Phat Loot Phriday: Mechano-Hog
As we now transition to a new chapter of the story, the narrator will take a moment and indulge in literary thievery -- I mean, literary homage. Well, not really literary, since I'm stealing from a different medium, but I've always liked the idea -- and shut up and read it already, OK?
In patch 3.0.1, Blizzard added a new vehicle to Azeroth. While millions of mounts already existed in the game, this new mount was something special. It was a hog. A motorcycle. No sooner had the Mechano-Hog become a reality in the game than thousands of engineers started building them. No individual Mechano-Hog was that big a deal, really. Except for one.
This Mechano-Hog was built by a warlock engineer named Demonalisa. Struggling to make money on a roleplay server, Demonalisa spent most of his time farming materials. That plan worked fairly well for him until he ran afoul of the gem market. The Great Gem Crash of 2010 cost Demonalisa his savings, and he was forced to sell off the Mechano-Hog.
In late 2010, the Mechano-Hog was purchased for Lolegolas by a stalwart orc named Throgg. Throgg felt the two-seater Mechano-Hog would be a great benefit to them in the Battlegrounds. After all, two coordinated fighters doing battle together can very easily turn the tide of victory. It turned out Lolegolas just liked making "vroom" sounds while doing laps of Dalaran.
This Mechano-Hog had the same basic abilities of all the others, but none of that is what's important. What's important are the details like the chewing gum Throgg used to glue the license plate down. Or the "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" bumper sticker Lolegolas ironically slapped across a fender. Or the extra growler racks Throgg installed to prepare for their trip to Pandaria.
As Lolegolas started the engine and Throgg plopped into the passenger car, neither of them could know how important that Mechano-Hog would be.
Item notes The Mechano-Hog and Mekgineer's Chopper are both still in the game and clearly the most popular ground mounts available by 56%. Source: I made that number up.
Phat Loot Phriday brings you the scoop on some of the most ... interesting ... loot in the World of Warcraft, often viewed through the eyes of the stalwart Throgg and indelible Lolegolas. Suggest items you think we should feature by emailing mikeg@wowinsider.com.
