armor-sets
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Here are the tier 17 armor sets non-PUG WoW raiders can loot in Highmaul
With the first raid of World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor right around the corner, Blizzard has released a preview of the Tier 17 armor sets in all their glory. There are three variants of each set: the Mythic version (which has a unique skin compared to the others), the Heroic version, and the Normal version. Raid Finder raids no longer drop tier sets, thus reducing the overall number of available sets by one from the end of Mists of Pandaria. Player opinion seems to be somewhat split on whether or not the sets are good matches for the aesthetic of the expansion and the individual classes, as well as the split between the Mythic versions and the other versions of each set. The raid that drops these pieces, Highmaul, will be available starting on December 2nd for Normal and Heroic, with Mythic launching a week later on December 9th.
Camelot Unchained explores the designs of the Tuatha De Danann
Armor is not a fashion statement. Well, all right, it usually is, but it's not just a fashion statement. How a race looks in a given game often says a lot about what that race represents and what matters to the members as a whole. Camelot Unchained's latest update talks about the Tuatha De Danann, both a concept that the team may use for the realm's armor and the updated visual design of the Baen Sidhe. Unlike the design for the Baen Sidhe's previous more macabre appearance, the updated design is still ethereal whilst being less overtly malformed. The scars and wounds that led to the death of an individual Baen Sidhe's line still play into the designs via shadowed tattoos. Meanwhile, the Tuatha De Danann as a whole are so in tune with the seasons and the flow of the natural world that several concept designs for season-themed armors are shown. If you want to see how you can protect your character while still making a fashion statement, check out the full update.
Warlords of Draenor: Tier 17 models datamined
The fine folks over at Adriacraft have been busy digging up models from the alpha client for Warlords of Draenor. Today they released a selection of preview videos for tier 17 armor sets. Shaman, monk, mage, rogue and warrior tier 17 are featured in their own videos, as well as a look at the paladin tier 17 mythic set, shown above. As previously mentioned by Ion Hazzikostas in an interview with Wowhead, the appearance of gear in Warlords will be defined by raid difficulty, rather than just a recolor for each level of difficulty. As with a prior video that highlighted mythic tier 17 for warriors, the paladin set has a lot more flash and moving parts. I really love the draenei flavor to the set -- the naaru-like crystalline emblems on the spaulders are pretty cool. To see all the datamined tier models, head over to Adriacraft's Youtube channel and take a look.
Dragon Soul LFR changes possible in 6.0
Transmog addicts may have some good news for patch 6.0. When LFR was introduced with Dragon Soul, the last raid in Cataclysm, players flocked to the content and gathered armor and items that had their own unique color schemes. After Mists of Pandaria was introduced, players leveled to 90 -- and the ability to run Dragon Soul on LFR difficulty disappeared. While players can still farm the raid on Normal and Heroic difficulties, the unique color sets released specifically for LFR were no longer available to those max level characters. This was in part due to the nature of LFR. The only way to raid LFR level content is to queue for it through the raid finder interface -- you can't simply change the dropdown difficulty on a per-character basis, as you can with Normal and Heroic difficulties. Once you've passed the level threshold for Cataclysm content, the option to raid Dragon Soul LFR simply disappears from the raid finder interface. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem -- but transmogrification addicts everywhere have been looking for a solution to obtaining those older, uniquely colored items, and Lead Game Designer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas just tweeted that a solution may be on the way in patch 6.0.
Leveling a time capsule
I still remember the first day I played this game on live servers, even though it's been nearly nine years since I looked at the login screen and tried to muddle out what to pick. Friends of mine had already made an Alliance guild and encouraged me to join them. When I mentioned I wanted to play a rogue, I was told that they really needed healers, not rogues. However, my friend suggested I roll a druid, as they could not only heal, but they could turn into a cat and stealth around like a rogue does. That seemed suitable to me, so I rolled a night elf druid, logged in and began to play. Several months and sixty levels later, that experience remains full of fond memories of endless frustration with the class and how it played. It absolutely did not help that giant improvements for that class were rolled out in a patch shortly after I hit 60. I rolled Horde, and the rest is history ... or it was, anyway. The druid remained at level 60, years after I hit 70, 80, 85 and 90, frozen in a distinct period of time. Several months ago, while idly looking at the login screen and pondering what to play, I decided to actually level the druid and get it caught up. Furthermore, I decided to make the trip without heirloom gear -- after all, it didn't exist when I originally played the character. This is the story of a peculiar alt that used to be a main, and what happens when you crack open a time capsule from 2005.
Tier 16 Armor Set videos: Shaman, Monk
Adriacraft is at it again with more tier set videos. The latest addition to the videos is the monk set shown above. I'm not so sure about the sleeveless robe, but I quite like the look of the helm -- a red bandana similar to the Shado-Pan helmet, minus the helmet of course! Still, it seems a little less flashy than other tier 16 contributions. What do you think? After the break you'll find the video for the tier 16 shaman set. I'm actually really fond of this set, largely for the shoulder graphics. They remind me of Ulduar and Algalon, although I'm sure that wasn't the intended purpose. I'm not sure what the spinning discs really have to do with the elements, but the lighting effects on the shoulder graphics are really pretty. If you're wondering how they hold up to the rest of the tier, be sure to take a look at the Warrior, Priest and Hunter, and the Paladin Druid, Rogue and Death Knight as well. And as always, keep an eye on Adriacraft on YouTube for all the latest patch videos.
Wowhead releases BoE set armor guide
If you're a fan of transmogrification, you're no doubt familiar with the difficulties of trying to keep track of all those green BoE sets out there in Azeroth. Over at Wowhead, that process has just been made a lot easier with a transmogrification guide put together by Perculia, detailing BoE sets in cloth, leather, mail and plate. Specifically covering those pesky world-drop greens, the guide has model views of each set that you can see with a simple mouseover. BoE green drops have long been a hit-or-miss for transmog fanatics, but Wowhead's guide is an easy, quick reference to help not only with tracking down obscure sets, but offering alternate pieces of gear with the same models as well. The mouseover visuals are incredibly handy for anyone looking for color-matching items, and of course Wowhead is its usual helpful self when it comes to finding out the best place to find all the gear your transmog-addicted heart desires. While you're checking out the BoE guide, you may want to take a look at Wowhead's other guides as well, covering everything from your typical tier armor sets to lookalikes, quest rewards, dungeon sets and more. If you've been looking for a new look for your character, going back to the sets of old for inspiration isn't a bad idea at all.
Patch 5.2 Gear Previews: Season 13, tier 15, and Throne of Thunder
If you've been waiting for some new WoW loot to drool over, today Blizzard posted previews of season 13's "Tyrannical" PvP armor sets. Season 12 will be coming to an end on March 5, making the Tyrannical sets your new PvP goal. Though we have to say, the paladin set looks kind of dangerous, like you might put someone's eye out accidentally with those giant blades attached to your shoulders. (It reminds us of warrior's tier 2 Wrath set, which also seemed like tempting fate. What if you tripped?) So, PvP paladins, please be careful and try not to run with scissors -- or those huge shoulders -- okay? For PvEers, Blizzard also has previews of tier 15, which will be arriving with patch 5.2 -- that is to say, soon. Thankfully, Blizzard has finally taken the preventive measure of putting bells on the priests so they can no longer sneak up on you. (Apologies to stealth-loving priests everywhere.) And if that's not enough preview action, our friends at Wowhead also have Throne of Thunder boss drops from the PTR (if you're not seeing them, click to sort "By Boss"). Happy looting, everyone!
Patch 5.2: Tier set names
The new tier sets for patch 5.2 finally have names -- well, most of the sets do. Wowhead managed to dig up the names for all of the tier 15 models, with the exception of the rogue t15 set. While rogue set items are currently using the t14 name, all other t15 sets have been changed over. However, the models for all of the sets are nearly complete, and some sets have some pretty neat animation on the shoulder models. Death Knight Battleplate/Plate of the All-Consuming Maw. The shoulders for this piece are two sets of jaws that occasionally open and flick their tongues in the air. Druid Armor/Regalia/Battlegear/Vestments of the Haunted Forest. This model features small fireflies that dart around the branches on the shoulders. Hunter Battlegear of the Saurok Stalker. Mage Regalia of the Chromatic Mage. Monk Fire-Charm Armor/Battlegear/Vestments. Paladin Battlegear/Plate/Vestments of the Lightning Emperor. This set flickers with blue lightning. Please note that the model for this set doesn't quite appear to be complete. Priest Vestments/Regalia of the Exorcist. The hood for this model also appears to include a translucent veil over the eyes. Neat! Rogue Battlegear of the Thousandfold Blades. This is a placeholder name for now. Shaman Battlegear/Regalia/Vestments of the Spiritbreaker. Warlock Regalia of the Thousand Hells. Warrior Battleplate/Plate of the Last Mogu. Take a look through our gallery for a closer look at all of the t15 sets, or head over to Wowhead and use the modelviewer there for a look at the unique animations. %Gallery-177311% Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Challenge Mode armor sets revealed
During the Mists of Pandaria press event, Mike Sacco and I had our fancies tickled by what little we saw of the upcoming Challenge Mode armor sets. They're vanity-only items meant for use with transmogrification, and they looked way awesome. Thankfully, we have Wowhead and Wowhead News around to show us most of the sets we didn't get to see. I'm a sucker for winged armor, so the paladin set (embedded above) is my favorite by far. The shoulders on the rogue set are fantastic, and the shaman set seems tailor-made for trolls. Unfortunately the mage, warlock, warrior, and monk sets are still missing from the lineup, so we'll need to keep an eye out for those in future beta patches. You can see a sampler of the currently available armor sets in the gallery below, but I do highly recommend checking out the 3D model viewer over at Wowhead as well. Wowhead has a whole slew of other models you should check out at the same time, such as mounts, more weapons, and miscellaneous quest reward gear sets. %Gallery-151335% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Hi, my name is Anne and I'm addicted to transmogrification
I have a problem, and its name is transmogrification. I like collecting gear sets. I like picking up different pieces of gear and putting them together. I like making my character look unique and pretty, and I cannot stop. Every time I think I've found the perfect outfit, I keep it for about a week or two until someone in my guild invariably links a piece of gear that is just so cool that I have to find it and build another set around it. You'd think void storage would have solved my bank woes, but it really hasn't. In fact, transmogrification has only made the issue worse -- and it all has to do with quest rewards. See, once you complete a quest and get the reward for it, you can't get that reward back again if you delete it to make room for things. Unfortunately, a lot of the nicest sets out there are floating about in 1-to-60 zones as part of quest chains that you cannot redo if you happen to lose that quest item. So if you want to continue to use it for transmogrification, you have to keep it. Forever. You see the inherent problem here?
World of Wardrobe: More plate look-alikes for death knights
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. The Burning Crusade was the first expansion for World of Warcraft, featuring a wholly foreign landscape to traverse and all-new armor to pick up and proudly wear. Well ... sort of. Though the zones, dungeons and quests were incredibly detailed and entertaining, the gear itself was a little lacking in variety. Green gear drops were simply recolored versions of existing models, and nothing really went together -- which led to the infamous Burning Crusade "clown suit" effect that most people experienced while leveling through the expansion. That didn't mean there was a complete lack of matching gear, however. Burning Crusade dungeons contained plenty of recolored tier sets from classic World of Warcraft, to the delight of many players who simply didn't raid in vanilla and therefore didn't have access to that tier. The other nice part about the tier recolors was that they weren't class-restricted, so any class could pick up the look of another class with relatively little difficulty. This turned out to be very good news for death knights, who didn't appear on the scene until Wrath of the Lich King. Though a class call was added to Nefarian over in Blackwing Lair for our death knight friends, tier sets were not. Last week, we covered a few of the recolored plate offerings that death knights can pick up -- but don't worry, death knights. Last week's offering of plate tier goodies was only part 1! There are a few more plate tier look-alikes to be had out there in The Burning Crusade.
Players of the world vs. Malephar: Fiesta Online creates the ultimate showdown
The colorful Fiesta Online -- the party MMO that is always prepared to breakdance if someone turns on a beat -- has conga'd forward with its latest update: Malephar's Lair. Named for a nasty centaur who doesn't play well with others, the update has plenty of new challenges for high-level players. Geared-up level 105 players can attempt to take Malephar down in his fortress, but before they do so they'll have to beat a pair of mini-bosses that serve as gatekeepers to the encounter. Take him down, and new legendary weapons will be yours for the taking! The update also includes 10 additional sets of armor, class balances, repeatable quests for those levels 89 and higher, and a special unicorn mount that lasts for just a week and can only be obtained by excelling in the guild tournaments. [Source: gamigo press release] %Gallery-108290%
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: The visual set for warriors, part 2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. At present it looks unlikely that other classes are getting dragon-aspect-themed tier 13 sets. This means that as of right now, with mage, warlock, druid, shaman, rogue and paladin sets also revealed, the warrior set is indisputably the best-looking set so far. We look awesome. Warrior tier sets in general tend to always look, at the very least, good and serviceable. One of the innovations moving from Naxxramas' tier 3 to The Burning Crusade's tier sets is that it took the idea of the warrior design aesthetic and branched it out to cover both role warriors could play in raids. When we talked about the visual set for warriors in classic WoW two weeks ago, one of the most glaring notes was that tanking sets got the unified look of a tier while DPS sets were cobbled together from various non-set pieces and had no unifying theme to characterize them. There was essentially one tier set per raid, and it was either tanking or tank-capable. Both Zul'Gurub and Ahn'Qiraj presented warriors with "sets" that were composed of both DPS and tank pieces.
Blizzard clarifies transmogrification rules
Blizzard has been getting loads of questions about transmogrification, the new system coming in patch 4.3 that allows players to change the look of the gear they currently possess. Many players have been asking for more gear customization, and Blizzard has answered with this new system. However, there are rules, and Blizzard has finally laid out the full list of what can and cannot be transmogrified, as well as what types of restrictions apply. The list is not intended to be all-encompassing, but does give players a good idea about what is acceptable and what is not. Personally, I am still of the opinion that a lot of the fun items that will not be available for transmog purposes should be. It's Warcraft, after all, and the goofy aesthetic has permeated all aspects of the game. It's not a huge loss, but one that would have its fun purposes. All in all, these transmog rules feel pretty lenient and acceptable to me, and I think that the new system is a great step in the right direction for more player customization.
EverQuest cracks the door wider to peek in on Veil of Alaris concept art
While November is still a ways off, EverQuest players have a lot to be excited for as the title's 18th expansion bakes in Sony Online Entertainment's creative ovens. Today, the company has released three new pieces of concept art -- along with a wireframe model -- to give us more of an idea of what to expect out of Veil of Alaris. The art shows off some of the structures of Alaris, including a costal town and various towers, as well as the mysterious inhabitants of the lands. Alaris will consist of 12 new zones, half of which are raid zones. In addition to Alaris itself, the expansion will feature a level cap increase to 95 and a welcome revamp of the guild hall system. There will also be more armor sets, a cultural armor tier, and the ability to resize hotbars. You can check out all of the concept art goodness in the gallery below! %Gallery-128419%
15 Minutes of Fame: No bank dust bunnies for in-game item collectors
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. 15 Minutes of Fame profiled the triple-threat collections of Drrum last fall -- an astounding trifecta of pets, mounts and armor sets painstakingly pieced together and then screenshot to dramatic effect in complementary in-game settings. Amazing stuff. And since cool collections that come in threes seem to be such a good thing, we're bringing you two more profiles of in-game collectors. This week, we'll visit with Moonjade of Twisting Nether (US-A), who collects armor and lore items. Moonjade's impressive collection of lore and legendary items make him a suitable ambassador for an entire subculture of players who collect various sorts of items during their game downtime. Then next week, we'll crank up the specialization rating and round out our trio of collectors with an interview with a collector who actually manages and gives tours of a virtual museum of gray items.
Wings Over Atreia: Class builds -- Cleric
Last week we discussed how personality influences class choice, so after some deep reflection, you have decided that it is time to reveal your true nature and be reborn as a cleric in Aion! Either that, or maybe you just wanted to solo some dungeons to horde all the loot. *cha-ching* Perhaps you already became one to impress that really cute voice in vent who is always looking for a healer. Whatever your reason, the life of servitude is for you. Now what? Welcome to Build-a-Cleric. While some Daevas are content to just play with what they get from drops or quests, a number actually want to outfit their characters the best they can. Even if leveling too quickly to worry about uber gear thanks to mentoring and an easier grind, it is never a bad idea to keep an eye on endgame. And with the plethora of manastones, armor sets, weapons, and stigmas available -- not to mention advice, both solicited and unsolicited -- it can be a daunting task to maximize your potential. So to help you wade through the possibilities, Wings Over Atreia will be exploring each class individually and highlighting popular and effective builds. With any luck, some advance knowledge will help you make informed decisions and avoid the catastrophes of expending all of your energies in obtaining the wrong gear for your needs. Nothing shouts broke like having to re-socket entire sets or enchant new ones! Roll up your sleeves and explore various builds for Aion's Cleric class after the cut.
Lucent Heart asks: What's your sign?
Lucent Heart, the free-to-play anime-flavored MMO by BeanFun, takes a different approach to its combat-role system. Although you do find the classic trinity of tank, support, and DPS buried in the system somewhere, the roles are broken into the 12 signs of the zodiac. Each of the four base classes and all of the eight advanced classes can take on any of these roles. The Zodiac System adds enhanced flavor and strategy to the game. When Lucent Heart asks you, "What's your sign?" it's not trying to ask you out on a date. The developers of Lucent Heart gave Massively an exclusive break-down of each of the zodiac roles. For instance, those born under Sagittarius take on the classic DPS role. They hit hard and keep the damage coming. Sagittarius has its own special armor to help differentiate it from the other classes. Hop past the break to see the zodiac system exactly as the developers gave it to us. Then be sure to jump to the BeanFun forums for more information on how you can join beta testing.
WAR shakes up the world with patch 1.4.1
After a few weeks in testing, Warhammer Online's 1.4.1 patch has hit the live servers today. Topping off the list of improvements to the game is a brand-new claim window, which was designed to handle the various account entitlements that players have accrued. This interface now replaces the in-game mail system as a way to deliver the special goodies that players have earned or purchased over the years. Patch 1.4.1 is also aiming at shaking up the game with two major changes to the status quo. Several PvP armor sets are now much easier to attain, and in many instances they can be purchased at a lower level than before. This means that players will find themselves better-equipped to participate in the brutal hand-to-hand combat that the game offers. WAR is also rotating its scenario lineup: Some scenarios have been called out of retirement, some have changed tiers, and some are being put in mothballs for the time being. You can read the full 1.4.1 patch notes over at Warhammer Online.
