• New Faction rewards and improvements added to Alterac Valley
• Druids got a complete talent revamp
• Numerous Buffs given to Warlocks
• Addition of content about Silithis.

Check out the details here.

The mechanics of most instant melee attacks will be modified to improve item balance upon the release of patch version 1.8. Currently, instant melee attacks do damage based on the damage range of the weapon, plus a bonus for the player’s attack power. This bonus is then multiplied by the speed of the weapon. As a result, slow weapons do more damage than is intended, and fast weapons are considered inferior by most players. We are changing the way the attack power bonus is calculated for instant attacks. This change will NOT affect attack power calculations for normal melee attacks. Instead of multiplying by the speed of the weapon, the attack power bonus will be multiplied by a fixed number pulled from the following table:

Two-handed weapons: 3.3
Daggers: 1.7
All other one-handed weapons: 2.4

What does this basically mean? Slow weapons will still offer a slight bonus in instant attacks due to their intrinsic higher damage per hit, but the bonus from attack power now does not scale with weapon speed. Keep in mind though... it looks like Rogues will have even less reason to use daggers.

V1.8 will feature major changes to the Druid Talent tree, in order so that all three options are viable. Be sure to check out the changes here.

• Always Handle Your Gauss Rifle With Care: Part 1

Got a piece of fan fiction? Be sure to send it in.

Priests are often frustrated that other classes do not appreciate how to work with them, and its very much in your interest to know how to work well with your priest so that your groups are more successful, wipe less often and you finish more quests and level faster. You may be reading this as a non-priest because someone you have grouped with suggested you do so, please take this stuff on board and you will enjoy the game more when grouping with a priest.

It's well worth reading, for anyone who plans to do PvE with priests in their group... i.e. Everyone.

Is this a good thing? Do you enjoy Arathi Basin? Or are you one of those forced to play it since nothing else is available? Be sure to vote.

With the start of a new week, it's time for a new poll. So withour further delay, here's the results for the previous one:

What Blizzard game are you playing the most?
World of Warcraft	450	42%
Warcraft 3	256	24%
Diablo 2	79	7%
Starcraft	212	20%
None	62	6%
TOTAL	1059	100 %

Looks like World of Warcraft remains the dominant game for Infoceptor viewers, but still a good amount play Warcraft 3. Surprisingly, despite all these years, Starcraft remains ever popular. We really do hope that Starcraft 2 is announced soon...

For example, Frost Mages will now be playing at effective level of 56. As a shaman, this is a signal to return to an enhancement build! Details here.

Got a story? Be sure to send it in.

Today, the stories archive has been completely revamped. The dust has cleared, and all past creations ready for you to read. Feeling bored? There is no better place to start!

• Infoceptor Official Fan Fiction Archive

If you're short on time, there here is a few samples, true gems of light reading that you should not miss out on.

In The Roots of Revenge, Korhal claims its independence from the Confederacy... a move not kindly taken. It's leader, Angus Mengsk must now face the deadly consequences of human greed, and bear fruit the legacy of a conflict yet to come.

In Footnote, a tale of distinct irony unfolds... as a lone marine perferms an act of bravery no one has expected, in the most peculiar circumstances.

Got a piece of Fan Fiction? We would love to see it! Be sure to check out the submission guidelines. I'd personally like to thank Unchow for movie all 500 plus stories into the new system, it as heck of a lot of work.

Apparently a woman in China took it upon herself to make the term "video game widow" a reality. According to the Beijing Morning Post (by way of the Pacific Epoch Daily News) a young woman has been charged with murdering her fiancé for "too much time playing online games." Though the culpable title wasn't identified, the motive was. On August 6, the woman in question apparently got fed up with her unemployed significant other for spending more time online than looking for a job so he could pay for their wedding

So, that's why they're limiting online game time in China. Currently, the exact MMORPG remains unannounced, but with WoW being the most popular game there....

Source: Gamespot

In March of this year, Blizzard Entertainment, makers of World of Warcraft, banned more than 1,000 accounts for selling WoW currency and goods on eBay and other sites. In June, CCP, the Icelandic company that developed Eve Online, moved against what it described as "a virtual crime syndicate, dealing in vast sums" of the game's currency. More than 80 accounts were permanently banned. And yet WoW gold and items are still sold on eBay and elsewhere every day, and at least one "power seller" runs an eBay store that is clearly flagged as offering Eve Online goods, and has been doing so for over a year. IGE moves vast sums in game goods and currency every day. And even a site like MarkeeDragon.com, which deals only in Ultima Online items, does a million dollars in annual transactions.

It's definately an interesting read. Kudos to Wraithfighter for the news.

After a through investigation of the Paladin class they were found to too heavily favor defense. Because of the Paladin's defensive skills, we were unable to give them any abilities that overly affected combat. As a result the Paladin class became one with no weaknesses but at the same time, no strengths. In order to remedy this situation we have decided to reduce the effectiveness of a Paladin's Defensive abilities but at the same time increase thier offense and their ability to help their group.

Also we have revamped the talent trees in order to make the three trees fill the three roles of the paladin. The Retribution tree should now make Paladins good damage dealers, the Protection tree should make them good tanks, and the Holy tree should make them good healers.

We make it clear that these changes are not official, and could well be a hoax. But given that the same source has been correct in the past, there is a good chance they are true.

In particular key changes include the heavy nerfs of the Paladin's invulnerability shields, so that all except one are now damage absorption spell. In compensation, Paladins get major buffs in the retribution tree. Details here.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled Thursday that federal law--specifically, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act--disallows players from altering Blizzard games to link with servers other than the company's official Battle.net site.

It remains speculative how much action Blizzard will take against those that host third party servers. Certainly, the backlash caused by people who enjoy playing with thier friends, such as on local Australian or dedicated DOTA servers, will be great. Read more here.