Posts tagged Schedule at WOW Insider

Posts with tag schedule

Leaked WWI schedule hints at Diablo 3 announcement?

Posted Jun 23rd 2008 4:30PM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Events, WoW Social Conventions, Blizzard, BlizzCon, Rumors

Ice on the official site or otherwise, I'm still holding out hope that we'll see a Diablo-related announcement at WWI (and not a Wrath of the Lich King beta/release announcement, as many are guessing). And here's a little more fuel for the speculation fire: DiabloII.net says they've received the official schedule for the event in Paris this coming weekend, and right after the main presentation, they say that Blizzard has planned a press conference. And basically, their argument is that you don't plan a press conference to announce an open beta of an expansion we've known about for almost a year -- you hold a press conference for a new Diablo game.

We should also note, though people have noticed this before, that Sunday, June 29th, is the eighth anniversary of the release of Diablo II, so this weekend has a lot of hack-and-slash-related significance as is. Of course, we won't know until WWI actually kicks off in Paris on Saturday -- WoW Insider will, of course, have correspondents on the scene to let you know exactly what Blizzard announces when they do.

And even if we don't get D3 this weekend, there's always BlizzCon.

[Via Blizzplanet]

Season 4 and PvE progression

Posted Jun 9th 2008 8:00PM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, Instances, Raiding, NPCs, Arena

Drysc gave a little insight into how the Arena seasons are scheduled over on the forums -- I had always thought that the Arenas were running on their own schedule (with the spaces in between augmented by when patches got released). But apparently the timing of Arena seasons has more to do with PvE content than anything else.

Strange, no? But true -- Drysc said that they want Sunwell Plateau gear to "circulate" a bit more before introducing a new Arena season. That means that the players running PvE content are actually calling the shots for when the Arena season ends -- if guilds take their time getting through the Sunwell raid, it may be a long time before we see any signs of Arena season 4.

That's interesting -- obviously a lot of players consider PvE and PvP to be completely different parts of the game, but not so with Blizzard. Apparently they consider them very much two sides of the same player base, so much so that even something as arbitrary as PvE gear distribution determines timing of the Arena seasons.

Breakfast Topic: The best time to play

Posted Apr 21st 2008 8:00AM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Breakfast topics

What's your favorite time of the week to get some good WoW gaming in?

It used to be that I really enjoyed playing on the evenings weeknights -- I'd rush home from work to sign into Azeroth and enjoy the primtime evening crowds. Then, I started raiding, and I looked forward to raid nights every week -- usually Tuesday and Sunday. Nowadays, I'm mostly soloing my way through daily quests and new content, and strangely enough, I enjoy logging on early on weekend mornings. I start around 8am on Saturdays and Sundays, and then play through until 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

Of course, those aren't the only times I play -- I like signing in whenever I have a chance, either to level up or run a group with a few friends. But I really enjoy playing on weekend mornings, with my coffee and maybe a DVD on in the background. What's your favorite time of the week to play?

Is it scheduled maintenance, or patch day?

Posted Mar 18th 2008 7:30AM by Amanda Miller
Filed under: Patches, Odds and ends, Rumors

Well, it is the Tuesday before Easter, and true to Mike's original predictions, the rumors are flying that today patch 2.4 will hit. The PTRs are down, and everything seems set. Of course, if this happens, we will not only be looking at awesomeness, we will be facing extended maintenance.

To help you wait it out, we will not only be offering content all day long, but we have compiled a nifty list of content from the past week or so that you simply must read.

Belfaire comments on the issue of player policing, and GM subjectivity. See where the issue was first raised.
The 10 Commandments of roleplaying.
Read and vote for your favorite WoW-themed comic.
The dynamic between mages and warlocks, from the mage perspective, and from that of the warlock.
Continuing through Amanda Dean's adventures after her account was hacked.
Fancy a good story? Learn more about the Grimtotem Tribe.
Hear what Drysc had to say regarding battlegrounds and class balance.
Have you been keeping up on the tanking controversy? If not, check out Alex's original post, his subsequent reply to reader feedback, and then check out Allison's views regarding hybrid tanking. Even Rossi gets involved, and lets us know how the protection warrior fits in.
More interested in some light fun? Go nominate your most hated race in all of Warcraft. Harpies FTL.

Breakfast Topic: I'm late!

Posted Jan 16th 2008 9:45AM by David Bowers
Filed under: Breakfast topics

Have you ever played WoW and gotten so absorbed that you totally lost track of time? Then suddenly you realize you're late for something important and you get in big trouble, right? Or perhaps you lose some important sleep?

Today's breakfast topic is not only an opportunity to share horror stories about what happened when you or someone you know played WoW without checking the clock, but it's also a handy reminder to always stay aware of the real world, where time is measured in minutes and hours rather than levels and gear.

The "punctuated equilibrium" of WoW content

Posted Sep 13th 2007 2:00PM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Expansions

Relmstein has posted a quick analysis of what he calls the "punctuated equilibrium" of WoW content patches. In evolutionary biology, there's a theory that species change not gradually over time, but in quick bursts of dynamic change. And Relmstein applies this idea to WoW's own population changes-- the playerbase seems to grow in quick leaps when brand new content is introduced, but slows down and even falls off when standard bugs are being fixed, or not much content is being patched.

What's really interesting, however, is that Relmstein then compares WoW's changes to the effects that content schedule has on other MMO releases. Lord of the Rings Online and Guild Wars (which are WoW's two worthy opponents) both released during downtime (after Burning Crusade and after the vanilla release, respectively). And on the other side of the spectrum, both Vanguard and Everquest 2 tried to go directly up against new WoW content, and, as Relmstein says, got steamrolled.

So looking towards the future, it's not hard to see what might happen. Wrath of the Lich King will make a big splash for sure, both bringing lots of players back, and maybe even bringing new players (who played Warcraft III and want to see Arthas) into the fold. Games like Age of Conan and Warhammer Online may try to go up against it, but it wouldn't be a good idea-- they'd be better off waiting until about a month after the expansion, when many players have reached 80, seen what they can see in Northrend, and Blizzard is confined to bugfixes and small content updates. Of course, a WoW content break isn't all these games need-- they still need to be good games by themselves. But placing themselves in this downtime between new content will give them a much better chance to woo more players away from Azeroth.

Breakfast Topic: On schedule

Posted Jul 29th 2007 9:00AM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Social Conventions, Blizzard, Breakfast topics, BlizzCon

We got our very first look at what may be the BlizzCon schedule yesterday, so whaddaya think? Are you excited to play Starcraft II? Are you planning to check out the tournaments, or are there any panels that catch your eye? I'm interested to see how they're going to fill a whole hour with Starcraft lore, although it is pretty complicated, I guess. And is there anything missing? They have two full sessions on classes planned, but I'm not sure that'll be enough to hold all the tears from the QQing-- hopefully they have a big ballroom.

And even if you aren't going, give us your reaction-- are you more bummed than ever that you're not making the trip, or are you glad you didn't waste your money?

BlizzCon schedule leaked

Posted Jul 28th 2007 2:55PM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Events, WoW Social Conventions, Blizzard, News items, BlizzCon

Blizzard has, inexplicably, been keeping the schedule for BlizzCon under wraps. We at WoW Insider have been frantically planning coverage here, and yet we haven't heard a peep from Blizzard about what to expect during the show. But now WorldofWar has posted what seems to be a leaked schedule for the event (no word on how they obtained it), and we'll finally have some idea of how the days are laid out. Here's what to expect if you're headed to BlizzCon:

World of Warcraft and Starcraft II open gaming
WoW, Warcraft III, and Starcraft tournaments
An opening ceremony (where they'll announce a new game or expansion?)
Panels on WoW classes, dungeons and raids, professions and items, and PvP
A Starcraft II gameplay demo
More panels on Warcraft Art, Blizzard Sound/Music, Careers in Gaming, Cinematics, Starcraft II Lore and Art, WoW UI mods, the TCG, and the Expanded Universe (likely the Warcraft novels)

And the convention will wrap up with a big concert from L70ETC and Video Games Live hosted by Jay Mohr.

Sounds like a full few days! Of course there will also be an exhibit hall open the whole time, but we haven't heard much of what will be in there (don't forget that Xfire will be there, as well as Upper Deck and all the TCG folks, and of course the WoW Insider party will be before the convention starts on Thursday night). Stay tuned for more details as we get them. Under a week left!

Story	More like this
Shock and awe in the Arena	Arena
WWI in-game pet revealed	WWI '08
Reader WoWspace of the Week: Absoli	Reader WoWspace
15 Minutes of Fame: Mage Theorycrafter, part 2	Interviews
Explaining Shaman Wrath CC spell Hex	Wrath
Gearing for Karazhan: Moonkins part 1	Gearing for Karazhan
The WoW Insider Library
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Event	Date
Midsummer Fire Festival	6/21 - 7/5
AV weekend	7/4 - 7/7
Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza	SUN 2p - 4p
Darkmoon Faire (Mulgore)	7/7 - 7/13
BlizzCon 2008 in Anaheim, CA	10/11 - 10/12

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Mike Schramm	91	13
2	Daniel Whitcomb	69	21
3	Amanda Dean	49	0
4	Alex Ziebart	48	32
5	Michael Gray	42	0
6	Zach Yonzon	41	0
7	Elizabeth Wachowski	41	2
8	Natalie Mootz	34	47
9	Moo Money	29	9
10	Adam Holisky	23	5
11	Matthew Rossi	17	45
12	Eliah Hecht	17	22
13	Robin Torres	13	2
14	Lisa Poisso	11	7
15	Elizabeth Harper	10	0
16	Jennie Lees	9	0
17	David Bowers	9	16
18	Amanda Miller	8	0
19	Krystalle Voecks	7	11
20	Sean Forsgren	6	1

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Leaked WWI schedule hints at Diablo 3 announcement?

Season 4 and PvE progression

Breakfast Topic: The best time to play

Is it scheduled maintenance, or patch day?

Breakfast Topic: I'm late!

The "punctuated equilibrium" of WoW content

Breakfast Topic: On schedule

BlizzCon schedule leaked

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