alt="April 2014" />

April 1^st is an unofficial holiday,
better known as April Fool's Day. It is on this day that tricksters play
practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. It seems like everyone loves to
get in on the fun of April Fools Day, including Blizzard Entertainment.

Over the years, the company has let their
imagination run wild on this special day. Fans can expect more than a few
shenanigans and hoaxes to roll out, ranging from the totally wild to the
almost believable. Some fans see through them almost immediately, while
others fall hard for them, hook, line, and sinker. Blizzard has really
come to perfect the art of the April Fool's joke

However, April Fool's Day is just one single
day out of the year. After it is over, it seems all we can do it wait till
next year to see what kind of mirthful jokes Blizzard will roll out.
However, I want to keep the humor rolling. So, let's take a look back at 5
of the very best April Fool's day pranks in Blizzard history. Read onward
and take a walk down memory lane with me. Be sure your funny bone is in
working order!

Top 5 - Blizzard's Best April Fool's
Day Hoaxes and Pranks

Schematic: Tinfoil Hat

On April Fool's Day 2006, Blizzard introduced
us to the Tinfoil Hat, one of my all time favorite game related hoaxes.
This fictional item was a direct response to players who were overly
concerned about the release of the World of Warcraft Armory. The Tinfoil
hat received it's very own website, giving details on this unique item,
all of which poked fun at the blatant paranoia that ran rampant before the
Armory's release.

Tinfoil Hats were to be created by engineers,
who prized them because they helped them keep “a clear, unclouded mind and
to protect one's secrets”. Perfect for keeping the wearer safe from spies
and the nefarious though police. Besides this, this fantastic object was
claimed to remove the wearer's character profile from the Armory to
further guarantee that no one would be able to see all that secret stuff
the wearer didn't want revealed. Nor would the wearer show up in /who
listings, making them completing immune from unwanted inspection by other
players.

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New Class: Wisp

On April Fool's Day, 2006, Blizzard introduced
a brand new playable Alliance race; the Wisp. Like other races, Wisps
could be customized in a variety of colors and (strangely) facial hair.
Wisps also came with their very own set of unique racial traits including:

• Gatherer – Skill to Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning increased
  by 10.
• Treeform – Turns the Wisp into a tree for 30 seconds. During
  this time, spirit is increased by 300. However, the Wisp's chance to
  dodge or parry axes is reduced by 50%.
• Detonate – Allows the Wisp to totally destroy itself,
  dispelling all magical buffs and draining 50 mana from each unit in an
  area around the Wisp.

The final racial trait was the most unusual
and the one that caused quite a stir; Permanent Death. Going hand in hand
with the Detonate ability, the story was that while Wisps were commonly
believed to be purely benign spirits, a part of the primal energy used to
defeat Archimonde slumbers in them all. Thus, the Wisp could unleash this
pent up energy in one devastating blast, which would dissipate the Wisp's
energies beyond any hope of return. In other words, the Wisp would be
unressurectable.

After the Wisp was revealed (a day late, for
some unbeknownst reason), it caused a minor revolt in the World of
Warcraft community. Players took to the forums and posted not so nice
messages in protest. Most of these messages were aimed at the Wisp's
unusual Detonate ability, which killed off the character totally. Even
after the Wisp was revealed as a joke, players still remained in a stir
over the hoax. Because so many fans fell for this hoax and the eventual
uproar over it, the Wisp definitely ranks as one of the best Blizzard
pranks of all time.

Blizzard Outcasts

This year, 2014, Blizzard once again produced
an epic April Fool's hoax in the form of a fictional game; Blizzard
Outcasts. This game takes the various outcasts from the various Blizzard
universes and pits them against each other in epic battle. Have you ever
wondered who would win in a battle between Cain and Gamon might play out?
In Blizzard: Outcasts you can finally get the answer.

This made-up game offered many stages,
characters, as well as some other interesting features including:

• Dirty Tricks – Surprise your opponent with a few aces up your
  sleeve, such as Health Potions, Spike Traps, Blue Artillery Shells,
  Energy Crystals, and more!
• Suit Up – A surefire way to tell if you're about to have your
  ass handed to you is the size of the other guy's shoulder pads; the
  bigger the shoulders, the bigger the hurt.
• The Game is Rigged – For the right price, the Outcast
  Matchmaker will put you in the ring with an opponent who has zero chance
  against your skills.

Blizzard even came up with
an..interesting...controller design especially for Blizzard: Outcasts. The
best part of this April Fool's Joke? I actually want to play this game
(minus the controller).

alt="Outcasts Controller" />

Crabby – Dungeon Helper

Who doesn't remember the fantastically
annoying little Clippy the paper clip. Clippy was an Office Assistant that
no one appreciated. He would pop up at the most inappropriate times and
offer up tidbits of information that made us all facepalm. Of course,
Clippy's ability even to exasperate the most level headed person, caused
him to be immortalized and spoofed to the extreme.

So it was no surprise to see Blizzard's
version pop up on April Fool's Day 2011. Crabby the Dungeon Assistant was
much like Clippy. He popped up randomly, based on the situation you were
in, and offered up unwelcome advice. Besides “helping” out in game, Crabby
also managed to appear on various pages on the official game site,
conversing with players when they visited. This hoax was so much fun, that
Blizzard let Crabby make another appearance in 2012. However, while Crabby
was entertaining, many players (myself included) were very happy that he
was only around for a limited time.

P1mp My Mount!

Rounding out our list is a prank from 2009
entitled “P1mp My Mount!”. This hoax tried to sell players on the idea of
a new feature in game that would let them trick out their mounts. The fake
page claimed that players would be able to purchase various armors,
spikes, chains, or even flaming decals from Zazzber's Local Fix-'Er-Up.
Here Zazzber or his redneck assistant Janie Sue would overhaul your ride,
for a small fee. Future content patches were promised with new mount
pimping content such as; recoloring armor and added decorations.

Of course, the entire page was written in pimp
worthy lingo, adding to the feel of the prank. Even though the idea of
P1imp My Mount was a complete joke, many players jumped on the idea and
embraced it. Who wouldn't want to make their mount into something
extraordinary? Thus far, a real P1mp My Mount option has not been added to
the game, but we can keep dreaming.

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That wraps up my list of my picks for
Blizzard's very best April Fool's Day hoaxes and pranks. Do you remember
any of these jokes? What are some of your personal favorites that you have
experienced over the years? What kind of hoaxes would you pull on
unsuspecting fans if you were part of the Blizzard team? Share your
answers with us in the comments section below!