Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsThe Queue: Donksliders 2
by Michael Sacco 
Dec 18th 2011 at 12:00PM
I expected the body type slider in The Old Republic to maybe increase my female character's muscle mass, but it turns out I could have just removed "muscle m-" from that phrase. Meanwhile, guys get wholly different body types, including a huge, muscle-bound one. Just because it's sci-fi doesn't mean we're free from fantasy body type conventions, apparently.
Lillyth asked:
So my question is: would running organized betting on 1v1 Duels, /roll, lotteries, etc. violate the ToS / EULA so long as any gold earned was used for in-game purposes only?
As Mat McCurley explained recently, running a gambling operation of any kind is against Blizzard's policies. Doesn't matter if it's a lottery or a straight-up bet on the outcome of a duel -- it's still against the rules.
Hoofio asked:
Nevermind all this monks-talents-pandas-pokemon stuff what about the real question for MoP ... what's the monk's colour going to be? Seems to me dark green is the biggest space on the spectrum..
Blizzard answered this recently: The devs chose a jade green color, though it's subject to change if necessary.
Possum asked:
Is it a good idea to get the Curse Downloader? I've heard that there are/have been security issues with it so I'm wary but I'm so damn sick of re downloading all my addons manually every patch.
There's risk in using any third-party program to get your addons, but the Curse downloader is pretty safe as far as those kinds of programs go. Combine it with a normal antivirus/antispyware program and savvy internet habits, and you should be just fine.
Ilmyrn asked:
Is there any way to change what login screen appears? Personally, I liked the Vanilla loading screen of the Azeroth Dark Portal best, and it would be awesome if there was some way to still use that one.
No way that's legal under the Terms of Use, no. You're stuck with Deathwing until Mists of Pandaria launches.
Brian asked:
What did akama do ingame before bc
Well, he didn't do anything in WoW itself prior to The Burning Crusade. Before his appearance in BC, though, back before even the First War, Akama was the guardian of the Temple of Karabor on Draenor. When the orcs, under control of the Burning Legion, began attacking the draenei, Akama helped the survivors evacuate the temple. During his time in hiding, he was exposed to the same fel energies that mutated the orcs and his fellow draenei, giving him the appearance we're familiar with today.
In the Warcraft 3 expansion The Frozen Throne, Kael'thas and Lady Vashj came through the Dark Portal just as Akama was attempting to fight off an army of demons, including the pit lord Magtheridon. After Kael and Vashj aided him and defeated Magtheridon, he pledged his loyalty to their good friend Illidan, which didn't get him very far, as we see in BC.
jfofla asked:
Now that SWTOR has crashed and burned, how long before the GW2 is the WOW Killer hype starts?
TOR hasn't even officially launched yet. I think it's a little early to be singing funeral dirges.
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 7)
jasonfelliott Dec 18th 2011 3:53PM
Most importantly, Joss Whedon has moved on and has stated that it's too far in the past to go back to it properly (except in comics, which he has done a couple times). The tale was pretty much ended with the film, and the world was changed, along with the crew members of the boat. And without Joss involved, it would be a pale shadow and poor imitation.
In my opinion, the only chance at an ongoing proper reincarnation would be in animated form, perhaps set in the period between "Objects In Space" and the film. Perhaps it could retell the tales told in the comics (such as why Book left the ship, and the resolution of the "Hands of Blue" storyline).
Ryder Dec 19th 2011 2:53AM
Why cant blizzard make the holiday achivements availible yo all levels? I havent had the time to lvl an 85 and i feel cheated out of my holiday, why cant they find a way to level it?
Arkonn Dec 18th 2011 1:05PM
Something that's been bugging me for a while: Why does PvP gear ilvl - specifically crafted gear - count towards ilvl required for entering dungeons and the LFR? I can understand giving the gear itself a level so you can quickly differentiate between what is potentially an upgrade and what isn't, however what I can't understand is why it counts towards your normal ilvl.
Now don't get me wrong, I’m not an elitist so-and-so by any stretch of the imagination. It just bugs me that some people spend hours and hours running heroics getting gear and points to improve themselves and others spend 10 minutes at the auction house buying gear that essentially is a "free" pass to the next stage.
Zachariahs Dec 18th 2011 2:05PM
I think it should count but not as it does now. Pvp items at equivelent levels have a higher ilvl and I don't understand that. They should have lower ilvls to make up for the resilience that has no pve use. They do provide useful stats, so they should have an ilvl, just have it lower than pve so ppl can still use it if its an upgrade but not just to cheese their ilvl.
Noyou Dec 18th 2011 5:17PM
@Arkonn
You started out making a great point about PvP ilvl should not let you queue for heroics. I don't know if they can make it so it doesn't count. Maybe it's something they could look into. It doesn't seem fair, but then again, you can queue for BG's and have zero PvP gear. I think WoW is moving toward being able to do both with either gear, more than they are looking to not be able to.
As far as buying gear off the AH, what's the difference between buying PvP gear and not knowing how to use it or buying PvE gear? It still comes down to the player.
arkhan Dec 18th 2011 5:23PM
Because the whole ilvl gating mechanic was a poorly thought out way to imitate GearScore or rather people asking you to have a certain GS to participate in content. Which had its up- and downsides, but at least you couldn't blatantly cheat the system and puff up your stats with bullshit items carried in your bags.
But I don't know if it's plain incompetence by Blizzard or part of their strategy to dumb everything down, so the average Joe doesn't have to bother gearing up for a day or two and can join dungeons in his PvP gear and be carried by those players who did spend the time to properly prepare.
icepyro Dec 18th 2011 1:09PM
I decided to reread that Lawbringer as kind of a review since it was linked....
"Chat is still the dominant form of communication within WoW, and what we say in chat reflects on what the game is putting as its best foot forward."
I read that sentence and instantly thought of the Chuck Norris commercial.
We have more power over Blizzard than I thought....
EverythingRuned Dec 18th 2011 1:26PM
If in-game gambling isn't allowed, what's the deal with Mysterious Fortune Cards?
ziggler Dec 18th 2011 2:10PM
The problem with gambling is avoiding/dealing with scams. Lets say you join one of those "roll more then 60 get double gold", you pay to enter and the guy leaves... Blizz will now have to deal with at least one ticket because of gambling.
Now lets say you buy one mysterious card andget 10 silver... though luck, no one tricked or scammed you, you just got unlucky
Shinae Dec 18th 2011 2:11PM
There's a big difference between game-driven chance games (like the cards) and player-driven gambling.
EverythingRuned Dec 18th 2011 2:44PM
Gotcha. So in order for duel-gambling or whatever to be allowed, we'd need an in-game interface that forces the results. I wonder if we'll get something like that with pet battling...
Blizzard's kind of between a rock and a hard place here... I mean, they could let the players police themselves, but naming and shaming is against the rules (for good reason), so they have to manage disputes manually.
loop_not_defined Dec 18th 2011 3:33PM
I believe Gambling also affects WoW's ESRB rating.
The ESRB considers quantity when assigning rates, and player policies set by the developer is taken into consideration. This is why Blizzard restricts swearing by players, but sometimes uses it with NPC dialogue - the former they have no control over unless restricted altogether, while in-game mechanics/dialogue can easily be controlled.
If the ESRB ever considered increasing WoW's rating due to mechanics it perceived as "gambling", Blizzard could easily remove it.
Brett Porter Dec 18th 2011 2:08PM
"I think it's a little early to be singing funeral dirges."
But... but... those are my favourite types of dirges!!
vulpes Dec 18th 2011 7:01PM
thank you for listening to WDRG all dirges all the time........
Camero Dec 18th 2011 2:08PM
Are you all looking forward to Forever Day?
chaosdefined Dec 18th 2011 2:25PM
Has there been any reveal of exactly how Deathwing planned on ending the world? Unless it was just to fly around scorching each individual zone, there's not really been a whole lot of story as to his plans.
He raised Raggy, Raggy tried to burn Mount Hjyal and the world. That failed.
Now what, he attacks Wyrmrest for a while and then...?
muffin_of_chaos Dec 18th 2011 4:27PM
Awesome question, actually. Well done.
Moonzcar Dec 19th 2011 3:09AM
He wanted to kill the Dragon Aspects. Well the old gods wanted that. I think is the only way the can be freed from their prisons.
chaosdefined Dec 19th 2011 4:02AM
Killing the Aspects wouldn't bring about the end of the world...after all we already killed one. Another just got appointed in his place.
Plus if that was how to free the Old Gods, surely now the Aspects are mortal (spoiler) then they'd be able to break out?
Tili Dec 18th 2011 2:37PM
I'll be so happy when I no longer have to look at Deathwing the fire chicken sitting on top of stormwind. Whatever the new log in screen is going to be, it's got to be better than the current one.
It's seriously hard to take Deathwing seriously when I see that picture of him so much.