Cloud-Serpent
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Cloud Serpent Riding no longer needed in patch 6.0
Sometimes, it's best to let things speak for themselves. @DaikatsuCTR @IamDunlock @DopaStatic @Celestalon In 6.0, Cloud Serpents no longer require Cloud Serpent Riding. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) May 2, 2014 So there we have it -- in patch 6.0, you will be able to ride a Cloud Serpent without Cloud Serpent Riding, meaning that at last your alts will be able to mount up. This seems to contradict an earlier post, but it's not anything I'll be complaining about. Going back to Pandaria to get this seemed kind of odd considering Warlords is all about getting people to the new content as fast as they want, so I'm glad for this change.
Cloud serpent riding to remain per-character
A while back Ghostcrawler let drop on Twitter that Blizzard was considering moving the cloud serpent riding to an account-wide unlock, rather than on a per-character basis. Well, it seems like that idea has been shelved. Each character will need to get the achievement in order to use cloud serpents. Ghostcrawler explains in his tweet: @Gnomerix I believe I said we could consider it. With all of the catch up mechanisms, it's pretty fast for alts to get there. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) October 3, 2013 This should also serve as a good example to folks of situations where Ghostcrawler talks about something as a possibility on Twitter, and then notes later that it doesn't become a reality. It's important to remember that Blizzard uses Twitter as an informal means of having a discussion about game mechanics -- rarely do they announce anything of importance over the medium (or at least announce it via a non-public relations/marketing channel). In other words, it's okay to be disappointed that this change didn't make it through (I am) -- but don't say that you were promised it/the pony.
Patch 5.1 PTR: Grand Commendations Boost Alt Reputation
WoW Insider posted in early October, detailing Blizzard's announcement of the upcoming changes to reputation gain. Blizzard had recognized that the heavy demands placed on players to grind out seemingly endless daily quests to gain reputation with a faction were altogether too onerous, particularly for those with a substantial stable of alts. Therefore, a system was announced whereby, once one character had attained revered reputation with a faction, every other character on that account would receive doubled reputation gains. Now, wowhead's dataminers have uncovered the method used by Blizzard to implement their new system: Grand Commendations. These bind on pickup items, such as the Grand Commendation of the Golden Lotus "Unlock 100% bonus reputation gain with the Golden Lotus for all characters on this account". They are available for all the existing Pandaria factions, as well as the new factions appearing in 5.1: Operation: Shieldwall and the Dominance Offensive. There is no pricing data yet, but it seems likely that these will be purchaseable from the faction quartermasters. If you're struggling to locate the faction quartermasters, Matt Rossi wrote a guide detailing their locations. It will be interesting to see if any such steps are taken retroactively, or whether it is considered unnecessary. Are there any pre-Mists factions for which such a system would be applicable, or even useful? 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.
The OverAchiever: How to find the new cloud serpent mounts in Mists of Pandaria
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. Today, we experience the horrors of exploration. One of the joys of getting into a new expansion is seeing a huge, lovely, empty map in front of you, containing a wealth of new experiences and items. One of the annoyances of getting into a new expansion is seeing a huge, horrible, empty map in front of you, containing a wealth of new experiences and items that you have absolutely no idea how to find. If you're me, you will eventually find yourself on a ledge somewhere in the Jade Forest, looking in silence over a cliff with a 2,000-foot drop with the knowledge that you can't fly off of it and that your hearthstone is down. This is bad. I put this article together for that reason, because when I got into the Mists of Pandaria beta, I was desperate to find the new cloud serpent mounts but didn't actually know how to find them. (I did, however, "find" the bottom of the cliff. Good for me.) Hopefully, this will help you speed up the process a bit on your end, although we're still not 100% sure where all of these mounts will eventually be found.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Level 90 flying and where to get it
Level 90 has been unlocked on the Mists of Pandaria beta servers, which means that beta testers can now reap the rewards of being max level -- specifically, flying! Flying is a trained ability obtained in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, one of the last zones you'll visit on your leveling journey. The Vale of Eternal Blossoms houses two large shrines, mini-cities of sorts. There's one for Alliance and one for Horde. Each city flanks the impressively gorgeous Mogu'shan Palace and includes a host of vendors, stable masters, and trainers of every variety. This is where you'll want to head when you're ready to take to Pandaria's skies. Horde players are taking up residence in the Shrine of Two Moons, while Alliance players are just across the valley in the Shrine of Seven Stars. Each shrine houses a Skydancer who will teach level 90 players the art of flying in Pandaria for 2,500 gold. Considering that flying in early The Burning Crusade set you back a whopping 5,000 gold, this is pretty cheap in comparison. Remember, though, as with all beta content, the price is not set in stone until Mists of Pandaria is released. Having spent most of five levels happily exploring Pandaria, I can't wait to finally see it from the skies. 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!
