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The Book of Grudges, a Warhammer Online blog, is taking an interesting look at World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online and Warhammer Online -- the big three, basically -- and the fact that each of them is currently adding classes to their game worlds. What's even more interesting is that each of these three games is handling their new classes in very different fashions. Death Knights are a big epic instanced experiences; Runekeepers and Wardens are designed to be solo-able and compliment each other well and Knights of the Blazing Sun and Black Guards are being integrated into the game the game via a special in-game event.

It's interesting that you could play each of the new class experiences in succession and none of them would operate in the same way. That's a surprisingly large amount of variety between three very-fantasy titles -- one of which is based in the origin of high-fantasy.

Following the release of patch 1.0.5, a further update to Warhammer Online has addressed a large number of bugs in various quests and PQs, the full list of which can be found in the hot fix patch notes. A handful of RVR-related problems were also quashed, most notably the lack of Healer NPCs in Kadrin Valley warcamp, and some missing set items in Tier 3 Gold Keep bags.

Further tinkering with client performance and stability made it into this hot fix as well, with a focus on "periods of intense combat" -- we'll have to see how that one pans out. However, arguably the best part of the patch is one of the simplest changes -- WAR's EULA will now only need to be agreed to when changes are made to it. Joy! It's the little things in life that make us happy.

When you've just released an expansion pack that sold more copies than most major stand-alone releases, all in less than 24 hours, you know you're sitting on a goldmine of a franchise. Blizzard, of course, is aware of this, what with World of Warcraft getting a licensed miniature game and a coming feature film adaptation.

And speaking of the feature film adaptation, we have some elusive news about that. MTV's Multiplayer blog had a chat with Blizzard's Frank Pearce about the project. The scoop is that the studio, Legendary Pictures, is still looking for a screenwriter and director. Obviously, that means the movie is very early in development.

MTV also asked Pearce if Blizzard's own world-renowned CGI animators would be involved in producing the special effects for the movie. Pearce said that the suggestion has "come up in discussions but it's not something we've really considered because it takes so long to generate just the brief amount of footage that we create for the game."

Age of Conan has reached the half-year mark, and a great deal has changed from release up to the current day. Many of the Player versus Player features that were planned for launch but ended up being pushed back, such as PvP levels and the consequence system, finally made it into the game over these six months. With these large additions to the game, people that left shortly after launch (and there are a lot of them) might be interested to know how things are going, now that some of the bigger promises have been fulfilled.

With this in mind, Eurogamer has reviewed the current state of AoC's PvP in detail, covering the major updates and how they have played out. Overall, the report finds that there is probably still a way to go before the new systems are where they should be, but the groundwork is there for a very satisfying experience. For the faithful subscribers, how would you rate the improvements to PvP? And for those that have left Hyboria, is Funcom on the right track to win you back?

Alongside the new dungeons and deep EQ lore that the developers have pushed out to EverQuest II with their latest expansion, there have been a load of new changes and updates to the game's crafting metagame. We touched briefly on those changes in our full on tour of The Shadow Odyssey, but Emily "Domino" Taylor dropped by the official forums to give more details. There she outlines her logic behind improving the overall crafting experience for non-combat players rather than focusing on a ton of new recipes or craftable items.

EQ2Traders bears the responsibility of hosting several in-depth looks into the new crafterly content in the expansion. The site looks deep into the Far Seas Supply Division Headquarters, the numerous changes to the Isle of Mara, and the new instanced-based crafting content. The site also features a quick reference guide for players wanting to jump right into the expansion-y, crafter-y goodness. Click on through to these great resources for the full skinny on this sword-less way to pass the time in Norrath.

Even after the launch of Lord of the Rings Online's Mines of Moria expansion this last Tuesday, Turbine is still pumping out the video previews for each of their new areas of the mines themselves.

A few days ago, they released a video for the Redhorn Lodes in the central Moria region, and The Great Delving, which is the first section you encounter when entering the mines. Then today, they've released yet another video depicting Zelm-melek, which is smack dab in the middle of the mines, above Redhorn Lodes. If you've reached any of these areas in game yet, you know that these videos don't quite do them justice, yet they're still worth a look. Check them out embedded just after the cut.

December is getting closer and with it comes the Final Fantasy XI December version update. Square Enix has posted a preview of some of the changes coming, most of which are aimed at improving player quality of life. Chariot, Empress and Emperor Bands will now have new recharge NPCs in locations that have recently become more traveled by players. Also, teleportation to Aht Urhgan Whitegate will be available via the Salaheem's Sentinels representative NPC in Upper Jeuno, which is something that's previously only been made available in the three nations' capitols. Finally, the December version update will cut down the respawn time for coffers and chests for those searching for artifacts and maps.

Essentially all of these changes are aimed at making players' lives easier and generally less frustrating. This seems to have been the recent trend for Final Fantasy XI, which has long-since been known as one of the most unforgiving MMOs around in terms of difficulty. So, we're happy to see these sorts of changes coming from the dev team.

So Lord of the Rings Online's first expansion, Mines of Moria, has released with minimal problems. Admittedly, the launch went off better than most, although there were a few server issues on that first day. As a veteran player of the game, with perhaps two or more level 50s, you've been playing Moria since the servers went live, with only breaks for school or work. We understand that and we only want to make your time with Moria that much better, so we've created this guide to the changes in Moria according to what a veteran player would seek. The low-level guide has been done, and now it's your turn, oh Master of Middle-earth.

Luckily for you, most of Moria's content was geared towards you. The biggest exception to this is the two new classes, as they would need to be created from level one. Still, between class balance, ten new levels, new instances and an entire underworld to explore, you have plenty to keep your highest-level characters busy for quite awhile. Follow along after the cut below to learn more about what Moria has to offer for veteran players.

GameTrailers put together a three-part series of Warcraft retrospective videos in the days leading up to the launch of World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and WoW was the focus of the third and final episode. In over 20 minutes, the video looks at the early MMOs and influences that led to the creation of WoW, the project's beginnings in discussions between Blizzard guys while they were playing EverQuest, and of course, the game itself.

In addition to listing the distinct features that made WoW successful, the restrospective provides an overview of its post-launch history, up through The Burning Crusade's launch. Everything from Onyxia raids to the ever-changing PvP Honor system is covered. If you're a hardcore WoW addict, little of it will be new information, but if you're just getting started or a casual user, you'll probably learn a thing or two. See the vid embedded after the break.

[Via WoW Insider]

If you've snagged some silly or fun screenshots of yourself during a recent holiday or server event, we'd love to see them! Just send those to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the game, and a quick description of what we're seeing. Your screenshots help us show off new and interesting lands here on One Shots (not to mention mean that we can quit digging through staff screenshot folders) so send yours in today!

Blizzard is apparently a marketing genius, because the most recent World of Warcraft commercials are new high watermarks. Of course the're all about Wrath of the Lich King, and of course they feature famous people pretending they play WoW. But they're also something else: completely awesome. We've got Ozzy Osbourne arguing with Arthas over who's the real Prince of Darkness and then we've got The Sopranos actor Steve Van Zandt opining about being pulled back into the game.

Love 'em or hate 'em, these commercials are pure brilliance for their humor and ability to convey the social acceptance -- or "coolness", if you will -- of tapping away at your mouse and keyboard all night long. Of course, if Blizzard really wants to impress us, they'd get Neil Patrick Harris. Nobody pimps a product like NPH. Find both videos after the break.

The numbers are in and Blizzard has broken their own record once again. After selling 2.8 million copies in 24 hours, World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, has set the record as the fastest-selling PC game of all time, according to Blizzard. The irony is that the previous record holder was also Blizzard with their first WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade, which sold 2.4 million on the January 2007 launch day.

Blizzard's CEO and co-founder, Mike Morhaime, commented on the occasion, "We're grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft." Now the company is setting its sights on breaking the next record of 3.5 million copies sold in the first month; a record also set by The Burning Crusade. At this pace, they should easily break that next week.

If you're in the market for a great MMO deal this holiday season, ArenaNet has just announced their 2008 holiday promotion for Guild Wars. From now until January 5, 2009, when you purchase the Guild Wars Game of the Year Edition, Factions or Nightfall from PlayNC.com or the Guild Wars in-game store, you will get a second campaign for 50% off.

This may just be the promotion you've needed to complete your Guild Wars trilogy, with the added bonus of unlocking the M.O.X. hero on your account. What more could you want? For more information and complete rules, check out the FAQ at the main site.