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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: Not to nitpick ...
by Michael Sacco 
Sep 11th 2011 at 12:00PM
... but I'm pretty sure that Faceless Ones have faces.
Sclark1138 asked:
Deathwing's "human" model is really cool, are there any other times we see this beside the quest series in Badlands? Do you think we will fight his human form in the final raid (and collectively punch him in the face)?
At this point in the expansion, the Badlands quest is the only place where Deathwing's Human model is used. Maybe we'll see it in one of the 5-man dungeons or one of the apparently many Deathwing encounters in the 4.3 raid.
Marolas asked:
With Transmogrification coming out in 4.3 to combat people's dissatisfaction with the look of the current raid tier, do you think Blizzard has less of an obligation to design classes along a particular theme?
The main reason I bring this up is because in Icecrown Citadel, Tier 10 gear was based HEAVILY on the enemies we had fought up to that point in Northrend (San'layn, Nerubians, King Ymiron, etc.), which made perfect sense from a lore standpoint and produced some of the most interesting looks for classes. However for 4.3 we see the Blizzard art team taking reference from Ulduar for their final tier for the expansion rather than have a design concept built around what we've been playing for the past year.
I'm not saying it's wrong, but I really liked the unifying theme that tied up the tier 10 raid gear nicely with the idea that the Lich King intended to corrupt us all along, and what better way than to offer us the armaments of the damned? With Deathwing it kind of seems like the art team - for better or worse - is going balls to the wall and just doing stuff they think will look cool.
Honestly, I think you're reading a bit much into the "based on Vezax" thing. We've been dealing with Old God minions for this entire expansion. It's not entirely out of left field to base a tier set on them.
That said, Blizzard really already used up its expansion themes in tier sets already, from Ragnaros being mystifyingly used as a tier 11 set to every Firelands mob/boss being an armor set. The Rule of Cool is pretty much all there is to fall back on at this point. I don't mind. I don't think many people really have demands for their tier sets beyond "don't make me look dumb."
JonRowley asked:
How many of WoW's lost subscribers do you believe are a result of the crackdown on gold farming? Obviously those farmers were players so less of them means less players.
Honestly, not many. Blizzard has been fighting gold farmers for a very long time. Nowadays there are very, very few actual gold farmers; the majority of bought/sold gold comes from systematically compromising accounts, not from farming it up oneself.
Nyold asked:
There used to be a channel Guild Recruitment, iirc. What happened to it? Does it get replaced by the guild finder feature, even if that feature is not a "channel" per se? Or was it simply scrapped because people didn't use it?
The guild recruitment channel was removed with the advent of the Guild Finder system.
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!
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 8)
Noyou Sep 11th 2011 8:39PM
With transmogrification we casters will be able to get some shirts and show off our pants. I actually had one for my priest but I didn't feel too priestly wearing it. And I looked like a fricken clown. Maybe they will make some sexy tunics for the fall season. I do like the trench coat idea for my warlock. Maybe get a fedora and some sunglasses and do spy vs spy with an op faction mage :p
Fletcher Sep 12th 2011 1:45AM
I'd imagine that the extreme negative reaction many mages had to tier eight has scared Blizzard off making anything but robes for clothies. Personally I quite liked mage T8, but the QQ was massive.
josh Sep 11th 2011 12:17PM
Q for the Q
Cool idea? Or coolest idea ever?
A soulbound item that turns a single ground mount into a flying mount. similar to the headless horseman's mount. you can only use it once so you better choose your favorite mount. that means no elekks b/c elekks are not cool. do you think Blizzard will ever read this, think it over, and then grant me my wish to fly on a Talbuk or cat?
Bapo Sep 11th 2011 12:48PM
I'm sorry, but seeing a flying Elekk would just be the best flying mount in the history of everything
MusedMoose Sep 11th 2011 12:50PM
I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how you can't see the utter coolness of a flying elephant. ^_^ But I like your idea. You know what I'd use it on? A MAMMOTH.
Rioriel Sep 11th 2011 12:52PM
Give me a flying Anzu and I'd never roll on any loot ever again.
MusedMoose Sep 11th 2011 1:00PM
@ Rioriel -
...wait. The Raven Lord mount... doesn't... fly?! *mind boggles* Is it just me, or is there something seriously wrong with that?
ugoticedbro Sep 11th 2011 1:31PM
Flying on a cat a la Voltron!
Minstrel Sep 11th 2011 1:41PM
@MusedMoose
Yeah, when I first played with a Raven Lord mount on the PTR (before I got one myself on the live servers), I thought it was broken since I couldn't fly. When I mentioned it to a friend, he said it was only a ground mount, which I thought was crazy.
Ultimately, the concept is simply a feathered raptor, apparently. And raptors don't fly. It still looks awfully awesome, though.
Hob Sep 11th 2011 2:20PM
Well, that does sound cool... but if a warlock can turn their felsteed into a flying mount, why bother with the Horseman's Mount (which I totally want on my forsaken warlock because do I even have to say why?) Not to mention that every member of the Alliance AND Horde could basically have a flying horse (exalted with SW or UC).
I'd be happy if they made a permanent version of the flying broomstick. Getting one of those is the high point in the holiday (for me).
MisterRik Sep 11th 2011 3:07PM
@MusedMoose - I'm sure you've seen that Hemet Nesingwary has a flying mammoth when he helps you with the daily at Sethria's Roost?
Kylenne Sep 11th 2011 6:09PM
@Bapo: I see flying elekks all the time. Hang out with trolls some time. They got stuff that can make anything fly.
Ralkor Sep 12th 2011 2:05PM
Flying Worgen - how am I the first person to say that?
Amaxe Sep 11th 2011 8:01PM
But I be done seen 'bout ev'rything
When I see an elekk fly
http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/w/wheniseeanelephantfly.shtml
Haden Sep 11th 2011 12:23PM
QftQ
What gear sets do you hope to see for sale at the darkmoon fair? I'm not holding my breath for Blessed Battlegear of Undead Slaying but that's one set i would kill to have back, so what about you?
Bapo Sep 11th 2011 12:51PM
A good chunk of the original arena season gear. The orange recolor of the crystal set for paladins is still one of my favorites. And the weapons looked a lot more appealing for me too
MusedMoose Sep 11th 2011 12:51PM
In a recent article, I got my first good look at warrior T3, the set that's not available anymore. Dear sweet gods, I want that for my new draenei warrior. @_@ Male draenei look like juggernauts anyway, that set just makes it even more awesome.
Amaxe Sep 11th 2011 2:44PM
I really hope the Ironweave set is available as it is the set I'd want on my mage
Calaana Sep 11th 2011 12:17PM
If I remember right, it wasn't "subs lost" so much as "subs cancelled". I forget the exact wording, but the snippet quote I saw was awkwardly worded even for formal speech, so I think it was a very intentional choice of words.
As far as art goes, transmog is going to make it even more important that the artists put effort in - they have 5+ years of art assets to compete with, some of them mere greens. If nobody likes the tier, and thus sticks with the old stuff, kinda says "Pick the game up", no? If anything, it'll improve the art quality because they'll be able to see what we actually like, compared to what the subset on the forums complains about.
Oh, and faceless ones are named as such because they face can't be seen, it's hidden behind a shell/bone part, like an exoskeleton skull. Unless you mean the scientific definition, not biological, then they have many faces.
Pyromelter Sep 11th 2011 3:05PM
There was no official announcement of a drop in subs.
It was simply a note in Activision-Blizzard's 10Q (quarterly report) where they stated they had 11.1 million subscribers as of June 30th (which was 300k less than their last announcement of 11.4k in the spring).