With Blizzard officially announcing the release of Cataclysm, the question now becomes when does 4.0.1 drop? There has been much speculation based on the hidden patch notes, what has been live on the PTR, what’s available and tested on Beta, etc. So many rumors, but no concrete evidence. One Tuesday we’re all going to attempt to log in and see that we have on our hands a hefty wait time while the game patches.

So many changes are awaiting all of us when path 4.0.1 becomes live on the servers, but what does this mean to the players? First, the talent changes we’ve all been hearing about will finally be a reality. Which means all of the players will be learning how to play their characters all over again. Playing the game will suddenly be brand new for all of us, all over again.

We’re also going to see a new Launch Client (screen shots available at tentonhammer.com), Reforging goes live, Flexible Raid Lock System (this should have been implemented a LONG time ago, imho), the new Glyph system becomes active and the new currency changes also go live. (via PTR 4.0.1 Patch notes).

However, this means Zul’Gurub is officially going to go. As are weapon skills. What last minute achievements are you trying to get before they’re removed from the game?

I’ve been working on [Master of Arms] on my Druid. She just recently got [Did Somebody Order a Knuckle Sandwich?] leaving her with only one more weapon skill left before completing [Master of Arms]. I’m also considering working on [Hero of the Zandalar Tribe] since they’re taking away Zul’Gurub.

What achievements are you trying to score before they become Feats of Strength? Anything you’re terribly sad to see go? Are there changes you’re glad to see happen? Or are you one of those who are not at all lured by achievements at all and thus are just ready for Cataclysm to release already?

Wowhead found a treat for us in the most recent Cataclysm model update, including some new models for Ysera, Thrall, and the Guardian of the Ancient Kings! Also in the new update, models for tons of new drakes and mounts, a new surveying tool that will be used with Archeaology, and more. Ysera’s model is above, although right now she’s essentially a recolor of Sylvanas with some horns added – it’s likely she’ll see a few more tweaks before release. After all, Alextraza is based off of the same model that Sylvanas is, but they’ve both been tweaked a bit so you can definitely tell them apart.

There are tons of NPC and other object models as well, including weapons and guild items, so it’s worth looking at if you’re curious what the visual dynamic in Cataclysm will resemble.

Note: I started to write this article with an entirely different spin on Real ID and what I think about it, but new information has changed things a bit. Read on to find out what I discovered.

Friend List

One of the features of the recent 3.3.5 patch that I was most looking forward to happened to be the Real ID chat ability. Maybe I was mistaken, but it seems that there is a lot of concern regarding the privacy issues that come along with a feature like Real ID.

Real ID is meant to be a way to chat with players across different realms, across faction, as well as across different games using the Battle.net system. This is especially important when Starcraft II is released late July and many WoW players will be spreading their time between the two games. I can’t speak for all WoW players, but I know that my boyfriend and I will probably be spending a hefty portion of our free time trying the new Blizzard game.

The concept of Real ID is awesome. It’s something many other types of systems implement in different ways. Steam uses a universal chat system when you’re logged in. The difference with Steam is that you can choose to stay anonymous with regard to what people see. Real ID seems to be lacking in the privacy settings being available to the user to choose.

According to Blizzard’s Real ID FAQ, “Both players must first mutually agree to become Real ID friends.” Basically don’t go willy-nilly giving our your account email address and adding strangers as friends. As a tool, this can be really awesome. It’ll let you keep in touch with people with whom you regularly chat with even if they’re not logged into your game at the moment. If you need help doing something and see a friend online, a simple asking couldn’t hurt. This can easily be abused in wanting to have at your disposal a large group of people available to play games with. The child I’m taking care of has friended everyone and anyone he can on his XBox Live account. This works on XBox Live, where you don’t see any information that you don’t want to share. This definitely is not the case with Real ID.

The “Real ID is a system designed to be used with people you know and trust in real life — friends, co-workers and family”.

I would suggest you heed that bit of advice, because this next bit threw me for a whirlwind! Originally, I was thinking this system was great! A nice way to keep in touch with my Horde friends while I’m playing Alliance. Or with my boyfriend who juggles his time between his 7 (yes, that’s seven) level 80s. But oh ho ho, Miss Medicina let her readers in on a secret (or not so secret since it’s right there in the FAQ) that was not highly publicized about Real ID.

If you are using Real ID, your mutual Real ID friends, as well as their Real ID friends, will be able to see your first and last name (the name registered to the Battle.net account). You will also be able to see the first and last name of your Real ID friends and their Real ID friends.

Take a minute and reread that. Say this with me now. “Um, wut?!” Now let’s think about this for just a minute. You and I Real ID friend each other. But I also have my boyfriend, a Los Angeles friend, and a local real life friend Real ID-friended. You don’t know these other people. You probably don’t give a crap about these people. But you can see that they’re my friends. Not only that, but you see their real names. Not the online persona that many of us have grown to be associated with. I will always respond to Mailynn (in it’s various different spellings). But now your friends, who are strangers to me, can see my real name. And in turn, google it. Fine. I’m safe. Most of you can google my name now, but you’ll find a whole lot of articles about some older gentleman who’s the CEO of some company in the mid-west and is not even remotely related to me. I’m safe. I’m going to assume that not everyone is as lucky as I am to have an internet twin that gets more attention than you… and is of the opposite gender.

So I Real ID friended someone I know on Horde side. I know personal information about him. I know his girlfriend’s name. I know how many children he has. I know where about he lives. I know who is best friend is. The point is, I consider him a friend, despite only having known him in game. I’m okay with having him friended via Real ID and getting the chance to chat with him whenever I want to. I am not okay with the fact that my boyfriend’s name, my Los Angeles friend’s name and my in town friend’s name will be viewable by my Horde friend. This is overstepping some major boundaries.

At first I thought this was great. I’m going to get those people I love to chat with all the time and friend them! It’s okay, we’re friends!! I didn’t realize that Blizzard opened the door to cyber-stalking to the Nth degree. What changed my mind? I asked my friend Kurn via Facebook to be Real ID friends. She is the reason why I play WoW. I miss our days from Eldre’Thalas. I miss having her as a friend I chatted with regularly. She took her toon to other servers and that’s okay, so did I. Real ID should have been the perfect opportunity for us to keep in touch again.

She very politely told me “No” and the reasons why. She brought to my attention the dangers of Real ID, and not just the overblown perceived dangers. Sharing real life information across the game to people who are not friended is not okay. Do you hear me Blizzard?!??! Make this a feature that can be either a) turned off or b) removed entirely. I am truly missing out on the ability to chat with someone I adore and love because she has privacy concerns. Hell, I now have privacy concerns and may consider removing everyone but the boyfriend just to keep the information sharing to a minimum.

What’s your take on all of this? Are you going to simply ignore all Real ID requests? Do you think I’m making too much out of this? I’m curious to know.

Doesn’t High Tinker Mekkatorque look badass in that shot? I mean seriously – it’s probably the best image of a gnome looking like he’s serious business I think I’ve ever seen. Seriously, don’t mess with the gnomes.

Remember when Blizzard announced details of Operation: Gnomeregan and the Echo Isles? Yup – looks like we’ll start mobilizing for the operation any week now. The call has gone out at the World of Warcraft Community Site, along with exciting new details about the Operation: Gnomeregan encounter and instance, along with what you can expect when the operation mobilizes. Get ready!

Oh – and head over to download a full-sized high-resolution Operation: Gnomeregan poster – if I were you, I’d download it, run over to Kinkos, get it blown up, and frame that puppy. It’s pretty hot.

Today’s the day that patch 3.3.3 goes live; bringing us delicious content after the fall of the Lich King, including the end of honor tokens (which can now be traded in for honor), greed-only rolls on Frozen Orbs, a new Random Battleground system, and tons of other changes!

The full patch notes are here, but here are some of the bigger changes after the jump:

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