arthas
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Arthas takes on the Sith in new image from Blizzard
Not to be shown up by the Sith (i.e. the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Arthas is back in a new imaged released on Warcraft's Twitter page showing him with an upgraded version of Frostmourne (now with an even more excessive crossguard), and ready to take on anyone who wants to put up a fight for the title of ultimate villain. In the battle of Arthas vs. Sith, I think I'd put my money on Arthas. Or is this supposed to be an audition? If so, I think he may be a little too late. Kind of like at Stratholme. Oh, too soon?
WoW Moviewatch: Warcraft 3 in World of Warcraft
There's a lot of old Warcraft lore in World of Warcraft, but if you don't know where to look for it you might not even realize it's there. Fortunately, Wowcrendor is here to help with a video that points out all of the Warcraft 3 scenes and settings that you can find inside World of Warcraft. It's a long video, running over 10 minutes, but it covers a lot of Warcraft history and, if you're interested in learning the story behind the locales, it's worth the watch. While loremasters may already know about these places, this Arthas-focused tour of Azeroth might just leave you to look at game locations you've wandered through a hundred times a little differently. Note to self: Never idle in the Lordaeron throne room. That stuff's creepy. 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.
Know Your Lore: The Deceiver Awaits
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. Sargeras is of course more powerful. Archimonde more directly destructive. But for sheer malice, for spite, for a turn of mind so devious and sinister that it pursues vengeance for over 25,000 years for the slight of not wanting to become a monster, you can never find evil more cunning and persistent than that of Kil'jaeden the Deceiver. Make no mistake. Even Gul'dan pales in comparison to the hate, greed, and wanton cruelty that motivates Kil'jaeden. The demon lord par excellence, when we look at many of the greatest ills of the modern age it was the hand of the Deceiver that shaped them. The corruption of the orcs? The creation of the Scourge and the Lich King? The Third War? Others may have taken these actions, pursued them to their ultimate conclusion, but it was the mind of the Deceiver that brought them forth and worked to make them a reality. Indeed, it's fair to say that Kil'jaeden is often far more successful when he can resist taking an active hand in events - his most recent defeat at the Sunwell took place because he chose to attempt what Sargeras had failed to do and what had killed Archimonde, namely the bodily invasion of Azeroth proper. So let us look now upon the Deceiver, lord of lies, spreader of falsehood - liar and betrayer of betrayers.
Heroes of the Storm previews Master Skins
The Heroes of the Storm team has been busy today, previewing both a new map and, just recently, Master Skins. Originally, Master Skins were unveiled at PAX East as a reward for individuals dedicated to playing specific heroes. Heroes of the Storm boasts a number of dramatic and even comical skins, but Master Skins function a bit differently. They're essentially evolutions of the original skins, with characters showing unique additions to their visuals, such as horns, additional props, et cetera. The video above shows off Master Skins for characters from the Warcraft universe including Arthas, Falstad, Li Li, and Stitches. They're all unique in their own right, but just how badass does Falstad look with his mohawk? Hopefully future videos will show us what we can expect from the Diablo and StarCraft universes as Master Skins go.
Heroes of the Storm: New hero Murky and other changes coming soon
The Heroes of the Storm team held their fifth Developer Q&A on Twitch.tv today. The developers discussed sweeping future changes coming to the game's alpha including a complete overhaul of the game's UI. Other major additions and changes include: New hero Murky. This week is Murky Week, so a great deal of information about him is on the horizon. Many heroes will be receiving a talent overhaul based on data collected on talent usage. Not only talents chosen most often across the board, but talents chosen most often in winning and losing games. Arthas, Illidan, and Tyrael are receiving complete redesigns and are unlikely to be the only ones. Their current iteration doesn't fit the vision of the hero and were early designs, too bland/generic to be such iconic characters. Players tend to consider these three underwhelming at best. Personal achievements are being added so you can better gauge your personal performance in-game. Currently, in-game achievements only display team efforts. In addition, themed maps from all of Blizzard's IPs will be coming eventually. The current Haunted Mines is being reworked. So, too, is the Cursed Hollow, which has a tendency to snowball in favor of who gets the first round of idols.
WoW Moviewatch: Elegy
Elegy is the newest machinima by PallyPowerXIX, who coincidentally is a regular on this site. It's a moody retelling of some of WoW's greatest moments, though it helps to know the lore behind Jaina and Arthas to really get it. I think that would be the most notable criticism of the movie: you need to know the story to get the story. Then again, most machinima viewers would be plenty aware of the lore, so it's not like that's a significant drawback. The music! The music in this video was outstanding. The aesthetic is considerably different from what we usually see during machinima videos, and I liked that somber but raucous feel the music selection brought. The animation fit it perfectly. All in all, Elegy was some pretty good stuff. 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.
WoW Moviewatch: Arthas Lets It Go
No sooner had the lyrics left Elsa's lips than this video (and variants of it) demanded to be made. Even if you're not an Adele Dazeem fan, you've probably heard the song a few dozen times now. Arthas Lets It Go is well done in a few ways that would be easy to miss. The creator put a great deal of effort into making sure the video matched up to the song; if you just play the WotLK trailer straight, it won't line up nearly so well. I think Arthas is my new favorite Disney Princess.
The Daily Grind: What 'famous' NPCs were a thrill to meet?
Some of us who are perhaps more deeply invested in particular game worlds and lore tend to have a strong reaction when meeting the more famous members of the NPC cast. Perhaps it's a big name from another game in the series, a character that was prominently featured on the box art, or even a person who is synonymous with the franchise as a whole. Sometimes it's just a character that all of your friends have talked up and you're only getting to meet now. I've certainly witnessed friends geeking out when they finally got to meet, say, Arthas or Gollum for the first time in a game. When I went back for a super-brief visit to Dungeons and Dragons Online, I felt a little shiver at bumping into Elminster in the newer content. So what famous NPCs were a thrill to meet in the game -- and did you ask for their autograph? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Know Your Lore: Lore summed up part 4 - Wrath of the Lich King continued
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. Last week's coverage of the lore of Wrath of the Lich King got to the thematic middle point of the expansion - the Wrathgate event. It changed the nature of Horde/Alliance relations, breaking any possibility for faction cooperation. It also capped off the Dragonblight storyline - Horde players had to deal with the realization that the very plague used on Horde troops by Putress was created by their efforts questing in the zone, while Alliance players saw the loss of one of the more beloved lore figures on their side, Highlord Bolvar Fordragon. (The last name Fordragon means "He who cleaves on Dragons' in old Arathi. Okay, no it doesn't. But Bolvar absolutely did that.) Combined with the way Bolvar's previous encounters with players had been worked into the quests, it was a gut punch to lose him. It was far from the end of the story, however. We had miles to go before we reached the foot of Icecrown Citadel. I mentioned, briefly, the Arugal storyline in the Grizzly Hills, but there was also the story of the Furbolg in the region - a story that touched upon earlier zones such as the Howling Fjord and the Whisper Gulch. These stories would be shown to be of vast importance, and connected to that of an entity named Loken, who was directing the plunder of ancient Titan sites across Northrend by a force of strange Iron Dwarves. The story of Loken would, in a way, eclipse that of Arthas Menethil without displacing him - for while the Lich King was a clear and present danger and the reason the Alliance and Horde had come to Northend, Loken would prove to endanger Azeroth far more directly. If the Lich King succeeded, the Scourge would rule a world dominated by the undead. If Loken had his way, there would be no Azeroth at all. The machinations of these two forces both involved a strange material called Saronite - the Scourge forces seemed determined to mine this unusual metal from specific dark corners of the land beneath Northrend's surface. Whisper Gulch, too, teemed with it. But what was Saronite, and why did the Scourge seemingly loathe and fear the name Yogg-Saron while still using the stuff?
Know Your Lore: Lore summed up part 3 - Wrath of the Lich King
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. Part one covered the original launch game, and part two covered the Burning Crusade expansion. Part three is about Corgis Unleashed. No, no, I kid. Part three is of course about Wrath of the Lich King, when our titular king of the liches gets upset. Miffed. Irate. Angry, even. This one is going to be long - even longer than the BC recap, so long that I see no choice but to split it into two parts. The Lich King was a long time in coming - players were clamoring for him from the moment World of Warcraft launched, and when the expansion bearing his name finally hit, it changed everything. Like The Burning Crusade, WotLK started with an event. But unlike TBC, this particular event, the Scourge Invasion, was leaps and bounds more dramatic than expected. This time, the monsters were the players, so to speak. It began with mysterious boxes appearing in Booty Bay and other cities and towns, spreading across Azeroth slowly. The boxes appeared in capital cities, shipped from unknown locales... and slowly, all over the world, the curse of undeath began taking root. At first members of the Argent Dawn could keep ahead of the tide of plague, but as it continued, more and more of Azeroth's heroes succumbed. Soon an irresistible tide of undead threatened Orgrimmar, Stormwind, Ironforge, Undercity (yes, even the forsaken were not immune) and other locations. Some ran and hid in the countryside, avoiding major cities, because these undead seemed to possess a sadistic enjoyment and sought to infect as many as possible.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Alternate 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. Warlords of Draenor takes place in an alternate, splinter reality in which Garrosh Hellscream has gone back in time and prevented the leaders of the old orc clans from drinking the Blood of Mannoroth. In this version of reality, several events have changed dramatically -- leading players to ask many, many questions about alternate Azeroth, how its history has been altered, and how that changes the Azeroth we know and love today. The answer is very simple: it doesn't. Not in the slightest. That alternate Azeroth, and whatever future it may hold, has no bearing on Warlords of Draenor at all. We won't be exploring that world, and our Azeroth remains unchanged. However, people still continue to ask. So we're going to take a little trip into that alternate reality and explore what that version of Azeroth would theoretically look like without the Dark Portal. We're going to explore this alternate world, take a look at what likely never came to pass, and what happened as a result. And then we're going to quietly put all of that away, because this is all information and events that we are not going to see in Warlords of Draenor. But it'll be nice to get it out of our systems, won't it? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition. The following contains speculation and history based on known material. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
WoW Moviewatch: The Culling of Arthas
When Nixxiom and Mooclucking tackle The Culling of Arthas, you can bet you're in for a good time. Of course, my mere Arthas can't possible do full Arthas to this Arthas, so I'd invite you to read their words about the video: Hello, Arthas. It's been a long Arthas but at last I'm here with a brand new Arthas! I've been busy a lot with Arthas lately so I've been preoccupied with writing Arthas', making Arthas projects, and preparing for my Arthas finals. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean I have forgotten Arthas! So here is a short Arthas for your viewing Arthas. Hope you all enjoy Arthas! So, I hope you Arthas this video and take the time to leave Arthas some feedback. 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.
Azeroth and beyond: Nine years of World of Warcraft
In 1999, Blizzard Entertainment was well on its way to becoming something of a titan in the PC gaming space. Riding high on hits like Diablo, Warcraft II, and the barely-a-year-old StarCraft, Blizzard had established itself as a purveyor of quirky, well-made, and entertaining games mostly of the RTS variety. However, something else was brewing behind closed doors at Blizzard's Irvine campus. While sequels to Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo were all in development (and hotly anticipated), the company had also quietly started work on a brand-new massively-multiplayer online game set in one of the studio's existing game universes. That game, of course, was World of Warcraft. And nine years ago tomorrow, it completely changed the face of MMO gaming.
Blizzard store now offering full Halloween costumes
Halloween is fast approaching -- are you prepared? If not, the Blizzard Store might just be your ticket if you're looking for a quick solution and simultaneously wanting to show off your gamer pride. Three new costumes by Rubies have been added to the Blizzard Store, and unlike previous mask offerings, these are full-body outfits that will dress you up from head to toe. Along with the standard green orc, Illidan and Arthas are both available -- keep in mind, however, that if you're looking for a pair of Warglaives or Frostmourne, those don't come with the outfits. They may not be the height of cosplay perfection, but they're good enough for a Halloween party or three. The characters are pretty much instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with Warcraft, and really isn't that all anyone hopes for out of a Halloween costume? Head to the Blizzard store to check them out and perhaps pick up a costume of your own.
WoW Moviewatch: Lore According to Arthas
As a lore columnist, I'm terribly familiar with the story of Arthas and the fall of Lordaeron. But hey, I've never heard the story from Arthas' side. So what's a bitter, mostly dead former Lich King to do? Slightly Impressive tackles the subject with the Lore According to Arthas, in which the former Lich King explains everything that happened to a befuddled gnome who hasn't played through the Wrath expansion. Needless to say, Slightly Impressive did a fantastic job with his latest effort. The explanation of the final battles in Icecrown in particular had me cracking up. As usual, he hit all the right notes, and the visuals were spot-on. It's a little hard for me personally to hear Arthas say anything without picturing Myndflame's interpretation of the character, but Slightly Impressive nailed it, right down to the excessive reminder that everything he does is, yes, for Lordaeron. Take a look! 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.
Warcraft and its "Joker Problem"
The "Joker Problem" is, in its simplest terms, based around the old Batman villain, first introduced in 1940. In his original appearance, the Joker was a homicidal madman who used complicated toxins to murder people as part of a crime wave that only he really understood. In his original appearances, the Joker was slated for death, because back then Batman routinely killed people or allowed them to die, but the editors realized that if they went around killing off all the good villains they'd run out of them, and so the Joker was spared. He went on to become Batman's greatest adversary. World of Warcraft has a Joker Problem, because we keep murdering our Jokers. Oh, it's hard to blame us - how many times have people pointed out how ludicrous it is that Batman or someone else hasn't murdered the Joker at this point? Plus, they drops shiny goodies when we kill them, and there's nothing players in an MMO like more than trinkets and baubles. Tirion Fordring once held a death sport that was entirely based around bribing us into gladiatorial combat with goodies, and we totally went for it. Sometimes we'd run that thing four times a week. But the fact remains - we barely get a good villain rolling for an expansion before we storm his or her castle, keep, subterranean lair, floating sky palace, old temple... you get the picture, I'm sure... and do war upon said villain. At the end, a sparkly corpse is left at our feet, the day is temporarily saved, and then someone else ignores all the evidence to the contrary and starts the whole thing up again. Not all of the dead Jokers in our track were Jokers, of course. Some were Riddlers, or Penguins, or even just barely Calendar Mans. But we've definitely left a few Jokers strewn among the pile of dead would-be world destroyers, conquerors, and assorted evil people. Lady Vashj, Illidan, Arthas, Deathwing, Ragnaros, Al'Akir, Kel'Thuzad, Malygos, we've taken out some important figures with a great deal of significance to the setting. The up side is that it demonstrates the stakes and gives a player a sense of accomplishment to finally take down an archnemesis. The downside is, they're gone.
Arthas (Kindle edition) is on sale for $1.99
Stepping off your flying mount into the streets of Dalaran you look around at the empty city, noticing only a few Horde and Alliance members running by as the skrit off on quests far and wide. The city itself is warm and inviting, contrasting nicely to the bitter cold of Northrend. Wandering into the center of town you see a statue of the heroes that passed during the downing the mighty Lich King. Reading the plaque you're told the tale of demise of Arthas, the once great and powerful ruler of the land, and the master of the Scourge. You scratch your head though. Who is this Arthas and why'd he become such a pill? Was he born a brat and became a tyrant, destined to be slapped upside the head like Joffrey? Or was he corrupted and transformed into one of the greatest evils the land has ever seen? A gnome engineer comes by and hands you this thing called a "Kindle." It has magical words appearing on the screen and you begin to read... "Arthas, on sale today for $1.99 at Amazon's Kindle Store." Fortunately you've got some crappy gear you've picked up along the way to sell to a vendor, and you quickly buy the book for this "Kindle" thing. Then you get eaten by a grue. The end.
Know Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich King
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. Thinking again about the Lich King, specifically when Arthas Menethil wore the Helm of Domination, always brings me to speculate on his seeming need to prove something. Everything we experienced in Wrath of the Lich King seemed calculated towards that end. From the encounter with him in Howling Fjord through the complicated Drak'tharon Keep and Zul'Drak storylines to the final showdown atop Icecrown Citadel, Arthas always had a plan, and that plan was in part simply to cause his own enemies to provide him with a cadre of such power that he could turn and use against the world, yes. But more than that, Arthas seemed obsessed with proving that he was right. Again and again Arthas as the Lich King put mortal heroes through situations that served to illustrate his own fall - again and again, he sought not just to torment and inspire hatred and anger just as he had been tormented by Mal'Ganis and grew to be consumed by hatred, but to show by so doing how his own actions had been correct. That the only possible response to what he'd undergone was to become as he had. Even merged with Ner'zhul in the form of the Lich King, Arthas' mind and personality came to shape the entity, and when all roads converged atop Icecrown, it was Arthas' desire to show Azeroth how right he was that shone through.
WoW for Dummies, Act III: The end of vanilla
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. Vanilla WoW may not have seemed full of story to most, but it was jam-packed with plot elements, although they were hidden from all but those who paid the closest attention to what was going on around them. Most lore in the game was simply introduced with quest text -- there were no cut scenes, there was no phasing, there were none of the innovations we currently have today in regards to the implementation of lore in gameplay. If you missed them, I recommend going back and reading through the summaries of early days of vanilla lore. There are two versions of Act I, one for Alliance and one for Horde. Act II applies to both sides of the faction fence as the story began to merge for both sides. Please note that these are summaries of the lore that existed in game -- later novels, comics, and other material adjusted what actually happened in the scope of the game universe, and some of those novels and comics are now the official canon version of these events. I've pointed out where these changes occurred. The end of vanilla was marked with the return of foes long thought dead and gone, and the ominous stirrings of a portal to another world.
World of Warcraft Mega Bloks commercial airs
Don't call them "LEGOs" or "Blocks," although we would forgive you if you did make one of these common mistakes when dealing with Mega Bloks. The definitely-not-LEGO toymaker is releasing a series of World of Warcraft sets and now has the commercial to prove it. The 30-second spot shows the creation of Stormwind castle, one of the Horde zeppelins, and several action figures of WoW characters (including Arthas). Each has interchangable armor, which is right in step for what you'd expect from an MMO franchise. Spare 30 seconds to watch it after the jump and decide if you're going to buy a few of these for... a lucky little boy or girl whom you might know.
