Category Archives: cataclysm

Know Your Lore: Cataclysm’s hanging plot threads

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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.

With the announcement that the upcoming patch 4.3 would likely be the last major content patch of Cataclysm, players rejoiced at the revelation of the transmogrifier, Void Storage, and even the upcoming Deathwing raid. But there's another side to the story of course, a concerning one that affects how well, in the end, Cataclysm really performed. The launch of the new expansion, Pandaren or no, promises a new bout of stories and quests and zones to play in, and that's a reason to be excited.

But Cataclysm introduced a different kind of game -- one where the lore was far more present and cohesive, intertwined in quests, cutscenes, and phased play. It revamped the entirety of the old world as we knew it, introducing new landscapes, new characters, and new stories that pulled leveling players through zones with effortless ease. With the announcement, one has to wonder whether or not all these new threads left carefully dangling will ever be addressed.

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Know Your Lore: Cataclysm's hanging plot threads originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All the World’s a Stage: Plot points for tauren roleplayers

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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.

The Horde has experienced a number of dramatic changes in the Cataclysm expansion. In vanilla, the Horde was struggling, largely due to a lack of resources. In Cataclysm, largely due to Garrosh Hellscream's efforts, the Horde has expanded its borders. With the help of the goblins, Azshara is being mined for a wealth of resources, and land is being grabbed all over Kalimdor. Things are beginning to look up for the Horde -- well, if you're in Orgrimmar. Elsewhere, the land is riddled with turmoil and tragedy.

If you're roleplaying a tauren, the events of Cataclysm are a bitter pill to swallow. A leader has been lost, entire settlements have been wiped from the map, racial infighting between the Grimtotem and the tauren of Thunder Bluff continues to rage. Yet in between it all are moments of hope -- and it's up to roleplayers to decide whether to wallow in the sorrow, fight back in fury, or simply try and keep an optimistic amidst it all.

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All the World's a Stage: Plot points for tauren roleplayers originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch 4.2 hotfixes for August 4

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It's been awhile since our last hotfix update from the World of Warcraft community managers, but have no fear: Zarhym has been ever-vigilant in recording the ongoing changes to the game. Tonight he has provided us with another update to the hotfix notes, confirming a few things players may have noticed already.
  • Unheeded Warning now grants 1,926 attack power instead of 680 weapon damage.
  • Balloon pets can no longer be sold to vendors.
  • Numerous item, item set, and raid balancing changes are in.
Hit the cut below for the full list of recently implemented hotfixes.

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Patch 4.2 hotfixes for August 4 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cataclysm Post-Mortem: Deepholm

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Alex Ziebart and Mathew McCurley (that's me) decided to give each Cataclysm zone the once-over now that we're many months out from the release of the expansion. In this post-mortem series, we'll examine what worked and what didn't work in terms of story, quests, and overall feel for the zones and the cool moments that dotted the landscape.

The Earthen Plane. Therazane's domain. The place where primordial rock and earth and stone were banished after the Titans subdued the elemental lords and their Old God masters. Deepholm is where Deathwing laid his broken body and waited, watched, heaved, and went mad. In the center of the mighty plane of earth stood the World Pillar, the only support keeping Deepholm from crashing into Azeroth itself. When Deathwing unleashed himself upon the world, the World Pillar shattered. Only through the tireless and diligent efforts of the Earthen Ring, shaman from all walks of life and races, could the tear in the Maelstrom be contained. Now flooded by members of the Twilight's Hammer cult, a raging war between earthen and trogg, and the harshness of the Stonemother herself, the Horde and the Alliance must find a way to restore the World Pillar and save Azeroth from the very plane of earth it rests upon.

Deepholm was the first bottleneck zone after the two opening Cataclysm leveling experiences, Hyjal and Vashj'ir. Everyone passed through Deepholm on the way to 85, getting to experience one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring zones ever created for World of Warcraft. From the rocks that hung eerily in the air to the various factions and allegiances, Deepholm provided one of the most unique leveling experiences in World of Warcraft to date.

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Cataclysm Post-Mortem: Deepholm originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s happening in the Whispering Forest?

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Every now and then, an Easter Egg is found in game. Blizzard loves its pop culture references, secret nooks and crannies, and everything in between. Recently, this popped up: a secret grove, hidden in the Whispering Forest of Western Tirisfal.

While it's unknown when they spawn (I've heard every six hours or so, but I'm not sure), a troupe of faerie dragons slowly flies to this mushroom ring and begins to sing.

Tendrils of golden light flow and meet in the center of the circle, while ethereal music notes float all around. A beautiful little piece of music accompanies all of this, lasting about two and a half minutes. The infected animals of the Whispering Forest even come around to witness the performance. After they're done, the dragons leave and despawn.

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What's happening in the Whispering Forest? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s happening in the Whispering Forest?

Posted on by
Every now and then, an Easter Egg is found in game. Blizzard loves its pop culture references, secret nooks and crannies, and everything in between. Recently, this popped up: a secret grove, hidden in the Whispering Forest of Western Tirisfal.

While it's unknown when they spawn (I've heard every six hours or so, but I'm not sure), a troupe of faerie dragons slowly flies to this mushroom ring and begins to sing.

Tendrils of golden light flow and meet in the center of the circle, while ethereal music notes float all around. A beautiful little piece of music accompanies all of this, lasting about two and a half minutes. The infected animals of the Whispering Forest even come around to witness the performance. After they're done, the dragons leave and despawn.

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What's happening in the Whispering Forest? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WoW Insider reviews Christie Golden’s Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects

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Just under 10 years ago, on Oct. 1, 2001, a novel was released as a new addition to the Warcraft universe that would change the history and lore of the games forever. Lord of the Clans outlined the history and childhood of a young orc named Thrall. Son of Durotan and Draka, the former slave would break free from his imprisonment at the hands of Aedelas Blackmoore, step forward to unite the shattered and lethargic clans of the orcs, and lead the Horde in a manner that none that had played the original Warcraft games could possibly comprehend at that point in time.

Almost a year later, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos was released, and that orc's journey from the beleaguered, Scourge-ridden lands of the Eastern Kingdoms to the dusty and barren shores of Kalimdor was told in a tale that captured the hearts of players. No longer simply a character in a novel, Thrall's travels and ultimate triumph, united with the night elves and humans at the peaks of Mount Hyjal and working as one to defeat Archimonde, would forever seal his place as true Warchief of the Horde.

It is only appropriate then that the latest novel written for the Warcraft franchise, detailing the further journeys of Thrall, be undertaken by the woman who started it all -- Christie Golden. Not just an author with a host of Warcraft novels under her belt, Golden is the voice of the former Warchief, the author who gave him a life of his own. Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects continues the journey that Thrall began nearly 10 years ago -- and what a journey it is.

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WoW Insider reviews Christie Golden's Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Deal of the Day: Cataclysm for $20

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If you've started a new account recently or have been waiting to purchase Cataclysm, now's your shot to get the newest expansion on Amazon for only $20. Cataclysm is Amazon's Gold Box deal of the day, with a reduced price for only 24 hours. The deal is currently on the U.S. Amazon store, but the boxed copy of Cataclysm can be added or applied to any region's account.

With the recent sales in the EU for WoW and The Burning Crusade, as well as the free copies of WoW that were distributed to game veterans to give away, Blizzard is making a hard push at getting WoW into more peoples' hands and lowering the admittedly high barrier to entry of an MMO that's now 6+ years old. Hopefully, we will see this barrier come down even more over time as Blizzard figures out the answer to one of the more difficult questions in the MMO genre -- how will Blizzard deal with expansions once there are too many to reasonably expect new players to buy them all to get the full game experience?

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Amazon Deal of the Day: Cataclysm for $20 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Know Your Lore: The mysterious connection between spirit healers and the Val’kyr

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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.

They are about the only thing you're happy to see when you're dead. Beings of ghostly blue, these winged saviors of Azeroth's adventuring masses have been there since the very beginning of WoW, and are the closest thing Azeroth has to angels. They possess the power to bring the dead back to life, when said adventuring masses have had their adventuring cut abruptly short by accidentally pulling one or two more murlocs than they could handle. Gracious and kind, it seems that these beings only exist to help Azeroth's lost find their way back to the world of the living.

You only see the true scope of their power when you're dead, and it's safe to say if you're coherent at the time, you're probably not prepared or happy for what comes next. From quietly resting beneath the earth to a shambling mass of undead material, these ghostly creatures exist to pull the dead back to life -- at a cost. Where once was a whole and complete adventurer, now there is only forsaken; a living corpse with free will, although it's questionable as to how much of that will is actually free.

One brings players back to life; the other curses them with a life of undeath. Is there a connection between the benevolent spirit healers of Azeroth, and their dark doppelgangers, the Val'kyr? It's a question that's been posed to me on more than one occasion, and since we've slogged our way through the order of the Warcraft cosmos, it's one we can take a look at now.

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Know Your Lore: The mysterious connection between spirit healers and the Val'kyr originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Know Your Lore: The Warcraft cosmos, Tinfoil Hat edition

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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 wrapped up the second half of the Warcraft cosmos series and covered the additional planes of existence within the Warcraft universe. These layers of planes and the way they interlock is a tricky topic that, quite frankly, gives most people a headache when they think about it too long -- myself included. However, now that we've got the basic layers and interaction between all these planes of existence, there is an incredible amount of speculation to be done.

That's right; today's a Tinfoil Hat edition of Know Your Lore. If you are unfamiliar with the Tinfoil Hat concept, these are columns in which we take existing known lore and place our own spin on it to try and speculate on future events. None of the Tinfoil Hat columns should be taken as actual lore by any stretch of the imagination. However, there is a great deal of fun to be had in picking things apart and trying to predict, so let's see what we can come up with, shall we? But first, let's clear up the matter of demonic death.

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Know Your Lore: The Warcraft cosmos, Tinfoil Hat edition originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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