Blizzard Entertainment was kind enough to send us the never-before-seen cover art of upcoming novel Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde by Michael A. Stackpole. It appears that not only will this novel focus on Vol'jin, but Chen Stormstout will play an integral role, too. The book's back cover reads:

Warchief Garrosh's assassins strike at Vol'jin, leaving him at death's door. But fate smiles on the wounded Darkspear leader when renowned brewmaster Chen Stormstout transports him to the safety of an isolated mountain monastery. There, Vol'jin wrestles with old hatreds smoldering between the Alliance and the Horde as he struggles to recover alongside a mysterious human soldier.

Yet this is only the beginning of Vol'jin's worries. Soon, he becomes embroiled in an invasion of Pandaria launched by the Zandalari, revered trolls driven by dreams of conquest and power. This ancient tribe offers Vol'jin a chance to seize the glory that is the birthright of all trolls... an offer made even more tempting after Garrosh's brazen treachery.

Amid these troubling events, Vol'jin is rocked by intense visions depicting his race's grand history. As he questions where his loyalties lie, he knows he must make a choice about his own destiny that could save his people or damn them to languish under Garrosh's heel.

Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde is currently slated for release July 2, 2013.

---

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Today's late edition of The Queue is brought to you by almost nobody asking a single question in yesterday's comments! Pretty sweet.

@Arochius asked:

if all classes got questlines akin to the warlock green fire one, what would the rewards be and the story driving it?

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Osha calling Bran "little lord" is suddenly really weird, now that puberty has hit Bran like a freight train. It's a cute pet name turned insult. The kid grew a foot, exchanged his voice with Barry White, and changed the entire topography of his face in less than a year. Pretty impressive.

I'm talking about Game of Thrones, for the confused.

SkarnWoW asked:

Why do people say that dailies are repetitive and boring, but dungeons are not? If you are chain running dungeons, you are running the same 5-mans over and over. 5-mans that you've done many times. If you are leveling your 3rd alt, dungeons you've done MANY times. Why is doing the same dailies boring, but doing the same dungeons not?

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue

TradeChat's Panser returns with this week's WoW Insider news recap, where we look back at the hottest news from the past week and whatever other kickin' rad things may have come our way. This week's topics include:

• BlizzCon tickets on sale April 24 and 27
• Guide to Noblegarden 2013
• Hearthstone developer interview
• The latest patch 5.3 news
• Breakfast Topic: Do you play other MMOs?

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

---

Filed under: News items, Hearthstone Insider

Sometimes, you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	Disney shutters LucasArts Following Disney's acquisition of Star Wars and its related companies and properties, gaming fans have wondered what might happen to developer LucasArts. Out of all of the possible scenarios, the worst has happened: Disney has stopped development in the studio and laid off its employees.
	Rumor: Titan might be a time-traveling, earthbound MMO Titan rumors are more common than water, but that doesn't make them any less fun to read. The latest rumor suggest Titan is set on Earth and makes heavy use of time travel.
	Diablo III's auction house 'really hurt the game' Remember that one time when a guy used Diablo III's real-money auction house to bank a cool $10,000? That apparently wasn't what Blizzard foresaw when creating and implementing the auction house. According to former Diablo III Game Director Jay Wilson, the auction house "really hurt the game."
	GDC 2013: James Ohlen on how F2P saved SWTOR Developers speak most candidly about their games and professions at GDC, and at GDC13, SWTOR's James Ohlen laid out exactly how the game's F2P transition ensured its survival. He also dispels many myths that have built up around the game, explaining exactly what costs so much money in game development -- and what doesn't cost much at all, relatively speaking.
	Jet Li: There's 'no good reason to debunk virtual gaming as a sport' Jet Li may be known for his martial arts prowess, but he's also an avid gamer according to an interview translation at MMO Culture. Li recently attended an Age of Wushu PvP tournament and had some interesting things to say about e-sports and the validity of video gaming as a sport in general.
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

Filed under: MMO Roundup

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

If you're the sort of person that likes mobile games, pick up Dungeon Village. Build and maintain a village to attract adventurers, who will spend their hard-earned gold pieces on your fine wines and steaks!

It's fascinatingly fun in the same way that Recettear turned out to be.

Patrick asked:

So...why did Blizzard not have an April Foolz prank this year? Was it just a matter of focusing on their work? I'm actually totally fine with that, but it made me sad.

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

You all keep wondering what our April Fools' Day gag is this year. We don't have one! Seriously! For serious. Serious serious.

thebl4ckd0g asked:

anybody else fought one of the legendary battle pets, but gotten absolutely nothing after beating them? I fought the fish one in kun-lai, beat him 3 times in a row, but got nothing. No loot. No gold. Not even xp for my lvl 24 pet.

Read more →

Filed under: The Queue

TradeChat's Panser returns with this week's WoW Insider news recap, where we look back at the hottest news from the past week and whatever other kickin' rad things may have come our way. This week's topics include:

• Enter to win The Art of Blizzard Entertainment
• Oondasta's health nerfed by 50%
• Patch 5.3 patch notes
• Battle pet changes in patch 5.3
• Even more battle pet changes in patch 5.3
• Hunters to get more stable slots
• Revolutionary new minigame datamined in patch 5.3
• Tri-spec datamined, but Ghostcrawler responds
• Breakfast Topic: The not to be missed moments of Warcraft

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

---

Filed under: News items

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

Dating advice in The Queue? Seriously? Yep!

@aspectofthedork as ked:

if your significant other asks you to be "romantizzle," what is an appropriate response?

Read more →

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue

Sometimes, you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future.

	Hands-on with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft You've read WoW Insider's first impressions of Hearthstone, now check out what Massively had to say! Accessibility seems to be the name of the game for Hearthstone as it is with all Blizzard titles.
	Hands-on with The Elder Scrolls Online Massively was recently given the opportunity to tackle the upcoming MMO The Elder Scrolls Online hands-on. Check out their first impressions of the classes, gameplay, and more!
	New video explains exactly what WildStar is WildStar is an upcoming MMO, we know that, but what is it all about? Check out this fun video from Carbine Studios that provides all you need to know.
	Diablo III console video sizzles, Blizzard hints at other platforms At PAX East, Blizzard Entertainment released a new trailer for the upcoming console release of Diablo III. They've also revealed the console release may not necessarily be a Sony exclusive.
	Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.

---

Filed under: MMO Roundup, Hearthstone Insider