Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: Pony games
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 27th 2010 at 11:00AM
The above is a screenshot from Free Realms. Dancing ponies are not exactly my thing, but god knows we've talked about them enough. So I think after this screenshot, I'm never going to ask for a pony again. Forget it.
Instead I'll be asking Ghostcrawler for a moose. I encourage you all to as well.
Ghostcrawler promised me a moose.
Eddy asked...
"Can you lose achievements? I just got the Loremaster of EK and Kalimdor achievements and I keep reading things on Wowhead about how such and such quest used to count, how people's quest count changed... and I'm a little anxious about them. If Blizzard changes whether, say, a particular quest counts for EK or Kalimdor and messes up my totals, would the achievement disappear?"
Right now, once you have an achievement you have it for good. I don't anticipate Blizzard changing their stance on this anytime soon. However the idea of permutable achievements does sound cool -- think if the guild with the most players online at any one time all got the title "of the Crowded," or the player online with the most non-buffed HP got "the Tank." But those are not necessarily achievements as much as titles (much like the current arena titles are implemented).
Either way, for now -- you're safe. No chance of having an achievement removed by normal gameplay means.
Sprinte asked...
"Why did the Lich King never launch a counteroffensive against the Horde and Alliance? He seems to have been on the defensive the entire expansion. A friendly visit to Dalaran could have been great fun. Think of the chaos!"
Who says he's not going to go to Dalaran? Maybe he'll meet up with Jaina and some undead form of Kael'thas and they'll all sit around and pine about how they hate and love each other. I won't continue where this story goes... but what I'm trying to say (for real) is that we don't know that Arthas is done yet.
As for him being on the defensive most of the expansion, we can assume that's because he's had the problems at the Wrathgate, as well as the major offensive he had prior to Wrath's release. That's a lot to happen to any nation state (even a terrorist one like Arthas'), so I don't think anyone should be too surprised nothing has happened yet.
Besides, there's a Cataclysm on the horizon...
And Shade? You win one internets today. Congrats!
Tim asked...
"Does Blizzard hate trolls? We have plenty if backstory, which I am thankful for. It's just that players kill so many of them in the game. Who knows how many troll themed instances there are? I know I don't. It seems Blizzard wants us to enjoy killing them."
No, Blizzard doesn't hate trolls. They also have you kill tons of humans, elves, and other creatures. They don't have you kill enough gnomes however. Clearly Blizzard loves gnomes.
Kyrro asked...
"Does weaponskill have any effect to casters? Would I do better with 400 skillpoints staves than 1 skillpoint in staves?"
Nope. The only thing weapon skills will reward you with is an achievement. Although if you are a caster and can use a wand, I suggest having that skill be maxed. You never know when you'll want to play with your wand...
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: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 8)
Niv Jan 27th 2010 12:21PM
Not really related to anything, and it may've been mentioned before somewhere, but in the Epic Crafting: Gunship Battle article (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/gunship-battle.xml), Zaphod Boombox is pictured as having a rather Cataclysmic face.
Alanid Jan 27th 2010 12:34PM
Is it just me or when I play through the Death Knight starting area can I hear music that sounds like it's based from WC3
Dameblanche Jan 27th 2010 12:35PM
About the worry of the quest-count resetting for Loremaster: I think part of the messages on the internet were from the period when Silverpine Forest quests for some strange reason counted for Loremaster of Kalimdor. Once Blizz corrected this, people saw their quest count changed, but irregularities like this have been rooted out by now. Plus Blizzard removed some questlines that involved attunement for Vanilla instances, which can also be part of the reason for wowhead rumors.
Right now I wouldn't worry about it.
AndiusRex Jan 27th 2010 12:37PM
"Who knows how many troll themed instances there are? I know I don't."
Zul'farrak, Zul'Gurub, and Zul'Aman. I think it's safe to say Blizz loves da voodoo.
Thyen Jan 27th 2010 2:15PM
Drak'Tharon and Gundrak as well. And a significant chunk of The Temple of Atal'Hakkar.
Then there's an entire Zul zone, AND the outdoor big city of Jintha'kalar.
Shrike Jan 27th 2010 7:43PM
There's also Jintha'Alor in the Hinterlands, which used to be an outdoor elite subzone.
Kaz Jan 27th 2010 12:39PM
Is it really hard to figure out why the LK hasn't just gone around and turned everyone that isn't under his direct control into a mindless zombies?
The reason is simple: Sargeras.
The part of Ner'zhul that still resides in the LK is still pissed off about Kil'jaeden's little checkpoint stop in the twisted nether. He's also scarred shitless of the top tier of the Burning Legion. The Lich King knows that eventually the Legion will find its way back to Azeroth. If the Lich King just turned the world into one big version of Naxxramas the Scourge would be crushed by the might of the Legion.
The Lich King needs an elite core army. Battle hardened, cunning, and experienced in combat to counter any legion attack including one that may include Kil'jaeden and possibly even Sargeras himself.
To get a fighting force capable of countering the Legion the Lich King needs to watch and test the adventurers strong and brave enough to come after him directly. The ones that fall early will be the mindless ghouls that will make up the bulk of his conventional force. However the ones that make it to him, to be tested against Frostmourne, to endure against the might of the lord of death, those will be the ones that will sit at his right-hand and will be strong enough, when empowered by the Lich King, to bring down the entire Burning Legion.
Also, the Pantheon may take offense that their creation has been so perverted and may return to Azeroth to put an end to the Scourge directly. Arthas is going to need an army strong enough to deal with not only Sargeras and Kil'jaeden, but also Aman'Thul and Aggramar.
Rapskallion Jan 27th 2010 12:50PM
A comment on losing Achievement / Quest points. I was around 2800/3000 for that achievement when I switched factions. I've since lost all credit for my former Alliance quests and am back to 1900/3000. Pissed me the hell off...
Drakkenfyre Jan 27th 2010 1:18PM
I haven't heard too much of the male Tauren's voice, but I can tell you this. Michael Dorn does voices for some of the Tauren NPC's.
If you don't know who Michael Dorn is, he's Worf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zweQgrLjh_s
Blastenheim Jan 27th 2010 1:23PM
Keep in mind you can see some Achievements removed from your character due to the Faction Change tool, such as some of those related to the Argent Tournament. In fact, they warn you just before you use it.
Beruza Jan 27th 2010 1:30PM
Cataca, it does change in the character information window (c), or at least it did a year ago. I kept the window open as I leveled up the crossbow skill, and I wrote down my results. So I literally watched it improve damage and attack power (when all buff procs wore off). At that time I wasn't using Recount. I still don't, unless I am testing something
daan.leijen Jan 27th 2010 1:43PM
Actually, they don't remove the achievements (except city champion), i still had Lance-a-lot, argent valor etc
Vickitt Jan 27th 2010 1:29PM
Why can't the actress for Kay'lar, Deanna Troi, or Jadzia Dax do the female Tauren then?
The voice they use is so low and quiet I can't even hear it.
JC_Icefox Jan 27th 2010 1:57PM
Man, that screenshot gave me cavities, diabetes, and ocular dystrophy simultaneously.
Thanks, WoW.com. You'll be hearing from my lawyers. >:(
Gamer am I Jan 27th 2010 2:07PM
As someone who can't raid, I would still really like to see how the Lich King saga ends. Will WoW.com do a spoiler filled post about the end of that saga once we know how it ends?
niels Jan 27th 2010 2:27PM
Wil WOW work on the apple Ipad?
Hoggersbud Jan 27th 2010 2:44PM
Dunno, the screen will be rather small, though possibly tolerable, but I don't know about the CPU.
I wouldn't expect to raid or walk around a city though.
Veronia Jan 27th 2010 2:42PM
Have we seen anything that points at a model style for weapons and armor in the upcoming expansion? At least as far as quest rewards, there is a definitive style to the gear. Especially weapons. Anything to suggest what theme we'd be seeing next?
Samutz Jan 27th 2010 2:50PM
From the recent Developer Twitter Chat:
http://www.wow.com/2010/01/15/developer-twitter-chat-transcript-for-january-15th-organized-by/#cataclysm
Q. Paladin armor has gone all dark and gothic. When will we see armor that better represents iconic holy warriors?
A. Northrend is a pretty dark and gloomy place. Cataclysm will have more of an emphasis on say elements and dragons.
Andrew R. Jan 27th 2010 3:01PM
This isn't a comment about the game so much as it is about blogging. I've recently started really reading about the lore of WoW. I've toyed with the idea of making a blog but the lore seems to be pretty well covered between WoW.com, Scrolls of Lore and a few other bloggers. There are parts of WoW that are lacking in lore. Be it a character or a zone.
My question is this. Would writing a blog about the future of the different zones and characters be hard to pull off or could I approach it from a theory/discussion point of view? For example. "How will Cataclysm affect Darkshire and the people living there?"