The Queue: The serviceman and the "guide dog"
by Michael Sacco 
Jan 13th 2012 at 11:00AM
Seriously, guys, if you didn't read Lisa's article yesterday about the British Army serviceman who lost his eyes in combat and still raids with the help of his guildmates and his "seeing-eye dog" death knight friend, you really should right now.
Glorfindan asked:
is blizzard ok with guild buying/selling. With in game gold I mean. And will they enforce the deal if one side doesnt?
I'm asking cuz my brother is thinkin of buying one and I couldnt find anything on Blizz's page. I'm assuming they are as there are adds on the forums for it, but I wanted to be sure
As guilds are technically the property of the guild leader, yes, it's allowable to buy them with in-game gold. Just make sure the transaction is documented with in-game chat so GMs can help you out if something goes awry.
Jon asked:
whats the deal with stone drakes? do they belong to a specific dragonflight?? wow head says they are "earth elementals" but the stone dragons in deepholm are skinnable and when scrolled over are dragonkin....to my knowledge dragonflights are very specific and its weird that there are 4 or 5 different kind of stone drakes.
They are indeed a form of earth elemental, but it's not certain whether they're dragons who moved into the elemental planes when the planes were created long ago or if they're elementals that were simply born (or purposely shaped) that way. The elemental lords can "create" forms of elemental life, so it's possible that they just ... you know, wanted their own cool dragons.
AJ asked:
In the event of a matched roll (2 players rolling the same number) in a non-lfr group, how is the winner determined? Random? Alphabetical? Can i blame ghostcrawler?
There's another, invisible roll to determine a tiebreaker. Instead of blaming Ghostcrawler, though, I'd recommend you blame Pierre-Simon Laplace.
Jeremiah asked:
We're in about almost 2 months ? into the latest patch. Now with the Raid Finder Difficulty many people can see the content easily compared to the past !
So do you think that Blizz will STILL nerf the normal/heroic mode for the current raid tier just like they usually do for the rest of the tiers ?
No, I think those days are over. Raid Finder means the necessity of gradual/immediate nerfs to normal/heroic-mode content is gone; if people want to see the fights, they can do it in the Raid Finder, no problem.
As we've discussed on the WoW Insider Show recently, too, the Raid Finder also eliminates the need for an introductory raid tier each expansion. Now Blizzard can just design raid content and not worry about whether or not the mechanics are straightforward enough to be the first raid of a new expansion.
Paddy McAlary asked:
What's the general horde opinion on Garrosh? The Forsaken and the Darkspear seem to have come out against him either through openly defying him or disobeying orders, but what do the goblins/blood elf and in particular the Tauren think of him? Do they blame him for the death of Cairne oris the blame soley on Magatha and what do they think of the hordes agressive stance to thr night elfs and the rest of the alliance?
Well, the orcs like him, at least. The tauren have ostensibly forgiven Garrosh after he repented by giving the tauren a place of honor in Orgrimmar. The blood elves are just trying to stay out of the way, I think, but that's like asking what the draenei think of Varian. Who knows, man? Those guys don't get any story play nowadays.
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!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Noyou Jan 13th 2012 11:07AM
I am going to have to call you out on the Tauren forgiving Garrosh. That is not the impression I got when I did the Tauren starter area. Granted, I have been wrong many times before and this could have changed at some point. It seemed to me that Both Vol'Jin and Baine want to get even with the current horde warchief.
Shinae Jan 13th 2012 11:25AM
I think revenge against Garrosh is now far from the minds of Baine and even Vol'jin.
What we see in the tauren and troll starting areas takes place shortly after the Cataclysm, when the death of Cairne is pretty recent. Since then, they've had bigger matters to concern themselves with.
After Vol'jin made his threat to Garrosh, Thrall talked him down. Thrall was just as upset about Cairne's death as Baine (see the fire/rage part of Thrall's Elemental Bonds), yet Thrall has forgiven Garrosh, setting the example for the other leaders.
VioletArrows Jan 13th 2012 11:25AM
Vol'jin yes, but in The Shattering, Baine went through his own little soul-searching journey and realized he has far more important things to do than revenge. I'd put it at "It can wait" more than forgiveness and revenge. He just wants his own people not to get sucked down into the same ugly place the rest of the Horde's falling while all this crazy is going down.
Unfortunately, it sounds like in Mists it's only going to get worse even though Thrall said "The Cataclysm is over". :/
Luotian Jan 13th 2012 11:38AM
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Garrosh is GOOD for the Horde. His methods may not be the best, and I disagree with a lot of them, but at least we're active now. Thrall has it in his head that his people have to make up for atrocities that MANY of them were probably to young to remember, never mind actually commit them. And there is no reason for that. He's given the Orcs back their self-respect, something Thrall never managed, and that's a good thing.
Also, their actions have been surprisingly good for the Alliance, too. Night Elf society has been stale for over a millennium. Its good for them to adapt and change as well, and a trial by fire is kind of what they needed.
As for in game, it seems to me that Baine and Vol'jin will never act. They don't like a lot of his actions, but there is no denying his is pretty effective and their people are surviving better if not out and out flourishing with more land and more resources. I don't see how they can really complain. Sylvanas, as someone said below, is koko for cocoa puffs at the moment, and if I ever get the chance to take her down I'll be thrilled. As for the Belfs...I imagine we're doing what we always do. Watching, waiting, and finding out how to survive on our wits because that's what Blood Elves do.
VSUReaper Jan 13th 2012 11:48AM
I haven't done the new Tauren starting quests, but I think it's a matter of understanding:
Voljinn doesn't trust and would rather drop a spear in his back
The goblins don't care - it was the horde that saved them, it's the horde they help
Blood Elves - who knows? They don't even have an active leader. They probably would be ok being left on thier own, neither horde or alliance.
Forsaken - once again, who knows what's going on: The horde doesn't actually tell them what to do, both groups goals happen to co-inside so they do thier thing. It's obvious Sylvanas would love to kill Garosh, but then again, I have a feeling she's treading a line that was parallel to the Lich King's.
Tauren: I don't think they forgive the Warchief so much as they understand that he was manipulated. No matter what, the death is on the hands of Garosh, because it was his actions and his unwillingness to talk and reason with Cairne. I think that they are still holding out for Garosh to step down if Thrall returns, or at least have Thrall return as an advisor to Garosh, but forgiveness is not really an option.
Luotian Jan 13th 2012 11:59AM
@VSUReaper: I'm sorry, that battle was Garrosh's fault? I love Cairne to bits, I miss him to death, but he was the one that was suspicious. He was the one that did not get the full story, that assumed the worst, and did not listen. Garrosh's insistence on it being a to the death match was obviously a bluff. He had no real desire to do Cairne any harm, but he couldn't stand by and be accused of such atrocities he knew he did not commit.
Garrosh is hardly to blame for what happened. He was a victim of Magatha's betrayal as much as anyone as it was his honor that was stained.
Joe Jan 13th 2012 12:05PM
And I even think that there's been some improvements in the relationship between Garrosh and Vol'jin (since the events just after the Shattering which are seen in the Troll starting area).
I mean, they're never going to be friends like Thrall and Vol'jin were. But I think Vol'jin is starting to appreciate that Garrosh's aggressiveness can have some benefit to the Horde. And Garrosh is starting to appreciate what a cunning ally Vol'jin can be (see: his handling of the Zandalari).
And in the end Vol'jin is a pragmatist.
Maz Jan 14th 2012 8:12AM
I can't find where now, but I once read (maybe just speculation) that Magetha Grimtotem had been using the morrowgrain gathered from Bashana Runetotem to poison Cairn for years, keeping him docile and less likely to take action against her and her clan. I wish I could find where I read this... If this is true, which actually sounds fairly likely considering her hut is right next to this npc, it certainly sheds new light on the whole situation with Cairns death.
Batleth Jan 13th 2012 11:08AM
Q4tQ: Why are the Blood Elves still in the Horde?
This is related to your last answer to the questions above.
Sylvanas is the reason the BEs were accepted in the first place right? Now she's basically gone koo-koo for cocoa puffs. Do they BEs fear her that much?
I understand why the BEs would hate the older Alliance. That one human general was a ****. But he got gutted a long time ago and you would think that Velen's actions at the Sunwell would have made up for that transgression anyway.
If I were Varian Wrynn (or Jaina or Tyrande or Velen), I'd be on the first 310 mount I could summon and going to pay Silvermoon a visit.
Game mechanics-wise I understand the need for the balance. Lore wise, however, I seriously think there's tons of evidence for supporting the Blood Elves becoming the High Elves again and returning to the Alliance, or becoming a biased neutral member.
Nathanyel Jan 13th 2012 11:15AM
I could see the Blood/High Elves, as former members of the Alliance, and the Draenei, the pre-Horde "it's complicated" of the Orcs, take up leading positions in Horde-Alliance peace talks. But that's mainly the government, indidivuals are still free to join the respective army, or join groups raiding the oppposing side.
Tabasa Jan 13th 2012 11:25AM
I think at this point it's less that the Blood Elves are sticking around in the Horde because they love the idea of it, and more because they're very aware of the fact that they'd be totally screwed if they left.
Keep in mind that, story-wise, the Blood Elves have a very small population, at least compared with what they had pre-WC3 as High Elves. They're big on pride and talk themselves up as if nothing has changed since then, but left on their own, they probably would be in trouble before too long.
And that's assuming everyone left them alone. If Blood Elves just up and said "screw you guys" to the Horde, do you really think for a second Garrosh wouldn't just shrug and move his armies in to take Eversong by force? With the Forsaken pretty much taking half of the Plaguelands, the Blood Elves would be boxed in if the Horde decided they were a hostile entity. They would have to deal with the Forsaken to their south, and simultaneously have to worry about the Horde's naval forces to their north.
Even if we were to assume that they could patch things up with the Alliance (which isn't a given by any means), the Alliance would be completely cut off from Eversong via ground travel, considering that Lordaeron and bits of Arathi are completely held by the Forsaken now. Any aid they'd send would have to come via ship coming in from the other side, and they probably don't have the resources to send enough of a force to properly defend against what would probably be overwhelming odds.
The Blood Elves can't afford to leave the Horde at this point, regardless of what they actually feel about it. As things stand, they're largely left alone, which is the way they like things anyways.
Akueria Jan 13th 2012 11:32AM
To give the Horde a 'pretty' race.
I kid, I kid.
Andy Jan 13th 2012 11:32AM
Taking an entire expansion to prove their loyalty to the Horde seems like a good excuse to stay. While they haven't had much to do since BC, aside from getting the Horde into Dalaran in Wrath, and running the Horde side of the Argent Tournament, they still have their uses. Like if Sylvanas finally completely loses her mind, where better to find someone who could help fight her than from her homeland?
Luotian Jan 13th 2012 11:33AM
Well, I imagine its because they would feel bad leaving now. They were in a rough place when the Alliance abandoned them, it would be really hard for them to trust those Allies again. And, yes, the Horde isn't exactly nice to them most of the time, but at least they didn't completely abandon them to death.
Also, the Alliance has already shown multiple times that that General is far from a singular incident. I'm a little surprised they get any killing of Horde done when they seem so mistrustful of each other-- nelfs in particular.
clundgren Jan 13th 2012 11:34AM
I really hope they do SOMETHING with the Blood Elves and Dranei in the next expansion. Velen is too powerful a character to be perpetually on the sidelines; they need to make him an active player in the Alliance, not just the weird alien guy hanging out in his spaceship. He should be the moral and spiritual heart of the Alliance, where he could be a nice foil for Varian's more aggressive nature.
I'm not sure that Lor'Themar has much of a future; he's done nothing for so long that he is widely perceived as a joke. Invigorate the Blood Elves by replacing him with someone like Lady Liadrin. She's a more interesting character; her personal journey from Naaru vampire to true follower of the Light mirrors the conflicted path the Sin'Dorei have taken as a people. Plus, the potential tension between her and Sylvanas could move the story in an interesting direction.
loop_not_defined Jan 13th 2012 11:37AM
There's also the thing with Night Elves sabotaging Blood Elf projects near Silvermoon, even using a representative from Ironforge.
Avan Jan 13th 2012 11:42AM
Simple: Fel energy.
Night elves and draenei know firsthand what fel energy does, and that's 1/3 of the Alliance. Until those iconic green crystals throughout Silvermoon are removed, then there's an in-game reason to oppose letting BEs join.
D4 Jan 13th 2012 11:56AM
Once you've committed to something, the tendency for most people is to stick with it. You've already made sacrifices, you've got sunk costs--you don't want those to go to waste, do you?
Also, by this point plenty of blood elves have pissed off plenty of Alliance folks...and plenty of blood elves have gotten pissed off about things the Alliance has done back to them.
Ata Jan 13th 2012 12:03PM
@Avan
The lingering fel addiction is probably what creates the tension to a degree, yes, but after the cleansing of the Lightwell, High Elf and Blood Elf can generally coexist there, and you get the sense there's a 'we really kind of want to fix all this', but the political red tape makes that something difficult to do, along with grudges over the reasons for the initial split in the first place. The Blood Elves at this point are content to be left mostly to their own devices, and find that the Horde doesn't stick it's nose into their business like the Alliance probably would have, and though the Horde leaves them alone, they will come to their defense if needed thanks to treaty...just like the treaty that eventually screwed the Blood Elves with the Alliance in the first place! :D Double edged sword and all that.
clundgren Jan 13th 2012 12:06PM
@ Avan,
The only reason that those crystals are still there is that Silvermoon, like Exodar, hasn't been updated since it launched with TBC. The Belfs have been free of using fel energy for years now, ever since the Sunwell was restored at the end of TBC.