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How to transmogrify your mail wearer into a glimmering gladiator
Upgrading your armor proficiency in WoW is a pretty forgettable aspect of the game, but to the transmogrification enthusiast, it creates some potentially interesting looks for level-capped players who wear mail. Mail worn before level 40 is intended to be worn by warriors and paladins and thus has a very different aesthetic than the green and gray mail that hunters and shaman are accustomed to. The look above is an all-mail set created with hunters and shaman in mind, especially those who are sick of looking like earthy animal lovers all the time. By combining a few utilitarian-looking accessories with several pieces from an extravagant level 30 armor set known as Glimmering Mail, we're able to create the look of a flashy celebrity gladiator who is ready to win the crowd once more. Want to recreate this look?
Arcane Brilliance: Old mage armor sets and how to get them, part 2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we talk more about transmogrification, that oh-so-exciting upcoming feature in patch 4.3 that allows us to make our sweet tier 17 sets look like greens we got while questing in 2004. The aught-fours are so in right now! Last week, we started our epic journey into old content to find some sweet retro threads for our totally trendy mages to wear at all the hottest mage events of the season, be they spellstealing soirées, Polymorph parties or warlock-wienie-roasts. This week, we delve into slightly more recent content. Before we begin, we should point out a few important transmogrification details we've learned since we convened last week. Apparently only items with stats are candidates for transmogrification -- and by stats, I mean "other than armor." That rules out most cosmetic items. So no running around wielding a fish in each hand while raiding, I guess. Unless you can find a pair of fishes with stats on them, I guess. Weapons and off-hand items can only be transmogrified into similarly slotted items. That means no running around with two staves or dual-wielding daggers or perhaps a lantern in each hand. I don't know what you people are into ... Heirlooms are eligible, so good news for you speed levelers. Now you're not stuck for 80 levels with a single armor model. The gold cost isn't set but will probably be similar to reforging, meaning it will scale, being more expensive the higher the level of your equipped item happens to be -- so maybe not as much of a massive gold sink as I originally feared. No legendary items, which I sincerely hope changes at some point. I feel like if you earned a freaking legendary item, you should be able to keep that model on your upgraded gear if you want. Forever. All of this is still entirely subject to change. And with that out of the way, on to some more of the armor sets you and I should both be hunting down and squirreling away right this very second.
Breakfast Topic: Forgotten bastions of antiquity
Transmogrification looks like it's going to be pretty cool once it lands in patch 4.3, but of course, there's just one thing coming between you and being covered in cool gear from previous content: getting the cool gear from previous content. Some folks are lucky enough to have gathered all of the Really Cool-Looking Gear they wanted in the process of raiding past dungeons to death, but others may now rue their empty banks. So, with all this 'mogging talk, have you made a trip to any older dungeons to grab items for their looks alone? Have you delved into Ulduar to get that Darkruned set for your newly 85 DK? Blasted through Blackwing Lair for your paladin's Judgement set? Grabbed some horribly sexist gear for your unfortunate female avatar (don't lie)? You're not alone, if so. Where have you gone lately in search of fine wearable works of art?
Arcane Brilliance: Old mage armor sets and how to get them, part 1
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we're talking about the stuff I now pledge to spend all my waking moments and most of my sleeping ones farming outdated content to obtain: old mage armor. So what's this I hear about some newfangled patchamajigger? Transmogrifica-hoochawhatsit? Whachama-void storage? You kids and your crazy doodads and gizmos. There's a buttload of info being released about patch 4.3, but the following literally leaped from the web page as I was reading it, plunged through my widening eye sockets and jacked directly into the pleasure centers of my brain: Patch 4.3 will be bringing us at least two massively important customization options. We will be able to replace the look of our current gear with the look of any other mage gear we possess. We will also have new storage space in which to store all of that gear. There are more details, and you should go read about them if you haven't already. But what we really need to discuss here is how we can best start doing what I'm positive we all desperately want to be doing right this very second: hunting for sweet-looking gear sets. I don't know about you, but I am going to transmogrify every single bit of my tier 12 set the very instant it is possible for me to do so. I will log out on patch night in front of the spot where the transmogrifier guy is going to spawn; then when the servers come back up, I will log in and shove my gold in his pockets as forcefully as I can, so that I don't have to look like a stupid mage candle any longer than absolutely necessary. But the questions I'm asking myself between that magical moment and this one are these: Which gear set do I want to replace it with, and what can I do right this moment to get that gear set in my inventory and ready to deploy the moment such a deployment becomes possible? Click through to see me attempt to answer my own questions.
Breakfast Topic: How will you use the transmogrification feature?
Yesterday, we got huge news out of Irvine (via Germany): Last week's teaser screenshot showing three ethereals is actually a glimpse at new features coming in patch 4.3. And of all these new features, the one that seems to have the most players talking is transmogrification -- that is, being able to alter the appearance of the armor you currently have equipped. Being a WoW fanatic, I can't help but dream of the possibilities. How would you use the transmogrification system? Is there a specific gear set that you want to transmogrify into? For me, it's all about those priest tier 6 shoulders -- the height of shadow priest fashion. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Transmogrification and the dismissal of the silhouette theory
Blizzard recently announced at the Gamescom gaming convention in Germany that patch 4.3 is coming, and it's coming on strong. With brand new features like a separate bank for your old gear, a transmogrification NPC who can change the look of your gear, and even Deathwing himself as a raid, patch 4.3 opens up a ton of possibilities for the future of World of Warcraft that we might not have seen coming. For me, the most stark change that patch 4.3 is bringing about is not a change to the systems or gameplay, but a philosophical change at the heart of World of Warcraft that spells out some of the potential big announcements that might be coming our way during BlizzCon. Transmogrification is bigger as a philosophical leap than we think, and here's how. The silhouette theory World of Warcraft's factions are rooted in an idea called silhouette recognition. What this means is that you can easily tell who your friends or enemies are based on their aesthetic look. The reason there are no "humans" on the Horde side is because Blizzard wants you, as a Horde player, to point out a human on the battlefield. The same goes for every race. No two sides have races that feature identical silhouettes. This is even the reason worgen are forced into their bestial forms in combat -- players need to know that you're a worgen. This goes for gear as well. Blizzard practically invented the gear tier system in raiding and made it so your two most prominent pieces, shoulders and headpieces, were the sought-after marks of power and prestige, and a physical reminder of player accomplishment. My shoulders currently tell you that I've been to the Firelands, killed many bosses, and taken their stuff. My silhouette is instantly recognizable as a raider who is geared and powerful.
Patch 4.3: Deathwing, cosmetic armor skins, and armor storage
European gaming convention Gamescom is in full swing this week in Cologne, Germany. German entertainment site Gamona.de sat down with both Tom Chilton and Chris Robinson to discuss the details of the upcoming patch 4.3, the patch where your dreams come true. It was revealed that the patch will include: Deathwing's raid and three new 5-man dungeons Cosmetic armor skins (!) An armor closet to store old gear, freeing up bank space As patch 4.3 will include Deathwing's raid, that probably means it will be the final patch in the expansion's overall narrative. If you doubted for a moment that Blizzard will announce the next expansion at this year's BlizzCon, doubt no more. We expect that these new 5-man dungeons will provide a new tier of heroics as well, pushing difficulty about Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub. Follow us past the cut below for details on cosmetic armor skins and more!
