The Queue: The fate of Sky Captain Swayze and Ka'anu Reevs
by Mathew McCurley 
Dec 5th 2011 at 11:00AM
My two new favorite NPCs in World of Warcraft are Sky Captain Swayze and Ka'anu Reevs of the Kor'kron Air Command. In the past, I have been very vocal about my disdain for "lazy NPCs" design in which a clever name that just replaces letters or flat-out names the NPC after the pop culture reference is created for content. Haris Pilton is the queen of all lazy NPCs, for instance, because it's not even a joke on Paris Hilton -- it's just her.
Sky Captain Swayze and his best orc buddy Ka'anu Reevs, however, are stalwart heroes, best friends, and champions in the highest regard. Whatever happens to them after that fateful jump and subsequent tentacling, I hope they survive. I hope they live on. In the name of freedom. I want Sky Captain Swayze and Ka'anu Reevs to be surfing off the shore of Pandaria for years to come.
You're about to jump out of a perfectly good airship, Reevs -- how do you feel about that?
mord asked:
Is raid finder too easy with 372 gear? I think Raid Finder was tuned for ilvl 365. I can understand why they decided to initially set it to 372, but I have a hunch it will eventually drop to 365 in a month or two. Have blues hinted at this possibility?
The Raid Finder will never be "too easy." People are completely missing the point of the Raid Finder if you ever think that it is "too easy." The Raid Finder is not meant to be difficult. Yes, it's meant to pose interesting challenges to players who are running it, but by no means is it meant to challenge you on the level of normal mode or heroic mode difficulties.
The reason the Raid Finder is built the way it is boils down to the fact that as a game mechanic, raiding is a pretty poor one. Think about it -- content is difficult, it used to be extremely time-locked and artificially gated, and it's logistically difficult for the everyday player. These are not people who needed to learn to play but rather people who just didn't have the time.
The Raid Finder's difficulty is to give all of those people the chance of at least seeing the encounters and being a part of the grand story without the traditional traps and gates of raiding in an MMO. MMO raiding is this weird anomaly that exists as game content moves toward accessibility over exclusivity. For people who legitimately feel threatened by the Raid Finder, I just feel like I'm at a loss for words sometimes. Why are you threatened by the Raid Finder? Because it's easy mode? Because someone could say, "Well, I defeated Deathwing and saved the day!" and did it via the Raid Finder? What the hell does that matter to you if you beat the fights on a harder difficulty?
As for whether or not they will lower the difficulty or, rather, lower the ilevel required to raid, I think they keep it up high to increase the chance of success each LFR group has of completing the raid wings. They would rather require higher ilevels to get in and have more innate successes than to lower the ilevel and have too many frustrating encounters and experiences. It will probably stay where it is.
razion asked:
Okay queue-goers, let's brainstorm here for a minute. What is the quickest way to do the quest "Test Your Strength"? Alternatively, what is the most AMUSING way to do so?
As usual, my go-to spot for farming experience-yielding mobs are the ghosts and undead in Icecrown due north of that awful area where you do the stupid jousting with the commanders. They die extremely fast and give you a grisly trophy. The most amusing way is PvP in the Darkmoon Free-for-all Deathmatch because that thing is a joke. Remove players from groups in there, in my opinion.
Darkseid asked:
Okay, so Blizzard introduces the Raid finder... Then makes none of the Rogue legendary quest or items attainable through the raid finder....
But... because of the Raid finder, you never see anyone forming PUG raids.
So the question is...
How are any Rogues who aren't already part of a raiding guild supposed to have ANY shot at completing or even starting the Legendary dagger chain...
Seems like piss poor planning on Blizzards part. Or, a ridiculous continuation of what they started with Cata, of basically trying to force everyone into a guild.
Legendaries are intended for players who are part of a guild in which the time, dedication, and logistical work is more difficult than your average encounter or quest. Not everyone is meant to have legendaries, as they represent one of the highest echelons of rewards in the game. PUG raids will form in time as players get geared up from Raid Finder and get more familiar with the fights. It just so happens that right now, there is an easier way to PUG raid, and it's Raid Finder.
Hal asked:
I understand Blizzard giving reforging duties to the ethereals... in Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Why in blazes did they take reforging out of the other cities?
I had literally no idea there were reforgers in other cities.
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 3 of 13)
Killik Dec 5th 2011 12:07PM
@Beree Adults like cute things too, or no-one would bother much with babies. By "adult" did you mean "teenage boy"?
Smashbolt Dec 5th 2011 12:09PM
I'm not the most excited about the impending pandas either, but I don't go running around saying WoW is catering to toddlers. Know why? I'm secure enough in my maturity that I don't need to shun things I like and call them childish to assert how grown up I am.
That said, Tirrimas has a point. Assuming a player never stops playing due to boredom or disinterest, for many, there comes a time where it's no longer reasonable to keep playing.
Makes sense for them to try stretching it wider by a) making the game a bit more welcoming to younger players, and b) reducing required commitment so it's possible to play and progress even if you're short on time.
Bynde Dec 5th 2011 1:19PM
"Pandarians" will not destroy WoW or even make me not like WoW. Ever.
Having said that it's still a cheap trick and was done for marketing purposes because [gasp!] Blizzard works for profit first.
It's like the Ewok travesty in Return of the Jedi. The Ewoks were added not necessarily for any SW lore , but because they sold well as action figures. Same with the Kung Fu Pandas that they are blatantly copying...er...I mean "sampling" from.
It makes good business sense. But, I doubt never roll one. Unless it's for a bank toon or something.
So, "Pandaria"? Meh. Good for marketing but I would have loved it if I could have rolled a Arakkoa or Tuskarr much much more. Pandas seem like a late-night "what can we pull from our asses in time for the 9am progression meeting tomorrow?"
MattKrotzer Dec 5th 2011 12:26PM
How dark does a game have to be for it to be for adults, exactly?
I'm 33, and perfectly content with pandapeople. I don't think it makes the game any more kid-friendly than it was before. The graphics have always been very cartoony. If anything, the brewmaster sounds decidedly UN-kid-friendly.
I mean, what race would be acceptable to NOT be a "kids' game?" Would we need playable demons? Something hulking and monstrous? What if you just take something hulking and monstrous and cover it in fur?
http://produccionesbalazo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/PandaAttack.jpg
http://img18.photobucket.com/albums/v55/stevesbluegirl/Pictures/pvp20030105.gif
chuparex Dec 5th 2011 1:12PM
“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” - C.S. Lewis
Jorges Dec 5th 2011 1:12PM
@Bynde
"Same with the Kung Fu Pandas that they are blatantly copying...er...I mean "sampling" from. "
Geez, I can't believe there's still people thinking that Pandarens come from Kung-Fu Panda... here son, get informed: http://www.wowwiki.com/Pandaren
"There was also an in-game secret in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos where Arthas discovers a Pandaren Relaxation Area in Andorhal before finding King Terenas' remains."
YES, WARCRAFT 3! Pandarens have been around for almost 10 years.
Bynde Dec 5th 2011 1:34PM
Beree -
Even if Pandas have been around in Warcraft lore for a century, their infusion into the MMO now is becasue of the popularity of KFPanda. There is no doubt about that. Blizzard is out to make money. They someone how determined Pandas are the next draw instead of talking walruses or ogres. There is a reason for choosing to bring in the Kung Fu Pandas. And it's due to marketability.
As I said, it makes no difference to me, I love playing WoW and a new expansion is hardly going to make me like it less. I love this game. Period.
Incidentally, I know the internets are anonymous and you couldn't possibly know this but I am way, way past age where anyone (except my elderly Father and Mother) could call me "son".
Amaxe Dec 5th 2011 1:58PM
Well, to some extent I think the original question has merit.
With the growing pop-art references and the like, it seems the focus on the young has grown, leaving the person who wants to play a fantasy game with some rather annoying things.
It's kind of like how Disney did a massive shift from the approach done up to "Beauty and the Beast" to the continual "joke and pop reference" approach done from Aladdin to the present. It's gone from being aimed at all audiences to being aimed at the young audiences.
I don't doubt some adults still like it, and they can like it without being "immature." But some of us don't like it and we aren't abnormal either. It just seems the shift in WoW is gone from all audiences to kids.
StClair Dec 5th 2011 2:01PM
@chuparex: Cool, someone else posted the quote this time, so I don't have to. :)
loop_not_defined Dec 5th 2011 5:45PM
Bynde, Pandaren were originally scheduled to be "infused" in 2007 with Burning Crusade. That STILL beats Kung Fu Panda.
Shrikesnest Dec 5th 2011 6:12PM
I'm so sick of hearing "They're just doing [X] to make more money!" Our economy is capitalistic. You know how you make money in a capitalist economy, in general? You sell people something they want to buy. You make money by giving people something they *want*. They're going to make money on this because a lot of people *want* it. Quit trying to phrase your arguments like you're some kind of noble saint, interested only in the purity of art. You're not. Your argument boils down to, "Other people want something and *I* want something else! Give me what I want! I don't care about others!" Who, exactly, is being selfish and greedy here?
Amaxe Dec 5th 2011 9:49PM
@Shrikesnest
The time we should worry is when they are just trying to make money -- and seem not to give a crap about how it fits in.
Joe Dec 5th 2011 3:20PM
I don't get why everyone gets so riled up that they don't have access to some particular part of the game. The game is meant to appeal to a huge variety of people. You have equal opportunity to choose your goals, but you have to work to get them, just like real life.
Thieren Dec 5th 2011 11:13AM
I actually was disappointed the elf reforger in Stormwind didn't complain about the ethereals putting him out of business. He actually recommends you visit them!
Joakim Dec 5th 2011 11:34AM
It's his wife that gets the most.
"How was work, dear?"
"Work? Work!? I'll tell you about work, you lazy ass sentinel! THERE IS NO WORK! Now I have to bury Kimchi for the rest of my life while YOU stand around eating RIBS!"
Jerry Springer should do a Teldrassil special.
Pazazu Dec 5th 2011 11:39AM
That was probably part of the contract they forced on him to put him out of business. He's required to recommend their services when asked, and any complaints or disparaging remarks about them are considered actionable.
Kylenne Dec 5th 2011 1:29PM
DEY TUK ER JERBS!
Den Dec 5th 2011 11:13AM
SO glad someone brought up how artificial raiding is in MMOs (before people complain, I was with a top end guild in Vanilla WoW and taught other priests on my server how to do the Razuvious fight). When you have a lot of time and a good pool of dedicated players (or a lot of patient ones), raiding isn't so bad, but that's rarely the case. There's a reason why most drama is around raiding ;P
I personally don't touch raiding these days in MMOs (repeating the same dungeon again and again for at least a month on end isn't for me), but I do like the idea that, much like in other games, I could go through it once or twice just to experience the story line.
Speaking of which, I think Zelda's still waiting for me!
loop_not_defined Dec 5th 2011 11:27AM
Pretty much any mechanic that prevents you from getting all rewards instantly is artificial gating...
Matt P Dec 5th 2011 11:29AM
I agree. When I raided, I had fun because it was like going to a party with my friends. We liked to progress, yes, but the main source of entertainment was being with each other.