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The Daily Quest: Examining and defining
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. I love the new map animation, and I love the fact that it works when you're checking your mail, too. Although I still don't quite understand what the heck I'm looking at. Is that a treasure map? Some weird island? Outland? Maybe some sort of weird Rorschach test? Good question. While I'm puzzling out possible answers, why don't we take a look at a few posts from around the blogosphere that also attempt to figure things out? Falling Leaves and Wings attempts to define an exceptional player from a druid's point of view. The Bossy Pally discusses some thoughts on five things that make a good guild leader. Blessing of Kings examines dev interaction with the community and the Ask a Dev series. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Common threads
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Anyone remember the mana loom? In the beta for The Burning Crusade, this item was missing, nowhere to be found -- which frustrated the heck out of tailors because they couldn't make bolts of Imbued Netherweave cloth without the silly thing. Much as blacksmiths and engineers needed an anvil, the mana loom was supposed to be one of those "you must be standing in this spot" tools needed for tailoring. As of Wrath of the Lich King's launch, the requirement was removed, and now the looms sit unused, sparkling and gathering dust. Today, we've got a few entirely unrelated posts from around the blogosphere, but I'm going to try to weave together a coherent thread with them anyway ... mana loom not required. Gray Matter happens upon a curious question: Is the Firelands raid too easy? Syrco Owl stumbled across a difficult-to-find spot in Tirisfal Glades with a bizarre event. You can also hear more about said bizarre event on the latest Warcraft Less Traveled. Speaking of difficult, Surviving WoW with Quori talks about what to do when guild members are being difficult. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Let's talk PVP
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. PVP has been a big topic lately, what with the flub in transition from season to season. While patch 4.2 went off without a hitch, PVPers found themselves on the short end of the stick with point conversion being done a week before schedule. To top that all off, a new tier of PVP gear was introduced, also without warning. Blizzard's offered compensation to those affected, but that hasn't stopped people from talking about it. Today, we've got a few posts we've collected from around the blogosphere regarding PVP in myriad forms, including the new set of PVP gear. Cynwise's Battlefield Manual goes over the PVP season changes and the mysterious phantom tier. Armaggedon's Coming doesn't care about your rating or gear -- it's how you play the game. Root and Branch dissects the numbers behind battlegrounds wins and losses. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Making good points
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Hands up if this clip brought about a wash of nostalgia. The Point was a movie I saw multiple times when I was a kid -- and each time, it had a different narrator, oddly enough. Looking back on the film's history, it seems that the first narrator was actually Dustin Hoffman, of all people. Regardless, the weird little movie had a point about points and pointedly made them, even if it was in a roundabout sort of way. Speaking of points, today we've got some good points made around the blogosphere about ... well, points. Kurn's Corner makes a few points about the valor point cap and the Zandalar heroics. Jaded Alt follows up by pointedly questioning how important it is to hit that valor point cap. The Stories of O points out that it isn't exactly that hard to make that point cap every week. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: I want money
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. It's weird to think about the fact that The Flying Lizards were popular when I was just a baby. I always associated the song with the movie Empire Records -- which, by the way, if you haven't seen, you should go do so. Right now. It's okay, we'll wait. Anyway, this was easily the most popular song they ever did. But then, who doesn't like money? Today, we've got a collection of posts from around the blogosphere regarding that favorite topic of many. Warcraft Econ shares some data regarding the best-selling items as of patch 4.2. Power Word: Gold goes over some engineering items that are selling in patch 4.2. Auction House Addict goes over the inscription profession for lowbie scribes. Kuja's Gold Mine points out the profit potential in plundering Ahn'Qiraj. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Healing and you
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. And now, it's time for another round of Vanilla Nostalgia, courtesy of yours truly. When healing back in vanilla, "mana regen" was what you called chugging a potion. MP5? We had no idea what that was back then. Healers dragged along as many mana potions as they could stuff in their bags, and you could use as many as you wanted in a fight, although you were still limited by a 2-minute cooldown. However, you could use different kinds of potions while that first one was on its 2-minute cooldown. Enter Felwood, otherwise known as that rotten, misbegotten hole I spent I don't know how many hours in farming stupid plants on off-nights. The plants in Felwood were useful, particularly Night Dragon's Breath. It also had a 2-minute cooldown but returned a healthy chunk of mana -- just enough, in fact, to get you to that next Major Mana Potion once it was off cooldown. Farming the plants, however, was tricky. You had to get Cenarion Plant Salve, apply it to a Corrupted Night Dragon, and then take the cleansed plant. These plants spawned on a timer in a circuit around Felwood. Night Dragon's Breath runs usually lasted three to four hours at a time, yielding enough plants for a week or so of raiding -- if you were lucky. Lesson over! Aren't we glad we don't have to muck about with plants anymore? Today, we've got some posts from around the blogosphere with all kinds of information on healing in patch 4.2. Kurn's Corner discusses paladin healing in 4.2 and a gigantic lack of mana. Totem Forest picks apart the Eye of Blazing Power from a resto shaman perspective. Foofy's CupCake Factory has put together a very nice video going over the basics of resto druid healing in patch 4.2. World of Matticus has some tips for all healers headed into the Lord Rhyolith encounter. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Tiers of disappointment
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. The new tier of raiding has been out for a little over a week now, along with the new dailies and quests. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been settling into the routine of having dailies worth doing again and enjoying the general hectic atmosphere of the Molten Front and its endless spawns of angry, fire-related objects. On the other hand, I realized I haven't even thought about the old tier of content since the patch hit. I wondered, briefly, what those old bosses do when there are no raiders around anymore and then realized it's probably something similar to the video above. Speaking of old tier, today we've got a blog post about how those old raids are doing now that Firelands is the hot new thing to be doing, as well as a couple of other posts with some interesting thoughts on game development. Priest With A Cause shares some impressions of the newly nerfed tier 11 raiding scene. Life in Group 5 ponders the process of developing encounters with a fun factor that lasts. Psychochild's Blog discusses the odd conflicts between designing fun and efficiency. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Feeling hot, hot, hot
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Many of you may be wondering what exactly is going on in the video above. I can quite earnestly answer that I have absolutely no idea, but it was one of the first videos to pop up when I looked up the song on YouTube, and as perplexed as I was, I simply had to share it. Moving on, today we've got a few more posts surrounding the ins and outs of the Firelands, as well as some thoughts on another Blizzard idea. Icy Veins has quite possibly the most comprehensive guide to the Firelands daily quests I have ever seen. MMO Melting Pot fills us all in on how to unlock those pesky iLevel 365 profession patterns in the Firelands. Mana Obscura shares some thought about WoW's new unlimited trial period. Just for fun, Big Bear Butt shares the joy of looking at the game through the eyes of an eight-year-old. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Queue: Loading
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today. Looking back at old loading screens, it seems like it's been ... half a decade or more since WoW started, you know? d'Avitant asked: I could have sworn that Blizzard was supposed to be making male and female models of the various demons available with this patch (4.2). Was I imagining this, or am I just failing at finding it? Thanks! This is something Blizzard is working on but not something that was scheduled for 4.2. Personally, I'm of the opinion that the various genders of demons were going to be added to the upcoming Burning Crusade sequel expansion anyway, since we'll be visiting their home planets, and Blizzard took the opportunity to say, "Look how much we listen to you!" (Note: There may not be an upcoming Burning Crusade sequel expansion. I just hope there is.)
The Daily Quest: First impressions
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Man, the Firelands are awfully cool. I mean, look at Ragnaros up there. They really did an amazing job updating the graphics on ... oh wait, that's Molten Core. Well, then. Today, we've got a collection of posts from around the blogosphere with first impressions of patch 4.2. Falling Leaves and Wings shares some first impressions of the Firelands raid. Big Bear Butt discusses the merits and fun of Firelands trash raiding. Righteous Defense talks trash, specifically Firelands trash, as well as impressions of Shannox. Priest with A Cause gives us some first impressions from the new 4.2 quest lines. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Looking sharp
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Patch 4.2 is looking pretty sharp -- I don't know about everyone else out there, but I think this is, hands down, the smoothest release of a major content patch that I've ever seen. And what a patch it is. The new quest chains are fun for the moment, dailies don't look like they are going to get boring for me any time soon, and Firelands is very pretty, if full of all kinds of red. Speaking of looking sharp, today we've got a few posts from around the blogosphere regarding looking good, among other things. Orcish Army Knife has updated a nicely done gear guide for frost and unholy death knights with the latest 4.2 information. Meanwhile, Spellbound has a comprehensive list of good 4.2 gear for warlocks. Aw heck, who needs 4.2 gear to look good? The Visual Roleplay Gear List has all kinds of snazzy outfit combos for roleplayers. Lastly, The Stories of O explains why being guildless is looking pretty good right now. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Patch 4.2 too
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. I really don't think I'll ever get tired of watching that trailer. It's nearly here -- are you ready for it? With patch 4.2 just on the horizon, there have been all kinds of posts from around the blogosphere surrounding all of the changes and developments we'll see in Rage of the Firelands. That said, why don't we take a look at a few of them? Cynwise's Battlefield Manual goes over arena Season 10 and all the new PVP gear available in 4.2. Kurn's Corner has a tier 12 loot list for holy paladins. Totem Forest has a gigantic and comprehensive list of shaman changes in 4.2, among other things. Meanwhile, Divine Plea is wishing that Firelands were more like Ulduar. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Be happy
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. There are far too few people that have seen the original video for this song, and it is so incredibly bizarre that it must be shared. Besides, it's a happy little song ... despite the bizarre imagery. So let's move on to some other happy posts from around the blogosphere involving paying it forward and just generally being nice to people, shall we? Oh My Kurenai posts about paying forward moments of kindness received. Screaming Monkeys gives us some brief tips on playing nicely with non-native English speakers. Falling Leaves and Wings would like to remind us that giving people a few chances before booting them out of pug groups is the kind thing to do. Lastly, Orcish Army Knife has put together a tremendously helpful guide on the art of torch-catching, for those frustrated with holiday events. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Getting ideas, thinking
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. You tell him, Belle. You tell him, and then you go save your crazy father before he blows himself up doing whatever it is he's doing. Today we've got a few posts from around the blogosphere with all kinds of thinking, ideas, and other smart subjects that Gaston doubtless wouldn't approve of at all. WTS Heals thinks that perhaps you might want to consider using "lifegrip" in raids. Tank Out of Water thinks it would be nice if the 4.2 trailer weren't chock full of Thrall. (Warning, contains some 4.2 spoilers.) The Violet Scribe has some interesting ideas regarding weather and World of Warcraft. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: In days gone by
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Come sit down for a spell, and I'll tell you a story about way back when. Back in my day, if you wanted to raid Onyxia there was no namby-pamby walk right into the dungeon and punch the dragon in the face. No, if you wanted to face that old dragon in her lair, you traveled all over the damned planet killing other, smaller dragons and putting together a raid group for UBRS so you could kill General Drakkisath. And then you wandered around Desolace until you found Rexxar, which usually took hours. And you liked it. Flying? Pff. We didn't need flying to get anywhere. We just had a trusty ground mount, purchased for a substantial amount of gold that we'd been squirreling away all 60 levels of our existence. If you could buy your mount when you hit 60, you were lucky. All right, you can leave. Go back to your fancy new Azeroth and fly around in Orgrimmar, queue up for your dungeons and wait for them to come to you. But before you do, how about you check out a few posts from around the blogosphere, regarding days gone by? Armaggedon's Coming revisits a very old alt and ponders the old days as opposed to now. Priest With a Cause regales us with an annotated history of the badge system, from TBC to now. Troll Racials are Overpowered takes us back to the very first heroic dungeons, before heroic was even a term. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Friends, family and food
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. I was a fan of the Fish Feast. Something about that cheery little fish platter was incredibly appealing -- I enjoyed putting them out, and I enjoyed sharing them with other people. However, Cataclysm's upgraded version, the Seafood Magnifique Feast? Not so much. Maybe it's the lack of a platter; maybe it's the lack of jauntily placed oranges as garnish. Or maybe it's the fact that I mentally picture 25 people circled around a bucket, politely apologizing to the live crab that calls said bucket his home before ripping his legs off and chowing down. I mean, really? Ew. Today we've got a few posts from around the blogosphere about feasts, family, friends and other fun. Pugnacious Priest ponders the potential perks of persistently partaking in picnics with pals. Orcish Army Knife explains the ins and outs of guild cauldrons in 10-man raiding. Parallel Context considers the definition of friendship in the age of the MMO. Jed's Corner of WoW Shenanigans says a sad goodbye to an old, jingly, soon to be gone friend. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Reminiscing
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. There's nothing like a good night of raiding. My favorite kind of raid nights are the ones where the fights are going well enough that in between, there's plenty of time for banter and stories of how things were way back when. Sometimes I miss the days of vanilla -- and then I remember the monotonous sea of red from Molten Core and after it, Blackwing Lair. I think I like today's technicolor raiding much better -- and then I remember the next raid tier is Firelands and doubtless I'm going to be staring at a sea of red again. Well, I guess most things come full circle anyway, don't they? Today we've got a few posts from around the blogosphere remembering and reminiscing about things soon to be past: Big Bear Butt talks about why items like Fandral's fiery kitty staff contain more fun than just the transformation effect. Cannot Be Tamed has a retrospective on the soon-to-be-nerfed tier 11 content. Priest With A Cause wonders what Cataclysm would be like if Wrath of the Lich King had never happened. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Sightseeing
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. I've been working on a goblin alt for giggles here and there. I'm not seriously pursuing it, just as a breather from raiding with my rogue main every now and again. The alt is another rogue, which may sound silly to some, but I have my reasons -- most importantly, I know how to play a rogue because I've been doing it for so long. This means that I don't have to worry about learning a new class and I can instead concentrate on the storyline, and pretty landscapes like the one above. Speaking of sightseeing, let's wander around the blogosphere and take a look at some interesting posts, shall we? Manalicious talks about how alt playing can hurt raid performance -- and how to make alt leveling work for you. World of Matticus discusses the new Valor point cap and problems it may produce. Kurn's Corner goes over the ins and outs and math of holy paladin mastery as it stands in patch 4.2. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Ponies, PVP, PUGs and postcards
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. When I was a little girl, I collected My Little Ponies like crazy. They were fairly inexpensive, so birthdays, holidays, and even days where my parents were just feeling like we'd been good granted my sister and me more four-legged friends. The franchise sort of died out for awhile, but it's back -- and apparently way, way, way more popular than it was when I was a kid. So popular, in fact, that it has spawned a whole host of trailer parodies. Needless to say, I wasn't terribly surprised to see it hit the Warcraft crowd. Today we've got a post regarding My Little Ponies, Warcraft-style, as well as a handful of posts that also involve the letter "P." They may or may not be composed of dark matter. Flavor Text discusses the wonders of accessible fan art. And ponies. A whole mess of ponies. Cynwise's Battlefield Manual talks about the upcoming end of PVP Season 9 and how to prep for Season 10. Sheep the Diamond questions whether the new troll instances are worth the stress of dealing with PUGs. Lastly, if you haven't checked out Postcards from Azeroth, you really should -- the postcards they put together are gorgeous. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
The Daily Quest: Thinking inside the box
WoW Insider's on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative, and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Oh, strange and delightful Trogg crate. Your boxy antics from beta and the ability to stick around are sorely missed. I have no idea why, but I wish I could run around Orgrimmar with you on my head -- for no real logical, useful reason, but simply for the sheer entertainment factor. Maybe someone at Blizzard will give us a wearable box found by archaeology or something, someday; one can only dream. Today, we've got a collection of posts from around the blogosphere of people thinking outside the box -- or perhaps inside the box, because as we found out in the Cataclysm beta, being in the box was actually pretty cool. Tree of Life offers up some of the most perfect places for Alliance players to fish for Old Crafty. Righteous Defense rejoices in the return of bubble hearth! Well ... sort-of bubble hearth. Life in Group 5 fills in resto shaman as to the best places to start their own Spirit Link totem laser light show. Troll Racials are Overpowered has a bizarre and oddly appealing suggestion for boss wipe mechanics. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment, and you may see it here tomorrow! Be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW-related sites.
