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Two Bosses Enter: Yorg Stormheart vs. Brann Bronzebeard
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. The battle between Yorg Stormheart and Aethas Sunreaver was a much, much closer match than I had anticipated ever happening between a dwarf and a blood elf. Seriously, you guys, how do you keep pulling these fast ones on me? Every week, I am surprised by the results -- except any week in which Brann is present. Speaking of weeks in which Brann is present, Yorg Stormheart has successfully bested Archmage Aethas Sunreaver in the WoW Insider ring and moves on to the final matchup. Brann Bronzebeard is the only obstacle that stands in the way of total Two Bosses Enter domination, but there is still a long, rough week ahead for the voting. Many of you are now realizing that the battle unfolding on the next page is, in fact, between two brothers. If you didn't realize that until now, avert your shock and awe for mere moments until the voting is done, and then continue your amazement at the final matchup between Brann Bronzebeard and Muradin Bronzebeard, brothers until the end. Since this final matchup is a little different than most, how about we mess with the rules a little bit, too? Instead of the routine no-holds-barred mayhem we usually let these combatants get into, what about a good old-fashioned dwarven drinking contest? Who wins this matchup, WoW Insider community? Only you can decide. Who drinks who under the table? %Poll-72295%
Two Bosses Enter: Voren'thal vs. Yorg Stormheart
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. The love our community has for the great explorer Brann Bronzebeard is second to none, as the stalwart dwarf easily defeated The Silver Covenant's leader Vereesa Windrunner in last week's matchup that delighted Brann fans and maybe made a new Vereesa fan or two. Nonetheless, it was a big voting week, and this week's matchup will test your loyalties just as much. As our exhibition season continues, factional lines are drawn in the sand and loyalties are tested. Champions from varying factions are pitted against each other, and you decide who reigns supreme. This week's matchup puts an unlikely ally to the naaru up against an unlikely king of dwarves. Voren'thal, once a tool of Kael'thas, now stands against Yorg Stormheart, once the great Muradin Bronzebeard. Who wins, readers? %Poll-71271%
Why you might like Blizzard DOTA
Fans of Defense of the Ancients, the immensely popular Warcraft III mod that spawned an entirely new genre of gaming, are already conditioned to love Blizzard DOTA. I got to play it this week at BlizzCon 2011 and had a great time getting into the very familiar world. However, many Blizzard fans are not DOTA enthusiasts or even privy to the genre itself. WoW players may not really understand what this Blizzard offering is about or even why they should be interested. Warcraft fan-favorite characters Thrall and Arthas are making appearance in Blizzard DOTA, which means gamers who have ever wanted to pit these monolithic figures against other Blizzard staple characters will get the chance. Here's what you need to know about Blizzard DOTA and why you just might like playing as one of your favorite WoW personalities. Defense of the Ancients was originally a Warcraft III mod that became so incredibly popular that it spawned the genre know known as MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) or ARTS (action real-time strategy), depending on who you ask. The game consists of three paths that connect two bases with destructible buildings and towers along the path routes. Waves of minions or creeps, NPC characters that spawn endlessly from both bases, meet in the middle of these lanes to do battle. You control a powerful hero who levels up, gains skills and abilities, and can purchase items from a shop. Your goal is to fight these minions and enemy players, destroy the enemy towers and buildings, and win the game.
Know Your Lore: The Third War, part 2
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. A few months back, I started on an overview of the Third War. As you can see from reading it, the following week, I did not in fact talk about the Third War at all. If you're familiar with my Thrall piece for KYL, you understand this is something that happens to me from time to time. I fully intended to go into more details about the war, but I got sidetracked by something shiny or a colorful ball of twine or what have you. But with Wrath of the Lich King a month from its exit from center stage, it's time to look back again at the war that made it all possible. After the Culling of Stratholme, Arthas Menethil had taken his first steps into obsession. The Culling itself is often treated as an indefensible act that proves Arthas was already evil, but I personally see it as the first tipping point, when a young and idealistic man who wanted to do right by his people was presented with an untenable choice and let his own impulsive nature decide. Waiting outside the city for the residents to turn into undead and destroying them as they attempted to escape was, after all, neither a more merciful nor a more prudent option. In the end, Arthas made the choice he did, and in so doing alienated both Uther, his direct superior as a paladin (and one who has his father's ear, to boot) and Jaina, his on-again, off-again romance. This left him free to pursue Mal'Ganis to Northrend. His actions would change the face of Azeroth and her nations forever.
Know Your Lore: Current Alliance politics -- the dwarves, part two
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. WARNING: The following post contains small spoilers for Wrath of the Lich King. Players who are still playing through the expansion and wish to avoid spoilers may want to avoid this post. In addition, theories behind the new Cataclysm race/class combinations will be discussed. The dwarves of Azeroth have had a somewhat rocky start politically speaking -- the War of the Three Hammers caused a rift between the three major dwarf clans that looked as though it would never be repaired. However, current events as well as revelations regarding new class combinations suggest that the dwarves may not remain as fractured as they've been in World of Warcraft's history. When we left off last time, it was to an introduction of the woman pictured above -- Princess Moira Bronzebeard, daughter of King Magni. Why is she so important, you may ask -- well Moira's been in the clutches of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, leader of the Dark Iron clan since World of Warcraft's launch. How'd she get there? Why isn't she dead? What's Magni doing about all of this? Let's take a closer look at Moira and her role in what could possibly be upcoming conflicts.
Know Your Lore: Current Alliance politics -- the dwarves, part one
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. Last week we covered the gnomes, who much like the night elves have a history that spans centuries, but unlike the night elves, much of this history is unknown. Also unlike the night elves, the gnomes don't appear to have much going for them in the way of future conflicts. Today we're going to talk about the close friends of the gnomes -- the dwarves -- who are decidedly far more important than any have given them credit for to date. To summarize their origins: Way back in Azeroth's history, the Titans created a race of guardians called "earthen" to help protect and watch over the planet. There were a few different "types" of earthen originally created. The first type was prone to a "matrix destabilization" when in high-stress situations, and a nasty thing called the Curse of Flesh. This destabilization in conjunction with the curse led to the creation of the troggs. Yes, the same troggs that are currently plaguing the gnomes and Gnomeregan. These first earthen were sealed away in vaults all over the world including locations such as Bael Modan. Apparently the Titans seem to have this thing for locking bad things under the earth. The second round of earthen creations were just fine, and left as they were. Except that they weren't "just fine." These earthen were also susceptible to the Curse of Flesh, much like the gnomes were, and it worked on them oh-so-subtly. Over a gigantic chunk of time, they degraded into what we know today as the dwarves of the lower continents. As for Northrend, according to the Tribunal of the Ages, the Titans created the Forge of Wills to make yet another series of earthen, these designed to avoid the Curse of Flesh altogether. This is why you see earthen up in Northrend today.
Ask a Faction Leader: The Brothers Bronzebeard
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! We recently spoke to Master Mathias Shaw, leader of Stormwind's SI:7, and he shed light on several key issues, including melee hunters, frenemies, cheesemongers, black dragons and erotic fanfiction. In this installment of Ask a Faction Leader, we'll be sitting with the brothers Bronzebeard, dwarven royals who tread very different walks of life. Our first reader question ... Dear Brothers Bronzebeard: Thunder Ale or Rhapsody Malt? Sincerely, Alenei di Capernio Shadow Council The brothers respond: Magni: Gettin' dwarves to agree on beer is like gettin' humans to agree on pizza toppings. Not possible. And ye'll never get a dwarf to say his favorite, either!
Reminder: Second wing of Icecrown Citadel opens soon
After four weeks of repeatedly storming the citadel, the next wing in Icecrown Citadel should be opening soon. Specifically, the Plagueworks should be available on January 5th. At least, that's what Muradin here said. The screenshot above shows that there are still 28 days remaining even though it was taken this week. I'm not sure if there is a glitch in the Matrix or what. In theory though, we should be breaking through the gates with next week's raid reset. More bosses available, means extra loot and more Emblems of Frost to pick up. The bosses Festergut (My impressions) Rotface Professor Putricide Some loot Black Bruise (Festergut) Trauma (Rotface) Tiny Abomination in a Jar (Professor Putricide) I'm getting impatient. I want to kill Arthas already. Don't you? But we'll just have to wait. This will help satisfy our raiding cravings a while longer. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
The Queue: Oh no, not again
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. This is The Queue that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend. Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue writing it forever just because this is The Queue that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend. Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue writing it forever just because this is The Queue that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend. Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue writing it forever just because this is The Queue that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend. Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue writing it forever just because this is The Queue that doesn't end.* dpoyesac asked... "Every time I kill his son I forget to ask High Overlord Saurfang when the doors to the next wing will be down. Soon?"
Further explanation for Icecrown's delayed gating
Most everyone was a bit perturbed when we discovered that it would be 28 whole days before the new wing of Icecrown opens up (though we've since learned it's just going to open whenever Blizzard flips the switch.) Even the explanation from Blizzard that only the first gate will be this long of a wait due to the holidays didn't calm everyone down. Raiders have been waiting a long time for this! We weathered Trial of the (Grand) Crusader for long enough, right? And this showdown has been a decade in the making! You can't just give us the first wing and cut us off like that. You're a tease of the worst sort, Blizzard! Personally, it wasn't until I noticed there was an in-game, story-based reason for this extra long delay that I came to accept it. At least, there's justification if you play Alliance. Admittedly, I don't know the Horde side of this. But regardless, if you've beaten Deathbringer Saurfang or read the linked post above, you might remember this line from Muradin: "I've brought in the best gnomes we've got to get those doors open." Now, you might be expecting a "teehee gnomes" joke out of me here, but no. This goes far deeper than that. If you stick around long enough to see the Alliance take command over the Deathbringer's Rise, you might notice that there's actually only one gnome that shows up. Yes, it's that determined grimace up above, wearing a stylish vest and wielding an oddly shaped frying pan with two dimensional fried eggs glued to it. That is, apparently, Muradin's best gnome. It is his only gnome. He only brought one. It is up to frying pan man to get us through that huge saronite door. I think the ol' dwarf is being optimistic when he says 28 days, which might be why the counter hasn't gone down since the day patch 3.3 launched.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Sound files may reveal fate of the Lich King
Sound files in Patch 3.3 uncovered over at MMO Champion have got players all abuzz. In particular, lore-nerds who have listened to the sound files and put them together in the most reasonably coherent fashion are going nuts over the possibilities and implications. Tissue-sniffling, underpants-changing nuts. The kind of nuts that happen in Twilight Zone episodes. So understand that clicking on any of the links below are on a Need to Know basis. That means it's full of spoilers. No, seriously. It has so many spoilers that unsuspecting players can explode just by clicking on the Read More link below. It's that dangerous. The sound files are so revealing, so incriminating, that every agent sent by SI:7 to safeguard them has been removed from active duty and sent to the loony bin. They're so volatile that even Ragnaros got burned when he read the rest of this post. So juicy that it cost Lady Vashj an arm and a leg -- or six arms and a tail -- just to listen to them. The sound files in question are mined from the goings-on in Icecrown, which may (or may not) reveal the ultimate fate of the Lich King. It also includes previously unrevealed first names of only sons, emotional moments from hot mages, uncharacteristic coolness from leaders heretofore labeled as hate-mongering and racist, and unexpected appearances by heroes long dead (but not forgotten). Click on the link for madness-inducing spoilers. Otherwise that lady by your side will whisper something in your ear and you'll go crazy, anyway. Might as well have WoW.com do it for you. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to the Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Patch 3.3 PTR: The fate of Bolvar Fordragon
Before we go any further, I want to warn you now that there are massive spoilers behind this cut for the Icecrown raid dungeon, including the fight with the Lich King himself. Seriously, they are massive. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't click through to the rest of this article. I am warning you now. Just don't.
A new round of free character transfers announced
As of noon today, a new set of free character transfers are available from select realms due to their exceedingly high population. Bornakk says that these transfers will last until Wednesday, September 10th unless their transfer goal is met early. In that case, the character transfers will end early as well. Get in while you can, if you're on one of these realms!The realms Illidan, Mal'Ganis and Warsong have the option to transfer to the Zuluhed server. Aerie Peak, Area 52, Moon Guard, and Zul'Jin have the option of transferring to Muradin. On the Oceanic side of things, the servers Barthilas and Frostmourne may transfer to Dreadmaul if they so choose. Forum links embedded for your new-home-researching convenience.Remember, these transfers are only open until September 10th or until their transfer quota is met. If you're interested in moving, do it as soon as you can so you don't miss out.
Maintenance for June 17th will be short
Here's a heads-up to all our North American night owls early risers and Oceanic readers: It's Tuesday morning, and that means maintenance. Luckily, it's a short one today. Bornakk has said that they expect most servers to only be down a half hour, starting at 5AM PDT and ending a 5:30AM PDT. There are some extra servers that will be down slightly longer, until 6:30AM PDT. Those servers will be listed after the break. Aussies can rejoice as well, as any Oceanic servers not on this list won't be taken down until 5AM AEST (Which is noon over here on the American west coast). For the list of servers that will have a longer downtime, read on:
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.
Ask a Lore Nerd: You're how old?
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, WoW Insider's newest weekly feature column. Have a question about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe? Click the Comments link below, ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer you in a future installment!We have no reason to delay, so let's get right into the meat of things!Jere asks: I might be wrong on location, but why is there a member of the Argent Dawn stationed in Dun Morogh just southeast of IF?Answer: Unfortunately, we have no idea. Father Gavin might just be an emissary or representative from the Argent Dawn to Dun Morogh, but he has no quests or dialogue attached to him. It's possible he'll be used for something in the future, but it seems unlikely. He simply exists. Nothing more.
Answers from a Lore Nerd part 1
Yesterday I posted Ask a Lore Nerd, in which I asked you, the readers, to ask me any lore questions you'd like. Your questions came, and I'm doing my best to answer! There were quite a lot of questions, many of them multi-part questions, so I haven't been able to get at all of your questions today. I picked ten comments, answered their questions, and I'll get to the rest of them as soon as possible! Don't be afraid to ask further questions. Keep them coming!Milkingit asks: Where do murlocs come from?Answer: We don't know for sure, but there are many theories. Their appearance on land is supposedly a rather recent event, but it's likely that murlocs have been living on the ocean floor for many thousands of years, walking Azeroth even longer than Trolls. The Trolls have been believed to be the oldest sentient race on Azeroth, so if the murlocs came first, they're a very old race and we may never know their exact origin.There are also a few theories on what has inspired murlocs to move inland. The naga taking over the ocean depths may have driven the murlocs inland. The murlocs may be in cahoots with the naga, and the infestation of the mainlands is a tactical move. The murlocs may also be being controlled by Neptulon or some other force, and are doing his/their bidding. We may learn more in Wrath of the Lich King, as the murlocs make a comeback there.
Emergency Maintenance
Servers Malorne, Drak’thul, Jubei’Thos, Aegwynn, and Muradin have been taken offline for emergency maintenance - after restarts of the same servers early this morning. No word on what's wrong or an ETA for them to come back up, but perhaps it's better off happening now than during prime time. Is there anyone out there who plays on these servers who can give us an idea of what's happening?
