Filed under: WoW Insider Business

Well, here we go. This is my last day at WoW Insider, after two and a half years of writing, podcasting, and interacting with one of the greatest communities online. Having the opportunity to write for you and with these wonderful people has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I started playing World of Warcraft back in May of 2004 during the closed beta test. My time and tenure in Star Wars: Galaxies was winding down, and Dark Age of Camelot was far in the rearview mirror. None of us knew what World of Warcraft would become or how much the game would influence some of our lives. For me, World of Warcraft represents time, effort, passion, and drive; when every other option available was lacking, uninteresting, or just wrong, I wrote about my passion. I'll never stop playing because I see no reason to stop.

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!

Hello, everyone! I've finally returned from my pseudo-vacation roadtrip across the country. It was a lot of fun. I got to meet Anne Stickney (again), see a dude freak out on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives, go skydiving, check out the Art of Videogames exhibit at The Smithsonian, survived being stranded for 10 hours in the blazing California desert, and -- well, it was pretty damn action-packed.

But as much as I'd love to regale you with tales of my adventure, we have some sadness today. Beloved WoW Insider columnist Mat McCurley has gone to a better place. (The better place, in this case, being a totally rocking job with Riot, the folks who make League of Legends.) If you're the type who reads WoW Insider without checking out the bylines, it's hard to fathom how much of a loss this is. Mat is a huge part of what makes WoW Insider what it is.

I first met Mat as part of a somewhat impromptu one-day trip. Mike Sacco and I drove from Massachusetts down to New York city, meeting up with McCurley and (then writer) Rich Stoneybaby Maloy for a really awesome evening or drinking and WoW talk. By the next morning, the groundwork for one of the most amazing working friendships I've ever had was laid.

My favorite thing about Mat was his almost child-like enjoyment of WoW. He shows such an incredible enthusiasm for the game that it's infectious. If you met him at BlizzCon or saw him perform at PAX East, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It really sucks that we're losing Mat as a columnist. The only consolation: He's going to go on to do even more amazing things for Riot. And also he's going to come out to live in Los Angeles, right down the street from me. Awesome.

And making matters worse, we're also losing Kelly Aarons here at WoW Insider as well. I wish I knew Kelly as well as I knew Mat, but I never got a chance to drive up to Canada. From what I do know about her, though, she's awesome. Her drawings were awesome. Byron rules.

As a farewell, I figured I'd republish Mat's Birthday Wish one last time. It was an epic effort on my part -- a children's book I wrote to pay tribute to one of the coolest dudes out there in the WoW-verse. And while we're WRUPing, we'll all answer this week's bonus question: What's your favorite Mat McCurley/Kelly Aarons moment?

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Elizabeth Wachowski will be your host today.

Since we'll be discussing female villains, I figured that Betty Draper, the most hated woman on basic cable other than Lori from The Walking Dead, would be an appropriate illustration. I used to think that Betty was the absolute worst, but a few conversations with coworkers made me realize that she's really no worse of a human being than Don. So she's cold and manipulative? Well, she's an isolated housewife married to a philandering, lying workaholic. Do we tend to forgive Don more than Betty because he's the hero of Mad Men? Or does Don Draper's handsomeness erase all sins for many fans? Yes, Mom, I'm talking to you.

sergel92 asked:

What major female baddies are there in WoW? There's Azshara, obviously, and Onyxia too, I guess. But who else could be major enough to get her own expansion, or at least her own patch?

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!

In case you've been living under a rock the last 24 hours or so, one of the biggest stories in the gaming world right now is the collapse of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games. We didn't really cover it, since we're a World of Warcraft-focused site, but we're all gamers here. It stings to see an MMORPG crash and burn, but it hurts even more to see the devastation that the sudden fall of two companies in the industry has caused.

The situation for folks at 38 Studios is somewhat grim right now, though that's nothing new. Most of them had been working without pay since the beginning of the month. A lot of them were depending on the health insurance their job provided -- coverage which has since expired. All of them were just like us -- gamers at heart who just wanted to do something really cool to entertain you. Twitter has been rallying to help, but it's impossible to look at the situation without wishing there was something more you could do.

Beyond the employees, there are a lot of other victims of this debacle too. The taxpayers of Rhode Island are on the hook for a massive loan made to keep 38 afloat -- a loan which could total over $112 million by the time all is said and done. That's a $100 charge to every man, woman, and child currently living in the state. A number of Rhode Island officials who stuck their necks out for 38 have resigned in disgrace, though arguably, they had a lot to be disgraced over. I guess what I'm saying is that it's a bad situation all around.

Well, almost all around. One of the few people who got away clean, ironically, is company founder Curt Schilling, the baseball player who inexplicably started a video games company. He wrote himself a $4 million check from the 38 Studios bank account a few months ago, money that could have -- and should have -- gone to pay his employees that he watched work without pay. As someone from "Red Sox Nation," I feel I have the right to say this: Screw that guy.

So yeah, before we head into this week's WRUP, I want to have a brief moment of silence for 38 Studios and all the folks who were hurt by its downfall.

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!

Diablo III, man. Diablo III.

Diablo III Diablo III Diablo III Diablo III, Diablo III. Diablo 3? No, no, no: Diablo III.

So, Diablo III -- What aRe yoU Playing? This week's Diablo III: What's your preferred Diablo III class?

At the end of days, the first sign shall appear in the heavens. Justice shall fall upon the world of men.

At midnight tonight, Diablo III launches in North America. Other regions aren't far behind (or ahead, as the case may be). The number of World of Warcraft players who will be playing Diablo tonight is astronomical; more than one million Annual Pass subscribers will be receiving the game, and countless more will be purchasing Diablo III on its own simply because it's a good game.

The Real ID and BattleTag systems have brought these games' audiences closer together than they have ever been. With all of that in mind, we here at WoW Insider feel that we would be doing our readers a disservice if we didn't provide content that will help all of you ease yourselves into your brand new game. For the next two days, you're going to see a number of Diablo-related articles and guides here on our site mixed in with our usual WoW stuff. In the long term, we plan to continue to cover major general Blizzard news from all of its games as we've always done (see our recent Blizzard All-Stars news), and the next 48 hours or so will be a little bit heavier on it than you may be used to seeing. We hope that you'll enjoy what we have to offer.

However, if you're the sort of person who has absolutely no interest in Diablo, if the mere mention of the game makes you sick to your stomach and you don't want to see anything on our site but World of Warcraft, we have a solution for you. For the next two days, all of our World of Warcraft content will be tagged "not-diablo." To filter out all of our Diablo content, just go to this link here for the next couple of days for content that's 100% Diablo-free. Treat that as our front page for awhile. Come Wednesday, though, make sure to come back to our real front page -- we won't use that tag forever, just during this Diablo blitz.

If you have any feedback on our Diablo III coverage throughout the day, please feel free to email me your thoughts at alex@wowinsider.com. Did you like what you saw? Is there something we could have done better? I won't be able to respond to everyone, but I assure you that every email sent will be read.

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Evil has returned! 1.2 million WoW players are getting Diablo III for free thanks to the Annual Pass. You can get prepared for the evil with WoW Insider's launch coverage. From the lore of Diablo, to the important blue posts and the basics of Diablo gameplay, we'll get you on the inside track for the return of evil.

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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!

There are only two weeks left until yours truly packs up and moves cross-country from Boston to California. But not just anywhere in California -- Los Angeles. Hollywood! The next time you see me, I'll be a star! Why? Because I've been watching Mel Kane's Getting Your Kids into Commercials nonstop. I think I finally have all the know-how it takes to be a showbiz kid!

Do you look at your child as a financial burden? Then you're doing it wrong. It's time to take that toddler and monetize him through the magic world of commercial acting!

Don't know where to start? Well, no worries -- Mel Kane's Getting Your Kids into Commercials is here to help. Mel will teach you all the key aspects of being a showbiz parent: how to punish your child when they mess up their lines, how to punish your child when they miss their mark, and how to punish your child when they look bored and clearly don't want to be there acting. And most importantly, Mel will teach you how severely to punish your kids when they don't read that week's WRUP. (Very severely! WRUP is totes important!)

So, that's that. While you get your kids browbeat into shape, the rest of us will be here What aRe yoU Playing our hearts out to avoid the wrath of our own showbiz parents. This week's bonus question: With the recent announcement that cross-realm zones are coming to Mists of Pandaria, I've been in a very nostalgic mode. So, I want to know: What's your favorite low-level zone?

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!

Here's a question, ladies and gents: What's your favorite TV show? Are you a fan of the recently renewed Fringe? Perhaps you're more the American Horror Story type? Maybe you British blokes care for Coronation Street, Blue Peter, or The Chase? (Look at the American pretending he knows stuff about British culture -- isn't that cute?)

Surely none of you said your favorite show was TMZ, even though that's an actual show that really exists on TV in real life. Apparently, someone thought it would be a great idea to take a celebrity gossip site and turn it into an awful TV show. (P.S.: I am so sorry for sharing the above clip with you.) But that's not the only terrible idea floating out there on television -- after all, someone is turning that I Can Haz Cheezeburger nonsense into a TV show, too.

So, that got me thinking -- if any website out there can wind up being a poorly rated TV show, why not ours? Why can't there be a show that revolves around our wacky escapades? We literally could not be worse than TMZ. Never mind that it's a bad idea to put folks like Mike Sacco and Mat McCurley on TV. I'm ready to be famous. Not like I-write-for-the-internet famous, but B-list reality show famous. It's time.

While you're waiting for good ol' Fox to make his TV debut, why don't you WRUP with us? This week's bonus question: What kind of parties have you been to ... er, I mean, what are you doing in the MoP beta right now?

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!

Whoa ho ho, ladies and gentlemen. Did you know that Blizzard has two betas going on at the same time, right now, while you read this? It's a Blizzard Beta Bountiful Bonus Weekend, with Diablo III's mega stress test and public beta arriving to destroy Blizzard's servers, as well as another 400,000 invites to the Mists of Pandaria beta, rounding out the Annual Pass holders still not with beta access.

We're playing all sorts of games around here this weekend, but the real question remains: What is your absolute least favorite ability currently in the game? What ability in WoW is just so offensive to you, so gut-wrenchingly awful, that you can't fight the disgusted scoffs that accompany the mere mention of it?

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!

I don't care if it's slated to be 72 degrees and sunny tomorrow here in Boston -- this weekend is going to be terrible. Why, you ask? Because this weekend isn't a PAX East weekend. Mat McCurley isn't crashing on my couch, eating pizza and doing nerd stuff. And the staff of WoW Insider isn't entertaining a crowd of people during a live show. That's the real downer.

Mat worked feverishly to entertain the hell out of an estimated 300 PAX convention-goers last Saturday. Thankfully, he had the foresight to video record the whole thing. You can only watch 10 minutes of it, but they're the only visually important minutes anyway. You should watch it, even if only for the fact that the stunningly handsome Fox Van Allen is in the mix. (Check out the full audio podcast.)

Anyway, though this weekend is sure to be less interesting than the last, we still need to WRUP. Today's bonus question: What's your favorite independent video game?

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!

PAX East has been a phenomenal time so far. We've met lots of fans, stood in a bunch of lines, and have been having a generally positive time. That's what I've been up to, anyway. How about you and our intrepid WoW Insider staff? Playing beta? Running raids? What are you guys playing this weekend? Remember, come see our panel.

This week's bonus: PAX East is now. Give me a Monday morning headline for after the show -- what's that big news going to be?

If you can find Alex, Mat, or Fox walking around the convention floor at PAX East this weekend, be sure to say hi, and you could get a code for an in-game companion pet. All you need to do is tell them you want it -- maybe sweeten the deal by saying how cool WoW Insider is -- and it's yours!

Alex, Mat, and Fox will be giving these out on Friday and Saturday, so the sooner you find them, the better chance you'll have at some sweet loot. Supplies are limited.

Oh, and there's this WoW Insider Panel on Saturday at 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Wyvern Theater, where we're giving away just about everything under the sun. Actually, including the sun. Yup.

The above picture is of Fox and Michelle Morrow after Fox was denied several hugs at a taping of The Price is Right. I'm not sure if he'll be wearing his Price is Right name tag or not at PAX East, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is. Hit the break for pictures of what Mat looks like. I've also thrown in a picture of Sacco for good measure, even though he doesn't have any codes to give away. (/chuckle)

Heading into Boston for PAX East? Well then, welcome -- you're visiting Fox Van Allen's hometown. Be sure to wipe your feet first. And pay no mind to that dude on the bicycle making the siren noise -- he's just part of the ambiance.

If this is your first time at PAX East -- or really, your first time in Boston -- you might be a little bit overwhelmed by this fair city I call home. But don't be! Boston is one of the nicest, cleanest cities in the United States (no, seriously). It's also one of the safest. If you're spending every waking hour at the convention hall, you're seriously missing out.

Hey, remember that time when you guys were like, "Hey WoW Insider, when are you getting a new comment system?" And then we were like, "We're totally getting one real soon!" And then three years later, we were still using the same awful comment system that nobody ever liked? Yeah ...

Well, guess what? We're getting a new comment system! Like, right now. This very second. Enjoy.

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