The Queue: Khadgar's Whiskers
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.
Today's Queue has a question about beards. That means today is a good day.
nostrathomas asked:
Why have there been so many complaints here about the elder Hellscream being called Grommash instead of Grom? Both names have been used interchangeably throughout WoW.
The Grom/Grommash thing is an interesting one. The reason it's been so noticeable is that yes, Grom and Grommash were used interchangeably, but Grom was the more familiar of the two and isn't being used at all anymore. The name Grom has completely disappeared. It was used more often, thus is more familiar, but it doesn't appear on his Hearthstone card(s), it doesn't appear in Warlords, it doesn't appear in Warlords promotional materials ... it's just Grommash. The name "Grommash" was used in formal exchanges or writings, where Grom was informal and familiar. Grom is gone. There is only Grommash.
For people who have known him primarily by the informal Grom for all of these years, the switch just feels strange. My name is Alexander, but I use Alex. Really, the only place Alexander appears is on government documents because it has to be that way. After going by Alex for so long, calling myself Alexander feels pretentious. The full-time switch to Grommash feels pretentious. It's like fantasy novels that try really hard to be fancy and don't ever use contractions in their dialogue. It isn't fancy. It's unnatural and everyone reading it knows you have your nose up your own rear-end.
That's why I often do hope Blizzard can't use the name Grom anymore for some arcane legal reason. Because otherwise, the full-time switch to Grommash feels like they're trying way too hard to have Grom taken seriously.
BlazeNor asked:
Without giving any spoilers from the beta, how has the new leadership been for the Horde?
They aren't there. Not even a little. Garrosh himself is the only plot thread from Mists of Pandaria carrying into Warlords of Draenor. Vol'jin is nowhere to be seen.
Zheo asked:
I've got a question - who's the human dude chilling with Thrall and the big D (pun totally not intended) in the screenshot for today's Q? Humans and Orcs standing side by side? I say nay!
That was Khadgar. He seems to be mostly-neutral these days. Also, he shaved off his beard for some reason ... which we will discuss in a moment.
@Tiago_hoinack asked:
How long do you guys think we'll have to wait until we have a 6.0.2 ptr? A couple weeks? more? less?
They've said they want patch 6.0 out about a month before the expansion's release. The patch will undoubtedly need a few weeks for testing on the PTR. If they want to hit their goal of the patch going live in early October, we'll need the PTR within a week or two. I think we'll have it sooner rather than later.
@kremlincardinal asked:
Is there any lore basis for mana and its regeneration by beverages, or is that just a game mechanic?
I might be wrong but I think I read a passage in one of the Warcraft novels where it describes a mage eating to restore their strength. Which ... makes sense, honestly. The process happening over 30 seconds or less is purely a game mechanic, but it's a very fantasy/sci-fi thing that increased caloric intake is required when throwing around magic or psionics or whatever. People capable of using biotics in the Mass Effect universe, for example, require many more calories per day to maintain heavy use of their abilities. It's an energy expenditure thing.
Elizabeth Harper asked:
What happened to Khadgar's beard? Did it leave to join the horde? I SENSE A CONSPIRACY!
It's baffling to me that a character best known for his whiskers is now clean-shaven. Maybe he sees the herb that bears his name as mockery and wants to distance himself from it. Self-conscious, you know?
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
