Season 4 Has Started, Witch Doctor and Crusader Guides
Deck Spotlight: TGT Legend Tempo Mage, This Weekend in HS ESports
MSI MGA International Tournament, Kharazim Solo Healer Guide, Science of the Storm #14Arena Skirmishes Bonus Weekend August 28 - 31
Next week is the Wrath of the Lich King timewalking event. Patch 6.2.2 and the new Timewarped Badge system will be live by then as long as nothing changes!
This Month in WoW – September 2015
September is here, and summertime is coming to an end. This month is chock-full of festivities, celebrations, and heated PvP action as we draw closer to BlizzCon 2015. Here’s a peek at some of the fun you can have!
In-Game Events
Darkmoon Faire Returns [September 6-13]
The wondrous and mystical Darkmoon Faire returns to Azeroth on September 6, and if you haven’t completed all of Silas Darkmoon’s new Darkmoon Races, now’s the time! Test your speed and agility on a variety of racing mounts as you dodge electrifying obstacles and zip all over Darkmoon Island for rewards and achievements. You may also want to take a few moments to be a kid again by going for a ride on the new Darkmoon Seesaw.
The faire continues to be one of the best ways to acquire heirloom gear, and don’t forget all of the toys, mounts, and pets that can only be gotten here. Get in that cannon!
Pirates’ Day [September 19-20]
Every year on this one day, Captain DeMeza lands at the goblin town of Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale, attempting to recruit land-lubbers into her buccaneer ranks. Don’t miss your chance to visit her or her henchmen in the capital cities. New for this year is the Big Bag of Booty. Be the Robin Hood of pirates by purchasing this one-time-use item which you can toss into the streets to help distribute piles of gold to those most in need. Yarr!
Brewfest [September 20-October 6]
Celebrated by both the Horde and the Alliance, Brewfest is a time to enjoy the fermented fruits of the harvest: pretzels, cheese, and brew! The competing breweries Thunderbrew, Barleybrew, and the Ogres, all come together outside of all the major cities in a bid to outdo each other with their special ales, meads, and beers. Brave adventurers are invited to sit back, take a pull, and sample the finest wares these brewers have to offer!
Brewfest is your only chance to acquire the Swift Brewfest Ram and Great Brewfest Kodo mounts, as well as the Wopertinger and Pin-Sized Pink Pachyderm pets. It’s also your chance to get your brew-covered mitts on a few new items: the Stout Alemental pet, and the Steamworks Sausage Grill and Brewfest Banner toys!
Harvest Festival [September 21-28]
The Harvest Festival is a time to commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives to help their allies. Throughout history, many have given their lives to that end. Every year, members of the Horde and the Alliance set aside time to honor the memories of the fallen, and to pay tribute to those whose memories are held most dear: Uther Lightbringer, for the Alliance, and Grommash Hellscream, for the Horde.
Members of the Alliance show their respect by lighting a candle at the Tomb of Uther Lightbringer in the Western Plaguelands. while members of the Horde show their respect to Grommash Hellscream by leaving a bottle of spirits at the base of the Hellscream Memorial in Demon Fall Canyon in Ashenvale.
But your determination to pay respects to the dearly departed doesn’t stop there! Show your patriotism by earning a new Spiritshard which will transforms you into an Anxious, Vengeful, Forlorn, or Peaceful spirit. It’ll be your chance to truly feel the emotions of those who have paid the ultimate price.
Upcoming World of Warcraft Tournaments
Road to BlizzCon: WoW North American Regionals
BlizzCon is only a couple of months away and teams are vying for a chance to make it to the finals. Don’t miss the WoW North American Regionals on the official World of Warcraft Twitch channel! We’ll be sharing more details on the event in the coming days.
GCDTV
GCDTV [(G)lobal (C)ool(D)own TV] continues its tournament hosted by DMachine, and cast by Arena veterans Supatease and Venruki.
You can catch all of the action on the GCDTV Twitch channel, sign up to play on their Battlefy site, catch-up on previous tournament VoDs here, and follow their official GCDTV Twitter feed to stay up-to-date on all of the action.
ESL WoW (EU)
The Electronic Sports League continues to bring the weekend WoW action on:
For more information, head over to the ESL news site, and don’t forget to follow ESL on Twitch and Twitter.
Bonus Events
In-Game Events
Darkmoon Faire Returns [September 6-13]
The wondrous and mystical Darkmoon Faire returns to Azeroth on September 6, and if you haven’t completed all of Silas Darkmoon’s new Darkmoon Races, now’s the time! Test your speed and agility on a variety of racing mounts as you dodge electrifying obstacles and zip all over Darkmoon Island for rewards and achievements. You may also want to take a few moments to be a kid again by going for a ride on the new Darkmoon Seesaw.
The faire continues to be one of the best ways to acquire heirloom gear, and don’t forget all of the toys, mounts, and pets that can only be gotten here. Get in that cannon!
Pirates’ Day [September 19-20]
Every year on this one day, Captain DeMeza lands at the goblin town of Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale, attempting to recruit land-lubbers into her buccaneer ranks. Don’t miss your chance to visit her or her henchmen in the capital cities. New for this year is the Big Bag of Booty. Be the Robin Hood of pirates by purchasing this one-time-use item which you can toss into the streets to help distribute piles of gold to those most in need. Yarr!
Brewfest [September 20-October 6]
Celebrated by both the Horde and the Alliance, Brewfest is a time to enjoy the fermented fruits of the harvest: pretzels, cheese, and brew! The competing breweries Thunderbrew, Barleybrew, and the Ogres, all come together outside of all the major cities in a bid to outdo each other with their special ales, meads, and beers. Brave adventurers are invited to sit back, take a pull, and sample the finest wares these brewers have to offer!
Brewfest is your only chance to acquire the Swift Brewfest Ram and Great Brewfest Kodo mounts, as well as the Wopertinger and Pin-Sized Pink Pachyderm pets. It’s also your chance to get your brew-covered mitts on a few new items: the Stout Alemental pet, and the Steamworks Sausage Grill and Brewfest Banner toys!
Harvest Festival [September 21-28]
The Harvest Festival is a time to commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives to help their allies. Throughout history, many have given their lives to that end. Every year, members of the Horde and the Alliance set aside time to honor the memories of the fallen, and to pay tribute to those whose memories are held most dear: Uther Lightbringer, for the Alliance, and Grommash Hellscream, for the Horde.
Members of the Alliance show their respect by lighting a candle at the Tomb of Uther Lightbringer in the Western Plaguelands. while members of the Horde show their respect to Grommash Hellscream by leaving a bottle of spirits at the base of the Hellscream Memorial in Demon Fall Canyon in Ashenvale.
But your determination to pay respects to the dearly departed doesn’t stop there! Show your patriotism by earning a new Spiritshard which will transforms you into an Anxious, Vengeful, Forlorn, or Peaceful spirit. It’ll be your chance to truly feel the emotions of those who have paid the ultimate price.
Upcoming World of Warcraft Tournaments
Road to BlizzCon: WoW North American Regionals
BlizzCon is only a couple of months away and teams are vying for a chance to make it to the finals. Don’t miss the WoW North American Regionals on the official World of Warcraft Twitch channel! We’ll be sharing more details on the event in the coming days.
GCDTV
GCDTV [(G)lobal (C)ool(D)own TV] continues its tournament hosted by DMachine, and cast by Arena veterans Supatease and Venruki.
- Tournament #21 – Saturday, September 5, 5:00 p.m. EDT/2:00 p.m. PDT
- Day 2/Finals – Sunday, September 6, 5:00 p.m. EDT/2:00 p.m. PDT
You can catch all of the action on the GCDTV Twitch channel, sign up to play on their Battlefy site, catch-up on previous tournament VoDs here, and follow their official GCDTV Twitter feed to stay up-to-date on all of the action.
ESL WoW (EU)
The Electronic Sports League continues to bring the weekend WoW action on:
- Sunday, September 6 at 17:00 CEST (8:00 a.m. PDT) – Go4WoW Europe Cup #10
- Sunday, September 13 at 17:00 CEST (8:00 a.m. PDT) – Go4WoW Europe Cup #11
- Sunday, September 20 at 17:00 CEST (8:00 a.m. PDT) – Go4WoW Europe Cup #12
For more information, head over to the ESL news site, and don’t forget to follow ESL on Twitch and Twitter.
Bonus Events
- September 4-7 – Northrend Timewalking
- September 11-14 – Battleground Bonus Event
- September 18-21 – Draenor Dungeons Bonus Event
- September 25-28 – Pet Battle Event
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Ghostcrawler Tweets
Ghostcrawler still occasionally talks about WoW. Remember that he no longer works for or speaks for Blizzard.
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Can I ask you, how much has the WoW team changed since WotLK?
Not much. The leadership team stayed virtually the same the whole time I was there. Some folks went to Titan and several came back. The team was growing the entire time so you always saw a lot of new faces, but they were additions, not replacements. Reading between the lines a bit, I don't think this is one of those deals where some kind of new team radically evolved the philosophy. Blizzard turnover, even between teams, is very low by industry standards.
Why do Blizzard devs think anyone who disagrees with their direction or believes previous iterations of WoW were superior are blinded by rose colored glasses?
I can't speak for them, obviously. I will say as a game developer on a long-running game such as LoL or WoW or even Age of Empires, you tend to hear in about roughly equal proportions "this feature is flawed and stale, please update it" and "this feature was better before, please revert it." Thus, it's possible to often feel like you are fighting nostalgia, which might make you perceive it even when that isn't the player's specific feedback at the moment.
You don't tend to hear "this feature is perfect, please don't change it," because content customers don't tend to post on social media, but you hear plenty of "this feature was perfect - why did you change it?"
Final Fantasy XIV - 5 Million Accounts
Earlier this month Square Enix announced that FFXIV is up to 5 million accounts! For comparison, World of Warcraft hit 100 million in December 2013.
Diablo III - Season 4 Has StartedSeason 4 has started! Diablofans has all of the details.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/511 ... son-4-Live
