The Queue: Glory of the Hero
by Alex Ziebart 
Mar 24th 2009 at 3:00PM
Hey, everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to remind all of you that Adam and I are not the same entity, even if we both have A names and contribute to the same column. There's been a lot of confusion over the last year, so let me repeat: Adam Holisky and Alex Ziebart are two different people. Adam is not Alex, Alex is not Adam. And when you throw Allison into the mix, Allison is neither Adam nor Alex and they are not she. Are we on the same page here? Great.
Herumor asked...
"As things are now without the Maelstrom, is there any point to adding the upcoming water mounts without a large water based area? I don't really see a use for them other than showing off, and even that's kind of difficult to do."
It's possible that they could be using those mounts to prepare us for something coming in the future. Once we reach somewhere that needs/benefits from aquatic mounts, some people will have already picked out their unique mounts from this place or that place and we'll be all set to start riding the waves.
There's also a possibility that they don't really intend for the aquatic mounts to be anything earth-shattering. The turtle mount could just be a fun little thing they added for fun and vanity. If 'fun and vanity' weren't a valid reason for adding items, a great number of our favorite things would be gone from WoW.
The water mounts could be prepping us for something big, but they could also be for /afking in Dalaran while astride a freaking turtle.
Scott asked...
"Who actually stays in general/trade chat anyway?"
Monsters.
Adrilankha asked...
"Any word in if the Red Proto Drake is going to be removed along with the Plagued and Black Proto Drakes in 3.1?"
I believe the Red Proto-Drake is staying in the game, I haven't heard anything specifically about Glory of the Hero, which is the achievement for Heroic dungeons. The achievement for Raids and Heroic Raids are going away, but nothing has been said about Glory of the Hero. Unless I'm very, very badly mistaken. If that's the case, I probably won't be getting my Red Proto-Drake because I've been a terrible slacker about Heroic Occulus!
Alucromancer asked...
"Where's the best place to go and watch Arena 2v2 strategy videos to better educate yourself on team compositions and class strategies? Also, are there videos of a known mage/rogue combo that can be used for educational purposes?"
I don't arena on (or with) a Mage or a Rogue, so I don't have much for you there. I do know where you can look for information on all of that sort of thing, though. ArenaJunkies is pretty much the go-to place for all things arena. Dig around, and you'll inevitably find what you're looking for.
Nahl asked...
"Any news on how honor rewards will trickle down in season 6? Will hateful gear be purchasable for current savage prices like we've seen in the past, or is Blizzard planning on doing something different this time around?"
We don't know yet. We'll let you know when we do.
Croe asked...
"I note in the patch notes the following changes for Shaman:
Bloodlust/Heroism: Cooldown reduced to 5 minutes, but Sated and Exhausted now last 10 minutes.
Can anyone explain the logic behind this? Why bother changing the CD to 5 minutes if you can't use it again for another 5 anyway?"
This is a change for raids, most specifically progression raids. In both iterations of the spell, you couldn't use more than one Heroism per encounter. Sometimes you could use a second, but it was very very rare. The big issue is when you're trying to learn a new boss, you're burning Heroism/Bloodlust every attempt to better your chances, and wiping after awhile.
Since the spell had a 10-minute cooldown, if you're waiting around for Heroism/Bloodlust, you waste a lot of time in your raid night. If you're not waiting, Bloodlust isn't there for you to use and the fight probably won't go the same way as it does with it. Two different experiences, not very helpful.
With this change, you still can't use it more than once per encounter, but the spell cools down faster for your next attempt. Most likely, it's going to be there for you to use every single attempt on a boss instead of half of them. As someone who spent an absurdly long time working on Sarth3D's 10-man version, I appreciate this change. No more sitting around waiting for Heroism to refresh between attempts.
Aelador asked...
"How do you get the Ulduar fragments to make the legendary mace?"
By beating Ulduar bosses on Hard mode.
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: Mage, Rogue, Analysis / Opinion, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Duffy Mar 24th 2009 3:05PM
As for the fragments, does that include both normal and heroic hard modes? Curious.
trogdor7 Mar 24th 2009 4:06PM
Yes, that's what I want to know. I hope it drops in 10 man as well as 25, especially since, in live content, 10 man is harder.
Heilig Mar 24th 2009 4:57PM
25 man only, so far
Thijz Mar 25th 2009 5:22AM
Hard mode? Am I missing something here? I thought there was just Normal and Heroic modes, now you tell me there's a Hard Normal and Hard Heroic mode too? :O
I have another question for The Queue. It might be allready answered, but I couldn't find it anywhere. If you have set your two specs for Dual Specs, how will you respec? And i don't mean you switch from spec #1 to spec #2, but if you want to change from say (shaman here) resto + elelemental combo to a resto + enhancement combo. Can you just choose one of your two specs to respec?
Draelan Mar 25th 2009 6:00AM
@ Thijz
The "Hard Modes" in Ulduar will work like Sartharon and the drakes in OS. You can do the fights the easy way for standard gear, or you can allow certain factors that complicate the fights, which will result in getting better gear if you're successful. An example is the first boss in Ulduar which works just like Sarth. It has 4 turrets which you can destroy before taking on the boss, but the more you leave up the harder the fight, and the better the loot. Many of the bosses in Ulduar will have hard modes, though I'm assuming (hoping?) not all of them are "leave up these adds then fight everything at once!"
And for your question on respeccing with Dual Spec, I remember seeing the answer somewhere (may have been the Queue... not sure) but when you ask the trainer to reset your talents it will reset the talents of your currently equipped spec. So, using your example, if you are currently resto+ elemental combo, and you want to change elemental to enhancement, simply switch to elemental as your current spec, ask your trainer to reset your talent points, and redistribute them into the Enhancement tree.
BGO Mar 24th 2009 3:06PM
please help this rumor die!!!!! is the bear mount you get from the achevement for killing faction leaders going away, or harder to get????
emberdione Mar 24th 2009 3:13PM
No they have not announced that they are removing that mount. Don't believe everything some random person blathers on the forums.
BillDoor Mar 24th 2009 3:17PM
There has been no mention of it going away or changing in any way.
Also, there have been a few posts from blues saying that the following mounts will remain available after 3.1:
Red Proto-Drake (Glory of the Hero)
Bronze Drake (Timed CoT: Stratholme)
Black Drake (Sarthartion 3 Drakes - 10 Man)
Twilight Drake (Sartharion 3 Drakes - 25 Man)
So far, the only mounts being removed are the Plagued and Black Proto-Drakes from the Glory of the Raider and Heroic Glory of the Raider achievements.
Jon Do Mar 24th 2009 3:49PM
It is obvious that Blizz views the achievement system rewards as nothing more than pixilated epeen fluff since they arbitrarily change requirements for achievements in midstream - or pull rewards entirely - thus blindsiding people who are attempting meta-achievements or related achievements. They actually make things worse with their charade of logical arguments for the various numerous changes - they would do better to just make the changes without any ‘blue’ forum comment and move on, rather than encourage the inevitable firestorm of QQ on their forums.
Lemons Mar 24th 2009 3:50PM
Well that's good! Now I can stop feverishly chasing the heroic achievements. I'm realistic so I've just been gunning for the red proto-drake considering it would take a miracle (or at least all the noobs being kidnapped and replaced by competent players) for my guild to grab either the plagued or black drakes.
I'm also glad to see the twilight drake from Sarth 3D isn't going anywhere. From a looks standpoint it's one of my favorite flyers in the game (I would ditch my netherdrake for that action); if they removed it I'd be very depressed.
Como Mar 26th 2009 3:07AM
What achievments exactly are youtalking about, they changed a handful (and thats overstatment) and are removing the protodraks(not Heroics one) because the raid content will become trivial next patch and everyone will get thiers if not...
I'm happy witht the achiement system, it is broad and rewardsa all types of players. But the protodrakes and stuff, yea they should be taking out. Noobies and casuals can see all the damn content they like for I care, but their should be cooler rewards for those who have completed content when it is actually hard (always relitive lol). Not trying to be hostile but I am curious why you feel that way. I may have missed the point entirely.
Kakistocracy Mar 24th 2009 3:10PM
Woo! so the Heroism/Bloodlust change makes wiping better?
About time dying got a buff.
And here's some preemptive irritation about people filling the Dalaran fountain with turtles.
Kale Mar 24th 2009 3:39PM
I sent a ticket to a GM in game asking about the Red Proto-Drake - they said its out of the game when 3.1 comes out for the same reason the other drakes are being taken out.
chad Mar 24th 2009 4:44PM
Either you are lying, or the GM doesn't know what he's talking about.
Fyve & Boomstick Mar 25th 2009 12:16AM
I would be very surprised if that were true. The only thing this proves is the GM is just a customer service guy. The red Proto Drake is not a 310% speed mount. So there is zero reason to take it out as it is to all useful purposes the same epic flappy you've been riding on since outland.
I expect they will introduce new 310% flappys obtained from ulduar heroic achievements to replace the 2 missing ones
SeanOr101 Mar 24th 2009 3:13PM
I've been wondering where those Wild things are....Trade chat you say?
I outta put on my Wolf suit before typing /join Trade
emberdione Mar 24th 2009 3:15PM
Lol, they have been advertising on WoWWiki for a week or so now.
FireStar Mar 24th 2009 3:14PM
Umm Croe,
What Alex didn't tell you about the heroism (which is kinda the point) is that with a 5 minute cooldown and 10 minute debuff, the debuff will go away when you die. That's why he's talking about progression raids and wiping and whatnot. If you die, you can use it every five minutes (with one shammy). If you don't die, you can use it every ten minutes.
Croe Mar 24th 2009 4:30PM
Yes, he did. However, I didn't ask again. The Queue just choose to answer my question. I don't see your point here.
hold up Mar 24th 2009 5:54PM
Knowing that, it would be interesting to see if having your dps die after 5 minutes and then anhk/brez the group for the additional DPS is a viable strategy now.
My assumption is no, but perhaps if your raid was stacked with shamans/druids. But who knows if the downtime spent on dying/rezing/rebuffing is actually worth the DPS addition of BL. I'm not prepared to do the math on it.