Every Monday and Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. Frostheim of Warcraft Hunters Union uses logic and science (mixed with a few mugs of dwarven stout) to look deep into the hunter class. Mail your hunter questions to Frostheim.

The latest news from the PTR is that patch 3.0.6 has been deployed, bringing with it a bunch of anticipated changes to the hunter class. We recently talked about the likely hunter changes, and just about all of that is being tested in the new patch (though at present, it appears that some of it has been implemented incorrectly).

At first glance, it certainly appears that Blizzard is being very conservative in its adjustments. SV got its gentle nerf in the form of dropping the Into the Wilderness agility bonus down from 15% to 10%. Meanwhile, MM and BM both received buffs — but again, very gentle buffs. While they’ll bring these specs closer to SV, they’ll still be behind. But of course, that’s what the PTR process is for — to test out the changes and make adjustments.

Join me after the cut for the full rundown of what’s changing, unlisted bug fixes, and some of the odd implementations of the changes.

Continue reading Scattered Shots: A look at patch 4.0.6 PTR hunter changes

Filed under: Hunter, (Hunter) Scattered Shots

Scattered Shots: A look at patch 4.0.6 PTR hunter changes originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider’s pages.

It’s another raid night, and I need another mini-pet out. But there are so many options, however shall I choose? The adorable Hippogryph Hatchling? The nigh impossible-to-obtain Hyacinth Macaw? A flashy collector’s edition pet? Nope, not tonight. All I want is my Orange Tabby Cat.

Why such a commonplace, easily accessible, inexpensive, almost downright boring pet, you ask? Well, because he’s a mirror image of my IRL cat. When I first started playing the game, my Orange Tabby Cat and I traversed many mountains, open plains and snowy hills together. It seems fitting to bring him out on raid nights; as he was there from the beginning, so will he be with me in my final triumphs.

Are there any in-game animals that remind you of your RL furry friends? A hunter pet you bring out on special occasions? A mount you seek out on all your characters? Maybe there’s one you find particularly lucky? Or perhaps you have a small, ordinary mini-pet to walk beside you in Azeroth, as your RL pet purrs on the back of your chair?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: Do your in-game pets resemble your real-life pets? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. On Sundays, Chase Christian invites you to discuss the finer side of the paladin class: the holy specialization. Feel free to email Chase with any questions you want answered, like how to party with Thrall.

There’s no need to be ashamed. Many people have felt how you’re feeling right now. Let’s get it out in the open: You’re concerned about mana efficiency. Running out of mana is not a nightmare — it’s a reality. If you choose the wrong heals, your mana pool plummets. Being inefficient with your heals isn’t the status quo; it’s a death sentence. Mana went from our least important stat to our most thought-of concern.

I have been working on different techniques to refine my healing strategy within the confines of our new healing paradigm, and I have come up with a method for saving mana and maximizing your healing done. One of the mechanics that makes holy paladins unique from other healers is our talent Protector of the Innocent, while another is Beacon of Light. When we combine the two abilities, we can achieve far more healing than would normally be possible through the method of splitting holy power points.

Continue reading The Light and How to Swing It: One heal or two

Filed under: Paladin, (Paladin) The Light and How to Swing It

The Light and How to Swing It: One heal or two originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You’re playing the game, you’re fighting the bosses, you know the how — but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Of all the zones to get face lifts in Cataclysm, none deserved it so much as Azshara, the formerly level 50 zone that had a scant 32 quests available during vanilla. Azshara was just a small part of the former home of Queen Azshara and the Highborne, and one would think a zone with that kind of potential would have more to offer. In Cataclysm, the zone has become a level 10-20 area for Horde, and some of the zone’s lore offerings have been expanded upon. Others raise more questions than they answer.

In between all the goblin advancements, one place directly addressed was Lake Mennar, former home to a ton of blue dragons for no discernible reason whatsoever. Lurking nearby was Azuregos, the batty blue dragon who was an outdoor boss and the key to the blue scepter shard for opening the gates of Ahn’Qiraj. Lake Mennar proper served as little more than a farming area for the Azure Whelpling. Why was the Blue Dragonflight so fascinated with Lake Mennar? There’s a story behind that, and it goes all the way back to the War of the Ancients.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: Azshara and the Blue Dragonflight

Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore

Know Your Lore: Azshara and the Blue Dragonflight originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World’s a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

Memories. Regardless of who you are or what your background is comprised of, one of the core concepts of being human is that you carry your memories with you. Good or bad, these memories of past events, arguments and special moments help shape you into the person you are today. Human beings take those memories and use them to shape their perception of what’s happening to them in the present, or even in the future. It’s all part of being human.

The same applies to roleplay and creating a “realistic” character. Last week, we talked about looking at your character with a critical eye — an exercise in distancing yourself emotionally from that character you’ve created and looking at the bare bones behind it and any problems that might arise. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be looking at character creation from the other end of things, how to comfortably root your character into existing lore and give him or her that touch of realism that sets your character apart.

Continue reading All the World’s a Stage: Memories and moments in time

Filed under: All the World’s a Stage (Roleplaying)

All the World’s a Stage: Memories and moments in time originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

I can’t really think of any reason why you wouldn’t be watching Mortal Kombat on Netflix Instant right now, like I am. Not a single one.

cjivan asked:

I’ve been soloing heroic UP on my hunter for the Blue Proto Drake lately, and today I noticed something odd. I got honor points for killing Skadi. Is this a bug or intended?

Your faction controlled Wintergrasp, which made bosses drop Stone Keeper’s Shards back in Wrath. Since that currency no longer exists, honor points are rewarded in its place.

Continue reading The Queue: Those were $500 sunglasses

Filed under: The Queue

The Queue: Those were $500 sunglasses originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May I present: your weekly dose of WoW-related comics! Some artists are still not back from their holidays, but there are plenty of great comics to enjoy.

• Sara&Kleeyo: Demotivation.
• The Daily Blink: Overqualified and In Loving Memory and Bitter Gnomes and Goblins
• Disciplinary Action #20
• Nerf NOW!!: Rebel and Career
• Fourth Wall: Some Weeks Later and Achievement Whore
• Torment of the Week: What it Takes
• Dark Legacy Comics: Archaeology
• Teh Gladiators: On My Command … Unleash!
• Away From Reality: Breaking News
• Safe Passage
• NPC: WoW or Work
• Guilded Age
• LFG #423 and #424
• Lorgrokni’s Travels: Intro to the Barrens and Grind On
• Kuo: Archaeology
• Arena-Inside: Welcome Back and He Will Never Know the Answer
• Blood and Thunder: On Spammers and Scammers
• GU Comics: Gettin’ the Finger. Also: Learning to Swim and Distractions
• Coffin Minis: Don’t Hold Your Breath
• Coffin Comics: Making Due
• What’s Shakin’: Page 18

Bonus:

• Complex Actions has a sketch about the things that can get in the way of comic-making (like planes!).
• GU Comics: Gamer Angst. Props for the tie.

Filed under: Humor, Comics, Sunday Morning Funnies

Sunday Morning Funnies: Thou hast been usurped originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ll give you all a minute to tilt your computer screens so you can actually see the subject of this screenshot. “I died in Blackrock Depths,” writes Furryspec of <Gilneas Liberation Front> on Zul’jin (US-A). “Whoops. On my way back as a ghost, I fell in the lava and was amazed at how cool it looks under the surface in the spirit world. Looks kind of like milk with little bits of black cereal floating in it. Or almost kind of like an Assassin’s Creed-esque virtual construct.”

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth: The worg identity originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider’s pages.

This Breakfast Topic comes largely in response to this very insightful article about how rotations have changed over the ages. While reading it, I began to think about how I will pore over theorycrafting sites to find the optimal DPS rotation, healing build, or tanking strategy. But I only do this for my max-level characters. While I’m leveling, it’s pretty much happy-go-lucky. I’ll occasionally look up what spec might be best for leveling, but sometimes I don’t care about optimal leveling. I just want to have fun and mess around with the character and how to play it.

For example, everyone always said that combat is the best leveling spec for a rogue. I however, loved assassination, so that’s what I stuck with. I tried out combat, but I hated it. No stealth? Swords or maces, not daggers? That’s not a rogue, that’s a weak warrior! Same with my warlock; affliction is supposed to be best, but to me, warlocks are all about demon summoning, so I went with demonology. It just made sense.

Of course, when I hit the level cap and start doing raids, that’s when I’ll delve into what are the optimal rotations, enchants, gems, itemization, etc. That stuff matters at that point. But leveling for me is all about having fun and learning your class. Leveling is a long and tough process; it doesn’t make any sense not to enjoy it as much as you can.

How do you like to level? Do you play it fast and loose with your talents, or do you carefully consider where each precious point goes?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts

Breakfast Topic: What makes a leveling spec work for you? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, “What are you playing this week?” — otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we’re up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you’re playing, too!

When I send the WRUP email out to the staff each week, I like to present the team with a bonus question in addition to simply asking them what they’re doing. Sparking that extra bit of conversation is fun, but sometimes it’s hard to come up with a quick question. This week I skipped the bonus topic, merely asking the staff to be extra verbose to make up for it. Instead, they decided to shout random food names. So … have fun with that in the comments.

Apricots!

Alex Ziebart (AlexZiebart): Finally restarted raiding this week, so this weekend will have a few hours of tackling the Conclave of Wind mixed in with my usual questing and milking everybody of their gold on the auction house via enchanting materials and glyphs. I also picked up Oblivion during the Steam sale and have been playing that a bit. I played both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas and was impressed by their potential but found the actual games to be pretty bad. I’m enjoying Oblivion a lot though, which is odd considering it’s Fallout in Fantasyland. I find it far more compelling than anything in the two Fallout games I’ve played. Eh.

Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey): Raiding! The guild has started 25s in earnest now. As someone who spent vanilla raiding Blackwing Lair among others, Blackwing Descent is fascinating. I love how the trash drakes are nods to the original BWL drake trio. I can’t wait to go to the Throne of the Four Winds — not because I’m looking forward to the fights, but because that zone and Vortex Pinnacle are about the most breathtaking things I’ve seen in this game to date.

Continue reading WRUP: Really, guys?

WRUP: Really, guys? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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