Work warning: Pretty violent video.

Well, if I didn't know that Diablo III released today, the empty halls of the WoW Insider headquarters would certainly tell me. It's like a ghost town around here. I've not been able to play yet, but that's OK. I've got this incredibly awesome animated short feature to get me by.

Diablo III: Wrath was revealed for the community about a week ago. If you're just now getting your hands on the Diablo universe for the first time, this video gives you a great sense of the mythos. The animation is fantastic and gorgeous. I could almost wish for this to be an ongoing series.

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

As we all sit around our Basic Campfires, caught rapt by breathless anticipation, let's take a moment and celebrate the upcoming release of Diablo III with a funny machinima.

Olibith created the Gigolo Witch Test using the the first custom machinima tool made for the game. While that might not sound like a big deal, that makes this Gigolo Witch Test the first full-blown, tooled machinima for Diablo III. (That's why we featured it on WoW Moviewatch back in the day.)

So here's hoping we won't be so sad and lonely for much longer, and we all get to enjoy the silky-smooth launch of Diablo III.

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Evil has returned! 1.2 million WoW players are getting Diablo 3 for free thanks to the Annual Pass. You can get prepared for the evil with WoW Insider's launch coverage. From the lore of Diablo, to the important blue posts and the basics of Diablo gameplay, we'll get you on the inside track for the return of evil.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch, Diablo 3

So, we presented the first version of this seizure-inducing insanity without comment. But you weren't satisfied. Half of you were like, "You're missing dance moves." The other half were like, "Oh, sweet hairy panda, we need more."

Machinima master Nananaea heard your cries, but unlike vaguely splotched superheroes from the past, she did not whisper no. She whispered yes, and she went to the huge effort of creating further animation and putting out this video. I can't stop watching it. It's hypnotizing.

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

Work warning: A bit of cursing and such, but nothing you've not seen before if you spend any time on the official forums.

The 4th episode of Wable has been released by Hybrim Entertainment, and it is hilarious. I don't know what it is about the style or method that struck my funny bone, but I actually spent a little time giggling out loud. (A literal laugh out loud is asking a bit much. I prefer to chuckle slightly, under my beard, like the humor-jaded cynic I am. One might say I only laugh with irony.)

The general idea is that Wable is Warcraft + Cable. Then you do some channel surfing during the show, see a couple of sarcastic punch lines, and then get something like a pun thrown in. And, hey -- who doesn't love a good Illidan joke here and there?

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

The inimitable Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street, lead systems designer, recently hit the forums to talk about warrior balance. Along the way, he dropped some of that classic wisdom that spawned my eternal love for Ghostcrawler. He pointed out that you don't need hard numbers to describe how a rotation feels (though you do when talking about DPS competition), but he did say he thought the community would benefit from some adjectives other than "clunky."

We completely agree. Describing the feel and sense of a rotation can be a tricky business, and clunky is the go-to adjective for most folks. There are other words we can use, though, that help provide a more refined sense of what you intend. We're here to help, so here's our list of alternatives to "clunky."

• Inelegant The rotation is serviceable but lacks poetry. It's like you can feel the rotation trying to be rhythmic, but it's constantly interrupted without meaning. A big proc counts as meaning, for the record.
• Twisted Because the flow of the rotation is interrupted to go backwards, it feels like your fingers get twisted up trying to achieve optimum. Think two steps forward, one step back ... now three steps forward, two steps back.
• Cumbersome So many button pushes are required in a short period of time (what's up, cat druids?) that it feels like you're so focused on your rotation that you can't see the game.

Read more →

Filed under: Humor, WoW Rookie

I love stuff like this, but I should give you a fair warning. If you're looking for skillful singing and amazing harmonies, skip this video. It's not for you. If you want a heartwarming tribute in which a guild offers cheers and support to its members -- this is the video to brighten your day.

Rather than try and explain what's going on in Caterwauling Choir, here's what the creator had to say:

Adia & her husband Bugs whom have been training very hard in a sport called Dragon Boat racing. They had their very first race on Saturday 5/5/12. The guild wanted to do something special to cheer them on. We came up with this short video.

While the singing isn't expert, this is just the kind of virtual hug the WoW community is known for. My hat's off to the Caterwauling Choir. Nice job, guys.

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

Besieged on all sides by misunderstanding about WoW addiction, Wowcrendor tackles the relative value of WoW vs Facebook. By using a rhetorical Straw Girlfriend, the characters talk about how playing WoW isn't really much different from chilling on Facebook or watching TV.

This is an argument I'm pretty familiar with. While I love a few particular television shows (what's up, Winchester brothers, how you doin'?), I'm not a big fan of the tube. In general, I like to be a more active participant in my entertainment. Whether that's walking the dog or playing WoW, I prefer action and don't like passive behavior. This is the point Wowcrendor is driving at -- WoW is no less or more prone to negative behavior than Facebook, TV, or other culturally typical activities.

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

It's been a while since we've had a new Oxhorn machinima. Oxhorn is known for his engaging music, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and tight comedic stories. His new video, The Panda Exerminator, doesn't disappoint.

The Panda Exterminator features two parts. The first is a short skit about the titular Panda Exterminator. Enraged by the encroaching cuteness of pandaren, the exterminator seeks to keep the Horde pure and fierce. The second part is an awesome song about the pandas. It's obviously meant as parody, but it's completely hilarious. The song is available on iTunes; if you're anything like me, you'll be downloading it pretty quickly.

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Vengeance is the new story-based machinima released by RomireVids. The plot goes somewhat like you'd expect from something called Blood Vengeance. This is to say someone gets wronged and decides to go get some vengeance -- of the blood variety.

Romire's come a long way; this is leaps and bounds ahead of some of his previous work. I'd still look at tightening up the narrative and emsmallening (that's the opposite of embiggen) the length. Especially in a text-based dialogue, a longer video can feel exhausting to a viewer. Still, keep up the practice; I'm interested in seeing what comes next.

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Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Moviewatch

As we now transition to a new chapter of the story, the narrator will take a moment and indulge in literary thievery -- I mean, literary homage. Well, not really literary, since I'm stealing from a different medium, but I've always liked the idea -- and shut up and read it already, OK?

In patch 3.0.1, Blizzard added a new vehicle to Azeroth. While millions of mounts already existed in the game, this new mount was something special. It was a hog. A motorcycle. No sooner had the Mechano-Hog become a reality in the game than thousands of engineers started building them. No individual Mechano-Hog was that big a deal, really. Except for one.

This Mechano-Hog was built by a warlock engineer named Demonalisa. Struggling to make money on a roleplay server, Demonalisa spent most of his time farming materials. That plan worked fairly well for him until he ran afoul of the gem market. The Great Gem Crash of 2010 cost Demonalisa his savings, and he was forced to sell off the Mechano-Hog.

In late 2010, the Mechano-Hog was purchased for Lolegolas by a stalwart orc named Throgg. Throgg felt the two-seater Mechano-Hog would be a great benefit to them in the Battlegrounds. After all, two coordinated fighters doing battle together can very easily turn the tide of victory. It turned out Lolegolas just liked making "vroom" sounds while doing laps of Dalaran.

This Mechano-Hog had the same basic abilities of all the others, but none of that is what's important. What's important are the details like the chewing gum Throgg used to glue the license plate down. Or the "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" bumper sticker Lolegolas ironically slapped across a fender. Or the extra growler racks Throgg installed to prepare for their trip to Pandaria.

As Lolegolas started the engine and Throgg plopped into the passenger car, neither of them could know how important that Mechano-Hog would be.

Item notes The Mechano-Hog and Mekgineer's Chopper are both still in the game and clearly the most popular ground mounts available by 56%. Source: I made that number up.

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Phat Loot Phriday brings you the scoop on some of the most ... interesting ... loot in the World of Warcraft, often viewed through the eyes of the stalwart Throgg and indelible Lolegolas. Suggest items you think we should feature by emailing mikeg@wowinsider.com.

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Filed under: WoW Rookie