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Know Your Lore, TFH edition: The true battle between Light and Darkness
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. Even now, the true battle between the forces of Light and Darkness approaches. We will all be called to join, and in the face of this conflict, all mortal suffering will be meaningless. Cataclysm is an expansion about the struggle to stop the end of the world and the struggle between Horde and Alliance. But in the 1-to-60 zone revamps, there are fascinating little bits of lore to be discovered. Most of these involve the Alliance/Horde conflict, but every now and again, you'll find a quest chain that leaves more questions than answers, more mystery than resolution. One of these chains begins for Alliance players in the Swamp of Sorrows, and it seems to be harmless enough. A Broken draenei named Magtoor is on his deathbed, and Anchorite Avuun is desperately looking for a cure. In Magtoor's final moments, Prophet Velen appears and returns Magtoor to the embrace of the Light with a little speech, including the quote above. The quest chain is fairly straightforward ... until we start picking at the potential meanings of that phrase. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on how it happened. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
One Shots: A shadowy sunset
The Shadow Priest in World of Warcraft. Some hate them for their damage-dealing abilities, others complain that they're annoying in PvP, and still others can't decide if they should go Holy or Shadow for endgame. However you may feel about them, generally people have to admit that the funky shadow form is pretty wicked looking. Add that spooky silhouette in with a stunning sunset over the swamp, and we say it's surely spectacular. Today's World of Warcraft One Shots comes to us from Saat, who writes in: "During an Archeology run in WoW I came across this sunset in the northwest looking across the Pool of Tears in the Swamp of Sorrows. I really like how the sun is throwing rays while partially blocked by a mountain and fires from the fighting at Bloodmire nestled in the shadowy distance." If you'd like to contribute your screenshots to us here at Massively, it's incredibly easy to do. Just pick one you like and send it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the image. Please make sure that the image is at least 1024 pixels wide and has as few visible UI elements as possible. It could wind up being the next one we feature! %Gallery-112285%
Breakfast Topic: What I won't miss
Visiting the Swamp of Sorrows the other day, I happened to pass by the Temple of Atal'Hakkar (aka the Sunken Temple) and became flooded with memories of the old days. I've had some good times there, back when the game was fresh and I was a newbie trying to learn more about my class and the world. Back then, the dungeon seemed so foreboding and we didn't think too much of losing countless hours navigating the temple's twisted architecture. Eventually, we grew to hate the place. First of all, getting to the instance itself was no small task. Surrounding the lake where the temple was, well, sunken, there were elite dragonkin that were a handful for characters of appropriate level for the dungeon. That meant needing to be sneaky (or swift) just getting to the middle of the lake. Once you got inside the temple, you had to deal with mummified trolls, oozes and snakes -- elite as far as I can recall -- just to get to the entrance of the instance! That by itself took a good while. Let's not even talk about getting lost on the way there ... the temple before the instance was a convoluted maze of unnecessary rooms, corridors and levels that was littered with NPCs who didn't drop anything good in particular. Oh, and did I mention that there are a whole bunch of quests that take you all around the world and can only be completed inside the instance? It would've been epic if it wasn't such a pain in the butt. It was fun for a short while, but I suppose I've grown up enough as a player to recognize that it was simply bad game design. Blizzard has grown up, too, right along with us (or it might be the other way around) and started putting out dungeons that were quick, fun, and significantly less confusing. When Cataclysm finally breaks the World of Warcraft, a lot of things will change and go away. I don't know what Blizzard has in store for the Sunken Temple, but I wouldn't miss it if it finally goes under. There are a lot of things I won't miss, actually, but the Temple of Atal'Hakkar is somewhere near the top of my list. How about you? What won't you miss when Cataclysm changes the face of the game world? What parts of the world wouldn't you mind bidding 'good riddance?'
Breakfast Topic: Your favorite routes
Vince sent us this tip from Just my Two Copper: a quick Cobalt circuit in case you're a high level miner and want to spend a few minutes making some ingame money. Truth is, everyone has this various routes that they take in game, whether they be your recent run of dailies, a gathering run (I used to know the Swamp of Sorrows by heart when I was leveling up Herbalism, and even now I've got my own places to go in Sholazar to pick up as much leather as possible), or even a run around to see if you can find some of the rare spawns (the Time-Lost Proto Drake or maybe the spirit beast).What are some of your favorite, most ingrained (in your mind), or most profitable runs in game? They aren't really a trade secret -- AHs tend to change from server to server, and even if a certain ore or item comes into demand, it's usually because no one wants to farm it, not because it's not out there to find. But we do get set in our patterns -- what are some of yours?
Around Azeroth: Sunrise over the swamp
Reader Robots of Turalyon submits this shot of the sun sparkling over the Swamp of Sorrows. (If you've never visited the swamp, the light throughout the zone is is all this unusual golden-brown color.) Though he's been playing for a year and a half now, Robots has recently acquired a new computer and tells us, "I feel like I'm seeing Azeroth for the first time." And I have to admit, it's a lovely screenshot, catching the exact essence of the swamp.Do you have any screenshots showing off how beautiful Azeroth can really be? We want to see them 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%
Around Azeroth: Dusk over the swamp
I don't usually consider the Swamp of Sorrows to be a very scenic location, but this shot sent in by reader Ryan seems to prove me wrong. In the golden haze of the sunset, even the Swamp of Sorrows can be a tourist destination. (So long as you can ignore the slight Murloc problem... after all, I'm sure there's just one of them, don't you think?)Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: The Temple of Atal'Hakkar
Ah, the mysterious sunken temple -- more formally known as the Temple of Atal'Hakkar -- lies in th heart of the Swamp of Sorrows and was a rarely visited dungeon even before the Burning Crusade hit the shelves. However, this shot of the sunken temple, sent in by reader Kaeltor of Hellfire (EU), shows that despite being an unpleasant place to venture into (trust me, the undead Trolls have no concept of hospitality) it can be an impressive place to take a look at. (At least from a safe distance.)Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
