WoW News

Observed by both the Horde and the Alliance, Hallow’s End is the celebration of the break between the Forsaken and the Scourge. Many tricks and treats await adventurers seeking holiday fun, including defeating the Headless Horseman, visiting inns and cities for fun items such as masks and costumes, and eating way too much candy in one sitting. Hallow’s End begins October 18 and continues until November 2.

For this installment of WoW Stories we’ve found a couple of interesting and touching tales of how their authors were first introduced to the lands of Azeroth. In World of Warcraft, the adventures begin in vastly different ways from person to person. Check out how such adventures took shape for two of your fellow players.

If you’re inspired by these stories and want to share your own, don’t forget to head over to our submission page. We’ve quickly dipped into autumn and are looking for some wonderful stories to help usher in the transformative season with its celebrations of festive holidays. We’d love for you to share with the community your World of Warcraft experiences.

Charge of the Great Dragonflights, the fourth release of the Epic Collection Series of World of Warcraft steins from Taverncraft, which was introduced earlier this year at BlizzCon, is now available for shipment. The stein showcases all five Dragon Aspects in full-color, bas-relief illustration, and also features an exquisitely crafted dragon’s tail handle. For more information, check out the Taverncraft website, Twitter feed, or Facebook page.

The Royal Photographic Society of Azeroth is renewing its competition in celebration of Halloween. In a longstanding Blizzard Entertainment tradition, this year we’re proud to announce our seventh annual pumpkin-carving contest.

Between 12:00 a.m. PDT on October 13 and 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 28, the RPSA will be accepting submissions for the pumpkin contest. The shutterbugs who submit the most outstanding photos of their work will have their pictures proudly displayed on WorldofWarcraft.com and Blizzard.com on Halloween. In addition, the crafters of the five most interesting, original, and well-carved pumpkin designs will each be recognized for their merits with a 32 GB iPod touch! Special thanks go out to Apple for this fantastic prize!

Pumpkin submission tips:

• The winning entries will display high levels of originality, craftsmanship, and possibly humor.
• Your pumpkin must be lit up by a candle or other light source in your photo entry. You can show another photo of the pumpkin unlit if you wish.
• Pumpkins must be related to World of Warcraft or another Blizzard Entertainment title.
• Try to take the best picture possible, as picture quality helps make a good impression on the judges.
• Make sure you tell us what the pumpkin is supposed to be in the caption, just in case it’s not clear.

If you want to view some past pumpkin-carving contest winners, you can see them here: [2004], [2005], [2006], [2007], [2008]. Check out the
contest page for additional details, including the official rules and submission form. Good luck!

A few months ago, we unveiled the Battle.net account, our new way for players to log in to World of Warcraft and future Blizzard games, sign up for upcoming beta tests, shop the online Blizzard Store, and more with just one username and password. This was just the first step in the rollout of the brand-new Battle.net; in the future, players will be able to use Battle.net to participate in cross-realm chat in World of Warcraft, create real-life friends lists, communicate across different games, and a whole lot more.

In preparation for the launch of these new features, on November 11, 2009, all current World of Warcraft players will be required to merge their World of Warcraft accounts with a Battle.net account in order to log in to the game. As our way to say “thanks” for taking a moment to go through the process, existing World of Warcraft accounts that upgrade to Battle.net (including those that have already switched over) will receive a brand-new penguin in-game pet — check for him in your in-game mailbox later this week. Starting on November 11, all World of Warcraft players will need to log in to the game using a Battle.net username and password, and anyone who wishes to create a new World of Warcraft account will need to start with a Battle.net account.

Creating a Battle.net account is simple and free. To merge your existing account with a Battle.net account, go here. For more info, check out the Battle.net site or read the FAQ.

Brought to you straight from a printing press deep in the frozen hills of Icecrown, the new edition of the Gadgetzan Times has hit the stands and is packed full of Azerothian goodness. In this issue:

• You No Take Candle!: A new kobold poem that is all the rage
• The Airstrip: A tale of a warlock down on his luck, but seeking new frontiers in Northrend
• The Heart of Battle: A priest wins the day in the hotly contested Warsong Gulch
• New Holiday-Themed Crossword Puzzle
• Fresh classifieds hot off the presses
• Holiday calendar

Have a tale to tell or need to get the word out in a classified ad? Submit your stories and new classifieds here.

Countless heroes and villains have played a part in the ever-changing tableau of Azeroth’s history. In the upcoming World of Warcraft content patch, two will step forward to confront the Lich King Arthas — one a former friend, the other a former servant — in the Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Halls dungeon.

Learn more about Jaina Proudmoore of the Alliance and Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, on our new bio page.

As the threats within Icecrown Citadel continue to take shape, so do the rewards for the brave souls who seek to face them. We’ve just released a first look at some of the new tier-10 armor sets that will be available to intrepid adventurers upon the release of the Icecrown Citadel raid dungeon. The preview contains all of the sets that we’ve completed so far, and you can click an image to see each set from different angles. We’ll add more classes’ sets as we continue to develop and polish them, so be sure to check back for updates.