WoW WarCry's RP Guide

In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer looks at the last MMO class archetypes, the Healer, and why this role at least is solidly developed.

Starting a new series on the archetypal MMO classes, Jonathan Steinhauer begins by looking at DPS and the issue of hitting versus damaging.

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tries his hand at role-writing, telling the story of one particular Blood Elf in the World of Warcraft.

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tackles Blizzard's recent debacle with the RP-PvE realm, Wyrmrest Accord.

Everything that exists, both in fiction and in reality, has links to what has come before so nothing is truly original. The adage "there is nothing new under the sun" holds true. In order to achieve something that is measurable, I will investigate originality in the sense of what is commonly called new IP.

When Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy, wrote "The road goes ever ever on," MMOs took him at his word. A large part of online gaming consists of traveling from one point to another, but when it takes so much time to get anywhere, frustration mounts. If I'm picking up a book or alt-tabbing to web surf or check e-mail instead of playing the game, there is something wrong with the dynamics.

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at how the new WoW Achievement system could affect roleplaying.

Character stories area told in MMOs so frequently we often don't even recognize them for what they are. They will exist whether there are active world stories or not. Such tales survive even if they are completely ignored by the devs. But as with all things in gaming, with proper attention character stories can be made stronger.

In this week's examination of Clausewitz "On Gaming," Jonathan Steinhauer looks at what victory and defeat mean ... to NPC monsters.

This week in RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at ways for roleplayers to deal with the Fairer Tongue of Elvish.

The latest World of Warcraft developer Q&A centers around that mystical magical bad boy, the Warlock. Grab a hint of things to come and the link to the full interview by clicking 'read more'.

The latest WoW Trading Card Game expansion pack is now available. Called 'Fields of Honor', players will have new quests, items, equipment, El Pollo Grande and the new allies. Find out more after the jump.

World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 fans attending this year's MusiCON will have a chance to hear concert versions of Blizzard game tunes. Grab the details after the jump.

This week on The MMO Report, Casey's back to bring you news about Aion's upcoming launch, how an MMO site paid a Russian porn star to tattoo their web address on her breasts, and another edition of WTF Second Life.

The latest in-house developer Q&A from the World of Warcraft team centers on the Death Knight. Team member 'Ghostcrawler' takes on the questions. Keep reading!

World of Warcraft players will be introduced to the Crusader's Coliseum with the next content update. To whet the appetite, Blizzard has published a sneak peek. Check out a snip after the jump.

World of Warcraft players will have the opportunity to participate in this year's Midsummer Fire Festival from now through July 4th. Find out what's in store after the jump.

How much of an MMO is button smashing and how much involves actual skill? This installment is an investigation of how armor choices and shield employment can yield more combat decisions.

A pair of World of Warcraft developer Q&As have shown up on the official website. The first deals with the newly announced Battlegrounds and the second with the upcoming changes to the Mage. Grab the links after the jump.

World of Warcraft players will have a whole new set of adventures in store after the next content deployment. The Crusader's Coliseum will debut with new multi-player raid dungeons and more. Find out more by clicking below.

The regional tournament participants for World of Warcraft have been announced. Winners of these tournaments will head to the finals during this year's Blizzcon in August. Find out more by clicking 'read more'.

Blizzard dev, "Zarhym", has made a post on the official forums indicating that some big changes are in store with regard to the World of Warcraft mount system. Find out what will change by clicking below.

World of Warcraft players have a chance to win awesome WoW gear in a promotion between Blizzard and Mountain Dew Game Fuel in collectible bottles. Razer, Alienware, and Jinx are sponsoring prizes and participants also can score an in-game 'battle-bot' pet. Snag the details by clicking 'read more'.

The Regional Finals Tournament for World of Warcraft and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne has been announced. It will be held in Cologne, Germany and will feature the best players from North America and Europe. Grab the details by clicking below.

As part of their continuing series of World of Warcraft class discussions, Blizzard has posed a Shaman Q&A. Find out what's up with this caster bad boy by clicking below.

World of Warcraft players will rejoice in the latest addition to the official site. The "Bosstiary" will reveal important and vital information about bosses and the lairs in which they reside. The first entry is a complete map of Ulduar. Find out more!

The next World of Warcraft patch will introduce a muck needed overhaul of the druid shape-shifting textures. This week, WoW devs have published a comparative look at the old and new textures. Check 'em out!

I like stats as much as the next person (probably more), but when warfare is boiled down to raw probabilities, battlefield skill disappears. The building of the best stat base becomes much more important than any sort of tactical competency. Instead of seeking a skill based work-around, games come up with new statistical probabilities.

World of Warcraft players have the opportunity to win majorly cool prizes through a promotion with Mountain Dew. Prizes will be drawn every 15 minutes beginning August 20th. Find out what you need to "Dew" after the jump.

Blizzard has announced that the Druid will be getting some much needed love in the next major World of Warcraft patch. Druids will, among other things, have several new forms. Find out more after the jump.

GamerZines comes to the end of their look at perfecting MMORPGs with How to make the perfect MMO - Conclusion, reviewing the series and the responses to it.

Some people agreed with everything we said. Some people agreed with nothing we said. Some people took it all a bit too seriously. Some people thought lightness was needed.

GamerZines files their next blog post in the series with How to create the perfect MMO - Part 6.

But here we go, the final thing that I think need to happen in the next-gen of MMOs is homogenisation.

Blizzard announced today that tickets for this year's Blizzcon event will be on sale beginning May 16th. Blizzcon 09 will be held in Anaheim, California on August 21-22, 2009. Grab the ticket details after the jump.

Children's Week has officially begun in World of Warcraft. Players are given the opportunity to care for the innocent victims of war. The week is celebrated by both Alliance and Horde. Find out more by clicking 'read more'.

Character customization is the next topic covered in GamerZines' How to make the perfect MMO - Part 4.

In MMOs, the customisation of your character is mostly limited to: armour/items and some form of the talent tree that we have in World of Warcraft. Bring back the stats, for goodness sake.