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One Shots: Venturing onto Bloodmyst Isle
Our own Akela Talamasca sends in this shot taken from the Draenei starting zone from World of Warcraft. For those of you in the audience who haven't played since The Burning Crusade was released (or haven't played at all), the red-hued landscape of Bloodmyst Isle is different than anything you may have seen in the publicity shots.Do you have any images of unusual people or places in your favorite game? Send 'em our way so we can feature your screenshot and story for tomorrow's One Shots! It's easy to participate -- just send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. %Gallery-9798%
Around Azeroth: Set sail
There was only one type of boat to be found in Azeroth -- the ships that traveled the seas, be it from Darnassus to Auberdine or Booty Bay to Ratchet, were all identical. At least until the release of The Burning Crusade, when the nautical technology of Azeroth jumped forward with a new ship design. In this shot, sent in by reader Dana, we see the results of this innovation at the end of the dock, just waiting to transport us to The Exodar.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
All the World's a Stage: And your life is a mine rich in gems
All the World's a Stage is a weekly column by David Bowers, now published on Sundays, investigating the explorative performance art of roleplaying in the World of Warcraft.For some, the whole process takes 5 minutes. They log in, click on "create new character," choose a race, a class, painstakingly compare each and every face and hairstyle, type in a name, click "accept," and they're done. Some take their time by paying a visit to the forums of each class, or asking their friends about which race is best -- but who sits down and makes up a story idea, a personality, and actual characteristics for characters these days?Roleplayers do, of course. But how? What if you'd like to try out roleplaying but you just don't know where to begin creating an actual character, rather than just an avatar for yourself in the game? Each roleplayer tends to have his or her own way, but there are are a number of things they have in common. One of the first things to remember about designing your character concept, is to make your character essentially human, relatable, based on real experiences that you know about.Mine your life. Think of what kinds of experiences you are familiar with, and which of them could be used as the foundation for another person's life, a new character with a story to tell, and a personality to engage other people's interest. Today, I'll give you a couple examples of how I tried to do this, and explain some of the pitfalls people often fall into when trying to make up an interesting character.
Today in Warcraft
News Brewfest is still a bugfestBrewfest events buggy? There's a big brouhaha. 2.2.3 on the PTRYou've got another patch coming. More details on free Spell Damage for healersOne of the many exciting changes announced at BlizzCon was that free Spell Damage would be added to healing gear. The purpose of the change is to make it easier for healers to enjoy the solo PvE content in the uber gear they have picked up in groups and raids. Features Totem Talk: Three Classes In One?Shamans: your spec is like an aptitude: it defines what your character will have the most options in. Discussions Is Blizzard exploiting WoW players?Is Blizzard doing something unethical by producing and selling World of Warcraft? Rather than just the ol' "MMO games are too addictive" angle, an article in Australia's The Age (seriously, it's always the Aussies) has a new twist: game companies like Blizzard are actually "exploiting" their own players by implementing a reward system that keeps people playing. Draenei skin, or seeing Azeroth through all five sensesI love the question that juliamarcela over on Livejournal asks: What does Draenei skin feel like? Sure, they're probably not scaly or slimy, but it probably feels different than most skin we know.
Draenei skin, or seeing Azeroth through all five senses
I love the question that juliamarcela over on Livejournal asks: What does Draenei skin feel like? Obviously Tauren are hairy cows, and almost all the other races are more or less Human (even if the color is a little different). But the Draenei are completely alien. Sure, they're probably not scaly or slimy, but it probably feels different than most skin we know. I like julia's suggestion, too: like shark skin.And I think I like that question so much because it brings Azeroth alive for our senses. What do mana potions really taste like? What does Shadowmoon Valley smell like? The prairie in Nagrand is probably a little firmer under your feet than the lands of Azeroth (considering it's just rock down there), but Swamp of Sorrows is probably a muddy mess to get through. And what does it feel like when you actually pass through the Dark Portal-- do you get to watch that scene from Stargate as you fly through the stars?I'm known to DM a D&D game on occasion, and I can tell you that there's no better way to bring a fictional setting to life than to imagine it through all of your five senses. From Draenei skin to what surely is a hot sulfur smell drifting through the Burning Steppes, I find it extremely interesting to think of what being in Azeroth would really be like.
Ask WoW Insider: Far from home
eNorox sent along a great question to Ask WoW Insider for you readers to answer this week. He's thinking about starting up a Gnome rogue, but he's tired of leveling through old Azeroth yet again:I want to try something different so I decided to level from 1 in the Draenei starting area. The only thing is... How could I get there the fastest and what can I do about leveling a rogue in a place that has no rogue trainers?I think us alt-o-holics out there have all done this at some point-- I have fond memories of leveling my Orc Shaman through the Forsaken starting area (because I had never seen it before), and in that case, I got real familiar with the Zeppelin, going back and forth between UC and Orgrimmar. But what do you all think of putting a Gnome on Azuremyst Isle? How can he get out there, and once he does, what's the best way to ensure fast travel between the Rogue trainers and his leveling area? And what other weird leveling locations have you chosen, even though it cost you more travel time to the trainer?
Honoring a Hero quest bugged for BC races
While doing my morning surf, I stumbled across some good-to-know news from the WoW LJ community. In this post by Platonic, she points out that the quest Honoring a Hero for the Harvest Festival is currently bugged for both the Blood Elves and Draenei. She also spotlights something else I thought was funny -- GMs apparently have telepathic pie powers! As the Harvest Festival just started today on live realms, I'm sure the reports of this problem has already reached the developer's ears and they're undoubtedly working on a fix for it. As always, as soon as we hear any news, we'll be sure to let you know. For now, looks like the Draenei and Blood Elves will just have to content themselves with some free festival food and drink to take away with them. (After all, free food and drink means Mages get a break, and the rest of us get to save some gold!)
Phat Loot Phriday: Crystal Spire of Karabor
This incredible healing mace is actually changing looks in patch 2.2-- thanks to our friend MMO Champion for the comparison pic above.Name: Crystal Spire of KaraborType: Epic Main-Hand MaceDamage/Speed: 16-132 / 1.80 (41 DPS)Abilities: +22 Stamina, +15 Intellect Increases healing done by spells and effects by 486, which is high enough to make grown men cry Restores 6 mana per 5 seconds, which makes grown Shaman everywhere weep with happiness And if your target is below 50% health, direct heals will grant an additional 180 to 220 health to your target, which makes healers' mouths everywhere drop open. Which means if you're direct healing someone below 50% health, you get at least +660 healing just from this item. Of course, not all +healing translates directly into heals (and definitely not on the lower ranks anymore). But still, that's a lot of +healing. Trivia: The Black Temple was previously known (long ago) as the Temple of Karabor, the center of Draenei worship everywhere. The Spire of Karabor is likely a piece of the temple itself (or perhaps the Altar within), fueled by years of Draenei faith and prayer. Pretty cool. How to Get It: It drops from someone named Van Cleef in the Deadmines!No, only kidding. Loot like this doesn't come easy-- you've got to be prepared for this one. Illidan himself drops this baby, when you kill him in the Black Temple. We haven't seen all that many kills yet, so a percentage isn't certain yet, but odds are it's less than 20% or so, and possibly a lot less than that. And considering this is a great mace for every healer in the raid, you're going to have to be pretty good and really lucky to call it your own.Getting Rid of It: Sells for 14g 32s 71c, and disenchants into a Void Crystal, but come on now. Don't even think about it.
Night elves are latest shrinking shoulder casualties
First Orc males, then Draenei, and now Night Elves? It appears that Night Elf shoulders have shrunk (just a bit-- not nearly as dramatic a change as the Orc shoulders were) over on the PTRs. We talked about this on the WoW Insider show last week: what is up with Blizzard's code that changes like this are happening? What variables are they editing that makes the weird stuff like this happen?At any rate, there is good news. Hortus says the issue is unintentional, and will be fixed in an upcoming PTR build. So your Night Elf will still be able to wear his broad shoulder pieces with pride.
First Orc shoulders, now Draenei shoulders
Hot on the heels of the Orc shoulder scandal (to be fixed in patch 2.2), World of Raids has some screenshots suggesting that Draenei shoulder graphics are smaller on the PTRs. While I always thought the level of concern with shoulder size to be sort of odd, the outcry over Orc shoulders made it clear that it's an issue players care about. So why-oh-why is Blizzard restarting the debate over appropriate shoulder size by shrinking the shoulders of another race? We'll see if this graphical change, more minor (at least to my eyes) than the Orc alteration, causes the same level of public anger.[Thanks, Akyl]
What class can't you play?
For me, it's rogues, hands down. I have alts of pretty much every other class, some more advanced than others, but no matter what I do, if I try and get a rogue above level six it's usually a disaster. Everyone tells me that rogues are the easiest class to play, but I'm not seeing it. How is managing stealth, figuring out how to get behind pathing targets to unleash attacks, and managing combo points easy? I even tried to play one of the level 70 uberrogues from the PTR, but that didn't go any better because (big surprise) I didn't have any idea what I was doing.I just don't get rogues. I don't get that when they talk about specs they're usually talking about what weapons to use instead of what talents they've picked half the time. I don't get that they're expected to do the most melee damage, that flies in the face of my gamer geek experience from years of tabletop play. I don't get how to use stealth propery, I don't understand how to stunlock. I'm just a hopeless case as a rogue. It doesn't help that Tauren, my second favorite race and my favorite horde side, can't be rogues.I'd personally and with great glee batter my head against the class if I could be a stealthy manbull. And don't tell me to roll a druid, I have one of those, it's just not the same. I have rolled Night Elf, Blood Elf, Human, Orc, Troll, Undead, and Gnome rogues. It always ends the same, with a dead rogue in some zone that I never go back to again. I think I left my highest level rogue dead in the Shimmering Flats.Come to think of it, my favorite alliance race and indeed my favorite race, can't play rogues either. No stealthy Draenei for me. As far as I'm concerned rogues are the hardest class to play. I'd play a Mage, a Warlock, anything else and do a lot better than I will on a rogue. It takes a skill set I don't seem to possess.Any class just totally elude you? Either because of personal preference, playstyle, or a frank and baffling inability?
Mysterious Mysteries: Highlord Bolvar Fordragon cuts off his own head!
Highlord Bolvar Fordragon, bodyguard to the King of Stormwind, was not previously known to be suicidal -- but today in Stormwind Keep a shocking sight was unfolded before the eyes of all citizens on their way to greet the child-king, Anduin Wrynn. As seen here, Bolvar repeatedly used his own sword to slice his head off!Mysterious Mysteries questioned King Wrynn, as he stood there, seemingly oblivious to the horror taking place right beside him. His only reply was to gaze at us meaningfully, and confess in a whisper: "I see dead people."Lady Katrana Prestor, who is actually the dragon Onyxia in disguise, agreed with the King on this matter. "Obviously you are too stupid to see the obvious. Bolvar here may be slicing his head off, but do you see any blood? I didn't think so. Now... go die in a fire."It is a mysterious mystery indeed: Why does Mister Fordragon repeatedly kill himself without success? Why does he allow Onyxia to keep coming back and standing next to him? The draenei emissary to the court of Stormwind, mister Taluun, had this to say: "This is but one of the Light's miracles, my son. The blessings of the Naaru prevent the great ones of the world from perishing -- as you can see, this powerful blade passes right through him."One careful listener, however, was able to get close enough to Highlord Bolvar's mad whisperings as he muttered words to himself before each slice: "She just won't leave me alone... she keeps coming back... they cut off her head a thousand times and she's still here! Aaaargh!" Gift of the Naaru? or curse of agony? It is for you to decide! Have you witnessed any other abnormal behavior on the part of Azeroth's denizens? Send your insider information to Mysterious Mysteries through the top-secret drop off box below this article!
Around Azeroth: Learning the Language
I'm honestly surprised that Zaraphel of Greymane is the first person to send in a shot taken during the Learning the Language quest chain offered to newbie Draenei on Azuremyst Isle. After completing the Totem of Yor quest in the chain, you are turned into a shadow panther, and the entire world turns into a dark blue/grey blur. (Really, this still shot does a poor job of showing how incredible Azuremyst looks through the eyes of these creatures.)Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Breakfast Topic: Got upgrade?
Leveling up my draenei hunter, I used to keep looking for the next upgraded item I'd be able to use. My most exciting upgrading moment so far came when I reached level 40 and got to put on a full mail set I had bought and put away in the bank just for that moment. Somehow, though, I wasn't able to find many upgrades in my forties, and now starting on my fifties, some of that armor I had saved in the bank is still the best I can find, on the auction or in quests. The surprising thing is that leveling still isn't that hard! Of course maybe it's just because I'm a hunter, and hunters can even level naked if they want to.Still, it makes me wonder just how often we need to try and upgrade our armor leveling up. Is it totally different for the various classes? For example, can a hunter get by with sub-par gear for a long time, while a priest or warrior never could? If you're trying to level a very gear dependent class and just can't seem to find good upgrades, how do you manage?
Constructive criticism with the forums and the Armory
Some European players recently posted topics to their forums which focused on giving constructive criticism to whoever was above them in the thread. As the draenei author of the hunters' "what does the hunter above you need?" post put it:This isn't another "Rate my armory" thread. But rather a thread to give constructive criticism and directions for the above hunter. Like when you see a hunter in peril running around with a 2H Sword of the Bandit you could point him towards the Sonic Spear in Shadow Labyrinth. Or when a confused survivalist spends 2 of his precious talent points in Imp. Feign Death you could tell him to spend them on something more useful like Clever Traps and so on. May the Naaru bless you all.Not only is the idea tremendously useful, there's something about the humility and camaraderie in the attitude of this sort of post that gives me a pleasant surprise. Usually the forums (and anonymous Internet communication in general) have of all sorts of nastiness, and it's refreshing to see people using everything that the forums and the armory provide in such a cooperative way.I found "what does the player above you need?" posts for Hunters, Warlocks, Rogues, and Warriors. If you have found similar forum posts for other classes, or posts with remarkable constructive criticism of another sort, please mention them in the comments below.
Child of the Elements
I finally finished the children's week quests on the alliance side, after being quite busy for most of the last week. It's interesting to note how different the draenei girl is from the blood elf that Elizabeth covered earlier. Far from a girl seeming fated to grow up to be a evil-doer of some kind, young Dornaa seems to be a child destined to be a kind and powerful shaman, deeply in touch with the elements.The Exodar's resident Naaru, named O'ros, seems very impressed with her and asks you to have her visit Farseer Nobundo, leader of draenei shamanism, upstairs. She and the Farseer have already met in a dream, apparently! Nobundo is astounded that the child should have such a natural connection to the elements, and says he will petition for her to stay in the Exodar and train under him after you return her to the orphanage. At the Caverns of Time, she is approached by the Wardens of Time (and saved by the great dragon Zaladormu) just like the blood elf orphan, but the feeling of this is quite different in her context, especially since she wants to befriend a dragon someday, not own one like the blood elf. It seems to me as if a great responsibility rests on her at some time in the future, not some great and evil destiny.Does the difference between the Horde and Alliance orphans reinforce the thinking that the Horde really is generally evil (with a few who are good) while the Alliance is generally good (with a few who are evil)? Is that the balance we like? Does Blizzard need to provide more kind hordies and wicked allies?(By the way, if you haven't yet done the Children's Week quests, today [the 29th] is the last day already too late. It seems that Blizzard has once again posted one time on the calendar but gone ahead and cut it off early. Personally, it irks me when this sort of thing happens for no reason -- product delays I can understand, but cutting off a fun event before you promised you would? Grrrr!)
LF rep for cross-racial mount
It has been a while since I worked toward getting a cross-racial mount. I wasn't even really that interested in doing it with my alts until I started leveling my priest in the human lands to group with friends. All of a sudden she was honored with Stormwind and a seed was planted in my brain. I had a picture in my mind of a Draenei on a palomino, and it was a beautiful thing. I didn't really start working on her rep until this week however, and man was I disappointed. Previous to Patch 2.1.0 people were raving about how easy it was to attain exalted reputation with any race in your faction, simply by completing all the Horde or Alliance quests in their starting areas. Eager to begin, I started out for Coldridge Valley, only to find out that I received absolutely no Stormwind reputation for doing quests for the dwarves. It wasn't until I got to Loch Modan that I received even a few points of rep. Even turning in the cloth for the other races affords me no additional faction with Stormwind. Tricky little devs changed it on me. So it's not as simple as I thought, but I think it might still be doable. I played tour guide for an orphan, which got me about 500 rep or so. I am becoming a regular hero to the Night Elves, and soon will move on to questing for my own race (how novel.) But I am not sure I will have enough rep by the time I reach 40 to get my horse. Do you have any tips on how I can get extra rep now that Patch 2.1.0 is in effect? Is anyone out there doing the cross-racial mount thing along with me? Any tips you might have would be great. My priest thanks you.
Forum Post(s) of the Day: Patch 2.1 changes females?
There was some hullabaloo this week over various changes that some thought had been made to the female avatars in patch 2.1. These changes made me think about who makes decisions regarding what female avatars should look like, and if these decisions tell us anything about ourselves as gamers.First of these alleged changes came to light when somehow some people got it in their minds that the... um... well... that uh... their... um... human and other Azerothian females wouldn't have to buy such large bras if they made a trip to the department store, because the two relevant glands had been reduced in size.Well, this time it was Death and Taxes to the rescue! Xaviera took up the supposed change with dedication, comparing "old" and "new" screenshots with the utmost precision, and proved for all to see that in fact NO change had taken place! As Xaviera says at the end of her conclusive argument, "you can sleep safely, take it easy."Stay tuned for more female avatar-change headline news and expert analysis after the jump.
WoW Moviewatch: So that's where that dance came from!
We've all seen the videos of different dances. We've had ones where they all dance together, ones where the original source is cited. We've even seen video of a guy dancing like a Night Elf Female. Now we have another dance movie. There's one thing about this one that sets it apart, however. This is the first one I've seen that does a really good job of putting the dances side-by-side with their inspirations. As Bowzerblack on the WoW LJ said: "I didn't know that about ogres!" All I can say is that I didn't either. And yes, I know it's the Boomkin dance too, but you don't see a lot of (completely-bare) topless Boomkins running about. Which, now that I think about it, is probably a good thing.Previously, on MovieWatch...[via the WoW LJ community]
WoW Ladies community, mods come out from hiding
The WoW_Ladies livejournal group is one of my very favorite WoW communities, so I was disappointed to see last week that their latest posts were closed to everyone but members of the community. They'd been dealing with an expanding audience lately (brought on partly by attention from WoW Insider), and apparently there were a few issues arising among the membership.But the community has started posting again (bringing about this completely awesome crochet Draenei), and the mods (formerly pretty unknown-- I've been watching them for a while, and I had no idea who was in charge over there), have made a very public statement about the future of WoW_Ladies. In addition to taking a more high-profile position, they have said that the recent closing was not their choice, but rather either a glitch, or the work of someone not a mod. And they've landed on a great compromise: all posts will be public by default, with an option for each poster to lock them to the community only. They've also made the very great choice of leaving the community open to men-- some men with significant others, they say, "like seeing the women here post - it helps them identify with their partners and helps them get ideas on how to join." Personally, I completely appreciate a place where a woman's perspective on the game gets placed front and center, rather then consigned to a minority, as in many other games media outlets.The other good news is that they're working on a brand new layout for the community, so it seems like things are jumping over there. We're glad to see they made it through the drama, and are back as one of the most intelligent and interesting groups in the WoW community.
