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The Last Vestiges of BlizzCon

Well, its been a week since BlizzCon ended, and the buzz still hasn’t calmed down. Visit just about any World of Warcraft forum and the buzz is still going. Speculation abounds about the Deathknight class, when the expansion will be out, whether it will improve or ruin the game, and much more. But what is our WoW community manager, Byron "Messiah" Mudry, most excited about?

Your guide to all things BlizzCon.

According to the Ten Ton Hammer team, BlizzCon '07 was the best fan-event that they've ever experienced. With huge numbers, great events, and a flair for the dramatic, Blizzard did everything right. In order to keep all our BlizzCon '07 articles fresh in your mind, we've created the BlizzCon '07 Wrap-up page that directs you to every single one of our articles, photo galleries, and videos.

Check it all out by clicking here!

It's like Campbell's soup: Mmm, Mmm Good!

Ten Ton Hammer was able to sneak a photographer into the orchestra pit in order to shoot some pretty good pictures of the contestants in the BlizzCON 2007 costume contest. Out of the 90+ entries and about 600 snapshots (God bless digital SLRs!), these 22 shots represent the cream of the cream. Since tiny thumbnails in a gallery just can't do some events justice, we've picked our favorites and re-posted them in an easy-to-view format. Enjoy!

Chuck....CHUCK NORRIS!?!?

Perhaps the most memorable event at BlizzCON 2007, the Sound-Alike, Dance, and Costume contests brought hundreds of Blizzard fans together to see who could perform the most convincing representation of the characters, audio snippets, and dance animations found in Blizzard games. Emceed by the sharp-witted host of NBC's "Last Comic Standing", Jay Mohr, the pageantry even featured a visit by the real life persona of Leeroy Jenkins, Ben Schulz, and... Chuck Norris?

Hints and rumors flying everywhere!

Lore may not be for everyone but the details given at the lore discussion panel during BlizzCON '07 are! We were there and got all of the great details such as information on the Ashbringer, Frostmourne, and even the ability to become the Lich King yourself. So even if lore isn't your thing this article is something you may want to check out!

And in Conclusion...

Byron "Messiah" Mudry wraps up his coverage of the Professions and Items Discussion Panel at BlizzCon '07 with this article:

Get in Line, People! Form an Orderly Queue!

Mirroring the Disneyland ride queues across the street in Anaheim, CA, the line to play the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, "Wrath of the Lich King", was easily over an hour long last Saturday at BlizzCon 2007. We talked to two father-son duos and a group of friends who were among the first to play the expansion (and the upcoming 10-man raid instance "Zul'Aman") to get their raw impressions of the new content and learn what features of the expansion they anticipated most.

Dancing elves...my favorite.

According to the eye-witness accounts of all the Ten Ton Hammer staff that made their way to the Anaheim, Calif., BlizzCon '07 was the best fan event that they've ever attended. With PvP and Arena battles voiced by the real-life Leeroy Jenkins, a fun-filled costume contest, and huge announcements made by Blizzard developers, BlizzCon '07 was the epitome of a WoW fans dreamland.

A good sense of balance is necessary in the MMOG world.

The one hour class discussion at BlizzCON gave insight into past and future changes to the various classes in World of Warcraft. We bring you the full discussion including information on changes to hit points in the expansion, hero classes, itemization, balance (including Warlocks), and more!

Everything You Wanted to Know About Professions (And Then Some!)

Day two of BlizzCon started for Ten Ton Hammer's Byron "Messiah" Mudry with attending the Professions and Items Discussion Panel. In the second part of the Messiah's article he covers the discussion that centered around whats being expanded upon, added or changed with professions.

More Panels than a 70s Basement Rec Room

You probably have lots of questions about the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and so did the audience in attendance at the expansion announcement panel at BlizzCON '07 last Saturday, August 4th. Click play to join the Q&A session in progress, and watch as Blizzard Lead Designers Tom Chilton and Jeff Kaplan answer audience questions before your very eyes!

Expanding Upon our WoW Expansion Coverage

With so much info hitting the network concerning World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, the Ten Ton Hammer staff determined that a general overview was needed to lay out some basic information concerning WotLK and provide a plethora of links to videos and other info. John "Boomjack" Hoskin provides the network with a well-presented overview, a few screenshots of new zones, and some background on the lore behind WotLK. Enjoy!

Zeroing In on Fun, Accessible PvP in World of Warcraft

From World PvP to Battlegrounds to the relatively new Arenas, WoW is introducing the masses to player vs. player (PvP) combat. But it wasn't always this way; in fact, some considered WoW to have among the worst implementations of free-for-all PvP when the game launched almost 3 years ago. Join WoW designers Jeff Kaplan and Tom Chilton as they tour the past, present, future of WoW PvP, including planned battleground fixes and arena balancing as well as PvP plans for the upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.

A Video Preview of Northrend Zones from BlizzCON 2007

Blizzard presented a sneak peek of a half-dozen World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion zones as part of the expansion panel at BlizzCON 2007 last week. Now, free of the surging crowd and faint tinge of body odor, you can view the same concept art and experience the same in-game video and developer commentary (from Blizzard's Jeff Kaplan, Tom Chilton, and Corey Stockton) that we did.

Some Profession-al Coverage

Byron "Messiah" Mudry's second day at BlizzCon started with attending the Professions and Items Discussion Panel. In the first part of his coverage, Messiah takes a look at the basics of profession-created items as well as the new profession, Inscription.

Talkin' Trash

Ten Ton Hammer's Byron "Messiah" Mudry attended the raid and dungeon discussion at BlizzCon 2007.   In part two of his coverage he passes on information about Trash, Turning and Encounters:

Once the basics are done, they move on to the various challenges they use. The come in several types: math challenges, complex plans, individual responsibility, endurance tests and random elements. They then tie all those together to come up with something that works.

New Expansion...Something About a Ticked off Lich King...

You'd have to be living under a rock to have missed it. The Internet is buzzing with Blizzard's recent announcement, direct from BlizzCon, about World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. True to Blizzard's style, the game will be launched "when it's ready." But Ten Ton Hammer's Byron "Messiah" Mudry has a preview: