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WoW Moviewatch: Elegy
Elegy is the newest machinima by PallyPowerXIX, who coincidentally is a regular on this site. It's a moody retelling of some of WoW's greatest moments, though it helps to know the lore behind Jaina and Arthas to really get it. I think that would be the most notable criticism of the movie: you need to know the story to get the story. Then again, most machinima viewers would be plenty aware of the lore, so it's not like that's a significant drawback. The music! The music in this video was outstanding. The aesthetic is considerably different from what we usually see during machinima videos, and I liked that somber but raucous feel the music selection brought. The animation fit it perfectly. All in all, Elegy was some pretty good stuff. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Patch 5.4 PTR: Sound files rife with spoilers
Our friend Stevan over at Adriacraft has been busy doing what he does best, and trawling the patch 5.4 PTR build that just went live, and he's unearthed some sound files that can only be described as spoiler-heavy. They're so spoiler-heavy that we've put the whole lot after the break, so head on down if you are OK with some seriously heavy spoilers. If you are not OK with spoilers, do not hit the break, do not listen to the audio, do not read the comments. Instead, enjoy this lovely shaman. And what's more, this is datamining. Datamining is encouraging players to draw conclusions from files found in the game's systems. The developers have been known to put things in there which are red herrings, things which are never used, things which aren't even meant to be in there. So take it as read that that could well be what's going on. And take all this with a hefty pinch of salt. If, however, you love datamined spoilers, read on.
The Queue: Subscriptions, corruption, and vampire
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 am nowhere. I am everywhere. I am the watcher, unseen." Don't kill me if the elf in the picture above doesn't match the quote. You elf-vampires all look the same to me. ATreck1937 asked: Why doesn't Blizzard pick a different venue for Blizzcon? One that could accommodate a lot more people. It's more than obvious that they have the fan base to support it, given how quickly all the Blizzcon tickets sell out every time.
Know Your Lore: The divided Alliance command structure
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. We talked last week about Garrosh Hellscream as a tactician and strategist. This week, we're going to talk about his opposite numbers. Unlike Garrosh, Varian has become the Alliance's supreme military commander more by default than acclimation or appointment. The Horde started as a military organization, and its chief executive is named 'Warchief', so the job of commanding the Horde's military forces naturally comes along with it. The Alliance technically doesn't have any sort of chief executive figure. Varian Wrynn is King of Stormwind, not the Alliance as a whole. While Stormwind's military forms the backbone of the Alliance's military forces, it's fair to say that Varian has become de facto head of the entire Alliance military less out of a desire from anyone to see him in that role and more out of reluctance from anyone else to step forward and attempt it.
The Queue: Valor points and Wite-Out spills
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. When Jaina's new white hair was first revealed on her character model, I thought it looked ridiculous. Over time, though, I think I'm getting used to it. I still wish the border of white and blonde matched the flow of her hair better, it looks like an unfortunate Wite-Out spill at the moment, but it doesn't seem quite as bad to me as it once did. Eh! @urban_infection asked: What should we do now that VP will not be reset? Spend them or save them?
Patch 5.1 Sound Files: The conflict gets real (Spoilers!)
Over at MMO Champion, a large amount of sound files have been datamined from the 5.1 PTR, all of which are embedded after the cut for your listening pleasure. They provide some fascinating foresights into what awaits players in the upcoming patch, as well as setting us up for the flavor of the expansion to come. SPOILER ALERT: Do not hit the break or listen to these sound files, or visit the MMO Champion thread if you don't want spoilers. These sound files are so spoiler-heavy, just listening to them spoiled the milk in my fridge. If you don't want spoilers, don't go over the break, don't hit the link, and don't listen or watch. Fair warning.
A walk-through of the Fall of Theramore scenario from the Alliance side
The Fall of Theramore is live on European servers, so as your spy across the pond I thought I'd run it as soon as possible to bring you a review and how-to from the Alliance side. Please note that if you don't want spoilers, don't read this. This post is going to be very spoiler-heavy if you want to be surprised by Theramore's fall. Last warning! Spoilers behind the cut!
Newest World of Warcraft novel gets a release date and cover preview
Jaina Proudmoore is one of the biggest lore figures in World of Warcraft despite the fact that her character history largely consists of trying to make reasonable compromises and being completely ignored. It's no surprise that she's the star of the newest novel based on World of Warcraft considering her prominence in the lore and her relationship to the war between the game's factions. Tides of War is written by Christie Golden and will be released in late August, setting the stage for Mists of Pandaria later this year. While Jaina has always tried to broker a peace between the Alliance and the Horde, the novel's plot revolves around Warchief Garrosh Hellscream launching an attack against Jaina's home in Theramore, demonstrating the same legendary thinking that's alienated several of the Horde's allies. Whether or not the erstwhile diplomat will be able to retain any hopes of a peaceful resolution remains to be seen, but with Mists of Pandaria promising to focus on the conflict between the two factions, it seems likely that players will be looking at silencing the last and loudest voice for peace.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Jaina Proudmoore gets model update
Wowhead News has datamined the latest beta patch and discovered an update to Jaina Proudmoore's look. Her hair has mostly turned white, presumably due to traumatic events and not to age. The hair matches what we've seen in previous art that accompanied the spoilerific Battle of Theramore voice clips. A closer view of her full body, which you can see using Wowhead's model viewer, shows that her robes are rather tattered as well. Jaina has changed her appearance before. Back in patch 3.3, she went from looking like a random human to getting her own model -- a much-needed change, but no in-game event was the basis for the update. In Mists of Pandaria, however, the events at Theramore seem to have put Jaina through enough to make her look rather battleworn. The Battle of Theramore isn't officially implemented on beta servers yet. Sapperwix says there will be no new content with today's beta build, only the temporary removal of the Jade Forest, so it will be some time before we see this new Jaina in action. What do you think of Jaina's new look? 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: New Jaina Proudmoore Theramore event voices
We've known for a while that sometime during or before Mists of Pandaria there would be a Horde attack on Theramore and that it would tie into the Jaina Proudmoore book coming out this summer. The map files for the Battle for Theramore are in the MoP beta right now, and the latest beta patch added even more juicy Theramore info. This time, it's voice clips for Jaina and various other characters involved in the battle, courtesy of Wowhead News. The video and transcript is after the cut -- but beware of spoilers!
Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War cover revealed
The cover to the upcoming World of Warcraft novel, Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War, has been revealed, thanks to Scrolls of Lore. Christie Golden, author of The Shattering and Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects (among others), wrote Jaina's story this time around. Of note on the cover is Jaina's white hair, which has been said by Blizzard in the past to indicate extreme power or a physical embodiment of the horror of Theramore's destruction. Could we be seeing Jaina flip out and go all white-haired Super Jaina Z? Is her white hair a mark of the trauma of seeing Theramore destroyed? Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War is releasing later this year. Check out Scrolls of Lore for the full cover picture. 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!
Two Bosses Enter: Echo of Baine vs. Echo of Jaina
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. Ah, this will be a fun mashup fight to watch. While I would have originally said this would be a win for Baine's father Cairne immediately, I don't know if I can say the same for his son. With Baine's popularity on the rise, however, anything is possible. There is also the looming irony of two of the most friendly and conflict-averse characters in the entire game going head-to-head in a winner-takes-all fight. It's almost like it was planned all along. Don't worry, it wasn't. I'm not that clever. Last week's matchup was a sad shut-out for Arcurion, who I am sure most people don't even know because he lives at the beginning of a dungeon that people try their best to close their eyes and breeze through. Truth be told, it usually works, and that's all right in my book. Easy and fun are better than frustrating and time-consuming, in my book. Who takes home the next coveted spot on the ever-dangerous quest to become the champion on Two Bosses Enter? Only you can decide ... %Poll-73884%
Two Bosses Enter: Echo of Sylvanas vs. Yor'sahj the Unsleeping
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. Season 3 is full of surprises as the Echo of Jaina takes the win over Morchok by a smaller margin of votes than I could have ever predicted. Seriously, Jaina, call out the fan brigade, because you are not winning this tournament with numbers like that. Against Morchok. Seriously, that game? Gotta get upped. This week's matchup is going to be an awesome treat for those of you who like to write your own posts about how these battles turn out. Check it out: Sylvanas, Banshee Queen and Dark Lady of the Forsaken, goes head to head with one of the Old Gods' most powerful, colored-slime lord Yor'sahj the Unsleeping. Two dark powers will rumble in the ring today on Two Bosses Enter. %Poll-73126%
Two Bosses Enter: Echo of Jaina vs. Morchok
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. At the beginning of season 3 of Two Bosses Enter, I changed the rules a tiny bit, finally allowing raid bosses to be a part of the competition. While some have brought up that the power differentials between a 5-man dungeon boss and a 10- or 25-man are an unfair dynamic, I counter those statements with only this: It's my fake arena show, not yours! Jaina vs. Morchok, go! On the last thrilling and chilling episode of Two Bosses Enter, the lost and angry essence of Baine Bloodhoof utterly wiped out the satyr guard Peroth'arn from the Well of Eternity. It wasn't even close. You guys and gals love your tauren heroes, and I will not deny you the championing of one of your prolific and hooved role models. The Echo of Baine was well represented in the comments, as we will soon see after checking out this week's combatants. Are you ready for a serious rumble between two powerhouses? Master of the arcane versus an elemental monstrosity -- one is going home next week. %Poll-72968%
Tides of War book release pushed back to July 24
The Simon and Schuster digital catalog has been updated with information about the forthcoming Jaina Proudmoore novel Tides of War, written by Christie Golden. The novel, originally slated to be released on June 12, 2012, according to the Amazon preorders, will be shipping on July 24 instead. Golden's last expansion opener The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, came out on Oct. 19, 2010, just weeks before the Cataclysm release. Does this new date potentially reflect a Mists of Pandaria release? If the new book release date follows the Cataclysm common wisdom, Mists of Pandaria is on track for a late summer or early fall release. However, this release date means nothing until we get official word from Blizzard. In any case, Mists of Pandaria news, including Jaina Proudmoore's role in the upcoming sacking of Theramore and escalation of war, should be coming soon as well. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion, raising the level cap to 90, introducing a brand new talent system, and bringing forth the long-lost pandaren race to both Horde and Alliance. Check out the trailer and follow us for all the latest MoP news!
WoW Insider's guide to End Time
After writing the guides to Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman, it occurred to me that I'd missed out on the opportunity to include a useful feature. Most of us will be seeing the patch 4.3 5-mans with a Dungeon Finder group at one point or another, and a high percentage of Dungeon Finder groups contain ... How shall I describe this politely? ... at least one player who has obviously spent the better part of a day with his head down a glue jar. You don't need a sophisticated understanding of the boss' mechanics for these people. You want to explain the fight as quickly and simply as possible to someone whose pupils are the approximate size of a dinner plate. Consequently, in addition to information for the folks out there who care about what the boss is actually doing, I have also included a small section for each boss called Explain it in 5 seconds or less. And take heart! There's at least one boss in End Time where you don't have to care about anyone's survival at all! If you want the quickest possible guide to all the new 5-man boss mechanics, read Patch 4.3 5-man bosses in 5 seconds or less.
Zarhym weighs in on Theramore rumors in Mists of Pandaria
Scrolls of Lore is reporting that Theramore will find itself destroyed in the war between the Alliance and Horde, and it's set off a flurry of posts on the official forums as well. In fact, there are not just one, but two threads worth of commentary on the matter that has Alliance players feeling a little angry. Community Manager Zarhym weighed in on the issue with a few posts of his own. Zarhym So, at BlizzCon we provided a few details about a new expansion and how it's going to have an ever-growing focus on the fight between the Horde and the Alliance in the wake of dispelling many very powerful threats to all of Azeroth. Then we find out a vague detail that some sort of unrelenting attack by the Horde on Theramore is to come. The Horde, to remind you, is currently a faction with an overzealous ruler and significant turmoil among their faction leaders; while the Alliance has almost never been quite so unified and far removed from the days of imprisoning orcs. The first pawn on the chess board of what is to be the story for Mists of Pandaria is being moved, and you're angry at whose turn is first? I only offer that maybe there's a little more to the Horde and Alliance story lines in Mists than an Alliance town being leveled... like the entire expansion story you don't know about yet. ;) If you wanna make an omelette... source Jaina Proudmoore is one of those characters who has remained relatively static during World of Warcraft's run, with few exceptions. I'm curious to see what Jaina's reaction to all of this will be, especially given that she sacrificed her father's life because she believed so fervently that peace was possible between Alliance and Horde. We haven't seen Jaina get truly angry -- this could be an exciting possibility. The news is out -- we'll be playing Mists of Pandaria! Find out what's in store with an all-new talent system, peek over our shoulder at our Pandaren hands-on, and get ready to battle your companion pets against others. It's all here right at WoW Insider!
Jaina Proudmoore working book title: Tides of War
We have learned from author Christie Golden's Facebook page that the working title of her newest World of Warcraft novel, which will focus on earth-shattering changes for fan favorite Jaina Proudmoore, could be titled Tides of War. Since Jaina's heritage and background (her father being Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, leader of Kul Tiras) is that of Kul Tiras, the island nation of seafaring humans, this title makes sense, especially if it heralds the return of the nation of Kul Tiras back to World of Warcraft. Christie posts: "Okay, starting on Tides of War, the Jaina (Proudmoore!) book. Am thinking if I work this right... I won't have to work weekends this time. Woot!" There is a lot of speculation going on about the next expansion, including the filing of a trademark for Mists of Pandaria, as well as Chris Metzen revealing the earth-shattering Jaina book at Comic Con last month. While Tides of War is admittedly a working title, it signals a strong naval theme that links up well with an island expansion, the island of Pandaria, and a generally water-y world we're looking at. This is all still speculation, of course.
Anduin Wrynn: Then and Now
Blizzard made a lot of changes to World of Warcraft with Cataclysm, and has been exploring some of the bigger changes through its "Then and Now" series. Previously, Blizzard discussed how Garrosh has changed from The Burning Crusade through Cataclysm, as well as how Thrall changed since his debut in Warcraft III. Now, their eyes are on Stormwind and the boy prince, Anduin Wrynn. Anduin's biggest changes actually happened outside of the game world, most notably in the World of Warcraft comic series and in Christie Golden's companion novel to Cataclysm, The Shattering. In The Shattering, Anduin comes into his own through a series of adventures with Jaina Proudmoore, and by participating in the burgeoning dwarven civil war between the clans at Ironforge. The prince finds his path with the Light, determined to become a priest instead of becoming a warrior like his father. His character has grown considerably since his inception, with Blizzard making a concerted effort to move his story forward against the backdrop of the cataclysm. I was a fan of Anduin in The Shattering because he was written to be a spiritual opposite of his father. While Anduin retained his father's caution when dealing with the Horde, he seemed more open-minded, forgiving, and willing to compromise on things above and beyond him. There is definitely groundwork being laid for a strong, compassionate leader, something the humans have not truly had since Varian's kidnapping and King Terenas Menethil of Lordaeron.
Official WoW TCG War of the Elements card, loot information released
We've seen the leaks and the datamined information, but it's all official now -- Cryptozoic has released the WoW TCG card and loot information for the next expansion to the Worldbreaker set, War of the Elements.
