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The funny, morbid, and sad coins of the Dalaran fountain
Level up fishing so you can fish in the Dalaran fountain. I'm serious. This completely nonsensible and illogical statement is brought to you by the 53 tiny lore moments you'll get if you'll just sit yourself down somewhere and level up fishing. Yes, it's boring having to fish up dozens of useless fish to get to the good stuff in Outland and Northrend. Yes, you could be farming up gold or materials that will help you level in Wrath. I don't care. Go fish.You see, while you'll be fishing up a lot of equally useless fish in the Dalaran fountain, you'll also get coins. No, not in the sense that you'll be fishing up ingame money, but you'll fish up coins tossed into the fountain of this very old city by 53 people, many of whom will be known to you if you've played the game for any length of time. Some of them, perhaps most of them, are funny. Some are serious. Some are heartbreaking. I admit to a touch of being a lore geek, and it was wonderful being allowed a peek into the irreverent or hopeful or sad heads of Jaina Proudmoore, Thrall, or Stalvan Mistmantle. It is idiosyncratic little touches like this that make WoW hopelessly fun to play, and it is my fondest wish that whatever person at Blizzard who thought this up is pulled off whatever they're doing right now and chained to a desk until they come up with more stuff like this.So, if you don't do anything else with your time between patch 3.02 hitting and Wrath going live...level up fishing so you can fish in the Dalaran fountain. But don't read any further if you're not interested in Wrath spoilers, because there are a few here...
Ask a Beta Tester: The Drakkensryd, Dispersion, and other stuff
We'll get started with Gareth's question... How is the Storm Peaks coming along? Seems like it has a lot of history and culture behind it. This zone has been closed off more than it's been open. There are a few hefty bugs that they're trying to iron out that forces them to seal it off now and then, since the bugs bring the entire world server down. That and there was an XP exploit that the beta testers found and needed to be dealt with mighty quickly, so it was sealed off for that as well. As far as the history and culture, I loved what I saw. A lot of Titan lore, a lot of Dwarven history. The introduction to the zone is pretty awful, though. Your first quest hub in the culture-rich zone is a Goblin town (K3) full of whimsy that has little to do with the zone's overall story. I guess you need to keep the mood light sometimes, though. Still, despite the silly Goblins, it was one of my favorite zones while I could get in there. Blizzard has thrown around the term "epic scale" quite a bit, and I think Storm Peaks really displays that. The place is absolutely massive, in the good way. Watch the video above if you want an example of the quests you'll be seeing. Be warned, it's kind of a spoiler in that doing this quest for the first time really leaves you in awe. Watching it beforehand might take that away a little.dotorion asked...Does Northrend have a 'level requirement' like Outlands?
Ask a Beta Tester: Rogues, Druids, Malygos, and more!
Let's start the week out right by diving straight into some juicy questions! Gilgamesh asked.... With Hunters getting Exotic Pets and Warriors getting Titan's Grip, is the Rogue getting anything interesting? Though I do know a thing or two about Rogues (in that I have one at level 70), I'm no expert (it's very much an alt). I don't personally find the new talents to be all that thrilling -- the trees seem to continue much the same as they are now, without any big talents that scream "pick me! pick me!" And I have to say, Rogues on the beta forums don't seem particularly excited, either. Beyond new talents, they're picking up only a couple of new abilities on their journey to level 80: Dismantle (which, by the way, is considered a "replacement" for the disarm mechanic currently in Riposte -- in the Wrath beta, Riposte slows your target's melee attack instead of disarming) and Fan of Knives. Yes, you'll get additional ranks of existing skills, but not much new. For a full rundown on the changes in store for Rogues in Wrath, check out our beta patch notes writeup. I consulted our resident Rogue expert, Jason, who unfortunately has not made it into the beta, but has been analyzing what's what on paper, and from what he sees, "Rogues are doing just fine. I think the crux will be how the changes in Hunters, Mages, and Warlocks work out. PvE-based we still do crazy damage if we are spec'd right so that's not changing. But will we be number 1 or 2 on the meters? I don't know." For a more thorough rundown of changes, check out Jason's analysis of the Assassination tree -- Combat and Subtlety to come soon! For more of your questions -- and our answers! -- read on! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.
WoW Insider previews Wrath of the Lich King's Dragonblight
Continuing the series of Wrath of the Lich King zone galleries that we started with the Howling Fjord, I present to you... the Dragonblight! The Dragonblight is home to Wyrmrest Temple, sacred temple of the Dragonflights, as well as many more fun and exciting locations. This is another one of my favorite zones, though it isn't quite as photogenic as the Fjord was. A lot of what makes it awesome doesn't translate well to pictures, such as the lore and the things that make it feel alive, like the aerial dragon battles that take place overhead.The gallery contains some minor spoilers, such as locations you may not have expected or really freaking cool looking locations you may have wanted to see for the first time in person, but I tried to avoid major plot spoilers. Nothing inside will ruin your enjoyment of the zone, I assure you. Go on, check it out. You know you wanna. Oh, by the way, it shows a small version of the pictures by default, but if you want to see them bigger you can click the Hi Res button in the upper right corner.%Gallery-28932%
All things Wrath of the Lich King
Over the past week, particularly in the last few days, the crisp Internet air has been abuzz with news from the upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Fear you're out of the loop? Here's a quick round-up of all the information being released, along with analysis and opinion. Don't forget to keep checking back, as this page will be updated as information becomes available:Dungeons and raids An analysis on Arthas as a ten-manned event, including its impact on the 25-man raiding structure, as well an exploration of its consistency with the lore. Did you know that all expansion raids will have a 10-man setting, as well as a 25-man? Read through some of our initial impressions on the 10-man raiding set-up. We also wrote up a concise overview of the ins and outs of dungeons post-expansion, including a new token system, similar to [Badge of Justice]. The Nexus has been announced on the official site as one of the new dungeons. The WoW Insider Show discusses 10-manning Arthas. Zones, factions, and relevant lore Alex has written an excellent overview of the Grizzly Hills, a soon-to-be zone for low to mid-seventies. With old factions reappearing, along with other surprises, it's definitely something to look forward to! If news of the Dragonblight has intrigued you, you'll be pleased to know that more information has been made available. While we're brushing up on our lore and learning about new areas and factions, Alex thought it fitting to illuminate the lore behind Azjol-Nerub, as the Nerubians will have their own role in the expansion. Alex asks us about lore figures we'd like to see in the expansion. %Gallery-20386%
