Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: The one where Fox tells you about all the [REDACTED]
by Fox Van Allen 
Oct 27th 2010 at 2:00PM
The powers than be here at WoW Insider are still licking their BlizzCon-inflicted wounds, so they requested I once again write The Queue. And since Holisky, Sacco, et al. probably won't even have the energy to edit this, I'm spilling the beans on what happened at BlizzCon 2010. Not the boring stuff. The awesome, seedy stuff that could get everyone fired.
First of all, I cannot believe what happened after [REDACTED] ended. [REDACTED] stayed a little bit after, and once we all got a few photos, all of us took turns [REDACTED]ing in the [REDACTED]. You know how [REDACTED] seemed awful friendly during the [REDACTED]? Yeah, you guessed it, he was totally [REDACTED]. Like, really [REDACTED].
On a somewhat related note, I'd really appreciate it if those of you who were taking the pictures of me when I was [REDACTED]ing [REDACTED] would stop uploading them to Facebook. Or at least stop tagging me in them. I mean, my grandmother can see that stuff. Come on.
Oh, and P.S.: [REDACTED]'s hair smelled exactly the way you'd have expected it to -- like [REDACTED].
[Nice try, Fox. – Ed.]
Dark Finch asked:
Does WoW Insider plan to redo the "(Place Spec Here) 101" articles to match the current talent trees and abilities? If so, will you do this before or after Cataclysm launches?
The good news is that you shouldn't see a whole heck of a lot of major changes for individual specs when Cataclysm is launched -- almost all of that was a part of patch 4.0.1. There's no reason why you can't start planning for that now. In fact, most of the info you're going to be looking for is currently available on the site. (Cue a plug for the patch 4.0.1 guide I wrote for shadow priests in Spiritual Guidance two weeks ago.)
WoW Insider has an awful lot of neat stuff planned for the Cataclysm launch (Tuesday, Dec. 7). Class-specific information will definitely play a part, so don't worry about that.
Donny J. Canup asked:
Is Mount Hyjal supposed to be phased when you finish all the quests in the zone as you have actually made a difference in that zone once you are done with it?
I think you've hit upon on of the main things I found lacking with quests in vanilla -- there was seldom a real sense of accomplishment doing them. You're supposedly doing a lot of cool stuff (in between stints of collecting wolf pelts in exchange for two pieces of silver, of course), but the in-game world never appreciates it. Or, in the case of opening the AQ gates, you participate in a massive world event and have an epic experience ... all at the expense of those who follow you and join the game later, totally missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime event.
In Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard started doing some experimentation with phasing, especially in Icecrown. The developers took the feedback they got, which I presume was almost entirely comprised of variations of, "I love feeling like I made a difference but where did all my friends go," and put it to work in Cataclysm. And what you get, ultimately, are areas like Vashj'ir and Mount Hyjal.
As you progress, you're asked to do quests. Some are standard busy work (kill eight [x] and four [y]), but many have you actively participating in saving the zone (and indirectly, the world). And the world around you changes to reflect that. When you start Vashj'ir, for example, you're given this feeling of totally being alone ... until you start finding some survivors. They tell you about other survivors, and all of a sudden, you've got a makeshift "hideout" populated with quest givers and merchants that didn't exist before you started. This continues throughout the zone, significantly blurring the line between MMORPG and a standard console RPG.
Questing in Cataclysm is a great feeling unique to the expansion. The only downside is that "but where did all my friends go" part didn't go away -- it only got worst. On the bright side, though, there's an icon next to your party members' names in Cataclysm to indicate which ones are stuck in a different phase.
Gravity13 asked:
Will the levels of Scholomance, Stratholme and other old world instances be changed in 4.0.3 or Cataclysm?
Yes, though the changes are far more epic than just having the enemy levels changed. The instances and the associated quests have changed to reflect what's been going on in the world since Cataclysm hit.
I don't want to spoil too much of the story, but you'll be working with the Argent Crusade to sweep through the instance and reclaim it from the Scourge. With the Lich King fallen, the Scarlet Crusade is no longer a factor in the instance ... unless you count their reanimated corpses, which are now controlled by Balnazzar. It seems fitting that they've suffered what they feared the most.
Not that you asked, but my favorite redone-for-4.0.3 instance is probably Stockades. Then again, I'm the type who eats /facepalm moments up like they were candy. Forest ... merely ... setback!
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider 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!
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 7)
Knob Oct 27th 2010 2:21PM
If you have 310% flying, it's quicker to just fly in a straight line to your destination instead of using the FP.
flawless Oct 27th 2010 2:39PM
Flying over the old world really does put into perspective how frickin huge it is.
Alithoe Oct 27th 2010 2:45PM
In my experience, the flight paths are still a little wonky. Most of the new ones only link to one of the old paths, which sometimes results in backtracking across the whole zone, only to turn around at an old FP and fly over the zone a second time just to get to org (freaking ashenvale). I haven't been on the beta in a week or two, but I expect they'll fix all those annoying problems before launch (if they haven't already).
There are probably about three times as many FP's in the old world so (when the paths aren't quite so silly) you'll have more direct routes to wherever you want to go, but the paths aren't any faster speed-wise.
Mattimus Oct 27th 2010 2:58PM
@Knob
Depending on when 4.0.3 goes live, we may still have to deal with flight paths for a while before Cataclysm gives us Old Weather Flying.
Balgus Oct 27th 2010 2:59PM
they said that they flightpaths spun around and went out of the way like that so players wouldnt see areas that werent "finished" and couldnt get to anyway. with everyone now being able to fly they had to finish everything so that is no longer needed.
Cephas Oct 27th 2010 3:00PM
It's not just "taking the scenic route" although that is a factor. Old world flight paths used to go out of their way to avoid unfinished areas and breaking trompe l'oeil. I think there actually are a few flight paths that they've been able to shorten up, but it's not like I've been trying them all and using a stopwatch to make sure.
The most glaringly obvious change to the flight points is that there are A LOT more of them. Seriously, they're all over the place. There are five new flight points in Eastern Plaguelands. Even if the flight paths aren't actually any shorter, they feel shorter because they take you much closer to where you're trying to go.
Moorit Oct 27th 2010 3:18PM
@knob:
My worgen won't have 310 flying for quite some time. For sixty levels she will probably care about this. I love getting a chance to get up and make a sandwich while on a flight path, but if I can make the sandwich, eat the sandwich, and wash the plate and still only be halfway there...
pancakes Oct 27th 2010 7:14PM
You're also forgetting that you can afk on flight paths. AFKing while on a flying mount ends you up halfway out sea/into the nether.
Orkchop Oct 27th 2010 2:14PM
0.0 I actually did tag a picture of me and Fox (and Murmurs) on facebook! Oops,..
Fox Van Allen Oct 27th 2010 2:24PM
So long as neither you, me, nor Murmurs are [REDACTED]ing, I have no problem with that.
As you'll learn at 5PM EDT tonight.
Tyler Caraway Oct 27th 2010 2:31PM
We're only [REDACTED]ing in that photo, so I think it's okay. Now if you had the one where we were [REDACTED] or [REDACTED]ing, then there might be an issue, but Fox was mostly [REDACTED] for all of those. Then again, Fox is a [REDACTED] anyway, so it's hard to tell.
artifex Oct 27th 2010 3:47PM
Thanks for posting it, too! That's how we discovered that his first name is actually Van, and that while Fox is his well-deserved appellation, you could also call him Horse.
Tim {the other Tim} Oct 27th 2010 2:14PM
Question!
I just started using google reader to keep up with all the hot scoops across the parts of the internet that I care about. Does Wow Insider get "credit" as if I visited your site? I know you all gotta get them clicks.
Just curious.
Kriegle Oct 27th 2010 6:27PM
I'm pretty sure that's why they put all their articles behind cuts. If you read it in a feedreader you have to click the link to finish any given article, thus giving them "credit".
t0xic Oct 27th 2010 2:16PM
Question for The Queue:
A lot of forum posts and blogs I've read discourage bears from rolling on strength weapons because of the additional armor/crit (savage defense procs) they can get from agility. If I understand correctly, agility no longer grants armor. With that in mind, and stat normalization in general with 4.0.1, I'm wondering if strength weapons are really so bad now at higher gear levels.
I have warmace of menethil (regular) and oxheart (heroic). I also have shaft of glacial ice (regular) and lightborn spire. Is it situational, or are agility weapons always better?
Daynthebold Oct 27th 2010 2:25PM
They could be talking about http://www.wowhead.com/spell=33873, which increases your heals by a percentage of your agility.
Rob Oct 27th 2010 2:32PM
Well, AFAIK agility still gives dodge. And the developers even came out and said (during the blizzcon class panel? - i can't recall), that the bear's main stat is agility. Now, many just go stamina when they gem, but if you are talking about weapons, the one with agility should be better for us, all else being equal.
Soulestream Oct 27th 2010 2:33PM
The reason they are suggesting against it, is that
STR gets you +2 AP
AGL gets you +2 AP, Dodge, Crit,
So passing it to say a DK or Pally would be better, assuming they don't steal your hunter weapon from you. :O)
awwjwah Oct 27th 2010 2:18PM
So after all the feedback of "Help I cannot finish this "quest/boss/etc" part of what I am on during this phase" that Blizzard received they still found no way to allow people in farther phases assist their friends?
I am all for phasing and what it has done to the story telling aspect of WoW but this is an MMO. The technology should not eliminate the core mechanic of the game which is to play with others.
jtrain Oct 27th 2010 2:45PM
Yeah I'm a little disappointed by this too.
Why couldn't they just let anyone who has progressed beyond a certain phase to go back to a previous phase via a toggle or something? That way if I'm a few phases ahead of a friend, I could go back and help him get caught up to where I'm at. I don't see how this would hurt anything.