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Patch 5.2 PTR: Lore spoilers, an entire post full of them
First up, let me reiterate what the title of this post indicated: there will be many spoilers for patch 5.2 in this post. If you don't want spoilers for patch 5.2, then I suggest you don't read any further, because that's what this post is going to be. Before I get into the spoilers, though, I should in good conscience link to some posts Anne Stickney and myself did on the subject of the mogu and their true nature, and the secrets of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Pandaria itself. Why do I do this? Well, if you continue on with this post, you will find out. From this point on, there be nothing but spoilers The folks over at Wowhead have mined up a heaping helping of audio files for this new patch, and man, the story is advancing.
Know Your Lore: Hands drenched in blood
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. The Sin'dorei have been a presence in WoW since The Burning Crusade -- and surprisingly enough, as members of the Horde rather than members of the Alliance. This turnaround in events was largely due to the treatment of the blood elves by the Alliance during Warcraft III. Kael'thas Sunstrider watched as his people were slaughtered by the Scourge, and set out to lend a helping hand to his supposed allies, hoping that they would lend a hand in return. However, he was sent to help Garithos, a man who was -- let's face it -- incredibly racist. And in the face of that not-quite-blatant racism, Kael'thas turned to the only people offering any sort of real alliance; the naga. While Vashj and company helped Kael'thas far more than any of his supposed Alliance allies, Garithos was happy to find an excuse to condemn the leader of the sin'dorei, and had him imprisoned in Dalaran for his supposed treasonous actions. It was this waterfall effect that eventually led to the sin'dorei's withdrawal from the Alliance, and into the arms of the Horde. Which makes the events of patch 5.1 all the more ironically interesting ... because it's happening all over again, but wearing a slightly different face. Please note: This Know Your Lore contains spoilers for Tides of War as well as patch 5.1 content from both Operation: Shieldwall and the Dominance Offensive. If you have yet to complete these stories, you may want to veer away.
Bloody-handed in Dalaran
Spoilers for Operation: Shieldwall quests to follow I wrote how a race change changed the way I viewed the Horde, especially the Dominance Offensive questing. Well, turnabout is fair play, and so I went and got my worgen through the Operation: Shieldwall quests up to the events in Dalaran. And it's funny, because I expected it to feel different, and it did. But not quite the way I'd expected. At the end of today's questing, I had many conflicting feelings. As Matthew Rossi, the guy who writes these posts, I was deeply troubled by what I did in Dalaran. This was not a case of a rational, cool-thinking commander giving good orders, this was a case of someone pushed too far finally snapping. The actions I took at the behest of two deeply aggrieved leaders left me with a sour taste in my mouth, when I stopped to reflect upon them. But while I was playing? My worgen had absolutely no compunctions. Never before have I done things that, as a player I felt were wrong, but as a character I felt were absolutely right. An eye for an eye may leave the whole world blind, but doing nothing just leaves me with a missing eye. Behind the cut I'm going into details, and those details will be chock full of spoilers. You've been warned.
Know Your Lore: WoW for Dummies, Act I: Horde
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. Once upon a time in vanilla WoW, there was a very different view regarding the ongoing Alliance vs. Horde debate. To Horde players, the Alliance storylines were interesting, complex, and contained epic moments that had to be seen to be believed, like the original reveal of Katrana Prestor's true identity in Stormwind. The Horde had no equivalent to this, and thus it was assumed that there was undue Alliance favoritism going on. It sounds weird given today's somewhat more balanced treatment of both Alliance and Horde stories, but there it was. And when you look back at the original release of WoW and the story behind it, you'll see where that viewpoint came from. Even though the Horde had their own storylines, those stories were basically branching off from the far more epic (in the opinion of some players) Alliance versions. What was the Horde all about in vanilla WoW? ... oddly enough, the Alliance.
Know Your Lore: WoW for Dummies, Act I: Alliance
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. World of Warcraft was originally released in the US on November 23, 2004. That is eight years of our lives that we've been playing this game ... for some players. For many players however, their experience with WoW began in Burning Crusade, or Wrath, or Cataclysm -- or even right now with Mists of Pandaria. And because of this, it means these players have missed out eight years worth of lore and story from before they began to play. One of the questions and suggestions I see pop up most frequently, be it on Reddit, Twitter or even WoW Insider, is what happened during all of that time? What was the story behind these expansions? Sure, there are novels and comics aplenty available for reading, but these are side aspects to the original games that didn't really tie into the game so much. The game itself had its own story going, particularly in those first couple of expansions. So let's step back in time and take a look at WoW and the basic ongoing story that has kept it going all these years -- not the novels, but the game itself. Get ready for WoW for Dummies: the vanilla years.
Patch 5.1 PTR: Windsteeds get more color, and new audio files
As if one Swift Windsteed wasn't enough, the dataminers have now discovered even more, with the windsteed showing its true colors with three new looks, meaning a total of four windsteeds will be available. Anne Stickney had previously speculated that the windsteed might be a new store mount, that is to say, one purchaseable via battle.net with real money. It seems the appearance of new colors for this mount might indicate that it is available from another source -- there are very few mounts purchaseable for real money which come in different colors but there's always a first time! The source of this new mount could well be reputation with one of the two new factions coming in patch 5.1: the Dominance Offensive and Operation: Shieldwall. The multiple colors of the windsteed are below. Which is your favorite? I think I like the gold one. SPOILER ALERT: There are four new audio files and some description of their contents after the break. If you don't want spoilers, you know what not to do. Don't hit the break.
Know Your Lore: The lost introduction to Theramore's Fall
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. One of the biggest stories this week was the launch of Theramore's Fall, one of several new scenarios we'll see in Mists of Pandaria. Theramore's Fall was tuned for level 85 as a one-week preview of the scenario feature -- after the launch of Mists, it will become a level 90 scenario, and players will no longer be able to get the special rewards offered at level 85. That said, it's worth doing to test out the scenario feature, and to see what exactly happened to Theramore. But there's an issue with Theramore's Fall that had players by and large confused -- a lack of any kind of introduction or context for the event. It could be cleared up by reading Tides of War, but not everyone has the time to pick up a book. Because of this, I decided to take a different route with this week's Know Your Lore, and give a brief introduction into what this scenario is, why you're in it, and the absent heroes of Theramore's Fall, who by all rights should have been included. Please note: Today's Know Your Lore contains some spoilers for Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War. If you're looking to avoid all spoilers, you may want to come back when you're done with the book!
Recreate Jaina Proudmoore with transmogrification
I haven't played the pre-expansion event yet, but I heard Jaina Proudmoore is having a really bad week in it. Apparently someone threw a surprise party at her house and left the place trashed, then when she went to the salon later they completely botched her dye job. I feel so bad for her! The poor girl just hasn't been able to catch a break since that awful mess with Arthas. Still, trying to go three shades lighter all in one go ... She brought that one on herself. Anyway, in honor of the Mists of Pandaria pre-expansion event, I thought it fitting to feature Lady Jaina Proudmoore for this week's transmog outfit. Sadly, Jaina's new, unique model can't be replicated by players, but you can get pretty close to making her old one.
A walk-through of the Fall of Theramore scenario from the Alliance side
The Fall of Theramore is live on European servers, so as your spy across the pond I thought I'd run it as soon as possible to bring you a review and how-to from the Alliance side. Please note that if you don't want spoilers, don't read this. This post is going to be very spoiler-heavy if you want to be surprised by Theramore's fall. Last warning! Spoilers behind the cut!
Tides of War novel released today
The latest WoW novel, Tides of War, sees its official release date today. The book, penned by Christie Golden, tells the story of the Horde's attack on Theramore as seen through the eyes of Jaina Proudmoore. We'll be able to experience that attack first-hand in game via the Theramore scenario, which should show up in game in the next few weeks. If you want a sneak peek, though, or further elaboration on what exactly Garrosh Hellscream is up to and what happens to Jaina and the people of Theranore, you can pick up this novel. For more information, be sure to check out our spoiler-free review of the book, as well as our interview with author Christie Golden. You can find the book at most major bookstores, as well as online on Amazon in Hardcover or Kindle editions.
WoW Insider interviews author Christie Golden
Tides of War is releasing on Aug. 28, the same day that we'll see the release of patch 5.0.4 on live realms. If you'd like to know more about the book, we have a spoiler-free review of the novel available for those still wondering if they should pick it up. In anticipation of the novel's release, we also had an opportunity to interview the author behind the novel, Christie Golden. Tides is Christie's seventh novel in the Warcraft series, focusing on Jaina Proudmoore and the events surrounding Theramore's ultimate fate, as well as the lead-in for the next expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Like her novels The Shattering and Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, Tides ties in with what we'll see in game -- but it's got a unique twist the likes of which we simply haven't seen before. Christie was kind enough to fill us in on that unique twist, as well as Garrosh, Theramore, and what it's like penning the tales of Jaina Proudmoore.
The Instance interviews Chris Metzen, Christie Golden
Looking forward to Tides of War, the next Warcraft novel slated to release later this month? The Instance, one of the longest-running Warcraft podcasts out there, has just released an interview with author Christie Golden as well as Chris Metzen himself. It's a spoiler-free interview, so those looking for a taste of what's to come in Tides of War can listen without fear of having the book utterly given away before it's even released. More so than that, however, there is a lot of discussion on the nature of being female -- whether it's being a female writer in the sci-fi and fantasy industry, a female character in WoW, or a female character in the Blizzard universe, period. Given that Jaina sees so much character development in Tides of War, it's only natural that the conversation would turn that direction. And with Metzen in the fray as well as Golden, it's interesting to hear what both have to say about female characters and female character development in the Blizzard universe. The interview runs about 45 minutes long. As always, The Instance is available to download on iTunes as well as Zune, so those of you looking for some interesting listening material on the drive to work can easily put it on your mobile media devices and listen on the go. All in all, it's a pretty fascinating peek into the minds behinds Tides of War, and while it's not the same as a book in your bag, it should help ease the waiting until Aug. 28 rolls around.
Review of Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden
Oh, Jaina. How far you've come. Blizzard continues its trend of books that tie into World of Warcraft with its latest novel, Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War. This book takes place after the events in Cataclysm and after the last cinematic of the Dragon Soul raid. Deathwing is well and truly dead, and the world is a better place for it -- but for how long? Given the explosive nature of the Alliance/Horde conflict in Cataclysm, it's readily apparent that we're not about to go striding into the sunset, holding hands and singing songs of peace and harmony. Tides of War revolves around Jaina Proudmoore and the events at Theramore Isle, which we'll see in game when patch 5.0.4 hits live servers. Jaina's been noticeably absent during Cataclysm; while we see Theramore forces out and about in the world, Jaina herself remains firmly ensconced in her tower abode on Theramore Isle. But there's a change on the winds, one that's been hinted at ever since the novel The Shattering was released. In The Shattering, Jaina was told that eventually, some day, she was going to have to choose a side. In Tides of War, she makes that choice in a spectacularly dramatic fashion. But there's far more to this novel than just Jaina Proudmoore.
Know Your Lore: Getting into the lore of Mists
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. Well, this has certainly been a week, hasn't it? Mists of Pandaria will officially be out and in your hands on Sept. 25. In the tidbits I've discussed here and there regarding Mists of Pandaria, I've pointed out time and time again that the lore we will see with this expansion will all be new. Does it tie into old lore and events that have been set up in prior expansions? Absolutely. Will we be dealing with villains from days of old? ... Not so much. This isn't something to be annoyed about; it's something that we should embrace. The continuation of a story is always a good thing. For a story as massive as Warcraft's, it's about time we had a shot of new lore added into the mix. The best part about the lore in Mists is that because it's all so very new, everyone will be on roughly the same page headed into the expansion. For players who know the lore inside and out, this will all be new material to learn. For new players just looking to get into the lore, you'll be on the same page -- looking at brand new material and figuring it all out. There are a few story threads that have been picked up, but by and large, everything on Pandaria originated on Pandaria. So how do you get started processing all that stuff? Let's take a look, minus the spoilers. Sorry, guys -- you will eventually get more Pandaria info than you can shake a stick at, but it's going to be September before I start throwing it at you with unbridled glee.
Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War excerpt
Simon and Schuster has posted an excerpt from Christie Golden's upcoming World of Warcraft novel: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War. Like The Shattering did for Cataclysm, Tides of War is expected to be the story that sets the foundation for the Mists of Pandaria lore. As we've reported before, Blizzard announced the book will be released at the end of August, which coincides with Simon and Schuster's release date of "on or around August 28th." You can preorder Tides of War now. We've reprinted the entire excerpt and description after the break.
Newest World of Warcraft novel gets a release date and cover preview
Jaina Proudmoore is one of the biggest lore figures in World of Warcraft despite the fact that her character history largely consists of trying to make reasonable compromises and being completely ignored. It's no surprise that she's the star of the newest novel based on World of Warcraft considering her prominence in the lore and her relationship to the war between the game's factions. Tides of War is written by Christie Golden and will be released in late August, setting the stage for Mists of Pandaria later this year. While Jaina has always tried to broker a peace between the Alliance and the Horde, the novel's plot revolves around Warchief Garrosh Hellscream launching an attack against Jaina's home in Theramore, demonstrating the same legendary thinking that's alienated several of the Horde's allies. Whether or not the erstwhile diplomat will be able to retain any hopes of a peaceful resolution remains to be seen, but with Mists of Pandaria promising to focus on the conflict between the two factions, it seems likely that players will be looking at silencing the last and loudest voice for peace.
'Tides of War' release date revealed
It's official: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War will be released in late August, putting it smack-dab around the same time that the Mists of Pandaria cinematic will be shown at Gamescom and fueling my rampant suspicions that we're going to see an August release date for Mists of Pandaria itself. You can even preorder your copy or pick up an unabridged audio version. We're reproducing the announcement in full, which you can also read at the official site.
Know Your Lore: What exactly is up with women in Warcraft lore?
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. Between Rossi, myself, and those who came before us, there have been a metric ton of Know Your Lore columns. If you're wondering exactly how many, I suggest you take a look at our lore guide for a categorized list of them all. Occasionally, I'll go back and look through the list just to see what we've missed and what needs to be filled in or updated from old columns. And I've been looking at that lore guide and going over the things in it, and I keep noticing one really particular thing about it. There are hardly any women on that list. There's a scant handful compared to all the other heroes and villains and history and everything else on it. And it's not that women don't exist in the Warcraft universe -- they're all over the place, honestly. It's that there is only a handful worth of them that have enough character development and story to warrant dedicating a column to them. To which I say wait a minute, what is up with that?
Know Your Lore: King Varian Wrynn, or: How I learned to love the jerk
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. King Varian Wrynn is a jerk. He's angry, he's rude, he's deliberately inflammatory. Despite the moments of kindness we've seen from Varian, they're just small moments. Yes, he let Saurfang retrieve the body of his son for Alliance players in Icecrown Citadel to witness. But he still holds a deep and unmitigated hatred for the Horde and everyone in it, including Thrall. He will quite happily talk about scouring the Undercity and purging it of all Forsaken, and he seems to be of the opinion that the only good orc for the most part is a dead one. But his attitude issues aren't limited to the Horde. He is endlessly frustrated and angry with Jaina Proudmoore and her insistence on diplomatic attempts. He was brusque, rude, and outright against letting the worgen join the Alliance when they were desperate for help. His anger even extends to his son Anduin Wrynn, who has done nothing to outright offend his father other than following the path of a priest rather than a warrior. Varian has even gone so far as to hurt his son, nearly breaking Anduin's arm in an attempt to force him to stay put and keep him from leaving to study with the Prophet Velen. And yet, there is something so inherently fascinating about Varian Wrynn that I cannot tear my eyes away.
WoW Archivist: Massacre at the Crossroads
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Last week, Tom Chilton revealed that Mists would have no dedicated world PvP zone like Wintergrasp or Tol Barad. Instead, Blizzard wants to encourage a more natural style of world PvP. It wants players to duke it out in actual questing zones. On PvP realms, it wants players to be free to attack towns and cities without overwhelming NPC intervention. Since we're reviving WoW Archivist here at WoW Insider after a seven-month hiatus, now seemed like a good time to revisit the earliest days of world PvP. It's no secret that world PvP has had a rough journey throughout WoW's history. Blizzard did all it could to discourage the wild Southshore vs. Tarren Mill clashes that made Hillsbrad Foothills a laggy, unplayable mess, often crashing the Eastern Kingdoms servers entirely. In patch 1.12, the developers gave us new objectives to fight over in Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands, far away from where new players were leveling. Ultimately, those objectives failed to capture much interest. Players mocked the Silithyst PvP objective as "sandlol." Further experiments in The Burning Crusade were only moderately more successful. In Wrath, Blizzard added the Wintergrasp PvP zone, and that has been the company's primary world PvP model through the last two expansions. Before all of that, however, when the game was still so young that the vast majority of the playerbase hadn't yet reached level 60, there were raids on the Crossroads, in the heart of the infamous Barrens. And they were glorious.
