Normally I wouldn’t want to do a “How’s that working out for you” discussion post for an x.y.z patch, but 3.2.2 came with so many changes that have actively effected the way we play the game, it’s worth checking in and seeing how everyone’s doing. Blizzard described it as minor patch, but along with it came a number of pretty big changes, not the least of which being the re-introduction of Onxyia into the game after having reworked her to be a level 80 raid boss, with loot that looks like the old world gear but wears like some of the finest a raid can pick up.

Changes came down for just about every class, too – hunters got some pretty significant changes, as did druids, death knights, and even mages got some reworking – and while some of the changes are pretty minor, others are significant enough to change the way we play the game.

So! How are you doing with all of the changes in 3.2.2? Mad that the Bestial Wrath change went through? Upset you can only queue for 2 battlegrounds at a time? Pissed that they fixed the Kill Shot bug and now you have to be at range to fire it? Or maybe you’re too busy rolling over Onxyia for loot? How are you liking that? Let us know in the comments!

I mentioned Ulduar: Defiance a little while ago, and specifically how awesome it was and well made it was as a movie – it’s not super-advanced machinima, it doesn’t create a specifically new story in the form of its visuals, but what it does so well, what puts it above so many other WoW videos I’ve seen, is that it’s absolutely perfect at capturing the atmosphere and feeling of epic adventure and high stakes that comes with the story and lore that leads you into Ulduar as a champion, looking to free it – and Azeroth – from the creeping grip of something very ancient and very evil.

The second installment in the series (second of three) picks up where the first left off, and starts us off at the door to the Iron Council, and gives us the first piece of audio that I think isn’t directly lifted from the game itself in the series so far. I was a little disappointed, because I think the game audio is superior to almost anything a player could record (with some notable exceptions, like the player who essentially redid all the audio for Stratholme), but it fit in well and was quickly followed by in-game audio from there out.

The video takes us through the fights with the council and into the strategy session in the Archivum inside Ulduar before showing us each of the battles with each of the Watchers, and does so without getting into a ton of strats and revealing their exact endings. I think one of the things I really adore about this series of videos is that each of the battles really does have an epic feeling about it, you get the sense that the players in the fight really are crossing weapons with Hodir, for example, trying to convince him they they’re not his true enemy.

I’m not in the kind of guild that’ll probably get to see this content until we’re all 85 and Cataclysm is out, but for the time being? I’ll settle for this.

See it in high-quality at YouTube here.

I was turned onto this video thanks to WoW.com’s Guildwatch column, which is one of the best the site has, I have to admit – if it were all they ran I would still think it was a great blog, but since it’s not the only thing they run, they’re even better – but that being said, one of the entries was that this guild Renaissance, playing Alliance on Ravenholdt-US, had put together a truly fantastic video showcasing not only one of their recent Ulduar runs, but the fun they have together when they run.

And believe me, the video is hilarious. From the music selection (opening up with “United States of Whatever”) to the healers’ hilarious death/rezzing macro text to the absolutely glorious “air ganking squad” (near the end of the video, I won’t spoil how they do it if you don’t know), these guys look like they know how to have a great time, and considering they cleared Ulduar, they know what they’re doing too. Now if only they were recruiting hunters…

If you haven’t noticed, Brewfest is in full swing, and you should be out there getting prize tickets and racing rams if you want to get your hands on a Violet Proto-Drake, or just want to be a part of the action.

But don’t just settle for celebrating Brewfest in-game, get in on the action in real life with Jinx.com’s Brewfest t-shirt! (available in men’s and women’s sizes, too!) Jinx owns the rights to market Blizzard-approved official World of Warcraft merchandise, so you’ll find all of your official WoW-gear there, but they just released this gorgeous Brewfest tee just in time for the event. If you hurry, you can order now and have your t-shirt in time to finish the holiday!

I didn’t think it was going to happen, but I suppose that the fact that faction changes became a reality means anything is possible: Blizzard did say they were contemplating giving you the option to change your character’s race among the choices in your faction, but according to the WoW Account Management page (I screenshotted mine above) the button is already there, just marked with “coming soon.”

It kind of makes sense: faction changes were probably harder to implement and included a lot of the mechanics needed for race changes. But it goes to push the point I mentioned in my post: Factions, Classes, Genders, Haircuts: Do Choices Matter Anymore in Azeroth?

As soon as this is live, I don’t think there’ll be anything about your character that you can’t change if you’re willing to drop the cash. Do you think this dilutes the choices you make at the beginning of the game? Are you willing to drop what will probably be $20 or $25 dollars to change your character’s race? Shout it out in the comments!

Today’s the day: Patch 3.2.2 is slowly rolling out to the realms and after their day-long maintenance they’re starting to slowly but surely come back online. Some of them are experiencing longer downtime and extended maintenance, but by and large people should be able to play when they head home from work or school today.

So! What’s in store for us other than the Brood Mother herself, Onyxia, returning to her home all beefed up to a level 80+ boss and ready to drop some phat lewts? Check out the full patch notes here to see what we’re in for. Tons of class changes, new mounts, new loot, and maybe some other secrets yet to be uncovered until people get their hands on the patch data…we’ll see!

Click the image above to embiggen and enjoy the hilarity.

The best part is that she (Macilore, my beloved guildmate) did this entirely from memory.

Yarr! Today’s the day! International Talk Like a Pirate day, ye landlubbers! Raise yer mug o’ grog and swallow it down like a real pirate!

If you’re in-game today, make sure to talk to one of the commoners dressed like pirates anywhere in any of the major cities today to get yourself a swanky pirate costumes like the one I’m wearing above! Then get yeself down to Booty Bay and chat with Dread Captain Demeza and share a drink with her to become a member of her crew! She’s standing on the roof of the bank and her crew is accepting all comers for Pirate’s Day!

All it takes is one drink and YARR! The booty be yours:

Quick, easy, fun, and worth prancing around in costume and talking to the nearby NPCs to find out what they think of the event! And don’t forget, Brewfest starts tomorrow!

Over at MMO Champion (and subsequently WoW.com), video has surfaced of a Pandaren Monk non-combat pet that’s apparently very well animated and has some pretty awesome moves! As awesome as he is though, no one knows how we’ll get him or when he’ll make an appearance in the game.

Over at WoW.com, there’s speculation that he might be a reward for Brewfest, scheduled to begin this Sunday, and another idea is that he might be the non-combat pet for the Cataclysm Collector’s Edition (since every previous collector’s edition has come with a non-combat pet) although he’d be making an awfully early appearance in the game for that to be the case.

In any event, we’ll have to wait and see, but one thing’s for sure – I want one.

On Friday, @Warcraft posted this message on Twitter, and left a number of us scratching our heads wondering exactly what was being revealed and what Blizzard was trying to tell us.

Well, yesterday we found out that over on the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm site, a new set of pages had been added to give people eager for Cataclysm related news a preview of one of the new major zones coming in the expansion, The Abyssal Maw.

Not sure what the Abyssal Maw is? Check it:

Azeroth’s native elementals wreaked havoc across the world while they were under the influence of the Old Gods.
To keep Azeroth safe from these threats, the titans imprisoned the Old Gods underground and banished the savage elementals to the titan-constructed Elemental Plane, a secure dominion where the elementals could dwell without harming Azeroth.

Four domains were created within this primordial realm to serve as ideal environments for each type of elemental. For ages since, the elementals of air, water, earth, and fire have engaged in endless strife with each other, waging titanic battles in the confines of their realm. One of the Elemental Plane’s domains, a vast ocean known as the Abyssal Maw, is home to the water elementals. Legend says that Neptulon the Tidehunter, the powerful being who rules over the aquatic realm, possesses a potent weapon that allows its owner to control the very seas of Azeroth. Thus far, the artifact has remained secure inside the water elementals’ domain… but that will soon change.

Within Deepholm, the domain of the earth elementals, the malefic Dragon Aspect Deathwing is on the verge of executing a catastrophic act: to burst forth from the Elemental Plane into Azeroth. Doing so will ravage the surface of the world and breach the barrier that separates Azeroth from the elementals’ realm. Whether Neptulon and his subjects have entered into an alliance with Deathwing remains unknown. Regardless, if Deathwing’s actions create an opening into the Abyssal Maw, nefarious and honorable factions alike will seek out the fabled weapon carried by Neptulon. Whoever secures the artifact will have control over the world’s seas, a power that perhaps no one, not even members of the Horde or the Alliance, should possess.

Oh snap – you know what this means: we could see an instance where we have to bring down Neptulon himself – we just don’t know. This also begs the question that if Deathwing’s cataclysmic burst from the Elemental Plane creates an opening between Azeroth and the Abyssal Maw, will there also be openings to the other elemental domains? We’ll just have to see. In any event, some preview images from the Abyssal Maw are up (like the one above), and it looks like a massive new zone that’s part temple and part underwater city.