Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Those of you who have been following my personal life know that I just moved to Southern California a month or two ago. There's been quite a bit of culture shock -- everything in LA is so pretty (minus the architecture) that even I, a relatively good-looking dude, felt a little insecure.

But did I wallow in despair? No, I did not, my friend -- I did something about it. I got a gym membership and a personal trainer. I went out and I got physical. I wanted to let them hear my body talk, my body talk.

I mean, I've been patient, I've been good, tried to keep my hands on the table. It's gettin' hard this holdin' back, you know what I mean? I'm sure you'll understand my point of view, we know each other mentally. You gotta know that you're bringin' out the animal in me.

So strap on your finest leg warmers, and envision this page covered with bright neon colors, unusual moving shapes, and the occasional '80s-style squiggle. After all, it's time to get physical with this week's WRUP!

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

We were supposed to give it to you last month. We teased you about it for weeks. But no more teasing; no more waiting. Episode 2 of The Fourth Hour, staring actress Michele Morrow and yours truly, is finally available for viewing. We talk about getting an NPC in game, WoW-related birthday presents, and some other cool stuff. Also, Michele and I are pretty, so there's that.

But what's that, you say? That's not enough for you? Well fine, jerk, I guess we'll also give you some "What aRe yoU Playing" action today. So follow us after the break and let us know what games you're going to be playing this weekend. And take a swing at our bonus question for the week, too: If you were to be honored with an in-game NPC, what would it be? What would your NPC do? Where would it be located?

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

About a month ago, Michele Morrow and I teased you with the first episode of The Fourth Hour, what we hoped would be a really epic, regular video series on gaming. And indeed, we still have plans for it. It's just that life happened in a very severe and intense way over at the Morrow household, and we had to put off taping for a while. (More about that later.)

Thankfully, though, Michele has worked through the personal cataclysm, and we finally got a chance to sit down this week to tape a new episode of The Fourth Hour. It's still in editing, but we didn't want you to go without. That's why we're going to share with you our camera test that we ran as a warm-up. And if last time's outtakes were any indication, it's going to be just as good as the full episode -- if not better.

This week's bonus question: Now that the Mists of Pandaria release date has been announced, it's time to decide. Are you buying a physical copy of the game, or are you going to just grab a digital download this year?

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

HEY KIDS!

Do you love What aRe yoU Playing? Then get your free WRUP Fun Kit!

("The WRUP Fun Kit?")

You get an official certificate, awesome WRUP trading cards, and a sweet ID card. Even a special surprise on your birthday from Fox Van Allen!

(weird 1980s squiggle line pattern descends at a weird angle)

And the best news is you don't need to wait six to eight weeks for shipping and handling -- you can join in the WRUP fun now! Just follow us after the break and tell us what you're playing this weekend. And maybe, just maybe, you'll be able see what your favorite WoW Insider writer is playing, too! ("Oh, boy!")

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Welcome to WoW Insider, your source for all sorts of Tips N Trikks(TM) for the World of Warcraft game for your PC or Mac entertainment console. Are you ready for the coolest tricks? And the hottest cheat codes?! We won't tell Mom you're cheating if you don't!

(Radical!)

But hey, enough delay. Let's get to those Tips N Trikks(TM)!

(Tips N Trikks ... to the x-treme!)

In the mystical world of ... Azeroad ... you're tasked with beating all the bad guys and saving the princess. But do you know the best way to kill those bad guys?

• Use spells to attack. Spells cause damage! (Awesome!)
• Use physical abilities to attack. Use that sword, bro! (Whooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhh!)
• And when you need to pause the game, just press the power button! (Coooool Trikks ~)

What's your favorite Tip and/or Trikk? Let us know by writing us at "WoW Insider Tips N Trikks," P.O. Box 20283-B, Alameda, CA 94502. Or you can just leave a comment after the break telling us what you're playing this weekend. And you can read what all these other WoW Insider folks are playing, too! (Maxi-tota-rad!)

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Fox Van Allen and Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Feed Fox's ego by emailing him, tweeting him at @foxvanallen, or sacrificing your first-born to him.

Tailoring has always been a solid profession choice, especially for casters. You can create some of the best, epic-quality gear for your character with your own two (digitized avatar's) hands. You can even create some serious bank notes by selling leg enchants and bags. It's never been the most profitable profession -- but in every expansion, it's been a solid money maker.

A number of tailoring patterns have finally started appearing on the Mists of Pandaria beta. But is the outlook for the upcoming expansion as golden as it's been in the past? The outlook is a bit cloudy (misty? haw haw haw), but we'll still see if we can make some sense of some of the major changes coming to the profession in just a few months' time.

Just how major are these changes, you might ask? Major enough that it's worth considering whether or not it's time to give tailoring up for good.

Read more →

Filed under: Economy, Gold Capped, Mists of Pandaria

My roommate Mike is a pretty awesome clothing designer, but first and foremost, he's an ultra-dedicated WoW player. Whereas I'm more interested in the raiding and economic aspects of the game, he spends hours on end grinding and camping in an effort to collect fun items. He loves collecting transmogrification gear. He loves grinding on-use archaeology items.

But what he really loves is mount collecting. It's the only thing that explains why he'd waste so much of his youthful life farming in Storm Peaks. He'd been hunting the Time-Lost Proto Drake for years -- since the 2008 release of Wrath, really. Yesterday, he finally struck gold. The elusive beast was right in front of his eyes. It wasn't dead. It wasn't tagged. It was finally his. After three long years, my roommate scored the crown jewel of mounts.

Two hours later, he sent me a text message:
To each their own, I suppose. But what about you? Have you been on the hunt for ye olde Time-Lost Proto Drake? Have you camped some other rare? And after all the time you invested into the effort ... was it all worth it? I'm not allowed to share my phone number with you guys here, so you'll have to comment after the break in lieu of texting.

---

It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

---

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Why hello, everyone! Happy weekend to you all! I mean, it's almost the weekend, right? The time to spend an hour expertly styling your hair, dress in a mask, and leer at some acrobat dude who's not wearing a shirt. Oh, wait. No. That was last weekend.

Anyway, my friend Michele Morrow needed a little bit of a break from her The Fourth Hour hosting duties this week. She's got a sick cat, you see, and a flooded apartment. So we needed some lovely bit of filler for WRUP. (Filler?! In WRUP?! Can you believe such a thing?!)

Adam Holisky suggested I take that terrible picture of myself and open it up to a caption contest. Winner gets to attend a live taping of The Fourth Hour. Airfare, hotel, meals definitely not included. TFH has a budget of $0, thank you very much. And while you're entering that non-binding fake contest, be sure to let us know what you're playing this weekend. Because that's just how WRUP rolls.

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Many of you know that I recently moved from Boston to Los Angeles. And now that I'm living in the entertainment capital of the world, it's time to kick up the Fox Van Allen experience a notch. After all, writing is cool, but all the really awesome people are making videos. So I hooked up with my friend Michele Morrow (writer! actress! Spirit Hood ambassador!) to create a new show, The Fourth Hour. And if it's cool with all of you, we'd like to premiere it here on WoW Insider. Like, right now.

Why call it The Fourth Hour? It's an homage to the final hour of NBC's Today show, when serious journalism takes a sideline to the alcohol-fueled antics of Kathie Lee and Hoda. An unintentional homage, to be sure, but one filled with WoW, gaming talk, special guests, and pretty people you're evolutionarily predisposed to want to mate with. This week's special guest is a familiar face -- or at least familiar voice -- to all you WoW Insider folks: former writer Mat McCurley.

You should totally subscribe to The Fourth Hour's YouTube channel. Then tell all your friends about it. Like it on Twitterbook. Write your congressman about it too, just in case.

In addition to the pilot episode above, you can check out the outtakes video -- all the good stuff that just didn't fit the 10-minute format -- after the break. You can also peek into the lives of my fellow WoW Insider writers, since this is WRUP. Oh,and you can share with us exactly what you're doing in the World of Warcraft and what other games you're playing, too.

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Ravens. Dude, I am so excited. Ravens. Shadow priests got friggin' ravens! If I were there with you in person, I would be violently shaking you, screaming "Ravens!" into your face until my nurse came along to medicate me.

A few of you may have no idea what I'm talking about. See, Blizzard is overhauling the glyph system (again) for Mists of Pandaria, and they're making a real effort to giving us a bunch of cool new minor glyphs. The stuff being added, like the Glyph of Shadow Ravens that turns shadow priests' shadow orbs into shadow ravens, has no impact on DPS at all. All it impacts is fun, and by a totally measurable +30%. Maybe even 300%. I dunno, I'm having too much fun having shadow ravens to actually do the math.

Certainly, there are a lot of cool new minor glyphs being added, and shadow priests aren't the only ones feeling the love. What's your favorite? Is it something your class is getting? Or is it something another class was given that's making you totally jealous you play a lousy boomkin?

---

It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

---

Filed under: Breakfast Topics