WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.WoW Archivist: Launch classes' 9 biggest aggravationshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/wow-archivist-launch-classes-8-biggest-aggravations/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/wow-archivist-launch-classes-8-biggest-aggravations/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/wow-archivist-launch-classes-8-biggest-aggravations/#commentsFiled under:

WoW Archivist Launch classes' 8 biggest aggravations FRIDAY
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

The launch of WoW was a magical time -- everyone who played the game back then would agree. The concept of questing rather than grinding was fresh and exciting. The world felt immense, full of secrets and adventures.

Classes, on the other hand, were very raw compared to today. While many players yearn to play on vanilla-only servers, I doubt that most of those players would prefer their class to return to its vanilla version. Though some were better than others, every class had its problems. In this column, I'd like to highlight the biggest aggravation, as I see it, with each of the original eight classes -- and how Blizzard has since fixed every one of those issues.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Launch classes' 9 biggest aggravations

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Launch classes' 9 biggest aggravations originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 10 May 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyfeaturedgaming-historyhunterhunter-manammo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historypriestPriest-Racialsshamanshaman-talentssoul-shardsvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawarlockWeapon-Skillswow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 10 May 2013 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Emo Garrosh and the Hero of the Mag'harhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/wow-archivist-emo-garrosh-and-the-hero-of-the-maghar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/wow-archivist-emo-garrosh-and-the-hero-of-the-maghar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/25/wow-archivist-emo-garrosh-and-the-hero-of-the-maghar/#commentsFiled under:

Thrall meets his grandmother
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Mists of Pandaria has many great story lines: the emergence of the Sha, the Mantid war, the history of the Mogu, the Thunder King and the Zandarlari, etc. The overarching story of this expansion has been the ongoing aggression between the Alliance and the Horde, and the central figure of that conflict is Garrosh.

Patch 5.3 will bring us the beginning of the Horde's revolt against its current warchief, and presumably we will depose him with extreme prejudice in 5.4.

Garrosh's story did not begin in Mists, however, or even in Wrath of the Lich King when he led the Horde's assault on Northrend. Way back in The Burning Crusade, an outstanding quest line called Hero of the Mag'har introduced us to a very different Garrosh: a troubled young orc, helpless, hopeless, wishing for death.

If you've only ever played as Alliance, you never got to experience this chain of quests and its many great moments. For Horde players, it's well worth revisiting.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Emo Garrosh and the Hero of the Mag'har

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Emo Garrosh and the Hero of the Mag'har originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyBurningCrusadefeaturedgaming-historygarroshhero-of-the-magharmagharmmo-historynagrandonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historythrallvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsThu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Players who went too farhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/12/wow-archivist-players-who-went-too-far/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/12/wow-archivist-players-who-went-too-far/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/12/wow-archivist-players-who-went-too-far/#commentsFiled under:

Banned notice
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

With a community of millions around the world, Blizzard has no easy job trying to keep botters, gold sellers, cheaters, and other hooligans in check. Blizzard has enacted many rounds of mass bannings over bots and hacks. As Archivist noted last summer, several guilds have been banned or suspended for abusing exploits in raids. Among the countless players and guilds who have earned Blizzard's ire over the years, a few stand out as worthy of revisiting. Here are their stories.

Still just roleplaying?

In an online environment owned and operated by a company, "freedom of speech" does not extend quite as far as it otherwise might. That, at least, is what members of Abhorrent Taboo found out in the fall of 2007. The Horde-side Ravenholdt roleplaying guild boldly proclaimed their identity as an "extreme erotic RP guild."

The guild's welcome message laid out their philosophy:

Role-playing is legal. Even if you are role-playing something that would be considered deplorable and highly illegal IRL, it's still just role-playing and isn't subject to any form of disciplinary action. Negative publicity is still publicity. Make a Digg or website about how sick we are. Report us to PervertedJustice. All it does is bring in more members. In fact, the Digg the guy on Ravenholdt made about us was so effective, several people signed up for WoW just to be in our guild. The bottom line is: We're allowed to do what we do on any server we please and no one can do anything about it.

As it turned out, that last sentence was not 100% accurate.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Players who went too far

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Players who went too far originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyfeaturedgaming-historymmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 12 Apr 2013 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Blizzard's April Fool's jokes are more real than you thinkhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/29/wow-archivist-blizzards-april-fools-jokes-are-more-real-than/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/29/wow-archivist-blizzards-april-fools-jokes-are-more-real-than/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/29/wow-archivist-blizzards-april-fools-jokes-are-more-real-than/#commentsFiled under:

The EPEEN system
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

It all began in 2003, when Blizzard announced pandaren as a playable race -- for Warcraft III. This never happened, of course. The announcement was an April Fool's joke. But you know that someone at Blizzard back then really wanted to play as a panda. Nine years later, with the Mists of Pandaria expansion, we can all be pandaren now.

When Mists was first revealed, the outcry from some in the community was fierce. Much of it centered around how "pandaren were just an April Fool's joke." Most of us, I would hazard to guess, have been won over by them in this expansion. With their incredibly deep history, love of life/beer, and gorgeous architecture, not to mention the amazing voice acting and animations that bring them to life, the pandaren have been a bigger hit for WoW than many ever imagined they could be.

In 2004, a playable goblin tinker for Warcraft III was another April Fool's joke. An overwhelmingly enthused response for playable tinkers led to Blizzard adding them to the game.

Given the origins of the pandaren and goblin tinkers, it's safe to say that any April Fool's joke that Blizzard has done over the years could one day spawn a tangible addition to the game, or perhaps a spinoff under the WoW brand. Let's look back at Blizzard's WoW-related April Fool's jokes to see which ones could be the next to become real -- and which ones already have.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Blizzard's April Fool's jokes are more real than you think

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Blizzard's April Fool's jokes are more real than you think originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>april-foolsAprilFoolsbardblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historycrabbyfeaturedgaming-historymmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPandaExpressPC-gaming-historypimp-my-mounttinfoil-hattwo-headed-ogrevanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawispswow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 29 Mar 2013 14:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: 11 moments from WoW's history that should become scenarioshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/15/wow-archivist-11-moments-from-wows-history-that-should-become/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/15/wow-archivist-11-moments-from-wows-history-that-should-become/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/15/wow-archivist-11-moments-from-wows-history-that-should-become/#commentsFiled under:

The Qiraji invasion
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Next year is WoW's tenth anniversary. It's hard to believe, but it's true! If the typical timeline holds, the next expansion will release a few months prior to that anniversary. You have to believe Blizzard wants to pull out all the stops for this milestone.

What better way to celebrate ten years of WoW than by crafting scenarios to relive the best moments? It's possible that Blizzard is planning a time-based expansion centered around the Bronze Dragonflight. The Keepers of Time could send us on missions, much like the Caverns of Time dungeons of expansions past. Only instead of lore moments from the distant past, they could be moments from WoW's own history, including events driven by the community and removed content that players may not have been able to experience.

Here are 11 examples that I would love to see.

1. The Blood Plague
What: The Alliance seizes a rare opportunity
Where: Original Orgrimmar
When: Patch 1.7

As WoW Archivist previously covered, the Corrupted Blood plague began when players used "creative game mechanics" to export a boss ability into the general population. The unstoppable and highly contagious plague debuff devastated cities around the world as thousands of players and NPCs alike succumbed to it. The resulting chaos became an excellent model for how real-world diseases could spread.

This scenario would take place at the height of the plague and have different versions for Alliance and Horde. Alliance players would accompany NPCs on a strike into Orgrimmar. They would take advantage of the deadly outbreak to make an attempt on Thrall's life. Horde players would defend the city and their Warchief while trying to contain the plague.

Why Orgrimmar? Due to the time frame, Blizzard could reintroduce the original version of the city.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: 11 moments from WoW's history that should become scenarios

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: 11 moments from WoW's history that should become scenarios originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>45-minute-baronAhnQirajblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historycairnecorrupted-bloodfeaturedgaming-historygarrosh-hellscreamgates-of-ahn-qirajjade-forestleeroy-jenkinsmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyOnyxiaonyxia-wipe-animationPC-gaming-historyscenariosserpents-heartsouthshorestrat-45tarren-millthe-great-masqueradevanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 15 Mar 2013 12:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Patch 2.2, the patch without contenthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/01/wow-archivist-patch-2-2-the-patch-without-content-friday/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/01/wow-archivist-patch-2-2-the-patch-without-content-friday/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/01/wow-archivist-patch-2-2-the-patch-without-content-friday/#commentsFiled under:

Empty WoW logo
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

New content comes in patches. That's how it has always worked in WoW. Some patches with a multiple decimals, like patch 1.8.2, are just for bug fixes, emergency boss tuning, and the like. They don't really count (although to be fair, some have given us small amounts of new stuff, such as Onyxia's return in patch 3.2.2). A patch with two numbers, like patch 5.2 hitting very soon, is supposed to have shiny new pixels for all of us to enjoy.

Patch 2.2, released in September 2007, didn't have any. It was the only time in WoW's history that a major patch did not introduce any new content to the game world. No raids. No dungeons. No battlegrounds or arenas. No daily quests. Not even new items.

Instead, patch 2.2 gave us something we didn't particularly want. Something players immediately hated and decried as useless. Something we have never embraced, though most of us haven't thought about it in a long, long time. Most players probably don't even know it exists.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Patch 2.2, the patch without content

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Patch 2.2, the patch without content originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>afkafk-reportalterac-valleyalterac-valley-afkbattlegroundsbattlegrounds-afkblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyfeaturedgaming-historyintegrated-voice-chatmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyorc-shoulderspatch-2.2PC-gaming-historyreporting-afkvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowvoicevoice-chatwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 01 Mar 2013 12:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Life and deathhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/15/wow-archivist-life-and-death/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/15/wow-archivist-life-and-death/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/15/wow-archivist-life-and-death/#commentsFiled under:

Phoenix mount
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

World of Warcraft is without a doubt a massive cultural phenomenon unlike any other online game to date. It has given us countless hours of entertainment, introduced friends and couples to one another, and touched the lives of millions. For some, the game has made a bad situation better, or even -- in at least one case -- possibly saved their lives. For others, it has cost them everything.

Fair warning: This column describes some intense and tragic events.

Hans and the moose

In 2007, twelve-year-old Hans Jørgen Olsen of Norway and his sister (ten) decided to take a shortcut through a garden on their way to school. The choice would prove fateful. A moose had wandered into the area and promptly took a dislike to the children.

"It ran straight towards us when it saw us," Hans told Norwegian news station Nettavisen. "I screamed at it to scare the moose, but I soon realized that it was not going to stop. Then I turned and ran and ran until I couldn't run faster."

The charging moose caught up to Hans and slammed into him. His backpack cushioned the blow, but the impact knocked Hans to the ground.

Unsatisfied, the moose remained. "We held eye contact for a while," Hans said, "and then it suddenly struck me."

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Life and death

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Life and death originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historychinachina-wowephoenixezraezra-chattertonfeaturedgaming-historyhans-olsenlife-and-deathMake-A-WishMake-A-Wish FoundationMake-a-wishFoundationmmo-historyMoosemoose-attacknegligenceonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyrebecca-christietragedyvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 15 Feb 2013 13:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: It's a secret to everybody -- the Linken quest linehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/wow-archivist-its-a-secret-to-everybody-the-linken-quest-li/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/wow-archivist-its-a-secret-to-everybody-the-linken-quest-li/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/01/wow-archivist-its-a-secret-to-everybody-the-linken-quest-li/#commentsFiled under:

Linken riding a horse
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

In the original version of Un'goro Crater, players with a penchant for exploration and a keen eye could find a mysterious quest near a small pond. The first players to find it had no idea that they were embarking on one of vanilla's most epic and celebrated quest lines, and one of Blizzard's most elaborate easter eggs. The chain was a tribute to many of the key moments and tropes in the beloved Legend of Zelda series. It took you up and down Kalimdor multiple times to solve puzzles, forge magical weapons, face deadly enemies, and ultimately find the legendary Triforce Golden Flame.

Sadly, the Cataclysm erased the Linken quest line and it can no longer be completed. Let's relive the glory that was.

Wreck it, raft

Finding this quest early in vanilla was not simple. No quest took you to this area. No floating exclamation point marked it back then, either. To begin the quest line, you had to spot a clickable object called A Wrecked Raft.

The raft gave you the quest It's a Secret to Everybody. The quest name referenced the original Legend of Zelda game. An enemy moblin would sometimes offer you rupees, presumably in exchange for keeping their help a secret (to everybody).

Once you found the hidden quest from the raft, you were faced with another mystery. The quest text read,

A destroyed raft rests along the shoreline. Considering this is only a small pond, it is not clear as to how it ended up here, although looking at the trees tells you that the water level may not be constant.

Perhaps a little exploration in the area might uncover more clues...

Continue reading WoW Archivist: It's a secret to everybody -- the Linken quest line

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: It's a secret to everybody -- the Linken quest line originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyeaster-eggsfeaturedgaming-historyhidden-questslegend-of-zeldalinklinkenlinken-quest-linelinken-questsmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyungoro-cratervanilla-quest-linevanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiazeldaScott AndrewsFri, 01 Feb 2013 12:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Many memes, handle ithttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/wow-archivist-many-memes-handle-it/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/wow-archivist-many-memes-handle-it/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/wow-archivist-many-memes-handle-it/#commentsFiled under:

Unmistakable directions to Mankrik's wife
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Last week, Archivist celebrated the Ulduar raid, including Thorim's famous IN THE MOUNTAINS speech -- one of Wrath's most memorable memes. In its eight years, World of Warcraft and its players have spawned dozens of memes. Today, Archivist remembers some of the best and most enduring. If you've ever wondered where some of these memes come from, read on!

The earliest memes

WoW memes began almost instantly after the game's release. One of the first was Mankrik's wife. For an early Horde quest in the Barrens, the orc Mankrik sent you to locate her. His directions were rather vague, so many players had trouble locating her. It didn't help that she wasn't an upright and alive NPC, but rather a dead body laying on the ground -- killed by marauding quilboars.

Confused players asked where they could find her in the zone's chat. Many, many players. Because the massive zone spanned 15 levels, everyone leveling through it saw that same question asked over and over again. It got to the point where people would ask just to troll the chat channel.

The quest is no longer in the game, but players can now visit her grave near Grol'dom Farm.

Trolling Barrens chat became something of a hobby for early players. Many in the Horde didn't know about the other leveling zones across the ocean. Some who did ran up against the ongoing Tarren Mill/Southshore lagfest wars and took the first boat back to Kalimdor. The combination of a captive audience and a high saturation of new players made the Barrens the perfect zone to troll. In time, Barrens chat became its own meme, even inspiring T shirts.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Many memes, handle it

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Many memes, handle it originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>50-dkp-minusbarrens-chatbasic-campfireblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historybonestormcan-i-have-your-stuffdeep-breathfeaturedgaming-historyGhostcrawlerghostcrawler-promised-me-a-mooseghostcrawler-promised-me-a-ponyloot-the-houndsmankriks-wifememesmerely-a-setbackmmo-historymore-dotsonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyrun-awayskinning-a-bearsoon-tmto-the-ground-babytoo-soonvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawe-named-him-dranoshwow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiayou-are-not-preparedyou-face-jaraxxusScott AndrewsFri, 18 Jan 2013 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: The triumph and tragedy of Ulduarhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/04/wow-archivist-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-ulduar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/04/wow-archivist-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-ulduar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/04/wow-archivist-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-ulduar/#commentsFiled under:

Windows in Ulduar
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

With patch 5.2 on the PTR, everyone is talking about Mists' next tier of raiding content. If the buzz seems more intense than usual, it might be because of the hints that Ghostcrawler and others at Blizzard have dropped comparing the Throne of Thunder to Wrath's Ulduar raid.

Perhaps it's too soon to revisit Ulduar in an Archivist column. After all, the raid went live less than four years ago. I don't care. I want to talk about how amazing this place was, how Blizzard still managed to screw up such a good thing, and why we should all be excited for an Ulduar-style raid in 5.2.

Put the rose-colored glasses away here, folks. You don't need them -- Ulduar really was that fantastic.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: The triumph and tragedy of Ulduar

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: The triumph and tragedy of Ulduar originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 04 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>achievementsblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyfeaturedgaming-historyhard-modesmimironmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyraidingraidstier-8ulduarvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaWrath-of-the-Lich-Kingyogg-saronScott AndrewsFri, 04 Jan 2013 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: WoW's zaniest merchandisehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/21/wow-archivist-wows-zaniest-merchandise/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/21/wow-archivist-wows-zaniest-merchandise/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/21/wow-archivist-wows-zaniest-merchandise/#commentsFiled under:

DPS necklace
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

With only five shopping days left until the Feast of Winter Veil, it is officially holiday crunch time. To inspire you in your shopping goals or maybe point out the perfect gift for that special raider in your life, WoW Archivist presents the zaniest WoW-themed real-world merchandise of all time.

Strange swag

Every BlizzCon has its swag bag, but 2008's edition, celebrating the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, has to be the zaniest ever. In addition to Diablo III "sinamints," a can of "zerg creep" goop, and a pandaren beer cozy, the bag included an inflatable Frostmourne or an inflatable "Bubble Hearth Beach Ball." The latter is a Divinely Shielded dwarf using an uninterruptable hearthstone -- in beach ball form.

The bag also included a package of tissues labeled "QQ noob," masks of Azeroth's races (reminiscent of the Hallow's End in-game versions), and a Frostmourne keychain. The keychain is notable for its several outward-facing spikes. It takes falling on your keys to a whole new level of pain. The full-size Frostmourne replica is more dangerous, but you're also not carrying it around in your pocket mere centimeters from your genitals.

Or are you?

Continue reading WoW Archivist: WoW's zaniest merchandise

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: WoW's zaniest merchandise originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyblizzard-storeblizzconcraftsepicusetsyfeaturedfrostmournegaming-historyjinxmerchandisemmo-historymurlocsonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyswagvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawinter-veilwow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 21 Dec 2012 12:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: The keys to contenthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/wow-archivist-the-keys-to-content/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/wow-archivist-the-keys-to-content/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/wow-archivist-the-keys-to-content/#commentsFiled under:

Karazhan entrance
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Keys in WoW have come in many forms. Some hang around our neck. Some hide in belts. Others open aircraft hangars or other, very special places. Some let us pretend to be rogues. Some never made it to the live game. Some we eat or play with. Some help us get the mail or reach new heights. We find some in unexpected places. A few are just trash.

This column is not about those keys. This is about the keys that used to be a Big Deal. The keys that people went to extraordinary lengths to obtain. The keys that put you on everyone's friends list. The keys to content.

Literal gates

Today, content is rarely locked. Players take it for granted that when a new dungeon or raid goes live, they will have immediate access. For the first half of WoW's history, however, this was not the case at all.

Vanilla WoW locked away virtually all of its end-game content. Raids required attunement, which means that every single person in your raid had to complete a certain quest line.

Keys worked differently. Content that required a key wasn't gated according to some arbitrary release schedule, such as the Heart of Fear -- but by actual gates.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: The keys to content

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: The keys to content originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>attunementattunementsblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historydungeon-keysdungeonsfeaturedgaming-historykarazhankeykeyringkeyringskeysmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyscholomanceubrsulduarupper-blackrock-spirevanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 07 Dec 2012 12:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Patch 2.1, The Black Templehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/30/wow-archivist-patch-2-1-the-black-temple/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/30/wow-archivist-patch-2-1-the-black-temple/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/30/wow-archivist-patch-2-1-the-black-temple/#commentsFiled under:

Illidan
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Blizzard ruined my intro. I was going to talk about how appropriate it was that patch 5.1 included a scenario for warlocks that took them to the Black Temple. Then they pushed it to 5.2. So fine. I'll just fall back to something generic.

In terms of sheer content and changes, patch 2.1 was truly massive -- one of WoW's biggest patches of all time. It arrived in May 2007, five months into The Burning Crusade. Let's dive in!

Illidan shouts at us in person

We were ready, if not perhaps entirely prepared. After an ad campaign and a trailer that prominently featured Illidan, many players expressed disappointment that WoW's first expansion didn't launch with the Black Temple raid. In retrospect, those concerns seem silly today. If anything, the Black Temple released too early in the expansion, forcing Blizzard to add the ultradifficult Sunwell Plateau raid to fill the gap between expansions.

The Black Temple was an enormous raid, and one of the game's most beloved. No matter where you went, everything was big and scary. In some areas, even clearing the trash felt epic. Nine bosses populated a vast indoor/outdoor instance. Many of them are still remembered fondly. Supremus and Reliquary of Souls were highly memorable encounters, the latter partly due its unforgiving awareness checks. Teron Gorefiend and Illidan were major lore figures able to be vanquished in WoW for the first time.

BT wasn't the only raid that 2.1 introduced, however.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Patch 2.1, The Black Temple

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Patch 2.1, The Black Temple originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>black-templeblizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historychildrens-weekdailiesdaily-questsdruid-epic-flightfeaturedgaming-historymmo-historymount-hyjalonline-gaming-historyorphanspatch-2.1patch-2.1.0PC-gaming-historyswift-flight-formvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 30 Nov 2012 15:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: The pointy end of weapon skillshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/23/wow-archivist-the-pointy-end-of-weapon-skills/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/23/wow-archivist-the-pointy-end-of-weapon-skills/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/23/wow-archivist-the-pointy-end-of-weapon-skills/#commentsFiled under:

WoW Archivist
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Have you ever picked up a real-life sword, axe, or powder rifle and said to yourself, "Yeah, I know exactly how to kill people with this?" Me too -- all the time. I mean, there's only one thing you need to know, right? But in actual reality and not the reality in our heads, we don't have the first clue. Most of our ideas probably come from movies or TV, where the fights are choreographed to be exciting rather than true to historic fighting methods.

Why do I bring this up? In vanilla WoW, and for quite a long time afterward, your character couldn't just pick up a new weapon and instantly know how to murder dragons with it. Your character had to learn. Slowly, painfully learn.

Let's look back at weapon skills.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: The pointy end of weapon skills

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: The pointy end of weapon skills originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historydr.-boomfeaturedgaming-historymmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyservant-of-allistarjvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiaweapon-skillswow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 23 Nov 2012 14:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: How forum trolls broke a CMhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/16/wow-archivist-how-forum-trolls-broke-a-cm/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/16/wow-archivist-how-forum-trolls-broke-a-cm/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/16/wow-archivist-how-forum-trolls-broke-a-cm/#commentsFiled under:

A Tseric post from 2006
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Last week, I included some passionate but mostly reasonable discussion of debuffs on the official forums from the earliest days of WoW and beyond. The official forums have always been a rough and tumble part of the game -- an area that Blizzard has always wanted to improve.

Trolls invade

One can speculate about a dozen different reasons for why WoW's official forums have been so full of jerks. Is it because there are just so many players and thus so many people with forum access, raising the statistical jerk demographic? Does the game's immense popularity encourage people to demand more of the company that makes it than any other in gaming? Does the ongoing passion for WoW simply make the forums the best place to troll on the Internet?

The forums have become gradually better over time, but the vanilla and Burning Crusade eras were completely out of control. Caught off-guard by the game's explosive early popularity, Blizzard's first team of community managers found themselves overwhelmingly outnumbered in their own forums. They couldn't possibly hope to keep up with the sheer volume of threads being generated. The CMs did what they could, but it was a losing battle from the start. The trolls took the forums by storm, and Blizzard never fully ousted them.

Then, in May 2007, one community manager simply couldn't take it any more.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: How forum trolls broke a CM

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: How forum trolls broke a CM originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historycmcommunity-managerfeaturedforumsgaming-historymmo-historyofficial-forumsonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyshaman-ragetrollingtrollstsericTsericLeavingvanillavanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 16 Nov 2012 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: The long fight for debuff rightshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/09/wow-archivist-the-long-fight-for-debuff-rights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/09/wow-archivist-the-long-fight-for-debuff-rights/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/09/wow-archivist-the-long-fight-for-debuff-rights/#commentsFiled under:

Warlock casting corruption
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Debuffs help us beat bosses, but not all debuffs are created equal. Over WoW's eight years, debuffs have dealt extra damage, prevented damage, healed us, given us mana, slowed boss attacks, sped up our own, and helped us to hit harder.

Some are more powerful than others, but today those concerns are meaningless. Applying every possible debuff and keeping it active is a critical component to success.

Believe it or not, however, there was a time when your raid leader would yell at you for doing exactly that. Your weaker debuffs weren't just considered useless -- using them was a dire liability.

Eight is not enough

Vanilla WoW had an interesting, longstanding, and highly criticized technical limitation. A raid of any size could only apply a maximum of eight debuffs to a boss. As you can imagine, forty-player raids had many, many debuffs at their disposal, but only eight could ever be active at one time.

To make things worse, the game didn't differentiate between debuffs. The latest one that was applied would knock off the oldest one, regardless of type or power. It's not difficult to figure out how this could become a huge problem.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: The long fight for debuff rights

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: The long fight for debuff rights originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historydebuffdebuff-limitdebuffsfeaturedgaming-historymmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyraid-historyraidingraidsvanillavanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 09 Nov 2012 12:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: Blizzard's hot and cold attitude toward weatherhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/02/wow-archivist-blizzards-hot-and-cold-attitude-toward-weather/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/02/wow-archivist-blizzards-hot-and-cold-attitude-toward-weather/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/11/02/wow-archivist-blizzards-hot-and-cold-attitude-toward-weather/#commentsFiled under:

The WoW five-day forecast
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Weather has been kind of a big deal this week, at least if you live in the eastern U.S. Though it's an essential part of the planet, weather can be devastating.

Azeroth, like Earth, has dynamic weather. It's a feature that makes the game world feel more alive, and one of the few that players love almost universally. Even so, Blizzard's commitment to the immersion of dynamic weather has been up and down over the years.

A static start

Eight years ago, WoW launched without any weather at all. The game had a day/night cycle, but no other changing conditions. Hillsbrad was always sunny, with no rain to dampen the constant Southshore/Tarren Mill PvP battles. It never snowed in Winterspring, despite the heavy snowfall in evidence.

Blizzard was working on weather. Like many aspects of WoW, however, it would take a long time for them to deliver it.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: Blizzard's hot and cold attitude toward weather

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: Blizzard's hot and cold attitude toward weather originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyfeaturedgaming-historymmo-historyonline-gaming-historypatch-1.10PC-gaming-historystormsvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiaweatherwow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 02 Nov 2012 13:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: WoW's most terrifying secretshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/26/wow-archivist-wows-most-terrifying-secrets/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/26/wow-archivist-wows-most-terrifying-secrets/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/26/wow-archivist-wows-most-terrifying-secrets/#commentsFiled under:

The Nagrand orphanage
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Last year, Alex gave us a thorough look at the hidden Karazhan Crypts area, with its massive pile of bones where hundreds of people were thrown down a well, and humans drowned by chaining them upside-down underwater. The crypts were never meant to be explored by players, but WoW has had plenty of other terrifying secrets through the years that are just waiting for us to discover them.

The C'thun Kids Club

Above the leatherworking shop in Goldshire, something is amiss. If you venture there, you will sometimes discover six children, arrayed in a strange pattern. They stand there, silently facing each other. The light music of Elwynn changes to an ominous low rumble or a creepy hum. Every so often you will hear ghostly noises, or even the voice of C'thun himself. Outside of the house, two tiny children's skulls are hidden in the grass.

They have been called the "creepy children," the "demon children," and the "evil children." They also run around Elwynn to Stormwind and back, always in formation. Sometimes they will stop and stare at each other again, or all look in one direction for no apparent reason. Presumably this is just to creep us out even more.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: WoW's most terrifying secrets

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: WoW's most terrifying secrets originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historybreakingcreepycreepy-childrendemon-barberdemon-childrenfeaturedgaming-historyghostsinvinciblemmo-historyold-godsonline-gaming-historyorphanagePC-gaming-historysecretssweeney-toddterrifying-secretsterrorvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: The ghosts of Hallow's Endhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/wow-archivist-the-ghosts-of-hallows-end/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/wow-archivist-the-ghosts-of-hallows-end/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/wow-archivist-the-ghosts-of-hallows-end/#commentsFiled under: ,

The headless horseman
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Yesterday, Hallow's End went live for the seventh time! The holiday began as a modest one, but it has evolved into one of WoW's most elaborate. Over the years, it has endured more controversy and intrigue than any other holiday. Let's take a look back!

The first Hallow's End

The original incarnation of Hallow's End went live in October 2005. The files were included with patch 1.8. It was a far cry from the elaborate holiday we know today with its quests, achievements, vendors, masks, and ghosts taunting us with awful poetry.

Here is Blizzard's 2005 introduction:

When the decorations of Hallow's End light up Azeroth's cities, you know there's mischief afoot! Seek special vendors in Orgrimmar or Ironforge and get your hands on treats! Aid a sick orphan in a little trick-or-treating! Darkcaller Yanka, attending the Forsaken's Wickerman Festival, and Sergeant Hartman of Southshore are seeking your aid in keeping the enemy out of their holiday affairs - are you up to the challenge?

The first Hallow's End wasn't much to write home about. Towns were decorated with pumpkins. The inns got apple bobbing. In addition, the holiday made three quests available. The first was to collect candy from capital cities for your faction's kids. The other two were faction specific -- and were the focus of intense forum-griping.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: The ghosts of Hallow's End

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: The ghosts of Hallow's End originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historyfeaturedgaming-historyhallows-endHallowsEndheadless-horsemanmasksmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 19 Oct 2012 09:00:00 ESTWoW Archivist: The rocky history of meeting stoneshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/12/wow-archivist-the-rocky-history-of-meeting-stones/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/12/wow-archivist-the-rocky-history-of-meeting-stones/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/12/wow-archivist-the-rocky-history-of-meeting-stones/#commentsFiled under:

A meeting stone in Feralas
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Now that Have Group, Will Travel has been removed as a guild perk, raid groups are once again turning to meeting stones to summon their fellow raiders to the entrance. Meeting stones have a long and uneven history in WoW. They were despised and ridiculed when they were first patched in. They've gone through periods of high use and periods where they were all but ignored. What was their original purpose? How have they changed over the years? Read on to find out!

The original dungeon finders

Even in early vanilla, Blizzard was trying to find ways to make it easier for players to run dungeons together. In those days, most dungeons formed either in guild chat or trade chat. Players made their own groups and then took zeppelins, flight points, etc. to the dungeon entrance.

In March 2005, patch 1.3 gave us Blizzard's first attempt at a grouping system: the lowly meeting stones. In their first incarnation, meeting stones could be clicked to place you in a queue for their dungeon. The queue tried to match you up with players of a similar level and to find a tank and a healer.

Players hated meeting stones immediately. It was a deep and abiding hate.

Continue reading WoW Archivist: The rocky history of meeting stones

WoW InsiderWoW Archivist: The rocky history of meeting stones originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blizzardblizzard-archivesblizzard-archivistblizzard-historydungeon-finderfeaturedgaming-historyhave-group-will-travelmeeting-stonesmmo-historyonline-gaming-historyPC-gaming-historyvanilla-warcraftvanilla-wowwarcraft-archiveswarcraft-archivistwarcraft-developmentwarcraft-historywarcraft-nostalgiawow-archiveswow-archivistwow-developmentwow-historywow-nostalgiaScott AndrewsFri, 12 Oct 2012 13:00:00 EST