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Know Your Lore: The trial of Garrosh Hellscream
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. War Crimes, the latest novel from Christie Golden, released earlier this week. In the book we finally see the trial of Garrosh Hellscream -- former Warchief of the Horde, apprehended during the final moments of the Siege of Orgrimmar. We aren't going to be talking too in-depth about plot points and book spoilers in this column. We'll save that for next week. But we are going to talk about Garrosh Hellscream, the Alliance, the Horde, and the trial itself -- the need for a trial at all. Because let's face it: Garrosh Hellscream is a murderer. He slew countless victims, both Alliance and Horde. He decimated Theramore. He decided to ally with those that Warchief Thrall had blatantly turned away, and even directed the Horde to attack, during his reign. He didn't so much try and redesign the Horde as he did give it a gut job, tear it down from the inside out, and try to rebuild it even stronger. He's guilty. He's beyond guilty. There isn't really any need to prove what he's done, the evidence is permanently etched into Azeroth -- the crater left where Theramore once stood. Why on earth would a confirmed killer need a trial? Please note: The following column has a few minor spoilers for War Crimes. If you're mid-book, or have yet to read it, you might want to come back when you're finished with it.
Patch 5.4 PTR: First look at the Endless Healer Proving Grounds
Olivia wrote up a great overview of the Proving Grounds for tanks, healers, and DPS. Today I'm going to be going a little more in depth on the healing side of things. Bronze and silver were excellent warmups. I wiped once on gold due to my over confidence on the final wave but managed to overcome it. This is what the Endless difficulty on Proving Grounds looks like for healers. You'll gain a certain amount of points per round and it will continue to tick upwards until either you or a party member dies in battle. Thankfully, the NPCs will appear in your party frames. There's a spiffy achievement if you're able to reach Endless Healer: Wave 30 which nets The Proven Healer title. Watch the video above as I play through the Endless Healer for the first time! I also narrate my spell choices and reasoning as I heal through the assorted waves.
Blizzard clarifies getting started with the Golden Lotus
If you're level 90 and wondering just where to start on those Golden Lotus dailies everyone is talking about, Blizzard's got you covered. Blue poster Nakatoir clarified the process of entering the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, as well as starting up those pesky reputation dailies. The first part involves a trip to the Temple of the White Tiger in Kun Lai Summit, which will unlock the quest to head to the Vale at level 87. Once you've hit level 90, you must train flying before you can start with the dailies for Golden Lotus. There are a handful of entry quests before the dailies properly begin. Keep in mind that as you unlock reputation with the Golden Lotus, more daily hubs will become available. The Vale of Eternal Blossoms is a level 90 zone in a way -- while you don't gain experience for completing the quests, you do gain the favor of the Golden Lotus, which is pretty valuable to a max-level player.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Kun-Lai Summit
Kun-Lai Summit is the fourth zone in Mists of Pandaria. Located north of the Veiled Stair, Kun-Lai Summit holds tons of questing hubs, a unique world boss, and a dramatic variation in scenery along the way. The zone is huge -- it feels just as massive, if not more so, than the Jade Forest. Both Alliance and Horde will filter in through the same entrance, but where you go from there is completely up to you. There is both an Alliance and a Horde settlement of sorts in Kun-Lai, but you'll find you're doing far more for the locals than you are for your respective factions. As far as the story is concerned, Kun-Lai Summit has a ton of different quest chains to choose from, and the stories behind the chains are just as varied as Kun-Lai's scenery. Whether you're exploring the secrets of Pandaria's past, gaining favor with the Shado Pan, checking out the majestic Temple of the White Tiger, or just helping the friendly and charming grummels, Kun-Lai Summit should keep you more than occupied until at least level 88, if not all the way to 89. For a sneak peek of Kun-Lai's scenery, take a look at our preview gallery. %Gallery-159217% 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 beta: Gurgthock's return
Proving that no vast, unexplored vista is too remote for a good bout of brawling for profit, Gurgthock has made a return in Mists of Pandaria, along with Wodin the Troll-Servant and Zena, Wodin's warrior kitten. If these names sound familiar to you, they absolutely should -- Gurgthock and his arenas have been a fixture in every expansion to date. Featuring battles to the death against various opponents from each unique expansion, Gurgthock's arenas are a staple of WoW expansion leveling, usually featuring some pretty amazing loot as rewards. Currently, my character on the beta is at level 87, and Gurgthock's quest is grayed out. The quest, featuring a brand new slug-fest called the Arena of Annihilation, is likely meant for characters at level 88 or 89. However, judging from the rumors at the Temple of the White Tiger, none of these opponents are going to be a particular pushover. In fact, there's rumors of one fighter simply called The Wrestler who can wipe the floor with any opponent he faces. The Wrestler? That sounds kind of familiar ...
