It was only a few short weeks ago that we talked about the past six months of Competitive World of Warcraft PvP, and it was here that we noted how enjoyable it was to watch some of the edge-of-your-seat matches that went on during these past few months. Unfortunately, we may have spoken too soon in our expressed optimism for WoW's growth as an e-sport, because it appears that Blizzard may be giving up the fight.

You see, just last weekend, teams from around North America gathered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the American ESL Championships for WoW 3v3 Arena. Not only were these particular competitors playing for the $15,000 prize available, but the top four teams would also be eligible to compete in the ESL Global Finals, held in Hannover, Germany, against (amongst others) the current top team in the world: Korea's famous Rogue / Mage / Priest team, HON.  Unfortunately, ESL Edmonton was plagued with a huge number of technical problems from the tournament host, as well as a perceived lack of support from Blizzard. Is this a sign of things to come?

It certainly looks like Blizzard is attempting to allieviate confusion among players regarding various systems in World of Warcraft. First Bornakk gave players a lesson in looting items with the Dungeon Finder, and now the blue poster is shedding some light on the balancing act that comes into play between factions in Wintergrasp:

"When one faction defends more than the other, the system will give advantages like the ability to use catapults or siege tanks faster to the faction that is on the offensive. On realms where one faction is often able to defend the fortress and the other faction rarely defends, the system tries to help this balance by providing bonuses to the faction that rarely succeeds at defending."

Bornakk couldn't provide more exact details since they don't want players to abuse the mechanics, but it's an interesting glimpse into how Blizzard is trying to keep the battle balanced. What's Wintergrasp like on your server?

As is customary after major patches, more hotfixes have once again been added to the growing list. For example, Lord Marrowgar is now tauntable and the Looking for Group item level requirement for Halls of Reflection has been raised to match the difficulty of the encounters.

All six hotfixes can be found after the jump. AureliusSir has already started a thread on the topic in our World of Warcraft general forum, so head over there to add to the discussion.

Bornakk has made a post on the official World of Warcraft forums that explains exactly how looting items works with the new Dungeon Finder system. While we're sure many of our readers already have a good handle on these features, it's still worth reading since they have caused some confusion among players.

Here's the tl;dr version: Rolling need is only available for weapons and armor designed for your class, rolling disenchant can only be done if there's an enchanter of the necessary level in the group, and rolling greed will also put you in the running with those who chose the disenchant option.

Also, you can't trade items that you gained in the dungeon once your group members have gone back to their respective realms, so make sure all trades are complete before you leave the dungeon. Check out the full post after the jump for more details. What are your thoughts on the system? Is it fair or flawed?

Another batch of four hotfixes has been implemented on the World of Warcraft servers, and it includes a noteworthy change: "The drop rate for the Battered Hilt has been increased." Zarhym addressed the issue in a post on the official forums and said the decision was based on player feedback.

In addition, Blizzzard has removed the chance for the hilt or any other epic item to drop from the Skeletal Slaves in the Pit of Saron. You can read the full list of changes and Zarhym's post after the jump.

So what do you think of the changes? ZAM user dadanox has started a thread on the topic in our WoW general forum, so feel free to join in the discussion.

Bornakk has once again added to his running list of in-game fixes, and the newest batch include a change for death knights. According to the post, "Chains of Ice is no longer limited to a single target. In addition, when Chains of Ice is used on a snare immune target with Endless Winter talented, it will once again apply Frost Fever."

You can read the full list of the most recent hotfixes after the jump.

Throw out the name "OnLive" in video game conversation today and you'll probably be met with one of two reactions, both expressing an extreme opposite of one another: "Yeah, OnLive is the future of video games!" some might say, with enthusiasm. A popular response from the opposing camp is usually something along the lines of, "No way, it's a pipe dream—real-world application just won't work!" It's one of the most hotly-debated topics the video games industry today, and with good reason; if successful in its mission, OnLive could very well change the face of PC and console gaming as we know it.

Although it's actually been in-development for years, OnLive never received much attention from the industry until March of this year, at the Games Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. It wasn't until then that OnLive publicly unveiled its product; a new gaming-on-demand service, capable of "instantly delivering the latest high-end titles over home broadband Internet to the TV and entry-level PCs and Macs." Essentially, OnLive allows users to play graphics-intensive games like Crysis with a piece-of-crap computer, as long they have a decently-fast Internet connection. But what about the MMO market? If the technology works, could OnLive revolutionize MMO gaming as well?

We typically don't cover much third-party news here at ZAM, but the latest round of "Ghostcrawler"-lynching—as featured in a recent editorial at WoW.com—was a bit too newsworthy to pass up. The editorial was written in response to this 30-plus page thread at the official forums, in which many community members express their dissatisfaction with Blizzard's current forum policies, and the player/developer relationship within those forums.

As most involved WoW fans already know, Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street (lead systems designer at Blizzard) became a familiar name on the WoW forums throughout 2009. After Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard made a substantial effort to increase community interaction between players and developers in its official forums. This new strategy often seemed to feature Ghostcrawler at the helm, answering the most important questions and providing the bulk of WoW-related announcements. But now, after more than a year's worth of drama, locked threads and a messy forums landscape, the question is raised; should Blizzard have done anything differently?

A number of new hotfixes have been implemented in World of Warcraft to address various topics, including more Onyxia bugs. Perhaps the most noteworthy changes were covered in a lengthy post by Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street. He goes into detail about the decision to nerf Hunger for Blood for rogues and Scourge Strike for death knights.

To make a long story short, the team felt both abilities were giving the classes access to too much damage. Hunger for Blood now increases damage by 10% instead of 15%, and Scourge Strike can now crit only once. You can read all of the hotfixes and Ghostcrawler's points after the jump.

We hope that all you World of Warcraft players out there are enjoying patch 3.3 and have gotten some use out of our Beginner's Guide to the update. If you're looking to participate in some other WoW-related activities that could lead to some prizes, Blizzard has kicked off two contests for all you bakers and screenshot afficionados out there.

To participate in the Rise and Fall of the Lich King Screenshot Contest, all you need to do is submit an original screenshot of a group running through one of the five new Icecrown Citadel dungeons by Jan. 1, 2010. One grand prize winner will get a signed Legendary Edition Rise of the Lich King Stein by Taverncraft.

The Blizzard Holiday Dessert Contest is going to require a bit more work. You need to create a dessert that represents something from the Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo universe and submit a picture of your treat. Ten winners will earn a set of the following books: Arthas, Night of the Dragon, Beyond the Dark Portal, Tides of Darkness, Rise of the Horde, War of the Ancients Archive, and the Warcraft Archive.