Avian Gamers Network

Crafting is simple and straightforward in World of Warcraft. The design team has moved to make the adventure not be the chance of success, but rather the gathering of resources and in some cases the location of the crafting.

Some new Screenies for WoW are up now.

I liked this one which should be captioned, "Hi, my name is Firebrand and I'm an orcaholic."

Blizzard humor is spread all throughout World of Warcraft. One recently added touch is the cowbell - an accessory for Taurens only, of course.

When a player dies, he or she will appear at a nearby bindstone as a ghost. While in ghost form, a player can neither be seen by nor see the living. The player must now travel back to where his or her corpse is to become corporeal again. Finding one's corpse will be easy, since players will have a minimap marker that clearly shows the way. Because the player's ghost won't be detectable by monsters, the journey back to the corpse won't be dangerous. After getting close enough to where the corpse is, the player will receive the option to be resurrected a small-but-safe distance from where he or she originally fell (to avoid any nearby monsters). Once the player becomes corporeal again, there are no further penalties for death.

Should a player choose not to retrieve his or her corpse, a Spirit Healer (ghostly NPC) will be available at the bindstone to resurrect the player there for a modest loss in experience.

Of course we are still exploring the death-penalty system and will be flexible in keeping our options open for future changes.

Our forums are being redesigned and will not be a part of Battle.net once World of Warcraft goes live. The new forum avatars will be each player's character portrait, with the ability to click through to the paper doll.

When a player dies, he or she will appear at a nearby bindstone as a ghost

It amazes me how much I know about the game without even playing it.

it seems communication between Alliance and Horde players will be nearly impossible.

Will players have the ability to change factions (for example: from Horde to Alliance)?
No, but it will be possible to learn languages and communicate with players of the opposing faction.

Will players be able to trade with members of the opposite faction?
Currently no, but this is still being decided and will be watched closely in beta.

Will Horde and Alliance characters have the ability to gain faction points thus allowing them to utilize each other's cities?
That's currently not the plan.

If people choose to have their corpse's revived at the bind stone for the experience fee, is it possible to level down if you have just recently leveled up like in FFXI?
No, you cannot lose your level. However, your experience in a level can go below zero. So, if you have experience below zero, it will take you longer to gain your next level.

Can ghosts see other ghosts?
Yes. Players may also find ways in the game to see ghosts. Lastly, we would like to eventually add ghostly NPCs that may have quests for ghosts or world lore

How can you hook up with your friends of different races early in the game?
For some races it's easier than others. For example, the humans and dwarves will have an easy transit between their two cities, while the night elves will find it harder to meet with their Alliance brethren early in the game as they are off in a distant land.

Another little bit from the updated FAQ:

Will there be player-vs.-player servers where players will be able to fight other players from anywhere in the world?
We will likely have special rules servers, but we haven't made any final decisions on this yet. Watch the web site for any new information.

Will there be Realms specifically for role-playing?
We want to ensure that role-players will have the best experience possible in World of Warcraft. This may include having specific role-playing servers, (and probably will) but that decision has not yet been reached.

Will players be able to have characters on more than one server without paying additional fees?
There will be one monthly fee to play World of Warcraft and it will apply to all of your characters, regardless of what server they are on.

Will there be a Hardcore Mode?
No. Hardcore Mode is a feature in the Diablo universe.

Yes, from what I read there will be a steam powered railway line running between Stormwind and Khaz Modan. Can't wait to see that.

Edward

I think you can see the rail tracks in the background in this shot. It could be a road, but the cross markings are pretty regular for it to be anything but rail tracks.

I have been there in Alpha and for what I know there is no Trains in this game

Each of our instanced dungeons is tailor made for one level range. Early on we discussed re-using dungeons and swapping out creatures according to level range but we decided it would be more fulfilling for players to have new dungeons to experience rather than constantly returning to the same ones. Each of our instanced dungeons has a totally unique story and theme behind it. They are scattered throughout the world, on all continents and across all level ranges.

I think our four *newbie* dungeons stand as a good example of the variety of locations players will have to fight in. On Azeroth, the first dungeon experience will be the Deadmines, a full blown mining operation hidden within the hills of Westfall. In Lordaeron, players will adventure in Shadowfang Keep, a castle overrun with Worgen which were summoned by a deranged Archmage. On Kalimdor, Night Elf players will adventure in Blackfathom Deeps, an old sea temple infested with cultists and naga. Also on Kalimdor, Horde players will adventure in the Wailing Caverns, a lush, overgrown cave which is being terrorized by reptilian creatures summoned from a sleeping Druid's nightmares. These four examples are just the tip of the iceberg. These are the first four dungeons players will see. It only gets bigger and better from there =)