Use: Shoots a purple fireworks display into the air that explodes into a rain of sparkles.
It has infinite uses (hence the "perpetual"), and a 30 second cooldown. The whole display itself lasts about 4 seconds, but it does like pretty purty.
No level requirements, so anyone can use it -- provided you can get it.
How to Get It: Yes, it's a TCG item, but not one of the normal ones, where you just buy a booster and hope you pick it up. Nope, this fireworks trinket is part of Upper Deck's "points" program, in which points is just a fancy word for "spend more money!" Every booster pack you buy has a certain number of points in it, and when you've collected enough points cards, you can spend them on UDE's website for ingame items like this one. There's about 100 points per booster pack, and this item currently costs 3,000 points (it used to cost 10,000!), so you'd have to buy 30 booster packs (MSRP around $5, though you can find them cheaper and more expensive in different places, so about $150 total) to get enough points for the trinket.
Fortunately, we have eBay, where people are selling and buying the UDE points for as cheap as $15. Still not really a great way to get an ingame item (spending real money for virtual stuff, woo!), but if you really want to get your hands on this trinket, there you go. Otherwise, just do a few runs of Scarlet Monastery's Armory, and you'll have all the fireworks you need.
Getting Rid of It: You can't! Vendors won't take it, and it'll never run out of charges, so the only way to get rid of it would be to destroy it. And that would be like throwing money down the drain, which is something that TCG buyers would never ever do, right? Right?
You'd have expected a little more in-depth Arena discussion from the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational. You'd have been wrong, but you'd have expected it. We've covered the new Arena maps, but something from the Question and Answer periods really stuck out for me. What's the future of the Arena going to be like...for crowd control? Should we expect more, less, or about the same? What's going to happen to that naughty little Cyclone?
The answer from Tom Chilton was predictable -- without crowd control in its various forms, Arena matches become little more than DPS races. Crowd control (and its cousin line of sight) helps Arena fights take a little longer, and introduces viable strategies that are based all around controlling the other team. (As opposed to just blowing them to heck.) But the forums are alive - alive! - with complaints about Cyclone, Sap, Sheep, and hell, even Scatter Shot. No sir, folks don't like crowd control. Often, it seems like they'd rather get killed than sheeped.
I think it comes down to a pretty basic thing -- we have fun in these games by controlling our characters. Anything that jeopardizes the control of our characters on either a short-term or a long-term basis is therefore anathema. No one wants to stand there, helpless, while some Rogue performs their billionth stun on you. It seems to me (in my rosy-glassed retrospect) that we heard less complaints about insta-kill POM+Pyro than we do about a 3 second stun.
Your mileage may vary, but I think until Blizzard finds some way around that dichotomy -- CC is good for interesting fights, bad for fun -- we're going to continue to see tumultuous forum fights about the issue. I'm forced to agree with Chilton -- crowd control adds a layer of strategy and depth to the tactics of the Arena. Still, I hope they do something about it.
I love this idea from Matt on WoW LJ -- he points out a few great examples of what he calls "incidental RP." The vast majority of players in the game wouldn't call themselves "roleplayers" (and lots of them might make fun of people who do), but all of us, in playing the game, are buying into the lore and the roles we're playing to a certain extent. If you've ever yelled "for the Horde!" or felt a strange hatred towards Gnomes, guess what -- you've been roleplaying.
His examples are a little more silly -- his girlfriend hates parrots (because one of them once killed her in Deadmines), and he'll sometimes answer NPCs, even though they never respond. I do the same thing -- /salute an NPC after grabbing a quest, or yelling "and stay down!" after dropping a major boss or a mob that's given me trouble. That kind of stuff is a far cry from the heavy RP that can go on in game, but just the same, it makes the game more fun. And just like good art, it puts you even more in someone else's (fictional or otherwise) shoes -- what would it feel like to be someone given a quest, or a real member of a group like the Horde? Maybe that's why roleplaying is the wave of the future.
Any other great examples of incidental roleplaying? It's another mark of how great Blizzard's game is that the setting, art, and experience of playing pushes people who wouldn't normally get into character to really think about what the person they're playing is all about.
Back during Blizzcon last year (it seems so long ago now, doesn't it?) we started up a WoW Insider Twitter account so you folks could get updates from right there on site as the event went down. After Blizzcon ended, though, we left the account to lay dormant for a while, and we didn't post any tweets in a few months. We're back, though -- if you're on Twitter, make sure to head over there and follow our feed.
Twitter, if you're unaware, is a fun little messaging service, about halfway between email and instant messenger. From now on, our Twitter account (@WoWInsider, obviously) will feature not only periodic updates on posts we think worth tweeting about, but also little insights on what our writers are up to around the realms, whether it's grinding rep in Blade's Edge, raiding Black Temple with our guilds, or running an ICftB event.
It's just another fun way to see what we're up to (especially for smaller, more personal things that don't really warrant a whole post). You can follow our feed on the Twitter link above, and soon, we should have Twitter updates posted here on our homepage as well. WoW Insider's Twitter is back -- if you're on Twitter, make sure to follow and keep an eye on what we're doing.
As I said the other day, we're always happy to give some more notice to various RP events happening around the realms, and here are two (one on the US and one on EU) coming up in the next week or so.
First up, there's going to be a Horde hoedown (they're not really calling it that, I just thought "Horde hoedown" was a good name) on May 10th at 8pm server over on Steamwheedle Cartel. There'll be a concert with skits and performances (including prizes for the best one), a best dressed contest, and storytelling around a bonfire. Seems fun -- if you want to perform, they're asking you to post on the board, although if you just want to watch, you can probably just show up.
And over on EU Moonglade, they're holding a belated May Day event on May 11th. That one starts at 8:30pm server, and they're asking you to come dressed in your best and brightest Spring clothes. It seems a little more formal than the bonfire, but there's no reason you can't sneak a good Spring Ale in.
As always, if you've got events going on that you want people to know about, drop us a tip and we'll let people know about it.
I love World of Warcraft. I should, because I've been playing it since release, I have no idea what could motivate someone to do anything for about three years uninterrupted if not love. But even the most intense, fervent love for the game can hit a rough patch. Lately, as I've been tanking more and doing everything else less, I get nostalgic for those days of running for my life through Stranglethorn Vale while being chased by an inexhaustible army of panthers.
Okay, well, not that part. But lately I'm noticing that I've developed a very workmanlike attitude towards WoW. Punch in (that is to say, log on) an hour before raid time, get my consumables lined up, talk to the other tanks about strategy, help to herd the raid group to the instance, help summon folks who didn't get there under their own power because they logged on five minutes before raid time, tank the raid, get myself back to Shat, get my banking straightened out, run a few dailies, punch out (that is to say, log out). Maybe I'll log on some alts for PvP or level grinding, and maybe I won't.
Frankly, this is a terrible way to play a game. So I've resolved that I shall not do so anymore. What am I doing to make my play time less like middle management?
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.
This is it, folks. This is the final column in my four-part feature about how to take your casual raids to the next level. For parts one, two, and three, click on the purple words with lines under them.
I've noticed in the comments under these features that a few people seem confused about the difference between casual and hardcore raiding. One reader from last week, Ger, put it best:
The point of "casual" is to concentrate on WoW being a fun game more than a chore, but if you want to raid then be prepared to take some dang responsibility and not be a liability to 9 or 24 other people.
That one made me laugh. It's a bit of an exaggeration, yes, but I like that definition. Let's recap what I talked about previously, and follow that up with some more suggestions.
WoW quests seem to be pretty formulaic."Bring me some number of this item or kill that number of mobs." I guess there only so many types of quests that the developers can make. In order to ensure that you get enough experience from some quests, they assign a ridiculously low drop rate.Sometimes I think there are sensors in the keyboard that measure one's level of the frustration by how hard you hit the keys. Once you reach a certain threshold, the item drops. I'm probably wrong about that.
I think there's something so awesome about this story from Rufus on Livejournal-- his mom and stepdad have never gamed before, but they've leveled two characters up to 40, and during a run in Zul'farrak, they actually took on a whole gang of mobs, and lived.
We've talked about playing with older folks before, but that's not even the best part of this story-- the best part, in my view, is the thought of two people discovering that they can do something they never thought possible. There is definitely an accomplishment and a thrill that comes with gaming (and this game especially-- taking out trolls is always fun), and it's awesome to think that these two were able to discover that.
I did a run of Dire Maul last night on my up-and-coming Hunter, and just like that Blackrock Depths run a little while back, there were a few newbies in the group-- we had to explain tanking and aggro a couple of times, and I had to use Feign Death. But even through just the chat channel, you could tell they were having a ball running through all the demons in the old elven city. That kind of stuff definitely makes me happy this game is around.
I don't know that this film is that great (although there are some cool editing tricks), but what I think is even cooler is the idea behind it. This guild (Midnightmist, though I can't find them on the Armory anymore) had a tournament to the death in Gurubashi Arena-- every player put in 5g, and at the end, the last man standing gets the whole pot.
Obviously they duel the whole time (and I won't reveal who wins, but you could probably guess), but I think this would also be a fun guild event as a battle royale-- everybody jumps into Gurubashi, and whoever stands over the corpses at the end wins. Would be over a lot faster, for sure, but it would still be fun.
I find it hard to believe that we've never done this, but a search through the archives leads me to conclude that we haven't, so here you go.
Name: Orb of Deception Type: Rare Trinket Damage/Speed: N/A Abilities:
On use, transforms you into a character of the opposing faction.
That means you suddenly change your look, from Alliance to Horde or vice versa. Humans to Orcs, Undead to Night Elf, Troll to Dwarf, Tauren to Gnome, and Blood Elf to Draenei (or vice versa).
Lasts for five minutes, and has unlimited charges on a 30 minutes cooldown.
It's mostly just a joke, as NPCs will see right through your disguise, and players will still see red text above your head. But it is fun to cause a little commotion when a newbie spots you walking around a big city as the other faction.
Finally, gender gets a little weird with this, too. Night Elves and undead will change sexes when transformed, and using other shapeshifting buffs, we're told, will make genders change as well. Why is that? Who knows. Probably a bit of coding weirdness that Blizzard isn't interested in fixing.
How to Get It: If "the Orb" (sly Brisco County, Jr. reference there-- anyone with me on that?) was easy to get, everyone would have one, right? Well, it's only kind of easy to get-- it's a world drop, which means that it can drop from almost anywhere in the world. I'm pretty sure it tends to drop in instances, but even that isn't for sure-- lots of people say they've seen it drop out of instances, too.
At any rate, you probably have a better chance just buying it than actually getting it in a drop. Could cost you up to 500 or even 1000g, but given how quickly gold shows up these days, you'll get it faster by just farming gold for it rather than trying to get it to drop for you. Check the AH every day, grab it when you see it pop up, and you're ready for a little bit of deception fun.
Getting rid of it: Sells for 46s 18c to vendors, and disenchants into a Large Brilliant Shard.
One of the things I simultaneously love and dread about my guild on Malfurion is that we have a lot of slightly demented, creative, think for yourself types. Case in point is Vish, who often main tanks for runs when I'm healing on my shammy. The other day, in Shadow Labyrinth, before we got to Blackheart the Inciter the following paraphrased conversation took place.
"Hey, if we don't clear this room, do these guys come when you engage Blackheart?" "Yes they do." "You've seen them come?" "No, but WoWWiki says..." "So you don't really know that they'll all come."
He had me there. I'd never actually seen it. Ten seconds later, however, I did see it when he told the party to wait in Ambassador Hellmaw's room while he ran up and engaged the Inciter. Turns out that puts the whole party in combat even if they are hiding very far away, so I made use of my handy Astral Recall spell while everyone else died a gruesome but informative death.
This made me wonder: have you ever disregarded the various guides, sources and general body of common knowledge about an instance and gone in cold? Have you ever tried something just to see what happens for yourself? I don't think we should run around seeing what that level with the skull on it does all the time, but as long as everyone in the party is okay with it, sometimes it's fun to experiment in game. It's like Mister Wizard, only he usually didn't end up having to run back to his body afterwards. Usually.
Guild banks are one of the banner features of patch 2.3, along with leveling improvements and of course Zul'Aman. We all know that you can store lots of things in them, although it might cost you. People are even making single-person guilds just to get to use the guild bank for storage. Come to think of it, why can't we have account banks, where we could transfer items and gold among our alts on the same server without having to use the mail? But that's not the point of this post.
No, the point of this post is a new use of the guild bank that has nothing to do with storage: checkers! Affix, from Tichondrius-A, has discovered that the bank is good for fun as well as utility. One player is using Netherweave, the other is using Arcane Dust, and they both seem to be having a good time (check the thread for more pictures). I have to say, this is the first time I've seen somebody playing a minigame inside WoW without AddOns or anything. Drysc speculates that chess would be somewhat viable, despite the fact that there is one row too few, what with the variety of item icons that exist. Tic-tac-toe should obviously work as well, though that's a fairly trivial game to not lose. Who wants to play guild bank connect four? Can you think of any other games that could be played within the default interface?
The Care and Feeding of Warriors is our weekly excursion into the dark, dank, scary corners of the warrior mind, with Matthew Rossi as our guide. Sadly, he has been up river as long as Marlon Brando and has all the objectivity of your grandma when the subject of your relative cuteness button index comes up. Yeah, I'm not sure how I went from a 'Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now' reference to grandma pinching your cheeks either. I do think it would be interesting if Martin Sheen got all the way there and Estelle Getty had been waiting for him. "You're a grocery clerk sent to collect a bill, young man, and frankly that lasagna was awful and I'm not paying for it. Now sit down, you look thin. Have you been eating? You know I worry."
There are things warriors do not have and cannot do, of course.
Warriors don't get a free mount at 40 nor do we get a difficult quest chain for an epic mount at 60. We do not have a pet to soak up the damage for us, we cannot sneak anywhere, we cannot freeze several mobs in place and rain frozen death down upon them from a safe distance. We are reliant upon potions and bandages and food to take care of our wounds. We cannot levitate or walk on water or breathe water, much less allow others to do these things. We cannot deal out massive damage and then vanish and run away if the odds turn against us. We do not summon demons or bind the souls of others into crystal shards, nor can we conjure the spirits of the elements by dropping pointed sticks or strange round rocks. And we cannot open up with our most devastating attacks and abilities at the start of combat.
So why, then, are warriors among the most popular of the classes in the game? Why do so many players who raid on one of the other classes or consider a hunter, a shaman, a mage their main eventually roll a warrior? If the class lacks in so many areas, what does it compensate for these deficiencies with? Why do so many strap on the grimy plate (for some ineffable reason, the exact same armor looks twice as seedy on a warrior than on a paladin) and turn their weapons on their foes? Why do we war?
Well, in part we war because World of Potterycraft isn't as much fun. WoW comes out of the successful Warcraft RTS series, and while it's true that special units existed and magic and stealth play a role, in the end what it all comes down to is the grunt vs. the footmen. But why do we, the players, play warriors?
The easy answer would be that warriors are awesome. Luckily, it's also the true answer.
Reader Marcel sent us this great idea that a few players (including Siij of Laughing Skull) have had around the realms: PvP Bingo. Basically it's all started on a forum thread, where a square full of players (who have consented, I assume, although it might be funny if they didn't) are laid out as targets on a bingo card. Kill a player, mark the card, post a screenshot, and the first to finish up a line wins. Fun.
Here's another one on a different realm. I especially like how some instructions are clearer than others (one of the instructions says to just kill a member of a certain guild), though it's not really fair to put just one guy in the center. Then again, maybe he wants to be there-- would you enjoy having a big price on your head, and players gunning to empty your health meter? Zerging groups are apparently acceptable, and though tracking via friends or alts is allowed, I'd think that would be a gamebreaker. Apparently switching to alts is acceptable, too-- all the kills don't have to be done with the same character.
This kind of thing almost makes me wish I played on a PvP server, although I'm sure the same thing could be accomplished via duels. Fun idea, and definitely should make for some good world PvP. Makes me wonder, too, if Blizzard would ever consider player-created bounties ingame-- while there's probably a lot of potential for griefing, players who consented to it would probably have a lot of fun.
For the Fourth, we're going with the obvious choice: a hot little infinite fireworks trinket that isn't all that easy to get.
You'd have expected a little more in-depth Arena discussion from the Blizzard 
I love this idea from Matt on WoW LJ -- he points out a few great examples of 
Back during Blizzcon last year (it seems so long ago now, doesn't it?) we started up 
As I 
I think there's something so awesome about 
Reader Marcel sent us this great idea that a few players (including Siij of Laughing Skull) have had around the realms: PvP Bingo. Basically 
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