What’s New:

The developers at Blizzard are not resting on their laurels, despite the incredibly successful launch of World of Warcraft in November 2004. Not only do they constantly tweak the gameplay by making slight adjustments to all aspects of it, but on a regular basis they also add new content, including quests, high-level monsters, treasure, and more.

In addition, make sure you log on during various holidays to see the world’s cities adorned with festive décor. Various non-player characters (NPCs) may also be decked out in appropriate garb, and you might even witness a few holiday-only events.

• Latest Patches Include: Blackwing Lair - The new high level raid dungeon, and home of Nefarian the dragon; The Darkmoon Faire traveling carnival; New Battlegrounds Battlemasters and much more.

• Battlegrounds: These battlefields are geared toward players who really enjoy PvP (Player versus Player) combat. The first two battlegrounds Blizzard has implemented, Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley, show two different approaches to the concept, one on a small scale and the other similar to an epic war. Both, however, reward players for defeating members of the other side, granting honor marks that they turn in for prestige and the opportunity to buy cool equipment.

  Horde players enter Warsong Gulch near Mor’Shan Rampart in the northern Barrens while Alliance characters look for the entrance south of Silverwing Outpost in Ashenvale. Each side requires at least eight players, and no more than ten, to start the contest. Characters need to be at least 21st level, but the battles are segregated into brackets: 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, and 51-60.

  Warsong Gulch battles unfold much like a capture the flag session in a first-person shooter: each side has a flag, and one of its members must grab his opponent’s banner and safely return to the home base. The first team to accomplish that three times is the winner. The map features power-ups that grant short-term bonuses, such as enhanced attack power or fleet feet.

  Alterac Valley, which is for players 51st level or higher, lies within the Alterac Mountains, which are north of Tarren Mill and south of The Undercity. Alliance characters enter through Stormpike, in the north, while Horde characters enter through Frostwolf, to the south. Each location is a town, complete with vendors, guards, and quest givers who offer assignments to the combatants.

  When you enter Alterac Valley, you’ll find a sprawling map full of challenges. In one cave, ice trolls guard fantastic treasure waiting to be grabbed by Alliance or Horde players. Each side’s territory also contains a mine full of supplies guarded by troggs and kobolds. And each team features a variety of high-level NPCs who join the action, including a captain who periodically shouts a rallying cry that gives all allied characters a bonus. Kill your enemy’s captain and they won’t get that bonus anymore.

  Your ultimate goal, however, is to help your side override the other one.
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  PvP Honor System: Depending on the type of server you join, you can attack members of the opposing faction in certain spots on the map. The PvP honor system enables you to earn points for every player or NPC of the other faction you kill, assuming they’re around your level. The number of honor points you earn decreases every time you slay the same target again, which should discourage you from killing another player and “camping,” or hanging around, the body.

  While you don’t earn dishonor for killing other players whose levels are much lower than yours, you do pick up dishonor points for knocking off NPCs who are labeled civilians. Players move up or down a list of 14 PvP ranks depending on their point totals. The more prestigious your rank, the more access you receive to high-quality armor and weapons; at a certain level, you gain the ability to enter your faction’s officers’ club, where the best items are sold.
• Children’s Week: At the beginning of each May, the cities of Orgrimmar (Horde) and Stormwind (Alliance) celebrate children’s week. The war between the Horde and Alliance has left many orphans roaming the streets of both cities, and players who want to help out can guide the children to different locations in the game and earn experience points.
• Elemental Invasions: Every few days, elementals invade the Silithus, Un’Goro Crater, Azshara and Winterspring locations on Kalimdor. Curious players should investigate and repel these attacks.
• Gurubashi Arena: Located north of Booty Bay and south of Grom’Gol, this arena hosts a visit by a pirate with excess treasure every three hours beginning at midnight. The pirate drops a chest and the player who opens it first gets the goodies inside. The arena is a PvP haven, however, so it’s not just a matter of being the first person to reach it: an attack by another player will interrupt the act of opening the chest. If you can’t defend yourself, you’ll die. Teamwork is important here, as is a willingness to share the booty if other players help you get to the chest and open it.
• Meeting Stones: These items are located outside each dungeon. Players who click on it are added to a pool of available characters. The game uses that list to put together groups of five, making sure each party has a healer, a tank (a warrior or paladin) and so forth. We highly recommend you use a meeting stone if you aren’t in a group, since most dungeons house elite quests that can’t be undertaken solo, unless you are at a much higher level than the creatures in it.
• User Interface: Blizzard has implemented several enhancements in this area, including chat bubbles that appear over a character’s head when she speaks, the ability to activate additional action bars, the option to display the goals for specific quests under the mini map (so you don’t have to keep checking your quest log), and more.