Anne Stickney

PC Gaming By Anne Stickney

Patch 6.1: Twitter integration live on the PTR

The functionality for posting on Twitter within World of Warcraft is now up and running on the PTR servers. For those that have been wondering, this is a completely optional feature -- if you don't have Twitter, or don't care for Twitter at all, you don't have to use the service. It's just a fun side perk that was thrown in for World of Warcraft -- one that is curiously, strangely addicting. Using it is fairly simple, all you need is a Twitter account and you're good to go. In the Interface/Social menu, there is an option to begin using the Twitter access. It's not a default feature, so you have to checkmark the box in order to get started. Once you've done that, a button in the UI will open a window that allows you to log in to your Twitter account and authorize World of Warcraft as an application -- it's the same screen that you'll see if you try and log into our comment system using your Twitter account. Click allow access, and you'll be logged in and ready to go! To post to Twitter, type /share into the chat window, and it'll bring up the Twitter interface. Once you've created your tweet, you can submit it and it will post to your Twitter feed in a minute or two.

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The Queue: This should be somber and dignified

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) really wishes she could keep answering questions forever. Honestly though the thing I loved best about Fraggle Rock was that it was really, really weird. Red asked: Q for Loremaster Anne: can you sum up the entire Warcraft story in a single paragraph? I think I'll borrow a perfectly applicable quote from one of my favorite authors: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

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Computing

Computing By Anne Stickney

Breakfast Topic: Do you take a lot of screenshots?

Once upon a time in vanilla on my very first character, I made the mistake of wandering too close to a door guarded by a very angry dragon. Said angry dragon made quick work of my character, and in running back to my corpse, I inadvertently discovered I could run right through that door and resurrect on the other side. The other side of that door was one of the single weirdest places I have ever seen in World of Warcraft -- it was later shaped and molded into the Caverns of Time for the Burning Crusade expansion. But in that moment, I had no idea what it was -- just that the world had suddenly gotten very strange, and very, very screenshot-worthy, which is when I took the screenshot above. I have a lot of screenshots, guys. Each expansion, I snap screenshots of every cool location, cool armor set, neat people, fun events -- you name it, I'm probably sitting there happily snapping away. And I keep them all. Why? In vanilla, I just liked taking pictures of things -- pretty things, weird things, strange armor I'd purchased and immediately regretted. In Burning Crusade, it was because Outland was so new, and different, and unlike anything on Azeroth. Somewhere in Wrath, after getting my job here, it grew from a hobby into something I did for cataloging purposes. If I needed a screenshot of a particular quest or a particular NPC saying a particular line, then I was going to make sure I had it handy before I even knew I needed it. Betas are great for testing, but they're also great for getting tons of advance screenshots that I will more than likely use later. And beyond that ... well, it's kind of interesting to have a record of all the places I've gone and all the people I've met over the years. It's like flipping through a scrapbook. A really, really nerdy scrapbook. Do you guys take a lot of screenshots? Do you save the alt-z for important stuff like boss kills and achievements, or do you snap away whenever you see a pretty piece of scenery? Do you save your screenshots from expansion to expansion, or just get rid of them as time goes on? What's the earliest screenshot you've still got?

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The Queue: Let's talk about Fraggles and Warcraft

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! You know what? I loved Fraggle Rock when I was a kid, and I still do today. When I was a kid, it was all about the music and the story, and as I grew older, it was all about the slow and astonishing realization that a few pieces of felt and a couple of ping-pong googly eyes felt really real. It wasn't the felt or the googly eyes, it was the person operating that device as a vehicle for delivering authentic emotion. More importantly, it was the wide-eyed audience that watched it all and somewhere in their heart of hearts held the little spark of belief that it all was real. Basically what it boils down to is this: You can set the stage and build the parts, but without that genuine exchange between actor and audience, you've got nothing but a shell. Shells are nothing. The rest of it, that's the really amazing part, the part that can't be easily replaced. With that, let's answer some weekend questions, why don't we? BaronoftheLake asked: QFTQ: Where is the Exodar on Draenor? I haven't seen any Draenei ships in Draenor, and I thought that was rather strange. The Exodar was originally one section of Tempest Keep -- but Tempest Keep didn't arrive on Draenor until after it had already shattered into Outland. It's not a draenei ship, it's a naaru vessel -- it's the ship A'dal and the rest of the Sha'tar arrived on. There is one other naaru vessel on Draenor, but it's half-buried in Nagrand and falling apart.

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Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes for January 27

Another round of hotfixes for patch 6.0.3 were released yesterday and posted to the official blog -- including several bug fixes that have been plaguing players for a while now. Plenty of talents and abilities should now be working correctly for several classes, several quests have been adjusted and resolved, and on top of all of that, if you've been missing a certain promised follower, they should be happily ensconced in your garrison now. Good news all around! Players that have completed the quest Primal Fury before the January 21 hotfix should now have either Thisalee Crow (Alliance) or Choluna (Horde) as a follower. All quests should now be awarding XP even if the character is dead at the time that the quest is completed. Swapblaster no longer works while characters are engaged in battlegrounds. Read on for the full list of hotfixes.

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By Anne Stickney

The Queue: Twitter Edition

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! I've had this song stuck in my head for a couple of days, so now you guys get it. Today's Queue is a special Twitter edition, because oh my gosh 1,700 comments and there is no way I'm going to be able to sift through all of that for questions, guys! But let's get to the good stuff, shall we? @WarlockTriqz asked: How do we get that new mount that Blizz announced? Boy I wish I knew! But I really have no idea -- however, the purple color scheme and books/runes on the kitty make me think it might be something legendary quest related. I mean, we have Khadgar, who's all Kirin Tor which is all about the purple and the runes, and we have the Watchers hanging out with him, and they all ride nightsabers, presumably. So maybe something tied into that? Alternatively, maybe a tie-in for Heroes of the Storm, but I'm not sure about that one.

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PC Gaming By Anne Stickney

Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The ordering of Draenor and Azeroth

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. According to various accounts, the Titans have had their hands on almost every inhabitable world in the universe. Certainly Algalon had to keep an eye on more than one planet in his impossibly-long life -- he says as much when we stop him from sending the signal that would re-originate our world. This fact alone is enough to indicate that in the Warcraft universe, worlds aren't quite as unique as we'd expect them to be. If the Titans had a hand in their ordering, they're likely going to have at least some similarities. But it doesn't mean that every world we come across is going to be just like Azeroth. We've been presented with the idea, time and time again, that Azeroth is unique in the universe. It's special. There's something about it that sets it apart from every other world. And yet, when you hold Azeroth and Draenor next to each other and take a good long look at what they are, you can see the bare bones of what was once upon a time, a blueprint shared between the two. Unfortunately, the comparison raises more questions that it seems to answer -- but those questions are pretty important. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

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WoW Moviewatch: Like Froot

Look, I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I have absolutely no idea what's going on in this machinima. I'm not sure if it's telling a story or not, or what that story happens to be. But Like Froot, the latest music video from Youtuber Killercookie, still manages to be hypnotically entertaining, story or no. The bright visuals mix well with the song, which I've never heard before -- but it's now thoroughly stuck in my head. As always, Killercookie knows exactly what to do with model placement, animation, and cuts. I guess the lesson here is that sometimes you don't really need a story for a machinima, a pleasant tune and some colorful visuals are more than enough to entertain. If you liked this short, don't forget to check out Killercookie's Youtube channel for plenty more. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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PC Gaming By Anne Stickney

Patch 6.1: Finally, you can take a S.E.L.F.I.E.

I honestly didn't know how much I needed this particular item until I finally managed to snag one on the PTR. Behold, patch 6.1 is bringing us the S.E.L.F.I.E. Camera, a marvelous device that finally lets us egomaniacs turn our cameras on the one person in game we care about the most -- ourselves. The camera is a reward from a new, rare level 100 garrison mission called Field Photography -- a four hour mission that requires no special traits to complete. Simply get the mission to show up on your list and the camera is pretty much yours. The interface for the camera is really easy to use -- simply click the item to use it, and your camera will automatically turn around to face you. You can swivel the angle to whatever you feel is most pleasing, and press 1 to snap a photo. No need to alt-z the frame out of the picture first, the camera automatically does it for you, snapping the screenshot and putting it in your screenshots folder. As the camera faces your character, they'll make a host of suitably emotive faces, so you don't have to worry about smiling for the camera.

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The Queue: Anne's Story Hour

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! It's Sunday, the day of rest and apparently of rambling on about stories in my head, and as such I'll go ahead and indulge the few people that asked the question below. Don't worry, I've also got plenty of other far more pertinent questions to answer as well! Ligkvaern asked: I made an account just to ask this, damn you! ...What happens in Kharazhan, in your head? robertjamesftw also commented: Anne. ANNE. You may NOT tease us with hints about your head-canon and/or the stories you create in there and not share them! C'mon! Give!! I can take a hint. Please note -- none of this is actually what's going to happen in the next expansion. I have no idea what's coming in the next expansion. This is just stuff I made up in my head that seemed to make sense given what we already know. Okay? Moving on, and continuing from where I left off on Wednesday:

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Breakfast Topic: Do you stack traits on missions?

I have a method for follower missions, one that seems to have worked out mostly in my favor -- during the day, I'll complete as many of the shorter missions as I can, logging in to cycle through them once or twice. Before I turn in for the night, I'll queue up all the longer missions, because I know they'll be waiting for me at whatever point I log on the next day. Sometimes, though, I get impatient or I want the rewards offered by a mission right away -- which is when I start stacking traits. I have a lot of followers with the Epic Mount trait. I also have a lot of followers with the Scavenger trait. Used to their full potential, I can easily nab over 1k garrison resources in a single mission -- or I can whittle a mission down to 15 minutes or less. In 6.1, the Scavenger trait is getting a nerf from a 200% bonus down to 100%, and frankly I can see why -- with a 10k character garrison resource limit and the potential of capping that limit in 10 missions or less, it's a little overpowered. Thankfully, the Epic Mount trait is being left untouched, which means I can still speed along missions as I see fit when the new patch is released. I'm sure I'm not the only person that does this, but I'm curious just for curiosity's sake -- do you guys stack your follower traits on missions? Is it something you go out of your way to try and accomplish, or is it something you tend to ignore? What do you think of the Scavenger change in patch 6.1 -- was it needed, or unnecessary in your mind? What traits do you like the most?

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WoW Moviewatch: Yellow Flicker Beat

Death knights are inherently kind of creepy. And even with the revamp in Cataclysm, the Eastern Plaguelands are still pretty creepy as well, along with the death knight starting area on the eastern coast. Put that together with a little bit of Lorde and you've got Yellow Flicker Beat, a machinima music video from Time-Lost Productions. Time-Lost Productions has been doing these kinds of music videos for years, and it shows -- the production quality is good, the cuts are sharp, and the only minor critique I can make is that really I think the video would have stood on its own without the text that was added for emphasis. It totally didn't need it! If you liked the video, be sure to check out Time-Lost Productions' Youtube channel for more. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Patch 6.1: Rogues have a new use for Dingy Iron Coins

Rogues who are stealthy fans of pickpocketing in Warlords of Draenor have more to cheer about in the upcoming patch 6.1. Griftah, the fence of dubious motives who has been taking Dingy Iron Coins and turning them around, in a roundabout way, for gold, has now expanded his inventory. Along with the usual fencing duties and quests to turn in coins for gold, Griftah also sells a variety of leather masks in a variety of colors, all for the low low price of a thousands or so Dingy Iron Coins -- more, if the masks are fancier. And if you're a toy collector to boot, Griftah's got a deal for you -- for 10,000 Dingy Iron Coins, you can be the proud owner of a Barrel of Bandanas. This toy summons a barrel of random bandanas for you and all your friends, so everyone can get in on the bandana-wearing fun. It's nice to see that Griftah hasn't forgotten his rogue pals -- and even nicer to see a steady supply of fashionable masks. Pickpocketing has never been this much fun. Check out the slideshow for screenshots of all available bandanas and their costs.

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Gaming By Anne Stickney

Warcraft Art, Fan Art, and Community Comic updates

A fresh round of updates have been added to the World of Warcraft Fan Art section of the official site, as well as new pieces for the Warlords of Draenor Art gallery, and a new World of Warcraft comic. The fan art in particular features some really stunning pieces highlighting the various Warlords of Draenor, as well as a creepy and perfectly suited idea for a warlock armor set. The full images are all available for download, and I might just be changing the wallpaper on my computer this time around. The concept art takes a look at what appears to be some concept work of Gorgrond, and two shots of Shattrath City. It's the Shattrath pieces that are really interesting, because you get a view of the city with the dome in place, and removed -- and the removed version is far more similar to what we've got in Outland today. What's interesting though is that the dome in-game cannot be traveled through, which makes me wonder -- is A'dal's future home under there, or did the design elements change at some point? More importantly, are we going to get in there at some point in the future? Head to the official post to check out all of the new goodies. And if you have a Warcraft fan comic or fan art of your own, don't forget that you can always submit them to Blizzard to be considered for future updates!

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The Queue: I still miss Karazhan

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! I'm glad so many people liked the fill in job I did with Wednesday's Queue. Fun fact: I've actually given way more thought to the whole tie-in idea than absolutely necessary over the past couple of months. For those that thought the answer was interesting, it's what happens next in Karazhan that is really interesting. Or would be. If it were, you know, real and not made up in my head. I miss Karazhan. adidast05 asked: Did I read that follower upgrades will no longer drop from salvage ? Follower armor set pieces will no longer drop from salvage crates -- the items that equip your follower with an ilvl 615/630 weapon or armor. Weapon Enhancements (the items that simply upgrade your weapon or armor ilvl by a certain number), are still dropping from Big Crates of Salvage as it stands on the PTR.

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The Queue: I see only darkness before me

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! The first time my raid guild killed Arthas and this cinematic popped up is also one of the few times in memory that everyone in the guild, including the raid leader, shushed anyone who dared speak up in vent. Someone tried to say something and was immediately silenced. It was pretty cool, actually, given that most of them weren't really anywhere near into the lore as myself. Arthas was just that iconic, I think. Speaking of Arthas, time to answer some questions! Drindaar_Lightkeeper asked: Q4tQ: Do you think Blizzard will ever return to the scourge and Lich King storyline? I know Arthas is dead, but there are still plenty of scourge out there and a new Lich King is sitting on the throne. I feel like there is still a major threat there. We're done with that particular chapter of the story, for now. Bolvar's holding everything in check presumably -- he was the only one with the will to resist the Lich King, even in his deep-fried state. It takes a powerful kind of hero to do that successfully. If, at some point, Bolvar should falter, then we'd have a problem. But I don't think that's really going to be explored anytime soon, there are too many other directions to explore first.

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Gaming By Anne Stickney

Know Your Lore: Breakers and Primals

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. What is Draenor, exactly? It's a world beset by war on many different levels -- there's the threat of the Iron Horde, of course, and battling clans among the orcs, fighting with the ogres, skirmishes between orc and draenei. But beyond that, there's another layer of conflict on the world, one that seems like a much larger struggle, one far more ancient and primal than anything the orcs, ogres, draenei, or even the arakkoa could conjure up. In the wilds of Gorgrond, a struggle is taking place that almost seems to serve as a backdrop to the main Iron Horde-centered story we're concerned with. While we struggle with the Iron Horde and their plans, massive creatures both plant and rock are embroiled in a constant battle with each other, either unaware of our presence, or so intent on their purpose that we are simply being ignored. Or, to turn that around, we are so insignificant in the face of this conflict that to these giants of the world, we don't even register as being anything of importance at all.

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WoW Moviewatch: All About My Base

When Sharm came out with the garrison-themed musical parody All About My Base, I figured it would only be a matter of time before we saw a machinima created for it, and I was right. Music video master Khayllys has done it again, creating another musical machinima that perfectly accompanies Sharm's music. Khayllys' work is always solid -- the video uses the new model and scenery of Warlords to full effect here. The only minor complaint I have is the choice of the camera-shaking effect in so many scenes. Used once or twice it's fine, but used in swift and repeated succession, it kind of gives me a headache. It's a minor complaint though, as I said, and the video itself is well worth the watch. If you like the machinima, be sure to hop over to Khayllys' Youtube channel for plenty more. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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Patch 6.1 PTR: Customize your garrison music

A new customization option is on the way for garrisons in patch 6.1 -- you'll now be able to change what tunes are playing while you collect your work orders, mine, gather herbs, or just hang out. How? It all begins with a quest to build a boombox big enough to hear no matter where you're at in your garrison. This quest sends you across Draenor to gather the required parts for the jukebox of your dreams, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be fully implemented as of yet -- while I could collect the first piece on the list, a relatively easy to find drop from shredders on the Talador coast, further items weren't fully interactive. However, from what we've seen so far via datamining on the PTR, your quest doesn't end when you create the boombox. You'll need tunes to fill the thing -- and there are a wide variety to choose from. Most city themes are included, as well as old favorites like Lament of the Highborne and the Karazhan Opera House music. Keep in mind that because all of the sounds are datamined material, there's no guarantee that these options will make it to live servers. Given the sheer amount of music Blizzard has produced in conjunction with its games over the years, this is honestly a really nice way to bring all those great themes from the past back into relevance, and allow a little more customization as well. Future builds should fix any quest bugs and further reveal what we have to do to obtain all the tunes our hearts desire -- until then, I'm going to try and wrestle with the decision of what I want to hear while I'm hanging out with my followers and friends.

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The Queue: Murmur of appreciation

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! Murmur is still one of my favorite bosses from any dungeon ever, solely for the fact that his sound files are so unique, so weird, and strangely satisfying. Plus, he's essentially an elemental lord of sound, which is a really strange concept -- in a land of demons and dragons and giants and other assorted things that can kill you, a creature that can do so with the sheer force of sound is just a really neat idea. The video above isn't exactly the best video of the fight, but you can hear the strange sounds he makes really clearly. MartinLongpre asked: What is the big lore question that we don't have an answer to yet that bugs you the most? What are the naaru? Where exactly did they come from? But honestly if that question were ever answered, I think it would be revealing too much. The mystery is half the fun, after all -- and it does make for some interesting tinfoil-hat lore articles.

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Breakfast Topic: Have you caught your own mounts?

I decided to retire my War Mill over the weekend, largely because I'd gotten just about everything I could want from the building, and I had little need for the free seal. I'll probably construct it again later just because I like the look of the building, but for now, there are bigger and better things to do. Like catching my own mounts via the stables. It wasn't really a priority when I began leveling -- the War Mill, with its promise of quest upgrades, free seals, follower upgrades and transmog gear seemed like a much more appealing option. Now that that's all taken care of, it's time for the fun stuff. So yesterday I went out and caught myself a clefthoof and a talbuk, with the promise of more creatures to capture and tame as the days go on. I think I'm going to like the stables. It's more quests to do, and it's eight mounts that are essentially free as long as I put in the time to complete all the associated quests and earn the appropriate achievements along the way. Who could really pass that up? And that's got me wondering -- have you guys completed the stables quests and caught your own mounts yet? Are you planning to do so? If you've completed the quests, did you keep the building afterward? Is the 20% boost to mount speed in Draenor enough of a reason to keep the level 3 stables around? Or did you replace the stables with another building once you were all done catching your mounts? If the stables added more mounts in the future, what would you like to see?

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WoW Moviewatch: 4 people you should NOT raid with

4 people you should NOT raid with is the latest video from Nora Sunstrider -- a compilation video with a helpful list of people you should probably try to avoid when running a raid. It's a fairly simple machinima from a technical standpoint, but the jokes and the voice acting are both on point and had me laughing. The last subject in particular reminded me of several people I've raided with over the years -- in a good way. I have to say I really like how Nora puts her videos together. Her sense of timing is excellent, and her videos are just the right length to get the joke across without dragging out unnecessarily. She's definitely worth keeping an eye on -- if you liked this video, check out Nora's Youtube channel for plenty more. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.

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The Queue: Rise, mountains

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) is answering all kinds of questions today! It's been a long time since we've seen anything from MrVoletron, but man I would love to see some kind of something done with Tectus and the continual drone of Rise, Mountains. Wouldn't you? Puntable1 asked: How do you guys handle Seal of Tempered Fate missions? I always grab my 3 weekly allotted Seals on Tuesday, then if I get a mission for a Seal, it goes to waste unless I can time it to complete on the next Tuesday before it expires. The Seal you get from the follower mission does not count towards your 3 per week cap. It's essentially a bonus. So if you see that mission pop up, feel free to complete it whenever you want -- it's not going to go to waste unless you happen to already be at the cap of 10 total Seals for your character.

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Breakfast Topic: What kind of transmog items would you like to see?

As a self-proclaimed transmog addict, there are three major things I'd like to see from Warlords of Draenor's transmog offerings -- first, more draenei-themed items. We have a lot of orc clan stuff available, but the only real transmog set for draenei is locked behind one particular garrison building and a rep grind. The draenei have great fashion sense, why not have more of that style of gear available? Second, I really love the standard gear the Frostwolves run around in -- the designs are pretty, evocative, and unique. If the Frostwolves are Horde allies, why can't we dress like them? Lastly, though, is something I thought we were going to see with this expansion, but seems to have been pulled -- back banners. I love blademaster orcs, and the idea of being able to run around with one of those signature banners on my back all the time was really cool. But although we've got a follower who dutifully carts one around on her back, we don't really have any of our own. Wouldn't it be cool to have, especially given the theme of this expansion? What do you guys think? Are there particular items you'd like to see made available for transmog? Are there certain NPCs that made you take a step back and ask yourself where you could get their clothes? Is there a particular armor set you'd love to see added to the War Mill for transmog purposes? Or is how your character dresses the furthest thing from your mind while you play?

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World of Warcraft 10 Year Anniversary gift arrives

The 10 year anniversary of World of Warcraft decided to wrap up in style with a special gift mailed to players that have been with the game since the very beginning. Players who created an account within 60 days of World of Warcraft's original launch and have maintained their subscription for all ten years have been mailed a very special physical gift -- a miniature recreation of the orc statue that graces the courtyard of Blizzard Entertainment's home in Irvine, CA. If you are eligible for the gift, you should receive an email indicating your gift is on the way at your registered Battle.net email address. This is probably one of the nicer statues I've gotten from Blizzard. It looks very much like cast bronze, but I believe it's the same resin material used for their deluxe line of action figures. And although I say it's a miniature recreation, it's not that small -- the statue measures roughly 9" from base to tip of the taller axe. The base includes a message on the bottom that reads "The orc statue is a constant presence in our life at Blizzard Entertainment. It's where we meet to talk, to eat, to celebrate. As we celebrate ten years of World of Warcraft, we present this token of appreciation to you, stalwart adventurer. Thank you for being a constant presence in our lives as we adventure together." Head to Battle.net for more information regarding eligibility for the gift, and be sure to check out our gallery for shots of both statue and box.

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