Project Lore

Cataclysm Countdown is a series of informed speculative articles concerning things we might see in the next expansion that I will be posting every day this week, leading right up to Blizzcon. In the interest of thought purity, I will do my best to steer clear of recent "leaked" material, relying upon it only where it logically connects with the existing lore. Nothing hereafter is official or has been confirmed/denied by Blizzard at the time of its writing. Weekends are like life's natural cliffhangers. Once Friday evening rolls around, the entire news-media industry just sort of shuts down as we writers and journalists go off to frolic with our friends and loved ones (or level up a Paladin, in my case) for a couple of days. That is, unless you're an unfortunate weekend editor or something really, really big happens. Well, something really, really big did happen this past Friday, but as it turns out, there was just nothing else to report after the big leak. We would've continued to keep you informed if there was anything to inform you about. Instead, people began to speculate and everything that entails (including the doubters, and some misguided young fellows who were looking for their 15 minutes of internet fame by claiming to have "hoaxed" the whole thing). I must admit, I couldn't keep my mind off of Cataclysm, either. And, in the following few days, I'd like to share some of my own thoughts with the rest of you. So many things have gone through my head, but I keep coming back to the one thing that is near and dear to my heart: raiding. As much as a pure pain in the ass it can be at times, raid content represents the nexus of high lore and the most complex gameplay elements. It is the intersection between the legacy of WoW's biggest baddies and the narrative you've carved for yourself as a character, or as part of a guild. That seems like a fine place to start, as we can use the existing lore as a touchstone to examine what villains we may be facing in the near future. The Maelstrom, a giant storm raging in the center of Azeroth, conceals much of Azshara's empire. Nazjatar - If there's one thing we can almost certainly count on seeing in the expansion, it's Azshara, former Highborne and Queen of the Naga for the past 10,000 years or so. Nazjatar is the seat of her power, currently built into a wall of The Rift, a deep ocean trench that runs under the Maelstrom. Some people have speculated that the catastrophic event associated with the expansion will cause Nazjatar to rise to the surface. Whether it erupts from the waves or remains at the bottom of the sea, I'm willing to bet that players are going to have to go there at some point. And as acting home base for one of the chief expansion villains, they're probably going to have to raid it, as well. I personally imagine Nazjatar to be Icecrown-like in structure. It is unlikely that we'll have access to the stronghold from the get-go, but we will be able to explore and quest in the surrounding area. Nazjatar, and the area of The Rift would be sufficient enough, but it may also end up including nearby locales like the homeland of the Makrura and a huge ship graveyard called the Drowned Reaches (assuming they survive the destruction). The Rift - The Rift, itself, is a scar cut deep into the ocean floor by the collapsing of the Well of Eternity thousands of years ago. Little is known about what is down there, but lava flows in the deepest of its reaches. It may also be home to an Old God (these guys really do love hiding within the planet's core, don't they?) who needs some slaying. This could end up being a single-boss raid, Malygos style, depending on whether or not an Old God ends up being the primary villain. Zandalar - It wouldn't be an expansion without some new Troll content, now would it? Sure, they haven't gotten a raid in Wrath, but they did get a whole zone, and two 5-man dungeons, to themselves. The most underplayed race in the game is also, without coincidence, the coolest. It would be a shame if we didn't see any associated areas! Zandalar itself could play a pivotal role in the coming events. It was once attached to Kalimdor before being torn from the coast by the original Sundering (a.k.a. the collapsing of the Well of Eternity), and now exists just to the southeast of the Maelstrom. It's close to the action and mixes deliciously into the lore, which makes it prime territory for a raid. But where and why? I say Zuldazar, the worldwide Troll capital, with King Rastakhan as the endboss. While we don't know a whole lot about the nature of the island, Zuldazar is reported to look like a mountain built out of smaller Ziggurats (think the tiered structure of Zul'Drak, but bigger, much taller, and all squished together). This towering structure makes for an imposing, and impressive raid zone. Non-Troll races face danger the moment they step on the island, but some new found threat (perhaps a Naga invasion) could force Rastakhan to seek outside help. If rumors of the Goblin's home being destroyed by the cataclysm are true, it stands to reason that Zandalar would suffer a similar fate. So, whether outsiders are called to resolve a communal threat, or Rastakhan and company have been driven mad, I'm secretly hoping that Blizzard finds reason to stick some cool raid content here. The gate to Grim Batol -- it could use a facelift. Grim Batol - Grim Batol has been called home by several different factions over the years. First, it was the Wildhammer Dwarves, and then the Dragonmaw Clan of Orcs. Currently, members of the Red Dragonflight (kin to Alexstrasza, who has played a key role in the events of Wrath) guard the entrance, but there is no way in. The Warcraft novel Night of the Dragon indicates that Deathwing, the Black Dragon Aspect, currently resides within. As another potential primary villain in Cataclysm (as well as another major power driven nuts by the Old Gods), a raid on Grim Batol is an almost certain possibility. His attempts to perfect the destructive twilight dragons ensure that we'll be seeing plenty of them inside the dungeon (and the world at large). CoT: War of the Ancients - Azshara and Deathwing were both key players in the War of the Ancients. Just like they did to remind us of Arthas' past in Wrath of the Lich King, I fully expect Blizzard to give us some insight into where these villains are coming from. In order to do that, we may have access to a new, Hyjal-style Caverns of Time raid that puts us right into the heart of this weathered conflict. At what point? I don't know. But in a "history repeating itself" moment, I bet we get to witness the original Sundering. Blackrock Mountain - But there's already a raid here, right? The venerable Molten Core! One rumor pointed out that Blackrock Mountain would explode to reveal a new caldera. There isn't much to back this up just yet, but it stands to reason that a cataclysm would involve shifting around the tectonic plates and screwing with the chewy, magma-filled core of the planet. If so, it stands to reason that a gigantic volcano like Blackrock would blow its top. It's unclear what this may or may not do to the existing dungeons/raid content, but I'm sort of hoping for the return of Ragnaros. Blackrock Mountain -- at least as it looks right now. Allow me to go into fanboy mode for a moment. I'd love to see this massive version of Ragnaros erupting from the center of the destroyed Blackrock Mountain, hurling fireballs into the countryside and causing massive destruction. Imagine entering the instance, in this case, an outside one placed around the edge of the caldera, facing mini-bosses while trying to avoid the wrath of the Elemental Lord by ducking into small caves and alcoves. I can just see him taunting the raid with threats and insults as you travel around the spiral, eventually arriving at his "feet." I'm imagining an experience much like Coldarra in Borean Tundra, only replace the magic spire and rings with the towering inferno that is Ragnaros. None of us truly knows what to expect from Cataclysm at this point, but understanding the lore likely to be associated with it provides us with the framework for basic raid content as shown above. Every location, every character, relates back to the core event of the War of the Ancients and the Sundering. As things seem about to repeat themselves, it only stands to reason that they will come to the forefront once again. But that doesn't preclude Blizzard from inventing entirely new villains or raids to supplement the existing lore. So, trusty readers, what do you think of my predictions? Knowing what we know, are there any other major zones or characters that you think will show up in the expansion's raid content? What about Uldum (I suspect it to be a 5-man instance) or modern-day Hyjal (what might be a standard, but nonetheless important, area)? There might even be repurposed content from old raids. Tell us what you're looking forward to raiding beyond Wrath!

Click to read more ...

With 3.2 once again the game has received a fresh coat of paint, and we have a whole list new things to do. Personally I have enjoyed getting back into heroics, trying new raid content, and earning some coin on the new dailies.

Clearly most of the new content involves the Argent Tournament, and all of the instances and quests surrounding it. So far one of my favorite activities has been collecting champion seals and saving up for all of the new toys they have introduced.

While in 3.1 there were plenty of gear and pets we could buy, with 3.2 Blizzard has dramatically increased the rate at which we can get the seals, as well and introduced some amazing rewards.

For me the first thing I bought as soon as I got that Crusader title was the Argent Crusade Tabard. Despite having the Tabard of the Achiever, I have never really been a big fan of tabards. That is, of course, unless they do something for me besides just looking stylish. Well, this one does, and it is amazing. Every 30 minutes you can teleport yourself directly to the Argent Tournament grounds. For me this is something infinitely useful, and something that I am doing several times a day.

Say I have a few extra minutes to knock out some quick dailies, I just port straight to the quest hub and get them down. Then say I am running late to a raid, I can port there again and be zoned in before summons even go out. The point is that the Argent Tournament Grounds are where EVERYTHING is going on in this patch, and getting there instantly is amazingly useful. I would suggest you guys pick this one up as soon as you can.

Beyond that, the Argent Pony Bridal is another game changer that should be at the top of any serious players priority list. This will transform your squire into more than a fun vanity pet. It will allow him to act as a banker, vendor, or mailbox once every 4 hours. You can only imagine the hundreds of scenarios where this will come in handy. Bags filling up while questing, forgetting your offset during a raid, or mailing yourself consumable from an alt. The list goes on.

Personally there are a few other rewards I have my eye on, although they do start to take a turn toward vanity items at this point. For me I am getting the Argent Charger very soon, for no other reason that I love the idea of a Paladin only mount, there are also tons of pets, mounts, tabards, and trinkets to collect.

Regardless of what you are after I think Blizzard has done a great job of giving us some carrots to go after that are not just standard gear. What do you guys think? Any new in-game items that you are chasing after?

Click to read more ...

The Next Expansion is an ever growing series of articles that focuses on WoW’s upcoming third expansion.  The column covers news, speculation and even gameplay mechanics that PL’s writers would like to see implemented.

Late last Friday MMO-Champion ran a story on the next expansion that detailed enough information to keep many brains busy over the weekend.  Boubouille insists that none of the information posted is speculation, but pure fact.  I was as giddy as a school girl (or my girlfriend) around Robert Pattinson (swoon) as I read the news, until I took the time to think things through.  It just sounds too good to be true. You can consider the races, Worgen and Goblins, confirmed as well as the third expansion's title, Cataclysm.  Those tidbits have been repeated by "sources" for weeks now.  I'm skeptical about a few other things, as are many others out there.  My main concern is that the larger playerbase is getting too excited before the details are official.  Simply put, I fear hype backlash. Boubouille is one of the great Internet sleuths, so it is hard to doubt his skills.  Nevertheless here's what I have trouble digesting:

• Level 85 Cap:  There's really no justification to not do 10 additional levels like we are used to.  If the developers want leveling to take longer then Blizzard can simply make the XP pools far larger.  We've also no reason to believe that WoW has to end at level 100.  No matter what this isn't a big concern; just the first point that caught my eye.
• Class Combinations: This is certainly plausible.  Orc Mage, Tauren Priest, Blood Elf Warrior, all highly likely, lore-fitting modifications to our current race/class structure.  It's the Troll Druid that I can't see being a reality.  On the one hand, It'd be a perfect way to get more Horde playing the most underplayed race in the game.  However, two druids for the Horde and only one for the Alliance (Night Elf) just doesn't seem like a move Blizzard would make.
• Flying In Azeroth:  There's a reason that Blizzard never allowed flying in Azeroth, the game's basic design.  If you look really closely at the old landscapes you can see that Blizzard employed a lot of tricks to get objects, foliage specifically, to look 3D without it actually being 3D (allows the client to have a crappier computer).  These Doom-esque tactics would need to be completely redone across all of Azeroth to enable flying.  Even using the superb tools created by Blizzard, it would be a daunting, and boring, task.
• Unfinished Original Content:  Areas like Mount Hyjal only compound the flying issue.  The zone was never made accessible because Blizzard never finished the content.  It was there however.  If we are allowed to fly in Azeroth then Blizzard has to spend more time completing, or at least overhauling, the formerly neglected areas of Azeroth.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see all of this come true.  The fact of the matter is it would be a massive undertaking.  The scope of the expansion, as detailed by Boub, would effectively be like starting the game from scratch, as far as content is concerned.  Blizzard is good, but I don't know if the company can pull all of this off in approximately two years development time. If Cataclysm comes to pass as described it will set a new precedent for MMO expansion. It's hard not to get excited, especially with awesome mechanics like flooding, town sacking (kinda), revamped old world content and the return of Deathwing.  Love me some horizontal content. Just remember that BlizzCon, and official confirmation, is only days away.  Take a deep breath, do a reality check, and wait...for ~120 hours.

Click to read more ...

The info just keeps on rolling in today. A week out from the rockstar event that is Blizzcon and we might have our first major leaks. Heartbourne has already clued us in on potential new class combinations, but our friends over at MMO-Champion seem to have found a whole lot more. Boubouille absolutely insists that none of this is speculation, and while I remain skeptical about his sources, his track record is proven. This is as close to gospel as we're going to get until we hear something officially official. So keep on reading to find out what we know (or think we know) so far. Be warned, though, spoilers are abound if you want to keep your sense of surprise. SPOILER WARNING Herein is a rough list of major content changes that we can expect to see in the next expansion:

• New Class Combinations - No new classes will be added to the game. Instead, existing races will be given access to classes that they never had before. It is currently unknown what classes will be available to the new races, however.
• New Level Cap - Surprisingly, it's only 85. This may fit in with a new philosophy of improving characters through gear instead of pure XP. Likewise, if the end-goal for WoW is 100, it leaves a little more space for successive expansions to grow.
• Azshara, Queen of the Naga The Cataclysm - This titular event, set in motion by Deathwing and Queen Azshara, will bring many changes to the existing content in the game, as well as open up several new ones.  Their motivations for unleashing such destruction upon the world may be in part due to those pesky insanity-inducing Old Gods.
• New Horde Race: Goblins - The Goblins have found their island home virtually destroyed by the events of the Cataclysm. Washing up on the shores of The Barrens, a quest line involving Thrall's capture (and subsequent rescue by the Goblin race) will explain how they ended up as the new consorts of the Horde. With their homeland gone, it's unclear whether or not we will get to visit Kezan, the island where the Goblin capital of Undermine exists.
• New Alliance Race: Worgen - The Greymane Wall, which separates Gilneas from Silverpine Forest, has been shattered by the Cataclysm. Bewildered from their self-imposed exile, the Worgen venture forth and find friends in the Alliance. It is unclear what the Goblin starting area may entail, but the Worgen will be receiving the Death Knight treatment. Gilneas will be a heavily-phased zone that will shuttle your character through the nation's history before unleashing them on the rest of Azeroth. Did I mention that Worgen do get to transform? That's right, you'll be able to shift from Human to Worgen at the click of a button, though we don't know if it will afford you any special abilities to do so.
• Azeroth Remade - Goblins and Worgen aren't the only ones who have felt the impact of this catastrophic event. Existing zones will be remade or phased in order to accommodate the current state of the world. The examples given include remaking Azshara into a 10-20 level area and splitting the Barrens into two distinct zones for players of different levels.
• New Areas - There will be no new continents introduced in the expansion, but instead, unreleased content in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms will finally be filled in. In addition to the aforementioned opening of Gilneas, you can also expect to see modern-day Hyjal and Uldum. These are only examples and do not represent the entire breadth of fresh content that will no doubt be introduced.
• Mainland Flight - Restructuring the two core continents has allowed Blizzard to add flight to those zones that never had it. Now you can ride all the way from the Plaguelands to Booty Bay on you very own flying mount. Presumably, you will still need to take a boat or zeppelin to go from one continent to the other.
• Dungeons Remade - Onyxia was only the beginning. This does not preclude the addition of new 5-man dungeons or raid content, but many of the old instances will be retrofitted for players progressing from Level 80-85. Reportedly, we'll also be seeing Ragnaros again. It is not known how extensive the changes will end up being (new bosses/new graphics or merely upgraded stats on mobs and items).

That's a lot to digest and I'm honestly eager to see how everything fits together. There are some controversial ideas in there, as well as changes that players have been clamoring for year after year. In fact, a lot of it sounds like the kind of stuff that Blizzard employees have wanted to implement themselves, but have repeatedly insisted they haven't been working on. Phasing, as I previously proposed, will play a large role in the recreation of mainland Azeroth (self high-five!). By treading this path, however, I'm afraid there is also the chance of alienating a certain portion of the  player base who see this as merely reusing old content. That may or may not be the case, and we may have to wait another week to find out. I think it really depends on how fresh the revamped content ends up feeling. Will the graphics of many areas be significantly improved or changed? Will the new quest lines make it worth adventuring through old zones? Is this the vanilla WoW that we always wanted? Or will the new Azeroth be a whole lot like the old Azeroth? A yet-to-be-confirmed post on the Something Awful forums indicated huge, sweeping changes for the landscape, though. Thousand Needles flooded, many zones in absolute ruins, Orgrimmar sundered in two (with the introduction of a new Orc main city). The forums are private, but the summary has be re-posted on MMO-Champion. I'm sure you all have a lot to say about these revelations, so feel free to strike up a conversation in our comments section. I know I'll be watching it closely!

Click to read more ...

Patch 3.2.2 has hit the PTR, and there is some surprising new data that has been data-mined. It appears that there are a bunch of new race/class combination, though it is unclear if these will actually be playable. It may just be for NPCs. The list is as follows:

• Human Hunter
• Orc Mage
• Night Elf Mage
• Blood Elf Warrior
• Dwarf Shaman
• Undead Hunter
• Tauren Paladin
• Tauren Priest
• Gnome Priest
• Troll Druid

I think this may well be true. I totally predicted both Tauren Paladins and Dwarf Shaman in an earlier Proverb article, and it could totally be viable. Check out the full article for my justification. In other news, a new quest has appeared on the PTR for the Alliance that parallels the new quest that Horde players gained in patch 3.2. In it, a dialogue occurs between a Highborne Night Elf and a sentinel. The Highborne, Archmage Mordent Evenshade, requests an audience with Tyrande: Archmage Mordent Evenshade looks over the moonwell with a sigh. Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: Calm yourself, Sentinel. I do not seek to use it. I am merely... remembering. Sentinel Stillbough says: Recalling your treachery? Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: Enough. I have been apart from this for centuries. The well within this temple may be a pale spectre of the Well of Eternity, but it still holds the same... beauty. Purity. Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: I had forgtten. Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: I do not believe admiration and wistful thoughts are against the societal norm. Sentinel Stillbough says: Watch yourself, Highborne. Archmage Mordent Evenshade says: You were the one who challenged me for merely looking. I still await my audience with Tyrande. Sentinel Stillbough says: In good time. It may be that we see Highborne Night Elves as Mages, Wildhammer Dwarves as Shaman, and light-following former-Druid Taurens as Paladins in the near future. Is this awesome, or really awesome?

Click to read more ...

Proverb is a psuedo-weekly column discussing the lore of Warcraft. It is spoiler heavy for all Warcraft games, novels, and other media. Comment on this post or send a tweet to @Heartbourne and let us know what you would like to see in future columns! This week on Proverb, as per request of Angusthehaggis on Twitter, we'll be looking at the differences and origins of the modern Quel'dorei and Sin'dorei, commonly known as "High Elves" and "Blood Elves". This article ended up very long, so the second part will be out later this weekend. The High Elves have a long and rich history. High Elves were originally Night Elves, or Kal'dorei, but through their practice of magic underwent some physical changes that turned them into a distinct race, especially under the physical separation of the two factions due to the exile of the Highborne from Kalimdor. If you aren't familiar with this story, take a quick read of Proverb: The Vials of Eternity. The Quel'dorei named their settlement Quel'thalas, or "High Kingdom". The northernmost portion was named Silvermoon, with the sprawling capital city bearing the same name. Lush forests composed the southern regions of Quel'thalas, including the Eversong Woods and Eversong Forest. The High Elves fought many wars with the local forest trolls, namely the Amani trolls. Wars with the trolls raged on for years, and the high elves eventually turned to the human kingdom of Arathor for help. The humans were reluctant, but helped for their own safety from the trolls. The elves taught the humans magic, and together they defeated the Amani empire. In exchange for the help, Anasterian Sunstrider, king of the high elves, pledged loyalty to the bloodline of Thoradin, king of Arathor. The High Elves largely remained reclusive and distant from the human nations that came and went over the years. Elves are very proud and arrogant, and the elves of Quel'thalas would need good reason to ally with the humans. Some 1,200 years after the troll wars, the Alliance of Lordaeron was founded, consisting of the seven human nations of the time, in reaction the orc's invasion of Azeroth and the fall of Stormwind. King Terenas sent an emissary to Silvermoon to ask for the elves help. Anasterian decided to help only because Lord Lothar was among the humans requesting help, as Lothar was a descendant of Thoradin. Anasterian sent a small force led by Alleria Windrunner, who soon reported the immanent threat of the trolls and their new orcish allies. The high elves joined in full force to protect their homeland. The newly formed Horde did much damage to Quel'thalas, especially the red dragons enslaved by the Dragonmaw clan of orcs. Anasterian blamed Terenas' poor leadership for the burning of the forests of Quel'thalas. Lothar perished during the war, and the high elves considered their debt to Thoradin's bloodline paid and the humans careless. The nation of Silvermoon largely shut itself off from the world. A few high elves remained outside of Azeroth, but very few wanted to mingle with the humans or other races. A few high elves studied in Dalaran (including Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider), which was the premier location for studying magic, perhaps even exceeding Silvermoon. The High Elves remained isolated as the Scourge ravaged the human kingdom of Lordaeron. With Arthas leading them as the Lich King's token Death Knight, the Scourge ravaged Quel'thalas, destroyed Silvermoon and the Sunwell, and killed around 90% of all of the High Elves who died defending their homeland, including King Anasterian Sunstrider. The elves would never forget the loss of their great kingdom to Arthas, prince of Lordaeron, adding another mark against the humans' reputation. Kael'thas returned to Quel'thalas, infuriated at the destruction of his homeland during his absence. He rallied as many High Elves as he could gather, and renamed his people Sin'dorei, or blood elves, to reflect their thirst for vengeance and a new source of magic to quench their thirst after the loss of the Sunwell. Roughly 90% of the remaining High Elves followed Kael'thas and took on the new name. He allied with the humans temporarily, then left them to take an offer from Illidan Stormrage to find new, exotic forms of magic to feed his people. The other 10% of the high elves remained elsewhere. Many of them were elsewhere during the destruction of Silvermoon or fled. These remaining High Elves were of a loose association to each other and called their organization the Silvermoon Remnant, and still consider themselves to be members of the Alliance.  While the high elves traditionally used the Sunwell to satisfy their thirst for magic, the ones that traveled around Azeroth used alternative sources. For example, current day Stormwind contains a Moonwell with a few high elves around it. Many high elves traveled with Jaina Proudmoore to found Theramore, where they currently hold two seats in her advising council. The high elf population continues to dwindle, as the high elves are disparate and many defect back to Silvermoon to join the blood elves. Continue to part 2.

Click to read more ...

Can the awesomeness of Blizzard games be distilled into a scant 140 characters? The company's Licensing Project Manager, Kat Hunter, seems to think so. According to her own account, all three of Blizzard's core franchises are being given the Twitter treatment. So whether you're a fan of Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo, there's something for everyone. Or just add all three (hint: clicking the previous links take you straight to the games' respective Twitter pages)!  These accounts appear to be alternate news feeds for all of the latest Blizzard buzz. I'm willing to bet that they get quite the work out during Blizzcon. And did someone say licensing? Considering Mrs. Hunter's involvement (and the pedigree of corporate Twitter accounts in general), I think we can expect to see plenty of posts about events, new merchandise, and promotional opportunities in addition to general news items. So go ahead and add 'em. And while you're at it, why not follow Project Lore, as well? We provide a link to every new article as it's posted and it's a great way to keep up with our schedule of live streaming feeds. So what do you think of this readers? Do you even use Twitter? Is this something useful and interesting to you? I don't think you can fault Blizzard for giving their fans options and the convenience factor can't be beat. Where else can you keep up on the latest WoW news and pretend like you're best buds with Ashton Kutcher at the same time? Wait... does Ashton Kutcher play Warcraft?

Click to read more ...

Looks like Mr. T's gone and hacked the game again (he's pretty handy with computers, I hear). It seems that the sudden release of 3.2.2 on the test realms reveals more than just the revamped Onyxia raid. As usual, Boubouille over at MMO-Champion has already done some digging through the  new files, and he's come up with a few unlisted spells related to "Night Elf Mohawks," and their human alter-ego, one Laurence Tureaud (that's Mr. T to you, buddy):

• Silence Fool (Instant, Melee Range) - Pummels an enemy for 15 damage and interrupts the spell being cast for 5 sec.
• Pity the Fool (Instant) - Reduces the melee attack power of nearby enemies for 30 sec.
• Maximum Mohawk (Instant) -  Only one Night Elf Mohawk may assist a group at a time.
• Create Mohawk Grenade (Instant, Unlimited Range) - Right Click to throw and pity some fools!

Can you handle the 'hawk? With Ozzy playing at Blizzcon, I knew it wouldn't be long before other WoW commercial luminaries got their due. It remains to be seen how these spells will be incorporated into the game, though. Due to their obviously whimsical nature, I suspect that they may be related to some sort of mini-game (with the 15 damage figure up there, this certainly isn't attached to some hidden raid boss or anything). Will this be a stand-alone event or might it be attached to a holiday (I can't imagine which one)? Are these spells used by players or an enemy mob that they have to fight? Maybe some more digging will reveal the answers to these questions in time. At this point, it's all speculation, but we here at Project Lore will be sure to keep you up-to-date on all the latest WoW-related Mr. T happenings! Chime in with all your thoughts and Mr. T love below (and if you don't love Mr. T, then you're a fool and you won't be receiving any pity from me).

Click to read more ...

That has to be a record.  For as long as I have been following WoW, over five years, I have never seen Blizzard go from announcement to PTR that fast.  It took two days, less than 48 hours, for Onyxia's retuning to go from a blue post to actual content on the PTR.  Thanks to the data mining fiend known as Boubouille we've already have a first look inside level 80 Onyxia's succulent loot table. Check out Boubouille's finds here.  He'll have more as the day moves on, most likely. The mount is what excites most people, and at 310% flying speed, it should.  The current model is exactly what I would expect a Disney-ed Onyxia to look like.  She's almost friendly!  Unfortunately it appears that scoring one of these mounts is going to be incredibly difficult.  Zarhym articulates it best, "The drop rate will be extremely low. One day I will have it, though as soon as I loot it I'll probably be struck by lightning on a sunny day and attacked by a shark, all while in the presumed comfort of my living quarters."  Sounds like Winterstrike and Juggynaut will be kept busy for quite some time. Boubouille also had me scratching my head at some new spells he discovered.  Mohawk related spells that are appropriately title after Mr. T's most famous saying.  The PTR patch notes make no mention to the spells, so one can only assume that they are...I have no idea.  I am truly and utterly stumped as to what use they could be other than some sort of crazy joke.  Perhaps Mr. T is making an appearance alongside Ozzy? The current patch notes for Patch 3.2.2 stick with the general rule of thumb for incremental patches, short and sweet.  Solidsamm is pissed though, a 30% reduction to Fan of Knives is going to drastically lower his overall DPS on numerous trash mobs.  Hopefully the mass of raiders being indoctrinated to fear Deep Breath and grinding away at a purple dragon will cause him to forget the nerf. When do you expect the patch to be out?

Click to read more ...

With the great shadow of Blizzcon looming on the horizon, how can we not get worked up about it? How can we not begin to wonder what goodies they're just waiting to unleash on us die-hard fans like front-liners at a GWAR concert? We expect to walk away from this thing tired, satisfied, and maybe just a little sticky! But laying restless in bed this morning, I began to think: Blizzard's got this huge expansion coming up, but they've still got at least one major piece of content to release for Lich King. Likewise, they stated they'd like to get a new expansion out every year -- an unrealistic goal for a company like this, but perhaps a year-and-a-half is within the realm of possibility. And then I remembered that they just pushed StarCraft 2 back into 2010. Having two major releases coming out back-to-back like that is virtually unheard of! That might push Cataclysm (as we assume the expansion to be named) to next Fall for a release date similar to Lich King two years previous. And that means that they've got until next Blizzcon to give us all of the real juicy details. I believe that most people, at this point, assume that there's going to be a deluge of information about Cataclysm this year, but that may be jumping the gun. No doubt we'll get something, perhaps a reveal of new races and some very early look at the content, a trailer even, but let's not forget that there is still the matter of the Lich King to resolve. If the rumors of Icecrown Citadel being enormous are true (not 31-boss big, of course, but I believe the intention of size was expressed), I expect we may hear a log more about how this expansion is going to wrap up before even going into the next one. Once again, I'm going mostly on conjecture here, but I do remember one of the Blues mentioning (when asked about how far off the Argent Coliseum would be) that their timetable was not as lengthy as we players might expect. And, indeed, we saw the release of 3.2 just three months or so after Ulduar. Now that opens the possibility of seeing the Citadel released by the end of the year or early next. If Cataclysm releases in the Summer, no biggie. But Fall 2010? That would leave a huge 9-10 month gap between content releases. That would mean that there may be some post-ICC release, a 3.4 if you will, that would function much like Sunwell at the end of Burning Crusade. If that's the case, we may begin to hear something about that content, as well. And really, when it boils right down to it, the end of the Lich King is potentially such a big deal, are they going to want us knowing a whole lot about the aftermath just yet (which learning about Cataclysm would probably entail)? My head's spinning just trying to consider all this and I hope you're all still with me at this point. But I'm currently of the opinion that we're going to get a real introductory look at the next expansion, with the remainder of Wrath content getting the bulk of attention at the show. Do I hope I'm wrong? Most certainly. I'd love nothing more than to experience the largest fangasm ever from the impending surge of information that could be coming our way. I'd die for Mike Morhaime to ascend to the stage and tell us that they're finished with Icecrown Citadel, the expansion's coming within six months, and that, Oprah-style, we all get a beta invite. But I also expect Blizzard to take as much time as they feel they need to complete their products, and considering their track record, that's what supersedes everything else. They're tackling more releases at this point in time than they ever have at once before. We're going to hear tons about StarCraft 2 and the revamped Battle.net. We'll get the dish about Diablo, too. Let's not forget there's also that "next-gen MMO" hanging on the horizon, as well. If they wanted to release all of these games on the same day, they could probably get away with it. So maybe it's not so far-fetched to consider the sequel to StarCraft and the new expansion to hit shelves so close to each other. After all, one shouldn't really cannibalize sales of the other... much. Don't worry for a second. Blizzcon will be packed to the brim with details, but with so many things to cover, I just keep coming back to the idea that Cataclysm's dynamite reveal may quickly be overtaken by the rest of the show's content. What do you guys and gals think? I know I presented a lot of possibilities above, a lot of variables to consider. This kind of idle thinking leads to a whole lot of brain spew (something else you'll see at a GWAR concert, by the way). Do you agree? Disagree? The way content is being handled, just what will we end up hearing about at Blizzcon? Maybe the reveal of new races and a quick overview? A teaser trailer for Cataclysm? Is Blizzard ready to show us that much of the game's future?

Click to read more ...