The Cataclysm beta character copy page is available for those select few who have keys. Our understanding is this is a very small group. You’ll know that you have a key and can copy your character over. If not, then you’re not in it, yet. Don’t fall for any scams.

Blizzard has not announced the opt-in procedures or any ways to get into the beta. When they do announce it, you’ll hear it here.

The page is accessible at: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/beta-charcopy/

UPDATE: Zarhym has confirmed the Cataclysm Friends and Family Alpha begins this week.

Well, the day has come: I finally decided to put together a gear guide for fresh level 80 healing priests. Many readers have been requesting this, and I figured I ought to stop teasing everyone with promises of it. I hope that this list, combined with the 101 guides we published in the past few months, will be enough to help my fellow fledgling priests find themselves somewhere in Azeroth. I can’t have you all getting lost before you have a chance to dive into that new, shiny Cataclysm water.

Before I get started, let it be known that this is not a list of any and all healing upgrades you can get after you hit 80. Instead it is a list of gear I would recommend to a healing priest who is trying to get the best gear he or she can without raiding or is trying to get enough gear to start healing in the current raiding content (Trial of the Crusader and Icecrown Citadel.) Since this is not a complete list, feel free to deviate from it when you find upgrades that work for you. A lot of items you find in heroics will be be better than the gear you are wearing from questing.

Now, let’s get started.

First off, please know that I will not and do not encourage you to spend your Emblems of Triumph on items from badge vendors with an item level lower than 232. This is because the additional 5-man dungeons added in patch 3.3 offer better or equal options to 226 or lower gear, and there is no sense in spending precious badges on gear you’re going to get in heroics you’re running anyway.

Second, know that this list will not concern itself with the best stat optimization for different specs. Min/maxing for heroic healing isn’t exactly necessary or feasible, so just take what you can get to start. Delicate stat tuning can occur later when you are downing heroic bosses and sipping your elite, English breakfast tea like the classy priest you are.

Finally, if you’re wondering what vendor items to buy first, the answer lies with what you already have on. Figure out what your worst piece of gear is and set out to upgrade it first. As you get more badges, just work your way up from worst to best; this way you’ll get the most bang for your badge each time you purchase some gear. Of course, if you have personal preferences toward upgrading to something else first (say, a pretty robe over a hideous quest robe), feel free to stray from this advice.

When you first hit 80, you will likely not be able to queue for heroics in your quest gear. Don’t waste your time toiling in normal dungeons, trying to find one upgrade at a time while getting no badges. Take some of that gold you made from questing and go to the auction house instead. Search for “Frostsavage” or “Black Duskweave” and you’ll find various 187 item level gear. Players who are leveling tailoring sometimes make these lower-level items and post them on the auction house, so you should be able to find some cheap pieces. (Obviously, if you’re already a tailor, you can make some upgrades yourself.) Don’t buy a full set of gear off the auction house! Just buy one or two pieces and then trying queuing for a heroic dungeon. If you still get an error message telling you that your gear isn’t good enough, buy another piece and repeat the process until you can queue. Alternatively, if you have a lot of gold to spare, look through the list below first and take note of the items that I suggest purchasing. A single piece of 245 gear is sometimes all you need to queue for your first random heroic dungeon.

Back

* Cloak of the Fallen Cardinal — Pit of Saron — Oddly, there aren’t too many cloak options available when you swear off old badge gear. Don’t be dismayed, though; this one is at least easily farmable off the last boss of normal Pit of Saron, Scourgelord Tyrannus.

* Cloak of Displacement — Dropped BoE — You can find this BoE cloak from Trial of the Crusader on the auction house if you’re lucky. It drops some stats into hit, so it’s not perfectly optimizied for healing, but if you have the gold to spare this is quite a significant step above Cloak of the Fallen Cardinal.

Chest

* Velen’s Robe of Conquest (Zabra’s Robe of Conquest) — 50 Emblems of Triumph — This is an obvious upgrade choice — so obvious that there isn’t much to say about it. I personally always upgrade my robes first when I hit 80, just to get out of the icky-looking quest robes.

* Merlin’s Robe or Royal Moonshroud Robe — Crafted BoE — If you don’t want the tier 9 bonuses and have some time or gold to spare, these crafted robes provide better stats than the 232 tier 9. These should be more affordable with the recent changes to tailoring cooldown cloth and frozen orbs, so it might be worth it to you gather up the mats and have one of these two robes made.

Feet

* Ice-Steeped Sandals — Pit of Saron — Just like with cloaks, there is a poor selection of footwear available to the non-raiding priest. These boots drop off of the first boss in normal Pit of Saron, Forgemaster Garfrost. So, while you’re farming your cloak, you can farm these boots as well.

* Sandals of Consecration — Crafted BoE — These are actually a pretty sound investment if you have the gold to spare. There aren’t many boot upgrades in Icecrown Citadel, so these crafted boots might be something you’d end up having made anyway.

Finger

* Band of the Invoker — 35 Emblems of Triumph — For your first finger slot, this ring offers a nice selection of stats.

* Heartmender Circle — 35 Emblems of Triumph — For the other slot, you can pick up this ring with MP5.

Hands

* Velen’s Gloves of Conquest (Zabra’s Gloves of Conquest) — 30 Emblems of Triumph — These gloves will likely be the easiest option you have to upgrade from your quest gear.

* Suspiciously Soft Gloves — Heroic Halls of Reflection — If you 1.) don’t want tier bonuses and 2.) don’t want to spend badges, then you can try hunting down these gloves from heroic Halls of Reflection. The stats are about on par with the tier, but they’re not as good as the tier, since they lack a gem socket.

Head

* Helm of Clouded Sight (Hood of Clouded Sight) — 75 Emblems of Triumph — This non-tier helm is my first choice to pick over the 232 tier 9 helm. The stats are better, and I consider a yellow gem slot more favorable than the blue socket in the tier.

* Velen’s Cowl of Conquest (Zabra’s Cow of Conquest) — 50 Emblems of Triumph — This is the 232 tier 9 helm for reference. If you end up picking up a non-tier piece in one of your other main items slots, this is an option for nabbing the tier bonuses.

Legs

* Velen’s Leggings of Conquest (Zabra’s Leggings of Conquest) — 50 Emblems of Triumph — These vendor tier 9 legs should provide a nice upgrade to whatever quest gear you’re wearing.

* Leggings of Woven Death or Lightweave Leggings — Crafted BoE — If you have a lot of extra gold, you could have these 264 legs crafted.

Neck

* Arcane Loops of Anger — Heroic Forge of Souls — You won’t have a good vendor option for your neck slot, so heroic Forge of Souls is going to be the place to look for an upgrade. This neck drops from the Devourer of Souls, the second boss.

* Love’s Prisoner — Heroic Forge of Souls — As I said above, there is no vendor neck option I would recommend. This neck, also from heroic Forge of Souls, drops off the first boss, Bronjahm.

* Blood Queen’s Crimson Choker — Dropped BoE — For the affluent Azerothian, this BoE neck from Icecrown Citadel will be an amazing upgrade.

Off-hand

* Shriveled Heart — Heroic Halls of Reflection — You can pair this with your Pit of Saron dagger to get the best, pre-raid weapons available. You can also link it in chat for the occasional bizarre or morbid joke. Not that I do things like that.

Shoulders

* Pauldrons of Revered Mortality (Mantle of Revered Mortality) — 45 Emblems of Triumph — Before you spend your badges on this, decide if you want to make use of the tier 9 four-piece bonus. If you do want the bonus, don’t buy these shoulders. If you don’t want the bonus, these shoulders will provide you better stat upgrades than 232 tier 9.

* Velen’s Shoulderpads of Conquest (Zabra’s Shoulderpads of Conquest) — 30 Emblems of Triumph — This is what you want to grab if you don’t plan on using your tier 9 four-piece bonus.

* Stiffened Corpse Shoulderpads — Dropped BoE — Here is another money bags option you can look for on the auction house. Should you be able to afford this and more, I wouldn’t pay mind to the set bonuses on the 232 tier 9 pieces.

Trinket

* Ephemeral Snowflake — Heroic Halls of Reflection — While this is far from being the best trinket you’ll ever find, it’s certainly a great start for a regen trinket. The use effect is rather “meh,” but you could treat it as a miniature “oh shit” button to speed up some casts in a bad moment. This trinket drops off Marwyn, the second boss in Halls of Reflection.

* Tears of the Vanquished — Trial of the Champion — This trinket is a decent option to farm out of normal Trial of the Champion. It should be easy to find a group to farm this trinket, since the other 200 level trinkets available in the dungeon are highly sought after by DPS classes.

* Je’Tze’s Bell — Dropped BoE — This is another one of those items I actually recommend saving your gold for, if you want a mana regen trinket.There are usually a couple of these trinkets available on the auction house, and it will set you back about 800 to 1,300 gold. I wouldn’t spend any more than that.

* Talisman of Resurgence — 50 Emblems of Triumph — I don’t care much for this trinket, but it is an option. The base intellect may help you out early on with pumping up your mana pool, but ultimately you’ll want to find a more active regen trinket. The trinket’s use effect isn’t bad, but it will be up to you to utilize.

Waist

* Braid of Salt and Fire — Heroic Pit of Saron — As I said earlier, don’t spend your badges on gear that has an item level lower than 232. This will unfortunately limit your options for certain gear slots, and the waist slot is one of them. This belt from heroic Pit of Saron (off the second boss, Ick) is the solution, although it may require some time or luck to acquire, seeing as it comes from a heroic dungeon.

* Strip of Remorse — Heroic Halls of Reflection — This belt is an alternative upgrade to the Braid of Salt and Fire. You’ll have to run heroics to get it, as well; it drops from the chest after you finish heroic Halls of Reflection.

* Cord of the White Dawn — Crafted BoE — This is the one case where I will list an item below 232 item level. The reason why is because with the cloth cooldown changes, this belt is significantly cheaper to craft than it once was, so if you have the resources to have it made you might as well. With the potential to attach three gems (two sockets, plus one from belt buckle enchant) you can get a tiny bit ahead of the spellpower on the two 232 belts I listed above. Weigh your costs though.

Wand

* Brimstone Igniter — 25 Emblems of Triumph — Even though this wand has hit on it, it’s cheap and easy to attain and will likely provide a decent spellpower upgrade to whatever you’ve got on.

* Soulsplinter — Heroic Halls of Reflection — If you don’t like the idea of spending your badges on hit gear and you are able to queue for heroic Halls of Reflection, this wand drops off the first boss, Falric.

* Nightmare Ender — Dropped BoE– If you have deep pockets, keep your eyes on the auction house for this wand from Icecrown Citadel.

Weapon

* Surgeon’s Needle — Heroic Pit of Saron — This is the weapon you’ll want to hunt down. Its the best weapon you’ll find without going into a raid, and it beats the Trial of the Champion weapons quite a bit on stats. This drops off the first boss of heroic Pit of Saron.

Wrists

* Bejeweled Wizards Bracers or Royal Moonshroud Bracers — Crafted BoE — Unlike most BoE items, the crafted 245 bracers are a bit more affordable to have crafted, especially with the recent changes to tailoring cloth cooldowns and frozen orbs. I would recommend putting in the time or gold to getting one of these bracers for yourself. As a note, the Royal Moonshroud Bracers tend to be more affordable.

* Wristguards of Subterranean Moss — Pit of Saron — The reason I recommend the crafted bracers so much is because these are the next, non-hit bracers you’ll find without raiding. Fortunately, they drop from normal Pit of Saron (off the second boss, Ick), so you can farm them until they drop.

* Bracer of Worn Molars — Heroic Halls of Reflection — These bracers have hit on them, but they’re a better upgrade in raw stats when compared to the Wristguards of Subterranean Moss. If you should come across them, you might as well bite the bullet and take the hit.

There! This list should keep you busy for a while. If you get all the gear above, you’ll be more than ready to dive into tier 9 raids like Trial of the Crusader or Onyxia’s Lair. You should be able to squeeze into Vault of Archevon groups prior to having all this gear too, so be sure to check those out; you might get lucky and get some better upgrades than what is listed here.

Blizzard released information on the 78-82 zone that will be released in Cataclysm. Below is the post from the horse itself.

Once a great Highborne city housing some of the most revered night elves of Kalimdor, Vashj’ir was swallowed by the Great Sea in the Sundering and thought to be lost forever. Queen Azshara, formerly a beloved leader of the Highborne, escaped death in the depths of the sea when the Well of Eternity imploded. Such salvation came at a great cost, as the queen and many of her fellow Highborne were forever transformed into the monstrous naga, doomed to wander the seas for thousands of years. Their existence mostly remains a mystery to the peoples of modern Azeroth, though the Earthen Ring has learned of Azshara’s naga seizing Vashj’ir for an unknown purpose as the cries of the elements echo across Azeroth from the Abyss.

The Sunken City

Vashj’ir is a level 78-82 zone in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm where players will be called to explore the depths of the Great Sea and stop the naga from seizing immeasurable power from the realm of Neptulon the Tidehunter. This expansive underwater zone will feature an unprecedented fight for survival against the naga overwhelming the area, several new quest hubs — including Alliance and Horde naval ships and submarines — all-new underwater travel and combat mechanics, several pocketed undersea caves free from water’s grip, two new five-player dungeons (Throne of the Tides and Abyssal Maw), and the first-ever opportunity to explore the remains of the once-majestic city of Vashj’ir!

Bottled Distress Message Found Adrift at Sea

Need your help. Time is short. I’m held captive in what I hope to be a nightmare.

Enjoying the ocean air just days ago. We were determined to control key trade routes through victory at sea over the Horde. Their fleet came into our scopes. Our world became the deafening sound of battle, the smell of gunpowder, and the feeling of fear. Looking back now, though, that wasn’t real fear.

We weren’t alone in those waters. Our naval warfare attracted attention and rendered us prey. With our vessel already torn apart and taking on water, we saw a tremendous creature rise from the depths and shatter the hull, sucking us down to the sea floor. It all happened so fast. I was quick to tread the waters, hoping to regroup with any survivors I could find through a dense garden of kelp, constantly gasping for a chance breath. That’s when the onslaught began. From all directions swarms of brutal naga swept through and captured a great many of us. Beaten near to death, I awoke in agony, bound in chains.

And here I still sit. I can only describe our prison as very big and somehow very much alive. We’re in the hands of the naga now. Surviving crewmates in better condition than me are driven into slave labor.

One escaped. Thomas. He didn’t make it far before I saw him dragged back. Before being forced into labor, he spoke in a panic about some large shell protecting this living prison, expansive night elf ruins in the distance, strange naga rituals underway, and sea vrykul battling our captors. He made little sense. Could be mad. Or I could be mad to hope vrykul are fighting to free us.

Prison patrols out again. Send word to Stormwind. Sunken city far from extinct. Naga plotting something horrific. Please help.

The worgen are a race of feral wolf-beasts whose very name inspires fear. Theories regarding their history abound, yet the worgen’s origins remain steeped in mystery.

Records indicate that the worgen existed for a time in Kalimdor. In fact, more recent evidence suggests that their true origin might have a connection to the night elves and a secretive druidic order from Kalimdor’s distant past. Yet until new evidence comes to light, this information remains speculative.

The worgen’s first verified appearance in the Eastern Kingdoms has been traced back to the Third War, when the archmage Arugal utilized the wolf-beasts as a weapon against the Scourge. Arugal’s weapons soon turned against him, however, as the curse of the worgen rapidly spread among the human population, transforming ordinary men and women into ravenous, feral creatures.

Arugal adopted many of the worgen as his own and retreated to the former mansion of Baron Silverlaine, the estate now known as Shadowfang Keep. The curse, however, was not contained. It persisted in the lands of Silverpine and extended even into the fabled walled nation of Gilneas, where the curse rapidly reached pandemic levels.

The citizens of Gilneas found themselves trapped, with no hope of escape. They retreated deeper within the isolated domain, and there they survived, fearful of the savage presence that lurked just outside the barricades.

Tensions among the displaced citizens escalated over time, resulting in a civil war that now threatens to destabilize the embattled nation even more.

There are those among the Gilneans, however, who cling to hope. Many believe that a treatment for the worgen curse may exist, although others have nearly given up, fearful that if the barricades should fall, their humanity will be lost forever.

Are you like fighting?Are you want to known the top arena fighters strategy?Are you want get the top arena fighters true experience?Here are the world of the gladiatoer to interview some of the top arena fighters on the battlegroups.Read the article as fellow,this will take you into the fighters world.

The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the gladiator to interview some of the top arena fighters on the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune and Frostwyrms.  If you’d like to be interviewed for The Colosseum, please feel free to contact us — be sure to include your armory as a link!

This week, The Colosseum had the pleasure of interviewing Salinelol, shadow priest of Illidan. Salinelol is a member of the rank 1 3v3 team on his battlegroup (US Rampage) and one of the world’s highest-rated shadow priests. Read on to find out what he has to say about priests, arena strategy and Cataclysm.

The Colosseum: Why do you play a shadow priest? What is it about the class’s toolbox that appeals to you for competitive arena?

Salinelol: I mostly like it because I’m so good at it, I don’t really like doing things that I don’t excel at. It was between priest and one of the faceroll classes, so I chose this. I pretty much like shadow’s ability to off-heal. The ability to off-heal and not run OOM (out of mana) if you’re good with your mana is a huge tool.

Very interesting. You mentioned that priest isn’t a faceroll class. What makes it more difficult to play than other classes?

Well, I think that it’s harder than some classes because of the priest’s need to decide between what to do in any given situation. The priest can do damage, focus on CC or damage reduction, or just out-heal the damage. Each of these come in handy for certain, specific situations.

Can you go into detail about your PvP spec?

Well, my spec is unique as far as I know, and I chose it for a mix of burst damage, burst opportunities and mana regeneration. With Mental Agility, most priests drop down to one point in Improved Mind Blast, but I chose to go 3/5 Shadow Power and 3/5 Improved Mind Blast so that although my burst wouldn’t crit quite as hard, you’d have it up more often. There are many burst opportunities in my 3v3 comp, shatterplay (shadow priest, frost mage, restoration shaman).

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done in arena? Don’t be modest.

I got a Resurrection off in the middle of the arena while all five of my opponents were alive, and none of them noticed.

Wow! That must have been exciting. Did you win the game because of your clutch Resurrection?

I have a feeling we would’ve won anyway, but it definitely improved our odds.

Very impressive. Speaking of your teams, what team compositions do you play? Who are your teammates?

I run shatterplay in 3v3 with Dan and Chillbro (Fearmeh/Reflexz). In 5v5 I run shadow priest, holy paladin, rogue and elemental shaman, with the fifth member being a frost mage or boomkin. My 5v5 teammates are Dan, Chillbro (Fearmeh/Reflexz), Sarquissed, Calgran and Kameltotemz. Both Dan and Chillbro are probably the best players I’ve played with, and each have rank one titles to show for it.

You’re rank 1 in 3v3 right now, are you planning on getting the title this season, or is it not a big deal?

We’ll grab it if we can, but we’re probably not going to stay up all night on the last day of the season making sure no one passes us.

Understandable. Why did you choose to play your 3v3 team makeup over other possible compositions?

Mostly because when I played [this composition] with my brother, I had a lot of fun with it. When he transferred his mage off of the server, Dan and I wanted to do something that we were familiar with and knew worked.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of your team?

One of our strengths is the ability to kill almost anyone in a global, because two casters in arena with Bloodlust are pretty fair [sarcasm]. The downside is teams with protection classes completely [dominate us] because of AoE Spell Reflects and control.

How do you work out target designation and swaps? Is one of you more vocal than the others?

We normally have a strategy in place, like when X does Y we do Z, but if we see a good opportunity to switch, all three of us will call it out. That said, I believe Chillbro to be the most vocal.

What are your favorite classes to kill on opposing teams? Why?

Hunters, warriors and paladins. They’re all so squishy when you control them. It’s just fun to watch them die so fast.

How has your team changed since you’ve started playing together?

We’ve gotten much more comfortable together — other than that, we haven’t changed much.

What’s your favorite bracket? Why?

3v3. With shadow in its current state, there’s just no going wrong with what you can run and how you can run it.

What do you think about Shadow Priests in arena right now? Are they overpowered, underpowered or balanced? Why?

Umm, overpowered, but compared to other classes right now — most likely balanced. Right now damage is really just out of control, and shadow priests just aren’t an exception to the rule.

That’s actually very interesting, imo. Even with all the resilience changes and fixes, damage still seems to be high. Do you think burst will be more controlled in Cataclysm? Do you have high hopes?

Honestly, I have no hopes for Cataclysm. The fact that they’re balancing around 10v10 means that nothing will ever die in arena, if they even balance [arena] at all.

A lot of gladiators “PvE to PvP” — they raid in order to get best-in-slot gear for arena. What do you think about this? Do you think some the best PvP gear should come from raiding?

I’m one of them [a gladiator who does PvE to PvP], if anyone looked at my armory they’d say “holy crap, that guy abuses PvE gear like no other.” I don’t think that [the best PvP gear] should come from PvE. PvErs aren’t forced to PvP for best-in-slot gear. Why should we be?

What do you think about priests in Cataclysm? Do the class changes fix some imbalances or make things worse? Why?

They make things worse. Life Grip is going to make them nerf everything but it, because they have no way of nerfing Life Grip except adding a longer cooldown to it. So all of the sudden you’re going to see priests with terrible spells with an “oh crap” button every 45 seconds. Blizzard doesn’t see it coming.

We all know the expression “everyone’s gotta start somewhere.” What was your starting point when you decided to pick up arena?

Season 2 was when I first got serious. I transferred to Doomhammer and got my first gladiator title with some of the best players I’ve ever played with. We ran shadow euro (shadow priest, frost mage, affliction warlock, shadowstep rogue and restoration druid). We played to rank 2, if I recall correctly.

If you had to narrow it down to only one thing, what would be the most important responsibility of a shadow priest in an arena match? Why?

Support, in any composition you play. It’s your job to let everyone else do their damage while your DoTs are ticking and you’re throwing in a little of your own.

What motivates you to keep playing?

Hatred for most of the players on the BG. I have the need to see them on the floor, and spam /sit on their faces at the end of an arena match. No but seriously, it’s most likely because I have nothing better to do.

What are you trying to improve?

Right now I’m trying to improve my targeting. I do it mostly through assists, but recently I’ve been keybinding them to scroll wheels and trying that out.

What’s the biggest thing that differentiates a good player from a great player?

I honestly couldn’t say. Dan does something or another and just doesn’t die, and I don’t know what makes me better than other shadow priests. If I had to say something, I’d say knowing exactly what you have to do and saving just the right amount of cooldowns for it, and then doing that consistently.

What’s your advice to players who want to start playing arenas for the first time?

Read up on ArenaJunkies.com and watch videos on Skill-Capped.com. It’ll help a lot to know what you have to do versus certain teams, and always keybind [abilities] + mouse turn.

Thank you so much for the great interview, Salinelol. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Not really good sir, just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity.

And the end,what do you think of the game world of warcraft?

This is the interviewing of the wow players who have playing the game world of warcraf many years.Thire can offer many experience to the new player who just play the game wow a little time of want to play the game now.

TGIF folks — that means it’s time for another installment of Ask WoW Insider. Last week we looked at the etiquette surrounding leaving an instance early as well as a bit of a trip down memory lane to highlight the best of Ask WoW Insider to date. This week we’ll be speculating about a lore issue: who is the most badass character of all in Warcraft history? Killah writes:
Because of the recent activity regarding the new expansion set Wrath of the Lich King, it has come to my interest to find out about more about the lore in Warcraft. I was reading about the Lich King, his rise and fall, on WoWwiki. It suddenly appeared to me that the Lich King indeed possessed great powers, but yet there must’ve been someone stronger than him. My question to you guys is: What character is the strongest (physically, magically, powerful, fearful) in Warcraft history? This character might be deceased now, but still might the strong throughout history.
Who’s your pick for the most badass Warcraft figure of all time (excepting Leeroy for simplicity’s sake)? Is it Illidan, or Neltharion, or that nasty murloc that pwned your ass in the Wetlands last week? Who’s your top of the tops?