The Queue: The Iron Horde Skunk Works

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 Rossiwill be your host today.

The Warlords of Draenor alpha has been datamined and we're seeing things like new models, and some of those have been item models. And frankly, these models have me curious about how the Iron Horde weapon development process works. So far, there seems to be three or four camps - there's the recycle broken weapons (like you can see above and with this sword, which frankly I don't believe for a second would actually work twice), the stick a jawbone on it model, multiple varietiesof trees. There are rocks on sticks, there's this thing which I think is supposed to be an enormous horn or tooth tied to a stick, and so far none of it requires Garrosh Hellscream to step through a dimensional portal to give you the secrets of this miraculous technology.

I flash to two orcs bent over a blueprint, brows furrowed in concentration. "What if... we tied a fang... to a rock... and then made it an axe?"

"You're a genius, Gruulthak. This is the pinnacle of Iron Horde weapons technology!"

LarGand asks:

Any news on whether or not we are going to see a real update on the Draenei female model, or was that whole thing supposed to be funny? I got the joke on the first, but they had made a statement that there would be an update available to see and they have not really done so.

Yes, they are working on an update for the draenei female model.

RockwellH asks:

Anybody notice how much work they are putting into garrisons? I think they may be around longer then this xpac

Cory Stockton has made the point that the amount of content available in Garrisons is many times greater than anything we've seen from content like this in WoW, ever. And what we've seen so far in the datamining seems to bear that suggestion out - multiple structures, with different mechanics and gameplay. Whether or not this means that we'll be making new garrisons in new expansions, I can't say. They've said they like making content that is good for one expansion.

rjjagoda says:

Just once, I'd love for Bliz to remember that not everyone raids. Something like garrison art for each race would cost a tier? OH (deleted explitive) WELL. Throw together a ToC-type raid and call it good. The vast majority of people who never step into even LFR will be thankful for the attention.

You say that, but watch what happens if Blizzard actually does this. People complained about the patches with lots of world content but no raids in Mists of Pandaria. Right now, the emphasis is on getting garrisons to work, not to get art assets designed for every race. As much as I would like a purely draenei garrison, I want them to work first.

Also, I absolutely believe that people would complain a great deal if Blizzard did that, to the point where it would be a distraction. Trying to balance out how much content and what kind is always hard, and ultimately very easy for us to second guess.

Chrith asks:

Q4TQ: When did the Sha'tari show up on Outland? I thought it was much later in the history than when we'll be on Draenor.

The Sha'tar arrived on Outland post-Ner'zhul's destruction to help fight the Burning Legion and save what draenei they could, led by A'dal. The naaru of the Sha'tar came in Tempest Keep and its four satellite structures, the Exodar, Arcatraz, Botanica and Mechanar. As they spread out across Outland to offer what aid they could, they left M'uru in the Tempest Keep and it was then that Kael'thas Sunstrider and his loyal blood elf forces seized Tempest Keep and the satellites, very soon after the arrival on Outland. Velen and the draenei then assisted the naaru O'ros in taking back the Exodar and using it to escape.

So yes, it was later.

Dream asks:

Q4tQ: For a game that relies so heavily on players interacting with other players do you ever think we'll get a vote button to weed out the friendly players from the miserable trolls? Even if its just the accumulation of thumbs ups and thumbs downs. Kind of like the votes at the end of pvp in swtor or the playerscore votes but have it actually attribute to gameplay.

I have no idea. Clearly, it would be nice if the game rewarded players for not being jerks, but sadly, since some players are jerks any system needs to be designed keeping that in mind. Something as simple as a vote up/down has potential for abuse. And a pure 'upvote' seems insufficient.

Matthew2 asks:

Were the Taunka Shaman Dark Shaman? It says in the Wrath literature they tried to master the elements instead of live in harmony with them. That sounds proto-Dark Shaman to me.

No one has actually said in game "We learned our Dark Shamanism from the taunka" but it's pretty clear that they were an inspiration - their method of approaching the elements was born out of desperation, as Northrend is often a harsh place with brutal, punishing arctic winters and the taunka learned their methods in order to survive it. In a place where the elements think nothing of freezing you to death if you walk ten paces outdoors, it was bully the elements or die.

Now, combine that with the secrets liberated from the Twilight Cult, and you have the roots of Dark Shamanism, I'd bet. But it's not as simple as 'copy the taunka, get Dark Shamans'.

AndrewDunn asks:

Q4TQ: How long do you think our legendary cloaks will last? Looking at the data-mined information, Test dungeon sets are set at 630 item level. Thats 30 item levels above the cloak, should I assume that it will be replaced by the first tier of raiding?

It's probably safe to assume that. We don't know if the legendary cloaks wll still proc at the same rate as we level up - if they do, they may stay viable a good deal longer as those are some sweet procs. But if they do not, then we may replace them sooner. It's a very safe bet that we'll replace them before we start raiding.

This has been the Queue. Please, talk about something else besides garrisons not having race specific buildings.

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!