transmogrification
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World of Wardrobe: Traipsing around Tempest Keep for tier 5
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. The Burning Crusade was an expansion of extremes. Each zone in Outland was drastically different from the next; each dungeon was just as diverse. The staggering difference between regular dungeons and the newly added heroic dungeons was the bane of many early leveling players in the expansion, though the heroic dungeons were nerfed over time. So too were the raids -- and tier 5 had two of the most drastically different raid dungeons that anyone had seen. While Serpentshrine Cavern was the aquatic themed underwater home to Lady Vashj, countless Naga, and other aquatic creatures, The Eye was far on the other end of the spectrum. The Naaru ship Tempest Keep was divided into four sections, three dungeons and the raid instance where Kael'thas Sunstrider reigned supreme. Full of crystalline Naaru architecture, the zone had a shining, unusual, and decidedly alien flavor to it. It was hard to say which of the two raid dungeons was more difficult, but it's much easier to make that distinction today -- The Eye is by far the more challenging of the two zones, especially for those looking to pick up the last few pieces of tier 5. %Gallery-135788%
Patch 4.3 PTR: Replica items bring back classic looks
Well, we were teased about it with this year's Darkmoon Faire preview, and now we get a taste of what's to come: replica items. Our friends and cohosts for this year's WoW Insider party at BlizzCon (which you should totally go to) over at Wowhead News have found a heap of these items, for both the original Dungeon Set 1 look and the upgraded Dungeon Set 2. As yet these items seem to be purely cosmetic, offering the look of now-lost sets. There's no sign yet of Tier 3 (original Naxxramas gear) or BC Season 3 Vengeful PVP gear right now, but who knows? This is certainly a step in the right direction for that happening. I'm pretty excited, let me tell you. While my main warrior has the sets he wants, one of my alts would look fantastic in Battlegear of Heroism. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Officers' Quarters: Patch 4.3 -- An officer's perspective
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available now from No Starch Press. Patch 4.3 is shaping up to be the most exciting and feature-filled of Cataclysm. Let's take a look at which features might impact your guild and how you can take advantage of them. I have located a raid The Raid Finder is not just for the guildless. Guilds can also take advantage of this new feature in several ways. The first and most obvious is that it will allow your raiders to get practice time on bosses for your own normal-mode raids. Since you don't get locked to the instance using the finder, you can see the mechanics ahead of time and still raid with your guild in the same week. If you have players who need to get up to speed, you can also use Raid Finder runs as a training ground. New players can learn the fights without wasting time and causing wipes in your normal runs. (Of course, we have yet to see how different finder mode and normal mode will be, but odds are the mechanics will be fairly similar.) Plus you can use the opportunity to address any issues that the player might be having with DPS rotations, awareness, etc.
World of Wardrobe: Slinking around Serpentshrine for tier 5
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. The Burning Crusade offered several tiers of raid content, but unlike classic WoW, those first few tiers were available upon release. Vanilla WoW didn't offer all that raid content right up front; players had to wait for BWL, AQ40, and ultimately, Naxxramas. This didn't mean you could just hit level 70 and waltz on into any raid content you wanted, however. There was a progression between tiers of raids, and the tier loot reflected that progression. Players were expected to complete Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, and Magtheridon's Lair (roughly in that order) in order to move on to the next tier of content. In order to guarantee that order of progression, Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep both required attunement chains to be completed before raid groups could enter. These chains required items from -- you guessed it -- Kara, Gruul, and Magtheridon. Serpentshrine and Tempest Keep both offered pieces for a new set of tier, tier 5. Like tier 4 before it, tier 5 is split between the two raid zones so that raiders would experience both raids before moving on. Vashj's watery retreat, Serpentshrine Cavern, was the first stop for most raid guilds. Handily located in Coilfang Reservoir, the raid didn't require flight to get to. %Gallery-135788%
World of Wardrobe: Going out in Outland for tier 4
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. Now that we've finished our whirlwind tour of Medivh's home and have two pieces of tier 4 in our pockets to show for it, it's time to head to the main highlight of The Burning Crusade expansion and dig up the rest of it. While Karazhan existed on Azeroth, the rest of tier 4 exists in Outland, scattered between two smaller raids -- the lairs of the pitlord Magtheridon and Gruul the Dragonkiller. Both raids were mercifully short when compared to the length of Karazhan, but both required some precision timing by raids to complete successfully. Last week, we touched a little on attunement chains for The Burning Crusade. Long, arduous and a complete pain for those trying to get in on raiding late in the game, the attunement chains in Burning Crusade were systematically removed as the expansion went on. For those who jumped into raiding when The Burning Crusade was launched, however, both Gruul and Magtheridon were required kills to get to the next level of raiding content with the next tier of raiding gear. %Gallery-133615%
Patch 4.3 PTR: Transmogrification and Void Storage gallery
My first action after leaping onto the patch 4.3 PTR was to hunt down the Transmogrification and Void Storage vendors immediately. Apparently everyone else had the same idea too, as the little building was crammed full of players eagerly changing the appearance of their gear. Transmogrification is an incredibly simple process, and Void Storage is just as easy -- all that's required is dragging and dropping your gear and gold. Did I mention gold? There's a lot of gold involved currently. In order to open up your Void Storage vault, there is a fee of 1,000g. Once you've opened the vault, it costs a whopping 100g per item to deposit it into your vault -- and another 100g per item to remove it. With 80 slots available to fill, that quickly adds up to 8,000g just to place all your items into Void Storage. Want to take them out? It's another 8,000g. Keep in mind, however, this is the PTR and prices may change -- although most players have so much gold on their hands by now that this could almost be considered a needed gold sink. Check out the gallery for a full step-by-step walk-through of the Transmogrification and Void Storage process, and keep your eyes peeled here at WoW Insider for more PTR news. %Gallery-135039% Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Breakfast Topic: What will you be wearing the first day of transmogrification?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. Since the announcement of the new transmogrification system in patch 4.3, I've been thinking a lot about what sets I'd like to collect for my character. My main is a Blood Elf paladin, so naturally I've been grabbing a friend to blaze through Blackwing Lair once a week to finish off my Judgement set. However, I am certain on day one of the update, Azeroth will be filled with pallies rocking the same duds. How can a fashionable Sin'dorei stand out in the crowd? I did some research online and have been reminded of a number of great sets that aren't raid tier but look just as good. I finally settled on the very blood-knightish Red Lawbringer (at least for my retribution gear set), easily farmed out of various Burning Crusade regular and heroic dungeons. As for my alt death knight, I've been traveling to Dalaran weekly to spend his excess justice points on tier 10, because (as I'm sure we can all agree) there aren't many things in this world more wicked-looking than a Worgen in Scourgelord Battlegear! What gear will you be wearing on patch day? Are you collecting an old tier set (or have you saved a favorite in your bank all this time)? Or are you putting together a more avant-garde look? Will you have different transmog looks for particular gear sets? Or does all this doll-dressing business not interest you in the least?
World of Wardrobe: Kicking around Karazhan for tier 4, part 2
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. Last week, we started the journey to pick up the first raiding tier of The Burning Crusade. Tier 4 was a bit of a revolution in the way that tier gear was obtained. Players no longer had to wait for their particular piece of gear to drop; instead, they looted tokens that were then turned in for the gear of their choice. We saw the beginnings of this back in tier 2.5, but the organizational element of it was sadly missing. By the time The Burning Crusade launched, players no longer had to obtain secondary items for their tier; the tokens were all that was required. But there were other differences that were unique to Burning Crusade raids -- mainly, the placement of tier loot. If you wanted to raid in vanilla WoW, doing so required attuning yourself to the various raids available. In the case of Molten Core, Blackwing Lair and Onyxia's Lair, this was done by completing a quest chain and obtaining an item or clicking an object that would allow you passage into the raid zone. When Ahn'Qiraj was launched, raiders had to complete an epic quest chain in order to open the gates to the raid, and non-raiders had to gather resources and supplies for the battle that would happen after. By the time the 40-man version of Naxxramas rolled around, all that was required was reputation, some gold, and a few items to get in. This all changed with The Burning Crusade, and so did tier sets. %Gallery-133615%
Addon Spotlight: Transmogrification made easy with MogIt
Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. Patch 4.3 might be coming sooner than we think, with this past week's torrent of information about the upcoming content, Dragon Soul. With it comes transmogrification, a new in-game system designed to let players have some flexibility and customization options when it comes to what armor they are wearing. Your stats will stay the same, but the look of your items can be changed over and over again. I'm a big fan of transmogrification and enjoy throwing together new armor sets and outfits in anticipation of this new feature. Is there a way to make cataloging, wish-listing, and creating outfits even easier? Oh, you bet there is, through the wonderful world of addons. This week's workhorse is MogIt, your one-stop shop for creating outfits and checking out what gear looks like, creating a wishlist of gear to collect, and more. If you're nuts for transmogrification, then MogIt needs to be in your addon arsenal.
Blizzard clarifies transmogrification rules
Blizzard has been getting loads of questions about transmogrification, the new system coming in patch 4.3 that allows players to change the look of the gear they currently possess. Many players have been asking for more gear customization, and Blizzard has answered with this new system. However, there are rules, and Blizzard has finally laid out the full list of what can and cannot be transmogrified, as well as what types of restrictions apply. The list is not intended to be all-encompassing, but does give players a good idea about what is acceptable and what is not. Personally, I am still of the opinion that a lot of the fun items that will not be available for transmog purposes should be. It's Warcraft, after all, and the goofy aesthetic has permeated all aspects of the game. It's not a huge loss, but one that would have its fun purposes. All in all, these transmog rules feel pretty lenient and acceptable to me, and I think that the new system is a great step in the right direction for more player customization.
Blizzard's Tom Chilton on World of Warcraft's patch 4.3 and beyond
It may be hard to believe, but World of Warcraft's Cataclysm expansion has been out for the better part of a year now. All the while, players have been on a long and arduous adventure to defend the lands of Azeroth from the nefarious Deathwing and his minions. In an interview with Blizzard's Tom Chilton, Joystiq brings to light some details on the dragon's imminent demise as well as a few insights on what players can expect from WoW's patch 4.3: Dragon Soul. Chilton details the upcoming Transmogrification system, which allows players to customize the appearance of their gear by transferring one item's graphic to another. He also discusses the new Void Storage system, which grants increased storage space, with the caveat that any item stored in the void will be stripped of all gems and enchantments. The pièce de résistance of the whole affair is, of course, the final showdown with Deathwing himself. Players will have to traverse three separate five-man instances, which will culminate in a huge battle that doesn't just feature Deathwing as the opponent: He's the battlefield as well. But we don't want to give it all away, so head on over to Joystiq for the full, juicy interview.
Totem Talk: Soloing old raids as a DPS shaman
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement, and restoration shaman. Josh Myers once only tackled the hard questions about enhancement but has recently expanded his sphere of responsibility to all shaman DPS specs. (And no, two-handed enhancement is still never coming back.) With the introduction of transmogrification in patch 4.3, collecting old armor styles has become one of the most productive ways to spend your free time in World of Warcraft. As an added bonus, soloing old content (or going in very small groups) can be very lucrative. I made 2,400 gold tonight from soloing Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, and Magtheridon's Lair and grouping for Sunwell Plateau, Tempest Keep, Serpentshrine Cavern, and Caverns of Time: Mount Hyjal. Both specs of DPS shaman bring some excellent soloing utility to the table. As mail wearers, we have some solid physical damage mitigation. Wind Shear is an incredible utility ability that will be used on bosses in nearly every tier of raiding. Earth and Fire Elemental Totems provide a second target and work especially well for pulling council fights, so that you can pick off one target and kill it while the rest attack your elemental. Tremor Totem is useful on fights like Lady Vashj. Grounding Totem can be used to absorb direct damage spells your interrupt is down for or catch boss CCs that are headed your way. Bloodlust is great for burst DPS, and especially helpful on fights that have a soft enrage. And, of course, being a hybrid class means that both of our DPS specs have some amount of self healing to bring to the table.
World of Wardrobe: Kicking around Karazhan for tier 4, part 1
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. After the sheer confusion of tier 2.5, players had one more opportunity to get tier pieces in the form of tier 3, available solely from the 40-man version of Naxxramas. As of the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, Naxxramas relocated to Northrend and tier 3 went goodbye, to the disappointment of tier collectors. It's been hinted that the new Darkmoon Faire in patch 4.3 may offer ways to obtain tier sets that are no longer obtainable -- hopefully, this includes the long-lost tier 3. Tier 4, on the other hand, was a step in a new direction. Players were no longer required to obtain additional materials to pick up their tier pieces; all they needed was their class token, and they were good to go. However, tier 4 wasn't found in just a single raid dungeon; it was spread all over Outland in a series of introductory raids meant to prepare raiders for the rigors of Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep, and eventually The Battle for Hyjal and Black Temple. Tier 4 is scattered through three different raid zones, and today we're going to venture into a zone that still stands out as a favorite in many raider's eyes -- the incomprehensible tower of Karazhan. Once the home of Medivh, Karazhan also offers a variety of cool weapons and off-set armor pieces along with the elusive tier 4. %Gallery-133615%
Patch 4.3: Rogue legendary, new raid difficulty, and other details
The afternoon, The Escapist published an interview with World of Warcraft's Lead Producer J. Allen Brack on all things patch 4.3. Some of the topics discussed are topics we already know quite well: the nature of transmogrification, how void storage works, and so on. However, the interview also includes juicy bits we didn't know. For example, patch 4.3's legendary weapon, which was initially stated to have a "narrow audience" in the tanking edition of the Ask The Devs series, will be a rogue dagger. Brack states that they haven't settled on a name, lore, or any such thing for the weapon, so who knows what its quest chain may bring. That is actually a very interesting detail in itself: If Brack is being truthful and Blizzard doesn't know anything about the dagger's design yet, are we as close to seeing patch 4.3 on the PTR as the armor previews suggest? Or will Blizzard need to cobble it together in a hurry late in the patch's development cycle?
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman transmogrification guide
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how. In patch 4.3, not only will we get the chance to punch Deathwing in the face, we can do so with a whole new style. Not only will we be getting a new tier of raiding to go through, as well as new 5-man content to explore, but there will also be some extra features added that we as players have been asking for quite some time. Transmogrification will allow us to take our current armor and weapons and transform them to look like other pieces of gear. Vanity items may sound like a silly request by the players, but when you've had as rich a history of iconic gear sets as shaman have, it can be pretty awesome. Over the years, shaman in particular have had some pretty amazing and visually stunning sets of gear. Let's take a look! Also, if you listen to the lyrics of the classic song above, you'll notice that not once do they specifically mention pants. (I'm ignoring the mention of suit.) Long live the kilt!
World of Wardrobe: Shaking the bugs out of tier 2.5
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. Ahn'Qiraj was a dramatic change for vanilla raiders, largely because it didn't take place anywhere with a primarily red- and/or flame-based color scheme. Instead, raiders were treated to a sandy desert and a mysterious temple with unending underground tunnels and the oddest scenery in game at that point. Treated, that is, after an incredibly long quest line and a world event that required everyone, raiders and non-raiders alike, to band together and open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj. It's no wonder then that tier 2.5 is just as odd as the raid zone it originates from. Each set wasn't exactly a major upgrade from tier 2 but had a set name and set bonuses -- not enough of a difference to call it a full tier, but enough that it warranted the -.5 suffix to delineate it as something worth obtaining. These sets aren't iconic so much as ... odd. Rather than representing a class, they all carried the same spiny, insect theme that persevered throughout Ahn'Qiraj -- less "beautiful" and more "Power Rangers meets Mothra." That said, if you're looking for the strangest getup you can possibly stick your character in, tier 2.5 ought to be right up your alley. There's also a host of other unique weapons and armor to be had as well, so let's get to the extermination, shall we? %Gallery-132839%
Scattered Shots: Hunter transmogrification station
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. Frostheim of Warcraft Hunters Union and the WoW Hunter Podcast uses logic and science (mixed with a few mugs of Dwarven stout) to look deep into the hunter class. Mail your hunter questions to Frostheim. As patch 4.2 is beginning to wind down, many hunters are looking for ways to fill some of the extra in-game time, and the coming of transmogrification in patch 4.3 is the perfect thing. Now is the time to start collecting the looks that you want to transmogrify into when patch 4.3 comes. I have a full look at all the hunter armor sets on each race and where to get them, over at the WHU Transmog page. Today, we're going to take a look at the next most crucial transmogrification decision: our ranged weapon. [Update: you can find a full list of every hunter transmog resource on the web (including this one) at the WHH's hunter transmog guide. So if you're looking for custom transmog looks and databases and transmogrification addons, that's the place to go. If you want to see your awesome ranged weapon transmog options, read on!] We can actually transmogrify one ranged weapon type into another, unlike any other weapon type, so we can make our bows look (and sound) like guns or crossbows. This gives hunters a host of options for what kind of weapon look we want to be sporting. Join me after the cut for a look at some of the most distinctive ranged weapons and where to find them.
Shifting Perspectives: Not seeing your gear is no excuse
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Shifting Perspectives for cat, bear, restoration and balance druids. This Tuesday, hunter polearms are tossed into the trash bin and are then very quickly retrieved. As many of you know, transmogrification -- from the ancient Greek trans, meaning "To make one's gear look better," and mogrification, meaning "Than it actually is" -- is coming to the game in patch 4.3. As such, we are joined again by Letitia, the official fashion consultant and Snark Passenger to the Shifting Perspectives column. Some of you may already know her from Shifting Perspectives: Fun with race choice, in which we pronounced one particular human model a perfect in-game example of Stalinist realism, and Shifting Perspectives: The druid of 2010, in which Allison was scraped off a bus station bathroom floor in order to write the article. In the interests of not seeing a flood of druids run around in uncoordinated ensembles, we have assembled a set of suggestions you may wish to review. They were compiled and ranked according to the scientific rationale of not wanting to flinch whenever I shifted out of form. Our priorities are the helm, shoulder, cloak, and chest slots -- the ones that really define an outfit -- and I'll revisit the series on some future date, or whenever I can get Letitia away from her chosen career of throwing garbage at Los Angeles stylists. Oh, and as an important aside -- Anne's World of Wardrobe series has a lot of good tips for anyone looking to put together a complete tier set. Reddit's WoW Transmogrification subreddit also has a lot of good tips, as do Wowhead's blogs on unique items and NPC sets to copy. The Visual Roleplay Gear List is also an incredibly addictive site, though not all of the sets it features will be possible to use for "mogging."
Shifting Perspectives: The new face of balance druid PVP
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Shifting Perspectives for cat , bear , restoration and balance druids. Balance news comes at you every Friday -- learn how to master the forces of nature, and know what it means to be a giant laser turkey! Send questions, comments, or something you'd like to see to tyler@wowinsider.com. It is fairly common knowledge that I am not an avid PVPer. It isn't so much that the balance spec is weak in PVP (even if it is); nor is it a matter that I find the system frustrating. It more has to deal with my having to be exceptional at what I do, or I won't do at all. Sure, I may not be an instant superstar at everything, but normally I feel I can learn, improve. The PVP learning curve is steep, further complicated by playing a very difficult spec in that environment -- so for me, I avoid it. That being said, I do throughly enjoy watching PVP, theorizing on the balance of PVP, and keeping up with the scene in general. This week, I want to bring my newest PVP observations to you in hopes that I can help those out there who want to give balance PVP the shot it deserves. We aren't as terrible as people would lead you to think!
World of Wardrobe: Bringing home tier 2
Heading back to pick up some awesome armor sets from vanilla WoW or that dazzling weapon that'll have your enemies cowering in fear? Transmogrification makes it possible -- and World of Wardrobe shows you how. Tier 2 is easily one of the most recognizable, iconic gear sets in World of Warcraft's history. Nowadays, tier sets are designed around the concept of a dungeon or an area in the world. Tier 2, on the other hand, simply presented a cohesive look that practically screamed, "This is my class." Judgement was considered the hallmark of paladin armor design; Bloodfang embraced the sneaky, silent and deadly nature of a rogue. Transcendence was a beautiful reimagining of stained glass commonly found in cathedrals; Nemesis was a dark reflection of everything a warlock should be. If you're looking for a tier set that encompasses everything that your class represents, tier 2 is going to be right up your alley. Last week, we dove into the depths of Molten Core, where Ragnaros awaited, tier 2 pants in his pockets. This week, we ascend the heights of Blackwing Lair to challenge the Black Dragonflight, who seem to have made a habit of squirreling away some particularly pretty pieces of gear and some of the most unique weapons you'll ever set eyes on. %Gallery-132103%
