Thank the Light. If there's one thing that keeps me from using my bodyguards, it's how they get in the way of literally everything I want to click. The problem is even worse if you play a pet class because your bodyguard tends to stay right behind you instead of to your side.

While exploring my garrison on the patch 6.1 PTR, I was happy to find a vendor in my Barracks that sold me a Bodyguard Miniaturization Device for the bargain price of 250 Garrison Resources (I would have paid 10,000). As you can see from the picture, it shrinks your bodyguard down to a more manageable size that should never get in your way (plus they look really cute mounted up at this size).

The device lasts for 1 hour and has 1 hour cooldown. Best of all, it does work if you dismiss and summon a new bodyguard as the buff is placed on you. If you still haven't joined the bodyguard club, you really should.

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Filed under: Warlords of Draenor

The jukebox is one of the biggest new garrison features coming in patch 6.1. It allows you to change the default music in your garrison, which is a welcome feature considering how much time I spend in there. Upon completing the simple quest to build your jukebox, you are given a selection of 7 faction-specific music tracks (known as Music Rolls) to get you started. It's as simple as clicking your jukebox and picking a new track as your default garrison music.

There are many more Music Rolls to collect. One of the first I collected on the PTR was Music Roll: Faerie Dragon, which I found all the way out in Tirisfal Glades. If you're a regular reader of Know Your Lore, you may remember the Tinfoil Hat Edition about the mysterious Whispering Forest event (pictured above). If you are present for this event -- which has been made less rare in patch 6.1 -- you can loot this music roll from a faerie dragon nest located in the center of the circle of mushrooms.

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Filed under: Warlords of Draenor

Grab yourself a drink and get comfortable because these are some hefty patch notes. There are a lot of changes coming to almost every aspect of the game -- classes, garrisons, professions, items, you name it. Here are a few highlights.

• Collecting all heirloom items awards a special mount usable by level 1 characters.
• Tertiary Stats for Avoidance, Speed, and Leech now provide about four times as much benefit per stat point.
• Lumber Mill and the Trading Post no longer require Garrison Resources to build or upgrade.
• The Mage Tower now accepts Ogre Waystones as work orders awarding Apexis Crystals and a chance to receive an item that allows instant completion of a mission that's in-progress.
• Players may find an item while completing a Bounty, Relic, Dungeon, or Raid daily quest from the Garrison visitor that that allows them to summon one of six new raid or world boss in the Garrison (10-40 players).
• Characters can now accrue up to a maximum of 60,000 Apexis Crystals (up from 20,000).

View the complete notes after the break for much more, including a ton of class changes.

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Filed under: News items, Warlords of Draenor

At long last, the new blood elf models have finally appeared on the patch 6.1 PTR. These are still a work in progress according to Blizzard. All of the faces are still using similar geometry, but new faces are slated to be added in a future PTR build. In the meantime, you are encouraged to give Blizzard your feedback on the new models and animations on the forums (US feedback thread, EU feedback thread). Want a preview of how the models are shaping up? Check out our new gallery below!

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Filed under: News items, Warlords of Draenor

Celestalon decided to tease us with this rather cryptic tweet regarding upcoming class changes on the patch 6.1 PTR.

Class design is often 85% talking about what to do, 15% actually doing. Today was the 15%. Next PTR build should spur lots of discussion.

- Celestalon (@Celestalon) January 22, 2015

Alright, Celestalon, you have my attention. He later followed it up with another tweet saying the changes will primarily be number tweaks, but there will be a few functionality changes. Overall class balance could definitely use some tweaks, at least for the top and bottom outliers. Recent hotfixes have helped, but I get the feeling they've been cautious with some of the changes. Patches are probably a better time to make significant adjustments since they can be thoroughly tested beforehand.

What would you like to see changed for your class in patch 6.1?

Update: Theses changes won't be going in today's upcoming build (January 22), but should make it into the next PTR build (source).

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Filed under: News items

I find it amusing how Garrison Resources were so coveted at the beginning of the expansion, and now I simply can't spend them fast enough. Patch 6.1 is changing this with several new resource sinks. We've already talked about rush orders and follower reroll items which can be purchased with resources, and next on the list is Scouting Missives.

You can buy Scouting Missives from your garrison quartermaster at a cost of 200 Garrison Resources each. Scouting Missives unlock one of the daily quests that reward 800 Apexis Crystals, e.g. Scouting Missive: Darktide Roost. These are separate from your regular daily quest, so you can do as many of them as you want as long as you have the resources to spend. You can see the full list of quests here.

If you're using any of the Apexis Crystal gear this should help you fast track the latest upgrades (ilvl 670 in patch 6.1). I'll probably use them to complete the Securing Draenor achievement.

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Filed under: Warlords of Draenor

Talonpriest Ishaal is finally going to have someone who wants to go on missions with him. Follower races which previously had no synergy traits, such as the arakkoa, will now have them available via special mission rewards.

New/updated follower traits

• The Wildling trait increases success chance when on missions with beast followers. Taught by Winning with Wildlings.
• The Mechano Affictionado increases success chance when on missions with machine or construct followers. Taught by Grease Monkey Guide.
• The Bird Watcher trait increases success chance when on missions with arakkoa followers. Taught by Guide to Arakkoa Relations.
• The Ogre Buddy trait increases success chance when on missions with ogre followers. Taught by Ogre Buddy Handbook.
• The Speed of Light trait reduces mission duration, similar to Epic Mount. Taught by Sun-touched Feather of Rukhmar.
• The Treasure Hunter trait increases gold rewarded by missions by 100%. This trait appears to be unique to Harrison Jones.
• Scavenger now increases Garrison Resource rewards by 100% (down from 200%). Note that many of these missions have had their base rewards increased to compensate, e.g. Can't Go Home This Way was buffed from 175 base resources to 300.

There will also be more opportunities to reroll traits and abilities on your followers with Follower Ability Retraining Guide and Follower Trait Retraining Guide. Both of these are rewarded from several new missions, and they can also be purchased for 1500 Garrison Resources each from your garrison quartermaster. As someone who has had awful luck acquiring Follower Retraining Certificates, I'm all for this new way to spend resources.

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Filed under: Warlords of Draenor

Blizzard has just posted a preview of the upcoming Blackrock Foundry raid. It will feature 10 total bosses across 4 wings. A new world boss, Rukhmar, will also make its debut when Blackrock Foundry opens on February 3. You can find the full unlock schedule for all difficulties right here.

Blizzard Entertainment

Blackrock Foundry was the ancestral home of the Blackrock orcs, wherein master smiths smelted and worked the impossibly hard ore that is the clan's namesake. Now, massive giants captured and broken by the Thunderlord heat the great forges, flamebenders of the Burning Blade imbue the ore with an inner fire, and engineers shape the slag according to otherworldly schematics. Warlord Blackhand's foundry is the center of the Iron Horde's military might, churning out the weaponry that will be used to raze Azeroth.

source

Check out the full preview for a rundown of all the bosses you'll be facing in as little as two weeks!

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Filed under: News items, Warlords of Draenor

The WoW Insider Weekly Recap is back again this week to discuss all of the hottest news of the past week. This week's topics include:

• Tradechat's Latest WoW jokes
• All wings of Highmaul LFR now available
• Blackrock Foundry opens on February 3
• Patch 6.1 PTR realms are up
• Patch 6.1 build headed to the PTR
• World of Wacraft 10 Year Anniversary gift arrives
• Question of the week: What do you think about people selling their 10th anniversary statues on eBay?

If you enjoyed the show, make sure to subscribe to TradeChat, leave a comment, and come back next week for the next episode!

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Filed under: News items

Good news for those of us who use crafted gear. The latest PTR build has added stage 4 upgrades for all Warlords crafted gear. Armor, rings, and trinkets can now be upgraded to 680 ilvl and weapons can be upgraded to 670 ilvl.

The materials are similar to previous upgrades, only this time you need 30 Savage Bloods each. You'll also notice that the alchemy profession has access to a brand new trinket which can also be upgraded to 680 ilvl (requires alchemy to equip).

• Blacksmithing: Powerful Truesteel Essence, Powerful Steelforged Essence
• Leatherworking: Powerful Burnished Essence
• Tailoring: Powerful Hexweave Essence
• Inscription: Powerful Ensorcelled Tarot, Powerful Weapon Crystal
• Engineering: Oglethorpe's Octagonal Lenses, Precision Scope Tuning Kit
• Jewelcrafting: Powerful Taladite Amplifier
• Alchemy: Stone of Fire (also new are stages 1, 2, and 3)

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Filed under: Warlords of Draenor