The Queue: Different

Today's Queue is inspired by things that are different. That is to say, we'll be looking at instances in WoW where one of these things are not like the other.
Kitteh asked:
"Why do professions not level up at the same rate as weapon skills? I mean, weapon skills go up 5 at a time per level, up to a cap of 400 at level 80. But, once we reach master professions, we have to level 7.5 skills up at a time if we want to reach the cap of 450."
There's history to how the two skills got to be how they are, in terms of changes with patches and expansions. But that's kind of a sidestep to the question. What you asked is "Why do professions not work the same way as combat skills?"
The answer is that they're different systems. Combat skills function as a variable inside an equation and become meaningful when functioning inside that equation compared to your opponent's combat skill. By comparison, profession skills directly represent how advanced your character has become in a craft, and what recipes you can know.
The best answer here is "Professions and combat skills level differently because they represent much different aspects of the game."
Mapster asked:
"Does anyone know what will happen to a warlock's soul bags in Cataclysm, since the soul shard system is being revamped and the soul shards moved to under the health bar?"
They'll become something different; probably standard bags. Your shiny new soul-less bags won't be a slot-for-slot equivalent for soul bags, though, so that Blizzard isn't encouraging us all to stock up on bags before Cataclysm.
Toolhead19 asked:
"Will Blizzard be allowing people to level their characters using the dungeon system when Cataclysm launches?"
I can't imagine why that would be different. You've always had the option of questing or just doing dungeons over and over. For all the window dressing, going into an instance boils down to just killing harder, different mobs. It's not actually all that different from "world mobs," except that you get private alone time with four other people.
Rainstorm asked:
"What is physiological difference between a forsaken and a human death knight? And if the answer is 'none,' then why have only human corpses become forsaken? Shouldn't all death knights technically be classified as forsaken (where forsaken are a fallen hero resurrected under the command of the Lich King and then somehow get their free will back)?"
You actually nailed it, there, Rainstorm. The reason forsaken and death knights aren't the same, treated the same, or have the same physiology is that they're different. If an undead and Forsaken were the same, then an undead couldn't become a death knight.
There's no amount of fanwanking I could do to convince someone who doesn't like the delineation, but I find it helpful to think of forsaken and death knights as simply being different critters. Vampires and zombies are both undead, but they can do wildly different things. Same thing with the forsaken and the death knights.
Filed under: The Queue






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
(cutaia) Jun 28th 2010 4:06PM
Oh crap...by that logic, you could end up with zombie vampires! (Please don't let that turn into a new genre...)
Galestrom Jun 28th 2010 4:09PM
As long as they aren't rocking sparkly makeup, I'm okay with it.
jorath Jun 29th 2010 8:22AM
So... Craving for brains and lust for blood? Talk about high maintenance.
Tyr Jun 28th 2010 4:54PM
ALL HAIL THE ZOMPIRES!
MrJackSauce Jun 28th 2010 4:57PM
I'm more worried about this epidemic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZuK_wYrqp8
(Note: kinda not safe for work but no swearing in it, you may have people looking at you funny for a few weeks if it's too loud tho)
Sithril Jun 28th 2010 5:38PM
Who doesn't like to wash down a great meal of brains with a refreshing dose of fresh blood?
Come on! You all were zombies during "that" event! You all know you do!
Boobah Jun 28th 2010 6:02PM
Forsaken aren't "a fallen hero resurrected under the command of the Lich King and then somehow get their free will back." Forsaken were mindless undead who somehow got their free will back, most of 'em when Illidan cracked the Frozen Throne.
Some Forsaken were powerful mages in life; others were farmers. One of the more disturbing things about starting a new forsaken character at Deathknell is realizing that the zombies they immediately send you to kill... are exactly what your character was days, or maybe only hours, before.
Death Knights, on the other hand, WERE fallen heroes, but were never mindless. They just lacked free will (and the only known time they were able to break free was when the Lich King was driven off by Tirion wielding the Ashbringer at Light's Hope, hardly something that happens every day.)
Alanid Jun 28th 2010 6:22PM
@Boobah - note he never said all forsaken were heroes beforehand, just some.
Sleutel Jun 28th 2010 6:26PM
It's been done. :\
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334513/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970520/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052077/
jishdefish Jun 28th 2010 6:51PM
Actually, if you roll a Forsaken DK you have to kill a fellow Forsaken, so therefore, lorewise, a Forsaken Deathknight died and was reborn twice.
1. Human in Lorderon.
2. Killed by plague.
3. Resurrected by the plague itself or a Scourge necromancer.
4. Freed by the crack in the Frozen Throne, swore yourself to the Dark Lady.
5. Killed again in the fight against the Scourge.
6. Resurrected to serve as a DK.
When they say you were a "Hero" in the past, I like to think this is how they explain what happened to some those raiders who tried to take down Naxxramas. Blizzard decided the attack ultimately failed, so Kel'Thuzad wasn't slain (until WotLK), and all those that tried to kill him barely escaped with their lives, died, or were reborn as DKs or lesser Scourge.
Physiologically, Forsaken DKs have just been dead longer. Psychologically, they have 'lived' two 'lives' before their 'life' as a DK.
Kevin Jun 28th 2010 7:43PM
http://www.wowwiki.com/The_Phylactery_of_Kel%27Thuzad
michael.doucet Jun 28th 2010 7:46PM
@jishdefish - Thank you for having a brain. That was perfectly said.
Iirdan Jun 28th 2010 7:53PM
@jishdefish
Actually, the attack on Naxxramas was successful. Kel'thuzad was killed, however, the priest that the conquering players gave the phylactery to, Father Inigo Montoy (one internet if you get the reference), was a scumbag and allowed the lich to regenerate so that he could become a lich himself.
Prudelas Jun 28th 2010 10:48PM
Castlevania beat you to it
Woif Jun 28th 2010 11:38PM
Hell. Marvel did it. and the thing called its self a Vambie.
oniryuujin Jun 28th 2010 11:53PM
I just think an undead DK is odd, hence why I named mine "Redundant"
Angus Jun 29th 2010 1:24AM
I, for one, welcome our new zombie vampire overlords.
Gothia Jun 29th 2010 5:30AM
The FACT remains that Death Knights are undead and have no place in the Alliance. The Death Knight class has done more to destroy the Alliance faction than any other single event that developers have totally botched since the inception of this game. Undead should have never been allowed to be a part of the Alliance. Wrath has been a huge and fatal mistake by game developement that has led to the destruction of Azeroth as we know it - the real cataclysm began with Death Knights.
ZeroDesu Jun 29th 2010 7:22AM
@Gothia: Take a chill pill, or quit the game. You're putting a serious harsh on my mellow vibe here, man. I'm talkin' bout free love. Gotta love all the races equally, dead or not, man. People is people, whether they're zombies or just living life one day at a time. So chillax, and enjoy the fact that, by allowing Zombies into the Alliance, we're one step closer to an Ally/Horde hand-holding friendship-like thing, man.
(So, did I pull off the Hippy thing okay? I think I did. But you get my point, regardless of my level of seriousness, yes?)
Cure4Living Jun 30th 2010 4:37AM
@Gothia
But what you forget is that the Forsaken went on a little killing spree when they got themselves free-will and further reduced the remaining living population of Lordaeron. Death Knights however didn't (in public) start killing innocent civilians.
Also the Death Knights aren't busy 'squatting' (as the alliance might see it) on human (alliance don't seem to thing of the forsaken as being all that human) property i.e. the human kingdom of Lordaeron. Just check some of the quest lines or the wrathgate event, the humans seem pretty much convinced that Lordaeron belongs to them and not the forsaken.
Also since Tirion Fordring played such a big role in the freeing of the Death Knight's it would be too unexpected to think he might have put in a good word for them. After all its not like Death Knight's are welcomed with open arms, I presume it more like the warlocks a acceptable evil.
And those are only off of the top of my head, someone who's really into the lore might even be able to give some decent reasons too.