warlords-of-draenor
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WoW's final Lords of War video is not about an Orc
The fifth and final entry in World of Warcraft's Lords of War video series has arrived, and if you're tired of Orclords of Orcnor, then rejoice because this one is about a Draenei: Vindicator Maraad, the narrator of the series. On the downside, Maraad's backstory is still mostly about Orcs; he's Garona Halforcen's uncle, for example. On the upside, his backstory also involves a lot of killing of Orcs. So there's that. The full video is below.
World of Warcraft gives you a way to undelete characters
Those World of Warcraft GMs are probably beyond sick and tired of player petitions to undo a character deletion if a recent dev post by Blizzard is any indication. Coming with Warlords of Draenor is a new feature that will allow players to resurrect a deleted character with its gear and enchantments intact. The studio even said that it will even hold onto deleted character names "for a limited time." There are a few exceptions to the undelete feature. Toons under level 10 won't be recoverable at all, and those between levels 10 and 49 will be lost forever after a set amount of time. Also, players can use this function only once every month, so undelete wisely!
Blizzard's second garrison preview focuses on buildings
So it's Garrison Preview time again, and this time, we're being told about buildings. Wondering how the Garrison Tier system affects your buildings? How large and small plots work? How you can progress your garrison and gain different buildings and new plots to put them on? Wonder no more, for the preview explains all of that for you. Your Garrison mainly comprises buildings and the Followers who inhabit them. As your Garrison grows, so will your options and opportunities to use these assets to your advantage on Draenor. The Followers that populate your Garrison will grow in number and power, and what they can do for you depends which buildings you choose to construct in your base. So if you're interested in how this new feature so central to the Warlords of Draenor experience is going to play out, head on over to the official site right now and take a gander at the write-up.
World of Warcraft offers up another Garrison preview
It's been quite some time since the first official preview of Garrisons for Warlords of Draenor, so you could be forgiven for thinking that a second part wasn't coming. But it has finally surfaced on the official site, talking about the various sized plots in your World of Warcraft Garrison and the buildings that you can construct. As you upgrade your Garrison, you get more and more spaces for buildings in three different sizes: small, medium, and large, each of which provide different benefits. Small buildings (and a few special buildings that are not upgraded and can be quested for) allow you to set up profession workspaces in your Garrison. Medium buildings offer a variety of resource additions, ranging from the ability to trap animals for leather to picking up special dungeon quests, and large buildings offer unique tricks like transporting between distant points or training special mounts or even riding your own siege engine. Take a look at the full preview for more details of how the buildings break down and where players can acquire the better blueprints.
Breakfast Topic: What are you doing while you wait for Warlords?
We've had discussions previously about our pre-Warlords goals -- what we hope to accomplish before the expansion arrives. Today, I want to phrase the question a little differently: what have you been doing while we wait for the expansion? Are you actually pursuing those goals or doing something entirely different? Personally, I have to admit I haven't been on live realms in months. I've been on beta realms plenty, but not live realms. There's simply nothing there that interests me right now. I had a hard time investing myself in Mists of Pandaria in general, so it sparked no new must-have goals. I'm eager to move on. In the meantime, when I'm not on the beta, I've been playing other games altogether. My love/hate relationship with Hearthstone continues.
Blizzard releases system requirements for Warlords of Draenor
There are a lot of updates on the way in Warlords of Draenor, and with all the updates to models and environments and graphics and UI, a lot of players have been wondering just what they'll need to run the next expansion without a hitch. The good news is that Blizzard has finally released the system requirements for Warlords of Draenor, both minimum and recommended. The bad news is, if you're still on an older system, you might be needing an update to run the next installment in World of Warcraft's ongoing story.
Scenarios, daily quests, and events in Warlords
It's true that scenarios still exist in Warlords of Draenor, but it's also true that their existence is radically altered - no more the easy three person content you can queue for at max level for easy rewards. Now, you may be trumpeting this as a grand thing, and in some ways you may even be right, but scenarios and heroic scenarios served a purpose in Mists and I'm starting to be concerned about their removal and the change in dungeons. One of the things to keep in mind is, with the removal of valor points and the conversion of many items to costing gold, we're essentially taking out the mechanism that once served as a consolation prize when it was first introduced back in The Burning Crusade. Furthermore, by removing scenarios as content players can essentially run whenever and wherever they wish, we're winnowing down options at endgame. The Timeless Isle model for endgame content has its flaws, and converting all of Warlords to it has some potential pitfalls. For starters, the heavy de-emphasis on daily quests combined with the lack of scenarios and the placing of heroic dungeons behind the proving ground barrier removes a solid amount of low pressure, easily accessed content. Considered separately these ideas aren't an issue, but when you put them all together you can start to see one problem - they remove choices for players, and in doing so offer no replacement. This may be by design. Some players lament that there's too much to do in Mists of Pandaria's endgame. Starved for choice is a real phenomenon, and it may be a good move to thin out those options. But it may not.
BlizzCon 2014 in-game goodies sneak peek
Last week, we had our first glimpse at Grommloc, the BlizzCon 2014 in-game pet. Today, Blizzard has revealed the remaining in-game rewards. Hearthstone Blizzard Entertainment-themed card back. The design incorporates elements from the compass inlaid around the infamous orc statue. StarCraft II New portraits and a Heroes of the Storm-themed decal. One portrait depicts Hierarch Artanis. The other is yet to be unveiled. Diablo III Warlords of Draenor-themed weapon transmogrifications. Each class will receive its own weapon, but only the demon hunter, barbarian, and monk are displayed. Kargath's bladefist and Blackhand's hammer are easily recognizable in the image. Only available for Windows/Mac version of the game. Heroes of the Storm Nexus Mount and Nexus Brawler portrait The official BlizzCon site has a more detailed image of each than you see in the header above. It being BlizzCon and all, we can't help but wildly speculate a little: given the protoss theme of the StarCraft portrait, and the fact that one of the portraits is still veiled in mystery, could we finally see a Legacy of the Void announcement? Nearly three years passed between the launch of Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm. Half of that time has passed since Heart of the Swarm's release, which would make this pretty good timing for an announcement -- though certainly not a release date.
World of Warcraft drops spoiler-filled cinematics
Some World of Warcraft players want to know the whole story of an expansion before they've even started playing. Some others would prefer to know nothing about the game until it's time to play, experiencing everything completely fresh. If you belong to the latter group, you won't want to click on the latest update from Blizzard Entertainment because it's full of spoilers. It is, in fact, the spoiler-filled cinematics from all through Warlords of Draenor, conveniently collected in a single place. Why? Essentially, the development team would rather give players a clear picture of the story than force them to rely upon datamined reveals and guesses. If you'd like to be spoiled on the storyline before you can even play it, you can click on over and watch through all of the in-game cinematics in quick succession, painting a broad if not detailed picture of the game as a whole. If you'd rather not be spoiled... well, avoid that link. And the comments. And the forums. Basically, just shut off your discussion venues for a couple of months.
Breakfast Topic: Did you watch the Warlords cinematics?
One of the bigger pieces of news to come out of last week was the release of several of Warlords of Draenor's key in-game cinematic pieces. Now, normally we kind of expect to see these things at some point during the beta's lifetime -- but usually it's one datamining website or another that manages to dig the cinematics up prior to the expansion's release. This time, in a completely different move, Blizzard released all of the cinematics on the official website, clearly labeled as spoiler content and requiring players to click through a very blatant spoiler warning before actually showing any content at all. It's a new approach. I'm kind of a fan of this approach, because we all knew that material was going to surface at one point or another anyway -- this way, Blizzard has control of how it is released, and guarantees that it's labeled so as not to take anyone by surprise. You can't get much clearer about spoilers than Blizzard did in their official post, and although some might say they went overboard with the warnings, I think that was perfectly fine, given the nature of the material. And of course I watched them. I watched them all, because I like to write about these kinds of things on a weekly basis and I wanted to see what would happen, to give some context to what I'd already seen in the beta. But I'm wondering how many of you watched the cinematics, as blatantly placed out and clearly labeled as they were. Did you appreciate all the spoiler warnings? If you're avoiding all spoilers, did the clear labels and official post make it easier to stick with your resolve, or did it just tempt you into really wanting to see? Obviously, since we're talking about the nature of spoilers, rather than the actual spoilers themselves, please keep the comments spoiler-free. Trust me, we'll have more than enough articles where you can talk about the spoiler content to your heart's content.
The Queue: Who needs a title with that picture?
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. I'm glad I waited until the wee hours of the morning to write today's Queue. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to use that picture of Zarhym as today's header, courtesy of Ben Brode's Twitter. Benjamin Seeberger asked: with the introduction of Warlords of Draenor and the retirement of the legendary quest in its entirety, are new players going to have any clue who Wrathion is, unless they are rogues? Will his storyline make any sense in Mists when the legendary questline is taken out? Will the Timeless Isle make any sense? How will the departure of the questline impact Pandaria's storyline?
Warlords of Draenor: Blizzard releases all in-game cinematics
If you've been playing in the beta one of the things you've noticed is that there's a host of in-game cinematics that haven't actually been there yet. If you're wondering what they are, wonder no more - Blizzard just released a whole host of them on the official site. They're all excellent - one of them actually made this old draenei tear up a bit - but don't watch those and then complain that you were spoiled for the next expansion because that's all there is here - nothing but 100% spoilers for what's going to be happening in Warlords of Draenor. So, if you want to avoid that, don't go to that link and absolutely don't watch any of those videos. But if you do want that, here you go. It's really some amazing work on the part of Terran Gregory and the entire Blizzard in-game cinematics division.
World of Warcraft's next Lord of War is Kilrogg Deadeye
Were you tired of the parade of Orcs in World of Warcraft's Lords of War video series? We're sorry to disappoint you once again. Today's Warlords of OrcnorDraenor lore video features Kilrogg Deadeye, the one-eyed chieftan of the Bleeding Hollow clan. This guy is so brutal that he tore out his own eye and ran headlong into his foretold doom. OK, maybe he's worthy of a video after all. Enjoy it below!
World of Warcraft addresses upgrading to the Warlords of Draenor CE
Were you one of the people who pre-purchased Warlords of Draenor as soon as the digital option was open? Do you have a mighty need to pick up the physical collector's edition but no clear process for upgrading from the digital copy? The good news is that Blizzard Entertainment has World of Warcraft fans covered with a new post detailing how you can upgrade to a physical collector's edition. Just buy another copy, contact Blizzard's customer support, and then give a friend the code from the digital upgrade that you no longer need! Yes, that's what it says. Just buy another one. Which is a system that works out pretty well for your friend, at least. If you were hoping for a simpler way to use the level 90 character boost and still get the physical doodads, however, you are apparently out of luck. The Collector's Edition is priced at $89.99 and includes both digital items and physical bonuses.
Patch 6.0.2: PvP season 15 ends
In the spirit of get it done soon that we see getting more and more prevalent as patch 6.0.2 gets closer, here's some news about PvP Season 15. Namely, it's ending as soon as the patch drops. This means several things - there will be no Arenas or Rated BG's after the patch, all Conquest Points will be converted to Honor, with excess Honor above 4000 points being converted to gold. Blizzard - Patch 6.0.2 PTR Patch Notes PvP Season 15 comes to an end with the launch of Patch 6.0.2. (Date has not been determined yet.) Conquest Points will be converted into Honor Points, and any Honor above the cap of 4,000 will be converted into in-game currency at a rate of 35 silver per point. Season 15 items will have Conquest costs converted into Honor Points equivalent to their previous Conquest Point cost, with the exception of any items that have a rating requirement. Season 15 items with rating requirements will no longer be available for purchase. Note that Arena and Rated Battleground matches will not be available until PvP Season 16 begins. source So there you have it - the upcoming end for Season 15 is as soon as the patch itself (which we still have no date for) and when it comes, the usual conversions will commence. If you're trying to hit a certain rating, you have been warned.
Patch 6.0.2: No Brawler's Guild until Warlords
If you're still working on your Brawler's Guild achievements, get a move on - you have until Patch 6.0.2 to get that all done, because as soon as that drops, the Brawler's Guild will be closed until Warlords of Draenor comes out. Blizzard - Patch 6.0.2 patch notes Season 1 of the Brawler's has come to a close and associated achievements have been converted into Feats of Strength. Fights will be unavailable while the Brawler's Guild is being refitted in preparation for Season 2 (available after Warlords of Draenor has launched.) Account-wide membership in Brawler's Guild will carry over to Season 2. Once a brawler, always a brawler! source All current Brawler's Guild achievements will become Feats of Strength, and the fights won't be accessible until we get all new ones for Warlords of Draenor. But if you're a member, you don't have to worry about getting another invite, at least -- membership is for life.
Mythic raid testing this Friday, September 19th
If you happen to have a group of, say, 20 folks to hand and you want to test out what Mythic Raiding is going to be all about, then rejoice, for you'll have that opportunity. Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas had once again revealed to us the schedule for the next batch of raid testing, this time for Mythic difficulty. We're looking at two encounters in Mythic difficulty Blackrock Foundry, Beastlord Darmac at 10:30 Pacific and Iron Maidens at 15:00 Pacific (that's 3 PM for those of us not on military time). Note that you don't have to be on a level 100 character to take part in the testing. Your level will be scaled up and your gear as well, so you can take part with a full group of 90's if that's what you have. Also remember, this is the beta - there could be any number of issues that delay or postpone beta testing of Mythic raiding. Don't get overexcited if that happens.
The Queue: Legendary decisions, Lore, A boring lack of dinosaurs
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today. No dinosaurs today. We are going straight into the meat of the Queue. Arthonos asks: With all the flack that Blizzard is getting right now over their decision to remove the Legendary quest chain, do you think they should be more upfront at the release of an expansion what will and will not be temporary content? More importantly, why should a company destroy content it created? I can see if the intent is to update or upgrade stuff, as they did in Cata, but this is removing content that would remain entertaining even after it has served its purpose as a source of loot. This is one of those times where I'm not happy with a decision but my unhappiness with said decision doesn't seem to be the same as everyone else's unhappiness with said decision. I don't care that they're taking a legendary out of the game or making it so people who don't have the quest by 6.0.2 can't start the quest. But I feel like making it so people who've started the quest can't finish it once Warlords drops is a bad move. Even if we feel like those people have had plenty of time, the legendary cloak is a huge ball of RNG luck, tons of time and dedication, a lot of really hard single player moments, that stupid lightning serpent on the Throne of Thunder - if people are on any part of that quest, they've done a ton of work, and to my mind they should be allowed to finish that work. Just zeroing out the quest and getting rid of their quest items doesn't sit right by me. Maybe I shouldn't care. But I really don't like the precedent that sets. The idea that the coming of a new expansion should erase all that effort. They've removed legendaries before - you can't get Atiesh anymore - but this is the first legendary that was simultaneously accessible and yet felt like such a personal achievement. Maybe that's why it has to go - a level 100 player could probably breeze through the chain. It still feels weird to me. That's my take on it, which doesn't really directly answer your question because I have no idea if Blizzard knew they were going to take the quest out when they introduced it.
World of Warcraft bumps up graphical settings
While they're not big bullet point features for Warlords of Draenor, technical improvements will benefit those who want to keep their game looking the best. In a new dev diary posted today, Blizzard gave a detailed explanation about how it's putting new anti-aliasing tech into World of Warcraft for the expansion. "In short, we're taking strides to improve the performance of World of Warcraft, while also ensuring there's plenty of potential to further increase graphical fidelity and enhance our support of high-end CPUs and graphics hardware," the studio posted. Blizzard said that the changes represent the team "thinking long-term" for the game.
Blizzard debuts Engineer's Workshop
It's always interesting to get more behind the scenes about how World of Warcraft is created, and Blizzard is doing exactly that with the all-new Engineer's Workshop series of posts. This week's column is about anti-aliasing and the new technology Blizzard is using to help evolve the game engine and update it going forward. Keep in mind, World of Warcraft is a ten year old game, and graphic updates like these are necessarily planned out to keep the game's look from sliding into obsolescence. I admit I'm no expert on the technology being discussed, but if you are, here's a nice summary to get you started on explaining the whole thing to me in the comments. Use small words.
