Project Lore

Update: The beta client is now downloadable for people selected via Beta Opt-In. Keys will be sent out via e-mail.

Come for the World of Warcraft, and stay for the Starcraft 2 discussion! Those of you out there who love Blizzard products are probably already getting excited, and for the portion of readers who cut their teeth on the company's MMO first, there's no better time to start.

We announced not too long ago that Blizzard was looking to unleash the beta for the sequel to their genre-defining strategy game this month. Realize that this is an event roughly twelve years in the making. That's half my life-span!

People who played Starcraft as a kid have grown up, gone to college, gotten married, maybe had kids. And those who start their RTS journey by playing Starcraft 2 may not have even been born at the time of the first game's release!

And, to that end, think of all the unborn babies that will be spilled across keyboards and computer screens across the world once people have the beta in their grubby little hands.

Some are saying that very moment may occur later today, predicated primarily upon the launch of the Official Starcraft 2 Beta Forums.

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Alright, I fess up. Despite my open disdain for this Valentine's-inspired holiday, it really wasn't so bad this year. In fact, when I regained control of my characters (after an unfortunate hacking incident), I was pleasantly surprised to see that Blizzard had addressed many of my problems with the celebration.

Sure, you still have to hoof it from city to city to get all the (otherwise exceedingly simple) dailies done, but at least I don't have to figure out what musky sludge to lather up with in the hopes that one of the Undercity's (dearly departed) Abomination guards might find me cute, only to be rebuffed by some of the ugliest creatures in existence.

Ahh, to gather charms by doing what a Rogue does best... killing things!

But that brings me to my next point. Hunted relentlessly and without remorse during Pilgrim's Bounty, I now find myself on the other end of the equation.

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As fast as it's spreading around the internet, you've probably seen the hot new machinima by Irdeen Prodcutions at this point, but if you haven't, then you're in for a pretty big treat!

By no means is it the longest or the most ambitious of World of Warcraft-themed videos out there. There's neither a grand story to tell, nor a hint of "Crawling In My Skin" playing over a reel of Arthas footage. But boy is this Discovery Channel-inspired piece set to the tune of Hoagy Carmichael's "Heart and Soul" impressive.

With "WoW Boom De Yada," tour Azeroth as its most famous denizens describe how much they love living there. It's enough to make even the darkest heart flutter (and you might even break into song yourself):

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We learned a few things from last week's Activison-Blizzard conference call. Namely that Cataclysm would be hitting retail shelves in the second half of the year and that the Starcraft 2 beta is more or less imminent on the company's schedule. But one thing you might not have read much about on fan or PC-gaming sites (like this one) is what Blizzard' president Mike Morhaime had to say about console gaming.

Shock and awe, I know! Blizzard has always been a stalwart defender of the computer as the exclusive platform for most of their games, but let's not forget the company cut its teeth on consoles. Many of their pre-Warcraft titles were developed for, or at least ported to, them (Blackthorne, The Lost Vikings, and Rock and Roll Racing are typically the most notable). And even if they were done externally, versions of Diablo and Starcraft have found their way onto our television sets, as well.

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Blizzard's Battle.net 2.0 Preview

If you're reading this, or you play World of Warcraft, there's a good chance you're a big fan of Starcraft, as well. And if you've kept up at all with the upcoming sequel, you might know that the primary thing rumored to be holding up its release is the lagging development of Blizzard's next-generation online service, Battle.net 2.0.

Several pieces of evidence are pointing to the idea that the game (and, subesequently, the service) will finally be going into beta soon, which means that it is all that much closer to being implemented in our beloved MMORPG.

This being the future of the company's online service, it may be a good idea to start familiarizing yourself with its purported features. The website can be found here, but I'll list some of the primary tenets below (do keep in mind that never every single one will apply to WoW, at least not right now):

• The "Always-Connected Experience:" This is Blizzard's term for 2.0's presence. Battle.net always seemed like a separate option for gamers before, but now it will be fully integrated into the structure of future titles.
• Competitive Arena For Everyone: Starcraft 2's online modes are primarily competitive, but I would expect to see WoW's PvP elements eventually take advantage of Battle.net's matchmaking properties and stat-tracking to make Arena and Battleground matches run more smoothly.
• Connecting The Blizzard Community: As previewed at BlizzCon, Battle.net 2.0 will support the ability to easily converse with friends cross-game. Main tank in the middle of a campaign mission in Starcraft 2? Send him a notice that you need him for a raid as soon as he's finished! Or you can just chat with your friends no matter what Blizzard game they're currently playing.
• Mods And Community-Created Content: This is less of an issue for WoW players, as Blizzard doesn't allow people to unfairly modify the game, but it would be interesting if we eventually saw an officially-sanctioned add-on browser -- approved by Blizzard, and hopefully free from malicious viruses.

Some other bits of evidence leading to the upcoming beta? The extended Battle.net maintenance, the fact that the Starcraft 2 beta forums appeared briefly several days ago (before being taken down just as quickly), and information that has come out of this past week's Conference Call.

Certainly seems like something is up and, as someone who's been sitting on a beta key for quite some time now, I couldn't be more excited! How about you?

[caption id="attachment_9612" align="alignright" width="222" caption="Never has a Random Number Generator been so friendly to players."][/caption] We all know somebody that has been hacked, but who realized it would get this bad? I sort of take it for granted that this sort of thing is going to happen in an online environment. Even if account security is normally iron-clad, all it takes is a few people unwittingly supplying their vital information to an untrustworthy source to break the system, but without being made aware of the official statistics, it's always been hard to get a grasp of the true scope of the problem. Well, it must be bad enough if Blizzard is considering making their Authenticators mandatory for all accounts. WoW.com claims to have learned from unnamed "inside sources" that this may soon be the case:

WoW.com has learned through trusted sources close to the situation that Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making authenticators mandatory on all accounts. According to our sources, while this policy has not been implemented yet and the details are not finalized, it is a virtually forgone conclusion that it will happen. This response is a direct effort to stop the massive number of compromised accounts by gold sellers and keyloggers.

As per the article, the volume of complaints has apparently gotten so massive, that it has backed up Blizzard's support system. Wonder why it's been three days since you opened your GM Ticket and still haven't received a response? Blame the hackers. Playing internet sleuth to figure out what's happened to thousands of accounts (and how to keep the vitcims happy) has dealt a huge blow to the company's internal resources. So let's say that Authenticators do go mandatory: how do you implement a plan like this on such a grand scale? There are still some 11+ million people playing the game and if you don't get a device into every one of their hands, you're going to lose subscribers anyway (simply because they won't be able to play the game). The obvious answer seems to be to include an Authenticator with every copy of Cataclysm. Blizzard has had some trouble manufacturing enough of the keychain-sized devices to match demand, and waiting until the expansion is ready to ship would give them enough time to create the required amount. Plus, it would presumably eliminate extra cost to the consumer. Sure, Authenticators are cheap, but tell that to the person who already pays you fifteen dollars a month! The only downside I could see is that a lot of people not in the United States likely play the game at internet cafes and don't actually buy boxed copies themselves. In the meantime, it might be best to bolster the Mobile Authenticator program. The application is already available for iPhones (and, for that matter, the iPod Touch if you don't have service with AT&T), but getting versions out there for Android and Blackberry devices as soon as possible would be a quick way to swell the numbers. What do you think of this potential change in policy? Overreaction or necessary precaution? It's clear that account hacking is happening, and it's happening a lot. Blizzard has to do something, right?

As many of you have suspected, we think rogue damage is too high. We will be making hotfixes to lower the maximum damage output of Assassination and Combat rogues. The Combat nerf will be slight. Both specs should still do just fine on damage meters (assuming skill, gear etc.) but shouldn't be beating out other specs to such a large degree. Other things on our radar that you might see soon -- none of these are promises and we have no specific changes to announce yet: Warlock damage in PvE is a little low.

• Protection warriors have too much utility and damage for PvP. (We don't want to hurt their tanking in PvE of course.)
• We are considering adjusting (not replacing) the Elemental 4 piece Tier 10 set bonus.
• We'll continue to refine and look at the Icecrown weapon procs.
• Other stuff (yes, we've heard your concerns), but these are the big things we are focusing on at this time.

Some of these changes, should we decide to pursue them, can be handled via hotfix and others will be made in an upcoming patch. We usually don't make such general announcements before we're ready to share the specifics, so we'll see how this works out.

Listed below are recent fixes we have applied to the game. Keep in mind that some of these changes may not be active until after the realm has been restarted. To review previous in-game fixes, please visit: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21723843880&sid=1 01/07/10

• Rotface’s hit points have been reduced in the 10 person encounter.
• Stealthed rogues should no longer trigger traps in Ice Crown Citadel from long range.
• The base damage bonus from Hunger for Blood has been reduced from 10% to 5%.
• The bonus damage rogues gain from attack power for poisons has been decreased. This applies to Instant Poison, Deadly Poison, and Wound Poison.

So, readers, is this Rogue nerf something you can get behind, or would their high level of damage have been worth stringing along in Icecrown Citadel until gear started to even things out a little bit? Do you think Blizzard knows what they're doing with the class, or have they painted it into a corner over the course of the expansion? If the latter, can it be saved with a Warlock-style revamp in the expansion?

[caption id="attachment_9596" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Valkyrie Profile's Lenneth, clearly #1 on my list of Hawt Battle Maidens I'd Totally Do."][/caption] No doubt the addition to provide more weapons with procs on them in Icecrown Citadel was something of a controversial decision. I think everyone likes the idea of them. Especially when they have neat visual effects like Nibelung does. Who wouldn't want the chance to summon a small army of sexy battle maidens every time they cast a spell?! But until people can get a handle on the proc rate, they all seem like nebulous upgrades. You don't have the same kind of raw stats to deal with, and that makes people nervous and uneasy. I imagine it also makes these sorts of weapons harder to balance, especially when bosses still drop their more traditionally-itemized kin. That's why we've been seeing so many tweaks to said equipment as of late and today is no different. Several items (two weapons and a trinket to be exact) have had their procs modified in the changes below. And for those of you working on your Shadowmourne quest, some good news, as well:

Listed below are recent fixes we have applied to the game. Keep in mind that some of these changes may not be active until after the realm has been restarted. To review previous in-game fixes, please visit: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21723843880&sid=1 1/6/10

• Deathbringer’s Will trinket will now proc haste as a replacement for armor penetration.
• The val’kyrs spawned by the Nibelung staff will now always hit with their smite attack and their damage has been increased for both normal and heroic versions of the staff.
• The chance for the proc to activate on the Black Bruise weapon has been increased.
• In the Rotface encounter, big oozes should now properly combine.
• Rotface’s acidic blood and Festergut's acidic blood now function appropriately through the use of the group looting and master looting systems.

[caption id="attachment_9558" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The fabled Buff Bludgeon, so rarely noticed by players distracted by the Nerf Bat that most people deny it exists at all."][/caption] Yesterday's list of in-game fixes was updated once again after the posting of said story and boy is there one change that I am super excited about! You might recall an article I wrote a few days ago about my decision to pick up a proc-based dagger for my Rogue called Heartpierce. It was a harrowing choice and, at the time, a middling upgrade for a semi-expensive 25 DKP. Then Bornakk rode in on a unicorn, held the Buff Bludgeon to the sky as his mount reared back on two legs, and proclaimed thus, "Hear ye, Rogues! I doth answer your prayers! From this day forward, thine shiny but underpowered dagger shall be even more awesome! " And then, like a silent wind, he disappeared as if he had never been there at all. But we Rogues were left with a proc that now doubled the amount of energy we received from each tick. At least according to gear list site Shadowpanther, that mere change takes Heartpierce from a 264 weapon weaker than its 258 equivalents to a veritable Best-In-Slot option (aside from Icecrown Citadel Heroic loot, of course). As you can imagine, I'm now feeling a lot better about the choice I made and there should now be little question for other Rogues as to whether or not it's worth bidding on. Scanning the rest of the changes, you'll note that Oculus has been nerfed even further and players can now whisper cross-realm party members in their Dungeon Finder groups (a preview of Battle.net 2.0 upgrades to come?):

• The proc for the item, The Last Word, has been greatly increased to allow for more continuous uptime.
• The NPC Margrave Dhakar in Icecrown will properly respawn if killed while doing the quest, The Flesh Giant Champion.
• Wyvern Sting no longer triggers the extra shot effect from Zod's Repeating Longbow.
• The Oculus had some additional changes made. The Planar Anomlies during the Eregos encounter will have a shorter duration and do reduced damage, some of the drakes above Varos’s platform have been removed, and the drakes controlled by players will move a little faster.
• Players can now send a whisper to a player from another realm that is currently in their party.
• The Invigoration buff from melee attacks using the Heartpierce dagger will now grant twice as much resources as before. It now grants 2 rage, 4 energy, or 120 mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds.

[caption id="attachment_9547" align="alignright" width="276" caption="Beware overpowered players and raid bosses! Foamy justice awaits you on the business end of the nerf bat!"][/caption] The first maintenance back from the holidays brings changes both as small as bug fixes and as big as boss nerfs. Roll on to find out what in-game fixes have been added over the past couple of days:

1/4/10

• The mail Bloodsunder Bracers have had their appropriate socket bonus added.
• The proc on Zod’s Repeating Longbow should no longer reset auto shots.
• The gear requirement for heroic Halls of Reflection has been increased.

1/5/10

• The Lady Deathwhisper encounter has seen the following changes in the 25 player normal version: mana pool has been reduced, the health on all adds has been reduced, and Adherents will wait a little longer after spawning before they start casting.
• Interrupting a fireball being cast by the Ymirjar Flamebearers in normal and heroic Pit of Saron will no longer make them instantly cast Hellfire.
• The ghost waves at the beginning of both normal and heroic Halls of Reflection have undergone several changes that should make them easier to defeat such as preventing 2 mages or 2 mercenaries from spawning in the 5 mob pulls, a shorter duration of the spectral footman’s shield bash, and the spectral mage’s flamestrike having a longer cast time, shorter duration, and (in heroic) doing less damage.
• The Oculus loot improvements posted here have been made: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=22418861894&pageNo=1&sid=1#0

I think most of these changes will play favorably with people. I, for one, am really excited about the nerf to Lady Deathwhisper. Going into Icecrown Citadel, I fully expected Deathbringer Saurfang to pose the greatest roadblock for our guild, but instead it was Deathwhisper that kept us from progressing for the first couple of weeks. You could blame it on any number of things: a bum strategy, lack of a tight ranged core, or just a lot of trouble handling the adds, but for some reason, winning seemed to elude us attempt after attempt. We eventually achieved victory over the vile temptress, but not without a lot of stress and yelling along the way. I'm proud of our guild and the fact that we managed to conquer Deathwhisper before the nerf, but it will also make things a lot less painful on successive runs. I'm looking forward to curbstomping her tonight so that we can spend more time on Deathbringer and, hopefully, the new bosses that lay beyond. What say you of these changes, readers?