There's a 100% bonus exp event going on this weekend (until December 29th). Get leveled while you can!
Merry Christmas!!!
Don't forget to pick up your Winterveil presents under the tree in Ironforge!
LotRO pictures for the 16th Anniversary have been added to the Landroval Events page.
Check out the latest hotfixes.
The Feast of Winterveil is upon us!
See how the Grommash statue at Blizzcon 2014 was made in the new blog From the Forge – Making Grommash Hellscream.
Yule festival is going!
More updates to Terran unit info on the Blizzard website. See it in the blog You're Going in with the Big Guns.
We also got an update on the next expansion concerning multiplayer adjustments.
For those interested, you can see the new ladder maps for season 1 of 2015.
Going through old files, I found that the WoW and LotRO celebrations for the 16th Anniversary did not make it up yet to those guild branches' Events pages. You can now find the WoW celebration up. The LotRO celebration will be up soon.
I was reminded I hadn't announced the LotRO news for the meeting, so here it is now :}
The LotRO servers are going to be down Monday, December 15th to update to patch 15.1.
I do my best to offer the gaming news I think people will be interested in for the Games Site, but I can't catch it all :} Any members who would like to help keep me up to date on gaming news you think might be of interest to the Valar Guild (i.e., patch releases, new game releases, etc. for games we play, or games you play and would like to see more Valar Guild members in) feel free to e-mail me said news and I'll take a look and try to get it up here. Links to the announcements help :}
Check out the latest hotfixes.
Also, the Feast of Winterveil will be starting this week. Get the achievements while you can!
The PTR patch notes have been updated.
"The Story of Diablo" on Blizzard's site has also been updated to reflect the story in Reaper of Souls.
Hearthstone's first expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes, is out! Check out the patch notes!
A new blog has been posted: From the Bullpen: Heroes and Villians.
A new iteration of the Games Site has been launched! Thank you to Varda for helping me try to make sure everything worked. Among the changes are:
Highmaul opened this week on normal difficulty. See the blog Warlords of Draenor: Journey into Highmaul for a schedule of when other difficulties are opening.
You can also check on the latest hotfixes.
More Zerg unit info is up.
Patch 2.1.7. has been released.
Patch 2.0.0.7234 is out, and cards for the expansion are already available in the arena .
The expansion will be launching December 8th. Yes, that soon!
A new Dev Insight blog has been posted. They've also said coming soon are model and skin updates.
You can check out the latest technical alpha patch notes.
Check out the Artcraft on the Blood Elf models and the Tier 17 raid sets.
Bofur and Nob are the first to make it to 100! Eonwë was next by a couple of days :}
WoW's 10th Annvisary is going! Log in for your own molten corgi! If you get to 100 and get an average item level of 615, you can give the Molten Core LFR a try for a guaranteed mount and achievement (for beating Ragnaros), and a chance at other goodies! The event goes until January 6th, so get it while you can!
A new blog on the Journey into HighMaul and a video on the new character models has been posted.
Be sure to check on the recent hotfixes too.
More Protoss unit info is up.
There's also an update on multiplayer in Legacy of the Void.
For those interested, League Season 4 has begun.
Patch 2.1.2 is up on the PTR. Check out the PTR patch notes as well.
Two more looks into the coming expansion have been posted: Goblins vs Gnomes: Spare Parts and Goblins vs Gnomes: Mechs!
For those interested, November 2014 season is ending soon.
Warlords of Draenor is live!
For Warlords of Draenor, see the patch notes, the Feature Overview, and the recent hotfixes.
See the new Beasts of the Savage Lands blogs on Nagrand and the Spires of Arak, and Part 4 of the Garrisons blog.
See the recent hotfixes.
The Goblins vs Gnomes website is up and they're showing some new cards.
See what actions they've taken against botting.
Warlords of Draenor is live!
Blizzcon was this weekend. Some things they had included a documentary, a Q&A Panel Roundup, and a Class Changes and More Panel.
The game guide was updated to include Garrisons.
See the recent hotfixes.
The next expansion for Starcraft2, Legacy of the Void, has been officially announced! See the official page! Read the previews of Archon Mode, Multiplayer, and the Campaign!
See the Season 2 First Look.
See the Fireside chat recap and read about Hearthstone's first expansion: Goblins vs Gnomes!
Some new things have been announced at Blizzcon: ranked play and draft mode, new heroes and battlegrounds, and the beginning of the closed beta (January 13th).
Blizzard has also announced their next new IP: Overwatch!
Update 15:Gondor Aflame is out! See the release notes and known issues.
Servers will be brought down Monday November 10th 700a to 1200p Eastern for a hotfix.
Four Artcraft blogs on level design have been released. See Artcraft - Level Design Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Character Pages were updated for Khadgar and Velen.
See the patch notes for 6.0.3 and the recent hotfixes.
See updates to the Starcraft 2 pages with the blog Protoss Spotted!
Patch 1.3.0.6898 has been released.
Blizzard has put up updated level 90 crash course videos for the various classes.
See the latest hotfixes.
There's a new blog up: Beasts of the Savage Lands - Gorgrond.
You can also see Behind the Scenes of Lords of War.
Patch 2.1.6 has been released.
Harvestmath is going.
Patch 6.0.2 has been released! The Iron Horde is upon us, and they've crushed our stats underfoot! OK, Blizzard squished the stats, but see that and more of what happened in the patch notes. Then take a look at the hotfixes. Get in on the pre-expansion events!
Hallows End is also here, with new pets, new masks, some costumes, and gear now at item level 540, equivalent to normal(formerly flex) raid gear.
If you were waiting for the last minute to complete anything before Warlords of Draenor, it's here. The pre-expansion patch comes to WoW October 14th.
More on garrisons in Garrison Preview Part 2 - Who Are You Calling Your People?
A new comic, Blackhand, is available for reading and download.
New Terran Tech Schematics were posted.
For those interested in PvP, the current PvP season is coming to an end soon.
See what's going to happen with Brawler's Guild: Season Two.
A series of shory stories have been released called Tales of Pandaria.
A Dungeon Preview blog has also been posted.
Patch 2.1.5 was released this week.
Happy 17th Anniversary!
The Games Site Mass-Update has completed. Please check your gaming info to make sure it's correct. If it's not, or it's not there, e-mail me to correct it!
Patch 6.0.2 is now on the background downloader.
A new preview for garrisons has been put up. See Garrison Preview Part 2 - All Buildings Great and Small.
The fifth Lords of War cinematic has been released: Lords of War: Part 5 - Maraad.
It's last call for Mists of Pandaria-era Challenge Mode, Brawler's Guild, and Siege of Orgrimmar heirlooms! Here's the announcement.
A new feature is coming: Undelete Character.
Patch 2.1.1 has been released.
Patch 2.1.4 has been released.
Patch 1.2.0.6485 has been released.
There's alot of WoW news this week.
The PTR patch notes have been updated.
Two new blogs have been released, one on facial customization in Warlords of Draenor and the other on changes to the graphics engine.
The fourth Lords of War cinematic has been released: Lords of War: Part 4 - Kilrogg.
If you're looking to get the legendary cloak from Wrathion's quests, you need to complete it before the expansion goes live.
Finally, Blizzard is planning to free up character names from characters that have no been used in a long time. Read the announcement for more info.
Update 14.2 was released. See the patch notes for what changed.
Heroes of the Storm is soon entering the final phase of technical alpha.
The 6.0.2 patch is now up on the PTR. You can check out the patch notes as well as a preview of the user interface changes.
More information has been released about the 10th Anniversary events.
The third Lords of War cinematic has been released: Lords of War: Part 3 - Durotan.
Update 14.2 will be going live Monday September 15th. Servers will be down from 6am to 1pm Eastern time.
More updates have been made to the Terran unit information pages as mentioend in the blog You Aren't Going In Alone.
The next Lords of War cinematic has been released: Lords of War: Part 2 - Grommash.
The Games Site Mass-Update has begun! Send in your most recent gaming info by September 30th!
The beta patch notes have been updated.
Patch 2.1.0 has been released. The first season began Friday. Check the blog for details.
Blizzard's also updated their site to reflect rankings and the patch 2.1.0 changes.
The public test realm is now up for patch 2.1.4.
If you want to get the first wing of Naxxramas free, you have until October 8 to do so.
A Dev Insight blog has been posted: Developer Insights: The Heart of a Queen.
The LotRO Player table has been updated to reflect the new level cap of 100.
See Garrosh's plans to form the Iron Horde begin in the new short story. new short story.
Also see the updated list of connected realms.
The game guide has been updated to include information from the Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil edition on consoles.
There is now a preview of Greater Rifts.
The Curse of Naxxramas: Frostwyrm Lair is now open.
A new Artcraft has been released on Dem Trolls, Mon.
A blog has also been posted on Group Finder changes: Premade Groups: Looking for Adventure.
Last, but not least, the release date for Warlords of Draenor was announced: November 13th. Follow the link to see the Cinematic. Check out the goodies in the Collector's Edition too. Also, get an idea of whats coming in the pre-expansion patch in the blog Prepare for Battle: The Pre-Expansion Iron Horde Excursion.
The 2.0.1 PTR patch notes have been updated.
Two preview blogs have been posted, one on Seasons and The Vault.
See the latest installment of the Science Corner: Intruder Detected.
The Curse of Naxxramas: Construct Quarter is now open.
Three new heroes were announced at Gamescon.
There's alot of WoW news for this week. First are the zone previews of the Spires of Arak and Nagrand.
Another update to the Warlords of Draenor Beta patch notes has been posted.
A free comic has been posted for download: Gul'dan and the Stranger.
An overview of another raid has been posted. Follow the link for more on Cracking Karazhan.
Finally, the two biggest pieces of news. For World of Warcraft's 10th Anniversary, Blizzard has big, big plans. See what they're doing to help us revisit the "good ol' days" of Tarren Mill vs Southshore and Molten Core as they're Gearing Up to Celebrate 10 Years of World of Warcraft.
Last is the reveal of the Warlords of Draenor Cinematic and release date coming August 14th. Join them in person or on worldofwarcraft.com and remember to Save the Date! You’re Invited to a Warlords World Premiere.
The 2.0.1 PTR patch notes have been updated.
The Curse of Naxxramas: Military Quarter is now open.
A blog on Matchmaking Design was posted this week.
There's a new Artcraft on facial customization.
Another update to the Warlords of Draenor Beta patch notes has been posted this week.
Some interesting information has been posted about 3 zerg species, as announced in The Science Corner - Zerg Specimen Analysis.
Server maintenance will be going on Monday, August 4th from 6am to 10am Eastern.
A new Artcraft featuring the female Tauren model has also been posted, as well as a look at the undead male model.
Another update to the Warlords of Draenor Beta patch notes has been posted.
Update 14.1 will be released Monday. Servers will be down from 7a to 11a Eastern time. Patch notes can be found here.
There's been a balance update.
It's Starcraft 2's fourth Anniversary! See how Blizzard is celebrating and what goodies you can get!
The first addition to Hearthstone has been released: Curse of Naxxramas.
Update 14 was released this week. See the patch notes for what's been added.
A new letter from Executive producer Aaron Campbell was posted to the LotRO forums discussing the LotRO team's goals for 2014.
Two zone previews were put up this week, one of Talador and Gorgrond.
A preview of Ashran has also been posted.
A look at the denizens of Shadowmoon Valley has also been released.
Finally, the Warlords of Draenor Beta patch notes have been updated.
The 2.0.1 PTR patch notes have been updated.
A new Artcraft has been posted. See the changes to the male of Draenei, Son of Draenor.
The Warlords of Draenor beta patch notes have been updated.
Blizzard posted a blog about how cheating is and can be dealt with in Starcraft 2. You can read the blog Play Nice, Play Fair - How We Fight Cheating in Starcraft 2 for more info.
The 2.0.1 PTR patch notes have been updated.
Game Servers and the account website will be down Monday for maintenance and for updating to Update 14 from 6am to 1pm Eastern time.
A preview of Frostfire Ridge has been put up, as well as a blog on the beasts that live there: Beasts of the Savage Land - Frostfire Ridge.
Blizzard has posted a blog about the level 70 raid The Black Temple.
Finally, Blizzard has "found" some more footage following the events of the Mists of Pandaria opening cinematic.
Warlords of Draenor has moved on from Alpha and is now in Beta!
A brief Artcraft has been released on the Human Male model update: Artcraft: Champion of Stormwind.
A preview of another zone in Warlords of Draenor has been release: Tanaan Jungle:Assault on Another World.
The Battle.net Desktop App will be the launcher for WoW soon.
The game servers and account servers will be down Monday, June 30th 6:00am to 3:00pm Eastern time.
The launcher for Starcraft 2 will also be moving to the Battle.net Desktop App.
Patch 2.1.0 is on the PTR. You can check out the PTR patch notes for details.
Midsummer Fire Festival is going.
A preview for Shadowmoon Valley has been posted this week.
An update has been made to the Orc female's character viewer.
A new blog was posted, giving a preview of the patch 2.1 PTR.
The LotRO game servers and account page will be down on Monday, June 23 from 6am to 11am eastern for maintenance.
Patch 2.0.6 was released this week. See the patch notes for details.
It looks like Warlords of Draenor is now officially in Alpha.
Check out the current status of stats for Warlords of Draenor in the new Dev Watercooler: Stat Updates for Warlords of Draenor.
According to the most recent connected realms update, Lothar is scheduled to be connected to the realm Grizzly Hills on June 19.
LotRO game servers and the turbine account page will be offline on Monday, June 09th from 7am to 12pm Eastern for an update to the launcher.
A new blog, Garrisons Preview Part 1 - Your Base on Draenor gives us a look at some of what's coming for garrisons.
The character viewer has also been updated with previews of the gnome female and tauren male.
We've been given a peek at something in the conceptual stages in a new artcraft. Check out Artcraft - Concept: Class Accessories.
Patch 5.4.8 also came out this week, which includes 2 more upgrade levels for the 5.4 gear.
Patch 2.1.2 has been released this week.
A new Artcraft was released this week showcasing the work done on the Night Elf female model. Check out Artcraft - Huntress of Teldrassil.
Patch 5.4.8 is on the PTR.
Patch 2.0.5a for Diablo 3 is out, coming out the day after Patch 2.0.5.
Diablo 3's anniversary is going from May 15 to May 22. During this time, the drop rate on legendaries and rift fragments has been increased.
LotRO game servers and the turbine account page will be offline on Monday, May 19th from 6am to 10am Eastern.
Two new blogs have been posted by Blizzard. First is an announcement on what will be happpening to Siege of Orgrimmar in 6.0. The second is an Artcraft on the Spires of Arak.
Update 13.1 came out Monday.
Blizzard has released 3 blogs detailing the history and current direction of raids in WoW, with a look at Warlords of Draenor. Check out Dev Watercooler: Raiding Azeroth, Part 1, A Look Back, Part 2, From Cataclysm to Today, and Part 3, Warlords of Draenor.
Blizzard also released a blog post on the future of PvP. Check out Warlords of Draenor: Equipping for Battle.
Update 13.1 is coming Monday, and with it some server downtime.
Update 13: The Breaking of Isengard launched earlier this week. See the patch notes for more info.
In other news, the next class has been announced: the Beorning! See this and more info to come in LotRO in this letter from Executive Producer Aaron Campbell
Updates have been made to the Warlords of Draenor Alpha Patch Notes.
Artcraft previews have been released for both the Draenei Female and Tauren Male!
Patch 2.0.4 has been released.
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is now in Alpha! Interested in the early phase of what's going to change? Check out the Alpha patch notes! Remember this is still alpha and things are subject to change.
A new round of answers have been posted in Ask Creative Development - Round 4.
An update on the End of Challenge Mode Season has been posted.
If you've missed the April Fools jokes Blizzard posted, you can see them here.
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls is out!
A new dev watercooler has been posted: Building Healthy Gameplay.
Patch 2.1.1 is live. See the patch notes for more info.
Patch 2.0.2 is live. See the patch notes for more info.
A preview of the Warcraft heroes that will be part of Blizzard's upcoming MOBA has been put up on the Heroes of the Storm official site.
There's also previews for the Starcraft heroes and Diablo heroes.
Some more Warcraft updates.
We have a new Dev Watercooler discussing the upcoming skill and stat changes in Warlords of Draenor: Pruning the Garden of War.
We also have some updates on Connected Realms.
Diablo 3 has had some updates as well.
Pre-Order loot for the Reaper of Souls expansion has been revealed. See it here.
Patch 2.0.1, the pre-expansion patch, has also been released. Check out the patch notes to see what's changed.
Or, you can check out Blizzard's game guide, which has been updated to reflect the changes.
Should you want an amusing overview of some of the bigger changes, you can also check out the Blizzard article "Are You Prepared For 2.0.1?"
Not to be left out, Starcraft 2 has had a balance update.
Sapience has posted to the LotRO forums a letter from executive producer Aaron Campbell.
In Guild News, Varda, our LotRO Kin Leader, is looking to do a kin auction every other week. Read the announcement on the Guild's main news page if for some reason you haven't yet :}
Several pieces of Warcraft news are available this week as well.
First, patch 5.4.7 came out. See the patch notes for more details.
Second, we have some information on the coming pvp updates .
Third, we have an artcraft featuring the Orc Female model as well as an update to the Warlords of Draenor Site showing Dwarf Female model.
Finally, some information on the next set of connected realms.
Several pieces of Warcraft news are available.
First, Blizzard has released a look at the artistic development of Garrisons for Warlords of Draenor.
Second, they have updated the Characters of Warcraft section of the Community Site.
Third, they have announced that the challenge mode season for Mists of Pandaria will be ending with a patch preceding Warlords of Draenor. This means anyone who wants the rewards (titles, mounts, and/or transmog gear) currently available will want to get it before this patch comes. They will make an announcement when this expected to happen, but for now you can get some more info here.
Finally, there have been two New Player Guides posted by Blizzard for Elwynn Forest: one for levels 1-5 and one for levels 5-10.
Blizzard has posted an article discussing their goals for the character model update, along with a first look at the improvements for the human female model. See it here!
Patch 12.2 has been released. Check out the patch notes for more info!
Patch 2.1 has been released! Check out the patch notes for more info!
Blizzard has also posted an article about the new art tools now available to modders.
Finally, there is a new arcade website for the Blizzard Arcade.
Looks like Blizzard is about ready to make its new desktop app the launcher by which all Blizzard games will be accessed, as with the 2.0.1 patch it will replace the launcher for D3. See the announcement here.
Lunar Festival starts today.
Blizzard shared a little bit of info about what to expect for pre-orders of the Warlords of Draenor expansion for WoW, particularly related to the free level 90 boost and the possibility of purchasing a boost for multiple characters. See more in the scouting report.
Two new previews for the next patch 2.1. The first is on extension mods, and the second on more levels and level rewards.
Data for the Reaper of Souls expansion patch as well as the pre-expansion patch is available now on the background downloader. See here for more info.
Sapience has invited players on each server to take his Hobbits to Isengard. Follow that link for more info on when and how to participate.
I've made some adjustments to the Games Site, among them removing the submenus that popped up on mousover of items in the main menu on the left, since it doesn't work well for several screen sizes and resolutions. You can still access those menus same as before as pages of the Games Site by clicking on the menu items themselves.
The Feast of Winter Veil is over, but the Darkmoon Faire is going!
Yule Festival is going until January 14th!
Happy New Year!
The Valar Guild Games Site is maintained by Eonwë-(Valar).