The Queue: There are no Roombas in Azeroth
by Alex Ziebart 
Apr 7th 2009 at 3:30PM
Good afternoon, everyone. I have a very important question for all of you. Recently, I purchased a Roomba. I'm not allowed to have pets where I live, so a little robot that makes chirping noises and cleans the house for me will have to do. There's only one problem: We need to name it. My girlfriend and I each picked our preferred names. Help us decide, o readers! Name that Roomba! Oh right, and we have some of our usual Q&A after that, too.
| Hercules! | |
|---|---|
| Noms! | |
| Compromise: Nombercules! |
yossarian asked...
"Can Death Knights use Runeforging on BoA Heirloom weapons? I'd love to level my DK with an Arcanite Reaper lookalike, but it may not be worth giving up Runeforging. If not, are there plans to "fix" this so that Runeforge enchants don't transfer along with the item?"
You can't currently use Runeforging on Heirloom weaponry, no. You can only use enchants with no minimum level requirement on Heirloom items, and any enchantment that would make the item soulbound is a no-go as well. If you like keeping top-end enchants on your weapons at all times, an Heirloom weapon isn't the way to go.
I remember hearing that they were working on a way to let Runeforging work on them at the very least, but I can't honestly tell you if that's true or not. I couldn't find a quote in my grueling 5 minutes of searching, so let's just go with a 'maybe' here until I can find it.
John asked...
"Pandaren. Chinese/Panda violence rumor. Kill it for me. Use facts. I know I know it gets asked a million times. But please kill it again."
It's true that China isn't down with Pandaren, but I don't know if it's due to violence or some other panda-related thing. I believed it was false for a long time, but it's unfortunately at least somewhat true. There aren't many facts I can cite, but I can point to what J. Allen Brack said at BlizzCon 08. Just check out our liveblog of the WoW Q&A Panel, the answer is in there. As you said, this gets asked a million times, so I won't go into heavy detail here. China's censorship board is harsh, and I'll leave that there.
Moonduh asked...
"What's the lore behind the Argent Tournament? Granted, I'm not on the PTR, but right now it seems to be just some random thing Blizzard tossed in to keep people interested. I mean, the Argent Crusade must have their hands full with the Lich King, so is it really that prudent to be throwing a big party in the heart of his kingdom?"
It's hardly a party. They're war games, blood sport, a promise of glory to all able-bodied fighters. It's a disguised recruitment drive, in other words. They're attracting more fighters to their cause in Icecrown, and using the tournament to weed out those that would just get themselves undeadified on the battlefield. It's also something of a 'screw you Lich King' move, because they're building this awesome colosseum right on the Scourge's front yard, which is a huge boost to morale.
Alex asked...
"I'm wanting to be able to finally communicate on vent since I'll soon be tanking raids. What affordable (< $30) mic does the WoW Insider staff/community recommend?"
You can get a decent headset for under $30 pretty easily. Logitech or Dynex have some decent, cheap ones. Just head over to any old Best Buy (or even a place like Target) and look at what they have. You don't need to be too picky, just look for something that will sit comfortably on your ears and doesn't seem like it will break if you accidentally drop them once or twice.
I have giant Dumbo ears so I tend to look for comfort as my primary headset requirement, so any specifical models I could suggest may not be something that fits you very well.
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: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Aldheim Apr 7th 2009 3:56PM
Oh, sweet Jesus. We are all impressed by your righteous indignation. Thank you.
By the way, I fail to see how "doesn't support human rights" in any way conflicts with "has a problem with samurai pandas." Censorship is a violation of human rights, too. Frankly it would seem quite in line with any kind of oppressive regime.
And of course, nice job there with the "Blizzard wants your money" comment. Guess what? THEY'RE LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO MAKE MONEY. It's the LAW. They are a business! What do you expect them to do? Be grateful that Blizz is, on the whole, a pretty damned benevolent business that is quite loyal to its customers. (That is, after all, how they got to be so profitable.) I guess you could expect them to simply not market WoW in China, but that's punishing the Chinese people for the actions of the Chinese government. It's not like the people creating the oppressive rules are the ones who are eagerly awaiting the release of Wrath of the Lich King.
John Apr 7th 2009 3:36PM
TY for the answer on Pandaren.
Chewy&Go Apr 7th 2009 3:39PM
I believe another big strike against pandaren being in WoW is that they are garbed in samurai gear, so chinese+japanese = more badness for the chinese censors.
Freedomfighter Apr 7th 2009 3:53PM
Considering how much Pandaren tend to butcher Chinese culture in the worst was possible by integrating a predominant Chinese symnbol with Japanese garb, of course China will be against it. As a general rule, China hates Japan (Look up the second Sino-Japanese war and the Rape of Nanjing if you don't understand why). So of course this is a no-go.
Karilyn Apr 7th 2009 4:15PM
"China's censorship board is harsh, and I'll leave that there."
I think that sums it up pretty well. It's not so much likely a legal issue, as it is an issue of insane amounts of censorship. Then again, if it continues that WotLK will not even be released in China due to censorship, it's quite possible that any problems surrounding Pandaran could be null soon enough.
Censorship =/= Law
But it's just as prohibitive as law.
Ben Striegel Apr 7th 2009 4:16PM
I'm honestly torn on whether or not I even want Pandaren in the game. On the one hand, they're badass martial artists with an oriental flavor you won't find anywhere else within the Warcraft universe.
On the other hand, pandas themselves garner naught but my ire. If the world were Pokemon, pandas would be Slowpokes (with apologies to the Slowpokes).
Conversely, Pandaren in WoW would probably end up as members of the Alliance, which would allow me to kill them. Win-win! I don't even mind the exacerbated faction imbalance that would result from everyone and their mother's mother rolling a Pandaren. All I ask in return is that the Horde get Worgen or Wolvar. :)
R. Sue Apr 7th 2009 6:11PM
Actually, Pandaren are the brainchild/pet of Samwise Didier, who is the lead singer of L80ETC and otherwise shameless Horde loyalist -- so if they did go in-game, they'd definitely be redside. Sorry to bust your bubble. ;)
Anaughtybear Apr 7th 2009 6:19PM
The real reason you'll never see Panda people in WoW is because they are a really, really stupid idea. Dumber even than blue space goats. Go play puppy rancher or something if you can't get enough cuteness in your diet.
CactusHam Apr 7th 2009 6:40PM
As far as the Pandaren/Samurai thing goes -- Blizzard realized that whole issue awhile ago -- all the Blizzard pandaren stuff these days has them wearing chinese gear instead of japanese samurai gear.
I will continue to hope that panderans make it into the game at some point =D
Phun Apr 7th 2009 7:13PM
It's actually worth noting that just because Pandaren may or may not (depending who you ask as a lot of the 'facts' are all hear'say) get past the Chinese censors doesn't mean that they will never have a place in the game.
A lot of things were changed in the Chinese release, like no boney Forsaked, and when people die they're in ready made graves with tombstones standing proudly at the head of the dirt pile (which i think would probably terrify me more as a child than what we have in the west).
Also Blizzard designed an entire expansion which they must have known might never get a release in China considering it's focused entirely around dead people with apparently the latest china friendly build completely omitting Death Knights. One of the biggest additions to the game since launch.
No, Pandaren aren't in WoW because it would probably be pretty retarded.
Futue Apr 7th 2009 3:37PM
I think you need a 4th name :/
Arawn Apr 7th 2009 3:37PM
Headsets are infinitely greater than just a mic and speakers. Feedback == fail.
Narshe Apr 7th 2009 8:05PM
Mute the mic and no feedback (and yes people can hear you), can do this in volume control on Windows.
Rylka Apr 8th 2009 8:42AM
I use earbud headphones and a tabletop mike with push to talk (using the caps lock key), no feed-back that way.
I prefer a table top mike because I don't like headsets and I didn't get good enough pick up from the "on the cord" mike from a previous set of earbuds I had.
Hasteur Apr 7th 2009 3:40PM
I'm partial to the Plantronics Headsets because
1. They have a inline Volume/Mute button on the lapel clip which is nice.
2. Long cord is decent
3. It came with a Headset to USB adapter. I will switch out between my Desktop rig and various laptop devices (when I'm not out and about) and find it quite useful (especially on Mac Laptops)
makemesammich Apr 7th 2009 3:54PM
I second the Plantronics headsets. They're reasonably priced, comfortable, decent range, and a LONG cord.
JALbert Apr 7th 2009 4:06PM
Sennheiser is also a great company for headphones/headsets, and they have fairly reasonably priced ones. I've been standing by them for years and their products have never let me down. My girlfriend also uses a Plantronics headset for vent that she has no complaints about. I'd recommend either.
Setesh Apr 7th 2009 4:10PM
watch out for those in-the-cord volume adjusters, i've found those have a lot higher chance to break, causing a need for a new headset.
Stealthfire Apr 7th 2009 5:24PM
I'll second that problem with inline volume adjusters. They're very handy and I'd enjoy having them, but make sure they're good quality before buying. I've got a Gigaware set that took only a few months before the inline volume thingamajig started making crackling noises. Some electrical tape to hold the cable straight seems to have mostly fixed it, but I'd rather have bought a higher quality headset.
Robert M Apr 7th 2009 3:41PM
I was curious how the addon policy will impact mods like WoWEcon.
The premiums versions require a monthly fee, and this seems in direct contradiction to the new policy. There was extensive talk on the wowinsider show about advantages based on real life income, and something like wowecon can alter your game experience even more than a leveling guide.
Leveling mods seem to get all the bad press, so why is no one taling about econ mods that alter the gameplay?