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Did you miss in Pandaria?: The broken burner
Not long ago, Blizzard unveiled the action-packed Warlords of Draenor cinematic, a worthy follow-up to the one for Mists of Pandaria. But did you know there's an achievement that ties in to the Mists trailer? Restore Balance sounds like it's just for druids, but anyone can earn it. The achievement asks you to "Visit the Shrine of Fellowship in the Jade Forest and follow in the footsteps of Chen Stormstout." What these cryptic instructions really mean is to find the in-game location where the Mists trailer happened. Head northeast from Grookin Hill toward the mountain on your map. When you see Shrine of Fellowship pop up on your screen, you're in the right place. It's a flat, misty plateau with a prominent jade bell (it was featured in the cinematic). Look for the Broken Incense Burner. You'll notice it's a bit crooked, just like in the trailer before Chen straightens it. Click on it to "restore balance" and you'll earn the achievement. I wonder if there will be a similar achievement for the Warlords trailer...
Bottom's Up for the continued tale of the Mists cinematic
Blizzard decided to post the above video, titled Bottom's Up, to their official Youtube account yesterday, stating that they found some extra footage shot just moments after the Mists of Pandaria cinematic had come to an end. The video features the return of the human and orc featured duking it out in the original cinematic -- only slightly less keen on tearing out each other's throats. Personally, I could watch these two all day. I kind of want to see a series of cinematic shorts about their adventures, now. My only minor complaint is that they didn't use the kazoo music from Pandaria's inns for the backing track. I mean, I understand why, it would have been far too distracting, but man I love that music, and I'm going to miss it when we leave Pandaria's shores for good.
Know Your Lore: The dynamic new face of Mists of Pandaria
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. Cataclysm was a good expansion for lore development. There were several new tools brought in to help the merger of gameplay and lore. There were just as many old tools that were reworked and reimagined in a way that made the story behind the game a fluid and interactive experience. And I'm not just talking about game mechanics like phasing and new quest technology; I'm also referring to the larger presence of novels and short stories that tie directly in with the game universe. This isn't to say that Cataclysm's story was perfect. In fact, despite these innovations, there were problems abound with Cataclysm's storytelling methods. Zones played as seamless stories, but to many players, they felt as if they were on rails. Worse still was the lack of cohesion. The main storyline of Cataclysm felt to many just as scattered as the new zones we had to explore and level through. While Cataclysm was full of innovation, it seemed as though that very innovation led to an experience that ultimately wasn't as satisfactory from a story standpoint. Mists of Pandaria is a stark contrast to Cataclysm. To be perfectly honest, it's a stark contrast to any WoW expansion we've seen to date. Throw your preconceptions of a world on rails out the window, because we're about to make the leap into dynamic storytelling.
Mists of Pandaria cinematic review
I love this cinematic. There are several reasons for this. First and foremost in my mind, anyway, is that for the first time since the trailer for The Burning Crusade, we've got ourselves a trailer with a little bit of humor in it. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cinematics for both Wrath and Cataclysm, but there is only so much dark doom and gloom I can take. We've dealt with the worst of what the world has had to offer in the past two expansions, and frankly, I could use a breather from it all. Warcraft has always been a franchise that's had a quirky sense of humor at its heart, and we haven't seen that humor in recent trailers. Given the themes of the prior two expansions, that was understandable -- how can you make light of the Lich King? How can you make a joke about Deathwing literally ripping the world apart? These were dire times, and they required a suitably dire cinematic to get the urgency of that point across. Mists of Pandaria is an entirely different sort of expansion, and the cinematic reflects that. But there's far more to this cinematic than meets the eye -- and it's the deeper meanings that continue to delight me.
Mists of Pandaria in-game cinematic achievement
You know what I love about this cinematic? Everything. But the biggest thing I love is the fact that it is utterly tied in to the actual expansion in the coolest possible way. Those in the beta may or may not recognize the location of the cinematic; it's the top of the Shrine of Fellowship in Jade Forest. And the sheer attention to detail between cinematic and game is staggering once you've seen the location in game, which you should absolutely visit upon hitting Pandaria's shores. Why? Because unlike any other expansion before it, Mists of Pandaria has put together the cinematic and the game via a unique achievement that you can only get by visiting the Shrine of Fellowship. Once there, all you need to do is reenact Chen's actions by straightening the broken incense burner found near the bridge. And once you've done that, you'll nab yourself the Restore Balance achievement along with 10 achievement points. So what's Chen doing up there? Well, he likely heard the bell -- and he may have been nearby visiting Sam the Wise, too. Check out our gallery for some side-by-side comparisons of stills from the cinematic and more shots from the Shrine of Fellowship, and don't forget to nab your achievement when Mists is released! %Gallery-162673% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Mists of Pandaria cinematic now available
It's weird to think that a little under two years have gone by since we last saw the cinematic debut for an expansion. It certainly doesn't feel like it's been quite that long, but here we are. It's time to put Cataclysm to bed and take a look at the cinematic for Mists of Pandaria. And oh man, fully rendered pandaren are pretty sweet. What do you think? It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
MoP cinematic debuts at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Aug. 16
Blizzard posted a bit of clarification on the exact time the MoP cinematic will finally be revealed. The blog posts says that the cinematic will debut at 14:00 (2:00 p.m.) on Thursday, Aug. 16 in Cologne, Germany (which is where gamescom is). According to this handy-dandy time zone converter, that means that the cinematic will debut states side at 8:00 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, Aug. 16 (7:00 a.m. Central, 6:00 a.m. Mountain, and 5:00 a.m. Pacific). So while we'll certainly be up bringing it to you as soon as we get a feed of it, you can just roll over out of bed and take a look when you wake up in the morning. Just be sure to get us something from the McDonald's breakfast menu in return, please. Hopefully, the cinematic comes with a release date (or ideally, that release date will be announced sooner). If anything more develops, we'll let you know! Blizzard Don't miss the world premiere of the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria opening cinematic at gamescom 2012! The latest creation from Blizzard's cinematics team will be shown in both English and German on giant screens at our booth in Halle 6.1 (B21). The opening cinematic will debut at 14:00 on Thursday, August 16, the first fully public day of gamescom. This much-anticipated unveiling will be accompanied by a performance from MANAO - Drums of China – the all-female Chinese drumming group that opened and closed the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. A signing session with Blizzard developers will immediately follow the premiere. Remember that from August 15-19, our booth will also be showcasing World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and Diablo III, as well as our famous dance and costume contests, and many other activities. Visit our Activities page for details, and be sure to check back here soon for more on what we have in store for you at gamescom! source
Reminder: Blizzard premieres Mists of Pandaria cinematic at gamescom
Since Blizzard was kind enough to remind us, we'll do the same for you -- the company is attending gamescom, one of the world's largest interactive entertainment trade shows, and they'll be premiering the Mists of Pandaria cinematic there. More Blizzard stuff will be on hand too, like the latest multiplayer build of Heart of the Swarm -- but we imagine the cinematic is the stuff you guys really care about. Speaking of, I wonder what'll be in the cinematic. There's no overarching villain for the launch game this time, so it's unlikely we'll get the Bad Guy Monologuing like the past few cinematics. Could this be the moment of triumph for the gnome race, its moment in the cinematic spotlight? Unlikely. Gamescom is August 15 through 19 in Cologne, Germany. Blizzard Games at gamescom You'll find our costume and dance contests, eSports action, live raids, and all-around excitement at the Blizzard Entertainment booth at gamescom 2012. But perhaps best of all, you'll be able to try out our newest games for yourselves! Don't miss your chance to explore the ancient realm of Pandaria with the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria beta build, vanquish your enemies in the latest StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm multiplayer build, or battle the legions of the Burning Hells in Diablo III! Experience the games first-hand at the Blizzard booth in Halle 6.1 (B21) at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, August 15 to 19. Be sure to check back here in the coming weeks for more information and a full schedule of activities! You can find more information on the Blizzard website. source
Mists of Pandaria cinematic to debut at Gamescom 2012
One of my first memories of World of Warcraft is the opening cinematic, shown to me by my wife in an attempt to interest me in playing. And it worked. The cinematic was gorgeous and evocative and did an excellent job of selling me on the world, setting up its conflicts. Quite frankly, that cinematic almost got me to play a mage, because if you saw that dude in action throwing fireballs at infernals, you knew he meant business. Each cinematic to follow has served as a standard bearer for the expansion in question, and whether or not you liked them as much (my favorite WoW cinematic is still the Wrath of the Lich King opening), you can't say they weren't visually amazing. So I've been waiting and waiting for this news, and at last it's here: Blizzard is debuting the Mists of Pandaria cinematic at this year's Gamescom. That's right, it's going to debut Thursday, August 16. What does that mean for the idea of a late August launch date? Well, it makes me slightly more confident in it, that's for sure. If you're going to be at Gamescom anyway, you should definitely check this out. If, like me, you won't be, you can anxiously check every five minutes or so until it's posted somewhere online. [Thanks Bob Borst for the tip!] It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
