Leuthesius has been slain by a trap.

You have died. Your deeds of valor will be remembered.

I'm going to make an educated guess that many people reading this have played Diablo II, and are well aware that with the recent release of patch 1.11 and the unlocking of Pandemonium that it is possibly the end of new things to ever release for the game.

Unless they decide to fix the annoying little strength bug and remove any and all possibilities of the use of maphack, and the those annoying little bots that pester us all.

Those bots. *twitch*
"BUY OUR ITEMS HERE "WEBSITE""
"BUY OUR ITEMS HERE "WEBSITE""
"BUY OUR ITEMS HERE "WEBSITE""
"BUY OUR ITEMS HERE "WEBSITE""
"BUY OUR ITEMS HERE "WEBSITE""
bot has dropped

Annoying aren't they?

Over my time with Diablo II (which may or may not be as extensive as some) I have gone about and built up some of the most insane builds you'd ever think of. I've called them weird names, set them up as gear specific builds, and all of those that I've actually built have come out with amazing power.

Before long, many of those will be posted. It may take a little bit of time with my schedule, but you shall have them. One, because I like to brag about my awesome characters. Two, because I don't think I should let everybody else run around wasting their time building cookie cutters like everyone else.

In the mean time, the Diablo II forums do have an old (in dire need of overhaul) collection of build ideas from some of the user base here. Feel free to check them out, and add your two bits. If your idea is a crazy one, and it looks like it would work, then it will have a chance to go on Infoceptor.com as well!

You shall all also notice that parts of the site are going to be going under construction soon. So don't be alarmed if you are suddenly missing something or something looks different. We're just working.

-Leuthesius

In a surprise move, the chinese government has announced plans to restrict consecutive hours playing online games, and in particular MMORPGs. These actions were taken as a result of the recent incidents, such as people dying of exhaustion while playing WoW:

The system will impose penalties on players who spend more than three hours gaming online. The system is slated to be fully operational in late 2006 or early 2006 and will be compulsory for all massively multiplayer online role-playing and online casual games.

"This timing mechanism can prevent young people from becoming addicted to online games," Xiaowei Kou, the deputy director of the general administration of press and publication (GAPP), said during a press conference in Beijing.

According to the Interfax news service, the system reduces the ability level of a player's online game character if the game is played beyond the three-hour limit. Basically, play more than three hours and the system cuts a game character's ability by half. Play more than five hours and the system reduces a game character's ability to the lowest level possible.

For the rest of the article, and more information, click here.

My question is, how in the world are players suppose to do MC raids. I'm not sure about you, but killing Ragnoras while all of your characters in the party has the equavalent of ressurection sickness doesn't sound too easy!

As a Shaman myself, is there anything a particular want.

And if you are not already a registered member, I invite you join so that you have the option to reply to threads, create your own, send private messages, and much more! I would really like to hear some of your thoughts on Blackwing Lair, or anything else you want to share with us, whether it is concerning WoW, D2, SC, or just some general thoughts about your everday life, so feel free to register and share with us.

The good? No more Level 51s farming harpiers in Alterac Valley. The bad? Level 51-59's probably won't be able to have a game in Alterac Valley.

Unfortunately, first impressions are not too positive. Well they could be better, if the game did not crash every time you attacked someone or got hit!

As it was, running around capturing resource nodes without combat got ust a little dull after half an hour. We'll have a full first impressions up once Blizzard stablised the code! If the meantime, check out the rest of the screenshots here.

The test server this time is probably the most unstable so far, where the game crashes whenever you target someone, move around and get hit... so much for war in Warcraft!

However, thnks to the contributions of SiliticX, we've got a nice map of the new raid instance, as well as screenshots of its item rewards. Be sure to check them out:

• Zul'gurub Class Set Item Rewards
• Zul'gurub Map

We'll keep you updated!

• Paladin gains a ranged attack.
• A new 20 man high end instance.
• A new battleground.

Be sure to check out the details!

Since this has been a topic that I've talked so many times about with my university colleagues, I have to personally recommend it. Be sure to check it out. Comments? Direct them here. Kudos to cirE for the news!

A 28-year old South Korean man died of exhaustion Friday after playing computer games non-stop for 49 hoursd in an Internet cafe in the souther city of Taegu, police said. The man, identified only by his last name, Lee, collapsed after refusing to stop playing the battle-simulation game Starcraft to eat or sleep. He was taken to the hospital and died hours after his arrival of a presumed heart attack. Lee had been fired from his job last month for skipping work to play computer games. -USA TODAY Thursday, August 11, 2005 Section D

Other Blizzard games have being known to kill, such as the death of a baby due to World of Warcraft. However, Starcraft still remains as the most deadly game, especially to Koreans, who regard it as a national sport.

Comment here!

• Both sides of up to 15 players each compete to occupy the five resource nodes spread throughout Arathi Basin.
• Each claimed node generates resources for the owning team. The more nodes your team controls, the quicker you gain natural resources. The first team that gains 2,000 resources wins.
• Both the winning and losing team earn honor after completing an Arathi Basin Battleground, as accumulated resources translate directly into bonus honor for players.
• Arathi Basin is banded by level, just like Warsong Gulch. The minimum level to join is 21.

Check out the details here. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Personally, I'm looking forward, as I always do, to the new and exciting challenges. Although, I must admit, the repair costs from the newest challenge (Blackwing Lair) definately leaves something to be desired : (

You can read all about it here, at the WoW Official Site.

1. Battlefield 2 (CD) (Electronic Arts)
2. World of Warcraft (Blizzard)
3. Guild Wars (NCsoft)
4. The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts)
5. The Sims Deluxe (Electronic Arts)
6. The Sims 2 University (Electronic Arts)
7. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (Atari)
8. The Sims: Unleashed (Electronic Arts)
9. Battlefield 2 (DVD) (Electronic Arts)
10. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked (Electronic Arts)

Despite being nearly a year old, World of Warcraft is still going sttrong, and its no easy feat for a MMORPG to beat the likes of The Sims!

Source: IGN

Every 6 month or so, Infoceptor sets up a poll to determine what gaves should it better cover. With World of Warcraft now out for nearly a year, people's interest could quite well change. Should WoW still be the primary focus of the site, or in Warcraft 3 back in the hotspot? Vote today.

Which Battleground to you visit the most? [DIscuss]
Alterac Valley	98	20%
Warsong Gulch	197	40%
Don't play BG	195	40%
TOTAL	490	100 %

Looks like interesting in World of Warcraft is waning, given that nearly half our viewers are not playing battlegrounds! But out of those who are, it appears that Warsong Gluch takes the lead.... It looks like the faster pace and accessibility at earlier levels sealed the deal.

The team behind the enormously popular Diablo franchise--most recently known as Blizzard North, the Bay Area outpost of Irvine, Calif-based Blizzard Entertainment--has been officially shuttered. Arguably, the office was moribund for months, those with ties to the Diablo franchise having departed months or even years ago to form studios of their own.

In a statement today, Blizzard president and founder Mike Morhaime said the relocation will "improve our efficiency as a company" and "represents an opportunity for all of our teams to have regular, direct input on each other's projects." 

Those from Blizzard North who were offered relocation packages "will continue work on an unannounced project,"

The most interesting excerpt would be the last paragraph.... there is still an unannounced project. However, is this Diablo 3, which could have been cancelled during the last exodus of Blizzard employees, or are they joining Blizzard south to develop their unannounced project.

What do you think? Read the rest of the article and post your speculations here.

Source: Gamespot

Players of Hell Difficulty Realm games are hereby warned once again, that a series of new and challenging tests await you! The answer lies within Diablo's Bosses, which span across the world from the Den of Evil to the Throne of Destruction...

What's that all about? We don't yet know, do post what you know here!

StarCraft is hands down one of the best, if not the best, real-time strategy games ever created. With three distinct races, both in terms of gameplay and style Blizzard's masterpiece contains some of the most balanced and yet widely-varied units in the genre. Add in amazing production values which still look good and a brilliant story progression and you've got yourself one incredibly addictive and fulfilling strategy title that still has rabid fans all over the world. Eight years on and Blizzard continues to update the game to make it as great as it can be.

Read the rest here. Strange though, that Warcraft 2 was nowhere be seen.

In what must be a welcome change of events, the company's long-suffering game division, VU Games, had both a boffo quarter and half-year. Primarily on sales of the online hit World of Warcraft, the division's Q2 sales increased by 76 percent to 125 million euros ($151.7 million).

First-half revenues were up 61 percent to 236 million euros ($286.4 million). In addition to WoW, the company called out Robots, SWAT 4, The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Half-Life 2, and Empire Earth II as peak performers.

Read the rest here.