Blue posts officially stopped today and will be back after the holidays, it doesn't mean that updates on the front page will stop and hopefully I will have enough content to keep you busy during the holidays. And, well, if it doesn't work, I'll just throw more free stuff at you.
Guides Contest - Update!
I went through some of the submissions I already received and wanted to point out a few things regarding the contest:
There will probably be another giveaway starting tomorrow.
Chimaeron's 25-Man Heroic World First Kill by Paragon
Paragon was the first guild in the world to defeat Chimaeron in 25-Man Heroic mode, congratulations to them!
Method also killed Chimaeron last night and missed the world first kill by ... 1 minute. Ouch. Congratulations to them as well, they even get their kill shot on the front page because Paragon doesn't love me enough to post one on their site. (I also heard that Method is recruiting Druids, Hunters, and Warlocks, if you're interested)
Archaeology Fragments Distribution
Simca posted a very useful thread on the Professions forum compiling data from Archaeology's dig sites to find out which continents are the best to farm fragments of a specific race. I compiled the results in a nice table, original data is mostly from Wowpedia's list of Dig Sites (and a lot of work in-game to make sure it works as intended).
RacesEastern Kingdoms (Pre-450)Eastern Kingdoms (Post-450)Kalimdor (Pre-450)Kalimdor (Post-450)OutlandNorthrendDwarf28,57%32,14%2,33%1,79%N/AN/AFossil26,53%23,21%27,91%21,43%N/AN/ANight Elf4,08%8,93%58,14%53,57%N/A14,81%Troll40,82%35,71%11,63%8,93%N/A18,52%DraeneiN/AN/AN/AN/A53,57%N/AOrcN/AN/AN/AN/A46,43%N/ANerubianN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A18,52%VrykulN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A48,15%Tol'virN/AN/AN/A14,29%N/AN/A
AFK for the Holidays
After Ghostcrawler's departure from the forums a few weeks ago, Community Managers are also leaving for the holidays. I feel lonely.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
The holidays are upon us and, as in previous years, we will be AFK to spend it with our friends and family. While we won't be far, we may not be around as much as we usually are. (The moderation elves will still be hard at work over the holidays, however, and will know if you've been naughty or nice.)
We wish each and every one of you a very happy and safe holiday in the meantime, and can't wait to see all of you again in the new year!
[...] To my knowledge, our customer support offices will remain open for the holidays -- this includes the days of the 25th and 31st of December, as well as the 1st of January. If any changes are made to their normal hours of operation, our representatives will usually create a post in the Customer Support forum or the Technical Support forum (or both) to announce the adjusted schedule. Just keep an eye out there.
Free Character Moves Now Available - Dec. 22
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
New Free Character Moves are now available. If you're on one of the source realms listed below, you can move your characters to one of the designated destination realms and avoid the queues -- for free!
By initiating one of these transfers, you will be moving your character to a new realm and home. This is a one-time, one-way move. If you wish to move your character elsewhere, you will need to use the paid transfer service.
Please be aware that, due to the unpredictable nature of free transfers, we may close down any Free Character Moves at any time and without warning if the target realm becomes full. If you plan to move with friends or your guild, we suggest that you coordinate the effort to reduce the chance of any stragglers being left behind.
Early closures aside, this set of Free Character Moves will end on Thursday, January 6.
Source Realms Barthilas, Blackrock, Frostmourne, Illidan, Kel'Thuzad, Kil'jaeden, Tichondrius.
Destination Realms Altar of Storms, Arathor, Fenris, Garrosh, Grizzly Hills, Gul'dan, Gundrak, Nazjatar, Shattered Halls, The Forgotten Coast.
Characters on these source realms are eligible to transfer to any of the destination realms listed above.
Begin a Free Character Move now! We recommend reviewing the FAQ, as it details what is or isn't allowed for transferred characters.
Happy Holidays!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
From everyone at Blizzard to you and yours, have a safe and happy holiday season!
To help celebrate the arrival of Greatfather Winter, we've prepared a special Holiday Card Gallery featuring the Blizzard 2010 holiday card you see below as well as a pair of festive StarCraft II and Diablo III greetings.
Enjoy!
Your Contest Winners Await...
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
You did it! The combined efforts of the Alliance and the Horde have paid off, the final reward on the Your Fortune Awaits page has been unlocked, and the Cataclysm Print Ad and YouTube Commercial Contests have both come to a glorious end!
Thanks to all of the talented artists and members of the community for seizing this opportunity and making these contests such a shattering success! It was tough to choose winners from such an amazing batch of entries, but the following Cataclysm-inspired ads, commercials, and PSAs proved to be the most creative and persuasive:
Print Ad Contest Winners
Grand Prize: Deathwing Wants You
Runners-Up: Poojipoo, Vermis, Deepdive Helmet, ooo
YouTube Contest Winners
Grand Prize: Gree D2
Runners-Up: Archangel565, Irdeen, Alliance recruitment PSA, Cataclysm Awareness Group
Please join us in congratulating these deserving creators -- the citizens of Azeroth will no doubt be lining up for miles to procure the indispensible wares and services you're peddling!
A few examples of the nicest contributions to this contest below.
More...
Guides Contest - Update!
I went through some of the submissions I already received and wanted to point out a few things regarding the contest:
- I saw a couple of people reposting old guides, I even saw a Black Temple guide. I'm not necessarily expecting top-edge Cataclysm info but posting a 3 year old guide there and hoping to win is probably a bit optimistic.
- Pictures, pictures, pictures. They make everything easier to read and pretty, 99% of the submissions I saw lacked some.
- Make sure your text is structured with nice titles, paragraphs, etc ... The forums aren't notepad, use the tools you have!
- The people who are the most likely to win are people who will post fairly detailed guides about an interesting/helpful subject. I saw a couple of short submissions detailing just one tip, even if it's a helpful tip you will probably get trampled in the competition by people who wrote very complete guides about something else.
- That doesn't mean you have to write 15 pages, if you want an example of the what I'm expecting for this contest I guess you could always check out the old and now outdated Auction House Guide I posted a while back. It doesn't mean that you can't surprise me with something awesome.
There will probably be another giveaway starting tomorrow.
Chimaeron's 25-Man Heroic World First Kill by Paragon
Paragon was the first guild in the world to defeat Chimaeron in 25-Man Heroic mode, congratulations to them!
Method also killed Chimaeron last night and missed the world first kill by ... 1 minute. Ouch. Congratulations to them as well, they even get their kill shot on the front page because Paragon doesn't love me enough to post one on their site. (I also heard that Method is recruiting Druids, Hunters, and Warlocks, if you're interested)
Archaeology Fragments Distribution
Simca posted a very useful thread on the Professions forum compiling data from Archaeology's dig sites to find out which continents are the best to farm fragments of a specific race. I compiled the results in a nice table, original data is mostly from Wowpedia's list of Dig Sites (and a lot of work in-game to make sure it works as intended).
RacesEastern Kingdoms (Pre-450)Eastern Kingdoms (Post-450)Kalimdor (Pre-450)Kalimdor (Post-450)OutlandNorthrendDwarf28,57%32,14%2,33%1,79%N/AN/AFossil26,53%23,21%27,91%21,43%N/AN/ANight Elf4,08%8,93%58,14%53,57%N/A14,81%Troll40,82%35,71%11,63%8,93%N/A18,52%DraeneiN/AN/AN/AN/A53,57%N/AOrcN/AN/AN/AN/A46,43%N/ANerubianN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A18,52%VrykulN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A48,15%Tol'virN/AN/AN/A14,29%N/AN/A
AFK for the Holidays
After Ghostcrawler's departure from the forums a few weeks ago, Community Managers are also leaving for the holidays. I feel lonely.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
The holidays are upon us and, as in previous years, we will be AFK to spend it with our friends and family. While we won't be far, we may not be around as much as we usually are. (The moderation elves will still be hard at work over the holidays, however, and will know if you've been naughty or nice.)
We wish each and every one of you a very happy and safe holiday in the meantime, and can't wait to see all of you again in the new year!
[...] To my knowledge, our customer support offices will remain open for the holidays -- this includes the days of the 25th and 31st of December, as well as the 1st of January. If any changes are made to their normal hours of operation, our representatives will usually create a post in the Customer Support forum or the Technical Support forum (or both) to announce the adjusted schedule. Just keep an eye out there.
Free Character Moves Now Available - Dec. 22
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
New Free Character Moves are now available. If you're on one of the source realms listed below, you can move your characters to one of the designated destination realms and avoid the queues -- for free!
By initiating one of these transfers, you will be moving your character to a new realm and home. This is a one-time, one-way move. If you wish to move your character elsewhere, you will need to use the paid transfer service.
Please be aware that, due to the unpredictable nature of free transfers, we may close down any Free Character Moves at any time and without warning if the target realm becomes full. If you plan to move with friends or your guild, we suggest that you coordinate the effort to reduce the chance of any stragglers being left behind.
Early closures aside, this set of Free Character Moves will end on Thursday, January 6.
Source Realms Barthilas, Blackrock, Frostmourne, Illidan, Kel'Thuzad, Kil'jaeden, Tichondrius.
Destination Realms Altar of Storms, Arathor, Fenris, Garrosh, Grizzly Hills, Gul'dan, Gundrak, Nazjatar, Shattered Halls, The Forgotten Coast.
Characters on these source realms are eligible to transfer to any of the destination realms listed above.
Begin a Free Character Move now! We recommend reviewing the FAQ, as it details what is or isn't allowed for transferred characters.
Happy Holidays!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
From everyone at Blizzard to you and yours, have a safe and happy holiday season!
To help celebrate the arrival of Greatfather Winter, we've prepared a special Holiday Card Gallery featuring the Blizzard 2010 holiday card you see below as well as a pair of festive StarCraft II and Diablo III greetings.
Enjoy!
Your Contest Winners Await...
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
You did it! The combined efforts of the Alliance and the Horde have paid off, the final reward on the Your Fortune Awaits page has been unlocked, and the Cataclysm Print Ad and YouTube Commercial Contests have both come to a glorious end!
Thanks to all of the talented artists and members of the community for seizing this opportunity and making these contests such a shattering success! It was tough to choose winners from such an amazing batch of entries, but the following Cataclysm-inspired ads, commercials, and PSAs proved to be the most creative and persuasive:
Print Ad Contest Winners
Grand Prize: Deathwing Wants You
Runners-Up: Poojipoo, Vermis, Deepdive Helmet, ooo
YouTube Contest Winners
Grand Prize: Gree D2
Runners-Up: Archangel565, Irdeen, Alliance recruitment PSA, Cataclysm Awareness Group
Please join us in congratulating these deserving creators -- the citizens of Azeroth will no doubt be lining up for miles to procure the indispensible wares and services you're peddling!
A few examples of the nicest contributions to this contest below.
More...