thousand-needles
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Breakfast Topic: Your favorite inn
Today's topic is another inspired by the fine people of /r/wow. Redditor Shaurar posted their favorite inn, located on the barge of Thousand Needles. I can see why! No other inn looks quite like it ... and you can start a bar brawl with a Bottle of Grog. I've never put much thought into my favorite until seeing this post, but I do have a favorite inn -- one I no longer use due to the sheer inconvenience of it. Dalaran's Legerdemain Lounge holds a special place in my heart. It fit the Dalaran aesthetic wonderfully. The Lounge and its immediate surrounding areas held all sorts of fun little touches, too. Jones the cat would react to being pet and Sheddle Glossgleam, just a couple of doors over, would give you a shoe shine if you sat in the chair beside him. Since the end of Wrath of the Lich King, my hearth has been set in the Dwarven District of Stormwind. I'm no fan of the shrines in Pandaria, and with the Pandaria portal directly behind the Dwarven District, getting where I need to go is no big deal. It's purely convenience, though. The place has no real flavor. The Shrines are chock full of flavor, but not my kind of flavor. Such is personal preference. What's your favorite in? Do you have one? Do you still use it, or is it a distant memory? Are you a poor soul that loved Stormwind's Park before Deathwing ate it?
The top ten most desolate spots in WoW
A little while ago, we did a "Top ten most beautiful spots in WoW" post, and many commenters had an interesting request: a companion post of the ten most desolate places in WoW. We thought it was a great idea, so we're taking the suggestion to heart. This was an interesting topic to think about, because the desolate spots in WoW are the ones I tend to avoid. For the most part, I don't want to spend my fun WoW time in virtual wastelands! Then again, sometimes those deserted, eerie places have a haunting beauty all their own. Check out our list, and tell us your own favorite desolate places in World of Warcraft!
It came from the Blog: Pandamonium snapshots
Once upon a time, there were many, many pandaren. They loved to play and kill and put wild creatures in cages. Then one night, they had an idea. It wasn't an original idea. Everyone has it at one point or another. But it was an important idea that was to shape their destiny forever. And that idea was "Party!" Now, you know what happens when you get a bunch of pandas together to party: you get Pandamonium! First thing they did was get nekkid. Oh did I mention these pandaren were from the It came from the Blog family of guilds? That's an important detail, as those are a rowdy, drunken bunch who like to take their clothes off and/or run into dangerous territory and/or jump off of things. Spoilers. The story continues ...
WRUP: Oops, Fox got lost edition
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid I'm taking over the column this week, as our own Fox Van Allen is lost in the middle of pre-Cataclysm Thousand Needles, far from his west coast destination. Do not fret over Fox's fate; he merely has to find a friendly local centaur to ask for directions, somewhere on the canyon floor. Wait ... those centaur aren't exactly friendly, are they? Well, maybe he can find Freewind Post somewhere along the line. While Fox figures his way out of a time/space/video game conundrum, we've got a way more important matter to attend to. What the heck is everyone playing this weekend?
Know Your Lore: 5 must-do Horde zones to complete before 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. Cataclysm wasn't just about Deathwing, the Aspects and the Dragon Soul. It also contained a huge chunk of new lore information in the 1-to-60 zones that were revamped with the expansion's launch. Some of these areas have a lot to do with Deathwing's story, but some of them contain little stories of their own, stories that haven't been fully completed, plot elements that we may see pop up again in Mists. The revamp set out to breathe some new life into these 1-to-60 leveling zones, and it accomplished that in a major, major way. I keep repeating myself in Know Your Lore posts and suggesting that people go play through those level 1-to-60 zones that were added in Cataclysm. But it occurred to me that while there are some really amazing zones out there, most people have no idea where to start or which ones they should really be playing through. Which zones are the best in terms of lore? Which ones are the most fun? Which ones may contain elements we may see addressed again in the upcoming expansion? Which ones absolutely should not be missed? Let's make it a little easier for you.
One Shots: Thelema and Mooise
With World of Warcraft's newest expansion, Cataclysm, inching nearer and nearer toward being complete, many players are revisiting old locales to say goodbye. If you caught the MMO track preview at Dragon*Con or caught up with Sera on our livestream, you may have had a preview of some of the myriad changes coming soon to Azeroth. Today, we have this screenshot of two friends -- one magical, one martial -- facing out over the future, reflecting on all that's come before and soon to be: "Here is my blood elf mage, Bere, standing atop the cliffs in Thousand Needles, admiring the view with a tauren friend -- albeit with a strange despair. The mage knows by some arcane means that the landscape is about to be changed forever, and has seen the signs and portents. The Cataclysm in World of Warcraft is about to transform this beautiful viewpoint: it will never be the same again!" We love to see what you're up to, but it requires your sending in screenshots for that to happen! While you're out gaming this weekend, why not snap a screenshot for us? Once you have one you like, email it to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in! %Gallery-85937%
Breakfast Topic: 101 things to do before the world dies
On the EU forums, a character named Redbranch from Thunderhorn came up with what I thought was a pretty nifty idea -- getting his/her fellow players to chime in on a list of 101 things to do in old Azeroth before Cataclysm hits. It's sort of the WoW equivalent of The Bucket List, and the responses range from the violent ("Slaying as many people as possible") to the nostalgic ("Go base jumping again in Feralas") to the practical ("Prepare plentiful supplies of gold"). Then Slorkuz chimed in with the following: Slorkuz Quote: The old world is changing forever. Let's compile a list of things to do before the end. 1) Play through all the starter zones, to give some idea if each race's lore. Visit the Shimmering Flats! source We already know that Thousand Needles is going to be mostly underwater in Cataclysm, but it was another nudge to the realization that the world we know is going bye-bye forever. Right now, my personal "bucket list" includes doing the dungeon set 2 quest line, but I'd love to hear from other players on how they're approaching the "end of the world."
President Bush dodges a Shaman attack
No matter what your political persuasion is, we can all find the above animation funny. President Bush had a shoe thrown at him last week, and this week we've seen the incident take on a World of Warcraft spin.The person throwing the shoe is playing an Elemental Shaman. He or she really needs to clean up their UI: as you can see in the above picture, it's not very good. Way too many buttons spaced out at odd intervals.While we were originally under the impression that the shoe throwing incident took place in Iraq, it appears via the mini-map that it actually took place in Thousand Needles. Perhaps if the President ate some Tracker Snacks he'd have avoided the incident all together, as "Ghostrunner" (aka "Greg Highway") say the buff will include reporter tracking in patch 3.0.8.And just to be completely bipartisan, after the break is a screenshot of President Elect Obama's WoW screen after he earned the "President of the United States" achievement.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Barrens Chat: Evolution revolution
I mentioned in an earlier strip that I greatly dislike the Recruit-a-Friend program in an earlier comic. Mainly because the last two people we could have possibly talked into playing World of Warcraft started playing long before the benefit was offered. Needless to say, we're helping them out the old fashioned way, which occasionally includes hopping on an alt and running around with them.After the jump, I actually have more to babble about today. %Gallery-22361%
WoW Moviewatch: Chronicle of the Annoying Quest, Episode 26
It's been a while since we've written about Chronicle of the Annoying Quest, but honestly, after two years and 26 episodes, we're still not sure what's going on. This seems to be a series that you either love, or hate. Still, you can't fault Bakasavant Productions for being so dedicated to something. Their large fan base certainly doesn't.In Episode 26, the Horde characters relive the gay cruise encounter from Episode 25, while the Alliance characters end up in the Shimmering Flats of Thousand Needles. While a bit shorter than usual, they manage to pack in plenty of jokes and references, including one to Death Note.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Why all race Death Knights make sense from a lore standpoint
It seems like one of the biggest problems a lot of people have with Death Knights is the fact that they can be all races. Me, I say: Why not? The lore really isn't as bad as you might think. Sure, some of the retcons can get a little annoying, but despite the fact that non-Paladin races will get to be Death Knights, I don't think you really consider it a retcon, but rather an evolution in an ever-evolving story that opens up a lot of great story ideas and RP opportunities, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Around Azeroth: The pinnacle of racing technology
Zephic of Alea Iacta Est guild on Earthen Ring sends in this shot pointing out an interesting feature of the landscape along the Goblin racetrack out in Shimmering Flats. Though it's not entirely clear in the smaller image above, there seems to be a crashed Goblin racer adorning the otherwise pristine landscape. Not a good sign for the future of Goblin racing technology, I'd say... 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%
Around Azeroth: Sunset over the Shimmering Flats
Demit of Anetheron sends in this amazing shot of the sun setting over the Shimmering Flats in Thousand Needles. With the reddish sky reflecting off the smooth white sand below, the scene looks quite peaceful... right up until the moment you recall that Shimmering Flats is full of vultures, basilisks, scorpids, and even a few silithid.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%
Around Azeroth: Looking over Thousand Needles
Reader Xylar of Tichondrius sent in this lovely shot taken of the sun setting over Thousand needles from the Horde outpost of Freewind Post. (And I really feel for those of you out there who play Alliance but have never played Horde -- this particular Horde-only location gives quite a view.)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%
