The official patch notes have been updated for the Patch 3.1 PTR. You can see a complete list of changes after the break, or take a look at the fully updated notes. This update is much more substantial than the one we posted a couple nights ago. Nonetheless, it has been added to our Patch 3.1 patch notes archive. Via the archive you can also view other iterations of the patch notes to see how things have changed. As always, these notes should be considered incomplete (it’s in bold because we can’t say it enough). A number of things that are on the PTR are not reflected in the patch notes, and several things that will eventually be on the PTR aren’t in the notes either (many of the class changes, for example). Check out WoW Insider’s Guide to Patch 3.1 for more information. General New high-resolution player textures for Northrend armor sets have been added. Players can enable this feature by setting Player Textures to High in the Effects Panel of the Video Options. Players can now return items purchased with an alternate currency back to the original vendor within 2 hours of the purchase time for the original cost of the item. Stackable items (such as Frozen Orbs and gems) and charged items that can be

We here at WoW Insider and others around the WoW community have talked so much about the term “bring the player, not the class” that I’m a little surprised we haven’t started shortening it to “BTPNTC.” But apparently I, at least, have not really understood what Blizzard meant by it when they said it was part of their new philosophy of balancing for raids. Ghostcrawler basically QFTs another forum poster who said the following: “Blizzard has repeatedly stated they didn’t mean any class will be identical to all other classes in effectiveness for your last raid slot. Blizzard has provided a wow goldbunch of options you can choose from to get Replenishment, but expects you to choose one of those options. If any choice were a valid choice, there would be no incentive to think about the choice you make. Blizzard wants you to think about your group composition.” As you may have gathered, this is in the contest of “A plea to remove Replenishment.” What Blizzard, then, apparently means by BTPNTC is that it’s now easier to get your (semi-)required buff and debuff coverage, not that you can do it with any old group. Sort of like threat for tanks, the mini-game of

The naked night elves. The dueling fanatics. The motorcycle guy. The hunter in Black Mageweave and bunny ears. The terrifying shirtless dwarf. All of these people have at one time wiped your PUG. And now they’re raiding together. Actually, the members of <Running With Scissors> on Dawnbringer just decided to play around a little bit while waiting for their Ulduar 25-man to fill up. Glisoarin (the male draenei on the motorcycle) snapped a candid shot of a non-catform catfight between skyclad druids Furianne and Lunarblossom. Was it for blackmail or for his private collection? The world may never know. Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We’d love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word “Azeroth” in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing — use alt-Z to

Warning: There’s a bit of sex bits in here, which might weird you out a bit. M is for Muchacho was suggested to me by Art on the tip line. Uploaded by Wuza, this video is actually one hell of an interesting freshman effort. The plot is a familiar one. A small group of compatriots are relaxing by their campfire when the king’s men come to harass them. Unable to pay their taxes, the cadre must train at the feet of a combat master in order to defend themselves when the king’s men return. What makes it so interesting to me? While the animation is basically made up of various in-game footage, “M is for Muchacho” shows a definite appreciation for story. At a run time of over 20 minutes, the story admittedly could have used a faster pace. Another option might have been to chop it up into smaller pieces. Regardless, Wuza was clearly trying to work on characterization, plot, and story-arc progression. (Also, I found the soundtrack choice for the muchachos’ training montage to be hilarious.) I hope Wuza keeps working and developing. I like story-based machinima, and I’m always eager to see new creators enter the fold. If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at

Good Morning, and welcome to another week of 3.1 PTR shenanigans. In the past week we’ve had a couple new builds, some rather heinous nerfs to certain tanking classes, and some pretty awesome new achievements and wow goldquests. We’re expecting more of the same this week, although I can’t help but pray for a few fewer nerfs, if possible. One thing we are also expecting this morning is some downtime, from 5 AM to 11 AM Pacific time. Since you’ll be bereft of WoW, we’ll do our usual and suggest you do some reading of WoW Insider. For example, you may want to check out back issues of The Queue or The Daily Quest and see if a question or link catches your eye. You can also read on after the break for our usual roundup of the best news and features from the past week. Hot News and Features If you play a tank, or even if you just group with them, you’ll want to read this article. It explains the current problems with tanking in Wrath and why the latest round of Druid and Death Knight nerfs went in. Time is Money, Friend. It is also a new feature here on WoW Insider. Not only has Noblegarden been extended to a week, but it will be required for that Violet Proto-Drake. Know a good guild that takes

Tonight on the US Patch 3.1 PTR Mimiron will be tested, and we’re bringing you the live stream of Alliance guild Symbolic Logic on Area 52. You’ll be able to watch them (hopefully) down the boss. Mimiron is a mechanical boss with a slew of abilities for players to deal with. He has two phases: one where he’s in his Levianthan MKII tank, and one where he’s got a VX-001 Anti-personnel Assault Cannon. While in his tank Mimiron will toss napalm out dealing AoE damage, fire a plasma blast, drop some mines, and chuck about rockets all while causing a blast wave. With his cannon he will deal fire damage to players within 80 yards of him, do some frontal cone damage, and charge up his lasers for a big ol’ blast that puts the BFG to shame. You can read more about him at WoWWiki. I should be a fun fight to watch! Edit: Comments are disabled for this post.