The Queue: Criminal
by Michael Sacco 
Nov 20th 2011 at 2:00PM
Man, I was going to embed the video for Fiona Apple's Criminal in today's Queue, but after rewatching it on YouTube, I decided against it. That is one creepy video. That song's my jam and I'll sing it at any karaoke bar, but I don't think I'll embed the video on our fine website.
Andre asked:
Will the 25 man version of Dragon Soul drop more shards for the Rogue legendary than the 10 man version?
Seems likely. That's the way it worked for Dragonwrath, as far as I can recall.
Thiron asked:
Is the difficulty difference between LFR and Normal only in numbers, or is it similar to Normal and Heroic, with LFR having easier/fewer mechanics also?
Raid Finder encounters will vary in their differences from normal modes; some will just have adjusted numbers, while others will have different or fewer mechanics compared to their normal-mode counterparts.
Dazziq asked:
In regards to the Pandaren racial ability "Inner Peace", how exactly will it work? Will it take an equal amount of time to generate rest, and then it just builds up to twice the amount? Or will it degrade at half the normal rate?
Blizzard hasn't given any specific information about how this racial works just yet.
Matt asked:
Concerning the 12 month annual pass, its perks, etc...what is the absolute, drop dead, last minute, latest time you can sign up for it and still get the goodies? has Blizz specified whether or not you can sign up after 4.3 drops?
There's been no announced end date to the Annual Pass offer. It's safe to assume you'll be able to sign up for it after 4.3 launches, unless Blizzard specifies otherwise.
Ianmis asked:
Afraid I don't recall if it was mention as to whether or not you can acquire the rogue legendary through the raid finder. Would anyone happen to know and have a link to the official statement?
I don't have a link handy, but it's been explicitly stated that the Fangs of the Father are not available in Raid Finder mode.
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 1 of 4)
KB3420 Nov 20th 2011 2:02PM
Seems like blizz is really dropping the ball with LFR, stripping it so dry and stale
Everclear Nov 20th 2011 2:23PM
Except that the point of LFR isn't to gear you up to the max, hand out Legendaries and make you a God of Azeroth. It's basically training wheels for the "real" raids, Normals and Heroics. The goal is to give everyone a training mode run-through of the bosses so you get an idea of where to stand, what adds to kite, when to run out of fire, how big the encounter is, when the burn phases are, etc. That's why you can do LFR as many times as you want without it putting a lockout on your ID.
It's purpose is not to reward you with gear per se; It's to teach you so that you use that knowledge in your guild's Normal and Heroic raids. You can tell your guildies to do LFR during your guild's off-raiding days so they get some practice in. I think of it as an amazing tool.
cdmoller Nov 20th 2011 2:27PM
I don't see how it is dropping the ball. LFR was intended to be easier right off the bat. It was never meant to be a replacement for raiding. It was meant to allow people who don't normally raid to get to see the end content. People that are raiding now can use LFR just to see how a boss will basically handle, but for the most part, their normal raid progression will be the same as always.
Zapwidget Nov 20th 2011 2:31PM
I wouldn't say "training wheels" exactly. There are going to be plenty of people that use the raid finder that still will not ever raid normally. It's a way of allowing more people to experience more content. Yes, those of us who do raid will be able to use it as a practice mode, but those among us who don't will finally be able to experience raid content, get the raid story, and do something other that run the same heroics every day.
usagizero Nov 20th 2011 2:48PM
I'm baffled by the people saying LFR is "easier", plenty of guilds will down normal even way before lfr does. Pugs generally have a harder time, and take much more work to get one, guild runs can carry people. By making the rewards much less than normal, what is the point of doing them? (no rep, no decent loot from trash, only points from finishing the section, yeah, people wouldn't even run normals much with that) It also lowers the feeling that trolls will have in it that they are missing something by ruining someone elses run. "So what if i spoil it, i'll just run it normal with my guild, screw these noobs! I'm not missing out, so what?"
"But they get to see the content!" seems to be the excuse, so they can keep spending the money on making raids a small percentage of the player base sees. People don't really seem to run them for story or "fun", just try to get a group together for the older ones, rarely happens outside of a guild.
Imnick Nov 20th 2011 2:54PM
People are saying LFR is easier because LFR literally is easier
It is tuned to be a stage lower than normal!
The damage bosses do and their health pools will be decreased, and possibly mechanics will be simplified.
Going from LFR to Normal is like moving from Normal the Heroic.
Khirsah Nov 20th 2011 3:01PM
@everclear...
I agree with everything you said about it being a training tool, and would also like to add that for people like me, who just don't have the time to raid, the LFR is a great way to see the art-work and the bosses and things.
I think it is a great addition. I did not get to see what Arthas looked like up-close-and-personal, but I will get to see Deathwing, and I could not be happier about that.
Paul Nov 20th 2011 3:03PM
@usagizero
That's true, but only to an extent. What if the Pug group is 20 people that already know each other and just needed 5 more people? Or what if it's an guild alt run (for gearing purposes)?
People are saying it's easier by a direct boss to boss comparison. You can't define the LFR experience by the type of people that will be playing within it because that's such a huge variable.
Killik Nov 20th 2011 3:17PM
@usagizero LFR is objectively easier. If you judge instance difficulty by the players you're grouped with, I might as well complain that the heroic Deadmines I ran on Tuesday was harder than the successful ZA bear run on Monday. In fact, I might demand harsh nerfs for heroic Deadmines. *shudder*
Skarn Nov 20th 2011 4:03PM
In LFR difficulty, the actual mechanics and numbers of the Dragon Soul raid ARE easier. That is definite. It might be harder to find a group that can clear the instance on LFR difficulty by using the LFR tool. That is possible. You might have an easy run in your guild's 10-man group and then queue up to try again for that shoulder token and find yourself wiping all night.
Yes, group makeup and PuGs can definitely make a Raid Finder run harder than a guild run. From a pure tuning perspective (numbers and mechanics), LFR is easier.
Gniver Nov 20th 2011 5:09PM
Say, do we positively know if the LFR is supposed to be a raider school, or if it is supposed to open up content for people who will never raid?
Because those are two different target audiences.
Imnick Nov 20th 2011 5:21PM
It's both, why can't it be both?
Skarn Nov 20th 2011 8:29PM
@Ginver
Both! It hopefully opens up content to people who have not raided before and also helps them learn so that they can move on to higher difficulty levels, if desired.
Gniver Nov 21st 2011 2:08AM
It can't be both because people who will never raid will by definition never be raiders. Raiding is a minigame that appeals to very few people. Sure, lowering the difficulty like in Wrath will bring a few non raiders over. But no matter what: the vast majority of WoW players will never raid.
So, is LFR addressing issue A) or B):
A) The learning curve for raiders is to steep.
B) 90% of the endgame content is developed for 10% of the gamer population, leaving the remaining 90% with stuff like archaeology and endless dungeon reruns.
it's not that Nov 21st 2011 9:42AM
It's still both!
A) for those who will raid
B) for those who will not
(A+B) for those who don't plan to raid, but maybe decide to later.
bruce Nov 20th 2011 2:04PM
Fiona Apple is divine and has one of the best voices of the last 2 decades. I'm going to have to look up that video now, I haven't watched it years.
Noyou Nov 20th 2011 3:22PM
And wth, you couldn't find a live performance to embed? I saw her live at the Aragon in Chicago and she was outstanding. Use your magics, I am expecting you to redeem yourself Sacco. Do it!
Mummrah Nov 20th 2011 4:49PM
I still wish he had put the video for it up. If it was good enough for mtv back when it actually showed videos it should be good enough for WoW Insider.
If I could I would like to nominate Chris Issak's Wicked Game, Billy Idol's Cradle of Love, or Benny Benassi's Satisfaction for next sunday's Queue music video.
GormanGhaste Nov 20th 2011 5:15PM
If using good professional judgment on what to embed is too hard, then yes, not embedding anything would work as well.
Shame, I love the song and the video. :)
Druid4life Nov 20th 2011 2:15PM
:D