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Blood of the Highborne novella possibly on the way
The folks over at the Scrolls of Lore forums happened to dig up some interesting information in the form of the cover pictured above. Many fans of Warcraft lore have been waiting, somewhat impatiently, for the new novella by Micky Neilson titled Blood of the Highborne. In an interview last year about the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria, Neilson mentioned the novella, suggesting that it would be included in a collection of the leader short stories released during the Cataclysm expansion. The novel found at Scrolls of Lore is titled World of Warcraft: Dechados, which was translated as World of Warcraft: Paragons. It seems an apt title for a collection of short stories about Azeroth's leaders -- and there's the fact that the translation of the description also mentions the inclusion of a novella. After doing some further digging, we managed to find a French version of the book as well. Both books suggest a September release date. At present time, there doesn't appear to be a peep about an English version of the collection, however -- and it definitely wasn't mentioned at the San Diego Comic Con Licensing panel this year, either. What's the fate of Blood of the Highborne? We aren't certain, but judging from the information found, it may be out sooner than we'd previously thought.
What classes should WoW have been designed with?
One of the interesting things about converting a real-time strategy game series into a MMO is how the units of the game are converted to playable classes -- or aren't converted, in some cases. While some heroes or units are folded into the classes like Far Seers into shaman and others make it straight into the game like paladins or death knights, others will make it in more as components or abilities sometimes not even given to the thematically suitable class. Such was the case when mages gained the signature Mirror Image from the blademaster hero class instead of warriors, who would seem to be the most appropriate match. Reading over this post on Scrolls of Lore about the Demon Hunter got me wondering again about these elements' making it into the game. Several posters mentioned that quite a few demon hunter-themed abilities have made their way into the warlock toolkit, making a separate demon hunter class redundant and unlikely. It's a fair point, and it's mirrored in other places. Mages in WoW make a specific archmage class unlikely. Paladins have pretty much absorbed the knight unit into themselves. Warriors are getting abilities reminiscent of the Mountain King and Tauren Chieftain heroes. At this point in the game's existence, with 11 classes come Mists of Pandaria, are we likely to see any more introduced? Is it better that the trappings of the RTS make it into the MMO at all, or do they have to come packaged with the heroes and units that made us love them?
Scrolls of Lore explores potential MoP details
Scrolls of Lore poster Curll has just linked to an interesting series of answers from the Blizzard Taiwan and Blizzard China forums about Mists of Pandaria and future developments coming to World of Warcraft. Do note that these translations may be questionable, but Scrolls of Lore hasn't steered us wrong on these things yet. Some of the highlights include: 4.3 content is not expected to last a full year. Focus is definitely on the mortal races, the Horde vs. Alliance conflict, and trying to get back to the feeling of Warcraft: Orcs vs. Humans. Outland and Northrend revamps are not coming any time soon. Blizzard wants to fix the timeline issues, but that's not on the top of its lists. For lore enthusiasts, a new faction called the Lorewalkers will be introduced, allowing players to travel the world to find and bring back historical artifacts to found a historical archive. The faction will be story- and lore-focused, not a means to grind rep for gear. If you want to take a look, the forum thread has plenty of details. It would be very interesting if these things came to pass. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion, raising the level cap to 90, introducing a brand new talent system, and bringing forth the long-lost pandaren race to both Horde and Alliance. Check out the trailer and follow us for all the latest MoP news!
New Halloween masks point to a new playable race?
Here's an interesting tidbit from Scrolls of Lore, where they've dug up some files that could possibly hint at future playable races for the World of Warcraft. Remember that tidbit about Kalgan saying how Blizzard plans to "pre-seed" future playable races in the game before they actually become available? It's a different approach from the way they retconned Draenei into game.Well, the folks over at Scrolls of Lore dug up some Halloween masks that have male and female Goblins - nothing new there - but a pair of werewolf, or Worgen, masks, as well. What's the curious thing about this? Well, we've never actually seen any female Worgen in the game, have we? Right. Well, there it is. A nice, pretty, green-eyed Worgen female mask. It may or not mean anything, of course, as these are just graphic files, or skins, placed on top of in-game models. But still... remember that Greymane Wall? Ever wonder why so many Worgen are outside of it? Remember how Blizzard hinted it would open up soon? Yeah. Just sayin'.Many thanks to Tori for the tip! Also, Omacron links us to a blog stitching the faces together for a better look at the, uh, masks.
Patch 3.2 PTR: Tauren Druid conversation may reveal lore and expansion secrets
Reader Chad forwarded us this screen shot of a conversation that takes place over on Elder rise in Thunder Bluff between two Tauren on the patch 3.2 PTR. Apparently it actually begins with a new quest by the Dalaran Portals, as pointed out in this thread at Scrolls of Lore, and while the quest leads nowhere, you do get to hear the linked dialogue. In it, Aponi Brightmane, a wounded warrior who wishes to return the front lines in Northrend, and Tahu Sagewind, a Druid, speak together about the history of Druidism, the moon, and the sun. They speak of Elune, whom they know as Mu'sha, one of the eyes of the the Earth Mother. They mention that it seems strange that if Tauren were the first Druids as their legends claim, that all Hamuul Runetotem teaches is the moon power of the Night Elves. Tahu wonders if Druids themselves, because of this, are out of balance. The idea segues back into the idea of the world out of balance due to the influence of the Scourge, wondering if sitting idle in Thunder Bluff is really a good idea when the Northern front is so bleak, wondering if balance must needs to be returned by action.
