The Queue: In which solidarity is shown
by Adam Holisky 
Feb 15th 2010 at 1:00PM
Fellow fatty Kevin Smith (we're part of a super exclusive club) was kicked off a Southwest Airlines plane this weekend. And while it has absolutely nothing to do with WoW, it certainly made me stop and cringe for a moment at the prospect of getting kicked off the plane as I'm on my way to BlizzCon. Of course I could take preventative measures to combat this inevitable passenger-eject-button-pushing, but I'm too busy eating my Pepperoni Pizza for breakfast, which is far better than Alex's Hawaiian Pizza.
Nomnomnom.
Ben asked...
"Do you think the tension in Cataclysm will possibly lead to World of Warcraft: The Fourth War? It could be a very PVP centric expansion, with raid content involving major battles in war, lots of new battle grounds, y'know, the works."
It certainly could. Cataclysm is going to caused renewed tensions between the Horde and Alliance, and anything concerning that buildup of tension could be a place to take the Warcraft storyline, potentially into a PvP centric mindset. But is that likely to happen? I honestly don't think so, not for a major expansion. I could see a content patch being all about PvP, but not an xpac itself.
Part of the reason I don't think PvP will get its own expansion is that it's not as popular as raiding and PvE. This doesn't make it any less valid, but we've seen a lot about how arenas are not like they were, and how BG queues are insanely long in some battlegroups. A new expansion that's PvP focused could certainly breath some new life into the PvP system, but it would be a risky financial move, and that's something Bobby K. isn't going to go for.
But on the flip side, I do think Blizzard could release a major PvP patch that changes the entire system. Cataclysm is going to go a long way to making Battlegrounds more attractive again, and somewhere along Cataclysm's release cycle they could dump a gigantic patch that redoes many of the foundational elements of PvP -- things like having separate spell actions and talent modifications for PvP environments (which is something they've said they won't do, but I think it's becoming increasingly clear PvE builds and PvP builds are incompatible in their very existence side-by-side).
At the end of the day though, we don't know what Blizzard's plans are post-Cataclysm. We've heard a few rumors, some of them are probably true, but nothing is out in public yet.
Lilschlute asked...
"Has Blizzard given any hints on if any new passenger mounts would be implemented in the future? If so what?"
Blizzard hasn't said anything about the timeframe of implementing new passenger mounts. They have mentioned they want to do multi-person flying mounts, but again, no timeframe. Possum brings up a good point however:
Elstor asked...As a mage and priest I'm all for multi passenger flying mounts.
Step 1. Get two of your friends on your mount
Step 2. Fly up really high
Step 3. /cancel mount
Step 4. Cast Slowfall/Levitate on self. Watch friends (or enemies??) plummet to their deaths.
"In your opinion, what's the chance of seeing Warcraft 4 ever made?"
Very likely in the long term, not likely at all in the short term. Blizzard has said previously they're open to Warcraft 4, but right now they've got all their development teams working on other projects (WoW, SCII, D3, Unannounced MMO). When one of those teams becomes free, there'll be a lot of discussion about what to do. That's not going to happen for a little bit though, even with SCII shipping later this year (it will still have two other campaigns to go after it ships).
The clearest indication we have on this matter is from Pardo's comments back in 2008, which you can read over at GameDaily.
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 1 of 7)
Oni Stardust Feb 15th 2010 1:03PM
What happened to the WoW Insider Show MP3 last week?
Banic Rhys Feb 16th 2010 4:26AM
I would also like to know this.
Valorum Feb 15th 2010 1:07PM
Queue question for tomorrow, or for anyone who might know the reason:
Why do you have to be in a raid to zone into a raid zone? If I can get one other person to join a group, convert it to a raid, and have that person log out and still be able to get into a raid zone, what's the purpose in not letting anyone into one, like anyone can enter any 5-man zone?
bean Feb 15th 2010 1:22PM
Or to ask a different way/question, why can't I make a 1-person raid by myself. Pitying the lovefool in naxx is the last I need for the valentine meta (no guildies were around) :-/
Wulfkin Feb 15th 2010 2:40PM
Its an outdated mechanic that they really ought to change. Its not like any one person is going to be able to achieve anything in a raid instance by themselves. But there are times when someone needs to go into a raid to do something, the most prominent example these days is buying from the rep vendors in the basement of Icecrown Citadel. Someone really ought to fix this *pokes Blizz with a stick*.
thebarrenschat.wordpress.com
tatsumasa Feb 15th 2010 2:57PM
actually you can. group with a friend, convert to raid, MAKE THEM LEAD OR GIVE ASSIST, log onto alt, get alt invited to raid, switch back to main, have friend leave group.
if you can't get ONE friend to help you for ONE minute, then maybe raid group instances shouldn't be the first problem on your priority list.
Joey2250 Feb 15th 2010 3:28PM
I hate not being able to do quests in a raid group. When I am in a pug or Guild 25man it takes a while to get it all together. It seems unfair that I should have to stop doing my dailies and wait patiently doing nothing. There should be an option outside of Raid instances that allow me to select Group mode while in Raid, where I would still be able to do quests. I don't know how the mechanics would play out, possibly make it an option that is greyed out until max level so I could still do dailies/quests at 80 while waiting in a raid.
Reuben Feb 15th 2010 3:46PM
@tasumasa
You call that convenient? You shouldn't even have to do that at all.
Abbadon Feb 15th 2010 4:49PM
@Wulkin
"Its not like any one person is going to be able to achieve anything in a raid instance by themselves."
Not so... A couple achievements come to mind, and I'm sure there's more. Fishing up the Lurker in SSC and farming the first few mobs in AQ40 for the red beetle mount are the ones that I soloed.
Siaperas Feb 15th 2010 5:06PM
I could be wrong, but I think when Blizz first introduced Raid zones, they wanted to be sure some person who didn't know any better wouldn't just run in there, get smoked, then grab 4 friends, and get smoked again. The raid requirement was kind of their way of saying, "Danger! Are you sure you want to do this?"
Tyr Feb 15th 2010 6:47PM
@ Sieperas
That's probably why, because the real entrances to MC and BWL are inside regular instances (BRD and UBRS respectively). It'd be easy for a simple pug to just walk in there without knowing what's up and get completely clobbered, if there weren't any restrictions on entering.
Cephas Feb 15th 2010 7:31PM
@Siaperas
Your argument is valid, but why can I not simply "convert" myself into a 1-man raid group? If I go the effort of converting, I'm basically saying, "I am aware of the risks involved with entering a raid alone, and I am willing to suffer the consequences." Moreover, since it's entirely possible to enter a raid alone provided you make a raid group with somebody's bank alt, then why should those extra steps be necessary, and why should you have to bother another player at all? Plus, the game doesn't prevent me from entering HHoR by myself and subsequently getting destroyed.
Dazaras Feb 15th 2010 8:01PM
The reason as I understand it is that every raid instance generated is work for the servers. Raid instances in general are much larger than dungeons, it is inefficient to have an entire raid for just one person, so blizz wants to discourage you from doing it. You still can if you want to, but the inconvenience limits it to those who really want to.
Hollow Leviathan Feb 15th 2010 8:14PM
Originally Stratholme Scholomance and UBRS were all 15 person raids, with raid and non-raid quests in both of them. Disallowing normal quests to be completed in a raid meant that the non-raid quests required you to do the instances with only 5. The system has been scrapped since they revamped Strat and Scholo to be purely 5man instances, and has been a pointless relic since.
It needs to be changed.
Banic Rhys Feb 16th 2010 4:31AM
Why is everyone under the impression that you get booted from a raid instance if your friend leaves.
If you are the leader of the raid you can kick your friend out or they can leave and you will not be booted out of the instance.
Gothia Feb 16th 2010 6:47AM
I believe the reason for this is so players will not farm in the instances as was used to exploit the lucky charms in Ulduar with motorcycles. Ill gotten gains like this is caused by players taking advantage of the content and this is the reason why chests were removed from Bc instances.
Matt Feb 16th 2010 8:48AM
The way I completed the Pity the Love Fool achievement in Naxx was to join a Wintergrasp raid, then simply not leave it when the battle was over. I flew to Naxx, completed the achievement, and dropped out of the raid. I suppose you could use the same technique for getting into any other raid instance in the game, although it is still a minor inconvenience since you have to join WG first.
Lissanna Feb 15th 2010 1:10PM
Good thing I'm a druid. I'll just switch to flight form if they dismount me. :)
Zan Feb 15th 2010 1:53PM
I love that part about being a druid. Instant flight cast FTW!!!
Its fun to just jump off and pop it just before hitting the ground. (Some ppl just have too much time on their hands).
Massa Feb 15th 2010 2:02PM
And it's faster than actually flying down from dalaran (say for the crystalsong carrots or the crown sprayers). Just jump over the edge (or fly over it), pop out to fall the distance, and pop back in before landing. So much fun!