The July 17 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures patch notes have been released and it looks to be the largest one yet. The patch drops the prices for basic mounts, has a ton of bug fixes, and much more. Head on over to the full article to check out the notes for yourself.

Ingle Games has released details on four features they've introduced to Magic World Online's ongoing Open Beta run: The Marriage System, the Official Promotion System, Hero Island, and the Evil Zodiac Instance. Further details on each are available in the full article.

Ingle Games has just announced that their MMORPG, Magic World Online, has finally hit open beta last June 20. Yes, this means that gamers will be able to finally try out the game. Of course we're not going to be sending you guys there with nothing but a smile on your face and a/an (insert beginner weapon here) in your hand. We'll get you started in style with some sweet gear. To find out more, check out the full article

The official Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures patch notes for the June 23 update have been released.  It seems that the developers made good on fixing some of the problems in siege warfare, as well as added a number of changes that we're sure players will enjoy. Want to see the patch notes for yourself? Then head on over to the full article.

The PC version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (the Xbox 360 version hasn't been released yet) was just patched a few days ago and yet we see another update from the developers at Funcom. Want to find out what this update contains? Head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

We're picking up a discussion over at the World of Warcraft forums that we're sure many of the game's range specialists are all to familiar about: line of sight (LoS) physics. LoS, if you're a first-time reader, is an (imaginary) unobstructed line drawn between you and your target.

This factor's especially important to remember for the game's spell-casters (i.e. Warlocks, mages) and range fighters (i.e. hunters), as having your LoS obstructed means that whatever skills you're channelling gets cancelled.

For some spells such as Arcane Missile, however, the LoS check is done before the spell is channelled, so the spell still connects even if the target's already moved out of LoS. The only countermeasure for the target at this point is to run out of the spell's range...if they can.

This is the specific matter that's under discussion at a thread started by Amithral, who uses a hunter. Here's a snippet of the player's comment regarding LoS effect as compared between hunters and spellcasters:

The thing that seems bugged is that we are affected so much by LoS but if a warlock/priest (Might be more classes) uses mindflay, lifedrain, manadrain etc. on a target that is in LoS then it is of course casted and channeled, but the thing that seems bugged is that you can only counter this by moving away from the caster, moving out of LoS do NOT break the spell. And this must be bugged.

So, was WoW's LoS specs for channelled spells really bugged? Blizzard rep Tharfor dropped by to clarify this bit of game mechanics:

We are aware of the issue with channeled ray-type spells continuing to channel and be ray-like when the target is technically out of line of sight. At this time this is considered be a working feature and there are currently no plans to change it.

However, we will raise this point again as it appears to have been some time since it was evaluated and there may be more viable options for its adjustment. Please note though that we are not promising that any change will be made, just that we will ask if it can be re-evaluated at this time.

In a way, this explains why so many players just love rolling a warlock or mage. Drop back in case the discussion takes a new development.

 

Let's face it: with a name like Icecube, you'd never expect to be crowned king of anything. Despite that though, working together with your guild to become the most awesome of players is certainly a mean feat, no matter what your name may be. Thus, we are actually quite pleased to announce that after almost a year of play, Codemasters has come out with ArchLord's first ever world leader: Icecube.

For those who don't know him yet (As loyal vassals, you probably should!), ArchLord Icecube is a level 77 Human mage from the Genesis Brumhart server, and he commands the Genesis guild.

According to the laws of Chantra, the one who's able to stake his claim to the ArchLord's throne will be able to command the elements, call forth dragons, and become master of the taxation ledgers! We're not sure if you can really call dragons, but for the next month or so, ArchLord Icecube will be able to influence certain aspects of the game. Not only that, he's now the only player-character in the game who'll be donning the ArchLord armor, the exquisitely crafted piece of defensive goodness you see above.

Only time will tell if he'll be able to keep his crown, but one thing's for sure: nobody forgets their first ArchLord. Congratulations to Icecube!

 

Our trusty internet hamsters recently picked up on this useful nugget of information on the boards. Apparently, Solipsist of Stormrage has conjured up a new Mage guide, focusing on tactics and tips to increase the power of mages in both PVP and PVE.

Solipsist's handy guide talks about the basics, from how to use Blink (keep moving while using Blink!) to the basics of using lag to your advantage (also called Lagcasting), as well as the best way to pull two mobs with a polymorph-able target. One thing that's especially useful for mages-in-training is that Solipsist has included videos that show the different tactics in use.

The useful information, coupled with the helpful videos, lead Solipsist's guide to be noticed by Blizzard community manager Salthem. It's now in Vaneras' list of useful mage threads, making it the latest addition to the compendium of mage-related knowledge available for World of Warcraft players everywhere. Enjoy!

If you've been denied the opportunity to attend Blizzard's BlizzCon 2007 by some (tragic) twist of fate, but need to get updates on World of Warcraft, then you've come to the right place. The BlizzCon class panel discussion unearthed a few interesting facts and information that you will definitely want to know.

First up would be the biggest news regarding classes: Death Knights.

As some would know by now, these will be Hero Classes. The panel gave word that these classic Warcraft 3 characters will be having an "epic" feel to them. If by epic they mean butt-kicking Arthas style then that's pretty awesome.

So far there are still a few class balance concerns. The biggest problem would be with tanking and this class overshadowing the others. However, since tanks are hard to come by in WoW, this addition still seems feasible.

Finally, it was announced that Death Knights will have their own Rune Resource system. What this means exactly, we don't know, but what it implies seems really cool.

Secondly, the rest of the classes were discussed briefly.

One of the major concerns regarding classes is PvP balancing in 2v2 or 3v3 battles. Since WoW is not a dueling game according to the panel, class abilities in team PvP are considered weightier as opposed to single class vs. single class. Here are a few of the other updates you might want to know about:

• Moonkin Itemization in the PvE environment is not supported currently and is being worked on.
• Mages are the "experimental" class.
• The three classes of the Paladin put the class in three different roles as opposed to, for example, the Mage who is DPS, regardless of spec.
• Priest's Lightwell will get some scaling from gear.

Of course there were other details discussed in the panel, so feel free to click on our read link to get more info. So far this BlizzCon is turning out to be one of the best events this year. Keep checking back here for more BlizzCon updates.

In case you've been wondering about the bonus effects of meta gems and for what damage schools they are best for, you are not alone. Frozendeath from the World of Warcraft Forums brought up a question about the Relentless Earthstorm Diamond - whether it's for melee or caster-type players.

The Relentless Earthstorm Diamond is a meta gem that sports bonuses for Agility (+12) and Critical Damage (increased by 3%). It can be made using one Earthstorm Diamond and a Simple Grinder. The question was answered by a number of other players, though Blizzard poster Drysc provided a concise answer:

It's a crit damage modifier, which means it's increasing the damage your crits do, not the chance they have to happen. It isn't specific to any school or damage type, it works for spells, melee, and ranged.

Instead of getting a 100% damage bonus with a crit, you would be getting a 103% damage bonus with a crit using that meta gem.

There you have it. Casters can use it, though would you really like some agility on your mage? Anyway, enough with the theorycrafting. Keep checking back for more World of Warcraft news and info.