Blizzard Entertainment Farewell To Dave Arneson
Blizzard Entertainment bids farewell to Dave Arneson, a pioneer of the roleplaying genre (alongside Gary Gygax) who inspired the boom of board games, d20, tabletop, MMO and RPG games. Last year, Blizzard dedicated patch 2.4 (Sunwell Plateau) to Gary Gygax. It remains to be seen if they will do the same for Dave with patch 3.1.
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Share the Love Achievement StrategyShare The Love is one of the Glory of the Hero achievements required for a Red Proto-Drake flying mount. You need to defeat Gal’darah in Gundrak on Heroic Difficulty and have 5 unique party members get impaled throughout the fight. Easy right? Wrong. It takes a lot of trial and error until you get the right strategy. In a PUG it is nearly impossible to get this done, without a proper party class setup. Not everyone is Tier 7.5, some don’t even reach a full Tier 7.0. I spent so many hours in Gundrak trying to get this done. About five times a player would quit and I had to invite new people. Yea, PUG sucks. Here I am with full Naxx gear, and some from Heroic Malygos, maybe one from Sartharion. Unable to progress and get it done. Finally got a strategy that gave us the chance to complete this achievement. The final party setup we had after so many people left in separate times, was two holy healers, one fury warrior, one prot paladin and one death knight. The issue was not so much DPS, it was a matter of survival. Players would usually tank him where he stands, in that general area. That is a mistake. The factor here is the knockback. At some point Gal’darah emotes and a rhino comes out of nowhere and hits a random player knocking him back—if this is the healer or someone that is low in health that is a guaranteed death or a wipe in some cases. A big factor that played in our failure to complete the achievement was that the tank would never get impaled, thus only four of the party members would get impaled and never get the fifth member: the tank, impaled. Strategy If you look at the mini-map the area looks like a “Y” letter. The tank must pull Gal’darah to any of the upper dead-ends. Stay there at all costs. The healer must remain with his back on the opposite wall. Everyone else with their back facing a wall. The boss must be pulled to a corner, then move forward across the boss so the boss remains in the corner. He will start doing whirlwind. Everyone should move away from the boss. He will whirlwind and chase the tank. Eventually Gal’darah will transform into a Rhino, and he will charge a random player. If this player is an off-tank, that off-tank getting impaled must taunt Gal’darah. One of the two healers could be a holy paladin, but if any of the two healers isn’t a holy paladin then the prot paladin could do the trick. The tank needs to be bubbled and Hand of Salvation. The trick here is to have the original tank lose aggro entirely. Now he will become a target of impale at some point. If one of the players who is not tank, off-tank or a healer is impaled, that player should move on the opposite dead-end across the room, and hide—causing Line of Sight (LOS). That way there are more chances of the original tank to get impaled. A good healer could take care of this run, but if you want to be extremely safe to get this achievement done, a second healer would do wonders. When a healer is impaled, usually any player who has a bleed effect will probably die. That’s where a second healer or even a retribution paladin or elemental shaman could serve as off-healer when the main healer is impaled until he is able to return to his duty. The achievement was completed with this group setup with no problems once the boss was tanked in the corner and kept there. Knockbacks didn’t get the healers and the tank out of range thanks to the walls surrounding us. And that was a big win-win factor. The second issue was resolved too which was the Tank never getting impaled. A shield and a hand of salvation took care of that, while the off-tank gained threat with a taunt. TOKYOPOP Michael Paolilli Talks About the Blizzard MangasTOKYOPOP posted a new article recently by Michael Paolilli – Production Artist—titled Michael’s Blizzard Blast, where he expresses his feelings working on the Blizzard mangas. He confesses he has been a Blizzard fan for a decade since the release of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, was hooked to StarCraft since 1998, and has a level 80 Hunter. It’s great to know that the people behind the books and the mangas are deeply involved in the universes prior to working on their printed projects. You can read his article at TOKYOPOP.
The Gilneas Teasing ContinuesThere is a official forum thread that made me go ZOMG, the Rantage !!! Yea, there are players that are not satisfied with high-end content, or how long it takes to get to the next patch. It was a fun read summarizing every single piece of content we subconsciously rant about. Besides that, what caught my interest—in that Sherlock Holmes-wannabe stretchful way of a diehard fanatic—is the hint that something big is coming in patch 3.2 and again … Gilneas. Why are we getting teased so much lately about this two topics? It’s not a huge amount of info, but simply remarks, small bits of info that makes you go “huh?”. Implanting small seeds that grow and entangle your mind, and make you ponder deeply. A few days ago, I reported Blizzard Rep Teases Gilneas, where Zarhym said: “The consequences could be disastrous! We Retrospect: Christie Golden Live Public Chat – WoW: ArthasThe live chat with Christie Golden was a blast to all the fans who attended the event, and it looks like Christie and Jaime loved it too from what I read in the CC: emails between us last night. They look forward to repeating the dose when StarCraft: The Dark Templar, TWILIGHT hits bookstores (June 30, 2009). Christie Golden was flooded with good questions ranging the whole scope of the book throughout Arthas’ life since a kid up till the moment he became the Lich King. She explained why the whole Azjol-Nerub session from Warcraft III: Frozen Throne was skipped. Basically it would drag on from the main topic of the book which is focused on Arthas and his downfall into madness, as he shred away the last vestiges of his humanity in order to dispense vengeance. This book shows various scenes from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, as well as glimpses of near present times that led to World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. With this book you will know Arthas-self intimately. Reading this book will change your perception of Arthas greatly, and prepare your mindset for when you enter the Icecrown Citadel in patch 3.3. Get your copy now. There are only 10,000 World of Warcraft: ARTHAS, RISE OF THE LICH KING Collector’s Gift box while supplies last. This hardcover is definitely a bestseller. Read the live chat transcript here. Christie Golden Live Public Chat – WoW: ArthasThe WorldofWar.net and Blizzplanet Community got a special treat courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, Inc. with a Live Public Chat with Christie Golden. The main topic of this chat is the upcoming soul-chilling World of Warcraft: Arthas, Rise of the Lich King. Fans were able to find out how it ties-in with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The book ships on April 21. Below is a transcript of the chat. PETA Organizes Canadian Seal Slaughter Event In WoWPETA has announced their proactive protests against Canadian seal slaughter will reach World of Warcraft as a medium to meet and rally people. The event will take place on April 11 at 1pm EST in the Whisperwind realm. You may find further details here.
Blizzard Reps Tease GilneasBlizzard is well known for their humor, specially in the forums. A fan demanded Blizzard to open the gates of the Graymane Wall, to which Zarhym replied:
Bornakk posted on the same thread with suspensive dots after quoting Zarhym, followed by Crygil quoting Bornakk with exclamation marks. You will think, hey that’s nothing. No teasing here. And you might be right. Or there is more to it, than meets the eye. Back on February 7, during our interview with Chris Metzen and Micky Neilson we asked if there were plans to open Gilneas in a future expansion. They said there were awesome plans for Gilneas but couldn’t talk about it. If you missed that epic interview where both briefly talk about Gilneas, watch the video interview. What plans does Blizzard has in store for us behind the Graymane Wall? A high-end dungeon? A Wintergrasp successor? Whatever it is, it will be amazing! Win a WoW: Arthas Collector’s EditionWe will giveaway WORLD OF WARCRAFT: ARTHAS Collector’s Edition to a random attendee(s) of our upcoming live chat with Christie Golden on Thursday, March 9, 2009 @ 9pm EST (new york timezone). Be ready to ask questions about WoW: Arthas and to compliment the writer. Good luck ! The live chat can be accessed here. Christie Golden Attending 2009 StarFest In DenverChristie Golden is attending StarFest in Denver, Colorado on April 17-19. She will be premiering ARTHAS there and signing books. She will have copies of various of her novels for sale. Stop by and say hello. The World of Warcraft: ARTHAS Collector’s Edition copies have been increased for a total of 10,000 limited copies. An extra chance for you to get it before they are sold out. While supplies last. Her story “A Warrior Made” within Warcraft: Legends Vol. 4 is half done. The artist is In-Bae Kim. 2009 StarFest In addition to her book signing sessions, she is scheduled to talk at a couple of panels: Autograph Sessions at the Dealer’s Room |