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Recently, Polar over at Securing WoW wrote about the latest phishing email being sent out by scammers. Account thieves are using the 2010 Arena Tournament as a way to lure you to their site to steal your login info. (Registration for the tournament ended on the 27th continues until June 7.) This is typical behavior by these crooks. Every time a Blizzard event is announced or even rumored, from the Cataclysm alpha to the StarCraft II beta, scammers take advantage it with legitimate looking emails. With the Cataclysm beta almost upon us, the expansion related phishing is going to get even worse.

But there are also the tried and true emails that are being sent out daily, regardless of upcoming events. They spoof their email so that it looks like it is coming from Blizzard and fill the email with legitimate links, making their info-stealing site link look real. Also, the links have misspellings which are hard to catch at a quick glance, (like “starcratf2″ or “worldotwarcraft”) and lead to sites that look very much like the official ones.

Blizzard has an excellent resource for protecting yourself from phishing attacks. In general, if you get an email that looks legitimate, type battle.net in your browser’s address bar (spell it correctly). This will take you to the correct site for your region and there you can see the status of your account yourself. Some examples of phishing emails are after the break.

Continue reading Security Warning: Phishing emails on the rise

Filed under: Account Security

Security Warning: Phishing emails on the rise originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hints of the Cataclysm beta being ever-closer continue to filter in. This time around, art assets for Cataclysm testing phases have begun to appear on Battle.net. While there is still no indication as to when the beta will begin (or if they even have a schedule for their various testing stages themselves at this point), Blizzard is most certainly ramping up their preparations for it.

As always, WoW.com will be keeping a close eye on all developments regarding Cataclysm. When the beta officially begins, we’ll make sure you’re among the first to know. Until then, continue to be wary of beta-related phishing attempts and other scams. It’s coming, but it isn’t here yet.

Filed under: Cataclysm

Cataclysm beta art assets appearing on Battle.net originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Guest hosts: Enhancement shaman columnist Rich Maloy
• Top stories:
  • Evil achievements
  • Cataclysm raid lockout and progression changes
• Reader emails:
  • How many separate servers is WoW split into, anyway?
  • What’s a good class for someone who’s brand new to the game?
  • Will Blizzard ever increase the amount of character slots we get?
  • And what’s up with all the Birmingham references on the podcast?
• And more!

Get the podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.
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Listen here on the page:

Filed under: Podcasts, WoW Insider Show

WoW Insider Show 137: Hungry Like the Wolf originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every Friday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting balance druids and those who group with them. This week, we are peering into the destructive future and what it holds for one of the most controversial talents we have. Also, a notice that I am in need of some screenshots of pro balance druids doing whatever it is that balance druids actually do. Please send them to tyler@wow.com; put something akin to “Balance screenshot” or “Moonkin screenshot” in the subject line, and don’t forget to list the name you would like to have credited for the shot.

Stop right there. I know what many people are probably thinking at this point. Why bother talking about Eclipse? We know next to nothing about the change to Eclipse that we’ll be seeing in Cataclysm other than the fact that it will now be our mastery bonus instead of being a talent. Why bother discussing something that is nothing more than utter speculation? The answer is quite simple: Eclipse is the single most important change for balance druids in the next expansion. Even if Eclipse weren’t going to be our mastery, it is now and always, until the day that Blizzard decides to remove it, going to be the cornerstone of our rotation. It will be the one and only thing that determines how our rotation functions, how we play, how we scale and how viable we’ll become. There are other important factors, such as Nature’s Grace, but Eclipse is by and large the most important aspect of our spec. If Eclipse fails, we fail. To that end, I think we should talk about Eclipse; we should be speculating as much as possible about this change, and running it into the ground like the dead, overworked horse that it is.

For those who are still out of the loop on this change, Eclipse is getting a major overhaul in Cataclysm. No longer will it be a talent within the balance tree; instead, it is going to our third mastery bonus that you acquire merely by speccing down into balance. Instead of the current proc mechanic, Eclipse will now add a new UI element to our screen, a sliding scale of sorts that displays a sun and a moon to represent nature and arcane, respectively. As it stands from the class preview, casting any nature or arcane spell (not just Starfire or Wrath) will impact this scale and cause it to shift in one direction or another. As you progress towards one end of the scale, the damage of one school of magic will be increased by a percentage. It’s kind of like how Eclipse works now. You cast Starfire, an arcane ability, in order to buff Wrath, a nature ability. In that sense, under the new system, using nature spells will buff your arcane spells and vice versa. Here is the full extent of the blue posts on the matter.

Bashiok

Eclipse: We are moving Eclipse from a talent into a core mechanic of the class and making it less random. Balance Druids will have a new UI element that shows a sun and a moon. Whenever they cast an Arcane spell, it will move the UI closer to the sun, and buff their Nature damage. Whenever they cast a Nature spell, it will move the UI closer to the moon, and buff their Arcane damage. The gameplay intention is to alternate Arcane and Nature spells (largely Starfire and Wrath) to maintain the balance.

source

Continue reading Shifting Perspectives: Eclipse come Cataclysm

Filed under: Druid, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives

Shifting Perspectives: Eclipse come Cataclysm originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Choose the adventures of the WoW.com staff as we level our characters in <It came from the Blog> on US Zangarmarsh-H.

The schedule for the rest of this week is:

• Michael Gray as Grayfields, the tauren hunter, will be making appearances as he can this week.
• Amy Schley as Patent, the troll rogue will also be making appearances as she can.
• Matthew Rossi as Andrenorton, his new troll mage: some time Saturday.
• Adam Holisky as Adammentat, the tauren druid, will be making appearances as he can.
• Fox Van Allen as Foxlight, the blood elf paladin: Friday, 8 p.m. EDT.

Joining us next week will be Gregg Reece and Michael Sacco. Yay! Choose Gregg’s character, Mike’s race and our next leveling area after the break.

Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Week 6 polls

Filed under: It Came from the Blog, Choose My Adventure

Choose My Adventure: Week 6 polls originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players — and just as we don’t want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We’re taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com.

We’ll get to the drama in a minute, but first I must talk about the awesome avatars that the awesome Kelly Aarons of Byron and World of Warcraft, Eh? fame has awesomely drawn and painted for us. Awesome. See them after the break.

Yeah, yeah. You want drama. We’ve got your drama right here. The thing about WoW (and MMOs in general) is that while you may be able to solo through it, the most benefits are reaped by at least a minimum of social interaction. We are answering a letter this week from someone who isn’t very friendly but still wants to make and keep friends in Azeroth. Try not to get too distracted by the awesome avatars. Awesome.

Continue reading Drama Mamas: How to befriend when antisocial

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Drama Mamas

Drama Mamas: How to befriend when antisocial originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All right, we’ve seen over the past five weeks the current political activity in all of the Horde races; orcs, trolls, tauren, Forsaken and blood elves. Needless to say, there is a lot of conflict just beginning to rear its head — not just from one race to the next, but internally within those races as well. What does all this mean in regards to the Horde, when Cataclysm comes into play? Today we’ll be looking at what (given all the information we’ve been presented previously), if anything, will happen when Cataclysm finally launches and the world gets thrown into chaos.

Please note I’ve put a spoiler warning on this post. This is because the following content, while mostly sheer speculation, may or may not end up being correct and will also directly address several rumors regarding Cataclysm that have not yet been confirmed. If you see a “TFH” demarcation on any future Know Your Lore posts, these are “Tin Foil Hat” predictions based on current lore and are in no way actually indicative of anything officially from Blizzard in regards to the game or where it’s going to go. If anything presented here does end up being correct, these will actually become Cataclysm spoilers; if not, we’ve still had plenty of fun trying to predict how things are going to go down! Potential spoilers start immediately after the break.

Continue reading Know Your Lore TFH Edition: Cataclysm Horde politics

Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore

Know Your Lore TFH Edition: Cataclysm Horde politics originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I enjoyed the way Sharddragon framed his interviews and comedy bits, and I like the wide variety of reactions to the Icecrown penguins. This is a pretty fun video, even if it probably could have stood to be a little shorter. It’s funny, but I’m not sure if the laughs carry all the way through the entire length. That being said, March of the Icecrown Penguins is a pretty good send-up of the original movie, and I hope Sharddragon keeps creating other work.

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: March of the Icecrown Penguins originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com’s daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

The past few installments of The Queue have all been well and good when it comes to presenting the things in life we love the most (classy silver-haired gentlemen and voluptuous women), but a crucial demographic has been left out: those who, like me, love the hell out of tiny ungulates.

Yes. If I were in the Conan movie, and I was Conan, and James Earl Jones asked me “Conan, what is best in life?,” I would reply, “Micro-pigs.” And he would nod solemnly and say “I never really thought about that. You’re right, Conan.” And I’d be all, “Thulsa Doom, I totally gave you a micro-pig-a-day calendar last Christmas that you haven’t even opened. I bet if I went to your room right now, it’d be in your closet somewhere, somewhere where the date is still Jan. 1, because that’s what day the micro-pig-a-day calendar says it is.” And he’d be all, “Damn, Conan, chill.” And I’d be all, “Thulsa Doom, I will not chill. Will not chill at all.”

Makothegreat asks:

“So the real question I’ve been asking myself that I’ll share is, “Do you think that the new zones will be as large and expansive as the LK Zones?” And a follow up question, “I wonder how much the old content will be updated to reflect the more interesting and numerous quests of the the LK and BC?”"

From what we’ve seen, the answer is a resounding yes to the first question. As for the second, Blizzard has said that their goal with Cataclysm‘s old-world makeover was to bring the vanilla game up to date with what they’ve learned about questing and design with BC and Wrath, so you can expect the new and revamped quests to have, at the very least, a sprinkling of the new types of quests that the last two expansions gave us.

What will really matter is that the design philosophy is carried over, even if vehicle quests and bombing runs aren’t.

Continue reading The Queue: Tiny baby piggy

Filed under: The Queue

The Queue: Tiny baby piggy originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Server crashes during raids can be keyboard-smashingly frustrating, but at least Xtoferal of <Blight> on Winterhoof got a nice picture out of it. Xtoferal’s guild was attempting Blood Queen when Winterhoof took a turn for the worse, causing major lag and a premature death sentence for the night’s raid. “It just so happens that it crashed right when all a bunch of pretty, flashy spells went off,” he writes. “I took this as an opportunity to take multiple screenshots.”

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We’d love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as emailing aroundazeroth@wow.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. Please include the word “Azeroth” in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing — use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, Val’kyr on mounts or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran. Older screenshots can be found here.

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth: Put your hands in the air originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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