World of Warcraft player sings request to Blizzard: Blood Elf Druids please

By Winda Benedetti

Laura Shigihara

Laura Shigihara - the singer/songwriter behind "Zombies on Your Lawn" - sends a singing telegram to Blizzard.

Sometimes, when you feel passionately about something, the best way to express that passion is through … song.

At least, that's what Laura Shigihara, the singer/songwriter behind the massively popular "Zombies on Your Lawn" song from the massively popular game "Plants vs. Zombies" appears to have decided.

She's written a song and created a music video to let the world know how she feels about an issue in the "World of Warcraft" game. That issue is Blood Elf Druids … or rather, the lack thereof.

Her song – called, well, "Blood Elf Druids" – is a direct plea to Blizzard (the developers behind "World of Warcraft") to create a new class of Blood Elves. (Check out the video below.)
Seems Shigihara – an avid "WoW" player with a level 71 Blood Elf Hunter character – would like her character to be able to fly. But characters in the Hunter class don't fly … or at least not without a little bit of help.

Shigihara's boyfriend's "WoW" character, on the other hand, is a Druid (that boyfriend, by the way, is George Fan, the creator of "Plants vs. Zombies.") And since his character is a Druid, he is able to shape-shift into flight-form on a whim.

"I explore a lot and as such I die a lot from falling off cliffs and stuff like that, and you know it would be really nice to be able fly," she says in a video explaining why she created the song.

As it turns out, there are some balance issues involved in allowing Blood Elves to become Druids and also a little matter of the game's lore – something about Blood Elves being addicted to magic and thus it not being kosher to have them being nature-lovin' Druids.

"The lore part is kind of silly," Shigihara insists. "Gnomes can be warriors and they're like three feet tall."
Blizzard has been in the midst of preparing to release the latest "WoW" expansion "Cataclysm" (due Dec. 7).

For the beta test, Blizzard recently announced new race/class combinations. Alas, no Blood Elf Druids were on the lineup. And that was the last straw for Shigihara.

"I saw that Night Elves could be mages and I was like, 'What? That's not fair!' So I decided to make a song," she says.

The chorus pleads:

Come on, come on, Blizzard please
I wanna fly above the canopy
Hold my breath for as long as I can
Shapeshift when I wave my hand -- oh oh oh
Little Gnomes can't really tank
Night Elves aren't well-versed in the arcane
But I'm a Blood Elf who's a friend of the trees
So come on Blizzard, make Blood Elf Druids please

If Blizzard is going to listen to a singing telegram from anyone, surely it is Shigihara. Her "Zombies on Your Lawn" tune is a veritable video game musical hit, with more than four million views on YouTube and countless riffs around the Web. Yes, it's even giving the "Still Alive" song from "Portal" a run for its popularity money. (In fact, you can see Shigihara cover "Still Alive" right here.)

Meanwhile, the folks at Blizzard are clearly fans of "Plants vs. Zombies." It was recently revealed that "Cataclysm" will feature a "PvZ" themed quest.

Of course, only time – and the official launch of "Cataclysm" – will tell if Shigihara's Blood Elf Druid wish will be granted.

So come on Blizzard, make Blood Elf Druids please!

Winda Benedetti writes the Citizen Gamer column for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.

Source:
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/26/5354424-world-of-warcraft-player-sings-request-to-blizzard-blood-elf-druids-please

 World of Warcraft Subscriber Base Hits 12 Million

Starting to Level Up in World of Warcraft

Initially, most of what you focus on when you 1st start to play World of Warcraft will certainly be the leveling process, that being the reason for terms such as mage leveling and rogue leveling. When you start, unless you are a Death Knight, you will start of at level 1 working your way to level 80.

So brace yourself for some great tips!

To level up, you want experience which can be acquired in two main ways:

1. Completing quests

2. Killing non player characters

These are the main actions that will allow you to gain experience and when you have a certain number of points you spring up a level. As your levels proceed, your character starts to become more potent.
Furthermore, you will be able to wear better equipment such as stronger armour which will aid you.

Many new players find that the beginning few levels come very quickly, but as time goes by it slowly but surely gets harder and harder to level. The 1st 10 levels could be achieved in a few hours where as the higher levels can take days to be achieved.

But, you will see that leveling up is not as hard as it seems to be as you will get a hold of the things to do in order to level up quick. You will realise that you acquire a lot of experience from quests, therefore it being efficient with leveling.

You will too encounter that quests are for certain areas so when you have completed quests for one district, you will have to move to a different region for more quests. Pretty much every area in World of Warcraft caters to a certain level range, so finding one that fits your range is absolutely essential if you want to advance.

Every couple of levels that you do obtain, you want to be sure to train up your qualities and spells so that you’re able to fight higher level monsters. Besides, be sure not to neglect your gear or you’ll face a lot of difficulties later on too!

Now you know the basics you shouldnt have too much problems with the whole process. Just keep the above tips in mind and soon enough you will be a level 80 ready to take on the biggest monsters.

If you’re ever stuck, you’ll find that there are more than enough resources to aid you on the internet, so don’t panic – just encounter what you need!

http://onlineproductsreviews.net/magelevelingguide

Source:
http://www.lonad.com/2010/10/23/starting-to-level-up-in-world-of-warcraft/

Charge: Washington woman met teen lover on 'World of Warcraft'

Charge: Washington woman met teen lover on 'World of Warcraft'

Prosecutors say Centralia woman lured teen from New Jersey after exchanging explicit photos

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

A Washington woman is in federal custody on allegations that she taped herself having sex with a teen she met playing "World of Warcraft."

Federal prosecutors have filed child pornography charges against Jessica Pearce, 33, accusing the Centralia resident of flying a 16-year-old New Jersey boy to Washington after carrying on a sexual relationship with the youth for years.

Washington authorities arrested Pearce and recovered the runaway boy at a highway rest stop in September 2009, days after she and the boy flew to the state, according to charging documents recently unsealed in U.S. District Court at Tacoma.

Pearce was again arrested Tuesday and has since been charged by complaint with possession of child pornography.

According to charging documents, the boy's parents contacted New Jersey law enforcement on Sept. 13, 2009, after the boy disappeared. The youth's parents said he had been communicating with Pearce, whom the boy claimed was in high school.

The boy's father grew concerned in July 2009 after he discovered text messages of a sexual nature sent to his son. He told the boy to end the relationship.

According to charging papers, Pearce gave the boy a forged school identification card and flew with him from New Jersey on Sept. 11, 2009. They were stopped by police three days later at a highway rest stop.

Speaking with police, the boy said he met Pearce the year before while playing the online game "World of Warcraft," FBI Special Agent John Mesisca told the court. The boy, who was 15 at the time, said he initially told Pearce he was 24 but came clean about his age months later.

On three occasions, Pearce flew to meet with the boy in New Jersey, Mesisca continued. On one occasion she brought her 6-year-old child with her.

Following the final visit, the boy left with Pearce for Washington, the FBI agent told the court. He left his parents a note saying he was going to New York and that they should not look for him.

A search would later reveal the pair had exchanged explicit photos. Federal prosecutors contend Pearce also has photos of them having sex.

Speaking with detectives, Pearce allegedly admitted to having sex with the boy and flying him to Washington.
"Pearce stated that she lived with her parents … however she had an apartment and stated that she was moving in with (the boy) because they were getting married and would live together as a family," Mesisca told the court.

"Pearce," the agent continued, "stated that she and (the boy) did not use any form of contraception because they 'were going to make a family.'"

Taken into custody Tuesday, Pearce is expected to appear in court Friday. She is currently jailed at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.

Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.

<>

Source:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/428786_world20.html


World of Warcraft Subscriber Base Hits 12 million

Download WOW Patch 4.0.1 And Changes Made

World of Warcraft is heralded as the best multiplayer game and has multitudes of fans worldwide. Along with its huge following is a lot of noise every time something new comes up with the game.

Recently, the latest buzz regarding WoW has been the upcoming release of its latest patch. Named WoW 4.0.1, this update will sure bring improvements to the whole system and engage the users to a new set of challenges. Anxiety for its release has swept across the globe

Class changes are to be experienced in WOW 4.0.1. Reports also said that upcoming changes will precursor the improvements that developers target for the expansion title Cataclysm. The said expansion is expected to be released by Christmas.

For those who will get this patch, expect a long download time, what with its 4.6 GB size. Along with the patch’s sheer size, the number of clients that will request for it will surely generate heavy traffic. 12 million users are currently subscribed to the MMORPG, and this number continues to grow despite the game being not that new anymore and the games that have been released after WoW was first introduced.

Source:
http://listondaily.net/download-wow-patch-4-0-1-and-changes-made/1348/


World of Warcraft Subscriber Base Hits 12 Million

World Of Warcraft Players Waiting for Cataclysm

By Jason Freeman on Oct 15, 2010

Avid followers of the online game World of Warcraft had to take a break from playing the popular game, after Blizzard Entertainment announced that maintenance works are necessary for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

The maintenance works for the United States took place Tuesday keeping US servers down for almost 12 hours. The EU servers also had to undergo maintenance works Wednesday. The maintenance works spelled good news for WOW fans since it was needed to pave the way for the Blizzard update of WoW to patch 4.0.1.

The patch 4.01 is one of the final patches necessary to pave the way for the complete overhaul and expansion of the World of Warcraft. Players are looking forward to the launch of Cataclysm on December 7, which is expected to be less overwhelming thanks to the final patch.

Despite the patch, there will be no changes in the existing world and quests until the actual Cataclysmic event. Blizzard needs up to three pre-expansion events work through prior to the launch of Cataclysm. Players should not also expect to see worgens or goblins or even old world flying since these two races will be bared after the Cataclysm expansion only. This should keep the WOW players pretty grounded before the Cataclysmic event.

However, the new additions will be a treat to the players including the class changes, the 31-point talent trees, the new graphic updates and the new interface designs.

Source:

http://www.golf-talk.co.uk/news/world-of-warcraft-players-waiting-for-cataclysm/12454371

 World of Warcraft Subscriber Base Hits 12 million

World of Warcraft Subscriber Base Hits 12 Million

Global subscribers to World of Warcraft crossed the 12 million mark, according to an announcement today from Activision Blizzard. After holding at 11.5 million subscribers for more than a year, some had assumed WoW had peaked. Between this announcement and the forthcoming expansion Cataclysm scheduled for release on December 7, we'd be willing to bet the venerable online role-playing game, which launched in 2004, will continue to add subscribers.

In light of this announcement, it seems we need to update our calculations from earlier this week regarding WoW's likely longevity.

To recap, we're using Sony Online Entertainment's Everquest, one of the first widely successful online role-playing games, as our guide. With its 17th expansion set to come out this month, Everquest has demonstrated remarkable staying power for a game that peaked at 430,000 subscribers.

If 430,000 peak subscribers generates enough long-term loyalty to justify the production of 17 expansions, how many expansions can we expect for a game like the World of Warcraft and its now 12 million-strong membership base?

To answer that question, we refer to what we're now calling the 2010 EQ MMO Expansion Index. This index (academic review pending) generates a number that will let us predict the number of future expansions for any given massively multiplayer online game.

To arrive at that number, we simply take the Everquest peak subscriber base and divide by the number of Everquest expansions. The index will change if Sony releases further EQ add-ons, but for now 430,000/17 expansions says that for any sufficiently popular MMO, we can expect one expansion for every 25,000 subscribers. Before today, the 2010 EQ MMO Expansion Index told us we'd see an eventual total of 460 WoW expansion based on the 11.5 million figure.

At 12 million subscriptions, we now anticipate WoW will see 480 total expansions (counting the three we already know about). At Blizzard's current rate of releasing one expansion every 25 months, we predict that the last World of Warcraft expansion will hit 12,000 months from the date of the game's November 23, 2004, U.S. launch date. That translates to an even millennium of World of Warcraft gaming.

We'd love to see the expansion predictions for other MMOs. All you need is the current peak subscriber base, and then an average of the time between expansion releases. As with most rigorous intellectual pursuits, Wikipedia is a great place to start.


Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20018886-1.html