Blizzard Entertainment has released another update to its popular massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft. The new 1.4 version is available; World of Warcraft players will be updated to the new release the next time they log on to play.
Set in the world of Azeroth, scene of previous Warcraft games, World of Warcraft enables players to assume the role of heroes of various races represented in the game, comprising two sides, Alliance and Horde, as they vie for control of the world. As an MMORPG, all the gameplay takes place online, as thousands of players interact with computer-controlled creatures and characters and each other. World of Warcraft was released simultaneously for the Mac and PC in 2004.
Significant changes in this release include the addition of a Player vs. Player (PvP) Honor System, which rewards players who kill other players or aggressive PvP-enabled non-player characters with an honor score and corresponding ranking. That ranking carries with it titles and material rewards.
Other changes include new Elemental Invasions — invasions by elemental creatures at various locations on Kalimdor. A new Gurubashi Arena event has been added in Stranglethorn Vale, where every three hours starting at midnight a pirate drops a chest in the center of the arena and lets PvP players duke it out for the reward. Children’s Week is celebrated in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City at the start of May, as well. Many other changes to individual character classes, bug fixes and other changes have also been made — one Mac-specific improvement has been made as well: The keyboard shortcut to quit World of Warcraft has been changed to Command-Option-Q to work around an issue with PowerBooks. You can review all the changes made in this release by checking the patch notes.