Posts with tag jade-forest

World of Warcraft sometimes gets panned for its graphics, which have never been on the bleeding edge of virtual reality. This, however, was a deliberate choice on Blizzard's part, and I think it's a good one. It allows for people who are behind the hardware curve (such as myself) to enjoy the game, and the graphics' intentional cartoonishness holds up better over time than hyper-realistic renderings, which often seem horribly dated within months. More importantly, WoW's beauty hasn't suffered for it. Azeroth is stunning.

I've compiled a list of the ten spots I personally find to be most beautiful, and by spots, I truly mean spots, not entire zones. I expect many of you will have wildly differing opinions, and I look forward to reading about them. The ten locations are listed in alphabetical order by zone; there's no way I could actually order them - I would never be able to decide!

WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

Next year is WoW's tenth anniversary. It's hard to believe, but it's true! If the typical timeline holds, the next expansion will release a few months prior to that anniversary. You have to believe Blizzard wants to pull out all the stops for this milestone.

What better way to celebrate ten years of WoW than by crafting scenarios to relive the best moments? It's possible that Blizzard is planning a time-based expansion centered around the Bronze Dragonflight. The Keepers of Time could send us on missions, much like the Caverns of Time dungeons of expansions past. Only instead of lore moments from the distant past, they could be moments from WoW's own history, including events driven by the community and removed content that players may not have been able to experience.

Here are 11 examples that I would love to see.

1. The Blood Plague
What: The Alliance seizes a rare opportunity
Where: Original Orgrimmar
When: Patch 1.7

As WoW Archivist previously covered, the Corrupted Blood plague began when players used "creative game mechanics" to export a boss ability into the general population. The unstoppable and highly contagious plague debuff devastated cities around the world as thousands of players and NPCs alike succumbed to it. The resulting chaos became an excellent model for how real-world diseases could spread.

This scenario would take place at the height of the plague and have different versions for Alliance and Horde. Alliance players would accompany NPCs on a strike into Orgrimmar. They would take advantage of the deadly outbreak to make an attempt on Thrall's life. Horde players would defend the city and their Warchief while trying to contain the plague.

Why Orgrimmar? Due to the time frame, Blizzard could reintroduce the original version of the city.

"That was a close one! I can't believe you stood your ground against so many at once."

Oh, well, it was nothing really.

"You really have a way with people, Dawn. They fear and respect you."

You think so? I mean, I do try to be -- respectable, that is. You don't think I'm too intimidating though, do you? You really have to be firm with some of these people, you know, or else they don't take you seriously. Still, I've been thinking if I wore my hair down I might look less fierce. What do you think?

"Dawn, you did it. It looks like they're fleeing."

Of course they are. No one's going to mess with a two priest team! Say, if you're not busy after this, I know this great little place in Old Town. Maybe we could get something to eat before we head back to the castle?

Anduin Wrynn. You were gentle, but tenacious ... Also patient, and so wise for your years. You were nothing like I thought you'd be -- nothing like your father. Except for maybe your force of will. Yes, you definitely got that from your father.

When we first met I thought we'd become fast friends. I can't deny you were personable, but it was your earnestness that really struck me. The night after our meeting I remember feeling a hope that I hadn't felt in years. With you, Anduin, I knew the Alliance had a future.

"And that night, her mom said that the two of them and the now-dead guy were the only 3 people who ever lived in Las Vegas. Everybody else just arrived, ate their complimentary shrimp cocktails, and left."

Blizzard's focus is, as they've repeatedly professed, "to create the most epic gaming experiences ever." But for all the world-ending threats we've encountered in the last few WoW expansions, Azeroth just isn't that big. The entire Eastern Kingdoms are about the size of the island of Manhattan. We're made to believe that hundreds of thousands to millions of people of various races inhabit the planet, but examining the amount of residential space in each zone shows us room for far, far fewer.

Now, yes, the Azeroth we see could simply be an abstraction of some other, larger, "real" Azeroth that doesn't tangibly exist. But this one is the one we get, and it seems sillier and sillier each time when you ponder things like where exactly King Wrynn managed to find a hundred thousand troops to send to Northrend, or where night elves have lived for the past ten thousand years. The same goes for Azeroth's endless supply of doomsday villains and the cultists they inevitably find to do their bidding. They had to come from somewhere. And they definitely don't live in Stormwind.

But the problem isn't even really where they live. It's how they live. It's where they come from. Outland presented a unique opportunity to show us the how and why of the many strange alien races on an entirely new planet, but we learned more about how they died than how they lived -- the fate of most non-player races in World of Warcraft. Their homelands were a theme park, a casino, and we run through pulling levers, grabbing drinks, buying t-shirts. Nobody lived there.

Pandaria, though? People live there. The continent feels more like a brand new planet than even Outland ever did.

WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

When Mists of Pandaria goes live later this month, players will all begin leveling in the same zone for the first time since 2006. In Cataclysm and Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard gave us two zones to choose from at the beginning of our adventures. Wrath split players up on either side of Northrend with Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord. Cataclysm's starting zones put players on different sides of the planet with Mount Hyjal and the less popular but unique underwater saga of Vashj'ir.

In contrast, The Burning Crusade's Hellfire Peninsula put us all on opposite sides of the street. That is not a joke. It is literally true -- see the image above! As you can guess, this led to problems. Let's look back at the Hellfire experience and try to gauge what we're in for when we arrive at the Jade Forest shortly after midnight on September 25.

If you've been waiting, wait no longer: MMO-Champion now has the Alliance and Horde introductory cinematics. Additionally, MMO-Champion has one from the pandaren racial starting zone plus a pivotal cinematic from the Jade Forest quests. It goes without saying that there are spoilers for Mists of Pandaria in each and every one of these cinematics. But if you want to see them, here they are.

These are all reminiscent of the Wrathgate cinematic from Wrath of the Lich King in terms of their pacing and art direction, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. I loved the Wrathgate cinematic, and I really think the Battle at the Serpent's Heart cinematic goes a very long way toward showing you exactly what's happening in Pandaria and how the Alliance and Horde are stirring up trouble. They're all very well done.

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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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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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Spoiler Alert: I am about to talk about the Alliance, especially its new leadership, in the Jade Forest on the Mists of Pandaria beta. If you don't want spoilers, read no further.

Sky Admiral Rogers hates the Horde more than any character I have ever seen. She makes Joanna Blueheart look like a Horde sympathizer. That first part isn't a spoiler because it's pretty much all there is to Admiral Rogers, and I am fine with it. Admiral Rogers is seething with hatred for the Horde and everyone within it. This woman has one thing on her mind, and it isn't having a civil discussion to air grievances -- it's shooting Horde.

For the first time since Cataclysm launched, I have just done quests that made me feel like the Alliance is accomplishing something. Granted, what it's accomplishing isn't always good, in a moral sense. But I've taken out two Horde warships, cleared the beach of Horde troops, driven an orc warlock to retreat, and then defeated the sha and orc slavers. All in all, the Alliance introduction to the zone feels like this is a faction that finally has had enough.

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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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