old-hillsbrad
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Christie Golden chat transcript posted
As planned, Medievaldragon hosted a live chat with author Christie Golden last night, and even if you didn't tune in, you can see the transcript right over on WorldofWar right now. It's a very interesting read, especially if you're into the lore of the book and these characters -- Golden talks about how she built up Arthas' life and relationships, and turned him from the Human prince he started out as into the (her word) "monster" he is today. And she mentions a few fun tidbits about her influence on the game -- she created the Taretha character in the Old Hillsbrad instance, and there's an NPC in the Plaguelands that bears a striking resemblance. There's also something in the Balnir Farm that she suggested they put in. You'll have to go and see for yourself what that might be.And even if you're not interested in the book and the lore, we get another little pull on the line in reference to Gilneas -- when Golden is asked what's going on at the Greymane wall, she says that she "really can't comment as to that." One more little breadcrumb in the trail leading us to either the next big content patch or the next expansion.Definitely give the chat a look if you've got any interest at all in the Arthas book (which comes out in just over a week on April 21st) or the history of the game's current big bad.
Ask a Lore Nerd: The heads and tails of the Horde
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 on Ask a Lore Nerd, we're only answering a small number of questions, because they're really good ones and I want to dork out over them a little. Let's get started, shall we?Mornash asked...Speaking of Garrosh Hellscream, what do you think Blizzard has in store for us with his story. They're portraying him like his father was, a bloodthirsty, arrogant, loose cannon. Are they going to have him repeat past mistakes? Maybe bring about another downfall? Or will Saurfang and Thrall get through to him and have him ultimately become a hero?
Anti-Aliased: Pourin' out one for all my guildies
The Twilight Empire of World of Warcraft's Ravenholdt (PvPRP) server is a very diverse guild. They're active roleplayers, dabbling in raids and gearing for 70, frequently aid their members in running instances, and meet often to both roleplay different storylines and just be together. Their leader, Empress Aerana, has high hopes and aspirations for the guild she's built from the ground up at level 20 and has continued to run until this day; almost a year of keeping the guild active on Ravenholdt.If you're looking at the above picture, you might recognize the paladin standing in the middle of the photo -- that's me, feeling kinda short at the moment. If it wasn't for Twilight Empire, I wouldn't be standing there in that room. The kindness of Aerana and the other guild members persuaded me to pick up my World of Warcraft disc and get back into the game -- something I've never done before for any other guild. With the frequent events, active membership and relaxed nature of the guild, I've felt right at home since I've jumped back in to the game. If it wasn't for the guild, the game wouldn't be half as fun. That's why this edition of Anti-Aliased is devoted to the concept of guilds and how critical they are to online gaming.
All of that just for a hat
To accompany the brand new Tailoring patterns in 2.4.3, a fellow by the name of Don Carlos has been added to WoW. Who is Don Carlos? Don Carlos is an NPC being implemented just outside of Gadgetzan who gives a single quest: Enter Old Hillsbrad, beat up his younger self, and take his hat. What's the reward? Well... his hat!Let me explain a little further. This old man has a very big hat that he's had for many, many years. He used to duel people for it, but is too old to duel nowadays. You want his hat so bad that you are inspired to travel back in time to beat up his younger self for it. All that to take an old man's hat. Man, you're kind of a jerk.Yeah, I'm a jerk, too. I ran to Old Hillsbrad immediately. The fight isn't too hard, there are a lot of classes that can solo it on Normal difficulty, especially when overgeared for the instance. To be safe, you may want to take some friends. He wanders up and down the road on horseback, with his friend Guerrero. Guerrero can be crowd controlled, but Carlos cannot. Don Carlos himself roots you, casts Scatter Shot, Aimed Shot, and melees for a decent amount. His crowd control is annoying, but again, he's not too tough. Once you beat him, go acquire your hat, and begin wondereing where the Azerothian equivalent of Spain can be found.
New DC Comic series to reveal Ashbringer's backstory
One of the most endearing new stories to be introduced into the Warcraft mythos by WoW is that of the Ashbringer, the blade of the Scarlet Highlord Mograine, which slew the Scourge by the hundreds and might have singlehandedly redeemed Azeroth, were it not for the treachery of his son, Renault. Unfortunately, beyond that and a little scene in Old Hillsbrad where we see the first steps of its creation, we don't really know much else of the story behind the fabled blade. In September 2008, we'll learn a little bit more of it. On September 10th, DC Comics' Wildstorm division will release the first of a 4 issue miniseries that covers the history of the Ashbringer, both the sword and the wielder, Alexandros Mograine. The series is being written by Blizzard Creative Director Mickey Nielson, with art by Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington. The first book will feature cover art by Chris Robinson, with a variant cover by Lullabi and Washington. I know I'm excited. In fact, I think I'll call my local comics store now and make sure they'll carry it. Then again, I'm also a bit concerned. If this comic book gives us Ashbringer backstory that's important to WoTLK, does that mean they aren't releasing it until the series is done? I don't want to wait til 2009 to play a Death Knight, that's for sure!
General boards poll reveals the obvious
Friday afternoon, Blizzard employee Bornakk posted a poll on the General boards to find our favorite 5-man dungeon of the Burning Crusade. As you can see in the above image, the Caverns of Time is rocking the charts. I can't say I disagree with the numbers there, they're pretty close to my opinions as well. Old Hillsbrad and the Black Morass offer something that most of the other instances don't: Fast pacing, minimal trash pulls, and a story element. The instances aren't very long, either. Black Morass is what, thirty minutes? These dungeons on Heroic remain difficult and dangerous, adding some new elements to the instance, such as a necessity for speed and stealth when it comes to the patrols in Old Hillsbrad. Some of the other Heroics do this as well, but most of them coast along on 'ow this mob hurts a lot'.
Rogue tanking? Get ready to Parry! Dodge! Spin!
Parry! Dodge! Spin! is an entertaining and informational rogue blog written by Valenna. He has brought up an interesting idea: in some instances, in some situations, rogues can be viable main tanks. To understand this better, you first have to read his earlier post: Dirty Tricks To Surviving. This should be required reading for every rogue that out aggros the tank in a PuG. Obvious to some, but then you come across a rogue that doesn't understand why they are getting rezzed every five minutes.After that, check out Dirty Tricks To Tanking. Valenna recommends the Surviving tricks minus the deaggro moves. Then he recommends piling up the Stamina gear, a Medallion of the Alliance to remove impairments and have some heavy dps and a back up tank along. With this set up, he has tanked Old Hillsbrad and Steamvault.Any one else tried a non-standard role and survived? Any other Rogues pull off the tanking role with some cleverness and forethought?
