garrison
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Patch 6.1: Dummies will (hopefully) stop murdering you
On live realms, the training dummies found within the garrison often prove to be a problem for DPS players. With the tanking dummy standing right next to the damage dummy, any sort of splash or cleave damage -- a baseline part of many DPS rotations -- hits the tanking dummy which proceeds to kill the player. The issue renders the dummies effectively unusable for many players who might be interested in practicing their rotation. On the patch 6.1 PTR, the damage and healing dummies have swapped places. The tanking dummy remains on the far left and the damage dummy is now on the far right. Even if you accidentally hit the tanking dummy with a bit of AOE damage, you're standing far enough away that you won't be brutally murdered by an ostensibly inanimate object.
Patch 6.1: Garrison follower mission UI updates
The patch 6.1 PTR introduces a number of updates to the garrison mission table UI, many of which will be well-appreciated. First, the mission table provides more at-a-glance information about mission rewards without need for a mouseover: ilevel of equipment, the exact number of experience points, and so on. If you do hover your mouse over a mission, a new array of information will be displayed: the ability counters required (and whether you have followers who can counter them) and the mission availability -- that is, how long the mission will stay in your list before it expires. If you have a follower who could counter something but is currently unavailable due to being on another mission, the tooltip will even tell you how long until that follower becomes available. If a mission will expire before that follower returns home, you can quickly and easily make the decision to try that mission with less than 100% chance of success. The tab which displays your list of followers has also been updated. At the top of the menu, the UI now displays the total number of each ability in your active roster. If you have 7 followers who can counter Powerful Spell, for example, that is displayed at-a-glance. As someone who keeps a spreadsheet of his followers, it's a welcome addition. It's likely I'll still keep my spreadsheet, but having the ability to quickly reference that breakdown will make it easier when it comes to recruiting new followers from the inn each week. Using follower upgrade items has also changed: you no longer click on the item, then click on the character's portrait in the list. Instead, you click the item, click the portrait in the list, and then click on their full-size image to use the item. That change seems unusual -- it adds a redundant step to the process -- but the redundancy might be intended to prevent misclicks. An image of the new follower tab can be found below; it's a big one.
Patch 6.1 PTR: A Legendary follower for your garrison
The 6.1 PTR isn't even live yet, but datamining continues apace, and the folks at Wowhead have certainly dug up a doozy for us. Apparently as part of the legendary questline, we'll be getting the first ever legendary follower, namely Garona Halforcen, the infamous Shadow Council assassin. If you're curious about what a legendary follower gets, it's impressive. It's very interesting to see the quest open up in this way, really . It broadens the idea of the kinds of rewards you can get from a legendary chain, and it also makes me hope that we might see other such followers. Perhaps my hope that Maraad can make a comeback isn't entirely unwarranted.
You'll soon be able to buy WoW garrison followers directly
If you missed out on snagging one of your World of Warcraft garrison followers or are willing to trade gold for time to complete your collection, then Blizzard is prepared to humbly accept your patronage. The studio announced on the forums that it will be adding a follower vendor in the next patch. "One specific change I can share is in the next patch we're planning to add a new NPC to tier 3 garrisons who will sell followers you might not have access to based upon which buildings and outposts you've chosen," Community Manager Crithto wrote. "You'll be able to browse for followers you did not choose from quests and any you might have missed from failed missions."
Don't forget your garrison tannery's tents
In my adventures throughout Draenor, I've discovered many are unaware of the tents provided by a garrison's Tannery -- even players with Leatherworking as their primary profession. If you assign a follower to your Tannery, they can craft a myriad of single use tents for the low price of 5 Raw Beast Hides. When the tent is placed, players can stand inside of it for 10 seconds to receive a 10% buff to all stats for 1 hour. While these tents cannot be used in instances such as dungeons and raids, they can be used anywhere in the open world: garrison invasions, trapping elite beasts, the group Apexis quests, or any other non-instanced activity. You can only carry 5 of each type of tent at a time, but they're Battle.net Account Bound and there are 21 different types of tents available. That means you can carry a potential 105 tents per character ... which makes their Unique limitations somewhat pointless. These tents aren't the most powerful thing in the world, but they're neat items and might provide the boost your group needs to achieve Gold in a garrison invasion. If you have a Barn producing leather, you might as well use some of it for a solid questing buff.
The Daily Grind: Does your WoW garrison feel like home?
I've been a fascinated outside observer in regard to World of Warcraft's recent expansion and its much-touted garrison feature. I have no doubt that garrisons have filled a lot of purposes and gone all-out on functionality. It's certainly been a powerful carrot for Blizzard to wave in front of players. But what I've been wondering is whether garrisons are so functional that they forgot to be personal. In other words, do garrisons feel like "home" in-game even if you can't decorate and customize them the way that you can in other MMO housing systems? Has your character finally set down roots or does this feel like just another mission hub? 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!
The Queue: Chili-free zone
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. We only have a few questions to cover today because this is not a column featuring chili recipes. MTA asked: What do you think of WoD's reps? I'm quite disappointed that Blzzard have yet again pushed it to the extreme. For years running now, I've had to do almost the exact same type of thing to get reps. In WoD it's all about killing thousands upon thousands of mobs which gets boring really fast. I wouldn't mind if only one rep was like that but not all 4 that I'm doing. MoP was mainly dailies that ticked me off too as was Cata and the dungeon tabards. Am I asking too much to have a mixture of rep gains?
WoW Moviewatch: A Typical Garrison Day
There may not be as many dailies this expansion, but that doesn't mean that the daily grind is gone, as Wowcrendor explores in this video, which outlines a typical garrison day for (probably) all of us. The endless fishing quests, the failed missions, the followers that just won't stop talking... But maybe Crendor's typical day isn't your typical day. So what do you say, readers? What scenes match up with your daily garrison grind? 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.
Breakfast Topic: Your favorite garrison building
We've all been working on our Draenor garrisons long enough to have some experience of the day to day grind of garrison life -- which means we've probably all had time to pick out favorites (and less favorites) amongst the building options. So today let's talk about our must-have garrison buildings. I have to admit, in my own garrison there's been some rollover as I've tried out different buildings to see what I thought of them, but while I've found the lumber mill to be the most practical of the lot (who doesn't need more garrison resources?), the stables wins as my favorite. Not only does the stable offer some excellent bonuses -- like not having to dismount to interact with objects -- but your stable also shows off a random selection from your collection of mounts, which makes it a nice visual addition that makes your garrison seem a bit more yours. But what about you, readers? Which garrison building could you just not live without?
My Garrison of Discontent
Is it possible to admire something as well designed, a really excellent piece of game design, yet resent that it exists? Because I feel that way about the Garrison. Keep in mind, I'm not saying the Garrison is bad, because I honestly believe it's one of the most intriguing things World of Warcraft has ever done. Instead of something like player housing, they've made you the head of a base, a forward war camp on hostile alien terrain. In essence, your Garrison is the tip of the Horde or Alliance spear onto Draenor. It's brilliantly executed. The feature, with its outposts and the follower minigame and the buildings that grant specific benefits all ties together, and feels organic - it makes sense that your base of operations, cut off as it is from home (at least in terms of story) would do as much as it could to become a self-sufficient entity. Frankly, although we have Warspear and Stormshield over on Ashran, the Garrison feels more like the official Horde or Alliance capital, at least to me. And yet I've grown to hate my Garrison in some ways. Perhaps it's simply that the Garrison is too good at hooking into the rat brain and making it dance. There's always some reason to be concerned about it - if you want to make use of your Garrison to its fullest extent, there's ore to be mined or plants to be gathered or missions to send your followers on, resources to be collected, buildings to be upgraded. It feels like I'm never allowed not to be thinking about my Garrison.
Garrison Secrets, Easter Eggs and Hidden Surprises
Leave it to Blizzard to slip a few in-jokes into their new Garrison feature in Warlords of Draenor. From riffs on celebrity names to hidden caches of Garrison resources to a special bird that will make you the envy of all your RP friends, we've compiled a list of everything we've found so far. First, of course, is Pepe, the bird that you can wear on your head. As outlined by our very own Anne Stickney earlier in the week, Pepe is a bird hiding in a tree in your Garrison. If you can get to him and click on his little feathered figure, he'll perch on your head for the next hour. Yes, even as your run the special 40-man Molten Core or hunt elites for desperately needed Garrison resources. And, in case you were curious, Pepe's secret origin has been published by his creator.
Blizzard on Garrison Invasions
Garrison Invasions, how do they work? Well, Blizzard decided to go ahead and explain exactly that. Some players have been confused by seeing the introductory Garrison Invasion restricted to Rank 2 of the Garrison, and thought that the Invasions had been removed from Rank 3. Not the case, says Nethaera. Nethaera - Garrison Invasions and You We've been seeing a lot of confusion in regard to the way Garrison Invasions work and we wanted to take some time to clear up this confusion for you. Most players will get their first taste of what Invasions will be like when they get into Tier 2 of their Garrison. Approximately midway through Frostfire Ridge or Shadowmoon Valley, a player's Garrison will be attacked either by a Thunderlord or Shadowmoon force. The quest is just a taste of what this type of gameplay offers but it's not a full blown invasion just yet. It's a way to get your feet wet and experience just a bit of what it will be like when you reach max level. For those who move quickly into their 3rd tier before getting this event, don't worry. You haven't missed out on any special rewards. It's just a precursor to what you're going to get to experience at maximum level. Once you reach max level, these events are triggered organically. What this means is, as you fight powerful foes among the enemy factions of Draenor (generally in and around the areas for Apexis Crystal Missions) you'll draw their attention and an enemy force will eventually prepare to attack your Garrison. When that happens, the commander outside your Town Hall will have a quest for you, allowing you to trigger the invasion. The Nuts and Bolts: Your effectiveness in defending your Garrison is measured by how many enemies you're able to defeat and how many of your guards and buildings survive the assault. (Don't worry, there's no permanent damage- they will rebuild it!) You can bring up to 2 friends into your Garrison to assist in the defense. (It's like a party, but with heavily armored invaders.) Based on your final score you and your allies present will earn a Bronze, Silver, and/or Gold award for your efforts – each award may only be earned once per week. source So fear not - if you upgraded your Garrison to Tier 3, you'll still get your Garrison Invasions.
Meet Pepe, your feathered garrison pal
Garrisons are one of the most ridiculously cool parts of the Warlords of Draenor expansion. Part ever-evolving quest hub, part resource and profession management system, part place-to-park-your-butt at the end of the day, garrisons work seamlessly and effortlessly with the flow of the expansion itself. But if you really needed another reason to love your home away from home, you should keep your eye out for Pepe, and consider adding him to your daily routine. Who's Pepe? He's a happy little bird that lives in your garrison's trees. He's the only named bird on the premises. And if you manage to reach him and click on him, he's also a fashionable chirpy hat -- or maybe your head is a warm and cozy nest. Either way, Pepe will stick around with you for an hour, or until you die, whichever comes first. After a period of time, he'll reappear in your garrison, just so you can click him and begin your adventures together all over again. There's no achievement for Pepe, nor is he an item you carry in your bags, or a pet you can battle with. He's just a fun side bonus in your garrison, tucked away for player to discover. Pepe is available to both Alliance and Horde players, in all three stages of garrison construction. He can be found in the trees around your stronghold, but if you're having a hard time, you can always target him by typing /tar Pepe to hunt him down a little more efficiently. Because he's in a tree, it may take some creative climbing to get to him. But once you do, you'll obtain the buff Pepe, which does nothing other than state "You've got a friend!" And honestly, on a harsh and unforgiving world like Draenor, who wouldn't welcome another one of those?
World of Warcraft's garrisons 'like a personal guild'
Experiencing garrisons in World of Warcraft is no longer an exercise in daydreaming but an immediate reality with this morning's launch of Warlords of Draenor. That doesn't mean that Blizzard is finished with talking about it, as it's shouting a final garrison dev diary today to the crowd that's already streamed out of the front door. This fourth dev diary is mostly concerned with showing how this feature can benefit players and how they can be accomodating to different playstyles. "Your Garrison operates more like a personal guild that you lead," Blizzard posted. "Whether you check in on it multiple times per day or a few times a week, you can set up your Garrison to give you rewards and present you with challenges at varied intervals." Every two levels of the expansion will open up more garrison options, and these instances will also offer weekly quests that tie into the storyline. You can even end up building a monument to your mighty ego if you overcome one of a handful of significant tasks.
The Daily Grind: Do you like having NPCs fight alongside you?
The news that some garrison NPC followers will be able to become your bodyguards and fight alongside you is the first Warlords of Draenor information that's interested me at all. I love such systems in other games, such as companions in Star Wars: The Old Republic and Neverwinter. It's probably the same reason why I like pet classes: Having a combat NPC there makes me feel less alone and more in charge of a team, even if there's only code on the other end and not an actual human face. (Or so I assume.) Although, as in SWTOR, it might be a little awkward in WoW to see dozens of people running around with the same companion you have. Do you like it when a game gives you an NPC to be your bodyguard? 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!
How professions are changing in Warlords of Draenor
Like with every expansion before it, Warlords of Draenor will be shaking things up. Professions will get their skill caps increased to 700 and you'll find new recipes (and new epic gear) waiting for you in Draenor. But it's not all business as usual: some major changes in Warlords will be shaking up how professions work and how they fit in with the rest of the game. Blizzard's goal here seems targeted to opening up player choice: you shouldn't be forced into a profession or be penalized for not having or leveling one. This doesn't mean that the advantages of having a profession are going away, but come Warlords some unique bonuses will be gone, people without a profession will have additional access to it, and leveling professions will be more straightforward for players who might not have focused on professions in the past. Here are the biggest changes: Profession-based bonuses are gone. And, though we may be losing some perks, with the stat squish and resultant rebalancing in Warlords, this is the ideal time for Blizzard to make this switch. The end result is that you won't have to pick a profession for a specific combat bonus... but can have whichever professions you most want. You can gather anything in Draenor, regardless of skill level. We saw this happen with mining and herbalism in Pandaria in patch 5.3, and now it's expanded to cover all gathering professions, making it easier to level up a gathering profession from zero. Players with higher skill levels will gather more materials than players with lower skill levels. In addition to gathering professions being easier to level, crafting professions all have catch-up recipes that will let you level from zero onward using Draenor materials. This will probably make it more expensive if you plan on buying materials (since everyone will be looking for the same new-world materials), but less of a nuisance if you're gathering your own. Garrison buildings will allow you limited access to professions you don't have... or improve your abilities in professions you do have. Want to know all the details? Read on to see just what's happening for professions in Warlords of Draenor.
World of Warcraft's garrisons will send Leeroy Jenkins to protect you
Part of the potential fun of owning, building, and operating a garrison in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is that you'll be leader to several NPCs known as followers. A new garrison dev diary today talked about the acquisition and benefits of followers and how that will change your gameplay. Followers can be obtained through several means, including quests, reputation, and a once-a-week headhunter service. Once there, followers can be sent out in missions alone or as a group in order to bring back rewards for their kind and generous master. Players can accumulate up to 25 active followers of various quality types and can level them up over time. Probably the most interesting facet of follower ownership is the use of a select handful as bodyguards. Players can attach a bodyguard to them for general world questing, asking such famous figures as Leeroy Jenkins to fight by your side. Once enough reputation with that NPC is reached, the bodyguard will attain several helpful abilities, such as being able to summon friends or create a portal back to your garrison.
Blizzard's third Garrison preview shines a spotlight on followers
So we've seen parts 1 and 2 of the Garrison Preview, and now it's time for part 3, which should feature ewoks if my memory serves me. This time, however, instead of ewoks we get followers - they fulfill many of the same functions as ewoks but they're mostly less cute. Mostly. I think Lantresor of the Blade is adorable, myself. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have Leeroy Jenkins, Milhouse Manastorm or Archmage Vargoth as your companions and friends? Well, wonder no more! It's like pet battles, only with NPC's! You can collect as many followers as you like for your garrison, but there's a limit on how many you can have active at a time - think of it as a 'too many cooks' situation. Each follower has specific abilities that make them better or worse for specific missions (some have crowd control, for example) and some followers will even be your bodyguard, accompanying you on missions and protecting you as you (and they) level up. For more details, please check out this third preview of the Garrison feature coming in Warlords of Draenor.
Blizzard's second garrison preview focuses on buildings
So it's Garrison Preview time again, and this time, we're being told about buildings. Wondering how the Garrison Tier system affects your buildings? How large and small plots work? How you can progress your garrison and gain different buildings and new plots to put them on? Wonder no more, for the preview explains all of that for you. Your Garrison mainly comprises buildings and the Followers who inhabit them. As your Garrison grows, so will your options and opportunities to use these assets to your advantage on Draenor. The Followers that populate your Garrison will grow in number and power, and what they can do for you depends which buildings you choose to construct in your base. So if you're interested in how this new feature so central to the Warlords of Draenor experience is going to play out, head on over to the official site right now and take a gander at the write-up.
Warlords of Draenor: Archmage Vargoth's Spare Staff
Players who have been around since Burning Crusade have fond memories of a fellow named Vargoth. We've given a rundown of the man's history in an earlier post about his newfound status as a garrison follower in Warlords of Draenor, but where Vargoth is concerned, Warlords keeps giving. Players clung to Vargoth's staff back in Burning Crusade to retain the ability to summon the mage to their side at any time. In Warlords, an updated version of that staff can be acquired via the rare follower mission Finding Farahlon. Successfully completing Finding Farahlon awards you with the Mysterious Shining Lockbox which contains Archmage Vargoth's Spare Staff. The Warlords version of the staff, which fits into your toy box, appears to use the same spell effects as the Burning Crusade version. Vargoth continues to talk about betrayal at the hands of Kael'thas despite those events being in the distant past by now. Regardless, there's no longer a need to carry a quest item in your bags in perpetuity.
