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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.
WoW Archivist: WoW's first legendary quest line
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? Not every amazing weapon is legendary. WoW has seen plenty of great weapons come and go without a single orange letter in their tooltip. But let's face it: legendaries are the most interesting and coveted items in the game. In patch 5.4, many players who have never before been able to equip a legendary item will have their first opportunity, thanks to Wrathion's schemes. The quest line for our legendary cloaks has been the longest and most elaborate legendary quest line to date, spanning over multiple tiers of raiding. But how did it all begin? What was WoW's first legendary quest line? Let's take a look back to remember the legend of Thunderfury.
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.
Legendaries for Everyone: What could it mean?
Our friends over at Wowhead datamined up news that could be a game-changer if it goes live. It seems possible that the Wrathion quests datamined last month offers eight varieties of legendary, including a shield and a gun. This could mean that this will be the first legendary that any class -- and potentially, any spec -- can equip and use. The quests seem to involve multiple tiers of raiding, meaning that you won't be able to get a legendary at the end of the first Mists of Pandaria raids and will have to be in it for the long haul to acquire one. This avoids the problem of early legendaries (such as Dragonwrath or Val'anyr) being adjusted in later patches. However, the very possibility that this will be a legendary that anyone can get means we need to consider the effect it's going to have on your raiding group.
Weapons of Lore: Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker
We spend an extraordinary amount of time in World of Warcraft collecting loot of various shapes and sizes. Whether it's tier sets, trinkets or other best in slot items, a lot of players devote themselves to getting the best of what there is to offer. Enter the legendary weapons of the world -- weapons so powerful, so rare, that they are viewed as the best of their kind ... well, at least until another expansion drops with better stuff. But these weapons aren't just thrown into the world with no explanation. The legendary items of the world are legendary because they are the stuff of legend -- the subject of tales told through time, whether old or new. Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker, is arguably one of the oldest of these weapons. Its story begins at the dawn of creation, when the elements of the world waged war at the behest of the Old Gods.
The OverAchiever: What Feats of Strength can you get now?
One of the easier ways to distinguish an older character from a reroll or alt is the presence (or absence) of a Feat of Strength. Feats of Strength, remnants of "the past glories of Azeroth," are among the most difficult achievements to get, and that's when they're even possible at all. Most, like the presence of an old-school PvP title, one of the original 100% mounts, or the Vengeful Nether Drake, are impossible to get these days, and are a sign that the person who has them is an experienced player. But with a little luck and a lot of elbow grease, even a new player can accrue some of these supposedly "past" glories. I started playing WoW shortly after Burning Crusade launched and didn't expect to have a shot at most Feats, but a surprising number of them are still available. After getting The Fifth Element recently and being surprised to discover that: a). It's a Feat, and b). The original quest isn't even in the game anymore (man, I'm glad I'm such a quest packrat), I started nosing around the list of Feats to see what else a player could do even if they're new to the game. Moreover, there are two achievements you can get right now that will become Feats in 3.3, so let's get cracking.
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.
