StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard announced today the details on their third annual Worldwide Invitational to be held in Seoul, Korea. As you know, the annually-held Worldwide Invitational is Blizzard's way of reaching out to their hordes and legions of fans, get their users' thoughts on their games and basically just foster a connection with the Blizzard-gaming community.

When: May 19-20, 2007
Where: Olympic Gymnastics and Fencing Stadiums in Seoul, South Korea

Like in the previous years, this year's event will also be open to gamers of all ages who will be able to join tournaments on Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, etc.

For the non-competitive peeps, the event will also feature panel discussions with the Blizzard developers that'll tackle various topics including game development. Blizzard will also be staging hands-on attractions in the said event. Blizzard's Mike Morhaime says,

With a wide variety of themed activities and competitions to participate in, the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals are a great way for us to show our appreciation to our players. We're looking forward to creating another memorable show for them this year as well.

Stay tuned as we bring you more details on Blizzard's 2007 World Invitational.

Over at the WoW Europe's forums, a user by the name of Xara has reported the bugs that continue to plague World of Warcraft. Just a few days ago, we told you about the Black Morass and Mechanar bugs and how Blizzard is already hard at work on fixing them.

This time around, the reported bugs involve the Horde Epic PvP reward and the Alliance Epic PvP reward wherein the General and Marshall's leather boots bind when picked up. It seems to be just a minor glitch in the system (nuthin' that a good old patch can't fix) so don't throw a hissy fit just yet, we're pretty sure Blizzard is already on this and are cooking up ways to resolve the matter. Here are the reported bugs:

Horde epic pvp reward:

• General's Leather Boots binds when picked up
• Feet Leather
• 240 Armor
• +23 Agility
• +33 Stamina
• Durability 60 / 60
• Requires Level 70
• Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 12.
• Equip: Improves resilience rating by 22.
• Equip: Increases attack power by 22.
  

Alliance epic pvp reward:

• Marshal's Leather Boots binds when picked up
• Feet Leather
• 240 Armor
• +24 Agility
• +36 Stamina
• Durability 60 / 60
• Requires Level 70
• Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 12.
• Equip: Improves resilience rating by 24.
• Equip: Increases attack power by 24.
• Level 70 Epic PvP rewards, both cost 21,000 honor, but ally version have more stats.

For this Friday's Phat Loot Phriday, WowInsider features a Scryer item that you can try -- the fast and excellent offhand dagger called Retainer's Blade. There are millions of items and weapons in World of Warcraft, and if you really wanna maximize your gameplay, you might wanna take heed of this one.

 Name: Retainer's Blade
Type: Epic One-Hand Dagger
Damage/Speed: 94-142, 1.50 (78.7 DPS)
Abilities:

• +21 Agility, +21 Stamina
• This is perfect for anyone who needs a fast offhand for procs. Rogues would probably make the most use out of this, what with the extra Agility and Stamina they have, and the 1.50 speed. This could also prove to be useful for Fury warriors.
  

Now, all you have to do to get it is to take on Scryer quests. You'll get the details on what you need to do by cavorting around the Scryer area in Shattrath, but mostly it'll require you to get Firewing and Sunfury Signets by killing Blood Elves around Terrokar Forest. Once you've done that and reached Exalted, go to the Scryer Quartermaster in Shattrath and make sure to bring some cash. Why? Because this dagger will cost you 198 gold and change.

But hey, if you got that much moolah at your disposal, there's no reason for you not to check out this nifty one-hand dagger that'll surely come in handy in your travels. Stay tuned for more.

Alright, so you already have the World of Warcraftpatch 2.0.7 right there on your PCs. But if you've been following the recent developments on the whole WoW protest thing, you've probably picked it up by now that 2.0.7 is deemed by many as THE WoW patch that will redeem Blizzard and the whole Burning Crusade expansion.

So anyhoo, as a step into solving the whole matter, Blizzard has released the full list of known bugs in the recently released patch. And when we say full list, boy do we mean brimming full. Among the general bugs you'll find are the following:

• The flight path from Evergrove to Swamprat Post will pass through a building in Thunderlord Stronghold.
• The Blood Elf Male walking animation has an improper attachment point for their 2 handed weapons.
  

Oh, but that's not all of it. There are still a whole lotta bugs included in the list; all separated by Environment, Spells, Talents & Abilities, Tradeskills, Quests, Items, UI, and Monsters and NPCs. As we said, it's a massive list so whaddya say we get this show on the road already?

Environment

• The Mechanaar elevator will not appear on some clients at times. Running the repair.exe utility and renaming your wtf/wdb/interface folders may help remedy this.
• The sign doodad from Valaar's Berth in Azuremyst Isle is placed below the ground.
• Draenei do not leave footprints.
  

Spells, Talents, & Abilities

• Spellsurge enchant does not show mana gains in the combat log or with floating combat text enabled.
• Druid cyclone ability can be used on hunters and their pets while Bestial Wrath and The Beast Within are active.
• The reward buff “Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer” for “Victory for the Horde” does not affect Blood Elves.
• The left hand particle effect for Thekals Grasp and Arlokks Grasp isn't displaying correctly on the tiger-man model.

View all of 'em bugs in the full article!

If you're among the eight millionWorld of Warcraft-addicted game users all over the globe, then you've probably heard about the whole LFG system fiasco, with users complaining about various stuff like level restrictions, lack of support for PvP raids, and tons more.

We already told you guys that Blizzard have duly noted these complaints and is working on a new LFG UI to try and fix some of these complaints. So for those who have just stumbled across the LFGX add-on, you might wanna wait a bit more before using it. But before we get a bit off track here, here's the statement from Blizzard regarding the LFG issues you've been reporting:

We are currently in the process of designing and implementing some of the ideas and suggestions made by players to improve the LFG tool so that its current shortcomings will be ironed out. As of yet we have no specific information about the improvements under development, however the changes being done will make LFG tool much better, and when they have been implemented there should no longer be any need for using the various chat channels when searching for a group or looking for more group members.

Well, there ya have it folks. Hopefully we'll start seeing these changes real soon so we can get back to our real lives playing the wonder that is WoW. Hehe. We'll keep you posted for more developments.

Here's another one to add to that already long list of WoW mods you have stored in your PCs, VoidRaider's SpellMaster.

The SpellMaster is an all-in-one flexible timers add-on and right now, this version has the Spell Timers and a Casting Bar (which you can also opt to disable via the Addons List). What's cool about this mod is that VoidRaider also designed the mod to be customizable, meaning, users will be able to create their own skins and add-ins and plug them into the mod.

Just a bit of trivia for you guys: VoidRaider has just decided to stop playing WoW and this mod version kinda serves as his goodbye release because from hereon, he won't be working on this mod anymore (nor will he be playing WoW...or so he says).

VoidRaider has been working on this mod since the early beta stages of the Burning Crusade, but now that his void has apparently been filled, he wishes that someone will continue working on his mod. So anyway, here are the key features of this mod:

• Fully customizable GUI Options.
• On the fly layout customization.
• Bars Timers
• Icons Timers
• Casting Bar
• Enemy-Casting Bar
• Focus Enemy Casting Bar
• 'Plug-able' Add-in and Skins support

If you're an avid add-on user and you see potential in this mod, perhaps you might wanna think about continuing VoidRaider's work, eh? Whaddya think?

Download: [SpellMaster 2.5.0b]

During the recently held London launch of The Burning Crusade (which was flooded by undead-looking people, if I might add), Blizzard's VP of development Itzik Ben Bassat issued some statements regarding the company's plans after WoW:BC.

Given the HUGE success of WoW (more than 8 million users, baby!), a lot of people are speculating that the company may pattern their next titles after WoW. But during the launch, Bassat hinted that their next MMORPG won't just be a clone of their worldwide hit title.

When asked about this by British magazine Empire, Bassat said,

When we announce our next MMORPG it's not going to be another WOW - we're not a company that tends to tread the same ground. It'll be something innovative and new that really brings entertainment to another level.

And as for the rumored World of Warcraft film, Bassat commented:

Bringing Warcraft to the movies is the next step for us, we want to let people bring World of Warcraft into other aspects of their lives. After all, we're competing for people's entertainment time, whether it's listening to music, watching TV, or going to the cinema.

While none of these don't really reveal a lot about their upcoming title, maybe the fact that the company started hiring real-time strategy developers last summer hints at something, eh? We'll keep you posted!

Ever get frustrated how in World of Warcraft you have to just stare at your screens while you're queued for battlegrounds when you could just as well be checking your mail or browsing the net while waiting?

Well, you've just hit the jackpot by clicking on this post 'coz in our hands right now is the very nifty WoW mod, BGSwitch! With BGSwitch, you'll basically get to browse the net while never missing a battleground or arena because it will alert you once your battleground is ready.

BGSwitcher (aka Thea@Khaz'GorothAfter) says that after charging BGSwitch, you can then easily "Alt-Tab out WoW, and when your battleground is ready WoW gets the focus again, letting you enter the instance, clear AFK, answer messages..."

This will also work not only while waiting for your battleground but also on other events like AFK-timer, chat-messages/keywords, ReadyCheck, Flight finished. Here are some notes from BGSwitcher on how to use this mod:

• run configuration ('/BGS CFG') @ first use, to ensure everything is setup right
• set keyboard-shortcuts via WoW-options-menu for easier handling
• ReSwitch can be used even if you are not queued

Commands:

• '/BGS' switches screen-mode(full/win), charges for ONE Auto-Re-Switch, sets you AFK, ....
• '/BGS OFF' stops unwanted soundplay and/ or resets everything to your default(after disconnect)
• '/BGS CFG' calls configuration-window
  

Download: [BGSwitch v5.4]

In case you're wondering what your first step will be once you get hold of that much sought after copy of The Burning Crusade expansion, you're in luck because that's precisely what we're giving you today.

Some have already reported minor bugs and glitches encountered in BC, and now, some are saying that they're actually having difficulties getting into the expansion. As it turns out, these people haven't been reminded about some of the major factoids and steps required in order to play the Burning Crusade expansion.

Luckily, Blizzard has responded to this by posting a how-to over at the WoW forums. The reminders are as follows:

1. Players will need to install from their game CDs and upgrade their accounts. Those that have only upgraded their accounts will not be able to access the new content until they install the Burning Crusade client software.
2. For those that wish to play their account on more than one system, the Burning Crusade client software must also be installed on the additional systems in order to access the new content.
3. Once the Burning Crusade is installed on a computer, it can be used to play both original and expansion accounts.
   

Blizzard also announced that it will soon be offering a directly downloadable version of the expansion so if you haven't grabbed a copy yet (or you live in the WoW-less Japan, for one. Harhar), make sure you check back for further announcements.

With all the news bits coming out lately with the success of the Burning Crusade launch in UK and in the land down under, it may be time to shift our focus for a bit on the more pressing matters regarding the WoW system itself.

We told you guys earlier that WoW will be having another round of free character transfers, but in light of recent events (specifically in prepping for the BC experience), Blizzard has reset the cooldown for all characters that used the Paid Character Transfer service within the last 90 days.

However, as with most things in life, there will be exceptions to the rule. Six realms weren't affected by the cooldown reset...or at least not yet. The following realms will receive the reset next Tuesday:

• Boulderfist
• Dragonblight
• Bloodscalp
• Darkspear
• Azjol-Nerub
• Perenolde