The Queue: Hell, it's about time
by Adam Holisky 
Jul 27th 2010 at 11:00AM
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.
I really couldn't do The Queue today without talking about StarCraft II. It really is about time that it's released. The original StarCraft cam out on March 31, 1998; it required a 90 Mhz Pentium and 16 megs of RAM to run on Windows -- any iPhone or Android is more powerful than that. What's even more amazing, though, is that StarCraft I is still widely played and loved by millions of people around the world. People ask when WoW will end; you only need to point them to the 12-year mega success of Blizzard's second franchise.
The above video is an awesome run-down of the lore in StarCraft I. I highly recommended that you watch it today before you sit down and play through the single-player campaign.
Babaloo asked:
"How much damage do you do in Cataclysm? Because Deathwing has 858 Million HP."
You do a lot, depending on what class you play and how you play it, but that's doesn't really matter. It's all proportional, and the proportions feel much like they do today. What does matter is that you shouldn't take any of those numbers as set in stone. Deathwing might have 858 million HP in a screenshot of him someplace, but that means nothing as to what he'll have when you face him as a raid boss.
Msterblster asked:
"Why is the paladin column 'The Light and How to Swing It' always about holy paladins?"
Holy paladins get their edition on Sundays and retribution/protection paladins get their column on Wednesdays.
Sharvis asked:
"Are the towns in the revamped vanilla zones more lively and believable? I recently trekked an alt from dear old Azeroth to Outland and noticed how there are guards walking around Thrallmar and just NPC's doing stuff in general. It reminded me of how boring most of the towns are before then where nothing interesting is going on."
I've noticed a lot more random NPCs doing things about the cities in Cataclysm. Most of it is just jumping out at me because things are so different, but there is overall a lot more interaction and "busyness" to the world. This isn't a dig on Blizzard's previous design as much as it is just an observation about how MMOs have changed in the near six years WoW has been released. Back in 2005, it was quite normal to see mainly static towns with only a few dynamic elements. Today? Take a look at Dalaran; there's always something going on. Blizzard has grown along with the rest of the industry.
Zef asked:
"In the beta can you form a raid on your own? If not, do you think this is something Blizzard is ever going to change? It's such a hassle when wanting to solo old raids."
You cannot form raids by yourself in Cataclysm's beta. I doubt Blizzard will ever change this -- no matter what the level of the raid is, the purpose of the instance is to group with a large number of other people and accomplish a task.
Jonka asked:
"How do you handle the situation where you find yourself a normal member of a guild where the leader is an outrageously arrogant prick who exploits the guild bank and loot policy in order to make sure that he and his officers are all in best-in-slot gear while the rest of the guild is in whatever they can scrounge up?"
I'd do two things. First, take a day and cool your head. Given your language, you either have a flair for entertaining/dramatic writing (kudos, in that case), or you're angry. Either way, although especially if you're mad, take a day and make sure you're seeing things from everyone's perspective. Don't make a hasty and rash decision. You'll not come out ahead if you do.
Secondly, if after a day of rest and relaxation you still feel this way, just send your guild leader a message saying, "I don't think I'm a good fit here and am going to be on my way." That's all. You can post the same in the forums if you want, but don't go over the reasons you're leaving. You'll just burn bridges with other like-minded individuals who don't want guild drama.
Honestly though, I've seen a lot of egotistical guild leaders. I've been a guild leader before of a high-end raiding guild, and while some level of ego is necessary in order to do the job right and be the public face of the guild, too much of it is very detrimental. When a guild leader can't make that distinction, it's time for most folks to get out.
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 9)
skreeran Jul 27th 2010 11:10AM
God, I gotta play that game.
I was a Warcraft player way back in the day, makes me sad I missed out on Starcraft... :(
Dril Jul 27th 2010 1:28PM
Back in the day? Pitiful worm. Warcraft 3 is still going strong...and it's a damn side more fun than any other RTS released since it launched.
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Jul 27th 2010 5:22PM
Good thing SC1 predates WC3 then?
Dreyja Jul 27th 2010 11:44PM
@ Artificial
Well I disagree that the oversimplification of druids or of Tauren society is my problem. I'm more than familiar with the nuances of the story but there are CORE values in both that, I'm sorry, are very much in opposition with the status quo. I'm actually asking for some nuance in the game. You can't tell me there are not ANY Taurens or druids in general who have a problem with basic issues in the horde.
Certainly I'm having issues with it MYSELF, in terms of playing the "role" (thanks for that btw) but that would be eased by some of the afor mentioned nuances to show up. If anything the very thing you at talking about happens when the game-play forces artificial conflict.
Anyhoo. Good catch on the roll/role thing. I'm Dyslexic (hardest word to spell b.t.w.) and that's one of the things good 'ol spell check doesn't catch. I understand the difference. XD
My problem with things is oversimplification in fact - oversimplification of the story for the sake of "red is dead" gaming.
Dreyja Jul 27th 2010 11:45PM
How the HELL did this show up on this thread. BLARRHGHGHHhhhh! lol
Dwarf RAGE.
skreeran Jul 28th 2010 4:13AM
@Dril
I still have Warcraft 3, and I still play it.
Warcraft 2 is what I was playing when I missed out on Starcraft, and I wish that I had had the cash to get both, because it looks like a pretty kickass game that I missed.
snowleopard233 Jul 27th 2010 11:11AM
How do the Tauren feel about the deforestation in Ashenvale? Has there been anything happening in cataclysm in regards to this? I remember seeing a lot of Tauren troops with the army in the cataclysm announcement video and started to wonder how such a nature-loving culture views what’s going on there.
Nina Katarina Jul 27th 2010 11:25AM
"There's no good grazing land in Ashenvale; the trees block out all of the light. Us orcs won't rest until all the trees are down so that you can grow Ashenvale into a lovely wildflower meadow, just like Mulgore. We're even burning the stumps so that the ash fertilizes the land"
Rhoan01 Jul 27th 2010 4:56PM
In that same vein, what's going on with beta tauren in general, and tauren paladins in particular? I'm dying to hear more about Holy Cows, Ret Bulls, and...
Okay, can't come with a good Prot pun. Somebody help me out?
snowleopard233 Jul 27th 2010 11:52AM
Happy cows come from Mulgore!
The quality of the cheese, however, is based entirely on one’s preference towards Tauren byproducts.
Aaron Jul 27th 2010 1:04PM
/moo
Moo Jul 27th 2010 2:06PM
Yes?
Dreyja Jul 27th 2010 4:58PM
I REALLY hope this gets a serious answer from the gang. There is are SO many unaddressed issued here with the core of Tauren culture. I'm sorry, pulling out the, "enemy of my enemy," BS doesn't hold water when there we don't hear a PEEP from individuals about all this? Come on, throw in some discontented NPC talk somewhere at the very least, PLEASE.
To date this is what frustrates me about the horde there is too many quests at odd with each other. I like Tauren, a LOT. The first Troll quest turned my stomach when I realized what they had me do. This is still "roll play," after all and playing a the ROLL of a druid I can't reconcile this stuff.
Please, just... am I the only on out there frustrated by this?
Artificial Jul 27th 2010 5:51PM
@Dreyja: Usually when a rollplayer has trouble reconciling things, it's because they have an overly narrow or simplified view of something. The "contradiction" they perceive is not between the elements they identify, but between their own misconceptions about something and the reality of the situation. Ask yourself what is wrong with your stereotype of a druid that makes you think it precludes what it actually doesn't? What is it that you think "all druids" must believe that in fact is simply a feature of some shallow stereotype of druids? And keep in mind that all generalizations are false -- if there's *anything* you think must apply to the mindset of all druids, you're almost certainly mistaken. Can you imagine druids arguing? In real life, all people, even people of the same profession and same religion, get into serious arguments about things. Your conception of druids is almost certainly overly simplistic if you can't imagine them getting into serious arguments about the right and wrong of certain things. The supposed contradiction is really an opportunity for you to expand your notion of what constitutes being a druid, what it means and what all the variety of options there are for many different personality types that would doubtless exist in any real group of druids.
Alithoe Jul 27th 2010 6:19PM
This is completely off-topic, but it's been really bothering me since I see this all the time in these comments (Even in "All the World's a Stage").
It's role playing. You're playing a role. It has an e, not a second L.
Dreyja Jul 27th 2010 11:46PM
@ Artificial
Well I disagree that the oversimplification of druids or of Tauren society is my problem. I'm more than familiar with the nuances of the story but there are CORE values in both that, I'm sorry, are very much in opposition with the status quo. I'm actually asking for some nuance in the game. You can't tell me there are not ANY Taurens or druids in general who have a problem with basic issues in the horde.
Certainly I'm having issues with it MYSELF, in terms of playing the "role" (thanks for that btw) but that would be eased by some of the afor mentioned nuances to show up. If anything the very thing you at talking about happens when the game-play forces artificial conflict.
Anyhoo. Good catch on the roll/role thing. I'm Dyslexic (hardest word to spell b.t.w.) and that's one of the things good 'ol spell check doesn't catch. I understand the difference. XD
My problem with things is oversimplification in fact - oversimplification of the story for the sake of "red is dead" gaming.
Suzaku Jul 28th 2010 4:07AM
You can say, "oh man why don't the tauren bitch and moan about it, they love trees so much," but I'm sorry, that's frankly not the case. Trees don't really play any part in Tauren culture, as far as we've seen. There are virtually no trees on their land; they reside in wide, open mesas and craggy cliffs. Apart from carved wooden totems and some of their architecture, we see virtually no sign of trees.
While there are tauren druids, they in no way make up the bulk of the tauren race, which is largely shamanistic. Their interest seems to lie almost entirely with the earth and soil itself, and they pay their respects to the Earth Mother. It's natural that they would dislike the "digging" races, and they may relate to the importance of sacred lands, but the act of deforestation likely means little to their race as a whole.
The tauren also notably do not hold the exact same reverance for wildlife as the night elves. The only tauren quest giver I recall in Ashenvale is actually taking part in the tauren cultural staple known as the Great Hunt. To that end, he guides adventurers in tracking and killing three legendary creatures known to reside in Ashenvale.
Even if the tauren do relate with the night elves, the bottom line is that, apart from the Cenarion Circle, the night elves are their enemies and the orcs are their allies. Their allies need lumber and their enemies need to be driven back. This is tactically a win/win situation.
More importantly, when you really consider the military implications, it is better for the Horde to fight the night elves in their land then at home. If they gave up control of Ashenvale, it would strengthen the position of the night elves and allow them to directly invade the Barrens and Azshara. With the Southern Barrens already a warzone in Cataclysm, it's imperative that they do whatever they can to keep their enemies from pushing further into their land, even if it means pushing them out of their own sacred forest.
Aaron Hoffman Jul 29th 2010 5:58AM
@Rhoan01
Prot Roasts.
Sir Broose Jul 27th 2010 11:11AM
That video is great. Anyone know of a similar wry video run-down of the history of WoW?
Tim {the other Tim} Jul 27th 2010 11:19AM
I pray to the old gods or titans that Cataclysm gets this treatment. Bad ass revamp video? Yes please.