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The Daily Grind: Who's your favorite child NPC?
This might be a difficult topic because in truth we have not seen an over-abundance of children NPCs in MMOs, nevermind ones that speak or are part of missions. I'm mostly reminded of the tag-along I had in World of Warcraft's Children Week when I think of young characters. However, I'm most impressed with the handling of Taimi in Guild Wars 2's storyline. She's easily the best character of the group, and somewhat unique in being very young and also partially disabled. I love that those two characteristics don't define who she is, but instead her vivacious and sometimes reckless genius does. So who is your favorite child NPC in an MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
New Children's Week pets and quests
Wowhead News has unearthed some interesting additions to the Children's Week holiday, which starts this Sunday shortly after Noblegarden 2011 ends. For anyone worried about the meta-achievement For the Children, the achievements associated with the holiday haven't changed (more's the pity re: School of Hard Knocks), but the quest lines in classic Azeroth have. If you're Alliance, the brand-new quest series starts with Children's Week, offered by Orphan Matron Nightingale in Stormwind; if you're Horde, it starts with Children's Week, offered by Orphan Matron Battlewail in Orgrimmar. Both new quest lines will see you surveying the changes to the local landscape in Cataclysm, in addition to meeting important lore figures and paying your respects to the dead. Afterwards, you'll go out for the traditional ice cream treat and then visit a local vendor to get kites to fly. Wowhead News has more details on the individual quests if you don't mind spoiling yourself. The quest lines end with the offer of a new noncombat pet in addition to the usual Piglet's Collar, Rat Cage, and Turtle Box -- a new Snail's Shell! It looks like the Outland quest series will also offer a new pet called Legs, though there don't appear to be any new quests there. Experienced orphan herders thus have a reason to pick up a tyke again this year, and with any luck, the Wrath of the Lich King variant will be available even if you've done it before.
Softbank to offer free phones to earthquake orphans, free replacement for lost iPhones
Following the catastrophic earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, surviving victims from the affected region are going to face a tough time over the coming months, if not years. Many of those who are more fortunate have been actively contributing in one way or another, regardless of distance, to help put Japan on its road to recovery. Back in the country, one such generous person is non other than Softbank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, who's recently visited Tamura, one of the cities most affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. During that trip, Son announced that Softbank will cover a year's worth of living costs (commute and food) and provide job positions for the 1,200 people to be relocated to Takeo in Saga, the prefecture where Son originated. Additionally, Son is using Softbank's "Let's Do It" campaign site -- a tracker for his "Let's Do It" tasks posted on Twitter, each accompanied by a completion status indicator -- to crowdsource requests for supporting earthquake victims. So far, these requests are mainly about ways to increase efficiency for donation efforts (like publishing a live list of item shortages for each shelter, and setting up new mobile networks at the shelters), but there were two that caught our attention. Last week, one of Son's followers suggested that Softbank should provide orphaned children free phone credit for a limited time, so that they could contact their friends and other family members. Son then retweeted this idea and announced that all earthquake orphans will receive free phones, along with call costs waived until they reach the age of 18. Another gadget-related initiative came in earlier today with Son promising free replacement for all lost or damaged iPhones due to the earthquake, with details to follow later. Obviously, anyone providing aid to Japan in any way, shape, or form deserves just as much credit, but Softbank's extra mileage and cunning use of social networking is certainly praiseworthy in its own right. Here's hoping that Son's actions will inspire others for even greater causes. [Thanks, Tres] Update: It's worth pointing out that Son said he's also happy to help pay phone bills for earthquake orphans who are already on other networks, including DoCoMo. Good on ya, sir!
The OverAchiever: Guide to Children's Week 2010 achievements
I had originally intended to run the last article in our continuing series on evil achievements this week but belatedly remembered that Children's Week starts this Sunday. Possibly I'd blocked it out due to the existence of School of Hard Knocks, but even that's not an excuse given that this miserable piece of work appears in my top five evil achievements article (and my own personal See Me In Hell list). As with other WoW holidays, Children's Week was heavily revised last year. We haven't seen any additional information for the 2010 holiday, so we're assuming that it's the same. Much of our 2009 guide had to be written on the fly as information trickled in from the realms that saw the holiday first, so for 2010, I've organized and expanded it past the cut. The Children's Week achievements and the meta For The Children are part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so you will want to get these done if you're working toward a violet proto-drake.
Dalaran Orphan Quest Walk-through
One of the small blessings of patch 3.2 is the brief addendum to Children's Week. You'll recieve a note in the mail (if you're of the appropriate level to recieve such mail) to go help the orphans of Northrend.Note: While this guide is obviously focused on Roo the Oracle, if you choose to help out Kekek the Wolvar, it will still work. It just means you'll get a taste of the Wolvar flavor instead of the Oracle speech.After you've gotten the announcement in the mail that you need to talk to the Orphan Matron of Dalaran, you simply walk to her and turn in the quest. You can find her near the Eventide. Be sure to talk to her again, as that satisfies the requirements to get your little orphan Roo.The remaining quests all come from little Roo. He simply gives you three quests to visit three locations. Like the previous Orphan quests, little interactions at each location will help you understand your orphan's life a little better. (My beloved Draenei fiancee spent about the whole time 'dead from cute!')-- Playmates!: No, not like that. Your Oracle Orphan wants to visit Winterfin Retreat, where he heard some brave chap rescued a bunch of murloc tadpoles. As soon as you get there (at location 43, 13), a baby murloc will run up to your Oracle. And they'll play together! Be sure to pay attention to the interaction between Roo and his new murloc friend, because oh my god it's cute.-- The Bronze Dragonshrine: Roo is familiar with the "great rain stone" back home in Sholazar Basin. So, like any good, curious orphan, he wants to go check out the draconic equivalent. He'll get a glimpse of the future, when you see High Oracle Soo-roo come bounding up to you!-- The Biggest Tree Ever!: Soo-say has told Roo the tale of Grizzlemaw, the Biggest Tree Ever! C'mon now, if you heard there was a "biggest tree ever," wouldn't you want to see it? (You can get the turn in at 51, 42)Once you've completed these three simple steps (I started at Winterfin, then did Dragonshine, then jumped over to Grizzlemaw), you'll get two more quests. -- Meeting a Great One: Remember the Etymidian? Return to it, so that Roo can meet the Great One. You'll need to go through the waygate portal in southern Sholazar, which is located at 40, 82.-- The Dragon Queen: Roo's so much fun, you need to share the love. Take him back around to the Wyrmrest Temple so that he can meet Alexstrasza. I was never so big a fan of the Dragon Queen as I was when she showed some affection to my mini-Gorloc buddy.After you've knocked these two quests off, there's one more place to go. You're carting around an orphan child. If you were a kid, with a big brother or sister, where would you want to go? The toystore!-- A Trip to the Wonderworks: In case you've never been there because you're roleplaying a dour, un-fun Death Knight, the Wonderworks toy store is found in the north-west of Dalaran. For the quest, buy a special Small Paper Zepplin, which you throw to your orphan. Don't worry, he shares. Roo will immediately throw it back to you.After that, you get a quest to return little Orphan Roo to the Orphan Matron. If there is anything but a dark, cold, dead lump of coal serving as your heart, you will immediately start missing your orphan buddy. No fear! Check your mail.Roo totally mailed himself to you, and is ready to adventure in Azeroth with you as your non-combat companion. It's a little creepy that he went through the Azeroth Postal Service, sure, but now you never have to be without him. As a warning, it does sometimes take a few moments for the mail containing your little buddy to show up.Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
Breakfast Topic: Where have you taken your orphan?
Ok, admit it. Dornaa and Salandria are pretty cute. They say the darndest things and they are so tiny and they are like little bundles of irrepressible energy and now I want kids of my own, damn it. But seriously, If you're like me, you've probably kept your orphan whistle a little longer than you had to and took your orphan around a few extra places. Auchindoun? The Dark Portal? Pff, c'mon kid. I'll show you some real fun. How about Karazhan? That was actually a lot of fun, although fighting Prince Malchezaar was sort of creepy, since Dornaa was staring at me through the whole fight as I stood with my back against the wall, tanking him. She looked sort of accusing. You don't suppose Mal was her dear uncle before the whole Eredar corruption thing, maybe? Unfortunately, I don't think you're allowed to take your orphan into the arenas, but I may have to take her for a tour of scenic Alterac Valley before the whistle disappears. Seriously, I don't care how awesome Willy is, I just want to adopt Dornaa and keep her forever. She can keep Archmage Vargoth company on all my boss kills. I know I'm not the only one who's done this. Orphan tours are probably some of the most random fun you can have in World of Warcraft with an annual event, I think. Where have you taken your orphan?
Breakfast Topic: Where will you take your orphan?
Children's Week has officially begun, and the world is overrun by small fry of all varieties. The quests ask you to play tour guide with your little charge, showing them the magnificent sights of around Azeroth and Outland. They ask to see the races at Shimmering Flats, and to bask in the glow of the naaru in Exodar. But where else will you take your orphan? Last year I recall running UBRS with an orphan, remember hearing of orphans summoned to defeat Ragnaros. I wonder, what plans do you have to extend your orphan's education of the lands? What is the most unusual place you have seen an orphan since they began Children's Week two years ago?
