If you’ve rolled orcs, trolls and taurens in quick succession in World of Warcraft, you might have gotten tired killing boars and raptors in same old Northern Barrens for those lowbie levels.

But in Cataclysm, the nearby Azshara zone has been re-designed to be an alternative level 10-20 quest hub for the Kalimdor-based Horde races plus their small, green new allies–the Goblins. Continue Reading

If Blizzard has its way, trolls can no longer stay anonymous when posting in the official forums. (And no, I’m not talking about those lanky trolls preparing to take back Echo Isles.)

Blizzard announced on Tuesday that the World of Warcraft forums will be using the Real ID system. Continue Reading

Icecrown Citadel had once been the final frontier of World of Warcraft raiding, too dangerous for uncoordinated noob guilds to conquer. But last March, Blizzard softened the  challenge of ICC with new faction buffs, which has been scaling upward over the past months.

The Strength of Wrynn and Hellscream’s Warsong buffs which stood at 15% increased total health, healing done and damage dealt has been raised to 20%. The number of attempts allotted for all final ICC wing bosses on Heroic difficulty has also been increased to 50.

This has been the third 5% increase for the ICC buffs since it launched at a small 5%. At the monthly rate the increments have been released, the max 30% buff could go live by end-July.

With such a hefty boost in overall performance for all roles, it’s no surprise the buffs have become a fixture in ICC raiding.Turning them off will only gimp a group relative to their peers since there is no incentive for fighting bosses buff-free–no increased loot, gold or even acknowledgment in-game. But failure will punish them with lost progression ranking and time spent wiping.

While the initial complaint against the ICC buffs has simmered somewhat, hardcore factions still insist the buffs have “dumbed down” the encounters to tank-and-spank levels. Blizzard though seems contented with the increased participation among more casual raiders with the buffs’ help.

A trend seen nowadays is to clear content first with the buffs on, then switch them off to pump up the difficulty next time around. Some even expect the Lich King to be fully PUGgable when the max 30% hits, like it’s a magical pill that can substitute for non-fail coordination. We’ll see–but I doubt it.

Celestial Steeds are on the loose, and our friends at EpicToon.com want you capture one for free by joining their Celestial Steed Contest.

The contest is open to their World of Warcraft customers until the end of the month, with four lucky winners receiving the prize. We’ve also compiled some trivia on the Celestial Steed so you’ll know why this prized horsey is all the rage in Azeroth:

Scaling Mount Speed. The Celestial Steed automatically upgrades its speed as the player advances in Riding skill.

“For example, the Celestial Steed will run at normal ground speed if the character knows Apprentice Riding, and epic ground speed with Journeyman Riding. The mount will be able to fly at normal flight speed with Expert Riding, and at epic flight speed with Artisan Riding. In addition, if the character has a 310%-speed flying mount in his or her collection, the Celestial Steed will also fly at 310% speed,” explained Blizzard.

Account-wide Mount. All present and future characters on your account will be given their own Celestial Steed. So if your account has 20 alts and you plan to create several more Worgen or Goblin toons when Cataclysm hits, all of them will get a copy of the mount.

Cosmic Visuals. The Celestial Steed has the same animations as Hippogryph flying mounts, but looks like the cosmic cousin of Arthas’ mount Invincible with its constellation ligaments. Its body also emits dust sparks that follows behind once you start galloping. While AFKing in Dalaran, you’ll also notice the same sparks appearing beneath its hooves and that only its armor forms a shadow–an ethereal quality from being borne in the Twisting Nether.

Echo Sounds. The Celestial Steed has a special horse neigh and this can be heard when you jump and land. Its wings also produce a flapping echo during flight.

Helps you get another exotic mount. The Celestial Steed counts toward the uber-hard achievement Mountain o’ Mounts, which rewards a player who collects 100 mounts with the equally awesome-looking Blue Dragonhawk Mount.

Charmed enough? Well, join the Celestial Steed contest and go rein in those adorable ponies!