Druid: Cat Form–Swimming with new water animations

As you know patch 4.0.1 has vastly upgraded the water and liquid effects of the game, I have posted a video below showing how a druid in cat form looks while swimming with the new water effects. I hope you enjoy it.

Druid cat–swimming animation–patch 4.0.1 = www.simplywarcraft.com

Hallow’s End–Headless horseman dungeon

Update: With the release of Mists of Pandaria, you MUST be level 89 to start this dungeon.


Today is the start of Hallows End on World of Warcraft which allows you to play a dungeon called the “Headless Horseman”.


The first time each day you play the dungeon you are given a “” which can contain all sorts of interesting surprises including a “Head-less horseman's mount” and also I was fortunate enough to find a “Flying Broom” i have included a screenshot and video below.

Video made by www.simplywarcraft.com

Visual Earthquakes in Stormwind

As you know with patch 4.0.1 there are earthquakes in the game, these I believe are pre-cataclysm events which could result in “Nature taking over” and causing all kinds of design changes to the World of Warcraft when “Cataclysm” is released in December.
I know that sometimes the earthquakes do not spawn in the correct places and can sometimes be found hovering above buildings in Stormwind I have yet to get a screenshot of this happening but I will soon!

Lava Animation | World of Warcraft | Patch 4.0.1 | Blackrock Mountain

Provided by www.simplywarcraft.com

I have been requested to create a video showing the updates to the Lava when the new patch 4.0.1 was released so I have included a video here for you to view.

Patch 4.0.1–New Celestial Steed Swimming Animation.

As you know Blizzard have now officially released patch 4.0.1 there are some amazing additions to the game some great some small. One small update I have noticed is to the Celestial Steed mount. Prior to this update the Celestial steed would fly underwater. Now they have added a swimming animation as you can see in this video I have taken. Oh and additional to this swimming fix they have also made the Celestial steed “scream” when it jumps - Enjoy!

Updated Celesial Steed Swimming Animation with patch 4.0.1

Flying Rhino’s in Storm Peaks.

While randomly flying round Storm peaks hoping to find the “Time-Lost Proto Drake” I came across a group of “Stormpeak Wyrm” attacking and picking off and flying off with the “Ice Steppe Rhino” that are wandering around the area in family groups.

Stormpeak Wyrm vs Ice Steppe Rhino. Provided by www.simplywarcraft.com

Patch 4.0.1–Pre Cataclysm Release Patch

As we know there has been a huge patch downloading and tonight it is planned to go live. Blizzard have announced that the game will be offline on the European servers from midnight tonight until 12noon tomorrow for them to implement this patch. Knowing Blizzard I am not going to be surprised if it takes longer to do and the game will be offline for a longer period of time.
I have played the new patch on their test realm (Brill) and fully understand that every player of wow will have to re-learn how to play the game as there have been some major changes to talents, skills, learned talents and more.

I should also add at this point that you will notice some pre-cataclysm events such as earthquakes, I have only played the pre-release 4.0.1 patch briefly so that it wont spoil the surprise for me when it is fully released later on tonight.

I have noticed that they have greatly increased their graphics engine giving water a much smoother  and realistic appearance than before.

They have removed the need for ammunition such as arrows and bullets which will save us from buying more and the chance of running out during battles which is useful but I'm sure it will effect the damaged caused on targets in a negative way, as in less hit points.
Below I have included some screen shots of changes to the game which I have taken from the test realm.

The first change that I noticed is the starting screen where you create a character as you can see from the screen shot below they have added Worgen and Goblins to the character creations however since cataclysm is not released yet they cannot be created for obvious reasons. Also on the character creation screen they have changed the character animations to random attacks and different stances, instead of standing there and looking pretty as prior releases to the game have offered. There are also additional loading screens of the character creation and game loading screens.

Additional to this change if you are a hunter you are automatically allocated a pet when you start the game which means you do not need to tame your first pet or have to be a certain level to get one for the first time.

When you start playing you will notice that there are a few more bits and bobs on the screen including intuative tips and hints that popup and a new ? in a circle at the bottom. If you press the ? shown in the second screenshot it will open or close a hint or tip offered by the game.

They have changed a lot of the game functions including spell books as shown in the below screenshot. You will notice that some of your old attacks and learned abilities have now disappeared and new ones have been created. I will let you see these for yourself.

You will also notice that your players talent tree has also changed shown in the image below.

I would like to also add they have allowed Hunters to use a function called “Call Pet” from 5 of your different pets quickly from your screen. You can swap any of these five pets with other ones you have tamed and captured. Also the stable master will allow you store up-to 20 pets which is 15 more than prior versions of this game.
Hunters now do not use “Mana” they use what is known as “Focus”.


Now while in game you may notice some weird happening as I have already said this patch is a pre-cataclysm release so things are starting to get hot and heated in the world of warcraft. Including earthquakes and Stormwind being under attack by mother nature in the form of elementals and more!
Hunters are now able to throw traps at enemies once you press the “throw trap” icon you will be able to select one of your traps by clicking on the one you wish to throw and clicking on the ground where you want it to land.

The following video shows how you can throw and select a trap.

Video showing trap being thrown provided by www.simplywarcraft.com

I’m not going to give much away and spoil the surprise but I have placed some screen shots below showing some of the events in Stormwind.


From here I will post some screenshots of the graphics engine update including new water textures and renderings, please click on the image to enlarge. I have noticed that ships and characters now make the water ripple which is a nice cool effect.

This video is created by www.simplywarcraft.com and features the water displacement function and actions of the water while swimming and passing of boats in the sun.

I have taken one video in the rain and another in the sunshine.

Video showing the new water effects while swimming and effects from boat passing while its raining.

Thanks for reading!

Celestial Size Difference

While in Dalaran I came across another player also on the Celesital Steed mount. While aligning the mounts I noticed that my mount was significantly smaller than the other players. Wierd.

Fireworks in Stormwind

While wandering round Stormwind trying to find something to do I came across some players outside the Bank letting go some fireworks – looks ace. Rarely anything interesting happens while recording screenplay.

While passing time in Stormwind I came across some players letting off fireworks outside the Bank. Provided by www.simplywarcraft.com

Incident: Bird mount stuck in Stormwind Wall

While passing through Stormwind I came across one player who drew a particular interest to themselves… managed to get themselves and their mount stuck in the wall of a Stormwind building… some people never learn.

Video: Celestial Steed Walking Through Stormwind

This video has been created by www.simplywarcraft.com

Horse Mount: Sightings

1. Deathcharger

2. Celestrial Steed

3. Rivendare’s Deathcharger

4. Warhorse

5. Dreadsteed

6. Black War Steed

7. Charger

8. Swift White Steed (with Shadowform)

9. Crimson Deathcharger (with shadowform)

10. Swift White Steed

11. Ochre Skeletal Warhorse

12. Argent Charger

13. Swift Brown Steed

14. Invincible

15. Firey Warhorse

16. Swift Palomino

17. Quel' Dorei Steed

18. Unyielding Knight’s Mount (Name Unknown) – Tournament Armory – Hellfire – Outland

19. FelSteed

20. Pinto

 

A Mammoth Event: The Bat-mammoth

While in Stormwind I came across a player who had skill fully put their mammoth mount hanging in front of the auction house.

Magic Eater Test

Today I was in dalaran and fished up some “Magic Eater”. So as I have stated in past posts I will post my results.

See prior Magic Eater Test post at
http://www.simplywarcraft.com/2010/05/taste-test-magic-eater-of-dalaran.html
1. Magic Eater – No effect
2. Magic Eater – Turned into tiny green dragon.
See pic below:

Swift Spectral Tiger Mount

This mount can only be obtained by getting a “Spectral Tiger” Fires of outland Trading card.

Relic Coffer Key | Dark Coffer | Relic Coffer–Explained!

How do I get a Relic Coffer Key?

While soloing the ”Blackrock Depths“ Instance I found that many of the MOBS in the area drop what is known as “Relic Coffer Key”. They can be stacked in 20s and can only be used once.

As you can see from the above screenshot I have had this key drop from the following MOBS inside Blackrock Depths.

• Anvilrage Taskmaster
• Warder Stilgiss
• Fineous Darkvire
• Anvilrage Warden
• Doomforge Dragoon
• Anvilrage Soldier
• Blackbreath Crony
• Ribbly’s Crony

What are the used for?

Relic Coffer keys are used to open “Dark Coffer” which are basically large vaults that hold and contain “Relic Coffer”. These are basically small black decorated boxes. There are a total of 12 Dark Coffer in the room and you will need 12 Relic Coffer Keys to open all the Dark Coffer vaults.
As you open them and get to the last one a guard will shout “Intruder” blah blah blah and the three giant elite golem type creatures which were standing motionless and inactive in the centre of the room will go and attack you.

Okay where are the “Dark Coffers”

Right now you have told me what they are used for where are the “Dark Coffers” I hear you saying… since the other websites out there hold little information on this topic.
The “Dark Coffer” containing “Relic Coffer” are sat in one room which contains three golem creatures deep inside the “Blackrock Depths”.

What do the “Relic Coffer” contain?

I have looted 12 of the Relic Coffer and they contain about 4 different items. I have found multiples of the following items. However I believe that you can also find blue, green and purple items in them!

• Small sack of coins
• Shiny Bracelet
• Sack of gems
• Sparkly Necklace
• Fat sack of coins
• False Documents
• Legal Documents

What do the “Small sack of coins” contain?

I was lucky and found 10“Small Sack of Coins” and they contained the following:

• 11 silver    27 copper
• 6 silver    58 copper
• 9 silver    62 copper
• 6 silver    12 copper
• 5 silver    10 copper
• 7 silver   75 copper
• 1 silver   16 copper
• 4 silver    37 copper
• 7 silver    32 copper
• 1 silver   44 copper

What do the “Fat sack of coins” contain?

I only managed to fine two of these and they contain gold unlike the “Small Sack of coins” as their name suggests.

• 1 Gold – 1 Silver – 97 Copper
• 1 Gold – 3 Silver – 86 Copper

What do the “Sack of Gems” contain?

These are much more exciting as they contain lots of gems which is great if you like to sell lots of shiny things in the auction house like me! I managed to find two “Sack of Gems” and they contained the following items.

Sack 1

• 3x Tigereye   
• 1x Small Lustrous Pearl   
• 1x Lesser Moonstone   
• 1x Jade

Sack 2

• 1x Malachite   
• 2x Tigereye       
• 1x Moss Agate       
• 1x Lesser Moonstone   
• 1x Jade

Invincible Mount

While idly wandering around Dalaran landing strip I came across a wierd and wonderful mount that apparently can be dropped by the “Lich King” on a 25 man Heroic Dungeon.

Intravenous Healing Potion

While traveling through Stormwind I came across a “Intravenous Healing Potion” just sat there out side the auction house.

After further investigation this item it can be purchased from “Angelique Butler” the First Aid supplier of Dalaran. Worth looking at!

Screenshot: Halls of Lightning

While on the Halls of Lightning Dungeon I passed over a bridge and when looking down saw these amazing statues/robots or whatever you wish to call them.
Click on the image to make it larger, worth a mention.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Boot Screen

The above screenshot is the update screen of BETA: Cataclysm

Its time to download the latest patch (4.0.1)

With the upcoming new expansion from Blizzard – Cataclysm they have made a pre-release patch which has few but very significant changes to the game. One major thing being Hunters will start the game with a level 1 pet instead of going out and taming one, and the removal of Ammunition meaning you wont run out of bullets or arrows ever again.
The following information has been taken from Blizzard’s website and is subject to change when they release their patch in the upcoming weeks.

“General

• Cataclysm Launcher Update
  • The new Cataclysm Launcher allows you to stream game data while you play. This will reduce the time you spend downloading, installing, and patching World of Warcraft. We'd like to get your feedback on the toolset and gameplay experience. Please head to the forums here for additional information.
• Reforging
  • Players can now visit special Reforging NPCs in capital cities located near Enchanting trainers. 40% of any one secondary stat on an item can be can be allocated to add a new secondary stat to the item. The stat being added cannot already exist on the item. An item cannot have more than one reforged stat at a time, though the Reforging of an item can be undone and changed.
• Copied Test Realm characters are not copied with their achievement history in order to better facilitate the character copy process.

Classes: General

• Many class talents, spells, and abilities have been overhauled, added, or removed.
• All spell and ability tooltips will now display damage averages rather than minimum and maximum damage potential. This feature is on by default but can be changed via the Display settings under User Interface options.
• Ammo has been removed from the game.
• The character levels at which classes gain new spells and abilities have changed.
• Many item and class stats have been changed or removed.
• Mastery rating has been added as a new stat which provides unique benefits for characters based on class and talent specialization. Mastery rating does not currently exist on items in the game, however, Reforging can be used to add Mastery rating as a secondary stat to existing items.
• Rage has been normalized.
• Spells and abilities no longer have multiple ranks and now scale with character level.
• Talent trees have been altered. All player talent specializations have been reset, allowing for free re-specialization.
  • Each specialization has been reduced to a 31-point talent tree.
  • Players will now get a total of 41 talent points to spend.
  • Players will be asked to choose a specialization at level 10. Doing so will result in the unlocking of a spell or ability unique to that specialization, as well as one or more passive bonuses.
  • Once a talent specialization has been chosen, players may only place points in the primary tree until at least 31 points have been spent there.
  • The initial announcement regarding these talent tree changes can be found on our Cataclysm forum.

Death Knights

• A dedicated tanking tree (Blood) has been implemented.
• The effects of Blood Presence and Frost Presence have been exchanged.
• The way in which runes recharge has changed.

Druids

• A new Eclipse mechanic has been added for druids.

Hunters

• Five pets can now be stored with the hunter at all times. Any one of these five pets can be summoned via the Call Pet ability.
• Focus has replaced mana as a new resource.
• Hunters now start with a pet at level 1.
• The Stable will now store 20 pets. If a pet is moved into the Stable, its talents are wiped.

Mages

• There is now a new spell fly-out UI feature for mage portals. Clicking on the Teleport or Portal buttons will expand the list of choices available.

Paladins

• Paladins now have a new resource bar.

Warlocks

• There is now a new spell fly-out UI feature for warlock pets. Clicking on this single button will open up the list of available pets to summon.
• Soul Shards have been removed from the game as items. Instead, they now exist as a resource system necessary for using, or altering the mechanics of certain spells.

Items

• Resilience no longer reduces the chance a player will be critically hit by an opponent.
• Durability: cloth, leather, and mail now have as many points of durability as plate, making the repair cost on death much closer to equal for all classes.

Professions

• The glyph system has been updated to now feature three different types of glyphs. Many class glyphs have been added, altered, or moved to different glyph types.

User Interface

• Spell Alerts have been added to notify players when procs on select spells and abilities occur. A visual notification will display around the character and the activated ability will be highlighted on the action bar.
• The Arena Teams pane has been improved.
• The Character pane has been redesigned. Character stats can now be shown or hidden via the Show All Details/Hide All Details button on the bottom left. When shown, all character stats will be visible in a window to the right of the pane. Stat sections can be reorganized by clicking and dragging them up or down the pane.
• The Professions panes now have more filtering and search functionality, as well as buttons to easily link recipes in the chat frame.
• A Professions screen has been added to the Spellbook to better display the details of a character's primary and secondary professions.
• Many of the yellow System Messages that would display in the chat frame when leveling up have been removed.
• New text animations now alert players as they level up, also providing information on when new talents, spells and abilities are available.
• Professions and Class Trainers windows have been altered to more clearly display available and upcoming purchases.
• New Raid frames are now. They can also be used in place of the standard 5-player party interface via the User Interface options.
• The Spellbook interface has been improved for greater ease-of-use and visual appeal.
• For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros forum.”

Content from http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/testrealm.html

Brewfest: Pint-Sized Pink Pachyderm

Another expectancy to see while drunk through the “Brewfest” festival is the “Pint-Sized Pink Pachyderm” You can purchase this companion from the brewfest vendors in Ironforge for 100 Brewfest tokens.

As you can see from the screenshots its basically a “Mini-Pink Elephant” probably something to do with the “Fantasia” film created by Disney in the 80s.

Brewfest: Wolpertinger

While the Brewfest festival is going you are sure to get smashed. Be watchful and you may come across “Wild Wolpertinger”. You can actually buy these from the Brewfest vendors for tokens.


The wolpertinger is obviously one of those companion creations that some Blizzard nut thought would be good on a friday night out at their local pub. The wolpertinger is basically a rabbit however it has antlers like a deer and the wings of a bird.
Awesome!

Blizzard WOW vs Avast Antivirus

Today I tried to access world of warcraft but alas Avast Antivirus had decided that it was a malware threat.

If you are experiencing this issue I believe that it is a false positive and should be reported to Avast.
The way to get around this is by adding Blizzard to your Exclusion List.

You can do this through avast by:

1. Right click on your avast system tray icon and select "Open avast! user interface".
2. Click on "Real time shields"
3. Click on "Expert Settings"
4. Click on "Exclusions"
5. Press the "Add" button
6. Press the "Browse" button on the blank row
7. Select the location of your Blizzard folder (eg. C:\Program Files(x86)\Blizzard\*
8. Click "Ok".

Thats all you need to do - play wow as normal.