Posts with tag veiled-stair

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.

Clever, vicious and sometimes cruel, the black dragon Wrathion is not just the son of Deathwing, he's the only black dragon currently in existence that is free of the corruption of the Old Gods. In Cataclysm, he arrived with quiet fanfare, and just as quietly plotted to take out every single other black dragon on Azeroth. And with the help of an unnamed rogue, he succeeded, even bringing down the corrupted, infested mess of his father, with said rogue's assistance.

Patch 5.0.4 brought plenty of class and system changes, but it also brought a ton of new achievements as well. And while some are easily defined, others remain an intriguing mystery. Wrathion's part in Azeroth's history is far from done, and there's a series of achievements in the Quests section that clearly point that out. However, we've little to no indication what these achievements actually mean.

Which means it's the perfect time for some rampant speculation about everyone's favorite not-quite-evil young mastermind, Wrathion the Purified.

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on why and what is to come as a result. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.

Please note: This post contains some content spoilers from Mists of Pandaria.

Wrathion's appearance in Pandaria was originally a bit of a surprise to me. After I finished the rogue legendary chain, it seemed to be clear that Wrathion was going to go find someplace quiet and out of the way to brood. Pandaria certainly wouldn't have been my first choice for the one pure black dragon out there in the world -- but to Pandaria Wrathion went, and presented with his own quest chain to boot.

The voice files for the Wrathion chain were datamined several weeks ago, but it wasn't until this beta build that players got the opportunity to see Wrathion in action. Level 90 players can now make the trek to the Veiled Stair and find Wrathion sitting happily in the Tavern of the Mists with a quest marker over his head. Speaking to Wrathion will offer the option to share a drink while Wrathion shares some information that is dearly important to him -- and probably ought to be pretty important to the rest of us, too. We've captured video of the event, which you can view after the break.

Spoiler warning: The video shown may contain big spoilers for Mists of Pandaria. If you are avoiding spoiler content, turn away.

In Mists of Pandaria, once you hit level 87, you can head north from the Valley of the Four Winds into Kun Lai Summit. But before you get to Kun Lai, you must travel through the Veiled Stair, a small sub-zone nestled in the mountains high above the Valley of the Four Winds. The grummle pictured above will give you a quest to head up the stairs and see what there is to see -- and surprisingly, there's actually quite a bit hidden away here.

The Veiled Stair is also where Wrathion is making his temporary home in the Tavern of the Mists. Nearby, the Black Market Auction House waits for travelers with particularly heavy pocketbooks and a need to dump some gold on unique and hard-to-find items. The path to Kun Lai Summit is littered with wildlife and teeming with saurok who aren't particularly happy about the increased foot traffic in the area.

And tucked away in the caverns and mountain peaks are a few hidden areas with no real purpose at this time. These hidden gems are pretty fascinating, provided you can get by the saurok brutes that patrol the paths and block the way. Alternatively, you can simply take a look at the gallery below, which offers a sneak peek to this sub-zone and the hidden mysteries it has to offer.

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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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So, have you been wondering why exactly Wrathion's made an appearance in Pandaria? Datamining over the course of the past month or so has revealed several legendary quality items, and the possible existence of a quest chain for more details on what those legendary items are for. And of course this all ties back to our dear friend Wrathion, who has apparently been quite pleased with what he's seen so far in Pandaria.

But Wrathion, while a black dragon, isn't necessarily a bad guy. A bit short-tempered, yes. A creature you certainly wouldn't want to cross, absolutely. A black dragon with an agenda that benefits something other than himself? ... well, that actually seems kind of likely. MMO-Champion dug up some voice files for Wrathion and the apparent quest chain for those legendary items. The implications are utterly fascinating, both for current events in Mists of Pandaria, and for future patches as well.

Spoiler Warning: These voice files may contain big spoilers for Mists of Pandaria. If you are avoiding spoiler content, turn away.

According to reports by MMO-Champion, the Black Market Auction House is now live on beta realms. Attempts to confirm this by chatting with Madam Goya just kicked back a UI error at me, but there seem to be plenty of people stopping by to check her out. Madam Goya makes her home at the Tavern of the Mists in the Veiled Stair, north of the Valley of the Four Winds. She's not alone, as Wrathion is still quietly hanging out in the tavern as well.

So what's available at the Black Market? A little bit of everything, including rare mounts like the Ashes of Al'ar, pictured above. Also included are pets that require a grind to obtain such as the Sen'jin Fetish, previously available only from grinding out Argent Tournament reputation, and high-level crafting recipes, although we don't have a lot of information on what those recipes are exactly.

However, perhaps the most interesting note to glean from this is that the Black Market Auction House appears to be carrying the original tier 3 sets that were removed from the game when Naxxramas was moved to Northrend and changed from a 40-man raid to a 10- and 25-man raid in Wrath of the Lich King. Obviously, this means that those looking to transmogrify into these rare tier sets can now pay to do so -- provided they've got the gold to fling around.

The latest patch on the Mists of Pandaria beta opened up Pet Battles (briefly), new areas and more -- including a very familiar face from Cataclysm. Wrathion, the only uncorrupted black dragon in existence and source of the legendary daggers Fangs of the Father, has apparently made good on his mention of exploration in the Fangs of the Father recap posted by Blizzard. Wrathion can now be found in the Tavern of the Mists in the Veiled Stair, north of the Valley of the Four Winds.

Lest you think that Wrathion is a Goody Two-shoes, make note of the location. It's also the location of Madam Goya, titled Leader of the Black Market. Goya has nothing for sale yet -- she merely replies to questioning players with a sly, "Wait till you see what I have for you ..." and no other way to interact. But given the shady nature of the black market, it makes one wonder whether Wrathion is simply taking a rest from travel or if perhaps he's up to slightly more sinister pursuits.

Tangling with Wrathion wouldn't be recommended, either -- not only is he in the company of Madam Goya, he has two personal guards, simply named Right and Left. All guards and NPCs in this location are level 90 elites. While Wrathion's presence and motives are a mystery for now, it's still nice to see the return of the temperamental prince who earned the respect of many a rogue in Cataclysm.

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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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