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Know Your Lore: The Arakkoa
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 one of the most ancient races on Draenor, according to relics found in Outland. Yet the arakkoa initially seemed far from any kind of enlightened society when players first met them in Burning Crusade. Certainly, they had the numbers to indicate a vast civilization -- but the arakkoa always felt like a footnote to Outland, filler rather than an important part of what made Draenor what it was, or an integral part of the Burning Crusade storyline. After all, it was all about the orcs, the draenei, and the Burning Legion -- the comings and goings of bird-people didn't really factor into the mix. Which may be just the way the arakkoa like it. Fairly reclusive, the arakkoa don't go out of their way to tell strangers of their past. Yet even though there is little to be found where the arakkoa are concerned, the small pieces we've managed to glean point to a far more complex society than the arakkoa are willing to divulge. And in Warlords of Draenor, we'll finally be able to see the arakkoa soar -- and maybe even unravel some of the secrets of this reclusive race.
WoW Archivist: 5 years of daily quests
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Just like Officers' Quarters, another WoW staple has recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Daily quests were added to the game a little over five years ago, on May 22, 2007, in patch 2.1. One of Blizzard's big selling points for Mists seems to be its huge amount of daily quest content. Dailies are undoubtedly going to be a big deal at level 90. Blizzard has even lifted the daily quest cap that has stood at 25 for several years, so players will be free to do whatever dailies they like across the entire history of the game. Dailies seem like such an obvious and critical element of WoW, but they weren't part of the vanilla game. In this week's Archivist, we'll explore how daily quests began, how they have changed over the years, and how Blizzard is trying to recreate the glory days of daily quests in Mists. WTH is this blue exclamation point? Has a single piece of designed punctuation ever been as famous as WoW's chubby yellow exclamation point? It even has its own merchandise. Believe it or not, the exclamation point was one of Blizzard's biggest innovations when they created the game. No longer did you have to chat with every single NPC in town to figure out which one of them needed a favor -- a staple of RPG games for decades. Now you could tell at a glance which NPCs were willing to pay for a bit of random mercenary work. I remember how odd that first blue exclamation point looked. They had been yellow, after all, for two and a half years. Changing its color seemed like sacrilege. After accepting the quest, it had the word "(Daily)" next to it in my log -- it felt like both a promise and a warning. Daily quests were an exciting new element, but they were not without their critics.
Breakfast Topic: How do you respond when grinding goes competitive?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. I recently finished my Shatar Skyguard reputation grind. I'd previously done my share of rep grinding, including repeatedly decimating the populations of Felwood Timbermaw and Nagrand ogres, but I was, um, not prepared for Skettis. We tend to be a friendly group on my server, and my previous experience rep grinding involved everyone giving each other a respectful distance, taking turns and sharing a friendly wave here or there. It is quite a bit different in the cutthroat world of the Skethyl Mountains, where more than once I detected stealthed Alliance lying in wait trying to grab my summoned mobs. When it came to summoning Terokk, I quickly learned to save that for early mornings and to scope the area beforehand just to be safe from Allies, but quite regularly, someone of either faction would swoop down into a camp where I was merrily grinding away and kill the very next mob in my sights, regardless of the fact that the next camp over was completely unoccupied. I had no idea Skyguard Rep was such serious business! I eventually finished my grind and earned my Purple Riding Nether Ray and matching Nether Ray Fry, but I am still surprised by the experience. Ever enter into a WoW endeavor to find it unexpectedly competitive? Did you stick with it, or did you decide it was more trouble than it was worth?
Ask a Lore Nerd: The 7th Legion is cooler than you
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.Another day with a load of Northrend questions! I like those sorts of questions, because they're relevant right now, but don't be afraid to ask about older stuff, too! We're going to jump right in today, though.gearwhizz asked...The Scarlets have a new class of Raven Priests who carry Terrok's Shadowstaff, cast shadowy magic and are accompanied by flocks of birds; is there any other connections between them and the Skettis, is it a red herring or should I wait and see?
The Outland daily circle
With Phase 4 upon us, The options for dailies are pretty much long and endless. Of course, with a daily limit of 25 dailies, you can end up doing most of them anyways, and while certainly don't try to spring for 25 dailies every day, I still do my fair share of dailies. About once or twice a week, I do what I have come to call my Outland Circle. All three of my characters have all the daily hubs unlocked, so between Ogri'la, the Skyguard, the Netherwing, and the Shattered Sun Offensive, I can get a lot done.
Reigniting the flame and rediscovering the joy of Warcraft
I think my favorite part about a new patch is that it always seems to inject new life into WoW. Don't get me wrong, I love WoW all the time. I think it's a great game. But there's something about a new patch that always seems to invigorate me. There's new stuff to do, maybe a new twist or two to one of the classes I play, or at least to one of the classes I play against. What's even more interesting to me is that it sometimes makes even the old stuff feel brand new.
The 7 best trinkets in the World of Warcraft
You know, if there's one thing I have noticed digging through my bags, it's that I have a whole mess of trinkets. Of all the gear slots, it seems like trinkets are some of the most versatile and swappable. Depending on whether you need a bit more hit rating, a bit more critical strike rating, a bit more mana regeneration, a bit more health, a bit more armor, or you plan to go PvPing for a bit, you can fill up bags upon bags alone with a whole bunch of trinkets, waiting for the right moment to spring them. Then there's the really bad ass trinkets. I'm not talking trinkets that are traditionally defined as "useful," I'm talking about the trinkets that make you into the life of the party. The ones that make other people notice you, make them stand up and say, "Woah, that guy is using some CRAZY trinkets." You know what I mean. Stop trying to get yourself that Ashtongue Talisman, these are the REAL deal.
Top 7 reasons I am looking forward to 2.4
So with patch 2.4 coming on us soon, I was thinking about it, and I have to say that I can't remember the last time I was filled with this much anticipation over a patch. Aside from 1.8, which made Feral Druids viable, this might be my favorite patch. But why do I love it? Why can't I wait until the servers come up on patch day and we're allowed in? Let me count the ways! Here's 7 relatively simple reasons that I am watching my computer like a hawk, waiting for 2.4 to make it live.
More bad news from Skettis
If I only have time to do one daily quest, I do the one for the battlegrounds. If I only have time to do two daily quests, I do the battleground quest, Escape from Skettis, and Fires of Skettis. Yes, that's three quests, but the Skettis quests have been a source of quick and easy cash. I really consider them to be two steps to the same quest. Blizzard seems to be trying to make those quests less appealing in patch 2.4. First they tell us that the Monstrous Kaliri that hinder us while doing our daily bombing quest, Fires over Skettis, have grown smarter. For now, the trick to getting away from those blasted birds is to fly straight up in the air until you're out of range. Apparently the next generation of Kaliri have gotten wise to that trick and have adapted to three dimensional combat.
Don't underestimate the Isle of Quel'Danas
Patch 2.4 supplies a great amount of solo content along with the new 5-man dungeon and raid zone, but there is one thing that you should remember stepping onto the Isle of Quel'Danas: This content is not the same difficulty level as everything else we've done so far.The dungeon and raid aren't the only things that have progressed the difficulty of the game, the solo content is more challenging as well. While the respawn rates on mobs may be turned down on the Live servers compared to what they are on the PTR, the fact remains that some of these baddies are not to be underestimated. Even the new bombing run is more difficult, though less likely to kill you than the others. When Ogri'la and Skettis were first released, they were a bit of a death trap. Most people went into them in a daze, expecting to nap through the little battles like the zones we had done before. The reality was, though, that it was quite a bit harder than that. Until we adjusted to the difficulty and played a little smarter, it was death city.Quel'Danas is about the same. It isn't incredibly difficult, but it is a step up from what we've seen so far. Tread lightly, bring lots of bandages. If you're brand new to level 70 and your gear is... well, junk, then you might want to group with some friends for the new daily quests. And uh, don't be like me and go AFK in the middle of enemy territory and expect to come back 10 minutes later unharmed. That probably isn't going to go well for you.
Your Kaliri dodging days are coming to an end
Well, the 2.4 PTR patch notes are up and and making waves across the WoW community. There's some great stuff in there, too. The Sunwell Isle is open and we're going to see more tier drops than ever before! All in all it seems like a great patch designed to help us get a look at more endgame raiding before the expansion drops.But it isn't all lolipops and rainbows. Buried deep down in the depths of those notes is an innocent note, buried way at the bottom under the World Environment category and I'll repeat it to you now verbatim:"Monstrous Kaliri have learned how to chase players going straight up."For those of you that aren't familiar, the Monstrous Kaliri are the big vicious birds patrolling the Skettis in Terokkar Forest. Their only mission in life is to ruin your daily bombing quest and make you miserable. One or two hits from these jerks will knock you off your flying mount and send you hurtling towards the ground. But there's always been a trick. One that most of us have taken for granted up until now. If you fly straight up, they can't seem to hit you. They'll follow you and fly right underneath you, but they can't hit you. An exploit? I think not. In nature, birds only attack downward, as far as I know. It's just Blizzard adding realism to the game. So get your gold while the getting's good.
Your guide to dailies: Skettis
Now that you have unlocked your daily quests in Skettis, it is time to actually do them. Many players, myself included, were introduced to dailies in the same way we learn about most quests; we just try them. When we become frustrated, we turn to the Internet.Because of the repetitive and somewhat obligatory nature of daily quests, it is important to not only master them to minimize such frustration, but also to understand exactly what you are gaining in the long run. Knowing exactly how many rewards you are racking up will keep you doing these quests even when you don't feel like it. This will help you reach your goals, whether they are epic flight, the Cenarion Expedition flying mount, or anything else, you will need to be diligent if you want to save enough gold in a timely fashion. Follow through the jump for a detailed walkthrough of each daily quest, as well as a few different summaries of your loot, put into perspective.
Your guide to dailies: Unlocking Skettis
Whether you fancy a nether ray mount or are simply after some daily gold, you will probably want to start completing the daily quests for the Sha'tari Skyguard in Skettis. While they may prove difficult at first, with practice, you'll become faster and more adept.In order to unlock these dailies, you will need to be level 70 and have at least basic flight. This is because Skettis is nestled in the top of a group of cliffs, and cannot be reached by mount or by foot. In fact, even if you were summoned to Skettis, you would only be able to do one of the two daily quests, as Fires Over Skettis entails bombing eggs while in flight. You will also need to complete two quests to gain access to your dailies. The first of these unlocking quests, Threat From Above, can be completed without flight, provided you can get a warlock to summon you to the Barrier Hills, an area above and behind Aldor Rise, Shattrath. In fact, the second quest, which takes you to Skettis initially, could also be completed with the help of a warlock. Your dailies would then be unlocked, although you would still need flight for one, and want flight for the other. In addition, you would need to be summoned to Skettis every single day to actually complete the one daily you can do without flying.Follow through the jump for an in-depth walkthrough for unlocking your dailies, as well as a bonus look at some non-daily, repeatable quests you can use to boost your reputation with the Skyguard.
WoW, Casually: December 7 - 13 activities and making cash
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.This week I want to talk about how and why we should be making some in-game cash, but first let's get the schedule out of the way.Darkmoon Faire: It's still going on in Elwynn Forest, just south of Goldshire. This weekend is your last chance to turn your stuff in, redeem tickets or just get shot out of a cannon.Arathi Basin: The Call to Arms is for Arathi Basin this weekend, meaning shorter queues for getting bonus honor and your AB marks. If you are Alliance, this forum post is great for all BG strategy . If you are Horde, like me, well then you can wait until Zach posts his Arathi Basin strategy or just go back and read my brief summary.Battlegrounds: If you are trying to get a complete set of the Season 1 gear (and if not, why aren't you?), you should be doing a little bit of Battlegrounds a day. I try to do the BG Daily quests every day, not so much for the honor, but to force myself to get the marks from the different BGs. The fact is that I am a huge AV fan which means I have the marks for hats and gloves and that's it. Do as I say, not as I do and stuff.
Monstrous Kaliri, how I hate thee
Some days this quest is easy, and some days I am wearing six giant birds before I get to the first patch of eggs. Much wisdom flows from my wife, she who tames transparent wolves and gets multiple instance runs the second I log off to use the bathroom. (In my defense, I really had to go.) I myself have also noticed that on some days, especially when the cooking quest calls for Giant Kaliri Wings, the run to complete Fires over Skettis is quite tolerable. On other days, I am convinced that my character must have bathed in barbeque sauce before coming out to drop bombs, because he's intensely popular with gigantic, screeching birds that live and breathe for just the chance to dismount him. Have I mentioned how often they actually manage to knock me off my mount so that I fall with six health left right in front of a wandering Talonsworn Forest-Rager? Because I love that. That sound? That's not weeping. I don't know why you would say that. My keyboard's plenty dry.
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Your guide to dailies: Cooking
Congratulations! You've hit level 70 and you're peering around Outland with hungry eyes. A multitude of new things have opened up for you, from soaring to new heights, to searching the world over for keys and epics. One of the most common activities that you'll want to begin are the daily quests, available mainly to level 70s, and often requiring certain prerequisite quests or even a certain riding skill. While the cooking quests do not award as much money as other dailies (only 7g 59s), and therefore may not be high on your list of priorities, there are several non-monetary benefits to completing them. First of all, they are fun. Currently, there are four separate quests, and they rotate, so you are not completing the same monotonous tasks day after day. Secondly, they award your choice of fish or meat, which not only helps if you're an avid cook, but also gives you a daily crate of food for your pet, if you are a hunter. In addition, you can acquire random recipes, some of which are quite nice, including the hunter pet food buff [Recipe: Kibler's Bits]. Many of the reward meats and fish can be cooked up and/or sold for a tidy profit as well. All quests are given by, and handed in to, The Rokk in Lower City. While several of the quests will require the use of a flying mount, this can easily be avoided by doing the quests in a party with a warlock willing to summon you. In addition, although the dailies often require a very high cooking skill level, this can be circumvented by purchasing the cooked meats on the Auction House, or by having your companion cook your meats for you. You will, however, require 275 cooking skill to gain access to the quests. Should you be in need of leveling your cooking skill, Lisa Poisso's got the inside scoop on the most effective ways to grind it up.
Cooking with Kaliris
Okay, so maybe we aren't quite serving up [Kaliri Stew] just yet, but new information regarding the upcoming daily cooking quests, set to arrive via patch 2.3, has surfaced on Kaliope's WoW Crafting Blog. It seems as though we will finally be getting some dailies that aren't repetitive, sending us all over Outland to complete different objectives, for varying rewards, every day. The questgiver, "Rokk" (can't wait to smell what Rokk has cooking - sorry, I had to) sent Kaliope first to Netherstorm to gather berries. The 'fruits' of this labour? Some junk items, some meat for cooking, and a new recipe.
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You shall not evade me, Kaliri!
After taking a summer break from WoW, I returned to discover the joys of Daily Quests. I have limited play time and these daily quests go a long way in helping me towards that mythical 5,000 gold that will grant me epic druid Flight Form. Well, 5kg and some quest or something.Taking to the skies of Skettis, I went out to bomb those wriggling bird eggs with glee. Until a monstrous Kaliri bird swooped in to knock me off my perch, so to speak. Landing on a platform, I shifted into cat form, ready to show that overgrown parakeet why it shouldn't mess with its feline superior. I powered up my +atk trinket and let loose with a flurry of combos designed to bring any solo mob to a quick, bloody end. Imagine my surprise when I realized the Kaliri's health remained at full as a stream of EVADE EVADE EVADE messages floated across my screen. Some bug in the game mechanics allowed these birds to evade attacks. Since then, I've learned to out fly them (upwards), but I have the advantage of not being dismounted in druid flight form by their Swoop attack.Revenge, however, is arriving shortly in the next patch. Today, Community Manager Drysc confirmed the Kaliri evasion bug will be fixed in Patch 2.2. After that, it will be easy to spot me on the platforms of Skettis. I'll be the Night Elf with orange feathers in his mouth.
Your daily dose of questing
It's been a while since the daily quests were introduced with patch 2.1 on the live servers now, and most players have had time to at least give them a try. So what do you think?Personally, I really like them-- it gives me a chance when I log in to spend just a few minutes picking up a nice, guaranteed chunk of gold and rep. When we first heard about them, hardcore players were unhappy that they'd be forced to follow a daily schedule, but ten daily quests seems like a lot to do a day anyway (especially when you consider everything else there is to do in-game), and most hardcore players have probably finished all the daily quest rep grinds anyway-- I know a few of my guildies already have all the mounts and rewards available.Have you not touched the daily quests yet, or do you do them every day? And which ones are you all working on-- I've liked the Fires over Skettis eggsplosion quest (and I get better at dodging those dumb birds every day that I do it), but I'm looking forward to staring up the Netherwing herbalist quest next. How are daily quests working out for you?
Where to start with 2.1 content
The 2.1 patch this week introduced enough new quest lines, top-end raid content, flying mounts, and L70 solo & small group content to qualify as its own game. With a three day weekend looming I didn't even know where to begin. So I scoured the web and found the where to go and what to do to get me started. THE BLACK TEMPLE: Already planning to strut around Shattrath in your T6 Raid gear? Don't bank that T5 set too quick. The Black Temple attunement quest is ... epic. And it hasn't even been fully discovered so far. What is known is that you will have to slog through a great deal of the Burning Crusade raid content that comes before it: Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair, Serpentshire Cavern, The Eye and The Battle of Mount Hyjal. And many of those raids require extensive attunement quests of their own. If you are still itching to begin, you can dig in with the Tablets of Baa'ri chain out of Shadowmoon Valley to start grinding that Ashtongue Deathsworn rep. NETHERDRAKE EPIC FLYING MOUNT: First, don't confuse this with the Swift Nether Drake top Arena teams are awarded with at the end of every season. That one has a speed increase of 310% and has an armored appearance. This is the normal epic nether drake with a speed increase on par with other epic flying mounts: 280%. What's special about this epic flying mount is that it can be obtained through solo and small group quests. No raid required. What is required is a great deal of dedication.The first steps on your journey is to dig yourself out of Hated reputation with the Netherwing clan and get all the way to Exalted. This is accomplished through solo, 5 man and 3 man daily quests. Head to the south east corner of Shadowmoon Valley and speak to Mordenai in the Netherwing Fields. A complete write up can be found here.
