WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.The best fight from Wrath of the Lich Kinghttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/the-best-fight-from-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/the-best-fight-from-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/17/the-best-fight-from-wrath-of-the-lich-king/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mimiron
Last week there were a lot of calls in my "Best fight from Burning Crusade" article for Mimiron, Yogg-Saron, or Arthas himself to be the subject of this article. I had to smile at them because, well, they guessed it. I'll admit that, as a healer, I was tempted to pick Valythria, but I don't think I could really do that in good conscience. Valythria might have been one of my favorite fights, but the best? No, not really. My choice for the best fight from Wrath of the Lich King? Mimiron.

Mimiron is a four-phase tier eight fight with some complex mechanics and a good deal of entertaining humor to it. In my opinion, the Ulduar raid was the crown jewel of Wrath of the Lich King, and Mimiron was one of the most fun and challenging bosses in it.

Continue reading The best fight from Wrath of the Lich King

WoW InsiderThe best fight from Wrath of the Lich King originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>boss-fightsbossesfirefighterhard-mode-raidshard-modesmimironulduarSarah PineFri, 17 May 2013 19:00:00 ESTThings that were harder beforehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/things-that-were-harder-before/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/things-that-were-harder-before/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/things-that-were-harder-before/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Things that were harder before
I did a post this week about raiding in previous expansions and in vanilla WoW, and how people often say those raids were harder and my opinion that it is easily demonstrable that current raids are if anything more complicated than they have ever been. I frankly believe there is almost no room for comparison between the game at 60 and today in terms of raid complexity and difficulty. Part of this stems from the many different variations on what the word hard means in this context. Something can be harder because it is conceptually or executionally more complex (the difficulty can stem from how much is required to successfully complete its mechanics) or it can be hard because it is laborious and/or time consuming. Was raiding with 40 people in classic WoW more laborious? Absolutely it was. It wasn't mechanically harder, but it was more time consuming and took a great deal of effort to organize and plan. It's the difference between working out a complex multi-stage math problem and carrying five thousand pounds of rocks from point A to point B.

But there were some points worth addressing. It absolutely has never been easier to level, even without heirlooms, than it is right now. Vanilla leveling to 60 took more time and effort than leveling to 90 does today. Even without heirlooms, one can easily and without much stress reach level 20 in a few hours, level 40 in less than two days, and be level 60 within a day of that, and this isn't spending all day staring at the screen either. This is a fairly casual leveling pace. I leveled a blood elf warrior to 35 in two days of rather casual play, an hour on followed by a half hour reading websites or having a snack or even going for a long walk.

It's also far easier to do the following things:
  1. Get a dungeon group. You can queue for dungeons at level 15, and from that point on, all you ever have to do to run a dungeon is hit that queue. If you're playing in the tank or healing role you can effectively chain dungeons all day, and even leveling as DPS there are stretches where you don't even need to quest or do anything but dungeon.
  2. Run a battleground. While you could argue that doing well at BG running as you level up and at max level takes some time and effort, if you want to risk queueing in whatever gear you have, it's simplicity itself.
  3. Getting ready to raid at max level. The game now has catchup mechanisms in place for players who start later. If you just got your alt to 90 and are switching to it for raiding, deciding to give raiding a try for the first time, or what have you it's not the case that your raid group is compelled to run you through previous raids for attunements and keys, much less gearing you through older raids to get ready for the current content.
  4. Find something to do. You could even argue that there's too much to do, or that it feels too mandatory. But you can't argue you don't have options - if you don't want to run dungeons, raid, or PvP there are pet battles, daily quests and scenarios you can do.
So the question then becomes this: is it better or worse for the game that these things are easier? For that matter, are they easy enough?

Continue reading Things that were harder before

WoW InsiderThings that were harder before originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 13 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>alt-levelingaltscatch-up-90difficultydungeonsgearinglevelingLFDLFRmists-of-pandariaraidingMatthew RossiMon, 13 May 2013 15:00:00 ESTThe false memory of WoW's difficult pasthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/the-false-memory-of-wows-difficult-past/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/the-false-memory-of-wows-difficult-past/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/05/10/the-false-memory-of-wows-difficult-past/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The false memory of WoW past
Vanilla raiding was not mechanically more difficult than current raiding. In fact, in terms of encounter difficulty, raiding in World of Warcraft has never been as challenging to remember and execute as it is right now. Fights like Lei Shen, Twin Consorts, Iron Qon, and Durumu ask players to learn mechanics and execute awareness at a level rivaled only by fights like Mimiron's Firefighter mode. And I'm not even talking heroic difficulty for those fights. Yes, it was often harder to get 40 people together, I'm not disputing that. But that's not design difficulty, that's social difficulty. The argument that WoW was objectively harder back then is beyond absurd.

I was there for all of those raids. I've raided in vanilla, in BC, in Wrath, and in Cataclysm. I've done hard modes and heroic modes since they were introduced. I'm neither the cutting edge progression raider nor someone who raids occasionally for fun -- I've been everywhere from a raider pushing for realm firsts to one leading a semi-casual 10-man while tanking. One thing I can and will say with absolute certainty is this: every single expansion to World of Warcraft has increased the complexity of the raid design.

Continue reading The false memory of WoW's difficult past

WoW InsiderThe false memory of WoW's difficult past originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 10 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>BCBurning-CrusadeCataclysmdumbing-down-is-a-dumb-claimeasierFight-complexitymolten-corenaxxramasraidraidingraidsvanilla-WoWWrathWrath-of-the-Lich-KingMatthew RossiFri, 10 May 2013 19:00:00 ESTKnow Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich Kinghttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/know-your-lore-the-lessons-of-the-lich-king/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/know-your-lore-the-lessons-of-the-lich-king/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/30/know-your-lore-the-lessons-of-the-lich-king/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

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.

Thinking again about the Lich King, specifically when Arthas Menethil wore the Helm of Domination, always brings me to speculate on his seeming need to prove something. Everything we experienced in Wrath of the Lich King seemed calculated towards that end. From the encounter with him in Howling Fjord through the complicated Drak'tharon Keep and Zul'Drak storylines to the final showdown atop Icecrown Citadel, Arthas always had a plan, and that plan was in part simply to cause his own enemies to provide him with a cadre of such power that he could turn and use against the world, yes. But more than that, Arthas seemed obsessed with proving that he was right.

Again and again Arthas as the Lich King put mortal heroes through situations that served to illustrate his own fall - again and again, he sought not just to torment and inspire hatred and anger just as he had been tormented by Mal'Ganis and grew to be consumed by hatred, but to show by so doing how his own actions had been correct. That the only possible response to what he'd undergone was to become as he had. Even merged with Ner'zhul in the form of the Lich King, Arthas' mind and personality came to shape the entity, and when all roads converged atop Icecrown, it was Arthas' desire to show Azeroth how right he was that shone through.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich King

WoW InsiderKnow Your Lore: The Lessons of the Lich King originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>ArthasfeaturedGarroshgarrosh-hellscreamguideguide-to-loreLich-Kinglorelore-guideNerzhulrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingMatthew RossiTue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:00 ESTKnow Your Lore: The Horde vs. the Hordehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/17/know-your-lore-the-horde-vs-the-horde/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/17/know-your-lore-the-horde-vs-the-horde/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/17/know-your-lore-the-horde-vs-the-horde/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Know Your Lore The Horde vs the Horde
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.

Spoilers for patch 5.3 to follow

Back in the day, and be not mistaken the day was well before The Burning Crusade was even a glimmer in our eyes, I rolled a tauren warrior. His name was Vorn. Vorn went on many quests, because questing was my favorite way to level. Vorn went all over the world, exploring the Horde and the lands under its control, and he found a lot he liked about his allies. He could respect the orcish ferocity and skill in war, the trollish craft, guile, and restrained sense of humor (the Darkspears are sardonic in their way), and even the forsaken seemed to have a wide disparity of personality types. I met forsaken in Thunder Bluff who sent me across the world to return a locket to a tombstone, and that quest moved me to explore the forests of Silverpine, and in time to go to Undercity itself. To be sure, I found there to be aspects of their unlives that disturbed me, but they displayed a strength in adversity that I found admirable.

And then they ruined it.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: The Horde vs. the Horde

WoW InsiderKnow Your Lore: The Horde vs. the Horde originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredGarroshguideguide-to-loreHordelorelore-guideNew-HordeOld-Horderole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideThrallVoljinworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingMatthew RossiWed, 17 Apr 2013 09:00:00 ESTKnow Your Lore: Titan facilities of Azerothhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/know-your-lore-titan-facilities-of-azeroth/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/know-your-lore-titan-facilities-of-azeroth/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/know-your-lore-titan-facilities-of-azeroth/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

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.

Let's just be up front about this now -- the Titans left stuff everywhere. It would be hard to disbelieve in them, frankly. They left bases, research stations, fortresses, labs and more. We don't even know what everything they left behind originally did or why it was there in many cases. Some places have somewhat clear reasons for existing (Ulduar, for instance, was tasked with holding the Old God Yogg Saron prisoner, but the Halls of Stone and Lightning point to other goals for the complex) but others, such as the ruined complex now known as Ahn'Qiraj was simply a 'research facility', and we have no idea what it was researching or why such a complex was needed so close to Uldum.

At any rate, there are a lot of Titan complexes currently known of on Azeroth.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: Titan facilities of Azeroth

WoW InsiderKnow Your Lore: Titan facilities of Azeroth originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>AhnqirajAzjol-Nerubearthenfeaturedgiantsguideguide-to-lorelorelore-guidemogurole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideTitan-WatcherstolvirUldamanUlduarUldumvrykulwatchersworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingMatthew RossiWed, 03 Apr 2013 14:00:00 ESTKnow Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Carved by similar handshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/27/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-carved-by-similar-hands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/27/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-carved-by-similar-hands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/27/know-your-lore-tinfoil-hat-edition-carved-by-similar-hands/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

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.

Spoilers for patch 5.3 to follow.

Well, if you like spoilers, this is going to be the post for you. Because it is based heavily in the spoilers revealed in Olivia's post about datamined patch 5.3 sound files, and my own musings about what certain things revealed in those files really mean. We find out that yes, as we've already suspected, the seventh Sha did in fact remain free from bondage for the past ten thousand years, that its sinister hand can be felt in everything that's befallen Pandaria, and that the mists parting did in fact have to happen for the good of all. We also hear hints that Y'shaarj may not be as dead as we all hope he is. The fact that digging in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms has something to do with his return is even more portentous. What does this all mean?

This week, I'm going to speculate wildly on one possible thing it could all mean. The Prophecy of C'thun has always fascinated me.

In the time before time, when the world was still in its infancy, a battle between a Titan and a being of unimaginable evil and power raged on this very soil. The prophecy is unclear about whether or not the Titan was vanquished in this battle but it illustrates that a Titan fell. An Old God had also fallen - or so it was thought.

The interesting thing is in the lines "The prophecy is unclear about whether or not the Titan was vanquished in this battle but it illustrates that a Titan fell." Falling doesn't have to mean death. There are many different ways to fall, after all.

Continue reading Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Carved by similar hands

WoW InsiderKnow Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: Carved by similar hands originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Cthunfeaturedguideguide-to-loreLokenlorelore-guidemoguPantheonRa-Denrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideShaThorimTitansworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingYshaarjMatthew RossiWed, 27 Mar 2013 15:00:00 ESTThe Queue: I work harder at DPS than I ever did as a tankhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/18/the-queue-i-work-harder-at-dps-than-i-ever-did-as-a-tank/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/18/the-queue-i-work-harder-at-dps-than-i-ever-did-as-a-tank/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/18/the-queue-i-work-harder-at-dps-than-i-ever-did-as-a-tank/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

The Queue I work harder at DPS than I ever did as a tank
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.

This isn't meant to imply that one is harder, or a better benchmark of skill, or what have you. It's simply a personal realization based on thinking back on the past years of World of Warcraft and the changing roles I've played.

People who've read the site know that I tend to fall into certain patterns - I start an expansion tanking, switch to DPS for a big chunk and then, somehow, I end up tanking again. I did this in classic WoW, where I played as a DPS as I leveled until about level 40, then tanked until Four Horsemen in Naxx 40. Cut to Burning Crusade, and while I tried to level as a tank, the rage problems and lack of AoE threat meant that I went DPS for a while, only to end up tanking post Karazhan as bosses began to hit harder and the ranks of tanks willing to endure it thinned out. Wrath of the Lich King I tanked for the same guild, left and ended up a DPS for most of Naxx 25 and Ulduar, only to switch to tanking in Trial of the Crusader and stay there until Arthas was dead. Cataclysm? I tanked 10 man Tier 11 raids, switch to DPS in 25 man Firelands and stayed there for most of the expansion only to switch back to tanking for Dragon Soul. And finally there's Mists of Pandaria, where I began as a draenei tank, switched back to a pandaren DPS warrior, went through my orc phase, DPS'd as a tauren for a while and am now a worgen arms warrior.

Last week Adam wrote a piece about how tanking changes you as a player. What's interesting to me is how much I have to unlearn from tanking. There's a DPS mindset, where you learn to watch for spell effects, learn to avoid damage if at all possible (rather than learning how to survive it) and to Always Be Attacking, to constantly get as much activity translated into damage on whatever it is you need to be damaging. Tanking comes second nature to me. I could go tank right now and be fine. DPS requires much more attention from me, it's more demanding and while I'm competent at it, it's always something i have to consciously work at. It's made me a better tank because it's challenged my preconceptions. DPS isn't easy. Especially not being good DPS. There's a ton of work that goes into it.

I just wanted to say that, as someone who has tanked and DPS'd, I admire really skilled DPS players.

Adam ‏(@Adamdm_) asks on Twitter:

Saur-priests say saurok were created by mogu, but they mention a belief they evolved from devilsaurs. Which is more likely?

We have plenty of evidence that the mogu meddled in saurok evolution. Between the Dagger in the Dark scenario, Primordius' existence in Throne of Thunder, Progenitus on the island proper, archaeology in the game, we know the mogu made the saurok to serve as soldiers. What we don't really know for sure is what, exactly, they made the saurok from. There's no dinosaurs on mainland Pandaria, but there's plenty of them on the Isle of Giants to the north, and there's no reason the mogu couldn't have included a few in their experiments to make the saurok.

Continue reading The Queue: I work harder at DPS than I ever did as a tank

WoW InsiderThe Queue: I work harder at DPS than I ever did as a tank originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:00:00 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-questionsMatthew RossiMon, 18 Mar 2013 11:00:00 ESTKnow Your Lore: Vereesa Windrunnerhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/13/know-your-lore-vereesa-windrunner/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/13/know-your-lore-vereesa-windrunner/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/03/13/know-your-lore-vereesa-windrunner/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Know Your Lore Vereesa Windrunner
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.

Vereesa Windrunner has lost everything several times now.

She lost her oldest sister Alleria to the same Horde invasion that killed most of their family, as Alleria went off to seek vengeance against the orcs and ended up lost somewhere beyond the Dark Portal, never to be seen or heard from again. Her other sister, Sylvanas, was killed by the Lich King's servant Arthas Menethil, and the death knight chose to prevent Sylvanas from even attaining the peace of death, trapping her in undeath.

Worse, when Vereesa lost Sylvanas, she lost her homeland and her people. The high elves of Quel'thalas became blood elves, following Prince Kael'thas on the path to ruin, addiction, and madness and she could not, did not follow. Along with a few remnants of her people, she attempted to preserve what had been thrown away, to keep high elven culture alive even as Silvermoon resided in the hands of those that had abandoned it. Its not surprising that she found love in someone who shared her loyalty to the Alliance, nor perhaps is it surprising that she found it in human arms, as both Alleria and Sylvanas showed a predisposition to humans.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: Vereesa Windrunner

WoW InsiderKnow Your Lore: Vereesa Windrunner originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Aethas-SunreaverAlleria-Windrunnerfeaturedguideguide-to-lorehalduron-brightwingJaina-ProudmooreKirin-Torlorelore-guideLorthemar-TheronRhoninrole-playrole-playing-guiderp-guideSilver-Covenantsylvanas-windrunnerVereesavereesa-windrunnerworld-of-warcraft-lorewow-guidewow-lorewow-role-playingwow-role-playing-guidewow-rpwow-rp-guidewow-rpingMatthew RossiWed, 13 Mar 2013 14:00:00 ESTLeveling warriors in Mists of Pandaria, 61 to 90http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/24/leveling-warriors-in-mists-of-pandaria-61-to-90/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/24/leveling-warriors-in-mists-of-pandaria-61-to-90/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/24/leveling-warriors-in-mists-of-pandaria-61-to-90/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Leveling warriors in Mists of Pandaria, 61 to 90
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host.

Before we get started, let's cover the previous posts in this series:
What levels 61 through 90 cover is a staggering array of content, if you think about it, going from Burning Crusade (in many ways the oldest content still available in WoW) to Wrath, then Cataclysm and finally Mists of Pandaria itself. Even without raiding or running heroic dungeons, you're still looking at over 30 zones (I'm being conservative and not counting the DK start zone, the Worgen/Goblin start zones, Wintergrasp or Tol Barad) of content. And that content varies greatly, since it ranges from first being introduced in 2007 to 2012. That's over five years of game design iteration, and you can really feel it - in many ways, going from the Cataclysm revamped old world to TBC era Outland to start this patch of leveling off is like stepping into a time machine. Hellfire is a scattered zone, with multiple quest hubs only loosely connected and even with the quests having been adjusted to be much easier to solo it feels like the artifact of its time that it is.

Still, since both Outland and Northrend have had their experience requirements relaxed from their debut periods, it's not hard to get through them. Ironically enough, it's when you hit level 80 and start in on Cataclysm content that the game starts to feel bogged down. Several heirlooms currently stop working at level 80 (the hat, cloak and legs currently available last until 85, and new heirlooms are coming in 5.2) and the experience requirements, while reduced, are still more significant than the previous two expansions.

Still, let's talk about what you, as a warrior, will find when you hit these levels.

Continue reading Leveling warriors in Mists of Pandaria, 61 to 90

WoW InsiderLeveling warriors in Mists of Pandaria, 61 to 90 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>arms-warrior-the-care-and-feeding-of-warriorsfeaturedfury-warrior-the-care-and-feeding-of-warriorsguide-to-warriorslevelingleveling-gudeprotection-warrior-the-care-and-feeding-of-warriorswarrior-guidewarrior-infowarrior-talentswow-warriorwow-warrior-infowow-warriorsMatthew RossiSun, 24 Feb 2013 16:00:00 ESTThe Queue: Snakes on a complainhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/21/the-queue-snakes-on-a-complain/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/21/the-queue-snakes-on-a-complain/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/21/the-queue-snakes-on-a-complain/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The Queue Snakes on a complain
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 is riding this bus all the way to the ground today.

I said I would title this edition of The Queue this if I were allowed to write it. Here's the issue, as best I understand it.
  1. They are introducing new snake models in patch 5.2.
  2. These snake models are not tameable by hunters.
  3. Several people, including my own wife, somehow think that if I say that I agree that these snakes should be tameable, somehow that will have some sort of positive effect and the snakes will become tameable.
So, in the interest of getting people to stop tweeting at me, I will now say that if Blizzard decided to make these snakes tameable I would be for it because then I wouldn't have to hear about it any more. I know that there are issues that are far, far more important than hunters, like warriors getting to dual wield polearms, but in the interest of a moment's peace I stand here today saying Okay, whatever, let hunters tame these snakes already.

Seriously, guys, my voice carries no weight. You're fooling yourselves. But for those of you who keep tweeting at me, here you go, I officially support strength polearms... er, I mean, hunters taming snakes. Yeah, that's what I mean.

darthonyx says

Freya isn't the only female Titanic construct like that though. There are several others, including Isiset, Ironaya, Auriaya, and Nablya.

There's also Myzrael, who might be an earth elemental, a titan construct, or perhaps both (a titan construct made out of an earth elemental) for all we know, but yes, there are quite a few female titan creations. Still, the vast majority of earthen, vrykul, mechagnomes, mogu and tol'vir we see are male (I have yet to see any demonstratably female tol'vir, not that I would be brave enough to try and check their undercarriage, as it were) and we don't really know why.

Vrykul are the only real exception in that we've seen enough female titan constructs to assume there could have been a few up front. (The Avatar of Freya is a female vrykul, not a human or titan construct). It's also worth noting that, while the Old Gods made the Curse of Flesh that seems to have created female counterparts for dwarves, gnomes, etc, the enslaved tol'vir and titan watchers in Ahn'Qiraj (Moam and Ossirian as just two examples) do not have flesh forms, nor do they have the female gender.

Continue reading The Queue: Snakes on a complain

WoW InsiderThe Queue: Snakes on a complain originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:00:00 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-questionsMatthew RossiThu, 21 Feb 2013 11:00:00 ESTKill dragons solo to ride more dragonshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/18/blood-pact-kill-dragons-solo-to-ride-more-dragons/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/18/blood-pact-kill-dragons-solo-to-ride-more-dragons/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/18/blood-pact-kill-dragons-solo-to-ride-more-dragons/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Blood Pact Kill dragons solo to ride more dragons MON
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill beats up internet dragons for fun, for mounts, and maybe as a little catharsis.

I've already done some Raiding with Leashes vanilla raid posts. The next logical step would be Burning Crusade soloing, but I've tried and failed to make a glorified loot list more interesting to read, since BC content tends to be more "walk in and win" nowadays than an actual soloing contest.

So, while I wrangle out an adventure in tiers four to six, I will talk about killing dragons solo as a warlock in order to grab dragon mounts.

I'm not talking about dragons that require friends by your side to complete: e.g., Deathwing's two dragon mounts, Ultraxion's mount, completing a dragonstick, or Al'Akir's dragon drop. Al'Akir has actually been soloed before by a warlock, but you'll need friends in order to clear his genie council first. I'm talking dragons you can go beat up by yourself.

Continue reading Kill dragons solo to ride more dragons

WoW InsiderKill dragons solo to ride more dragons originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>altairusazure-drakeblack-drakeblue-drakedrake-of-the-north-windfeaturedguide-to-locksguide-to-warlockshalionlock-guidelock-infolock-talentsmalygosonyxiasartharionslabhidesolosoloingtenebrontwilight-drakevirtreous-stone-drakewarlock-guidewarlock-infowarlock-talentswow-lockwow-lock-infowow-lockswow-warlockwow-warlock-infowow-warlocksMegan O'NeillMon, 18 Feb 2013 13:00:00 ESTBlood Pact: Knocking out Naxxramas for pets and morehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/04/knocking-out-naxxramas-for-pets-and-more/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/04/knocking-out-naxxramas-for-pets-and-more/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/02/04/knocking-out-naxxramas-for-pets-and-more/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Blood Pact Knocking out Naxxramas for pets and more MON
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill has too much fun standing in floor fire while in Metamorphosis trying to get Deadly Boss Mods to yell warnings in Demonic.

I have to admit, the Mists of Pandaria reason for soloing old raids is trying to match my minion's weapons to Matthew Rossi's warrior columns. Unfortunately, the only thing I have is Ashkandi. My new mission is to get Reclaimed Ashkandi for a complete Wrathguard set to properly mock warriors with.

You've probably read how to spec for old raids and you might have your own Ashkandi (or two) from visiting old Blackwing Lair for some pets. Now, let's finish up Raiding with Leashes and other achievements in Naxxramas.

Continue reading Blood Pact: Knocking out Naxxramas for pets and more

WoW InsiderBlood Pact: Knocking out Naxxramas for pets and more originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguide-to-locksguide-to-warlockslock-guidelock-infolock-talentswarlock-guidewarlock-infowarlock-talentswow-lockwow-lock-infowow-lockswow-warlockwow-warlock-infowow-warlocksMegan O'NeillMon, 04 Feb 2013 09:00:00 ESTA game frozen in amberhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/a-game-frozen-in-amber/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/a-game-frozen-in-amber/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/31/a-game-frozen-in-amber/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

A game frozen in amber
This isn't the game I started playing!

This is a paraphrasing, of course, but the mentality is real enough. People lament that the communities have changed, that raiding has changed, that gearing has changed, that dungeons have changed, that how we play has changed, that our classes have changed. And every individual has to answer for him or herself whether or not the game has changed enough that it's not worth playing for you anymore.

Personally, I recommend that if you feel that way, you stop playing. But more importantly, it must be stated that the change we're discussing is an inevitability, especially since it's basically stated that World of Warcraft is more likely to see expansions and additions than a sequel ala Guild Wars 2 or EverQuest 2. WoW is going to keep changing as long as it exists, trying to address player concerns and improve its systems even as it gains new levels and sees new content. This is the nature of the beast - it will never be 2004 again, and I will never be a low level warrior getting Charge for the first time and ramming myself headlong into spiders.

The game cannot, will not, and most importantly should not freeze, not even to stay at the exact combination you found the most fun.

Continue reading A game frozen in amber

WoW InsiderA game frozen in amber originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>mists-of-pandariaPatch-5.2Matthew RossiThu, 31 Jan 2013 17:00:00 ESTKnow Your Lore: Missed opportunities of 2012, part 2http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/16/know-your-lore-missed-opportunities-of-2012-part-2/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/16/know-your-lore-missed-opportunities-of-2012-part-2/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/16/know-your-lore-missed-opportunities-of-2012-part-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

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.

Last week, we covered Deathwing's shortcomings and the non-reappearance of Kul Tiras. This week, we'll talk about my biggest beef with the run up to Mists of Pandaria, and then segue into a general complaint I had about Cataclysm as a whole. Some of this actually predates 2012, but it's easier to see in the hindsight we all get once enough time passed, so it serves us as well to discuss it now as it would at any other time.

So let's get started by saying this: I really disliked the lack of a pre-expansion event. The ones for Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King and even Cataclysm weren't always spectacular, but they did a really good job of giving you the feeling that everything was about to change. The lead-up to Wrath with the zombie plague was controversial at times, but it was memorable, it served as a really clear line of demarcation and set up a lot of elements that would be taken up later. Garrosh Hellscream went from 'whiny dude crying in Nagrand' to 'warrior willing to challenge his warchief to Mak'Gora' in a pre-expansion event. The Cataclysm pre-launch event had some excellent little moments in it, the return of Rexxar, and gave us the first new AQ content in years.

I understand that Pandaria didn't pose the same kind of situation - instead of Pandaria hosting a threat that comes forth to affect the wider world, the Horde and Alliance bring their war to Pandaria and threaten it - but I still lamented this lack. Something as simple as a Horde/Alliance airship battle that ended with us crashing on the new continent could have worked.

Continue reading Know Your Lore: Missed opportunities of 2012, part 2

WoW InsiderKnow Your Lore: Missed opportunities of 2012, part 2 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:00:00 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-rpingMatthew RossiWed, 16 Jan 2013 14:00:00 ESTDoes Mists of Pandaria need new heroic five-man content?http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/14/does-mists-of-pandaria-need-new-heroic-five-man-content/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/14/does-mists-of-pandaria-need-new-heroic-five-man-content/http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/01/14/does-mists-of-pandaria-need-new-heroic-five-man-content/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Does Mists of Pandaria need new heroic fiveman content
While recording the WoW Insider Show this week, my two co-hosts Anne Stickney and Olivia Grace were discussing heroic five man dungeons and made the interesting point that, while Cataclysm used new heroics to help people catch up in gearing as new raid tiers were released, the advent of the Raid Finder might mean that it isn't necessary anymore. If you're running LFR as your primary way to see/experience raid content, then you'd simply run previous LFR's in order to gear up and collect valor points for the various reputation vendors. This would allow you to get geared enough for further LFR as new raid tiers are released, and keeps the previous LFR's relevant. If you're running the current 10 or 25 man raids, you can use the LFR's for those raids to bootstrap yourself appropriately if you're not already geared well enough from the previous tier of raiding.

Either way, you don't need new heroic dungeons for the task - between daily quests, scenarios and LFR, the Cataclysm model which placed new five mans in patch 4.1 and 4.3 might no longer be necessary. Challenge modes keep the heroics that launched with Mists of Pandaria evergreen, since you can't outgear them, but is that enough for fans of five mans? While both Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm introduced post-launch dungeons, Burning Crusade really only introduced Magister's Terrace in its last content patch. This makes me wonder if we really need any new five mans, and if we do, what would/should they be?

Continue reading Does Mists of Pandaria need new heroic five-man content?

WoW InsiderDoes Mists of Pandaria need new heroic five-man content? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>challenge-modescontentdungeonsLFRmists-of-pandariapatch-5.2raid-finderscenariosMatthew RossiMon, 14 Jan 2013 17:00:00 ESTMega Bloks sponsors World of Warcraft Build Big, Win Big contesthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/mega-bloks-sponsors-world-of-warcraft-build-big-win-big-contest/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/mega-bloks-sponsors-world-of-warcraft-build-big-win-big-contest/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/07/mega-bloks-sponsors-world-of-warcraft-build-big-win-big-contest/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Mega Bloks sponsors World of Warcraft Build Big, Win Big contest
If you're the kind of person who enjoys building set toys, like World of Warcraft Mega Bloks, then this contest is for you. To quote the contest instructions:

Take your Mega Bloks World of Warcraft sets and stack, rearrange, redesign and recombine 'em into never-before-seen creations. We want to see how big, impressive and creative you can be with your sets. Once you're ready, snap some pictures of your masterpiece and submit them through our official "Build Big, Win Big" Facebook Contest.

So if that's you, head over to the Facebook page and see if you want to enter. Time is short - the contest ends in two days. The grand prize winner will get five CE's, one for classic World of Warcraft and one for each of the expansions. There are plenty of other prizes to win as well, check the official rules here for details.

WoW InsiderMega Bloks sponsors World of Warcraft Build Big, Win Big contest originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>BlizzardBuild-big-win-bigContestmega-bloksmega-bloks-contestWorld-of-WarcraftMatthew RossiFri, 07 Dec 2012 20:00:00 ESTHow we see the World of Warcrafthttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/05/how-we-see-the-world-of-warcraft/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/05/how-we-see-the-world-of-warcraft/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/12/05/how-we-see-the-world-of-warcraft/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

How we see the World of Warcraft
One of the things I'm leeriest of is the idea of a complete overhaul of World of Warcraft's aesthetic. I've talked about it in terms of character aesthetics, and in terms of the visual set that defines the warrior class and what it all boils down to for me is that when I log into the game, I want it to feel like it's the same game, the same world. This is not to say that the game hasn't seen plenty of upgrades to its visuals over the years, far from it. As Takralus pointed out recently in a forum thread asking if WoW will ever see a major graphical upgrade, the game has seen upgrades, at least one every time an expansion has come out in fact.

World of Warcraft is a game built out of all of these separate elements combined. It's got excellent sound design, both in music and in sound effects (although I can't watch a TV special on dinosaurs without recognizing a sound from World of Warcraft nowadays), which the graphics build on top of to create the world we experience. As such, I'm simultaneously interested in yet afraid of the long awaited character model redesign Takralus mentions. Yes, it's somewhat ridiculous that human wizards and warlocks, if male, have arms like coiled pythons, but by now I'm so accustomed to it I don't know if I could accept a more slender build for a spellcaster.

Continue reading How we see the World of Warcraft

WoW InsiderHow we see the World of Warcraft originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>aestheticart-designcharacter-modelsgraphical-improvementsgraphicssound-designvisual-setWorld-of-Warcraft-art-designMatthew RossiWed, 05 Dec 2012 20:00:00 ESTThe effect of persistencehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/the-effect-of-persistence/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/the-effect-of-persistence/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/the-effect-of-persistence/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The Effect of Persistence
One of the things that Mists of Pandaria has really brought home for me is how time progresses in a persistent world. World of Warcraft is now 8 years old, and certain locations like Stratholme, Molten Core, and Darnassus have existed for the entirety of that eight years. Still other places introduced at the time of the game's launch have changed dramatically, or even been removed entirely. A great deal of the world itself has been remodeled as time has progressed - The Burning Crusade added new islands off the coast of Kalimdor, Wrath of the Lich King changed the plaguelands by adding a whole new coastline to the area, and Cataclysm reshaped both continents. This doesn't even take into account adding whole swaths of explorable content like Outland, Northrend, Deepholm or now Pandaria itself. And Mists of Pandaria has advanced the story of World of Warcraft in ways that changed everything, from the removal of Theramore to the coming war of patch 5.1 between Alliance and Horde.

Interestingly, the persistent world of the setting persists through these changes, or more accurately, it persists because of them. Not only do they provide impetus for our adventures, they also contrast what we've come to know with what is new and unknown to us. Pandaria's secrets draw us deeper into exploring what was, to us, a forgotten land, and in so doing make the world we've already known continue. Anyone who leveled before Cataclysm and then leveled a character after it can attest to the wide variety of changes to the world, and anyone exploring that world on a new pandaren or monk is benefiting from those changes. But those changes work entirely because they're changes to the world we've already come to know. We care about Pandaria because it's a new place, yes, but we also care about it because it's a mirror through which we can see ourselves, our characters, our factions. We bring the World of Warcraft we've known for years to its shores.

Continue reading The effect of persistence

WoW InsiderThe effect of persistence originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Matthew RossiTue, 30 Oct 2012 14:00:00 ESTDigital Battle Chest now includes Wrath of the Lich Kinghttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/09/19/digital-battle-chest-now-includes-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/09/19/digital-battle-chest-now-includes-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/09/19/digital-battle-chest-now-includes-wrath-of-the-lich-king/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Digital Battle Chest now includes Wrath of the Lich King
As time marches forward, so too does the digital edition of the WoW Battle Chest. Not only are new purchasers able to get all the content from World of Warcraft and its first two expansions in one easy purchase, but in addition, all current World of Warcraft subscribers, even those that have never bought either Wrath of the Lich King or The Burning Crusade, will have access to all the content available in both expansions.

This is an extremely positive change for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to) those of you who want to use Refer a Friend on a second account for the Obsidian Nightwing, or giving the game as a gift to a friend or loved one to check it out. With so many expansions under the bridge (we're up to four as of next week) it's good to give players a leg up on the content.

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!

WoW InsiderDigital Battle Chest now includes Wrath of the Lich King originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>battle-chestbreakingReferA-Friendupdateupdatedworld-of-warcraft-battle-chestWrath-of-the-Lich-KingMatthew RossiWed, 19 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EST