Last month, It came from the Blog hosted the Running of the Orphans. We met outside of the orphanage in The Drag of Orgrimmar and grabbed our orphans. We then proceeded to complete all of the quests together to get the pet and achievement.

First, we traveled to Thunder Bluff via the Love Zeppelin and paid our respects to Cairne. We then took our orphans on a joy ride, which wasn’t so much joyful as it was irresponsibly dangerous. We then paid a visit to Laday Sylvanas and debated whether she threatened our orphans or not. Upon our return to Orgrimmar, we spoiled the orphans with sweets and toys and then returned them to the poor matron.

We’ve held this event before, but there was one disappointing change this year: No orphans were left behind when we got on a zeppelin. Perhaps it is a cruel thing to miss, but we did. After all, they order us around all day; a little revenge seemed appropriate.

We will be holding another event this month. Look for an announcement Soon[TM].

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Running of the Orphans 2012 snapshots originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Children’s Week starts this Sunday, so that must mean that it’s time for It came from the Blog’s annual Running of the Orphans. As the event name says, we get orphans and we run around with them while completing our orphan quests.

• When: Sunday, April 29 at 12:30 p.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. PDT, 10:30 a.m. server time)
• Where: Meet at the pond near the engineering trainer that’s next to the orphanage in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: Any Horde character level 10 or over
• How: Ask any member of It came from the Blog for an invite to the guild if you are not already a member of our family of guilds already.

We will have a fishing party while we wait for everyone to arrive and get their orphans. Then we will be orphan minions, taking them wherever they want to go — the Running of the Orphan Caregivers may be a more accurate title, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it. Time permitting, we may even try for some achievements.

You have to be at least level 10, because you can’t get an orphan otherwise. We also will not be forming a raid since we need to complete quests. We will have an event chat set up as usual, however.

Hope to see you there!

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Join us for the Running of the Orphans originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you are into casual but organized raiding or would like to try out raiding in a comfortable, non-judgmental atmosphere, The Insiders on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) may be the guild for you. The Insiders is the sister guild of It came from the Blog, WoW Insider’s event guild.

Every month, It came from the Blog holds an event to which all are welcome. These activities are for the widest level ranges possible, depending on what we’re doing. Some players enjoy the events and want to hang out with WoW Insider readers on a regular basis, so they can join The Insiders — a casual, max-level guild. The only players not allowed to join are funsuckers and those who can’t follow the very simple rules, which include keeping the guild chat to PG-13 and no drama. Unlike It came from the Blog, not everyone can invite. But there are usually enough players online so that someone has the ability to let you in on the fun.

The Insiders have historically been a leveling guild, full of alts of people whose mains are on other servers. But they have been adding more and more scheduled raid nights, mostly for older content. This week, for example, they have four nights of Firelands raiding scheduled, a Sarth 3D fun run and a guild Raid Finder night.

So if you want to join WoW Insider readers in some non-stressful raiding, come join the gang. It may be the perfect antidote to the restlessness caused by the pre-expansion lull. If you just want to join us for our monthly events, stay tuned for the next It came from the Blog announcement — which will be some time next week.

Filed under: Raiding, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Casual raiding for all in The Insiders originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This weekend, the It came from the Blog family of guilds will be hosting a scavenger hunt! Here are the details:

• When: Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT, 11 a.m. server time)
• Where: Meet at the throne room in the Ruins of Lordaeron on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: Any level Horde character
• How: Ask any It came from the Blog member for an invite, if you are not already in one of our guilds

This will be an all-levels event, as we will not be forming a raid group. However, those with mounts will have an advantage. Money will be provided for those characters short on cash. Keep paper and a writing utensil on hand in the physical world so that you can write down the scavenger hunt items.

I will be giving out the list right at the beginning of the event, so punctuality will be rewarded. I’ll repeat it, of course, but I will make sure the prompt players get a good head start.

We hope to see you there!

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Join us for a scavenger hunt originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unfortunately, Love is in the Air doesn’t really lend itself to an all-levels event. Many of the achievements require rather high levels to complete, and the Dangerous Love quest line can’t be picked up if you’ve already done it in a previous year. So I’ve decided to go literal with this holiday and take our love into the air.

The It came from the Blog family of guilds will be holding a party on the Love Zeppelin — and you’re invited!

• When: Thursday, Feb. 16 at 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST, 9 p.m. server time)
• Where: Meet near the flightpath in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: Any level Horde player, clothing optional
• How: Ask any member of It came from the Blog for an invite
• What: Fun, dancing, party games, love — something for everyone

We will not be forming a raid group for this event, but we will have a chat channel set up as usual. So join us this Thursday night for the Love Zeppelin. Here, have an earworm.

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Join us for a party on the Love Zeppelin originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading I write about dragons on the internet, Dad

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion

I write about dragons on the internet, Dad originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last week, the It came from the Blog family of guilds celebrated our second annual Lunar Lunacy. We gathered in Orgrimmar at the Lunar Festival area near the flight path. The minimum level to participate was 10, so that we could organize a raid in order to make good use of guild perks.

With participants from level 12 to 85, we got the following achievements:

• Elders of the Alliance Members of The Insiders (our sister max-level guild) summoned us with Have Group, Will Travel to the enemy cities and used Mass Resurrection as needed.
• Elders of the Horde Mage ports took us where we needed to go for this achievement.
• Elune’s Blessing We defeated Omen and basked in the afterglow.

Some players also got the Frenzied Firecracker and Rocket’s Red Glare achievements while we were organizing the raid.

Then those of us with all of the sub-Cataclysm Azerothian flight paths completed the Elders of Eastern Kingdoms achievement by following the Overachiever’s Guide to the Lunar Festival, only abandoning one non-flying person along the way. (Sorry, Pricecut!)

Continue reading It came from the Blog: Lunar Lunacy 2012 snapshots

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Lunar Lunacy 2012 snapshots originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Saturday, the It came from the Blog family of guilds will be holding the second annual Lunar Lunacy event. We will be attempting a few Lunar Festival achievements and respecting our elders. Hopefully, they weren’t paying attention to those of us who got the Scrooge achievement during the Feast of Winter Veil.

• When: Saturday, Jan, 28 at 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. server time)
• Where: Meet at the Lunar Festival area near the flightpath in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H).
• Who: Any Horde player level 10 or higher (for raid forming)
• How: Ask Roblinator or anyone in It came from the Blog for a guild invite if you are not already in our family of guilds.
• What: The plan is to get Elders of the Alliance, Elune’s Blessing and a few other achievements.

The highest character you have will probably have the most fun, as otherwise you may be abandoned with the other lowbies if we honor some flightpath elders. Death knights don’t take too long to be event-ready — just make sure you are done getting food thrown at you by the time the event begins.

Hope to see you there!

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog, Achievements

It came from the Blog: Join us for the second annual Lunar Lunacy originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the end of last month, It came from the Blog held its Caroling Carnage event in order to get the feat of strength achievement A-Caroling We Will Go. This involved putting on our Gaudy Winter Veil Sweaters and using them to carol in each Alliance city.

We met under the tree in Orgrimmar, and the world server crashed. There were only around 40 of us, but maybe the normal population of the Horde capital city couldn’t handle so many under the already busy tree. So after we reconnected and dusted ourselves off, we zipped out to the front of Orgrimmar.

Our plan was to get to the area formerly known as Auberdine in order to get to Darnassus. A few of us were under level 20, so that meant hoofing it. We traveled to Razor Hill, sloshed through the mire to the Northern Barrens and then gathered at the Mor’shan Rampart. Then we stayed on the road, making our way to the Zoram Strand and then on the beach up to the wasted coast across from Teldrassil.

The gallery of our travels, as well as the continuation of our story, are after the break.

Continue reading It came from the Blog: Caroling Carnage event snapshots

Filed under: Events, It Came from the Blog

It came from the Blog: Caroling Carnage event snapshots originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week, WoW Insider and Mathew McCurley bring you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which spotlights the latest user interface addons. Have a screenshot of your own UI that you’d like to submit? Send your screenshots along with info on what mods you’re using to readerui@wowinsider.com, and follow Mathew on Twitter.

We’re going to start the new year off with a simple setup from Emandiputs from the Stormscale realm. Emandiputs is a self-described long-time WoW Insider fan — and since this is the first Reader UI of the Week of 2012 and my 100th Reader UI of the Week column, I figured I would give the floor to a veteran of the site. So thank you in advance for the submission and the screenshots, Emandiputs.

And thank you all for coming along with me on this journey. I didn’t really know how long I would be writing for WoW Insider when I joined on. One hundred Reader UI of the Week columns as well as a host of other content later has really hit me today as a substantial thing. Thank you all for reading and letting me get to do this awesome thing. I appreciate it more than you could ever know.

Let’s get down to business, then. What we’ve got here is Emandiput’s crack at another user interface after a new computer purchase and a trip back to the world of Azeroth. I cannot tell you how much I recommend trying to come up with a whole new UI on a new system. You’ll feel fresh and clean and have that happy feeling when everything fits the way you want it to. An old UI from an old computer can sometimes leave behind a weird taste in your mouth. Something just isn’t right, you know? It happens for me, at least.

Continue reading Reader UI of the Week: Ring in the new year with something basic

Filed under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week

Reader UI of the Week: Ring in the new year with something basic originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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His new Unreleased Dragon Soul Cinematic is no different. Wowcrendor revisits the final cinematic in Dragon Soul, in which the dragon aspects chat about their new mortal lives. We even get an arrow-to-the-knee rebuttal, killing a joke that very badly need killing. I can’t help but feel this is a more realistic conversation between the dragons than the one we actually got. After all, who wants to spontaneously be made mortal? Bring on the Age of Pandas!

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: Unreleased Dragon Soul Cinematic originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Fox Van Allen and Basil “Euripides” Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Feed Fox’s ego by emailing him, tweeting him at @foxvanallen, or sacrificing your first born to him.

Hey everyone, great news! The Darkmoon Faire is back in town! From now until Saturday, January 7, you can play some games, eat some carnival food, and … oh yeah, make a ton of money off it.

Usually, when new content is released, it’s only the level 85 characters who can make money hand over fist. But the coolest thing about the Darkmoon Faire is that you don’t need to be a level 85 character to participate in it, or even profit off it. A level 20 character can have just as much fun at, get just as much benefit from, and even make as much money as a level 85. It just takes the right amount of knowledge.

And, oh yeah, it also takes a Darkmoon Adventurer’s Guide. You’re carrying one of those on you at all times, right? Right? Well, according to Wowhead, most of you sub-level 85 players aren’t. And that’s a gigantic missed opportunity for a lot of money — thousands upon thousands of gold. The kind of money that’s just unheard of at lower levels.

Continue reading Profiting off the Darkmoon Faire

Filed under: Economy, Gold Capped

Profiting off the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Darkmoon Faire is in full swing again, from now until Jan. 7. The event has run into some issues this month, but it’s still a grand ol’ time overall. Many of you are still working on your Darkmoon Faire achievements, however, and others still have yet to step onto the new Darkmoon Island at all.

So what can you do at the Faire? What games are there to play? What achievements can you earn? All of those questions and more are answered in our Guide to the new Darkmoon Faire. Don’t miss it.

Filed under: Events

Don’t forget WoW Insider’s guide to the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider’s series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title.

The votes have been tallied and Brann Bronzebeard, greatest explorer in the history of Azeroth, takes the championship title in the first exhibition season of Two Bosses Enter. With a clear win and holding almost 700 more votes than his opponent, Brann decisively took this match on the road to victory. Not only was Brann a popular contestant on this season of Two Bosses Enter, but commenters were drawn to his haphazard approach to danger and his affinity for unleashing horrors onto Azeroth that will one day need to be slain for loot.

There were some wonderful responses to the final matchup last week in the comments. While I’m not going to be talking about all of them, since many are too long to appropriately format here, I have to highlight all of the spectacular effort in the comments coming up with the fan-made scenarios of these fun matchups. Thank you guys for making Two Bosses Enter fun each and every week.

Now, it’s time for the event you’ve all been waiting for. Brann Bronzebeard takes a decisive victory against his brother, Muradin — but how does the young dwarf out-drink his older and more resilient brother?

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Brann Bronzebeard wins the exhibition season

Filed under: Two Bosses Enter

Two Bosses Enter: Brann Bronzebeard wins the exhibition season originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore covers the healing side of things for discipline and holy priests. She also writes for LearnToRaid.com and produces the Circle of Healing Podcast.

This is it — the last priest healing boss guide of the expansion! (After this, it’s pandas or bust, baby!) Are you excited? You should be, because the last boss fight of Cataclysm is a loot piñata that’s actually easier than the second to last fight a lot of fun! Hopefully, you all remember the drill from last week … You want to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of this fight before progressing further into this guide. LearnToRaid.com has a nice video guide for Madness of Deathwing, and Icy Veins has an excellent written guide.

Priests of either spec should know that cooldown management is the key to succeeding in this encounter as a priest. The encounter as a whole is not particularly difficult, but using your regen cooldowns at the right time will pave the way for you to hold onto just enough mana from start to finish. I recommend using your first Shadowfiend after the Mutated Corruption dies on the first platform, and your first Hymn of Hope just after jumping over to the second platform. Your second Shadowfiend should be used as soon as it becomes available, which will allow you to pair your third Shadowfiend and second Hymn of Hope together (just like we used to always do it in Wrath — cast Shadowfiend, then immediately follow it up with Hymn of Hope). From there, use everything on cooldown, and you should be sitting pretty for mana the whole fight.

Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Priest healing the Madness of Deathwing and heroic Dragon Soul

Filed under: Priest, (Priest) Spiritual Guidance

Spiritual Guidance: Priest healing the Madness of Deathwing and heroic Dragon Soul originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We get very attached to our online pseudonyms. But how unique are they, and what if you come across someone with the same name and a bad reputation?

Dear Drama Mamas,

I regularly comment on a certain WoW-based blogging-slash-news site under a given username that I’ve been attached to for many years. The site is read by a lot of people, and I’ve told quite a few stories there regarding events on my home realm, and today I had the unfortunate pleasure of overhearing mention of someone with a name near-exactly the same as mine whilst on an alt. But not in a good way. The doppleganger name was being addressed with disdain and malice (hate, even). I did a bit of digging on the armory and discovered that the character in question wasn’t some fresh low-level character–it was 85, moderately geared, and even shared classes with my main that I had indeed, come to mention on occasion. What makes this slightly more interesting is that none of my characters share the name I use on the site–the name is unique to that location only.

Continue reading Drama Mamas: The case of the disreputable doppelganger

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Drama Mamas

Drama Mamas: The case of the disreputable doppelganger originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of my favorite touches in this piece is the original video being simultaneously played in the corner. While this music video definitely feels like a learning experience for Cartmans, the end result is a surreal, real-life-in-WoW that blends music history with gaming innovation. It’s a trippy walk down memory lane with The Beatles, and the video just fundamentally works for me.

I have to admit that I’m not the biggest Beatles fan to ever walk the planet, but this video really won my heart. Cartmans painstakingly recreated so much of the original that you can feel his care and affection for the material. That speaks volumes in the end result.

Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

WoW Moviewatch: Something originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I can’t explain why, but last night on Twitter I went on an Animorphs nostalgia trip and took most of my followers down Reminiscence Lane with me. Eventually the discussion devolved into a debate over which animorph was the best. I think we need to settle this in the most relevant place possible: a World of Warcraft blog.

Personally, I’m going with Rachel. If you choose anybody but Rachel, you’re wrong and should feel bad about yourself.

View Poll

Necromann asked:

What level in first aid do I need to do the DMF monthly? Also, is it weird to 0 linen cloth on the AH?

Continue reading The Queue: Being a nothlit is cheating

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue

The Queue: Being a nothlit is cheating originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like the Eye of Sauron has found a new home in the rear vent of Orgrim’s Hammer. Or perhaps this airship, which is perpetually in motion and never seems to stop to refuel, can only be powered with the actual planet Jupiter. Either way, submitter Galdon of Elysion of Burning Steppes (EU-H) is about to get the remaining flesh seared off of his undead bones.

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth: According to cannon originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like the Eye of Sauron has found a new home in the rear vent of Orgrim’s Hammer. Or perhaps this airship, which is perpetually in motion and never seems to stop to refuel, can only be powered with the actual planet Jupiter. Either way, submitter Galdon of Elysion of Burning Steppes (EU-H) is about to get the remaining flesh seared off of his undead bones.

Filed under: Around Azeroth

Around Azeroth: According to cannon originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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