Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsThe Queue: July 4
by Alex Ziebart 
Jul 4th 2011 at 12:00PM
Last night, I finally had a solid Zul'Gurub group -- the very first one since patch 4.1. Now that I've been able to topple the place in a good, solid group that was willing to take its time and actually experience the instance, I have to give props to Blizzard for the amount of effort it put into the zone. All of the little optional mobs and bosses are very cool, and it felt a little like classic WoW again. You are actually rewarded for exploring and doing more than going from Boss A to Boss B.
I know I tend to rail on how dry WoW instances tend to feel nowadays, so I felt I should give Blizzard a high-five for the work the developers put into this one. Good job, team.
raingod asked:
I've noticed since Firelands dropped my queue time wait looking for a group has dropped considerably for regular dungeons. I mean from 10-20 min (I'm dps) to under 5. Have they tweaked this or have I gotten very lucky this week?
Since it's a new tier of raiding, players need valor points for gear again. Queue times will be good for a few weeks, maybe a month or two, and then I expect them to drop off again. As soon as players have purchased all that they need from their valor points or they can get all of their valor points for the week from Firelands and such, they won't have any need to queue anymore.
Enjoy your awesome queue times while they last.
Dennis asked:
My heirlooms say bind on battle.net account. Is there a way to send them to an alt on another server?
Not currently, no. Well, I think you can do a paid character transfer, but that's a little extreme. Blizzard has mentioned that it wants to make it possible to send your heirlooms to other servers, but it's not something that has been implemented yet.
Yvl asked:
How do you guys keep your cool even through the stupidest of questions?
The cliché answer to that is that there are no stupid questions. We have readers that are seasoned raiding vets who have been around since 2004 and have killed every single raid boss in the game. We also have readers who started the game within the last 24-48 hours and can get lost in Northshire Abbey. There's room for all sorts of players in World of Warcraft, and we legitimately enjoy being able to help all of those sorts of people.
There are, of course, plenty of questions that are just people trolling or being jerks. The ability to roll with that and let it slide off your back just comes naturally when you've been doing this kind of job for years. And if you don't have that sort of capability, you shouldn't have this sort of job. It's the internet, after all. I don't think anybody has managed to actually make me angry in years, and good lord, have people tried.
Tat asked:
In the Thrall Questline in patch 4.2 I find it annoying that when Thrall gets taken away by the Druid of the flame while the following are powerless to stop it: The Aspects, Malfurion and us. What are your thoughts???
Blizzard tends to overuse the "plot stun" in its cutscenes. When the developers want to give someone a chance to monologue, they just lock everybody in an unbreakable stun, extremely powerful NPCs included. Yes, it does give that NPC a chance to speak their dialogue unimpeded, but it feels very not-good to players and doesn't make a lot of sense when looking at the relative power levels of various NPCs.
Maybe development time doesn't allow for it, but I personally would have liked the Flame Druids to show up in force with Ragnaros's crew. The Aspects would be busy fighting them off in the background while Fandral made off with Thrall. You could still get a front row seat to what was going on, but it would explain what the heck all the other powerful people there were doing while Fandral spoke his lines.
It felt double-bad because it wasn't the only time the devs used a plot stun in this patch. They do it to you when you meet Leyara, too.
Teryn asked:
Since it's another BBQ holiday in the States, can you give us another side dish recipe Alex?
Sure. Buy a bunch of tomatoes -- it doesn't matter what kind as long as they're good and ripe. Slice. Salt or pepper if desired. Devour.
Simple!
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 8 of 8)
aargghh Jul 4th 2011 8:19PM
question for the queue:
I started doing the new hyjal quests on an alt this morning and I noticed it only took me a few hours to finish the quests up until the assault on the firelands part. It took me three days (?) to gather all 20 marks on my main but it was faster for the alt. Has there been any changes applied?
Maybe I shouldve just waited instead of rushing...
JamesCGamora Jul 4th 2011 10:19PM
Q for the Queue:
Has there been any explanation for Nozdormu's sudden reappearance during the Thrall quest line in 4.2? Last we heard he had been missing for some time off on some mission he was taking so close to chest he hadn't informed anyone what he was up to.
Also, do you think there is any credence to the possibility that Nozdormu will eventually be revealed to be behind the Infinite Flight and their tamperings with time
Frank hamilton Jul 5th 2011 12:37AM
Question - I was considering stoping XP gain at level 70 to do BC heroics and BC rep so I can get chieves for my alt. However, if I can get to 85 and go back and do it, that would make more sence. Before I get to 85, I would like to know if it is possible to still earn rep in BC dungons at level 85 and pick up the chieves then. Anyone know?
Hob Jul 5th 2011 3:22AM
Yes, you get achievements and full reputation gains for trash / boss kills in BC Heroics at 85. I've been casually farming Heroic Magister's Terrace and Heroic Sethekk Halls for a while now, and I'm nearly Exalted with both of the associated factions.
Hob Jul 5th 2011 3:29AM
In addition, it will probably be easier to just run BC Heroics on your own time at 85, instead of trying to get one through the Dungeon Finder. At level 70, most folks are on Utgarde Keep and the Nexus, and could care less about BC Heroics. I've tried queueing for BC Heroics on my 70 tank, and they just don't come up.
Cuban Jul 5th 2011 2:52AM
http://i.imgur.com/kmHo6.jpg
This is for all your horde 4th of july celebrators!
Found this gem at a fireworks tent, and it was a great find! Thrall is apparently one heck of a behemoth!
Morgatho Jul 5th 2011 3:54AM
Q for the Q, dose the Tuesday down time mess with the new hunter pet spawn times?
chris thornton Jul 5th 2011 7:08AM
What's a Blazejewel and where the hell can i get one?
RJC Jul 5th 2011 3:50PM
Q for the Q -
In theory, what would happen if you did a faction or server swap on a bank alt character that has its own guild? Would the guild move with the character, or do you have to move the guild separately even though there's only one member?
jayswear1 Jul 5th 2011 5:08PM
Once upon a time, there was this amazing idea for an MMO based on the Matrix franchise. Sadly, it was horrendously under-developed and was quickly traded off to SOE where is was quietly left to die. It did do one amazing thing that other MMO's did not: Live Events. These were weekly (and later, daily) events where the story characters entered the world and interacted with the players. The game's story was continued through these Live Events, but more importantly, the players felt as though they had a much more active role in shaping the storyline itself (which was the Wachowski Bros drive behind creating it... aside from more money, of course).
My question is, has Blizz ever considered creating regular live events using dev-controlled story characters to tell the story? If so, what happened to it? This, to me, would be an incredible new direction for WoW that would truly breathe new life into the game. Certainly, Blizz has the resources for this. And who wouldn't want to fight alongside Malfurion on Mount Hyjal, or an event to track down Fandral and kill him..