follower-missions
Latest
Patch 6.1: Twitter integration live on the PTR
The functionality for posting on Twitter within World of Warcraft is now up and running on the PTR servers. For those that have been wondering, this is a completely optional feature -- if you don't have Twitter, or don't care for Twitter at all, you don't have to use the service. It's just a fun side perk that was thrown in for World of Warcraft -- one that is curiously, strangely addicting. Using it is fairly simple, all you need is a Twitter account and you're good to go. In the Interface/Social menu, there is an option to begin using the Twitter access. It's not a default feature, so you have to checkmark the box in order to get started. Once you've done that, a button in the UI will open a window that allows you to log in to your Twitter account and authorize World of Warcraft as an application -- it's the same screen that you'll see if you try and log into our comment system using your Twitter account. Click allow access, and you'll be logged in and ready to go! To post to Twitter, type /share into the chat window, and it'll bring up the Twitter interface. Once you've created your tweet, you can submit it and it will post to your Twitter feed in a minute or two.
Patch 6.1: Finally, you can take a S.E.L.F.I.E.
I honestly didn't know how much I needed this particular item until I finally managed to snag one on the PTR. Behold, patch 6.1 is bringing us the S.E.L.F.I.E. Camera, a marvelous device that finally lets us egomaniacs turn our cameras on the one person in game we care about the most -- ourselves. The camera is a reward from a new, rare level 100 garrison mission called Field Photography -- a four hour mission that requires no special traits to complete. Simply get the mission to show up on your list and the camera is pretty much yours. The interface for the camera is really easy to use -- simply click the item to use it, and your camera will automatically turn around to face you. You can swivel the angle to whatever you feel is most pleasing, and press 1 to snap a photo. No need to alt-z the frame out of the picture first, the camera automatically does it for you, snapping the screenshot and putting it in your screenshots folder. As the camera faces your character, they'll make a host of suitably emotive faces, so you don't have to worry about smiling for the camera.
Patch 6.1 PTR: Blackrock Foundry garrison missions are 660 ilvl
Our friends at Wowhead have datamined a new set of follower raid missions for Blackrock Foundry. Like the Highmaul missions that exist today, these will reward random non-weapon loot from the Blackrock Foundry raid. It's unclear at this point if tier 17 armor will be potential rewards or not. The important bit of information here is that these new missions require your followers to be 660 item level. The current cap on follower item level is 655, so you won't be able to upgrade them quite yet. In the meantime, you can continue to collect upgrades from the Dwarven Bunker/War Mill and Salvage Yard if you want to do these missions when the patch hits. If you want to learn more about raid missions, you can check out our post from last week.
How to send your followers on raid missions
With the right followers, it's possible to get yourself a piece of genuine Highmaul raid loot without ever setting foot inside the raid. Before you endeavor to do this, you should know that the Dwarven Bunker/War Mill and Salvage Yard are basically required to do this in any sane amount of time. You need both buildings to get enough follower armor and weapon upgrades, as these missions require a roster of ilvl 645+ followers to complete. Raid mission basics Your first raid mission will unlock when you have 3 followers at 645 or higher item level. The mission should stick around for at least a couple days if you want to spend some time getting other followers ready. After completing a raid mission, your next one will unlock 2 weeks later. Any piece of loot from the raid appropriate to your loot specialization can drop, with the exception of weapons. Just like normal drops, these can be warforged, socketed, or have tertiary stats. The quality of loot is based on your current progression in the raid itself: Normal caches (ilvl 655 loot) are rewarded if you've killed 0-14 bosses in normal mode. Heroic caches (ilvl 670 loot) are rewarded if you've killed 15+ bosses in normal mode. Mythic caches (ilvl 685 loot) are rewarded if you've killed 15+ bosses in heroic mode. Mythic caches plus a bonus of 1000 gold are rewarded if you've killed 15+ bosses in mythic mode.
Breakfast Topic: Wish me luck
Apparently I need more 645 ilvl followers with Timed Battle and Magic Debuff counters. I don't like going into a raid mission with these odds -- especially since they only show up every 2 weeks -- but I don't have much of a choice. I seem to have greater success with the 70% missions than I do with the 95%+ missions, so I do have that going for me. This week I'll definitely be grabbing one of these followers from the inn, and I'll be crossing my fingers for an epic one. My other shortage is Wild Aggression, so that's next on the list. I have about a dozen followers with the Danger Zone counter. Apparently my followers are good at staying out of the fire but weak on the DPS. Have you completed a 645 ilvl follower mission yet? If so, was it successful?
Changes to Salvage Yard rewards
The Salvage Yard has become my favorite building ever since I upgraded it to level 3. The Big Crates of Salvage can be loot pinatas. I personally have received two ilvl 665 epics, a full class transmog set, and numerous green and blue BoEs that have sold well on the auction house. Then, of course, there's all the follower upgrades. This building was so lucrative that people figured out if you kept a single follower in the 90-94 range, you would have a virtually unlimited supply of 30-45 minute missions to gain salvage. Blizzard wasn't a fan of this somewhat tedious requirement to maximize the building's output, so they made some adjustments. Here's a summary of the Salvage Yard changes that have happened over the last few days: Only successful missions can reward salvage crates (failed missions used to reward them too) Successful level 100 missions always reward a Big Crate of Salvage (or Crate of Salvage if you're level 2) Successful level 95-99 missions have a chance at rewarding a Big Crate of Salvage (or Crate of Salvage if you're level 2) Successful level 90-94 missions have a chance at rewarding a Bag of Salvaged Goods, also known as the junk box. This is regardless of the building level. You can read the post announcing these changes after the break.
Garrison Followers, traits, abilities, and training
If you've been playing Warlords of Draenor fairly regularly since release, you should by now be familiar with the traits and abilities of your followers. These abilities and traits are randomly generated when you obtain your new follower, but there are some items in game, obtainable via missions, that will teach a chosen follower a new trait. Apparently there had been some confusion regarding these items, so CM Crithto took to the forums to further clarify how these items work. Crithto There's been some confusion regarding the various items you can use that allow you to change a trait on one of your Garrisons followers, so we wanted to clarify how these items work. If you use an item such as the Supreme Manual of Dance or the Hearthstone Strategy Guide, the targeted follower will gain the trait associated with the on-use item, and lose a random trait which cannot be selected or changed after the fact. Currently, the tooltips for these items are not specific enough about the randomness associated with their outcome, and we're working on getting them adjusted. So if you're now missing a follower with a specific trait you want or need, remember that you can level your Inn or Tavern to tier 2 to gain access to an NPC who will hunt down new followers. When one becomes available, you can then limit your search based on the traits you desire. source
Warlords of Draenor: Garrison mission rewards at a glance
Players who aren't in the beta often have a simple question about garrison followers and their associated missions: what is the point? There are few resources that explain their purpose and what benefit they provide. The list of rewards below is by no means comprehensive and should only be taken as examples of variety. They're some of the items I've personally earned while dispatching follower missions on the beta. Archmage Vargoth's Spare Staff for your toybox from a rare level 90 mission Relic of Rukhmar to increase reputation with Arakkoa Outcasts Shimmering Gauntlets and other Shimmering equipment at level 90 Gleaming Ring and other rare-quality Gleaming equipment at level 90 Munificent Robes and other Munificent equipment at level 100 Apexis Crystals in lots of varying sizes, up to 1,000 from a rare level 100 mission Follower missions also reward XP for your followers, items and equipment to increase the strength of your followers, and gold. Basic level 90 quests often award 50 gold, but it can often be much higher -- a level 100 rare quest, Blingtron's Secret Vault, gave me 500 gold. These missions are far from mandatory, but there's no reason not to do them. Assigning your followers to their respective tasks will only take a few minutes out of your day.
