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Patch 3.3 PTR: New Kirin Tor Rings on their way
Ah, Kirin Tor rings. We've come to rely on these old standbys as gear that'll always be there for us. Especially if "we" are elemental shamans. But what's going on with them in Patch 3.3? Surprising no one, Bornakk confirmed recently that there's a new set of Kirin Tor rings on the way for those with lots of disposable income in Patch 3.3. With an item level of 251, they're a significant upgrade to the 226 ring you upgraded back when Ulduar came out. You should expect the upgrade process to cost about as much as the last one -- that is, 1000 gold pre-faction discount. Good to see that they're seeing this ring thing through to the end of the expansion. The initial investment is a bit steep, but hey, free Dalaran portal, and the upgrade price is pretty reasonable as you go. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Ask a Lore Nerd: Looking to the future
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, where each week blogger and columnist Alex Ziebart answers your questions about the lore and history of the World of Warcraft. Ask your questions in the comments section below, and we'll try to answer it in a future edition.This week I have a special request: I want any questions you might have about potential future expansions. Any questions at all are welcome, but I'm on a speculation kick recently, so next week's column will probably focus on the future and then we'lll be back to our regular deal after that. So no matter whether you think the Maelstrom could be next or something else entirely, ask!Mark asked..."Any chance that the Vrykul will be a playable race in a future expansion?"
Breakfast Topic: Is your class missing out on in-game lore?
When it comes to lore, Druids, Mages, Death Knights and Paladins have it covered. Druids have the Emerald Dream, Mages the Kirin Tor and Dalaran. Meanwhile Paladins and Death Knights' lore revolve around this chap called Arthas who did bad things and became one of the biggest bads in all of Azeroth. But what about the other classes? When was the last time you heard of a decent bit of Warlock or Warrior lore? And I'm not just talking a class quest here, but actual lore with a capital L?Shamans got a bit in The Burning Crusade but only if you were a Draenei. What about Hunters, Rogues, and Priests? So I want to know, dear readers, do you wish there was more lore specific to your class? Do you feel neglected as a sub-group within Azeroth? What kind of lore would you like to see associated with your (insert class here)? Speak up and drop your thoughts in the comment box below.
Disappointment with the patch 3.1 game world
The last few days I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out why I'm not particularly enjoying Patch 3.1 when I'm doing something besides raiding Ulduar. I should be enjoying it! When I first checked it out on the PTR, I was extremely excited about it. The Argent Tournament especially. The whole jousting deal, the Arthurian themes, the potential for story progression, the whole thing. It looked great! Unfortunately... I'm finding it pretty boring.The Argent Tournament feels lifeless. Completely and utterly lifeless. I say it all of the time, but patch 2.4 was my favorite patch of World of Warcraft thus far, no contest. Patch 2.4 brought me more joy than even the Wrath launch. Not only did it have content for absolutely every aspect of the game, but it also actually changed the world. Storylines progressed in an in-your-face way. Sure, patch 3.1 moved the Ulduar and Yogg-Saron story forward, but would you know it if you didn't read fansites or watch the patch 3.1 cinematic? What's different? What indicator is there that something new is happening in the Storm Peaks?
Patch 3.1 introduces new Kirin Tor rings
Wrath of the Lich King introduced a set of epic rings you could purchase in Dalaran for gold. While they were an obvious gold sink, they were legitimately useful, too. A gold sink done right, in my opinion. Rather than forcing us to pay to get our riding skill back or something like that, it was an optional (but very tempting) epic that you could drop the gold on if you want.Patch 3.1 is actually making this investment even sweeter. For another 1000g (at Exalted) you can upgrade your current ring (if you purchased one) for an improved version, keeping it current and relevant. You need to trade in the old one along with the gold when you pick up the new one, so you can't wear them both at the same time unless you re-purchase the first afterwards. Not a smart thing to do, in my opinion.If you want to see the stats on the new set of rings, just check out our little gallery below.%Gallery-45778%
The Queue: Shoo fly, don't bother me
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.To kick things off today, I actually wanted to add something to one of Adam's responses yesterday. Spiraea was looking for a title that would fit their Priest. Adam suggested The Immortal, but me? I'm all about the Hallowed. You can't get it until October, which makes getting your hands on it tough... but it'll be worth the wait! It's my favorite title on my Priest. When I get a new raid title I switch to that for awhile, but always go back to Hallowed.realt asked... I have a question regarding in-game voice chat (or Ventrilo). Our guild has never used voice-chat when raiding. So far we have done pretty well with clearing all 10man content, including Sartharion+1D, without it. Now we are progressing into 25man. At which point do we really need starting using voice chat you think or isn't required at all? I haven't been in many other raiding guilds besides this one so I am curious how others are handling their communication.
Wrath 101: Getting your dungeon reputation tabards
Reader Paul K. sent us a query today about how to go about getting each of the champion dungeon tabards available at level 80, and since I'm about to hit level 80 (hopefully will be doing it tonight), I figured I'd do the work so the rest of you don't have to. Wearing these tabards will give you faction reputation for whatever tabard you're wearing in the endgame 5mans, so instead of running Steam Vaults over and over and over for Cenarion Expedition rep (oh man am I tired of that grind), you can just put on one of these, and then run whatever instances you want.There are currently four factions that you can champion in the game, and all of the tabards for each are available at Friendly. So you'll need at least friendly with all of the factions -- Wyrmrest Accord, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Kirin Tor, and the Argent Crusade -- before you go around to pick them all up. Getting there isn't hard at all -- if you've leveled by questing, you should have built up the necessary reputation (the one exception in my case is the Knights of the Ebon Blade -- I'm neutral right now, but I haven't really done any questing in Icecrown yet at all).After the jump, a list of where you need to go to get each tabard.
Arcane Brilliance: What to give the Mage who has everything
Each week, Arcane Brilliance comes down the chimney with a sack-full of Mage. We Blink into your living room, conjure our own milk and cookies, set fire to the tree, and turn the family cat into a sheep. Then laying a finger aside of our nose, we turn invisible and walk out the front door, because that's how we roll.In case your recurring stress dreams aren't enough of a reminder, let me throw it out there that you have less than a week to do your Christmas shopping. Seriously, you probably ought to just go now, bring a cattle prod, a ballistics vest, and possibly a taser, head to the mall, and let the carnage begin. If you get in line now, you might be able to check out by Thursday.The good news is that if you're shopping for a Mage, your job isn't quite so difficult, and not nearly as perilous. Mages aren't picky about gifts. If it has spellpower on it, chances are we'll love it. We tend to like big sticks and fancy dresses, and Gnomish Warlocks always make great stocking stuffers.Follow me after the break, and I'll give you my short-list of great things to get for the Mage in your life this holiday season.
Wrath Dailies: Aces High!
For our Wrath Dailies series thus far, we've been trying to do them in groups. For example, we did the Kalu'ak dailies first, and now Adam is going through the Cooking dailies. I've decided to jump out of order for this one, because it's actually somewhat important beyond just another daily quest. This quest is actually training for Phase 3 of the Malygos encounter, in which you do battle with the Aspect of Magic from the back of a red drake. You pick up Aces High! from Corastrasza on the Band of Transmutation, one of the floating platforms around The Nexus. If you've never done it before, head down to the Transitus Shield, there's a quest that will tell you exactly where to go. Practicing with this quest will make the fight much, much easier when you fight Malygos one day, because the abilities the Drake has in this quest are the exact same as the ones in that fight.
New Dalaran rings on the PTR
There are two new rings that the Kirin Tor are offering to us all on the PTR (Public Test Realm). They are called the "Loop of the Kirin Tor" and the "Ring of the Kirin Tor." These rings were added, one can assume, over a lot of protest and QQing by tanks and healers. While the two rings currently in the game can be used by both roles in some situations, they are by no means what healers or tanks would be looking for.As a Protection Warrior I'm looking forward to this change going live. I'll have to fork over another 8,000g or so, but such is the price of epics.A closer look at the rings and their stats after the break.
Insider Trader: Highlights of Wrath crafting, Tailoring edition
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Wrath of the Lich King has changed many things about the professions we all know and sometimes love. Last week, Insider Trader looked at the highlights of the Leatherworking and Blacksmithing professions, showing you what's new, how to plan out your leveling, and what you can look forward to at what points. This week, Tailoring is up for discussion. There are faction recipes and dropped recipes, as well as highlights from your trainer that you won't want to miss. Here is a quick summary: New and improved exclusive spellthreads for enchanting your pants. A 20-slot bag and a 22-slot bag. A slow flying carpet mount as well as an epic one. Specialty cloth for epic gear. Frost resistance gear. An 8-piece PvP pseudo-set. Exclusive cloak enchants. Special threads that you can sell for a profit. Soul shard and enchanting bags with 32 slots.
Shifting Perspectives: Faction gear for Druids, part II - Argent Crusade
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we continue our examination of the faction gear available for Druids in Wrath and have a serious conversation with our aesthetic conscience regarding the hideous Kirin Tor tabard: "Is the tanking staff we get at Revered worth the humiliation of wearing that purple monstrosity?" The answer, dear readers, is no.In the first part, we covered Druid gear available with the Tuskarr, the Alliance Vanguard/Horde Expedition, Wyrmrest Accord, Kirin Tor, and Oracles/Frenzyheart. This week, we're going to finish with a look at the Knights of the Ebon Blade, the Argent Crusade, and the Sons of Hodir. You're unlikely to encounter any of these three factions while leveling between 70 and 74, but all three figure prominently in mid to late '70's leveling. Read on for the last three factions, but if you want a quick set of links to each individual faction, here you go: Kalu'ak and Horde Expedition/Alliance Vanguard Guide Wyrmrest Accord and the Kirin Tor Guide The Frenzyhearts and the Oracles Guide The Argent Crusade Guide The Knights of the Ebon Blade and Sons of Hodir Guide
Wrath Dailies: Infused Mushroom Meatloaf
Let's take a look at the daily cooking quest "Infused Mushroom Meatloaf." But before we go into the quest details, ask yourself for a minute if you've ever had mushroom meatloaf. I can say that I haven't, and upon googling it I learned a bit more.A mushroom meatloaf is a meatloaf with about a half pound of minced mushrooms in it. The meatloaf itself is cooked and made just like a normal meatloaf, expect for the added mushrooms in it and sprinkled on top. Put some ketchup on it for added flavor.I'm not a big fan of meatloaf or mushrooms (except on steak), so this isn't a favorite dish of mine. However the in game quest is.Quest Giver: Awilo Lon'gomba (Horde) or Katherine Lee (Alliance)Reputation: Kirin TorReward: 150 rep, 9.9g at level 80, a Dalaran Cooking Award, a Small Spice BagMinimum Level: 65Required Chain: Cooking at 375 or above.Read on after the break for our walkthrough of the quest, complete with a few tricks you can do to get it done quickly and easily
Shifting Perspectives: Faction gear from the Wyrmrest Accord and Kirin Tor
WYRMREST ACCORD: This is another faction with which you can start building rep relatively early, although it'll be slower going than it will be for the Tuskarr. Be sure to get through the early-70's quest chain to access the daily Defending Wyrmrest Temple. Cloak of Peaceful Resolutions -- Honored, Level 78: Not a half-bad tanking cloak and fairly easy to get at Honored, although in a pinch you can probably afford to keep using a pre-Wrath tanking cloak all the way to 80. At 80 you can and should get Durable Nerubhide Cape crafted if you plan on doing any amount of tanking at all. Slap the +22 agility enchant on that puppy and you're good for anything. Ancestral Sinew Wristguards -- Revered, Level 80: These are one of the best bracers pre-heroics for Restoration with none of that +crit or +haste malarkey to gum the works. Excellent +spellpower in addition to solid stats elsewhere. Arcanum of Blissful Mending -- Revered, Level 80: The Wrath equivalent of the Arcanum of Renewal from Thrallmar/Honor Hold. Restoration Druids will want this as quickly as possible; moonkin may consider it if they've been having mana issues, but most of the time you're going to want the Kirin Tor enchant. Gavel of the Brewing Storm -- Revered, Level 78: This is a useful moonkin mace packing +crit and +haste, but it bothers me a bit. Like most of the other potential moonkin pieces available with reputation from this or any other faction, it lacks +hit -- and your primary concern as you level toward 80 is going to be getting (or staying) hit-capped. If you're dependent on faction gear at 80 as you get ready to raid or do heroics, keep this in mind. If for no other reason than that, the Kirin Tor dagger is better (read on). Dragonfriend Bracers -- Exalted, Level 80: Excellent bracers. The relatively small amount of stamina on them in addition to the presence of +crit prejudices them toward use for cat DPS. In terms of raw damage output, they're even better than the Hateful Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph. Sandals of Crimson Fury -- Exalted, Level 80: Cloth, but pretty good moonkin boots with decent +spellpower, +haste, a blue socket, but once again 0 +hit. KIRIN TOR: This is almost inarguably one of the best faction reps to grind as a Druid, so it pays to choke down your nausea at the sight of that hideous tabard at 80. You can start building reputation with the Kirin Tor fairly early if you start leveling in Borean Tundra and do the questlines offered by the NPC's on the Amber Ledge. As you might expect from a faction being run by a lot of clothies, most of the potential gear here is particularly useful for casters, but weirdly enough there's also a feral staff and excellent legs available at Revered. Helm of the Majestic Stag -- Honored, Level 78: With the total absence of spirit but 21 mp5, this really seems like more of a Restoration Shaman piece, but it's certainly usable. Welcome to the only leather helm graphic you will see on any decent piece for the next five million years, by the way. Shroud of Dedicated Research -- Honored, Level 78: Decent stats for moonkin, less so for Resto. There are better cloaks out there, but this one will tide you over until heroics or the Ebon Blade cloak. Flameheart Spell Scalpel -- Revered, Level 80: Look, Ma! It's +hit! One of the best pre-raid moonkin weapons with solid +spellpower, +hit, and +crit. If you can't get the mats for a Titansteel Guardian for love or money (or if you're not hit-capped using it), this is the weapon worth grinding rep for. Arcanum of Burning Mysteries -- Revered, Level 80: The Wrath equivalent of the Sha'tar's Arcanum of Power, although the level 80 versions eschews +hit in favor of +crit. Bah. Get it anyway. Mind-Expanding Leggings -- Revered, Level 80: This is an amazingly good piece for tanking, and it's going to be the piece you want over the Azure Strappy Pants from the Frenzyhearts if you're doing the usual bounce around the factions in Sholazar Basin, or if you spend more time as a bear than a cat. These are arguably the best pre-raid bear legs outside of heroics and arena. Stave of Shrouded Mysteries -- Revered, Level 80: What a bunch of mages are doing with a feral staff is utterly beyond me, but their confusion is our gain. Right now it's inferior by several light years to the Enraged Feral Staff from heroic Utgarde Keep as a tanking piece, but the armor on both pieces is going Splitsville pretty soon. When that happens, the distance between the two with respect to tanking quality is going to shrink quite a bit. The Enraged staff is still going to retain a clear advantage for tanking in the form of both threat production and dodge (the mass of agility on it converts to 1.87% dodge in contrast to the Stave's 1.42% dodge), and I still cannot for the life of me understand itemizing Strength on a feral piece in lieu of Agility (seriously? What gives?), but without the enormous armor difference, the weapons are a lot closer to each other than they would otherwise have been. Robes of Crackling Flame -- Exalted, Level 80: Prejudiced toward healers with a meaty chunk of its stat allocation given to mp5, but Restoration still gets less use out of +haste than other healers (Lifebloom, Rejuvenation, and Wild Growth all being instant cast and still a huge portion, if not an outright majority, of our healing done). Usable? Certainly. Are you doomed to most of your best pieces pre-raid being cloth? Just as certainly. Ghostflicker Waistband -- Exalted, Level 80: Very good Balance belt and it includes a blue socket, but (again) it's primarily useful only if you're otherwise hit-capped. Next: Frenzyheart and the Oracles.
Shifting Perspectives: Faction gear for Druids, part I
Every Tuesday/Wednesday/some day that ends in -y, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting Druids and those who group with them. This week we take a look at faction rewards available to Druids in "Wrath of the Lich King" and wonder if that Mysterious Egg of ours -- the only faction reward we could truly be said to care about -- is ever going to hatch.Like most of you, I'm still running a lot of dungeons and getting acquainted with the array of drops available on both normal and heroic mode, and I'm not anywhere near as familiar with the Northrend 5-man drops as I am with Outland's after tanking them all eleventy-billion times. For the moment, my ability to compare all of the reputation gear available from Wrath factions with potential dungeon drops is fairly small and mostly confined to feral equipment, so I apologize. What I can say is that I've noticed a fairly clear trend favoring Balance if you're planning on getting a lot of your gear at 80 from faction reputations (although if you go that route there's a sizable pitfall in the form of a serious lack of +hit on most pieces). Feral is a little more hit-or-miss. Restoration seems to have the hardest time getting its best pre-raid or heroic pieces from rep grinds, and I'm not going to lie; get used to most of your best pieces being cloth.With what are essentially four different specs to cover for all the new factions available in Wrath, this got a bit long. So this week we'll discuss the rep grinds that become accessible a little earlier in the trek to 80 -- namely, the Tuskarr, the Alliance Vanguard/Horde Expedition, Wyrmrest Accord, Kirin Tor, and Oracles/Frenzyheart. Next week we'll cover the Knights of the Ebon Blade, the Argent Crusade, and Sons of Hodir, as you're not likely to see these guys as early as you'll see the others. Indeed, before a quest line that phases the lady into existence, you won't see the Knights of the Ebon Blade quartermaster at all.EDIT: Now that the faction guides are finished, here's a set of quick links in case you're looking for information on one faction in particular: Kalu'ak and Horde Expedition/Alliance Vanguard Guide Wyrmrest Accord and the Kirin Tor Guide The Frenzyhearts and the Oracles Guide The Argent Crusade Guide The Knights of the Ebon Blade and Sons of Hodir Guide
Lichborne: Reputation rewards for Death Knights in Wrath of the Lich King
Welcome to Lichborne, WoW Insider's weekly column on the Death Knight, written and named by a guy who actually doesn't have that talent. How does this keep happening, seriously? So by now, I'm sure a lot of Death Knights are, like yours truly, getting into the level 80 home stretch and trying to figure out which of the Wrath factions to grind first. If you've already read our Wrath 101 guides to reputation and to the Oracle and Frenzyheart tribes, you're off to a good start. In this week's Lichborne, we'll take it a step further by looking at the purchasable rewards for each faction with the eye of a Death Knight. As with our previous gear guide, I'm operating on the assumptions that haste and armor penetration are less desirable for Death Knights and that expertise is primarily for Death Knight tanks.
Arcane Brilliance: Wrath reputation rewards for Mages, part 2
Each week Arcane Brilliance cooks up a feast for Mages everywhere, just like your mom does. Well...maybe your mom cooks for Druids--I don't know--but my mom always cooked for Mages. Especially at this special time of year, she wanted her little Mages to eat well and give thanks for the bounty they had been given. She taught us to always be grateful for Pyroblast, and Polymorph, but most of all, for Mirror Image. Oh, and she also taught us to kill Warlocks, but that's a whole other story.So I assume that you're all about sick of leftover turkey at this point (at least, those of you who happen to live in America, I guess), and are ready for a heaping helping of something...Magier. Fear not, for Arcane Brilliance is here to serve a steaming pile of Mage directly to you. If you top it with enough gravy, it tastes pretty good.Last week we went over some of the new Wrath factions and the rewards they offer for Mages. If you missed that first part, you can find it here. As quite a few of you pointed out in the comments, the stuff from those factions was a bit...underwhelming. Fear not, fellow Mages, the best is yet to come. This week, we'll hit the rest of the new expansion's reputation rewards and highlight those that you'll want to start grinding for now, if you haven't already started.
Behind the Curtain: Too much emotion
Oh Richard Bartle, you so crazy! So, the rantings of an out-of-touch academic, desperate to grab attention, or astute observations from a true pioneer of MMOs and virtual worlds? I'll go with the latter – partly because it's true, and partly because I'm scared Dr Bartle might hunt me down and shout at me. Going by some of the comments I've seen here on Massively and elsewhere in the past couple of days, not everyone agrees with me. That's cool though, it's the Internet, and you have a right to be face-slappingly stupid hold an alternate viewpoint. Don't worry though, I don't plan on dissecting the good Doctor's words today, not only has that been done to death elsewhere; I simply don't want to. Instead, I'd like to talk briefly about emotion and our emotional investment in MMOs. To be specific, I'd like to talk about emotions which arise moment to moment, as we play.
Richard Bartle responds to "torture quest" issue
A few days ago we ran a report on Richard Bartle's take on a torture quest in World of Warcraft, the Art of Persuasion. Since then, the discussion has exploded and some have taken Bartle's quotes out of context. Because of this, Bartle has created a follow-up post to clarify some of the points that may have been misinterpreted.First of all, he's not talking about the Death Knight quest entitled, "How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies." Bartle does realize that Death Knights, while under Arthas's control, were horribly evil and he understand that this quest is necessary to make them look as evil as they are. That quest makes a very strong point that resonates with the storyline of the game.He is quite aware that Warcraft involves killing, fireballs, destruction, and more killing. He knows there's a "dismiss quest" button at the bottom of the quest window. He is also aware that the game is not real life, it's only a computer game, and does not contain the Geneva Convention. So then, what's all the fuss?
Scattered Shots: Reputation rewards for Hunters in Wrath of the Lich King
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! You didn't think Scattered Shots was taking the day off, did you? Hopefully, there's enough of you who aren't completely zonked out on turkey, ham, or beef to read this.So by now, I figure most of you are well on your way to 80, and are probably starting to ask yourself: Which reputation should I grind first? There's tons of ways to choose, be it roleplaying who your character would align themselves with or choosing the one that's easiest to grind. One of the most popular and most effective though, is pretty simple: Asking yourself which one has the best loot. Today's Scattered Shots will center around that last one. If you're still not sure how to grind reputation in Northrend, or forgot where the quartermasters are, be sure to check out our Wrath 101 post on reputations, as well as our post on the Wolvar and Oracles of Sholozar Basin. Once you've done that, or if you remember the basics, read on!
