You have encountered A GIRL. Options: >Fight, >Run, >Weep, >BOOOOONEESTTOOORRMM

The moment I reconnected with a friend who I hadn’t talked to in about a year, I was sold on Real ID. Sure, she has an AOL Instant Messenger account, and she posts on Facebook once in a while, but neither service has given me the opportunity to hold a real, honest conversation with her. Why did it take World of Warcraft for me to really speak up? Well, I think of it a bit like walking into a party where you don’t really know anybody. Sure, there are plenty of options to be social, but where do you start? Who do you talk to and what do you talk to them about? How can you be sure they’ll even understand words like “epic loot” and “Lord Marrowgar” (by the way, guys, getting drunk and accosting the womenfolk while yelling “BOOOOOOONNNEEESTTTOOOORRRMMMM!” and wielding a floor lamp is a good way to kill your chances)?

People often come together, and become really good friends, when they find out they have something in common. When you and your old pal are both playing WoW, you know there’s already some common ground for you to stand on.

Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible before the recent patch, because she’s playing an Alliance toon on a completely different server! As long as you have someone’s Real ID, though, it doesn’t matter what realm or faction they might be playing (though the game they are is, of course, limited to Blizzard titles at this time). To me, this is a bona-fide paradigmn shift, and not only does it help me maintain social bonds with real-life friends, but those that I may have abandoned on other servers, too.

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The Ruby Sanctum: Red Trees, Green Grass, And Phat Purple Lewts.

There are strong signs pointing towards Patch 3.3.5 going live today, slaking the thirst of parched raiders who have drained every last drop out of Icecrown Citadel and (quite likely) their guild in the process. The update, whose major features include the Ruby Sanctum raid and Real ID/Battle.net 2.0 integration, may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but it is something, right?

Also included in 3.3.5 should be the files for the upcoming pre-Cataclysm events which feature the Trolls and Gnomes retaking the Echo Isles and Gnomeregan, respectively. Both areas will be eventually be converted into new starting areas for those races once expansion time comes around.

Do remember the following (disappointing) fact:

In patch 3.3.5, we will be introducing our new Battle.net system, which opens up new communication options for World of Warcraft players and lays the groundwork for integration with future Blizzard games, such as StarCraft II. In order to ensure that the implementation of this major new system goes as smoothly as possible, we plan to release the patch to North American realms first, with Europe, Korea, and the region of Taiwan following approximately one week afterward…

…To help clarify and add to our original announcement, we want you to know that because we are delaying the release of patch 3.3.5 in Europe, Korea and Taiwan but not in the US, the Ruby Sanctum will not actually be open on our US realms when the patch is released over there.

We will keep you updated on when we plan to open the Ruby Sanctum and any other necessary information.

Yeah, sorry I got you all excited. You’ll have to wait on Halion and co. for at least another week.

Infinitely more interesting is the idea that the Cataclysm beta may be coming “very soon,” word that comes from right from a semi-official source. Discounting the fact that he may be far removed from the actual decision-makers, a blue poster working for Blizzard Taiwan had the following to say today:

感謝大家的熱情支持與耐心等候！Beta測試將在近期內展開。（多近期？板主不能透露確切日期，只能說……真的很快就要到了！）屆時使用的客戶端程式將可直接在Battle.net開通Beta資格的介面中直接下載，所以用不到現行的美國客戶端程式。

另外板主要提醒大家，還有許多玩家沒有將你的帳號資料寄到社群信箱來，請不要讓自己的權益睡著囉！請在6/23（三）之前將你的魔獸帳號、論壇暱稱、以及 Battle.net帳號等資訊寄來，否則你的名額我們就會釋出給其他的玩家機會囉！

Wow! Now that’s some incredible news! Wait, what? You can’t read the divine language of our new Taiwanese overlords?! Alright, here’s one translation (hint: not mine, but cleaned up a bit):

So far, no effort has been made to discount the statement, but it’s still a little early in the morning over here on the Pacific Coast, where most Blizzard employees live. One thing to note, though it’s unlikely to impact anyone reading this, is that Taiwanese players would, in fact, have to download the US client to participate. Still, 6/23, huh? The implication seems to be that’s some sort of cut-off date for beta eligibility, and I doubt it’s only for Taiwan.

The Beta Test will start very soon. (How soon? I can’t tell you the exact time but… it’s very soon!) You can download the Cataclysmclient from your Battle.net Beta interface at that time, so you don’t need to download the US client right now. Another reminder, we haven’t received the confirmation email from quite a number of players. If you do not send us the confirmation email by 6/23 (Wed), your qualification for Beta will be passed on to other players.

With updates to the alpha client coming more and more frequently, I’m inclined to accept this as truth. If you haven’t yet applied for beta testing or uploaded your current computer specs, I’d log on to your Battle.net account get on that, or else all your beta-having friends in the coming months will laugh at you.