With the launch of Patch 4.3, World of Warcraft players got a hold of a Raid Finder feature but it will screen out players who do not meet a minimum item level 372.

This means that level 85 toons will most likely have to run the new endgame 5-mans to gear up and earn WoW Gold to push their gear power to the required minimum.

“Raid Finder is below normal and Heroic modes in terms of rewards and difficulty, but the new tier of five-player dungeons should still be stepping stones into the raid,” said Blizzard community manager Zarhym in response to concerns that the item level 372 is “a little excessive” as an entry barrier.

Zarhym also shot down the notion that it will hard for casual players to gear up for the Raid Finder version of Dragon Soul, the only one available content for the said feature as of Patch 4.3.

“It shouldn’t take the average player ‘hundreds of hours,’” he said.

For those who expect to reach the milestone item level soon and begin attempting Deathwing raids in this easier difficulty, you can start browsing through the Raid Finder Q&A to get familiar with the calibrated Need Before Greed loot system and the more lenient boss lockout rules.

The conclusion to the Deathwing saga begins tomorrow with the official launch of World of Warcraft Patch 4.3.

The regular Tuesday maintenance on November 29 will signal the release of the content-heavy update, said Blizzard community manager Bashiok in a confirmation blog post. He also has a few reminders when downloading the patch tomorrow:

• Realms will be unavailable from 3:00 a.m. PST until approximately 11:00 a.m. PST.
• If your launcher states “World of Warcraft is up to date. Downloading data for the next update” please allow the Background Downloader to continue downloading the 4.3 data.
• If your launcher only states “World of Warcraft is up to date” then you’ve already obtained the 4.3 pre-download data and will only need a small update before logging in.

Rumored to be the final major content update for the Cataclysm expansion, Patch 4.3 ushers in:

• New Darkmoon Faire Island
• Three endgame 5-mans
• Dragon soul raids
• Raid Finder
• Transmogrification
• Void Storage

These bucket list features should prove popular despite their WoW Gold cost.

Some fans predicted Blizzard to use Patch 4.3 as a buffer against Star Wars: the Old Republic, but it seems Blizzard blinked first and decided to steer clear of what is setting up to be the biggest MMO launch in recent memory. Our SWTOR Credits is on the success of the mega beta test over the weekend, which confirmed the immense popularity of the sci-fi game.

How about it, Tooners – will you be playing Patch 4.3 or are you holding out for SWTOR coming in a few weeks?

Almost a whole week of doing nothing but eating and playing your favorite MMOs – it’s no wonder Thanksgiving is one of gamers’ most favorite holidays.

But it gets doubly fun with the incredible deals, events and perks that crop up during this long, free play weekend. Here’s our yearly round-up that makes it slightly easier for you to decide where to spend your Thanksgiving in-game.

AION

Deals:

• Cuts the price on a game box to just $4.99. From November 23 to 28 at the Aion Store.

Events & Perks:

• Shugo Event showcase features Double XP on Weekends, Daru Days fur costumes and free gifts for logging in.

Buy Aion Kinah

EVERQUEST II

Deals:

• Loads of discounted Marketplace items “most of them at half-price or more.” Only on November 25 at the EQII Marketplace.

Events & Perks:

• Double XP Weekend for AA, tradeskill and adventure XP from November 24 to 27.

Buy EQII Plat

RIFT

Deals:

• Free game boxes for everyone, but no complimentary game time. The Ashes of History edition which comes with a Spindrel mount, personal banker and faction tabard is also down to $10. Available until further notice at RIFT trial upgrade page.

Events & Perks:

• Fae Yule world event as part of Patch 1.6
• 30% weekend bonuses, including XP, Favor, Prestige, dungeon currency and planarite.

Buy RIFT Platinum

RUNESCAPE

Deals:

• Purchase a 90-day RuneScape Membership card from Target ($22.50 in US) and GAME (£12.99 in UK) to receive a non-tradable turkey hat. Redemption must be from between November 18 to December 8.

Buy Runescape Gold

WORLD OF WARCRAFT

Deals:

• World of Warcraft per se has no sale, but its sister franchise StarCraft II is slashing its box price by half to $30. Until November 28 at Blizzard Store.

Events & Perks:

• Pilgrim’s Bounty is in full swing, bringing free food, buffs and holiday quests to players. Runs from November 20 to 26.

Buy WoW Gold

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC

Events & Perks:

• Mega beta test weekend is coming up from November 25 to 28 and will be the playtest equivalent of turkey stuffing, packed tight and irresistibly good!

Buy SWTOR Credits Soon

You will notice that a few of our favorite titles skipped the Thanksgiving bash, with many like FINAL FANTASY XI, FINAL FANTASY XIV and DC UNIVERSE ONLINE focusing on new patches and content instead.

In the end, it shouldn’t matter which MMO you end up spending the next week or two in. What should matter more is if you have fun and be with virtual friends you can be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving, tooners!

The new island of Darkmoon Faire offers games and distractions aplenty, but the real main attractions are the redeemable rewards that resemble a gypsy menagerie!

All players who travel to the Darkmoon Island to participate in parlor games (tokens run for two WoW Gold per sack) can earn Darkmoon Prize Tickets and turn them in for more than just the usual plushies:

• Previous level 60 5-man dungeon sets. For Transmogrification and nostalgia purposes.

• Two mounts. Darkmoon Dancing Bear and Swift Forest Strider.

• Companion Pets. Darkmoon Cub, Darkmoon Turtle, Darkmoon Monkey, Darkmoon Balloon, Darkmoon Zeppelin and Darkmoon Tonk.

• Heirlooms. More than two dozen leveling Heirlooms that provide boosted XP

For those who just can’t wait for the Darkmoon Island to open up in Patch 4.3, MMO-Champion also reports that the test servers are now conducting test runs of the Tonk Commander, Darkmoon Cannon and Whack-a-gnoll mini-games.

Questers can also start scouting the easiest of the mini-games for leveling Darkmoon Faire reputation, as well as their unmaxed professions. (Fans of Blacksmithing and Engineering might opt for this method than all-out grinding.)

The Guardian Cub, the first tradable pet and supposed harbinger of Blizzard-sanctioned gold selling, is available now for adoption at the Blizzard Store for $10 each.

We’ve already explained why the cute flier will be an ineffective mule for WoW Gold trading, but we have absolutely no qualms about its appeal as a collectible.

For one thing, the Guardian Cub counts towards the pet count achievements like Plethora of Pets and Lil’ Game Hunter. Plus it’s quite adorable! Be careful though of looking too coordinated when whipping it out while riding its related pay-to-own cousin, the Winged Guardian mount. (Available separately here for $25 each.)

Guardian Cub traders and owners should also keep these in mind:

• 24-hour BoP restriction. You’ll need to wait a day before the bind-on-pickup wears off, and you can put it up for auction.

• No refunds. You can’t sell it back to Blizzard if and when you can’t sell the pet for much WoW Gold, so check the AH prices first before getting one for trading purposes.

• One-time use. Once the pet is unboxed, it permanently binds to the character and cannot be traded anymore. Add this caveat when gifting the pet, so they know whether to keep it or encash it.

Do you plan to get a Guardian Cub? Will you buy one straight from the Blizzard Store? List it down on your Christmas wish list? Or will you wait for it to drop in price and snatch one at a bargain at the AH?

With all the talk of sailing to the mystical land of Pandaria, World of Warcraft fans have been wondering: Where exactly is this long-lost continent?

Blizzard put on their cartographer hats and pointed to the only cardinal direction with no big land mass yet: The South.

“Pandaria is located on the south side of Azeroth,” confirmed lead content designer Cory Stockton during the Mists of Pandaria live developer Q&A during BlizzCon 2011, the full transcript of which was posted over the weekend.

“Think the exact opposite of Northrend. Come to think of it, we should have named it Southrend.”

The Northrend continent was added to the game during the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, to the north of the existing western Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, and became the leveling destination from 68 to 80.

In the same way, the Pandaria continent will draw in high-level players, hosting Horde and Alliance players eager to complete WoW Gold quests and hit the new cap of 90. Blizzard has also unveiled a working map of Pandaria, consisting of five major zones and smattering of Mists of Pandaria dungeons.

Look it over and tell us which one you’re most excited to explore. (Ours is the scenic-sounding Vale of Eternal Blossoms.)

Your death grip of a wait is over, Death Knight fans.

MMO-Champion dug up the Tier 13 armor set for our hero class, rounding out the raiding gear previews for World of Warcraft Patch 4.3.

Mind you, these Model Viewer grabs aren’t official official. Blizzard should be posting a definitive version soon, complete with a WoW Gold-worthy explanation on the set’s inspiration. (Like they did with the other nine classes here and here.)

But from these early grabs, the Death Knight Tier 13 armor seems inspired by exoskeleton and continues the devil horn trend seen in previous sets. The helm itself is underwhelming – maybe Blizzard will explain why it looks so cat-like – but the lack of facial ghastliness is made up for by ghoulish green accents on the shoulders, head, chest, belt and even knee caps.

If you need further proof that World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria will be heavily Eastern-inspired, look no further than these latest dungeon previews.

Blizzard uploaded three videos that take a sweeping tour of three of the nine initial dungeons to be released for the fourth expansion – the Temple of the Jade Serpent, the Shado-pan Monastery and the Stormstout Brewery – all located in the idyllic new continent of Pandaria.

Keep in mind that these are initial environ sweeps and designs might change given that the expansion is a long ways off, but it’s obvious that Blizzard will push the Chinese mystic vibe until we’re all practicing meditation and Kung-Fu.

Temple of the Jade Serpent

Welcome to Chinatown, aka the Temple of the Jade Serpent said to be the first level 85-90 dungeon available in Mists of Pandaria. The Sha of Doubt, an elemental faction intent on pulverizing the Pandaren’s peaceful existence, invades the temple and it’s up to players to stop the threat. The video shows off an ornate dungeon area filled with intricate wooden carvings, indoor pools and waterfalls, and ancient scrolls.

Shado-pan Monastery

With an obvious Tibetan inspiration, the Shado-pan Monastery sits atop the Kun-Lai Summit, and is supposedly the training hideaway of the Shado-pan Clan, “a ninja-like pandaren faction dedicated to protecting Pandaria” and now threatened by the Sha. I guess this is the part where Blizzard explains how a race as rotund as the Pandaren can take up the Rogue and Monk professions.

Stormstout Brewery

Pandarens have a long history in the WarCraft lore, and the past converges with the present in the Stormstout Brewery dungeon. WarCraft III pandaren Chen Stormstout tasks players to help him rid his ancient brewery of Verming and Hozu, pests that have taken control of his familial holding with a promise of WoW Gold compensation. The dungeon has a Deadmines feel to it, with dark patches of light coming through the cracks but with the distinctly Eastern elements of water streams, glowing lanterns and kegs of Pandaren ale.

Everybody goes kung-fu fighting in the next World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria!

Blizzard confirmed the new panda-centric expansion over the BlizzCon 2011 weekend, along with a new level cap to 90, a playable Pandaren race for both the Horde and Alliance factions, and an eleventh class option – the barehand-fighting Monk!

Watch the trailer below to glimpse the forgotten land of Pandaria, an idyllic and Eastern-inspired continent that will be our main playground for the fourth expansion:

Aside from flooding our screens with fuzzies, Blizzard will also be tinkering with the class talent system, giving us more freedom in the talents we choose every 15 levels. A pet battle system, seemingly inspired by the likes of Pokemon, should also bring a cuddly new combat experience to WoW players.

There will be additional ways to farm WoW Gold as well, from beating group PVE scenarios and running Challenge Mode dungeons.

So what are you most excited about in Mists of Pandaria? The rotund new race, the more flexible talent system or maybe the chance to finally make like a Pokemon trainer in World of Warcraft?

Could an adorable pet put an end to third-party gold selling?

World of Warcraft fans are now asking this question with the arrival of Blizzard’s newest moneymaker, the tradable pet Guardian Cub, which can be purchased for $10 and be sold for WoW Gold at the auction house.

“While our goal is to offer players alternative ways to add a Pet Store pet to their collection, we’re ok with it if some players choose to use the Guardian Cub as a safe and secure way to try to acquire a little extra in-game gold without turning to third-party gold-selling services,” defended Blizzard.

EpicToon.com sees a couple of holes with this logic.

1. There have always been safe and secure ways to purchase WoW Gold

EpicToon.com and the rest of the Clean Up the Industry members have delivered WoW Gold to thousands of gamers for years, without any hitch. Blizzard has always lumped us together with the scammers, not acknowledging that we source our WoW Gold from guilds and professional farmers.

2. Income from Guardian Cub pet selling isn’t guaranteed

Guardian Cub prices at the AH will be at the mercy of market forces. We expect it to be nowhere as efficient as purchasing from EpicToon.com. Even Blizzard concedes to this: “Please keep in mind that there’s never any guarantee that someone will purchase what you put up for sale in the auction house, or how much they’ll pay for it.”

Suppose players on your server are not big fans of companion pets, then demand for the Guardian Cub you spent $10 might be as low as 1,000 WoW Gold – five times lower than if you just bought from a safe Gold seller like EpicToon.com. And what if the auction house is flooded with Guardian Cubs? It could take months to convert the pet into WoW Gold you desperately need for raid upgrades.

So to our original question: Could an adorable pet put an end to third-party gold selling? Not for hardcore raiders who need to gear up fast and stock up on consumables hours before playtime. Sure, it’s a great gift, but it’s a far less efficient and far slower source of WoW Gold in our humble opinion.