The Queue: Shh, don't tell

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) thinks the holidays are pretty keen all around.

The Christmas tree in my house is not what one would call designer -- it doesn't have matching lights and garland, or carefully color-coordinated ornaments. But what it does have is a lot of mismatched ornaments, each with its own story of how it ended up on the tree. I don't know where the eskimo pictured above came from exactly. It's always been on the tree, every year since I can remember. But the eskimo does have a story with it.

Every year, my mother would carefully hide the eskimo somewhere in the tree branches. It was our job to find it. Some years, my brother and sister and I would move it around the tree as we found it, others we'd simply take a candy cane as a reward for finding the little guy. He's about the size of my thumb, made from a tiny pine cone, a wooden head, and a bit of pipe cleaner, but he's one of my most favorite ornaments of all. Now I hide him for my nephews. Do you guys have any fun holiday traditions?

grizzlyamish asked:

After I finished off Kel'Thuzad, he says, "Agghhhh! Do... not... rejoice! Your victory is a hollow one, for I shall return with powers beyond your imagining!"

Now I know that the prior Lich King is dead, but is there even a slight possibility that Kel'Thuzad could return, or were his final words simply a false promise?

A lich doesn't actually die -- it leaves a phylactery behind. That phylactery can be used to resurrect said lich, if it is kept intact. This is pretty much what Kel'Thuzad is referring to. As for why we don't just destroy the silly things once we're done murdering liches, I have no idea. Perhaps someone thinks they'd make lovely flower vases.

PhilDGiles asked:

I never understood why men enjoy being women in-game. I mean, yes, it's a pleasing model to look at each day, but in a MMO setting, why would a man want to represent himself as a woman to other people? And this seems a very popular thing to do.

Actually Phil, you'll find that most people don't really think of their character as "representing themselves" to others so much as "Dang, that giant orc with the huge muscles looks like it could totally smash a building. That's awesome, I wanna be that!" Character gender is equally a non-factor. You'd be surprised at how many gamer women pick male avatars.

Revynn asked:

So, I finished Tuskarmaggedon . . . Yesterday. I still haven't finished Frenzyheart rep even though I played this character all through Wrath. What's the longest you've procrastinated on something in-game?

I finally got to exalted with Ogri'la just as Cataclysm ended. Did I mention how much I hate that rep grind? I hate that rep grind.

RikOsborne asked:

I bought a Tiny Goldfish pet from Nat Pagle on my rogue. Now I was just looking at it while on my hunter, and when I moused over it in Nat Pagle's vendor window, below the "Use" instructions it says, "Collected (1/3)". What's that all about?

Because pets are now account-wide, you can have up to three of the same pet. That indicator is just telling you that you've got one out of the three you are allowed to have.

@shamanrongar asked via Twitter:

I have this "best friend" on my farm, who I hoped would help keep Virmen at bay, or weed or DO SOMETHING. Am I asking too much?

Sadly, yes. The only best friends that give you any real benefit are Jogu the Drunk, because it means you can get your predictions right on your farm, or Gina, because then you'll have a vendor right there on your farm. I've had Sho on my farm for weeks, and although she perches quite menacingly on a hay bale, it really hasn't done anything about scaring off any pests.

@Alannyax0 asked via Twitter:

Making a new character tonight to get the Loremaster title and discover the lore/stories of azeroth, any hints/advice?!

Well, more of a few suggestions, really. If you've got a max-level character on one faction, and you're rolling from scratch for Loremaster, try rolling on the other faction. Why? Because it's likely all stuff that you've never seen before, which makes the quests more interesting, particularly in the 1-60 revamped areas. You can always take your high-level character and speed through the low level quests on your faction, but if you're going to make the long journey, why not make it with an entirely clean slate?

As far as discovering the stories and lore, all you need to do is pay attention to what's going on while you level. If you see a book you can click, read that too -- Dalaran has some particularly amusing books lying around, and so do the inns in Pandaria. Take your time, enjoy the sights and the questing, and don't get too wrapped up in the achievement. Get wrapped up in the story instead, it's far more interesting!

Finish a zone before you move on to the next. Sometimes you'll ding the achievement for the zone before you've actually completed all the content -- ignore that, finish the story out and see what happens. Yes, you'll quickly out level the zone you are in, but if you really want to see the story, the experience points shouldn't matter all that much to you.

@jedsblog asked via Twitter:

Q4tQ: You manage to get control of the story for next expac. What story lines would you tie up/introduce?

Jed, honey, I could answer that, but I think my editor would kill me when he saw the word count it would take to fully answer that question. Probably. So I'll just give my standard "I would like to see a Frazetta-inspired expansion of primordial landscapes and barbarian badasses." Because riding around on a brontosaurus would be pretty keen. Warcraft goes Conan. Think about it.

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!