Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: Missing out
by Alex Ziebart 
Feb 26th 2009 at 1:30PM
Before we get started today, I just wanted to take a moment and mention that I'm working on a Special Edition (super special!) of The Queue focusing on Dual Specs. It won't interrupt our regular daily doses of The Queue, it'll come seperately. It might take me awhile to piece it together because people have asked a lot of Dual Spec questions, but it's coming! Slowly but surely.
jam asked...
What happened to the new instance that was supposed to be in Un'Goro crater, accessible only by through the Waygate in Sholazar Basin?
I've never heard of this instance that was supposed to be in Un'goro, so I'm going to guess that what happened to it is that it never, ever existed. If this was something you heard during the Wrath alpha or beta, it was probably just speculation based on the fact that some of the terrain in Un'goro had changed dramatically but nobody could get there yet to see what was going on.
At the time, guessing that an instance would be there was probably a pretty safe guess. Who would've thought that Blizzard would carve out a chunk of Un'goro and put a giant teleporter in to take you there just for one single quest? Seems like a lot of work for not a lot of payoff, doesn't it?
Jackfinished asked...
I logged in last night, and I had more FP's than I did before. The toon was leveled with RaF, to catch up with some RL friends on a new server so I missed a few zones and FP's. The toon is 65 and have the Shattered Sun Staging Area FP and I know I haven't been there yet on this server at all on any toon. Odd huh?
When you're a high enough level to go to the Isle of Quel'Danas, you get the flightpath automatically. You can't swim there, and before the event had been completed on servers, there was no portal, either. It would've been a bit hard to get there, don't you think? That flight path is completely automatic, so it's not odd at all!
CallMeIrd asked...
Think they'll ever make slow mounts useful again by having them scale to riding skill, possibly with an optional fee?
Unlikely.
Rowan asked...
Will there be any limited time achievements, pets, mounts, quests, etc. once 3.1 hits? Like things that are only attainable/doable within X amount of weeks of 3.1's release. I ask because I won't be playing WoW again until May and as such, I don't want to miss out. Thanks.
I somehow doubt that we'll see patch 3.1 before May. Whether we do or not, in April we have a holiday, Noblegarden. None of that stuff is require for What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been though, so you may not care about it at all. If we don't see patch 3.1 before May, the only fun Noblegarden stuff won't be seen at all until 2010.
If you're back by May 1st, you'll be around for the Children's Week stuff, so you don't need to worry about that, either. The Argent Tournament is going to be a permanent fixture, it's not a seasonal thing or a one-time-only thing. It'll be here to stay.
As far as I can tell, you only need to worry about Ulduar server firsts if patch 3.1 hits early, and I suspect you really don't care about those at all.
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: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Events, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
SeanOr101 Feb 26th 2009 4:01PM
I swear, some people read the question and quickly scroll down to answer it without even glancing at what Alex's response was...
Malkia Feb 26th 2009 4:04PM
Or they're on cold medicine. I realized that I had missed a paragraph after I hit submit.
Nick Feb 26th 2009 1:49PM
Is there any plans of more 5-mans?
Hoggersbud Feb 26th 2009 2:03PM
I certainly hope so. Or even additional raid zones. There's plenty of places where something could be added.
How many zones lack instances anyway? All but a few of the capital cities and their starter zones, but that may be a tad unlikely to change, though I can imagine Darnassus's population would swell if there was an instance for killing Staghelm in it. He can go evil, right? Right? C'mon!
Then there's Darkshore, Stone Talon, Moonglade, Felwood, Winterspring, Azshara, Thousand Needles and the already mentioned Un'goro in Kalimdor. Eastern Kingdoms, well, there's Hillsbrad and Arathi Highlands, the Hinterlands, Wetlands (we all hope for Grim Batol one day I bet!), Loch Modan, Duskwood, Red Ridge, and Blasted Lands. And there's that big crystal in Nagrand, I always thought that would make a good instance location. I'm not sure if all of the zones have suitable places for instances, but at least a few do.
Rictus Feb 26th 2009 2:30PM
"I can imagine Darnassus's population would swell if there was an instance for killing Staghelm in it. He can go evil, right? Right? C'mon!"
Can go? In my opinion he already did that a long time ago. Either way I would be glad to raid him (and maybe Varian, too?). And so what if I'm Alliance?
Cabcru Feb 26th 2009 1:51PM
I thought the pay-off from the teleporter was great. I wasn't really paying attention while it was loading but half way through it dawned on me that the screen was for old Azeroth and not Northrend. Kind of sparked my interest a little. Then seeing I was somewhere along the edge of the crater. Great fun.
It certainly raises my hopes for all those other empty flat-land areas dotted around the old map.
Muse Feb 26th 2009 4:08PM
Or even Azshara.
SJPadbury Feb 26th 2009 1:53PM
Somehow I doubt they're putting all the extra noblegarden stuff in this patch, and not having it used this year.
That puts 3.1 somewhere before April 12th, with the last Tuesday before it being April 7th.
Then again, they might release another 3.0.X patch to get that stuff in-game by then without the full 3.1 release, if there's problems on the PTR, but I hope not.
Ian R. Feb 26th 2009 1:58PM
What do Druids think of the bear mounts? Do they say: "OMG I spend enough time staring at a big bear butt! Why can't I ride a Blood Elf instead, (and actual Belf, not the chicken)!" or do they say: "Eh, at least its not a Tauren-cat-mode mount."?
kabshiel Feb 26th 2009 3:03PM
That's a terrifying thought.
Jon Do Feb 26th 2009 2:09PM
The Un'garo instance question is interesting to me because for some reason I was under the same impression back around last summer. I wish I could remember why.
The 3.1 patch is probably already risks being late compared to previous content releases, since the 2.x series of patches all were released about 4 months or less from each other. The problem for 3.1 is compounded by two major issues: First is that people consumed the 3.0 content WAY faster than Blizzard anticipated, and second is that patches 3.0.2 and 3.0.8 were pretty much summed up in one word, "Disastrous". So just when Blizzard needs to hurry they are trying to rectify a broken certification process.
And let’s face it, there is not likely to be any 5-man content again for a long, long time (in all of the 2.0 cycle the only 5-man was MgT in 2.4), since historically content patches are typically raid content. So if you’re not a raider, then (unfortunately) you can look forward to a cycle of daily quest grinds and the same old PvP BGs, areas, and Arenas.
Steve Feb 26th 2009 2:16PM
They could always pre-patch a 3.0.10 in just to add the Noblegarden stuff while still building the rest of 3.1
Techwolf Feb 27th 2009 12:48PM
Noblegarden appears to be a week long event on the PTR, from 4/12 - 4/18.
seanfury Feb 26th 2009 2:22PM
/r/ more questions. The Queue has been too short lately.
JoeHelfrich Feb 26th 2009 2:24PM
"Seems like a lot of work for not a lot of payoff, doesn't it?"
Hey, I got to confuse the heck out of everyone in my guild by tripping over to level 80 while in Un'Goro crater, so it was worth it to me. :)
Gwiddich Feb 26th 2009 2:28PM
I think the instance he was refering to is not in Un'Goro, but in Tanaris. There is an alliance side quest that brings you to the gates of Uldum, but you don't have the disks to open the doors. This is where the paltinum disk quests in Uldaman dead end.
Will the doors of Uldum ever open?
Malkia Feb 26th 2009 4:11PM
There are blue posts out there saying they really want to do it but no concrete plans yet. Given the link to the titans, I hope it'll be in this expansion.
Erogroth Feb 26th 2009 2:30PM
A while back wowinsider reported that Veteran Nanny was fixed to be retroactive to pets you had previously obtained. In that article it was also stated that Veteran nanny was removed from the meta achievement for children's week in patch 2.4.3. I assume that is a typo since the achievement system was launched in 3.2. here is the article: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14637474928&postId=146358977526&sid=1#41
Can you point me toward a blue post that states that it was removed. I am having trouble proving to someone that it was once part of the meta.
While we are at it, why the heck won't blizzard just remove Brew of the Month from the meta or change it to just being a member? They recently change the Be Mine achievement to only needing 6 candies so people wouldn't have to wait another year.
Rictus Feb 26th 2009 2:37PM
To become a member of the Brew of the Month Club was not a game of chance like "Be Mine". The former just required some time, skill und dedication from the player, the latter dumb luck.
Now, "Have Keg, Will Travel" is another story and still part of the meta.
Sinthar Feb 27th 2009 6:10AM
Well time and dedication at least, i dont think running back n forth of a ram delivering barrels for the tokens required any skill at all tbh. But it was an EASY achievement to get, rather than the disasterous candy bags. Blizz have said over and over they are NOT going to remove that requirement, so with their recent stances about qq'ers and track record, im guessing they will remove it just before the next brewfest, or rather changing it to being a member or have the vendor sell all the brews