The Queue: I forgot I was writing this

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi is your "Hey, it's that guy" guy today.

So yeah, I totally forgot I was supposed to write this today. I was running some dungeons, and suddenly this bolt of terror rocketed down my spine. After I dealt with that ghost, I remembered I had to write the Queue for today because folks are getting to go to BlizzCon and once again, I'm not.

I'm not bitter about it, but I am wistful that I never get to meet any of y'all.

Anyway, let's do some Queue diving, shall we?

BlackSeal asks:
If they announce a new expansion Friday (which is almost a certain thing), do you think we will also see the cinematic for the expansion on Friday as well?

I can't recall if they had a showing of the Wrath, Cata and Mists cinematics that are currently in the game to kick off the expansion on the day of announcement at Blizzcon or not. (I am pretty certain the BC cinematic was shown as it is in the game at the time of announcement? Didn't we have to wait a while past Blizzcon for the Mists one? Uncertain as well about the others)

The cinematic almost always comes much later than BlizzCon. Wrath, Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria all had videos at BlizzCon that showcased the work already done on the next expansion, but none of them had the actual in game cinematic to the best of my knowledge. (I remember the Wrath of the Lich King video from BlizzCon very well, but I'm not as sure about Cataclysm. I do know that the cinematic with Deathwing's narration was not done yet.) So there will almost certainly be some kind of video at BlizzCon, and it almost certainly won't be the actual cinematic we get when Corgis Unleashed finally is released.

Orkchop asks:
Any good plate transmog pieces that match the DPS legendary cloak? What about a weapon to go with it? It's Ashkandi isn't it. For the weapon and all the transmog slots. Like Thok but with Ashkandi instead of axes.

If you're going to answer the question for me...

In all sincerety, the strength DPS legendary cloak is a detailed model, and it pretty much works with any of the plate sets that we got in Pandaria, especially the first tiers warrior and paladin sets (Resounding Rings and White Tiger) - it's not bad with Throne of Thunder gear, except the DK set, which doesn't really work. However, the Siege of Orgrimmar DK set works perfectly with it. And the paladin and warrior sets (and their lookalikes) also work with it. You can see it above alongside my collection of current raid warrior gear.

thorvathjr asks:
Is size really the justification for some of the class restrictions? I'm a proponent of not opening the flood gates of a class combination free-for-all but even I find that a tad silly. The Dwarf hunter is iconic and they aren't much bigger than Gnomes. And Goblins are the exact same size as Gnomes.

I have no idea if size is the real, honest to Blizzard reason. I think it's more likely that there aren't any gnome hunters because they don't have much of a tradition of hunting anything - they're a technically obsessed race that lived in a city of technology deep underground and their connection to nature is tenuous at best. While goblins look at the world and see opportunities for exploitation, gnomes are much more about tinkering with stuff.

Basically, a gnome who wanted to develop a mystical rapport with animals and live alongside them, sharing in the hunt would be almost as unusual as one who rejected technology entirely to become a servant of the elements or the Emerald Dream.

I mean, a gnome can wield Ashkandi. They can probably handle a bow.

Chris Wood asks:
If you could create your very own roleplay themed feature to introduce to the game, what would it be?

I still want to be able to move into a phased version of a dungeon I've cleared. I don't get why I can't just take over Blackrock Spire. I've killed everything in that place hundreds of times. Imagine getting together with your friends inside Blackwing Descent for a party!

I could hang my Ashkandi on the wall, even.

RikOsborne asks:
Are there any mobs you feel bad about killing for quests?

Yaks. I seriously cannot and will not kill yaks. I will run away if a yak mob aggros me. I get twitchy when I have to fight Niuzao and I'll avoid it whenever possible, and the fact that he doesn't actually die is the only reason I feel okay with that fight. I freaking love yaks in WoW. I will not kill them.

Gendou stated:
Based on the Blizzcon banners as well as the changes to the Beta signup page, I feel confident in stating that the new race for Warlords of Draenor will be "Thrall." We will also get a new class called "Thrall." Also, the end boss for the expansion will be Thrall. In addition, all NPC's and Player Characters will be voice acted by Chris Metzen.

Q.) Even the female NPCs?
A.) Especially the female NPCs.

I wanted to highlight this for two reasons. First off, I found it amusing. Secondly, you'll note it is not a question, does not anywhere inside it ask a question, and in general is not terribly useful when you suddenly remember that you have to write a column answering questions. So I'm torn - it's absolutely amusing to me, but at the same time, I kind of hate it. Because it's not a question.

But it is funny, Gendou. It is funny. So I'll let it slide this time.

ScottLeyes says:
I have a problem - every time i hear "Warlords of Draenor" i start humming the tune from "Werewolves of London"

"Oooh-hooo, oooh-hooo, War-lohds uv Draenor... oooh-hoo, ooh-hoo, hooooooo..."

Not only is that not a question, Scott, but it's not even a problem. Warren Zevon was awesome. Just sing the song a few hundred times.

DamionPseudonym asks:
Q4tQ: what do you think is the real gameplay value of new races? I can understand new classes, they come with a whole raft of new abilities and fun stuff like that, but new races seem to me to be basically just new skins for the same thing. (Especially when they treat them like the Draenei/Goblins/Worgen, in that they create them, and then just kinda forget about them.....)

Yay a question! Leaving racial abilities out of it, the gameplay value of new races is that people like to play them. For some people, the race they play is fairly important. For me, for instance, it's so important that I made a tumblr about taking pictures of my draenei warrior. Lots of things in the game aren't directly involved in the limited definition of gameplay that basically comes down to spells, abilities, combat mechanics and nothing else. Why do we need a new raid after a few months? Why do we need to go to new places? Why do we have any races besides orcs and humans?

That doesn't mean you're not right about the draenei and worgen. (I'd argue goblins are doing fine, because they were already fairly well integrated into WoW at large.) Pandaren got so much lore in Mists that I think it's okay that we'll see a bit less of them in the future, but we could definitely use more draenei and worgen story.

Dayna Abel asks:
Anyone know who Garrosh's mother is?

Presumably Garrosh might. I've no idea, myself.

And that wraps up the Queue. Please, take some pity on whoever writes the one after this, and ask some questions.

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!