Cataclysm Stat & System Changes
As many of you know from panels at last year’s BlizzCon and posts here on the forums since then, Cataclysm will bring about major changes to familiar character stats such as Intellect, Armor Penetration, Defense, and others, ultimately designed to make the effects of stats more easily understandable and make gear choices more interesting. As these changes will have a significant impact on how stats work and relate to one another, today we wanted to offer you a closer look at exactly what’s in store and explain some of the rationale before Cataclysm arrives. The most obvious question these changes raise is “Why are stats being changed, and why now?” As the game has matured, we’ve run into increasingly complex issues with the current stat system. Many stats are inherently confusing, and the way they interrelate can feel convoluted. Attack Power, for example, currently translates to damage, but so does Armor Penetration. Defense provides five different statistical benefits of varying utility. Mana regeneration involves understanding multiple stats and rules and often ends up being irrelevant anyway. In addition, the difference between a “good stat” for a class and a “bad stat” can be extreme. Some casters want Haste but not Crit; hunters want Armor Penetration but not Haste. There are other overarching issues, as well, such as Intellect not being very exciting for casters despite it being a core stat — and these are just a few examples.
Blizzard Account Administration told not to restore hacked characters
In a stunning revelation from a veteran account administrator at Blizzard, WoW.com has learned that account administrators are being told by Blizzard managers not to restore people’s characters and items after their account has been ransacked by gold sellers and keyloggers. Instead, account administrators are being told to give people a “care package” and get them to accept the package in lieu of total account restoration. If the player does not accept this care package, they are then forced to go into a character restoration queue that is consistently several days to weeks long. According to sources familiar with the situation, this “care package policy” has been implemented in order to lighten the work load of those Blizzard employees who perform account restorations. Similar policies have existed at other times account compromises have been high, such as during the transition from Vanilla WoW to The Burning Crusade.
Tim reviews Razer Naga MMOG mouse
A standard mouse has 2, maybe 3 buttons.  A gaming mouse typically has 4-6 buttons.  But what if your mouse had 17 buttons?  Well, the Razer company was so kind as to ship me one of their Razer Naga gaming mice to review.  Yes folks, there is practically an entire keyboard on this mouse!  We are doing a full unboxing and review of their mouse, including all the materials it comes with, to the software setup and configuration and actual use. The specifications of the Naga from the Razer website: 5600dpi Razer Precision 3.5G Laser Sensor 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time 200 inches per second max tracking speed
Blizzard is giving away Alienware…ware.
For what I’m assuming is a total ripoff of one of our own contests (RIP multiboxing video contest), Blizzard is offering up a rather nice credit towards an Alienware desktop or notebook.  Of course, this isn’t about making a multiboxing video.  This is more towards the RP side of the World of Warcraft.  The movies themselves can be pretty much whatever you want as long as they are done in-game.  So, test out your movie making skills (again), and get a PC. And If you don’t have time for movie-making, they’re offering a raffle for a i7 PC.
WoW hotfixes December 17th
These did come down last night, but I just now caught them. 12/17/09 Everlasting Affliction can now refresh the duration of Corruption on a target when the Warlock casts Drain Soul. Sweeping Strikes will now only trigger once per whirlwind rotation of Bladestorm. Players will now receive appropriate credit for the Full House achievement. Remember, these won’t go into effect until your realm restarts.
Amazing guide to WoW 3.3 patch
WoW.com has an amazing guide to the WoW 3.3 patch.  Below is a table of contents of sorts with links leading to some amazing, if not highly speculatory, information about the 3.3 patch.  Also, the 3.3 patch is rumored to be launching in approx. 1 week! Patch 3.3 is the final major content patch for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. Three new 5 man dungeons and a new 10/25 man raid will be introduced at Icecrown Citadel, along with a ton of other changes to the game.