I have to say, I still have a pretty soft spot for the Tuskarr. They're sort of minor players in Northrend, overall. You help them kidnap some kids and fight off some vikings, grab a penguin pet and a fishing pole, and you're done, and on to bigger and better things in other zones. They don't even merit art for their females. Still, they're always pretty jovial, they look like big fat and happy dudes, and they got turtle boats. It's difficult not to like them.

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Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn't our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn't work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that's a threat, after all, we don't have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we'd win.

Before Patch 3.1 hit the live servers, I wrote about the changes that would be coming for those of us with limited playtime. Now that we've had the patch and some fixes and more fixes and yet even more fixes, let's talk a bit about what actually happened and how best to take advantage of the features for casual players.

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Patch 3.1.2 Item Changes
As mentioned in the patch notes the 3.1.2 patch on PTRs changed a few end-game items, some people asked me for screenshots of the new versions so here we go.
Quote from: Blizzard (Source)Items

• Furious Gladiator’s Staff and Furious Gladiator’s Greatstaff: The agility values on these two items were too high. They have been reduced by 50%.
• Guise of the Midgard Serpent: The base attack power on this item has been lowered to balance it against items of a similar quality.

Blue posts
Quote from Blizzard staffComparing DPS on Training Dummies
When you only focus on Patchwerk or training dummies or simcraft, you can come up with a number that may be higher or lower than other specs or classes. The problem is that number is meaningless in many other fights. Do you have to move? Do you have to deal with adds? Do you have to swap out gear to improve your health? Do you run OOM? Is your threat too high? Do you need to free NPCs? All of those are "real" considerations on the actual bosses you're trying to kill.

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Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.

Flamers and trolls aside, WoW Insider readers are generally a contentious lot. Their viewpoints are as divergent as the player demographics the site attracts – all types of players, from the casual to the hardcore. With this many angles to consider, WoW Insider becomes a melting pot of ideas and opinions, from the sublime to the ridiculous. (And let's face it – some of the so-called ridiculous ideas are the most entertaining to read.)

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Raid Rx has returned from retirement! Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a new WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. This week, we examine the relationship between tank and healer. More importantly, we look at the raid saving cooldowns that can mean the difference between a boss kill and a wipe.

I read a post last week on the Orly Factor. It was about communicating with healers. Now if you visit the blog, the first thing you'll discover is that it's a Warrior tanking blog!

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Wait, what? Star Trek is now cool you say? What is my nerdy self going to cling to? What's going to make a geek above other geeks as I recite the Klingon alphabet backwards in the Qo'noS dialect? Oh wait, there's WoW! And what's more geeky than taking a look at all the Star Trek references in the game?

Well, the answer is not much.

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Happy Mother's Day to all you WoW Moms, and for all you kids who might have forgotten, you'd better go say it now while you've just been reminded. Come back though, because I have a nice list of comics waiting, as well as a (mostly) friendly gnome controversy.

• Awkward Zombie: Deadfall. I laughed out loud.
• Cru the Dwarf is being pursued, and an interrogation is underway.
• Dark Legacy Comics: Under the World.
• Experience Points: He's falling in love, and starting to enjoy the fishing dailies.
• Flintlocke vs the Horde: A Plan for Vengeance, part 2.
• GU Comics: It Still Figures. Fancy a little gnome controversy? If you're confused, click back a comic, or check out last week's Sunday Morning Funnies and read through some of the comments.
  
• Check out the latest from LFG.
• NoObz: Dayz of our Lives.
• Check out the latest from Teh Gladiators.
• Two Lumps: The Adventures of Ebenezer and Snooch. Snooch is playing WoW, in his own way.
• NPC: Puppyslayer.
• World of Warcraft, eh? is back, after a three-week hiatus!


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One of players' most frequently asked questions since BC emerged has been when -- or if -- Blizzard plans to make flying mounts usable in classic Azeroth. It's an attractive proposition due to the sheer size of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, and how convenient it would be to take a fast flyer to places that aren't well-served by flight paths. CM's and developers have said that the programming and time required to "retrofit" the old world to be usable by flying mounts isn't worth it, and that they'd rather spend developmental resources on new content.

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The naked night elves. The dueling fanatics. The motorcycle guy. The hunter in Black Mageweave and bunny ears. The terrifying shirtless dwarf. All of these people have at one time wiped your PUG. And now they're raiding together.

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I know you're out there! WoW moms, like me, getting your Azeroth fix in when not making meals, reading stories and otherwise performing all of your maternal duties. Hopefully you are enjoying a nice sleep-in right now, maybe some breakfast in bed. May your day be filled with flowers, candy, jewelry and/or clay-blobs that are supposed to be frogs, hearts or whatever they are making these days instead of ashtrays. Enjoy your day and I know you'll make sure your mom is appreciated today, too.

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Funny Money is a weekly column published at the end of the week with the intent to have a little fun with the world of finance. Every weekend we’ll bring you a financial quote, a song relating to money, something interesting from the real world of business and a quick WoW gold making tip. Read on and have some fun…

This weekend we present our usual Funny Money column with a Mother’s Day slant. Have a great day moms around the world. You deserve it!

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The Colosseum takes us inside the world of the Gladiator (Brutal, Vengeful, Merciless, and otherwise), to interview some of the top Arena fighters in the battlegroups. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the strategy, makeup, and work that goes into dueling it out for fame, fortune, and Netherdrakes.

This is not Merlizzel's first season in the Arena. In fact, during Season 5, this Discipline Priest was frustrated with his inability to achieve Gladiator.

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