Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we're going to jump into the not-so-distant future -- specifically, the day we hit level 87 in Mists of Pandaria. We're going to need 1% of our base mana, some plutonium, and 1.21 gigawatts, and we're going to need to be moving at 88 miles per hour.

Mages are getting a fair number of new or reworked spells and talents in Mists of Pandaria, but arguably the most intriguing of the bunch is Alter Time. Continuing along with the time -manipulation theme already established by spells like Time Warp, upcoming talents like Temporal Shield, and the time chicken tier 13 armor set, Alter Time allows us to transport our mages back in time to the ancient era of six seconds ago.

It's an incredibly interesting mechanic that works in practice about how I expected it to in theory, which is both good and bad.

Read more →

Filed under: Mage, Analysis / Opinion, (Mage) Arcane Brilliance, Mists of Pandaria

That's the sound that a resplendent chest makes when you open it in Diablo III. Seriously. Think about it.

BKellyCS asked:

I was discussing with some guildies this evening the "key points" in WoWs history (like personally feeling that Ulduar was the closest to raiding perfection with a variety of bosses, events, lore, layout, the hard mode switches etc) - what personally do you think the biggest opportunity Blizzard can take forward from Cataclysm is? What 'thing' do you think worked really well and reckon we'll see more of? What do you reckon they've learnt the most from and will endeavour to improve/never-EVER-let-that-happen-again?

Read more →

Filed under: The Queue

You really have to feel sorry for the denizens of Hellfire Peninsula. They have to live in possibly the most hated zone in the game, the first expansion zone, the one that everyone has already slogged through five times and where most adventurers can recite the quest text by heart. And whenever something new and interesting comes on through -- like, say, a spin-kicking, bipedal panda -- they don't even have a chance to ask questions before the newcomer kills them, skins them and moves on. (Thanks to Nganga of Pact of War on Silver Hand [US-H] for the screenshot.)

---

Want to see your own screenshot here? Send it to aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com. We strongly prefer full-sized pictures with no UI or names showing. Include "Azeroth" in the subject line to ensure your submission dodges email spam filters; if you'd like to be credited, also include your name, guild and realm.

---

Filed under: Around Azeroth

I was taking my main through the new set of Northern Barrens quests recently when I found myself running across rare spawn mobs a lot. This in itself isn't all that surprising; you'll run across rare spawns pretty commonly whenever zones aren't occupied by eager levelers. I saw Elder Mystic Razorsnout, Swiftmane, and for the first time ever, Humar the Pridelord. Humar is well known as a popular hunter pet, and until Wrath, he was the only black lion in the game.

And that got me to thinking: What is the game's most famous rare spawn? If I had to settle on one, my vote would be the Time-Lost Proto Drake, which has driven legions of players to the nuthouse in an endless struggle to find it, let alone kill it. Close behind would probably be Loque'nahak, another famous hunter pet. Curiously, it feels like most of the game's really well-known rare mobs are actually fairly recent additions to the game, although people who played during classic WoW might disagree.

---

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Welcome to the all-exciting, weekly news recap featuring Panser of TradeChat! In our weekly recap, we'll be tackling the hottest news and whatever other kickin', rad items have come our way throughout the last week. This week's topics include:

• Better digsites for Mists of Pandaria
• Potential new warchiefs
• Diablo III transmog outfits
• Blizzard cleans up GAME's mess
• Real-life WoW abilities

Make sure you subscribe to TradeChat and check back every week for more Weekly Recaps!

---

Filed under: News items

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Diablo III, man. Diablo III.

Diablo III Diablo III Diablo III Diablo III, Diablo III. Diablo 3? No, no, no: Diablo III.

So, Diablo III -- What aRe yoU Playing? This week's Diablo III: What's your preferred Diablo III class?

Read more →

Filed under: WoW Insider Business, Diablo 3

Engineers, keep getting excited for Mists of Pandaria, because we've just got even more toys to make our favorite profession unequivocally still the best profession. With the recent beta patch, we've seen some new datamined recipes for engineering goodies such as Blingtron 4000, a fabulously wealthy robot companion who gives people gifts, and the Depleted-Kyparium Rocket, a new rocket mount built by engineers.

The real treat, however, is the Thermal Anvil, a new item that drops a portable anvil and forge at the engineer's feet. Yes, you read that right -- engineers are going to be able to deploy a portable anvil.

But wait, there's more. Did you want to slap some Watergliding Jets on your shoes to make swimming a breeze? What about a brand new Wormhole Generator for the Pandaria continent? Maybe you've like to pair a gathering profession with your engineering to make the best use of some brand new Mist-Piercing Goggles? Engineers, Blizzard has heard our call for more fun stuff and it is delivering. I can't wait to see what's next. Engineering -- best profession!

---

It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

---

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

Don't Make Me Get My Main by Legs and Cranius won first prize in the BlizzCon 2009 machinima contest. It's hard to believe that was nearly three years ago; time flies when you're ganking newbs, I guess.

With Mists of Pandaria looming around the corner like a Defias thug with bad intentions, it's time for us all to remember: That newb you gank today could actually be a PvP superstar. Choose your targets wisely.

---

Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

---

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

Kun-Lai Summit is host to the Shado-pan Monastery. In Mists of Pandaria, you'll undoubtedly get a chance to experience and help rid the instance of Sha influence. Megan and I decided to check the place out and see what the deal is. We teamed up before when she carried me kindly tanked for me in the Stormstout Brewery. Like last time, I healed on my holy priest, Megan tanked on her druid, and we were accompanied with two hunters and an enhancement shaman. Your group needs to be at minimum level 87 in order to queue.

The video above is a little under 50 minutes long. We would've been able to move quicker if I hadn't been in combat all the time.

Yeesh. Even the Matticus needs a drink from time to time.

Gu Cloudstrike

Cloudstrike is the first boss your group will challenge. You'll run into Cloudstrike outside on a plateau just as you leave the first chamber. It's a three-phase encounter involving Cloudstrike and a flying serpent.

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mists of Pandaria

Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, and esoteroic topics that slip through the cracks.

One of the highest-profile disputes in the gaming industry has come to a settlement agreement. Blizzard has agreed that it will back off from Valve's use of the DOTA trademark for commercial use, while Blizzard retains noncommercial use of the term for modders, map creators, and the community revolving around the game. In addition to the commercial/non-commercial separation, Blizzard has officially changed the name of its upcoming Blizzard DOTA to Blizzard All-Stars, so expect a new branding push soon. At the end of the day, I am still bewildered as to why we're fighting over DOTA, an acronym and phrase that comes packed with baggage and various connotations.

Back in 2010, Rob Pardo told Eurogamer essentially that trademarking DOTA was a slap in the face to the community that created the genre, and for a company that built a great deal of its success on mods, it seemed genuinely out of place for Valve. While everything is always about money, sometimes things are about money just a little less. With its own products announced using the DOTA name and former-DOTA developers having joined S2 Games and Riot Games to create Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends respectively, the MOBA genre is healthy.

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Lawbringer