WoW Insider http://wow.joystiq.com WoW Insider http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogobig.gif WoW Insider http://wow.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. View our terms of service here: http://legal.aol.com/terms-of-service/full-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[The Queue: Awesome Werewolf Superpowers]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/the-queue-awesome-werewolf-superpowers/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/the-queue-awesome-werewolf-superpowers/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/the-queue-awesome-werewolf-superpowers/#comments Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

Guys, I love you all as if you were my children. My children who leave a lot of comments in the comment section. So many comments. 737 comments as of this moment. That is a lot of questions, statements, pictures, videos, non sequitur, all sorts of things.

I have to admit, on nights when I can't sleep (that's all of them) going through the Queue is like a portal into another dimension. Luckily, they still play WoW over there.

Chrth asks:
Q4TQ: If you were one of the humans on Fenris Isle, would you have chosen to become a Worgen or to be raised as one of the Forsaken? Consider this from a real life perspective, not game-wise (e.g. "Worgen because I love the Alliance" is not what I'm looking for).

Would I rather be trapped in a rotting corpse that's slowly deteriorating, forced to consume the flesh of the living and unable to feel, or would I rather have awesome werewolf superpowers? Yeah, that's a toughie. I guess I'd have to go with awesome werewolf superpowers.

Continue reading The Queue: Awesome Werewolf Superpowers

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The Queue: Awesome Werewolf Superpowers originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 23 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Why not heirloom followers?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/breakfast-topic-why-not-heirloom-followers/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/breakfast-topic-why-not-heirloom-followers/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/breakfast-topic-why-not-heirloom-followers/#comments We have epic followers, we have a legendary follower, so why not heirloom followers?

Well, as is often the case when I have one of these ideas at three am, there are potentially a lot of reasons why to not have heirloom followers. For one thing, we level our followers and get them better gear and so on - a follower you could somehow send to your alts would mess up this whole process. Would they scale to your level? What level would they top out at? Could you gear them up? Could you make them epic?

All good questions. But man, it's daunting to have to try and get all the same followers over and over again, especially ones that are on rare vendors. Sometimes I wish I could mail my little minions to my alts, just so I wouldn't have to deal with flying out to the Spires of Arak yet again.

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Breakfast Topic: Why not heirloom followers? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 23 Jan 2015 10:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Patch 6.1 PTR: Heirloom necklaces datamined]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/patch-6-1-ptr-heirloom-necklaces-datamined/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/patch-6-1-ptr-heirloom-necklaces-datamined/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/patch-6-1-ptr-heirloom-necklaces-datamined/#comments So once again the folks at Wowhead are hard at work datamining away at Patch 6.1 on the PTR, and they've found something very interesting - new heirlooms. Specifically, neckpieces. A whole host of them, in fact. At present they don't seem to scale down on Wowhead, and they say 1 to 60 which seems odd to me, I'd expect 1 to 90. But that On Use is pretty amazing, all told. Since we're also talking about the heirloom tab coming in this patch as well, it's a good time for a set of necklace heirlooms.

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Patch 6.1 PTR: Heirloom necklaces datamined originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> heirloomheirloom-tabheriloom-necklacespatch-6.1patch-6.1-ptr (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 23 Jan 2015 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Patch 6.1 PTR - New Blood Elf Models Incoming]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/patch-6-1-ptr-new-blood-elf-models-incoming/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/patch-6-1-ptr-new-blood-elf-models-incoming/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/23/patch-6-1-ptr-new-blood-elf-models-incoming/#comments We've been waiting for new blood elf models since Warlords of Draenor was announced, and now we finally know when we're getting them. Patch 6.1's PTR will have the first look at the blood elf of the future, soon to be the blood elf of the present. These are very definitely works in progress, so there are things to keep in mind - currently all male blood elves have the same facial geometry, for instance. But you can hop on the PTR yourself and take a look right now.

To my eye they don't look very different, just improved. But what do you think?

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Patch 6.1 PTR - New Blood Elf Models Incoming originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 01:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blood-elfnew-blood-elfnew-modelspatch-6.1patch-6.1-ptr (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 23 Jan 2015 01:04:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What to do at 3 a.m.]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/21/breakfast-topic-what-to-do-at-3-am/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/21/breakfast-topic-what-to-do-at-3-am/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/21/breakfast-topic-what-to-do-at-3-am/#comments I tend to like to do stuff at night, when there's practically no one else on. Partially this is because of my rather aggressive insomnia, a problem I've had for years now. But there's also something peaceful about it - stripped of the vast majority of players, suddenly I can wander about in the world, queue for dungeons or LFR, do the daily quest without worrying about other people doing the same, farm for rares if I'm of a mind to. The world feels broader, more expansive.

Perhaps this is simply a legacy of my being a rather curmudgeonly sort, but as I type this it's the waning hours of the morning. So I now ask you, what would you do in the quiet moments of the night?

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Breakfast Topic: What to do at 3 a.m. originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 21 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Wed, 21 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: I want to unleash my followers upon my enemies]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/20/breakfast-topic-i-want-to-unleash-my-followers-upon-my-enemies/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/20/breakfast-topic-i-want-to-unleash-my-followers-upon-my-enemies/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/20/breakfast-topic-i-want-to-unleash-my-followers-upon-my-enemies/#comments Seriously, I have like twenty of these people, why can't I loose them as an unstoppable force of destruction? I know we have raid missions, but I'd love to be able to go to, say, Ashran and do a 20 vs 20 PvP Follower match, or perhaps a special raid, just me and my followers. Some actual in the world gameplay for them beyond just sending them on missions or sticking some poor unfortunate in the mine (Sorry, Lantressor) or what have you. I mean, imagine a weekly mission where you have to coordinate your followers on an assault on an Iron Horde base?

Yes, I'm basically arguing that we should be able to play Warcraft III while we play WoW. I just feel like we should get to do something more with our followers, something that helps increase the feeling that we're the commander of this elite fighting force. Do you have any ideas for ways we could more directly utilize our follower base?

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Breakfast Topic: I want to unleash my followers upon my enemies originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What will Patch 6.2 be?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/19/breakfast-topic-what-will-patch-6-2-be/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/19/breakfast-topic-what-will-patch-6-2-be/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/19/breakfast-topic-what-will-patch-6-2-be/#comments We're talking a lot about Patch 6.1, of course, because it's the new hotness on the horizon. But because we assume there'll be at least two more patches after it (and who knows, maybe that's a false assumption) I have to ask what you guys think the next patch is going to be.

I'm kind of hoping it'll be either Farahlon or Tanaan, although I suspect Tanaan will be in the last patch of the expansion, whatever that is, along with the final raid. For 6.2, I don't even know if we'll get a raid, but I have to believe we're at least going to see some new five mans.

Now it's your turn. What's 6.2 going to have in store for us?

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Breakfast Topic: What will Patch 6.2 be? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 19 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 19 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Excellent, excellent, excellent, FIGHT]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/the-queue-excellent-excellent-excellent-fight/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/the-queue-excellent-excellent-excellent-fight/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/the-queue-excellent-excellent-excellent-fight/#comments
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

That's right. Ten hours of the Mortal Kombat theme. Why? Because Mortal Kombat. Let's do this.

valencemagi asks:
Q4tQ: is there any way to rename Lt. Thorn to something else? Like, I dunno, Lt Harshwhinny? Asking for a friend.

No, and I think your friend is mean. Lt. Thorn's a lovely person once you get to know her.

Continue reading The Queue: Excellent, excellent, excellent, FIGHT

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The Queue: Excellent, excellent, excellent, FIGHT originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: 6.1 and content]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/breakfast-topic-6-1-and-content/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/breakfast-topic-6-1-and-content/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/breakfast-topic-6-1-and-content/#comments There's a lot of stuff coming in patch 6.1 - like, for example, the continuation of the Legendary Quest Chain, complete with legendary follower. But so far, one of the things I'm not seeing is content, exactly. A ton of model fixes, new stuff for the Darkmoon Faire, Harrison Jones as a follower, but no new dungeons, no new raids, and as far as I know zones like Tanaan and Farahlon aren't coming.

Since I have no idea how many patches we'll actually see for Warlords, I have no idea how significant this is. I want there to be more dungeons and raids, that's my favorite content, so I'm sort of hoping we'll hear more soon.

What about you? Would you like to hear about some dungeons, a raid or maybe the zones that weren't released on launch? Or do you think 6.1 is full enough?

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Breakfast Topic: 6.1 and content originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 16 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 16 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: The Fate of Inventory]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/15/breakfast-topic-the-fate-of-inventory/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/15/breakfast-topic-the-fate-of-inventory/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/15/breakfast-topic-the-fate-of-inventory/#comments
We've seen a lot of improvements to the inventory system over the years. We've seen bags get bigger, sorting and searching included, items like mounts, pets, toys and soon heirloom items all removed from our bags (along with quest items) to help make space. We've seen void storage, so that we can take items we want to keep but not necessarily need access to and put them somewhere, and many consumable items and various reagents have been improved to stack to higher amounts, freeing up more bag space.

This has me wondering, though, are we forever in a bag arms race between all the things we may want, and the amount of space we have? Will we eventually see consumables get their own tab, or reagents go from the various kinds of profession and reagent bags in the bank to a tab of their own? What changes do you foresee for our always filling bags?

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Breakfast Topic: The Fate of Inventory originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 15 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 15 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Know Your Lore: Breakout Characters of 2014, Part Two]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/14/know-your-lore-breakout-characters-of-2014-part-two/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/14/know-your-lore-breakout-characters-of-2014-part-two/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/14/know-your-lore-breakout-characters-of-2014-part-two/#comments
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

When last I was writing about this, we covered some characters that got their chance at the spotlight in 2014. Real life then conspired to interrupt me, but I'm finally back, almost a month into 2015, to talk some more about 2014. Timely!

Anyway, I don't think my choices are going to be groundbreaking or shocking for anyone. We all know my biases, but you may be surprised by some choices anyway, because sometimes, I actually try and ignore my biases and be fair. Sometimes.

Ga'nar

Straight up - I expected to hate Ga'nar. When you first meet him, he's your typical blustering orc, going on about murdering Iron Horde with his shovel (granted, they had him digging out latrines, I'd be pretty upset too) and posturing at Hellscream as you retreat from Tanaan. But something happened on the way through Frostfire Ridge. He started to grow on me. He was arrogant and hotheaded, yes, but also brave and well, such an orc about everything. And when he challenged Durotan, he showed a quality I hadn't expected in him - as Durotan refused to even fight him, declaring that he would stand and let Ga'nar kill him if necessary, Ga'nar backed down.

The final confrontation with Fenris Wolfbrother (and the revelation that Fenris was the eldest son of Garad and Geyah) ultimately revealed Ga'nar's true self to the player. I'm a sucker for heroic sacrifices. Always have been. And this was a heck of a heroic sacrifice, all told - after dispatching their wicked elder brother, Ga'nar refuses to allow Durotan to die, instead hurling himself, a lone orc (say it in Muradin Bronzebeard's voice) against the forces of the Iron Horde, and his death buys victory for his people. I'm sorry, but as much as I often bag on orcs, this was an excellent heroes' death for Ga'nar, and it won my affection.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: Breakout Characters of 2014, Part Two

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Know Your Lore: Breakout Characters of 2014, Part Two originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 14 Jan 2015 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guiderole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rping (Matthew Rossi) Wed, 14 Jan 2015 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Looking for...]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/14/breakfast-topic-looking-for/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/14/breakfast-topic-looking-for/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/14/breakfast-topic-looking-for/#comments When I first started playing World of Warcraft some ten years ago, if you'd told me one day I could simply queue for dungeons, raids, even open world content, I'd have looked confused because I barely understood how to run dungeons with a group of friends at that point, much less all this talk of 'queueing' for anything.

Thinking about this the other day I started wondering if we were at maximum inclusion, if there was any kind of content that could exist that would use the queue system. You can queue for PvP and PvE, you can queue for random BG's, dungeons and raids, world bosses and I'm wondering what could possibly be left. I'd say scenarios, but we had those in Mists.

Have we achieved peak Group Finder? Or am I missing something? For that matter, could an entirely new form of content be introduced? Flex dungeons? One of the reasons I love this job is that I know you'll come up with something that completely eludes me.

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Breakfast Topic: Looking for... originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes for January 12]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/patch-6-0-3-hotfixes-for-january-12/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/patch-6-0-3-hotfixes-for-january-12/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/patch-6-0-3-hotfixes-for-january-12/#comments Yes, more hotfixes. What do they entail, you ask? Well, I'm glad you did. Here's just a few highlights from this latest round of hotfixes. There are quite a few class changes, some of which I highly approve of (the ones that buff warriors) and other changes as well.
  • Death Knights see Blood Boil's damage reduced by 33.3%
  • Sacred Duty, formerly granting 5% additional haste from all sources, is heavily buffed and now grants 30% haste from all sources.
  • For you enhancement shaman, Stormstrike sees an 11.1% damage buff.
  • Gladiator Stance now only increases damage by 5%, down from 20%, but just about all damaging abilities for protection warriors see buffs - Thunder Clap, Deep Wounds and Revenge were buffed by 40%, while Devastate and Shield Slam both got 20% buffs.
There's a lot more, so head on over to the official site and take a look for yourself. Just about every class but monks saw some adjustment.

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Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes for January 12 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> hotfixhotfixespatch-6.0.3patch-6.0.3-Hotfixes (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:30:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Patch 6.1 PTR: A Legendary follower for your garrison]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/patch-6-1-ptr-a-legendary-follower-for-your-garrison/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/patch-6-1-ptr-a-legendary-follower-for-your-garrison/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/patch-6-1-ptr-a-legendary-follower-for-your-garrison/#comments The 6.1 PTR isn't even live yet, but datamining continues apace, and the folks at Wowhead have certainly dug up a doozy for us. Apparently as part of the legendary questline, we'll be getting the first ever legendary follower, namely Garona Halforcen, the infamous Shadow Council assassin. If you're curious about what a legendary follower gets, it's impressive.

It's very interesting to see the quest open up in this way, really . It broadens the idea of the kinds of rewards you can get from a legendary chain, and it also makes me hope that we might see other such followers. Perhaps my hope that Maraad can make a comeback isn't entirely unwarranted.

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Patch 6.1 PTR: A Legendary follower for your garrison originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 12 Jan 2015 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> followersGaronaGarona-Halforcengarrisonlegendarylegendary-questpatch-6.1patch-6.1-PTRptr (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 12 Jan 2015 15:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Your Dream Legendary]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/breakfast-topic-your-dream-legendary/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/breakfast-topic-your-dream-legendary/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/12/breakfast-topic-your-dream-legendary/#comments Once upon a time, the only legendary items were weapons, or means to create weapons. (I'm ignoring the Talisman of Binding Shard, okay?) But with the introduction of the Legendary Cloak in Mists of Pandaria, and now the Ring and Follower in Warlords of Draenor, we're experiencing an entirely new phenomenon, whole new kinds of legendary items, even an outright legendary person. This has gotten me wondering - what new kinds of legendaries would you like to see in World of Warcraft?

A legendary shield? Legendary offhand items? A legendary mount or pet? A legendary toybox item? Or could we get even weirder? The legendary cloak made it possible to fight a world boss, perhaps we could actually summon a legendary version of a boss with entirely different loot? The sky's the limit. What should be legendary?

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Breakfast Topic: Your Dream Legendary originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 12 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 12 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Dancing gifs, dinosaurs, bulky plate armor]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/09/the-queue-dancing-gifs-dinosaurs-bulky-plate-armor/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/09/the-queue-dancing-gifs-dinosaurs-bulky-plate-armor/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/09/the-queue-dancing-gifs-dinosaurs-bulky-plate-armor/#comments Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

Let's talk about the Maniraptora. For one thing, the Maniraptora is a very large clade, including various subgroups, one of which is the birds - this means that the Maniraptora is the only surviving clade of dinosaurs, since all bird species are included within it. In addition to birds, the segnosaurs, the various raptor species (Dromaeosauridae) and the Oviraptorosauria were all members of the Maniraptora. It's almost certain that all members of the Maniraptora (indeed, possibly all Coelurosauria) were feathered, with body plans and bone structures we would find convincingly bird-like.

In case you are wondering this is why I'm so bloody annoyed that in 2015 we're going to have another Jurassic Park sequel with featherless raptors. Similarly, WoW raptors just irk me now. Put some damn feathers on them! They had feathers. I get that people refuse to accept that T-Rex had feathers (although it did) but the Maniraptora were even more ludicrously birdlike than that, because they literally are birds and all dinosaurs closely related to birds. If your movie has any member of the Dromaeosauridae in it, and they're not feathered, your movie is wrong. Same for games, same for any media. They had feathers.

HemttTanker asks:
Two questions: Does the 2 week timer for Highmaul follower missions start when the mission first becomes available or when the mission is attempted?

If I have a Highmaul follower mission sitting in my queue and I go kill enough raid bosses to quality for the next tier of reward, does the mission I have upgrade or does that only apply to the next one two weeks later?

As far as I'm aware it acts like any timer, it resets based on server time. If you keep that follower mission sitting in your queue and then unlock another tier of reward, it'll apply when the mission resets in two weeks. I admit that I may be misunderstanding how this timer works, but this is my current understanding.


Continue reading The Queue: Dancing gifs, dinosaurs, bulky plate armor

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The Queue: Dancing gifs, dinosaurs, bulky plate armor originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: All Hail Maraad]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/09/breakfast-topic-all-hail-maraad/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/09/breakfast-topic-all-hail-maraad/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/09/breakfast-topic-all-hail-maraad/#comments
If I had to list the one character in Warlords of Draenor who already existed, but who improved the most in this expansion, my choice would absolutely be Vindicator Maraad. Before this expansion, all we ever got to see from him was his appearances in the comic book, a brief cameo in Northrend, and his appearance in the Prophet's Lesson short story (which was pretty cool). The first hint we got that he was going to be a big part of Warlords was his appearance in a Pandaria short story, and that hint was confirmed by his appearance in the Lords of War shorts, then his role in the Warlords of Draenor cinematics and as you level through the game.

So I ask you - who was your favorite established NPC in Warlords? Was it Cho'gall? Teron'gor? Thrall? Velen? Garrosh? Let me know.

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Breakfast Topic: All Hail Maraad originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 09 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 09 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Emergency Rossi Edition]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/the-queue-emergency-rossi-edition/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/the-queue-emergency-rossi-edition/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/the-queue-emergency-rossi-edition/#comments Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

There's been a slight calamity, and so the glass has been broken and the emergency Rossi has been brought forth to write this edition of The Queue for you. Think of me as a helpful, somewhat hairy, denizen of the frozen north. A helper sasquatch, if you will. Since I have a cat named Sasquatch, here's a picture of him being helpful.

At least he thought so, anyway.

Morte asks:
Q4TQ: Can you do the Tanaan Jungle intro quests with a friend or is it a solo experience?

I know that a guildmate of mine did it grouped with his wife and they both completed it together.

Continue reading The Queue: Emergency Rossi Edition

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The Queue: Emergency Rossi Edition originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 08 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 08 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Do you like alts?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/breakfast-topic-do-you-like-alts/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/breakfast-topic-do-you-like-alts/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/breakfast-topic-do-you-like-alts/#comments I've lost my taste for alts this expansion. With the Garrison being so important it feels like I'd be wasting effort to level another character, even though I could theoretically end up with a lot more materials that way. It just seems like a lot of time and effort spent leveling which I could be using on follower missions and so on. But on the other hand, I could very well set my stuff on my main then switch over to an alt, so maybe I'm wrong.

This is complicated by the fact that I've never really been a big altoholic - I mean, I play a lot of warriors, but that was mostly because of a neurological disorder I have. Most people wouldn't do that. So I'm stuck on the fence. What do you think? Do you like alts? Is Warlords the wrong time to experiment with the idea of starting up a host of them? Let us know. Let me know. I need help to make this decision.

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Breakfast Topic: Do you like alts? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 08 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 08 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes for January 7th]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/patch-6-0-3-hotfixes-for-january-7th/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/patch-6-0-3-hotfixes-for-january-7th/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/08/patch-6-0-3-hotfixes-for-january-7th/#comments Hotfixes, piping hot. And what's in those hotfixes, you may ask? Well, I'm glad you did. Because if you hadn't, rhetorical reader, I wouldn't be able to inform you that, in addition to the trap stealing hotfix we mentioned earlier:
  • Spawn rates for Direfang Alpha, Ironhide Bull, and Wetland Trampler has increased slightly. This change requires a realm restart.
  • Alliance and Horde PvP vendors in Ashran now have collision boxes, so it should be easier for players to buy stuff.
  • Hand of Protection should now interrupt players that are in the process of capturing a point in the Battlegrounds.
  • A whole host of class fixes and changes.
Come with us under the shadow of this small jump to see what's going on.

Continue reading Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes for January 7th

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Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes for January 7th originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 08 Jan 2015 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> hotfixesnotesPatch-6.0.3patch-6.0.3-hotfixespatch-notes (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 08 Jan 2015 08:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Thank You Suspension of Disbelief]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/07/breakfast-topic-thank-you-suspension-of-disbelief/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/07/breakfast-topic-thank-you-suspension-of-disbelief/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/07/breakfast-topic-thank-you-suspension-of-disbelief/#comments I remember, back before mounts and pets just existed in a special book, that we actually had to carry them around in our bags. Many, many jokes about this were told. Jokes about how an entire horse took up as much bag space as a roll of bandages, a cherry pie, a dagger, or a greatsword. And even today the game is absolutely chock full of moments that, if you really think about them, confuse and bewilder. To this day, there are items like food and bandages that you simply can't use unless you're of a certain power level - there are people out there making pies that simply cannot be eaten until you've killed enough things. Clothes you cannot wear, weapons you cannot use, even earrings and rings and necklaces that will laugh if you attempt to don them before you master a certain degree of power.

We accept this because we have been trained to do so - the game makes these assumptions and we go along with them. Why wouldn't we? We always have. We have always been at war with the other faction, we have always constantly discovered new foodstuffs, new pants and new earrings that can't be used until we grow sufficiently strong. Any doubts we have are suspended, because we trust the fictive element, or because we simply do not care about the inconsistencies.

But every so often I balk. Where do I even keep all these mounts? How can I possibly be carrying over thirty weapons and piece of plate armor in my bags and not topple over? I have like ten greatswords and greataxes on me! So I ask you - what do you sometimes find yourself unable to believe?

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Breakfast Topic: Thank You Suspension of Disbelief originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 07 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Wed, 07 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Know Your Lore: The History of the Burning Legion]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/know-your-lore-the-history-of-the-burning-legion/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/know-your-lore-the-history-of-the-burning-legion/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/know-your-lore-the-history-of-the-burning-legion/#comments The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

They exist to destroy. The entire cosmos and everything in it is a means to an end, and that end is the extinction of existence itself -- all worlds stripped bare, or shattered. All that lives dead. All that can support life corrupted and befouled. Within the ranks of the Burning Legion are fiends who enjoy the corruption of mortal hearts, who savor the slow degradation of those who willingly sign the pact -- but in the end, the purpose of the Legion is the purpose of its master, Sargeras -- and that purpose is the unmaking of all things.

Feared and reviled on a host of worlds, the Legion has brought devastation everywhere it has alighted. Only one world ever survived a direct assault by the Legion, the poor, beleaguered, wartorn world of Azeroth. Twice now, the shadow of the Legion has fallen over this world of mortals, and yet, while far greater beings, god and demigods stood and fell against their might the world of Azeroth managed to find a way to balk the coming of the Burning Legion not once, but twice. For that singular distinction, Azeroth has earned the Legion's undying enmity. It's not a question of if the Legion will return. It's a question of when.

How did this nearly infinite host of nihilistic hatred and fel-touched fury arise? What are the hosts of the Legion and why do they march on this crusade to destroy all that exists?

Continue reading Know Your Lore: The History of the Burning Legion

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Know Your Lore: The History of the Burning Legion originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 06 Jan 2015 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ArchimondeBurning-Legionfeaturedguideguide-to-loreKiljaedenlorelore-guiderole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideSargerasVelenworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rping (Matthew Rossi) Tue, 06 Jan 2015 16:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: What should be account bound?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/breakfast-topic-what-should-be-account-bound/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/breakfast-topic-what-should-be-account-bound/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/breakfast-topic-what-should-be-account-bound/#comments Should Apexis Crystals be account bound? Should Garrison Resources? This is me asking - I've seen a lot of debate on the issue of these kinds of things making Warlords more alt-friendly, and I'm curious what you guys think. I'd kind of like it, I think - I'd feel freer to play a leveling up alt if I knew he or she could still contribute to my main. But I can imagine all sort of problems - players with multiple alts grinding up a ton of Apexis in a couple of frenzied days, for example.

So here's your chance to tell me what you think. More stuff account bound, or keep it the way it is now?

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Breakfast Topic: What should be account bound? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 06 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Tue, 06 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: If I could put my garrison anywhere...]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/05/breakfast-topic-if-i-could-put-my-garrison-anywhere/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/05/breakfast-topic-if-i-could-put-my-garrison-anywhere/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/05/breakfast-topic-if-i-could-put-my-garrison-anywhere/#comments As much as I love Shadowmoon Valley (and it's a lot) I often wish I could move my garrison. There's something about the idea of planting it in Talador and making a bold statement about retaking Shattrath from the Iron Horde that just appeals to me - I know SMV and Frostfire are were we first arrived, but considering there was at least one other failed garrison (the Spires of Arak saw Admiral Taylor start one) I feel like we could be a bit more flexible about where we put the things.

If I were playing Horde I'd love to put my garrison in Gorgrond. Gorgrond just feels like a Horde zone to me - all that giant primal monster battling, I guess.

So where would you put your garrison. if you could put it anywhere? I often dream of relocating it to Winterspring once this expansion is over.

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Breakfast Topic: If I could put my garrison anywhere... originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 05 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Doomhammer, Orcs, and Winter Veil]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/the-queue-doomhammer-orcs-and-winter-veil/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/the-queue-doomhammer-orcs-and-winter-veil/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/the-queue-doomhammer-orcs-and-winter-veil/#comments

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

The more I think about it the more I wish WoW had no race restrictions on classes. I realize there's lore reasons for it, but frankly, if someone wants to play an Undead Paladin at this point I say good for them, make it happen already. Blood elf druids? Gnome hunters? Tauren rogues? Draenei warlocks? Just open the floodgates.

You guys talked about this a lot, so consider this me addressing the issue. I am for removing all race restrictions on classes. Draenei druids? Orc druids? Human shamans? Yes. All of it.

g.dawsonplus3 asks:
Why are there no Winter Veil decorations on Draenor? Surely in that wild and savage (tm) land we would want some cheer, pretty lights, good food and a reminder of home to hearten us?
I really miss it and see no reason why this didn't happen; surely if they had decorations in Panderia . . .

Pandaria was still on Azeroth. It's possible that the inspiration for the Winter Veil celebration existed before the Sundering and thus was heard of even on Pandaria. But not only is Draenor an alien world, the first time any of the natives there heard of Azeroth was when you came through the portal.

To be honest I haven't even noticed if there are decorations up in the Garrison or not. I'd accept that, since the Garrison was built by Azerothians.

Continue reading The Queue: Doomhammer, Orcs, and Winter Veil

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The Queue: Doomhammer, Orcs, and Winter Veil originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: The ultimate what if]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/breakfast-topic-the-ultimate-what-if/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/breakfast-topic-the-ultimate-what-if/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/02/breakfast-topic-the-ultimate-what-if/#comments Warlords of Draenor is kind of a what if expansion, and that's got me wondering. We've talked about going to the alternate Azeroth where the Horde never showed up, but why should that be the only potential what if we explore? Could we potentially end up on an Argus where we could perhaps prevent the eredar from falling for Sargeras' sales pitch? An Azeroth where Arthas said "You know, if both Jaina and Uther are against this, maybe I shouldn't cull Stratholme." There are so many pivotal moments in Warcraft history, you could easily wring several dungeons, raids, maybe an entire expansion out of going from timestream to timestream seeing what might have happened.

So here's a question for you - what's your ultimate what if scenario for Warcraft? What if someone just killed Gul'dan instead of listening to him for once? What if Medivh had died on one of his adventures with Anduin Lothar and Llane Wrynn? What if Gul'dan's assassins had failed to kill Durotan and Draka? Hit us with your best shot.

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Breakfast Topic: The ultimate what if originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 02 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 02 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: And 2015 begins]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/01/breakfast-topic-and-2015-begins/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/01/breakfast-topic-and-2015-begins/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2015/01/01/breakfast-topic-and-2015-begins/#comments
Let's not waste a lot of time here in our new year.

2015. Warlords is two months old. What are your plans for the future? What are you working on in-game? Do you have any game-related resolutions? Have you even gotten to 100 yet?

Share, discuss, elucidate. It's a new year. Make it yours.

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Breakfast Topic: And 2015 begins originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 01 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 01 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: 2014 ends]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/31/breakfast-topic-2014-ends/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/31/breakfast-topic-2014-ends/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/31/breakfast-topic-2014-ends/#comments It's the end of the year as we know it and I feel fine.

2014 was a year with a lot of big changes for World of Warcraft - Warlords debuted in November of this year, after all - but also, it's the year which saw Siege of Orgrimmar last a very long time, and Mists of Pandaria outstay its welcome for a lot of players. But again, it's also the year that WoW got over ten million subs again, with one of the most successful expansion launches in the game's history. So a lot of ups and downs for World of Warcraft this 10th anniversary.

Since this is the last day of 2014, how better to celebrate than to look forward to 2015? What are your goals, your expectations, your predictions for this year in WoW? Go nuts, the comments await you.

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Breakfast Topic: 2014 ends originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Is this the most efficient way to make gold?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/30/is-this-the-most-efficient-way-to-make-gold/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/30/is-this-the-most-efficient-way-to-make-gold/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/30/is-this-the-most-efficient-way-to-make-gold/#comments I was watching this video from Bellular Gaming and it got me thinking - is that really the most efficient way to make gold in Warlords of Draenor? What they're doing is fairly simple. They're going into Cataclysm raids Bastion of Twilight, Blackwing Descent and Firelands on 25 heroic. Then they vendor everything. It seems like the exact kind of thing that we were doing back before they nerfed raid boss gold for soloing, but it works with the current rules for dungeons in that you basically have to collect every single thing that drops and vendor it. Still, it will net you 4000 gold in around an hour or two, and for every level 100 you have that's another 4000 gold you can farm up. That's not bad at all, really.

I'm not sure it'll remain so lucrative. It does work with the new gold normalization system, which was implemented because you could collect all the trash and vendor it, and it's a series of raids from two expansion ago, so being able to solo them isn't unexpected. For now, if you're gold strapped, keep it in mind.

[Via Kotaku]

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Is this the most efficient way to make gold? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Dec 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> CataclysmCataclysm-raidsgoldgold-farmingwarlords-of-draenor (Matthew Rossi) Tue, 30 Dec 2014 17:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Draenor raids yet to come]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/30/breakfast-topic-draenor-raids-yet-to-come/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/30/breakfast-topic-draenor-raids-yet-to-come/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/30/breakfast-topic-draenor-raids-yet-to-come/#comments So we know we have Highmaul fully unlocked and Blackrock Foundry will be unlocking some time in February (if I'm understanding 8 weeks after Highmaul correctly) and that leaves me wondering - how long will these two raids be expected to last? I doubt patch 6.1 will have a new raid, which might means 6.2 will - but what will it be? Will we be raiding the Iron Horde seat of power that quickly?

If not, what will we be raiding? Where will it be? Will it be in the Spires of Arak, some forgotten bastion of antiquity in Gorgrond? Perhaps we'll find ourselves back on Azeroth raiding a troll raid (it's happened before) before returning our focus to the Iron Horde. What do you think the next raid or raids will be?

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Breakfast Topic: Draenor raids yet to come originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Tue, 30 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Anniversaries]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/29/breakfast-topic-anniversaries/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/29/breakfast-topic-anniversaries/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/29/breakfast-topic-anniversaries/#comments This year, being the tenth anniversary of World of Warcraft, we actually saw quite a bit - we got the 40 man LFR version of Molten Core and the Tarren Mill/Southshore PvP deathmatch BG, both of which are going away soon. What this leads me to wonder is, what will we get for the 11th anniversary? Are they even going to try and top this year? Or will it be more like previous years, with a tabard and a note at most? I'd personally be disappointed if we backslid in that way, but then again, what else could we really reasonably expect - 40 man LFR Naxxramas? Crossroads as a deathmatch BG? What's left?

Or maybe a better question is, what would you want to see? What would be the best way to go forward with anniversary celebrations? Should we save big celebrations for numbers like five, ten, maybe fifteen?

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Breakfast Topic: Anniversaries originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 29 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 29 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Should Warcraft be an Olympic sport?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/should-warcraft-be-an-olympic-sport/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/should-warcraft-be-an-olympic-sport/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/should-warcraft-be-an-olympic-sport/#comments
Professional e-sports exist and can draw in significant interest - people watch streams on Twitch, top players can earn significant money, and we've seen people come out to watch them at places like BlizzCon and the Worldwide Invitational. But is it really a sport, and should we be seeing it in the Olympics? Rob Pardo, former chief creative officer at Blizzard, argues yes in this interview with the BBC.

In the interview, Pardo discusses the physical and mental ability of some of the best players in the world, how many decisions they made in a short period of time, as well as the draw of the games as a spectator sport. To be fair, he's mostly talking about games like Starcraft, but his other point about games and cultural definition as to what is and isn't a sport seems more likely to hamper gaming at an Olympic level than anything else. It's just not very common for an activity that takes place in front of a computer to be seen as a sport.

For the complete interview, head over to the BBC.

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Should Warcraft be an Olympic sport? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 26 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> Blizzarde-SportsOlympicsRob-Pardo (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 26 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: Boxing Day, Warcraft novels, Did Thrall cheat?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/the-queue-boxing-day-warcraft-novels-did-thrall-cheat/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/the-queue-boxing-day-warcraft-novels-did-thrall-cheat/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/the-queue-boxing-day-warcraft-novels-did-thrall-cheat/#comments Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

Today's first question is about Boxing Day. I didn't see that coming when I wrote today's Breakfast Topic.

JeffLaBowski asks:
Canadians: What is boxing day like? Do people have nice meals and exchange gifts? Are stores closed? Do you go to church? Any fun traditions?
Non-Canadians: Do you have any day after X-mas traditions? I usually like to head out to a store or two (in the afternoon), if I got a gift card I wanted to use. Might go see the new Hobbit movie.

I already talked about this in today's Breakfast Topic, but basically, around here at least (here being Edmonton) Boxing Day isn't very dissimilar from Black Friday - there are a lot of big sales and special deals and stores open early to accommodate people coming in to make exchanges or spend Christmas money. It differs from Black Friday mainly in that there's a lot fewer stories of people trampling each other on Boxing Day.

I happen to be non-Canadian, despite living in Canada, and so I could theoretically answer the second part of the question. But frankly, I don't have any fun traditions.

Continue reading The Queue: Boxing Day, Warcraft novels, Did Thrall cheat?

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The Queue: Boxing Day, Warcraft novels, Did Thrall cheat? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: WoW needs a Boxing Day]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/breakfast-topic-wow-needs-a-boxing-day/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/breakfast-topic-wow-needs-a-boxing-day/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/26/breakfast-topic-wow-needs-a-boxing-day/#comments If y'all don't know what Boxing Day is (I didn't until I moved up here) it's basically pretty awesome. It started out as a day where the people who ended up having to work on Christmas (people like servants of nobles or tradesfolk) would still get something from the people they worked for. It goes at least as far back as the 1600s, and might actually date back further. Nowadays, it's mostly an excuse for sales as companies try and shift their unsold stock and people bring presents they didn't want in to be exchanged.

What with folks trying so hard to get that specific present under the tree yesterday (and it not always working out for them) I think it would be cool if there was a Boxing Day which allowed us to go exchange stuff we didn't want for stuff we did. But I guess that depends -- did it work out as you intended? Do you wish you could make a switch? Or did you get what you were looking for?

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Breakfast Topic: WoW needs a Boxing Day originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 26 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 26 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: I am not Santa]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/25/the-queue-i-am-not-santa/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/25/the-queue-i-am-not-santa/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/25/the-queue-i-am-not-santa/#comments Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

I am, however, incredibly vain and egocentric.

WalterAnderson asks:
Did you get what you wanted for Christmas? If not were you happily surprised with what you did get?

Honestly, I didn't want anything. I tend not to want things aside from books, and I usually buy those for myself, so I'm an incredible pain to shop for. Get me an Amazon gift certificate or hand me fifty bucks and drive me to a bookstore, and I'm good. I'm writing this Queue Christmas Eve, so I don't know what I got yet, but I'm sure it was good.

Continue reading The Queue: I am not Santa

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The Queue: I am not Santa originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> facebookfeedfeaturedguideqaquestion-and-answerworld-of-warcraft-interviewswow-answerswow-communitywow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-interviewswow-peoplewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: The Day At Last]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/25/breakfast-topic-the-day-at-last/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/25/breakfast-topic-the-day-at-last/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/25/breakfast-topic-the-day-at-last/#comments
Hopefully, if today is a holiday for you, you're spending it with loved ones of some description, or enjoying it in whatever way you like best. For some of us, that includes a heaping helping of World of Warcraft - in past years I participated in special raids on Christmas day, or did a day of dungeons, or even ran AV all day (this was back in the day, of course). So it behooves me to ask you, if you're going to be playing WoW today, and if so, what're you up to in the game?

And have a happy holiday, if you're celebrating.

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Breakfast Topic: The Day At Last originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 25 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Thu, 25 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Celebrate Winter Veil with letters to Greatfather Winter]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/blizzard-celebrates-winter-veil-with-letters-to-greatfather-wint/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/blizzard-celebrates-winter-veil-with-letters-to-greatfather-wint/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/blizzard-celebrates-winter-veil-with-letters-to-greatfather-wint/#comments Sometimes you just have to embrace the holiday spirit. That's what Blizzard is doing, by announcing that it's time for all the good girls and boys of Azeroth and Draenor to get their letters to Greatfather Winter. What do you want for this year's Winter Veil? Well, whatever it is, asking can't hurt, so go ahead and comment on the official post, or here on the forums. There's even a thread here on the RP forums, if you're so inclined.

I personally think transmog was the gift that keeps on giving for me, but if there's something you want, get on board.

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Celebrate Winter Veil with letters to Greatfather Winter originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> Greatfather-WinterHodir-is-secretly-Greatfather-Winterwinter-veil (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Blizzard opens new dedicated Ashran forum]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/blizzard-opens-new-dedicated-ashran-forum/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/blizzard-opens-new-dedicated-ashran-forum/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/blizzard-opens-new-dedicated-ashran-forum/#comments If you have an opinion about Ashran, now there's a place for you to take it. Blizzard CM Kaivax posted that there's a new forum dedicated solely to Ashran. It's right here, although it doesn't appear to have a counterpart in Europe yet.

Ashran's been a hot topic as of late for problems with queue times and difficulty in balancing it - with some players having used Ashran to gear up it's not not uncommon to see people discussing one faction utterly dominating the zone now. If you're interested in Ashran and possibly in contributing your voice to the discussion (you may have a good suggestion for fixing the issues, or just a perspective that hasn't been considered yet) then head over to the new official forum for the PvP zone and make your voice heard.

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Blizzard opens new dedicated Ashran forum originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 22 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> arenaarena-guidearena-stratsarena-tipsarenasashranfeaturedforumforumsguidehow-to-play-battlegroundshow-to-pvpplayer-vs-playerPVPpvp-guidewarlords-of-draenorwow-arenawow-arena-guidewow-guide (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 22 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[Breakfast Topic: Where would you draw the line?]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/breakfast-topic-where-would-you-draw-the-line/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/breakfast-topic-where-would-you-draw-the-line/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/22/breakfast-topic-where-would-you-draw-the-line/#comments So we're going to potentially be able to buy game time tokens and sell them in game for gold. This has been called buying gold, which is interesting to me, since it's not really much different than when we could buy the Guardian Cub and sell that in game for gold. But what the discussion really got me thinking about was this - what would be the line, the one thing they could introduce that would be too much for me to go along with? I can buy 90 out of a 100 levels, I can buy transmog gear, what do I think is absolutely not a good idea to sell for real life money?

For me, it's actual in game epic gear. If Blizzard started selling best in slot or even just good gear for max level characters, that would be too much. One of the reasons I'm a little leery of the game time for gold transaction is that right now, some good epic gear is available for gold, and if you make gold something you can pick up with IRL money... you see where that would go.

So now it's your turn. What's too far for you?

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Breakfast Topic: Where would you draw the line? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 22 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredgame-discussiongamer-discussionworld-of-warcraft-discussionworld-of-warcraft-topicswow-discussionwow-hot-topicswow-issueswow-topics (Matthew Rossi) Mon, 22 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST WoW Insider <![CDATA[The Queue: I'm turning into Rend Blackhand]]> http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/19/the-queue-im-turning-into-rend-blackhand/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/19/the-queue-im-turning-into-rend-blackhand/ http://wow.joystiq.com/2014/12/19/the-queue-im-turning-into-rend-blackhand/#comments
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Matthew Rossi will be your host today.

If you read today's Breakfast Topic, you know why I said this. It's a really surreal feeling, let's just go with that.

Merkavar asks:
Q4TQ anyone else miss the way dungeon rewards worked in wotlk. where you got one bonus reward per day but you could save up to 7. so you could smash out 4-7 dungeons in one go instead of doing one a day.

im not on every day so it would be nice if one or two days stacked

I feel much the same way. The weekend is the best time for me to get in some uninterrupted WoW time, and it would be nice if I could do a bunch of dungeons on Saturday/Sunday instead of trying to log on every day. I get why they made the change, but personally I miss the flexibility to my schedule this provided.

Continue reading The Queue: I'm turning into Rend Blackhand

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The Queue: I'm turning into Rend Blackhand originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 19 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> featuredguideqaquestion-and-answerwow-answerswow-daily-answerswow-daily-questionswow-guidewow-player-questionswow-q-and-awow-questions (Matthew Rossi) Fri, 19 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST WoW Insider