When's the ***ing Patch Coming Out?

Every Tuesday, it's the same story. You double-click your desktop icon, and your heart begins to beat in double-time. Holding your breath, you wait...and then you sigh. The patch isn't here yet. How many more Tuesdays of this sad story must you suffer through?

WoW Insider thinks you've already seen the last of your patch disappointment. The current rumor is - this sounds familiar - that Patch 3.3 will be available for download this coming Tuesday.

World of Warcraft: Become a Fan

Blizzard's a little late to the party, but no big deal. It's official: you can now become a fan of Warcraft on Facebook. Bliz took so long to get this going, the name World of Warcraft was already taken - so make sure you search for just Warcraft instead of the entire game title.

Calculate Your Talents

Do you really need Natural Reaction? Is Sharpened Claws going to do you any good? You could spend hours re-specing your character, or you could calculate your talents ahead of time.

The Druid Wiki is offering a very handy online calculator that helps you break down your base stats and the bonuses you get from various talent points. Play around with it as much as you like to find the perfect balance of mitigation and damage - it won't cost you any in-game gold to try.

Tank LFG: Are You Ready for that Raid?

Are you ready for that raid? You may want the gear. You may be able to find a group. But you may fail if your stats aren't where they need to be. Check yourself before you make the attempt - and avoid getting lambasted in vent.

To see stats for tanking Naxx, EoE and Uld, refer to Are You Ready to Tank That Yet? For all other Wrath instances, keep reading:

Crusaders' Coliseum, located in the northeast area of Icecrown, can be found at the center of the Argent Tournament Grounds. Tier 9 items drop here.
Trial of the Crusader (ToC): Five encounters playable on 10- and 25-man versions. To tank this, you'll want to see yourself sitting at 36k health at least (unbuffed). Many groups use 3-4 healers for this raid, so survivability is key here. Be sparing with your healing potions and spells and hold out as long as you can to succeed. A high dodge rating (35%+) can help bears avoid some of those blows.
Trial of the Grand Crusader: Hard mode. To successfully tank this, you'll want to have a great understanding of the fights and something very close to 40k health.

Onyxia's Lair is in Dustwallow Marsh, a single-boss fight that was upgraded in a Wrath of the Lich King patch. This instance is playable on 10- and 25-man settings. If you can tank ToC, you should have no problems in Onyxia's Lair.

Upcoming in next patch:

Icecrown Citadel will be found in Icecrown when it's finally released. This will be the end-game Wrath raid and the place where every tank wants to go. Though this raid is still a bit unknown, it's safe to assume that bears will want to get as close to 40/40 (40k HP, 40% dodge) as possible to tank it successfully - anything in excess of this amount will only help.

Bear Tanking Visual Aids: ToC

The bear faces its opponent head-on, using AoE to defeat extra mobs as they pop out, doing everything it needs to do to survive and defeat the enemy. At least...that's what bear tanks do in ToC. Watch the video above to get a better idea of how to tank Trial of the Champion.

Bear Tanking Talent Builds

Don't know where to put that last point? Why you've got to have so many points in the resto tree? Whether you want to focus on high damage or survivability? Don't forget that all the info is on our home page The Bear Den (that, and much more).

Here, you can check out different 60/11 talent builds, and find out what you need to know about your tree.

Tank Weapons: Where to Get Raid Drops

Do you know which raid bosses you should be focused on? It's true that feral bears don't use their weapon - our damage is inflicted with tooth and claw, baby - but you can certainly use the stats those high-level staves provide. Find out where to get high item level weapons (230 and up), and get yourself tricked out.

Twisted Visage Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 446-670 Damage +120 Agility +121 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 232 +2488 feral attack power Improves hit rating by 70. Increases critical strike rating by 86. Increases attack power by 160.

Where to get it: The Deconstructor drops this bad boy in Ulduar 25 (about 40% of the time).

Dreambinder Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 469-705 Damage +112 Agility +105 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 239 Yellow Socket Blue Socket Socket Bonus +8 Agility +2657 feral attack power Improves haste rating by 86. Increases armor penetration rating by 85. Increases attack power by 140.

Where to get it: Defeat Freya (Ulduar 25, hard mode) after defeating Algalon the Observer to win this prize.

Lupine Longstaff Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 490-736 Damage +128 Agility +136 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 245 Blue Socket Socket Bonus +4 Agility +2808 feral attack power Improves haste rating by 90. Increases armor penetration rating by 82. Increases attack power by 181.

Where to get it: Defeat Twin Val'kyr on the 25-man version of TOC to get a chance at the drop (Alliance).

Twin's Pact Binds when picked up Two-Hand Speed 2.40 490-736 Damage +128 Agility +136 Stamina Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Item Level 245 Blue Socket Socket Bonus +4 Agility +2808 feral attack power Improves haste rating by 90. Increases armor penetration rating by 82. Increases attack power by 181.

Where to get it: Defeat Twin Val'kyr on the 25-man version of TOC to get a chance at the drop (Horde).

Gearing Up to Tank: Do You Know Your Options?

There's more than one way to gear a bear, and nothing says you've got to follow the same formula and get the same gear as everyone else (though there are precious few choices). Bears who want to tank can choose three different routes when gearing up for PvE. Do you know your options?

The Stam Bear

Bears have one big advantage over other tanks: naturally high HP. Almost any bear will have higher health than any pally, warrior or DK in the raid. The stam bear takes advantage of this by pushing the envelope even further, stacking up all the stamina they can get to amass whopping amounts of health. Obviously, taking this route gives tanking bears amazingly high HP, therefore helping them last longer when engaged in boss fights. At the same time, however, they're going to be take a heck of a lot more hits.

The Dodge Bear

Feeling a little bit rogue, or just want to screw with your leather-wearing DPSers? Some bears choose to stack agility, dodge and defense in order to pad their one and only mitigation stat. High dodge helps bears deflect and defend against blows, which helps negate the need for massively high HP. Stacking nothing but dodge, however, means those blows will hurt a whole more when they do land...and eventually, they will land.

The Hybrid

The hybrid bear focuses on both stam and dodge (really, the only two things a PvE bear can focus on) to achieve fairly high percentages in both health and mitigation. This is the route most bears take as a matter of course, achieving a combination that allows them to both absorb and deflect blows as they come. Gearing hybrid helps bears remain versatile in the game, as well, as this can be somewhat beneficial in PvP as well.

Season 3 of The Guild Begins Tomorrow!

The third season of The Guild will premiere tomorrow (the 25th) on MSN Video. Remember, the last time we left The Knights of Good, Codex went into spirit form and suddenly had zero men interested in her. Will she fall for the warlock after all?

Seven New Zones Introduced at Blizzcon

Gossip has it that World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will bring seven new zones to the map. The new map design and the name of these new areas was unveiled recently at Blizzcon, where all the fun secrets are being spilled.

Gilneas, Twilight Highlands, Deepholm, Sunken City of Vashj'ir, The Lost Isles, Uldum and Mount Hyjal will son provide new adventure and excitement for all WoW-ers. Shacknews is offering the best in maps for players who want to get a sneak peek.

Battle.net to Become Mandatory

Recent comments from those in-the-know at Blizzard say that soon, a Battle.net account will be mandatory for all players. Currently, the lengthy sign-up process at Battle.net is completed in five separate steps.

Patch 3.2.0a: Fixing WoW Mistakes

As always, a big patch recently put in place by Blizzard now needs to be fixed. This is being handled in the form of patch 3.2.0a, which provides many small fixes to several pesky problems brought on by patch 3.2.

Command exploits, logon problems, several Mac bugs and a Freya visibility problem (her light beams were near invisible) make up the bulk of the fixes.

Sacred Bear Circle

This sacred meeting of high-ranking, badass tanking bears took place on the Skullcrusher realm, most likely to discuss a hatred for Blizzard's tendency to nerf us.

Or...it's just some people screwing around.

Bear-y Fun: Stormwind Dancing Parade

What's better than a bear in the World of Warcraft? Lots and lots and lots of bears!

And remember, the videos I post weren't made by me. Try not to be "jellus."

Are You Ready to Tank That Yet?

You're a bear, so you're pretty naturally bad...but that doesn't mean you can hit level 80 and fall into Ulduar, either. Are you ready to tank that instance yet? Find out what you need, before you go in and fall flat.


Naxxramas

To effectively tank in Naxx 10 or 25, a bear tank should be sitting at 30% dodge or more and have at least 30k health. Use buffs to bring up your numbers if you find you're a little low.

Eye of Eternity

There's a certain school of thought that says only Death Knights should tank Malygos, but this is bunk. Druids can tank through EoE with ease, though they may need help maintaining their threat. Use misdirections to make it a little easier. Tanks who are Naxx 25 ready should be able to get through Maly 10; for 25, try to reach at least 32k health.

Ulduar

Tanks have to be versatile and fast-acting in Ulduar, as this raid offers many very long, multiple mob boss fights. You want to be at 34k health comfortably if you're going to tank here, with a high mitigation of 30% dodge or more.

More Patch 3.2 Changes for Druids

Patch 3.2 is here and there are more changes in the World of Warcraft, which is really just one huge bear den if you persist in looking at it from a four-legged point of view (as I do). So, what can up-and-coming and existing druids expect from this brave new World of play?

The game continues to be made that much easier, now with flight form learned at level 60 and travel form awarded at the whoppingly low level of 16. Yowzah! The young cubs certainly have it easy these days.

The look of Savage Defense, a racial bear ability only recently introduced in a preceding patch, has new animation that no longer makes the bear stand upright.

Bears can now see their mana levels when shape shifted, a feature available in many different add-ons. We can now also use rage potions, which we've lived without for so long this is pretty much a bust.

There is a certain school of thought (I think I've mostly spearheaded this movement) that says Blizzard hates the bear. Evidence of this continues to mount in the form of continuing armor and mitigation nerfs, more of which have been presented with Patch 3.2. A 15% agility-to-dodge and dodge rating-to-dodge nerf has been introduced which does slightly lower the bear's ability to take a hit. The new buff to Enrage, which now offers 20 instant rage and 10 rage over the next 10 seconds, doesn't at all make up for it. Bears continue to be the baddest and the best, Blizzard continues to nerf. The result? Pallys still can't touch our health, guys.

Change Your Form by Changing Your Hair

Want to know which hairstyles you need to get the right color form, now that druids have finally been changed? The 'do you were rocking before Patch 3.2 may not look so hot when you jump into bear form.

Thankfully, the folks at Wow Insider have it all figured out for you. Get the look you want with only the minor inconvenience of finding a barber shop.

The PvP Bear

So, a lot of WoWers want to say tanks - especially bear tanks - can't PvP successfully. Patently, this is not the case. Bear tanks are amazingly hard to take down and, at given times, they can do a helluva lot of damage. In fact, bears who raid can be ideal in PvP. Here's what you need to make your presence known in the battlegrouns and arenas:

-A healer.
No self-respecting tank would be caught in a Wintergrasp battle without one.

-Resilience gear.
What? Are you serious? Yes, that's right, resilience gear. It's true bears are naturally uncritable, but in PvP resilience isn't used as a defense replacement. This stat has merit on its own, only don't expect it to do a whole lot for you outside the battlegrounds. You'll find some pretty good epics for sale in Wintergrasp and near Champion's Hall in Stormwind. Aim to have about 700 resilience, all told, to really deflect those attacks. Remember, in PVP clothies are your worst enemies (strange as that may sound).

-Pots, flasks, consumables and buffs.
Every little bit helps. Be sure to bring your bandages, mage food, healing pots and all the reagents you can carry. If you're looking for a PvP session, you want to be fully stocked. Bears can take a lot of damage, but you don't want to have to pop into caster too many times to get healed up. You know how small your mana pool is - bring some food!


Bear PvP Tricks and Tips

Remember, you can stealth when you're in kitty. You can also get an extra stun and one strong bleed attack out of this. Stealth, strike with Pounce and then throw a Shred. You can even finish it out with Maim to interrupt your target. Go into bear form and you've got another stun already on deck.

Don't forget to use your cooldowns. Bust Barskin. Use your bear healing ability. Go Berserk. Fight to kill!

Always, always, turn your entangling roots buff on. You can use it without switching forms, and you can really aggravate your attacker.

Druid Changes in Patch 3.2

The player test realms have been open for a while and the whole of the World of Warcraft seems to be on the brink of anticipation. Patch 3.2 is getting closer and closer to being released all the time!

So...what can druids expect to see as far as their characters are concerned?

Druid Changes in Patch 3.2

The answer is, very little. Everything that druids will see for themselves has long since been released. Some Balance abilities may be tweaked, some Resto spells might change...and the bear gets absolutely nothing new to talk about.

The only 3.2 change that might matter to druids (other than the appearance, of course) is the possible change to shapeshifting cost. There has been a lot of talk about the amount of mana is takes to change forms, and even more talk suggests that this could change in the upcoming patch. Many rumors say that it will no longer cost mana at all to change forms.

But seriously, how much does that matter to bears?

World of Warcraft Movie Update

Bruce Campbell,whom you'll recognize from the Evil Dead movies (he's also, apparently, in a series called Burn Notice), recently spoke about the upcoming World of Warcraft movie.

Campbell is still friendly with his old director Sam Raimi, who worked on the Evil Dead and Spiderman movies, and says he'd be happy to play a part in the upcoming flick. Sources say the film will center around Azeroth, the stage for much in-game drama and leveling activity.

A director. Casting buzz. A plausible setting. Sounds like we've got all the makings for the big WoW movie, a project that's already been years in the making.