Project Lore

The past month or so of WoW, for many of us, has been so incredibly concentrated on Icecrown Citadel. And I don't really see that as a bad thing, but it's nice to change things up every now and then. Which is why I welcome Love is in the Air with open arms.

Something about collecting Lovely Charms and assembling them into Lovely Charm bracelets for each of your faction's leaders (I haven't tried it yet, but a couple of my guildies have had great success collecting charms by targeting dwarves in Ulduar while atop a siege engine), all in the hope of gathering up enough love tokens to make all of the fun purchases you desire (achievement aside, I'm eying you, Lovely Red Dress)... it can get monotonous, sure, but I've been having a blast and also working toward the What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been meta-achievement too.

And of course we also have that crazy apothecary trio that many of us will be taking down multiple times every day. Beyond the ilevel 226 amulets that drop upon each kill (most of my guildies have been picking up pieces for their off-specs), it seems everyone is hoping to get a lucky roll on a Big Love Rocket (nice, subtle name, Blizzard). I've yet to see anyone on my server riding a love rocket, much less seen it drop. But a couple of YouTube videos posted the few days proves it does, indeed, exist -- though perhaps a bit more rare (and sexy) than, say, the coveted Brewfest mounts.

From the video, it appears that the rocket, similar to the Magic brooms from Hallow's Eve, works as both a flying and ground mount, depending on where it's summoned. And the one who posted the video claims it's also a 310% speed mount. I really want one!

What are your goals for this festive, lovely event? Anyone get any of those rare loot drops yet, or are all of you simply still drooling as I am?

The jury's still out on whether or not Garrosh Hellscream is truly a dangerous man. Sure, he's pushy, belligerent, hot-headed, and more than a little racist, but he seems to honestly believe that what he's doing is best for the Orcish people. And yet, we know somewhere in there, that he seeks to defy the more... unsavory aspects of his father's legacy, who was equally lustful for power, but failed to control himself by drinking Mannoroth's blood and esnlaving the Orcs. Likewise, we must consider that Garrosh has spent nearly his entire life in Nagrand. He's not as familiar with the struggles on Azeroth as his compatriots are; not as beholden to the same love of certain humans or ideals of peace as Thrall is. And let's not forget that he's got a virtual equal in the Humans' King Varian Wrynn. In Garrosh's eyes, he is a man who cannot be controlled and will take the opportunity to destroy the Horde when it presents itself. If Garrosh is to slated to become Warchief, he has to do what he thinks is right to protect his people, even if his methods seem wrong. We haven't reached the expansion just yet, or even the world events that will lead up to them, but signs of the changing times are already starting to show themselves on the PTR. While everyone else is distracted by the shiny, new 5-man dungeon (Pit of Saron), I decided to do a little bit of poking around, and discovered a rather interesting development in the good old Undercity. Bye-bye Abominations! As you might recall, after the events of the Wrathgate, Thrall sent his elite soldiers, the Kor'Kron Guard, to keep watch over the remaining apothecaries in the Forsaken capital. The difference on the test realm is that now, they're all over the place. Gone are the abominations that used to protect the city, replaced by Orcish knights patrolling the city. It's possible that this is just an expansion of Thrall's policy to keep the apothecaries in check, but it also fits in with things we've heard about the future. Namely, Garrosh becoming Warchief and changing the way things work. Only letting Orcs and Tauren into the center of Orgrimmar, because he believes that they're the only ones actually capable of defending it. Hey, what about the Trolls, Garrosh? Sure, the double-dealing of a certain faction of Undead and the inherently shifty Blood Elves need to be scrutinized, but what did the poor Trolls ever do to lose your trust? But, I digress. If the betrayal at Wrathgate made Garrosh lose faith in his already tenuous allies, the installation of Orcish guards in foreign cities may be a sign of the new Horde to come. And if this is truly the younger Hellscream's policy, then we may see him take the throne sooner than we thought. Another interesting tidbit that could possibly corroborate this idea: pre-BlizzCon claims cited that Cairne Bloodhoof, leader of the Tauren, would be framed for treason against the Horde and be killed by Garrosh. We don't yet know if that's actually how things will play out, but the tag for Cairne's son, Baine, has been changed in MMO-Champion's database. He is now listed as the High Chieftan, leader of the Tauren. Food for thought, people. Food. For. Thought.

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