Filed under: Breakfast Topics

I'm not kidding you guys. Seriously. I was doing archaeology the other day, flying around happily on the new Heart of the Aspects, listening to some music, when the most amazing thing happened. After solving for a Castle of Sand, I began my tol'vir archaeology ritual of pressing the solve button, closing my eyes, turning around and running out of the room. When I return, hopefully a rare tol'vir artifact will be waiting for me to obsess over.

This phenomenon known as the tol'vir rare find is an anomaly. Two quickly made their appearance for me, then vanished, forever leaving me to a storeroom full of Canopic Jars and Sketches of Desert Palaces. It's getting quite full in there. But not this faithful day. This day would be different.

Finally, the impossible happened -- another tol'vir rare. I'm freaking out, man. It's the monkey paw! And the worst part about this blessed miracle is that I can't go to sleep until I solve it.

Have you ever experienced the pain of the double-edged sword in World of Warcraft? Have you ever been the victim of something lucky that turned into an obsession?

---

A recent issue of The Queue talked about the creepiest race/class/spec combo. But what, I wonder, is the best race for each class? Or what's the best class for each race?

Of course, the first response I have is that there is no best race for each class. I mean, let's look at shaman for a second; an Alliance shaman can only be a draenei or a dwarf. Now, I personally think that a draenei shaman is just right somehow -- I really can't explain it -- and it was a really big decision for me to switch my shaman from a draenei to a dwarf. I did it for Stoneform, OK?

To me, paladins should be human. Warlocks should be undead. Rogues? Hmm, worgen, I think. You'll note how there is absolutely no justification whatsoever for these choices -- it's just a feeling that these are the best races for these classes. They're the races that fit, somehow, absolutely and completely personal to me and not relating to anyone else's point of view! There's no logic to it.

Orcs should be warriors. They're strong, powerful-looking characters; an orc mage or warlock would just be wrong somehow. Again, this is deeply personal, and I wouldn't have any issue with someone who felt an orc warlock was a perfect class/race combo!

What do you think? Am I spouting utter nonsense? (Wouldn't be the first time.) What do you think are great race/class combos, and which are wrong -- or worse, creepy?

---

I had a moment of pure nostalgia last night when I remembered what is quite possibly my favorite World of Warcraft memory of all time. Back when the game originally released (probably that very night, knowing us back in college), our adventurous little Horde band hit the Wailing Caverns, level-appropriate and everything. After killing approximately 9 billion Deviate Raptors and getting lost in the caverns for over an hour, we finally made it to the dreaded Wailing Caverns jump.

You know the jump. Right next to the waterfall about two floors up on the "right" side of the instance. It's easier to get to now that Wailing Caverns has essentially been cut in twain. You can still go to the jump and miserably fail like Gorgomite did.

Gorgomite has long since quit WoW, but he was my first guild master and good friend. We played Dark Age of Camelot together, and with the built-in guild community we created in other games, moved over to WoW. That fateful night, Gorgomite could not make it over the Wailing Caverns jump. Try as he might, he just couldn't make it. Lag? Maybe. Crappy laptop wouldn't let him jump at the right time? Most likely. We all laughed for a good 30 to 45 minutes figuring out how to get him over that jump. It was the best.

How many of you fell because of the Wailing Caverns jump? Be honest. I can tell who is lying.

---

---

Blizzard recently unveiled an officially-licensed World of Warcraft Monopoly game to the public at Toy Fair 2012 in New York City. We don't know all the details, but we do know that Blizzard wants us all to vote on what playing tokens we want included in the game.

Granted, Blizzard's giving us a lot of cool choices, from a metallic murloc to a pewter clockwork gnome. But it feels like we need more options. Where are all the boomkin corpses? And why can't I play as Garrosh? I really want to play as Garrosh.

What do you think about the World of Warcraft Monopoly game? Are there any playing pieces you wish were included but aren't? And of the game pieces that Blizzard wants you to consider for inclusion in WoW Monopoly, which is your favorite?

---

The World of Warcraft community is a special group of people. We've got numbers, diversity, and a ridiculous amount of charity from good people whose tenuous connection to each other is because of a virtual world. Personally, I wouldn't want it any other way. The WoW community does good things.

Many of you recently heard about my cat Rocky, who was not doing so well because of a deep infection in both of his ears. Because of the generosity of our community, Rocky's bills were taken care of and we could get him the immediate help he needed. My little buddy is alive because of this community. It's such a trivial thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things, but it personally affected me in such a profound way.

Sure, we have our low moments. We have our high moments, too, and it's all worth it. From Blizzard's own charity drives to Child's Play and the community reaching out to help sick children, I'd say we've got a pretty good track record. What has the WoW community done that has affected you personally?

---

Ah, romance. Love is truly in the air when so many romantic topics keep cropping up. Recently with the Drama Mamas, we tackled the topic of roleplay romance. Commenter musicchan suggested that in order to avoid the awkward, one-sided crossover from RP love to OOC, players could fall in love with minor NPCs. When Blizzard asked about in-game NPC couples, Cynwise confessed to a crush on Auctioneer Jaxon. Love is in the air, indeed.

I have a crush too. Makavu, the troll banker in Orgrimmar's Valley of Spirits, has a way of saying things that makes my bank alt swoon. Nobody says okey-dokey like he does. I think Auctioneer Ziji may be jealous of our romance. She seems pleasant enough when I conduct business with her, but she watches grimly as I flirt with Makavu. I suppose it is possible that my love isn't returned. Who knows the workings of a troll's heart?

Sassy Hardwrench isn't a minor NPC, but she isn't a major one either. Maybe I shouldn't mention the fact that my mage Tizzy thinks she's dreamy. Tizzy couldn't express her feelings when Sassy was her Executive Assistant -- what with sexual harassment cases being what they are -- and now Sassy runs her own place. She's out of Tizzy's league.

Do you have a crush on a minor NPC? Which vendor or guard makes your heart beat faster? Or does your character have a romance in every city? Heroes often tend to have groupies, after all ...

---

It's no secret that archaeology can be a boring pain in the butt. Archaeology is less of a profession and more like a Profession in which I have spent a long time studying, gotten my degree in, and now dedicate my life's work to. Podcasts are an excellent diversion, but there's something tactile missing.

One night while I was out in the Uldum desert, painfully sulking my way from one failure of a dig site to the next, I got a whisper from a fan and reader who just wanted to say hello. "You caught me at the best time, in fact," I told him. "I'm just bored doing archaeology."

This became a thing. We got on pretty well. Other people began to send me messages during my archaeology sessions. If you know my name (pretty easy to find me if you look hard enough) and I'm on WoW late, you should say hello. You just might get me right in the middle of archaeology.

What do you like to do to pass the time while doing archaeology?

---

In a past edition of The Queue, evoxpisces asked,

If each class had its own theme song, what would they be? Or at least what genres would each represent them?

Some commenters answered with their opinions, but I didn't read them because I wanted to form my own list without anyone's influence.

• Druid Boadicea by Enya It is woodsy with a hint of danger.
• Shaman Down to Earth by Peter Gabriel But I was really tempted by Daniel Radcliffe singing Tom Lehrer's Elements.
• Death knight Du Hast by Rammstein Too obvious?
• Mage Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind and Fire Mages are quite a bit flashy. In fact, I think the next tier set should be based on the costumes from that video.
• Warlock Cold by The Cure I guess The Cure was a pretty obvious choice as well. Fire by Arthur Brown was a runner up.
• Rogue Hide and Seek by Namie Amuro, but only because of the great video Craft of War: Blind, where a rogue really shines.
• Warrior Birth, School, Work, Death by The Godfathers The perfect workhorse song -- though a bit fatalistic.
• Hunter Hunter by Dido I just went literal with this one.
• Paladin Gold by Spandau Ballet because pallies are so shiny. Blood elf paladins get their very own song and video, above.
• Priest Violet by Hole I can't believe I left priests off the list at first! My apologies. Please still heal me.

What do you think of my list? What theme song or genre would you choose for your class or all classes?

---

You just can't take a picture of yourself during Love is in the Air without a heart on your head.

I actually don't like the phrase "real life" when describing what happens in the physical world because it implies that the interactions we have in Azeroth aren't real. Captain Obvious says that WoW is not a single-player game. When we are playing Mass Effect, we don't affect anyone else if we get up to take a bio break or comfort a child. But in World of Warcraft, if we are in a group of any size, we affect others every time we AFK.

The phrase "real life is more important than WoW" is a mantra we hear all the time, and it is true in that you shouldn't shirk responsibilities in the physical world in order to play. However, if you have committed yourself for a period of time to other players, it is the same thing as committing yourself to any group of people in the physical world. Breaking that commitment falls under the same etiquette umbrella, whether in game or out.

Questing is a vital part of WoW, it really is -- at least until level 15! Those who have rolled healers or tanks can pretty well abandon it from that point forward, which is a shame, really. Blizzard has created an amazing world for us in Azeroth, and yet we're not really seeing it a lot of the time.

The screenshot is a fine example of this. Sure, it looks like Gilneas, but it's actually a little pocket of Blasted Lands southwest of the Dark Portal. Unfortunately, I was on my Horde warlock when I happened upon this little coastal settlement, so its inhabitants were less than friendly to me!

What are your favorite zones to quest in, and what makes a great questing zone? For me, the vital components are atmosphere, looks, convenience of travel and geographical layout, and quality of quests. A zone has to look good -- my preference is for dark, mysterious zones like Duskwood -- and have a great feel to it. I think the feel is some combination of continuity in the looks and the quest content, plus a sense of what's going on in the zone, a bit of a story that I'm part of. Travel has to be convenient -- in long, thin zones, there has to be a way to get around. Obviously, this is tantamount where you can't fly!

And the layout of the quests has to be convenient, too. I hate doing a whole bunch of quests in one area and then moving to another area, only to have to go back to where I started. And having to go back to the same place again and again. That's just me, though. And lastly, the fewer "bring me nine basilisk gizzard" quests, the better. I don't care if they're to make your soup or for a satanic ritual -- it's still dull!

Badlands, since its Cataclysm rework, has some amazing quest lines -- it's now on the list of vital places I'll always level through -- but visually, it doesn't do it for me. My favorite? Duskwood, by a long shot! How about you?

---

One of the really nice things about being able to fly in Azeroth is the opportunity to discover little homes in the most unlikely places. On a recent archaeology trip through Feralas, I flew over a tauren tent hidden in the mountains at 88,32 (on the border between Feralas and Mulgore) that I'd never seen before. It's a beautiful spot on a small pond ringed by mountains and Feralas' giant trees, with a travois and a canoe nearby, and I thought to myself: This would be actually be a really nice place to live, if my main had to be concerned with such things.

And then there's the little house in the mountains northeast of Stormwind -- the dwarven farms in the mountains between Ironforge and Menethil Harbor (although players saw that for years on flight paths). And another collection of tauren tents, canoes, and a rather large cave on the southern shore of Silithus. (Man, the tauren really got around.) Since getting flight in Azeroth, have you seen any of these tucked-away places, and are there any you think others should see?

---

---

I have no hard data, but my guess is that guild hopping has greatly decreased since the advent of guild reputation and perks. If you're going to leave a max-level guild that you are at least friendly with, you usually have a really good reason. In fact, I think many people stay in guilds far too long just because of the time investment in gathering reputation.

But guild levels haven't always been around, and many people who played before Cataclysm guild hopped. I've never been one for bopping from guild to guild. I like to get comfy in a guild and stick with it. Taking time to properly choose your guild helps, but sometimes guilds devolve into places you don't want to be. I've been rather lucky. Of course, the WoW Insider family of guilds is my main home, and it's a rather wonderful place to be.