Dragonflight
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'World of Warcraft: Dragonflight' won't use gendered language in its character generator
'World of Warcraft: Dragonflight' has ditched gendered language in its character creator.
‘World of Warcraft’ expansion Dragonflight predictably lets you ride dragons
Nearly two decades into the life of World of Warcraft, Blizzard has just announced the MMO’s ninth expansion.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Infinite Paths and the rise of Murozond
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. The past week, both Anne and myself have been discussing major lore figures of the Well of Eternity heroic 5-man, Queen Azshara and Illidan Stormrage. This week, however, I wanted to talk about something a little different, namely the nature of how we're going to meet those two figures in the distant past -- why we go there, how we go there, what "there" actually is, and what it means. This KYL is about time, time travel, and the Bronze and Infinite Dragonflights, about Nozdormu and Murozond, and about how you destroyed time. This KYL is so chock-full of spoilers for the novel Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects and the patch 4.3 heroics that if you read any further, you may well go mad. Or just get mad, I guess. It's also a THE, or Tinfoil Hat Edition, which means it's loaded with speculation. Take it with a grain of hourglass sand.
Breakfast Topic: Roto-scoping is not animation
For those who don't know, I'm an animator in my IRL career. I've studied it, I've gone to school for it, I do it myself. I scrutinize it, critique it and think about it every moment I get. It should go without saying that I am fairly picky when it comes to animations. Enter the drakonid. What's a drakonid? See the header image. They're the bipedal draconic warriors that are native to each main Dragonflight. Now, if you aggro them, you'll notice that they run at you, lances swirling away. I. Hate. That. Animation. It drives me crazy. My guild leader affectionately calls it my Kryptonite, as I freak out whenever I see them do it. It's just so terrible! It looks like some horrific motion capture session gone wrong; then a blind chimpanzee with a tablet in its mouth added some keyframes. Yes, I realize that it's supposed to spoof the 'Star Wars Kid' animation, but I don't care. Now, I'm not so critical that I can't like things. I love the animation that was added for ToC, where we saw poor Jarod Sunsworn get choked to death by the Black Knight. The animation for Anzu is great to watch, as they take care of the physics for his feathers. I could think of many others, but those are just a few that stand out. What animations tickle your fancy? What do you love or hate, and why? What could they improve? Discuss amongst yourselves!
More Ruby Sanctum information: loot, lore, and more
Today's announcement of the upcoming Ruby Sanctum raid, coming with Patch 3.3.5, was well-met, though it raised a number of questions as to the nature of the instance -- how will it work, what kind of loot can we expect, etc. Zarhym popped back into the original thread a few times to give clarification on a few points: While the instance has a similar layout to the Obsidian Sanctum philosophically, the three sub-bosses (Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn, and General Zarithrian) will each be own encounter all their own. The "drakes-up" functionality of Sartharion will not carry over into the Halion encounter. Heroic difficulty is likely to be toggled in the same way that heroic difficulties are handled in ICC (a UI toggle). Saviana, Baltharus, and Zarithrian will each drop an Emblem of Frost, but probably not special loot. Expect loot in the instance to be "about the same item level" as the Lich King items on their respective difficulties. The loot from Halion will be offset pieces as well as trinkets and other items "of that nature." So, basically, Sartharion loot. The instance is intended to be a prelude to Cataclysm and should provide some advancement for the new expansion's storyline before the 4.0 patch, drawing on Deathwing's desire to weaken the Wyrmrest Accord prior to his emergence from Deepholm. Arthas is still considered the final boss of the expansion -- this is merely a complementary raid, like Onyxia with ToC, with ties to Cataclysm. Sounds like about what we were expecting. Keep an eye on WoW.com for more information on the Ruby Sanctum as it comes in, likely starting with the upcoming PTR.
The Queue: Isthmus-time is here
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Michael Sacco will be your host today. It's officially Winter Veil, and you know what that means! Azerothians donning their yuletide apparel and decking the halls with the blood of their enemies. Is there anything more demoralizing than getting decapitated by someone dressed like a holiday centerfold? And just think, without achievements, this activity would be naught but a holiday novelty. Technology is a wondrous thing. Daniel asked... I have noticed that dark ranger hanging around in Dalaran, and decided to look them up, and noticed that they were neutral hero unit in Warcraft 3:The Frozen Throne. I was wondering, could, it be even remotely possible, that in the future we have that class introduced into the game that will be neutral? Extremely unlikely. There are also some dark rangers wandering around the Undercity post-3.3, and it appears that they're there as a buildup to playable forsaken hunters in Cataclysm. Sylvanas herself is classified as a dark ranger. We'll probably see quests just like the ones introducing night elf mages and tauren priests and paladins for these NPCs.
Breakfast Topic: When are we going to see the rest of the Chamber of Aspects?
I've been killing Sarth for months and, oddly I still enjoy it. Sans the last half an hour which normally involves bickering and the following question: 'What's a raid roll?' repeated ad infinitum. However each time I enter the Chamber of Aspects, I find my eyes drawn to the other still-sealed portals and wonder when they will open. It's clear the Dragonflight portion of Wrath lore is still incomplete and I live in hope these new raids might be tied into patch 3.3 or even the new expansion.So tell me readers, when do you think Blizzard will start opening the other Sanctums? What kind of raids would you like to see for each flight? Do you think it might tie into the whole Infinite Dragonflight questline or be something to do with the Lich King? What are your thoughts, constant readers?
One Shots: Wyrmrest Temple
The biting chill of the frosty Northrend air sears the lungs of all but the hardiest of adventurers. Today's World of Warcraft One Shots sent to us from Johanis shows one such worldly soul, standing patiently in the frozen wastes just outside of the ancient Dragonflight meeting spot at Wyrmrest Temple. Who or what he was waiting for, we're not sure, but we'd guess that it's probably a group to party up and go in pursuit of some of the sweet, sweet loot Northrend instances have to offer! Have you taken a picturesque shot of your favorite character that you'd like to show off? If so, we'd love to see it. Feel free to tell us about your character, the reason you picked the area, or whatever you'd like to add in. Alternately, just a screenshot with your name and the game is great too - and all MMOs are welcome! Send those in to oneshots AT massively DOT com, and we'll post it out here for everyone to check out. %Gallery-9798%
Omar the Test Dragon
Once upon a time I had a Carrot on a Stick. Then I copied my shaman to the Wrath beta server. To my surprise, when I logged onto the beta realm for the first time, waiting for me at the mailbox was the curious message above. Now, we've covered the riding enchantment ground already (that is, it may not ever go live), but what I want to talk about on this post is my new buddy, Omar the Test Dragon.I think I have a crush on him. I wonder what he looks like. I expect Omar looks like a cross between Mr. T. and Justin Timberlake -- ohhh, dreamy! Is he a Troll, a Goblin, or is he really a member of the Dragonflight? How wonderful that would be! Nighttime flights above Netherstorm or setting fire to ogres in Stonemaul. How romantic! But if Omar really is a dragonIflight, he speaks differently than I expected. His language style is utterly intoxicating. I mean, his use of exclamation marks alone is enough to give a girl the dizzies. Maybe that's why he doesn't reply to my emails -- perhaps there is a language barrier between us? O, my dear Omar, if you can hear the sound of my voice, I have but one message for you. I am no dawg, just a simple bovine from Mulgore. Peace out.
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.
