The new World of Warcraft expansion has officially been announced today at Gamescon. Titled World of Warcraft: Legion, players head to The Broken Isles after Gul’dan brings back Illidan and delves into the Tomb of Sargeras. With the level cap raised to 110, players can expect several changes to World of Warcraft including a new class and a new honor system. Continue reading
After watching the two videos for the Pandaren introduction (linked at the bottom for easy viewing), I am both impressed, amused and disappointed with Blizzard/Activision’s choices when allowing Pandaren’s to choose their faction. While they have some differences, Garrosh Hellscream and Varien Wrynn say and do nearly the same things when talking to their new recruits. Even though our factions are supposed to be clashing about our differences, our leaders are nearly exactly the same. Maybe that’s why Garrosh is so mad at the Alliance, he’s pissed because Varien is copying him!
So both factions start out at the turtle and are taken to their respective capitals via hot air balloon. They talk to their faction representative, Jii Firepaw or Aysa Cloudsinger, who say nearly the same thing: We’re here, we have to help these guys because of our belief system, we need allies, let’s find out who their leader is. The only part that confused me was Aysa knows an awful lot about the Alliance to not have a clue who the King of Stormwind is.
The Krasarang Wilds is one of the two new zones added between the Mists press event and Blizzcon 2011. Originally part of the Valley of the Four Winds, it has been vastly expanded so that it is now an entire zone of its own. As can be seen in the video, it is a large jungle, but dark and mysterious as opposed to the bright jungles like Sholazar Basin and Stranglethorn that we’re used to.
A level 86-88 questing zone, the Wilds will also contain one of the new raids (The Terrace of the Endless Spring) and will be the staging ground for future patches. Supposedly over the course of this expansion, the zone will change to reflect the fighting between the Horde and Alliance. At the moment, Blizzard describes it thus:
The Krasarang Wilds along Pandaria’s southern coast conceal many ancient secrets of a lost dynasty that have drawn the attention of prophecy-seekers among the Alliance and Horde. The Wilds are also home to the vicious, domineering Mogu, and a more insidious danger still: the Sha of Despair is believed to have escaped from its bindings in the Temple of the Red Crane, and stifling gloom has begun to blanket the land in its path
Krasarang Wilds in-game map
The Kun-Lai Summit is located in northern Pandaria and The White Tiger, Xuen, is the August Celestial that watches over it. Several species will be here for players to interact with: Pandarens, Zandalari, Yaungol, Hozen, Sha, and Grummles. Mount Never-Rest, the tallest mountain on Azeroth, is here and supposedly dwarfs the Temple of Storms in the Storm Peaks. Blizzard describes it thus:
High atop the frigid northern peaks of the Kun-Lai Summit looms the Temple of the Tiger, an ancient training ground protected by an elite force of martial priests, along with the spirit of the White Tiger itself. Deeper into the mountains is the hideout of the Shado-pan: a mysterious order charged with protecting Pandaria from the dark things buried beneath its surface. When the isolated people of Kun-Lai are threatened by marauders from the west and a Zandalari troll menace invading its northern shores, they turn to the Alliance and Horde for help.
This zone is not yet open in the beta, but some people have pulled code and created the following fly throughs for us. One is of different parts of the zone and the second is of the Shado-pan Monastery where the new dungeon is also located: Continue reading
Click to zoom in; it's worth it.
Next up on the Zone Wrap Up is the Jade Forest, picked because it is the only zone on the new continent that has been opened in beta so far. That is also why there are two videos this time. The first is of an Alliance character running from the starting area, all the way to the Horde starting area. It gives a good idea of how huge the zone is, shows how areas transition and change, but it’s rather boring. The second is the Blizzard video from the press release, which is much prettier, engaging, but doesn’t show as much.
The Jade Forest is located on the far eastern edge of the new Pandaren continent and is the starting zone for both Horde and Alliance 85s. The August Celestial Yu’Lon, the Jade Serpent, resides here, along with the Jinyu and the Hozon. The Temple of the Jade Serpent dungeon is here (thanks to the August Celestial), the Order of the Cloud Serpent (those guys who help you raise/train your own personal Cloud Serpent mount). Blizard describes the zone thus:
“After a naval battle between the Horde and the Alliance leaves the survivors stranded on the beaches of Pandaria, rescue parties of those factions’ elite soldiers set out explore the mysterious, fog-shrouded island. You are among them.
As one of the first explorers to set foot on Pandaria, you’ll begin your investigation in the midst of the emerald bamboo and coastal marsh of the Jade Forest, where two of Pandaria’s most prominent races make their homes. The monkey-like Hozen and the Jinyu fish-people thrive near the rivers of the Jade Forest, and your first encounters with them are likely to be hostile. Yet, ultimately, your lack of allies and guidance in this unfamiliar land will make befriending the natives your only option”
The Jade Forest map
The second zone in my Zone Wrap Up is the Valley of the Four Winds. It is located on the southern edge of the new Pandaren continent and seems to be just a questing zone. The Tillers farm will be located here along with at least one Brewmaster scenario and the new Stormstout Brewery dungeon. Unfortunately, the only screen captures so far are from the video above, so I’ll leave you with just the video.
Blizzard has described it as:
A tranquil plain of lush farmland, bordered by dense mysterious jungles along the south and impassible mountains to the north. The valley is considered the “breadbasket” of Pandaria, but the year’s harvest is in jeopardy and a terrible malaise has overcome the Pandaren that live along the coast. The valley is also the home of the legendary Stormstout Brewery, where Chen Stormstout and his niece Li Li hope to journey to discover the whereabouts of their long-lost ancestors.
Unlike the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, this Valley looks exactly like I wanted the entire zone to look. Green, flowers, animals, growing things; I am more than pleased. This zone appears to be a cross between the Wetlands with water, cliffs and trees and Nagrand with its bright colors, multitude of animals, and plenty of growing things. I am loving it. Continue reading
Screen shot from the Vale of Eternal Blossoms
To help keep things simple, I’m going to try to dilute the information coming out of the Beta and Press Release for the new content by tackling each zone on its own, including the instances and raids that are (as of the time of writing) going to be there.
Vale of Eternal Blossoms World Map
To start off, we’re going to learn about the Vale of Eternal Blossoms because the Alliance and Horde hubs will be located here. It is located in the central part of Pandaria along with the Mogu’Shan Vaults raid, two dungeons, Mogu’Shan Palace and the Gate of the Setting Sun, and the Temple of Power battleground. It is a level 90 zone that Blizzard describes as:
The ancient seat of the pandaren empire has been hidden for generations, shrouded in mists and walled-off by impassible mountains. The waters of the Vale are believed to have mystical powers… which has attracted the attention of ancient enemies as well as power-hungry factions within the Alliance and Horde. What secrets lie buried below this mystical font of power?
I’m really hoping this legendary Valley isn’t going to be as brown as the Barrens like the map makes it look. Not to mention the screen shots. I demand color, Blizzard! Pink, purple, blue! Where are the FLOWERS?! Ahem, moving on… Continue reading
Chris Metzen, senior VP of Story and Franchise Development
I’m frustrated. That’s about the only way to describe my feelings with World of Warcraft lore. I’m specifying WoW and not Warcraft, because the lore there and in Vanilla WoW (and BC), I didn’t have these concerns and this feeling like the faction I play the most, is weak and pathetic with useless leaders. At one time, we had Onyxia! Now we have Jaina Proudmore jokes.
Yes, I’m bringing this up again. It’s been nagging at me ever since I read the Chris Metzen interview by WoW Insider. A lot of Horde players (and even some Alliance players) don’t understand why I’m so upset with the lore and the direction it took during Cataclysm. I’m going to attempt to explain my opinions and why this guy needs to get his fuzzy head out of his fuzzy ass. It all boils down to one thing: morale.
Throughout all of Cataclsym, the Alliance has gotten its collective ass handed to it. Go ahead and argue about Camp Tarajo all you want, but when you place all the weights on the scales, it tips heavily in the Horde’s favor: Ashenvale, Southshore, Andorhol. I can pull out a few more here, but suffice to say that would be beating a dead horse, or the Alliance as it stands.
This is not a “woe is the Alliance, we got beaten post,” this is a post telling you, if we get beaten forever, we’re not going to care much about our faction or this damn game. Warhammer Online died with the biggest complaint being one faction was over powers and kicking the other factions ass. While this isn’t lore, I believe it could get that way. Why? Shortly after the information about Theramore burning (another feather in the Horde’s cap), my server saw a huge wave of faction transfers from Alliance to Horde. I can’t blame them because let’s face it, Horde are just cooler.
The Forsaken got so much love in WotLK, the trolls got their own patch in Cata, the Cata expansion revolved around an Orc, and with all this, the Alliance got Worgen. I’m not complaining about that. The Gilneans have a rich, vibrant lore full of grand characters, both good and evil, with so much story potential (the Goblins, not so much). What are they doing now? They squat in a tree, unable to retake their home because of the Forsaken. Their entire starting zone is empty. Hell, my RP server did more with their story than Blizzard did Continue reading
Spec into Misdirect 