As you know, The World of Warcraft has already made the move to READ ID in game, and with the launch of Cataclysm – on the official forums too. However, Blizzard has stated that these change are only a small piece of the larger picture to come. So without further ado, I am happy to bring you an exclusive sneak peak at the upcoming changes for the online armory feed. Introducing: Stalkcraft!

Whispering Gardens, Scarlet Monastery

Creep Factor: 7/10

A dead body swaying in the wind is creepy enough, but when you think about who put it there, it gets even creepier: The Scarlet Crusade, a religious sect of maddened zealots. The organization’s cause is a bad Dan Brown novel just waiting to be written.

Gadgetzan, Tanaris

Creep Factor: 6/10

We don’t often see blood in Warcraft, which is why this spot ended up on my list. The blood soaked sand is reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome. Hmm. Goblinators? Who knew!

The Crypt of Remembrance, Havenshire

Creep Factor: 15.2/10

Dolls creep me out. Dolls with no eyes, really creep me out. The only way this spot could get creepier were if a small child was dancing whimsically around the table singing nursery rhymes in B-flat.

Forlorn Rowe, Duskwood

Creep Factor: 9/10

Nothing says “creepsville” like ghouls with their own player housing — Hell, these undead bastards even have their very own street. I wonder if they get cable in there … color me jealous.

The Dead Scar, Ghostlands

Creep Factor: 7/10

A grim reminder of the how the scourge — led by Arthas — marched up the path from Lordaeron all the way to the Sunwell Plateau, killing everyone and destroying everything in its path. You could almost feel sorry for them, if they weren’t High Elves.

Hrothgar’s Landing

Creep Factor: 10/10

..and one just for good measure, a creepy spot in Northrend. There is something inherently creepy about the ocean. The smog, the barnacle covered boats aimlessly rocking in the choppy sea. I really recommend flying around this place if you don’t want to sleep for a week. (I tried to find a scary spot in the Outlands too, but the creepiest thing I came across was a male human Pally in Tier 5)

Look Ma, they read my e-mail this week on the MMO Report. Thanks Uncle Casey!

Is it just me, or is the air a bit dirtier than it used to be? Turbo-charged flying machines, mekgineer choppers, the new refer-a-friend X-53 touring rocket, and not to mention all of the vehicles in Ulduar and Wintergrasp. Soon goblins will be driving their very own cars! Yes, it seems the once fresh, clean atmosphere of Azeroth is destined to become more polluted than trade chat.

At first I thought the whole “ice stone” melting incident was a farce .. just a part of our natural, cyclical climate change. But what if all of this engineering exhaust is causing irreparable damage? Perhaps it’s the pollution itself that causes “Cataclysm” and not the return of Deathwing like we’ve been told. It seems we are amidst the industrial revolution of Azeroth, and the progression of technology cannot be stifled any longer. As an engineer myself I have to wonder about the effects I have personally had on WoW’s environment .. crafting machines, bombs, and even extracting motes /eternals on a daily basis. For shame.

Have you contributed to polluting Azeroth? If so what can we do to improve the air quality or prevent the situation from getting out of control?

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This article can also be found on WoW.com via AOL’s seed program.

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Move over Mariah and Whitney. Back away VH1. RuPaul, I’m talking to you. Warcraft is the real hot spot for diva activity. Yes it seems divas (and their male counterparts divos) are everywhere around us in Warcraft, rolling need on frozen orbs, wearing the same robes, and even demanding you change raid nights to fit their hectic diva schedule.

It all started with that attention hoo-rah Haris Pilton, hocking her expensive collectible accessories in Lower City. Then came the implementation of the barber shops. Back in my day you picked your hair and that was that, but now .. you can cut, dye, crimp and style your way to fantastic. See, I knew we were in for it when Cartier & Co moved into the Magus Commerce Exchange in Dalaran.  $6,800 for a level 200 ring? Uppity mages. Just yesterday I even heard word of a little gnome, Sheddle, who buffs your Manolo Blahnik shoes to a gleaming shine in the Threads of Fate shop.

With the diva era in full swing one can only imagine what’s coming in the next expansion. Will we be able to demand 700 thread count sheets and bottled Alterac water in our rooms at the Gilded Rose Inn of Stormwind City? Or perhaps we can expect an epic designer sunglasses quest in the Worgen starting zone (if they learned anything from Teen Wolf they will keep those dark circles on lock down.)

So what do you think? Has all of the pampering gone to our heads? Have you met a Warcraft diva? What sort of ways do you indulge? Let me know via the forums or e-mail and I just might talk about it on air.

Edit:

Fashionista Kaedella wanted to let me know that divas DO exist

Shawndra posted a call for more pampering on her blog

Part 1 of my “PVP for Dummies” video feature. As the song says I may not tell you anything you don’t already know, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tongue and cheek your way along with my simple 8 step program to winning!

Up next .. How to kill a paladin: The 12 step program

What happens when you grow up in the 80’s and then download the free version of FRAPS on a boring Monday as an adult? I guess my “I’m looking for group” spoof of Lionel Richie’s – Hello, is it me you’re looking for? I wrote the parody lyrics and sang them over some WoW in game footage of my priest, it only took me a few hours, but I think it is mildly entertaining. No one ever does a cheesy song .. so I figured it was about time! So pack a tissue, and enjoy.

Edit: I put the movie on Warcraftmovies.com and the graphic quality seems to be better than the youtube version below.

Edit: The video has been featured on the main page of WCM as one of “Today’s Spotlights”

Edit: Thanks Mike! Warcraft Wednesday

Edit: The video can now be seen on wow.com

and as I say in the video, if you don’t know the original version, shame on you! Enlighten yourself below:

Since this morning I have been getting piles of e-mails, private messages, and tweets over something the folks over at The Daily Blink posted because of the similarities to a blog post I made back in November, COSMORPG. It seems the magazine cover is getting them some attention on the web, including over at The Instance Blog.

(my photo from original post)

I have since spoken with the creators, and they assure me this is just an uncanny coincidence. To prevent any further rumors from flying around I suggested they add a footnote to their blog entry mentioning my post.

* Daily Blink’s Chris has since posted a piece about it here, thanks! So let’s put the issue to rest and take some time to enjoy both Lady Sylvanas Cosmo spoofs.

This month, it’s a TIE! Here’s to you the two rogues in the same WSG battleground!

If you can’t spot the errors in both names, step away from my blog!

As some of you may recall, a while back we hosted an event on the “Sisters of Elune” server so us roleplaying outsiders could see how RP servers varied from our “normal” ones. In honor of the anniversary I decided to re-visit the very server we tried out to see if I could learn more about the elusive world of roleplaying.

Here is what I discovered:

Forget “your mom” jokes, on RP servers people take a kinder, gentler approach to insulting one another. These people here seem sort of like something out of a 1950’s sitcom, only kinkier (hence the Guild name.)

Running is bad. Very bad. The only time you see true roleplayers run is if they need to get to the RP toilet in the Dalaran sewers. Oh yes, I went there.

As Jeff Foxworthy would say – If you have 10,000 gold to spend on a parrot, you might be a redneck roleplayer.

You can’t walk into an Inn without seeing at least two people sitting in  various chairs. Warning: If you sit next to them they will try to talk to you.

I thought RP servers had standards for character names, but apparently “Murderface” is a common surname for Blood Elves. Who knew?

I guess it’s better that this fellow wears pink when roleplaying in the game rather than to his real life job on casual Fridays .. what would his co-workers think?

Simply walk around looking lost and watch as men throw money at you .. I currently have around 50 gold in collections. Perhaps I should save up for that pet

Picture it, Azeroth, 2010. A cozy fire roars amidst the buzz of guild members getting their craft on. Sadly, Blizzard has stated that player housing isn’t going to be seen any time soon, if ever. Although I would love to see individual player housing, adding a feature like the guild hall seems like a good spot to meet in the middle. Now, before the scrooges start bah-humbugging all over my wish, allow me to clarify one thing -  guild halls are not simply for RP, but more so for a matter of convenience and the enjoyment of every single person who plays this game and is a member of a guild.

Features:

* The ability to insert and upgrade items. Vendors, a fireplace  for cooking, forges, a fishing fountain, or even a library of books so that every time you re-spec your character you don’t have to visit the trainer who happens to live out in tim-buck-two.

* Display! A spot on the wall to showcase your favorite guild achievement, tabard, and boss kill screenshots.

* Meet me at the guild hall! The guild house should be an instanced zone that anyone in your guild can teleport in and out of. Meeting up to have a guildie craft an item or cut a gem for you would now be effortless. Raiding and your weapon broke .. again? Just teleport back into your guild hall and repair it on the Jeeves Home Edition 2.0 built by your guidie, a master engineer.

* Storage! I don’t know about your guild bank, but ours is getting crowded. I’d love to see a chest system like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or Resident Evil, where they all interconnect and could be organized by type. Imagine a cabinet filled with buff food, made with love by your guild member the Chef.

* A quiet spot to hold guild meetings (I don’t, but some guild masters do) or escape for a rested night of sleep. With the “teleport in” feature, the worries of having to log off in an Inn or major city while leveling alts would melt away like the ice stone. No more sleeping in the streets or finding a barn to freeze your buns off in all night. Hey, I’m still picking the hay out of my hair from that time in Westfall when I was 12.

* Link professions in with them. Tailors could craft curtains and rugs, engineers could tinker upgrades to banks and repair bots, a master fisherman could add an aquarium, and herbalists could add flower boxes and botanical decor. I have more ideas, have your elves call my people.

* Daily guild quests! Perhaps these could unlock the more intricate, detail oriented guild hall features like say, music from various zones to stream within the hall. Whether it’s collecting mix tapes from the Vrykul of Howling Fjord, or stealing logs of wood for your guild hall fire, it’s the wacky, off the wall features such as these that get me the most excited because the possibilities are truly endless.

The best thing of all? It’s something people can work on and progress through together as a guild! A joint project that doesn’t involve raiding, which can often exclude casuals or even serious players due to the 10 or 25 player limit on them. There is so much more to this game than that, and the foundation for a system like this is already in place. Face it Santa, a guild hall is a natural fit with the coming guild features set for Cataclysm, and besides, I’ve been really good this year.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone! See you in 2010 .. in the guild hall in my mind.

I know technically it’s called Power Word: Shield – but it’s just a bubble to me.

Welcome to Junked! Where I bring you the stories behind some of the stranger gray junk items around the World of Warcraft. If you have a mysterious gray item you’d like me to feature, send an email to contact@warcraftoutsiders.com

This week let’s take a deeper look into Priestly Preening: Be Like Your Betters which drops off of Scarlet Crusade members in the Scarlet Enclave.  Although gray quality, it contains some epic advice on how Priests can maintain holy hygiene.

1. Cultivate a fulsome beard, for it conceals the imperfections of the face from the Light. (So I guess Al Borland from Tool Time was just realllly religious?)

2. Purify your hands in the milk of the mare, that they be soft and supple when handling the offertory. (I really don’t want to know what, or who said Priest is “handling” in their spare time)

3. Bathe in the rivers, allowing the glorious natural gifts of the Light to cleanse your skin. (Natural gifts? You mean like hypodermic needles and empty Mountain Dew bottles? I’m sorry, but the Elrendar just isn’t what it used to be)

4. Replace regularly your holy raiment, that your appearance and odours not offend the servants of the Light. (Oh, don’t worry .. I have to re-gem and enchant my new gear every patch. Why stop here? Why not just release new tier sets every Tuesday! I’ve been wearing this get-up for 2 weeks now and I am starting to get antsy)

5. Maintain at all times an upright posture – let not fatigue nor sloth curl the spine. (This might just be a message for our hunchbacked undead Brothers and Sisters who seem to have forgotten the importance of posture, calcium, and a good night of rest)

Here are a few other tips I came up with that helped my Priest Chelley immensely:

# 1) Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and the only real way to get clean in Warcraft is to leave trade chat.

# 2) To keep your Priestly lips supple avoid eating anything made by Cookie McWeaksauce, the scurvy cook in Azuremyst Isle. I bit into a hook once, it wasn’t pretty.

# 3) Head to the cleanzone in Gnomer. Look around. Smell the air.  Then remember why you vowed you would never step foot into Gnomeregan in the first place. Take notes so this doesn’t happen again.

# 4) Once a week, find the nearest Pally (don’t worry, they grow on trees) and simply ask them to spam cleanse on you. If you say it nicely they may even throw in a happy ending aka blessing of wisdom.

My warlock Terrace recently got the opportunity to do a little modeling with none other than Lady Sylvanas for the cover of a new magazine, COSMMORPG.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)