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: Minnie the Moocher
by Alex Ziebart 
Jun 4th 2009 at 5:00PM
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.I'm not much of a Jazz person, so when I set out to counter the John Coltrane that Adam used in The Queue yesterday, I was a little worried. Fortunately, while digging through my music collection to find something useful, I remembered that I had a trump card up my sleeves. Old Betty Boop cartoons, some of the most disturbing things you will ever see in your life. All of the best ones come packed with some incredibly old school Jazz. Now, some candy for your eyes and ears: Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher in a Betty Boop cartoon.
Docp asked...
"What happened to the Hunter column, Scattered Shots?"
I'm glad you asked! It just made its glorious comeback yesterday, with a brand new writer that some of you may recognize. Go give the latest Scattered Shots a read.
Binge asked...
"I'm going to let my account lapse for the summer (maybe longer). Will my armory profile and ability to comment on the official WoW forums end when my subscription expires?"
As mentioned in the comments by kalatash, you'll immediately lose access to the forums when your account lapses. Your Armory profile won't disappear immediately, but it will eventually become hidden if they haven't changed anything in the last few months. When you resubscribe, both of those things will come back.
0756 asked...
"Do you think that Blizzard will take the soulbinding aspect off of either Vyrkul Bones or the Fate Runes they are exchanged for in a future patch?"
I don't see why they would. The Fate Runes are just a little bonus you get while questing in Icecrown, to make questing in Icecrown easier and more interesting. I'm pretty sure they don't want them sold and traded or anything like that.
AyaJulia asked...
"Around Azeroth has a disclaimer at the end of each article: "Please, no more battleground scoreboards, gold seller ads, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran." When are you going to put one in THIS column that says "Please, no more questions about pandaren"? You obviously need one."
You're right.
Please, people. No more questions about Pandaren. Just look around the site, you'll find your answer.
Komorado asked...
"How many hits does the wow.com website receive everyday?"
Enough that I've come to learn that Alexa is pretty inaccurate when compared to internal figures. I don't think that I'm allowed to give those numbers, though. It's higher than what Alexa says, that's all that I'll say.
Hyacinthe asked...
"Why are there so many poo-related quests in WoW?"
Because everybody poops, Hyacinthe. It's only natural.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW.com 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 2 of 4)
Siaperas Jun 4th 2009 6:02PM
This would be a great question for a discussion in a literature class. I would agrue that the tragic fall of heroes is a time honored tradition that really gained momentum with classical literature. It makes epic heroes more human when they royally screw up, which is my opinion one of the reasons why people enjoy it. Jason in the Argonautica is depicted as a true hero, aside from using a woman's affections to win the day. In Medea, however, it shows how his choices lead to his own downfall, and he's portrayed as a lying, cheating, pig.
In video games, this tradition presents the unique oportunity as the writers can create these really fascinating, powerful characters and tell a story about their ascension as a hero and their fall. Then the writers get to let the reader/player actually fight the character. If Homer was a video game writer, the player would have been the one to shoot the arrow into Achilles' heel.
matt Jun 4th 2009 6:16PM
I guess my bigger question is, why don't we see more of the redemption storylines? Grom making up for his mistakes, in spectacular fashion, is really a moving (and of course cliche) moment.
Also, while I tend to agree with the "there is no good/evil" perspective, World of Warcraft is not really a direct translation of the real world. The Horde vs Alliance conflict is obviously meant to examine the absurdity of labeling one side "Good" and the other "Bad". But at the same time, it is almost impossible to characterize the Burning Legion as anything but Bad. Very Bad. Their entire goal has nothing to do with power or enslaving planets or being a supreme race - it is the destruction of all life everywhere. That's like crossing-the-streams bad. And while Kael'thas' service to the Legion may have been, in his own eyes, for his people or something, I fail to see the moral grey area there. He was corrupted, he fell, and became Bad. This happens a lot in Warcraft, and considering how much it draws on common fantasy tropes, it surprises me that redemption is found so rarely.
Also, @splodesondeath: who the hell eats grey cream cheese!?
Endless Jun 4th 2009 6:48PM
Well, when you take some "blue" cheese, like a roquefort or so, grate it and whip it together with some butter and cream until it gets smooth, the resulting stuff is pretty much gray. And tasty. It's not really what one would call a cream cheese, but it *is* gray.
Dunno how it goes with bagels though. I've never ate a bagel, and gods help me, I never will. Dark bread rolls for the win!
Loadead Jun 4th 2009 7:19PM
I am pretty sure Robespierre covered the same concept when saying "man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains" we're born good, but the external world ruins it.
PS. If you haven't noticed yet, South Park's creators reject that notion.
Keith Jun 5th 2009 7:44AM
It was Rousseau, not Robespierre, who had that snappy catchphrase.
As you were.
Bubsa Jun 4th 2009 5:29PM
Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi!
Adam Holisky Jun 4th 2009 8:59PM
Ho de ho de ho de ho!
hokiebuddy Jun 4th 2009 5:34PM
With the revamp of the bear and cat forms for druids will there be anymore druid revamps in design such as the travel, swimming, or flying forms? Also will this spill over into other races and classes ie. warlock and paladin mounts, warlock minions, shadow priest shadow form, etc..
DeathPaladin Jun 4th 2009 5:45PM
Yes. Soon(tm)
Eros Jun 4th 2009 5:54PM
travel, aquatic and flight are utility forms. so not likely. also why would flight need an update? they look awesome. Warlock and pally mounts are just mounts like any other, so unless they were specifically updating all mounts i doubt it. For everything else, blizz hasn't said anything about other updates besides future changes to moonkin and tree of life form. which has no date/patch number.
Dreadskull Jun 4th 2009 5:35PM
So, how about them Pandaren?
Sjelmater Jun 4th 2009 5:54PM
@Splodesondeath: I don't know what cream cheese you're eating but you should probably stop eating it if it's gray.
Beefmaster Jun 4th 2009 5:44PM
Im curious what exactly happens at Blizzard when the "report spam" button is hit. Is there some analzing software to direct it somewhere for action or whats the escalation of it as multiple people report it, etc.
RogueJedi86 Jun 4th 2009 7:08PM
I'm starting to think it's just a placebo. It doesn't even keep them ignored when you switch to an alt. I feel like it's just a temp-ignore button, with reporting doing nothing.
No gold site has been shut down by Blizzard since Peons 4 Hire was killed a couple years ago. It's like Blizzard has given up on shutting down bot sites, and just started hoarding the monthly subscription money.
pantear Jun 4th 2009 5:44PM
There's a good reason why Alexa is not reliable: it obtains data from Internet Explorer users that have the Alexa toolbar installed. That makes a *very* small demographic, eliminating Mac, Alternate Browser, and IE without Alexa users.
So, should I submit a Pandaren Perfect Battleground score? =P
James Jun 4th 2009 5:44PM
Have you noticed that the Tauren male dance works with almost all music?
Candina@WH Jun 4th 2009 5:54PM
I don't know... I think that the Tauren dance would look very out of place against the back drop of a Gilbert and Sullivan Patter song....
Must.... Make... 'Tuaren of Penzance' machinima.....
Chevela Jun 4th 2009 5:54PM
Speaking of hunter articles, a while back I coulda swore you had an article on which pet had the best DPS/helped with hunter DPS. I can't for the life of me find it but I remember that raptors and cats were high up there. I was wondering if there was also a similar vein about which pet tanks the best (wanting to solo Ony, anyone?) and what pet would be the best all around choice for PvP (i.e. the cunning pets)
Candina@WH Jun 4th 2009 5:55PM
Wolves are best -- The howl buffs both pet and hunter DPS.
volicio Jun 4th 2009 6:44PM
http://www.wow.com/2009/04/30/scattered-shots-pets-for-raiding/