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A few BC items available now
I found out about this when I spotted a player trying to sell the Ring of Bitter Shadows in chat. I asked them where they got it, since I remembered that it was jewelcrafted, and they sent me to a vendor named Jase Farlan up at Light's Hope Chapel, who sells it for a pretty decent price, in my opinion. It looks like a few other jewelcrafting items are currently available from vendors. This includes some of the figurines -- at least Figurine - Black Pearl Panther and Figurine - Truesilver Crab. The question in my mind is whether these items will remain available post-expansion. My bet would be that they'll vanish, and this will just have been a fun little jewelcrafting preview. As far as I know, no significant crafted items are currently available from vendors, but maybe that's set to change.Additionally, new and more powerful water, food, arrows, and bullets can be bought from an orc vendor named Galgrom deep in the Caverns of Time in Tanaris. The arrows and bullets are also available from general goods vendors throughout Azeroth, and seem to be a much better deal than the water, which as far as I can tell is exclusive to Galgrom. At over 10s for one drink, I probably won't be buying the water for general use, at least not until after I get my epic mount; the ammo costs 10s for a whole stack.Have you all spotted any other BC items that have snuck in with the patch? And those of you who have tried the Filtered Draenic Water, how would you rate it? Does it make financial sense for someone with a mana pool around 6k?
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Adventures in Beta: Draenei Shaman, 6-10
I logged back into my draenei shaman where I left her -- stuck in Azure Watch, with a handful of new quests and no professions. Having already decided on jewelcrafting for my Blood Elf Paladin, I was stumped on what to give my shaman. I decided to pick up leatherworking and skinning so I could at least make some of my own armor - after all, it's not like I was out to make a ton of money on the test server. But there were no leatherworking trainers in Azure Watch (and no jewelcrafting either, which shocked me.) The local guards advised me to head to a furbolg camp in the north, filled with new allies that would be happy to teach me how to skin and make clothes.
The Burning Crusade -- you vs. your guild
New races, new (to your chosen faction) classes, 10 more levels. That's the short-form of what The Burning Crusade is going to deliver to us, come January 16th. Many guilds are focusing on the push to 70 and refining strategies for 25-man raiding. Many players are understandably eager to try out the new races and classes available to their chosen faction. Can these two goals mesh, or are we going to see a shift in the player-guild dynamic? My earliest guild wasn't started to beat endgame content. It was there for a group of people who enjoyed playing in each other's company and so that these people would have an easily accessible pool of resources for leveling and grinding up to 60. When we hit 60, the usual drama set in, as not everyone hit the level cap at the same time. Some people got bored or frustrated with the lack of progression at 60 and went off to look for raiding guilds. Others were happy just hanging out with friends, and still others were a bit upset that they were left behind and were feeling pressured to level to 60 so the guild could progress together. Now that the expansion is going to be upon us, I see the potential for the same type of splits amongst guild memberships. Some are going to want to power level to 70 to get back on the raiding wagon, while others will start fresh new characters that they hope to one day get to level 70. Then there are those people who want to savor the new content and while do a bit of leveling and a bit of playing around with the new low-level content.
Adventures in Beta: Draenei Shaman, Level 1-5
A couple weeks ago, I won a beta key. Pleased at getting to test out the expansion content, I happily waited for my key. And waited. And waited. Finally, on Wednesday, I received my World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Beta Key and installed the expansion. Then uninstalled the expansion. Then uninstalled my regular WoW, reinstalled it without patching, installed the Burning Crusade and patched that. I saved re-patching the live WoW for later, in case I began crying. Finally, at 2:30 in the morning, I logged on and created my first character (my 60 main had yet to copy over.) Because I am lazy and want to see how the Horde and Alliance integrate their new classes, I chose to roll a draenei shaman. Also, I've never really tried to play a shaman or paladin, so it would be an experiment for me as well. I picked the "cute" draenei face, the Princess Leia buns that show off the the weird ear-tentacles draenei have, and some curly horns that looked slightly like racing stripes. And I was off!
More like Out-of-reachland
Outland might not actually be reachable yet (it won't be until the expansion is released in January), but already it's popping up all over Azeroth. Draenei have shown up all over the land, some with extra quests (for Erodar faction). Blood elves already appeared in the game in a few places, and they're now the new models-- Draenei in Swamp of Sorrows have been updated too (although The Broken Ones have stayed the same). In addition, Shaman and Pally trainers have appeared in and around the main cities. Darkshore is running a new boat to nowhere (yet). Outland has shown up on the new ingame World Map. Dungeons can be flipped to epic mode (by right clicking on the player portrait), but it doesn't work on any of the current dungeons. Jewelcrafting recipes and components have appeared at vendors. And finally, the character creation screen, in case you haven't visited it lately, shows two grayed out options for the new races. So close! Yet it's all still out of reach. We won't be able to play with any of this stuff until the Burning Crusade is upon us. Oh, Blizz, why dost thou taunt us so?
A Shaman before Shaman was cool
Considering my main at the moment is an Orc Shaman, I'm listening in on the news about Draenei shammys with (you might say) scornful interest. One the one hand, they are my favorite class, and I can't wait to see the new totems in action (even as I Earth Shock them out of existence). But on the other, more important hand, they're Alliance, and that means, of course, that they're the scum of the earth. (Don't worry, I'm also having issues with the fact that Paladins will soon be coming on raids with us-- what is the world coming to?)But I am very interested to see what the differences in the two factions are within the class. For a racial, they've got that nice Blessing of the Naaru, a small (but useful, I'm sure) heal over time. As an Orc, I've got Blood Fury, but to tell the truth, I've never once used it effectively (I only just realized the other day that I didn't even have it on my actionbars at all). And then there's the "look and feel" of the class itself-- the totems are going to look completely different, groovy little space age things that will make my winged sticks look, well, primitive. But some things won't change: Blizzard has said on the forums a few times now that Draenei Shaman will have a ghost wolf form that looks like, well, a ghost wolf.And strangely enough, of all the differences I expected between the two Shaman factions, that's the one I most expected to be... different. The OP of that thread says (and I agree) that the wolf is definitely a symbol of the Horde. And another poster points out, rightfully so, that as alien as creatures are looking in Outland, why would the Draenei even know what a wolf is, anyway? Shouldn't they have something a little more alien as their travel form? Tseric says the devs don't care, but I can assure you that us traditional Shaman do.Which leaves out one of the most important questions-- right now, in the Raid listing, Shaman character names show up as pink-colored text, and I'm told that on Alliance, Paladins do. So who gets to keep the pink text? A while ago, I heard it was us Shammies, but now a few players are saying Pallys will keep pink. So which is it, Blizz? I was a Shammy before the Draenei made it popular, and I'd appreciate it if us Horde Shammies got the respect we deserve-- if that means pink text for our names, so be it.
Priest racial abilities (maybe!)
Kyle pointed out the fact that World of Raids has posted the new priest racials will be in the expansion. Each race should get two race-specific abilities, and Eyonix has told us that one is to be unique and one will be a copy of another race's ability -- and about the latter we still know nothing. However, the unique racials are as follows....Blood ElfConsume Magic Instant 2 min cooldown Dispels one beneficial Magic effect from the caster and gives them 62 to 78 mana. DraeneiSymbol of Hope 15 Mana 40 yd range Instant cast 2 min cooldown Greatly increases the morale of party members, giving them 99 mana over 15 sec.
Blizzard releases interactive Outland map
Blizzard has posted an interactive map of Outland, the new lands showing up in the coming soon (we're told) expansion.Lots of groovy interesting stuff on there, including some new instances. The Black Temple and Hellfire Citadel we know about already, but Gruul's Lair sounds exquisitely interesting, and the crypty Auchindoun (centered in the middle of a massive crater) should be amazing. There's also cities for each faction marked in the zones, and more than a few cities marked "Faction," which undoubtedly hints at the locations where lots and lots of World PVP blood will be spilled.But maybe the most interesting thing on the map is a neutral city labeled, mysteriously, "Area 52," up in the southeast of Netherstorm. That lends a flavor I didn't expect to the new world, although it's one that seems likely, if you've been listening to what we've heard of the Draenei lore so far (and I do mean heard). Anyone want to take my 50g bet that we'll see an X-Files cultural reference in the NPCs when the expansion hits?Update: Looks like I was a little too fast on the PVP judgement: Tseric says Faction towns will be new faction homebases like Light's Hope (Argent Dawn) and Timbermaw Hold (TM Hold, obviously), while Neutral towns will be both places like Gadgetzan and World PVP objectives. Basically, don't read too much into the map before you see the game itself.Update2: Two more things-- one, check out the comments for a fun easter egg. And two, Pallysucks points out that the BE paladin is wearing the one set of pally armor in the game without +Str on it... and wielding a 2hander.[ Thanks, Dave! ]
Even More Burning Crusade Leaks
Even more leaks are finding their way out of the supposedly ubersecret Burning Crusade Friends and Family Alpha. First we saw videos of the newbie areas, then we heard the voices of BE and Draenei, and now, using a model hacker, various sources have put together a few more spoilers about the expansion. If, like me, you want to wait until you buy the game to actually see what's in it, don't click on the links below. But if you're willing to dive into unreleased and unconfirmed information because you just can't wait to find out what might be in the expansion, have at it! borgseawolf over on Livejournal has put up four huge image strips of a bunch of different enemies from the game. Some of them are still untextured, but there's a lot of interesting stuff in there, including a few new forms of mobs we already know and love. And YouTuber roguekitten246 has unearthed video animations of the emotes and fighting movements of the Draenei male, the Draenei female, and the Blood Elf male and BE female. Again, don't click on the links if you don't want to see spoilers, but I have to say that I think the Horde are going to be pretty happy to have the BEs on their side. They look good. Also, Eluna (who sent us the voices) also sends along a few other pics from the alpha: some freaky skelly, a felorc, a female and male naga, a race whose name we won't mention, and the normal and epic Draenei mounts. Again, hacking the code like this is definitely against the Blizzard TOS and may even be illegal, so we can't confirm or guarantee any of these pictures or movies are exactly what you'll see in Burning Crusade. Even if they are real, there's a huge chance things will change before the game is released, so take these with a grain of salt. That said-- wow these look awesome!
Breakfast Topic: Favorite New Mount?
The title says it all. We now know what the new mounts are for the Draenei and Blood Elves, so what's your favorite? While we don't have screenshots of either yet, we know that the Draenei will be riding the elephant-like elekk, and the Blood Elves will be riding on cockatrices. While a number of posters seem to think that a cockatrice is some sort of chicken (I've also seen comparisons to Final Fantasy's Chocobo), but the half-bird, half-lizard has the chance to look awfully interesting. Of course, there could be a lot of differences between our perception of these creatures and Blizzard's perception of these creatures. But I'm personally looking forward to a gnome riding an elephant...
Rob Pardo on The Burning Crusade
Computerandvideogames.com has posted an interview with Blizzard VP Rob Pardo in which he discusses the eagerly-awaited Burning Crusade expansion pack. Aside from the usual questions (What's the new level cap? What about the new races?, etc.), Pardo also gives some insight into his background as a game tester, and offers his opinion on WoW's economy spilling over into the real world with players buying & selling items for real cash (he doesn't like it).No earth-shattering revelations here, but the most exciting bit of information in my book is Pardo's claim that PvP will be expanded in Burning Crusade to include the much-rumored contested PvP zones, which will allow the controlling faction access to new flight paths & more. Great news for those of us who shun the battlegrounds, and long for a return to the days of world-PvP. You can read the full interview right here.
Burning Crusade Updates
There are several new tidbits of information regarding the Burning Crusade today. The bestiary and screenshots sections have both been updated with some new images, as well as official word on the racial abilities for the Draenei and Blood Elves (though they may still be tweaked in the future). Keep reading for the official racial abilities.
Breakfast Topic: New Races
As we all know, the upcoming Burning Crusade expansion will include two new races - the Blood Elves and the Draenei. For me, the thought of a new race to try out has reinvigorated interest in the game. After having played around with nearly every class and race combination at least a little, the thought of something new is exciting, and I'm already planning out what I'd like to play. Is everyone else equally eager to have a chance to play with the new races, or is there something else you're looking forward to seeing in the expansion?
Expansion Map Previews
It looks like some enterprising soul managed to snap a couple of pics at E3 of some maps that are supposedly of the new Blood Elf & Draenei starting areas. MapWoW.com has posted the images on their site for the interested to check out; you can see them right here.The Draenei area is called Azuremist Isle, in Amman Vale. The Blood Elf area does not identify itself on the given image, so the name is still a mystery as of now. I vote for Bloodelphia...
The Inspiration for the Draenei Dance
I admit, I was wondering about the unusual Draenei dance from the moment I saw it. Well, WorldofWar.Net seems to have found the dance's inspiration - in the form of this music video from India's music star Daler Mehndi. WorldofWar.Net warns that "the Mehndi video is crack," and, well I don't think I could explain it any better myself.
WoW Moviewatch: Napolean Blood Elf
Well, we knew someone would do it sooner or later. Now with added soundtrack music & jealous spectators, the new & improved Blood Elf dance!
More Dev Interviews from E3
Tentonhammer has an exclusive piece from E3, featuring interviews with WoW developer Tyven, where he discusses much of the news we've already heard from E3; the main subjects being Draenei, flying mounts, and the rest of the announced content. Nothing shockingly new, but for all you E3 news completists, there's some good info there.Also included are a few tidbits of information from Blizzard's Mac team member Rob Barris, discussing Bootcamp on the Imac & other platform news. The full article can be found here.
Hands on with baby Draenei
The Draenei that feature in The Burning Crusade are firm believers in the Light, and I took a Draenei Paladin out for a spin. As a healing class, the Blessing of the Naaru racial becomes another tool to be used in tricky situations, but its effectiveness leaves a lot to be desired. The spell takes 1.5 seconds to cast, with a 3 minute cooldown, and acts as a fairly weak heal-over-time. The alien feel of Ammen Vale works well with the storyline -- the Draenei are survivors, and much of the questing revolves around healing. The vale is dark and blue in atmosphere, similar to Teldrassil but with hints of Un'Goro Crater's otherworldliness. It's a futuristic and strange place, and serves as a nice bridge between the fantasy feel of the current WoW zones and the new planet Outland.
The Holes in Draenei Lore
Some Warcraft purists question the recently released history of the new Draenei race - which is very different from the Draenei in existing Warcraft lore. How did the primitive, shamanistic Draenei of previous Warcraft games turn into the Burning Crusade's Draenei, whom we see are oriented towards arcane magic, and more interestingly, the Light. CM Tseric has chimed in on the discussion, saying that there will be additional clarification after E3. Considering the existing contradictions, I'm quite curious to see what we hear on the matter after E3 wraps up.[Thanks, Silvertusk]
WoW Moviewatch: Flying Mounts at E3
Again, from an anonymous, on-the-spot cameraman, some hazy, blurry, brief, yet extremely cool glimpses of flying mounts at E3. Take off, eh?
