Patch Notes

According to a tersely worded article, Chinese WoW gold farmers were arrested:

Chengdu's Shuangliu county has arrested two virtual item and currency traders, surnamed Li and Zhang, focused on tapping out The9's (Nasdaq: NCTY) licensed MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW), reports Chengdu Evening News. Police arrested the pair after Li reported Zhang for unfair revenue distribution. Going into business last August, the gold miners accumulated more than 20 employees with 20 computers to generate RMB 1.6 million in seven months of dealing.

It remains to be seen if this was done at the behest of Blizzard but it's a positive step in the right direction.

Eurogamer has posted a article about their visit to Blizzard and a chance at Wrath of the Lich King. It's all summed up like this:

If Burning Crusade was a wild explosion of ideas, then Lich King is shaping up to be a smoothly orchestrated crescendo of them. It brings to mind the elegance, coherence and sense of direction of the Blood Elf starting areas - perhaps the jewel in Burning Crusade's crown - only achieved across an entire continent.

"Northrend's been kind of a coming home," lead designer Jeff Kaplan told us. Despite the fact that Blizzard has been working on WOW non-stop for some eight years now, he maintains that his team is currently "in love with it". As surprising as that it is, we don't doubt it for a second. In every aspect of Wrath of the Lich King, it shows.

The article is a lengthy one and worth reading. It's also accompanied by several screenshots. Enjoy!

A new screenshot gallery for the Isle of Quel'Danas has been created. This area was added in the recent Fury of the Sunwell patch.

We're constantly on the lookout for eye-catching World of Warcraft screenshots. If you'd like to contribute, you can check our current collection topics and submit your screenshots via our Screenshot Submission page.

You can view the 40 or so screens here.

Phase 3 of the 2008 Arena Tournament has begun. According to the official site, teams are now "locked down" and no more registrations for this phase are being accepted:

Registration for the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament's first qualification round is now closed and Phase 3 of the tournament has begun. Participants have been battling it out on the tournament realms for the past two weeks while fine-tuning their team composition and strategies. Phase 3 of the tournament includes a lockdown of the teams that will be jockeying for position to compete in the regional finals. To track the progress of your team and the competition as a whole, please visit the World of Warcraft Armory. For more information on the tournament, please visit our Arena Tournament information page. Good luck to all competitors!

Any bets? Let us know who you think will capture the gold in this round.

Jim Moreno tackles the difficult task of roleplaying a merchant in this edition of RoleCraft: "Even roleplayers are known to struggle with this cookie cutter gameplay, and with keeping their characters from looking and acting just like every other character in game. What to do? One sure way to avoid the pitfalls of routine is to realize that there are many other classes in game besides adventurer. It's time to become a professional roleplayer!"

For the first time ever, Blizzard is offering all of their PC titles for digital download from the official Blizzard site. Fans can now digitally purchase and download World of Warcraft, the Starcraft series and the Diablo series. No more CD/DVD purchases!

The latest unofficial podcast The Instance is out and ready for download. This week's topics include:

• Arena Tournament news
• Children's Week
• Season 4 Arena Gear Revelation
• Town Crier
• Drop of the Week: Character Planning Tool

Check it out at the link above.

Children's Week has begun for both Horde and Alliance players. The event will run from May 1-7, 2008.

Type: Children's Holiday
Date: May 1 - 7
Location: Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Shattrath

Sightseeing

Stormwind Orphanage

All orphans wish they had someone to show them the wonders of the world. Throughout the year, they spend their time wandering around their home cities of Stormwind or Orgrimmar, dreaming of the day they'll be old enough (and big enough) to venture out into the world alone and see the sights their parents would have shown them. During Children's Week, though, brave adventurers for the Horde and the Alliance can make these kids' dreams come true! To help these kids see the world, all you have to do is visit the orphanage for your faction. Talk to either Orphan Matron Nightingale in Stormwind (Alliance) or Orphan Matron Battlewail in Orgrimmar (Horde). After that, you and your young friend can adventure together across Azeroth! Below are some of the places and people the orphans want to visit:

Orgrimmar Orphanage

• The bank in Darnassus (Alliance)
• The lighthouse in Westfall (Alliance)
• Jaina Proudmoore in Theramore (Alliance)
• Mor'shan Rampart (Horde)
• Lordaeron Throne Room (Horde)
• Cairne Bloodhoof in Thunder Bluff (Horde)

Check out the cute pet rewards by heading to the link above.

Phase 2 of the 2008 tournament season has started according to the official site:

Phase 2 of the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament's first qualification round has begun. Tournament participants have had ample time during the practice phase to hone their strategies, try various team compositions, and gain experience playing with their team. It's now time for the real games to begin! To track the progress of your team and competition, please visit the World of Warcraft Armory and select the Coliseum 1 battlegroup. For more information on the tournament please visit our Arena Tournament information page. Good luck to all competitors!

Sign up and kick some ass!

Sean Bulger's periodic community column today looks at the concept of Open PvP (player vs. player) and what it does to games and their communities.

A while back we talked about conflict between players and what sort of a role that it can play in a game and for communities. During this, it was noted that player competition can be implemented in numerous different ways. This week, I would like to revisit this discussion and talk about one of those particular methods: the open PvP world.

Open PvP is one of the more controversial topics in MMO circles and plenty of people have fairly strong opinions one way or the other on the subject. That said, I would like to explore both the positive impacts and negative ones on the player community. Open PvP has the potential to help bond a community fairly tightly, but it also has the potential to truly tear it apart as well.

Read more after the leap.