Blizzard has set May 19 as the deadline for any add-on devs to comply with the company's new add-on development policy which prohibits add-on authors from charging for their add-ons and from soliciting for any donations in-game, among other things.

In an ironic twist to all the in-game advertising we've been seeing these days, several World of Warcraft players have noticed references to WoW popping on prime time shows.

While this sort of thing has happened before (the South Park episode "Make Love, not Warcraft" comes to mind), the increasing frequency with which the World of Warcraft references have been occurring has led forum members to speculate about the actual motives behind them.

Some players have wondered if the references were simply Blizzard's way of plugging it's famous MMORPG. Others have suggested that perhaps it's the prime time shows that have contacted Blizzard for permission to use the World of Warcraft name in their episodes.

One forum member even wondered why no one even bothered mentioning the one about the "Lawgiver" and his mighty Toyota truck. Blizzard poster Nethaera gave her two-cents' on the matter:

Things are mentioned all the time in different shows based on popular culture of the time. It gives people that watch those shows the sense that the writers and by extension, the characters, are in touch with what the viewers are involved with in their own lives.

Regardless of whether it's Blizzard or the networks who are really behind the World of Warcraft references, the point is that WoW has already entered pop culture domain, and prime time show writers are quick to make use of something that they know viewers will recognize.

While you can't deny the fearful power Death Knights (DK) wield, in the end, they still draw their energy from the Lich King. Given that DKs will be a playable hero class for both Horde and Alliance come WotLK, some World of Warcraft players are having trouble grasping just how Blizzard will explain that DKs are now turning on their former master. As Zargish explained in a WoW forum thread:

The Lich King goes to the trouble to corrupt the minds of people and imbues them with shadowy powers and whatnot only to... let them wander back to their old factions to fight him? Or have playable death knights been redeemed somehow? Seems weird.

Other players reading up on the thread were quick to explain that WoW's warlocks shared a similar predicament. While a lock's powers are indeed dark in nature (we'd say demon summoning is very dark, wouldn't you?), they remain untainted by the Burning Legion's temptations, and have learned to fight against them from within their factions. Blizzard representative Nethaera dropped by later to back up this point. Here reads the blue-texter's post regarding the Death Knight-Warlock analogy:

Keep in mind that Warlocks aren't generally welcomed with open arms either (depending on the culture of the race in question). It's most likely that Death Knights aren't going to find themselves being popular guests at the town picnic, however, I'm sure they will be utilized to combat the power of the Lich King just the same.

And if we may add, WoW's Forsaken race is yet another large-scale example of the undead breaking free of the Lich King's influence. And let's not forget Leonid Barthalomew the Revered, of Argent Dawn. We're hoping this info bit explains why it's possible to play as an unholy DK, although we'll let you know if Blizzard releases a more thorough explanation in the near future.

Certain people on the World of Warcraft forums have reported that various video game shops have placed a November 2008 release date for the much-awaited Wrath of the Lich King. Is this an outright admission of when the expansion will be released?

Blizzard Community Manager Nethaera has given word that this is not an official date yet. They will be announcing its release on their official website when one has been established. To explain why the retailers have already put up this date though, she gave the following reply:

Retailers have to put some sort of a release date in order to list a game for sale and accept pre-sales for those games. When they do put down a date, it's generally an educated guess.

Given that information on the release date has been sparse as of late, this is perhaps the closest we've gotten to when this expansion will be out. If the reported information prove accurate, we've got a little over a year to prepare our characters and horde gold. That sounds like more than enough time.

  

The goodie bags handed out at this year's BlizzCon contained a lot of excellent and curious things. One of which is a beta key for an unnamed Blizzard project. Now, World of Warcraft players are currently discussing at the official WoW Forums what exactly these keys are for.

Blizzard forum moderator Nethaera mentioned that it is still undetermined as of now what specific project the beta keys can be used. We should take note that a lot of players used to believe that it is going to be for StarCraft II as it was the only newly announced Blizzard game as of that time.

Now that the Wrath of the Lich King has been revealed, it is also possible and highly probable that the keys are for the new WoW expansion. Regardless if it's for SC II or WoW: WotLK, Nethaera reminded everyone that those who don't have the beta keys shouldn't worry. The blue poster explained:

Please don't forget that the BlizzCon beta keys represent a very small portion of our beta community when it's time for a beta. We take players from various sources when it's time for beta so that as many people as we feel necessary are given the opportunity to help us test.

But guys the question remains: Are the beta keys for StarCraft II or for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King? Or could it be for an entirely new project that hasn't been announced yet? You can tell us what you think through the comment section below.

Despite the anti-AFK measures that were set in place in World of Warcraft, AFKers would still - inevitably - affect other players. The current setup in the PTR is that other players can report an AFKer in the field and if there are enough reports, the AFKer will get a debuff after 30 seconds if they don't participate in combat, and they won't be able to gain honor.

Fantastiko posed a question in the WoW Forums if whether or not people would report an AFKer or go AFK as well and get some quick Honor. Abominae also addressed the anti-AFK fix by saying that issuing a 30-second warning isn't enough.

Blizzard rep Nethaera explains the issue, and at the same answers Fantastiko's question, saying:

We also have some other things that are going to be changed in AV at some point as Kalgan mentioned at BlizzCon so perhaps the incentive to AFK won't be as great with the report function and the upcoming changes.

I'll be reporting AFKers if I see them.

So if you are morally against AFKers or simply don't like 'em, we should be seeing some new changes to address the issue soon. For now, you can report them and hope they don't use the 30 seconds to do a quick heal and then go AFK again.

Given the amount of attention some races put into exploration (ie. the Dwarves), don't you wish there was some sort of reward for being brave enough to follow in their footsteps? That's the topic under discussion over at the World of Warcraft forums, as started by Tyrsenus.

According to the player, it would be an interesting perk if WoW gave tangible rewards for players who successfully explored certain percentages of the world. In Tyrsenus' case, possible reward suggestions included bonuses, or even movement and sight buffs specific to the continent you've fully discovered.

Blizzard representative Nethaera also dropped in with a semi-official statement, mixed in with some encouraging personal views:

We don't have any extra bonus that you can get for exploring every area of the world. It's nice getting that experience though as you travel the world. I personally enjoy exploring, so it's just a little bonus as I discover new areas.

As far as titles go, we would like to add in more titles in the future. I couldn't tell what titles as of yet, but it is something we would like to continue to add on to.

While Blizzard may not be adding this possibility any time soon, I do have to agree it sounds like a great idea. We've already got the Explorer's Guild to work with, and even guild founder Brann Bronzebeard (not to be confused with the late Muradin Bronzebeard) will be making an appearance in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Put frankly, there's plenty of game infrastructure that could make this a possibility. Of course, it's ultimately left up to Blizz if this idea is worth giving a shot.

Some World of Warcraft players have been asking when Blizzard plans on releasing more information about the talked-about woodworking profession. Sorry to disappoint those who have been waiting for this but it is still under consideration.

It is also possible that the developers may not implement it anytime soon. Community Manager Nethaera said that this job will not be appearing in expansion Wrath of the Lich King since Blizzard intends to focus on Inscription.

She added that "more on what woodworking could possibly hold would have to be all based on wishful thinking and conjecture." It's good that this has been clarified by a Blizzard representative, since some players have been led to believe that this profession will be introduced in the immediate future.

That said, hopefully the developers do get to work on this as crafted Bows and other wooden gear would be a very nice addition to the game indeed.

It's useless to play console RPGs and MMORPGs if you are not going to pay attention to loots. When you really think about it, this is the very essence of the game because the items being dropped by monsters and enemies are what you use in leveling up and upgrading your weapons and skills.

However, loots and drop rates have not been an easy topic when you discuss it in the context of Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Ever since the game was released, players have been having a problem with this because some get to have better and more rare loots than others despite leveling up in the same area.

This problem was recently raised once more over at the official WoW Forums. The thread was picked up by blue poster Nethaera and explained that contrary to popular opinion, Blizzard doesn't change drop rates on a daily basis. The community manager continued:

Drop rates do not change daily but as was mentioned, they do have a random factor to them that may make it seem that some days you're just luckier than others. It's just like when you can be on a quest for awhile looking for a particular drop and someone else comes by and gets it on the first drop.

In much simple terms, Nethaera meant that drop rates are not favoring anyone. It's just that there's a mathematical and statistical equation behind all these. If you really want a certain loot and a player told you that you'll get it in a certain area, we're pretty certain that you will get it as well there given a couple of tries.

Don't you ever feel that the World of Warcraft forums has gone to the dogs? That's Popss from Maelstrom's sentiment. The player thinks that the forums has been overrun by "trolls, rick rolls and all around idiocy" and Popss suggests a solution for Blizzard.

The player suggested that MVPs (Most Valuable Posters, the players that post in green and have Devilsaurs for avatars) be given additional forum privileges that would allow them to delete or lock threads, and maybe even ban players temporarily. According to Popss, the MVPs provide major help to CMs in cleaning up the forums. Blizzard poster Nethaera provided a good answer to the suggestion:

We appreciate the sentiment, however, as much as we value our MVPs, they are not employees. All moderators and Community Team members are and as such, we have tools available to us on site that aren't available off-site along with the perks and double-checks of being employees of the company. We have systems in place that we adhere to and are accountable for. We have added moderators as you well have seen and get to everything as quickly as is feasible, but we need the cooperation of the players to abide by the Code of Conduct as well as to report bad posts.

There you have it. MVPs can't be expected to do the same things that the CMs do, since CMs are actually employees. Nethaera did invite players to send other suggestions to make comment modding in the World of Warcraft forums go smoother to wowcmfeedback@blizzard.com.