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Why Warlords of Draenor needs a legendary chain
Mists of Pandaria was unique in a variety of different ways, but none quite so unique as its approach to legendary items. While prior expansions offered legendaries in the form of random drops from bosses or craftable items that required -- you guessed it -- random drops from bosses, Mists paved the way for a new type of legendary. It was a legendary that anyone could get, provided they put in the time and effort required to obtain it. Coming from a long line of raiding going all the way back to vanilla, I have to say that Mists' approach was the best I've ever seen. No more arguing over which class deserved the legendary more, no more officer headaches as they tried to decide who got the legendary first. No more accusations of favoritism, no more guild explosions. Just you, the character you play, and a decision to make: do you go for the legendary chain, or do you ignore it? You choose. We need this in Warlords.
A legendary for all, courtesy of Wrathion
It's confirmed -- everyone does indeed get a legendary, if they manage to finish Wrathion's expansion-long chain of requests. However, unlike any prior legendary to date, Wrathion's offering won't be a new set of weapons to wield ... and that's making some players a little irritated. Rather than the usual arming with weapons, Wrathion has instead chosen to give everyone legendary-quality cloaks, enhancing the cloaks received in patch 5.3 with some extra power -- and a little orange text -- in patch 5.4. Yes, some may have been expecting weapons -- but really, Wrathion's offering makes a lot more sense in terms of gameplay, balance, and possibly Wrathion's true motives in this little endeavor as well. In fact, the legendary offered in Mists of Pandaria manages to break every single perception we had about what a legendary is to date.
What does legendary really mean?
Legendary. The color orange was once one of the most revered, whispered-about intangible things in vanilla WoW. People had heard rumors of legendary weapons, but nobody knew how to actually get them -- they were just as much a source of speculation as any lore in Warcraft today. When those legendary items finally first began to appear, it was a moment of sheer joy for those lucky enough to receive them. And for those that were not that lucky, it was a source of constant envy. People got really, really ticked about legendaries, how it was determined that they were rewarded, and who they were rewarded to. In the end, when it boiled down to it, anyone who watched someone else get a legendary immediately questioned what made that other player worthy, when they themselves had put it so much more perceived effort. Legendaries had the power to tear guilds apart -- or, in some cases, the power to pull a united guild into an even stronger front. The history of legendaries is pretty fascinating in and of itself, but more fascinating is the evolution of the color orange. It's changed over the years, and in Mists of Pandaria anyone can start a chain to get their very own legendary -- and that's got some bloggers talking.
Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros makes Magicka appearance
Magicka has taken the gaming world by storm since its release just a few short days ago. The light-hearted game includes endless pop culture references and jokes about the fantasy genre throughout its flimsy yet charming adventure mode. We won't spoil the many gags you'll encounter throughout the game ... except for the one you see above: the Mace of the Molten Core. The Mace of the Molten Core appears in the third level of the game, which means you find it pretty early on. Magicka is a game built on spell-slinging combat, so you likely won't be hitting your enemies with the weapon very often. Your weapon is better served to store prepared spells, but if you do choose to swing it, however, it's a very slow hammer that deals fire damage on hit -- just like the Sulfuras from the MMO we all know and love.
Legendary Weapons: Drops vs. questing
A Discussion of the newly dropped Thori'dal bought up a lively discussion on Legendary weapons in my guild chat the other day, which has in turn set my own mental wheels turning. Looking at the difference between the pre-Burning Crusade Legendaries and the Burning Crusade Legendaries, there's one big difference that stands out (beyond the level difference): The pre-BC Legendaries were quested, while the BC Legendaries have been drops. The clear-cut off seems to suggest that at some point, Blizzard decided that creating long, involved quests in order to obtain Legendary weapons just wasn't the way to go, and they'd rather let the RNG take care of distributing Legendaries. But the question is, did they make the right choice? There's good arguments for both sides.
