Some PvE supporters in World of Warcraft are afraid that PvE will be neglected in favor of Arenas. Well, if you're one of those players, you can relax because that's not going to happen.

It's understandable that this concern is going to arise one way or another considering all the attention PvP has been getting. To placate those who felt slighted by the situation, Blizzard's Nethaera addressed these concerns and gave Blizzard's official stance on the issue:

We are going to continue to develop both PvP and PvE content. PvE isn't being phased out for Arenas. These sorts of debates between PvP and PvE are inevitable given the nature of trying to balance two aspects of the game that some people feel conflict with each other.

Some people don't care for PvP and some don't care for PvE but the availability of both is still there for everyone. We try to cater gear for PvP or PvE as we feel is most beneficial as well. While there are some pieces of gear that people may find in PvE encounters that are viable for PvP, we don't want to make it so that people that don't wish to PvE don't have to do it in order to be competitive.

We want to continue to make it beneficial for people to do what they enjoy (either PvP or PvE) in order to get the gear they want/need to continue enjoying themselves and being competitive.

PvE will not be going away any time soon. Raiding and adventuring will be still there for those who want to pursue that path. Still, it would be nice if some of the more hardcore PvE players would explore other possibilities and try the Arena every once in a while.

  

Every World of Warcraft raiding guild has hit a wall at least a time or two during their raids. We found one such example in the WoW Forums as Doru from Uther complained about Prince Malchezaar being "frustrating and cheap".

The basic frustration about the said instance comes in two forms: crushing blows and infernal spreads. Well, Blizzard poster Eyonix gave his two cents worth about the topic:

It's important for your tank to use shield block as often as possible during this entire encounter. Also, ideally shield wall is being saved for specific points where emergencies are likely to occur (i.e. having to move during phase 2).

This ought to save your tank from getting crushed too often, keeping pressure off your healers and improving the raid's mana efficiency. Also he stated that any form of additional damage mitigation for the tank should be used.

Eyonix continued to add "During phase 2, all healers should be spamming the tank, keeping him/her topped off completely." Healing your meatshield through the pain of tanking Prince is important as infernals begin to land in increasing numbers. "Outside of keeping the tank alive, this fight is about watching the environment," he added.

While crushing blows can be avoided with proper preparation and shield execution, the place where infernals land is beyond anyone's control. However, it doesn't hurt to take a /knee and /pray for a good infernal spread before each encounter. With that being said, good luck and happy looting. For more info on Eyonix' advice, click the via link below.

The final video in a trilogy of World of Warcraft movies, muqq's Black Temple: Episode Three features Nihilum fighting against Mother Shahraz, The Illidari Council, and Illidan. It is seen from a shadowpriest's point of view, which is actually pretty cool.

One thing most will notice in the video is the addition of cinematic and non-UI scenes which provide a nice break from the action, making it more interesting than the more conventional raid videos on the net today. According to the creator of the video, the Illidan Stormrage segment wasn't supposed to be in this movie, but after Nihilum's last kill, it just had to be included.

So here's the video. It's a very interesting video and should give veteran gamers a glimpse into the raiding tactics of Nihilum. Enjoy!

If you've noticed a bug in the PTR on World of Warcraft but don't know where to report it, Blizzard Localization QA Tootamia has created a thread and forum precisely for this purpose. The moderator also gave a few things players should remember when posting and expecting replies from the "blues"

Tootamia gave word that this forum exists for those in the test realms to exchange information and if possible, to report issues. Some points were raised regarding bug reports posted along with the following suggestions that players should keep in mind while reporting the bug to streamline the entire bug reporting process and to make it easier to narrow down the cause of the problem.

• When did the bug occur?
• What were you doing at the time?
• Are you using AddOns that might have influenced the occurrence?
• Try to mention any other factors that might have been in play.

So, head on over to the Europe Forums though our read link if you've got anything to report. Think of the time you spend reporting bugs as an investment to avoid any future inconvenience in your leveling up and raiding.

We've got some more juicy information for you eager VCO players to get you even more excited to sail the seas in IGG's latest free MMO game: details on Level 10 Ships and some new screenshots. In Voyage Century Online, ships fall under 3 main categories - Raiding Ship, Trading Ship, and Battle Ship - with ships under each category having their own unique features and functions in the game. Today we'll be featuring the best and highest level ships for every category: Battle Ship of Level 10, Raiding Ship of Level 10, and Trading Ship of Level 10.

Here's a complete list of features of each Level 10 ship:

Ships are essential to the game, to say the least, as players will need them in their quest to explore the seas. Players can choose to become merchants, explorers, craftsmen, or warriors in this world set in the 17th century. There are pirates in the game, too, who will certainly loot and plunder gold from the other hardworking explorers.

For more details on the other ships in Voyage Century Online, you can head on over to IGG's site and gather the info you'll need. Better be prepared to explore the vast seas, as you'll surely meet a lot of interesting folks who've signed up for the free MMO after its public release last April 8. But before doing that, check out the screenshots we have of the featured Level 10 ships.

   

 

A lot of people have been questioning Blizzard's priorities lately. It seems that in World of Warcraft, every time a problem is brought up, the GMs usually say that it isn't a priority but will be fixed next patch. So what exactly is the company focusing on?

If you don't think that's very important, consider this: there have been quite a few players who decided they aren't going to play anymore since they don't know where the game is heading. While Blizzard has promised continual support for the MMO, many have felt that the problems are being neglected.

A player by the name of Bloodsong posted on the forums a few questions regarding what projects Blizzard is currently prioritizing so that gamers will at least have a general idea on what's happening.

List of Questions:

1. WoW or Starcraft 2?
2. Balancing classes or creating new content?
3. Raiding or PvP?
4. Professions or transportation?
5. Next patch or next expansion?
6. New races or new classes?
7. New zones or new quests?

Want to see Nethaera's answers? Click on the full article.

A lot of Warlocks in World of Warcraft have been up in arms because apparently, Blizzard nerfed Banish. Warlocks used to be able to unbanish creatures by simply recasting the spell on them but this is no longer possible which makes raiding just a little more difficult.

For those who aren't familiar with this ability, it is normally cast on mobs in Raids to take them out of commission while the rest of the party deal with other threats. When the party is ready, they "unbanish" the creature and beat-down on it.

The unbanishing allows raids to go on more smoothly since they don't have to wait the entire 30 seconds for the effect to wear off. Blizzard Poster/Forum Moderator Saltern shared a few words on this move by the company,

Lifting banish through casting it again on the banished mob was possible for a while and then was fixed in a recent patch. We realize that many of you liked this change and enjoyed it in raids, but the "bugged" banish effect was not intended and that is the reason it was "removed" again.

So that's that folks, Warlock are going to have to live with that change until Blizzard decides that it might be beneficial to include that option in the future. More updates as they happen.

Downfall isn't just your average guild in World of Warcraft.  Although they are self-admittedly not spectacular as a raiding guild, this crew enjoys something not many others can claim: the bond of kinship.

 

Although some of the guild members enjoy being real life friends who talk about their latest raid over a pint, everyone in the community feels the strength of the bond they share.  Another special characteristic this guild has is that it has a higher ratio of active female members than normal.  There's about a girl for every guy in the guild.  Some even have real life relationships together. 

Proudly led by Garreth who considers his position as Guild Leader just as demanding as his real life job (and loving every moment of it), this crew comes from all over: "West- and East-coasters, Aussies, New Zealanders, Texans and 'The Canada Contingent,'" Garrett claims.

Players who felt indifferent or isolated in their former guilds felt really involved and at home with Downfall.  They have found mentors and friends.  While this guild focuses on getting better, Garreth said, "I'd rather run-back a dozen times on a new boss than destroy the sense of community and bonds we've formed." 

For Downfall, it's not just about the goal.  In fact, they seem to enjoy running the race rather than reaching the finish line.  Joe McDoug, who interviewed the Guild, actually found them joking around after having a pretty bad raid night.  As Joe McDoug wisely pointed out:

There are many guilds in this game of millions. It is easy to point to the one that achieves the most World Firsts or gains the newest rare item. It is harder, however, to rate the quality of a guild’s sense of community. While most of us play this game with some degree of social connectivity— Downfall is truly a family. 

Guilds can share the wealth, but how many share anything else?

 

Another old argument has been rekindled among the World of Warcraft community -  which should get better epic gear, raiding or arena matches? Those participating in the discussion have taken a stand with each side saying that the other has it easier, and that they will be getting the shaft if you equalize the rewards.

Each side feels this way since they believe that "the other group just pushes buttons and don't need any skill, so they should get suckier stuff." To be honest, both arena matches and raiding require considerable skill on the part of the players, it depends on your playing style. Blizzard Poster/ Forum Moderator Drysc said it best in his relatively long post regarding this.

I get the irony being portrayed in this post versus the other one, and I have to admit I also take some small pleasure in seeing these accusations thrown around, because... they're ridiculous. If you're in the arena, and raiding is so much easier, then go raid. If you're a raider, and the arena is so much easier, then go do arenas.

You're not actually concerned that someone else is getting something easier than you, because you would go do it and wouldn't look back. You're either unable or unwilling to switch to what you perceive is the easier route, and want what you're invested in or willing to do made easier based on what you perceive matches the effort invested in the other.

It goes either way, posts pop up with both viewpoints. Arenas are so easy, you just sleep your way to epics, or raiding is so easy, you just sleep your way to epics. If it's all just so easy then why don't you take the easier route? The grass is always greener.

While some may complain about having threads like this popping up, it's always fun to just drop in and give your opinion on the matter. However, it stops being fun when some players just automatically dismiss the other group as wrong. In a community, issues such as this can actually be used to foster a working knowledge of the system instead of degenerating into a playground argument. Too bad that's more the exception than the rule these days.

As it turns out, Nihilum was prepared. After downing the Illidari Council earlier, the popular World of Warcraft raiding guild went and slew Illidan Stormrage himself, finally completing the Black Temple and getting it on farm status.

For their efforts, Nihilum got two Tier 6 chest tokens and two pieces of gear. First is the Bulwark of Azinoth, a tanking shield that increases defense rating by 29 and has a 2 percent chance of increasing the user's armor by a whopping 2000 points for 20 seconds when it's struck.

The second piece of gear is a staff called Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer. This weapon improves spell crit strike rating by 36 and spell haste rating by 55. It also increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 259. Check out the screenshots above for more on the items.