If you caught the MLG Orlando live stream over at GotFrag TV last weekend, you might have noticed a critical strategic move that many of the world's best players did over and over, particularly in the longer matches -- drink. Because mana-dependent classes don't have a constantly renewable resource such as Rage or Energy, drinking in Arenas is an important skill to master. Watching the tournament was educational because many of those pro Arena players knew how to drink like crazy.

The trickiest part of drinking in an Arena match is getting out of combat. Some classes, such as Druids, have an easier time than most but watching players escape focus fire with or without their teammates peeling opponents off them is really amazing to watch. It's a skill unto itself. Night Elves have a ridiculous advantage with Shadowmeld, allowing them to immediately enter stealth upon finding a safe spot to drink. This makes them harder to find, allowing them to get just a few more ticks from Star's Tears. Despite the nerf to drinking inside Arenas in Patch 2.4, players have managed to get those precious four seconds (and hopefully more) to get just enough mana back during matches. In the heat of combat, the nice cold drink is refreshing, indeed. Tips on how slake your thirst after the jump.

You wouldn't think something as prosaic as the water that restores our precious blue bars would be undergoing a controversy, but that has certainly happened during the time patch 2.4 has been on the PTR. A change was made such that if you sat down to drink, and drank for less than five seconds, you would receive a reduced benefit -- i.e., less mana. The assumption was that this nerf was made to combat people regenning mana too fast in the Arenas, which led to objections to the change being applied to PvE situations as well.

European US CM Bornakk replied that in most cases we'd be drinking more than five seconds in PvE situations, and players responded with many counterexamples (chain pulls, etc.). Bornakk replied to that saying basically that he still thought it wouldn't be hard to drink long enough to avoid the change's effects, and that the change was meant to effect "more than just Arenas" anyway. Well, it looks like they've changed their mind: Kalgan himself just announced that the water nerf will now only affect Arenas. PvE casters rejoice!

Yes, burst damage is an increasingly important factor in class balance, but have you heard of burst drinking? Apparently that's a big problem, too, as the latest update to the patch notes adds a very strange function to drinking: as of patch 2.4, "the benefits of drinking have been delayed," and the real mana regen won't start until five seconds after you've started drinking. Wha?

But it's true-- apparently Blizzard felt that anyone drinking for only five seconds (either in a PvP or PvE situation) was getting too much mana. Drysc confirms that it's a serious change, and that anyone worried about their mana regen only needs to drink for six seconds, at which point they'll have as much mana as before the patch (which suggests that there is a burst of mana given at the 5 second mark, to make up for the delay).

But is this really that much of a problem? Sure, with the changes to spell haste, things are going to get faster in the battlegrounds. But are we at the point already where an extra second of out of combat drinking makes all the difference? Blizzard thinks so.

Matthan of Burning Blade brought up an issue with drinking to recover mana on the public test realm. He found that he was not receiving the normal benefit from imbibing. Hortus indicated that this phenomenon is not a bug but a change in the mechanics that ramps up mana regeneration over time. Players are used to a steady increase in mana with every tick. This change was not included in the patch 2.4 notes.

The general consensus from players is negative. Speculation suggests that the change was geared toward casters drinking Star's Tears or conjured water in the arena. Posters have made many arguments on why this would have negative consequences in the PvE environment. Many casters drink between pulls and do not usually have the opportunity to spend thirty seconds drinking in raids and instances. Incremental increases in drinking over time would inconvenience all members of a party or raid as they would have to wait for casters to fill up on mana. This could change become disastrous in chain pulls and endurance fights, where every second counts.

This is the best bug I've heard about in the game yet so far-- Drysc has confirmed that there is a known bug in the Blade's Edge plateau area which will cause everyone, when someone starts up the Bombing Run quest, to stop eating and drinking and stand up. It's a respect thing, you know? Stand up for the cause!

No, it's just a really, really weird bug, and a fix is on the way in an upcoming patch (I'm a little surprised they don't aim to fix it earlier, but apparently all that will be lost is the food anyone sits down to eat at the wrong time in Blade's Edge). Once again, I am dumbfounded at trying to figure out just how Blizzard's code works-- seems like they have the absolute weirdest bugs happen to them sometimes.

Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.

A big reason I love writing for this Web site is you, the readers. Whenever I write a column and ask you for feedback, you always provide some insightful comments. And whenever I fail to mention an important point, you guys always manage to catch it and comment on it. It's a supportive and intelligent community here, and it certainly makes my job easier!

Last week, I wrote about the "right stuff" to look for in a good officer candidate. I mentioned five traits to value in a candidate: maturity, generosity, good communication skills, emotional intelligence, and game knowledge. Necessarily, that means someone who is immature, greedy, barely literate, emotionally stunted, and a total noob would have the "wrong stuff." But, as several readers pointed out, there are other warning signs that someone will make a bad officer.

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter a comment (on the other post, not this one) to get a chance at winning this striking Thargas Anvilmar toy... sorry again-- "Action Figure" from WoW Insider and DC Unlimited. Brewfest ends on Tuesday, and this figure doesn't release in stores until October 24th, but we here at WoW Insider are making the best of the drinking festival and hooking one lucky reader up with this baby, a Dwarf Warrior outfitted in Tier 5!

To enter, put a comment on our original post (not this post) by this afternoon at 3pm EST telling us what your favorite drink for Brewfest is. You guys all went with the "in-game" idea, which is fine, but personally, I like drinking out of game a lot better than in-game (in-game drinking just gives me a headache). So for me, Jack and Coke is the drink of choice. For beer, definitely Fat Tire with a meal, or Guinness if it's just a pint at the pub.

But good luck with the contest! Official rules are here (short version: must be in the US and 18 or older, one randomly selected comment will win and you can only enter once). Happy Brewfest!

Unfortunately for us Hordies, this snazzy hat is Alliance-only. But if you're the right faction, the MDH is the perfect headgear for drinks on the go!

Name: Mirren's Drinking Hat
Type: Rare Cloth Head
Armor: 92
Abilities:

• +18 Intellect
• Increases spell damage and healing by 35, which makes it a nice quest reward for any caster around level 62 or so
• Restores 5 mana per 5 sec, which makes it even better
• And here's the fun part: Use: Reach into the hat for a drink. That's right, once every 60 minutes, you can use this hat and get a free drink in your inventory. The drink changes all the time, but it's usually some type of alcohol (naturally-- you get it from a dwarf). And some of the drinks that come out actually work as mana drinks, too, although at one every hour, it's not quite enough to live off of.

How to Get It: It's cake if you're already in Outland. Down in the southwest of Hellfire Peninsula, just south of Falcon Watch (the Blood Elf tower), there's a little dwarf camp where you'll find Mirren Longbeard. He's got a short chain of two quests-- the first one will be a quick run back to Honor Hold to fetch the guy some beer (but wait, if he's got this hat, why does he need beer?), and the second one will send you just south to the Arrakoa camp to kill their pet birds and collect the feathers.

Bring back the feathers and he'll give you this pimp hat, obviously named after 2007 Best Actress Oscar Winner Helen Mirren.

Now, Horde, like I said, this quest isn't for you-- this is, unfortunately, an Alliance-only item. But don't worry-- you still get free booze! Down in Stonebreaker Hold, there's a barrel to the left of the inn that you can click to get some free Stonebreaker Brew! (the barrel despawns when too many players use it at one time, so if it's not there, check back later) Free booze!

Apparently there's also a clickable barrel for Alliance at Allerian Point. But since they get this hat, we just won't tell them about that one.

Getting Rid of It: Sells to a vendor for 1g 85s 22c, or disenchants (req 225) into either Arcane Dust, Lesser Planar Essence, or a very small chance of a Small Prismatic Shard.

The response to Monday's breakfast topic got me thinking about drugs, alcohol and WoW. A lot of people said they drink to pass the time while farming in WoW. If you're 21 or whatever the legal drinking age in your country is, that's fine -- at least you're not driving. And as for other substances, well .... we're not the FBI and we're not here to judge or moralize. Generally, it's probably better to play WoW while intoxicated than, say, perform brain surgery or control the country's nuclear arsenal.

But dealing with drugs and alcohol can be tough if you're in a group situation, especially if you're in a raiding guild. There's a thin line between "having a good time" and "wiping the entire group because the suppression room is spinning." I've been in raid groups with extremely drunk or high people, and the result has rarely been good. Sure, there's the odd person who can heal or tank just as well while under the influence, but I've also seen a drunk mage whisper me with "loool im kiting gluths stuff," and heard one too many guildmates explain that they couldn't remember why they quit the guild/insulted the officers/yelled out their phone number in Vent. Pretty entertaining for those of us watching, but for a guild actually trying to make progression, such members can be hard to handle.

The worst I've seen was when I was guilded with a tank with an admitted drug and alcohol problem. He was an excellent tank when he was present and conscious, which is why guilds kept giving him chances. The end of the line for him with our guild was when he was the main tank for Nefarian -- we were just beginning to learn the fight, and the guild leader figured a tank with Will of the Forsaken might make things easier. He did a good job the first try. He did a good job the second try. But after the ten minute break before the third try, he disappeared. He didn't log out or tell anyone he was going AFK -- he just stayed still until he disconnected. Turns out he had taken quite a bit of alcohol and/or cocaine before the raid and had passed out at his computer. Needless to say, he didn't get to tank Nef again (although he did stay in the guild.)

What does your guild do with people who are clearly intoxicated during instances? Do you have a drug-free zone policy during raids, or do you consider it a violation of the person's privacy to tell them what to do in their personal lives?

Yes, there's lots of things to do in Azeroth, and fortunately, getting drunk is one of them. Our expansion finally shows up next week, so before then, let's have another round on the best tasting stuff you can find.

Name: Darkmoon Special Reserve
Type: Beverage
Damage / Speed: Messes you up but quick
Abilities:

• "An extremely potent alcoholic beverage."
• Yup, this is the hard stuff. When you want to get virtually drunk, settle for nothing less. It's the official beverage of fishing superstar Nat Pagle!
• You know how when you get a few in you, it feels like you can take on the world? This beverage is no different-- after consuming it, not only do you get the normal blurry vision (seen above), but mobs will actually look lower in level to you. Get smashed on this stuff, and a level 50 mob will actually look level 45 or 46. Careful though-- this stuff packs a heck of a hangover. Too bad you can't find a chocolate milkshake anywhere in the game (trust me, that's the best hangover cure ever).

How to Get It: As the name implies, you can get it at the Darkmoon Faire-- the beverage vendor there sells it cheap. The Faire shows up either outside Thunder Bluff or Stormwind, depending on where it happens to be at a certain time. But the vendor will sell it to you anytime, no matter what faction you are, as long as you make your way over there.

But the other, better way to get it is to stop by the most legendary fishing spot in all of Azeroth. Nat Pagle, fisherman extraordinaire (named after Blue's Pat Nagle), has a nice little fishing spot hidden in none other than Zul'Gurub. At the camp (where you also summon Gahz'ranka). There's a few boxes there, and you can stock up on the Special Reserve to your heart's content. Pagle fished in style, baby!

Getting Rid of It: Drink the stuff-- it does a body good. If, for some reason, you've decided to cut down on the consumption, a vendor will buy it back for 12 copper. Cheers! Here's to the Burning Crusade! See you in Outland!