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Sunflower sings about blood elf druids
It's no secret that we love Laura Shigihara, the composer for Pop Cap's amazing Plants vs. Zombies and now the voice of Cataclysm's singing sunflower pet. Shigihara has stepped into the WoW machinima world with her own original song and video, Blood Elf Druids, an adorable song making a plea to Blizzard for the inclusion of blood elf druids. Shout-outs to Tooga the turtle are pretty obscure, which makes it even more fun. It's adorable, catchy and a great first shot at machinima. There's even a behind-the-scenes video posted here. If this is the quality of song we're getting for the first video, I cannot wait to see what's coming next. An orc ballad, perhaps? I can only hope.
Barrens Chat: Beggers can't be choosers
First of all, a huge thank you to Mike Schramm last week for covering my rear with his hunter comic. And it wasn't so much "kindly accepted" as it was "oh thank goodness, I'm saved" for the record, Mike. Thank you Turpster, also!Now, back to business (or tomfoolery, I haven't decided which it actually is yet). This week brings us a comic that actually took place in the Barrens. Crossroads to be specific. So once again for those of you who complained commented that the comics should take place in the barrens, your wish has been granted. %Gallery-22361%
Mass Murder 101: How to be a hero
It's a fact that the majority of what we do in World of Warcraft is kill things. Nearly all the supplementary activities we engage in, from shopping to crafting, are all basically to help us improve the effectiveness of our violent capabilities. Many players have noted that if WoW were at all real, then nearly every one of our characters would be considered a genocidal maniac for all the people and creatures we have killed, and yet we view ourselves as heroes.The idea is, of course, that most of the lives we take are really evil anyway, so we're actually doing the real good guys a favor. We kill tons of demons, ghosts, zombies, dragonkin, giants, and rabid beasts -- even most of the humanoids we kill are bandits or wicked cultists of one sort or another. This way we do lots of killing, but still feel as though we are heroes.There are some situations in the game, however, that turn things around for us, in which our character is not the hero. While there are some higher-level instances such as the Black Morass, or the new Caverns of Time: Stratholme, in which one could argue either way whether what we're doing is good or evil, most of situations in which you are clearly the bad guy, as far as I am aware, have to do with the undead, and to a lesser extent the blood elves as well. Of course, you can argue that in general, undead are just misunderstood, and the blood elves are just tragically misled, but as in the case of quests in Hillsbrad that ask you to go slaughter human farmers, or help develop a new plague, there's really no denying that your character is doing something "morally wrong."
Around Azeroth: Of Blood Elves and catapaults
I couldn't give this screenshot a better caption than Macabee did when he sent it in, so here goes:When Tauren Senior Sergeant Macabee was ordered to aid the forces in Outland, he wasn't sure what to expect... but perhaps he should have asked. Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Exploring Eversong Woods
Reader Okan of Gilneas tells us that he's been leveling a new Blood Elf through Eversong Woods and has been impressed by the scenery. So, of course, he's decided to share it with us! This shot appears to have come from along the edges of The Scorched Grove, where vegetation is sparse and the trees lack the lovely golden glow that dominates most of the zone.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
The Paladin Report: What changes are needed for endgame Paladins?
Every other week, Robin Torres investigates Paladin issues, interviews experienced Paladins and reports her findings in The Paladin Report.After the release of The Burning Crusade, many Horde players raced to level a pally to 70. The addition of this new class prompted many raiding guilds to encourage this, looking to pallies to round out their endgame rosters. Sneet, guild leader for Grim on Daggerspine, was one of these players. He put aside his warrior, the Main Tank in most raids, to bring his new Belfadin to 70 as quickly as possible. This screenshot was taken in February, so, as you can see, he became a raid viable paladin pretty quickly.Some of the comments for Elizabeth's first Pally column stated that Belfadins were too new to the class to be knowledgeable enough about it. I think that's bunk. A raid boss doesn't stop the action to ask the paladin a question about pre-TBC talents. This isn't a history lesson. We are writing about the issues facing current paladin players. (Though history lessons are pretty cool, too.) Factions are now getting similar raid experiences because they have the same combination of classes, causing post-TBC information to be more universal and therefore more valuable.I asked Sneet what changes need to be made for endgame paladins to be more successful. I was pleased to discover that this was something he had analyzed extensively. Following are Sneet's views on endgame pallies and the changes he suggests to improve them.
WoW Future-Vision: Express train to the level cap
The year is 2012. WoW fans are excitedly awaiting the game's 5th expansion, Revenge of the Gnomes, which brings two new races to the game (Sporeggar and Goblins, at last!), as well as a new class (the Tinker), and a slew of other features. As everyone knows, this is the expansion where the gnomes finally take back Gnomeregan from the troggs, pushing them back all the way into the "Undergloom," a vast and ancient network of caverns beneath Azeroth. Of course, the gnomes also accidentally stumble upon the long-buried prison of the Old Gods and unleash unbridled havoc on the World of Warcraft, but that's where the fun is, right?I could go on and on about the new features included in Revenge of the Gnomes, but I'm sure you've heard about most of them already (like the subterranean hovercraft group-mounts and blue-pill, red-pill potions for alchemy). Suffice it to say that the feature everyone is most excited about is that the level cap is once again being raised another 10 levels, to a grand total of 110. Like everyone else, you're probably wondering how in the world (of Warcraft) are you going to level your new Goblin Tinker character all the way through those tedious levels of 1 to 100? Everyone wants to try out the new content, but no one wants to slave away through Stranglethorn Vale for the 48th time. To complicate things further, Blizzard still doesn't want to add any more 1-60 quests in the lower-level zones (not to mention any of the Outland, Northrend, Emerald Dream, or Great Sea Expansion zones)! Fortunately, though, Blizzard's got what you need! Are you prepared for the "/level" command?
Orphans of the damned
Children's Week is one of my favorite holidays in WoW, along with Halloween and the Fire Festival. Last year I dragged my little orc into so many places, I thought the Child Protective Services of Azeroth would come to arrest me. I even took him to Molten Core, where no one should ever have to go. So I was really looking forward to doing the new Outland orphan quests. My blood elf girl, Salandria, wanted to see Sporeggar, the Throne of the Elements, and the Dark Portal. All reasonable requests, although I'd think that a blood elf kid would want to see Tempest Keep and the Black Temple a little more. She was even kind of nice about it, although she did say I smelled funny. Then I took her to Azeroth, and things got weird. First, she wanted to go to the Caverns of Time. When she got there, she wanted a toy dragon. I set off to buy her a dragon, when ... she was attacked by the Wardens of Time. Zaladormu, the head dragon guy, called them off and told them that she "will not be held accountable for what she might do, or fail to do, in the future." Then, when I got her her toy dragon, she told me she planned to own a real one someday. Hmm. Was my orphan some sort of future evildoer? It looked like the draenei kids were getting the same treatment, so maybe the Wardens of Time just hate kids. After that, Salandria decided she wanted to be a Blood Knight and asked to go to Silvermoon City to see their headquarters. But upon approaching the Blood Knights, she freaked out, wandered down the stairs, ran into the elves' captive naaru and started draining its power herself. Ew. The Blood Knight leader got excited and told me she was going to ask if the Blood Knights could adopt Salandria to train her, since "to see this in a child is truly amazing!" When I brought her back, she called me her big sister and cried, but I was kind of glad to get rid of the creepy little albino. She was clearly going to be something evil when she grew up. I'm not the only one who noticed this, either. Alliance, how did your day with the Draenei girl go? What do you think about Children's Week?
Breakfast Topic: Would you change your race?
The other night we finished the Path of Conquest quest chain in Shadowmoon, and I found myself running around blasting Colossi as a Blood Elf. It was fascinating to see what I would look like if I had rerolled my character, something I consider on and off just for fun. Often times we get a chance to respec our talents. What if we could respec our race? If there was a free chance to reselect your character's race, would you choose differently? I know despite the faction shift the Blood Elf race is looking very tempting after playing a human for so long.
Then and Now: Pretty addicts & space squids
Flash back to six months ago. There were people swearing up and down that the Blood Elves would ruin the Horde with their silly antics and their overly-pretty looks. Many on the Horde side had misgivings that we'd be dealing with a slew of switchers who were just rolling Horde to play pretty characters, but otherwise would bring little to the table. I remember seeing forum postings saying that Blood Elves would be outcast and unwelcome, and even a couple of "boycotts." Many other people were complaining about the "space shaman" that the Alliance were getting. Well, okay, most of the complaints were about the male models -- I don't think anyone on the Alliance side disliked the female Draenei models. Then of course, there were those who were just as unhappy with the changes to the Blood Elf models made towards the tail end of the open beta and swore they wouldn't roll one due to the larger chest.Flash forward to now. My guild has one Blood Elf paladin who is approaching endgame: an old guild mate who re-rolled. We also have a host of Blood Elf alts in various stages of being run up through the ranks. None of us are even batting an eyelash at any of them. There again, none of these are new players to the guild, so we aren't dealing with any potential switchers. Another of my guild mates is doing the faction grind to get her undead a chocobo... err... thunder chicken... whatever those things are. The forums are no longer ablaze with "Blood Elves suck!" or "Just say no to space squid!"I know for me, despite misgivings, the Blood Elves have largely been a blip on my personal radar. I have a Blood Elf hunter (stereotypical, had to do it) who is all of level 19, and has been collecting dust for some time now. I saw the content and experienced most of the new quests, which was pretty much what I set out to do. None of it has made me want to level a Blood Elf to endgame to take the place of my Troll/Tauren/Undead characters. And that's even including the Blood Elves having some extremely awesome racials that I'm sure will eventually make me level one. Have the Draenei or Blood Elves totally changed your gaming landscape? Have you noticed a lot of faction switching, or did you switch to the other side yourself? Did people really boycott, or were prejudices eventually left behind? For those of you who rerolled or switched, have you been treated any differently?Just curious, since there was so much fire and vitriol about the new races before Burning Crusade went live.[many thanks to Sean]
WoW Moviewatch: How to Paladin IX
I know what you're probably saying..."you mean there are eight more of these?" Yes, yes there are. This time, Shepiwot has brought a friend along for the fun in Winterspring. Take two parts Blood Elf, three parts frostsaber, and about 30 parts wintermaw furbolg, and hilarity ensues. Enjoy. [Thanks, WarcraftMovies.com]
Female elf hypothermic syndrome: Won't you help us find a cure?
As Children's Week approaches, we turn our attention to the needy of Azeroth. The poor orphans, only looking for some companionship and a nice vacation, who end up dragged into Magtheridon's Lair. The elderly, who disappear somewhere once they're too old to fight. The homeless, the gnomeless, the disenfrancished and the disemboweled. But today, I ask you to think of a different kind of need. I ask you to think of the female elves. The poor paladin pictured above was a perfectly happy blacksmith until she hit level 40 and started wearing plate. Then, suddenly, her chestpieces started losing arms. Then necklines. Then midriffs. Then other areas of the breastplate that should probably be there to protect against swords and stuff. Today, she is only clothed in two pieces of metal attached together with what appears to be duct tape. And the mail pants ... well, I bought the pants for emphasis because there weren't any plate pants I could wear on the AH at the time. Still, they appear to be a fur loincloth with two mudflaps on the side. Considering where the blood elf's hands are placed when riding a horse, it looks pretty NC-17. And the frostbite ... oh, God, the frostbite. Especially the ears. But my elf is not the only victim. Read on, if you dare ...
The Azeroth Blues
Unlike some other draenei and blood elves, I'm not 60 yet. I hit 40 last night on my Draenei Shaman, and immediately picked up the mount and converted to mail gear. Then, a feeling of emptiness came over me. I was puzzled. I've leveled up before through Azeroth, this Shaman will be my 7th trip to 60 (and now beyond), and I really do enjoy leveling. What's hit me though is a feeling that I'm stuck in the same old content. It's not that I don't love Azeroth, I really do. It's been my home away from home for almost 3 years now. It's just that while I'm grinding away through levels in the "old country", all my guildies are out in the Outlands having fun and getting drool-worthy gear from mobs I've never heard of. Yes, I have some awesome company in the leveling grind (frequent commenter Skew is a good friend and guildie) as we both get our shamans raid-ready, but really, there's no sense of awe and exploration in Azeroth anymore. Would Blizzard have done better to implement a bit more mid-level content in the expansion? Levels 1 through 20 were fantastic on Azuremyst and Bloodmyst isles, and I've heard the Blood Elf content is just as fantastic. There's something particularly cool at the end of the Bloodmyst quest series that leaves a player feeling good about the world and their place in it. And then you head into the rest of Azeroth.
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Machinima contest runner-up
We've made it to the last of our grand prize contests in the Countdown to Burning Crusade, and it's high time to announce the prize winners. The runner-up, who will take home a JINX World of Warcraft hoodie for her efforts, is Myssiing on Stonemaul, aka photochik02, who sent in the following video pitting night elf versus blood elf in an Annie Get Your Gun-style sing-off to the death (no, to the pain!). Grats to Myssiing, and stay tuned for our first place machinima winner!
Countdown to Burning Crusade: Fan art contest winners
We have our winners in the penultimate Countdown to Burning Crusade Fan art contest. Matthew Renner is going to receive the Sennheiser PC 160 noise-cancelling headset and a More Dots! t-shirt for his entry above (right-click for a high-res version) of his main character Sheltem who, "having specced 40 arcane 11 fire, procs enough ignites to know the true meaning of 'more dots.'" Our fan art runner-up, who will be rewarded with a More Dots! t-shirt, is Simon Sørensen for his rendition of a blood elf. Check out Simon's artwork after the jump, grats to both of our winners, and thanks to everyone who participated in the fan art contest. Stay tuned for our machinima contest winners!
Burning Crusade: your first impressions?
The results from our launch night poll earlier today indicated that a lot of you wise individuals opted not to traipse out into the cold and snow (or the enviable heat, as it were) in the middle of the night and are either camped out by your own door waiting for UPS or perhaps had a chance to swing by your local retailer to pick up a copy sometime today. In any case, a sizeable chunk of you may be in the process of installing or about to get home from work and settle into some play time. For those of us who weren't in the beta, it's been our first chance to see first-hand some of the new Burning Crusade content -- what are your impressions so far? I'll share some of mine, briefly -- the install and upgrade process was pretty painless, and honestly I expected more technical issues involved in a global upgrade this massive. I was up and playing in relatively short order and for that I give Blizzard props. As for the BC content itself: Outland: red, dry, hot, and terrifying. Hope I never meet a fel reaver in a dark portal alley, since I'd like to keep my face intact. The joy of seeing that XP bar nudge forward again: priceless. The thrill of being mercilessly ganked again (PvP server FTW!): not so much. Eversong Woods, aka home to 3 million new Blood Elves: the world is lush and gorgeous. The blood elves are beautiful and aloof. The music totally reminds me of LotR and, since I'm a huge fan, that is a Good Thing. I'm really looking forward to exploring the rest of the new areas. Worst part about Burning Crusade: I dance like Britney Spears. The horror! And I'll be doomed to ride a chicken all over again! Nooooo! Oh well, extra incentive to work for that flying mount. Or grow to appreciate the Chocobo reference. Maybe. Your turn -- what are your first impressions of Burning Crusade?
The Burning Crusade: Preparing for the Expansion
With exactly two weeks to go, I'm left feeling a little blah about what to do in the World of Warcraft. Not quite enough time to get another character to 60 (well, maybe my shammy), not really in the mood for raiding when my gear is soon to be replaced anyway, and the PvP grind is wearing me out a bit. Fortunately for me (and for you!), I came across a posting on TenTonHammer from about a month ago. So while it may be "old news" to you, I think that it's well worth the read, given that we're so close to launch. The article covers the following topics with some good hints and tips:
