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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsPatch 4.3: Rogue legendary Fangs of the Father official preview
by Mathew McCurley 
Sep 28th 2011 at 12:45PM
The legendary items will provide a stacking agility bonus that culminates in a combo point cost reduction for finishing moves, increases the damage of finishing moves, and unfurls large black wings that look imposing and destructive. Rogues can also call upon the wings on command to act as a built-in slow fall (or to just pop out the wings to look cool). Check out the official video preview of the Fangs of the Father after the jump.
Rogue legendary daggers preview: Fangs of the Father
"They wanted to hold me, to keep watch over me – a prisoner in all but name. But I will NOT be held accountable for the sins of my father. My destiny will be my own."- Wrathion, the Black Prince
The Contract
Patch 4.3 will offer the most deadly and experienced rogues the opportunity to finally play a central role in the fate of the world the rogue's way: by manipulating key events from the shadows. Players will travel across continents to accomplish crucial missions of reconnaissance, burglary, infiltration and, of course, assassination. Those familiar with the events that unfolded in the Badlands since the Cataclysm struck may recall the story of Rheastrasza, the ambitious red dragon who acquired a black dragon egg and magically purified it, cleansing it of the Black Dragonflight's corruption. While those events may lead to a more hopeful destiny for Azeroth, it will take cleverness, stealth, skill, and the help of a few friends to unravel the web of intrigue that will reveal what became of the egg... and determine the fate of Deathwing himself.
Wetwork
Rogues willing to do whatever is necessary to ignite a brighter future must first delve into the Dragon's Soul raid dungeon to begin the quest line. Those who prove their prowess within will be set on a collision course with Ravenholdt Manor and the enigmatic Black Prince, Wrathion. This shadowy figure could be the key to victory for the mortal races, but what is his true agenda? Before the truth behind these mysteries are revealed, enterprising assassins will need to fight tense raid battles against Deathwing's most powerful minions, and embark alone on perilous missions to seal the fate of the Black Dragonflight. The quest culminates in the earth-scorching execution of Deathwing himself and a shocking revelation about the true nature of the mission.
What's in it for me?
Rogues who succeed will receive a paired set of daggers that will become increasingly lethal as their bearer progresses along the legendary quest. At the height of their strength, they will be imbued with the vile essence of the Old Gods, as well as the maddened fury of the Black Dragonflight -- bestowing great power upon their bearer. These powers include a stacking increase to Agility which builds until dark wings unfurl from the rogue's back, removing the combo point cost and increasing damage of finishing moves for a short time. In addition, the wings which can be spread on command (with no combat benefit) to slow a rapid descent, allowing the rogue to slowly fall to the ground... or enact a little death from above! When it comes to dealing death, the Fangs of the Father promise legendary killing power to rogues of any specialization.
An incredible adventure and legendary rewards await. The future of all life on Azeroth hangs in the balance. Better get moving.
The Contract
Patch 4.3 will offer the most deadly and experienced rogues the opportunity to finally play a central role in the fate of the world the rogue's way: by manipulating key events from the shadows. Players will travel across continents to accomplish crucial missions of reconnaissance, burglary, infiltration and, of course, assassination. Those familiar with the events that unfolded in the Badlands since the Cataclysm struck may recall the story of Rheastrasza, the ambitious red dragon who acquired a black dragon egg and magically purified it, cleansing it of the Black Dragonflight's corruption. While those events may lead to a more hopeful destiny for Azeroth, it will take cleverness, stealth, skill, and the help of a few friends to unravel the web of intrigue that will reveal what became of the egg... and determine the fate of Deathwing himself.
Wetwork
Rogues willing to do whatever is necessary to ignite a brighter future must first delve into the Dragon's Soul raid dungeon to begin the quest line. Those who prove their prowess within will be set on a collision course with Ravenholdt Manor and the enigmatic Black Prince, Wrathion. This shadowy figure could be the key to victory for the mortal races, but what is his true agenda? Before the truth behind these mysteries are revealed, enterprising assassins will need to fight tense raid battles against Deathwing's most powerful minions, and embark alone on perilous missions to seal the fate of the Black Dragonflight. The quest culminates in the earth-scorching execution of Deathwing himself and a shocking revelation about the true nature of the mission.
What's in it for me?
Rogues who succeed will receive a paired set of daggers that will become increasingly lethal as their bearer progresses along the legendary quest. At the height of their strength, they will be imbued with the vile essence of the Old Gods, as well as the maddened fury of the Black Dragonflight -- bestowing great power upon their bearer. These powers include a stacking increase to Agility which builds until dark wings unfurl from the rogue's back, removing the combo point cost and increasing damage of finishing moves for a short time. In addition, the wings which can be spread on command (with no combat benefit) to slow a rapid descent, allowing the rogue to slowly fall to the ground... or enact a little death from above! When it comes to dealing death, the Fangs of the Father promise legendary killing power to rogues of any specialization.
An incredible adventure and legendary rewards await. The future of all life on Azeroth hangs in the balance. Better get moving.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Lemons Sep 28th 2011 3:26PM
I'm with Freta...I don't like the idea that this dragon was aged magically. How can the dragon prince even be a threat to Deathwing at all when he has almost zero life experience and is essentially a whelp in a dragon's body? This kid has lived for a year and Deathwing has lived for Millennia.
Freta Sep 28th 2011 3:42PM
Yes I should have been more, verbose in my original post. That was mostly a rage post. I agree with Lemons entirely. He's been alive for a year, at most, how has he managed to not only learn how to speak, but also gain a grasp on morality, trickery, sabotage. Learned presumably how to fight, how to dress himself in elaborate clothing, develop a distinct personality. How has he gone from not even being born, to essentially an angsty teenager who feels held down by those caring for him. I mean, he's had a few months to be raised, and develop a disdain for those raising him. I know they wanted to use this character, and I was excited to see his story continue. But if they could write in something like others have posted. That he was raised outside of time, or something....even Garona displayed childlike tendencies after being super-fast-aged by having a weaker sense of morality.
vocenoctum Sep 28th 2011 4:29PM
I'm not taking sides, but it's hard to say what the questlines actually tell us. So maybe hold out until they're all datamined and up on MMO-Champ, then see.
It's entirely possible that the "dark secret" reveals how he was deposited in the past and grew in an alternate timeline of the Emerald Dream while learning kungfu brewing from Pandaren.
The dark secret might not be his "evilness", but more of the extreme measures the other flights have taken to have an alternate to Deathwing.
Boobah Sep 28th 2011 4:39PM
How? He's not human, or even humanoid. No, he's a dragon, and quite frankly applying human expectations is kinda silly. Especially since dragons are an artificial race.
As for his underhanded methods, well, it's not like he has the support of a dragonflight, or centuries of magical experience, or even any real freedom; from what little has been revealed so far, he's grown up under house arrest, always under the (largely hostile) eyes of the other dragonflights.
And then there's the fate of his mother. Yeah, that story is certainly going to persuade the youngling to trust the people watching over him.
Kid's had a crap life so far; maybe he'll grow up to have a heart of gold. And it's not like his ascension to Aspect of Earth is going to stop the rest of the Black Dragonflight from being villains, any more than Bolvar putting on the Helm of Domination shut down the Scholomance.
Sean Sep 28th 2011 1:38PM
So Class Quests are back, but only if you're lucky enough to be the one person per raid group that embarks on the Legendary quest?
So much for not allocating resources that only a small percentage of the player base would experience.
Shinae Sep 28th 2011 2:02PM
Sean has a good point. While I'm happy with rogues getting a legendary all to themselves, it does make me a bit bitter that the mid-level class quests were done away with.
Maybe someday Blizzard can give everyone class-specific quests for lore and flavor.
relmatos Sep 28th 2011 3:09PM
Not only that but the choice for the classes seems a bit weird.
Ravenholdt hasnt been mentioned anywhere since Vanilla and now for the end of the expansion they decided to shove it into the game for no reason whatsoever.
It'd have been better to wait for the next expansion, add more stuff surrounding Ravenholdt and then have the legendary chain.
And another thing. I loved that chain in Badlands. it's a slap in the face to non-rogues to make the rest of the chain only available to the very few Rogues that will be going after the legendary.
vocenoctum Sep 28th 2011 4:35PM
While I would love all the classes getting similar quests, and I've got at least one of each class...
No one really complained that only four classes (dps casters) could help pick the new blue dragonflight leader? So where's the break point? Does it have to be 3+ classes? :)
Realistically, just like the old ones, these quests use assets already in game and the "uniqueness" isn't exactly a lot of resources, I should think. Tossing a new class quest to a new class with each patch would be a neat thing, but then of course folks would expect stuff. So I don't know.
Skarn Sep 28th 2011 6:20PM
It's a legendary. They put a lot of work into legendaries that only a few people see. It's one of the few relics from Vanilla that they are keeping and don't want to change.
Regardless, I miss the class quests too. Poison Tower as a rogue and Rhok'delar for the hunter were both awesome and fun experiences. I know it's a lot of work, but I wish they'd do it. :(
Nina Katarina Sep 28th 2011 1:39PM
You know, just because someone has their own agenda, even opposes the player characters at some point, doesn't mean that they're to be EEEEVILLLLLLLE!
One of the things I really regret from Cataclysm is that they took Staghelm and Magatha Grimtotem and turned them from 'assholes who are mostly on your side but have their own agendas' into one-dimensional evil villains who must be destroyed. Garrosh and Sylvanas have taken their place, sort of, as characters who are on your side but have moral gray areas.
I would love to see young Wrathion with a distinctively different morality, shown as someone who will do whatever he has to in order to achieve his hidden agenda. But please don't make him evil.
One of the great moments in Lord of the Rings (the book) was when the elves come singing at night, and Frodo realizes that with the Dark Lord gone, darkness wasn't evil any more, no longer something hideous. With Deathwing gone, the black dragonflight should still deal with hidden things and the secret places of the earth, but in the way that the Titans meant it to be.
RS Sep 28th 2011 2:56PM
Saying the "New" Black Dragon Flight is evil, is like saying Republicans are evil.. .. Wait a minute. bad example. (jking, not all, just the crazies)
Black Dragon Flight! Now under new management!
Sunaseni Sep 28th 2011 3:16PM
Making him evil would negate all of the build up of repairing all of the five flights to their glory in the Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects book. We also need all five together to kill Chromatus, in some future instance. Black Dragons are characterized as highly analytical and pragmatic. We need one of them on our side considering the monstrosities that are left to deal with. He may not be evil, but that doesn't mean he's very nice, considering the state of the planet.
Wait, I got his secret plot:
It's to steal the power of the Old Gods without being corrupted like Deathwing.
Assuming Wrathion wants to save the planet, he knows he can't deal directly with the Old Gods or history will repeat itself, he's got to send a proxy to deal with the Old Gods. That's where the rogue comes in as Wrathion's pawn. Wrathion recruits rogues who see the big picture, who are willing to get their hands dirty to ensure an Old-God-less Azeroth for our new Earthwarder.
The mission for the rogue is to extract N'Zoth from Deathwing, and have the daggers become the host and cage for the Old God in order to use its powers for our end. Wrathion will use the daggers to study N'Zoth and find a way to counter its corruption like the Titan construct was able to purify his own corruption. Such a plan would be insane enough that most classes would be correct in saying "no", but rogues, they are willing and able to go down that road to ensure the future of themselves, or their faction. Black Dragons being pragmatic will handily explain why every rogue can start the quest: he's going to throw away a lot of weak and useless rogues in order to find the one who can succeed.
I sort of want this to be the case, so that at the end of the quest line, Wrathion as the new Earthwarder with a caged Old God under his thumb will put on the greatest "JUST AS PLANNED" face and gloating over the remnants of the Black Dragonflight and commanding them to submit under him to serve the world once more. Such an ending would be a character introduction beyond badass.
Skarn Sep 28th 2011 6:29PM
The comments from interviews on the subject a week ago were not promising either. I hope it turns out awesome, despite the fear....
Angus Sep 28th 2011 1:54PM
Anyone else notice Blizzard got his origin wrong?
The egg wasn't purified with magic. It was purified...
WITH SCIENCE!!
Deathknighty Sep 28th 2011 2:17PM
Actually, it was MAGIC SCIENCE.
Jestin Sep 28th 2011 3:44PM
Nuh nuh nuuuuuuuuuuuh NUH - SCIENCE!
Tempyr Sep 28th 2011 2:26PM
Tentacle Daggers? Ew.
Slowfall? Any rogues that aren't already engineers at least have Safe Fall, possibly glyphed.
WTB Wrathion's gear as the new rogue tier13.
Killik Sep 28th 2011 5:44PM
Yeah, but Safe Fall isn't quite as good as having an on-demand parachute cloak - and why not both?
Edymnion Sep 28th 2011 2:31PM
Wonder how deep into the raid you'll have to get before you have a shot at seeing whatever the quest starting item is for these?
I'm thinking its going to be all the way, kill Deathwing and pry a couple of his teeth out of his cold dead head before you can even start the thing...
Knurl Sep 28th 2011 2:37PM
The blue post said that the quest would culminate with the killing of Deathwing. I'm guessing only 1 to 2 bosses in with every other boss advanceing it.