bar (30)
Handful of Fel Iron Bolts (8)
Star Wood (8)
Fel Iron Toolbox
Elemental Seaforium Charge (4)
BoP, Req Level 70, Engineering 350+ to make and at least Expert riding skill to use.
I'm not a Grandmaster Engineer myself, but these components don't look too difficult to gather. The only sticking point I see is the Elemental Seaforium Charge comes from a recipe that requires Revered faction with the Consortium to purchase. But the Charges aren't BoP so you can always buy them from another Engineer.
The PTR isn't up for another hour, but changes are already happening for Patch 2.3. First, the Guild Banks will not be active yet and will be turned on later in the Testing process.
Also, many new class changes have been added to the notes. Here are all the class notes with the new changes in bold:
Druids
* Barkskin: It is no longer possible to cast this spell while Cycloned. * Cure Poison and Abolish Poison are now usable in Tree of Life Form. * Cure Poison, Abolish Poison and Remove Curse range increased to 40 yards. * Entangling Roots: It is no longer possible for multiple Druids to have Entangling Roots on the same target. In addition, it will now always be removed correctly if multiple Druids overwrite each other's Entangling Roots. * Feral Attack Power: Items that granted bonus attack power in Cat, Bear, Dire Bear, and Moonkin forms have been re-evaluated. In almost all cases, the attack power on the item has been increased. This change corrects an issue where feral weapon damage was not keeping up with other classes in its rate of increase.
Druid notes (and all other classes) continued in full after the jump!
Many of the Patch 2.3 changes were pre-announced over the last two weeks by Blizzard. But today when the patch hit the Test server, many additional changes were discovered. And some of them are very interesting.
A new Expertise Skill has shown up in the notes. Based on the description given the meat of it seems to be that Weapon Skill Rating is out and Expertise Skill Rating is in. Weapon Skill Rating on an item used to decrease your chance to miss, increase your chance to crit and decrease your opponents chance to block, parry or dodge. Now that's been eliminated in favor of this new stat that simply reduces the chance for your attacks to be parried or dodged.
It looks like you're losing out, but the effects of Weapon Skill Rating were small (0.04% per point) where as the Expertise Skill rating has more impact (0.25% per point.) How this affects your overall dps I leave to the mathemagicians.
Weapon Skill Ratings on ranged items have not been replaced with Expertise Skill, but with additional +crit and/or +hit. Check individual items for exact changes. Also, some talents haven been altered to accommodate this new skill but what those talents are and how they were changed isn't clear yet.
Details have finally surfaced about the Guild Bank. We knew there were going to be 6 tabs and some permissions and a tracking function for transactions, but now we know the specifics. The 6 tabs will each contain 98 item slots for a total of 588 slots. Permissions to view, deposit and withdraw can be changed for every tab. Also every tab will show the last fifty transactions. So new recruits can't raid the good stuff.
A player decided to take a school assignment and turn it into a World of Warcraft machinima piece. In it, he explains what an MMOG is, as well as various aspects of WoW. Just like the title of the film states, it's a good introduction to Warcraft.
It's very well done with lots of music, humor, good editing and beautiful 1 minute intro showcasing various zones in Azeroth. Don't miss the Leeroy Jenkins reference, the examples of the perils of Voice Chat or the Village People music under the credits.
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them, brought to you by David Bowers and Dan O'Halloran. 
World of Raids is at it again. Arena Season 3 started last night on the PTR and a new Arena vendor popped up in Area 52. WoR already has screenshots of the new PvP armor sets for every class and every talent spec with images from the Dressing Room as well.
The festive tents are coming down. The Pink Elekks are fading away. The Wolpertingers are are scurrying back to their hutch in Wolpertingerland. What? You've never heard of Wolpertinger- land? Trust me, you are noy prepared.
We've already covered the new Engineering Flying Machines (and what it takes to get them!), but there are also many other new recipes introduced with Patch 2.3. Our very own Insider Trader gave us an overview of profession additions and changes, but I wanted to focus on some of the new recipes that will be available.
Sevenfold loves the Horde. Not like "I will die for the Horde! And then switch to Rogue to farm primals for awhile." I mean "is there any way to make my arm bigger so the tattoo will fit?" That's how much he loves the Horde.
Ret Paladins are currently in an uproar. They want their dps increased so they can be viable at raiding, yet they are given no way to shed aggro. 
MTV's Multiplayer blog landed an exclusive interview with comic book legend Walt Simonson about the upcoming Warcraft comic shipping next month. Included in the interview is the first five pages of the comic.
That's right. You heard me. No more hunter deadzone soon. Don't believe me? Here's the quote from none other than Kalgan himself:
EDIT: YouTube video! ~ Thanks RogueJedi86
The PTR isn't up for another hour, but changes are already happening for Patch 2.3. First, the Guild Banks will not be active yet and will be turned on later in the Testing process.
Many of the Patch 2.3 changes were pre-announced over the last two weeks by Blizzard. But today when the patch hit the Test server, many additional changes were discovered. And some of them are very interesting.
