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Know Your Lore: Who is the Thunder 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. In light of the news of Patch 5.2, let's take a look at who the Thunder King is. Lei Shen was the first ruler of the mogu, the first to unite his people. In a very real sense he was the first Emperor of what is today Pandaria. He cleverly united the mogu people not merely through force of arms or even powerful magic, but through motivation. He learned the lessons of strength by studying the mantid, and applied the lessons he learned to his own people. It has been written that when the great Lei Shen first looked upon the lands of the mantid, he did not feel fear, but inspiration. As he began to unify his people under a single banner and subjugate the other races of Pandaria, he knew that the mantid would never succumb to his authority. They spoke his language, the language of strength. He commanded his slaves to construct the Serpent's Spine, a magnificent wall that spanned the length of the empire. It would take many generations to build. But Lei Shen knew how to motivate his subjects. Fear. Fear of the mantid moved mountains, raised armies, secured his empire, and built his wall. The Thunder King, from Dark Heart of the Mogu Before he could apply the lessons of the mantid, however, Lei Shen would first need to rise to power, which he did with the aid of an ancient lost artifact. This artifact allowed Lei Shen to annihilate his rivals and cement his power over the mogu, and the Thunder King is said to have built the Mogu'shan Vaults to contain this weapon.
Reputation in review: The Dominance Offensive
It took until patch 5.1, but we got it. The most perfect reputation grind in the game to date. I don't say these words lightly, because let's face it, I have pretty high standards for what I like and what I don't like with daily quests. But the Dominance Offensive appears to have taken the best out of all previous reputation grinds and wrapped it all together in a delightful ball of compelling story and quests that barely feels like a grind at all. Please note that this is a review for the Dominance Offensive, which is the Horde side of the 5.1 reputation. At this point in time, I don't have an Alliance character at level 90, so I'm unable to play through the Operation Shieldwall quests. However, I have been assured that not only are the Operation Shieldwall quests just as good, in some ways they are even better than the Dominance Offensive material. I'm not even sure how this is possible, because these dailies are just that good. But enough gushing. Let's get into the nuts and bolts of what makes this reputation grind so different from everything before it.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The seventh Sha
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 Jade Serpent circled the Vale, and spoke to the beleaguered Emperor. "Pandaria is more than just the Pandaren Empire," she told Shaohao. "Your enemies to the west are as much a part of this land as your empire behind the wall." Seeing that all things were connected in an eternal whole, and that his beloved land was more than just the Pandaren Empire, Shaohao at least understood. We know from the writings in The Emperor's Burdern that all of Pandaria is connected. But is it just Pandaria, or all of Azeroth? This week's Tinfoil Hat Edition leaps off of the theories presented by Matthew Rossi in Wednesday's Know Your Lore. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do so, because conspiracy theories abound in today's edition of Know Your Lore. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Where does he get those wonderful toys? Pandaren rares and loot
If there is one thing I have perfected in eight years of playing this game, it is filling my bags with useless stuff. I'm not talking about armor bits and pieces for transmog, or weapons with pretty glows, or bags full of crafting material like cloth or leather. No, I'm talking random baubles that will make you look like your neighbor. Or fling you in the air, without worry of what happens when you eventually hit the ground. You know, stuff. Everybody likes stuff. And who has the best stuff in Pandaria? Rare mobs, of course! But which rares have the good stuff? Which ones will let you summon a fleet of angered puppies in party hats to fight at your side? Or inexplicably get you ready for a day at the beach in the middle of a raid? Or turn you into a statue with no apparent purpose other than sitting there pretending to be a statue? You want useless stuff? Oh we've got all kinds of useless stuff for you, sorted by category.
Know Your Lore TFH: Something is wrong
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. Spoilers for Mists of Pandaria in this post There's a problem in what we're being told. Upon our arrival on the shores of Pandaria, we brought our war with us. And, if you've run the Jade Forest entry quests, you've seen the fruits of that war as the clash of arms and the battle of racial hatreds allowed the Sha to be released once more. Yes, we're told, it is the war we've brought that has allowed the Sha their freedom, that has caused corruption and madness to be unleased. And it would certainly seem to be the case that this true - we've seen the Sha erupt from underneath the very ground where the Alliance and Horde had their first major battle, right at the feet of the Serpent's Heart. But I started to have problems with this once I reached the Townlong Steppes and the Dread Wastes. This is a Tinfoil Hat KYL, speculating on the lore of the game, and is not meant to be taken as established lore
Reputation in review: The Shado-Pan
I gotta say, I really dig the Shado-Pan. I liked them from the first moment I saw them in the beta. I think a lot of it has to do with what kinds of characters make up the faction. While the rest of Pandaria is full of affable characters like the Tillers, who are free with food, drink, story and song, the Shado-Pan represent the other side of the pandaren race. They're the warriors, the fighters, the fierce, strong and sometimes dark side of pandaren culture. They are not welcoming, they are not particularly friendly, and to be perfectly honest the majority of them are pretty angry that we've shown up on Pandaria. Now perhaps it says something about me, but that fact in and of itself made me want to grind out this reputation. I mean, here I am, hero of Azeroth, killed Deathwing and interrupted what was going to be the end of the world and these guys are treating me like a total scrub? Oh it's on, guys. Not to mention the absolutely fantastic taste these guys have in hats. Have you seen the hats? I knew I needed one of those hats the moment I laid eyes on it.
Know Your Lore TFH: Flesh of the Makers
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. Spoilers for Mists of Pandaria and Patch 5.1 in this post First, go read this. This post is a Tinfoil Hat continuing off of concepts found in that previous post, so be warned. Okay, now we jump off from there. Because this all started when discussing the recent patch 5.1 sound files, one of which includes a voice file of a certain king reading aloud a description of the Divine Bell. What's the Divine Bell? Well, according to said voice files, it was a device crafted by the ancient mogu which, when struck, resounded with a sound that caused fury and chaos, and drove the mogu armies into a state of frenzy and rage that made them unbeatable in combat. And it was supposedly "cast from the Makers' flesh, shaped by star's fire, and bound by the breath of darkest shadow." As you might expect, the first question I asked was, what does cast from the Makers' flesh mean? Throughout Pandaria we've seen evidence of the Titans presence and their work in reshaping Azeroth. Both Mogu'shan Palace and Vaults as well as the yet unexplored Terrace of Endless Spring hold hints of being constructed by the Titans or their servants, just as Ulduar and Uldum and Uldaman were. The discs that create Elegon remind us of the discs of Norgannon left behind in Uldaman, although warped by the Mogu. And we've repeatedly been told that the mogu were themselves once a race of brutes exposed to the waters of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, uplifted by its waters just as the ancient silithid became the Qiraji before being warped by the Old Gods, just as the night elves were. But all of that doesn't quite answer one question - where did the mogu get the flesh of a Maker? And more importantly, if the Divine Bell is merely the greatest creation of the mogu, does that mean they were working with such rare materials before they cast the Bell?
Reputation in review: The Golden Lotus
Blizzard decided to try something completely new for Mists of Pandaria. In an effort to increase the amount of things to do once you've hit level 90, they left an entire zone as level 90 content. The Vale of Eternal Blossoms has a small handful of quests to do once you've gotten there, but the majority of what is going on in the Vale -- and there is a lot going on in the Vale -- happens after you hit level 90, and plays out as a series of daily quests in the Golden Lotus reputation grind. The idea behind that, the objective of giving players more to do at level 90, is a good one. Once you've hit level 90, you no longer have an experience bar. It's instead replaced by reputation bars, and you level your way through the reputation just as you leveled your way through 85-90 content. And for the Golden Lotus, it's going to take a lot of leveling reputation to prove yourself. After all, these guys are protecting one of the most hallowed places in Pandaria, and they decided to let you in.
Know Your Lore: Why do we fight?
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. Azeroth is a volatile land fraught with conflict. In recent years of history, this conflict has been highlighted by the battle between Alliance and Horde, a seemingly never-ending struggle that began the moment the orcs made their way through the Dark Portal and began attacks on the Eastern Kingdoms in earnest. But prior to the orcs, there were still wars to contend with. In early days, pandaren rose up against mogu, troll against aqir. Kaldorei against Burning Legion, and against each other in the process. It almost seems as though Azeroth's destiny is one that is irrevocably tied to war -- we're destined to fight, regardless of who we are, or what we happen to be fighting. But why do the Alliance and Horde continue to fight? They've worked together in the past, and yet it seems that every time they are close to some sort of peaceful resolution, they are drawn once more to war. What's making the Alliance and Horde so aggressive this time around?
Know Your Lore: The meddling of the Mogu Part 2 - Grummles
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. It's been a rough week for me, so I'll just say this - I don't know how you could hate the grummles. Their origin - created by the mogu out of troggs - means that not only are they one of the few intelligent races on Azeroth made both by another race native to the planet but from another intelligent race, but they also illustrate some interesting flaws and aspects to the mogu and their thinking. The mogu, upon discovering the troggs in the mountains of what would become Pandaria, decided to improve them. What's fascinating is how they chose to improve them. In looking at the grummles, what we are looking at is the perfection of the aspects of the trogg that the mogu saw as worthwhile. So when we see that the grummles can move heavy loads at reasonable speed over long distances, that they have acute senses of smell and unerring senses of direction, we see that these were the aspects of the trogg that the mogu sought to amplify. Physically, at least, the grummles were a success. Well, one could argue that they failed when it came to being strong in order to crush the mogu's enemies - modern grummles aren't even capable of fighting off the hozen that plague them. It's clear that the grummles possess great endurance and the capacity to carry heavy loads long distances, making them excellent at packing and hauling. They clearly have strong senses of direction, dating back to their original uses in supplying the slaves laboring to erect the Serpent's Spine.
Know Your Lore: 5 frequently asked Mists lore questions
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. Mists of Pandaria contains an utter truckload of new lore. Pandaria has been hidden behind mists for ten thousand years and the elusive pandaren were little more than a myth to most, a rare sighting to others. Because of this, there was little to no record of anything related to the lost continent of Pandaria or its history. And because of that, Pandaria is packed with tons of new stories and information regarding the continent and the races that live upon it. Even to someone familiar with lore, that overload of information can be a little overwhelming. We're all starting out at the same point in Pandaria, a point where we know nothing at all. So I find myself frequently getting asked questions about what's going on in this strange new world, and why we're doing what we're doing. As I answered the questions to various friends and guildmates, I thought perhaps I should share the answers to the most frequently asked of these questions with you all.
How to defeat the mogu sorcerer rare spawns
Over the past two weeks my colleague, Dan Desmond, and I have talked about how to quickly and efficiently to dispatch champions of the various races of Pandaria. Lording over all of those "lesser races" at one time (or, in some cases, even creating them!) were the mogu. A race of imperious and vindictive creatures, the mogu featured among their ranks sorcerers of great power who could bend flesh and stone to their will. Sprinkled throughout Pandaria you can find some rare examples of these domineering magi. They're not terribly difficult, compared especially to other rare spawn types, but they can certainly hold their own. It's never a bad idea to go into battle with one knowing what will surely be thrown at you. Dark Bolt: This is what the mogu will be spamming at you. With no cooldown and a second-and-a-half cast time, expect lots of these to be thrown your way. They don't hit for much, so they should be easy to shrug off. Shadowbolt: Offering a much larger beating than Dark Bolt, this spell has a 1.8 second cast time and a five-second cooldown. Considering it hits for significantly more, you'll want to do your best to interrupt it whenever you can, if you can. If only to make things easier for yourself. Voidcloud: Pretty straightforward -- the sorcerer spawns a cloud, and if you stand in it, you'll die in short order. Avoid the clouds, which will not be hard at all. Unlike the pandaren rare spawns, for instance, there are no special mechanics forcing you to cope with the mogu's attacks. It's a very by-the-book mob to fight: don't stand in the bad, interrupt the most painful spell, and drop the enemy. Here is a list of each mogu sorcerer, their location, and what special item they can drop: Borginn Darkfist: Found in Kun-Lai Highlands, drops the Crate of Kidnapped Puppies Gaarn the Toxic: Found in Krasarang Wilds, drops Gaarn's Leggings of Infestation Kang the Soul Thief: Found in Vale of the Eternal Blossoms, drops Kang's Blindstone Karr the Darkener: Found in the Dread Wastes, drops the Imbued Jade Fragment Kor'nas Nightsavage: Found in the Jade Forest, drops the Darkstaff of Annihilation Norlaxx: Found in Townlong Steppes, drops the Big Bag of Mysteries Sulik'shor: Found in Valley of the Four Winds, drops the Crystal of Insanity Good luck clawing your place at the very top of the Pandaria food chain! Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Know Your Lore, TFH Edition: The dark secrets of the mogu
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. They were once rulers of an empire that rivaled the Zandalar in size and scope, but they possessed powers far greater than the trolls could ever dream of. They used their power to shape the grummels and saurok from the lesser races of Pandaria. They enslaved the pandaren race as a whole, using them to build structures and gather supplies all under threat of their iron fists. Their great empires trace back to thousands of years ago, before even the War of the Ancients, and possibly before the rise of the kaldorei race. The mogu are one of the clear villains of this expansion, and our arrival denotes the sudden uprising of this strange, curious, violent race. While the mogu may have been relatively quiet for centuries, they are certainly far from it now. And as we make our way through Pandaria we see more and more evidence that these violent beings are on the move -- something that disturbs the gentle pandaren greatly. The mogu hide secrets, and over the course of raiding, we uncover a few. But their greatest secret may just be something so unfathomable, so bizarre, that it shakes the roots of everything we currently know and believe. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on why and what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore. Please note: This post contains some content spoilers from Mists of Pandaria.
A quick guide to archaeology on the Pandarian continent
Archaeology on Pandaria starts out much like you'd expect. At around 525 archaeology, you'll start seeing dig sites appear on Pandaria, 4 of them spread out over the continent. You'll head to each one, start surveying, and get some archaeology fragments. Sometimes, you will get a Pandaren Pottery Shard or Mogu Statue Piece, which serve as the keystone for those race's projects and can be used to solve a piece faster. Things change a little bit when your digging digs up an Ancient Haunt. This is a Sha mob that sometimes spawns when you successfully dig up some fragments. If you kill it, you'll be able to loot more fragments.
Mists of Pandaria rare spawns offer unique challenges
Mists of Pandaria asks the ambiguous question, "What are we fighting for?" In the case of most players, it's loot and gold. There's a lot of fighting to be found in Mists, but in the case of Pandaria's rares, they offer something along with the gold and loot, something far more valuable -- experience. Not experience points, although you'll get it if you're in the process of leveling. No, the rares of Pandaria offer experience playing your individual class, and playing it well. There are several different types of rare champions scattered all over Pandaria -- hozen, jinyu, mantid, mogu, saurok, yaungol and pandaren. But these champions aren't like any rares you've seen on Azeroth. Rather than allowing players to simply stand there and beat the stuffing out of them, these rares have unique abilities that require tactics and skill to counter. Are they impossible to beat? Absolutely not, once you've figured out how to counter their bag of tricks. But you cannot simply stand and beat them up anymore. Movement is absolutely key, and so are stuns, interrupts, and other abilities that define a class. Rather than allowing you to just spam your main attack, you're forced to practice moving out of the way of attacks, which are clearly defined on the ground. You can't let them cast every spell, or you'll certainly die. And kiting is definitely helpful in most cases as well.
Know Your Lore: Who are the Mogu?
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. Warning - this entire post is going to be full of spoilers for Mists of Pandaria. They are the usurped rulers of Pandaria. Even the name of the land has been stolen from them, as their slaves rose up and dragged down the most perfect empire ever seen under heaven. The mandate was tramped upon by illiterate savages, unskilled even in the arts of war, who used numbers and trickery to throw down the kingdom of those destined to rule all they surveyed. And using stolen grandeur, the slaves built a mock kingdom on the ruins of the true empire, and installed their own like children playing at adult matters. But even after ten thousand years, the kings remember what they lost. Once, the Thunder King ruled. He saw the mantid, and drew from them inspiration. He saw the mogu, and brought to them unity through fear, and strength through unity. The Thunder King Lei Shen stretched out his hand and inspired his people to build a wonder, and the Serpent's Spine rose up. Such is the will of the Mogu. This land belonged to the Thunder King and his people once. And it will again. You will kneel to the true kings as they reclaim the mandate of destiny stolen from them by unworthy hands, or you will die. And when you die, your death will only be the beginning of your sorrow, for flesh is their plaything, and souls their tools.
Know Your Lore: Pandaria and the Sundering
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 earliest days of Azeroth's recorded history of wars and conflicts detail the events of the War of the Ancients, which culminated in the destruction of the Well of Eternity and the Sundering of the great continent of Kalimdor. While we have vague remnants of history before that time -- wars between troll empires and aqir, the Titanic creation of our world; it is becoming increasingly clear that our scope of knowledge of these early days of Azeroth is quite small. Pandaria was once part of the main Kalimdor continent before it vanished into the mists, forgotten. But even before the Sundering, Pandaria had a vast, rich history that was far more complex than the snippets of tales and legends from troll or tauren. And while we don't know if the pandaren are native to Azeroth, or Titan creation like the dwarves and gnomes, one thing is imminently clear -- the pandaren are a far more advanced civilization than any other native Azerothian race.
Video series highlights the history of Pandaria's races
Sure, we know about the pandaren coming up in Mists of Pandaria, but there are many more races in the world. What about the hozen? The jinyu? Or how about the mantid and the mogu? YouTube user Mastus has put together a delightful series of videos that highlight the history behind the various races of Pandaria and how they fold together to create the history of Mists of Pandaria. Considering 10,000 years of no contact with any of the races wandering Pandaria's vast landscape, these video guides help fill in just what happened centuries ago. And in the case of the mantid and the mogu, the videos help explain what these mysterious races are up to -- and why we should be worried. Please note that these do contain things that could be called spoiler content for the new expansion; however, for players looking for a brief primer on Pandaria, these videos are definitely a good way to get caught up. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Reputation rewards for the Shado-Pan
The Order of the Shado-Pan was formed 10,000 years ago when Pandaria first split from the rest of the Kalimdor continent and floated off into the sea. The Shado-Pan were charged by the last emperor of Pandaria with the task of protecting Pandaria from the Sha that had been imprisoned. With such a grim, serious task at hand, most of the Shado-Pan order are nowhere near as lighthearted as the rest of the pandaren players will encounter in their travels. The Shado-Pan offer a variety of rewards for those who choose to gain reputation with their Order. Cloaks, trinkets and helms await those who become revered with the Shado-Pan. And for those who work their way to exalted reputation, the Shado-Pan offer mounts. Three Shado-Pan riding tigers in red, green and blue are available for purchase. Quests and dailies for the Shado-Pan mainly take place in Townlong Steppes, although players first encounter the Shado-Pan in the Valley of the Four Winds. The Shado-Pan are working hard to keep several different threats at bay. Not only are there mantid to worry about, there's also the odd case of the mogu on the isles off the coast of the Townlong Steppes, who appear to be up to no good. Take a look at the gallery below for the full list of Shado-Pan reputation rewards. And remember, point and price totals for items may not be final. We're still in beta, after all! %Gallery-160434% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Vale of Eternal Blossoms
The Vale of Eternal Blossoms, nestled at the center of Pandaria, is the last zone players will encounter while leveling. Unlike prior expansions, the Vale is a level 90 zone -- you won't really see any quest hubs open until you have hit level 90. Once you've reached max level, you'll find scores of daily quests to do for the various factions of the Mists expansion. The Vale is also home to this expansion's two capital cities for the Alliance and Horde, perched on opposite sides of the valley. And those capital cities are complete with bankers, auctioneers, vendors, inns, trainers, reforgers -- just about everything you need for day-to-day errands and quests. This way, there's no real need to head back to the rest of Azeroth -- unless you're looking to farm some older content, that is. Because of the proximity to each other, the two cities guarantee you'll see members of both factions here and there, although it's definitely not a peaceful situation. The Vale is home to the Golden Lotus, who offer the majority of the daily quests available in the zone. Also based in the Vale are the Lorewalkers, who offer additional daily quests. The Vale itself is a picturesque valley, but it's being besieged by mogu, and you assist the Golden Lotus in thwarting the mogu's efforts as part of your daily duties. But it's the architecture of the zone that really stands out above anything else. The cities are some of the most amazing eye candy I've ever seen in World of Warcraft -- and frankly, I'm not sure I'm going to want to leave them when the expansion is over. For a look at the Vale and a closer look at the cities, take a peek at the full gallery. %Gallery-159941% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
