stormwind
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It came from the Blog: We killed Hogger
... and died to tell about it. Yup, on Wednesday night a whole bunch of WoW Insider readers and writers took our Horde guild on Zangarmarsh to Elywnn Forest to visit the Darkmoon Faire, and much, much fun was had. To get there, we congregated in Grom'gol, and along with the help of Krystalle's lock and another nice lock named Dartruby, we summoned up. When we numbered about 30 or so, we ran out onto the road in STV and.. died.We didn't last long. But once we got up to Elwynn, we did kill Hogger! After a little PvP (read: getting killed by a 70 Pally), we headed up to Stormwind as ghosts, and took some nice pictures of our ghostly selves outside the Cathedral. Finally we rezzed and avoided the guards long enough to visit the Darkmoon Faire (I'm surprised I remember it, as I had a little too much Shpecial Resherve, if you know what I mean). Afterwards, Brab and I took a small group into WSG where, just to finish off a perfect evening, we died over and over again.But I think good times were had by all, so we're going to do it again! Next Friday, June 15th at 8pm Server (we're switching up the times constantly so more people can join us), we'll finally take ICftB into those swirly portal things-- we're going to be running Deadmines, Wailing Caverns, SFK, RFC, and any other instances you crazy people want to run with us. And as always, you can join us if you haven't yet-- just roll Horde on Zangarmarsh and /whisper anyone in the guild for an invite. Check the gallery below to see what we did on Wednesday, and join us next week for a little Instancy fun.%Gallery-3739%
LF rep for cross-racial mount
It has been a while since I worked toward getting a cross-racial mount. I wasn't even really that interested in doing it with my alts until I started leveling my priest in the human lands to group with friends. All of a sudden she was honored with Stormwind and a seed was planted in my brain. I had a picture in my mind of a Draenei on a palomino, and it was a beautiful thing. I didn't really start working on her rep until this week however, and man was I disappointed. Previous to Patch 2.1.0 people were raving about how easy it was to attain exalted reputation with any race in your faction, simply by completing all the Horde or Alliance quests in their starting areas. Eager to begin, I started out for Coldridge Valley, only to find out that I received absolutely no Stormwind reputation for doing quests for the dwarves. It wasn't until I got to Loch Modan that I received even a few points of rep. Even turning in the cloth for the other races affords me no additional faction with Stormwind. Tricky little devs changed it on me. So it's not as simple as I thought, but I think it might still be doable. I played tour guide for an orphan, which got me about 500 rep or so. I am becoming a regular hero to the Night Elves, and soon will move on to questing for my own race (how novel.) But I am not sure I will have enough rep by the time I reach 40 to get my horse. Do you have any tips on how I can get extra rep now that Patch 2.1.0 is in effect? Is anyone out there doing the cross-racial mount thing along with me? Any tips you might have would be great. My priest thanks you.
This space for rent
There are many places that lie empty within Azeroth, those interesting nooks and crannies that get our imaginations going. While exploring Stormwind I came across Cut-throat Alley, a little cul-de-sac hidden away in the Canal District. This is exactly the sort of place that makes me curious. I can see in my mind's eye a thoroughfare bustling with shady dealers and rogues, tucked away and out of site from the rest of the city, their dealings too dark to go on under the public eye. One of my favorite empty spaces is now filled: I used to camp all my characters out in what is now the Stormwind Auction House, since I enjoyed pretending it was my own private home within the city. Or the courthouse in the Dwarven District. Here the great magistrates of Stormwind might have sat, dealing out justice to those who break the realm's laws. There are all sorts of stories that we can build out of these empty spaces. I once found an empty cave in Azshara without mob or mining node, the sort of place you might expect a hermit to hang out in, or a mountain troll, hungering for the flesh of wayward travelers. Perhaps these are the places that originally had content but somehow it changed over the course of the development cycle. In the case of Cut-throat Alley, it looks to me like it was the original home for the rogues of Stormwind, but somehow seemed too difficult to find. Now, being that I play mostly Alliance characters, I don't know the empty spaces that might be found in Orgrimmar or Undercity. But these places get me wondering. Are there any empty spaces in the game that you wonder about?
Alliance can bake a cake, too
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Awesome_WoW_themed_Alliance_gamer_cake'; Not to be outdone by the seemingly plentiful cakemaking skills of the Horde, reader Meekrob (he's also the guild leader of Relic on Area 52) sent us these pictures of an Alliance-themed cake made by his fiance who, as he says "rocks, not unlike a hurricane."Definitely a good looking cake, and the "double chocolate" inside looks pretty tasty too. The lion and the eagles almost look too solid to be edible, but apparently it's all good eating, so great job, Meekrob's fiance! I can't imagine where we'd go next with this-- an ice cream sword? Or maybe, like Westfall Stew, we'll see some real-life Ravager Dogs...
Around Azeroth: Even the greatest warriors...
Everyone's equal when they visit the Stormwind City's famous bank! Why, even the greatest warriors have to wait their turn in line. Reader Meriones of Garona sends in this shot, suggesting the warrior pictured looks a bit melancholy. Turned down for a loan, perhaps? 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 aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part. See more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Service with a smile in the Bank and AH
Datto asks an awesome question: which banker do you use? Do you have a loyalty to a specific banker, or do you just always hit up the closest one? Whenever I think of banking, I think of Orgrimmar, and walking a few steps in and to the left to see my man Karus (at least I think it's Karus-- is it wrong of me to never get to know the teller all the times I've visited him?).It's not that I won't bank elsewhere-- when in Undercity, I often visit the Montagues, and if I happen to be in TB, I'll go to them (although, truth be told, I can't ever really remember visiting the bank in TB). On Alliance side, I don't have a specific banker that I go to, but I do like the Stormwind Bank-- it seems so much cleaner than Ironforge's bank. IF seems like a dirty pawn shop to me. Plus, Stormwind's bankers are named "Olivia," "Newton," and "John," so there's that.The same could be asked about auctioneers, and again, on Horde I do about 80% of my AH shopping in Orgrimmar, all with the guy on the left (and I have no idea at all what his name is). There is something to be said, as a few players note, for simply going to the auctioneer that's the least busy-- it's nicer not to have to fight the lines to get a click in. And on Alliance side, there is none other: all of my auctioneer business goes through the lovely Redmuse in Ironforge. She's been running my auctions for me ever since the beginning, and I've seen no reason to change. Every once in a while, IF will run laggy, and I'll be a little irked that she's taking so long to get my auction up, but one look in those eyes and that red hair, and everything's OK again.
Around Azeroth: If two's company and three's a crowd...
...then I'm not sure what this is. Reader Zpoo of Blackrock sent in this shot, taken after the battlegrouds server crashed and tossed all of the players inside back out at their battlemasters. Here, at the Stormwind Keep battlemasters, everyone seems to be killing time with some nasty AoE damage while waiting for the battlegrounds to return.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 aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part. See more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Dragons in odd places...
Reader Dave sends this shot our way -- a nice look at everyone's favorite dragon, Onyxia, sitting peacefully in the heart of Stormwind Keep. If you've done the quest line to attune yourself for the Onyxia raid, you're familiar with this sight, since one of the last steps of the chain involves a battle with Onyxia's minions in the keep. And occasionally the encounter bugs, leaving Onyxia hanging around far after the event is over, offering a perfect time to sit down and have a peaceful chat with the dragon.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 aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part. See more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Looking inside Stormwind City
Reader Narrone sends in this... unusual shot of Stormwind City. I've seen some unusual rendering glitches before but haven't encountered this one. And apparently a certain spot in the Stormwind trade district showed him this -- picking and choosing interesting bits of landscape above and below the city to display.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.See more of your pics from Around Azeroth.%Gallery-1816%
Around Azeroth: Inside the Dwarven District
Jacob sends in this great shot of the Dwarven District of Stormwind City in the evening. It's always interesting wandering through Stormwind -- upon entering the Dwarven District, the sky becomes foggy and overcast. No doubt from all the forge-work, but covering the whole district?!Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.
Dragon Invades Stormwind, Hundreds Perish
I've seen a lot of crazy things on the Lightninghoof server, but I never expected to walk outside from checking my bank box in Stormwind to find a huge red dragon in the middle of the Trade District square, killing innocent lowbies by the dozens. The dragon was Teremus the Devourer, who usually resides in the Blasted Lands. How he got to Stormwind remains a mystery, but people spent a good five minutes arguing about who pulled him there before finally banding together to actually do something about it.Finally, a militia was formed, the dragon was led to Stormwind Keep, and with the help of the king's guards, was finally killed, but not before leaving literally hundreds of piles of bones in his wake. The streets looked like an undead crash pad for hours afterwards. It was definitely something to see, even if it did mean me missing the fishing contest in Booty Bay again. I took some pics with my magical medieval camera so the horror would not be soon forgotten...you can see them right here. Me, I can't look anymore....
Valentine's Day in Azeroth
"Love is in the air," proclaims the official website, and it's true; for the past few days a touch of romance has hit the capital cities with a vengeance. If you're the sort of player who likes to avoid in-game events, or who finds the overwhelming slushiness of Valentine's Day too sickly-sweet for words, look away now...Today's the day the NPCs in our cities finally get a starring role--or a bit part, at least. We've long overlooked the patient guards and vendors who litter our streets, seeing them only as convenient human signposts or shops; now they're in need of some love, and all it takes is a small token. The Valentine's event is reasonably low-key but enjoyable nonetheless. All the cities are decked out with hearts and candles; that's all there is to it, if you wish to bypass the Valentine's content. If you want to get involved, however, head to your local innkeeper and avail yourself of some perfume, cologne and Love Tokens--let your systematic seduction of every NPC in sight begin!
