In case you missed them, we posted the 3.09 patch notes yesterday. However, Blizzard has announced that a last-minute change to Arcane Barrage was left off the notes:

A last minute change was made to the mage Arcane Barrage spell which reduced its spell power coefficient. This change did not make it into the 3.0.9 patch notes. We will be carefully evaluating this change and its effects on game balance in both PvE and PvP. If you have constructive feedback to provide, please do so in this thread.

So what are your thoughts on the change? You can discuss it in the comments below or in our Mage forum.

Do you consider yourself a top arena player? Well, then it's time to start preparing for the 2009 WoW Arena Tournament ! Sign-ups begin Feb. 17.

The tournament will feature an online qualifier played on our special tournament realms. Top teams will proceed to their respective regional finals and compete for a chance to reach the global world championship – with cash prizes totaling over $200,000.

These realms have been outfitted with level 80 character templates and the latest epic gear from Wrath of the Lich King. As an added bonus, we have included exclusive rewards that players can earn by participating in the tournament, including an Armored Murloc in-game pet. Top teams will also contend for a chance to achieve the “Vanquisher” title for their live characters.

More news will be released next week. I'd never make it past the first battle, but I bet many of you could. So who's going to participate?

According to a blue post today by Eyonix, the announced plans to remove consumable ammunition in 3.1.0 to help hunters with bag space have hit a little snag.

Unfortunately, this intended change will not be completely ready in time for patch 3.1.0. We still fully intend to move forward with this change when the additional functionality becomes available, and for 3.1.0 we still intend to remove the need for pouches/quivers by greatly increasing the stack sizes on arrows and bullets, and the haste bonus from the bags will be preserved in another fashion. We’ll be sure to inform our players with further updates once they become available.

So while it seems ammunition will still be in the game in 3.1.0, we'll be able to stack more in one slot. Sounds good to me. For all you hunters out there, what are your thoughts on the ammunition changes?

Here are today's patch notes :

Druids

• Ferocious Bite: This ability now only uses up to 30 energy.

Hunters

• Kindred Spirits (Beast Mastery): This talent now grants 20% pet damage at max rank.
• Serpent’s Swiftness (Beast Mastery): This talent now grants 20% pet attack speed at max rank.
• Pets
  • Lava Breath now reduces the target's casting speed by 25%, down from 50%.
  • Poison Spit now reduces the target's casting speed by 25%, down from 50%.

A few days ago we posted Part 1 of 3 of the class change previews. Well here are the remaining 2 parts! Interestingly, PvP Warriors around the world will be celebrating the huge penalty reduction from changing stances (it is now a flat 20 rage loss, 10 rage loss with Tactical Mastery). As well, while Mages will be saddened to see that their preview list is not that big, they should note that their updates are very vague, and could therefore turn out to be huge changes!

We are planning a lot of exciting content for patch 3.1.0, and we are doing a three-part preview series on upcoming class changes. Please keep in mind, that this list is not at all comprehensive, and subject to change.

For the second year in a row, Upper Deck has been recognized by Diamond Comics in its 2008 Diamond Gem awards. For those who don't know, Diamond is the world's largest distributor of English-language comics and related merchandise. Upper Deck was named sports card manufacturer of the year and earned the non-sports card product of the year for Marvel Masterpieces. But the most noteworthy news to us at Allakhazam is that Upper Deck's World of Warcraft Miniatures Game was named game product of the year.

“We worked hard to ensure that the miniatures and gameplay were true to the online experience. It is always Upper Deck’s goal to set a new standard of quality when entering a market, and we have done it again with the World of Warcraft Miniatures Game,” said Margeaux Sullivan, Brand Manager for the World of Warcraft Miniatures Game.

More information on WoW Minis can be found on the game's official Web site. The full press release can be found after the jump.

Eyonix put out a preview of some upcoming class changes for Priests, Shaman and Rogues. This is part 1 of 3 parts which will eventually display all upcoming changes for every class. Some notable changes in this post are increasing Priest survivability in PVP. Read on to see the entire article!

We are planning a lot of exciting content for patch 3.1.0, and we are doing a three-part preview series on upcoming class changes. This is the first in the series: Priests, Rogues, and Shaman. Please keep in mind, that this list is not at all comprehensive, and subject to change.

The following editorial contains views that are the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of Allakhazam.com

If anyone’s been keeping an eye on Blizzard’s changes within World of Warcraft, they would have noted that there has been a consistent push towards getting casual players more gear. In particular, arena rating has become easier to achieve, and therefore arena gear has been easier to acquire. Now, the moment cool gear becomes easier to get, you don’t need to be bulimic to predict the myriad of responses that would come. Bad Zoolander references aside, should Blizzard have done this?

World of Warcraft PVP has often been considered one of the few places where rewards do not correlate directly with the amount of time one has to spare (except in the era of the Grand Marshall and High Warlord). Rather, when an individual is seen sporting full Season 5 Deadly Gladiator gear, the general populace assumes that this is a player who really knows how to play the game. The general disagreement with easier arena ratings can be summed up in one colloquial phrase: “baddies getting free gear.” Straw man arguments aside, the quarrel stems from the belief that skill and dedication are pre-requisites when it comes to rewarding individuals.

The age classification system found on video game boxes to help parents decide whether a game is suitable for their children has landed MMOs in some hot water in Australia. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald today (via IGN ) has stated that "Video game publishers and retailers are risking hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines by illegally selling online role playing games such as World of Warcraft without age classifications."

Basically, games such as WoW, Warhammer Online, Age of Conan and Pirates of the Burning Sea are being sold without being classified by the Australian Classification Board, which apparently goes against the NSW Classification Enforcement Act. The game industry, however, believes online games without a single player component don't need to be classified. Regardless, a spokesman for NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos explained the fines for breaking the act:

The spokesman added that enforcement of the act was the responsibility of police but penalties for breaking these laws ranged from $1,100 to $11,000 for individuals and/or 12 months' imprisonment. For corporations the fines were approximately double.

Blizzard poster Zarhym stated on the official World of Warcraft forums that "We will always respect the laws of the countries in which we operate."

As we all know, server performance in Naxxramas hasn't been great, but it looks like Blizzard is working to fix that. Crygil posted the following information today, Feb. 2, on the official World of Warcraft forums regarding Naxxramas optimization :

In our continuing effort to improve the gameplay experience for our players, we’ve recently made optimizations, specifically to Naxxramas performance, based on feedback from players. With these changes, we are carefully monitoring server performance to gauge the change’s success. In addition to that, we would very much like to hear our players' personal experience in Naxxramas this week. We are asking players to post your feedback in terms of what if any changes in performance you’ve noticed in Naxxramas. Please make sure to include the realm you play on and the time frame you were participating in Naxxramas.

Have you noticed any performance changes in Naxxramas?