Project Lore

Ever have trouble finding quality versions of Blizzard cinematics on the internet and refuse to spend the time downloading them from the official site? Well, now there's an easy and convenient solution! Perhaps as part of their social networking kick lately (see their Twitter accounts), the company has established their very own YouTube channel. As yet, the selection is a curious mix of "wow, that's available?!" and "where the hell is it?" In other words, it's primarily pre-rendered introduction movies and upcoming game previews that go from unreleased titles all the way back to Diablo II and the original StarCraft (though the inclusion of Wrathgate is a curious anomaly). The good news is that all of them are available in High Quality, and the newer ones in High Definition. Just don't expect to be able to view every in-game cutscene from their catalog just yet. Though, considering the prevalence of amateur recordings so comprehensive that you could watch the entire plot of WarCraft III unfold just by surfing YouTube for an hour, I wouldn't be surprised to see Blizzard to start buffing their own offerings real soon. There's nothing wrong with honoring and showcasing the work of the developer's tremendous art team, but since the service is fueled by its rich community of content creators, I'd also like to see Blizz host things like machinima, StarCraft II Battle Reports, tournament play records, and other fan offerings so that it could all be accessed in one place. Clearly, there's still some work to be done, but if you ask me, what's there is already pretty worthwhile for a channel that's still in its infancy. In fact, I think i'm going to go watch the Cataclysm preview trailer again right now. Goblins? Worgen? Massive, world-changing events and new lands to conquer? Ooh, it gives me chills every time!

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I know, I know. I gave Brewfest a hard time when it first started up. On top of my frustrations with blurry screens and fatigued rams, Blizzard was working through some bugs that prevented players from properly using their mugs to bonk dwarves attempting to steal beer kegs. Then, as if that wasn't enough, serious server stability issues set in after the unexpected release of Patch 3.2.2. But I suppose I ruled out this merry holiday a bit too soon, and have since grown to enjoy even those aspects that previously were driving me insane. Which is why I'm happy to report that Bornakk announced today the event has been extended for an additional two days:

"Brewfest is a time of year where the focus is placed squarely on the celebration of fun and food. In order to give everyone enough time to truly experience this event (and after some fine tuning on the part of the event organizers), we will be extending the event two additional days. The festivities will end on October 5th at 11:59PM, so don’t miss it."

Yes, it seems Blizzard has taken notice of our frustrations with bugged-out quests and lagged-out ram racing, and in compensation has decided to give us extra days to earn those all-important Brewfest tokens. Now that we've memorized the perfect routes for the Bark For.. quests, perfected the timing of whipping our mighty rams to go faster and learned (the hard way) that not all pugs are trustworthy when it comes to winning loot, we have the opportunity to get a little more out of the event. Personally, I got the Brewmaster title a couple of days ago by selling back my Brewfest garb before purchasing the Brew of the Month membership. But as a starting-out collector of vanity gear, I'm looking forward to getting a couple of pieces back. Plus, more chances at the ram or kodo mounts, and that mighty (and highly auction-able) BoE Tankard O' Terror. I'll drink to that!

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With 3.2.2 finally out of the way, the Patch Test Realm is clear for the arrival of 3.3, which should be bringing with it Icecrown Citadel, if nothing else. Though not a peep has come out of Blizzard yet, it appears that the Character Copy service is currently available. If you've never used it before, it allows you to take a character from the server you normally play on and reproduce one with its exact stats and equipment on one of the test realms. Sindragosa in Icecrown Citadel If you think this the timing seems too soon, might I remind you that, at BlizzCon, it looked like they had already put a lot of work into Icecrown Citadel, even detailing some of the events that might occur as you progress through it (like the airship battle between the Horde and Alliance). Even though we've heard little about the encounters, populating a raid with bosses and trash is often one of the last things to actually happen when creating a dungeon (that's not to say they haven't already charted things out in some no-doubt-extensive design documents). Likewise, the freshly released information regarding the new three-wing, 5-man instance accompanying the raid leads us to believe that at least some of the forthcoming content is close to being ready for public consumption. Not to mention, Blizzard keeps talking about that Vanish fix like it's right around the corner. Quoth the Ghostcrawler:

"We have a change for Vanish in place for 3.3. You will get to try it out soon (tm)."

Even if 3.3 is expected to hit the PTR in the next couple of weeks, don't think that you'll be able to go toe-to-toe with Arthas just yet. Previous experience shows that, whenever they choose to start showing off the raid, they'll probably cycle individual bosses in and out on a testing schedule. And in order to preserve the secrecy of key fights, like that against the Lich King, they'll likely leave some out altogether. So feel free to go ahead and copy your character (I've verified it, it works), but be aware that if the real thing isn't coming just yet, they'll likely wipe all of the current transfers before 3.3 actually lands for testing. Can you guys sense it? That excitement? The final conflict of Wrath is right around the corner!

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At BlizzCon, we learned that parts of Azeroth would be reshaped as Deathwing broke the the Plane of Earth and shattered the world. Azshara, The Barrens, Ashenvale, Desolace, and several more were showcased, both in panels and in the trailer for Cataclysm released during the event. But that doesn't mean those are the only areas that would be greatly affected by the destruction, just because that's all we saw at the time. I think it's reasonable to believe that Blizzard only showed those that were farthest along in development at the time. Stranglethorn in all its (current) glory. Well, thanks to the most recent issue of PC Gamer UK, we now know that the oh-so-infamous Stranglethorn Vale is set to join the ranks of those zones receiving a substantial face lift in the next expansion. But, you might ask, what's wrong with Stranglethorn? Clearly, something. In his interview with Gamasutra, Lead World Designer Alex Afrasiabi mentioned that they've taken a hard look at every zone internally, giving each a rating depending on how happy they are with it currently. So, if Stranglethorn is getting reworked as drastically as implied, either the development team has a really big beef with its present incarnation, or the redesigns are important to the continuation of the story. Knowing that, I'd like to examine several possibilities for the Vale of the future. Right from the start, I think it's safe to assume that the zone will undergo the typical terrain changes. There's always the possibility of seeing volcanic ruptures tearing through the ground, just as they do in several of the other transformed zones. And with most of its landmass being coastal, we may see parts of Stranglethorn flood or be washed away by tidal waves (hey, it's happening to Southshore). By doing this, they could potentially eliminate some of the quest-lines and reduce the overall amount of time that you'll be spending here as opposed to the past. Sometimes streamlining means trimming the fat, and while the zone currently showcases a wealth of content, it both completely supplants leveling in other areas (like Desolace) and requires a lot of back-and-forth between those of the same band. Leveling zones in Cataclysm will usually be right next to each other. As an example, Horde players often have to split their leveling with far away regions like Thousand Needles, Arathi Highlands, and Badlands from 28-45. If we take a look at the slides from the Preview panel at BlizzCon, they show new leveling paths moving from one adjacent zone to the next, largely eliminating the ludicrous amounts of globe-trotting required in the game now. We'll still go to Stranglethorn, but I think the question now is "when?" That's a tough one. The zone has always been closer to Alliance territory, perhaps implying that it will now be more integral to their mid-range leveling experience, but at the same time, they've only ever had a meager presence in the area. One might argue that neither has the Horde, but now we have a bit of a wild card to consider -- Garrosh Hellscream. We already know that he's bent on not only fortifying the faction's capital, Orgrimmar, but also tightening the grip on Alliance lands. If Zoram'Gar Outpost in Ashenvale is set to swell in size and importance, it's not a huge jump in logic to think that the Grom'Gol Base Camp might, too. Going a bit farther, I have a feeling that it will also move more in-land, with the original encampment being overtaken by the sea. Figuring out which level band Stranglethorn might occupy in the future isn't easy, but I imagine it'll be a lot more homogeneous, requiring only one trip around the zone, instead of making the Northern and Southern halves effectively separate in terms of difficulty. But let's take it to the next level, beyond the fundamental changes that have become a part of the Cataclysm experience. What's been going on there the entire time? For one, the animals of have been experiencing a small-scale Cataclysm all their own. Hemet Nesingwary and his cohorts have been decimating the local wildlife population unchecked for the past few years. And what about D.E.H.T.A.? Though I was surprised that it took them until Wrath of the Lich King to react to his genocidal ways, perhaps they'll return here in the expansion to protect the rich floral and faunal habitat that is Stranglethorn Vale. If we combine the threat of new found ecological disaster (as well as an old one, if the Venture Co. sticks around) with the Nesingwary onslaught, I'd be astonished if they didn't show up once again. Whether they do or not, I fully expect a revamp of Nesingwary's (or Nesingwary Jr.'s, if they keep him here) quests to be more in line with those in Sholazar Basin. In other words, a lot less "grindy" than they are now. Something else I'd really like to see is an extension of the war between the Blackwater Raiders and the Bloodsail Buccaneers. After all, who doesn't want more pirate action? Undoubtedly, the local swashbucklers will find some way to exploit the chaos of the Cataclysm, whether that be open plundering or an escalation of their conflict. This could have dire consequences for Booty Bay. Though I fully expect it to remain a hub of transportation, I suspect that it will not survive the Armageddon unscathed. And then there are the Gurubashi Trolls and Zul'Gurub. Now that we'll be able to fly over it, will we see activity, or will it look barren until you jump through the portal, like most current outdoor instances? If I recall correctly, the Darkspear Trolls (the faction associated with the Horde) once lived here, and I think it's high time that we got a look at their story again. I would love to see them join the other Horde forces in establishing a greater presence here, perhaps reclaiming their homeland from their corrupted brothers and sisters. If anything can be said about the Cataclysm, though, it's that it has affected the world in completely unexpected ways, and that may be the case with Stranglethorn Vale, too. The expansion provides Blizzard with the chance to really move the existing story in each zone forward, but at the end of the day, there's no way to tell exactly what they have planned until they let us in on it. Let's hope that day comes sooner rather than later! In the meantime, please chime in with your thought on the future of Stranglethorn, and what things you'd like to see change from the current version!

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The Forge of Souls

With patch 3.2.2 now live, the next major patch on the radar is patch 3.3. It introduces three new 5-man dungeons with both normal and heroic modes, as well as Icecrown Citadel, the flagship raid of Wrath of the Lich King where players will face off against Arthas. The 5 man instances will be three wings of "the Frozen Halls." Players will be assisting one of their faction's heroes, either Sylvanas Windrunner or Jaina Proudmoore, as they infiltrate Icecrown Citadel through an alternative entrance while the Argent Crusade and Knights of the Ebon Blade attack the main gates. An epic questline will lead players through the three instances, and players must participate in the questline in order to get attuned to the second and third dungeons.

Scary

The first wing, The Forge of Souls, tasks players with assisting their faction's hero to destroy machines known as "soul grinders." The instance has two bosses who operate the machines: Bronjahm, the Godfather of Souls, and The Devourer of Souls. The second wing, Pit of Saron, is home to Scourgelord Tyrannus. Players will free soldiers of their faction to assist them in combating Tyrannus. It is not clear who or what this "Saron" is. Players will apparently get clues as to where Arthas' private chambers outside of the Frozen Throne are. Three bosses inhabit this instance: Forgemaster Garfrost, Krick and Ick, and Scourgelord Tyrannus. The final hall, the Halls of Refection, seems to house Frostmourne, the legendary weapon that the Lich King wields. Players, accompanied by their faction's hero, will ultimately confront Arthas. It is unknown how this encounter will progress. Two encounters exist in this instance: Falric and Marwyn, and The Lich King. More information can be dug up at the official World of Warcraft website.

10-man	ilvl	25-man
Naxx	200
KT, EoE	213	Naxx
Ulduar	219
IC 5 mans	219
Ulduar hard	226	Ulduar, KT/EoE
CC	232	Ulduar weapons
IC heroics	232
	239	Ulduar hard
CC hard	245	CC
	258	CC hard
IC Raid	??
	??	IC raid

This information is flooring. Not only is it a lore-gasm, but the loot here is astoundingly good. Players can grab iLevel 219 loot in the normal version of the instances, and iLevel 232 gear in the heroic version. That puts the normal mode on par with Ulduar 10-man, and the heroic version gear on par with 10 man Crusader's Coliseum loot. The full, updated iLevel chart is on the left. The first two wings seem to introduce new characters as bosses, but the final wing, Halls of Reflection, bring back Arthas' two old commanders, Falric and Marwyn as bosses. It was unconfirmed prior to this announcement if they were truly undead. They were last seen accompanying Arthas into King Terenas II's chamber to slaughter him and signal the downfall of the human kingdom of Lordaeron. And who knows of what nature the encounter with Arthas will have? He will not be defeated here, as he is the final boss of the 10/25 man raid instance. Jaina is seeking any humanity left of him, so perhaps this will be some shade of Arthas' soul. I, for one, look forward to accompanying Sylvanas to hunt Arthas to the death.

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Via a WordPress tech blog. Ever since Onyxia realized she could regrow her head I've had issues with World of Warcraft.  I have no idea if it's patch 3.2.2 specifically, but that is when the problem became obvious.  Patch 3.2.2a, which was supposed to fix bugs created with 3.2.2, did nothing for me.  My more-than-capable computer continues to hit awful spikes that cause the framerate to drop from 60FPS to something below 40 FPS, seemingly at random.  It's not awful, but the switch in smoothness is jarring and not pleasing.  Especially when you are used to the game running perfectly. I haven't been able to fully resolve my issue yet, due to lack of effort more than anything else.  But that'll change tonight.  After spending the better part of this morning looking up similar issues, collecting data on solutions and using plain old common sense, I've come up with a run down of things to do if your WoW installation begins acting up. There are a few details to keep in mind.  First off, they are in order from least to most time consuming, which generally means least to most difficult.  There's a good deal of information compiled here, and likely more to show up in the comments, but we offer no guarantee and take no responsibility for any of the tactics you employ.  As a last resort, you can always do a full reinstall of the game - the most time consuming process by far.  If that doesn't work, then you are likely looking at a hardware problem, not good. Before we even get into the list, a couple general IT rules of thumb.  Have you restarted yet?  No, go do it, it may save you a ton of time.  Have you added anything new to the system - software, hardware, add-ons?  Yes, then that's where you should begin.

1. Grab new drivers/updates - It doesn't matter if you are a Nvidia, ATi or Intel user, if any game starts acting funny, new drivers may help.  If you play something other than WoW then you likely have semi-new drivers.  Be on the lookout for other system updates, Windows Update, as well.
2. Play with the graphics sliders - I know you want the game to play as it did before, but give this a whirl anyways.  It's not a fix, so much as a way to gain a list of symptoms to diagnose the main problem.  If changing the sliders does nothing, then the hardware in the machine is probably okay.  Big sigh of relief.  If it does help, then there could be cooling issues, the graphics card or CPU could be hurting, perhaps your anti-virus scanner decided to kick in or you've got some spyware eating up your precious clock cycles.
3. Try a different game - Same thought process as above.  If comparable or more taxing game X still plays fine, then the problem is definitely software.
4. Add-ons - Add-ons are great, until they bring your game to a frame-dropping halt.  The LUA-based strings of code are one of the main software bugs to crop up in WoW.  Since the buggers aren't allowed to auto update, you could be using ancient code that's causing problems (a likely scenario after a patch), add-ons can be poorly coded or you may have so many add-ons that they are fighting for resources, or causing massive conflict battles.  The simple diagnosis is to disable all add-ons in the loading screen.  If you see an improvement you'll have to systemically enable and disable one add-on at a time to see which is the culprit.  Seek it out, destroy it, and update it with the newest version.  And it could be more than one.
5. Delete WTF/Cache folders - Patching and the general User Interface are another software bug that leeches off of WoW.  The WTF folder is where all your add-on and patching information resides.  Like the topic above, it can cause numerous issues.  Rename the folder (to backup the data) and allow WoW to create a virgin copy for you.  The Cache folder is the new WDB folder, and performs the same important function as cache for your web browser.  It needs to be cleaned out now and then as well.
6. Do a repair - Blizzard now includes its own repair utility in the World of Warcraft directory for Windows users.  The tool will scan through all the game files for corruption and selectively download any and all files that have been touched by Fel energies.  It's quite time consuming, but far faster than the alternative.
7. Reinstall - Grab the disks or begin a download.  This last ditch effort should be attempted only if everything else has failed you, and you have tons of evidence pointing towards a software problem.  I'd be safe and completely uninstall and delete the WoW folder before beginning a new install.

Due to the infinite combination of PC parts, and the complex software we are dealing with, a solution for me may not be the solution for you.  Don't get discouraged after trying a few things and failing to see a return to your previous FPS level.  Feel free to drop a comment with your symptoms, or better yet, suggestions to add to the list and helpful tips to those having problems. I'll just head these comments off before they come; getting a Mac is not a solution. There's also many other things you can check on your computer, but that is outside the scope of this article.  I hope that your machine runs World of Warcraft like new after all of these tasks, but if it doesn't you should begin to worry about your PC's overall health.  Defragging and disk space, RAM tests, CPU test, GPU test, heating issues, these are all things that can be performed to ferret out the faulty piece in your complex computer system.  Unfortunately, they are technical, complex, often time consuming and possibly expensive.  The exacts reason why you hope the numbered list can solve your issue.

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World of Warcraft has changed dramatically since it was released at the end of 2004.  Say what you will about the PvP and PvE changes, there are numerous aspects of the title that are undeniably better.  You've the numerous tweaks to the user interface, the inclusion of the top add-ons, constant tweaks, bug fixes and optimization, and small graphical upgrades with each expansion (shadows, lighting).  All these fixes are very much appreciated, but nothing tops the feature with the most notable changes, questing.  Be it direction, design, story or implementation, the way quests are handled these is a far cry from the distractions that they were in the first 20 levels of alpha/beta (originally they barely existed past that point). I do not know what changed at Blizzard to cause this reboot.  Perhaps the company had more time to craft more intriguing stories?  Maybe the developers were just handed better tools?  They decided to start taking quests more seriously?  It's likely some combination of the three, but whatever lit a fire under their collective asses, I love it. I love it so much that I wish there was a way to see the teams that worked on specific quests.  Case in point, what genius wrote the Sholazar Basin story arcs that I raved about earlier?  There's even some funny "Kill 10 foozles" quests, including one that Solidsagart just completed in Storm Peaks.  Ricket totally had me going for a minute.  Who penned that goblin to employ such spot on tongue-in-cheek humor? The way I envision the feature would be a simple check box in the Quest Log's UI that is default off.  Therefore, the immersion would be preserved for players worried about such things, or who couldn't care less.  But those who wish to recognize crafty writing, good design or a cohesive story would know who to worship.  Not to mention an added bit of information to help filter through "trash" quests.  No need to backlog every quest - most of the old stuff is disappearing with Cataclysm anyway - just the new stuff will do. The tales of Adventure's secret room, and the ultimate birth of Activision taught me one thing; the little guys need to be able to receive credit for their hard work as much as the big fish (Greg Street, J. AllenBrack, Tom Chilton).  Yes, I realize that such a thing could be a slippery slope, it may lead to names being everywhere.  So long as Blizzard can find a tasteful way to inject credits in to the game, I'd be more then happy to see them.  After all, when have you ever looked at the credits of the game you spend countless hours in?

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After another drunken night of slaughtering Coren Direbrew repeatedly for his phat lootz and Brewfest tokenz, I thought it was time for something a little different. Up in the higher reaches of Blackrock Mountain rests more fun to be had (and a bit of a confidence boost for us rogues) for anyone who hasn't yet acquired the title of Jenkins. Actually, scratch that. Whether you have the title or not, it's still a good time. After having your (hopefully) multiple shots at Direbrew, head out of Blackrock Depths, back up the mountain and up another chain into Blackrock Spire. Take a left to head into the upper part of the instance, clear the entire first area and boss, and make your way into the rookery. Here lies the tricky fun. For the achievement and Jenkins title, you have to round up 50 Rookery Whelps and kill them within a 15-second time span. Some toons probably could solo this, but since other of my guildies also wanted the title we went as a group of three (the same group that ran through Classic Ony before the patch - FTW.) First try, each of us ran through smashing rookery eggs before we brought them to a central location to AoE. Bad idea. They didn't automatically aggro on the egg-smasher, so we hadn't gathered enough for the kill. Also, no heals and the cumulative attacks of so many little whelps at once killed me. Second try, we were getting ready to run out and reset the instance, but it turns out there was no need. The eggs respawn pretty quickly, and after just a couple minutes we sent in the tank to round up whelps for our second shot. This time, he made sure to get aggro on the way through and then pulled them all back for massive AoE. It worked! And, let me let you in on a secret. Pre-married life, I was a RL Jenkins. Yup. For Real! So I thought this was only appropriate. Now, onto the real juice. As it turns out, Fan of Knives, even after its massive nerf in 3.2.2 does a ton of damage when being inflicted on 50+ targets at once. So, for this rogue who, in the past few weeks, has upped her dps from a lowly 1,500 to a somewhat more respectable 2,800, I did a double take when my guildy popped recount for fun. 15k DPS?! Confidence boost! Now I just have to reach that high under more usual circumstances :D For the full details on what to do, make sure to check out Juggynaut and Dorkins' complete run through of the achievement that they did a while back. Now's the perfect time to make a shot for the title! Has anyone else detoured up to the top of the mountain to also partake in the fun?

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Slowly, but surely, Solidsagart has been progressing along the levels on her way to level 80.  With her XP busting in to the level 76 range I decided to take her to the one zone that Solidsamm skipped, Sholazar Basin.  The last bastion of (almost) untouched life by the Scourge was a wild ride of old quest design, new ideas, stellar writing and world traveling. I'm sure most players know of Sholazar as the new home to the greatest hunter of them all, Hemet Nesingwary.  That, and the presence of the Ghostfish, are about the only things I really knew about the basin before I decided to tackle its content.  Yea, you read that right, I wasn't aware that both the Frenzyheart Tribe and the Oracles made their homes in the Un'Goro Crater-esque zone.  I did figure that out soon enough. Sholazar starts off innocent, offering a cavalcade of quests that hearken back to the days of Stranglethorn Vale.  I was tasked with killing ten of these, eight of that, and then going for the leader of said species.  It's not until I begin tackling the big game that Nesingwary becomes interested in me, and my various feats.  Once I begin to gain a following in the zone, Nesingwary actually joined me in the hunt as I went for the really big game.  The interaction with such a well known NPC made me feel as if I was having some impact on the world; a great use of subtle phasing. Juxtaposing Nesingwary's incessant need for bigger, badder and more dangerous game is a Avatar of Freya.  The demigod is struggling to comprehend, and hold back, the Scourge that are pouring in from Icecrown.  She asks any who will listen to investigate their coming, and help in their destruction.  She becomes so desperate that she allowed me, a mere mortal, to travel to Un'Goro Crater to unlock a Titan weapon for use against the Scourge. I was told that if I managed to succeed she'd overlook the death I caused in her lands.  My spine tingled when I realized that she witnessed me laying waste to the wildlife, for fun and gold.  The antonymous and interweaving stories between the two hubs end up delivering a perfect opportunity for a moral question or mechanic.  Unfortunately, there was nothing along those lines.  A missed opportunity in my book. The most memorable part of the zone for me wasn't hunting game, or demolishing the Scourge.  It wasn't even the fun quests presented by the Oracles or Frenzyheart factions.  What stuck out in Sholazar Basin for me was the writing for the quests, and the story arcs.  As noted, the Freya/Nesingwary tandem made for some good, if one-sided, moral discussion, but the wolvars and gorlocs each had an entire language of their own.  And the language was used, with one quest giver as an exception, for each and every quest presented by the factions.  I actually enjoyed reading the quest text just for the nuances in the language.  The entertaining gameplay mechanics and actual story arcs presented by the faction dispute was simply a bonus. I can't say any other zone's quest dialogue can compare to Sholazar Basin's.  There are areas of the game that offer more jaw dropping revelations and unexpected twists of allegiance, but the basin had it all in one nice little package.  Hell, I even found the hatch from Lost while running around the lush lands. I highly suggest cleaning up any remaining quests you have in Sholazar.  If you haven't been there, you are missing one of the most integrated and self aware zones in the game.  Be sure to run the Frenzyheart/Oracle line to the end.  You'll know the end when you get there...

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I was elated when Blizzard announced that they'd be giving you access to flying mounts the moment you hit Outland. Anything that got me out of there just as fast was sure to be a good thing. Sure, there was a point in time when I actually liked running around on ol' Draenor, but now-a-days, it's just a speedbump on the way to Level 80. Buy a fresh flyer at Thrallmar or Honor Hold and you could just cruise through the 58-68 grind! Out of bad habit, I still went all the way to Shadowmoon Valley to get mine, but the overall experience was much more tolerable. But, wait a minute. Without some really clever playing of the auction house and an amount of resource grinding equal to or greater than that which is required to level, how could you possibly have the 600+ gold required to purchase the Expert Riding skill right away? Sure, once you've quested all the way around Outland, you should have the cash on hand, but not if you're a green-eyed recruit who just popped their Dark Portal cherry. Luckily for my last alt to make the journey, I had a wealthy main who could send the required dough through the mail system, but not everyone finds their experience so serendipitous. Blizzard apparently felt your pain, and introduced a stealth update in the last patch (that they have now confirmed) which lowered the cost of Expert Riding from 600g to 225g:

"You guys are correct, we reduced the expert riding skill price in 3.2.2 to 225g. We also changed the faction discounts for the riding skill vendors in Honor Hold and Thrallmar to use Stormwind and Orgrimmar faction. There are a couple reasons we made this change. First off, we wanted expert riding to be available to more people at level 60. 600g just did not seem like a reasonable expectation for most level 60 players to have when they roll into Hellfire Peninsula. Especially after purchasing your level 60 skills. The second change, regarding the factions just made a lot more sense this way since you will not have any Thrallmar or Honor Hold faction when you enter Hellfire. Finally, I want to apologize for this change not making the patch notes. We strive to get every change we make into the notes but this one somehow slipped by. Once again, my apologies on that, but hopefully the lower price will help make up for it. ;)"

Don't fret too much, those of you who continue to see such changes as "dumbing down" the game. Artisan Riding still costs a steep 5000 gold. And, honestly, if you've got that much of a beef, you've probably been playing the game for a very long time. We should be welcoming the charity for all future alts who will eventually have to pass through Outland anyway. My piece is said, folks. What do you readers think of this discount?

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