The Queue: Out of retirement
by Mathew McCurley 
Jun 18th 2011 at 12:00PM
I decided to bring my Wrath shaman out of retirement, finally, and spent the better part of an afternoon getting his UI back to functionality, learning the new shaman stuff, and reseting and relearning all of the new talents. Seriously, there was a lot of dust on him. Sure, I've been following shaman progression through Cataclysm, but I had to relearn a lot of the class.
During Wrath, my shaman was restoration and elemental, as I never played enhancement after hitting the level cap at the time. After fixing his UI and getting everything set, I decided I really wanted to play enhancement. It just felt right, ya know? The trouble was that I had zero pieces of enhancement gear to start questing in Hyjal. One quick trip to the auction house rewarded me with cheap Cataclysm greens, but I was still holding my spell dagger and a shield. Throwing caution to the wind, I made off to Mount Hyjal, Stormstriking my way through the the first quests with ghost wolves, a dagger, and a shield.
I'm having way too much fun. Hopefully I'll get some new weapons soon. A part of me doesn't want to, however.
evemartyn asked:
Will any of the Firelands bosses or quests give rep with Hydraxian Waterlords? I figure its a stretch since they haven't really done that sort of thing before, but it is a sound choice lore-wise.
The only new faction that players will be gaining reputation with is the Avengers of Hyjal, which will be acquired through raiding thew new Firelands raid tier. Guardians of Hyjal reputation is still received for doing quests in the Regrowth, I believe. Sadly, our old friends the Hydraxian Waterlords are not taking part in this assault on Ragnaros this time. Their reputation is still only accessible through killing trash (up to a certain point) and bosses in the Molten Core.
Perhaps we will meet the Hydraxians another time in the future, when (and if) we go back to the Abyssal Maw. Duke Hydraxis, leader of the Hydraxian pure water elementals, is a servant of Neptulon who broke free of his master's control. One day, maybe. One day.
Aticus asked:
Q to ponder: Do you or someone you know play WoW in first the person view?
I was thinking of making an alt and play only in first person view. I think it would make the world a little more scary seeing giant spiders and other creatures.
I don't think MMOs have been designed to be played in first person mode since Everquest or maybe even Asheron's Call. Even Everquest eventually pulled the camera back out from inside your character's head. I was one of those players who always had trouble playing an MMO in first-person because I had immense amounts of trouble with understanding my surroundings.
In WoW, there is so much to look at and watch for in terms of ground effects, environmental damage, etc., that the game was not designed to be played in first person mode. So, no, I don't see any reason to play in first person, except when I need to remove my character for screen shot purposes.
chefjr3 asked:
Ive been playing WoW since late 2007, is it worth it now to go back and play WC 1,2 and 3 to get a better perspective on the game as a whole?
If you are an RTS fan, absolutely. I loved the Warcraft games from beginning to end. They were engaging and fun, the stories were quirky, and they provided great gaming experiences. Of course, I have to cop to nostaligia since I basically built a computer back in the day to play Warcraft II, and these games were a big part of my youth. That said, they provide the very essence and foundation for World of Warcraft in a profound way, and I believe are worth the playthrough.
Or, as most people said in the comments, if RTS games aren't your thing, you can look through YouTube for videos of the crucial lore moments and story hooks. You can also read about the past games on Know Your Lore, Wowpedia, etc.
relishwasray asked:
For the Queue:
There's confusion in my guild as to the immediate availability of the new Firelands raid bosses. Must we get "attuned" by completing some/all of the new quests? Also, which quest, if any, must we complete that is currently available in order to unlock the new quest hubs? I'm having a hard time finding a straight answer online.
Thanks!
There is no attunement necessary to enter the new Firelands raid. The entrance is located in Hyjal at Sulfuron Spire in the southern part of the zone. In order to participate in the new Regrowth and Molten Front daily hub zones, you will have had to completed up to and including the quest Aessina's Miracle to see the new daily content.
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!
Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
james_j_murphy Jun 18th 2011 12:09PM
Quick Q for the Q: Is there a reason why plate-wearing classes don't receive crit from strength the same way that, for example, rogues do from agility?
dasubergeek99 Jun 18th 2011 12:15PM
Everyone receives crit from agility. It's just at a different rate. In fact, according to wowwiki's article, plate wearers get crit from agi faster than rogues do.
moonangel0910 Jun 18th 2011 1:12PM
For right now plate wearer's receive crit from agility but after patch 4.2, that will no longer be the case. All plate wearer's will no longer receive any benefit from agility items. This was done to enforce and put more of a separation in gear. Meaning plate wearers should stick with str/stam items where mail and leather wearers (if the spec/class needs it) should stick with agility on their gear. They are even putting a new pant enchant in for the plate wearing tanks, so they have an option.
Turtell Jun 18th 2011 12:34PM
Actually that is somewhat interesting to me now that you mention it. Agi classes get crit from agi and int classes get crit from int. The trend is bucked with strength users.
This is just my immediate reaction of course, I'm sure someone else can provide a real answer to your question, and I'm sure there's probably a logical explanation somewhere that I'm just not thinking of right now.
Merrena Jun 18th 2011 12:33PM
I would have to say that's just how the stat was made to work. I don't really believe there is any rhyme or reason for it aside from the fact that in most if not all RPGs or anything, Strength has always been a stat that increases damage and sometimes health and Agility would increase the chance to dodge, increase crit chance, and for certain classes give damage.
Zapwidget Jun 18th 2011 1:38PM
Currently, every class receives crit from agility. The specific rate depends entirely on class, and isn't really related to what type of armor you use.
As of 4.2, every class receives crit from agility. The specific rate depends entirely on class, and isn't really related to what type of armor you use.
The only thing changing for plate wearers is they will no longer receive dodge chance from agility.
From the patch notes:
"Death knights, paladins, and warriors no longer receive any bonus to their chance to dodge from Agility. Their base chance to dodge is now a fixed 5%."
SR Jun 18th 2011 1:57PM
I think this is largely due to how stats worked in Vanilla.
From what I remember, Int used to give mana and crit, without offering spellpower, and Agility used to give 1 AP and a decent chunk of crit, whereas Strength was (for the primary stat-users like warriors and paladins) giving 2 AP.
Now that it's no longer the case and agility users are getting the obviously superior primary stat scaling, you can see that it's common for plate-wearers to see modifiers in damage done to compensate.
Personally, it makes sense to have agility provide passive haste and strength to provide critical strike, but.... I'm sure lots of people would disagree.
Eldoron Jun 18th 2011 2:10PM
Can't you see the logic behind it? You get physical crit from agility because you are "agile". You get caster crit from intellect because.... where else would get it from? Now why should you get crit from strength? It'd be physical crit, but we already get that from agility. It makes you hit harder with your regular hits though.
SR Jun 18th 2011 2:31PM
By the same logic, being agile can also mean you're quick - hence why it would make sense to give haste.
As for strength giving crit, the harder you hit, the more likely you'll shatter the enemy's defense. Isn't that essentially what a critical strike is? An attack hitting extra hard?
zelcor1 Jun 18th 2011 3:15PM
It's because if you were critting with all your abilities as a str user then you would be doing EXTREMELY high end dmg. Not only that but as a Str dps user you get talents that increase your crit for a few abilities to roughly the same amount as a geared agility user i.e Killing machine (which auto crits), rule of law, sanctified wrath, Impale, cruelty, rampage, and Incite (which also causes auto crits). Soooo yeah you guys hit hard enough to not really need crit rating from your str
SR Jun 18th 2011 4:36PM
1. I never said that Strength users should autocrit.
2. If you assume that they will keep the AP coefficients of the abilities IF this change makes it live (Which is EXTREMELY unlikely), then there's something very, very wrong with that thought process. This wasn't a plea for a buff, but merely a statement.
theRaptor Jun 18th 2011 11:58PM
Zelcor don't even bother to defend it or rationalise it. Plate DPS used to want Str and Agi and their gear had it both, in Wrath and BC the benefit for Plate wearers to stack Agi instead of Str saw them wearing Rogue leather which just had Agi and AP.
This lead to the reform in Cata where you get a 5% bonus for wearing your class armor type to stop this kind of shenanigans (and IIRC they also fixed the issue with the amount of armor a piece had coming from the item budget, which was why leather gave more DPS then Plate).
On a similar note Enhance shamans and Feral druids used to benefit a lot from Str, but that is being nerfed in 4.2 as well. The stats are still in transition from Vanilla design to Cata design, all the oddness is due to that.
MGabriel Jun 18th 2011 12:10PM
So, considering that Cataclysm started with the Alliance feeling like they were having to play catchup. And then patch 4.1 was the Troll patch with Horde NPC Vol'jin leading the charge on both sides to taken down the Amani and Gurabashi uprisings. And now with 4.2 we get Thrall being the lead NPC to introduce the Firelands patch and will be the center of a big quest chain. Think there'll ever be an important Alliance NPC (Hopefully not Jaina) actually leading the charge at some point in Cataclysm? Or is it going to continue to be the, "Horde shall inherit Azeroth," expansion?
Knob Jun 18th 2011 12:21PM
Yeah, let's give that Alliance guy Tirion Fordring something to do! He hasn't had anything to do this expansion after having had a major role in the previous expansion! That doesn't matter though, that's old content....Alliance guys must be involved all the time!
Oh, what is it....Tirion Fordring is not related to the Alliance you say? He's a neutral character? Oh bugger me, here I thought Thrall was neutral too.
christopherwramsey Jun 18th 2011 12:24PM
I think the alliance had there on stage time Wrath and now horde will get most of it this xpack. I am a alliance guy. I also think Thrall isn't so much horde though he isn't anything right now he is trying to save everyone.
Turtell Jun 18th 2011 12:38PM
Am I the only one who doesn't give a flying hoot about what faction the NPCs around me are? Even in character I'm primarily concerned with defeating the problem at hand, the need to squelch evildoers overpowering any petty racial squabbles I have.
fudge Jun 18th 2011 12:52PM
I'm not bothered by Thrall being in the spotlight. He's a very relatable character for both factions.
After all, Shaman are the iconic Horde class, so it would've been weird to have a Dwarven or Broken Shaman in charge, just as it would've been strange to see a Tauren or Blood Elf in charge of the Argent Crusade.
thedoctor2031 Jun 18th 2011 12:59PM
I don't honestly think it matters very much but I do think that this favors horde more than wrath favored alliance. Thrall was and Vol'jin is a faction leader of the horde. Tirion was a dishonored paladin who was REJECTED from the Alliance. Not quite the same thing.
Daniel Whitcomb Jun 18th 2011 1:16PM
Knob,
I'd say Tirion and Thrall aren't even on the same level of Neutrality at all. Tirion has never really been pro-Alliance in game. When he first appeared in Vanilla, he gave his quests to both Horde and Alliance PCs and was ostensibly thrown out of the Alliance for daring to befriend a member of the Horde. In Wrath, he appeared in an Alliance village briefly, but was otherwise in the AC camps, where he didn't say anything really pro-Alliance. In the Tournament, he let Garrosh fling baseless accusations against the Alliance without defending them at all. In the Cataclysm era, the Forsaken are killing Alliance humans and resurrecting them into likely mind-controlled Forsaken drudges right on his doorstep (Not to mention replaguing the Plaguelanes), and he hasn't so much as protested.
Thrall, in the meantime, was the head of the Horde at the time it was making war on the Alliance, in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Under his leadership, the Horde was slaughtering the Night Elves in Kalimdor and Humans in Arathi and Lordaeron, and while he gave lip service to peace when it was convenient, he generally did nothing real to stop the War. In the Goblin starting area, after he was ostensibly "neutral," He killed hundreds of Alliance soldiers indiscriminately in the Goblin starting zone, then sent Garrosh a bloodied Alliance emblem, ostensibly provoking him into war with the Alliance in the first place. In the trailer, the focus is almost primarily on the Horde and on Ogrimmar. The Welfare of the Horde is very obviously the first thing in Thrall's mind.
Tirion is Human. He's not really Alliance, if he ever was. Thrall is Orc, but he is also Horde through and through.
bldavis59 Jun 18th 2011 1:31PM
sure Tirion was a human, and at some point would have been part of the Alliance, but he was neutral so who cares?
as for Alliance main force in wrath ...WHO?
Arthas? he quit being in the allaince when he became a death knight
the only other one i could think of is Balvor Fordragon, but he wasn't a main character in the endgame until the last content patch, and only if you downed the LK
sure there was Wrathgate, but Suarfang was the horde commander there and we fought him in ICC as well....
that said, i dont mind Thrall being a main driving character in Cata.
Thrall was a great leader, and Azeroths greatest shaman. I would be disapointed if he wasnt in that position! (and i play alliance!)
although i am glad Garrosh is in power now, i dont feel so bad raiding Ogrimar now lol
on the other side, we alliance do have the most powerful druid in malfurion stormrage so it kinda balances....maybe?
basically who cares which side the driving characters are from?
as long as it is decent content i am happy!