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Patch 5.2 Prep: Get ahead of the game
Patch 5.2 will bring new dailies, new factions, another raid, and a kitchen sink. It's pretty much a super patch. With so many additions, you may start to feel overwhelmed at the thought of class changes on top of new grinds -- and you know, pets and stuff. Never fear, we're here to help you prepare! Before we get too deep into this, remember that everything we've learned about patch 5.2 is from the PTR. Things can change! Farm (or buy) Ghost Iron. Both blacksmithing and engineering will see new unique crafting materials similar to the scribe's Scroll of Wisdom -- Lightning Steel Ingot and Stabilized Lightning Source, respectively. Both require 10 Ghost Iron bars, so snag some Ghost Iron now, and use some of it to transmute into Living Steel. Many new crafted items will require it. Get ahead in your Wrathion quests. In 5.2, Wrathion will ask for 40 Trillium Bars in a quest on the way to the legendary meta gems, so start gathering the ore now to get a head start. Get your Tillers rep to Exalted and unlock all plots. Although farming may not be appealing to everyone, Tillers rep is one of the easiest to max out. At Exalted, we'll be able to use work orders to gain rep in patch 5.2.
The Queue: Hints of the next expansion
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. The television series above had a seriously depressing series finale. dark panda asked: This has probably already been requested, but with the announcement of Dinomancers in Patch 5.2, when are we going to get some Dino-Riders or Dinosaucers themed Queues? This was the best I could do. Sorry.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: In the beginning
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. In the beginning, the Titans created Azeroth. They set the world in motion, and then left to continue on whatever path it was that the mysterious beings followed. Yet something happened to the planet, something bad enough that it warranted the return of the Titans. Upon their return, they discovered the Old Gods, a malignant group of entities that were intent upon sowing chaos. Perturbed, the Titans tried to kill an Old God -- and they discovered to their horror that killing the Old Gods would kill the very planet itself. And yet, instead of simply rebooting and starting over anew, they kept Azeroth. They imprisoned the Old Gods beneath the surface of the world, and planted various fail-safes to make sure the creatures were never freed. And just in case an Old God managed to escape, Algalon the Observer would visit and determine the status of the world. If it was deemed too far gone, he would activate a signal that would re-originate the world -- Azeroth would be destroyed and rebooted. Why did they leave Azeroth alone? Why didn't they simply re-originate the world at the first sign of trouble? Why put in a failsafe to do so, instead of taking care of the problem immediately? But perhaps most importantly ... What is Azeroth? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on how it happened. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore. Please note: This edition of KYL also contains some spoilers for patch 5.2 content.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Wrathion's quest continues
The black dragon Wrathion has a new chapter for players to complete when patch 5.2 releases. The updated patch notes has revealed that in the new Throne of Thunder raid, Wrathion is going to charge players to infiltrate the palace. While we don't know exactly what tasks he'll want us to perform, it's bound to take some effort and skill involved. What exactly are we going to get performing these random tasks for Wrathion? It has to be good since we're diving into another raid and challenging all these raid bosses. The reward is a legendary quality metagem called Crown of the Heavens! It remains to be seen if this gem can fit into any socket or if, like the weapon counterpart, must be inserted into a Sha-Touched helmet. I can't help but wonder if the gems will have special or enhanced properties compared to the normal meta gems that we use. Here's hoping we'll be able to select a version of the gem which helps enhance our roles. Stay tuned though as we expect to find out additional details on what Wrathion has in store!
Patch 5.2 PTR: Lore spoilers, an entire post full of them
First up, let me reiterate what the title of this post indicated: there will be many spoilers for patch 5.2 in this post. If you don't want spoilers for patch 5.2, then I suggest you don't read any further, because that's what this post is going to be. Before I get into the spoilers, though, I should in good conscience link to some posts Anne Stickney and myself did on the subject of the mogu and their true nature, and the secrets of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Pandaria itself. Why do I do this? Well, if you continue on with this post, you will find out. From this point on, there be nothing but spoilers The folks over at Wowhead have mined up a heaping helping of audio files for this new patch, and man, the story is advancing.
Warlock green fire quest reward and more
The exclusive warlock quest to nab green fire now has a quest reward to go with it. Not the expected green fire, but an actual piece of gear. MMO-Champion managed to dig up Akama's Seal of Courage, which is the reward for helping Akama out in the Black Temple -- presumably part of the Black Temple portion of the warlock quest. But how does a clever warlock obtain the quest in the first place? We don't really know just yet. We do know that according to Ghostcrawler's tweet pictured above, it's not going to be something that players can grab immediately. There is a peculiar and interesting aspect to this whole chain, however, and it's in the form of Deathwing's meddling kiddo. That's right, Wrathion is somehow involved in the chain, according to quest information found over on WowDB. Why, exactly, Wrathion is so invested and involved in what warlocks are up to is also up in the air. For more information on the quest chain, Wowhead has a detailed guide available -- beware, spoilers abound! Even though we don't have the total picture just yet, the bits and pieces that have been dug up via datamining are making it much harder to ignore my long-forgotten warlock alt. The thought of wielding green fire is pretty cool of course, but it's more the story potential in the chain that fascinates me. Just what are those shadowy masters of demonic entities up to, anyway? Time will tell. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The seventh Sha
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. The Jade Serpent circled the Vale, and spoke to the beleaguered Emperor. "Pandaria is more than just the Pandaren Empire," she told Shaohao. "Your enemies to the west are as much a part of this land as your empire behind the wall." Seeing that all things were connected in an eternal whole, and that his beloved land was more than just the Pandaren Empire, Shaohao at least understood. We know from the writings in The Emperor's Burdern that all of Pandaria is connected. But is it just Pandaria, or all of Azeroth? This week's Tinfoil Hat Edition leaps off of the theories presented by Matthew Rossi in Wednesday's Know Your Lore. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do so, because conspiracy theories abound in today's edition of Know Your Lore. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Talking patch 5.1 with Dave Kosak & Cory Stockton
Patch 5.1 introduced a lot of new content, and a lot of new lore -- and who better to explain it all than Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton, and Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak? We sat down with both, along with Community Manager Zarhym to talk about some of the new features found in patch 5.1. Along with questions about the Brawler's Guild, both Kosak and Stockton addressed scenarios, daily quests, tweaking old content, that pesky matter of player housing, and what's to come in patch 5.2. Patch 5.1 was an incredibly fast patch. Is this going to be a trend with Mists? Cory Stockton: Yeah, for sure -- this has been our goal for a long time. We can't promise that we're going to have the exact same amount of content in the exact same amount of time, but it's definitely our intention to deliver patches in a time frame similar to this with a similar or larger amount of content. It just all comes down to each individual patch and the details of what we can do, but it's definitely our goal. Dave Kosak: We'll alternate between patches that have raid content and patches that don't have raid content as sort of required by what players are doing in the game and try and space it out. But our objective has always been faster content delivery, and we're hoping that players are seeing that we're trying to live up to that.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: When is a well not a well?
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. When is a well not a well? The Well of Eternity is one of the most important objects in Azeroth's history. A font of magical water with incredible properties, it has been the subject of at least two wars. First, there was the War of the Ancients, in which kaldorei fought Highborne while the Burning Legion threatened to invade. Next, the Third War, in which Archimonde sought to dominate Hyjal and the powers of the Well beneath it's roots. But the Well has also changed Azeroth in a significant way. The kaldorei wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the waters of the Well. Neither would the sin'dorei or their curious state of magical addiction. And if rumors are to be believed, there are several races on Pandaria whose roots tie into the mysterious waters of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms -- also speculated to be a remnant of that original Well of Eternity. The origins of the Well are shrouded in mystery. It's simply something the Titans created countless centuries ago. Or ... is it? When is a well not a well at all? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Patch 5.1: Vol'jin, Wrathion, and other sound files
Not to be outdone in terms of massive massive spoilers, patch 5.1 has a whole host of them for the Horde as well, and Wowhead has them for us. These new sound files not only include details on the Assault on Zan'vess scenario, they also reveal what Vol'jin and Wrathion are up to, covering a great deal of the patch 5.1 storyline. What's the Divine Bell? How do the mogu shape flesh? Clues and details only when the appetite for more, and these sound files will cause you to ask as many questions as they'll answer anything. These files are loaded with spoilers, but they're well worth listening to. Will you be swearing the blood oath? Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The Queue: Or maybe tigers
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 wish dragons flew out of my feet in real life. That'd be pretty sweet. racer951y asked: Is there a monk column I might have mist?
Getting started with your legendary in Mists
If you're anything like me, you're headed to level 90 as quickly as possible for raiding. But even if you aren't raiding, you can still start the task of picking up what will eventually be your legendary from Wrathion. However, you will need to be level 90 to start the quest, shown in the YouTube video above. Wrathion has plans for Pandaria, and although those plans remain a mystery, he supposedly has the best interests of Azeroth in mind. But before you can start doing Wrathion any favors, you're going to have to earn his favor. After you share a drink with the Black Prince, he'll ask you to prove your worth. This means you've got a rep grind to work on -- you'll have to be honored reputation with Wrathion to advance to the next step of the chain. So how do you go about gaining the favor of a black dragon? It's actually easier than you'd think.
WoW Insider interviews Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak
Mists of Pandaria is a gigantic undertaking of an expansion that has subtly reworked everything that was painful about Cataclysm and turned it into a fun and interactive work of art. Responsible for much of that is Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak, who graciously sat down to chat with us about the changes, and what went on behind Mists' development to make it the expansion we've all been waiting for. What makes Mists so fun? The substantial revamp to endgame, and the crazy number of quests and content to complete. The key to Mists is the sheer amount of quests and content to play through, presented in an interactive and entertaining environment designed and executed by Kosak and crew. Read on if you're wondering where that that world event we were expecting went to, what exactly happened to the Jade Forest, or how dailies are going to be less grind and more fun.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Wrathion's War
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Clever, vicious and sometimes cruel, the black dragon Wrathion is not just the son of Deathwing, he's the only black dragon currently in existence that is free of the corruption of the Old Gods. In Cataclysm, he arrived with quiet fanfare, and just as quietly plotted to take out every single other black dragon on Azeroth. And with the help of an unnamed rogue, he succeeded, even bringing down the corrupted, infested mess of his father, with said rogue's assistance. Patch 5.0.4 brought plenty of class and system changes, but it also brought a ton of new achievements as well. And while some are easily defined, others remain an intriguing mystery. Wrathion's part in Azeroth's history is far from done, and there's a series of achievements in the Quests section that clearly point that out. However, we've little to no indication what these achievements actually mean. Which means it's the perfect time for some rampant speculation about everyone's favorite not-quite-evil young mastermind, Wrathion the Purified. Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on why and what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore. Please note: This post contains some content spoilers from Mists of Pandaria.
Breakfast Topic: Who is your NPC buddy?
I have an incredibly soft spot for Wrathion. Heck, I helped him avoid being smushed as an egg. And then later, I happily murdered his brothers and sisters as well as his utterly cuckoo father. He was so impressed he gave me awesome daggers, even. And sure, I mean, he's a member of the Black Dragonflight and likely using me for his own nefarious means, but I just like the kid. He's my buddy. Needless to say, I was utterly delighted to find him in Pandaria. I was even more delighted when he was finally given something to say and decided to say hello to little old me. I mean, I'm sure he's got other master assassins kicking around, but I'm his favorite. So I'll happily do whatever he asks. He's cool. We're on the same wavelength -- for now, anyway. I seem to get this with every new expansion. Out of all of the varied NPCs introduced, I find one who strikes a particular chord within my heart, and they are my friend forever and ever. Mylune, Stormcaller Mylra, good old Jones in Dalaran (aka the best kitty ever), Rexxar, Umber -- the list goes on and on, and there is no rhyme or reason to it. In Mists, Lorewalker Cho is an immediate favorite, as well as Li Li and of course Chen Stormstout. Who doesn't love Chen? I can't be the only one who does this. Is there any NPC you've got a particular attachment to? One who makes you smile every time you see them? One whose quest you don't mind repeating on endless alts -- one whose quests you actually look forward to repeating? Let's have it -- who is your NPC buddy?
Transmogrify your way into the Ravenholdt elite
Ah, Ravenholdt. Besides being the object of frustration for rep farmers worldwide, Ravenholdt is more importantly home to an elite organization of rogues. Who are they allied with? No one in particular. Why, they might even be allied with you -- if you had the right amount of coin, that is. Ravenholdt Manor is perched high in the peaks of Hillsbrad Foothills. Home to rogues all over the world, the organization is a loose one. It never really seemed to hold any real purpose in World of Warcraft other than squabbling with the Syndicate. That is, of course, until we saw the introduction of the legendary quest chain for Fangs of the Father in patch 4.3. At that point, Ravenholdt stepped from a handy place to grab a recipe for Thistle Tea to a full-fledged, bustling area with its own fascinating storyline. And while Wrathion has now flown off for greener pastures, Ravenholdt remains for any who choose to visit or grind endless amounts of reputation. The guards of Ravenholdt have seen a facelift in recent years, and now have a snazzy uniform that highlights leather pieces largely from The Burning Crusade. With transmogrification, any rogue can show allegiance to this shadowy organization in perfect style.
Mists of Pandaria beta: Wrathion quest chain now live in beta
Wrathion's appearance in Pandaria was originally a bit of a surprise to me. After I finished the rogue legendary chain, it seemed to be clear that Wrathion was going to go find someplace quiet and out of the way to brood. Pandaria certainly wouldn't have been my first choice for the one pure black dragon out there in the world -- but to Pandaria Wrathion went, and presented with his own quest chain to boot. The voice files for the Wrathion chain were datamined several weeks ago, but it wasn't until this beta build that players got the opportunity to see Wrathion in action. Level 90 players can now make the trek to the Veiled Stair and find Wrathion sitting happily in the Tavern of the Mists with a quest marker over his head. Speaking to Wrathion will offer the option to share a drink while Wrathion shares some information that is dearly important to him -- and probably ought to be pretty important to the rest of us, too. We've captured video of the event, which you can view after the break. Spoiler warning: The video shown may contain big spoilers for Mists of Pandaria. If you are avoiding spoiler content, turn away.
Know Your Lore: The tangled web of future lore
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Spoiler warning: There are spoilers for the novel Wolfheart in this post, as well as brief spoilers for Mists of Pandaria. Lore and story writing can be an incredibly tricky thing. The trickiness is only amplified when you're dealing with a story as large as that of Warcraft. This is a universe that spans four original games and six expansions from 1994 until now. In other words, if Warcraft were a baby when it was born, it'd be a legal adult this year -- pretty crazy to think about. What's even crazier is trying to keep track of the myriad convoluted storylines that have come to pass since Orcs and Humans was released. As of right now, we know that Cataclysm introduced a lot of different lore threads that have not and will not be resolved by Cataclysm's end. And we also know that there is plenty of new lore coming up in Mists of Pandaria. But as new lore, Mists doesn't really address those threads left behind in Cataclysm, at least not in the first iteration of the new expansion. This may change as patches are added later on down the road -- or we may be on our way to setting up for a shift in story that Mists needs to bridge. So why don't we take a little peek at those stories left unaddressed and try to sort out what is yet to come? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
Know Your Lore: Top 10 magnificent bastards of Warcraft, part 1
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. What's a magnificent bastard, you may ask? Well, sure, it's usually (but not always) someone evil -- but more than that, it's someone who combines ruthlessness with style. Someone who can lie, cheat, steal and kill but who does it with a certain flair. Someone whose sins are grandiose, whose betrayals are notable. Anyone can be a thug, but your magnificent bastard doesn't settle for that. In the end, though, the term is definitely subjective, kind of a "we know it when we see it" situation. Still, that's one of the reasons I wanted to do this post, because I knew some of the choices I made would not be the ones you'd make. And that's good, because it means you'll get right down into the comments to tell me why I'm insane for leaving out your favorites. Not all of these choices will be what you'd call villains, at least not to everyone. Some of them will even be revered on some fronts. The point is, were they willing to do things that could get them on this list? If they were, then here they are. Some of these characters are horrible, foul, contemptible garbage; others are far more complex.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: The Veiled Stair
In Mists of Pandaria, once you hit level 87, you can head north from the Valley of the Four Winds into Kun Lai Summit. But before you get to Kun Lai, you must travel through the Veiled Stair, a small sub-zone nestled in the mountains high above the Valley of the Four Winds. The grummle pictured above will give you a quest to head up the stairs and see what there is to see -- and surprisingly, there's actually quite a bit hidden away here. The Veiled Stair is also where Wrathion is making his temporary home in the Tavern of the Mists. Nearby, the Black Market Auction House waits for travelers with particularly heavy pocketbooks and a need to dump some gold on unique and hard-to-find items. The path to Kun Lai Summit is littered with wildlife and teeming with saurok who aren't particularly happy about the increased foot traffic in the area. And tucked away in the caverns and mountain peaks are a few hidden areas with no real purpose at this time. These hidden gems are pretty fascinating, provided you can get by the saurok brutes that patrol the paths and block the way. Alternatively, you can simply take a look at the gallery below, which offers a sneak peek to this sub-zone and the hidden mysteries it has to offer. %Gallery-158970% It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
