Warhammer Online patch 1.4.1 is scheduled to hit the live servers today. Here are the highlights:

• Claim window: Items associated with account entitlements will no longer be sent through in-game mail. Instead, all of the items will be accessible through a new Claim Window interface.
• Armor Set Changes: The Renown Rank and level requirements for several item sets have been reduced to allow players to use them sooner in their careers. With the new ranks for the above sets, a new armor set has been added to fill in the gap between Warlord and Sovereign.
• Scenario Shakeup: A number of old scenarios are making their return, some are retiring for the moment, and others are shifting tiers.

All North American and European servers are currently offline to implement the patch. The servers should be back up by 1 p.m. EST.

MMO gamers have come to expect resources like Wowhead to be available at or near release, so we’re here to make sure you have the same sort of tools and resources at your disposal. To make your life easier in the early days of RIFT, we’ve compiled a nice list of ZAM resources to utilize while you’re playing your first few hours of RIFT.

Further details can be found after the break, but if you just want to browse what we have to offer, feel free to examine the Soul Tree Calculator, Achievement Database, Ability Database, and Wiki at your own pace. Also, don’t forget to check out the Coming Soon! section to see what’s next up for the ZAM RIFT!

Warhammer Online patch 1.4.1 is set to hit the public test server this afternoon. Here are some of the highlights from the patch:

• Claim window: Items associated with account entitlements will no longer be sent through in-game mail. Instead, all of the items will be accessible through a new Claim Window interface.
• Armor Set Changes: The Renown Rank and level requirements for several item sets have been reduced to allow players to use them sooner in their careers. With the new ranks for the above sets, a new armor set has been added to fill in the gap between Warlord and Sovereign.
• Scenario Shakeup: A number of old scenarios are making their return, some are retiring for the moment, and others are shifting tiers.

For more details, check out the full patch notes. You can also share your thoughts on the patch in this thread on the WAR forums.

The free server transfers that the Warhammer Online team announced last week are currently under way, and will ultimately lead to the closure of two North American servers and one European server. To aid with server transfers, the team has published a step-by-step guide on how to move your guild to its new home.

To make a long story short, it's important that you run the /transferguild command or your guild rank and renown will not transfer successfully. If you don't run the command, Mythic has posted a separate guide to help you facilitate your appeal.

While most MMOs are celebrating Valentine's Day with candy and decorations, Warhammer Online is marking the holiday with the good ol' fashioned Night of Murder live event. Here are the details:

During the Night of Murder, players will receive event credit by completing tome tasks which include participating in the "Marked for Death" quest given out by Witch Elves and Witch Hunters located in every warcamp, scenario, and capital city. Keep an eye out for members of the enemy realm who have been "marked for death" and kill these players and NPC's to reap the rewards of the Night of Murder! But beware... unbeknownst to you and your realm mates, you too may be chosen as sacrifice.

Rewards include the Butcher's Blessing, Well-Mounted Skull, Khaine's Caress, Lobbin' Noggin and Burning Blood Potion. The event runs through Feb. 22.

BioMythic has a new European Community Manager for their MMO games: DAoC, WAR and UO:

Greetings, 

My name is Kai Schober, also known as Sterntaler to some of the European players, and I am happy to restart an old job in a new environment so to speak.

Mythic is preparing to merge servers in Warhammer Online. To initiate the process, a series of free server transfers will be taking place on February 9. Players can choose the free transfer option to move to a designated server. The original servers will then be marked as 'Legacy' servers to prevent new registrations. After a period of 3 weeks, the servers will then be marked as 'Retired'. Players who do not choose the free option will have to pay to switch to another server during that time.

The servers affected for North American players are Iron Rock and Volkmar, which can both transfer to Gorfang for free. Players on the German server Carroburg can transfer to Drakenwald for free. The company said:

"The game play experience of our customers is something we highly value.  We don’t make changes like this lightly.  A lot of metrics and analysis accompanies this type of decision. We feel that these changes will help to ensure that server options continue to facilitate that best RvR experience out there. Thanks for playing and see you on the battlefield!"

What do you think about the free tansfer options? How will this affect you?

Warhammer Online Producer James Casey just published his January Producer's letter, and he covers a variety of topics ranging from updates to server population. Here are the highlights:

• Producer Carrie Gouskos is still working on Warhammer Online, but is looking at a different aspect of the game. "This new focus will be revealed in due time."
• Patch 1.4.1 will be the first update of the year and will include a new way to claim account entitlements, such as pets. Also, the Scenario lineup will be restructured in an attempt to "shake up what scenarios are available all the time for each Tier." Expect to see the Maw of Madness return to the Tier 4 queue.
• Eight live events are planned for this year, including some new ones. Weekend Warfronts will continue, and the team has "some very special plans for Grovod Caverns."
• Expanded services and account entitlements are in the works, including paid name changes, more pets and more ways to personalize your character.
• The team is actively discussing their plans for lower population servers.

For more details on any of these topics, check out Casey's entire letter on the Warhammer Online site.

It's almost time! The halls are decked, the stockings hung with care, and you've probably got some time off from work or school. It's the perfect time to get in some extra gaming, and why wouldn't you? Almost every MMO is running an in-game holiday event. With all the new zones, special items and festive quests, it's pretty much a digital winter wonderland. So to make things a little easier, we've compiled a list of in-game holiday events to help you narrow down which game to play!

The annual celebration for the Dwarven New Year's festival, Keg End, is happening in Warhammer Online now through January 4, 2011. This holiday event is filled with everything a dwarf could ask for: beer, boasting and things that explode! Players are treated to new items, monsters, events and challenges to master.

Whether you prefer lighting off fireworks as you charge into RvR or searching for beers on a pub crawl, Keg End has something for everyone. So log-in and get ready to get roudy, because Keg End is here with the blood, mud and beer!