WoW Insider

Weekly news roundup with Panser of TradeChat

Adam Holisky — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST

TradeChat's Panser returns with this week's WoW Insider news recap, where we look back at the hottest news from the past week and whatever other kickin' rad things may have come our way. And if you didn't notice, this recap is coming on a Tuesday! Is this a new thing? Why yes, yes it is.

This week's discussion topics include:

If you enjoyed the show, make sure to subscribe to TradeChat, leave a comment, and come back next week for the next episode!

Weekly news roundup with Panser of TradeChat originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last Week in WoW: Bursting with PTR news edition

Daniel Whitcomb — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Realm Status, News items

Happy Tuesday morning everyone. The big news of the week is, of course, the advent of the patch 5.4 PTR, and with that comes the avalanche of sweet, sweet PTR news. There's so much of it we can't even fit it into one category in our roundup. Thus, with no further ado, I'm just going to give it all to you. Realm maintenance this morning is scheduled to last from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific time, so you should have time to read at least some of it.

Patch 5.4 PTR news and features

Check out the official patch 5.4 PTR patch notes.
Virtual Realms could end the scourge of low population realms forever.
Proving Grounds, which were initially announced as a feature of Mists, finally make their debut on the patch 5.4 PTR.
Datamining points to a possible pet battle tournament and new battle pets in patch 5.4.
Item enhancements will scale to any level of gear in patch 5.4, including heirlooms.
You'll be able to catch up on legendary quest drops in Throne of Thunder come patch 5.4.
There's some major world changes coming to patch 5.4. Check out this video for a sneak peek.
Check out some of the datamined mount, pet, and armor models from the patch 5.4 PTR.

Continue reading Last Week in WoW: Bursting with PTR news edition

Last Week in WoW: Bursting with PTR news edition originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: How to get Golden Lotus reputation in 5.4

Anne Stickney — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

In patch 5.4, several fairly dramatic changes are taking place, but none quite so dramatic as the state of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. So severe, in fact, that it seems that the achievement Eternally In the Vale is being turned into a Feat of Strength with the next patch. Why? Well ... let's just say that the quests required for completing the achievement are no longer possible to complete, when patch 5.4 hits -- we'll leave it at that.

This has many players wondering, however, what happens to Golden Lotus reputation when the new patch arrives. Will it go away? Where will all the daily quests go? How do you get reputation with the Golden Lotus, when many of the quest objectives and NPCs have been altered in a significant fashion? We poked around a bit on the PTR and while we may not have solid answers, we do have a general idea of where things are going -- and don't worry, your reputation will still be obtainable.

Needless to say, patch 5.4 spoilers abound within this post.

Continue reading Patch 5.4 PTR: How to get Golden Lotus reputation in 5.4

Patch 5.4 PTR: How to get Golden Lotus reputation in 5.4 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scheduling the Siege of Orgrimmar raid test

Sarah Pine — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Raiding, Mists of Pandaria

Testing for the big bad raid of the Mists of Pandaria expansion is not quite ready to begin, Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas tells us, but we're getting close. There will be a few more PTR patches to take care of some stability issues, and then Blizzard will be ready to open up the Siege of Orgrimmar to testing groups. Blizzard is going for two major schedules for SoO testing: one at 10:30 am Pacific time, aimed toward EU players, and one at 4:00 pm Pacific time, aimed toward North American players, though all regions will be open to testing during both scheduled windows.

Normal and heroic 10-player modes will be tested first before proceeding to 25-player normal and heroic modes. LFR and flex raiding will be available for PTR testing as well, and will be unlocked once a raid wing has completed testing in normal mode, with a longer time frame for testing as well.

Scheduling the Siege of Orgrimmar raid test originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EU forums announce amazing transmogrification race

Sarah Pine — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Transmogrification

If you live in the EU and love to dress up your toons, you might be interested in this new game announced by community manager Meldheron: the transmogrification race! According to Meldheron it will be a monthly mini-contest in which players are prompted with a transmog theme on the WoW forum. Reply to the thread with a list of the pieces for use in your outfit, and upvote your favorites. The five most popular will be featured on the World of Warcraft facebook page.

I know we've got lots of transmog fiends around, so if you're in the EU this might be a fun way to share your ideas with fellow WoW players and even get a little bit of attention for your sartorial efforts. Have fun, and I look forward to seeing the top contestants!

EU forums announce amazing transmogrification race originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Jard and his amazing engineering journal

Anne Stickney — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

For those of us who have picked the best profession (that would be engineering), we've finally got some new schematics in patch 5.4 to mess around with! Fortunately, there are no reputations to grind, no insane amount of gold or obscure items we have to pay to obtain these new schematics. In fact, in a departure from the usual, all engineers have to obtain is one item to learn all new schematics for patch 5.4: Chief Engineer Jard's Journal. At the present time, the journal drops from any mob in the Vale -- I got mine from the first sha I killed.

Reading the journal will teach you Jard's secrets. Apparently, he really wasn't into explosives at all. You'll get the schematics for Pierre, the Rascal Bot, the Advanced Refrigeration Unit, and the Sky Claw when you learn the journal, as well as the item you'll need to make all of them -- Jard's Peculiar Energy Source. And this is where it gets a little frustrating, to say the least. Creating the energy source is easy, you only need 10 Ghost Iron Bars. What's frustrating is the cooldown -- you can only make one energy source per day. It's very much like the cooldown for Imperial Silk, except that there isn't an option to use Spirits of Harmony to bypass the cooldown at the present time.

Continue reading Patch 5.4 PTR: Jard and his amazing engineering journal

Patch 5.4 PTR: Jard and his amazing engineering journal originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blossoming Ancient pet added to Blizzard store

Sarah Pine — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: News items

If Withers, the Ruby Sapling, and the Teldrassil Sapling just aren't cutting it in terms of tree pets for you (and how could you not want another tree pet? I'm stumped at the very thought!) then you're in for a treat. Blizzard has just added the Blossoming Ancient to its digital store for $10. The Blossoming Ancient is a miniature version of the great Ancients that protect and guard Azeroth's forests and natural landscapes. If you don't think it's cute enough on its own, get this: it changes with the seasons. You can check out previews of the seasonal forms on the purchase page.

If you haven't yet made the foray into digital pet purchases, now might just be the time to branch out! ... Okay, I just really wanted to make that pun. As with all digital pet and mount purchases, the Blossoming Ancient will be available to all the characters on your account. Take good care of your little Ancient, hero of Azeroth!

Blossoming Ancient pet added to Blizzard store originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: No Stromgarde scenario

Olivia Grace — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items

Brand new Blizzard Community Manager Lore has posted to clarify the datamined information on the Stromgarde scenario. Unfortunately it seems like our enthusiasm may have been a little misplaced, as Lore explains:

Lore

Just to avoid any further confusion, there is no Stromgarde scenario in patch 5.4, and what you've seen datamined is little more than a developer experiment with a stand-in name.

This happens quite often; developers will put something quick together to test out some new tech or functionality, and the remnants occasionally slip through to the PTR files where dataminers can get ahold of them.

So, just to be clear, there is currently nothing related to Stromgarde in production. That's not to say it's a location we'll never revisit, but should that happen, it will not be in 5.4, and the recently datamined files will not be part of it.

source

Yet again, it's a good reason to take datamined information with a pinch of salt. Don't assume that, just because something is in the files, that it's in the patch. Even something being on the PTR doesn't mean it's going to make it into the patch. So, while it's fine to be excited about new content, it's best not to take datamining as gospel.

Nonetheless, this leads to some interesting speculation. Just exactly what was this experiment? What else might the scenario technology be used for? And are there other scenarios you'd like to see? We'd love to see some more of the old world turned into scenarios.

Patch 5.4 PTR: No Stromgarde scenario originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Pandaren Treasure Noodle Cart

Matthew Rossi — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Mists of Pandaria

Sometimes you get hungry. And sometimes when you're hungry you want food that will give you 1007 in a useful stat for one hour. Apparently in patch 5.4, that food will exist, and it will be delicious noodles served piping hot from a noodle cart. Available in both 10 and 25 person varieties, the noodle cart (or Grand noodle cart) is taught by a recipe - where this recipe is learned is up in the air at this point, it could be on a vendor, it could be a drop. We know that both recipes are bind on pickup, so it probably won't be something you see on the AH.

Now, it's possible that the PTR is just giving out odd numbers for stat food at the moment - current Pandaria recipes are listed as giving far higher stats on the PTR than they grant on live. So always remember, it's the PTR, don't be surprised if it changes before it goes live. Still, even if it's just another way to make stat food, who doesn't love a noodle cart?

Patch 5.4 PTR: Pandaren Treasure Noodle Cart originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard details updates to Hearthstone

Sarah Pine — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Hearthstone Insider

Today, Blizzard has some pretty big announcements about their upcoming game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The post is full of changes and additions that are being made to the game, many of which are based on the fan feedback so far. The biggest thing that jumps out at me right away is the fact that the game will now use gold as currency to buy new card packs. You earn gold through--get this--completing daily quests. Ha! And you thought you'd escaped those!

Other announcements include the ability to level the different class cards and the addition of a friends feature that allows you to add people to your friends list in order to battle or chat with them. There are also new card frames color-coded by class, as well as a number of updates to existing card functions and abilities. Make sure to jump on over to the Hearthstone page for the complete list! Oh, and before you ask -- no, there's still no news on when the beta will open up.

Blizzard details updates to Hearthstone originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR news roundup

Anne Stickney — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 5.4 has hit the PTR and a flurry of information regarding the latest patch has already been released. Featuring a new raid, patch 5.4 will also include a variety of new features that are quickly shaping up to be game-changers. Curious about all the new stuff? Take a look at our coverage for more information on patch 5.4 and the upcoming content.

Stay tuned for more patch 5.4 information, and keep your eyes peeled for the PTR.

Patch 5.4 PTR news roundup originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Challenge Mode titles for fastest clear times

Matt Low — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items

In patch 5.4, Challenge Mode players who have already earned gold will have a strong reason to continue running them. Players who earn the fastest clear times in a Challenge Mode dungeon will receive a title specific to each dungeon. As long as players hold the record for the top time, the title will remain. A permanent Feat of Strength will also be earned upon reaching the fastest time.

However, there is a caveat: the Challenge Mode group must have at least 3 players from the same realm to earn the titles.

Patch 5.4 Challenge Mode notes

Players who obtain a realm-best time in a Challenge Mode dungeon (group must contain at least 3 people from the same realm to qualify) will receive a temporary title specific to each dungeon (e.g. Siegebreaker for Siege of Niuzao temple, Darkmaster for Scholomance, etc.). This title will persist for as long as a player retains the top time on the realm. Holding a realm-best time at any point will also confer a permanent Feat of Strength to record the accomplishment.

source

It's not enough to go for the gold anymore. How far will you go for the titles and Feats of Strength?

Patch 5.4 PTR: Challenge Mode titles for fastest clear times originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: New scenario, Stromgarde Keep

Anne Stickney — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

Tucked in among all the other patch 5.4 files dug up by Wowhead is a new scenario with little to no information in terms of maps, bosses, or achievements. You might overlook this scenario in favor of other information, but Alliance players in particular may want to look again, because it looks as though we'll be paying a visit to Stromgarde Keep. Players may or may not remember the deserted ruins over in the Arathi Highlands, once home to the Trollbane line -- unfortunately, the zone didn't get much of a revamp during Cataclysm.

But the potential for this new scenario is huge, depending on what exactly we'll be doing while we're in there. There doesn't appear to be a faction requirement for the scenario, so it seems both Alliance and Horde players will be entering the zone -- whether or not we'll be able to keep our appearance, or be under another disguise effect, is currently a mystery. However, Stromgarde holds tremendous potential, because it represents a foothold steeped in a staggering amount of history for the Alliance, and the human race.

Continue reading Patch 5.4 PTR: New scenario, Stromgarde Keep

Patch 5.4 PTR: New scenario, Stromgarde Keep originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: New pets, pet battle tournament, and more

Alex Ziebart — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items

In addition to Moon Moon, the dire wolf pet dropped by the new Darkmoon Faire boss mentioned earlier today, patch 5.4 already seems full of new content for pet battle aficionados.

First is a datamined scenario currently titled The Celestial Tournament. As of now, the achievement for this tournament is listed under the Pet Battles subcategory, so it's very likely the pet battle tournament mentioned in the patch 5.4 patch notes. A new battle pet named Essence of Xuen provides some hint as to the rewards possible.

Continue reading Patch 5.4 PTR: New pets, pet battle tournament, and more

Patch 5.4 PTR: New pets, pet battle tournament, and more originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Dungeon Journal for Siege of Orgrimmar

Matthew Rossi — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blizzard, News items, Raiding, Lore, Mists of Pandaria

I don't think this even needs to be said, but huge huge spoilers ahoy.

With patch 5.4 going on the PTR with the quickness, we're starting to see just who, exactly, we're going to be fighting in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid, and it's definitely not as straightforward as we might have thought. With the folks at Wowhead having the zone page and Dungeon Journal information up, we can take a look at what's to come. Be warned, there are spoilers for the upcoming raid in plenty past this link. If you don't want to know what the bosses will be in this raid, then do not read past this point.

Okay, now that they're gone, let's gorge on what we can discover.

Continue reading Patch 5.4 PTR: Dungeon Journal for Siege of Orgrimmar

Patch 5.4 PTR: Dungeon Journal for Siege of Orgrimmar originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Item enhancement changes for low-level players

Anne Stickney — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

In patch 5.4, it's going to be a little easier to deck your character out in some pretty fantastic gear. According to the patch notes, all item enhancements from Enchanting, Engineering, Leatherworking, Tailoring, and various vendors and quests will be able to be applied to any piece of gear, regardless of item level. What does that mean for an aspiring alt? It means that all that wonderful heirloom gear you've managed to acquire over the years can finally be enchanted.

There are limits to these enchantments, however, so don't bust out the Mongoose for your max-level character just yet. Although high-level enchantments applied to items equipped by low-level players will have their power scaled down to be more appropriate for that level range, low level enhancements will not scale up beyond their intended level range. In other words, it appears as though the enhancements aren't exactly scalable.

From what can be gathered so far from the patch notes, it appears as though you'll be able to simply enchant your gear as you go. If you use a high-level enchant, it'll be scaled down to you. Players looking for a way to improve their heirloom quality gear now have a method of doing so. Although the patch notes aren't 100% clear on this mechanic, we'll know more once patch 5.4 hits the PTR servers.

Patch 5.4 PTR: Item enhancement changes for low-level players originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Moonfang, new dire wolf boss, to prowl the Darkmoon Faire

Alex Ziebart — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items

Among the data mined from patch 5.3 is a potential new addition to the Darkmoon Faire: a new boss. In the current PTR build, the boss's name seems to be Moonfang. In the full version of the picture above (which can be found on MMO-Champion), you can see a crescent moon that floats above Moonfang's head.

Chances are good this new dire wolf will work similarly to the Darkmoon Rabbit added back in patch 5.0.4, which is a ferocious world boss despite its unassuming appearance. Like the Darkmoon Rabbit, this new dire wolf boss appears to drop a battle pet: Moon Moon.

In addition to the battle pet, Moonfang will also drop Moonfang's Paw. Moonfang's Paw is a statless vanity fist weapon to be used in transmogrification.

Patch 5.4 PTR: Moonfang, new dire wolf boss, to prowl the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Proving Grounds

Matthew Rossi — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 5.4 already? When they said patches would be coming more frequently they were not kidding - we've only been in patch 5.3 for a month or so and patch 5.4 is already on the PTR. And it is packed with new features, some of which we've been waiting for all expansion, like the long discussed proving grounds.

Rygarius - Patch 5.4 Coming Soon!

New Feature: Proving Grounds

Proving Grounds is a new feature for individual players to test and improve their combat skills.
At the Proving Grounds, players may undertake trials, designed for Damage, Tank, or Healer roles.
It provides a great opportunity to learn how to Tank or Heal, without the need of a group.
Each trial is available in four separate difficulties: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Endless. Harder difficulties include more difficult and varied enemies.
Endless mode allows you to test your mettle against increasingly difficult enemies. Compare your best scores to friends and guildmates!
[PTR]: Access to the Proving Grounds and more information is coming soon.

source

While we still don't know quite a lot (like what form these will take, whether they'll be in their own location like Brawler's Guild or queued for like scenarios) we do know they're currently planned for 5.4, they'll allow for DPS, tanks or healers to face solo challenges to improve in their chosen role and they'll have multiple difficulty levels. This has been a feature long anticipated and requested, so I for one can't wait to see how it is implemented.

Patch 5.4 PTR: Proving Grounds originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Datamined NPC, mount, and pet models

Matt Low — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items

Along with the recently released patch 5.4 patch notes, our friends at MMO-Champion have data-mined some new models including armor for tier 16 and season 14 gear. Garrosh Hellscream gets a new look and we get a sneak peek at the latest sha! Everything behind the cut contains spoilers for the upcoming patch 5.4. Click through and view at your own risk!

Please note: This post contains spoilers for patch 5.4.

Continue reading Patch 5.4 PTR: Datamined NPC, mount, and pet models

Patch 5.4 PTR: Datamined NPC, mount, and pet models originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 5.4 PTR: Virtual Realms announced

Matthew Rossi — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:07:00 EST

Filed under: Guilds, Blizzard, News items, Raiding, Mists of Pandaria

What, you may ask, are virtual realms? Well, they're a very interesting new feature (and if you choose, you can pretend they're the new feature Ghostcrawler mentioned for 5.4) that will have quite an impact on how we play the game. To quote the patch notes:

Rygarius - Patch 5.4 Coming Soon!

Virtual Realms are sets of realms that are fused together, and will behave exactly as if they were one cohesive realm. Players on the same Virtual Realm will be able to join guilds, access a single Auction House, join arena teams and raids, as well run dungeons or group up to complete quests.

source

This is basically the first step in the creation of a unified, single realm across whole regions of World of Warcraft. Similar in concept to a PvP Battlegroup, this basically allows you to treat players from other realms in the shared virtual realm as if they were on your selfsame realm, including all the benefits of guilding, grouping and raiding.; This is an enormous game changer, and I admit, I don't think I ever expected to see it happen. For guilds on low pop servers, this drastically increases the potential player base that you can recruit, for just one potential benefit.

Do remember, however, that this is the PTR. As Ghostcrawler says:

Take data-mining and even PTR itself with a grain of salt. PTR is our Petri dish and not every experiment works.
- Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) June 12, 2013

Stay tuned for more news -- this is definitely an exciting change.

Patch 5.4 PTR: Virtual Realms announced originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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