Project Lore

After revealing the new Druid bear-form skins just a couple of weeks ago, Blizzard promised that we'd get to see the new cat digs, too. And deliver, they have! Well, at least for Taurens (though I'm sure Night Elves can't be too far behind). Despite not being into the whole "accessorizing" thing as the bears seem to be, I'd have to admit that the cat reworkings come off a whole lot more impressive. The new bears maintains the same snarling, wide-eyed look as the original, but the cats... oh, no, they're sleeker. Meaner, even. So fierce!

Gone is the old nose: flat, open, and generally odd-looking like a raw ham pressed against a glass window. It's been replaced by one that features a wider bridge and a snout that evokes the image of a Corvette hood slicing through midnight air instead of a mere breathing device. Heck, it even has its own ornament in the form of  a thick ring clamped between the nostrils. And then there're the eyes, pulled wider, and narrowed to be more menacing. No longer must we deal with our cats' electric green eyeballs and their gormless stare. These new felines are badass killers and their bodies have changed to match. Their comically large fangs have been worn down into fine instruments of terror and flesh-rending. Clearly, they've been doing their share of eating, as well -- the old, emaciated form with riblines showing has given way to dense musculature and a more sculpted shape. And, hey, look at those braids! Fashionable! Tribal tattoos, more-rounded horns, actual knees, and four (count them, FOUR) toes on each paw round out the fancy new package. Druids the world 'round are sure to be happy with what Blizzard's done for their cats, though there is still no way to tell the differences in gender (as was asked by a female audience member at a Developer Q&A during the last World Wide Invitational). As with the Tauren bear forms, cat skins can also be chosen by changing your skin tone at the Barber Shop in an upcoming content patch. Blizzard has expressed no intention to offer any upgrades to tree-form Druids yet. Maybe something special around Christmas time? *wink wink*

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"Am I level 10 or 80? Who knows!" Blizzard just slipped us a sneak preview of the long-awaited updated models for the druid animal forms.  Currently, the preview only shows the tauren bear form, but they announced that the night elf bear form will be revealed by the end of the week. They mention that there are five different skins for each animal form per faction.  In other words, each druid will have access to five unique bear forms and five unique cat forms, which will differ from druids of the opposing faction.  The various skins are chosen and changed in the barbershop. I don't play a druid, but I wonder how I would feel if I waited this long for a new look to accompany my feral side.  All the other classes have been able to improve their gear and change their appearances drastically, but the poor bears and cats have been looking at the same models for over four years.  There must be throngs of druids jumping up and down at this announcement. For some reason, I was expecting more than just a simple cosmetic change via the barbershop.  How long will these new forms be interesting or exciting?  Don't get me wrong, the screenshots of the tauren bear forms look awesome, but I think the issue is deeper than that.  The problem is, these new models are still static.  They don't change as your character improves or gets new gear.  Unless they plan on implementing new skins on a regular basis, they, too, will get stale. These changes also do nothing for our healing druids in tree form. I can sympathize with the complexity of trying to integrate item upgrades onto multiple animal forms.  As it is, when they create a new item they have to make sure it looks right on twenty different models representing both genders of each race.  Adding item textures for the bear, cat and tree forms of both factions would be a huge drain of time and resources.  However, I can't help thinking there would be some way to at least have some visual representation of how well-geared you were while in these forms. Perhaps they could use the average item level of the equipped gear to determine how ferocious or predatory your toon looks.  They have similar technology already coded.  For example, the Flame Leviathan vehicles check the average item level of their driver to determine how powerful they should be.  How amazing would it be to have the top gear from Ulduar hard modes and strut around Dalaran in animal forms few others could duplicate?  A few glow and particle effects could easily differentiate a druid in heroic blues versus a druid decked out in tier 8.  Glowing eyes, saliva-dripping maws and bristling fur embody the druid's natural fury a bit better than a trip to the hair salon for a fur-frosting and dye job. Let us assume they added three visual upgrades with each raiding tier and included the neglected tree form as well.  Then for the 3.1 patch, they would have needed to design a total of eighteen new models, which includes different models for both the Horde and the Alliance.  This sounds reasonable to me and would certainly give druids of all types something to look forward to as they geared up and progressed through content.  In any case, I'm going to head over the official WoW forums so I can watch the shadow priests crying over not having new models for their shadowform! What do you think of Blizzard's announcement?  Are you satisfied or were you also hoping for something that scaled with gear?

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