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Know Your Lore: Quests, story, and you in Warlords of Draenor
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 new expansion is certainly about delivering new content, but it's also a vehicle for story progression -- and the end of Mists of Pandaria left behind plenty of questions waiting to be answered. Unfortunately, any questions having to do with Pandaria or Azeroth will have to wait, as we have other, more pressing matters to think about. In Warlords of Draenor, the Iron Horde looms just over the horizon, a threat eerily reminiscent of the old Horde that began the First War so many years ago. Except the Iron Horde is stronger, more organized, and bolstered by the knowledge of just what's on the other side of that Dark Portal they are constructing, thanks to Garrosh Hellscream. That story, the story of Warlords of Draenor, is taking us in a different kind of direction, the likes of which we haven't seen before. While Mists may have pushed the button on innovation as far as max-level content was concerned, its seemingly never-ending cycle of daily quests upon daily quests quickly grew from entertainment to frustration as players quickly grew tired of the cycle of daily gated content and rewards. Warlords has none of that -- but it does have a whole host of new ways to make the story feel important, without overpowering how the player approaches the game. Please note: The following Know Your Lore contains small spoilers for Warlords of Draenor.
Warlords of Draenor: New arakkoa models
Last night's beta build included new models for Draenor's arakkoa. I, for one, was rather surprised by their new look. The arakkoa we know from Outland were broad, hunch-backed creatures incapable of flight. Draenor's arakkoa maintain their form from before an apparent fall from grace -- they're tall, thin, and maintain their wings. While their Outland counterpart looked like creepy little warlocks, the Draenor arakkoa resemble harpies that have slid a few notches further down the bestial spectrum. Interestingly, the new arakkoa models include both male and female versions. The female version can be seen in the video above, and many variants of the male model can be seen on MMO-Champion. Blizzard rarely models both genders for NPC races, unless that race is distinctly humanesque -- the vrykul, for example. While I miss the creepy little arakkoa from Outland, their Draenor forms are pretty cool, too.
Know Your Lore: The Arakkoa
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. They are one of the most ancient races on Draenor, according to relics found in Outland. Yet the arakkoa initially seemed far from any kind of enlightened society when players first met them in Burning Crusade. Certainly, they had the numbers to indicate a vast civilization -- but the arakkoa always felt like a footnote to Outland, filler rather than an important part of what made Draenor what it was, or an integral part of the Burning Crusade storyline. After all, it was all about the orcs, the draenei, and the Burning Legion -- the comings and goings of bird-people didn't really factor into the mix. Which may be just the way the arakkoa like it. Fairly reclusive, the arakkoa don't go out of their way to tell strangers of their past. Yet even though there is little to be found where the arakkoa are concerned, the small pieces we've managed to glean point to a far more complex society than the arakkoa are willing to divulge. And in Warlords of Draenor, we'll finally be able to see the arakkoa soar -- and maybe even unravel some of the secrets of this reclusive race.
Know Your Lore: The others of Draenor
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. Draenor, like Azeroth, is populated by more than just one sapient people. We've talked at length about the orcs who were born on Draenor, and the draenei who landed there and named the world as their refuge. But there were others. Some have vanished entirely since the creation of Outland, while others escaped to Azeroth or continued to exist on the remnant continent itself, floating in the Twisting Nether. Thus, our trip to this new Draenor will allow us to come face to face with beings we barely know, as they were before the destruction Ner'zhul unleashed, and with beings we've never met or seen, entities of legend. While we still don't know exactly what we'll find on Draenor (I'm sure it will be savage) we have enough clues to start talking about the denizens of that unknown (to us) world. So, who were these others?
My Warlords of Draenor dreams
I worry that I'm getting too excited for Warlords of Draenor. Letting my head run away from my heart, so to speak. I've done it before - pretty much before every expansion, I got super excited and imagined up a whole host of ideas for what the expansion was going to be like and all the cool things we were going to get to do and sometimes they came true and sometimes they didn't. Wrath of the Lich King ended up disappointing me greatly, because the Northrend I'd imagined wasn't even close to the Northrend we got (and to people who loved Wrath I probably sound like a crazy person) while Cataclysm ended up going so far beyond the revamp I expected that to this day I'm still very fond of it as a 1 to 60 experience. It started the transformation of the Horde/Alliance balance to one of much closer parity. Mists has been an interesting experience in that regard, in that I simply didn't expect the Pandaria we got at all, but I'm fairly happy with that - the hozen, jinyu, mogu, grummies and saurok are all far more interesting to me and did a lot to make Pandaria far from a monolithic experience. And so, I sit here imagining all sorts of things for Warlords and wondering how much of any of it I'll get to see.
Breakfast Topic: What are your quest nightmares?
All in all, I think the World of Warcraft questing experience is easier than ever. Quests can be tracked and shown on the screen, locations are automatically marked on your map, and anything you need to kill -- or anything that drops quest items you need -- is marked clearly when you approach, with more details when you mouse over. While some of the mystery may be gone, a lot of the annoyance has gone with it. However, while the overall experience is much better, you do run in to the occasional quest that seems to be stubbornly holding out to Blizzard's new, streamlined questing philosophy. Quests that require you to kill ten beasts for a single tooth to drop (why don't they all have teeth?) or run around for an hour (or more) waiting on painfully slow respawns. Recently, while leveling through Outland, I ran into the quest Veil Lithic: Preemptive Strike, which asked me to redeem 3 arakkoa hatchlings and slay 3 arakkoa hatchlings who couldn't be redeemed. It seemed simple enough: Veil Lithic had several nests that spawned eggs. When the eggs spawned, all I had to do was click on them to free the hatchling, which would either fly off or become aggressive. Except after freeing 3 hatchlings, no more clickable eggs appeared. Not in 20 minutes, not in an hour, and not in two -- and though I did manage to collect a lot of arakkoa feathers, the whole thing seemed like a big timesink (several days later, I've still only managed to slay 2 out of 3 hatchlings). At this rate, my attention span is certain to run out before the quest does. (In fact, I'm surprised it's lasted this long.) And what about you? Have you run into any quests -- now or in the past -- that are the stuff World of Warcraft nightmares are made of?
The Queue: Panda ... nope, not going to do it
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Every time the pandaren get mentioned in The Queue, we end up with a week straight of pandaren headers, themes and puns. I'm going to break that trend and completely avoid the topic of the pandaman in this edition of The Queue and hopefully end the horrible cycle of pain. riley asked: Do you think Warcraft ever seen an ending to its story or will Blizzard keep adding content and lore until they subscriber numbers drop below profitability? Will we ever get to fight Sargeras or will the servers just shut down in the middle of the 6th expansion?
Breakfast Topic: What Race or Organization should make a return in the Expansion?
So I've been thinking a lot about lore lately, and one thing that's been nagging for a long time is how fast some really cool and interesting storyline and organizations seem to fade into the background once the patch or zone that focuses on them is over and done.Example prime might be the Ethereals. They were an amazing group. The Consortium was Goblins except with actual charisma, business savvy, common sense, and inventions that worked. The Protectorate was a pretty badass group of elite fighters battling the forces of darkness. Even the Ethereum had a story of tragedy and corruption to make the Scarlet Crusade look like amateurs at the whole fanatic game. But in Wrath? Okay, we get some Ethereum hanging out with Malygos' posse, but that's it. Poof. Ethereals are all but gone. I would have loved to see them selling their Eco-dome tech to settlers in Northrend's snowy areas or something, or handing us monthly gem bags for Frost Wyrm Ivory.
Ask a Lore Nerd: It's the end of the world as we know it
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.Good morning, everyone! My apologies for missing last week's Ask a Lore Nerd, I am apparently very, very bad at time management and I lost track of things while trying to finish furnishing my apartment. We're back in action this week though, so it's all good!Before we get started, I also wanted to remind people that Tokyopop is letting us read Warcraft: Legends for free until the 17th. I know Daniel mentioned it already this morning, but seeing as this is the lore column of the day, I just wanted to mention it again. Just imagine me as the hammer trying to drive this nail into your head. You can read it for free. And now we get the show on the road!naixdra asked...Why do the Orcs call Draenor, Draenor? Didn't the Draenei show up out of nowhere and call it that, so why would the native Orcs adopt the name given to it by outsiders (and still refer to it after their attempted annihilation of said outsiders)?
Breakfast Topic: Player race desires
Since the beginning of The Burning Crusade, I've wanted playable Ethereals. I don't care which faction or what classes, I just want to play an Ethereal. Heck, if all you could do with an ethereal character is walk around and emote, I would still roll one. I don't know why I'm so infatuated with them, but I pretty much like most things about them. Their design, their towns, the Consortium's debonaire way of operations.The other Burning Crusade race I want to play is an Arakkoa. Specifically an Arakkoa Priest or Paladin. I don't like the birdmen as much as the blinkymen, but I found myself incredibly intrigued by the few Light-following arakkoa scattered around. I wanted to learn more about them, but there wasn't anymore to learn, unfortunately.Now that I'm in the Wrath of the Lich King Beta, my new fascination is the Vrykul. Aesthetically, they are by far the most awesome race in WoW, and they're steeped in Norse lore which is just awesome. Their women look like they could destroy me with their bare hands, and the men seem like they have enough hair customization options to put a player race to shame. If these became a player race, I would reroll so fast.Do you guys have any races you would just love to see playable? I have a lot of friends that would adore the chance to play a Goblin but I couldn't do that personally. Not a fan of Goblins. Are you after something a little more 'out there' like Nerubians? Are you a fan of a race from another setting that you'd love to be added to WoW?
The lore flops of the Burning Crusade
The Burning Crusade has a lot going on in it. In the very first zone you run into the Burning Legion, the Ilidari, the Fel Orcs, the Broken, the Forge Camps, the Mag'har, the Arakkoa, and so much more. This is a pleasant change from so many Azerothian zones seeming very static, fighting the same type of thing from one end of the zone to the other.I found many of these stories to be very fun and interesting, but some of them just fell flat. For one, the Arakkoa. When the Arakkoa story began with Kirrik the Awakened and Rilak the Redeemed, I was rather excited. This race was pretty cool! The Arakkoa would be the most beast-like of the known Light-worshiping races and a recent addition to the Naaru's 'Army of the Light.' The models for the redeemed Arakkoa were cool, too. A bunch of pretty birds following them around? Neat!
Around Azeroth: New race of mini-druids?
Reader Keirin of Lemmings of the Light on Aszune (EU), sends us this image of a mini-Druid battling against a massive Arakkoa. Is it, as Keirin suggests, a new race of vicious mini-Druids, complete with +20% cuteness buff? Keirin is the first to say, "Overpowered!"Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
WoW Moviewatch: WoW Arakkoa Boogie
I don't even know where to start with this one other to say that it made me laugh. Also, I couldn't decide if this was staged (which would be bizarre beyond belief) or if this was found footage. Can anyone place where the footage may have come from?Either way, watch and enjoy. I just know this is the secret dance those stupid Arakkoa do while their Kaliri harass me from above.Previously on Moviewatch...
Mysterious Mysteries: Arakkoa superhero, or druid in disguise?
Refugees dwelling in the Bone Wastes not far from the blasted ruin of Auchindoun have reported seeing a bird-man Arakkoa soaring through the sky! Kirrik the Awakened at the refugee caravan gave a speech today regarding the momentous significance of this sighting: "This is none other than Superarakkoa, the prophesied super-hero of the Arakkoa, come to reform the Arakkoa people and finally get our caravan moving again!" Superarakkoa is widely known among Arakkoa to be the invincible savior of "Truth, Justice, and the Arakkoa Way," only vulnerable to the deadly "dark crystals" or "Thraptonite," from the mythical planet of Thra.A night elf standing nearby said that the superhero is a hoax. This elf, named Jared, claims to know the hero's secret: "There is a quest for the Skyguard called 'A Shabby Disguise' in which you disguise yourself as an Arakkoa to buy a book from some guy. Well, I discovered that Druids can use their forms while in this disguise and it doesnt change their appearance." Showing us pictures he himself took of the hero (Superarakkoa's personal photographer, apparently), he claimed that the druid in question tried using his epic flight form while disguised, and was thereby able to fly about looking like an Arakkoa. "The disguise can only be used in Terokkar," he said, "but I still think it is a neat trick."Many thanks to our reader Jared for providing us with the inside scoop on this mystery! We wonder who Superarakkoa's secret identity is... but while we investigate that, what other mysterious uses have you adventurers found for other quests and disguises?
Where to start with 2.1 content
The 2.1 patch this week introduced enough new quest lines, top-end raid content, flying mounts, and L70 solo & small group content to qualify as its own game. With a three day weekend looming I didn't even know where to begin. So I scoured the web and found the where to go and what to do to get me started. THE BLACK TEMPLE: Already planning to strut around Shattrath in your T6 Raid gear? Don't bank that T5 set too quick. The Black Temple attunement quest is ... epic. And it hasn't even been fully discovered so far. What is known is that you will have to slog through a great deal of the Burning Crusade raid content that comes before it: Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair, Serpentshire Cavern, The Eye and The Battle of Mount Hyjal. And many of those raids require extensive attunement quests of their own. If you are still itching to begin, you can dig in with the Tablets of Baa'ri chain out of Shadowmoon Valley to start grinding that Ashtongue Deathsworn rep. NETHERDRAKE EPIC FLYING MOUNT: First, don't confuse this with the Swift Nether Drake top Arena teams are awarded with at the end of every season. That one has a speed increase of 310% and has an armored appearance. This is the normal epic nether drake with a speed increase on par with other epic flying mounts: 280%. What's special about this epic flying mount is that it can be obtained through solo and small group quests. No raid required. What is required is a great deal of dedication.The first steps on your journey is to dig yourself out of Hated reputation with the Netherwing clan and get all the way to Exalted. This is accomplished through solo, 5 man and 3 man daily quests. Head to the south east corner of Shadowmoon Valley and speak to Mordenai in the Netherwing Fields. A complete write up can be found here.
