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Around Azeroth: Looking over Underbog
Lalunas from Bronze Dragonflight (EU) sends in this shot taken from the end of the Underbog instance (in Coilfang Reservoir in Zangarmarsh). Lalunas tells us, "I really haven´t explored that instance until now recently, and I have to admit that this is probably my favourite looking instance." I can't say I agree -- but that could just be because I'm haunted by a recent attempt at Heroic Underbog with am off-spec tank. What do you think, dear readers? Is Underbog the best scenery there is to be found?Do you have any incredible scenery just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see your idea of the best looking instance on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Amani parking garage?
Reader Lak from Cho'Gall writes in with an important question: where do you leave your Flying Machine when you go AFK? Inns in most civilized parts of the world provide watering troughs for your mounts and a place to safely tie them so they don't run off while you're inside resting (or, come on, we all know it, over-indulging in the Egg Nog.) But what do you do with your shiny new Flying Machine? Are you expected to leave it out in the open, exposed to the elements? The horror!Do you have any puzzling in-game moments you'd like to share with the rest of us? Because we'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Bubble, bubble...
Reader Ankarah sends us this interesting shot from Netherstorm, where we see two Furbolg enjoying an afternoon stroll... Wait... Furbolg? Ankarah is enjoying some of the game's more interesting quest items. If you can't stand to be without Furbolg form, you'll have to be an Alliance character (sorry, Horde!) and complete the Raene's Cleansing in Ashenvale. If you lust after your own lovely glowy bubble, you have to be Alliance (doh!) and complete the Ride the Lightning quest from Toshley's Station.Do you have any shots highlighting an interesting moment questing throughout the World (of Warcraft)? We want to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Kirin'var Village
Jason sends us this shot of the haunted city of Kirin'var in Netherstorm. Inside this the Violet Tower at the heart of this ghostly town is one of the more amusing quests chains in Outland, given by Archmage Vargoth. And perhaps it's not the quest line itself that's amusing as the quest item that you can keep long after the quest is completed: Archmage Vargoth's Staff, which allows you to summon an image of the Archmage wherever you might be. Do you have your own gallery of Archmage Vargoth -- or any other entertaining quest chain? We want to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
Blood Pact: The final stretch
Between Arenas, V'Ming spends his time as a lock laughing ominously in AV, tanking Olm with his own minions and pondering troll fashion from Zul'Aman.Ding, 58! You're officially eligible for Outland content now. Go ahead, step through the Dark Portal. The quality of Outland gear simply outclasses the stuff you will get in the old world, for the same time investment. Yes, Outland mobs will hit harder and fights will last longer, but the increased difficulty shouldn't faze a Warlock, and will certainly be pie if you brought a friend (preferably a healer) along. Be cautious with the pulls, remember your lessons, and you should do just fine in the Outland at level 58.Completists among us would sneer at this suggestion to skip content. If you're in no hurry to hit 70, then more questing power to you!
Around Azeroth: The Portal Clearing
If you venture to the western edge of Zangarmarsh, on the far side of Marshlight Lake, you'll encounter this unusual monument. A portal, not so unlike the Dark Portal we entered the world through -- though this other portal is clearly in some state of disrepair. WoWwiki informs us that this is one of the dimensional gateways Magtheridon used to summon demons from the Twisting Nether, at least until Illidan shut down the gateway. Thanks to Hunterbert of Chou Hadra on Alonsus for sharing this snippet of history with us!Do you have a screenshot that captures a moment in Azerothinan (or Outlandian) history? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Dreaming Glory in odd places.
Reader Sphingx sends in this interesting screenshot all the way from Hellfire Peninsula to you. What are we looking at? Well, this is a specimen of the herb Dreaming Glory, and while, most often you find them growing out of the ground rather than mid-air... Of its unusual positioning, Sphingx comments, "like some abstract artist's composition that I took a shot of it against the Hellfire Peninsula." Have you managed to snap a screenshot of the impossible in the World of Warcraft? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Meet the family
Normally I flee screaming at the sight of Murlocs in a group. After all, if you see one, you know there must be two or three more hiding nearby, waiting to pounce on you if you approach. By this logic, if you see three Murlocs in plain sight, there must be an additional six to nine hiding in the bushes -- more than enough to overwhelm the most powerful of players. But these guys are so cute! How could you possibly run from them? Kyuketsuki of Malygos, who sent this shot in, was apparently one of the lucky ones who managed to attend BlizzCon 07 and BlizzCon 05, as evidenced by the Murloc suit and the Murky pet. The other two critters? They're part of a devious quest chain in Zabra'jin, Zangarmarsh, which aims to introduce Murlocs to the currently Murloc-free Outland.Taken a screenshot that highlights the ordinary in an extraordinary way? We'd like to see it on Around Azeroth! All you have to do is e-mail aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your screenshot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could find your pictures and story featured next!%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: How the mighty have fallen
For today's Around Azeroth, we're featuring a fantastic screenshot from Blade's Edge Mountains that was sent to us by Athmeno from the Moonrunner server. Here's what he had to say:I think this shot perfectly captures the attention to detail of The Burning Crusade. I love how little things like this immerse you in a wider, more colourful world than just what the player would normally see doing quests. Obviously this is natural selection at work; you've got to be a pretty dumb dragon to fly into the spikes of the Blade's Edge Mountains at speed!We have to admit, we've flown a little too close to those spikes ourselves, but spiking yourself on them takes some real talent! If you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world, tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com. You could find your pictures and story featured next on Around Azeroth! %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Big red flying machine!
For today's Around Azeroth, we're treated to a spectacular view of Blade's Edge Mountains and the Big Red Flying Machine! As Tuscansalami from Whisperwind tells us:In the spirit of BRK, I give you the next best thing -- the Big Red Flying Machine! And no, that's not Bestial Wrath - it's one of the side-effects from the Ultrasafe Transporter: Toshley's Station in which you get the cosmetic debuff Soul Split: Evil!, making you big, red and transparent -- kind of like a shadow priest, but more mean looking. So whilst jaunting through Blade's Edge Mountains on the way to Orgrila, I managed to find a nice background vista to show off the very infrequently seen effects. Additionally, the sparks are from my season 2arena shoulders and I suspect that the electrical interference from them is why my the motor keeps on cutting out and spluttering when hovering in place all the time... :)Big Red Flying Machine? We're sensing an engineering tips & tricks blog. Let us know when that's up; we're there! In the meantime, if you have any fabulous screenshots from your daily adventures in Azeroth, send them to us at aroundazeroth@wow.com. Your screenshot could be featured in an upcoming Around Azeroth! %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: One on one with Illidan
Reader Quarla sends us this snapshot all the way from the Black Temple. Before you start the Illidan event, he just kneels in the middle of the room, apparently waiting for heroes to come by, take their snapshots, and then kill him. But in this shot, it hardly looks like Quarla has the strength of a raid behind her. Is Illidan soloable yet?Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with us. %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Shattrath in the sunlight
Reader Tracer of Earthen Ring (EU) sends along this perfectly ordinary, nothing to say shot of Shattrath City. So why bother posting it here? Well, instead of catching any of the typical Shattrath scenes, Tracer seems to catch the city at an angle and time of day that it simply sparkles in the sunlight.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: A little trick of the light
Reader Petre of Cenarius sends us this shot of a flight over Zangarmarsh. Sure, people fly across Zangarmash all the time -- across the realms, there's never a time when the Zangarmarsh sky is completely devoid of travelers. So what makes this shot special? The rider being in Shadowform, combined with the particular angle of the sun, makes for a very cool effect. (As usual -- everything in the game looks better in Shadowform.)Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
A new round of funny guild names
Adam on the WoW LJ pulled some funny guild names from the new Wowhead forums, and while I was pretty sure that funny guild names had become the oldest joke in the WoW humor book (c'mon, who hasn't heard of a guild called "Riders of Lohan" or "Gnomeland Security" by now?), there are actually some new good ones here.RPness is RisingThe Coming of ArwangThrobbing GronnFat Kids Are Hard To KidnapGET OFF MY LAWNShe Said She was Lvl 18Dont Daze Me BroSome of them just tend towards a more offensive taste (I've excluded a few from the list that aren't super appropriate, but there are a few still on there that might rub those with strong sensibilities the wrong way), but there is an interesting trend here-- not only are there new Outland references, but there are new references to pop culture floating around.And that's super interesting to me-- funny guild names as indicators of cultural trends. So I guess it's about time we took another look-- in the past few months since we last listed funny guild names, what new ones have you heard? Are there any that have come about recently, due to either new WoW content, or real-world happenings?
Inside the accounting files of NPCs
I've already said a few times that I'd love to see Blizzard's population figures, but a query (from an MVP, strangely enough) brings up another set of figures that I wouldn't mind a look at: NPC vendor sales numbers. Crepe wants to know how many items Griftah has sold (and how many hula dolls he sells post 2.3), but unfortunately, Nethaera deflects the question and leaves us with nothing. Additionally, I'd like to know how many heroic badges G'eras is going through on any given night-- maybe the fact that he's not selling many of his Heroic items is the reason why Blizzard is going to start dropping Badges in both Karazhan and Zul'Aman next week.Blizzard has given us peeks at a few numbers behind the game, but they haven't updated that page since it went up (and with all the exceptions on those lists, it's not much help anyway). There is a whole new world of statistics to be had in Outland, and it'd be nice for Blizzard to let us at just a few of the most interesting ones.
More EU migrations
The European free character migrations on some PvP servers continue, since apparently they haven't had quite the intended effect yet. Thundgot says:Due to population differences between some of the highest and lowest populated PvP realms, the following Free Character Migration will be available November 7th to 13th:From: Crushridge, Frostmane, Grim Batol, Kazzak, OutlandTo: Boulderfist, Daggerspine, Vek'nilashPlease note that the migration may be closed at any time should a destination realm's population rise too high.This is the same source realms as before, and one of the same destination realms (Boulderfist). It looks like not too many people chose to take advantage of this move last time. So get moving, people!Oh, and to answer a question that was asked in another thread: Europe will be getting patch 2.3 on November 14th, a week from today (source).
Around Azeroth: At the Dark Portal
The first thing most of us noticed when running into Outland for the first time was the immense size difference between the Dark Portal on the Azeroth side and the Outland side. But it's been so long since most of us, I'd imagine, have visited the portal on either side that this odd quirk of Outland may have been forgotten -- right up until the point that you ran into this shot sent in by reader Casters, at least.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Your favorite Nagrand shot
Keturakk of Twisting Nether sends in this shot taken of that incredible Nagand sky -- and though we've seen it before, I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. The Blizzard design crew really outdid themselves in Nagrand. In this particular shot we see something else we've seen before: the skeleton of a large beast, trapped forever in a flying island. However, I have to say that this shot's particular composition catches everything that's fascinating about Nagrand in one quick glance -- what do you think? Do you have a preferred Nagrand image?Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: The Demoniac Scryer
Laptantidel of Dethecus (EU) sends us this shot taken while completing the Demoniac Scryer quest in Hellfire Peninsula in Outland. In this quest-chain, you attempt to uncover the magic at work behind the Fel Orcs of Hellfire Citadel. The Demoniac Scryer, which we see in this screenshot, can attune itself to Fel magic and tell us what's going on -- but only at the cost of souls.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing a copy to aroundazeroth@wow.com, with as much or as little detail as you'd like to share with the world! %Gallery-1816%
Fish school tracking in patch 2.3
El's Extreme Anglin' Guide (which we've linked to before) has a nice wrapup on their site about all the fishing changes coming in 2.3. Lisa actually covered a lot of the fishing changes in 2.3 already, but El's has updated info from the PTR, including new fish added to the game, skill level changes around Azeroth, and lots of info on where to get the Weather-Beaten Journal, the item that adds the new "fish school tracking" ability.Apparently, there are a few different crates you'll be able to fish up, and each one of them will have a different chance to drop the journal. The earliest you can obtain the journal will be at about 55 fishing, while the easiest you can obtain it appears to be from pools in Outland, that require a much higher fishing skill. If you need to powerlevel your fishing, you might want to start now, as it seems Blizzard wants the school tracking ability to be a reward for mid- to high-level fishermen. Which makes sense-- since it doesn't matter where you fish, the school tracking ability only helps when you're looking for a certain type of fish, and wouldn't really be necessary when just starting out as an angler.Definitely sounds like a new bit of fun, and a fairly useful ability, for those who choose to level up fishing.[ via World of Raids ]
