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WoW for Dummies, Act III: The end of vanilla
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Vanilla WoW may not have seemed full of story to most, but it was jam-packed with plot elements, although they were hidden from all but those who paid the closest attention to what was going on around them. Most lore in the game was simply introduced with quest text -- there were no cut scenes, there was no phasing, there were none of the innovations we currently have today in regards to the implementation of lore in gameplay. If you missed them, I recommend going back and reading through the summaries of early days of vanilla lore. There are two versions of Act I, one for Alliance and one for Horde. Act II applies to both sides of the faction fence as the story began to merge for both sides. Please note that these are summaries of the lore that existed in game -- later novels, comics, and other material adjusted what actually happened in the scope of the game universe, and some of those novels and comics are now the official canon version of these events. I've pointed out where these changes occurred. The end of vanilla was marked with the return of foes long thought dead and gone, and the ominous stirrings of a portal to another world.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Scarlet Monastery revamp
While the level 90 heroic versions aren't available on the beta servers yet, MMO-Champion and Wowhead both took a look into the lower level version of Scarlet Monastery to see all the revamps. The current four wings of Scarlet Monastery have been slimmed down into two wings, the Scarlet Cathedral and the Scarlet Halls, removing most of the unnecessary trash while keeping what made the monastery a great set of dungeons to begin with. Scarlet Cathedral now starts with the graveyard. Interrogator Vishas is no longer there; it's just Bloodmage Thalnos, now outside the mausoleum. Before Thalnos among the mobs are Scarlet Flamethrowers, who drop explosive cannisters that players can use to damage other mobs.
Two Bosses Enter: Ozruk wins Cataclysm Season 1
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. Within the tournament administration pavilion, Vanessa delicately turned the pages of the ponderous Tome of Champions, which sat upon a stone pedestal engraved with the righteous fist of the Silver Hand. It was the record book of all who have won and lost in sanctioned gladiatorial battle in Azerothian history, though Vanessa did not know the difference between sanctioned and unsanctioned or who even sanctioned it to begin with. After many patient moments, she reached the record of the most recent gladiatorial season. The brackets were an unholy mess, largely thanks to her interference, with countless matchups hastily crossed out and refilled with her name or that of those in her employ in place of the original combatants. A glorious, sneaky campaign to be sure, but it wasn't enough: Ozruk's name had gone into the records as the winner of the season despite her efforts. She sneered and turned the page again. A pleased gasp escaped Vanessa's lips. The brackets for the next season were blank! Not a single person had registered yet! She quickly slipped a fountain pen from her tunic and set it to paper. She only managed to get down a single name before Tirion Fordring stormed up behind her. "Vanessa! What do you think you're doing, girl!? Get away from that! I will not let you continue to make a mockery of this tournament!"
Two Bosses Enter: Cataclysm Season 1 finals
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. "Today, in the left corner, stands the guardian of the World's Heart!" Tirion's voice rose to a crescendo to be heard over the explosive cheering of the audience and the music thundering forth from the gnomish sound projectors. "Ozruk!" Break yourself, break yourself Break yourselves upon my body Break yourself, break yourself Break yourselves upon my body ... And so it went. A frown grew on Tirion's face, displeased with the so-called hippity-hop, but what the audience wanted, the audience would get. The moment the music faded, the old crusader motioned to the other corner. "In the right corner stands ..." Tirion leaned forward, squinting to make out the form far below. He sighed deeply. "Vanessa, what are you doing here? Where is the Cardboard Assassin? And why are you wearing that chapeau?"
Two Bosses Enter: Whitemane and Mograine vs. ... wait, what?
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. The Crusaders, Sally Whitemane and Renault Mograine, stepped into the Two Bosses arena, well-rested after their bout with Forgemaster Throngus. The Cardboard Assassin had already been assembled in the opposite corner, swaying uneasily with the deafening roar of the gathered crowd. Tirion Fordring rose from his seat and spread his arms to silence the audience. The moment the cheering stalled, Tirion motioned to Whitemane and Mograine. He bellowed, voice gruff and rumbling. "Today, in the left corner, heralding from the Tirisfal Glades of the fallen Kingdom of Lordaeron, we have the Scarlet Crusaders, Champions of the Light, bane of the unholy Scourge." Tirion motioned in the other direction. "In the right corner, heralding from the forges of Westfall, stands the Cardboard Assassin, slayer of men and gods alike." "Champions," Fordring shouted, "are you rea--" The arena floor burst into flames, flooding the coliseum with smoke and cutting Lord Fordring's words short, driving the audience into sudden silence. The fires were extinguished as quickly as they came, and a woman stood in their place, obscured amidst the smoke. "Well," she observed, "this hardly seems fair."
Two Bosses Enter: Baron Ashbury vs. Cardboard Assassin
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. A grave mistake was made when the Cardboard Assassin was allowed into the Two Bosses Enter tournament. The world severely underestimated the power of the comedy option. This week, can the menace of Baron Ashbury overcome the hilarity of the Cardboard Assassin? %Poll-64881% In last week's matchup, Throngus the Forgemaster slammed face-first into the Scarlet Crusade's Whitemane and Mograine. Was his skull thick enough to pull it off? %Gallery-119335% Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.
Two Bosses Enter: Forgemaster Throngus vs. Mograine and Whitemane
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. Round 3 of the Crazy Eights kicks off this week, pitting the goliath Forgemaster Throngus against the cutest couple of Crusaders you've ever seen! %Poll-64559% In last week's matchup, Eregos and Erudax went head-to-head in the new and improved Two Bosses Enter arena -- an arena with a roof. %Gallery-119335% Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.
Two Bosses Enter: Ammunae vs. Baron Ashbury
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. This week on Two Bosses Enter, it's a battle between Ammunae, the Construct of Life, and Baron Ashbury, a scary dead guy. Oh, the anticipation! %Poll-63235% In last week's matchup, Augh and Lockmaw slammed face-first into the Scarlet Wall that is Renault Mograine and Sally Whitemane. The pygmy and his pet didn't stand a chance. %Gallery-119335% Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.
Two Bosses Enter: Augh and Lockmaw vs. Mograine and Whitemane
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. It's time for our third of four wild cards this season. Whitemane and Mograine make a triumphant return from WoW of old to tackle the dastardly duo from Lost City of the Tol'Vir: Augh and his pet croc Lockmaw. %Poll-63026% In last week's matchup, Karsh Steelbender and Forgemaster Throngus went toe-to-toe in what turned out to be quite a tight matchup. Which of them could stand the heat, and which of them couldn't? %Gallery-119335% Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.
Know Your Lore Tinfoil Hat Edition: Mystery of the naaru
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Oh yes, we're going here again. Since the launch of The Burning Crusade, one of the most enigmatic mysteries of Warcraft lore has been the naaru, a race of creatures seemingly formed of pure energy that equates to what we in Azeroth know as the Light. We've discussed the naaru before in another Tinfoil Hat edition of Know Your Lore surrounding Elune and the history of the Light on Azeroth. However, there's been very little to suggest where these creatures come from or what their influence on the denizens of Azeroth ultimately means. In last week's Know Your Lore, we theorized that Azeroth isn't just some simple planet that's been organized by the Titans. Instead, it may be that Azeroth is a weapon of some sort, quietly engineered by the Titans in the midst of their regular crusade of world organization in order to combat and perhaps, one day, defeat Sargeras. But where do the naaru, who led the draenei to Draenor and away from the influence of the Burning Legion, fit in? Why do the naaru seek to eliminate the Burning Legion? Are they in league with the Titans or simply working along the same lines as our creators? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on why it happened. The events presented are events that happened in Azeroth's history, but the conclusions are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact.
Ask a Faction Leader: Open call, volume 2
WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak with major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject -- and we're letting you, the reader, Ask a Faction Leader! Ask a Faction Leader's open Q&A returns with even more of your questions for your favorite faction leaders. Next week, we return to the full-length interview format. My lady Tyrande, I have been a humble servant of the Darnassian Order for as long as I can remember, and I have some concerns for my night elf brothers and sisters. Since Arthas declared war on all of humanity and brave Alliance soldiers were sent to Northrend to defeat the Scourge and end the Lich King's tyranny, I have noticed there are very few night elves at the roof of the world. Having participated at the Battle of the Wrathgate, I only say one of my sisters there, and even she had to suffer the effects of the Forsaken bombs ... So I ask you, Lady Whisperwind, do you hold your bond to the Alliance, or are we night elves just along for the ride? A humble druid, Phort <Brotherhood of Steel> on Atonidas (US)
The Urban Legends of Warcraft: Ashbringer
One of the more interesting facets of playing a game as extensive as World of Warcraft are the legends and mysteries surrounding the game, both inside and out. A lot of these legends, mysteries and unsolved puzzles have developed over time into urban legends -- stories that sound just true enough to be plausible, but usually end up being untrue, dead ends or simply unsolved mysteries that were never meant to be puzzled out. Today we'll be talking about a weapon whose origins were so mysterious and carried so many loose ends that it left players in a tizzy for years: Ashbringer. The legend of Ashbringer started when World of Warcraft was originally released. The orange legendary weapon was discovered in the game files by data miners, and the stats and proc on the weapon were truly amazing. At the time, even epic weapons were extremely rare, so seeing something with an orange tag on it was more than a little unique and awe-inspiring. However, other than the datamined weapon, there was no indication of it appearing in game -- that is, until players slowly leveled from launch to their first steps into the Plaguelands.
Ask a Faction Leader: Darion Mograine
WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak to major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject, and we're letting you, the reader, Ask A Faction Leader! We recently spoke to Tirion Fordring, Highlord of the Argent Crusade, and he shed light on several key issues, including bad-luck blades, volume control, dead horses, holy cows, and killing or being killed. In this installment of Ask A Faction Leader, we'll be sitting with Darion Mograine, Highlord of the Knights of the Ebon Blade. Our first reader question: Dearest Highlord, I was looking to inquire as to what the rhyme and reason is behind your surprisingly red (or auburn?) hair is. Most death knights like myself either have a nice frosty shade of white or a deep glacier blue hue to their hair. Look all I'm saying is your eyes glow blue and your hair is red, it doesn't take a prophet to see the clash there. What would you say the % chance of you getting a haircut to match the rest of your fallen brethren is? Sincerely, Altarius, Death Knight Darion replies: The first question asked is one about my hair color? Someone has their priorities in a strange order. But yes, it is an understandable question.
WoW Moviewatch: Darkwinds Scourge
The Darkwinds Scourge is a roleplay Guild on the Sha'tar realm. They've created this machinima as a kind of trailer for their Guild. In terms of setting up a movie to help promote your Guild's themes and ideas, I think this works pretty well. The shot locations are spot on, and the music's totally appropriate. (The song is by Disturbed, I think.) The movie is credited to Almighty Farseer.As a machinima, the visiual narrative could use a faster pace. The author's stuck in the loop of cool shot after cool shot. Individually, they all work well, but strung together, the scenes move a little slow. While AF says that the Guild is an evil-themed troupe, with the in-character goal of punishing "the traitor Darion Mograine," I'm not sure there's enough contextually in the movie itself to draw that conclusion. Some subtitles or screen overlays would help that immensely, and help draw the viewer into the story.Still, it's a trailer piece for a Guild, and on that level, it works fantastically. It would be nice to see more Guilds put this kind of effort into branding themselves, and I look forward to more in this genre.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ..
Ask a Lore Nerd: The heads and tails of the Horde
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, where each week blogger and columnist Alex Ziebart answers your questions about the lore and history of the World of Warcraft. Ask your questions in the comments section below, and we'll try to answer it in a future edition.This week on Ask a Lore Nerd, we're only answering a small number of questions, because they're really good ones and I want to dork out over them a little. Let's get started, shall we?Mornash asked...Speaking of Garrosh Hellscream, what do you think Blizzard has in store for us with his story. They're portraying him like his father was, a bloodthirsty, arrogant, loose cannon. Are they going to have him repeat past mistakes? Maybe bring about another downfall? Or will Saurfang and Thrall get through to him and have him ultimately become a hero?
World of Warcraft #12 and Ashbringer #2 comic previews available
The official World of Warcraft website has been updated with previews of the next issues of both currently running Warcraft comics, the Ashbringer series and the series featuring Varian Wrynn. The Ashbringer series is starting to feel a little more like a story and a little less like random happenings in Alexandros Mograine's life superglued together, so that's good. I wasn't too impressed with the first edition in the series, but I'm hoping that's because it had to string together in-game events to set the tone/story in motion. This is only a preview though, so we can't really judge from that. There's a neat little discovery at the end of the preview that grabbed my attention, so I'm curious to see where that goes.The Varian Wrynn comic is starting to come to a close I think, as we're finally seeing the King make his comeback. It looks like the player's role in ousting Onyxia has been nullified, which is disappointing but expected. It would've been nice if they left that nod to us, but what can you do?Anyway, if you're into the comics, go check it out!
Ask a Lore Nerd: Babies babies babies
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below (or e-mail us!), ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer you in a future installment!Let's jump right in with Tom's trio of questions... We know what happens when a human and orc cross-breed, but what about elf/human intermingling? Is it possible for the other races on Azeroth to breed and are there any such results of that union? Elf/Human crossbreeds are definitely supported by lore, as well as a whole mess of other combinations. Arator the Redeemer in Hellfire Peninsula is a Human/Elf Hybrid, for example, and there are plenty more around. Other combinations are valid as well. Rexxar is an Orc/Ogre Hybrid. Gross, I know, but oh well. There are a lot more examples you can add to those that are scattered around the world(s). There are no hard rules in place dictating who can and cannot interbreed, but it's pretty safe to assume the races similar to one another are compatible. I would bet Dwarves and Gnomes can shack up and spawn, for example, but probably not a Gnome and a Tauren. That's just me talking, though. I could be wrong. Let's pray very, very hard that I'm not wrong.
Ask a Lore Nerd: Orc plus demon blood equals hero
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below (or e-mail us!), ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer you in a future installment!Mizunie asks a couple of questions...On the WotLK website, the designers talk about the "Scarlet Onslaught." Who are they and where did they come from?The Scarlet Onslaught is the refounding of the Scarlet Crusade. Sometime after the events in Stratholme, Abbendis has taken complete command of the Crusade with a new band of lackies. She believes the Light has beckoned her to Northrend, so she rounds up every Crusader she has left and loads them on boats under the flag of the Scarlet Onslaught. There's other details to accompany this in Wrath, but they're way too cool for me to spoil this early.Do we know anything on good ol' Deathwing?Nope, not yet. I haven't seen much yet. It's possible we'll learn more in the Chamber of the Aspects raid zone coming in Wrath. It's been revealed that a Black Dragon is the boss inside there, though we don't know the details surrounding it yet.
New DC Comic series to reveal Ashbringer's backstory
One of the most endearing new stories to be introduced into the Warcraft mythos by WoW is that of the Ashbringer, the blade of the Scarlet Highlord Mograine, which slew the Scourge by the hundreds and might have singlehandedly redeemed Azeroth, were it not for the treachery of his son, Renault. Unfortunately, beyond that and a little scene in Old Hillsbrad where we see the first steps of its creation, we don't really know much else of the story behind the fabled blade. In September 2008, we'll learn a little bit more of it. On September 10th, DC Comics' Wildstorm division will release the first of a 4 issue miniseries that covers the history of the Ashbringer, both the sword and the wielder, Alexandros Mograine. The series is being written by Blizzard Creative Director Mickey Nielson, with art by Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington. The first book will feature cover art by Chris Robinson, with a variant cover by Lullabi and Washington. I know I'm excited. In fact, I think I'll call my local comics store now and make sure they'll carry it. Then again, I'm also a bit concerned. If this comic book gives us Ashbringer backstory that's important to WoTLK, does that mean they aren't releasing it until the series is done? I don't want to wait til 2009 to play a Death Knight, that's for sure!
All the World's a Stage: How to be a death knight
When you decide to roleplay, a whole new world of imagination opens up to you -- soon you realize that all the World of Warcraft is a stage, and all the orcs and humans merely players.Last week, we took a look at how roleplaying a death knight will be different from roleplaying other classes, because death knights come pre-packaged with elements of a backstory for you to flesh out: they have, for whatever reason, at one time joined forces with the Lich King, learned from him how to be a death knight, and now are breaking free of his influence and striking out against him.As Medeni pointed out in her comments, however, this can potentially lead to a kind of unlikable "celebrity in rehab" type of personality. Imagine, if you will, the death knight known as Marisoo: formerly a paladin of the Light, she sought to destroy the Scourge that plagued her homeland of Lordaeron, but eventually, as she was consumed with vengeance and hatred, she joined the Lich King instead of destroying him. Having learned to turn corpses into slavering ghouls and call forth armies of the undead, she eventually thought better of the whole "wickedly destroy all life" thing and decided to destroy the Lich King after all, only this time she would use his own power against him! Muahaha.As you can see, there are some pretty obvious flaws in this idea. First of all, the first half of it is almost a direct copy of Arthas' own tale, and, while I can certainly appreciate the power of that story, and the possibility that other paladins could have gone through something similar, roleplayers who want to play a death knight character must realize that it's going to get old fast. Just as death knights aren't just human paladins, we can't all go around copying Arthas, brooding on how moody and wicked we've become. We have to come up with new ideas that fit the death knight mould.
