Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsThe Queue: Lodur, Herald of the Elements
by Michael Sacco 
Sep 25th 2011 at 12:00PM
Looks like our good friend Joe Perez has finally made it big, if this card from the preview event for the WoW TCG Throne of the Tides expansion has anything to say about it. Congratulations, Joe. Seriously, you even got Jonboy Meyers as your artist.
Lastgaurdian asked:
Has WoWinsider ever considered reaching out to role-play servers a bit? I find that Know Your Lore and All The World's a Stage is quite helpful for knowledge, but I feel that some communities and guilds therein could use a lot of help and WoWinsider is a strong enough force to do that.
Well, roleplaying is the task of the roleplayer, and our RP column is pretty much all we can do to "reach out" to roleplayers. AtWaS covers a lot of ground; I don't really feel like it's lacking for much in terms of content. The rest is up to you.
FireMaster asked:
Do you think there's any indication that Rexxar will have a major role in the future or do you think his story is over?
There's been no indication of anything regarding Rexxar at all lately, much less that his story is over.
Quaza asked:
Why does every column start with a picture or banner of some sort?
So there's some visual differentiation in between articles when viewing our blog roll.
Ylinae asked:
Do you think there's any chance, what with transmogrification allowing greater visual customization, that druids will see an option to reclaim their old, permanent tree form?
If you mean "will Blizzard let me be a treant permanently," then no, I don't think that'll happen. The glyph that lets you be the old, ugly treant for as long as Tree of Life Form is active is probably as close as you're going to get.
MusedMoose asked:
Do you think BioWare's announcement that SW: TOR will be released on December 20th will have any effect on when we see patch 4.3?
I think 4.3 will be released when it's done; I'm not really sure that Blizzard can afford to hold out until December, even in the face of SWTOR. I think we're looking at a November-something-th release date -- not before BlizzCon, not during BlizzCon, but shortly after.
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 4 of 9)
Pazazu Sep 25th 2011 12:36PM
I played a druid as my main for years, and spent much of that time as a tree healer, and I honestly do not get why people are so hung up on permanent tree form. Yeah, there were some kinda cool things about it, but there are cool things are cool things about the new way it works too. Permanent tree form is gone, and it would be lovely if we could move on.
I'm also a little bit bugged by the suggestion for a glyph to make the tree graphic permanent, separate from the mechanical cooldown. It's important to have that strong visual cue to instantly recognize when a druid is using their big healing cooldown. This is important in raids so that it doesn't cause confusion amongst the healing team, as well as in pvp, where you might want to know that you can't polymorph that druid, or that you should silence him in order to maintain pressure, or whatever.
I got a kick out of being a treant, but things change, and I get a kick out of channeling the power of an ancient too.
That one Joey Sep 25th 2011 12:44PM
Minor glyph for perma-tree and the 31 pt cooldown turns you into the giant tree the current minor glyph turns you into.
Problem solved.
Skarn Sep 25th 2011 1:21PM
Simple enough, some people really liked it. It was part of their class identity. I can understand they are miffed it is gone.
Nadia Sep 25th 2011 1:50PM
Restoration is the only Druid spec that does not have a signature form.
Why not have the glyph show the old tree form permanently and then the cooldown shows the new tree form.
That way, other players can tell when a resto Druid uses their cooldown, and allows that spec to have a signature form like the other specs.
Amanda A. Sep 25th 2011 2:56PM
Also, having the big bad wolf standing in the back, passively healing the party seems a bit odd. And I play said wolf.
RS Sep 25th 2011 3:31PM
It would be kind of like if Hunters lost their pet, that's how I read it for some druids...
It became a standard call out in LFG... "LF tree druid..."
People really identified with it.
Heather Sep 25th 2011 3:45PM
You don't have to understand it.
But you -should- acknowledge that some people don't look at their Druids the way you do.
Just because your feelings are different doesn't invalidate the feelings of those who really miss being a Treant 100% of the time as a Resto Druid.
I literally rolled my Druid to BE a Tree, and for me, it was, indeed, like they took a pet from my Hunter, or my totems away from my Shaman. I feel like I've been cheated, like they took away something I loved (because they did).
jblackthorne_0523 Sep 25th 2011 12:41PM
q for the q
Reagarding a question asked and answered in the q a day or so ago. Why cant we dispense with this holiday boss item level nonsense. We have seen this now twice, with the Ahune's scythe and now the Brewfest trinkets. Blizzard is definately not giving out true item level 365 trinkets from a holiday boss. Why do we have to pretend they are? These trinkets are probably tuned somewhere between 333 and 353 depending on exactly which one. So can't we just cut the pretense? Can't these things just be item level 346 and be done with it. It doesnt seem like a big deal but inevitably there ends up being a big deal made of this on the forums, and some poor schlub in g-chat who got rid of a 346 trink which may have been better for him and ends up ticked when someone explains it to him, and im sure i don't have to mention the endless string of comments, questions and complaints that inevitably fill up this very space. So really why not stop this nonsense?
Why not just make there item level match the way they are tuned?
Cricket Sep 25th 2011 5:01PM
I don't think it's that simple. The Ahune scythe was crap not because it was tuned lower but because it wasn't tuned at all, just plain scaled up from before Cataclysm. The trinkets now have a similar problem, but not all of them are bad. While the Crit+AP trinket is hardly competitive, the heal trinket definitely has its uses and in some builds might even be BiS until Firelands, and the tank trinket is amazing for anyone looking to boost their avoidance (like, say, for the Baleroc fight). In any case, I wish Blizzard would decide if they wanted a cheap, easy way for gearing players to fill that slot and maybe even be competitive or just have some fun items to play around with in SW/Org. It's hard to do both.
Nick Sep 25th 2011 5:51PM
having just turned 85 a week or so ago on my new main (warrior) I love the brewfest trinkets. I use the avoidance one when tanking and the crit one when im chilling in fury spec.
The one thing I hate is when I shift to one of my 4 healers and find a tank rocking the bloody stamina trinkets. I hate stamina trinkets. And stamina gems for that matter.
Noyou Sep 25th 2011 9:11PM
You know, this really irritates me. What do you want them to do? Give out 333 stuff when you are getting 365-378+ stuff? The other thing is it is useful if you need a trinket. Especially if you are a new 85. 512 stam with a dodge bonus on it is nothing to sneeze at. All the other trinkets are pretty solid as well. I would say out of all the holidays, this one drops the most meaningful gear. Sorry you don't.
Marius W. Sep 25th 2011 12:40PM
We need to complete the 3 new 5 man dungeons before we can see Mr. Deathwing. It would be great if they released the dungeons sooner than the raid. That would give everyone time to get through them and be ready when the Deathwing raid hits.
Its been quite a wait since 4.2 and we are itching for something new.
Sad thing is that when 4.3 hits, itll be a year till we get a new xpac.
Luckily blizzard has given us the time to enjoy SW:TOR for a whole entire year before we sub back into WoW.
Blizzard would be smart to release the new xpac in the spring rather than waiting till the fall/winter. SW:TOR has the potential to be a WoW killer.
BUT they may be smart and know this as why they are casualing it up in WoW.
So here is my question for the all knowing and might Queue.
What impact do you think SW:TOR will have on WoW with the next xpac over a year away, most likely? Could this finally be the WoW killer? Could it be their own doing with nothing new coming out in WoW for at least a year? A year without any real new content is a long time when it comes to gaming.
MusedMoose Sep 25th 2011 1:15PM
We do not know the release date of the next expansion. The release dates of previous expansions mean nothing. According to the Blizzard schedule that was leaked a while back, which has been pretty accurate so far, the expansion is set for release in the second quarter of 2012. We won't know for sure when the expansion comes out until Blizzcon, assuming they announce a target release date then.
My question for you, then, is this: why are you so worried about WoW's fate when all you have to go on is speculation? And please remember that more than a few MMOs have been said to be the "WoW killer" before their release and none of them have come anywhere close to doing so.
Magma Sep 25th 2011 1:35PM
There's no such thing as a wow killer, believing otherwise (especially after so many failed killers) is nonsense. The only thing that will kill wow is itself/time.
Skarn Sep 25th 2011 1:39PM
Why do you think we need to do the new dungeons first? That would be a raid attunement. Blizzard isn't doing those any more. True the story of the dungeons come first, but when has that ever bothered anyone? Don't expect a lock on the raid instance until you do the dungeons, it is extremely unlikely.
4.2 has only been out three months, with 4.3 likely to hit in another 2-3 months. That's a fairly common time frame. I personally still have quite a bit to do, but I'm sure non-raiders are looking for more and super-advanced raiders are finished.
How will WoW fare when ToR comes out? It'll be fine. Will it lose subscribers? Probably. Will it die? No. The only thing the two games share in common is that they are both MMOs. That by itself won't pull all of WoW's fanbase. ToR is sci-fi, WoW is fantasy. That difference will keep some people here. ToR is Star Wars, WoW is Warcraft. That difference will keep some and lose some. WoW is a game with history, where people have built characters and made friends. That is very strong staying power. ToR is new, which is also a powerful draw.
This whole WoW-killer crap is really tiring and ridiculous. WoW will be just fine.
Al Sep 25th 2011 3:12PM
@Magma, I thought fear was the WoW killer.
MusedMoose Sep 25th 2011 3:49PM
@ Al:
Nope. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to...
...crap, wrong sci-fi reference. *hangs head in shame*
Al Sep 25th 2011 3:59PM
@Moose, I think you meant "lead long and prosper"?
Redder Sep 26th 2011 2:27AM
@Magma - I think there are persuasive arguments to be made that Cata is the WoW-killer. Sure, WoW may have a million subscribers a decade from now. But after Cata the idea of WoW as a growing leader is gone, probably for good.
The employees who made those mistakes should be ashamed of themselves.
Noyou Sep 26th 2011 3:25AM
Personally I like LK better than cata in some respects. The quality of life changes Cata has brought are truly unprecedented. Flying in Azeroth and the Looking for Guild feature to name a couple.
"The employees who made those mistakes should be ashamed of themselves."
Not sure I know what mistakes exactly where made. The mistake of giving us a revamp of the entire 1-60 leveling zone? If you haven't rolled an alt in cata, I will be blunt, it's your own damn fault. If you go out to a buffet and only go for one entre and maybe pick at some fries, is that the chef's fault? I think no. Go out and sample all you can. Then if you don't like it fine. You could say the content of cata wasn't enough or it was too spread out I guess. But failure? I'm not buying that.