The Queue: Save me, Blitzcrank!

This is a warning to all you uppity Queue-goers. I've written you a nice, juicy Queue to sink your teeth into. I combed the questions and your nerdity to answer some good questions. But I don't take no lip. So if you want some, you'll have to get some from my buddy Blitzcrank over here. (Please do not actually come after me; I am but a humble servant to you and The Queue.)
League of Legends: Dominion looks like so much fun.
AdamAldaine asked:
What exactly constitutes a "hero class"? I haven't read a definition that makes it clear. I thought it was a class that could fill all three roles, but that's about the only thing I've been able to determine that it is not.
At this point in the development history of WoW, a hero class is one that's added after the original game shipped. The original plan was that each class would get to branch off into a hero class, making customization even more fine-tuned. So a warrior, for instance, would become a battlemaster or a blademaster or whatever. It was cool when they talked about it but less cool in potential implementation.
Death knights were called a hero class because while they were not more powerful than any other class relatively, they did have a different experience associated with them in that they had a new starting experience, began at a higher level, and were released later into WoW's life cycle.
Being a hero class doesn't really mean anything anymore, and I think when Blizzard does add a new class to WoW, it'll just be "new class!"
Then Proffesor Orc said:
I feel too many are overreacting to the trademarked name. If this does turn out to be the expansion the main villain will probably be Azshara. Also, the continent of Pandaria has never been explored before and more then likely contains things other then Pandaren. We might also get to see Kul Tiras.
If it had to be any way, it would most likely be this. Kul Tiras is a smart next stop in the Alliance's move toward bringing everyone back into the fold. It ties in with the whole "Chris Metzen says something is happening with Jaina" thing, and we will more than likely be seafaring out to wherever Pandaria would be. So yes, if Mists of Pandaria is a thing, this is the closest thing to what it could be that it probably is. Azshara is a good villain choice, and frankly, I'd like some kooky WoW fun for once and not the This is the end of the world again stuff that Cataclysm is rife with.
Ilmyrn asked:
Whatever happened to the Cataclysm zone post-mortems? I was really looking forward to Twilight Highlands, but they seem to have disappeared.
Alex and I got a little behind on them, but the most recent one went up yesterday and Uldum and Twilight Highlands will come up quicker than before. I'm glad you guys are enjoying that feature. It's a fun one to write.
Omacron asked:
Who would win in a fistfight between Chris Metzen and Gabe Newell?
Metzen fights with the shodo-pan. Gabe is the proverbial immovable wall, with strength rooted into the deep earth. There is always stalemate. Then they eat cheeseburgers and talk about story design.
jesskid21 asked:
Q for the Q: How do you remove the panel to the left of your screen that is the WoW raid frames. It really annoys me, and I can't find a way to remove it.
You can use an addon like MoveAnything to hide the Blizzard raid frames, or click the "hide" button in the actual pull-out interface. You will still see the pull-tab thing on the side of your screen if you do it through the default options, however.
That one Joey asked:
Why did blizz remove tree of life form for druids? Honestly, I think it would have been badass if Tree of Life (the original) was the "special" ability you got for picking resto.
I always thought Tree of Life form was pretty cool, but I understand why Blizzard removed it. Druids never, ever saw their armor unless they were out of form in town. Never. Blizzard finally decided that there needed to be one specialization of druid that actually got to look at and see their armor designs -- because, at the end of the day, why should you even design armor for druids who never get to see it? Now, druid healers of all races get to stay in their character-selected forms, check out their cool armor, and have a nifty tree cooldown.
The other big reason, as Pyromelter pointed out in the comments, was that the tree form accompanied an aura, whereas the other forms accompanied an entire style change in abilities and focus. Tree form just applied an aura and made you walk slower (before the movement impairment was removed.)
Filed under: The Queue






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 11)
Professor Orc Aug 5th 2011 11:05AM
In the case of Wrath of the Lich King, I always felt that Hero Class was a marketing term, not a gameplay one.
kmarcy1729 Aug 5th 2011 2:02PM
A "Hero" class is one that doesn't start at level one. You're already a hero, by virtue of leveling a character to (in this case) 55, so your new toon gets to skip those levels. It may also be a more advanced (i.e. more powerful, or more difficult to play) class. I think they did a good job with making DKs a "hero" class.
Terethall Aug 5th 2011 3:10PM
"Death Knights:
Hero Class improvements:
Death knights now earn slightly more experience and gold than other character classes.
When using the Need Before Greed looting system, other players may not roll on loot until the Hero Class has chosen to pass.
Whenever a player takes a screenshot of a boss kill or similar accomplishment, all death knight characters will appear slightly more prominent in the image.
Death knight customer support tickets will always be handled before those of other players."
I'm guessing Blizzard realizes that it was a silly decision, and that's why they've made fun of themselves previously regarding the Death Knight's designation as a "hero class."
McGintoy Aug 5th 2011 3:17PM
I agree with kmarcy. With every other class, you start out as a "Nobody" who, through various good deeds and heroic acts, ascends to the rank of "Hero". Whereas with a Death Knight, you have already proven yourself a "Hero", though you have been slain and risen as an agent of the Lich King. You are the great [name], Hero of the [faction]!
Thundrcrackr Aug 5th 2011 3:49PM
When Death Knights first came out, "Hero" class meant multiple things:
-only class to start at higher level
-only class playable by any race
-only class that could perform multiple roles in each talent tree (could originally spec tank or dps from any of the three talent trees.)
-more complicated mechanics (rune system)
Changes since then have left only the first of these intact: starting at a higher level.
-With more class/race combinations added later in the game, warriors can now be played by any race.
-Blizz did away with the DKs ability to spec tank or dps from any tree because it was too complicated to balance.
-And the rune system has been slightly simplified over time while other "simpler" classes have had their systems made slightly more complicated (holy power for paladins, solar/lunar bar for boomkins, etc.) so they are all much more even now.
Starting at a higher level is the only one that ever really mattered to me though, like others here have mentioned, your character is already a "Hero" when you start out and therefore able to skip the lower levels. I can totally see them making another Hero class eventually, probably a healer/dps class.
kaminari Aug 5th 2011 5:27PM
@kmarcy:yeah, there was a starting quest for the orcs/trolls that went something like this:
NPC : you wanna kill dragons? they are too dangerous, take a prey more suited to your current level skill, go kill some boars.
lvl 1 me: "#$"$#, ok.
63,295,634 and 58 levels later; can I go kill dragons now?
NPC: sure
Me: yay!
starting DK: I wanna go kill dragons!
NPC: have fun!
DK: yay!
(not the exact words of the quest, buy it did told me to kill boars or lvl 2 scorpions instead of dragons =/
LordVashtal Aug 5th 2011 11:06AM
Q for the Q: Why are some items tabulated in the currency tab (northrend cooking award, marks of the world tree, etc) yet some aren't? (mark of thrallmar, spirit shard, etc)
Professor Orc Aug 5th 2011 11:09AM
Those are items implemented back when the currency tab wasn't so standard for everything. When they began implementing currency into the tab more they probably didn't see the need to devote the time to convert TBC items to be used in the tab since it was a past expansion.
kingoomieiii Aug 5th 2011 11:18AM
Currency tab was added partway through Wrath, I thought. They converted almost nothing old into it, BG marks and except honor, and later badges.
Key Aug 5th 2011 11:22AM
Why are Spirit Shards even still in the game?
Dankie Aug 5th 2011 12:47PM
Ya spirit shards are still in the game.. I have a large stack from trying to get the elusive Anzu.
Hundo Aug 5th 2011 11:07AM
Wooot!
That one Joey Aug 5th 2011 11:08AM
As a mage, is it rude to walk up to a warlock and demand cookies? Cake is demanded from me all the time...
Jimson Aug 5th 2011 11:13AM
I actually don't mind when people ask me for a HS... not like it costs anything other than mana. Unlike a table... do the mats still cost money for that? Been awhile since I played my mage.
That one Joey Aug 5th 2011 11:14AM
The mats are trivial. The time spent casting is more costly than the mats for a table. ;)
Tirrimas Aug 5th 2011 11:16AM
Yeah, it does, but it's not very much.
Randy Aug 5th 2011 11:33AM
As a fellow mage I am disgusted you would consider speaking to a warlock.....the ONLY reason you should walk up to a warlock is to light up the icy veins and go all Sub Zero on their demonic asses.
Afterwards you can celebrate the death with cake :)
Astoreth Aug 5th 2011 12:35PM
As much as I hate siding with a mage: *demanding* anything from another class is always rude, whether it's cookies or cake.
I don't mind giving them out -- in fact I LOVE giving them out -- but geez, be cool about it. "Ast" is as easy to type as "lock", and tacking on a "please" will put me in a better mood when you need a battle rez. ;-)
Daedalus Aug 5th 2011 12:40PM
I'm just amazed you'd be willing to trust anything a warlock gives you.
"Heh, sure little mage, I'll give you a....cookie. You want some candy, too? It's over here in my van. Ignore the smell of sulfur and the sound of hungry demons."
I mean, as a warlock, I can safely say that people only roll our class because they love hurting others and take great joy in the suffering of weaker classes, so if you ask a random warlock for a cookie whatever you get is bound to be unpleasant.
snarkygoldfish Aug 5th 2011 1:08PM
I'm agreeing with Daedelus here.
Those 'cookies' have always looked suspiciously like boogers to me.