Posts with tag mogu

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 Mists of Pandaria and Patch 5.1 in this post

First, go read this. This post is a Tinfoil Hat continuing off of concepts found in that previous post, so be warned.

Okay, now we jump off from there. Because this all started when discussing the recent patch 5.1 sound files, one of which includes a voice file of a certain king reading aloud a description of the Divine Bell. What's the Divine Bell? Well, according to said voice files, it was a device crafted by the ancient mogu which, when struck, resounded with a sound that caused fury and chaos, and drove the mogu armies into a state of frenzy and rage that made them unbeatable in combat. And it was supposedly "cast from the Makers' flesh, shaped by star's fire, and bound by the breath of darkest shadow." As you might expect, the first question I asked was, what does cast from the Makers' flesh mean?

Throughout Pandaria we've seen evidence of the Titans presence and their work in reshaping Azeroth. Both Mogu'shan Palace and Vaults as well as the yet unexplored Terrace of Endless Spring hold hints of being constructed by the Titans or their servants, just as Ulduar and Uldum and Uldaman were. The discs that create Elegon remind us of the discs of Norgannon left behind in Uldaman, although warped by the Mogu. And we've repeatedly been told that the mogu were themselves once a race of brutes exposed to the waters of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, uplifted by its waters just as the ancient silithid became the Qiraji before being warped by the Old Gods, just as the night elves were. But all of that doesn't quite answer one question - where did the mogu get the flesh of a Maker? And more importantly, if the Divine Bell is merely the greatest creation of the mogu, does that mean they were working with such rare materials before they cast the Bell?

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.

It's been a rough week for me, so I'll just say this - I don't know how you could hate the grummles. Their origin - created by the mogu out of troggs - means that not only are they one of the few intelligent races on Azeroth made both by another race native to the planet but from another intelligent race, but they also illustrate some interesting flaws and aspects to the mogu and their thinking. The mogu, upon discovering the troggs in the mountains of what would become Pandaria, decided to improve them.

What's fascinating is how they chose to improve them. In looking at the grummles, what we are looking at is the perfection of the aspects of the trogg that the mogu saw as worthwhile. So when we see that the grummles can move heavy loads at reasonable speed over long distances, that they have acute senses of smell and unerring senses of direction, we see that these were the aspects of the trogg that the mogu sought to amplify.

Physically, at least, the grummles were a success. Well, one could argue that they failed when it came to being strong in order to crush the mogu's enemies - modern grummles aren't even capable of fighting off the hozen that plague them. It's clear that the grummles possess great endurance and the capacity to carry heavy loads long distances, making them excellent at packing and hauling. They clearly have strong senses of direction, dating back to their original uses in supplying the slaves laboring to erect the Serpent's Spine.

Sprinkled throughout Pandaria you can find some rare examples of these domineering magi. They're not terribly difficult, compared especially to other rare spawn types, but they can certainly hold their own. It's never a bad idea to go into battle with one knowing what will surely be thrown at you.

• Dark Bolt: This is what the mogu will be spamming at you. With no cooldown and a second-and-a-half cast time, expect lots of these to be thrown your way. They don't hit for much, so they should be easy to shrug off.
• Shadowbolt: Offering a much larger beating than Dark Bolt, this spell has a 1.8 second cast time and a five-second cooldown. Considering it hits for significantly more, you'll want to do your best to interrupt it whenever you can, if you can. If only to make things easier for yourself.
• Voidcloud: Pretty straightforward -- the sorcerer spawns a cloud, and if you stand in it, you'll die in short order. Avoid the clouds, which will not be hard at all.

Unlike the pandaren rare spawns, for instance, there are no special mechanics forcing you to cope with the mogu's attacks. It's a very by-the-book mob to fight: don't stand in the bad, interrupt the most painful spell, and drop the enemy.

Here is a list of each mogu sorcerer, their location, and what special item they can drop:

• Borginn Darkfist: Found in Kun-Lai Highlands, drops the Crate of Kidnapped Puppies
• Gaarn the Toxic: Found in Krasarang Wilds, drops Gaarn's Leggings of Infestation
• Kang the Soul Thief: Found in Vale of the Eternal Blossoms, drops Kang's Blindstone
• Karr the Darkener: Found in the Dread Wastes, drops the Imbued Jade Fragment
• Kor'nas Nightsavage: Found in the Jade Forest, drops the Darkstaff of Annihilation
• Norlaxx: Found in Townlong Steppes, drops the Big Bag of Mysteries
• Sulik'shor: Found in Valley of the Four Winds, drops the Crystal of Insanity

Good luck clawing your place at the very top of the Pandaria food chain!

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Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.

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Archaeology on Pandaria starts out much like you'd expect. At around 525 archaeology, you'll start seeing dig sites appear on Pandaria, 4 of them spread out over the continent. You'll head to each one, start surveying, and get some archaeology fragments. Sometimes, you will get a Pandaren Pottery Shard or Mogu Statue Piece, which serve as the keystone for those race's projects and can be used to solve a piece faster.

Things change a little bit when your digging digs up an Ancient Haunt. This is a Sha mob that sometimes spawns when you successfully dig up some fragments. If you kill it, you'll be able to loot more fragments.

Warning - this entire post is going to be full of spoilers for Mists of Pandaria.

They are the usurped rulers of Pandaria. Even the name of the land has been stolen from them, as their slaves rose up and dragged down the most perfect empire ever seen under heaven. The mandate was tramped upon by illiterate savages, unskilled even in the arts of war, who used numbers and trickery to throw down the kingdom of those destined to rule all they surveyed. And using stolen grandeur, the slaves built a mock kingdom on the ruins of the true empire, and installed their own like children playing at adult matters.

But even after ten thousand years, the kings remember what they lost. Once, the Thunder King ruled. He saw the mantid, and drew from them inspiration. He saw the mogu, and brought to them unity through fear, and strength through unity. The Thunder King Lei Shen stretched out his hand and inspired his people to build a wonder, and the Serpent's Spine rose up.

Such is the will of the Mogu. This land belonged to the Thunder King and his people once. And it will again. You will kneel to the true kings as they reclaim the mandate of destiny stolen from them by unworthy hands, or you will die. And when you die, your death will only be the beginning of your sorrow, for flesh is their plaything, and souls their tools.