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Know Your Lore: Taran Zhu and the Shado-Pan
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. They are the Watchers on the Wall, the Sword in the Shadows. They are the Shado-Pan, Pandaria's fiercest warriors and arguably its darkest residents. Charged with restraining and controlling the sha -- vile creatures born of negative emotion -- the Shado-Pan have protected Pandaria from destruction for centuries. And although their numbers may be small in comparison to the rest of Pandaria's population, the Shado-Pan have succeeded in that mission ... until now. Taran Zhu, leader of the Shado-Pan, holds the distinction of having what is likely the most tumultuous run as leader of the Shado-Pan -- and a great deal of the troubles he has had to deal with directly involve us. Oddly, Taran Zhu is one of the more contentious of Pandaria's new lore figures -- yet his actions are no different than one would expect, from his place in pandaren society.
Spiritual Guidance: Shadow priest news bulletin (as narrated by a discipline priest)
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. On alternate Wednesdays, shadow priesting expert Fox Van Allen comes from out of the shadows to bask in your loving adoration. I had just zoned into the instance when the rogue died. I was running Temple of the Jade Serpent on the Mists of Pandaria beta as a promise to a friend who hadn't had the foresight to invite a tank or DPS. We were two healers and an enhancement shaman, organized enough to be on Vent but still ultimately at the mercy of the Dungeon Finder. My expectations were low. All the same, six minutes later, we drew a warrior tank and a rogue. Now all we had to do was decide which healer was healing. The resto druid didn't want to DPS; rather, he "couldn't" because he only knew how to play feral and lacked a suitable weapon to actually do so. That meant by default I would have to go shadow, so I started readjusting my bars to do so. When the druid finished resurrecting the rogue, we set right to work on our next trash pack. I found myself fumbling about, unsure why Vampiric Embrace was on cooldown and where Devouring Plague had gone. My friend, the enhancement shaman, took notice. "When was the last time you played shadow?" he asked. "Well, I have my rotation written on the back of an envelope I had on my desk," I replied. Immediately he laughed, but from the way it awkwardly trailed off, I knew he was losing faith.
5 things you need to know about the Temple of the Jade Serpent
So, last time on 5 Things You Need to Know, we took you on a rollicking, barrel-rolling, beer-spewing adventure through the Stormstout Brewery. Many laughs were had at the adorable kitty-esque bosses, many a hammer was clicked, fruit and vegetables were hurled, and much drunken japery was had by all. If the Stormstout Brewery was the chirpy cheerleader, then the Temple of the Jade Serpent is the emo sister, the one with the funky hair and the slightly offbeat jewelery. This is the Daria to Stormstout's Quinn. (Am I showing my age by referencing retro MTV cartoons? You bet I am!) So just like last time, this is definitely not a full, step-by-step guide (but of course, we already did one of those for you). This is a set of simple facts that will arm you with just enough knowledge to tackle this second dungeon with the panache we expect of our dashing, well-read audience. Let's get on with it! 1. You can go either right or left at the start. You start in a room with some quest givers, and in beta, the eminent Flaskataur, Esq. fulfills all your needs for glyphs and Tomes of the Clear Mind-- and frankly, your needs for tauren in adorable hats. From there, you have two corridors leading to the first two bosses through some trash. You can go either way. After killing whichever boss you kill second, you will be guided via a ramp to the next stage of the dungeon. I reckon right is easier than left. You may disagree. After you've killed whichever side you start with, you'll need to go back from whence you came and do the other one.
