silvershard-mine
Latest
Mists of Pandaria bestiary and Temple of Kotmogu previews now available
The official World of Warcraft community site was updated with more Mists of Pandaria previews today. The latest previews are for the next expansion's two new battlegrounds, the Temple of Kotmogu and Silvershard Mines. Both previews showcase the battlegrounds' basic objectives, unique features, and some shiny new screenshots that highlight the aesthetic beauty of the battlegrounds before we litter them with (Alliance) corpses. For those of you who are interested, WoW Insider's Olivia Grace covered the Temple of Kotmogu and Silvershard Mines earlier this month. Her previews don't have as many pretty pictures, but they're more in-depth on gameplay and tactical information. In addition to the battleground previews, the official site was updated with a Mists of Pandaria Bestiary. The bestiary will give you a first look into all the new, non-playable races you'll find on the Wandering Isle. You should totally check out the Grummles -- they're my favorite new race.
New Mists of Pandaria Battlegrounds: Silvershard Mine
As you may be aware, there'll be two new battlegrounds arriving on our doorstep in Mists. They are the Silvershard Mine and the Temple of Kotmogu. If you listened to this week's Convert to Raid podcast, you'll have heard me talking briefly about these two battlegrounds -- but I save the best for you, dear readers, so this is a more in-depth look at the battlegrounds. Firstly, a word of warning. The information in this post is accurate in the current beta build 15913 and may change significantly before launch. So first, let's look at the more complex of the two battlegrounds, the Silvershard Mine. As the name would imply, it's in a mine. Revolutionary! More specifically, it's in a Venture Co. goblin mine underneath Stranglethorn Vale. It's described in the battleground finder tool as a 10vs10 escort battle, which is pretty accurate, as the objective of the battleground is for each faction to capture and escort mine carts to depots at the end of the line, retaining control of the carts throughout their jouney from the central depot to their destination. An added level of involvement is found at the crossroads, where players can change a mine cart's direction.
Mists of Pandaria: Battlegrounds preview
The Mists of Pandaria previews didn't show us nearly as much PvP content as what we saw of PvE content. We didn't see any of the new world PvP mechanics or anything related to the Arena, but we did see previews of two new Battlegrounds, the Temple of Power and the Silvershard Mine. World of Warcraft's initial Battleground offerings were based around classic competitive game modes: capture the flag, conquest and domination modes from first-person shooters, and so forth. Mists of Pandaria's Battlegrounds are built upon the same concept, borrowing beloved concepts from other games while stepping up to embrace the competitive innovations of more recent titles. The mechanics are a bit more complicated than simply capturing a flag, but they're no less beloved by the gamers who see them in action. Temple of Power Much as Warsong Gulch is set on the border of Ashenvale Forest and Arathi Basin takes place in the Arathi Highlands, the Temple of Power is set in the new zone called the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The temple contains an artifact that could turn the tide of war should it fall into the hands of one faction or the other, so the Horde and the Alliance have taken to the battlefield to claim it. The artifact sits in the center of the map. Whoever claims the artifact must hold onto it as long as possible -- a difficult task, since not only is the opposing team trying to kill you and recover the artifact for themselves, but the artifact also causes a constantly increasing amount of damage over time to its bearer. The longer you hold it, the more dangerous holding it becomes. Once the bearer of the artifact dies, it falls to the floor and another player of either faction may pick it up.
