WoW Insider

Another week has come and gone again, leaving us stranded in yet another weekend (and a holiday weekend for many of us, at that). How are we ever going to kill the time until Monday? By spending some time in Azeroth! So what's everyone playing this weekend? The WoW.com team will get the conversation started, so to see what we're up to -- and tell us what you're up to! -- in game this weekend, read on!

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Filed under: Odds and ends

Another week has brought us to another weekend, which means it's time for us all to work out what we're playing this weekend. The Midsummer Fire Festival begins today, but surprisingly enough, it's not what any of our crew seem to be looking forward to for weekend World of Warcraft entertainment. Leveling alts? Raiding Ulduar? Or, gasp, dare I say it, some kind of crazy life beyond the keyboard? How dull! There's summer to celebrate!

For what the WoW.com team is up to this weekend -- and to let us know what you're playing this weekend -- read on!

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Leveling

Summer is upon us -- and with it the promise of plenty of sunshine, occasional bouts of heatstroke, and lots of good reasons to stay indoors where it's cool and air-conditioned. (Anyway, in a couple of weeks we'll be able to enjoy all the fun of the Midsummer Fire Festival from our desks, won't we?) Our sunlight-addled brains have decided to make this week's WRUP more friendly to our friends and allies on Twitter -- sure, a lot of you follow us on @wowinsider, but if you're really into this social networking thing, maybe you'd like to stalk er, follow our writers individually. For your stalking following convenience, everyone's Twitter name is listed alongside their weekend plans. (Save for the clever, clever people who either don't use Twitter or won't confess to using Twitter.)

Onward, dear readers, into the breach! See what the WoW.com staff is up to in game this weekend -- and let us know what you're playing, too!

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Filed under: Odds and ends

There's a chance we may all be in the gravest peril -- and that's the excuse I'm going to give for nearly no one on the team playing World of Warcraft this weekend. So what's the peril today? Mr. Rossi explains it better than I:

• Matthew Rossi: I'm hunting down an ancient Egyptian Vizier named Hamenthotep. Seems he's trying to find some sort of ancient scrolls called the "Ziebart Codex" that will allow him to harness the power of some sort of ancient primal diety named "Izzu Tahuti" or some such. I don't actually read Demotic. Anyway, in order to find the codex he apparently made use of an old Lemurian ritual site in the Andes and sent forth Peruvian Mummies to possess all the descendants of the original writer of the Codex, Ziebart Dulkarnizen (The Two Horned Ziebart) an ancient and terrible black wizard. So far I haven't had any luck finding any of the descendants. They're masters of subtlety and stealth, it seems, all connected to an order of Cathars who disappeared during Innocent III's attempt to suppress the Albigensian Heresy. I'm not sure if they're Ophists or not, but until I find one of the last living Ziebarts, all of earth is in grave danger from Hamenthotep and his strange, black garbed ally with the hunting horn. I may also run Ulduar.
• Mike Schramm: Wait -- isn't Alex named Ziebart? He could be the key to the Codex! Oh no wait I think he's Zibert. Never mind.
• Alex Ziebart: Send help. Peruvian husk not very dexterous. Hard to play.

For more from the rest of the team, read on!

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends

Ladies! Gentlemen! Children of all ages! We, the writers, editors, and innocent bystanders at WoW Insider would like to welcome you all to our new home: WoW.com.

Our new domain serves a broader purpose than saving your typing fingers a few characters, though. You've probably already noticed our new, more streamlined design -- all the better for providing you with more content and less clutter. But in addition to the content you all know and (hopefully) love, we'd like to introduce you to the beta launch of WoW.com Profiles. By creating a profile on WoW.com you can:

• show off your characters
• make blog posts & galleries to share with others
• communicate with your guild & your friends
• let everyone know what you're up to in the game we all love
• by downloading the WoW.com addon (for PC or Mac), you can also keep all of your friends up to date on what you're doing in game -- and make blog posts and upload screenshots directly from your game client.

Sound interesting? Head over and sign up (you can use an existing AIM or Facebook login) and start getting involved in the WoW.com community! (Having trouble? Take a look at our getting started guide or send us an e-mail explaining the problem. We'll help you figure it out!)

Please remember, WoW.com Profiles are still in beta -- while we already have lots of ideas for the future, we want to hear from you about what we're doing wrong (or right!) to help us improve it. And before you even start protesting, we're aware that Profiles currently only work with characters in the US armory. (Though, to readers not on US servers, you can certainly create an account and participate on WoW.com Profiles -- you just aren't able to add characters. We're starting small with this beta run, but hope to have the ability for everyone to join us soon!)

Thank you to all of our readers for your support and unbridled enthusiasm over the years! Though the site may have changed, the WoW Insider content you're all familiar with isn't going anywhere. As WoW.com we plan on continuing to provide you with the latest news and community from the World of Warcraft.

- the WoW.com team

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

There is a slight, very slight, chance that the WoW Insider crew is made up of a bunch of geeks. And while we're supposed to stay focused on the World of Warcraft, sometimes our geekiness draws us out of our virtual shell and into movie theaters or comic stores or other, more frightening non-virtual environments. That said, I think this week's responses speak for themselves.

• Adam Holisky: OMFGSTARTREK.
• Alex Ziebart: Waiting patiently for the winners of the fan art contest to check their e-mail and get back to me so I can announce the winners. Hint hint. Was I supposed to say Star Trek?
• Allison Robert: /afk Star Trek.
• Amanda Dean: Despite my Klingon tattoo, I will probably not be going to see Star Trek this weekend. We're a little bit behind the curve, but my plan is to achieve Sarth 1D on 25 man and 2D on 10. We still don't have Maly down, but we'll probably see that dragon dead on 10 man this weekend as well. For Pony!
• Chase Christian: Ensign Chase, reporting for duty!
• Dan O'Halloran: There will be Star Trek. Or there will be divorce.
• Daniel Whitcomb: I am definitely watching Star Trek. Also, getting on track with Argent Tournament dailies again now that the Holiday rush is over.
• Elizabeth Harper: I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking about spending the weekend watching Star Trek over and over.
• Matt Low: Star Trek.
• Matthew Rossi: I'm probably just going to decouple the secondary matter infuser and use it to reverse the polarity on something, myself. Captain, the polarity is reversed but now I have to get to the ODM bypass in the Jeffries Tube. Instability is continuing in the antimatter containment field, so we may have to go to our backup plan and kill Yogg-Saron this weekend instead.
• Michael Gray: My fiancee are going to a local waterfallish kind of place to go rock climbing and celebrate a Shetland Rogue's birthday. If we get some WoW time, the Arena beckons. [And, being unable to leave Trek jokes well enough alone...] Bolvar to the Alliance: I have been, and ever shall be, your friend. Live long and prosper.
• Michael Sacco: Yogg-Saron and my four-piece Elemental bonus.
• Nick Whelan: Watching Star Trek over and over.
• Robin Torres: Star Trek and Mother's Day feasts.
• Zach Yonzon: Boldly going where no man -- no one -- has gone before. Alright, that's not true, but I'm finally getting Battlemaster after abstaining from Alterac Valley for months because losing 9 out of every 10 makes one physically ill. And just like everyone else, I've got my phaser set to stun. All aboard the NCC-1701!

So tell us, readers (those of who aren't geeking out on Trek right now), what are you playing this weekend?

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends

• Adam Holisky: My girlfriend and I will be paying good money to take a small white ball out to a very flat field filled with holes and swing at the aforementioned ball with a very hard metal stick. I'll then come home and try to earn another thousand gold over the weekend.
• Alex Ziebart: Ulduar 25. Wednesday night we cleared up to where we left off last week, so we have Sunday night and Monday night free to kill new bosses. Very exciting!
• Allison Robert: The game is still crashing my computer too much to properly enjoy doing much of anything there. I'll be writing a special edition of the OverAchiever for Noblegarden while wondering if I'll actually get to enjoy the actual in-game event.
• Daniel Whitcomb: I'm plugging along on the Argent Tournament, and I should finish out my Gnomeregan champion status at some point this weekend. I'm also thinking of buying a pair of heirloom shoulders and powering my Druid through to 80, but I am torn between grabbing Feral or Healer shoulders, so I may just run heroics until I can afford both. Also, I'm getting into Wintergrasp some, if only to grab the Mammoth for achievement purposes.
• Eliah Hecht: I gave my Warlock a new spec (and Cold Weather Flying) as a level 77 present, so I'll be Incinerating my way to my fourth level 80 character.
• Elizabeth Harper: Noblegarden!
• Elizabeth Wachowski: I'm still running into the getting-disconnected-every-few-minutes problem, so I'll probably be playing Oblivion and watching my boyfriend accidentally blow himself up with grenades in GTAIV.
• Jennie Lees: I'm going to be playing a lot of in-game Peggle.
• Matt Low: Ool-doo-ar. Perhaps some sleep here and there too.
• Matthew Rossi: Between continuous bouts of bad news I'm running Ulduar -10, having cleared up to Yoggy in 25 man this week. Hoping for a full clear of 10 this weekend, and then we can start on hard modes. I'm also re-playing Jade Empire because I like to kick things in the face but society frowns on it.

So, what are you playing this weekend?

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends

Last week's WRUP was dismally quiet as the team waited (a bit impatiently) for patch 3.1 to hit the realms. So, with the patch out, what is the WoW Insider team playing this weekend? Like the rest of you, it looks like we're scoping out new content! Want to know what the team is playing this weekend -- or want to let us know what you're playing this weekend? Read on!

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Filed under: Odds and ends

It's official! Patch 3.1 is coming to the live realms today and if you're one of many left dizzy after weeks of changes, bug fixes, nerfs, buffs, stealth nerfs, re-buffs, undocumented changes, and redocumented changes -- WoW Insider is here to help. Obviously things like dual specs and 30 minute hearthstone cooldowns will help us all, but chances are you want to know exactly what's going to be different with your class when you log on after today's maintenance. Here's everything that's been happening for every class, in a single place for your reading convenience...

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Filed under: Patches, Classes

Looking over this week's WRUP responses, I had to wonder what was up. Where were the raid schedules? Where was the to-do list of achievements and dungeon runs? Why wasn't anyone playing WoW? So I asked the team.

Me: It looks like almost no one is playing WoW this weekend.
Alex: Why would we? There's nothing to do.
Me: Good point.
Alex: If 3.1 doesn't hit on Tuesday it's time to start throwing Blizzard employees out windows. One a day until the patch hits.
Me: I wonder if it's in poor taste to mention throwing Blizzard employees out windows in this week's WRUP.
Daniel: Maybe if you use the term "defenestrate" they won't notice! As in "It's time to start defenestrating Blizzard employees."
Me: I wonder if it's in poor taste to use this entire conversation in this week's WRUP...

So what is the team doing this weekend?

• Adam Holisky: Transitioning to a new guild. Not sure which one yet, and I've been lucky enough to get positive hits from the ones I've applied to. All my friends will be staying on the same server and moving to other guilds as well, so that's cool.
• Alex Ziebart: It is done. [Editor's note: we're not sure what he's talking about, either.]
• Chase Christian: After the success on our first Undying run last weekend, we're going for a speed run this week, hoping for a 2-2.5 hour clear of Naxx 10.
• Jennie Lees: Planning a trip that might end up in a move to SF, and wondering how on earth I'll raid if I end up there.
• Matt Low: Screw healing. I'm done. I'm not touching a healing spell again. Forget restorative spells. I'm done with holy spells. I am going on strike from any sort of healing. All heals, unbinded. All bandages, vendored. They're on their own. It'll just be me and my honkin' 2H Great Apocalypse. AHAHAHAHA! I am death. Destroyer of Trolls! Zul'Drak will be leveled and wiped off the face of Northrend when I'm done with it!
• Matt Rossi: Hoping to run a D&D game, I'm trying out 4th edition.

Now tell us, readers, what are you playing this weekend? Are you experiencing some WoW burn-out of your own?

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends