Experiencing a little difficulty when logging in to Blizzard's World of Warcraft? Well, Community Manager Bornakk was able to post an update regarding the developments being done by the company and provided a short list of the servers that are going to be affected by it. Check out what he said after the jump!

Ever wondered if there's a possibility that a new boss can be enslaved in World of Warcraft? Kaydeethree from the Medivh realm posted two screenshots, one that showed Brutallus the pit lord was, in fact, enslavable.

Blizzard blue posted Hortus commented on this newfound information, which found him quite surprised as well.

Medivh - the prophet dude in Warcraft 3 - remains as one of the series' most enigmatic characters. So enigmatic in fact, that he became a source of confusion in the World of Warcraft forums, particularly how he is still alive in Warcraft 3 when he was killed by Khadgar and beheaded by Lothar? Did he simply reattach his head and walk away? The question was answered by Medievalboy and the revelation lies in the full article. Be warned, though - it may contain spoilers for some people.

Sad news for the World of Warcraft grinders out on the fields. Apparently, come August 13, 11:55 p.m. PDT, a total of 34 realms will undergo some rather heavy system maintenance. The Blizzard team approximates the duration of the purge to last for around 48 hours. They're going to be optimizing WoW infrastructure for the affected realms.

A closing statement from Blizzard states: "Please note that during this time, some services such as the Armory or Paid Character Transfers may be unavailable. Your patience and understanding are appreciated." Alphabetically listed below and grouped by letter are the realms affected by the maintenance:

• Aggramar, Argent Dawn, Arthas, Azgalor
• Bleeding Hollow, Bloodhoof, Burning Blade, Burning Legion
• Durotan
• Earthen Ring, Elune, Eonar, Eredar
• Gilneas, Gorefiend
• Kargath
• Laughing Skull, Lihgning's Blade, Llane, Lothar
• Madoran, Magtheridon, Malygos, Mannoroth, Medivh
• Shadowmoon, Shattered Hand, Skullcrusher, Stormrage
• Thunderhorn, Thunderlord, Trollbane
• Warsong
• Zul'jin

 

And in the world of competitive gaming, the Championship Gaming Series ladder stage has concluded recently, allowing the current top-five teams in each battlegroup to head for the qualifiers round. The second stage will decide which U.S. and European teams can face off at World of Warcraft Arena 2v2 showdown at the upcoming BlizzCon.

From 13 battlegroups, 65 teams will have to double-team their way through the best of the best for a sure ticket inside of Blizzard's Anaheim event. Regional qualifiers already got their passport to Blizzard's haven some time back, and now it's time for 16 lucky ones (eight from Europe, eight from U.S.) to get their share of the opportunity.

Now while no names have been officially announced, we've gone through the hard way of extracting all the top five teams of all battlegroups and listed them here. Hopefully the list was updated in time for this announcement, but if it wasn't then consider these names not etched in stone.

Click on Full Article for the full list of (possibly) qualifying teams from each battlegroup.

Our last Blizzard expansion factions update was about the rings given by The Scale of the Sands. This time, it's another secretive faction called the Violet Eye and their reputation reward rings.

The World of Warcraft's Violet Eye was founded by the Kirin Tor to keep an eye (excuse the pun) on Karazhan and Medivh. Even if the Guardian of Tirisfal has fallen, the archmages of the Violet Eye still keep watch over the evil that has taken over the place.

Their reputation rewards are pretty much like the Scale of the Sands, upgradable rings that follow certain paths. For the Violet Eye, however, you get to follow the Path of the Violet Mage, Restorer, Assassin, or Protector.

The Signets given at a Friendly reputation are rare while the Honored and Revered get epic rings. At Exalted reputation, players can get the Violet Signet of the Archmage, Grand Restorer, Master Assassin, or Great Protector depending on the path chosen.

The Violet Signets are currently unswappable, so choose carefully. Keep checking back here for more World of Warcraft news and updates.

For the first time ever at Elizabeth Wachowski's WoW Insider "Know Your Lore" column, the history of a group was discussed. The focus was on the five doomed Alliance heroes who went to the Outlands to retrieve the Book of Medivh and close the Dark Portal. Of course, we say doomed because the said five never returned.

The column features the history of Archmage Khadgar, Turalayon, Alleria Windrunner, Kurdran Wildhammer, and Danath Trollbane, and the ultimate fate of the Alliance Expedition. If you're particularly curious about those commemorative statues at the Valley of Heroes at Stormwind, feel free to click on our "read" link below, it should lead to Wachowski's words.

Ah, Stormwind. What do we remember when we hear Stormwind? Oh, yeah. Kruul...

So you've finally brought that Druid to level 68 and just bagged Flight Form. For those without Druids, Flight Form is exactly what Medivh does when he shapeshifts to a crow in Warcraft III, not to forget the Druids of the Talon's all-so-similar crow shapeshifting skill, too.

For World of Warcraft Druid players, this skill is a keeper, too, as it provides you with a free flying mount (wait a minute, you are the mount!) and you instantly train in the flying mount skill (because you are the mount, you teach yourself). Druids with this skill must know there are requirements to using it and the skill can only be performed in the Outlands.

Now Locust has provided a detailed FAQ thread in the WoW Forums that delves right into the questions raised by various players concerning this skill. You can click on the "Read" link provided below to get there.

Remember Medivh? He's the story teller of the latest installment to the long running Warcraft series for the PC, Warcraft III. Yes, the prophet dude. WoW Insider tells us more of the story behind Medivh.

Now we all know that Medivh was responsible for the opening of the Dark Portal, bringing the Horde of Orcs into Azeroth. It soon became known as the First War.

Now this "Last Guardian" was a guardian of Tirisfal and son of Aegwynn, another guardian in the Council of Tirisfal. 70 years prior to World of Warcraft, Aegwynn fought the titan Sargeras, only to be planted with his essence. This essence took over Medivh at age 20, giving Sargeras control of him. He was coerced to destroy the humans of Azeroth.

He travelled to Draenor (the focus of the Burning Crusade world since its launch) convinced Gul'dan, legendary warlock of the Orcish Horde, to invade Azeroth as repayment to being informed of the whereabouts of Sargeras' Tomb. Aegwynn soon found out of Medivh's mischief and finally was forced to fight him.

Medivh won and banished his own mother from his sight. Unfortunately for him, Khadgar confirmed his suspicions and together with childhood friends Llane and Lothar, Horde emissary Garona Halforcen and the humans of Azeroth, fought Medivh until his slain by Khadgar himself.

Then the epic story of the struggle against Lord Archimonde begins. Only this time, we know Medivh's wrongdoings in the past in greater detail - so detailed in fact, that everything seems to fall right into place. We're all a little smarter now.

Click on the Read link below to read the biography of the Last Guardian in greater detail.