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Thrall may not be the next warchief after all
Zarhym has thrown a spanner in our preconceptions with the following post to the forums, reproduced in its entirety here. Zarhym - Anduin goes Neutral - Really? Posted by Levinthar Erm...He's going back to being warchief of the horde. Which apparently isn't supposed to bother all the alliance that have been working with him for the last few years. I know what was said during the press tour, but don't be so sure yet that you know who the next warchief will be. The information provided during the press tour was... not entirely accurate. source This is very interesting because it creates an entirely new future direction for the Horde. We saw tensions rise between the various factions in Cataclysm, and with Garrosh's ultimate fate not terribly rosy, this leaves us with a potential power vacuum and several individuals who might seek to fill it. Will Sylvanas make a power play? Will Baine, who is seen stretching his muscles in Mists sending missions to Pandaria, repeat his father's course and challenge Garrosh for the throne? Will Vol'jin seek to rule? Will everyone show wisdom and beg Rexxar to become warchief? Time will tell. But for now, get your best crazy speculating hat on. 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!
Know Your Lore: Cataclysm for Dummies, Act II
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. So, Act I of our Cataclysm for Dummies guide went over the basics of Cataclysm -- how it came to be, just who that Deathwing guy is, anyway, and why he's so annoyed with the world in general. We also found out why we're going to all those new level 80 to 85 zones and, more importantly, why we're wandering around in three different raids in three completely different locations around the world. If you made it through the basics, congratulations! You're caught up through patch 4.0. But we're in patch 4.3, aren't we? And you've probably still got questions. Questions like: What's up with the troll dungeons -- didn't we kill those guys already? And why did we have to go fight Ragnaros again? Why is Thrall friendly as all get-out with the Dragon Aspects? Why do we have to do all this silly time travel? The good news is, by the time you're done reading this guide, you'll totally understand what Cataclysm is all about. Please note: There are spoilers here for the novel Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects. If you're still planning on reading it, you may want to do so before you hit this recap.
Know Your Lore: Top 10 lore developments of 2011, part 1
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. Since Rossi is taking a look at the top lore reveals of Cataclysm, I decided to jump in hand-in-hand with that. A little over a year and a half ago, I addressed some of the storytelling methods of Wrath -- what worked, what didn't work. It wasn't a look at specific lore moments as much as a look at how Blizzard was handling lore as a whole. Compared to the early days of WoW, Wrath made some giant strides forward in how we as players interacted and mingled with the various storylines of the expansion. Much like Wrath, Cataclysm observed all that had come before, took a good look at all of it, and promptly made some giant strides of its own. What we've gotten in the past year has been nothing short of astonishing in terms of creating a meld of gameplay and lore that draws the player in and keeps them there ... to a point. After all, nothing's perfect in this world, and there are always things that could be tweaked and improved upon. Let's take a look at the top 10 lore developments of 2011 -- not the story we've seen in the foreground, but all those wonderful mechanics behind it.
All the World's a Stage: Plot points for Troll roleplayers
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW. Trolls are interesting characters to roleplay. There are a few major reasons why Trolls are at the top of my list for roleplay. First and foremost is the fact that for all the Trolls in Azeroth and all the story we've been given about all the various Troll tribes, there's not a lot of real information out there in terms of day-to-day Troll life. Traditions, ceremonies, tribal bonds -- it's all sort of a mystery. Yet the sheer amount of culture we've been given is just enough to play with, within the context of what little we know. Storytellers, practitioners of voodoo, the kaleidoscope of Loa and their relation to the Ancients -- it's all up in the air to fiddle around with. The other reason Trolls are just so entertaining is that they've come so far from so little. In vanilla, the Trolls seemed like a vague addition to the Horde, with no capital city of their own and very little in the way of backstory. Troll reputation vendors were placed in Orgrimmar, where the Trolls had a tiny corner of the city to call their own. Vol'jin sat in Thrall's chambers and never really did much of anything. When Cataclysm was announced and events started coming out in preparation for the expansion, the Darkspear got a huge jolt of storyline, with elements that can and should affect every roleplayer.
Breakfast Topic: What happens next?
The leader short stories Fire and Iron and The Judgment were great pieces of Cataclysm lore and recent history that shed some light on the motivations of Outland hero Kurdran Wildhammer and embattled troll leader Vol'jin of the Darkspear tribe. Each of the Cataclysm leaders is getting the short story treatment as time goes on. We don't know many of the stories left to tell in Cataclysm. The future of the blood elves lies in the unpublished prose of Lor'themar Theron's short story. Sylvanas' potential madness and craziness can have explanations hidden in those words. While the Firelands will continue the story of the rejuvenation of Hyjal, we still have much to learn about Malfurion and Tyrande and the night elves in general. So what comes next? Will these stories shed light on these leaders and their peoples' futures? Can we expect timely lore reveals through these stories that will do part of the story advancement? Personally, I'm really excited for the next story.
Know Your Lore: Vol'jin vs. the Zandalar
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. I was going to do the Dark Trolls this week (seriously, whatever happened to these guys?), but then those darn Zandalari went and recruited the Gurubashi and Amani for a world-spanning plan to restore troll hegemony and bring back the empires of the past. Amazingly, the primary opponent of King Rastakhan's plan to unite all the troll tribes on Azeroth is, in fact, a troll himself. Vol'jin, leader of the Darkspear tribe and long-standing ally to Thrall, is no stranger to confronting the mighty. He flat out threatened to kill Garrosh Hellscream, the new warchief, right to his face. He took part in the military operations against Daelin Proudmoore, spearheaded the reclamation of the Echo Isles against his old friend Zalazane, and has worked tirelessly to unify and bolster the Darkspear ranks, going so far as to ultimately defeat and destroy the Sea Witch that killed his father Sen'jin. Since his people have joined the Horde, Vol'jin has balanced on the knife's edge between ancient troll customs and the demands of the Horde. Despite those who mistook his caution for weakness, Vol'jin has in recent days proven that he simply acts exactly when he believes the time is right, with precisely calculated choices that give maximum effect for minimum cost. Vol'jin has mastered the economy of action. Why, therefore, would he refuse the Zandalari offer? Is it merely because of his loyalty to Thrall and the Horde he himself helped create? Or is there more?
Know Your Lore: Interbellum part 7 -- Rexxar saves the Horde
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. And now at last, our series detailing the years between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft ends, as it must, with the story of the greatest warrior the New Horde has ever seen. After the supposed peace proposal led to a trap that might have captured Thrall had Rexxar not insisted he take the Warchief's place, Thrall decided that the usual paths of protocol could not be trusted. He had to contact Jaina Proudmoore directly. Rexxar would go directly to Theramore Island to meet with Jaina and discover what was behind these attacks. If Rexxar thought that Thrall's strange attachment to the human woman whose forces had seemingly tried to kill him six or seven times by this point was odd, he still went.
Blizzard's short story series continues with Vol'jin: The Judgment
Patch 4.1 is all trolls, trolls, trolls. You know what? I love the trolls. With the emergence of the Zandalari trolls as stewards of a new troll empire, the rearming of the Gurubashi and Amani tribes, and Vol'jin's staunch opposition to the direction of the troll peoples of Azeroth, we've got a lot on our plate in terms of lore. Blizzard's leader short story series continues with "The Judgment," written by Brian Kindregan, which chronicles Vol'jin from his years as a young, would-be shadow hunter to his exodus with the orcs across the sea. The series has been a success with WoW lore buffs, adding to the various faction leaders' histories and canon. Hit the jump for a spoiler-filled summary, and be sure to read the whole ordeal.
Know Your Lore: Update on current Horde politics
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. Around this time last year, Know Your Lore did a series on the politics surrounding both Horde and Alliance, along with some predictions as to what was going to come to pass. Some theories were right, some were wrong -- but as far as the Horde is concerned, there has never been as tumultuous a time as right now in Cataclysm. While some of the conflict is out in the open, other signs of discontent are found in hidden away or in discreet areas, out of sight unless you're directly looking for them. Garrosh Hellscream's reign as Warchief kicked off with a bang. The first few weeks of his rule as Warchief saw the destruction of Orgrimmar and its subsequent rebuilding as a result of the Shattering's devastation. In addition, the Horde found a new set of allies in the quirky, greedy, and often bizarre goblins, something that could be construed as either good or bad, depending on which way you look. On top of all of this, the duel with and subsequent death of Cairne Bloodhoof affected Garrosh deeply and caused him to create a closer alliance with the tauren race, giving them a special section of Orgrimmar in contrition for what happened. Garrosh seems to have a somewhat level head on his shoulders and the best of intentions at heart, but a closer look reveals that the Horde is no longer as united a front as it was in the days of vanilla ... and some of that blame can be placed squarely on Hellscream's shoulders.
Patch 4.1 PTR: Zul'Aman examined
After spending many hours and relying on the dungeon finder to pick up tanks on the 4.1 PTR, I managed to get a nice handle on the updated bosses in Zul'Aman. Unfortunately due to time constraints, the group was only able to challenge the first four animal bosses. We weren't able to progress past the Lynx or Dragonhawk bosses. While there were new mechanics introduced, after wiping over 10 times to the Dragonhawk boss, I can safely say that there need to be some slight numbers adjustments. WoW Insider rogue specialist Anne was able to join me as we continually wiped, figuring out new mechanics. Thank goodness for repair bots. As an aside, perhaps someone can answer me this question: Why are raid groups looking for players for Icecrown Citadel on the test realm? %Gallery-118415%
Know Your Lore: Garrosh Hellscream, part 2
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. Garrosh Hellscream, son of the mighty Grom, came to Azeroth at the bidding of Warchief Thrall. Garrosh knew very, very little of Azeroth -- he knew that the Horde of Azeroth was not only made up of orcs, but other races as well. He knew that the Alliance were the enemies of the Horde. He'd heard of the internment camps and what the humans had done to the orcish race. He didn't know much, but he knew that the Horde were his allies and the Alliance his enemies -- and any enemy, as far as Hellscream was concerned, was only there to be eliminated. But where did this drive to eliminate the Alliance actually originate? Garrosh was not present during the Second War. He was not present for the battles at the Black Temple. He was sick, in Garadar, with the rest of those stricken with the red pox. For someone who had spent so long living a life in which he was certain he would never be a competent leader, Garrosh certainly had a lot of nerve in the Warcraft comics, the events leading up to Wrath of the Lich King, and during Wrath itself. When, exactly, did this hothead emerge -- and why did Thrall choose Garrosh to lead in his absence?
Know Your Lore: The dark past of the Darkspear
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. World of Warcraft is absolutely full of trolls -- not the trade chat kind, the actual race. Whether you're traveling the southern continents or icy heights of Northrend, the trolls are everywhere; vanilla WoW and both expansions have all included troll content of some kind or another. The original game had Zul'Farrak, Sunken Temple and then later Zul'Gurub. The Burning Crusade didn't see much of the trolls in Outland (beyond a few settlements, of course), but trolls played a large part in high elf (now blood elf) history and currently plague the Ghostlands. Eventually we saw the release of Zul'Aman, and with Wrath's release, we were introduced to the ice trolls of Zul'Drak and their capital, Gun'Drak. While there have been vague hints -- stone tablets and other records -- documenting the history of the race, there's very little solid information regarding the trolls. Big events have been documented, but the day-to-day life and the origins of the trolls aren't really addressed beyond "they have been on Azeroth since the beginning." Of all the various troll tribes, only one is playable -- the Darkspear tribe that now makes its home on Kalimdor. The trolls of the Darkspear have not only made a new home for themselves upon Cataclysm's release, but they've also found two new paths to follow; players will be able to choose troll druids and warlocks with the expansion's launch. In order to understand the Darkspear, a closer look at its origins and the origins of one of the bloodiest wars in Azeroth's history is necessary. WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion. If you wish to remain spoiler-free, do not continue.
Ask a Faction Leader: Open call, volume 2
WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak with major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject -- and we're letting you, the reader, Ask a Faction Leader! Ask a Faction Leader's open Q&A returns with even more of your questions for your favorite faction leaders. Next week, we return to the full-length interview format. My lady Tyrande, I have been a humble servant of the Darnassian Order for as long as I can remember, and I have some concerns for my night elf brothers and sisters. Since Arthas declared war on all of humanity and brave Alliance soldiers were sent to Northrend to defeat the Scourge and end the Lich King's tyranny, I have noticed there are very few night elves at the roof of the world. Having participated at the Battle of the Wrathgate, I only say one of my sisters there, and even she had to suffer the effects of the Forsaken bombs ... So I ask you, Lady Whisperwind, do you hold your bond to the Alliance, or are we night elves just along for the ride? A humble druid, Phort <Brotherhood of Steel> on Atonidas (US)
Cataclysm Beta: New sound clips for Thrall, Vol'Jin, Nefarian
The latest Cataclysm beta build has dropped and there are some massive spoilers with some of the sound files that have been uncovered. I'm keeping the files themselves after the break for those of you who want to avoid any lore leaks. First is a talk between two leaders of the Horde on the direction things have been going. The second is from an upcoming raid boss taunting the players as well as revealing his greatest triumph. Yeah, that's vague, but I'm trying to leave spoilers out from before break.
WoW Moviewatch: Garrosh vs. Vol'jin
Spoiler Note: Cataclysm spoilers are in this video. Seriously. Big spoilers about Cataclysm. There are relatively few well-known machinima voice actors. While most (if not all) machinima creators eventually spend time voice acting and often do that work for one another, the world of "primarily a voice actor" folks is relatively small. Among them, however, Jesse Cox is one of the best and most popular. He's very skilled and can convey immense amounts of characterization with his instrument: his voice. We get the chance to see him do his thing in Garrosh vs. Vol'Jin. In this video, Jesse's conveying one of the hallmark conflicts in Cataclysm. Racial leaders Garrosh and Vol'jin have some harsh words for one another, which will eventually lead to significant ramifications for the Horde. Jesse's working on a series of guided tours through Cataclysm, but this episode stands out because of the opportunity to let him voice act both characters. As I think you'll see, he does an amazing job. As interesting as I found the lore to be, I found his performance equally entertaining. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
Zalazane's Fall official preview released
Many weeks ago we were given an Azeroth Bulletin about Operation Gnomeregan, the gnomes' imminent attempt to recapture their fallen city. Today, from the European community site, comes a preview for Zalazane's Fall. Vol'jin has put out a call to every man and woman capable of lifting a sword (or fireball) to assist him in retaking the Echo Isles. Embedded on the coast of Durotar, the tiny troll Village of Sen'jin is bursting with recent activity. In what some claim is a retort to the overblown assertions of the vertically-challenged High Tinker Mekkatorque, Troll Chieftain Vol'jin has announced his intention to "honor de ancestors 'n' take back da 'omeland, mon." The call has been given, and the scattered Darkspear tribe has begun to gather at the once-sleepy location. Now the primal rhythm of beating drums and strange clouds of acrid smoke drift aloft deep into the night, arguably a sign of celebration and preparation for an impending offensive. source Head on over to the official site for the full preview and the full, high-res version of the propaganda promotional poster above. It really is enormous. Fit to print, perhaps? In the inspiring words of glorious Vol'jin: "Zalazane will fall!"
Patch 3.3.5 PTR: Zalazane's Fall quest summary and gallery
It's here, finally! The latest items on the 3.3.5 PTR are the quests for Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall, now playable and perfectly operational. After playing through the Zalazane storyline all I can say is Blizzard really outdid themselves with this one -- the lore and chain of quests are not only interesting from beginning to end, but seem to be bug-free. Check out the gallery for screenshots from the entire Zalazane questline, and check after the break for more information on the Zalazane's Fall chain, but be warned -- there are spoilers ahead! %Gallery-93811%
Blizzard details upcoming Echo Isles content
Players of the troll persuasion should be overjoyed in anticipation of the improved starting zone experience Blizzard is providing for Cataclysm, and from today's new update on Vol'Jin's grand mission, it may be even more important than you think. The official Echo Isles page indicates that there's plenty more going on to trouble the Darkspear than Zalazane, outright stating that Horde leadership will undergo a schism, and that Vol'Jin has potentially dangerous information about the political struggles that both the Darkspear and the Horde at large are undergoing. One confusing bit of information in there, though -- this is on the official Cataclysm site and listed as a Cataclysm feature, but it was formerly announced as pre-Cataclysm content for Patch 3.3.9. Is it possible the new experience has been pushed back, or is this just being pushed as a Cataclysm feature to draw in new trolls? Either way, Cataclysm should be a pretty exciting time for the Darkspear -- you get your island back and you get to turn into a bear.* What more could you ask for? *certain class restrictions may apply World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.
Know Your Lore: Current Horde politics, the Trolls
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. The trolls of Warcraft have a history that spans back further than any other playable race currently in the game, with the exception of the draenei. This makes it difficult to trace the entirety of their history, but fortunately the Darkspear of the Horde are one small fraction of what is a gigantic race as a whole. While the orcs, blood elves, Forsaken and tauren are all dealing with their own issues, the trolls of the Darkspear tribe are working quietly and largely by themselves to deal with a few major problems of their own. The troll races of Warcraft were originally largely part of two major empires -- the Gurubashi of southeastern Kalimdor, and the Amani in the middle regions of the continent. There were other tribes scattered here and there, notably the trolls of Gundrak to the north, but by and large, all troll tribes fell under either the Gurubashi or the Amani empires. Prior to the Sundering, the trolls comprised a gigantic portion of the world's population, and while the Gurubashi and Amani didn't really like each other, they rarely warred, instead choosing to fight against a third empire, that of the Aqir. The two races fought relentlessly for thousands of years, and eventually the Aqir Empire split into two city-states, Azjol-Nerub to the north, and Ahn'Qiraj to the south. With the Aqir driven into exile, the trolls returned to their normal lives, though neither empire expanded much further than their original boundaries.
World of Warcraft 5th Anniversary mosaic finally complete
It looks like the fans followed through, after all, and we finally get to see the Battlecry mosaic much sooner than I'd previously thought. The completed mosaic reveals a truly awesome piece of art by Wei Wang depicting all the current faction leaders. By awesome I mean truly mind-blowing, and Blizzard has high resolution versions of both the mosaic and the actual painting available for download in different versions. The full mosaic, for example, can be viewed in all its 14400 x 6150 pixel glory. Arguably the best version is the dual screen wallpaper which shows the most detail, although there are also much smaller versions for mobile phones. The Battlecry mosaic is comprised of 20,000 player-submitted pictures called out by Blizzard as part of the World of Warcraft 5th Anniversary celebration. Each section of the multi-part mosaic unlocked various content over the past few months, which included sneak peeks at conceptual art and even a piece of the game's musical score. The final artwork is arguably the best and coolest rendition of all the faction leaders so far, including a dual-wielding Magni Bronzebeard in armor that's significantly different from what he's wearing in-game, which may or may not hint at a possible model change come Cataclysm. Congratulations to all the fans who contributed to the mosaic!
