The Queue: In which a retraction is made

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) is answering all kinds of questions today.

You know, I wasn't exactly pleased about the idea of "capital" city locations being on Ashran -- I was really, really looking forward to Karabor. But after seeing the town on beta last night, I hate to admit it, but ... well, it's pretty cool. The inn is awesome, I love the trading post, the place is just being built so I'm assuming it'll get bigger later, but ... it's really not that bad. Consider me pleasantly surprised, and apologetic for criticizing it. It's not Karabor, but it's cool, and I could see hanging out there every now and again. Much better than the Shrines in Mists.

CaptainCakewalk asked:

Q4tQ: A nice question (I think so anyway!). What would be the one thing you would love to see in the game lifted from unused Lore in WoW / Warcraft Universe as a whole? I personally would love to one day go to Kul'Tiras as it seems like it would be an amazing place to visit!

I would very much like to see Kul Tiras, provided they retcon Jaina's other brother Tandred back into the game and make him a swarthy burly crusty sailor dude a-la Captain Slam Beefchin from the Mists trailer. Then pair him up with guns-and-roses Lorna Crowley on a mission to get Gilneas back, because I'm guessing it would be tremendously entertaining to watch the two of them snipe at each other.

I may have thought about this before.

Drewbob asked:

Is WoW "just a game" to you, or is it something more? If it's something more, how would you describe what that is?

That's kind of a subjective question. To me it's a source of employment, which is cool -- but beyond that, yes, it's a game. However, it's a game with an ongoing, serial story that spans twenty years worth of development. I really, really enjoy storytelling from that angle, and I really enjoy seeing how they keep the story moving along, and conjuring up my own ideas of where they could logically take it. Sometimes my guesses are correct, sometimes they aren't, but it's fun to play with someone else's world. By this time, so many hands have touched, molded and shaped the stories in the RTS and MMO that it's almost like a collaborative storytelling experience, and I really love that.

That and I've made a ton of friends over the last ten years of playing this game, so I guess I could also call it a pretty cool social activity while I'm at it.

smartazjb0y asked:

Anyone know if Legendary already did their panel at Comic-Con? Reaaaaallllllyyyyy want some Warcraft Movie teasers or something

We got some tantalizing bits of information from people that were at the panel, but unfortunately, I don't think we're going to see the teaser they showed at the panel shown anywhere else. That's part of Comic-Con -- the people that pay to attend get to see exclusive stuff that the rest of us only get to hear about. I do hope maybe they change their mind and showcase the trailer somewhere, though!

JeffLaBowski asked:

Was just thinking with the toy box, is the train going to be in there? I kind of hope not. Not looking forward to hundreds of people putting that down in the AH.

I went ahead and actually logged into the beta just to check this for you -- yes, it is considered a toy, and you can put it in the Toy Box. So is the Wind-up Train Wrecker. Mind you, this is why I love having Lil' XT around -- he's very good at smushing train sets.

Alibarem asked:

Q4tQ: Where do the Old Gods come from? Isn't it possible that there are hundreds out there in the Dark Beyond?

Well, when chaos and destruction love each other very, very much ...

No really though, we don't know where they come from, I don't think it's ever even been thought about in any story or quest we've seen to date. We can assume that there are many out there, however, from what Harbinger Skyriss said during the last encounter in the Arcatraz. "We span the universe, as countless as the stars!" "I bear allegiance to powers untouched by time, unmoved by fate. No force on this world or beyond harbors the strength to bend our knee ... not even the mighty Legion!"

It sounds like a pretty convincing argument that yes, there are plenty more out there than just the handful found on Azeroth. Unfortunately for the rest of the universe.

calicojane66 asked:

Kind of a lore question. After the end of Burning Crusade, wouldn't the Draenei who crashed on Azeroth want to go home? We beat Illidan and they fixed their ship. You'd think they would want to hightail it back to Outland and rebuild. Not to mention all the Blood Elf pilgrims who have no reason to be there anymore. I know because of game mechanics this wouldn't happen since the Draenei are a player race, but it's an interesting idea.

I'm sure some of them have -- after all, there are still draenei in Outland, and there always will be. But there isn't really any "rebuilding" to be done. The planet was nearly destroyed. What's left is pieces, torn across the nether. It's not really "home" anymore, in that aspect. Draenor is closer to what home used to be, but that's not home either -- it may look like home, some aspects might feel the same as home, but it's not. It's somewhere else, someplace eerily similar to the place they used to call home. I'd recommend reading the Velen leader short story Prophet's Lesson -- it's free to read on the website, and it explains the other, larger reasons Velen has for staying on Azeroth.

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