The Queue: To fly or not to fly
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 2nd 2009 at 4:00PM
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Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.
Ezzy asked...
Did they remove the ability to buy Ruby Shades from Haris Pilton? I camped them for a while and the never spawned.
Yep, it looks like the Ruby Shades are long gone. That's how the world of fashion goes, I suppose. 2000 gold to 5 copper to nobody even wants to make them anymore. If you want these retro specs, you'll need to hit the auction house and hope someone is trying to unload their old and outdated clothing.
ROFLAMO asked...
What is the whole problem between Booty Bay and the Goblins and the Bloodsail Buccaneers? I don't get it.
It's a pirate war! Two groups of pirates can never get along very well, you know. Any treaties or truces will only last as long as it's convenient. It's as simple as Booty Bay cutting into Bloodsail profits and vice versa. That's really all there is to it.
Arugula asked...
Hey uh, so not to ask awkward questions, but why are the scourge still invading us? I had a handle on it when they were being controlled by the Burning Legion, but why would Arthas/Ner'zhul have an interest in eradicating all humans/orcs?
There's a lot of flavor text in the game that suggests the Scourge truly believes 'life in undeath' is better than regular ol' life. Roll up a Death Knight and read the books and signs scattered throughout Acherus during the newbie quests. There are some texts by Kel'thuzad and other Scourge figures that describe undeath as some sort of utopia. There are no racial barriers, there's no concept of social status, no worrying about how you look or how grand your possessions are. You just (un)live, and that's all.
It's pretty likely that Ner'zhul just wants a tool against the Burning Legion so he can get his revenge, but there are a lot of Scourge figures that actually seem to like the idea of unity in death.
Chris asked...
I've been 80 now for a couple weeks on my DK but don't have the time to raid, let alone gear up for heroics just quite yet. So, to get my daily dose of WoW - I've resorted back to leveling alts. With my main as a DK I am able to maintain a good chunk of change, should I fess up and get a flying mount or spread the wealth and get my 60+ alts the 100% riding skill? In the end I guess its just in-game money, but seeing other chars with netherwings etc, seems pretty fun and a great way to see new content.
Personally, I love my flying mount. I don't think I would enjoy parts of the game nearly as much without it. It lets you move around the world so much faster, and opens up content you otherwise couldn't do, like the Netherwing Ledge as you mentioned there. There's a ton of cool mounts too. If you're that sort of player, collecting them can be a fun little thing.
Alts are fun and all, but I personally cannot imagine not having at least one character with flight or epic flight. It's a huge deal for me.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mounts, Death Knight, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Josh Feb 2nd 2009 4:07PM
Why has the price of welfare epics gone up so much? One item can cost more then an entire set before Wrath.
BuzzDX Feb 2nd 2009 4:13PM
To make them non-welfare epics?
Nacht07 Feb 2nd 2009 4:19PM
If you're referring to the pvp set, my best guess would be the fact that honor in general is easier to come by (read: wintergrasp).
Jay in Oregon Feb 2nd 2009 4:21PM
It probably has something to do with the reason Blizzard is putting so many money sinks into the game; without them, people will be sitting on tens of thousands of gold and won't blink at paying 1900g for a blue drop for a BG twink or raiding alt, or several thousand for an opposing-faction-only minipet -- thus inflating the market so that newer players can't buy in.
The flipside to that, of course, is that if people are willing to pay 5000g for a white kitten or black tabby, it provides a revenue stream for enterprising young players. I remember a level 16 blue sword dropping in the Barrens that netted one of my alts about 150g, who also made a killing when Inscription came into the game; level 42 paladin and already has regular flight and the basic flying mount paid for.
Jamesisgreat Feb 2nd 2009 4:23PM
Yeah - I netted around 11k honor in 2 Wintergrasp matches the other day. Imagine how many loooong AV's that would have taken.
So to me at least, 'welfare' epics are cheaper as honor is so much easier to earn. That and we no longer need a load of sodding WSG marks, thank god.
The Claw Feb 2nd 2009 4:53PM
I am one honour purchase away from having bought everything I can use, and I can categorically state that honour rewards are CHEAPER, in terms of hours of PvP'ing required to buy a piece, now than they were in TBC.
Balius Feb 2nd 2009 8:32PM
The PVP items cost so much because players whined about honor being reset for Wrath. Blizzard, in a very petulant tone, said players could keep the stockpiled honor, but that prices on subsequent PVP weapons would be elevated to reflect it.
Consequently, if you hadn't stockpiled two years worth of honor, you're at a disadvantage due to one of the rare moments when Blizzard caved to player pressure.
Zitheg Feb 2nd 2009 4:11PM
I remember reading back in Beta that there were going to be bandages specially designed for healing in PVP. Did these ever come to be?
Blake Feb 2nd 2009 4:14PM
No, the dense bandages never made it in the game.
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=38640
Ichthus Feb 2nd 2009 7:05PM
Supposedly, the pattern will drop in a future patch.
Teriside Feb 2nd 2009 4:12PM
I don't know what is more scary, undead killing because they are undead or, killing because they want the world to be united in dead.
my2cents Feb 2nd 2009 5:39PM
I always figured that the scourge kill and eradicate life simply because it is their nature. The Burning Legion created the scourge and specifically "designed" them to be hostile toward living beings. So even though the Legion no longer controls the Scourge, their nature remains unchanges; it's infused in them as a natural drive/purpose.
The Forsaken are an exception obviously, but they have transcended this aspect of their nature (well, many of them anyway.)
I'm not a lore expert, so forgive me if any of this is flat out wrong. That's just the conclusion I came to from what I've pieced together playing the games.
Zhiva Feb 2nd 2009 7:24PM
@The Forsaken are an exception obviously
"Death to the Scourge! and death to the living!"
Finnicks Feb 3rd 2009 1:13PM
@Zhiva
my2cents: "(well, most of them anyway)"
Lowangel_Thoriumbrotherhood Feb 2nd 2009 4:14PM
Depends if your making money, it's easy to make 1k g in a hour, if you have right jobs, and do the right dailies. You think it's bad now, wait till the next major patch comes out with the big chuck of craft gear. Mat prices will go nuts, change a profession to a farming one. herbing is big right now on all servers.
Plan Feb 2nd 2009 6:08PM
Well I can tell you as a skinner I can't make gold because the prices of Heavy Borean are 80g or less on the AH. Someone posts them for 120g a stack and the undercutters bring 'em down by 40g routinely.
You'd think 80g isn't that bad, but in truth Heavy Knothide sold for a lot more -- in the 100g to 120g range -- in TBC because, among other things, big raiding guilds were gobbling them down like crazy to make their drums. No such luck in WotLK, and Arctic Fur drops are so random it's not really possible to "farm" them.
So I find I make more gold per hour killing mobs in Icecrown for Frostweave and vendor trash than I do with my gathering profession. Sad, ain't it?
Here's a question for the Queue, or for you guys: If you're a skinner, do you make any profits from it? If you do, what's your method? (And please, none of that "I won't give away my trade secrets" stuff -- chances are there aren't going to be people on your server suddenly camping your spot.) Help a Tauren brother out! :P
Outlier Feb 2nd 2009 4:17PM
With Magtheridon defeated, Kil'Jaeden defeated and Kael'Thas defeated, what influence do the Burning Legion have in Azeroth? Are they taking a break this expansion or are they letting Azeroth deal with the Lich King? Is it possible they are hanging back letting the Alliance/Horde and Scourge thin each other out?
Danel Feb 2nd 2009 5:32PM
Hey, it's not like they're just sitting on their asses - they've got a universe to destroy! Just 'cause they're not attacking our teeny little corner of it right now doesn't mean they're not busy as anything corrupting and killing somewhere else.
From a position both inside and outside of lore, the Burning Legion needs a little break right now. Who knows - next time we meet, maybe we'll be taking the fight to *them*!
And they do still have some influence in the game right now - all of the Dreadlords running around and causing havoc are (probably) working for the Legion.
Kylenne Feb 2nd 2009 9:29PM
KJ wasn't defeated though, just pushed back. And I can't imagine Mags was terribly relevant anymore, ever since Illibeans knocked him the eff out. Losing Kael had to hurt, but he was just a plan B anyway. I wouldn't count the Legion out, by any means. KJ is not called the Deceiver for nothing; as was stated there are still Dreadlords at work on Azeroth doing spoilery things in spoilery places, and I would bet dollars to donuts he's behind at least some of the renewed Alliance-Horde fighting. It would not surprise me at all if he was hanging back seeing how things play out in Northrend. It's really a win-win situation for him: no matter which side comes out on top (Arthas or the Alliance/Horde), the Legion's rid of at least one nasty thorn in its side, and the other is probably going to be tired/weakened for the effort.
Angus Feb 3rd 2009 8:01AM
Go to Dragonblight and do the Scarlet Onslaught quests. Kill someone that used to be pretty cool till she flipped completely out.
Go do the Ebon Blade dailies dealing with the Scarlet Onslaught. Eventually an item will drop. Do the quests. Meet the "Admiral" again. Seems like he's hurting the Lich King using the Onslaught. Well, he's hurting both, mostly.
You know, apparently Frostmourne isn't all that. Come on, Illidan and the big M both managed to not get their souls sucked out. I'm hoping Saurfang Jr. can manage to escape that fate too.