Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsThe Queue: Hey Sacco, can you do today's The Queue edition
by Michael Sacco 
May 22nd 2009 at 7:30PM
Playing the role of Adam Zibbert tonight will be the Michael Sacco. There will be a brief intermission between acts.
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Zibbert will be your host today.
You know the drill! LET'S GET US SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
Bearkub asked...
My main is a lvl 80 paladin (holy/prot), gold is not an issue, and I have everything I could want off the Wintergrasp PVP vendor/npc. My alt is a level 70 hunter (hilarity ensues). Is it worth it to spend 200 stonekeeper's shards to buy the +10% XP bonus shoulders? Or would those shards be better spent on something I can sell for gold (the non-bound pvp meta-gems, for example)? Is there something to spend the shards on that I'm unaware of? I imagine they're worth it on a lvl 58 DK alt, but I'm not sure what the "cost/benefit" cut-off is.
Heirloom items are pretty great, in my experience, especially the shoulders. With 3.1, they also grant 10% extra quest experience on top of mob XP, which is a lot -- especially given that most of your XP earned while going from 70-80 is going to be quest XP. It, essentially, takes a flat 10% off of your leveling time, sometimes more. And, when you're done with it, you can send it to another alt, even if they can't wear that specific armor type, because the item will automatically become the highest possible armor type for that specific character.
I'd say it's worth the purchase, but it's a personal choice. Just remember you can get gold back at any time, but leveling time isn't something you can recoup.
Aneng asked...
Why can't Horde grind rep for the Wintersabre Trainers? I'm not QQing about the one more mount for Alliance, but wondering if there is some lore involved, or Blizzard just hasn't been bothered to add a replacement for the raptor trainers in Un'Goro?
There were some quests on the 3.1 PTR that indicated that you'd be able to learn how to ride Venomhide Ravasaurs, but Zarhym said that there was no mount going in with 3.1. He did say, however, that they have plans to add an equivalent mount to the Wintersabers for Horde players.
Ayiano asked...
Is there any way to zoom in with the Dressing Room or otherwise manipulate it besides rotating? I'm on an RP server (Wyrmrest Accord) and occasionally peruse the Auction House for some RP gear. The built-in Dressing Room is kind of limiting for anything smaller than robes (such as bracelets, shoes, or tiaras). As it stands right now, I find myself alt-tabbing between WoW & Wowhead, using their 3D feature. While it's a pretty neat app, its still a little bit of a hassle to alt-tab each time. Plus, in-game I would be able to see how it looks on my character's model. Is there some hidden feature that allows me to zoom or freely rotate? If not, are there any addons that provide the same or similar functionality?
The addon CloseUp allows you to do just that! Any other suggestions for Ayiano, readers?
Misha asked...
Why the big push for Twitter?? Yes, I signed up & even added myself to WowInsider after listening to The Show, but haven't found anything worth following. Sure there's the lure of loot, but I don't have time to constantly monitor. At least WowInsider has articles & guides that give insight and/or help my game play--which I can read at my convenience. So what's the big deal about Twittering?
Twitter can be a very powerful social networking tool, as well as a way to grab breaking news and just keep connected with people you like. What it is for our readers is an optional tool to ask us questions, interact with us, participate in contests, or see Big News when it happens. If none of those interest you, of course, then you can just keep an eye on the main site. Twitter, though, is THE NEXT DIMENSION of WoW.com. THE FUTURE. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 1955 AND 1985.
That does it for today's edition of The Queue. Namaste!
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!
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
SaintStryfe May 23rd 2009 6:17AM
same artifex. I wish the author had been more clear. I nearly spent a lot on items that might not have been very good.
Thank you, Des, that does seem the most logical choice, and they would do fine for my DK and my Warrior and I'll shelve the mage until I earn enough to buy her a set of her own. I appreciate the clarification everyone gave.
I love this site, even when I get 90 replies half of which tell me I'm an idiot about the moron-with-the-GM-T-shirt issue a few weeks back. :-)
JustinScott May 23rd 2009 8:21AM
Ok. Im not new to tanking, but kinda new to tanking with a dk. I have a 72 frost dk and he has tanked UK, Nexus, even Drak'Tharon, and can do it without any problems. But for some reasons, everytime I go into Azjol-Nerub, we cant make it past the gauntlet at the beginning. Not even usually past the 2nd set of mobs. I have all defense gear and high stamina, with a little expertise thrown in. We always wipe on the gauntlet, and end up with huge repair bills. Is there an easy or better way to get past this part? Any suggestions would be nice :)
HappyJuice
Shattered Halls
Nina May 23rd 2009 1:32PM
The guantlet in AN is one of the hardest spots to heal. Depending on what kind and caliber of healer you had with you, that might have been the issue. I'm not trying to say 'blame the healer,' but it is definetly something to consider. Even my level 75 holy pally (who leveled 29-75 holy, and runs healbot) has issues with the guantlet sometimes. Next time you try running, take a shaman with you, and make sure he/she has poison cleansing totem up at all times, it will make a world of difference.
Hyacinthe May 23rd 2009 8:27AM
Is there something wrong with the authenticating servers for Blade's Edge? I can log in to my account just fine, but my list does not show Blade's Edge and I've been randomly assigned to another server.
Futue May 23rd 2009 8:46AM
You stole my answer to question 1!
Airleagan May 23rd 2009 10:08AM
If the new instance has a 5 10 and 25 man version, how do we enter Heroic/non heroic if there are three choices?
MoarHeroisms May 23rd 2009 10:23AM
The Coliseum will consist of two wings: a 5-man instance and a 10/25 raid instance.
MoarHeroisms May 23rd 2009 10:16AM
Um yeah...how do I login to my wow.com profile? I tried logging in through my profile page but kept getting an error. I don't need AIM, do I? :O
Fuseitana May 23rd 2009 11:49AM
When is wow.com going to fix the broke wowhead links in the 'read more' version of stories?
MechChef May 23rd 2009 1:27PM
Hey Sacco, who are you?
You seem to be relatively new. WTB a "get to know a contributer."
Vyle May 31st 2009 4:27PM
How many hits does WoW.com get (on average) per day or week or month?
Janaa May 23rd 2009 4:59PM
In reply to the question regarding the mounts - Blizz equalized the number of mounts available to each faction in patch 3.1. They added two new purchaseable mounts to horde, meaning that horde don't have to grind for weeks to get that last mount. If another mount was added for horde to be a grind equivalent of the Wintersabre mount, then horde would then be one mount ahead. So don't worry - you're not 1 mount behind alliance, and be glad you don't have to grind for it!
ambient May 27th 2009 12:17PM
Not true. The additional Horde mounts were to correct the *racial* mount imbalance, not the overall imbalance. As can be seen at the two links below, it is still 132 available alliance mounts to 130 horde mounts (excluding class- and profession-restricted mounts).
http://www.warcraftmounts.com/browse/race_alliance.php
http://www.warcraftmounts.com/browse/race_horde.php