With the tentative release of the latest patch for the largest online game in history at our doorstep, there is some need-to-know information being discussed over at MMO-Champion. If you have a class that you love playing and would hate to see nerfed yet again, you might want to check out the list of possible changes and discussion on each class. This patch is going to be incredibly significant in terms of what it changes and how it affects overall gameplay. This is an update of the latest changes, though. For a full list, check out the official World of Warcraft patchlog.

Source: MMO-Champion

Almost everyone has now heard of Darkfall, and almost everyone at least wants to try it. Well, now everyone will have to wait. They have pushed the European release back to February 25th. North American release information has yet to come forth, but it does not bode well for those dreaming of Darkfall.

"It’s important to understand that there are well over 200 thousand applications by players wanting to get into Darkfall. This number makes it unrealistic to distribute the client and to open up our servers to everyone. We’ll try to accommodate as many players as are possible for us to manage at this stage. Even so, the demand exceeds our current capacity. Interest in Darkfall has surpassed all our expectations to the point that we may need to manage our release differently."

Regardless of where you are or who you are, you're going to have to wait a little longer before you get to play the next-big-thing in Massively Multiplayer. 

Source: Darkfall Forums

Those of you who Facebook and play World of Warcraft might be surprised that there's a Facebook application (gasp) just for you! Not only that, but those of us nerdy enough to use both now number over 100,000. That's a force with which to be reckoned.

"This news is coming a few days late, but I'm really excited to announce that I Play WoW has crossed the 100,000 user mark! It's crazy to think that this application has been around for over a year and has collected so many users since then.

Here are some nifty stats:

* We have over 100,000 users (101,980 as of 11:30 on Jan 15 09).
* We are tracking over 260,000 characters.
* We have over 40,000 monthly active users (That is the unique number of users that visit and use the application every month).
* Over 70% of the people invited to use I Play WoW accept the invitation.
* It's been solely developed by me with community and customer service managed by my wife."

Considering it's just TWO people behind this Facebook Application, they've put together some seriously impressive statistics. Sounds like I'm going to have to try to remember my Facebook password, because I want to become a statistic, too. For those of you interested, the application can be found here.

Source: Facebook

Due to the demand, the profit margin and the insane amount of adults and children wanting their “likeness” produced in plastic, Blizzard has upped the ante on the FigurePrints production line, and now you can order one and get it in a decent time frame!

"FigurePrints, which lets you order custom 3D figures of World of Warcraft characters, complete with gear and a choice of poses, has grown immensely since its launch in 2007 to meet the high demand for their collectible statues. Because of the increased production capacity now available, the lottery/waiting list system is no longer necessary, and you can place an order immediately."

I was thinking about ordering one. Now I know I am going to have to have one... in two weeks. Now, to get my Orc Shaman in a pose that doesn't look like he's angry at the world or like he just got punched in the kidney.

Source: World of Warcraft Official Website

Cryptic has released new footage of Champions Online in their increasingly cryptic fashion to MSNBC.com. Although it's not clear if this footage is from the XBox 360 or PC, or for that matter why they released it to MSNBC, it nevertheless drops a jaw to the floor. This game looks like it might just be a winner, with a style all it's own and a sense of artistry that just boggles the mind. Check out the video below!

Source: MSNBC.com

There have been hints dropped left and right about where Guild Wars is heading, and now we have some solid data on the direction they are going. It looks like they are making it a point to change-things-up a bit for those of us who play regularly.

There's three tiers of update information: Monthly Maintenance, which isn't anything unexpected, Content Updates, which are welcome and look to be larger than the previous content updates, even if they are going to be spaced out a trite bit more than before, coming out roughly every three to four months rather than every patch.

We are even expanding the Live Team to offer more of the best quality support and content that we can for Guild Wars . With this new system, we release our new content in fewer yet more substantial updates. We want players to feel connected to what we are developing even though it may be months away from release, so during development we will be more open about our process and what we are working on.

As we have previously reported, Bounty Bay gets a whole lot bigger starting today. Guilds are now going to get the ability to set up their own colonies that the natives will simply destroy. Obviously I am joking, but we hope they keep it in mind for their next expansion. With any guilds' progress, the colony progresses as well, by changing in-look and in-feel. The commerce will change based upon the guilds' progress, and when a pirate is in need of a little tail-tucking, they can just run back to their home colony! The addon will be 500 megabytes, and will be available as soon as one logs on today.

“The add-on is basically interesting for casual gamers as well as for hard core gamers with guilds, cause there will be a lot of new content added. Small guilds, which had disadvantages in city sieges will get a possibility to create new markets, because there will be a lot more colonies to populate than there were cities to conquer.”

Those of you interested should check out the trailer located here. Sounds like it is an exciting time to be a pirate!

Source: Bounty Bay Online Forums

Since it's my post, I'll tell you why I play, and then you can join in after!

I started out in Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), back when AOL was the only internet I knew.  Don't snicker!  Internet connection costs of $484 a month were enough to make my parents ground me for weeks.  But then came Ultima Online (UO).

I once played on the Sonoma server of UO, back when it first launched. For a while I played Tovin, an anti-pk. Then Tovin became a role playing tailor. She mostly stayed in town and, one day, was scammed. I was outraged and reported the scam via in game reporting and a Counselor appeared. Dressed in a pretty blue robe he explained to me that though I had technically gotten the short end of the stick, the guy had used no real bug or exploit, but had just been smarter than I had been. I decided then and there that I loved that blue robe. So I went out to find counselors.