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Patch 5.2 PTR: Transmogrification restrictions relaxed
The changes that were being discussed back in December seem to have been fully implemented. I've transmogrified a 1h axe into a 1h mace and sword, a 1h sword into a 1h mace and axe, and a 2h sword and axe into maces, plus a 2h axe into a sword and a 2h sword into an axe. There were two things I was unable to transmog: a polearm onto a 2h sword, axe or mace, and a fist weapon over a sword/axe/mace. It seems that the main hand/off hand restrictions are entirely gone as well, but I had a difficult time testing it for certain since I had no off-hand weapons in my collection at present. I tested a fist weapon and could not transmog it over an axe or sword or mace, which was a mild disappointment, but I'm still very excited over the changes. At last, everything will be Ashkandi forever. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Patch 5.2 PTR - The return of Zul'Gurub in transmog form
If you're old enough a World of Warcraft hand to remember the original Zul'Gurub raid, then you probably remember the gear introduced in that raid as well. It served many a player who hadn't gotten lucky yet in MC, as well as filled gaps in itemization which were fairly common at the time (I tanked for a long time with the Bloodsoaked Legplates and Zandalar Vindicator's Breastplate) - but of course, as the years progressed it became harder to justify holding on to this set, and once Zul'Gurub was removed as a raid at the beginning of Cataclysm, so too was the ability to gather the unique gear from the raid. Similarly, when Zul'Aman was converted to a 5 man some of the unique skins from that dungeon were also made unavailable. Now the folks at Wowhead have data-mined up these sets, 429 greens with skins matching the old ZG and ZA pieces. What does this mean? Well, for starters it means plate wearers can look like Spider-Man again. Some of the pieces still have class restrictions on them like this paladin breastplate - whether or not that will change before these pieces make it live (if they do) it's still very interesting. Now all we need is a green polearm with the Halberd of Smiting model. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Transmog your way into the Kor'kron Overseers of Undercity
Are you a proud orc, or just like to dress like one, and you want to show solidarity with the Kor'kron Overseers who've been watching Undercity since Varimathras pulled his attempted coup? Well, we have a look for you! It actually comes fairly close to matching up with the Kor'kron. Now, this is a plate set, because that's what the Kor'kron wear, and it's designed around the use of a 2h weapon for the same reason. Also note, this is specifically designed to look like the Kor'kron Overseers that guard Undercity - it's not a match for the old Kor'kron who guarded Thrall in Orgrimmar, or the ones you see in Northrend, Cataclysm's zones or Mists. Despite the fact that this is a set modeled after the Kor'kron, it's technically speaking not a Horde specific set. It can be mostly replicated by any Alliance players who just want to feel Hordely for a day. Yes, I know that's not a word. What's interesting about the Kor'kron Overseer look is that it can be approximated fairly closely with in-game items and you can even vary the color on several of the pieces if you don't like the original for whatever reason.
The limits of transmogrification
I love transmogrification. I'm ridiculously enamored of it. I transmog all the time. Like, three, four times a day some days. I have specific looks for my DPS and tank sets, I work constantly on gathering that one iconic piece or weapon to tie a set together. I have sets based on old tier sets, sets recreating old looks from WoW's history, and sets I just made because I thought they looked cool. I am potentially a transmog junkie. With that in mind, please take this as it is intended -- I think it's a good thing that there are some limits to what you can and can't transmogrify. Rygarius' response to a recent post about letting players transmog from grey items made me start thinking about how much is too much when it comes to transmog. Now, our own Anne Stickney made a post about whether or not we should lift transmogrification limits, and her post is well worth reading, because I think there's an ideological tension between the two conceptions that is worth discussing. In short, there's a difference between the idea of lifting some transmog limits, and not having any limits, and I'd argue for erring on the side of caution.
What's the perfect transmog?
When Mists of Pandaria was first released, my boyfriend asked me if I'd put together a transmog outfit for his pandaren monk. He didn't give me any guidelines on what he wanted to look like though, so I settled on gathering him all the appropriate pieces for an Orgrimmar Grunt's outfit. I figured since he's an officer in an Alliance guild, he'd find it funny. Unfortunately, he didn't even recognize what the outfit was supposed to be when he put it on (/cough Alliance noob) and as such, didn't really like it all that much. He opted to just wear the chest piece (he enjoyed how the male pandaren's belly stuck out the front) and left the rest in his bank. Sigh, silly boys. Though mildly annoyed, I wasn't especially bothered by my boyfriend's rejection of the outfit I sent him... At least, I wasn't initially. A few weeks later he sent me a link with the proclamation that this was, "the best transmog ever." I curiously brought up the link, wondering what would make him respond in such a way. Would it be a recreation of a recognizable character he liked? Maybe it would be something he thought looked cool? Unfortunately, it was nothing like that and honestly, what I saw made my heart sink. The "best transmog ever" was just a mismatched outfit. Yellow leaf shoulders, silly red hat, there might have even been a piece of Wrath-era frost resist in there. Was this all it took to impress him? Sigh, stupid, silly boys! So the question is, what kind of transmog do you like? What kind of transmog outfits do you want help putting together? Answer the poll below, or give us some ideas in the comments so we can make them for you! %Poll-79239%
Encrypted Text: What does a rogue look like?
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email me with any questions or article suggestions you'd like to see covered here. Ghostcrawler recently described the rogue class as "slippery". He was met with a backlash of rogues arguing every side of the argument. I have personally struggled with my mental image of the rogue class. What does a rogue look like? Are we lightly-armored thieves or toughly-bound brawlers? Let me get this one out of the way early: "A rogue doesn't look like anything because you can't see them!" While I appreciate Stealth humor, the quip doesn't answer my question. Appearances have always been an important aspect in WoW. Players used to gauge their opponents' strength based on what shoulder armor they were wearing. Transmogrification is easily the most important feature of the past few years, as it has breathed life into content both old and new. The rogue class draws from several diverse archetypes, such as the thief, the assassin, and the brawler. Each source archetype contributes flavor to the class, but the end result can look like a confused mess.
Transmogrify your monk (or leather wearer) into a member of the Shado-Pan
Any monk who's taken a look at the goods sold by the Shado-Pan quartermaster has probably already seen the Replica Shado-Pan Helmet. Upon seeing it, many of those monks undoubtedly thought to themselves "I should make a Shado-Pan transmog outfit." Well, my good monks, let's get to it, shall we? Oh, druids and rogues, you can come too. So the bad news is that aside from the helmet, most of the armor models worn by members of the Shado-Pan aren't yet available to players. I have hopes that as the expansion goes on we'll see more of those armor models used for player armor, but for now we'll have to use substitutes with similar colors and shape to the gear worn by the Shado-Pan.
Blend in with the Tillers with your own farmer outfit
For as long as I've played World of Warcraft, players have been making farmer outfits. Who knows why? Maybe it's because Blizzard made it so easy, or maybe it's because every gamer subconsciously yearns to live an agrarian lifestyle -- Eh, on second thought, I'm going to go with it's because Blizzard made it so easy. I mean, look at the types of items we can get. There are overalls, a pitchfork, and lets not forget all those ugly brimmed hats. Wrath of the Lich King even gave us the chance to wear plaid flannel shirts. Flannel shirts! What fantasy world application truly requires the abomination that is flannel!? Well, whatever it is, Mists of Pandaria has finally given us a place to live out our agrarian dreams, and thus a good reason to make a farmer outfit.
Style for a price: Transmogrifying pandaren fashion
Leveling through an expansion usually means a jaunt into the worst that fashion has to offer. Mixed and matched greens and dungeon blues, pieces of sets and gear that just don't go together at all. With Mists of Pandaria, we finally have the opportunity to avoid the leveling clown suit altogether, thanks to the transmogrification feature introduced in Cataclysm. For the first time, we're in control of our own destiny as we level ... or at the very least our own fashion sense. While you could easily just transmogrify your gear to any of your favorite sets, let's face it -- you're in a strange new land, one full of mystery and untold adventure. And it's also full of some of the nicest fashions a diehard transmogrification fan could ask for, too! In a twist of utter convenience, Blizzard has placed a vendor in Dawn's Blossom over in the Jade Forest who will sell players that don't have the best of gear some green sets for leveling purposes. But they aren't just for leveling, they're actually pretty nice looking examples of pandaren fashion. And for a small chunk of change, they can be in your bags and ready for transmogrification, too.
Five features I wish World of Warcraft had
The game is eternally evolving. Sometimes that means things get added, and sometimes that means they get taken away (Oh, Have Group Will Travel, I miss you every day). This means the game is in a constant state of evolution and therefore that there's always room for improvement. With Mists of Pandaria changing the game and adding features like Scenarios, Challenge Modes and Pet Battles, and Cataclysm having already added void storage and transmogrification, the mind moves to what we could potentially see in the future. What features do we all want to see? I have no idea. Seriously, how could I possibly know what you want to see? I mean, you might tell me in the comments, but that's in the future. There's no way I can have read the comments on this post before I finish writing it. However, I'm fairly in touch with what I want to see. And so, here's five features I wish WoW had. (Note - I didn't say more bank space or void storage tabs, but man, I want those too.) 1. Mentoring One of the features the lamented MMO City of Heroes had that I always enjoyed was its Mentoring system. Now, this isn't something WoW's developer's are unaware of - it's a fantastic system which allows higher level characters to play with their lower level friends, either by raising the lower level character temporarily in order to be able to survive higher level content, or by lowering the higher level character to the lower level. The current system that can raise or lower gear levels for beta testing and which will normalize gear for challenge modes could be used in such a fashion, and I think it's an idea long overdue for WoW to blatantly pilfer and run with it.
WoW Insider announces Transmogrification Contest runners-up
Two weeks ago, WoW Insider began a contest challenging readers to make a transmogrification outfit centered around a single piece of gear. Since then, we've received an absolutely insane number of entries (over 400 individual outfits in total), but we could only pick three prize winners in the end. Despite this, we thought it might be fun to show off all the contest entries. In the gallery below, you'll find the contest runners-up. These are some of the most impressive entries that for one reason or another didn't quite make the cut. And if you'd really like to see all of the entries, we made a separate gallery for them. Check back tomorrow to see the winners! %Gallery-163260%
Mists of Pandaria, transmogrification and personal aesthetic
The above image is Starshatter, one of my favorite new models in Mists of Pandaria. I like it for a lot of reasons -- the hollowed-out constellation pattern to the blade, the unique color and look of the sword (even the raid finder version looks very cool and distinctive), and frankly, that it really doesn't look like anything I've seen in the game before. It vaguely reminds me of a dadao, but far more fanciful, as befits a fantasy game. I'm also a big fan of the Amber Flammard of Klaxxi'vess, which also has a sweeping curved blade but is very distict from Starshatter. As a transmog enthusiast (to the point where my bank is already full), I'm looking forward to Mists of Pandaria in no small part because I want to collect more gear to transmog into. But I'm also finding myself wondering if transmogrification is also giving the game more artistic license to make weapon and armor models that are not necessarily for everyone. How many players are going to stick to their tier 2, or 6, or 10, or 13 instead of embracing Pandaria's aesthetic? And furthermore, is that a bad thing, or does it free up everyone to go hog wild with gear?
Transmogrification Contest: Create an outfit around a single piece of gear
My favorite dress in WoW is the Arachnidian Robes. The first time I saw them was right after patch 3.0.2 had hit live servers, when achievements were added. I was storming through the front gates of Stormwind in a For the Horde raid, when I spotted a human female wearing the robes near the auction house. She must have been some sort of bank alt, because that's all she was wearing, but I was so impressed by her that I stopped to inspect her amid the battle. I eventually tracked down the dress for myself four or five months later, but once I had it, I really had no idea what to do with it. It was pretty enough on its own to be a stand-alone outfit, and years before transmogrification, there was no compelling reason to try and match it to anything -- at least until recently, when my boyfriend followed up on a promise to take me to Serpentshrine Cavern. I had never seen the place and wanted an escort who had raided it when it was still new. While we were there, I picked up a pretty little tanking mace called Mallet of the Tides, which just so happened to match the Arachnidian Robes perfectly. Thus, a transmog outfit was born. With that as my introduction, I decided I'd do something a bit different for this week's transmog column. Just as I did, I now want you to create a transmogrification outfit of your own that builds on or complements a single piece of gear (armor or weapon) that you like. Submit your outfit by Aug. 20 at 11:59 p.m. EDT and you'll have the chance to win fabulous prizes and have your outfit featured here on WoW Insider. More details after the jump.
Turn your gnome into Chromie with transmogrification
For those of you who don't know, there is a subreddit for transmogrification. Though the community is relatively small, it's a wonderful place to go if you want to show off your latest transmog or ask for help with an outfit that isn't quite coming together. I like to visit this particular subreddit quite often, and earlier this year, there was one amazing outfit that I just couldn't get out of my head. The outfit was put together by Hedgewocket on Lightbringer (EU) and is a close replica of the outfit worn by Chromie. Chromie is, of course, the best NPC in the game lovable bronze dragon who frequently takes on the form of a female gnome. Anyway, when I first saw Hedgewocket's transmog, I knew right away that I'd have to feature it on WoW Insider one day. Fortunately for you (because I know you all love Chromie), that day is today.
Remixing an Orgrimmar Guard transmogrification
Two weeks ago, we took the Stormwind Guard on a shopping trip and got them a whole new wardrobe. This week, we're giving the Orgrimmar Guard the same treatment and then stopping at Gallywix Pleasure Palace on the way back for mai tais. When I first started planning a new look for the Orgrimmar Guard, I thought I'd look to Garrosh Hellscream for inspiration. Both his outfits in Wrath of the Lich King at Warsong Hold and now in Cataclysm as the new warchief show off a darker look to the Horde that I wanted to capture. Walking through the streets of Orgrimmar these days, you see a city that has become more militaristic and uniform, and the old guard outfit doesn't quite fit in anymore. Even the Horde banners are a darker red than they once were, which doesn't match the red shoulders and accents of the old guards.
Transmog your way into a classic plate DPS clown suit
Being that I'm a huge transmog junkie, I'm awfully jealous of Dawn and Anne and their cool transmog posts. But I don't generally go around trying to look like an Avenger or a member of the Stormwind Guard or even Deckard Cain. This had me despairing for a bit, because it meant I couldn't really come up with a hook for a transmog set. Then, while farming Molten Core for the left Binding of the Windseeker (it didn't drop, although the right one did -- again), I got the Flameguard Gauntlets, a pair of gloves I've probably vendored more times than I can remember. And suddenly, it all clicked. I knew exactly what I would do with my transmog post. I would recreate the look of the classic WoW raiding DPS warrior. I would resurrect the clown suit. The clown suit was the cobbled-together, not at all coordinated, not-matching-well-at-all set of epic DPS gear almost all warriors threw together in classic WoW raiding.
Remixing the Stormwind Guard for transmogrification
There are few NPCs in WoW more iconic than the Stormwind Guard. Even if you're Horde, it's hard not to like the striking contrast of blue and silver metals paired with the golden lion's head emblem. OK, so maybe not if you're Horde, but I digress. I've always loved the look of the Stormwind Guard, yet when it comes to transmogrification, I find the look is a bit outdated for my own character. The older armor models just don't hold a candle to the new ones in the game, and I like for my character to keep up with the latest stuff coming out. So I thought to myself, "Why not mix it up and make an outfit inspired by the Stormwind Guard?" I imagine this is what it would look like if a member of the Stormwind Guard decided to become a PC instead of an NPC. Very breaking the fourth wall, right? OK, maybe no to that one too ...
WoW Summer Challenges offer some raid night suggestions
Now here's something pretty cool from the World of Warcraft community team: Blizzard is promoting the WoW Summer Challenge, a weekly series with suggestions for an old raid to run with friends for lore and history, notable drops, transmog gear, and more. There is even an associated forum thread to plan activities or share thoughts on any given week's challenge. This week's challenge tasks you and your friends with hitting up AQ-40. WoW's focus from here on out needs to be subscriber retention and engaging its players. The two go hand in hand, and the more Blizzard can do to involve the community, the better. These Summer Challenges are a great way to give a little structure to an otherwise unstructured experience. Blizzard has even included links to Wowhead's excellent transmog set viewer so you know what drops you're looking for. It's good to see Blizzard recognizing Perculia's hard work. Blizzard's full announcement is below.
Dress like Braggosh, your favorite orc warrior
I've always wanted to write a transmogrification article in the same vein as Dawn Moore and Anne Stickney, but I never could find the right theme that I wanted to tackle. As I kept trying to find a theme, it suddenly hit me -- no theme is needed! I'll just show you my two awesome transmog sets for my orc warrior, Braggosh. Who doesn't love Braggosh, the fiercest, most lovable orc warrior ever? No one, that's who! Both transmog outfits that I'm going to show you how to put together today are for plate wearers, and some of the set pieces, while warrior-specific, have alternate color versions available if you'd like to wear one of my cool sets.
Breakfast Topic: Do you transmog to fool enemies?
Cynwise has written an excellent guide to misrepresenting your gear level in PvP using transmogrification and other nefarious techniques. Of course, the old standby of Noggenfogger Elixir works well for confusion, as do items such as Kalytha's Haunted Locket. But these options don't disguise the level of your gear. While transmogging your gear can give you almost any look you want, dressing up like Ironman is also not going to make your gear appear less than it is. These techniques are just a red flag that further investigation is needed in order to determine your armor quality. Cynwise suggests to transmog your armor into something that is obviously undergeared, yet still believable. This deception may keep enemy players from investigating further, and they may underestimate your ability to stay alive. Do you transmog your PvP armor in order to fool the other side? Or do you just go for something fun and make opponents work to determine how good your gear is? Many casual PVPers don't worry about their look -- they're just there to play and earn goodies. Is that you?
