See that shocked look on Thrall's face above? That guy's the leader of the Horde, and he just read (on WoW.com, of course) that for the first time, players of World of Warcraft will be able to switch their factions -- players will be able to leave his Horde, and those dirty Alliance might come to his side. No wonder he's so shocked. That story and more in this week's most popular posts from Joystiq's Azeroth-obsessed sister site.

News

• Faction changes coming to World of Warcraft
  Horde can be Alliance, Alliance can be Horde, cats and dogs sleeping together! It's lunacy!
• Patch 3.2 PTR unveils Tier 9 sets
  The next level of epic armor is coming to the game in the latest content patch...
• Patch 3.2 PTR Tier 9 set names
  ...And it's got a great set of lore names to go with along with it.
• Patch 3.2 upcoming Engineering changes
  Big changes for one of the game's most popular professions.
• Exodus punished for exploiting Yogg-Saron encounter
  After a guild accomplishes a world-first achievement kill, Blizzard determines they didn't quite follow the rules.
  

Features

• Patch 3.2 PTR: Tauren Druid conversation may reveal lore and expansion secrets
  A pair of Druids chatting in the new content patch might hint at the future of the game.
• The OverAchiever: Guide to Midsummer Fire Festival achievements
  Azeroth is heating up with the Fire Festival -- here's how to get everything done this week.
• Arcane Brilliance: More questions than answers
  Our Mage columnist didn't get all his questions answered in Blizzard's recent Q&A article about the class.
• Patch 3.2 PTR: New heirloom items gallery
  A pictoral look at some new heirloom items headed to the game.
• WoW Casually: What Patch 3.2 means for casuals
  Oh, you don't raid five times a week? Patch 3.2 has something for you as well.

• Reviews: We give our final verdicts for Prototype and Fallout 3: Point Lookout
• Happy 13th Birthday Quake: We look back at the id Software FPS franchise
• The big PC game acquisitions: In the way of id Software's purchase by ZeniMax, we take a look at other PC game industry purchases.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac games column takes a look at the life sim Spouts Adventure.
• Boot Disk: Our weekly look at retro gaming centers on the classic action-RPG System Shock 2.
• Big Ideas: "Can a game make you cry?" That's the topic of our latest weekly game theme feature.
• Freeware Friday: This week our free PC game feature is about the unusual puzzle game Chauk.
• Contest: You still have time to enter our contest where we are giving away some cool Turtle Beach headsets and Say2Play PC game voice command software products

News

• Patch 3.2 PTR patch notes
  Here's the breakdown on what'll be in the Public Test Realm very soon.
• Crusaders' Coliseum details released
  Blizzard gives out deets on what we'll see in the next big instance added to the game.
• Patch 3.2 changes to the tiered Emblem system
  3.2 will bring both new sets of gear tokens to collect, as well as some tweaks and updates to old ones.
• New Shaman totem interface revealed
  Shamans will have new ways to both watch and lay down their totems.
• Class Q&A: Mage
  Blizzard answers questions on "the iconic caster" class.

Features

• WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2
  Everything you need to know about the upcoming content patch, and then some.
• The OverAchiever: Guide to Midsummer Fire Festival Achievements
  The Fire Festival is back, and so's our guide to get the most out of it.
• Insider Trader: Patch 3.2 profession change analysis
  What's new with professions? Read this column and find out.
• The Queue: Patch 3.2 and beyond the infinite
  Our readers ask questions every day, and we offer up answers just as often.
• Guildwatch: We're not even in his guild
  Another week brings another look at all of the guild drama, downed, and recruiting news from around the realms.

• Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer 2009 PC Games: We give our pics for the games we most want to play this summer.
• Interviews: We get some answers about America's Army 3's launch issues and chat with Transformers actor Shia LaBeouf on his gaming habits (he loves Civilization).
• The Virtual US Open: We have a feature on the new web-based PC-Mac game that gives players a chance to play in an official online version of the US Open.
• Contest: You can still register to win one of 25 keys for the full version of Say2Play software along with one of five ay2Play Ear Force HPA2 Headsets.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac gaming column takes a look at the time management title Mystic Emporium.
• Boot Disk: Our weekly retro games column takes a look at Blizzard's classic RTS game Warcraft 2.
• Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes looks at how games could contribute to a new mythology.
• Boot Disk: Our PC hardware column takes a look at how server farms don't need to be super-cooled any more.
• Freeware Friday: Our latest column on free PC games takes a loot at the genre-mixing title Triangle Wizard.

News

• Upcoming mount changes
  Required levels for mounts are being lowered, as are the costs for each.
• Isle of Conquest details released
  Hot new deets on the game's upcoming battleground instance.
• Mountain Dew Battle-bots now live
  Mountain Dew released their promotional in-game items -- come and get 'em while they're... bot?
• New zeppelin and portals coming in Patch 3.2
  In addition to the mount updates, Blizzard is adding a new zep to ride and a portal straight to Outland. How convenient!
• Yogg Saron and Flame Leviathan nerfed tonight
  Two Ulduar bosses get hit with the nerf bat.

Features

• Guildwatch: He's really, really sorry
  Drama, downed, and recruiting news from around the realms.
• Ten things WoW players should know from E3
  Activision is bigger than ever, the MMO genre is widening, and wow, Star Wars: The Old Republic looks good.
• Addon Spotlight: Essential addons for raid leaders
  Our weekly column for UI addons examines some recommended installs for those leading raids.
• Popular scams and how to avoid them
  There are scams aplenty in Azeroth, so here's some tips on how to dodge them.
• WoW, Casually: Tips for leveling on a PvP realm
  Play on a player vs. player realm but don't want to die that often? Here's how to stay alive.

• E3 2009: We conclude our E3 2009 coverage with impressions of Heroes of Telara, Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, R.U.S.E, Wolfenstein, DC Universe Online, Singularity, Alpha Protocol, and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. We also have impressions of the Peregrine PC gaming glove. Plus check out our different take on E3 awards and also point out which major PC games were no shows at E3 this year.
• The Sims 3 review - We give our final verdict on the long awaited people sim sequel.
• Mac Monday - This week's Mac games column takes a look at the RPG Science Girls!
• Boot Disk - our retro games feature takes a look at SimCity 2000
• Big Ideas - Our weekly look at game themes is all about enemies in games
• Freeware Friday - Our weekly look at free PC game examines the creepy horror themed platform-puzzle game Eversion.

• E3 2009 game impressions: We have tons of E3 2009 game impressions from both the show floor and behind closed doors including Brink, Left 4 Dead, Rogue Warrior, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Painkiller Resurrection, APB, BioShock 2, Borderlands, Homefront, Dragon Age: Origins, League of Legends, Alan Wake, The Secret of Monkey Island SE and Tales of Monkey Island, Supreme Commander 2, Mass Effect 2, Aliens Vs. Predator, and Mafia 2.
• E3 2009 in pictures: Check out our galleries of banner ads from the convention center, along with pictures from the show floor and even more show floor pictures. We have pictures of some celebs that showed up at E3. And of course we have galleries featuring the return of the E3 booth babes!: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.
• Team Fortress 2 Spy/Sniper Achievement Guide: Check out Part 6 and Part 7 for the Sniper and Part 6 and Part 7 for the Spy.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at games for the Mac checks out the airplane action game Altitude.
• Boot Disk: Our retro game feature takes a look at the original Rollercoaster Tycoon.
• Big Ideas: Our column on game themes discusses the idea of experience in games.
• Big Iron: Our weekly hardware feature laments that E3 2009 was not a good year for major PC hardware reveals.
• Freeware Friday: Our regular look at free games checks out the puzzle shooter Every Extend

• Countdown to E3 2009: We conclude our features on the games we want to see at the show this coming week with our picks in the RPG-MMO categories and for the rest of the games. Plus play along in Big Download's E3 2009 bingo prediction game. Finally check out our interview with the ESA on E3 2009.
• Guide to Team Fortress 2 Spy and Sniper Achievements: It's our latest guide to the newly established achievements for two of TF2's character classes. Check out The Spy guide (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) and the Sniper Guide (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)
• The Top 10 PC Game News Stories of May 2009: We pick the big news items for the past 31 days.
  
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac games takes a look at the adventure title Cleopatra.
• Boot Disk: Our retro game feature this week offers a look at the classic strategy game Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
• Big Ideas: Our weekly examination on game themes takes a look at artificial intelligence and their evolution in games.
• Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free PC games takes a look at the very distrubing horror game All Of Our Friends Are Dead.

Just in case you haven't heard, things are hopping over at Joystiq's sister site WoW.com (formerly WoW Insider). Not only are we continuing to post the most constant and in-depth news and views about the biggest game in the world (though not the best selling -- maybe we'll have to start a Wii Sports Insider, too), but we've now got your chance to head over and start up your own WoW blog, track your characters online, and even follow your friends and their activities ingame. Read our most popular posts from the past week below, and then head on over and make your own.

News

• Welcome to WoW.com!
  Yes, WoW Insider has undergone a facelift. And we've got some new junk in the trunk too, actually.
• Patch 3.2 details released
  Information from Blizzard about the game's next big content patch: a new BG, a new instance.
• More information on 3.2 release date, Coliseum, new battleground
  Filling in some of the blanks on what's in patch 3.2.
• Patch 3.1.2 goes live today
  Meanwhile, the Equipment Manager finally goes into the game, along with a few other changes.
• Insider Trader: Jewelcrafting nerf incoming
  Blizzard's taking the nerf bat to jewelcrafters and their prismatics.
  

Features

• Bolfang and the future of the Horde and the Alliance
  Bolvar, one of the Alliance's biggest lore characters, is MIA. We wonder where he might be...
• WoW.com Help
  Need to know how to get our new addon working or share your profile page with friends? Here you go.
• Phat Loot Phriday: Porcelain Bell
  Our weekly loot spotlight column examines the most valuable gray in the game so far.
• Time is Money: Saronite
  How to make some big bucks with some shiny ore.
• Forum Post of the Day: The end of big guilds
  The game seems targeted at making smaller, more flexible guilds the most successful. Could giant megaguilds be a thing of the past?

• Countdown to E3 2009: We continue our gallery features leading up to next month's trade show with a look at the action games we want to see at E3.
• NASCAR iRacing Interview: We get the co-founder of iRacing to talk about his plans for returning NASCAR licensing racing sims to the PC in 2010.
• Reviews: We have verdicts on the co-op shooter Killing Floor and the Thrustmaster T.16000M Joystick
• Mac Monday: Our Mac column reviews the recent port of the odd adventure game The Path.
• Boot Disk: Our regular retro games feature takes a look at the original Command and Conquer RTS game.
• Indie Showcase: Our indie games column this week takes a look at three games that are still in beta form: Aces Wild, Arc & Malice and Minecraft.
• Big Ideas: Our column on game themes takes a look at why game adaptation of movies don't usually turn out well.
• Big Iron: Our PC hardware column this week looks at input devices and how they hearken back to old fashioned tech.
• Freeware Friday: In a bit of a twist, this week's look at free PC games is also a retro feature on Grand Theft Auto 2.

The image above is by a WoW Insider reader named Raymond Liang -- he just won our fan art contest recently, and you can see his work and all of the other winners' over on our site right now. Just like the intrepid Troll and Blood Elf in the picture above, we're dedicated to bringing you the latest news from the World of Warcraft, even with a giant robot coming up behind us. Here are our most popular stories of the past week.

• BlizzCon ticket status
  BlizzCon ticket sales took place last Saturday, and things sold out in about 30 minutes. Here's the breakdown.
• Project 62*80: 62 level 80s by Christmas
  A World of Warcraft player wants to create 62, yes 62, level 80s by December 25th.
• Boom goes the servers
  Server issues bring the game down on a Friday night.
• Game Fuel pets for all. Sort of.
  Mountain Dew meets World of Warcraft in the form of a noncombat pet.
• Ensidia gets 10-man Algathon world first
  And yet again, the game has been beaten.

• The Queue: Going to the movies
  You have questions, and we endeavor to answer them for you.
• From our readers: Is my Ulduar-clearing guild holding me back?
  Is it possible to be in a guild that's too good?
• WoW Rookie: Filter out the @#*(!
  How to make sure you only see what you want.
• Ready Check: Casual meets hardcore
  What's the real difference between casual and hardcore players?
• Forum Post of the Day: Be disciplined about healing meters
  Healing meters definitely aren't everything when it comes to raiding performance.

• Countdown to E3 2009: We begin our series of pre-E3 features this week with an overall primer to the show and our wish list of first person shooter games we would like to see at E3.
• First anniversary contests: You still have time to win one of 10 $25 game codes from Nexon America in celebration of Big Download's first anniversary.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly Macintosh feature reviews the Popcap tower defense game Plants Vs Zombies.
• Boot Disk: Our retro games feature is about the Interplay 3D FPS Descent.
• Big Ideas: Our weekly game theme column looks at why non-gamers still see games as juvenile and even harmful
• Freeware Friday: Our weekly free game column takes a look at the free engineering-based game Infiniminer.

Welcome back to the Wacky World of Warcraft, where the men are men, the women are usually dragons of some kind, and the average faction leader is probably being mad with some kind of ill-gotten power. Confused? Wondering why that ugly-looking orc is approaching you with sword drawn? Worry not, WoW Insider is your all-encompassing guide to Azeroth. Just please keep your arms and legs inside the tram at all times -- you don't want to hear what happened to our friend Wirt.

News

• WoW Insider interviews Tom Chilton on Patch 3.1 and beyond
  We talk to the game's lead designer on the latest updates, and what's coming up next.
• Star Trek references in the World of Warcraft
  We've all (well, most of us -- ahem, Alex and Dan) seen Star Trek and loved it, so we compiled this little list of sightings in game.
• WoWMatrix responds to Curse and WoW Interface
  There was a kerfluffle in the addon scene lately, and popular addon updater WoWMatrix finally responds.
• BlizzCon tickets on sale May 16th
  Blizzard's convention is returning to the Anaheim Convention Center, and it'll cost you $125 and some time in line to go.
  
• Flying in old world Azeroth
  Blizzard has long said it wouldn't be possible to allow flying mounts in the original game world. And here's why.

Features

• Disappointment the patch 3.1 game world
  Not everything is hunky dory after the latest update -- at least one of our bloggers is a bit bored.
• Officers' Quarters: Fragmentation
  Our column for guild officers takes a look at who should get the game's newest legendary.
• The OverAchiever: Glory of the Hero strikes back
  How to do one of the biggest achievements in the game.
• WoW, Casually: Guide to the latest features
  Not every WoW player is a hardened veteran -- for the newer folks, there's WoW, Casually.
• Arcane Brilliance: PvPing as a Fire Mage after patch 3.1
  What's new in the world of Mages? Our Mage blogger Christian Belt tells you.

• First anniversary contests: We turned one this week so we want to give our readers a chance to win cool stuff all month long. We began on Friday with contests where folks can win codes to win free copies of Left 4 Dead and any GoG.com game.
• The graveyard of online PC game services: We take a look at the many online game services that launched and failed ... and a couple that didn't even launch.
• A look back (and forward) at PC Star Trek games: With the new movie now out, we look back at some of our favorite Trek PC games over the years and look forward to two upcoming Trek PC titles.
• The Long (Dead End?) Road for Duke Nukem Forever: We look back at the history of 3D Realms' FPS which may now never be released.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly Mac feature takes a loot at the sim game Virtual Families.
• Boot Disk: Our retro game feature takes a look at the turn based tactical game Jagged Alliance 2.
• Mods: Before the release of Killing Floor this week we look back at the UT 2004 mod that was the basis for the new co-op shooter.
• Big Ideas: How do you manage to promote a game without over-hyping it? Our weekly look at game themes has some answers.
• Big Iron: Our weekly PC hardware column takes a look at the importance of backing up your files.
• Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free PC games also turned one year old this week so we look back at some of our personal favorite titles.

Finding yourself lost in the World of Warcraft? Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider has everything you need to know about the biggest game around, whether you're a grizzled level 80 veteran, a newbie in the Ghostlands, or a former Molten Core raider finding yourself curious about rejoining the game. Here's our most popular posts about what's been going on in Azeroth lately.

News

• Player receives developer item in the mail, one-shots Ulduar
  The Game Masters accidentally send a killer shirt to a player, who then uses it to drop progression content.
• The Martin Fury scandal: Karatechop reveals all
  We talk with the player who got banned for using a GM item in Ulduar.
• WoW reference found in Wolverine game
  The creators of the new Wolverine videogame sneak in a WoW reference just for us.
• Ulduar nerfs and Blizzard's new raid philosophy
  Blizzard tweaks the newest raid instance, and shows their design cards a little bit.
• World of Warcraft patch 3.1.2 PTR notes
  There's a new patch on the Public Test Realm -- here's what's new.

Features

• The Queue: Mercenaries
  You ask, we answer. It's that easy.
• Guildwatch: It wasn't me, man
  Drama, downed, and recruiting news from guilds around the realms.
• Val'anyr explained
  What exactly does the game's newest legendary do for you? We'll tell you right here.
• Noblegarden: Sexy or sexist?
  The new Easter ingame holiday has you throwing bunny ears on females level 18 and up. Hot or not?
• Scattered Shots: Pets for raiding
  Hunters, if you need a pet to take along with you to Ulduar, look no further.