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Leader short stories continue with Gelbin Mekkatorque: Cut Short
The gnomes have not had it good over the last 6 years of World of Warcraft. Their home was irradiated and infested with Troggs at the hands of the traitorous Thermaplug. Gnomes were forced into hiding and shelter in the dwarven capital of Ironforge. Even during Operation: Gnomeregan, the plot to reclaim the city for its rightful denizens, gnomes only met with a modicum of success. Gnomes have had it rough. The newest leader short story in Blizzard's series of behind-the-leader lore details Gelbin Mekkatorque, the High Tinker of the gnomes of Gnomeregan. Written by Cameron Dayton, Gelbin Mekkatorque: Cut Short details the High Tinker's fight for Gnomeregan against traitor Sicco Thermaplug, as well as Mekkatorque's coming to terms with his anger and frustration over his people's plight. We are finally treated to some back story about the gnomish leader and his emotional response to his city falling and his people dying, his place in the Alliance of the Eastern Kingdoms, and the resolution to Operation: Gnomeregan. As the battle for Gnomeregan continues to be fought, Mekkatorque finds his way back to his old study, where his memories and introspection begin. His thoughts hit topics ranging from the election of gnomish leaders, Gelbin's first Alliance operation in the Second War against the Horde, and the inconceivable notion that Thermaplug, a gnome himself, would bring about such horrible destruction on his own people.
WoW Rookie: Cataclysm gnome starting area
Spoiler Alert: This post includes many details about the gnome starting area in Cataclysm. As a new gnome in Cataclysm, you begin with the debuff Irradiated. You've been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation and risk being turned into a leper gnome. You are located in the heart of Gnomeregan, surrounded by equipment and other survivors. This is because beginning gnomes in Cataclysm are not the gnomes who've been sleeping on Ironforge's couch for the last half-decade; these are the gnomes who have been surviving in Gnomeregan for years. The action starts when you talk to Nevin Twistwrench, who warns you there will be more time to talk once you're safely on the surface. Don't worry, though, Nevin has a plan. After all, he is the leader of S.A.F.E., the Survivor Assistance Facilitation Expedition. Your questing starts when he asks you to kill 6 of the attacking leper gnomes because if you are all Pinned Down. As you cut down the marauding lepers, pay attention; you'll hear the awesome ray guns being employed by S.A.F.E operatives.
Cataclysm Beta: Welcome to New Tinkertown
Fresh off the heels of Operation: Gnomeregan, Blizzard has published a web reveal of New Tinkertown. High Tinker Mekkatorque and the gnomish forces have seized control of an area on the surface just outside of Gnomeregan and have started efforts in retaking their city. Mekkatorque will ask you to complete new missions like rescuing gnomes and routing troggs, with the main goal of stopping Razlo Crushcog. New Tinkertown is the new level 1-5 leveling zone for gnomes. While the quests and the content have been on beta for a while now, you can read more about the official details after the jump.
Know Your Lore: Gnome priests and the failure of the flesh
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. In the however many years I've been playing World of Warcraft, there has always been one constant that has stayed popular opinion since the games launch: Gnomes. People hate gnomes, for whatever reason they use to justify it. I've heard every excuse in the book from "They're short" to "They're so cheery and annoying," but none of the reasons have any real meaning behind them -- it's just popular opinion. The other side of the equation are the people that love gnomes and think they're the best thing since sliced bread, and will not tolerate any disparaging remarks about this tiny and affable race. With Cataclysm's launch comes a new class for the gnomish race -- gnomes will now be able to roll the priest class and heal right along with their Alliance brethren that have been doing this for years. By and large, gnome priests have already existed in some fashion -- Gnomeregan had the presence of a group of gnome "medics" that were healers. When you're dealing with a society that is constantly mid-invention that may or may not accidentally detonate, it's probably a good idea to have a medic or two on hand to patch people up. But these medics didn't really seem to follow the path of the Light, something that dwarves and humans have been using for years as a tool for healing. Gnomes, however, are very good at inventing -- so it may be that they simply found a way to utilize their creations to heal people, hence the medics. The gnome priest of Cataclysm is an entirely different creature, however -- these gnomes appear to use the Light just like their dwarven friends. There are two ways you can look at the gnome priest in Cataclysm -- the easy way, and the more difficult (yet in my mind, more entertaining) way. Since gnome medics already existed in Gnomeregan, and even now players on live servers are working to retake their irradiated home, you could simply assume that the gnome priests are medics that were rescued. Or we can look at gnomes and their past -- and how recent discoveries may be altering how they view their future in a big way.
Know Your Lore: Current Alliance politics -- the gnomes
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. Last time on Alliance politics we looked at the night elves, who have had arguably the largest impact on Azeroth of any race currently living, and a lengthy history, as their current leader has been in power for approximately 10,000 years. The night elves have an extensive amount of history to back up their current political stance, but today we're going to look at a race that doesn't really have a lot of history to speak of (or at least they didn't until the launch of Wrath of the Lich King): the gnomes. The gnomish race has been relatively low profile in World of Warcraft and in the Alliance in general. Friendly to everyone, regardless of faction, the gnomes are quite happy to teach engineering to anyone who will listen. They generally avoid conflict where they can and honestly the main reason they joined the Alliance wasn't due to their beliefs or any strong feelings, it was due to circumstances at the time. Let's take a quick look at the background of the gnomes and how the events in Wrath could potentially affect future political entanglements.
Ask a Faction Leader: High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque
WoW.com's prestige in the community has afforded us the opportunity to speak with major Azerothian leadership figures on any subject, and we're letting you, the reader, Ask a Faction Leader! We recently spoke to the three brothers Bronzebeard, princes of Ironforge all, and they shed light on several key issues, including ale preferences, brotherly competition, beer goggles, lost leggings, and dwarf gestation. In this installment of Ask a Faction Leader, we'll be sitting with High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque, king of the gnomes. Our first reader question... Dear High Tinker, I hear you have plans to retake Gnomeregan! In five years, I've never been happier! I just have one question...not that I'm doubting you or anything, but ... what took so long? Anonymous Gnome Gelbin responds... A fair question! You see, gnomes have ADD.
Operation: Gnomeregan Imminent
An Azeroth Bulletin has just been released announcing that Operation: Gnomeregan is imminent. High Tinker Mekkatorque wants you to join him in his fight to finally conquer Mekgineer Thermaplugg and his irradiated minions. "Victory begins in Tinker Town" and "every man, woman and child" is called upon to serve! The staging ground for the offensive will be at SteelGrill's Depot under the command of Captain Sparknozzle. There you will undergo Drill Sergeant Steamcrank's training. You will also be testing the Mechano-Tanks before they go to the front line. Then you will bomb the irradiation vents under the command of Pilot Muzzlesprock. All levels will be able to participate, whether by donating boar skins for siege pilot seats or helping to write the battle cry. But the actual offensive, when ready, will be limited to levels 75 and up, led by the High Tinker himself. For full details, read the Azeroth Bulletin.
World of Warcraft 5th Anniversary mosaic finally complete
It looks like the fans followed through, after all, and we finally get to see the Battlecry mosaic much sooner than I'd previously thought. The completed mosaic reveals a truly awesome piece of art by Wei Wang depicting all the current faction leaders. By awesome I mean truly mind-blowing, and Blizzard has high resolution versions of both the mosaic and the actual painting available for download in different versions. The full mosaic, for example, can be viewed in all its 14400 x 6150 pixel glory. Arguably the best version is the dual screen wallpaper which shows the most detail, although there are also much smaller versions for mobile phones. The Battlecry mosaic is comprised of 20,000 player-submitted pictures called out by Blizzard as part of the World of Warcraft 5th Anniversary celebration. Each section of the multi-part mosaic unlocked various content over the past few months, which included sneak peeks at conceptual art and even a piece of the game's musical score. The final artwork is arguably the best and coolest rendition of all the faction leaders so far, including a dual-wielding Magni Bronzebeard in armor that's significantly different from what he's wearing in-game, which may or may not hint at a possible model change come Cataclysm. Congratulations to all the fans who contributed to the mosaic!
WoW Moviewatch: Plight of the Gnomes
You're going to have a little variance in your opinion of this piece, dependent on whether you like or hate gnomes and whether you like old, scored story pieces without dialogue. Plight of the Gnomes by Harmon Productions is a retelling of one of the Alliance's oldest, tragic events (in World of Warcraft). Using music and images, Plight fills us in on not only the Great Betrayal, but the entire story about how the gnomes came to take up residence in Ironforge. This is a movie about the fall of Gnomeregan. The work was beautiful, in my opinion. The music definitely fit the piece perfectly, and the many portrait shots of key gnome personalities really helped get across the historical feel of Plight. I would have enjoyed letting the action move a little faster, but that's probably just me. I especially found the blood-spattered images of the trogg invaders to be powerful and moving. They were an effective tool for portraying the loss of the gnomish homeland. Click here to see it yourself! If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Ask a Lore Nerd: Alliance leaders and strange mythology
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, where each week Alex Ziebart answers your quests about the lore in the World of Warcraft. If you have any questions, no matter how big or small they might be, ask them in the comments section below and we'll try to answer it in a future edition. We're all busy people, so let's jump right in here. Sorano asked...Has Gelbin Mekkatorque ever done something to contribute to the world around him? Poor little guy seems to do nothing nowadays. I'm sure as leader of the Gnomes, he could do a lot to help the people of Azeroth.He does things, but they're not portrayed in WoW very well. It's mostly things you will find in the RPG books. Mekkatorque helps design the various siege weaponry the Alliance uses (steam tanks, etc), and works heavily on figuring out ways to take back Gnomeregan from the ferocious level 30 elites and, more importantly, clean up the radiation.
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a gnome
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the fifth 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. Gnomes are probably the easiest race to roleplay in World of Warcraft. They have a strong (and mostly accurate) stereotype that people just get instantly, and there's a childlike "blank-slate" quality about them that means that they don't have to have complicated backstories. In fact, you could define the gnomes as a race without a history to speak of. They are so very curious and inquisitive that they ask questions about everything, that they try to unravel any mysteries they encounter, and consider their personal life stories to be of little account. They've written tomes upon tomes on the inner workings of multi-polar data transfer relays and eletro-magnified parallel power circuits, but it never really occurred to them that they should write down the history of their species. They are a people always looking into the future, and whatever passes beyond the infinitely precious present becomes lost to them in the unseen reaches of the past -- out of sight, out of mind. That's not to say they have no memory -- they make use of their superb memories in carefully constructing their world-renown masterpieces of technological craftsmanship! Rather, it would be better to say that their minds only serve up memories relevant to the inquiry at hand. So if the orcs paved through azeroth a while back and destroyed everything in their path, well that was bad and all but it was a long time ago and who wants to hold a grudge? If the monstrous troggs came from the bowels of the earth and destroyed their cherished technological city of Gnomeregan... well, they'd love to get it back, but it's no reason to be unkind or uncheerful!
