The Queue: Scroll of Resurrection
by Mathew McCurley 
Mar 7th 2012 at 11:00AM
The new Scroll of Resurrection sounds like a pretty cool way of drumming up some business. Turn old subscribers new again. Plus, mounts. What's not to love? There are a lot of players I know who would love to start a goblin or worgen yet haven't played in years, so free Cataclysm and some goodies doesn't seem like too bad a deal for a month's worth of game time.
Questions?
Narayana asked:
I'm not really up with all of the norms for press behavior and such, but I am curious what the point of the NDA is for the press tour when it's only going to last about a week (at least, according to BB). What's the point of such a short NDA? What does Blizzard expect to occur in that week? Does that simply exist to give a "proper" amount of time to actually digest the information being tossed out during the event?
The efficient and effective way to communicate important information is to first process said information. Having a week between information accumulation and information release allows the press to work the knowledge they've been given into something more substantial than, say, a quick news post and a link to something cool. With real knowledge comes real expression of those ideas. That's one side of the coin.
For Blizzard, having that time between releasing information and then refocusing the message depending on press feedback is also important. For what it's worth, this upcoming press event feels like a big deal. It should, after all -- but I mean, we're going to be getting information, and lots of it. The message needs to be clear, and the presentation needs to be hype-worthy. With a week between showing off the goods and players' absorbing new details, Blizzard gives itself the wiggle room it needs to amend or refocus the message. All that I'm concerned about, however, is new information to process.
Adam put it similarly in the comments, with our real-world BlizzCon example:
If there wasn't an NDA, here's what'd happen:Nobar asked:
People would sit in the press room with a bulky setup, streaming the presentations and data back to a home base where 20 people would be writing and getting the content out as fast as possible. This is how BlizzCon is. The focus would be less on quality and more on production time.
But instead, here's what'll happen:
At the end of the day's presentations and gameplay we'll be able to take the information and make great posts about it and not have to have an epeen contest with other sites to see who can push the publish button first (a very stupid contest to have in the first place). The focus will be on quality, and not on production time.
This comment is brought to you by a possibly-too-honest-Adam.
1. For when you don't have enough questions, what is the twitter account you go submit them to?
2. I'm thinking about making a lore-blog that will deal in (mostly) speculative subjects of the wow-verse. Any tips?
The official WoW Insider Twitter account (@wowinsider) is the best place to go to submit Queue questions and where you'll see us shout out for submissions. As for starting your own lore blog, just start it. Grab a free blogging platform like Blogger or WordPress, and just start writing. Everything will take shape over time, but the ideas and words are what matter. Just start writing.
Morgatho asked:
Q4tQ: Do you think there is a chance well see Warlord Zaela in MoP? she is my Favorite new lore character in Cata and id hate to see her sit there and stew in twilight highlands.
Honestly? Yes. If we're bringing the fight back between the Alliance and the Horde, Zaela could be a huge part of that. She's already the warlord of a clan of orcs bringing war to the doorstep of the Alliance, so why wouldn't she bring the Dragonmaw into new lands with her Horde allies? I'd love to see her around more.
Blackdog asked:
So, do you think Orgrimmar reconstruction will be finished before the end of Cata or the start of MoP?
It's a long shot, but I believe the capital cities will stay the way they are because they are, essentially, part of the Cataclysm time line. While it would be cool to see progressive changes to the Stormwind and Orgrimmar facades, I am not anticipating anything. In fact, I kind of like the partially completed wall in Orgrimmar because it includes both the past and the present in its construction. If Blizzard changed it, that wouldn't cause me to cancel my preorder, though.
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 7)
Jamie Mar 7th 2012 11:04AM
Okay folks, this one - in theory - will cut the amount of questions asked on today's queue by roughly 79.6%.
How long do you think it'll be before we'll be able to buy a previous expansion level capped character from Blizzard?
I'm guessing it's not cut & dry yet, the items and spec they've put into SoR isn't so easy to put together. But guessing is fun! *claps excitedly*
bjorn9486 Mar 7th 2012 11:33AM
Your statistics look fake! :)
Also, I hope soon; I'd drop 20 bucks to have a character are the beginning of the newest content (where learning how to play your class/spec really happens IMHO)
Blackdemon Mar 7th 2012 11:34AM
It's an interesting question. The promotion (for the lvl 80 boost) is only on for 90 days, so it could be that it's just a drive to pump subscriber numbers for the end of the financial quarter. On the other hand, it could very well be a new service that blizzard can roll out to fast track folks to the end game. I know some people like the levelling game, but I wouldn't mind a choice on skipping the largely obsolete parts of the game if I could (having levelled a number of alts to 85 already).
I like that it only takes you up to the beginning of the current content so you still have to level through the cataclysm content to make sure you have at least some experience with the class before being thrown into LFRs.
Grovinofdarkhour Mar 7th 2012 11:39AM
They really loaded up the receiver side this time around. The giver still just gets a mount. (It makes sense - the receiver's who they need to convince - but as the potential giver it'd be nice to get something else thrown in.)
I hope they don't ever sell, award, or insert-any-applicable-verb-here max level toons to either new or existing players under any circumstances. Free 80s, even just as a promotional award, are pretty hard to swallow. Hell, anytime I see someone in SW doing their "insta-leveling" from RaF I still want to kick them in the satchel.
Noyou Mar 7th 2012 11:39AM
The feedback I got from people about how interested they would be in having a toon start at level 55 or 65 as a feature of a future expac, was decidedly against that. And then less than a week later Blizzard rolls out having a toon boost to level 80 as part of the scroll of ressurection. I think there is a market for giving people an option to start a toon at a higher level for many reasons. I'm not sure Blizzard would ever go that far, but then again looking at all they are giving away to returning players right now, who knows.
Drakkenfyre Mar 7th 2012 12:15PM
What if they instead sell boosts to 80, instead of outright giving you an 80 or 85? So your character will have to already exist, and maybe even be a minimum level.
One thing the free boost to 80 in SoR seems to do is actually delete the character, then remake them. You have to choose your spec out of game, then when you get the "boost", appropriate Talents are chosen for you, you are equipped with level 80 green gear, any gear on your character is mailed back to you, and you are given mounts and mount training. I would assume pets would also get mailed back to, too. Sounds like it just deleted your character, then immediately creates a level 80 version of them.
I wonder how many people would find this undesireable. I mean, it's the same character, but the fact that they delete your character and remake it wouldn't set well with some people.
Noyou Mar 7th 2012 12:21PM
@Drak
If it didn't sit well with them, why did they stop playing it?
Grovinofdarkhour Mar 7th 2012 12:34PM
@ Drak
Smells like cloning. Yuck.
Drakkenfyre Mar 7th 2012 2:30PM
Noyou, some people who quit didn't do so for lack of interest in the game. I know one person who isn't playing currently simply because he doesn't have the money. And while if someone doesn't have the money, the SoR won't exactly help them, if those people come back, they may not like the idea that their character they created is deleted and replaced with a level 80 copy.
Most people wouldn't care, but I know some people would.
Armill3 Mar 7th 2012 2:30PM
I feel like this could be a potent "reward" for people who have maintained subscriptions for years - maybe one fresh 80 per realm (a la the DK limit) for having a year+ of subscription time logged. Make the gear valueless to avoid exploits, and I think it would be a nice way to reward loyalty.
Noyou Mar 7th 2012 2:51PM
@Drak
As you said, if you can't afford to play, then you probably can't afford to come back for the SoR. And if you do come back for the SoR, I would make sure to ask exactly what happens to your toon before you partake in it. I'm not sure what, if anything you would lose out in getting the boost. You might get your quest log wiped. I would imagine your achievements would be in tact. Your old gear gets mailed to you. Perhaps someone who has used it can share with us.
Drakkenfyre Mar 7th 2012 3:44PM
Your quest log does in fact get wiped. The FAQ says your active quests "may" be reset, but we know it will.
And it's not just what might get reset. I know some people wouldn't like the idea that the character they created, originally created way back when, was now deleted and replaced with an exact copy, only level 80. I could see RP'ers especially not liking this.
Killik Mar 7th 2012 4:52PM
...although, of course, that's what happens every single time you use a Gnomish teleportation device.
Schadenfreude Mar 7th 2012 9:27PM
I would totally avail myself of such a service, especially in MoP-- I like leveling in Azeroth and don't mind Outland too much, but I've done WotLK and the Cata zones too many times to stomach them any longer (I have 10 characters; their levels are 85x4, 83, 82, 80, 73, 71 and 24). If I could pay a fee to powerlevel a couple of them to 85 in MoP it would be a transformative experience.
goldeneye Apr 4th 2012 11:29AM
I would definately jump up a char (maybe two if my wife's willing to budget it in) to L80 or L85 for 20€ a pop.
K.B. Mar 7th 2012 11:05AM
Now I have to lure someone back....
Jamie Mar 7th 2012 11:05AM
Oh and more importantly. When can we get that adorable ukulele girl back as the queue header again?
She was a delight.
RogueJedi86 Mar 7th 2012 11:08AM
On the time delay NDAs, I remember before TOR's release, BioWare would show off the game to fansites and magazines and put a NDA on fansites for about a month to give the press time to make articles and put them to print, giving them a chance in this time when fansites can put out the info nearly instantly. So the NDA delay was more a fair shot to keep the print press from being trivialized.
Nina Katarina Mar 7th 2012 11:10AM
In personal terms, I'm hoping that Blizzard throws us some bones or that the NDA is as leaky as a really leaky thing, because I'm jonesing for more expansion information, and the knowledge that you guys and your Distinguished Competition know a lot of stuff but can't tell us because of the NDA is going to make me all fumey and jealous like a big fumey jealous thing.
From previous tours I seem to recall that Blizz publishes a bunch of information right around the time of the press tour. What sort of appetizer do you most want to see? Lore info, screenshots, trailer, mechanics info?
(cutaia) Mar 7th 2012 11:34AM
Your similes are as good as really good similes. :P