The Queue: Transmogrification

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mathew McCurley will be your host today.

So, we've learned from Gamescom that patch 4.3 will contain a feature that allows you to change what your gear looks like with some sort of cosmetic slot or reforging. We have no idea how gear transmogrification will work, but I think that it will work similar to reforging, maybe? I don't know. I'll be honest -- I never thought that this was something Blizzard would do, because of its adamant stance on what gear means in WoW as a status symbol and gauging players' progress just by looking at them.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I am excited for more character customization options and armor transmogrification. To be truthful, I would rather have more customization for my character's face, skin, build, and all that over gear, but I will take what I can get. Now to decide which warrior tier to wear ...

Oh, right. Questions.

mik3st3r asked:

Why do only some flying mounts work in ground mount-only areas? For example, my Netherwing Drake does not work in a raid such as the Firelands, however my Windrider does. I believe somebody asked something similar to this before, and the answer was they tried to make creatures which made sense as ground mounts usable. Windriders have legs. But so do Netherwing Drakes?

Interestingly enough, drake mounts did work as ground mounts in the Cataclysm beta. When we were running Blackrock Depths for the first time, we could mount up inside the dungeon on ground mounts, and the drakes were perfectly capable of being summoned and used inside. I would love to have the ability to run with my drake-type mounts on the ground, but I would imagine it is a size thing. Also, a jump animation. The jump animation on the drakes in BRD was wonky and weird. It probably just didn't look the way Blizzard wanted it to look.

Now that I think about it, I don't think it's a size issue. I mean, the mammoths are in game and they are ludicrously large and annoying, more so than drakes.

Sergel asked:

What obstacles do you feel an mmorpg faces in telling a deep and dynamic story compared to a solo rpg?

Well, for starters, an MMO has a hard time making you, personally, the hero. A single-player RPG can easily create and weave a story around the central character -- you -- and make it a compelling exercise in storytelling. In an MMO, you are the quintessential grunt on the ground, part of a larger group that has to make allowances for game play designs that cut into the heart of storytelling.

My idea for how to make that type of story compelling, especially when you have to play what is essentially a cog in the machine, is to make the game about the cogs. Stonetalon Mountains for the Horde does this remarkably well, creating the most single-player experience in WoW. But the MMO is a different beast -- you have to tell story through not only the quests and the interactions but the world itself, which is something I think Cataclysm did pretty well.

Compelling storytelling is not impossible in an MMO; it's just different. The focus isn't on you, which makes your progression that much more weird to deal with.

Shinae commented:

Speaking about asking questions at Blizzcon, we should make a list of questions that are a waste of time because they've been asked ad nauseum and the devs are not going to say anything just because YOU asked about it.

I'll start out:
Please don't ask about the next legendary weapon (especially at the lore panel).

Yes, please. Please, this. I know that we all love to get up in front of the mic and try to Red Shirt Guy the creative devs and the dev teams at BlizzCon, but one of my biggest pet peeves about the show is the amount of unrelated-to-the-panel questions people ask. We're all here to learn and interact, not to be privy to your guild's dumb in-joke that no one gets.

mikesauch asked:

Q4TQ

What is the 10th icon in archaeology next to Vrykul? The one that's a picture of a hat with a pick and shovel.

I believe that's the placeholder icon for whatever new archaeology races Blizzard will be adding in the future. I don't think it actually refers to any next race, but just a placeholder.

Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!