Filed under: Transmogrification

I haven't played the pre-expansion event yet, but I heard Jaina Proudmoore is having a really bad week in it. Apparently someone threw a surprise party at her house and left the place trashed, then when she went to the salon later they completely botched her dye job. I feel so bad for her! The poor girl just hasn't been able to catch a break since that awful mess with Arthas. Still, trying to go three shades lighter all in one go ... She brought that one on herself.

Anyway, in honor of the Mists of Pandaria pre-expansion event, I thought it fitting to feature Lady Jaina Proudmoore for this week's transmog outfit. Sadly, Jaina's new, unique model can't be replicated by players, but you can get pretty close to making her old one.

I became aware of the existence of the Journeyman's Vest a few weeks ago while working my way through the hundreds of entries for WoW Insider's first transmogrification contest. Two contest participants, Malkil (Ysera-US) and Natalie (Borean Tundra-US), used the cloth chest piece in their entries and spoke similarly of the item's unique model.

To quote Natalie (AKA Classy of Classy Plays WoW), "HOLY MOLEY this thing has a micro-skirt!"

As you can see, the Journeyman's Vest doesn't follow the conventions of other chest pieces and robes in the game -- Journeyman's Vest don't care. It extends below the belt, and flares out in a way that makes it look like a skirt or tunic. The vest displays similarly on both male and female models, so how it looks will come down to what you pair it with in the end. Interesting ... Very interesting!

Last week we showcased the runners-up for WoW Insider's first Transmogrification Contest. Today, we've got the winners to show you. As I said on Thursday, there were over 400 outfits submitted to the contest, with entrants aiming to create the best possible outfit using a single piece of gear as the central theme. Picking winners out of that lot was not easy!

Our first winner is Ranjiku from Daughters of the Horde (Bronzebeard-US). Here's what she had to say about her outfit.

Before mogging was even a glimmer, I won a roll for the Robes of Rhonin in an achievement guild run, and the robe was way too gorgeous to ever let go. So when [transmogrification] finally became a reality, I knew I'd use this robe first ... Then I found the [helm] pictured and BOOM, "Evil Queen from Snow White!"

Two weeks ago, WoW Insider began a contest challenging readers to make a transmogrification outfit centered around a single piece of gear. Since then, we've received an absolutely insane number of entries (over 400 individual outfits in total), but we could only pick three prize winners in the end.

Despite this, we thought it might be fun to show off all the contest entries. In the gallery below, you'll find the contest runners-up. These are some of the most impressive entries that for one reason or another didn't quite make the cut.

And if you'd really like to see all of the entries, we made a separate gallery for them.

Check back tomorrow to see the winners!

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My favorite dress in WoW is the Arachnidian Robes. The first time I saw them was right after patch 3.0.2 had hit live servers, when achievements were added. I was storming through the front gates of Stormwind in a For the Horde raid, when I spotted a human female wearing the robes near the auction house. She must have been some sort of bank alt, because that's all she was wearing, but I was so impressed by her that I stopped to inspect her amid the battle.

I eventually tracked down the dress for myself four or five months later, but once I had it, I really had no idea what to do with it. It was pretty enough on its own to be a stand-alone outfit, and years before transmogrification, there was no compelling reason to try and match it to anything -- at least until recently, when my boyfriend followed up on a promise to take me to Serpentshrine Cavern. I had never seen the place and wanted an escort who had raided it when it was still new. While we were there, I picked up a pretty little tanking mace called Mallet of the Tides, which just so happened to match the Arachnidian Robes perfectly. Thus, a transmog outfit was born.

With that as my introduction, I decided I'd do something a bit different for this week's transmog column. Just as I did, I now want you to create a transmogrification outfit of your own that builds on or complements a single piece of gear (armor or weapon) that you like. Submit your outfit by Aug. 20 at 11:59 p.m. EDT and you'll have the chance to win fabulous prizes and have your outfit featured here on WoW Insider. More details after the jump.

Back in Wrath of the Lich King, I had a two-handed sword model I loved from Trial of the Crusader, a raid I didn't love. That sword was Reckoning, picked up on an alt run that I tanked because I was main spec prot back then. I used it for a while, until ICC came out and I replaced it with better. Since I had no idea they'd introduce transmogrification down the road, I figured I'd never use it again and disenchanted it for materials to enchant the ICC weapons.

Cut to now. I've been running Trial of the Crusader-10 every chance I get for a shot at replacing my lost Reckoning. I have a Justicebringer banked, but neither the Trial sword model nor the mace (which, in fact, you can't even get anymore) and I despaired of completing my Trial weapon set. The Alliance versions are so iconic in their Alliance identity that I really feel compelled to try and acquire them. And now, I can without having to talk someone else into forming a raid.

The new Horde and Alliance quests in Jade Forest now contain various reused Trial of the Crusader weapon and armor models. Above, you see my draenei using the Greatsword of Kofinna Kottr, which is an exact match for heroic Reckoning. I also picked up Captain Rogers' Polite Knocking Stick, which brings back the Catastrophe model. There are also several green plate drops I can confirm as having TotC models, like the chest and helm I have equipped in the SS (which use the DK models). I know for sure that the Horde quests give a version of the Dual-Blade Butcher if you're looking for that model, but I haven't seen their plate yet. Just on my warriors, I've seen versions of the TotC one-handed axe, sword and mace as well.

I know sometimes people don't like seeing models get reused, but for me as a transmog junkie, this is the best news ever. I don't have to run TotC anymore! Although I'm still going to until Mists comes out, just in case.

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

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For those of you who don't know, there is a subreddit for transmogrification. Though the community is relatively small, it's a wonderful place to go if you want to show off your latest transmog or ask for help with an outfit that isn't quite coming together. I like to visit this particular subreddit quite often, and earlier this year, there was one amazing outfit that I just couldn't get out of my head.

The outfit was put together by Hedgewocket on Lightbringer (EU) and is a close replica of the outfit worn by Chromie. Chromie is, of course, the best NPC in the game lovable bronze dragon who frequently takes on the form of a female gnome.

Anyway, when I first saw Hedgewocket's transmog, I knew right away that I'd have to feature it on WoW Insider one day. Fortunately for you (because I know you all love Chromie), that day is today.

Last week, Anne Stickney put together an amazing transmogrification for the Masters of the Universe, which was, admittedly, completely lost on me. I sort of missed out on the whole He-Man, Transformers, and Thundercats thing when I was a kid, probably because I was too busy playing video games. You see, many of my fondest childhood memories involve holding a console controller and trying to save the world in games like Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and most of all, Final Fantasy VI -- which was technically Final Fantasy III back then, but that's beside the point.

A few months back, I had a reader share a Celes Chere transmog in the comments of one my articles, and I've been wanting to do some Final Fantasy VI transmogs ever since. So for today's column, I've reproduced that reader's transmog, as well as two more for Terra Branford and Locke Cole. I would have liked to do my other two favorite characters, Shadow and Relm Arrowny, but WoW doesn't offer much in the way of fluffy harem pants and skin-tight ninja masks. Phooey! (Ten points if you get that reference.)