ZAM News (full)

ZAM News (full) http://www.zam.com/ ZAM gaming news rss feed Warcraft is Escalating with Patch 5.3: Escalation [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32418 <img src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/2/e/2e1bbf1d5e11bece7aad30754ba57411.jpg" alt="" width="622" height="240" />  Well that escalated quickly-<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/">World of Warcraft</a>’s newest patch, “<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9679405/53_Escalation_Round-up-5_20_2013#PvP">Escalation</a>” hits live servers today!  One of the biggest mechanics altering patches of Mists of Pandaria, 5.3 is adding a ton of new content, and making some big changes to already existing systems.  For detailed information, you can check out <a href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/">Blizzard</a>’s official content page for 5.3 <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9679405/53_Escalation_Round-up-5_20_2013#PvP">here</a>, and for all of your guides, details, and answers to your questions, heading over to <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/">WoWhead</a>’s <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/news=212498/wowheads-patch-5-3-guide">5.3 guide</a> is also a must. <a name="pause" title="pause"></a>  This patch includes a lot of major changes that many players have been anticipating for a while.  Blizzard is fleshing outits ideas and plans that were outlined and begun at the start of the expansion.  Four new <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9623680/">Scenarios</a> are added to the roster, giving players more avenues to explore the lore of Warcraft in a way that is short and sweet.  Also being added are “<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9447311/">specialization choices</a>.” In other words, you can highlight your role so that the gear that drops specific to you (from quests or bonus rolls in LFR), is tailored to your character so that you are more likely to be able to equip it.  <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9241762/">Item upgrades</a> are also coming back, with new costs and specifics.  The <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9425559/">Brawler’s Guild</a> is also getting some much needed love with new fights, new rewards and a hint from Blizzard that we might get to fight some of our favorite evil-doers from past Warcraft encounters.  <img src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/9/0/90b0dd479cda74f888e3ae9ebd8e4e65.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="250" /> Many of the biggest changes in 5.3 are directed at the PvP community. A new <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9601893/">arena</a> hits the scene, allowing for a little more diversity in the arena roster.  A new 15v15 Battleground, <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9601893/">Deepwind Gorge</a>, is also being thrust into the game with a lot of interesting qualities that separate it from the current Battlegrounds offered in the game.  Moreover, many changes to the way PvP gear works are happening, most notably, the vast majority of PvP gear is getting its Resilience removed and players over level 85 are getting a base 65% Resilience that is innate to their character.  Resilience is still obtainable through gems, but it won’t be the dominant factor in stat choice as before. While we don’t see a new Raid with 5.3, I think that Blizzard has proven with this patch that they can add a ton of content, without having to necessarily push out a raid with every patch.  So what are you waiting for, servers just went live, and there’s a ton to do in Azeroth! <a href="https://twitter.com/TovarishGaming">Tyler "TovarishGaming" Solley</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Tue, 21 May 2013 18:30:00 -0000 The Weekly Marmot: Episode 176 [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32403 <img style="margin: 5px auto; display: block;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/f/2/f29c6152835a101542788f46c26ee98f.png" alt="" width="630" height="317" /> Not long to go now before Lore ships off to <a href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/" target="_blank">Blizzard Entertainment</a>, so be sure to check him out on this week's episode of The Weekly Marmot.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a>This week Lore does a deep dive analysis of<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/" target="_blank"> World Of Warcraft's</a> latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria, and goes over the pros, cons, and lessons that Pandaria has had to offer so far. Take a look! <object width="640" height="360"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YQFb4Hjoi3g?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object> For more Lore or ZAM video content, don't forget to head on over to Zam's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ZAMOfficial?feature=watch" target="_blank">Official Youtube Channel</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/coreycrimzen" target="_blank">Corey "Crimzen" Jenkins</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Sat, 18 May 2013 16:45:00 -0000 World of Warcraft: Redemption [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32398 With the recent news that <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com" target="_self">World of Warcraft</a> has lost 1.3 million subscribers in the last 3 months, the imminent patch 5.3 suddenly carries a lot of importance. Bear in mind that, although the patch brings a lot of changes and fixes as well as some new content, 5.3 isn’t a major content patch, so will it be enough to keep players interested? Let’s take a look at why we should stick around for patch 5.3. <img style="vertical-align: text-top;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/7/e/7e37a114b34aec31dacd475c0a675df7.png" alt="" width="630" height="250" /><a name="pause" title="pause"></a>One of the major gripes I’ve seen recurring on the official WoW forums is that the game just isn’t alt-friendly any more, and I agree. Levelling takes time and gearing takes even longer. <a href="http://www.blizzard.com" target="_blank">Blizzard’s</a> response: <ul> <li>Reduced the amount of XP required to level from 85-90 by 33%</li> <li>New heirlooms with reduced costs</li> <li>Removal of pre-requisite reputation requirements</li> <li>New loot system to reduce ‘bad luck’ streaks in LFR/world bosses/bonus rolls along with the ability to choose your ‘loot spec’</li> <li>Returned the item upgrade NPCs with reduced costs</li> </ul> For those who want more content, patch 5.3 adds new and heroic scenarios, a new battleground and arena and an exciting transformation of The Barrens into a hub of activity with a series of dynamic events for both Alliance and Horde (and open world PvP?). This also moves along the lore, furthering the key story of Mists of Pandaria: the fall of Garrosh Hellscream.  PvP has something of an overhaul, too, with all players receiving a base 65% resilience, battle fatigue and increased damage to tank-specced flag carriers to name just a few. Blizzard hope that, with all of the changes it has made to PvP, player skill will be of more importance than gear, making the cross over from PvE easier.  I said it before and I’ll say it again: Patch 5.3 is not a major content patch, but it sure is doing its best to make the changes we as players have been asking for. Unfortunately Blizzard can’t please all of the players, all of the time, only some of the players, some of the time. Penny for your thoughts.  <a title="Qelric on YouTube" href="http://www.youtube.com/Qelric" target="_blank">Qelric</a> Also, be sure to check out these <a href="http://bit.ly/18z9CGe" target="_blank">newly updated reputation guides</a> over on <a href="http://www.wowhead.com" target="_blank">Wowhead</a>. <a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Fri, 17 May 2013 17:20:00 -0000 The Final Countdown [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32363 As fans of Josh "Lore" Allen are no doubt all fully aware, the man himself wil be departing for <a title="Blizzard" href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/" target="_blank">Blizzard</a> at the end of the month. <object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pGj_fCNOlTw?version=3&hl=en_GB" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pGj_fCNOlTw?version=3&hl=en_GB" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object> That means you should take full advantage and watch the latest episode of The Weekly Marmot. This week, Lore discusses whether lockouts for 10 and 25 man raids should be split.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZHRn0qNy5HQ?hl=en_GB&version=3" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZHRn0qNy5HQ?hl=en_GB&version=3" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object> In the 22nd edition of the Rapid Fire version of PST, Josh rattles off answers to a variety of <a title="World of Warcraft" href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/" target="_blank">World of Warcraft</a> questions submitted by the community. Lore answers questions varying from whether he will continue with raid guides to if Blizzard's next MMO will be able to hit the heights of subscriber numbers that WoW has achieved. With just a few episodes left, if you have a burning question that you want answered, you have limited time to put it to Lore so do it soon! <a title="Scott Hawkes on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/Jarimor" target="_blank">Scott "Jarimor" Hawkes, Editor in Chief</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Mon, 13 May 2013 15:10:26 -0000 Lore Joins Blizzard [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32328 <img style="margin: 5px auto; display: block;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/6/f/6fe9ccae0a4c299a495fdfd25769ce33.png" alt="" width="630" height="288" /> Well it's official folks! Last week Josh Allen aka "Lore", released his big announcement stating that he would in fact be joining the <a href="http://us.blizzard.com/store/" target="_blank">Blizzard Entertainment</a> North American Community Team for <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/" target="_blank">World Of Warcraft</a>.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a>As known by many World Of Warcraft players, <a href="http://www.tankspot.com/" target="_blank">Tankspot.com</a> followers, ZAM community members, and even general MMO players, Lore has been a figure-head in the World of Warcraft community since near the beginning. After creating video content, guides, and being a huge part of World of Warcraft community sites such as Tankspot, most fans figured it would only be a matter of time before Lore received the opportunity to work at Blizzard. <img style="margin: 5px auto; display: block;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/b/4/b453ac8f66dc472c36b7cae7ad70a39a.png" alt="" width="630" height="307" /> After the <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/devolore/b/398258854" target="_blank">announcement of his news</a> on his Twitch channel ( beginning at 19mins.) some of the current Community Managers took the time to welcome Lore, <a title="Bashiok Welcomes Lore to Blizzard" href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/8729064335?page=3#57" target="_blank">such as Bashiok in this post</a>. We would also like to give a big congratulations and thank you to Josh Allen for all of the work that he has done as part of the family at ZAM and Tankspot. We wish you the best at Blizzard! And as members of The Horde would say: Lok'tar ogar! <a href="https://twitter.com/coreycrimzen" target="_blank">Corey "Crimzen" Jenkins</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:00 -0000 World of Altcraft [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32292 Until recently, those poor little guys and gals I devoted so much time to in Cataclysm had become nothing more than a memory. But now, with the news that the xp required to level from 85-90 is going to be reduced by 30% in the next <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com" target="_blank">World of Warcraft</a> patch, I am faced with a new problem: which alt do I level first? Am I happy? Oh, yes! During Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm, I raided with five characters - and I wasn't the only one. My guild ran raids for our alts while also progressing through heroic content on our mains. However, during Mists of Pandaria, many of us have had to accept that our mains are now our 'onlys,' with only enough time for normal modes and LFRs.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><img style="vertical-align: top;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/5/7/5731618a107966d1fea3a2f1167358ae.png" alt="" width="630" height="250" /> There were many reasons for sticking to one character. The time it takes to level (and the monotony), the rep grinds involving dailies that unlocked yet more dailies. The need to cap valor every week, to run the LFR every week in an attempt to get that one upgrade that refuses to drop; and what about professions? Don't forget to level those! Patch 5.3, I officially love you. Reputation pre-requisites are being removed - no more doing dailies for the Golden Lotus just so we can do dailies for the Shado-Pan. Loot specialization is coming to the LFR, bonus rolls and quest rewards. The experience required to level from 85-90 is going to be reduced by 30%!  I love my main, but I miss my alts. How about you? Penny for your thoughts. <a title="Qelric on YouTube" href="http://www.youtube.com/Qelric" target="_blank">Qelric</a> Take a look at <a title="wowhead" href="http://www.wowhead.com/news" target="_blank">Wowhead</a> for more information on patch 5.3.<a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0000 PST Rapid Fire Ep. 19 [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32247 <img id="ssMainPic" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/5/b/5b038aecb2a6488b66cac9cc765de5f1.jpg" alt="Screenshot" /> Welcome back to another episode of PST Rapid Fire, the weekly <a title="World of Warcraft" href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/" target="_blank">World of Warcraft</a> Q&A show hosted by the one and only Josh Allen aka Lore. Join him this week as he covers topics such as the future of small group content and scenarios, Warlock abilities, the possibility of raid-scaling and theories on level gain in the next WoW expansion pack.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9foc0ye10xM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9foc0ye10xM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object> Lore also has a pretty good tip to give out this week on how to acquire lesser-charms in as painless a way as possible, so tune in before <a title="Blizzard" href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/" target="_blank">Blizzard</a> hits it with the nerf bat!<a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:00:00 -0000 World of Warcraft: Questing is Fun? [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32203 Hello. My name’s Qelric and I have a confession to make: I spent the night questing and I liked it. If you knew me personally, you’d think me mad, but it felt so good! It’s been a while since I’ve had the time or the inclination to spend a few hours doing anything other than raiding in <a href="http://worldofwarcraft.com" target="_blank">World of Warcraft</a>, but last night I unlocked the Klaxxi and really enjoyed committing Mantid genocide in the Dread Wastes.<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/d/3/d37d38add12cb332bbe278e2410a5f8e.png" alt="There is much fun to be had in the Dread Wastes" width="630" height="250" /> I also stumbled across two of the new Zandalari rares patch 5.2 added to the game. Knowing these have the chance to drop a cool Dino mount I quickly respecced my Death Knight from Frost to Blood and proceeded to beat the first senseless for the next five minutes, while the second – much to my amazement – spawned and pathed by. Sadly, there were no mount drops, but I did get a lot of reputation insignias. I skipped happily to the Darkmoon Faire where I rode the carousel for the ‘/Wheee!’ buff that grants an additional 10% to all reputation gains, then used my insignias for 1200 rep each instead of the usual 1k. I felt clever and awesome! It’s the little things, my friends. It’s the little things. If you'd like to find some Zandalari rares of your own, check out <a title="Rare Spawns Guide" href="http://www.wowhead.com/news=211083/5-2-guide-new-rare-spawns-and-elites" target="_blank">this guide on Wowhead</a>. Penny for your thoughts,  <a title="Qelric on YouTube" href="http://www.youtube.com/Qelric" target="_blank">Qelric</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:00:00 -0000 World of Warcraft: Blizzard Continues to Excite [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32194 The patches for <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com" target="_blank">World of Warcraft</a> sure are coming thick and fast now with 5.3 currently being tested on the PTR. Judging by the <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9135374/" target="_blank">latest patch notes</a>, <a href="http://www.blizzard.com" target="_blank">Blizzard</a> seems determined to be the exception to the rule: quality > quantity. Having <a title="Tanks! You're Welcome." href="http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32150" target="_blank">discussed last time</a> the wonderful news that loot specialization will be coming to the LFR, questing and bonus rolls, the excitement continues to build as Blizzard announces that class roles will be added to Battlegrounds, meaning you will have to select your role before queuing. No more losing BGs just because the opposing team has more healers than you!<a name="pause" title="pause"></a><img style="vertical-align: text-bottom; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/4/4/44a6a5110bd018b12e9c1d898b28417a.png" alt="Transmog your gear without withdrawing it from void storage!" width="630" height="250" /> Allow to me excite you further with news that in patch 5.3, players will be able to transmogrify their gear with items in the void storage, without having to withdraw them first! Yes, that’s right; that expensive solution to our hoarding needs just got a million times better. Blizzard, I take my hat (or helm) off to you. What’s next, a larger replacement for the immovable 16 slot bag all players start with? If you wish to learn more about the latest patch 5.3 news, please <a title="Patch 5.3 News" href="http://youtu.be/GBxNHuHqGuk" target="_blank">watch this video</a>. Penny for your thoughts, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/Qelric" target="_blank">Qelric</a> <a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:00:00 -0000 Tanks! You're Welcome. [World of Warcraft] http://www.zam.com/story.html?story=32150 Being a tank in the <a href="http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/" target="_blank">World of Warcraft</a>, <a title="Blizzard.com" href="http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/" target="_blank">Blizzard's</a> recent <a title="Official Patchnotes" href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/9135374/53_PTR_Patch_Notes_now_available-3_22_2013" target="_blank">news</a> that patch 5.3 will add an option where players can "choose to receive loot for a specialization that's different from their current class role" when running LFR or while questing, is some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time. When I first started playing WoW – back at the start of The Burning Crusade – I had endless amounts of time to devote to my characters, from raiding to farming rep and running dungeons with my guild. Nowadays I have a full-time job, a fiancé and a <a title="Qelric on YouTube" href="http://www.youtube.com/Qelric" target="_blank">YouTube</a> channel to maintain. With what little time I have left, I manage to raid two nights per week with my guild, grind a few dailies here and there and run LFR (if I'm lucky!). <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://zam.zamimg.com/images/2/0/20b7018115fe3d89a56b44dd4f960372.png" alt="Changes to the loot system will make a lot of players happy" width="630" height="250" /><a name="pause" title="pause"></a>As any raider can understand, the bulk of my game-time is spent playing my tank, gearing my tank, gaining rep with my tank, and so on; nobody wants to be that person who holds back his/her guild’s progression, am I right? Needless to say, owning a full set of off-spec gear has remained something of a dream this expansion, and as for levelling my many LvL85 alts, forget about it! The news that I will one day soon be able to tank LFR and receive DPS gear to complete my off-spec set is truly welcome. I’m sure my fellow guild tank, who must always switch to DPS on solo tank bosses, will love it too. What do you think? Have you found it difficult to find the time to do everything you want to do in Pandaria? Does your main toon demand all of your time? Penny for your thoughts. <a title="Qelric" href="http://www.youtube.com/Qelric" target="_blank">Qelric</a><a name="pagebreak" title="pagebreak"></a> Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0000