This is absolute bias on my part, and one of the few times I'll cop to preferring Horde over Alliance or favoring them. 99% of the time, I love both equally and play both equally, but I have to state this honestly and let the chips fall where they may: the Horde PvP gear at level 60 (with one exception) looked much better than the Alliance gear, and it deserves a return in some fashion or another.

It's true for just about every set, too, but I'll focus on the plate armor because that's what I was going for. I had just gotten my tauren to 60 before Burning Crusade was about to launch, the PvP system changed and honor became a currency instead of a ladder system. As a result, I really only had the time and interest to get the epic 2h sword, as you can see in the picture accompanying my first post here at WoWinsider. I was happy with that sword because it was the first really good weapon I'd ever PvP'd for. Well, the pig on a stick doesn't really count. I just got that to tide me over until I could get the sword. I did love it, though, you kind of had to, it was a big spiky pig head on a stick.

WoW Rookie is brought to our readers to help our newest players get acclimated to the game. Make sure you send a note to WoW Insider if you have suggestions for what new players need to know.

I apologize for the late article. Being finals week and all, things get pretty hectic for a lot of us. You will appreciate that I'm writing as my students are busily completing their final exam.

As in life sometimes in World of Warcraft we come across unpleasant or stubborn people that challenge us. Whether it's in Guilds, PUGs, or just the environment, at some point someone will get on your nerves. Thanks to the perceived anonymity of the internet, people feel they can be much more brazen and offensive then they ordinarily would. I'm not asking you to let violations slide, but try to be mature about the situation. Let's talk about how to deal with difficult situations.

Enchanting, as a profession, can be an extremely expensive thing to level, although some people manage profits even while working on their skills. It all depends on which recipes you can get and how you got them, how often you're in the right place at the right time, and your connections in the community.

This week, Insider Trader will be walking you through the cheapest method of reaching 375 enchanting from a skill of 300, as well as providing tips for making some money while you're at it.

Is WoW really player friendly? Tobold doesn't seem to think so. Says he, there's a lot of things that it doesn't tell you or you can miss the first time around, such as spending talent points, and that at the end game, he constantly has to check outside sites to figure out what he needs to grind to get certain drops and recipes. WoW does things better than most other MMORPGs, he says, but it is far from perfect.

But, me, I'm not sure he has it quite right.

BlizzCon was announced on Monday, and ever since, there's been a question bouncing around the back of my mind: just what is it for? Blizzard doesn't just host an event because they love us or because they feel like it -- they host events to release news. WWI last year was where Starcraft II was announced, and Wrath of the Lich King got announced at the previous BlizzCon.

We do know that we're expecting Wrath in "the second half" of the year, and whatever we see at BlizzCon could depend on when that releases. If Wrath appears in August (before BlizzCon in October), we might be seeing the announcement of the next expansion (probably the Maelstrom or the Emerald Dream, or both) in Anaheim: Blizzard has said that they want to release them faster, and there'd be no time like BlizzCon to get an announcement out. If Wrath doesn't show up until November or December, though, Blizzard could use their convention to announce brand new features we haven't heard about yet -- maybe another Hero class?

Of course, we could be grinding the wrong quest mobs entirely -- remember that BlizzCon is about Blizzard, not just World of Warcraft, so anything they announce might have nothing at all to do with their MMO. Diablo 3, anyone? Or maybe they do just want to hang out with their fans and get some good press before the big release. We won't know for sure until they open the doors at the convention center in October.

The Care and Feeding of Warriors waxes philosophical this week. Matthew Rossi has been switching between a tank and a DPS warrior all week and it's gotten him all misty eyed.

I think it's fair to say now that the shockwaves from the oncoming expansion are being felt. Guilds are disbanding, new ones are being formed, you see people reporting that they've burned out on the existing content while others try and get groups together so they can see it before it is essentially 'gone'. Some guilds are rerolling on the opposite faction, or taking a more casual approach.

All this is to me at least very familiar: I was in Naxxramas the last time the pre-expansion wave hit (I don't really consider it a 'depression' as such because it had some positive effects for me as well as negative ones) and I simply got tired of doing what I had been doing since MC and rerolled Horde. It ended up saving the game for me, I made a lot of really good friends Horde side (Go Consummate Vees) and when I went back to my alliance characters I did so feeling refreshed and ready to tank. Learning how to adapt to the new realities of tanking (prot spec becoming a lot more necessary, for just one example) with 10 more points to spend and 41 point talents to consider helped make it a whole new game for me.

As things stand, I'm fortunate enough to be in two guilds (one horde, one alliance) that are raiding at different progression levels. One's moving into Hyjal and BT, phasing out the SSC/TK raids, and the other is just starting to consider regular 25 man runs. I play a warrior in both: my human is a dedicated main tank, while my tauren is a DPS/offtank. As a result, I'm getting to see a lot of fights I've only ever seen from the perspective of standing in something's crotch calling it names from the fresh new perspective of standing behind it stabbing it.

It turns out that Nalorakk has a massive butt. I mean, seriously, that thing is just huge. I'd never seen it before. Now I'm wondering if Supremus could possibly have so impressive a hinder. It'll probably be a while before I can check, though.

The fine folks at Eurogamer noted that, during their interview with the recently ubiquitous Kaplan and Brack, some tantalizing hints were dropped about an update to the WoW graphics engine. It's not coming in Wrath, for better or for worse.

"That's actually something we talk about every expansion," he said. "I'm positive we'll talk about it next expansion."

To a degree the World of Warcraft engine is showing its age. That doesn't really bother me very much... I enjoy the semi-cartoon look of the MMO as it seems evocative of the RTS games, especially WCIII, and stands out against a sea of very flat and sterile attempts to make hyper-realistic graphics in games. For all that I would like a bit more flexibility in my character design, I don't mind that WoW has a low polygon count or whatever. But I am very curious as to what they'd do with an updated graphics engine. I believe it was Jeff Kaplan who said, perhaps in jest, "Our designers assure me we haven't even begun to see how big shoulder armor can get."

For tomorrow's WoW Insider Show (which you can hear live at 3:30pm EST on WoW Radio), the lunatics have taken over the asylum!

Mike Scramm is on vacation, and he has left the show in the hands of John Patricelli (the Big Bear Butt) this one time. Since one chance is likely all I'm getting for this, we're pulling out all the stops by having the Turpster, Matt Rossi, AND Dan Whitcomb on hand to talk about all things hot in the news of WoW Insider from the last week.

We'll of course be talking about Patch 2.4.2, the 'epicness' of ten manning Arthas in the upcoming expansion, changes to scare beast and growl, and the possibility of Wrath mounts with passengers.

We may also be able to fit in some time to talk about the recent break up of the guild Death and Taxes.

And as is the tradition on the WoW Insider Show, we'll have reader mail, which you can send to us at theshow@wowinsider.com, and we'll be chatting in IRC as well at irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel.

It promises to be an experience, so make sure you don't miss it.

Tune in tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, at 3:30pm EST over on WoW Radio. See you there.

[1.Local] serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The excitement of the all the new Wrath of the Lich King buzz this week must have gone to some readers' heads, making them testier than usual. This week saw several squabbles in post comments, from mild differences of opinion to outright controversial debate. News about the shape of raid instances to come brought out plenty of opinions both for and against the new raid sizes. Should Arthas be 10-mannable? With even well known raiding guilds such as Death and Taxes burning out and moving on, are raiding applications still necessary in this day and age?

The comments got hot and heavy in a post that sparked plenty of discussion about racism in Arena team names. Readers also seemed of two minds at the efforts of top-tanked 5v5 Arena team M L H, who've turned out to be prolific points-sellers. But commenters pulled together in a post advising one reader whose system seems to have slowed to a crawl. And reader Kershner wrapped it all up on a chilled note for the weekend with a great macro to help us kick back and enjoy some fishing.

Be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread (not this one, silly!) and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.

It's been 3 weeks since the last episode of Chronicle of the Annoying Quest. Episode 23 dealt with the Alliance preparing to fight the Horde in Warsong Gulch, however things don't go as planned. In Episode 24, the Horde finally arrive in Orgrimmar, while the Alliance are introduced to some interesting new characters.

Bakasavant Productions has been working on this series for ages now, but I feel like it never gets any closer to a resolution. They've improved their editing skills immensely and have better voice actors these days, but those that are new to the series are forced to watch from the beginning to even understand what's going on. What is the ultimate goal at this point?

[Via Warcraftmovies.com]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Previously on Moviewatch ...

Well Fed Buff serves up tasty dishes to boost your HP, stats and appetite – with that special WoW twist, of course.

Those Trolls from Yojamba Isle were on to something. Before The Burning crusade, one of the cool foods that players could get were Essence Mangoes, a quest reward that could be obtained by handing in a Zandalar Honor Token. These weren't actually any better than Alterac Manna Biscuits, and back when Zul'gurub was still in vogue, the tokens weren't quite worth turning in for an average food that didn't give any buffs. But the quest describes mangoes as luscious fruits from the South Seas, and it couldn't be more true.

Mangoes are significant fruits in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, where I live, mangoes are an everyday treat and I think we have the best mangoes in the world. Today on Well Fed Buff, we'll put a new spin on the Essence Mango (which is essentially just a fruit) by making a simple, healthy drink that is sure to restore your health and mana as well as tickle your taste buds.

That's progress! Truxilo of Spinebreaker was revisiting his roots (and leveling herbalism) in Mulgore when he stumbled upon an ancient cave drawing -- a crude horse and some hoofprints. He was so moved, he had to kneel in deference to his ancestors. It's hard to believe that a species that was little more than wall-painting, nomadic outcasts a few short years ago built that marvelous triumph of engineering in the background. Come on, there's no way Thunder Bluff exists without some major structural support. How many cows do you think run across those flimsy little bridges every day?

Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. And you've actually been very good at not sending in sunsets, so I need to figure out a new ending joke. Curse you all! How did the Simpsons come up with new blackboard jokes for nineteen years?

If you listen to me (or anyone else around here, it seems), the major consensus seems to be to head to Outlands right at 58, period. The leveling is faster, the quests are more interesting, and the money is plentiful, as are the drops. But cyanrose over on WoW LJ makes an amazing case for exactly the opposite: staying in old Azeroth from levels 58-60.

She's been rolling around Hearthglen picking up items and XP, and from the way she tells it, things are almost as good there as they are in Outland. A dropped Orb of Deception (which was sold for a whopping 700g) didn't hurt, and there's lots of Rich Thorium around as well. Since old Azeroth is so empty, she hasn't had any problems with PvP, and apparently there's some good AoE grinding to do around there as well.

Great example of going against convention and finding your own way to play through the game. Outlands is there if you want it at 58 -- you can replace your gear in just a few quests, and get started on the new reputation grinds early. But don't let the popular opinion stop you from exploring the old world if you want -- there's lots of loot and fun to be had there, too.

At this point, the thread that inspired today's breakfast topic is, itself, pretty old-school, but anyway, here's the question: What is the most obscure old-school thing you remember? The OP's contribution is when he looted a BoP axe in his first instance, thinking he could give it to a friend, but he is quickly trumped by the second poster: dwarf mages.

As for me, I have a pretty terrible memory, but I do dimly recollect taking tailoring on my first character, a Hunter, because I'd heard about shirts and they sounded cool. But that fits more in the "noob" category than "old-school" proper. Inner Fire raising attack power and not having charges? Throwing weapons that couldn't have their quantity refreshed? Reck bombs? Decursive? I haven't been playing since beta or anything, so none of this is too crazy. What's your favorite memory of WoW past?