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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: Legendaries are for suckers
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 4th 2009 at 5:30PM
What? Me lace a post title with jealousy? I would never do that! Never ever! Okay, okay, maybe there's some jealousy there. Can you blame me? Screw purps, I want me some orange. Orange is where it's at, cat.
erogroth asked...
I have a question about legendary items. Do we know what Legendary items are planned for WotLK? Are there currently any in the game? If not what are planned for the future or can we speculate? It sounds like Ashbringer will not be a item that a player will be able to get. Is that true? Also, what about upgrade quest for old world legendary items. It seems like so much work went into getting them (Thunderfury anyone?) that it seems a shame that they are worthless.
Wrath of the Lich King doesn't have any legendary items yet that we've seen. We really have no idea what Legendary items they'll be adding in the future, but you're right about speculation. The two that people assume we'll be able to get our hands on are Ashbringer and Frostmourne, but at this point neither of them seem particularly likely unless something awful goes down at the end of Wrath. If Tirion bites the dust (which will be disappointing now that he's getting real in-game build-up), we'll probably get Ashbringer. I'm willing to bet that if we get Frostmourne, it'll be 'powered down' a little lore-wise. We'll probably damage it in some way in the Arthas fight, or it'll lose some zing when it's cut off from its connection to Ner'zhul. Something like that.
Or maybe we'll get something else entirely for our legendaries. We don't know.
As far as upgrading old world Legendaries, Blizzard has said that they don't really want to do that, though nothing says they won't change their mind on it later. The items are really, really good when you can get them, but they really shouldn't be the only weapon you ever use. As cool as having a Legendary is, it'd be sort of lame if it's the only item you ever used ever once you get it.
Serrano asked...
Any word on recipes coming out to upgrade the Axe/Hammer/Swordsmthing epic weapons like Blazefury?
We won't be seeing upgrades to Burning Crusade items.
ryanthered asked...
Speaking of soloing content, is it possible for a higher level arcane mage to solo instances in the same way a mail or plate wearer can? Assuming equal character and gear levels. I ask because I'm used to playing melee and could really clear stuff quickly and now am leveling a mage and generally feel very vulnerable going into enclosed spaces.
It's going to largely depend on the encounter. Any bosses that are casters and don't melee very much, you'll take them out easier than most melee would as long as you're using all of the tools available to you. The other question is, can you kite what you're trying to solo? Raid bosses you probably won't be able to do that, but a lot of 5-man bosses you can get away with kiting them around a bit or using terrain to make them chase you while you pelt away.
It's really going to depend on the encounter, and I highly recommend experimenting before deciding you can't do something. If you can blow up a boss before he blows you up, success! You can't take a beating as well as a Warrior can, but you do have the advantage of starting at range and higher burst potential. Experiment!
AyaJulia asked...
I've just respecced my hunter from BM to Surv--not because it's the flavor of the month spec, but because I was to be sure my 10-man group has Replenishment--and I was using a Spirit Beast before, which I can't use anymore. All of my non-exotic pets are still only 75. What would be the fastest, least grindy/annoying way to level my pet?
The obvious answer here is "quests," but I already did all of the quests in Northrend for money. Yes really, all of them. ^^;
There are always daily quests for mobs to kill, or you can stick to dungeons and/or Heroics. It shouldn't take terribly long to level that pet, so you might want to go the dungeons route to dodge grinding out dailies. Heroics will bring you emblems and such at the same time, so there's some extra benefit beyond just pet XP.
If you don't mind daily quests, it might be a good time to work on some of your reputation. The Ebon Blade has a number of daily quests that involve just plain killing things, and the Sons of Hodir have a few of those as well. If those aren't particularly attractive, you might be stuck just murderizing mobs somewhere. Sorry.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column! Leave your questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!Filed under: Hunter, Mage, Blacksmithing, Analysis / Opinion, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Spiraea Feb 4th 2009 6:19PM
What's a good achievable title for a priest? Specifically, a night elf priest. I know a player can go after and have whatever title they so please but some classes seem to have titles that are made for them. For example, Druids have "Guardian of Cenarius" while Paladins have "The Argent Champion". Anything for priests?
Evelinda Feb 5th 2009 11:32AM
To be honest, there doesnt really seem to be THAT much class/title synergy... tho i guess "of the nightfall" would add a bit of pizzazz to a warlock. Or, for that matter, a shadow priest if youre that way inclined. Not the easiest to acquire, however.
Personally i think that the two you mentioned, while certainly seeming to be aimed at druids/pallies respectively, work pretty well for other classes too... I'd love to get Guardian of Cenarius for my hunter, if i could be bothered trying to earn cc rep, because i think that it also fits well with hunter's involvement with nature... and in much the same way i feel like argent champion also works quite well for a priest. Seems to me that priests also enjoy busting out some holy wrath on undead nasties from time to time, so...
If those arent really your cup of tea tho, you could maybe go for "elder" from the lunar festival (quick!), and i think "the hallowed", from hallow's end, is also kind of appropriate for a priest. Might have to wait a little while for that one tho :)
I reckon you should just forget all of that and go for "salty" tho... ;)
Spiraea Feb 5th 2009 12:36PM
True enough lol I was just curious as to if there was any. I'll look through a list of titles and find something that I feel suits my character. Thanks for the reply :)
p.s. I'm like two achievements away from having "Salty" on my paladin :p
Axxam Feb 4th 2009 6:21PM
I have to say I think that the legendaries should be really among the best, and that the availability should close once the level ceiling is raised (like the war bear). King Arthur did not just hang on to Excalibur until something better came along after all, and the person who got the epics at 60 or 70 should not eventually find them inferior to a green down the road some 10-20 levels later.
Consider the word: Legendary, the stuff of legends as to what a weapon it was and how worthy the person had to be to bear it.
So, make it grow with the character like an heirloom, make it so once the new expansion comes out, nobody can go and get it, and we're all good.
I won't feel robbed that I can't get the mace from Ragnaros if we make the legendary *mean* something
Skittled Feb 4th 2009 7:03PM
As far as the pet leveling in heroics is concerned, I agree with Biggles. Not only should it not make a massive difference in 5-mans, but also if you go with a group of friends/guildies, I don't see why they should mind. Whenever I had to level a new pet in TBC, I always went with friends and guildies who did heroics, and usually they would make jokes about how awesome "Fluffy" (or whatever the pet was named) was doing =P In fact, I am never, ever bothered when a hunter brings a low level pet to a 5-man (raids are pushing it, however!)-- even a PuG hunter. (for the record, I'm a healer now).
Ozma Feb 4th 2009 6:33PM
Dunno bout you folks but id be ok with spending the rest of the game with a weapon that one of the main characters of the warcraft universe used
Taladan Feb 4th 2009 6:33PM
"The two that people assume we'll be able to get our hands on are Ashbringer and Frostmourne"
And the hell with lore.
Kelberon Feb 4th 2009 6:38PM
The main thing I want from a new legendary weapon is that it not be a sword.
I understand that people want Frostmourne and Ashbringer. And that makes sense.
But dammit, not every class can equip a sword.
TankinSass Feb 4th 2009 6:44PM
Legendary can also just mean something extremely well known or famous or renowned. The item itself might justify such a title, but it has more to do with the wielder. The warglaives are sweet, yes, but isn't their coolness derived more from the fact that you had to pry them out of Illidan's cold, dead hands? Medivh could've walked around with a day-glo yard stick and it would still be wicked sweet because he's the Guardian of Tirisfal. It isn't that the Holy Grail is the uber-cup, it is that it was at the Last Supper. It is a normal cup (and if you don't think so, well, you're going to shrivel up and die, you Nazi-lackey), the power of which derives from who used it, not that it has a certain ilvl of cup-ness.
Cetha Feb 4th 2009 6:51PM
So here's my question that I'd like some help with:
I currently have a 70 nelf druid, 72 nelf priest, 72 tauren shammy, 70 belf pally...I really want to level a healer, as I think after all these years I think healing might actually be my favorite thing to do in game. The thing is I hate respeccing, and when you have as many toons as I do money does not flow quite as freely as it does for people who can grind away on dailies etc.
So my question is, out of those 4 possible healing classes, which would be the most effective leveller in it's resto/holy spec. I know that you CAN offspec heal as ele shammy/balance duid/shadowpriest but then I miss all my fun healing toys (like riptide, for example).
So I'm just curious to know, from anyone's personal experience, which toon is likely to have the least painful experience levelling in their respective healing spec?
Thanks in advance
Toman Feb 5th 2009 3:58AM
I bit the bullet and levelled my paladin from 70-80 as Holy. It was actually pretty easy, and my gear at 70 was awful (it had been an alt that I power-levelled through Outland so was sat in 63-67 quest rewards).
Retribution Aura, Holy Shock and Seal of Corruption were my friends, and although it took longer than levelling as Ret (albeit not by much by the time I'd taken most of the +crit talents in Ret), I didn't need any help on group quests and could generally outlast anything that attacked me.
So, in my opinion, you shouldn't have any trouble levelling your paladin from 70-80.
Evelinda Feb 5th 2009 12:07PM
Well, i've only tried to level a priest and druid past 70 as holy/resto (my pally is prot, and will be staying that way forever, thankyou), and i honestly found the druid easier. My priest just seemed to oom so much faster. I suspect that was, however, because of the fact that he was shadow pre-wotlk, so wasnt really sitting on top of that much mana regen; my druid was resto, and so had plenty to go around.
I also actually liked the flavour of resto levelling more... starfire/moonfire/wrath, chuck on a lifebloom when youre almost done, rinse and repeat... or maybe i just couldnt adjust from melting faces with mindflay on my priest ;)
something tells me that it will probably come down to whatever youre most comfortable with, because they all obviously have different playstyles, and youre bound to find one class a little bit more fun than others. resto druid did that for me. maybe you like totems, or plate, or smite more. IMO, the style that you enjoy most is also going to be the fastest levelling for you, because as they say, time flies when youre having fun :)
Btw, i feel the same way as you... i played dps classes mostly, right up until i specced resto on my druid in outland, and then fell in love with healing... now i want one of each! :)
Dios28 Feb 4th 2009 7:08PM
The one legendary weapon that would make sense is Uther's mace.
From wow wiki
Hammer of the Lightbringer
The two-handed hammer’s haft is polished mahogany, while the head is adamantine. A silver hand emblem rests in a bed of gold design on either side. This mighty weapon was forged when Archbishop Faol created the Knights of the Silver Hand, and the archbishop bequeathed it to the order’s first Grand Master — Uther the Lightbringer. A group of paladins recovered the hammer after Uther’s death, but none has thought himself worthy of carrying the legendary weapon.
Esoteroth Feb 4th 2009 7:27PM
If I could get Uthers Hammer i would NEVER replace it even if something better came along
Cantor Feb 4th 2009 7:08PM
About time we saw another caster/hybrid Legendary. Every legendary so far has been tooled toward melee classes, specifically Warriors, with the exception of Atiesh. Now I'm a Feral Druid so Atiesh was the last legendary I had access to as well, and I'd definitely like to see one - maybe have 2 in this expansion, a 2Her of some sort for the melee classes (not a sword, I'm thinking something we can all use) and a caster version as well. Of course this leaves Rogues and Enhance Shaman out in the snow, but it's too late for me to think of a way to please everyone.
AxisOfJustice Feb 4th 2009 7:10PM
Having a Legendary item that never gets replaced will not only obviously upset game balance but it would be a total dkp nightmare; especially if you use ep/gp system. We all get attached to our gear in this game but we also have to realize that this entire game is balanced around the single concept that there will always be better loot in the future, and that therefore you can't never beat this game.
Arashikou Feb 4th 2009 7:18PM
The main problem with a Frostmourne drop is that EVERYONE is going to want it - even those for whose class it makes no sense - and whatever classes get to use it will be seen by the rest as "preferred" by Blizz. We already saw this with the class-restricted Warglaives, and it is bound to be an order of magnitude greater for something as iconic as Frostmourne. About the only way Blizz could get away with that is to make it DK-only, since we all already know DKs are on a pedestal. (I kid, I kid.)
The least controversial way I've come up with to make Frostmourne a drop (and that's a low bar, mind you) would be to make different versions that fit different classes/specs. Like Atiesh on a grander scale, have it somehow change to match the user. Maybe you have to take it on a quest to be "reforged" into your choice of result weapon? Or maybe it breaks and a couple people get "Frostmourne tokens" they can turn in for class/spec-appropriate weaponry? I hate to draw a cross-game parallel, but my wife just pointed out that it's sort of similar to what the Soul Calibur fighting games do with their evil, world-devouring sword, as well as the counter-sword the series is named after. Both those weapons change to become whatever weapon their wielder prefers. You like nunchaku? OK, I'm a set of nunchaku. You fight with a huge-ass two-handed sword? OK, now I'm a huge-ass two-handed sword. You're a healer who uses staves? OK, I'm a staff now, with lots of +Spell Power and Spirit.
But surely there's got to be something slightly less anticlimactic than that. Anyone got any better ideas?
(This, of course, brushes aside all the lore issues with this, which are worthy of a post unto themselves. But people have already covered that well in this thread, I think.)
joey_da_bubbles Feb 4th 2009 7:23PM
If legendaries were scaled to level, then what would seperate a heirloom from a legendary other than that legendaries have a historic past? What makes a legendary well...legendary is the immense power that comes with the item. Something like a previous post said, if we wanted frostmourne, lorewise, it could lose power when the lich king loses it. therefore, its not as powerful but still gets to be wielded. (another cool thing for frostmourne would be that on use, it transfoms the wielder into the lich king for x seconds and generates x hate from all nearby mobs within a x radius, would be great for tanks to generate boss aggro), and then for ashbringer, (i believe arthas wielded it) arthas does something lore wise thats gutsy and weakens the sword. (on use: transforms the wielder into arthas, causing all nearby humanoids,beasts, undead and critters to run away in fear for x seconds or until recieving damage.) who doesnt want to transform into some crazy awesome lore god and scare the crap out of your least favorite mobs. i smell murloc fearing as the new fad?
Esoteroth Feb 4th 2009 7:31PM
Why not just make Legendary items scale at max level, say you have a lvl 60 legendary, well its gonna stay lvl 60 until you hit 80, that way Legendary items may not always be the best of the best, but I can stop looking at my Atiesh great staff in my banl and /crying
Hesston Feb 4th 2009 7:46PM
To AyaJulia:
The absolute best place to level a pet is in eastern Storm Peaks on the Seething Revenants. Since respeccing to SV I've had to grab and level 4 different pets to test them at 80 and I did it all there.
The respawn rate is ridiculous, even with plenty of others farming in the area. I've had times where a mob respawns in the same spot five times in a row, one after the other (probably some bad math on Blizzard's part).
Also, each revenant gives about 1100XP and they also drop Relics of Ulduar and Crystallized fire like nobody's business. Sell those in the AH (turned into eternal fire) and you will actually make money by leveling your pet.
Good luck, happy grinding.