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Know Your Lore: WoW for Dummies, Act I: Horde
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. Once upon a time in vanilla WoW, there was a very different view regarding the ongoing Alliance vs. Horde debate. To Horde players, the Alliance storylines were interesting, complex, and contained epic moments that had to be seen to be believed, like the original reveal of Katrana Prestor's true identity in Stormwind. The Horde had no equivalent to this, and thus it was assumed that there was undue Alliance favoritism going on. It sounds weird given today's somewhat more balanced treatment of both Alliance and Horde stories, but there it was. And when you look back at the original release of WoW and the story behind it, you'll see where that viewpoint came from. Even though the Horde had their own storylines, those stories were basically branching off from the far more epic (in the opinion of some players) Alliance versions. What was the Horde all about in vanilla WoW? ... oddly enough, the Alliance.
Know Your Lore: WoW for Dummies, Act I: Alliance
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. World of Warcraft was originally released in the US on November 23, 2004. That is eight years of our lives that we've been playing this game ... for some players. For many players however, their experience with WoW began in Burning Crusade, or Wrath, or Cataclysm -- or even right now with Mists of Pandaria. And because of this, it means these players have missed out eight years worth of lore and story from before they began to play. One of the questions and suggestions I see pop up most frequently, be it on Reddit, Twitter or even WoW Insider, is what happened during all of that time? What was the story behind these expansions? Sure, there are novels and comics aplenty available for reading, but these are side aspects to the original games that didn't really tie into the game so much. The game itself had its own story going, particularly in those first couple of expansions. So let's step back in time and take a look at WoW and the basic ongoing story that has kept it going all these years -- not the novels, but the game itself. Get ready for WoW for Dummies: the vanilla years.
Know Your Lore: The mystery of Morgan's Militia
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. Who are these guys? Is Morgan a first or last name? If it's Morgan's Vigil, how come she was never seen there? Where did she raise this Militia of hers? On the surface, Morgan's Militia seems fairly straightforward. They've been in the Burning Steppes for years now. Those of us who played Alliance back in classic can remember them and their camp at Morgan's Vigil, where they could gather various quests to penetrate Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Mountain. When Cataclysm revamped the old world, we finally were introduced to Morgan herself. Morgan's purpose in invading Blackrock Depths is to start the process of reclaiming the Steppes, formerly the Redridge Mountains before the destruction caused by the summoning of Ragnaros to Azeroth. Morgan tells those she's willing to work with (Alliance players) that she is a survivor of the creation of the Steppes and that she intends to wage war against the Dark Irons and Ragnaros until she finally has defeated them utterly and can turn her attention toward building a new kingdom in the Steppes, one dedicated to justice and peace. As she herself says, she's there to fight for what's rightfully hers. The only problem is, what exactly is that? What's going on with Morgan's Militia? What right do they have to start their own kingdom in the Burning Steppes, especially while flying Stormwind's colors and seeking assistance from the Alliance in general? And it's not like they're hiding that they plan to build an entirely new nation right in the middle of the Redridge Mountains, either. They're quite up front about it.
Know Your Lore: The Shattering, part 3
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. Garrosh Hellscream is probably one of the most contentious additions to the Cataclysm expansion. Oh sure, he existed all the way back in The Burning Crusade, but he wasn't Warchief at that point in time. Nobody thought for a moment that the depressed Orc in Garadar would one day be leading their characters into battle against the Lich King. And nobody dreamed that Garrosh would one day be sitting on the Horde's throne. It wasn't so much the surprise of the situation that people took issue with, however. Instead, it had much to do with Garrosh's attitude throughout Wrath of the Lich King. Headstrong, ruthless and downright bloodthirsty, Garrosh's decisions in Wrath didn't ring right or true with the playerbase. Even more jostling to players was the notion that despite the player dislike of the character, the NPCs of the world loved the guy. It may very well be the first time that a large chunk of a faction's players have blatantly disagreed with a fictional NPC faction -- and the NPC faction won out. The Shattering makes it clear that Garrosh's position is only temporary, but in Cataclysm, he's certainly attacking the job with gusto. Today's Know Your Lore contains pretty much every possible spoiler that exists for the novel The Shattering by Christie Golden. If you're avoiding spoilers, run away! Run away!
The Queue: Impatience is a virtue
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. I have a favor to ask all of you today. In addition to our usual discussion in the comments, I need all of you to leave a comment telling Mike Sacco to hurry up and finish playing Portal 2 so we can rock some co-op. He's a Slowy McSlowerson, and I grow impatient. Boz asked: Inquiring Dwarf Rogues and Warlocks want to know: Is there any reason that we might be prevented from playing as a Dark Iron from a lore perspective? We're already able to make pseudo-Mag'har with the available Orc skins, I got to wondering with Moira Bronzebeard/Thaurissan sitting on the Council of Three Hammers if we might see Dark Iron Dwarf skins added to the available models for Dwarves.
The Council of Three Hammers: Fire and Iron newest leader short story
The fourth leader short story, The Council of Three Hammers: Fire and Iron, was released late last week and chronicles the beginning and the end of Kurdran Wildhammer's time on the newly formed ruling council of Ironforge. The story describes the early days of the council, the Dark Iron dwarves' rough integration back into Ironforge society, and the relationship between Kurdran and his stalwart gryphon Sky'ree. The leader short stories have been great so far, and this story is definitely no exception. We've got a summary (spoiler warning) and the full announcement after the jump.
Know Your Lore: Current Alliance politics -- the dwarves, part two
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: The following post contains small spoilers for Wrath of the Lich King. Players who are still playing through the expansion and wish to avoid spoilers may want to avoid this post. In addition, theories behind the new Cataclysm race/class combinations will be discussed. The dwarves of Azeroth have had a somewhat rocky start politically speaking -- the War of the Three Hammers caused a rift between the three major dwarf clans that looked as though it would never be repaired. However, current events as well as revelations regarding new class combinations suggest that the dwarves may not remain as fractured as they've been in World of Warcraft's history. When we left off last time, it was to an introduction of the woman pictured above -- Princess Moira Bronzebeard, daughter of King Magni. Why is she so important, you may ask -- well Moira's been in the clutches of Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, leader of the Dark Iron clan since World of Warcraft's launch. How'd she get there? Why isn't she dead? What's Magni doing about all of this? Let's take a closer look at Moira and her role in what could possibly be upcoming conflicts.
The OverAchiever: The Keymaster
Hot on the heels of a much larger achievement we've recently covered (Twenty-Five Tabards), I've decided to do The Keymaster in this article for two reasons: I recently watched Ghostbusters. Do I need another reason? Actually, the other reason is that if you've done Twenty-Five Tabards, Keymaster is usually pretty easy because you've likely got some Burning Crusade faction rep under your belt. I could tack on a third -- I'm constantly surprised at the number of players who aren't keyed for some of the old-world dungeons, and by "surprised," possibly I mean "irritated," because I keep getting pestered to go open doors. Happily, just about all of these keys can be soloed at 80 for most classes, and none of them are particularly time-intensive (with the possible exception of the Scholomance key due to insane travel time) to get.
Brewfest 2009: Coren Direbrew's new level 80 loot revealed
With Brewfest now underway, I hope everyone's had a crack or two at seasonal boss Coren Direbrew -- I myself am going to try to get a group for him as soon I'm done writing here. If you have, there's probably two major things you've noticed: He's level 80 now, and he has some new loot.Let's take a look at his loot, both old and new.
WoW Moviewatch: Some Brewfest highlights from last year
It's been an exciting couple of weeks in World of Warcraft. First there was the Harvest Festival, then Talk Like a Pirate Day, and now, Brewfest. Players are invited to kick back and relax with their friends while they participate in fun activities related to the alcoholic beverage we know and love -- beer. Some of the festivities include the Dark Iron Dwarves, racing rams, and beer goggles. While the special mounts are rare drops now, it doesn't hurt to get out your stein and have a good time trying to get it. If you fail, well, you're still drinking, so that's a plus!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a dwarf
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the fourth in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class well, without embarrassing yourself.Imagine if you were raised in a culture who took playing in the mud very very seriously. As a young lad or lassie, your parents advised you that it would be wise of you to learn digging as your profession, and they hoped that one day you would marry a forger. Your people loved the earth so much that they built their homes and cities underground, and reached as deep as they could into the ground to see what they could find there.Then... imagine if, just a few years ago, someone discovered evidence that your people had once been made by giant Titans out of the very stone and earth you now craft with such care. Wouldn't you be pretty psyched?There's so much more to dwarves than just a Scottish accent and short stature, you see. Dwarves are the Indiana-Joneses of World of Warcraft. After eons of digging into and sculpting the earth of Azeroth, they suddenly have a clue as to where they came from and how everything came to be the way it is for them. They are now spread across distant places of the world, digging and plumbing ancient ruins in order to unravel the mystery of their existence, and discover the ultimate reason for being.
Strange things are afoot at the Grim Guzzler
A lot of us pre-Burning Crusade players hold a warm place in our hearts for the Grim Guzzler, the bar in the middle of Blackrock Depths. It's a hangout for desperadoes and shady figures run by a leper gnome with a demonic bar wench and a metallic bouncer. Most of the patrons would usually kill you as soon as look at you, but as long as they're drunk and you don't bother them too much, they'll generally leave you alone. Of course, sometimes it's worth bothering them, since a few of the patrons and staff drop some pretty cool loot. Despite this charming atmosphere, the Grim Guzzler is in the middle of a sprawling dungeon of hostile Dark Iron Dwarves, so ever since the Burning Crusade, people don't seem to go down there too often. That said, you might want to check it out in the next few days. There's a few new faces down at the bar since patch 2.4.3 went live, including an Arena gear vendor named Griz Gutshank, a Dark Iron Brewer who can't hold his brew, and a couple of goblin roadies setting up for a Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Check out the gallery for a complete illustrated guide to the new faces and surprises at the Grim Guzzler, and maybe I'll see you there tonight for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Oh, and try the Sulfuron Slammer -- It's Plugger's newest specialty! %Gallery-27816%
Blizzard releases preview of World of Warcraft comic #9
If you're a Lore Nerd like Alex and I are, you've probably at least been following the storyline of the World of Warcraft Comic, and you know it's likely going to have a pretty big impact on WoTLK lore, as King Varian Wrynn returns and we finally get an end to the Missing Diplomat Storyline. Issue #9 continues the journey of Lo'gosh and his companions as they travel toward Ironforge and brings a familiar old villain into the light as well. Blizzard has posted the first few pages of the issue on the official WoW site. I have to admit, I have one major reservation about the story.
Giving players some more race variants
I have to agree with Michael on WoW LJ: it would be nice to have a little more variance in the types of races that we choose at character creation. Of course, due to lore reasons, all the trolls we create are Darkspear Trolls, and likewise, all of our Taurens are of the Bloodhoof variety. But it would be nice to have a few more options, especially since we now know that some of the "foreign" tribes and clans might have a member or two interested in joining the Horde.None of Michael's suggestions would really work -- the Taunka are almost a completely different race, the Forest Trolls can't be very happy that we've killed their leader, and neither the Dark Iron Dwarves or the Iron Dwarves are very friendly to either Horde or Alliance. But there are possible variants out there -- the Zanadalar tribe might have some members interested in joining the Horde, and certainly the Mag'har Orcs are friendly to players. Alliance doesn't have as many options come to mind, though all players are Bronzebeards, I believe, and surely the Stormpikes are Friendly by now.We've got new hairstyles coming in the next expansion, of course, but it would be nice to vary up the races a little bit, and have even different backgrounds within the race choices. RPers would love it for sure, and even for other players, it would give a little more meaning and power to playing through the various racial areas in the game.
WoW in the Guinness Book of World Records
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/WoW_is_in_the_Guinness_Book_of_World_Records_for_alcohol'; I'd like to propose a toast to WoW for setting a new world record. Yahoo News Canada has announced the first Gamer's Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records is due out on March 11, 2008. World of Warcraft's distinction? The world's largest virtual beerfest. Brewfest, in honor of Oktoberfest, is probably one of the most fun seasonal events in game. This event features festive food and beverages, along with fabulous rewards for participation. Every autumn, characters gather together from all over Azeroth to stoutly defend their treasured kegs from Dark Iron Dwarves. According to an informal Breakfast Topic poll, the most coveted prize for this event is the legendary (or at least epic) Brewfest Ram. Since WoW is hands down the most popular MMORPG on the planet it will like pop up all over the the Gamers Guiness Book of World Records. For now, here's to Brewfest!
Breakfast Topic: What are your Brewfest goals?
At midnight last night the goblins and dwarves finished setting up the Brewfest tents outside Ironforge and Ogrimmar. Also the beer gardens outside Stormwind, Darnassus, the Exodar, Undercity, Thunder Bluff and even Shattrath. You now have 13 days to collect enough tickets to walk away with a souvenir from your fortnight of drunken revelry. Is it going to be the Brewfest Pony Keg? The Riding Ram? Or the authentic Brewfest Regalia?What quests interest you the most? Hitting every location in search of the elusive Pink Elekks? Racing Rams through Ironforge and/or Ogrimmar? Fighting off invading Dark Iron Dwarves with nothing but a decorative stein and a fresh-from-the-oven schnitzel? Let us know!
