WoW Insider

Know Your Lore: Cinematics, character development, and story in 2014

Anne Stickney — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

Continue reading Know Your Lore: Cinematics, character development, and story in 2014

Know Your Lore: Cinematics, character development, and story in 2014 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Know Your Lore: Breakout Characters of 2014, Part One

Matthew Rossi — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Know your Lore, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

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.

Since 2014 saw the end of one expansion and the beginning of another, it's actually got quite a list of characters that got an expanded role in the lore. Some of these are fairly predictable, and others less so. Since I like to talk about lore (it's what the column is about) I decided to round up some of the ones I found the most interesting. I've set myself a few arbitrary rules for this. One, Mists of Pandaria characters are fair game. I know the last patch was in 2013, I don't care. Secondly, they had to do something in terms of story. Sorry, Varian, but you really didn't do much at all in Siege and you haven't done much in Warlords, either.

This isn't listed by priority - the last character we talk about isn't more or less important than the first. So let's get down to brass tacks - who do I think broke out in the past year? (If somehow you still haven't had any exposure to Warlords of Draenor's story, be warned, Here Are Spoilers.)

Vol'jin
This one is kind of borderline for me - while he certainly took a big role in the end of Mists of Pandaria, he hasn't done a whole lot yet in Warlords. But I think it's an indisputable fact that Vol'jin's mere presence as a non-orc (a troll, even) atop the Horde power structure is a very significant change in terms of what it means for the Horde going forward. Before Vol'jin's rise to power, there had only been four warchiefs, two from the old Horde and two for the new, and all were orcs - the institution of warchief itself was an orcish one, brought over from Draenor when the Horde invaded.

No other change in the history of the Horde has done more to draw a strong line of demarcation between past and present. The ascension of Vol'jin says to the world of Azeroth (and beyond it) that the Horde is no longer Orcs and their Amazing Friends, but instead a collective of races banded together for mutual survival, and one where no particular race predominates (at least in theory). We have yet to see how successful Vol'jin is in the role, but he definitely changes the status quo dramatically for the Horde.

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

Know Your Lore: Breakout Characters of 2014, Part One originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 16 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tuesday will be a normal server reset

Matthew Rossi — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

I've been asked several times if we're going to have a server reset this Tuesday, and I assumed we were, but I didn't actually know. Because people have asked me, I decided to settle this question by the most expedient manner possible - I asked Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas. I'd do this more often, but frankly I think he has better things to do than tell me what color shoes I should buy.

@MatthewWRossi Yes, should be like any other Tuesday as far as I know.
- Watcher (@WatcherDev) November 10, 2014

So there you have it - are we going to have a normal server reset this tuesday, and a last two days to farm those old raids, run SoO for Heirlooms, or whatever? All signs point to yes. Enjoy your last two days in Pandaria, guys. Midnight pacific time on Thursday morning, we're all off to Draenor.

Tuesday will be a normal server reset originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 10 Nov 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

World of Warcraft: Looking for Group documentary debuts at BlizzCon

Matthew Rossi — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Events, Blizzard, News items, The Burning Crusade, Lore, Interviews, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

This Saturday during BlizzCon, we're going to get to take a look at a new documentary about World of Warcraft, with a lot of familiar faces (seriously, the trailer alone is packed with celebrities) and an interesting perspective on how WoW took what was a pretty niche market in MMO's and made them a lot more mainstream.

Here's a short teaser for something we'll be premiering Saturday at @BlizzCon. http://t.co/eRqhe5v15x
- World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) November 5, 2014

My first reaction was "Wow, that's a heck of a Garona cosplay!" Which is why I headed up the post with that picture. Seriously, she looks more like Garona than Garona does. WHoever you are, Garona cosplayer, please let me know so I can put your name in this post. But beyond that, as someone who's been playing for ten years, I found it amazing to see it all laid out like that, how we were all just stumbling our way through the game, having no idea what it was or what it would lead to.

World of Warcraft: Looking for Group documentary debuts at BlizzCon originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 05 Nov 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Why updated graphics matter

Matthew Rossi — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Transmogrification, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

What you see above is the result of time marching on - in my draenei's right hand is Sulfuras, the Extinguished Hand, a drop from Firelands. In the left hand, Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros, the legendary drop from the original Molten Core. (Yes, I know technically it doesn't drop, the Eye drops, you craft a Sulfuron Hammer and then use the Eye on it, I've had the thing since MC I know how I got it.) What I'm showing you is essentially the orderly progression of time via graphic upgrades - you can essentially see the history of the game unfolding via the difference between these two weapons.

Everything from the spikes to the grip to the shape of the head, it's all more detailed and crisp on the newer model. The older model is a collection of polygonal shapes that bear only a vague resemblance to a hammer compared to the newer model, which is itself still not as good as models we have in the game now, never mind some of the Warlords drops we're about to see. The gap between these two hammers is the gap between 2004 and 2011, and here we are, three years later than that - and they show us how much a ten year old game can in fact change.

Continue reading Why updated graphics matter

Why updated graphics matter originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 04 Nov 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Honor gain increased for resource gathering in battlegrounds

Matthew Rossi — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Hotfixes, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

There's been a bit of discussion and consternation about how honor gains are working currently. Rygarius posted to clarify how they're working (turns out there was no bonus honor at the beginning of patch 6.0.2, which was later mistakenly hotfixed to apply bonus honor to all battlegrounds, when it was intended for random BG's only) and that fixing the hotfix error was what had caused people to mistakenly think they weren't be awarded the proper honor. In the middle of that discussion, Rygarius shared the following.

Rygarius - What's Going On With Honor?

Wanted to give a heads-up that there's a hotfix being worked on (no ETA but soon without the TM) to increase the amount of Honor gains for Arathi Basin, Deepwind Gorge, Eye of the Storm, and The Battle for Gilneas. We're changing it so Honor is awarded for every 150 resources gathered (up from Honor awarding for every 250 resources gathered).

source

That's an interesting change and one I approve of - one of the things I dislike about that style of BG is how they can suck you into a prolonged and pointless battle (you know you're going to lose) and people stop even trying to take and hold places. With the resource gain now more strongly tied to honor points, maybe people will be more inclined to do their best.

Honor gain increased for resource gathering in battlegrounds originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 30 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

How I came to love the Timeless Isle

Alex Ziebart — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mists of Pandaria

I make it no secret that I don't have much love for Mists of Pandaria. For reasons I haven't been able to quantify, most of it bored me beyond belief. I can make some guesses, but no individual thing clicks with me as the reason, though all of it combined may be the cause: the tedium of daily quests in the earliest stages of the expansion, the lack of new 5-man dungeons in content patches, a general disinterest in the renewed faction war, and not being compelled by the story or aesthetic elements that formed Pandaria. I kept on trucking through those early months, and I did find some fun in it, but the fun faded quickly and I found myself less and less engaged throughout the expansion. Because of that, I ignored many of the expansion's later additions, particularly the Timeless Isle. When it released, I poked around on the island, but left quickly. Now, in the final stretch of the expansion, I gave the Timeless Isle another shot ... and realized too late that it's wonderful.

One of the things I once loved about World of Warcraft was the daily choice between structured and unstructured gameplay. If I wanted to go questing, I could do so -- and Blizzard's quest design has consistently improved since the game's launch. If I didn't want to quest, just screw around solo and fight monsters, that option was available, and not only available, but rewarding. That changed over time.

Continue reading How I came to love the Timeless Isle

How I came to love the Timeless Isle originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 24 Oct 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Did you miss in Pandaria?: BFFs with Huggalon

Scott Andrews — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

Looking to build toward 150 toys for the Toymaster achievement? There's an easily obtainable toy in Townlong Steppes, but it's quite hidden, and also ... kind of disturbing.

In the caves beneath Niuzao Temple lurks an ancient watcher, apparently from the same Titan brand as Archavon. His name is Huggalon the Heart Watcher. He looks just like the Wrath-era raid boss, if you ignore the giant purple bow on his head. And you should.

To find him, enter the caves on the west side of the island. Take the first right and follow the right-hand walls. Just before you pass through an entrance lit by glowing beetles, you'll see a small passage up and to the right. At the end of this passage, Huggalon waits. You won't see a rare icon on your map because he is not a rare spawn.

He's easily soloable in Siege of Orgrimmar gear, but feel free to bring friends if you might need backup. He does hit hard against cloth and has a decent chunk of health. Or, you can give this lonely giant the hug he yearns for and walk away.

If you opt for murder, you'll be rewarded with the B.F.F. Necklace. You can place it in your toybox and then choose a player to be Friends Forever! with once per day. But honestly, who wants to be friends with a cold-blooded killer like you?

While you're in the cave, keep an eye out for Fragment of Dread, part of the Riches of Pandaria achievement.

Did you miss in Pandaria?: BFFs with Huggalon originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 6.0.2: How to queue for UBRS at 90

Matthew Rossi — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

Players are of course salivating at the idea of exploring the first new content we've seen in World of Warcraft since Patch 5.4 dropped well over a year ago. That being said, it's worth remembering that there are always issues on patch day of a big new patch like 6.0.2, and also that this particular dungeon is a special case - it's a dungeon that will ultimately be for level 100 players, and we're getting a taste of it now at level 90. So it's worth keeping the following in mind.

You can't just zone into level 90 UBRS, because the instance portal is for a level 100 character - you have to use the LFD tool.
There's a bug that means you can't queue for UBRS via the LFD tool unless you meet the dungeon's ilevel requirement of 510.

So remember, when you're trying to run UBRS when the servers come back up, please keep these two facts in mind, as it will make your experience more pleasant. And also remember, this is new content tuned for ilevel 510 and up - if you've been steamrolling Mists of Pandaria dungeons for a while, those were tuned for much lower gear requirements. Maybe slow your roll a tiny bit until you get the feel of the place.

Patch 6.0.2: How to queue for UBRS at 90 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Last minute ideas for your justice points

Adam Koebel — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

Justice points are going away forever, perhaps as soon as next Tuesday. You can hold onto them and get the gold conversion if you want. They'll net you 47 silver per point, or 1880 gold for a full cap of 4000. It's a decent chunk of change, but there may be a few things you want to purchase with them while you still can.

The most obvious one is heirlooms. PvE heirlooms will be unavailable from the justice point vendors in 6.0, and your only option to get those will be to spend Darkmoon Prize Tickets at the Darkmoon Faire or Champion's Seals at the Argent Tournament. These heirlooms will return in another form sometime in the future, just not for 6.0.

The one you may have missed is the Reins of the Wooly Mammoth mount sold in Dalaran. If you're trying to pad your mount collection for the collection achievements and you still don't have this one, it's a good way to spend your points. It costs 2175 justice points, or a little over 1,000 gold after the conversion. Once 6.0 hits, this mount is going to cost 8,000 gold instead of justice points. Now is the time to get it.

The last thing is useful if you didn't play much at level cap during Wrath of the Lich King. The commendation badges for the various Wrath reputations are being removed completely. They only cost a mere 16 justice points for 520 reputation points and are also sold in Dalaran. There's badges available for Wyrmrest Accord, Sons of Hodir, Kirin Tor, Argent Crusade, and Knights of the Ebon Blade. It's a quick way to get exalted with these factions. Again, there are some mounts you may be interested in from both Wyrmrest Accord and Sons of Hodir which require revered or exalted reputation. It's certainly quicker than grinding out those reputations the old fashioned way.

All other items which currently cost justice points should cost gold in 6.0, so you don't have to worry about missing out on any potential transmog opportunities.

Last minute ideas for your justice points originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 6.0: Treasure room keys removed

Matthew Rossi — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Mists of Pandaria

If you're trying to get the achievement In The Hall Of The Thunder King, get working on it not, because as soon as Patch 6.0 drops the achievement becomes a Feat of Strength, and the key will no longer drop. That's the word from Kaivax on the forums.

Kaivax - Treasure Room Achievement -> Feat of Strength

n WoW Patch 6.0.2, we will be retiring the Achievement In The Hall Of The Thunder King, as the treasure room will no longer be accessible. That achievement will become a Feat of Strength, and Elder Charm of Good Fortune will drop in place of the key to the room.

source

I admit I don't understand the reasoning behind this. First the legendary cloak, then the Brawler's Guild, and now the Treasure Room, all effectively removed in a few weeks. Seems strange to see so much content going inaccessible like this. But you've been warned, so if you're working on this, get a move on.

Patch 6.0: Treasure room keys removed originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 01 Oct 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

PvP Season 15 to end "in a couple of weeks"

Matthew Rossi — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, PvP, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

For those of us waiting with bated breath (look it up, that's how it's spelled) for any idea of when Patch 6.0 will be dropping, the answer is soon. Blizzard has done a warning post for the end of the season, and in their own words, it's not far off.

After many grueling bouts in the Arenas and Battlegrounds, the time has nearly come to see who will reign supreme in this action-packed PvP season. Prepare to fight your last battles, and remember-to the victors go the spoils!

Arena and Rated Battleground Season 15 will be coming to an end in a couple of weeks. Once the season wraps, we'll begin an approximately two week process to determine end-of-season reward eligibility.

So, since today was a rolling restart maintenance day, it's fair to speculate that it'll be two weeks into October, most likely October 14th, when Patch 6.0 drops. That falls into line with the usual month between the pre-expansion patch and the actual expansion that we saw in Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria.

Please remember, if you're an Arena/Rated BG player waiting for your end of the season rewards, to not transfer your character to another realm until after the PvP season has ended if you want to remain eligible.

PvP Season 15 to end "in a couple of weeks" originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Sep 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Who is the Celestial Tournament for?

Scott Andrews — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

As we wait (and wait) for new content to arrive, I've been fiddling around in the game with all the things I never bothered to do before. I got my Sha'tari Skyguard rep to exalted for the creepy nether ray mounts. I hunted the treasures of Pandaria. I completed a full circuit of gold challenge mode runs. And most recently I've been doing pet battles. My goal was to start completing the Celestial Tournament every week so I could eventually earn all four celestial pets.

I took my first stab at it this week. The first time I tried to enter the scenario, I was disappointed to learn that you had to level 15 pets to 25, not just possess them. The two that I'd purchased on the auction house didn't help me get there. Extra level grinding was required. I came back with 17 max-level pets and thought I'd have more than enough to beat the tourney and start adopting baby immortal spirit animals. Boy was I wrong.

Continue reading Who is the Celestial Tournament for?

Who is the Celestial Tournament for? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Reminder: Get your content cleared before 6.0.2

Anne Stickney — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

Blizzard posted a reminder earlier this week regarding several features that will either be changed or removed from the game entirely in patch 6.0.2. While we don't at present time have a release date set for the introductory patch of Warlords of Draenor, it would still be in your best interests to complete the content now, rather than waiting and possibly missing out for good. And of course, removed content means those achievements you've gathered will be filed away as either Legacy achievements, or Feats of Strength in the upcoming expansion.

Challenge Modes should be top priority if you've got your eyes on those Mists of Pandaria sets, because they will no longer be available as of 6.0.2 -- the phoenix mounts will also be going away, although players that have earned one of the mounts will have access to all variations. Players looking for heirloom weapons from Garrosh Hellscream should hop to it, as those will also be removed once Warlords of Draenor is released in November. In addition, the Brawler's Guild will be taking a hiatus once patch 6.0.2 hits -- the bosses and encounters in the Brawler's Guild will be re-tuned for level 100. However, if you've already gained access to the Brawler's Guild, you'll still retain that access when the new expansion launches -- no need to dig up another invite.

Lastly, if you have not started the legendary cloak quest chain by patch 6.0.2, you'll no longer be able to obtain it. Players already on the chain will still retain the quests, although they will be slightly altered, as the section of the chain that requires players to collect Valor Points will be gone altogether with the removal of Valor Points in 6.0.2. For more information on changes and removals with the arrival of both patch 6.0.2 and Warlords of Draenor itself, take a look at Blizzard's full post on the official site.

Reminder: Get your content cleared before 6.0.2 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 27 Sep 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Did you miss in Pandaria?: Timeless vendors

Scott Andrews — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria

I've spent so many hours on the (now ironically named) Timeless Isle that I thought I knew everything about it. I was researching how I could help Golganarr to spawn to finally complete the Timeless Champion achievement, and I realized I'd missed something.

I never thought to look for anything interesting by the Celestial Court itself. I figured it was static, like every other quest hub in the game, more or less. I thought the two vendors standing next to the emperor were the only ones who sold anything of note.

Then I stumbled across Whizzig in Wowhead's excellent Timeless Isle guide. I was sure I'd seen this snail-riding gentlemen before. But it never occurred to me that he was, in fact, a "rare vendor." He sells four different vanity items for your Perky Pug, such as Dread Pirate Costume. He also sells Magical Pet Biscuits and (for some reason) a glyph recipe. All of his items cost Timeless Coins. If you've got thousands of extra coins laying around, you might as well spoil your pup.

Once I made this discovery, I took a closer look around the court. There are so many NPCs and so many of them sell useless things that it's easy to overlook things you might actually care about. At this point I also found a pandaren boy named Ku-Mo . He sells the Sky Lantern pet for 7500 coins and a consumable Golden Glider for 1000. The latter works just like the engineer's version, but it only works on the island -- if you're willing to risk your neck on a makeshift glider a little kid cobbled together.

You can't help Golganarr to spawn, by the way. You just have to get lucky. Fortunately he has a zone-wide announcement like the Dread Ship Vazuvius, and he takes much longer to kill than the average rare.

Did you miss in Pandaria?: Timeless vendors originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Scenarios, daily quests, and events in Warlords

Matthew Rossi — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

It's true that scenarios still exist in Warlords of Draenor, but it's also true that their existence is radically altered - no more the easy three person content you can queue for at max level for easy rewards. Now, you may be trumpeting this as a grand thing, and in some ways you may even be right, but scenarios and heroic scenarios served a purpose in Mists and I'm starting to be concerned about their removal and the change in dungeons. One of the things to keep in mind is, with the removal of valor points and the conversion of many items to costing gold, we're essentially taking out the mechanism that once served as a consolation prize when it was first introduced back in The Burning Crusade. Furthermore, by removing scenarios as content players can essentially run whenever and wherever they wish, we're winnowing down options at endgame. The Timeless Isle model for endgame content has its flaws, and converting all of Warlords to it has some potential pitfalls.

For starters, the heavy de-emphasis on daily quests combined with the lack of scenarios and the placing of heroic dungeons behind the proving ground barrier removes a solid amount of low pressure, easily accessed content. Considered separately these ideas aren't an issue, but when you put them all together you can start to see one problem - they remove choices for players, and in doing so offer no replacement. This may be by design. Some players lament that there's too much to do in Mists of Pandaria's endgame. Starved for choice is a real phenomenon, and it may be a good move to thin out those options. But it may not.

Continue reading Scenarios, daily quests, and events in Warlords

Scenarios, daily quests, and events in Warlords originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Will running five player content be viable in Warlords?

Matthew Rossi — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

I actually really enjoy five player dungeons. One of my disappointments in Mists of Pandaria was that we never got any five mans beyond the start of the expansion and that they basically became just a means to farm some valor - since no new fives were introduced, they couldn't be tuned to in any way keep up with gear from Throne of Thunder much less Siege of Orgrimmar. They became laughably easy unless you were running them as Challenge Modes, ultimately.

And this bothers me because I'm one of those people who feels like five player content never really had lived up to its promise in World of Warcraft. Especially now that raid dungeons have become so accessible, with LFR and flex making it easier than ever for almost all players to get some level of raiding if they want it, I've always felt like fives need a refocusing. Having normal and heroic difficulty fives really separate with better rewards for fives is a good start, but where Challenge Modes didn't grab me was in their completely cosmetic rewards. I always felt like CM's should offer gear on par with at least normal mode raiding - a group that decided to focus exclusively on Challenge Modes or some other form of very hard five player content should be able to progress their character not just visually, but actually as well.

Why do I feel this way? Well, I'll tell you.

Continue reading Will running five player content be viable in Warlords?

Will running five player content be viable in Warlords? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 23 Sep 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 6.0.2: Ordos cloak requirement removed

Anne Stickney — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

One of the unique quirks of the Timeless Isle, introduced in patch 5.4, was the means in which players accessed Ordos, Fire-God of the Yaungol and the world boss located at the highest heights of the Isle. In order to even get to the temple in which Ordos was located, players needed to either fly very carefully on one of the Isle's many flying albatross taxis, or have a legendary cloak that would glide them right on over the broken bridge that led to the Ordon Sanctuary. And even if you took the albatross, fighting Ordos required the legendary cloak -- you could not engage the world boss without it. But according to developer Jeremy Feasel on Twitter, that's about to change in patch 6.0.2.

@perculia @nite_moogle Yes, you will not need the cloak to fight Ordos in 6.0.- Jeremy Feasel (@Muffinus) September 16, 2014

Later tweets clarified that the cloak wouldn't even be needed to get over the broken bridge -- the Celestials will send everyone flying to the other side, regardless of whether they have the legendary cloak or not. For those that don't really do any raiding, Ordos has quite the loot table of gear. Every item he drops is ilvl 559, and although we won't be able to upgrade gear with Valor when the patch hits, it's still some pretty good gear for getting a head-start on leveling in Warlords. If you don't have a legendary cloak, or don't plan to obtain one, you might just want to focus your attention on Ordos for a few last pre-Warlords upgrades once patch 6.0.2 goes live.

Patch 6.0.2: Ordos cloak requirement removed originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 20 Sep 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 6.0.2: PvP season 15 ends

Matthew Rossi — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, PvP, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

In the spirit of get it done soon that we see getting more and more prevalent as patch 6.0.2 gets closer, here's some news about PvP Season 15. Namely, it's ending as soon as the patch drops.

This means several things - there will be no Arenas or Rated BG's after the patch, all Conquest Points will be converted to Honor, with excess Honor above 4000 points being converted to gold.

Blizzard - Patch 6.0.2 PTR Patch Notes

PvP Season 15 comes to an end with the launch of Patch 6.0.2. (Date has not been determined yet.)
- Conquest Points will be converted into Honor Points, and any Honor above the cap of 4,000 will be converted into in-game currency at a rate of 35 silver per point.
- Season 15 items will have Conquest costs converted into Honor Points equivalent to their previous Conquest Point cost, with the exception of any items that have a rating requirement.
- Season 15 items with rating requirements will no longer be available for purchase.
- Note that Arena and Rated Battleground matches will not be available until PvP Season 16 begins.

source

So there you have it - the upcoming end for Season 15 is as soon as the patch itself (which we still have no date for) and when it comes, the usual conversions will commence. If you're trying to hit a certain rating, you have been warned.

Patch 6.0.2: PvP season 15 ends originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Patch 6.0.2: No Brawler's Guild until Warlords

Matthew Rossi — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor

If you're still working on your Brawler's Guild achievements, get a move on - you have until Patch 6.0.2 to get that all done, because as soon as that drops, the Brawler's Guild will be closed until Warlords of Draenor comes out.

Blizzard - Patch 6.0.2 patch notes

Season 1 of the Brawler's has come to a close and associated achievements have been converted into Feats of Strength.
Fights will be unavailable while the Brawler's Guild is being refitted in preparation for Season 2 (available after Warlords of Draenor has launched.)
Account-wide membership in Brawler's Guild will carry over to Season 2. Once a brawler, always a brawler!

source

All current Brawler's Guild achievements will become Feats of Strength, and the fights won't be accessible until we get all new ones for Warlords of Draenor. But if you're a member, you don't have to worry about getting another invite, at least -- membership is for life.

Patch 6.0.2: No Brawler's Guild until Warlords originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 18 Sep 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments