The Queue: A pandaren warrior answers your questions
by Matthew Rossi 
Nov 7th 2012 at 11:00AM
Hello, my friends. Isn't it a marvelous day here in the Dread Wastes? The mantid are stirring, there's a hint of the raw essence of malevolent fear in the air, and I only need 900 reputation to reach exalted with the Klaxxi. Can you smell that? It smells like victory, my friends.
Now, let us soar forth towards the adventure of your many, many questions, and see if I can somehow find you some answers. Away we fly!
Ron2 stated
There was a column a few months ago where somebody (I thought it was Rossi) talked about tanking Tier 2-3 without a shield because he preferred Arms. I can't find it now, but I try to keep that in mind whenever somebody talks about how hardcore the past was and how the player base was so much more skilled then.
That was not actually much of a question, but to answer the small question implied in it, yes, that was Rossi who talked about that. It wasn't actually Blackwing Lair/AQ40 or Naxxramas 40 he tanked that way, it was more levels 40 to 50 or so, pre-Dungeon Set One content. The only time he tanked a level 60 raid dungeon without a shield was the time he forgot to bring one because he accidentally left it in the bank and ended up tanking Onyxia with a Sulfuras.
Amy asks
No, my friend Amy, grummles are not blind. The diminutive mountain folk can see just fine - indeed, all of their senses are extremely acute, as my people have learned from a long history of acquaintance with them and their fascinating ways.
Okay, I admit it, I'd never seen a grummle before I arrived in Kun-Lai Summit. But I got several of the local pandaren stinking drunk, and they told me that the grummles can see just fine, but they prefer to rely on their strong senses of smell. They even believe they can smell luck, I'm told. At least that's what I think he was saying - he was extremely inebriated by the time we got that far in our conversation. And to be fair, so was I.
Make no mistake, he was the more intoxicated. Lightweights.
Aubrey asks
When I first arrived in Orgrimmar after leaving the Wandering Isle, I discovered the perplexing ethereals and their many odd services, including the one you know as transmogrification. I also know it as that. While I was there, the ethereals were helpful enough to point me to many resources, such as the strange tome of a warlock named Cynwise who, it must be said, seems to know a great deal about the process. Amazingly a black armored knight who seemed trapped between life and death also seemed to have a decent guide to the transmogrifier's art, and I also found some helpful advice from a shark-faced gnome rocket, of all things.
As for how I personally go about transmogrification, I often decide on a color scheme and work from there. That is just how I like to go about it. Often I try to match my fur! If you don't have fur, you can avoid that step.
Aubrey also asks
Aubrey, I have to admit to you that as a pandaren I have no idea what you are talking about. I have never heard of this Archimonde person, and I'm not entirely sure what a 'demon' is. So I went and asked a forsaken friend, Martahn who says he can summon demons, and he explained to me that Archimonde is an Eredar, and the demons that seem not to die when killed on Azeroth are known as Nathrezim, or Dreadlords. He reminded me that another demon named Mannoroth, a 'pit lord' or Annihilan (again, I have no idea what that is) also died a true death on Azeroth.
My warlock friend assures me that it is not a universal trait of all demons to be able to return from the dead. And if you cannot trust a forsaken warlock, who can you trust?
And that should be enough for today, my friends! I'm off to finish killing mantid so that another group of mantid will like me.
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!
Are Grummles blind?
Okay, I admit it, I'd never seen a grummle before I arrived in Kun-Lai Summit. But I got several of the local pandaren stinking drunk, and they told me that the grummles can see just fine, but they prefer to rely on their strong senses of smell. They even believe they can smell luck, I'm told. At least that's what I think he was saying - he was extremely inebriated by the time we got that far in our conversation. And to be fair, so was I.
Make no mistake, he was the more intoxicated. Lightweights.
Aubrey asks
I've been wanting to make some cool non-set Transmogs for a while now, but I have no idea how to start. It seems like a lot of people find a key piece and work from that, but how do they even get that far when there's probably thousands of pieces of gear in-game!
In case anyone has any tips by the way, I was thinking of making spec-appropriate sets for my Druid, so a furry/feraly one for my Guardian set and a birdish one for Balance.
As for how I personally go about transmogrification, I often decide on a color scheme and work from there. That is just how I like to go about it. Often I try to match my fur! If you don't have fur, you can avoid that step.
Aubrey also asks
Another question!
So we all know that when demons (at least the stronger ones I think) die in Azeroth, they don't really "die" but get sent back to their homeworld. To die for real they'd apparently have to be killed at home, much like elementals. But Archimonde is really and truly dead, isn't he? If so, how did we manage to take him out without being on Xoroth?
My warlock friend assures me that it is not a universal trait of all demons to be able to return from the dead. And if you cannot trust a forsaken warlock, who can you trust?
And that should be enough for today, my friends! I'm off to finish killing mantid so that another group of mantid will like me.
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, Mists of Pandaria
