Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsZarhym explains Druid form colour combos
by Lesley Smith 
Jun 5th 2009 at 9:00AM
It seems that rather than being able to go 'oh I'll have the white kitty with the cut pink gem on it's collar', that your form is actually linked to your toon's physical appearance. Yes, you can easily change how your bear or cat form will look but the only was to do this, in my understanding, is by visiting a barber shop and changing the skin tone (and/or hair) of your Druid in humanoid form.
Zarhym puts it better than I:
"Now that everyone has had a chance to check out the new art for druid cat and bear forms, we'd like to share with you the current break down of Tauren skin tones and Night Elf hair colors associated with each form color. Please note that, while we have attempted to associate each form color as carefully as possible, this list is subject to change before the next major content patch goes live. All options for skin tone (Tauren) and hair color (Night Elves) are listed below followed by the forms that will be associated with each set of tones/colors."
Click on the jump to see what your druid is going to look like.
Tauren Male
- Black/Black with White Belly/Black Spots will become Black Bear (top middle), Black Cat (top right)
- Dark Grey/Dark Grey with White Belly/Dark Grey Spots will become Grey Bear (bottom left), Black Cat (top right)
- Red-Brown/Red-Brown with White Belly/Red-Brown Spots will become Brown Bear (top right), Red Cat (top left)
- Yellow-Brown/Yellow-Brown with White Belly/Yellow-Brown Spots will become Yellow Bear (top left), Yellow Cat (top middle)
- Steel Grey/Steel Grey with White Belly/Steel Grey Spots will become Grey Bear (bottom left), White Cat (bottom right)
- Light Brown-Gre/Light Brown-Grey with White Belly/Light Brown-Grey Spots will become Yellow Bear (top left), Brown Cat (bottom left)
- White will become White Bear (bottom right), White Cat (bottom right)
- Black / Black Spots will become Black Bear (top middle), Black Cat (top right)
- Dark Grey / Dark Grey Spots will become Grey Bear (bottom left), Black Cat (top right)
- Red-Brown / Red-Brown Spots will become Brown Bear (top right), Red Cat (top left)
- Light Brown/Light Brown Spots will become Yellow Bear (top left), Yellow Cat (top middle)
- Light Brown-Grey/Light Brown-Grey Spots will become Yellow Bear (top left), Brown Cat (bottom left)
- White will become White Bear (bottom right), White Cat (bottom right)
- Greens: Yellow-Green/Green/Dark Green will become Violet Bear with Green Mane (bottom left), Blue Cat with Dark Mane (top right)
- Light Blues: Teal/Light Blue will become Blue Bear with Dark Mane (top left), Indigo Cat with Light Mane (far left)
- White will become White Bear (top middle), White Cat (top left)
- Dark Blue will become Black Bear (bottom right), Black Cat (bottom)
- Purple will become Red bear with Blue Mane (top right), Purple Cat (middle)
Filed under: Druid, Patches, Odds and ends, Blizzard, News items, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
Arcticwolf Jun 5th 2009 11:18AM
When on my druid I rarely see my caster form anywhere but town. So who cares what my hair looks like? When I soon get to see a different cat and bear for a change, you can make my toon bald for all I care!
And yeah, the colour/honour thing that was commented on before is used in Australia as well.
vocenoctum Jun 5th 2009 11:31AM
I think the simplest solution would be for Glyph of Blue Bear or Glyph of Pink Cat or something, but I guess they'd still need to track stuff. A minor glyph preferably learned at the trainer rather than researched.
It'd be hilarious to have a low-level questline (available right after you get each form) that let you pick a color. Quest of Purple Hair Bear...
Or, there's always Idols, but that could get mussed up.
Either way, I'd rather they give an improved travel form, something like flight form where it's instant, fast, but can't be used in combat maybe. I'm tired of mounting up.
Kar On E Jun 5th 2009 11:42AM
Quite happy about this...I was getting worried that each hair color would be mixed with one great form and one hideous one. Got my second choice of each...YAY! :)
Hygeia Jun 5th 2009 11:53AM
Informative article, love the new druid skins but you're a writer some proofing would be nice. cut = cute and was = way. Two errors in one paragraph, good thing 90% of the article was cut and paste.
spork Jun 5th 2009 11:55AM
As a non-druid player:
At least tying the new forms to skin/hair color gives some consistency... No matter what you turn into, part of your druid will still be the same. I kinda like that.
But carrying that idea forward, I do hope that this gets updated so that there's more skins and adjustments, so that for example the night elf tattoos are what's shown on the beasty models. Or the Tauren models get different horns depending on the actual Tauren.
This so all the features you picked when you rolled the toon and/or last visited the barber matter regardless of what form you're in - for better or for worse.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Jun 5th 2009 11:54AM
Wow. Am I the only one who sees something wrong allowing only taurens to change their skin colour? Change it to horn colour cuz skin colour just strikes me as unfair to the other races. So taurens get to change their colours for free while everyone else has to PAY for it. Riiiight.
yarf Aug 5th 2009 3:20AM
Let's analyze your comment.
All races:
Change hair color.
Change hair style
Change piercings/markings (for night elves)
Taurens:
Change hair style.
Change horn style.
Change facial features (nose ring, no nose ring, etc)
And you get upset they can now change their skin color? It's their fur. It's their hair. They can't change the HAIR color from black. At all.
They can add braids or facial hair if male, but they can't change much of anything else about their apprearance.
Seriously, quit your QQing and use some logic. It makes sense to let them change their fur color.
Now, as for the nightelves, I agree there should be some overlapping for their hair colors as well, or maybe more variety in hair colors to add more customization.
I like the new forms. I have both horde and alliance druids and I know i'll be happy with either side's forms because I personally like them (on the alliance side not so many because I don't much like pink or light purples but they do have some combos I do like.)
Also, thank you grammar police. Ew ralely crae thta theer aer tyops thta ew ahve ot olg ni nad psot abuot thme.
Seriously, who cares?
Friday_Knight Jun 5th 2009 12:12PM
New forms look fantastic. I love the colors for my current hair color on my Nelf too so I won't even have to change.
What I really want to know is if the animations are getting changes.
Like are these entirely new models or just new skins for the old models?
Orisi Jun 5th 2009 12:14PM
I really like them, i just think it's a shame they cannot integrate having a haircut whilst shapeshifted. I'm lucky, i get an albino bear and an albino cat, but i can see why some people might want different combos
Friday_Knight Jun 5th 2009 12:27PM
"Fans are clingy, complaining dipshits who will never, ever be grateful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you'll be for it."
-Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame
Thought it was appropriate for quite a few of the responses here. Especially Yours.
Badaboom Jun 5th 2009 12:42PM
The fur/air color associated with bear/cat combo colors might be ok but I suspect this is going to create an homogenization of druids rather than create more diversity as intended by blizzard by adding new feral textures.
I bet we will have 80 % of tauren having a black fur and 80% of Nelf having blue hair... So now instead of having all tauren bears and cats and Nelf bears and cats looking the same, we will have most Tauren with black fur, black bear/cat and most Nelf with blue hair and black bear/cat....
Time will tell.
I love my fur color atm and I would hate to see all Tauren looking like me just because blizzard badly design the new feral color selection process.
I hope I am wrong.
BTW, complaining is every body's right and does make the world better if done in a constructive and non malicious way.
Amaxe Jun 5th 2009 12:58PM
Well, looks like I'm a white bear (looks good) white cat (not so good). Don't feel like changing my Nelfs hair color to get the black (which I like for the cat).
BTW, perhaps I am misreading something, but when you say: "Yes, you can easily change how your bear or cat form will look but the only was to do this, in my understanding, is by visiting a barber shop and changing the skin tone (and/or hair) of your Druid in humanoid form."
I thought changing the color of your skin was something you had to do in the paid recustomization. Did they change that so you can do this in the Barbershop now?
Amaxe Jun 5th 2009 1:00PM
Oh, NVM, skin change is for Tauren only. Reading comprehension ftl
Jaiyeson Jun 5th 2009 1:10PM
"Put consumers back at the center of the system by giving them more choice, control and convenience" ~ Steve Case on conducting buisness with the consumer.
For all the people who say just be happy that your food was served cold rather then not at all.
Trasken Jun 5th 2009 2:20PM
Is it just me or is all the QQing about "zomg, we're not unique" (see Angus post about his wife) hilarious?
Seriously, WoW has never been known for its character model customization. If you want something like that, then go hit up City of Heroes.
People cry when they take forever to design new forms and then they cry big ol' tears when they aren't worked out how they think they should.
I also love the "All they'd need to do is change coding" line (I've seen that mentioned a few times). You have no idea what's on their plate, they might be working on a feature the the MAJORITY of players would enjoy and not some dinky class specific one. You realize Druids only make up 9% of the population at best? So please, by all means, keep crying because your class isn't being treated special enough.
I don't mind class specific additions, but I do mind when people (druids in this case) start QQing about them when its nothing but a plus.
Anaughtybear Jun 5th 2009 4:29PM
I hate this system. What if you want to keep your hair color the same in your humanoid form? Like I said earlier; The new druid forms still suck, they just suck in more colors now. Way to half-ass it, Blizzard.
Seii Jun 19th 2009 4:50AM
I think this is like a fresh start for druids. Areas of the druid forms don't look so squarish, regardless of the ill comments here this was a long waited change. It makes sense about hair/skin changes you need to make as well, a tauren's hair isn't just their manes but their 'skin' as well. Night elves just have their facial hair.
I think if people have such an issue with this they would drop the druid class ans reroll.
Oh? you like the class/spec, then you can deal with the form revamps can't you. Its just two forms after all. I guess it must be the end of the world with all the shallow comments I see here.