The Queue: Barkour
by Michael Sacco 
Aug 13th 2011 at 2:00PM
Above: set footage from the Prince of Persia sequel, Pup of Persia.
Winterhawk asked:
I am loving the new cross-realm dungeon grouping feature. Being able to run dungeons with friends on other servers is great, to the point where I will pay for this feature when it's no longer free. My question is: what do you think the odds are that they will extend this to raids if it catches on? That would be my dream, to be able to pull in a few RealID friends from other servers to raids. I realize there would be logistical problems (like they'd certainly have to disable the ability to get Realm First or other server-specific achievements for cross-server groups) but I think things like that would be a small price to pay to be able to raid with friends.
I think the service as it exists currently is a test for a broader, more robust system. I wouldn't be surprised if you could eventually do more with it eventually, like rated battlegrounds or raids. Of course, you can't grab raid members cross-server yet, much less through Real ID, so it may be a ways off if it's coming at all. Just speculation.
Revynn asked:
Whats the Alliance equivalent of Tranquillien?
Unfortunately, there isn't one. Draenei players get a tabard for their troubles on Azuremyst/Bloodmyst, but blood elves get some pretty great weapons through Tranquillien, as well as the added benefit of nabbing an exalted reputation before they even leave their starting zone. Not terribly balanced.
Partsunknown asked:
When Brann Bronzebeard was down in Silithus (at least I remember him as being there) why didn't he just look over the cliff behind his camp and see Throne of the Four Winds peeking up above it? Or even the enormous Obelisk towering over Tanaris and Un'Goro? If he's so interested in Titan history he would've been there alot sooner than I imagine.
Because the Throne wasn't there yet. It didn't phase into our plane until after the cataclysm.
Marius W asked:
Do all the writers currently play WoW?
Some more than others, yes. Like me, some writers take breaks to keep from getting burned out on the game; some just play more frequently than others.
Gabrielhansraj asked:
What spec is Thrall?
I mean, he use the doomhammer a lot to deal with his enemies which could in fact suggest that hes enhancement. Although he doesn't duel wield. However at the same time he heals himself a bunch such as wounds and what not so he could also be resto. I haven't seen much of his ele side tho.
It's been shown that NPCs don't have to deal with the whole pesky talent tree system. Malfurion uses spells and abilities from all of the druid trees, for example. Whatever kind of tree Thrall specializes in, if any, he's not very good at it. Did you see him in his duel with Garrosh, casting Chain Lightning on a single-target encounter? Dude's gonna run out of mana fast.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Kunikenwad! Aug 13th 2011 2:05PM
Dog parkour owns.
zubbiefish Aug 13th 2011 4:04PM
Tret: The Best.
Jonathan Aug 13th 2011 4:57PM
Seriously about the best thing I've ever seen on youtube.
Sleutel Aug 16th 2011 12:49AM
Looks like the linked video was removed for a copyright violation after the person stole it from the original uploader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXElh_VM0Uc
MisterRik Aug 13th 2011 2:11PM
Does anybody else get annoyed with how, if you manage to die at Sethria's Roost, taking the spirit gryphon in a straight line from the graveyard to your corpse will dump you off the grypon and into Ashenvale, with no way to get back except using the Spirit Healer and eating the rez sickness?
Investigator Aug 13th 2011 2:24PM
O Yes, especially since if I die there it's probably because I was trying to kill one of the named rare spawns and now I'm probably out of luck by the time I get back.
Mycroft Aug 13th 2011 2:31PM
To clarify this statement, you can't just click Return To Graveyard and try flying again from Hyjal. For some reason clicking that will return you to the Ashenvale graveyard.
I've heard from a guildie that you can indeed walk from Ashenvale back up to an area you can spirit-fly, but it takes over half an hour. Rez sickness only lasts ten minutes, and you'd probably make up the gold for the repair by doing the dailies 20 minutes faster. (Unless you carry around 3+ complete sets of gear like me, hooray tree pvptree bear and a bit of off-cat.)
HallowedOne Aug 13th 2011 2:34PM
i've done this, I ran through felwood and winterspring and managed to get close enough to the border for the gryphon to reappear which got me over the mountains. Problem with this is that you have to fly through the entire zone in order to rez.
Yvl Aug 13th 2011 3:08PM
Oh god, this JUST happened to me. And it was right before server reset too, I wasnt able to finish any more dailies.
MisterRik Aug 13th 2011 3:39PM
Yeah, what Mycroft said. I got dumped juuust over the edge of the Rim of the World, where I couldn't climb back up. I clicked "Return to Graveyard" and ended up at the Warsong Lumber Camp. I just ate the rez sickness and used my Ring of the Kirin Tor to zip up to Northrend and do a couple dailies, where 61k hitpoints and 10% reduced stats were still more than enough to get the job done :D
And yeah, my death was caused by foolishly attempting to kill Searris by myself.
Philster043 Aug 13th 2011 2:17PM
Thrall was just taking it easy on Garrosh. He planned all along to let Garrosh take the leadership, he was just making it easier for him to be accepted.
Al Aug 13th 2011 4:03PM
Maybe he should have beaten Garrosh black and blue, then sent him off to Anger Management.
Instead we've got a screaming jerk who thinks Life is all about who can punch the hardest.
zubbiefish Aug 13th 2011 4:15PM
Al, if you're an orc, it is.
Al Aug 13th 2011 5:09PM
No - the other Races still have to endure him as well, just not as much.
Angus Aug 13th 2011 5:39PM
The real problem is tht Thrall was a Shaman in an arena match against a Warrior in BC.
Sorry, but that was pretty much an automatic loss.
Thrall has shown Spitit Wolves along with elemental tendencies in Mount Hyjal.
RogueJedi86 Aug 13th 2011 2:19PM
Didn't Uldum's cloaking system only cover objects on the ground and not huge air elemental palaces in the sky? Must be one hell of a cloaking system to cover things miles up in the sky too. Or did Al'Akir only decide to pop his palace into Azeroth after the Cataclysm?
For that matter, would he have had a choice on where it showed up in Azeroth? Is it locked to Uldum like Deepholme is locked to the Maelstrom and Neptulon's domain is tied into that random ocean stretch near Stormwind and Ragnaros' domain is tied mostly to Hyjal? I would think he could put his floating air palaces anywhere he wants since they're floating.
Uxjwetr Aug 13th 2011 2:54PM
The point is that the Throne of the Four Winds was not in Azeroth prior to the Cataclysm. Until Deathwing broke the world the elemental planes were forcibly separate from the material plane.
As to the second part, I don't know, but I imagine they're immovable due to the KYL on multidimensional-ness (http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/05/29/know-your-lore-the-warcraft-cosmos-part-two-multi-dimensional/#continued).
Andy Aug 13th 2011 2:54PM
Throne and VP didn't appear until after the shattering. It's a similar situation with Sulfurion Spire in Hyjal. It's part of the elemental plane of air poking through into Azeroth.
Marbles Aug 13th 2011 3:03PM
The current trans-Plane portals weren't there until recently.
- Deathwing physically broke the Earth Plane through at the Maelstrom.
- He also summoned Ragnaros and the Firelands through at Hyjal.
- The Naga and Twilight's Hammer pushed through into the Water Plane in the Abyssal Depths.
- Al'Akir brought the Air Plane through at Uldum, possibly with Deathwing's help - possibly with the help of the Neferset (it is unclear). Deathwing is the safer bet, given he is known to have that power from Hyjal.
As to location, I'd say it was a bit of a mishmash between where the help is. The Elemental Lords were banished to their planes as a punishment, they shouldn't be able to return on their own accord. The only likely random place would be the Deepholm/Maelstrom, since nor eal reason to place it there.
Ragnaros had previously been summoned under Blackrock Mountain (by Thaurissan), and subsequently brought to Hyjal as a terror tactic/distraction. Skywall and Al'Akir brought through in Uldum to bring the Neferset to Deathwing's side (a tactic which failed somewhat). And Waterworld (I forget the name) in Abyssal Depths simply because that's where the Naga prefered it (or possibly because it was near an Old God and his aquatic minions).
I remember reading something about the Deepholm portal originally being intended for somewhere else - but I can't remember where now...
vocenoctum Aug 13th 2011 3:13PM
I didn't finish all the Uldum quests for Jones, but it was sort of disappointing that the appearance of Uldum (at least to max level PCs) wasn't addressed much. You're told it exists and a caravan is heading that way, but I don't really recall a big explanation of "it appeared from no where behind a great cloaking device, we had no idea the Gates of Uldum led to so much!".
Same with Al Akir, not really a lot addressed in game, though the little cutscene at the very start seems to say the Tolvir/Air alliance was recent, it's okay to assume the air elemental platforms are recent as well.