cataclysm-lore
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Know Your Lore: State of the Alliance, 2012
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 has never been harder to be Alliance. Throughout the years of war brought about by the orcish invasion of Azeroth, the Alliance has seen its ups and downs. During that first assault, Stormwind was destroyed, its king assassinated. However, the direct result of this was an Alliance of kingdoms that paved the way for the Alliance as we know it today -- a smart, level-headed group of races focused on survival. The survival of each race individually, and the survival of the world as we know it. A noble cause, and the Alliance is well-known for its nobility. Yet despite bouncing back from that original, horrific assault, the Alliance seems to be in a downward spiral in the days of Cataclysm, one which is spinning horrifically out of control. And despite the best efforts of Alliance leaders, trying to staunch the flow of death and despair is becoming increasingly more difficult. This has much to do with the effects of the Shattering, and even more to do with those enemies of old; the orcs and their united allies in the Horde. Even though the Alliance has come back before, the question of whether or not they can do it again is a heavy one that weighs on the minds of all. It has never been so hard to be Alliance, it has never been this dark. Or so popular opinion states.
Know Your Lore: Cataclysm for Dummies, epilogue
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. If you've read Act I and Act II of Cataclysm for Dummies, you should have a pretty basic understanding of what happened during Cataclysm, why Deathwing was a threat that needed to be addressed, and what we've been doing in all of those zones, 5-man dungeons, and raids. There was a purpose to every raid that came out with Cataclysm, but that purpose isn't blatantly clear unless you're paying really close attention as you're leveling through the zones. People who love following the lore do that automatically, which is why these guides aren't for them. However, you might want to know what all of this means or have some questions about the stuff that wasn't really resolved in Cataclysm. Or you may want to know what's in store in Mists of Pandaria and why you should be interested in what's coming next. This epilogue is going to go over a few simple end-of-Cataclysm points that should be of interest to those wanting to know what's next or still have some questions about Cataclysm's story.
Know Your Lore: Cataclysm lore for Dummies, Act I
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. Are you super familiar with Warcraft lore? Can you name all the dragon aspects, what they were created for, where they got their powers? Do you have a working definition of the Dragon Soul, what it is, what its other name is, and why it's important? Do you know who Sinestra was before she was a torn-up, reanimated corpse in the bottom of the Bastion of Twilight? Are you related to the Red Shirt Guy? Are you the Red Shirt Guy? Then this post is likely not for you. But if you've been running the Raid Finder like a fiend, killing dragons and elementals and minions left and right, and suddenly found yourself wondering why, exactly, you were fighting in Wyrmrest Temple, this is for you. If you're wondering why Thrall is suddenly pals with the Dragon Aspects, this is for you. If you're wondering why exactly Deathwing is such a huge major threat and what's with all this running around you have to do, this one is for you. Let's take a quick sweep through the entirety of Cataclysm and recap what's happened. Better yet, let's sum up.
Breakfast Topic: What happens next?
The leader short stories Fire and Iron and The Judgment were great pieces of Cataclysm lore and recent history that shed some light on the motivations of Outland hero Kurdran Wildhammer and embattled troll leader Vol'jin of the Darkspear tribe. Each of the Cataclysm leaders is getting the short story treatment as time goes on. We don't know many of the stories left to tell in Cataclysm. The future of the blood elves lies in the unpublished prose of Lor'themar Theron's short story. Sylvanas' potential madness and craziness can have explanations hidden in those words. While the Firelands will continue the story of the rejuvenation of Hyjal, we still have much to learn about Malfurion and Tyrande and the night elves in general. So what comes next? Will these stories shed light on these leaders and their peoples' futures? Can we expect timely lore reveals through these stories that will do part of the story advancement? Personally, I'm really excited for the next story.
Ask Creative Development Round II
Blizzard's creative development team is gearing up for another round of lore questions and answers from the players and fans. Last time, we had some pretty interesting answers to pressing questions. I hope this go-around we get even more awesome answers, especially to some of my own pressing questions, such as how the creative team is going to deal with Sylvanas, as well as what Deathwing's reaction to the now canonically dead Sinestra will be. Here is the thread where you can leave a question, and here is the official post. Ask Creative Development - Round II The members of our creative development department, headed up by Chris Metzen, are the creators, keepers, and librarians of our game lore and story. These caretakers work closely with the authors who write our licensed books and comics (or sometimes write 'em themselves), and collaborate with the game developers to ensure cohesive and correct use of characters and lore (Red Shirt Guys notwithstanding). Now they're ready to once again answer your Warcraft lore questions! Head over to the Ask CDev forum post to throw your question on the pile. Please be aware that we'll be using the forum voting system to help decide on which questions to answer. Before asking your own question, look through the thread and add a vote to any others that you like. Feel free to just vote, but if you do have a question, please limit yourself to one per post. source World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
Cataclysm Beta: New character introductions for all races
Awesome new Cataclysm lore information has landed! Transcripts of the new player character introductions are now revealed, advancing the storyline of the old races and bringing new races up to speed. Remember, these new introductions contain some general WoW and Cataclysm spoilers. Check out the new introductions after the jump. UPDATE: The Forsaken now have their transcript up. This post contains Cataclysm story spoilers!
Cataclysm Spoiler: Sylvanas' plans no one saw coming
With all of the awesome Cataclysm news coming out about skills and talents and spells, it might be easy to miss the immense lore moments and motivations of the faction leaders. We have Sylvanas news, and it's big and very much a spoiler. Want to know what the Forsaken Queen is up to in Cataclysm, and why this expansion is going to rock the Horde and the Alliance even moreso? Again, we are warning you: there are spoilers here that are quite huge in the world of lore. The big part of the spoiler is in red. After the break.
Blizzard's creative development team answers tons of lore questions
Lore nerds, rejoice! Weeks back, Blizzard asked official forum-goers to submit questions for the CDev (Creative Development) team in this thread. Questions have been answered, and there is information-a-plenty. We learn about the ethereals' home planet, pieces of lore about the tol'vir and the oft-reviled Obsidian Destroyer unit from Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft, why goblin shaman exist, and the origins of Varok Saurfang, to name just a few awesome reveals. Here are some highlights: Quote: Q: What happened to Frostmourne after it was shattered? A: While this is a closely guarded secret, we'll trust you to be discreet: no one knows where the remnants of Frostmourne are now. source Quote: Q: The Blood Knights of Silvermoon lack direction. None of them were seen in Northrend, and it is very unclear whether the Order still exists, or if it's been disbanded. It's also very unclear where the Blood Knights obtain their power, now. It used to be the Naaru, but then... remnants of the naaru. Surely these remnants are all but tapped now. Do we obtain power from the Sunwell? A: As of the end of the Burning Crusade expansion, blood elves who wield the Light do so through the power of the renewed Sunwell. It is a harmonious relationship, no longer one of discord caused by the blood elves' attempts to bend the Light to their will, which will likely have a positive effect on blood elf society in the long run. Look forward to updates that reflect this change in the Silvermoon and Blood Knight quests. source Quote: Q: What role, if any, will Med'an play in Cataclysm? A: Med'an will not be visible in Cataclysm; something else is keeping him occupied. source For the full list of questions and answers, visit the World of Warcraft official forums thread here.
Abyssal Maw Cataclysm zone preview posted to the official site
We've all been waiting with bated breath since BlizzCon in hopes of getting more solid news about the expansion, and today, it seems like we've started getting it. Blizzard has updated the official Cataclysm site with some screen shots and lore information of one of the new areas of the expansion, the Abyssal Maw.The Abyssal Maw is the elemental plane of water, one of the four such planes created by the Titans to contain the elemental servants of the Old Gods so that their own creations could thrive on Azeroth. Deathwing's prison break will break the walls between the elemental planes and Azeroth, with the Abyssal Maw being no exception.
Lichborne: The future of Death Knight lore in Cataclysm
With Patch 3.2 now live, and Death Knights probably the most extensively changed class, at least in terms of the Frost and Unholy trees, we've all been waited with bated breath to see exactly how things are shaking down. The answer from my point of view, is simply that life goes on. Death Knight tanks are still tanking, Death Knight DPSers are still DPSing. Anecdotally, I've been having great success and have been churning out respectable DPS as Unholy on a few heroic dungeon marathons since the path dropped, and while I definitely miss Unholy Blight, I've adjusted to tanking without it too. We may need a few more weeks and a few more parses to see where things truly sit, but I stand by most of what I've written on the subject lately. We could use a few tweaks (I'm still wondering if we'll see a Scourge Strike buff before Cataclysm, but I'm hopeful), but we'll be fine. That said, since we'll still be waiting a few weeks, I thought it might be fun to do some speculation about the next expansion. And I don't mean new talents, new levels, new skills, that sort of thing. What I've been thinking about lately is the lore.
