Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsThe Queue: There is a Cow Level
by Adam Holisky 
Jul 30th 2009 at 6:00PM
There is no cow level.
Repeat that three times.
But if I was designing WoW I'd make sure there'd be some kind of cow level. After all who doesn't want to slaughter some bovines from hell?
Osul asked...
"What's a good reputation to grind for a newly 80 Ret Paladin?"
First get up to friendly with the Ebon Blade so you can get the Tabard of the Ebon Blade and start championing them in normal and heroic dungeons. Ebon Blade rep will give you the head enchant Arcanum of Torment. There are also a few dailies (and a lot of rep) out in the Shadow Vault, but you have to follow the Ice Crown quest chain until you get there. Only take a couple hours of playing though to open them up.
While you're championing the Ebon Blade, you can also be grinding Sons of Hodir rep for your shoulder enchant. If you're not an inscriptionist (or scribe if you prefer to want to complain on the internet about it) then you want to be sure to get your Hodir rep up as fast as possible – it'll be key in any gear check to get into raids.
Burninate asked...
"Is there a cow level?"
There is no cow level.
But wait! There's more.
In Diablo II there was a secret cow level that you could access once you completed the game. Back then level meant more of a Super Mario level than a "level 80" level. Today people think that a cow level is something like level 80 (or 70, or 60). But there is no cow level in WoW. The history of it is interesting though.
However... in DII the Cow King drops a chest piece called the Cow King's Hide, which also happens to appear in WoW.
Torstein_mellem asked...
"Any ETA on the faction change mechanic?"
No updates since the original announcement, however I wouldn't be surprised to hear one soon. I'm sure we'll hear more about it at BlizzCon, one way or another.
Erated asked...
"What would happen if I logged a character out in the middle of the Argent Coliseum while it's being constructed and then logged back in after it was finished when 3.2 went live?"
You'd probably just be inside the walls and could walk right out. But really I wouldn't do this. If you get caught intentionally bugging or subverting game mechanics you'll get slapped with a warning at least, or a ban at the most.
And if they don't do anything punishment-wise to you, and your character is stuck, well... GM queues are ridiculously long right now, so you'll probably be stuck for a while.
VSUReaper asked...
"What's going to happen to my glyph of Seal of Blood on my pally since they are getting rid of the ability? Will they just remove it from my glyph book, or will it turn into something else?"
Mine just disappeared and showed up as a blank space when I moved my toon to the PTR.
Dennis asked...
"Is there a way to speed up resting time?"
No, not beyond the normal resting bonus you get at an inn.
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: Paladin, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Features, Lore, Leveling, Inscription, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 7)
Taladan Jul 30th 2009 7:10PM
Pffff. Sif Frozen Orb isn't OP...
Auraeus Jul 30th 2009 11:33PM
Bollucks, Mesmers are the only ones that need nerfing, apathy ftw.
Huulo Jul 30th 2009 6:45PM
With all the changes to jewelcrafting, what will happen to the jeweler's gems when the patch goes live? Will they simply disappear, or be refunded to us in the form of uncut dragon's eyes/tokens, or will they remain in their sockets with the new stats and non-prismatic colors?
epsilon343 Jul 30th 2009 6:49PM
I thought I heard that the gems were being refunded back to us as jeweler's tokens.
Phaelan Jul 30th 2009 9:45PM
from the patch notes, JC Dragon's eyes aren't being taken away, stats are increasing, and we're getting epic gems
Clarick Jul 30th 2009 6:42PM
YOu just had to finish Normal level in D2 to get to the cow level. I used to love going into there and looting for hours. Mind you the cows hit like a mack truck if your level was too low
Sorano Jul 30th 2009 6:46PM
Before starting to tank heroic dungeons or raids, should future tanks (in this case a tauren warrior) be hit and/or expertise cap? Tank was my main role in BC, where I tanked succesfully mostly heroics and tier 4 content. In LK, I switched to healing as a holy paladin.
I recently started levelling my warrior again (and building a tank set on my paladin) and was wondering if I spent an entire expansion doing it wrong.
Theldaris Jul 30th 2009 6:50PM
Yes, Its pretty important for threatgen as far as I understand it
Eudeyrn Jul 30th 2009 7:13PM
Hit and expertise are important for two reasons. First, the more you actually hit the mob, the more threat you generate. Second, for expertise specifically, you eliminate the chance for the mob to parry. This is crucial because when a mob parries, its swing timer is reduced or reset, causing it to attack faster. This means significantly higher damage to the tank. This is another reason why DPS should be expertise capped and always attacking from behind - parries caused by DPS lead to extra damage being dealt to the tank, which can be the deciding factor that wipes under-geared groups.
Cyrus Jul 30th 2009 7:28PM
I don't think warriors need to worry about hit too much. It's nice, but offers the same or less dps as expertise and gives no damage reduction.
Also, you ask about "heroic dungeons and raids." Note that the hit cap isn't as high in heroic dungeons as it is in raids.
AlmtyBob Jul 30th 2009 8:03PM
No, a starting tank shouldn't even be thinking of hit. Since you're a starting tank you're not going to have many side-grade gear choices. You do need to be uncrittable, which for heroics is 535 and raids require 540. Your only real choices are going to be in gemming and enchants. Do not gem or enchant for hit. Worry about stam and keeping yourself uncrittable. Avoidance stats and hit/expertise (at least early on) will come naturally from gear.
Eudeyrn Jul 30th 2009 6:55PM
From the patch notes, in regards to Glyph of Seal of Blood:
* Glyph of Seal of Blood: Changed to Glyph of Holy Wrath, which reduces its cooldown by 15 seconds.
Eudeyrn Jul 30th 2009 6:57PM
Also, in response to the question "Is there a way to speed up resting time?" you might want to point out that logging out in an inn causes rest bonus to accumulate faster. Depending on just how new a player is, they might not realize being inside an inn does more than allow you logout without waiting 20 seconds.
Antonia Jul 30th 2009 7:00PM
If they banned your or slapped you with a warning for getting stuck in something just because you figured it was safe to log out some where, intentional or not, then we all should seriously think about finding a new game. Its bad enough Blizzards strong arming this and that now a days, if they started doing that it'd be the end.
Wither Jul 30th 2009 7:08PM
In the upcoming patch, there is a XP "lock" feature that stops your character from gaining XP. These locked players will be entered in a separate battleground queue.
Will players who have not purchased the expansion(s) (and who are effectively locked, but have not chosen the option) be grouped with the locked players or the regular players?
James Jul 30th 2009 7:11PM
There is a cow level: Mulgore.
I mean, Blizzard made a whole "cow" class (ie. Tauren). There's even a "moo" emote in the game for them. How much more obvious do you need Blizzard to be?
Ian R. (Orkchop) Jul 30th 2009 7:12PM
How come, with all the Maelstorm talk, there's been no speculation on Murlocs as a playable race? I'd totally roll one!
Eudeyrn Jul 30th 2009 7:14PM
I think people just do it on purpose now. Some people try to be cute about it, with labels like "inscriptionologist". Still bugs me, though.
Sleutel Jul 30th 2009 7:15PM
Ebon Blade will also give you a 2H weapon at Revered, which would also be good for a Ret Pally (assuming it's something they can equip... I can't remember the weapon class off the top of my head).
elvendude Jul 30th 2009 8:08PM
Reply button fail:
It's a sword: Runeblood of Demonstrable Power. http://www.wowhead.com/?item=44249 It's covered with agi, so it's not optimal for a retadin, but it's not terrible until they find something that's better statted for them.