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AY YOU LIVE IN
INTERESTING TIMES
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WELCOME
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I’ve always had an affection for that phrase, a curse masquerading as good wishes.
We live in interesting times. While many of us are battling our way to an appointment with the Lich King, we’ve been getting regular updates about the wonders that await us in Cataclysm. It’s a treasure trove of guild achievements, goblins, worgen, class changes, and underwater zones Theie’s plenty to be excited about.
Given this, it’s all too easy to adopt a grass-is-greener outlook and miss out on what we have. It’s not that the current game is unsatisfying—if you’re like me, you’re playing several hours per week—but that there’s a shiny bauble over there that's just out of reach.
It’s a good thing to step back, not worry about what’s coming, and enjoy the game as it is now and the story that drives it.
This issue, we interview Chris Metzen, the most visible man behind the lore of World of Warcraft, to get his views on telling the story of Azeroth We also talk with the people tasked with making your characters powerful and intimidating, the itemdesign team.
OK, we’re still excited about Cataclysm, and we’re not ignoring it. In fact, our cover story is all about the pivotal characters in the expansion. Just to keep things interesting.
Got an idea for an article? Send us a note at letters@worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wowthemagazine.
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SEE PAGE
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IN THIS ISSUE
0
) FEATURES
; communiTM <
) commns
8
PRELUDE TO CATACLYSM lhe threat from Norlhrcnd is over, but there is no time for rest in Azeroth. The land is in upheaval, and changes in leadership are inevitable.
126
DOOMH AMM ER: THE LEGEND BEHIND AN ORC SYMBOL
The weapon wielded by Thrall has a long and storied history. Now, this legendary hammer can find its way to your mantelpiece.
64
SHIFTING GEAR
The landscape isn't the only tiling changing in Cataclysm—check your gear!
68
EPIC LOOTERS
A chat with lhe folks who design the items you can’t play without.
108
FIGHTING FOR THE HOMELANDS
The gnomes and trolls have been in exile, but now it’s time to fight back—and you can help!
О
) TACTICS
116
STORMING TO VICTORY There’s no need to panic if you find yourself in the Eye of the Storm. Top players discuss their secrets to success in this Battleground.
54
DEFENDING THE RUBY SANCTUM Things may have settled down in the Obsidian Sanctum, but all is
yourself for another epic battle.
0
46
DRESSED TO IMPRESS
Cosplayers have the mats and the skill level to craft every piece in the game, and they look good doing it.
58
RAIDING THE
PHYSICAL WORLD
Check out guilds who hang out, throw epic parties, and talk about (or even play) World of Warcraft
80
BID BUSINESS
more than a way to get rid of extra items, it’s a game all on its own.
86
AUCTIONS ARE NEVER OUT OF YOUR RANGE The Remote Auction House puts the power of the bid in your hands, no mailer where you are.
134
COMMUNITY ARTIST
SPOTLIGHT
Creative visions of Azeroth from the players who Jive there.
) RDU1CE
136
LOCATION AWARE
You’d better watch your step and start talking if you want to improve
138
FOUR COMMANDMENTS TO RULE THEM ALL The tank keeps the boss’s attention, the healers are making sure that the raid doesn't die, and the DPS? We’re in cliarge of everything else.
140
LOVE ISA BATTLEFIELD
There are many kinds of healing challenges, but for some, the ultimate test is found in a Battleground.
142
GUILD GOALS
Whether it’s raiding, PvP, or role-playing, it all comes down to being social.
143
BLIZZCON
A celebration of the
Blizzard Community
144
GNOME VS. GOBLIN
COMIC
In the eternal battle between lhe races, there’s always a bigger fish.

THE SHATTERING
RUITIBUnijJ ИГОМ T№
OLD ШкЬ ЙДМЮО:
UtlFl
important that I don't wish to assume anything. You must know everything that I know.
We desperately need to have trade reestablished. I know it is difficult, but if there is any way that you can convince the kaldorci that we are not interested in conflict.... Appeal to them for
»,»ю lu'otl, OAlgAJt BlOODdOOF
Due to the drought and raging fires, we—the Horde—are running out of supplies. People are starving and dying. Ashenvale is nearby and can supply all we need. Be aware that Garrosh is not of a mind to negotiate for these rights. He prefers to
У simply move with force and take what is needed.
F We had a treaty with the night elves before the awful slaughter of the Sentinels, * so we know that the kaldorei were willing to deal with us and may be amenable to it •J. again if we can demonstrate our good intentions.
M it is up to you to convince them that the slaughter of the Sentinels in Ashenvale 1 was not the work of the Horde and that we, too. arc angry about it. Take care to
' cede the moral high ground on this issue. The dead are theirs, not ours.
Before Thrall departed for Outland, he endorsed pursuing a peaceful agreement
THE SHATTERING
THE SHATTERING
DRnnDJH!
rairne’s bellow was loud and deep and echoed as he strode into Grommash Hold. The guards moved to him, allegedly to assist, not quite to intercept.
He glared down at them balefully and snorted in derision, and they stepped aside.
“Garrosh!”
There was always somebody awake in Grommash Hold, tending the fires that never went out, making preparations for the following day, so it was not quite deserted, if still. Cairne’s shouting roused those who had been sleeping, and the rooms slowly filled with curious, still slightly drowsy onlookers rubbing their eyes and dressed in clothes that were obviously hastily donned.
“Garrosh, I demand to see you1”
"Nobody demands to see the leader of the Horde!” one of the Kor’kron spoke up, snarling.
Cairne whirled on him with a speed that belied his age. "I am High Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof. 1 helped create this Horde that Garrosh is currently undermining. 1 will speak with him, and I will speak with him now!”
"Old bull, you will wake the dead with your angry snorting and pawing!”
Garrosh's voice was as sharp as Cairne’s and dripping sarcasm. Cairne turned, the Kor kron forgotten, and fixed his gaze upon Garrosh Hellscream. The tauren’s eyes widened slightly.
"So,” he said quietly, regarding Garrosh s tattoos, “you have adopted more than your father’s weapon.”
“His weapon," said Garrosh, "and the markings on his face and body that struck fear into his enemies.” He moved his mouth slowly, as if it still caused pain. The tattoos looked recent.
“Your father did much ill, but he died doing a great good,” Cairne said. "And he would be ashamed of you right now.”
“What?” growled Garrosh. “What are you talking about, tauren?”
"I warned Thrall about you,” Cairne said, his voice as quiet as it had been loud before ignoring the question for the moment. "I told him he was being foolish to give you so much power. I thought that one day you might be ready for it, but you needed experience and tempering. I was wrong. You, Garrosh Hellscream, are not fit to lead a pack of hyenas, let alone this glorious Horde! You will ride us to ruin, screaming and beating your chest like one
of the gorillas of Stranglethorn the entire way.”
Garrosh paled, then flushed with anger. ‘‘You will regret those words, old bull,” he hissed. ‘‘I will make you eat them, along with handfuls of dirt
"It was you who attacked the Sentinels in Ashenvale, wasn t it?” Cairne cried, moving forward to where the orc stood clenching his brown fists. "And it was you who authorized the mass slaughter of nearly a dozen druids of the Cenarion Circle, gathering together to achieve a peaceful solution to the needs of the Horde.”
Disbelief and then fury crossed Garrosh's face. “What in the names of the ancestors are you talking about? How dare you accuse me of such despicable acts?”
Cairne snorted. "Garrosh, you have been open in your contempt of a treaty agreed to with honor and in good faith, and of Thrall's so-called appeasement of the Alliance.”
"Yes! I do despise this appeasement. But 1 would not sneak around the treaty! I would be proud of any attack on the Alliance I authorized! I would shout it from the rooftops to prove to the Horde that all is not lost! The honor of the Horde—”
"How can you even utter that word?” growled Cairne. "Honor’ Even now, you lie, Garrosh You have not the honor of a centaur. At least admit what you have done. Own your foolish, selfish choices!”
Garrosh suddenly grew cold. “You are an idiot to think me a schemer. Age has addled your wits. Because of the esteem in which Thrall inexplicably holds you, I shall ignore your prattlings as that of a madman. Thrall put me in charge of the Horde, and I will always do what I believe is best for it. Go now, and spare yourself the indignity of being bodily tossed out on your tail.”
For answer, Cairne backhanded Garrosh right across the face, striking the fresh tattoo. So powerful was the blow that Garrosh staggered and nearly fell, crying out sharply in pain and flailing his arms in an attempt to keep his balance.
"It is I who shall toss you out on your tail, impudent pup,” Cairne said. “That blow has been long in coming.”
Blood was flowing freely down Garrosh s split and swelling lower lip. He reached automatically to touch his cheek, then hissed and pulled his hand away. The orc seemed almost confused for a moment, and then anger descended visibly upon him.
“You challenge me then, old bull?”
15
UIHtfiC IJ тнпми
Though he makes no clear public proclamation of his in tent, Thrall has stepped down as warchief of the Horde and appointed a surprising successor—Garrosh Hellscream— as acting warchief. So, what exactly is Thrall up to?
Witnessing the turmoil that is enveloping the world, Thrall be comes concerned for the very existence of Azeroth. After days of reflection, he comes to the conclusion that the best way for him to help keep the world intact is by understanding the elements better This requires him to return to Nagrand where he will commune with the elements of an already shattered world in the hope that they will be able to give insight on what might be causing the distress in Azeroth. Convinced that going to Outland is the correct path, Thrall must decide who will be warchief in his place. The perfect choice would have been Dranosh Saurfang— Saurfang the Younger—but he fell at the Wrath Gate. Thrall decides against Cairne Bloodhoof, Varok Saurfang. and Eitrigg, for despite the great respect he has for all three they are too old
for the challenge.
This leaves him with one candidate. A well-known candidate, beloved by the orcish people: young vibrant a warrior without equal. A candidate who can help keep hope alive for the orcs of Durotar: Garrosh Hellscream.
Although Thrall has doubts about Garroshs ability to lead, he feels he has no other choice and is certain that his advisors (such as Cairne, Eitrigg, and Vol'jin) can take the edge off of Garrosh s temper.
Quietly, Thrall heads for Nagrand to learn from Greatmother Geyah. There he meets and is taught by a powerful female shaman, Aggra, who returns with him to Azeroth to aid in his fight to save it.
Leader of the Grimtotem clan, a group of tauren that has refused to join the Horde. Despite disagreeing mightily with Cairne Bloodhoof on the direction of the tauren, Cairne has allowed her to inhabit the Elder Rise under the principle of “hold your friends close, but your enemies closer."
Son of Grom Hellscream and hero of the Northrend campaign. Although his loyalty and dedication to the Horde is unquestioned, his brashness and impulsiveness can cause trouble.
Head of the united tauren tribes, leader of Thunder Bluff. Despite being a close friend of Thrall, he disagrees strongly with the orc leader’s decision to appoint Garrosh Hellscream Bloodhoof.
Son of Cairne and acting leader of the tauren tribes when Cairne is absent.
THRALL
MAGATHA GRIMTOTEM
GARROSH HELLSCREAM
CAIRNE BLOODHOOF
BAINE BLOODHOOF
Steps aside as warchief of the Horde in order to investigate the elemental unrest that is affecting Azeroth. In his stead he appoints Garrosh warchief, a decision he struggles with.
THE SHATTERING
ANDUIN WRYNN
Brothers of Magni, and thus legitimate heirs to the throne. Whereabouts currently unknown.
BRANN & MURADIN BRONZEBEARD
MOIRA THAURISSAN
MAGNI BRONZEBEARD

VARIAN WRYNN
King of Storms ind, devout fighter of the Horde. Angered by Moira’s grab for power in Iron-forge, he personally leads a band of assassins in a raid on Ironforge.
Son of Varian, sent to Ironforge to study martial arts and build relations with the dwarves. He is held in the cjty against his will when Moira assumes the throne.
Daughter of King Magni Bronzebeard, who maintains that she was kidnapped and bedazzled by Emperor Dagran Thaurissan of the Dark Iron clan. Upon Magni’s petrification, she appears in Ironforge to claim the throne, bringing a Dark Iron contingent and her infant child. She orders all travel in and out of Ironforge halted.
LADY J AINA PROUDMOORE
Leader of Theramore Isle, Jaina maintains communications with the leaders of Stormwind and personal contact with Thrall, giving her a unique perspective and influence on world politics.
King of Khaz Modan until an attempt to commune with the earth didn’t go as hoped. A ritual that was intended to allow the participant to “become one with the earth” encases Magni in diamond.
17
Н	»	К )
O1G ВНЮНП ШВУ ПП: V
 hope this letter finds you and your people in better straits than me and mine. I've
I not had the time to put my thoughts to paper, as I've scarcely had time to sit down  these last few weeks, so my apologies for not updating you on Anduin's progress as I & had promised.
Anduin's martial training has been halted for the time being, what with the young lad working with the survivors from the recent earthquakes that hit Dun Morogh and Loch Modan, He's got too big a heart to spend any time on himself when he sees suffering going on around him, and by all accounts he's saved more than a handful of lives on his own. I can't tell you enough how much of an honor he does to me and my people. Be proud, Varian, you've raised a fine son.
All the same, he's not a fighter like you and me. Don't get me wrong—he's got the tenacity of a dwarf, especially when it comes to saving lives, but he's not got the instinct for bloodshed. No, he's got a different sort of instinct, an instinct for kindness, and I think it might be worth trying to develop that instead. I've gone ahead and let High Priest Rohan know that he should try to work in some teaching while Anduin's spending all his time there with the wounded,
but that’s as far as I'll go without your say-so. He's back to the sword and board once this natural disaster business is settled.
When that will be is anyone’s guess, and it's a question that's been keeping me awake these last few weeks. Sure, we get our fair amount of shaking now and then, but the incidents are usually years apart. These quakes have been days apart, if not hours, and they only look to be getting stronger with every strike. I've sent out for some insight from the Wildhammers, hoping they would know what's the problem, but if the few draenei shaman who have passed through here recently are speaking truthfully, then I wager the Wildhammers are as lost as we are.
Which is why I've decided that the ritual, the one I mentioned in my last letter, needs to be performed immediately. By.all accounts, it's the best method we have on hand for getting to the bottom of this earthquake problem. I just wish we had more time to prepare. Although I'll be leading the ceremony, between you and me, I've never been one to trust these sorts of rituals—part of me suspects that the only thing I'll hear is my own echo, and I'll just be barking gibberish to an empty cavern with a fistful of dirt in my throat.
If the ritual works, expect another letter tomorrow; otherwise, you'll hear from me in a few weeks' time. Light be with you and yours, Varian Wrynn.
your friend,
RJRG fRRGRJ BRORjEBERRD (y
is
THE SHATTERING
Ironforge and the surrounding area have been hit by quakes, and a mysterious tablet may give King Magni Bronzebeard a clue as to why.
IP
Excerpt from 1 he Shattering
Magni was purposefully striding up the stairs to a broad platform large enough to accommodate a group several times their size. He turned and nodded expectantly.
“I think it no accident that right when we needed it, we have uncovered a tablet that contains information that might be of great help,” he said, his voice echoing in the cavern. “Nearly everyone present here today lost someone he or she loved dearly three days past. Reports come from all over Azeroth that summat is mightily wrong. The earth is wounded, an’ is shaking—cryin’ out fer aid. We are dwarves. We are of th’ earth. I have faith in the word of the earthen. I believe that what I do here—this rite that is unspeakably old—will let me heal this poor, hurtin’ world. By my blood an bone by the earth an’ stone, let this be done.”
The hair on the back of Anduin's neck prickled. Even though Magni's speech had been spontaneous, there was something about it that made his breath catch. He felt that just as he had descended into the heart of the earth, so he was about to descend into a ritual that was deep and unfathomable.
Belgrum stepped forward, a scroll in his hand. Magellas stood beside him, his hands clasped behind his back. Beside these two stood Reyna Stonebranch, a dwarf herbalist, holding a crystal vial full of a murky looking liquid. Belgrum cleared his throat and began to speak a strange language that sounded hard and blunt and made Anduin shiver. It seemed colder here now, somehow.
After each phrase, Magellas translated for An-duin’s benefit. The young prince remembered Magni reading the same phrases to him just yesterday.
“An’ here are the why an' the how, tae again become one wi' the mountain,” intoned Belgrum. “For behold, we are earthen, o' the land, and its soul is ours, its pain is ours, its heartbeat is ours. We sing its song an’ weep fer its beauty. For who wouldna wish tae return home? That is the why, О children o’ the earth.”
Home. Azeroth was truly home to all of them, An duin thought as Belgrum continued with the specific directions on how to prepare the draft. Home wasn’t Stormwind, or even with his father, or Aunt Jaina.
Home was this land, this world.
Here they now stood, in the "heart of the earth,” embraced by diamonds and stone that felt sheltering rather than oppressive. Magni was about to speak to the wounded Azeroth and find out best how to heal it. It was truly a noble goal.
"Wi’ a finger’s pinch o’ the soil that nourished them, consume the draft. Speak these words wi’ true intent, an’ the mountain shall reply. And so it shall be that ye shall become as ye once were. Ye shall return home, and ye shall become one with the mountain.’’
Reyna now stepped forward, handing the muddy-looking elixir to Magni. Unhesitatingly,
20
tion: Dan Scott
the dwarven king took the transparent, slender vial, brought it to his lips, and drank it down. He wiped his lips and handed it back to Reyna.
Magellas now handed him a scroll.
With a bit more hesitation than Belgrum
had displayed, Magni read aloud in the ancient language while Magellas translated.
"Within me is th’ earth itself. We are one. I am o’ it and it o’ me. I listen fer th’ mountain’s reply.’’
Magni handed back the scroll, then spread his hands imploringly. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration. No one knew what to expect. Would the mountain suddenly begin to talk? If so, what would its voice be like? Would it
speak only to Magni, and what would he hear? Could he speak to it? Would—
Magni’s eyes flew open. They were wide with wonder, and his mouth curved in a soft smile. “I... I can hear...” He lifted his hands to his temples. “Th’ voices are in me head. Lots o' ’em.” He chuckled softly, his
expression one of stunned joy and triumph. “It's not just one voice. It’s... dozens, maybe hundreds. All the voices o’ the earth!”
Anduin shivered, his own lips curving in a smile. Magni had been right! He could hear the earth itself—themselves? It was so confusing!— speaking to him.
“Can ye understand them?” asked Belgrum excitedly. “What are they saying?”
Magni suddenly threw his head back, arching. He seemed to try to stagger backward, but his feet were held as if rooted in place. No, not rooted... Anduin realized his black boots were turning almost translucent, as if they were suddenly made of glass—as if his feet themselves were suddenly made of glass—
—or crystal... or diamond...
One with the mountain...
No, oh, no, it couldn’t be— X
Qi FEATURE
CHRIS METZEN
"I LIKE STORIES ABOUT THE FALL ANO REDEMPTION OF INDIVIDUALS ANO CULTURES. I LIKE STORIES ABOUT EVILS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD COMING BACK TO HAUNT THE PRESENT. ALL THREE OF THESE FRANCHISES ARE ROOTED IN THE SAME DNA."
INSIDE THE MIND OF BLIZZARD’S CREATIVE GODFATHER
STORY
SO FAR
ou don't Interview Chris Metzen so much as toss out an idea and get out of his way. Even at the ungodly hour of 9 a.m., when he’s admittedly not
loss for words, as long as tire topic is interesting.
Chris’s title at Blizzard is vice president of creative development, but that seems a bit stuffy for a guy
book and Blizzard memorabilia. Every Hat surface serves as a platform for an action figure, from Captain America to Gangris Riverpaw. Put die stress on creative development.
Just about every narrative thread woven into the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes passes through
is making art.
25

GETTING THINGS DONE
What’s your day like?
Do you write a lot? Attend a bunch of meetings? If you weren’t here talking to us right now, what would you be doing?
on StarCraft II story development and cinematic development, but it was just beating everybody up trying to get in and be effective, be electric, at 9 a.m. It’s difficult to engage the engines that early in the morning.
I have a lot of meetings. I went through a period of many years where I had eight or nine meetings a day. Where once mostly it was a craftsman-type role—I would sit in my office, I would write documents, write scripts, and then walk around and just jam with people in various departments about broad creative direction. It used to be a lot more direct in specific creative pockets. Over the years, as we've added more games and the company has grown, my role as creative director really became more about up-front meetings, conceptual meetings. Jamming, and being a little less hands-on at that front-line level. I work on all of our products to different degrees. Mostly these days, it's just a lot of meetings.
I’m backing off a little bit on StarCrafl II. I wrote quite a bit of that one with two other primary writers. I did
Andy Chambers and a newer brother-named Brian Kindregan. I'm trying to pull back a little bit on the next J expansion for StarCraft II, Heart Л of the Swarm, but tin still work- Я ing with Brian pretty hardcore on the general story arc. My big interests these days are where's  it going, how's it getting	
there, what are the 4
"WHEN I’M INTERACTING AND WHEN WE RE JAMMING ON IDEAS, ГМ EUPHORIC”
I
O....I I,,	rl I’Ll
the insand outs of all the
mission stuff, I could probably step away from that these days. It’s a good thing.
I haven't worked anywhere else, so I presume
guys like [Executive VP of Game Design! Rob
Pardo, myself, and [Executive Art Director] Nick Carpenter— and we pretty much jump-start the conceptual process through cinematic design and story development, but we’re not the
lead writer, and art director. But we float and provide a lot of
things have gotten bigger over time, it demands that we use our
necks to production.
What gets your creative juices flowing? What are your
• CHRIS: I'm a big people person. So when I’m interacting and
thing. 1 didn't realize this about myself for a very long time. Where I'm at my best and most creative is when I'm actually in discussion with people, it's not necessarily sitting at a desk clicking away at a typewriter. I do enjoy that, just jamming away al ideas, but what’s became clear to me is that it's far more about that social component, sitting around a table with your buddies just plugging away al an idea, shaping it, molding it, riding on movies we’ve seen or other stories we've enjoyed. I think that's where I'm at my most effective.
I’m a massive comic book geek. I’ve got to go every week; I’ve
I've been going to the comics store every week
don’t get out to get my books, even when
the year but I read constantly. Mostly
And I like the drama.
I’m a huge Star Wars fan, always have been, so that was always
to me. I named my boy Lucas in
lot of Dungeons & Dragons growing
iiii.i(',uni." iai-flung worlds and wmk-ing with the thinnest rule sets to effectively entertain yourself for years and years on nothing more than the engine of your imagination. That’s amazing. To contrast with games today that set up all the rules for you and then you interact with them in a very particular way... boy
24
CHRIS METZEN
V*
LOVE SITTING AROUND THE TABLE WITH BUDDIES AND ENTERTAINING YOURSELF FOR YEARS ON THE ENGINE OF YOUR IMAGINATION."
II
25
Ши
As a little kid pretty early on I wanted to make stuff up I would sit in the back of class with my math exams drawing maps, character designs, weapon designs. I constantly wanted to be in a space of far flung imagination, and D&D was the crazy vehicle for that. The part of me that wanted to build worlds....
In the fifth grade, I had a buddy move in from out of town who got me into D&D. I’d never seen anything like it before. I think it was the first Dragonlance adventure, and it was just absolutely transforming. I was reborn after that point. I don’t even know if I looked at comics the same or the things I had already been into after peering into the lens of role playing.... It’s just a more imaginative side—its not necessarily something in your hands, it lives in the minds of the people around you I just wanted to stay in that space.
Artwise, I loved all the painters that were working for TSR back in the ’80s. Keith Parkinson Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell, all those guys who painted the vast D&D worlds—I just fell into those art books as a kid. I’ve worn out probably five separate copies of The Art of Dragonlance, pages pulled apart because I would pore over them every day and just study lines and study costuming, gimmicks, lighting, and dynamic poses. I just couldn’t get enough of that stuff. 1 used to draw quite a bit as a kid. When I first got here at Blizzard, my title was artist; I did a lot of concept drawing, so art has always been key to me
I’m particularly a fan of Walt Simonson, who did The Mighty Thor for Marvel back in the day. Oh man, this guy drew the hell out of that thing. We actually got to work together a number of years ago on the Warcraft comic Still amazes me. Jim Lee, who did X-Men for a number of years I just loved his lines, loved his character designs. A guy named Alex Ross, a painter. He’s
1 LAJlXldlAlV 1LI WANTED TO BE INA SPACE OF FAR-FLUNG IMAGINATIONS
kind of like this Norman Rockwell Americana kind of illustrator, but he handles superheroes in a way that
really roots them in a kind I of hyper-reality. And his I story instincts.... I love what he does with Superman and Batman he takes these characters and makes them mythic. He really brings out what s great about them in the first place and puts it in the stratosphere. Anything that comes out from Alex Ross 1 just kind of drool over. I got to spend a little Warcraft money on some Ross originals, so I thank Warcraft for that every day
WORKING THE BIG SCREEN
The World of Warcraft movie project was announced in 2006. A few years after that, a director was hired, Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi. The movie is still in the preliminary stages, with lots of work to be done. How do you like working with Sam? How do you face the challenge of boiling the entire Warcraft universe down to two hours?
• CHRIS: The primary difference between working on the movie and working on the games or the licensed fiction is that we have a very high degree of direct control over the latter
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[WILDSTORM
S2.99US WILDSTORMT.nM
AUG 09
SHTTOnSO
ГПНАП
Walt Simonson, one of Chris's favorite comic creators, worked on the World of Warcraft comic.
Above are some concept sketches for a cover by Walt.
After choosing the image that would grace the cover, the next steps are pencils and coloring, finally resulting in the finished cover.
Chris says he hasn’t “drawn in anger” for quite a while, but he studied and practiced fantasy illustration intently while growing up, and even started his Blizzard career as an artist.
CHRIS METZEN
products. I’d say 90 percent of the novels we do we outline
about the kind of story we can do.
exhaustively before it ever gets to the writer. On the game front, we have total control to tell those stories to shape those worlds and it takes a while. For the movie, the main point of distinction is that our controls are more indirect. It’s all about the directors, the producers, the writers, the talent you bring on, as it should
With Warcraft we know we have a fairly sizable audience anyway and it s plausible that audience will show up if it s good, and bring their buddies. But we want to make sure it s not riding on the popularity of the franchise as much as that it just kicks ass, that it has tremendous heart, that it’s a feature that you want
be. That’s the way that industry works. So to us, it’s been a bit
to go back and see again and again purely on its own merit.
mystifying, but we have the best possible partners who share our values and have a view into this franchise that's as close to our view as possible. So they understand what's cool about it
THE NATURE OF ART
and what’s not cool about it.
To some great degree you’re putting a lot of trust in the partners and the team you put together. We feel pretty strongly that Raimi is the right guy. He’s had great success in translating a beloved and venerable franchise into big-screen gold. For Spider-Man, he made changes and adjustments where he need ed to, to fit all this into something that would read in this day and age and also be compelling in that two-hour window. He re ally pulled it off, and pleased not only fandom but everyone else who didn’t necessarily know all that much about Spider-Man.
Sam's awesome—we talk about a lot of different kinds of stories and the essential problem with a franchise that’s currently populated by 10 races: Where do you put that camera? If I play a troll, that's my anchor my root in this universe. It's the lens through which 1 see a lot of this. We go back and forth on that kind of stuff. We've had some really good discussion about	: r, 
what will sing to a mass audience but remain true to the series and remain familiar to anyone who’s	I
experienced it.	I
I love getting that view into other media types. It's been to talk to people and hear their experience, get a sense of how their craft works. Get a better sense of what types of story paradigms traditionally work for a mass audience and what kind of things don’t. I came to the table with all sorts
“PEOPLE SEEM TOBE VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT GAMES, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE FEELING THE artistry:'
There has been a lot of discussion in the gaming world lately, inspired by an opinion put forth by a well-known movie critic, about whether games can be art. What is your opinion on that? Are games art?
• CHRIS: I just don't understand how anyone on Earth can say that games aren't art I don't understand it at all. The only way I can get my head around it is in asking the simple question: "How do you define art?” Splotches of paint and human fluids on a canvas sells for $6 million in New York, or wherever in the art world. That's art, right? Van Gogh is art. Is there anything more subjective in the world, ultimately? What is art? What is the point? It’s to craft things, points of expression that are meant to inform or communicate what we are to other people. Pretty simple. Past that i point of simplicity it can 1 get pretty subjective.
I I look at games and 1 don’t see I that it’s any different. Is novelized  fiction art? Is War and Peace art? 1 Is Grapes of Wrath art? Yeah, they totally are. Is the Beatles’ White Album art’ Is The Joshua Tree art’ Yeah, they are people expressing themselves to other people. To excise their own feelings and experiences and bring that to the world to incite discussions, to
of screwy ideas I can take risks in novels and games
incite emotion. There are many reasons to engage in
Illustrations: Chris Metzen
in terms of story conventions that are more acceptable in a games experience, but when you sit people down for two hours in a movie theater, there are things that will turn them on and things that will turn them off, so hearing that type of experience I’m like, “Oh wow, I would have gone this way,” and it would have just toppled. It’s a science, script development. They’ve been doing it for a hundred years and you can really gauge what actions will work and what wont what’s been tried and failed what's succeeded It's been very educational in terms of shaping my expectations
or create art Given all that, games are no different.
The only difference is that, like Hollywood, you’ve got sometimes upwards of hundreds of people all collaboratively shaping products that have the same essential DNA as anything else. We’ve got original music that a highly artistic musician wrote and composed. We've got dozens of artists, painters, and illustrators all throwing in to create the vision of this thing, whatever it is. You’ve got the new expressions of coding and design. You can say “oh, those are just mechanical processes,”
2P
Ill A THERE THE THEME V V AND THE STORY LINE COME FORWARD AND ARE EMOTIONALLY IMPACTFUL-I LIVE FOR THOSE MOMENTS."
।
50
CHRIS METZEN
► but they're not. What’s the simple process of coding with is and Os but building things that do not exist, like constructing the invisible, and making rule sets to define the physics of the invisible.... Name me a more creative process. We're not talking paintbrushes and No. 2 pencils or anything. These guys deal with technology the way Mozart dealt with piano keys. You just can't tell me it’s not art.
And then the impossible happens. All these crazy sciences that could not be further apart collapse together in the eye of the storm, producing something so distilled and focused that for years upon end, people are engaged and emotionally compelled by it. They’re thrilled by the gameplay, in love with the characters— whatever it is. I would say that games are art—obviously not just ours in particular—but I’ve seen a lot of people who seem to be very emotional about games, and that’s because they’re feeling the artistry of what they 've experienced It’s not just "chasing clever.”
If there was no deeper artistic component, no one would make anything other than Tetris. And I’m not slamming Tetris; it’s genius. But if games were just this mechanical experience-fast, immediate, tactile gameplay—they wouldn’t go much further beyond puzzles. We'd be left in an ocean of Scrabble.
Tell me that it s not art at BlizzCon. Walk around, talk to these players and then tell me that there is no emotional con nectivity to these worlds and ideas. You can’t tell me it isn’t art.
STORIES THAT STICK
The Warcraft setting is huge. Add the StarCraft and Diablo universes, and you’ve got a wide-ranging, deep well of stories. Which ones have stuck with you the most?
• CHRIS: I ll say this ... (chuckles) they are all, to one degree or another ... oh, I’ll say it: They have the same DNA. They’re almost all the same story, when it comes right down to it. I'm like a one-to-three trick pony, and that’s about all I'm good for. The trick is the collaborative process. I like stories about the fall and redemption of individuals and cultures. I like stories about evils of the ancient world coming back to haunt the present. All three of these franchises are rooted in the same DNA.
I think my favorite Warcraft story was a tiny quest line, the whole Bridenbrad quest line in Wrath of the Lich King, which we did as kind of an homage to our buddy’s brother Bradley, who passed away of cancer. There’s this fallen knight who’s contracted this inescapable contagion, and all the great powers in the world try to rescue him. Ultimately there’s the knowledge that there are things that you can’t just walk away from. But the nobility of going through that journey, your spirit rising from the conditions of your life, really played out in a very emotional way, for me at least, in that story line. There are moments like that in Warcraft where you find an unexpected layer of emotion and satisfaction in something that’s supposed to be mechani
cal, right? I love those moments. I love when I hear back about those moments. You go to BlizzCon or read the message boards
and the players say, "Oh man, that made me feel this or that,”
that’s where the pepper is, knowing that it was more than a
mechanical process, that it was more than "I’m grinding rep to get my next epic headdress.” There are moments where the theme and the story line come forward and are emotionally impactful—I live for those moments.
One of the joys of StarCraft recently has been that there’s the big grinding galactic conflict and an ancient menace coming forward to the present to swallow creation, but ultimately it’s just about this boy and this girl. Just this unrequited love story between these very mixed-up, lonely people. After
something like World of Warcraft that’s so macro and so global, it was a pure joy to get back into a space where it was just a simple story about people—for all of its shenanigans and highfalutin concepts
Ultimately, we’re just artists trying to express something innate in ourselves that maybe doesn't come out in everyday conversation, maybe things that we’re not even consciously aware of but still absolutely shine through our work. I’m fascinated by stuff like that. I’m sure that there's something hap pening between Raynor and Kerrigan that reflects something innate to my experience. I don’t have my head around it all It's a hell of a thing.
I may be a little biased. I just can’t wait for this game to get out to the world. I can't wait for people to meet these characters again and see what they thought of the journey. And even if no one cared—if no one did single player and it was an absolute flop and burned down in the gutter the biggest laughingstock ever—it wouldn’t matter. I’m just proud of how it's gone off,
BRIDENBRAD
If you want to experience one of Chris’s favorite story lines, head to Icecrown, where Tirion Fordring will start “A Tale of Valor.”
knowing that I got to be part of that process. It’s definitely one of those high-water marks in my career. Even if no one liked it at all, I'm just so proud of it.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Are there special challenges to writing a story that gamers will be playing a part in? How does the community reaction to different stories affect you ? Do you remember any strong player reaction to a story line? What made it stand out?
• CHRIS: The whole Ashbringer line I had nothing to do with it, which is one of the reasons why it was so bitchinl
It was really [Lead World Designer] Alex Afrasiabi’s brain-
31
When Winter Veil rolls around, you may be tasked with saving a familiar-sounding NPC: Metzen the Reindeer.
child/lovechild. 1 had been hearing about this Ashbringer thing. Ashbringer, what is that? It’s a cool name, what is that? I t went on the message boards and the players were losing their minds in speculation about what the sword j was—were they going to find it Г in the game? If you were holding I it for any given amount of time,	I
it would start whispering things f to you, and people were trying to transcribe what it was saying. I was fascinated by how quickly and how passionately the community wrapped around this thread. There are mountains of content in this game that I have nothing remotely to do with and I dig it when those ele-
“THERE IS THAT REAL-TIME DYNAMIC IN PLAY THAT CAN BE AT ONCE TOTALLY MADDENING AND TOTALLY
thrilling:’ A
forks. I m kidding, obviously; I love our community. But you can feel like that
ments come out.
When you get massive community feedback and you feel this emotional response you didn’t expect, as a developer you say, “I
guess there was something in that. Was there something there that we did not see?" In that way, I think the community hugely
at times. There is that real-time dynamic in play that can be at once totally maddening and totally thrilling. For Licit King, for instance, Bolvar was not one of the
major characters, right? He’s one of the few marquee human characters we have, but it’s not like there were whole books
affected the way we were looking at the content.
written about Bolvar. But we kill him off in such a dra-
So the community is huge in terms of how we tell our stories. I had no idea. No idea. With Warcraft III, it was "write it, put it in a box, hope they dig it.” StarCraft II, you write it, put it in a box, and you hope they dig it. But World of Warcraft is a completely different monster because you know immediately what they think; even when the game isn’t even out yet, I know what they think.
Imagine being a painter, in real time. Getting your nice,
matic way at Wrath Gate that suddenly the message boards explode—Bolvar! There’s speculation and excitement and discussion about who this guy was, what’s going to happen to him, right? It was just a step in our story line. But there was so much passion about this character and what might happen to him, we made him the Lich King! We didn't necessarily know that the day we wrote the Wrath Gate cinematic; we didn’t necessarily know it the day we finished its produc-
$2
CHRIS METZEN
$ IITTHINK THE COMMUNITY MASSIVELY AFFECTED THE WAY WE WERE LOOKING AT THE CONTENT."
tion. But it was one of those moments where the World of Warcraft community was so geeked up that it geeked us up. Hell yeah, we're going to jump back into that even though it wasn t necessarily our plan 1 d love to tell you that at the end of each of these games (blows on finger like he’s just fired a gun), “Nailed that down to the floorboards!" But inspiration comes from anywhere.
Here’s another example, the inverse: the character of Garrosh. We re making moves because we want to push this franchise forward for a time and do some really dramatic, earth shaking stuff. The idea that we would make Garrosh into the next warchief is crazy, right? If you’re a Horde player, if you’re buying into this fiction at all, you probably love Thrall. He’s Clark Kent mixed with Spartacus and splashed with green... so Thrall is going to step aside and Garrosh becomes the new warchief, and we made him into a particular jerk because that’s who he is and that’s what’s going on in the world. It’s all building toward a plan. Years, years from now this will all still be playing out... and players of the game are getting a sense, there’s speculation, “Blizzard, you cant possibly be making this guy the warchief. We hate this
at a fictional level, and we’re also trying to run a company and keep the lights on and keep all these people gainfully employed and do right with the business. And suddenly I'm sitting on this powder keg the right thing for the story is to shake things up a bit... but this is a dark chapter; it’s meant to be thematically challenging, and suddenly you ve got hun dreds of thousands of players who are pissed, I mean really pissed at this story line that they expect is going to happen. This level of emotionality, while it’s right for the story, is it bad for business? To turn all these players off? That’s crazy. That's crazy thinking.
You can’t write stories in fear. But they don’t see all the steps and they don t see where it’s all going It’s just this step right here that’s going to piss a lot of people off and suddenly there's this whole new psychology in play. Is this right to do? Are we just manipulating all these players’ emotions? Things that never occurred to us before are suddenly in play. And that’s fascinating. We’re expressing ourselves and building out this narrative but at what level is it almost conceptual irresponsibility? It’s a crazy line. The trick is that we’re going
THE NEW LICH KING
The twist at the end o/Wrath of the Lich King wasn’t necessarily predetermined. Player reaction to Bolvar’s death at the Wrath Gate influenced the creative team.
guy. I m a good orc. I'm noble. I m not going to follow this guy.” They’re incensed.
To some degree it’s art—you’re telling a story, you’re building a world, you’re building this interactive experience
to do it; we’re going to make it as good as we can make it;
we’ll stick to our guns Hopefully, people will see on the other side of the event—holy cow—that the emotion of it made the experience that much more fulfilling. X
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BETA

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BETA TESTING CATACLYSM GIVES YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO EXPLORE A NEW WORLD, BUT IT’S NOT ALL PLAY. IS THE BETA TEST RIGHT FOR YOU?
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By Casey Lynch
There's nothing quite like the jolt of excite-n It felt when stepping into a new world. Soon, World of Warcraft players will feel the joy of experiencing Cataclysm but before they do there's work to do—and a big part of that work will be undertaken by beta testers.
Many Cataclysm beta testers will have never participated in a beta test of any к nd before, an^l therefore might not know what to expect (or what might be expected from them) during the testing process.
A beta test gives players early access to upcoming content in order to tejj: the usability of the software, stress-test the realms, and help iron out gameplay issues. In return, beta testers get an early look at what players will experience when Cataclysm is released. Beta testers share in the heavy lifting of identifying, reporting, and ultimately tidying up around the soon-to-he-reborn Azeroth, so there's a mix of responsibility and fun—it isn't called a beta test for nothing.
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Suggestion
A suggestion tells us how you would like Io see the game Improved.
Make Suggestion
.$)' ' B“S
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Feedback Submission
A bug tells us about an error you have Found in the game.
Report Bug
BETA
L'i’



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Getting your hands on Cataclysm before the general public can be a kick, but it comes with caveats. First, all of the progress that testers make on the beta realms stays on the beta realms. You can play with a copy of your current character, an off-the-rack level SO, or a new toon, but any experience, gear, gold, or achievements you earn will go away when the test ends.
Also, be aware that the code is still being worked on, so it doesn't come packed with the same level of polish that Blizzard's release content is known for. Yingyang, a level-80 human warlock from the Anvilmar-US realm, puts it this way: "It's a good idea to prepare for the unexpected. Realms crash, spells get broken, and you
•• -----------------------------------------------
may fall through the ground, but after it's all over you can sit back and laugh and know that you helped make the game better in the end."
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"BETA TESTING, TO ME, IS ABOUT BEING WILLING
TO STOP
WHATEVER IT IS ГМ DOING AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK DOWN TO THE
i TINIEST THING." A —AYRENDAL

► HELPERS AND EXPLORERS
Players have a myriad of motivations for jumping into the test, but the testing-inclined can be roughly broken down into two groups: helpers and explorers. When you consider taking on the role of a tester, take into account which playertype best describes you.
For those who fancy themselves secret quality-assurance agents of Azeroth, ready to save the populace from glitches, exploits, terrain bugs, and wonky fight mechanics, the good news is that the developers welcome the input and look into every single bug report filed. The bad news? Would-be testers should get ready to fill out reports upon report, sometimes in great detail. For players like Ayrendal, a night elf druid on the Nagrand-US realm, it's hardly bad news, though. "I love filling in forms. That bug report UI really gets used in my hands. Descriptions of issues, bugs, suggestions, steps to reproduce problems right down to the smallest detail. Beta testing to me is about being willing to stop whatever it is I'm doing and provide feedback down to the tiniest thing."
Frejya, longtime forum contributor, community MVP, and night elf hunter on the Greymane realm, agrees, and explains it like this: "This opportunity is a job in and of itself—with perks! The zones will not be completely stable, talents will bug out, like Unholy Blight crashing the world or classes suddenly realizing a certain ability makes them gods." For those serious about testing, finding bugs and exploits, and
throwing everything you've got at the designers, the beta test is fun, Frejya says, and allows you to do things you normally wouldn’t be able to in the live game. "Found an exploit in the beta? Run it repeatedly in an effort to figure out how to do it and if the fixes addressed the issue."
Not every beta hopeful is looking to quash bugs. Many players view this as a golden opportunity to get into the new content early, giving them a valuable chance to run through new zones, new quests, and new instances in preparation of running the content when it goes live.
Pleinair, a blood elf mage on Ter-rokar says, "The immediate satisfaction of participating in the past betas has always been the exploration of new environments. From the shores of Sen'jin to the giant mushrooms of Zangarmarsh, the first interactions with the zones are the most significant ones. Exploring the new towns, textures, mob types, and populace of the new lands is like Christmas come early."
Still others enjoy the challenge of combing through new content before players create guides and FAQs. Voldoya, a human warlock playing on the Feathermoon-US realm, describes it this way: "It's just insanely fun to play through quests, zones, and dungeons where there's not much to read up on and you get to figure everything out or ask other players for help. No one ever told me to [check boards or any strategy sites] during the
1
1

Wrath of the Lich King beta because we were the only ones out there."
"WHEN
I EXPLORE THE NEW TOWNS, TEXTURES, MOB TYPES,
► WHY ARE YOU HERE?
After considering the expectations of a beta tester, players should ask themselves the hard questions: are you opting in for bragging rights and the pure and simple fun of it, or are contributing, reporting, and helping just as impor-sSic1*. tant? Even if someone is more interested in spelunking deep into the new lore and newly reshaped lands, players should also try to give constructive input and jump , onto beta-test boards to discuss class changes, spell modifications, quest line and reward tweaks, and more.
If you do decide to take the plunge, Briwen, a human paladin on Farstriders-US, has some words of advice: "Read the quests, admire the new scenery, stock up on food and drink. And most importantly, have fun. It's a game, but as a beta tester, you can make it better!" X
AND THE POPULACE OF THE NEW LANDS, IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS CAME к EARLY." J —PLEINAIR

Casey Lynch has covered video games for Gul'dan knows how long and occasionally has to explain why he has a female Guitar Hero character named after him.
$7
FEATURE
RIDE OF YOUR LIFE
□F YOUR LIFE
THERE’S ALMOST NO END TO THE VARIETY OF FEROCIOUS ANIMALS AND MECHANICAL WONDERS WAITING FOR YOU TO TOSS A SADDLE ON AND RIDE AROUND AZEROTH. WE HAIL DOWN PLAYERS WITH SOME OF THE FULLEST STABLES TO UNDERSTAND THEIR LOVE OF ALL THINGS RIDEABLE AND GET THEIR TIPS ON HOW ANYONE CAN JOIN IN THE FUN
othing turns heads on the streets of Dalaran like riding into town on the back of a big, flashy mount no one has seen before. Rare and unique mounts are the hot rod muscle cars of Azeroth, making a big splash whenever they roll into town. Whether a player collect mounts or not, he or she’s going to take notice when a giant fiery phoenix cruises overhead. Mounts are a very tangible way to project a player’s impressive accomplishments to the world; a sprinting billboard of the success that player has had in Azeroth. Although everyone’s able to get a ground mount at level 20 (and you don’t technically need more than one ground and
By Josh Augustine
one flying mount to travel the world), there’s something about Azeroth’s exotic mounts that keeps many players searching for more and more of them 60 levels later, long after they’ve filled their stables with enough options to sport a different ride every day of the month. So, what is it about mounts that keeps players’ attentions when there are mighty demons to be slain and epic Arena matches to be won? Answers are as varied as the people collecting them: some collect for fashion, matching mounts to specific sets of gear; others collect for role-playing reasons or good, old-fashioned bragging rights; and some collect new mounts just because they’re there.
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MULTITASKING MOUNTS
mount collectors share that same passion for amassing as many
One of the most appealing aspects of mount collecting is that it’s not an exclusive activity. Azeroth is a world filled with evil entities begging for a beatdown, amiable factions looking for
FRIENDLY RIDE
77/e X-53 Touring Rocket seats two and is obtained through the
Recruit-A-Friend program.
dedicated allies to champion their cause, and Horde or Alliance rivals looking to fight you for glory and honor—and you can experience all of that, simply collecting mounts along the way. It’s true that a few mounts are earned through more off-the-beaten-path activities like hunting a lone I rare spawn in an obscure corner of Г Azeroth, but you can almost certain- I ly collect mounts doing whatever it I is you already enjoy doing. In fact, ' none of the top mount collectors we spoke to consider mount collecting to be their only focus in World of Warcraft; they have fun doing a lot more than simply hunting for their next ride.
MOUNTS CAN HAVE PERKS THAT MAKE EVEN FASHION-DISINTERESTED PLAYERS CLAMOR FOR THEM
THE MINDSET OF A MOUNT COLLECTOR
For all their diversity in motives and favorite activities, mount collectors share some similar characteristics, one of them being a rigorous sense of completion-ism. Veteran mount collector Raogrimm of Silvermoon-US says, “If you’re really a collector, you aren't picky. Costumes, blacksmithing plans, vanity pets, unique weapons—[I collect] anything and everything.” Many
interesting bits of Azeroth as they can. Sandra “Mania” Powers, the creator and operator ofWarcraftMounts.com (a website that allows players to track their own collection of mounts, find new
mounts to pursue, and get together with other mount collectors to compare and discuss), likes to encourage players to at least test out mount collecting. “It’s OK to start a collection and abandon it later—the mounts don’t take up any inventory space. If you collect a couple of mounts now, then forget about it for a year, no harm done. Don't look at it as amassing a collection of 100-plus mounts. Instead, if you want a mount, go and get it. And if you keep doing that, one W day you may find that you’re a mount collector with over 100 mounts.”
"IDES WITH BENEFITS
Of course, it’s not always just cosmetic differences that make a new mount appealing. Mounts can also have handy perks that make even the most fashion-disinterested players clamor for them. For example, the Grand Ice Mammoth (sold by the Sons of Hodir at Exalted reputation) is a three-player mount that allows your buddies to come along for the ride by hopping into an empty passenger seat. The Traveler’s Tundra Mammoth (available for 20,000 gold in Dalaran) takes it one step further, including two vendors in the two passenger seats that sell reagents, repair gear, and will begrudgingly give up their seat for one of your friends if asked, making the
THE HORD TO THE HIGHT STUFF
EPIC LAND MOUNT
MOVEMENT SPEED
EPIC FLYING MOUNT
40
RIDE OF YOUR LIFE
i
Deadly Gladiator s Frostwyrm
What it says about you:
Don't mess with me. I'm a PvP master.
Mekgineer s Chopper I Mechano-Hog
What it says about you: Run! Go! Get to da choppa!
UUHRT YOUR ГЦОЦПТ SRYS RBDLJT YOU
brown Horse
What it says i about you:
I like to keep it simple.
YOU’RE SAYING A LOT ABOUT r WHO YOU ARE BY THE MOUNT YOU CHOOSE. HERE ARE SIX QUICK ANALYSES.
Green Riding Nether Ray

What it says about you: I ain't afraid of no Skettis!

The Headless Horseman’s Mount
What it says about you: I walk that fine line between good and evil.
All those wild beasts are much too dirty for my tastes.
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VI
mammoth a very welcome tool for any world traveler or raid leader. In Secrets ofUlduar (patch 3.1), the game’s first aquatic mount was introduced: the rare Sea Turtle. Caught in any Northrend fishing pool, this gal cruises at an extra 60% speed in water, but pokes along at normal run speed outside of her element on dry land.
r COLLECTING YOUR ARSENAL
OF ANIMALS IS ITS OWNREWARD, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T HAVE LOTS OF FUN SHOWING OFF
a
1
MAKING A COLLECTION OF YOUR OWN
The best part about deciding that you want to start collecting mounts is realizing that you've already started! If your character is level 20 or higher, you've most likely already purchased apprentice riding skill and a land mount from your racial mount vendor. New level 20s should receive a letter from the mount vendor with directions to his or her location (usually in a small town near their race's capital city). These mounts are the easiest acquisitions for your stable and ripe picking for a new mount

collector, so head on back down to your race’s mount vendor and pick up every colored mount available—regardless
of how you feel about the color schemes. Paladins, warlocks, and death knights should be particularly careful to visit their racial mount vendors, since they train a mount from their class trainer and may not have purchased their racial I mount before. If you're starting I your collection below level 40, I make a mental note of the vendor’s location—new epic land mounts will be available from this same seller at level 40.
ANY TIME’S A GOOD TIME TO START!
Once you train journeyman riding skill at level 40, you have all you need to ride any ground mount in the game, but of course you still have to be able to kill the boss or earn the reputation needed to acquire it. Some of the best options for young mount collectors hoping to fill their
THE STABLE niHSTERS
► AVASIAN, HAKKAR-EU
136
► RAOGRIMM, SlLVERMOON-US
131
► QRION, EXECUTUSEU
136
"Mounts are the coolest things in World of Warcraft-, they don’t become obsolete like gear, and you use them very often When mounts became spells in The Burning Crusade, no longer taking space in your bags, 1 started collecting them.”
“Ashes of Afar. It was my ultimate goal and when I finally got it—helped by a bunch of friends—1 could really be proud of my collection. It s the only mount you can't ignore: Everybody has to stare at it for a few moments in awe,
hoping one day to have it for themselves”
“I knew when I started the game I didnt want to aim to be the best raider or champion of the Horde, fighting the Alliance; everyone else was doing that. Instead 1 chose to focus on goals most players would overlook, like collecting mounts.”
Favorite mourn
“Without a doubt, my Black Qiraji Battle Tank. The quest chain to get it, to this day, is still the most daunting quest chain in the game, as it ended with you having a permanent change on your realm.”
“It wasn’t really a decision for me, more a style of playing. When I play games, I try to collect all the secrets, see all the content, or do all the achievements. So I just started collecting everything that was collectable.”
“Time-Lost Proto-Drake. It took more than the usual effort to obtain; I did a lot of research into the flight paths of the rare spawn in Storm Peaks that drops it and made a macro, camping strategic locations with three characters for
almost two months.”
42
RIDE OF YOUR LIFE
stables while leveling are the Black War PvP mounts. There are five available to you (one for each race in your faction). They cost 50,000 honor each, and can be bought from vendors in Orgrimmar or Stormwind City, depending on your faction. Another great option for level 48 and higher Horde players is to visit Mor’vek in southeast Un’Goro Crater to get started on a quest chain to earn a Venomhide Ravasaur mount while netting some solid experience. The Alliance equivalent (Winterspring Frostsaber) is earned through repeatable quests at level 58 from Rivern Frostwind in northern Winterspring.
A few professions also grant access to mounts before characters reach maximum level. Maiemar of Bloodscalp-US, a fisherman who caught the elusive Sea Turtle mount at level 40 (yes, 40—there was much dying), suggests that aspiring low-level turtle hunters “take advantage of the Kalu’aks’ wonderful giant sea turtle public transportation. Travel to Unu’pe on the coast of eastern Borean Tundra and travel between the three Kalu’ak towns via their giant sea turtles, rotationally fishing the two or three fishing pools that spawn on the coast of each town.” Engineer grease monkeys can construct flying machines for themselves at level 60 and 70,
while tailors can sew together flying carpets to get around.
MOUNTS TRAVEL IN PACKS
When starting your collection, aim for the mounts that can be acquired in large groups at once before you try to tackle lone beasts that drop off bosses once in a blue moon. Stop by Nagrand, where earning Exalted reputation with the Mag’har (Horde) or the Kurenai (Alliance) will net you access to eight talbuk mounts at once. Participate in the Argent Tournament, where daily quests reward reputation with all the races within your faction, eventually allowing you to purchase mounts from the other four racial vendors in your faction, adding up to a whopping 25 or so additional mounts in your stable. And that's
SOME OF THE TOP MOUNT COLLECTORS IN THE WORLD SHARE HOW
THEY GOT STARTED AMD WHAT MOT TNTT TMPY’RP MOST PROT TD OP
► HASDRUIDA, ZUL'JIN-EU
131
► SHAYMOUS, BONECHEWER-US
137
► SAMCAKE, AGGRAMAR-EU 133
“1 decided to start a collection of mounts when I got my first rare mount, the Amani War Bear. 1 think they’re the best things to collect because they’re the only items in-game that really are forever.”
Favorite
“I have two personal favorite mounts: the Magic Rooster and the Zulian Tiger. It’s fun to show them off in Dalaran, but seeing people’s faces when you ride toward them on a giant chicken in a Battleground is very funny!"
“To me, mounts are one of the few really cool things you can obtain in the game that will still be cool in further expansions; gear comes and goes. It’s also something fun to do when we aren’t raiding.”
Favorite той
“The first mount I put serious time into getting was the Raven Lord. I made my wife tank almost 100 runs of Heroic Sethekk Halls before it finally dropped. Considering you could only do the Heroic once a day, this was some effort.”
“I spent my youth daydreaming about riding dragons and flying! I realized very early in World of Warcraft, as my bank filled up with mounts, that 1 would be a sucker for collecting mounts and swapping which ones I used on a daily basis."
“I’d have to say my X-51 Nether-Rocket X-TREME. I’ve shared many adventures with it, and still remember that shocking and extremely happy moment of obtaining it from a light-weight Trading Card Game pack!”
and say hello, and you just might make a long-time friend
IT'S FULL OF STARS ►
The Celestial Steed is versatile, adjusting to the cha racter's riding skill and the rides of the road of the zone it is summoned in.
STRUT YOUR STUFF
Collecting your arsenal of animals is its own reward, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have lots of fun showing off your latest and greatest mount where other players can see them. The consensus among mount collectors is that high-population locations like Dalaran’s landing pad and Orgrimmar’s and Ironforge’s Auction Houses are the most likely places to find players showcasing their favorite mounts—when the Celestial
Steed was released through the online Blizzard Store in April, the gorgeous mounts could be found all around these
and ally in your hunt for the most elusive mounts in the game.
DEALING WITH PAPARAZZI
If you end up with an ultra-rare mount in your stable, like the Ashes of Al’ar—a fiery phoenix flying mount that has an extremely low chance to drop from raid boss Kael’thas Sunstrider in The Eye, capable of making even the most dedicated mount collectors jealous of you—you’d better be ready for the attention you’re going to get. Raogrimm has received so many whispers about his Black Qiraji Battle Tank that he “has to carry a macro message with me to answer the daily whispers I get from players asking me what I’m riding and where it’s from.”
areas. Of course, this means that these locations are also the
Of course, if you’d rather go incognito for
44
RIDE OF YOUR LIFE
Magic Rooster
rriDST-UURnTED гпоцптз

Keep at it and some day you could have these elusive, iealousy-inducing rides
Invincible
Mimiron s Head
One of the most difficult raid achievements in the game, Alone in the Darkness (25-player) rewards this flying robot head, but requires that your raid kill Yogg-Saron in 25-player Ulduar without the assistance of any Keepers.
awhile, you 11 always have plenty of plainclothes mounts to ride into town on, and if someone comes over to try and one-up you on your mount's style, you could follow Shaymous of Bonechewer-US’s example: "Sometimes, people will run up to me and try to mount up on something I don’t have. Of course, it can be done, but that’s when I’ll cycle through my Amani War Bear, Rivendare’s Deathcharger, Raven Lord, etc.
So, what are you waiting for? There are more than 150 mounts out there waiting for you to find them and claim them—get in that saddle and start searching! Giddyap! X
Sure to cripple your enemies through laughter or fear (if they happen to be terrified of chickens), this mount is acquired from the official Trading Card Game card “El Polio Grande” in the Fields of Honor set.
Arthas will not part with his beloved steed easily; you’ll have to kill the Lich King in 25-player Heroic mode in order to earn the mount for one of your raid members.
Violet Proto-Drake
The ultimate definition of “long-term goal,” this mount is a reward for the What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been achievement that you get for completing the meta-achievements for every major holi day year-round.
45
W FEATURE
Wutside of Disneyland, a young girl dressed as Snow White breaks away from her parents and runs down the street. The exhausted mother rummages in her purse for the camera to take yet another snapshot of her daughter with a costumed figure. However, Snow White isn’t snuggling up to Mickey Mouse or Cinderella; she’s waist high to a female blood elf.
A few blocks away, hundreds of cosplayers dressed as characters from Blizzard s game universes wander the halls of BlizzCon 2009 in Anaheim, California. Within Blizzard's celebration of gaming culture, a cosplay community thrives.
Br Matthew Craggs
STurne cor
on his first try, Mario says, was in the spirit of Blizzard: If you’re going to do it, go big.
“All of the black cloth you see under the armor, that’s just a sun dress,” Mario explains as he points to a picture of himself taken during BlizzCon 2009’s costume contest. “That’s Л foam, [Crayola modeling material] Model Magic, that’s ь wire mesh with papier-mache Л & and foam over it, and the dome on top of Guiding Star is from Canada; it’s a painted submarine window.”
During the three-block walk from his hotel to the Anaheim Convention Center, he knew he jiad done something right.
“Cars were honking and people were shoutin , ‘For the Horde!’ When someone yelled, ‘Priests rule,’ I got that feeling that you only get at a convention. Everyone was there for the same purpose, but it was more intense because I was in costume, I stood out.” The attendees loved his
J I I arid of Warcraft provides gamers with a < Д Д visual feast of races, armor sets, and weapons that often push the limits of what's physically possible to re-create in our world. Cosplayers draw upon this wealth of imagination just like the gamers who band together under the mantle of World of Warcraft. They support one another, offer constructive criticism, and make friends
Mario Roy and Alice Comstock met at BlizzCon 2009. He wore a tier-8 priest costume, she was dressed as a njght elf.
“We were just two people in costume. At a con, I have no idea who you are, but if you’re in costume, then we have something in common,” Mario says. Cosplayers flcjck to one another at a con, sharing in the excitement and helping e; ch other navigate the floor. At one point during BlizzCon 2009, Mario tried to form a five-person party but, as we’ve all encountered, couldn’t find a tank.
“That’s pretty much why we hung out at first,” Alice says. Now the two live together
just north of San Francisco, California. The
costume, and the cosplay community, from whom

costumes that they met each other in were their first creations. Tackling a tier-8 priest
Mario had sought help in the previous months, welcomed him. This BlizzCon, he’s the one who
48
"At a con, I have no idea who you are, but ifyou'n in costume then we have something к in common."
COSTUMES
Mario Roy
Fa tier-8 set to represent druids in her home country. “It was really surprising that so many people liked World of Warcraft at the Animagic convention, and we eally got nice reactions to our work. It was good motivation for us to keep going,’’ Svetlana explains (with the help of her translator and boyfriend, Benjamin Schwarz).
As passionate as Mario, Alice, and Svetlana are, they do note there are some trials. "On the first day of BlizzCon when 1 was in costume,’’ Mario recalls, “I didn’t eat or drink anything from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. because there was no way I would have been able to go to the bathroom without a handler. And 1 was not going to do that.” The costumes, from the bulky tank gear to the revealing elves, can be hot, restrictive, and draining. Their weapons—Mario's Guiding Light and Svetlana's Intensity—may only weigh 15 pounds each, but they had to carry them for an entire day.
“You can look at a picture of me holding
will offer help.
“Since I drive to the con, other cosplayers are going to ship everything to San Francisco and 1’11 pick it up and we’ll meet up in Anaheim arad^pass out gear like it’s a raid,” Mario says. The couple’s house also acts as a workshop for local cosplayers who need fielp. “They’ll bring over something they’re stuck ой and we’ll w’ork on it together.”
For some cosplayers, the passion and pride that comes with completing a costume makes it more than just a hobby. "I would ready like to make it my profession some day,” Svetlana Quindt writes from her home in Nuremberg, Germany. Into cosplay since 2003, Svetlanas loyalty to her night elf druid drove her to build tier-1 tier-3, and tier 6 druid costumes. Tire latter won her Best Costume at both Animagic 2009 and the WoW-Europe.com Costume Contest that earned her a trip to BlizzCon 2009.
The 24-year old doesn’t think she’ll make it to BlizzCon 2010, but she’s constructing
<9
•>
every year.
AERITH PRIMROSE
You've never bought a thing from Dalaran’s florist, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dress like her.
"We always want to improve our skills and make a better costume
RAMIK SLAMWRENCH
A gaudy red suit, pimp hat, and some green face paint will have you ready for PvP action.
HOLIDAY GEAR
Brewfest, Love Is in the Air and Noblegarden all have simple costumes you can piece together at the mall.
BLOODSAIL BUCCANEER Pirate costumes arrr everywhere Some slight mods and you can call Plunder Isle home
LEVEL 1 CHARACTER
We've all been there, so with the right pants, skirt, blouse, or top, everyone will recognize you.
You don’t have to dress to the tier 9s to get into cosplay. Try out one of these simple, but effective, costumes
GREATFATHER WINTER
A Santa suit and a Halloween mask can earn you the title of Merrymaker.
Svetlana Quindt
COSTUMES
Guiding Light and you can tell what time of day it is,” Mario says. "I start out with it above my head and eventually I’m practically dragging it on the ground. The only reason I'm holding it in the air on stage is adrenaline.”
For many cosplayers, the desire and ability to recreate something so specifically is what drives them to build their costumes. For Svetlana, the motivation also comes from a place of selfimprovement.
"It’s always a little puzzle to build all the pieces of a tier set, but I always try to handle everything as detailed as possible, and I fall in love with the little things.... [The positive responses] are good motivation for us to keep going. We always
N STAGE AND IN COSTUME, A FLIGHT ATTENDANT MORPHED INTO A SPIDER QUEEN FROM HELL
want to improve our skills and make a better costume every year.” As her skills improve, Svetlana becomes more comfortable working with new materials and techniques such as milling,
woodworking, and molding. Recently, she became a big fan of Wonderflex, a hard material that becomes malleable when heated, but she also extols the virtue of expanding foam as a fastening agent and material for carving intricate shapes.
Her tier-6 druid costume is simply beautiful, largely due to the attention to detail ghat Svetlana gave to each piece. Little things like beads and faajhers, layering different fabrics and ipaterials to create depth and movement, and a juxtaposition of colors add up to something that flows in real life.
Mario and Alice approached their costumes not like seasoned veterans, but like MacGyver, using every trick in the book to pull off the impossible. The tier-8 priest costume cost only a fe\v hundred dollars, but it took three people across two states more than 150 hours to complete. For them, a painted snow globe turns into a glowing orb, a hockey facemask serves as the frame for pauldrons, and a hollow volume of War and Peace that you’d find in a model house makes the perfect tome.
Within the community, people share ideas and make techniques their own, and they all agree that you have to do what works for you. It doesn’t matter if it’s welded metalwork or cardboard held together with duct tape—you’ve succeeded if you bring the game to life.
In some instances, the cosplayers even beat the developers to the punch in bringing a concept to life. “Initially, cosplay was something I did with friends years ago, but I stopped for a while,” Lorraine Torres says. “Then I started playing World of Warcraft and I really loved the character designs and I really wanted to bring it to life. So I did a night elf druid for BllzzCon 2008.1 didn’t win the contest, but it was fun
to get out there. I wanted to come back with something different, something bigger.” In 2009, this proved to be a huge understatement when Lorraine appeared onstage as Diablo Ill’s
Mistress of Pain.
At the time, there were only a few conceptual art drawings of the Mistress of Pain, one of which caught Lorraine's eye in the BlizzCon Art Gallery in 2008. Though she was on the floor prior to the 2009 costume contest, Lorraine wore only the dress and headpiece. "I wanted to give them a sneak peek of what was to come," Lorraine laughs.
Even those who saw her before the contest could not predict what would walk on stage In full costume, a flight attendant morphed into a spider queen from the Burning Hells, complete with twisted legs and a bulging abdomen. She snarled, baring a ghastly row of teeth behind pale skin offset by pure black eyes. Beneath the horror, the contraption, assembled for the first time ever backstage, stayed together thanks to plastic ties. “I got on stage and at first you don’t hear anything. Your adrenaline is pumping, your heart racing, and you’re just thinking, ‘My gosh, don’t fall apart.’ It was silent for a moment and then an eruption of cheer; it frightened me for
51
F
HERE’S HOW ONE PLAYER TOOK A DRUID’S STAFF FROM WORLD OF WARCRAFT TO THE STAGE
(ДЛ ANTLERS
Cut and glue PVC pipes to mimic the staff's antlers. Spray expanding foam over each branch and let it dry before carving it down, leaving exposed PVC at the base to insert holes drilled into the head. Papier-mache will provide durability and a smooth finish for painting. Repeat the process for the other side of the staff.
С / \ PAINTING AND DETAILS t
Varying shades of paint can provide additional depth to your foam details, and a milling effect throughout the staff will give the illusion of weathered wood. Red leather straps, fake ivy, and some feathers from the craft store add detail and, more importantly, movement as you walk.
Carve away the impressions on the face to give depth to the snout, cheeks, and eyes. Build ears out of grey board and a mane from carved pink foam. Glue all these pieces onto the grey board outlines and cover the whole thing in papier-mache for stability.	у
(aATHE HEAD
Create a basic outline of the head on grey board, omit ting the antlers and details. You’ll need two mirror pieces. Cut out and shape soft foam (pink foam is inexpensive and won’t crumble when you cut into it) to match the outline.
( THE HOOF
Bend a piece of grey board into a cone that	.
wil fit around the dowel you’ll use to create the staff.	<
Diagonally cut away the bottom and secure the open-	I
ing with a grey board. Fill the cone with expanding , foam and insert the dowel. When the foam hardens, it will secure the dowel. Create a hole in the neck of the head and repeat this process with the other end of the dowel. Cover both in papier-mache and leave an indent for the section between the hoof and foot. You can fill this in with pink foam etched with runes.
Love the idea of bounding into BlizzCon in full tier gear waving Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings, but have no idea how to get started? The cosplay community is always eager to share their tips, techniques, and trade secrets. Svetlana Quindt from Nuremberg, Germany, showed us how she built her own Journey’s End. Follow along or use the theories and techniques to build the armor or weapon of your dreams.
/n'XMATS
у A craft store will sell just about anything you'll need to build a compelling and accurate costume. Though Svetlana admits she would do some things differently in hindsight, she created her Journey’s End out of wooden dowels, grey board (a sturdy material similar to cardboard), foam, papier-mache, PVC pipe, and paint. Remember, you want to keep things lightweight. You may be able to bench 200 pounds, but try holding a gallon of milk in the air for eight hours.
Ш PLANNING
Many cosplayers will tell you that they spend a lot of time and effort in the planning stages. The first step is to gather information. Print screen shots from the game at every angle and utilize sites like the World of Warcraft Armory. However, with all aspects of cosplay, don’t forget to think outside the box. “My sister gave me the Broil Bearmantle World of Warcraft figure with Journey’s End for my birthday, so I got the perfect sample for my work,’’ Svetlana explains. Along with the shape, colors, and textures, look at the scale of the item.
•Lorraine Torres
take care of the customers and then, when they slept, I would start to sew whatever little pieces that 1 could.” The dedication paid off and Lorraine won the 2009 contest, an accomplishment that exceeded her dreams. “I’ll be completely honest— 1 wasn’t praying to win. I was just praying to cross the stage without falling.”
Consistent throughout cosplay is the desire to create something that honors the imagination and art of a fictional universe. World of Warcraft players, already a passionate lot, take cosplay to another level, creating incredibly detailed costumes out of common craft-store items. Some do it for the attention, others want a shot at taking home top prize at the costume contest, and others want to bridge the everdecreasing gap between fantasy and reality. For Mario, it’s a little simpler: “You did what 90% of the people there didn’t do. Even if you don’t think it’s perfect, you completed it. It’s always better to be in costume than to wish you were in costurye.”
At the very least, maybe you’ll inspire a princess to drop her fairy wand and pick up a mace. X
a split second. I was taken aback and honored. 1 couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Lorraine was on stage for just a few moments, but the costume took almost $2,000 and the better part of a year to make. Two .months were dedicated to drawing and redrawing the Mistress of Pain as she tried to extrapolate what she could from the conceptual art she had to base it on. "I decided to make the protrusions on the side out of tree bark. I might have looked like a crazy person sitti ng in the park peeling bark off of the tree, but the result looked cool.”
Ute dress and headpiece (which she confided was cardboard, spray paint, and costume jewelry) were hard enough, but the legs posed a unique problem. Not only did they have to look great, she had to get them from Orlando, Florida to California. “In the end, the legs are just like human legs; they have bone, muscle, aad skin. The bone is PVC pipe, the muscle is craft foam filled with pillow stuffing, and the skin is just black fabric.”
As a flight attendant, Lorraine arranged her schedule to create large chunks of time devoted the Mistress of Pain. Even when she was 35,000 feet in the air, she didn’t stop working. “I would

RAIDING
RUBY SANCTUM
THINGS MAY HAVE SETTLED DOWN IN THE OBSIDIAN SANCTUM, BUT ALL IS NOT WELL IN WYRMREST TEMPLE. STEEL YOURSELF FOR ANOTHER EPIC BATTLE
THE BLACK 1 DRAGONFLIGHT HAS INVADED THE RUBY SANCTUM, SEEKING TO CRUSH THE WYRMREST
ACCORD A
A powerful war party of the black dragonflight has launched an assault upon the Ruby Sanctum beneath Wyrmrest Temple. By destroying the sanctum, the black drag-onflight looks to crush those who would stand in the way of their master's reemergence into Azeroth, with the ultimate goal of shattering the Wyrmrest Accord—the sacred bond that unites the dragonflights.
The true leader of the strike force is a fearsome twilight dragon named Halion, raised in captivity from the eggs created by Sinestra almost two years ago and unleashed upon the world for the first time, eager to test its powers. The dragon is adept at phasing between the material plane and the twilight realm, and used that power to bring the strike force past Wyrmrest's defenses and launch a surprise assault.
Almost all of the inhabitants of the Ruby Sanctum were slain in the assault, and the corpses of red drakes and dragonkin litter the green fields. On one edge of the Sanctum, a single surviving dragon was able to blockade herself inside a hollow beneath one of the glade's trees, but the besieging invaders are relentless. The twilight dragon has phased away to attend to other matters, leaving three lieutenants—Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn, and General Zarithnan—to handle cleaning up any survivors and securing the area
Now, it's up to you and your party to stop this unprecedented offensive and defend the Ruby Sanctum.
The Ruby Sanctum features 10- and 25-player content, Heroic difficulties, and all-new rewards. There is one major boss, Halion, and his three lieutenants must be cleared before he will confront your party.
Saviana Ragefire will attack your party with fire breath, and periodically takes flight to fling fiery orbs that disorient their targets. Be careful of her occasional temper tantrums, during which she attacks faster and pulses Fire Novas. (She can be tranquilized during these fits.)
Baltharus the Warborn casts a debuff on a random non tank that saps the might of nearby allies, siphoning it to bolster Baltharus s assault, allowing him to deal more damage. At certain points during the fight you'll have to deal with a clone of Baltharus.
General Zarithrian applies a stacking armor debuff on the player tanking him, periodically sends everyone scurrying with an intimidating shout, and summons fiery casters to aid him in battle.
SAVIANA RAGEFIRE
BALTHARUS THE WARBORN
GENERAL ZARITHRIAN
Once your team has dispatched these three lieutenants, it’s time to meet the true boss.
56
THE TRUE LEADER OF THE STRIKE FORCE IS HALIGN, A FEARSOME TWILIGHT DRAGON EAGER TO TEST ITS POWERS
The Halion fight consists of three phases.
HALION, THE TWILIGHT DESTROYER
nearby players in instead of knocking them back.
At 50%, Halion opens two small portals back out to the
PHASE 1
Halion behaves like most dragons, breathing fire, cleaving enemies in front, and tail swiping those behind. His unique abilities include a Meteor Strike that targets a player at range and causes random streams of fire to spread after impact and Fiery Combustion, a debuff on a random player that causes an explosion (knocking back nearby allies) and leaves a patch of flame on the ground when dispelled. Be careful, because the radius and intensity of its effects depend on how much time elapsed before Fiery Combustion was dispelled!
At 75%, Halion vanishes, leaving a large portal behind. Players need to go through it to begin the next phase.
► PHASE 2
Inside the portal, players find themselves in the twilight realm (like the drake portals from the Sartharion encoun ter). Here, Halion has Shadow-based abilities. He now breathes Dark Breath, and Meteor Strike has been replaced with Twilight Cutter, a very high-damage beam that is periodically channeled between spheres orbiting the edge of the battle area. Fiery Combustion is replaced with Soul Consumption, which has similar mechanics, but pulls
normal world. He now exists in both planes.
► PHASE 3
Halion exists in both the physical and twilight realms simultaneously, and players have to deal with a new mechanic called Corporeality He starts out the phase 50% corporeal in each realm—in other words, half in the physical realm, and half in the twilight realm.
Every 15 seconds, whichever version of him takes more damage becomes less corporeal, and the version of him that takes less damage becomes more corporeal. The more corporeal he is in a given realm, the more damage he deals and takes, and vice-versa. If he is ever entirely ignored in one realm or the other (no players are in combat with him) he will begin to regenerate health.
These split versions of Halion share the same health pool, and reducing it to zero ends the encounter. You win!
Heroic mode offers more of a challenge. Halion will have much more health and in each phase players will have to deal with extra twists, such as an extra Twilight Cutter, and Fiery Combustion and Soul Consumption zones that affect both realms. X
Halion's goodies range from item level 258for the 10-player version to item level 284 for the 25-player Heroic version.
57
communiry
FOR SOME PLAYERS, CHATTING, QUESTING, RAIDING, AND RUNNING DUNGEONS TOGETHER JUST ISN'T ENOUGH. GANGS OF GUILDS WILL OFTEN MEET UP TO HANG OUT, THROW EPIC PARTIES, AND TALK ABOUT (OR EVEN PLAY) WORLD OF WARCRAFT— AND YOURS CAN, TOO
RAIDING THE PHYSICAL WORLD
You’re never alone in World of Warcraft. It’s nearly impossible to jump into Azeroth without having some interaction with other players. Joining a guild and playing with people you like and know (at least virtually), enriches the experience, but it doesn’t have to stop when you log out for the night. Many guilds have turned the real world into a meeting hall.
If a guild can successfully coordinate weekly efforts to tackle 10- and 25-player raids, runs through Heroics, and PvP battles in Wintergrasp and Arenas, then certainly that guild has the wherewithal to plan a get-together. It may take time, but consider it a way to build friendship rep.
Getting a plan together doesn't have to be a painful experience. Most guilds tend to pick a location central to its members, while other guilds prefer heading off en masse to larger events,
in the Knights Who Say Ni guild on the Icecrown-US realm, agrees: "Forming a large gathering can appear daunting, yet it’s not that difficult. The first thing to do is find a venue. The next thing is to coordinate a time when most people can make it, and get options for hotels and such.”
Once schedules have been aligned and travel plans arranged, the possibilities for what to do are as wide open as
like BlizzCon. Whatever the case, don’t let the logistics become
the Barrens. For guilds looking
overwhelming. Remember, this is the same group that downed Sindragosa last week, so planning a weekend jaunt should be a piece of Delicious Chocolate Cake. Vuelhering, a gnome warlock
for something to do that’s more structured than simply hanging out, checking out BlizzCon as a group can make for a great time, especially if people haven’t attended the convention before.
60
RAIDING THE PHYSICAL WORLD
Keine Neuen of Mal’Ganis-US was founded back in 2007.
They’ve met up on multiple occasions, including a small-scale meetup at Disney World and a large-scale meetup at Niagara Falls (where they bravely unlocked their Going Down? achievement).
"THE GREATEST PART WAS JUST HEARING EVERYONE TALK WITHOUT WEARING A HEADSET SOME OF THE PEOPLE DID NOT LOOK LIKE I IMAGINED THEY WOULD, BUT THAT’S PART OF THE FUN."
—Jeangeanle
“We had 12 guildies at BlizzCon
[in 2009],” says Anaea, a human priest in the My Other
Mount is Tauren guild on Aerie Peak-US. “This brought in some of our more centrally located folks, with representation from Canada, Minnesota, New York, Delaware, Virginia, California, and Maryland. For me, honestly, the chance to catch up with my guildmates was the primary reason for attending BlizzCon in the first place. Tire chance to grab dinner and geek out over Cataclysm news each night with the MOMiTs? Totally worth it."
For others who prefer something more hands-on or exotic, hosting live-action role-playing or hitting the outback is always an option. Well, sort of. “In our first get-together, we hosted Arena-style fighting with foam swords,” says Impulsive, a
level-80 night elf warrior and guild master of the Divindi guild on the Trollbane-US realm. "Our second get-together was at a wonderful animal refuge named The Wilds. To advertise the get-together to our guildmates, we created a brochure complete with pictures of real animals—zebra, buffalo—that would be located at The Wilds, but also included screen caps of animals found in the Barrens.”
Evadne, a level-80 night elf priest in the NAPALM guild on the Uldum-US realm recommends a not-exactly-last resort. "Nine of us rented a cabin at a local resort and spent the weekend together. It was so much fun no one wanted to go home! We went shopping at a local store for supplies, had an epic sword fight in the toy aisle, and I had a random stranger come up to me and ask, ‘Do you always have this much fun shopping with these guys?’ as I was snapping pictures. 1 smiled and said, Actually, I just met them!' We went to the arcade at the resort and rode rides and played games like kids, played pool at the bar in the main lodge, watched movies, and otherwise just sat around eating great food and enjoying each other’s company.”
Just because everyone in the guild loves and plays World of Warcraft doesn’t mean that everyone is cut from the same mold. In fact,
dl
RAIDING THE PHYSICAL WORLD
Guild Master Andrew Matthew can help you start a guild of your own!
many players are stunned at how diverse their online friends are in person. College students and office managers, waiters and bus drivers, high school seniors and single moms—when it comes to guildmates, players come from all walks of life and in every shape, size, and disposition. One thing that serves as a uniting factor at any guild’s first get-together is the voices.
“My first guild met at a dark Mexican restaurant the first time we got together, and the only way we knew each other was when people started opening their mouths,” says Jeangeanie, a human mage from the Exiles guild on the Kilrogg-US realm. “The greatest part was just hearing everyone talk without wearing a headset. Some of the people did not look like I imagined they would, but that’s part of the fun.”
Food rules, and guild parties are some of the best places to get some good grub on, as plenty of well-fed guildmates can attest to. “We are mostly from Oregon and real-life friends and family,” says Basmordoth, an undead mage from the Details Of War guild on Sen’jin-US, “but we have met so many wonderful people in the game! We have a Resto shaman who’s really looking forward to bringing her famous Jell-O shots, and my wife
and I—the guild masters—are in charge of the hot dogs.”
How about Gert’s gumbo? Epic, apparently, but you can only sample it if you show up, according to Gertrudis, a blood elf mage in Roundtable from Skywall-US. “My guild is five years old and has had guild parties for the past four summers. One of our guildmates has a large home that happens to be conveniently located for many of the guild members, and they’ve been kind enough to host the events. Yes, Gert cooks for these occasions. No, Gert will not send you any gumbo.”
For everyone who can agree on the power of good eats, there are likely just as many who are looking for a night out on the town, and who better to hit Las Vegas with than your tank and healer? Just ask the guilds who have met there multiple times for annual and semi-annual get-togethers—guilds like The Ancient Order and the Serpents on Archimonde-US .
“In October 2005, my then-guild, Serpents, had a meet-up in
The Incredibles ofBoulderfist-US hold their very own IncrediCon almost yearly to gather, play games, and gain a Well Fed buff.
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Las Vegas for a long weekend,” says orc shaman Anotherfotm. "There were members from the UK, Buffalo, Seattle, Phoenix, New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas. It was really actually nice to meet people that you had been playing with for a year or more, although I had a lot of doubts as I went there... like, what if they are all stereotypical basement-dwellers? They all turned out to be normal people. We spent the weekend drinking, gambling, and just hanging out, had a proper meal together, and still have stories—mostly about attending certain establishments and consuming certain beverages—which we talk about nearly five years on.”
Of all the things a guild can do together when meeting in person, it might be hard to imagine that some get together to simply play the game, but they do. Zazi, a troll mage from the Kirin Tor-US realm, explains that The Warbringer guild just can’t get enough of playing. “A bunch of The Warbringers met up this year in California. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to meet those smokin’ hot blood elf chicks who turned out to be dudes, or how awesome it was to talk to the person who had never said a word in Vent before. We booked tickets in advance to see Medieval Times, which turned out to be a blast.... We also went bowling, to the movies, and out to dinner a few times. This was right around Valentine’s Day, so we spent a romantic night in the hotel room starting up the laptops to slay some holiday bosses. All in all, it was a great experience, and I can’t wait for our next get-together!”
Even though some play when they get together, many don’t. Einar, a draenei shaman from The Anointed guild on the Medivh-US realm, calls out the benefits of interpersonal relationships going beyond the game. “It was really nice to put faces to names and build a friendship outside of the game that will last longer than just World of Warcraft. It was awesome, three days of no World of Warcraft, just hanging out and really getting to know one another. It’s amazing, really, that in this game we get to meet people we would have no chance to encounter outside of the game.”
However guilds decide to approach getting together, keep in mind that the first meeting entails all the usual awkwardness found in “real life.” Some players may be shy, some may be boisterous, and others may be somewhere in the middle. While you’re planning things, try to think about each of the players who will be attending, what they like, and what they don’t like. Think back to all those late nights on Vent when people shared their interests outside of the game. Vuelhering puts it like this: “With a few hours of research invested and a little bit of preparation, you can make real-life guild meetings great fun!”
WE STILL
HA VE STORIES— MOSTLY ABOUT ATTENDING CERTAIN ESTABLISHMENTSAND * CONSUMING CERTAIN BEVERAGES—WHICH WE TALK ABOUT NEARLY FIVE
YEARS ON"
—Anotherfotm
Guild gatherings can range from shindigs to full-blown parties, as shown by Hawaiians (bottom), Nokturne (top middle), The Syndicate (bottom middle) and Zodiac Braves (top).
ChMS« '
^Lcve»^ ------
Illustration: Matt Starbuck
STAT CHANGES
The upcoming Cataclysm promises to change most of World of Warcraft, and items are no exception. The stats that define the capabilities of your characters are evolving, and items must follow suit.
As World of Warcraft has matured, the stat system has presented the developers with increasingly complex issues. Many of the current stats are confusing and the interrelations can appear convoluted. Do you know the five different stats affected by Defense? {Answer. Chance to be hit, chance to be critically hit, Dodge, Parry, and Block.) Which contributes to damage: Attack Power or Armor Penetration’ {Answer. Both.)
The developers have said that the goal is to make gear choices more interesting and less confusing by making each stat more valuable to more players. That's the underlying design behind the itemization changes scheduled for Cataclysm.
What does it mean for your characters? Some stats will be undergoing large changes or even disappearing altogether. Some stats won t go away, but you won't see them directly on gear anymore. Instead, they'll be derived from other stats.
The Cataclysm stat changes that drive this new approach to itemization can be sorted into three different categories. First, there are stats that actually appear on items—these will be a combination of the familiar old stats aad some newly introduced stats. Then there are the old stats that are sticking around, but won't be visible on your items; these will be derived from the visible stats. Finally, there are the stats that will be going away completely.
Following is a breakdown of what s going on in each of those categories.
ftlOUING TO CATACLYSM “"^SHIFTING GEAR
THE LANDSCAPE ISN’T THE ONLY THING CHANGING - CHECK YOUR GEAR!
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Stamina, Spirit, Strength, Agility, Intellect, Haste, Parry, Armor, Resilience, Hit, Expertise, Critical Strike, and Resilience will appear on gear. Some will function much the same way they do now, but the following stats will make their debuts or change significantly.
►	MASTERY Mastery is a new stat that improves whatever talent tree a player decides to pursue. The gains are dependent upon class and talent specialization choices.
►	STAMINA Non-plate wearers will end up with more Stamina than before, such that health pools will be closer to each other. This is partially a by-product of how Strength, Agility, and Intellect will be assigned.
►	SPIRIT This should only appear on gear
worn by healing classes. Other casters will have alternate ways to regenerate mana. Healing classes in damage roles will be able to gain Hit from Spirit.
►	INTELLECT This stat will grant Spell Power.
►	AGILITY This stat will no longer provide 2 Armor per point of Agility. It will continue to provide Critical Strike chance, and now provides 2 Attack Power per point (instead of 1) for hunters, shamans, rogues, and druids.
►	HASTE Melee classes (and hunters) should find Haste more attractive in Cataclysm, as it will be designed to allow them to regain resources—think energy or runes—faster, and thus let them do more things more often.
►	PARRY Parry and Dodge now have the same cost and are affected at the same rate by diminishing returns. Parry will still provide a slight speed-up on the player’s next attack, but creatures no longer benefit from that effect.
► ARMOR The way Armor works will be largely the same way it does now, but the difference in mitigation among armor types will be changing so that plate isn't so far ahead of mail, leather, and cloth.
► RESILIENCE Currently, this stat reduces the chance to receive critical strikes or spell critical strikes, reduces the damage taken from those criticals, reduces damage taken from players, and reduces the effects of mana drains. In Cataclysm, it will only affect damage—normal and critical—done by players.
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OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
These stats will be removed from items—
mostly. However, they will still be in the game and matter to your character.
► ATTACK POWER Strength and Agility will determine the amount of Attack Power .your character has. The precise translation of those stats to Attack Power will vary by class.
► SPELL POWER Casters will get Spell Power from Intellect. There is an exception for caster weapons. Spell Power will appear on those so that they can be made proportionately as powerful for casters as weapons are for melee classes.
► ARMOR PENETRATION This will still exist in talents and abilities.
► BLOCK RATING Block is being redesigned so that blocked attacks will hit for 30% less damage. This allows the stat to scale better as your gear improves. Block won’t appear directly on items, but will continue to be granted by abilities and talents, and may be granted by Mastery for shield-wearing classes.
► SHIELD BLOCK VALUE This won't appear on items due to the changes in Block (that straight 30% damage reduction mentioned above), but talents and other effects could modify the Block percentage. Meaning that Shield Block Value chills in the shadows until it's called on to change.
SAY GOODBYE
► MANA PER 5 The classes that benefited
from this stat, namely paladins and shamans, will instead benefit from the Spirit stat, like other healers.
► DEFENSE This stat has been the mainstay benchmark for tanks. Reach a certain number and you knew that you could not be subjected to a critical hit. With the removal of this stat, tanks will become uncrittable by shifting to the appropriate stance, form, or presence. Paladins will use Righteous Fury.
STAT CHANGES
OTHER CHAHGES
\	И
Other stats will change as well, in addition to those you 11 see on gear. For example, Weapon Skill will disappear. Classes will start with proficiency in the appropriate weapons, and skills won't need to be improved. Spell ranks, like Flash Heal (Rank 1) and Flash Heal (Rank 2), won't exist. Each spell will have one rank that will scale according to your character's level.
Another important thing to remember about Cataclysm gear is that you won't necessarily be stuck with the stats the gear carries when you grab it off a monster. A new ability called Reforging will be available. Reforging will allow you to transform some of the stats on an item into other stats. There will be some rules on how this works—for example, changing Stamina to something else may be severely restricted—but it's an avenue for further customization of gear. So if you can't bear the thought of more Hit on your armor, you'll have a way to remedy it.
While we're talking about stats, let’s not forget about gems. Gems are an important source of gear customization for players, and with these stat changes, gems will have to change, too. The most visible difference will be that the colors for some stats will change. For example, Hit is currently yellow, but it might end up being blue in Cataclysm.
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ITEM DESIGN
FEATURE
left to right
Ж
Owen Landgren Game Designer
Jonathan LeCraft Game Designer
A CHAT WITH THE FOLKS WHO DESIGN THE ITEMS YOU CAN'T PLAY WITHOUT
TftAVIS D.w Game Designer
Greg Street Lead Systems Designer
Kris Zierhut Senior Technical Game Designer
ITEM DESIGN TEAM
EPIC
LOOTERS
T АЛ ГЛ ПЛ MAKES THE WORLD OF
1 WARCRAFT GO AROUND
FROM THE MIGHTY LICH KING TO THE LOWLY
я
KOBOLD VERMIN, ALL MOBS NEED LOOT. BUT IT'S NOT TOTALLY RANDOM; SOMEBODY HAS TO HAVE A PLAN AND PUT THOSE ITEMS THERE
WORLD OF WARCRAFT OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
TALKED WITH SOME OF THE FOLKS BEHIND
AZEROTH'S ITEM DESIGN TO FIND
OUT HOW THEY DO IT, WHAT THEIR FAVORITE ITEMS ARE, AND WHAT THEY WON'T BE DOING AGAIN.
CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE PROCESS OF MAKING AN ITEM?
►
• TRAVIS: Typically, we start with a blank Excel sheet and lay out all the bosses and their loot tables in a template—how many items, what we’re going to need, et cetera. Every time a group kills a boss, we want there to be items that everyone is after so there aren't any dead spots, and to avoid having half of your raid not care about killing a boss. We base the decision on what the class team has done, which specs are relevant, and which items we haven't necessarily covered recently or there's been a desire to see more of. It's based on community feedback, game balance, and specifically trying to make sure that how we stat the items reflects what the class team is trying to accomplish.
So at this point, it's a big list like two-handed axe #1, two-handed axe #2....
• TRAVIS: Yeah, at this point it's basically just working with a spreadsheet. It's fun to work in Excel—it's easy to get the big picture of the zone and start plugging away. OK, this guy is going to drop a tank helm; this one is going to drop healer gear. Over here we can put the healer mace. Oh, and make sure the trinkets are dispersed in the zone as best as possible. So there's constantly someone who's excited about the next boss, if not everyone in the raid.
♦ IONATHAN:: We’re pretty much known as the Excel team. I think that's our biggest tool. It's a little nerdy, but that's how we actually keep track of everything.
How do you place the items in a dungeon and determine who drops what?
• TRAVIS: The encounter designers will give us ideas, like "here’s what the bosses are, and here’s how this zone is going to flow.” For example, with Ulduar, they explained how the zone would be linear for some bosses, and then another group of bosses would be in different wings. On top of that, there would be this guy called Algalon who's just going to crush your soul. So we say, “OK, let’s put better loot on him and make sure there's something for everybody, so if you finally get past the soul crushing, everyone is happy.” And since these are the wing bosses, they’re going to be the ones that drop set pieces. A lot of effort goes into making sure it feels like you're being appropriately rewarded for the difficulty and that you're not seeing a lot of redundant itemization. We might have two two-handed axes in a zone, but one will be at the beginning of the zone and the one at the end—and we ll make some modifications to make you feel like even if you got the one at the front, you really want the one at the back.
There's always that carrot to keep you pressing forward and killing the bosses.	4
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Where do the item names come from?
•	TRAVIS: It depends on how important the item is. Arthas's weapons and items, for example, get more tender loving care than items from a random elemental boss or dragon. If we really feel something is spectacularly amazing, then we ll put some flavor text on it to help sell it as a special item.
•	KRIS: We've gotten assistance from the quest-design team and world-design team on giving us names in the past.
•	TRAVIS: Naming typically involves many, many different people if we're not directly responsible for it ourselves—you tend to exhaust your vocabulary relatively quickly. I think that in The Burning Crusade, [Senior Vice President of Creative Development) Chris Metzen and [then-Creative Development Manager] Shawn Carnes went through and named everything. The names actually reflected the things they were passionate about. Shawn loved Tenacious D, so we had the Tenacious Defender. We try to make sure that we have those sorts of pop-culture references or comical items here and there.
♦ OWEN: One of the new goblm quest rewards is called Best.
Bracer. Ever. Which it’s probably not, since it's around level 5.
. JONATHAN: A lot of the world-drop bind-on-equip blue items you can get have been named after various employees' kids.
•	TRAVIS: We very frequently get employees saying, "Hey, I just had a kid!" or, "Can you name something after my two-year-old daughter?" We're always more than happy to entertain those.
"IT’S AMAZING HOW MUCH VALUE PLAYERS WILL PLACE ON SOMETHING WITH NO PLAYER POWER AT ALL JUST BECAUSE IT’S RARE AND COOL.” —Greg
There are quite a few items named after players. How does that come about?
•	KRIS: We really value community input. Players like Aldriana, Astrylian, and others have really put a ton of work into making the game better for other players. We feel like that's a good reason to sort of immortalize them in digital ink.
•	GREG: Before I worked at Blizzard, I learned to tank by reading Satrina's posts on how Protection warrior mechanics worked. I got Styleen's Impeding Scarab in Blackwing Lair, and one of the things I wanted to do when I got here was kind of pay Satrina back for doing so much awesome theorycrafting with a really great trinket, Satrina's Impeding Scarab.
•	TRAVIS: It's something they really appreciate We ve seen the reactions on people’s faces and heard them when they first find out—"Oh my god, there's an item named after me!"—and they're
bouncing off walls. It's something that we enjoy and they just love, especially when all their friends are like, 'That's so cool! 1 can't believe that! How'd you do that?"
At what point do you determine the appearance of the items?
•	TRAVIS: We re not directly responsible for creating the art, though occasionally we'll give the artists guidance. A lot of times, [Lead World Designer, Alex Afrasiabi will give the art team some direction like what a zone is about, the lore behind everything you’re killing and what the feel of the zone should be. So when the player sees the axe from Icecrown Citadel and the axe from Ulduar there are very distinct differences, and you can associate what the art looks like with the whole story of the raid tier.
• OWEN: A really good example of that is Trial of the Crusader, where if you’re Alliance you get one kind of art and your character looks one way, and if you're Horde, your character looks completely different. So you have sort of a competing-l factions element built into the I itemization, the lore, and the I various battles that you fight.
|	• TRAVIS: After we receive the
art assets, we hook them up to the items that we've made. We make sure that when we attach a piece of art to a dagger intended for a rogue and attach a piece of art to a dagger intended for a mage or a warlock, 	that you can tell just by looking at the art
who it’s intended for. A rogue dagger will be much more visceral, with a huge blade with spikes and dragon heads on the hilt, whereas a caster dagger might look more fragile, ethereal, and infused with energy, and less like it’s meant for stabbing you in the face.
HEADLESS HORSEMAN'S HELM
What about items outside of instances?
• TRAVIS: Almost any time you pick an item up off a creature in the game, if it's not an item meant to complete a quest, we re responsible for placing that—dungeons, raids, itemizing quest rewards, determining the random world drops and random epic drops. When you're killing wolves in a zone, we determine what the flavor loot is. We're also responsible for attaching loot to any given world-event boss, like Ahune, the Frost Lord. The team that makes the world events and holidays will tell us the vibe of the holiday and maybe a really cool hook.
A good example would be the Headless Horseman's helm—
This item, which drops only during the annual Hallow's End event, has the popular extra ability of enabling the wearer to laugh maniacally on demand.
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1 J
ITEM DESIGN
“PLAYERS LIKE ALDRIANA, ASTRYLIAN, AND OTHERS HAVE REALLY PUT A TON OF WORK
INTO MAKING THE GAME BETTER FOR OTHER PLAYERS’:
—Kris
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“THE ONE I KEEP AROUND FOR SENTIMENTAL VALUE TO THIS ГЛ Л TO ПГЛТГЛГ Г/О СГЛГЛТЛ ТГ D
illustration: Jeff Miracola
ITEM DESIGN
[Lead World Event Designer] Dave Maldonado told me it would be really awesome if we could drop this helm that pops off and flies around during the fight. I made the helm and gave it stats so it's functionally a good item for players, and then he took it and kicked it up a notch, so whenever you right-click your helm you do the awesome laugh. The item team as a whole collabo rates a lot with the rest of the systems team to help come up with new ideas to add to the game—what new professions can we come up with, how should we revamp the talent system, et cetera—but at the end of the day, we re directly responsible for kill dragon, get sword.
Everyone has some favorite items, whether it's for looks, stats, or sentimental value. What are your personal
• GREG: Bryntroll was named after this really obscure Viking battle in England in like the 800s or something. One guy hit another guy with a weapon called a Bryntroll, and archaeolo gists had no idea what that weapon even was. 1 always loved the name. You probably cant even find it on Google; youd find references to World of Warcraft instead. Distant Land was a horse I won money on when I was too young to bet on horses.
♦ OWEN: The one I keep around for sentimental value to this day is Finkle s Skinner. Way, way, way back in classic World of Warcraft, there was a monster in Upper Blackrock Spire called The Beast, and very, very rarely he would drop this item called Finkle's Skinner. If you skinned him, out would pop Finkle Einhorn. I always got a kick out of that and have kept the dagger around ever since
THE STOPPABLE FORCE
favorite items?
•	JONATHAN: I'm wondering if Kris is going to say Steamy Romance Novel....
•	KRIS: When we were doing The Burning Crusade, 1 was building the items you could get from pickpocketing creatures, and I wanted to put something interesting on the pickpocket table. So I put the Steamy Romance Novel on a human. I didn't write a story; I just created the item. At some point, Jon saw this item and started adding a story to it, and he
put a sequel on additional items The silly items are the ones I think of the most. I saw the icon for a clownfish so I made a pickpocket item called Shark Bait with "Just keep swimming" as the flavor text. • OWEN: I don't know who made it, but The
Weapons from Arthas are fine, but for many guilds, the most sought-after item in Icecrown Citadel is Precious's Ribbon. Do you plan on having more fun items like that in the game?
• GREG: It's amazing how much value players will place on something with no player power at all just because it s rare and cool. They love it.
• JONATHAN: And it scales forever!
♦ GREG: You'll be best in show for as long as you want to.
• OWEN: As far as novelty items go we love hiding them in fun places. Someone else had that idea for Precious, and I saw that ribbon and cracked up I had to put it as a drop.
♦ TRAVIS: We love that stuff and always want to do more, but
Born of designer delirium, this mace became a favorite among the gold-conscious and irony-aware adventurers of Outland.

Stoppable Force....
• TRAVIS: I think that was when I was delirious at some point during The Burning Crusade, knowing I had to make junk loot for everything in the game. This was at the height of the
PvP items The Unstoppable Force and The Immovable Object. 1 just found the crappiest icon I could and '"’ч thought... "The Stoppable Force." I swear every time 1 saw that thing drop off a creature for the entire length of The Burning Crusade, I just chuckled.
♦ JONATHAN: The only thing I could think of was the Power Converter with a bunch of Star Wars references from the Show Them Gnome Mercy quest. You set it off expecting a big explosion, the tool tip says "Use: Destroys
if we put Precious's Ribbon on every boss with a different flavor for every raid tier, it would start to become a little desensitizing. • JONATHAN: I dont know if we've planned any of those in advance. We don't even know if or when those opportunities are going to come up.
• GREG: You want to have humor in the game but you don't want it to dominate—particularly when you're in Icecrown Citadel going up to fight the Lich King. The players don't take it that seriously, but you don't want the best-in-show ribbon to drop off of Arthas, either.
Are there plans for more dual items like Benediction/ Anathema or class quest items?
technological terror constructs." People don't get that joke and the Star Wars reference.
• OWEN: The problem with items that change like Benediction is that the enchantment system doesn't handle it. What really
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happens when you switch is that the item gets destroyed and you get a new item, which means any enchant that you had is lost. So if you get Shadowstrike off of Onyxia in the current game, it just gives you both versions to play with.
•	TRAVIS: We've had a lot of talks about class weapons over the years. I'll say this: They’re fun and we'd love to do more, but they’re also time-intensive—and in the current environment, they would be much harder to implement in a way that feels as epic as it did back when the original Rhok'delar and Benediction were implemented.
•	OWEN: Quel'Delar is probably the way.
•	GREG: That s probably what we'll do in the future. Something like that.
♦	JONATHAN: Another problem with doing a class-specific quest is ensuring we can do it for other classes. Players ask, "Why do hunters get the quest? When's the rogues’ turn? When's the Ret paladins’ turn?”
•	OWEN: We can't do it unless we do it for all the classes, and if you do it for all classes, it's an immense amount of work.
•	TRAVIS: It's not just that. It's almost impossible to strike the balance. Why do you want Arthas's weapon if you just finished this epic quest line at the same time? Are you going to be upset when Arthas drops this awesome sword but your sword is better? What about two or three months later, when the next raid tier comes out? How do we replace that weapon altogether? I think we all love what those were. We put a lot of effort and focus into those kinds of epic quest lines and story lines. So, there's definitely a place for items like that; I just don't think we're as willing anymore to break those out into class-specific, huge, epic story lines.
Is this where legendary items come in?
• TRAVIS: Usually it's just a matter of if we have an awesome hook and if we have the time to really flesh out the awesome idea. We want them to feel really epic and challenging to attain, like Val'anyr. Between the drop rates of whatever things you need to collect and the other outside tasks you have to do, the
F	"I HAD
TO BUFF ABOUT 600 ITEMS BECAUSE WE COULDN’TNERF ONE SUBSET OF ITEMS. TWO ITEMS CAUSED US TO HAVE TO BUFF
EVERYTHING IN THE GAME." —Travis
next tier of content. Val'anyr was a perfect example. When players finally completed it, they moved into the Crusaders’ Coliseum [on the PTR] and found that, “what the hell, my Val'anyr is crap now,” which obviously was not our intention—and so we adjusted the stats. It's OK for legendaries to have longer lives than other items because we know few people are going to have access to them. It's not like your entire raid is going to have weapons that are so good that they don't replace them for three tiers of raid content.
♦	OWEN: Val'anyr s still alive and well today in Icecrown Heroic modes.
♦	JONATHAN: You'll replace it with a lovely green in Mount Hyjal.
Are there ideasfor items that you liked but just didn't work out?
♦ KRIS: The original Deathbringer's Will. Originally, it transformed you into more races. They
were cooler. Like you were able to turn into a wolvar or turn into a tuskarr....
JONATHAN: The frost giant was coolest by far.
• KRIS: But there were animation issues, so it got trimmed back.
• TRAVIS: I spent a bit of time when we were working on Wrath of the Lich King trying to flesh out an artifact system, including how that would impact raid progression or item progression in the game. ♦ OWEN: And there are all the crazy ideas about how your weapon leveled up....
TRAVIS: Yeaaaah... toying with ideas like weapons leveling up, which would have been fun up until the point you realized you're never replacing the weapon, or that when you do replace it, you feel bad because you’ve put all this effort into developing it. So eventually we decided World of Warcraft just didn’t need that. Legendaries had a good place—they felt meaningful, and they felt like items you could invest time in and carry on afterward. But we didn't want that to become commonplace in the endgame content. KRIS: There are all these engineering items that I tried to make that didn’t work out. I tried to make one that duplicated you; it duplicated your exact look, and if anybody hit it, it would explode. But it ended up being too expensive to show another
expected time frame for a player to get the legendary in the
version of you. So I ended up making a rabbit instead.
most generous case is about a month and a half. Since we expect it to take a considerable amount of time to attain these items, we're also more willing to let these items not be replaced in the
Are there any items that you consider to be mistakes?
• GREG: Thunderfury comes to mind. The original thought
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ITEM DESIGN
Just another day at the office! The item design team gets a kick out of playing with their creations, sometimes even outside of World of Warcraft.
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FROZEN SHADOWEAVE
VAL'ANYR
WORKING WITH THE ITEM BUDGET
The World of Warcraft item designers work within a budget, which basically is a set of rules and limitations, to determine which stats will go on a piece of gear. Game Designer Jonathan LeCraft describes the budgeting process.
"In a nutshell, if you know the color—like green, blue, or purple—and item level, you get a power level, which is one number to describe how powerful an item is. You then chop that up into separate stat pools to make an item."
"However, as you split the stats more ways, you actually get a greater total sum, so we do put limitations on that. Going back to the
Frozen Shadoweave problem—that occurred because we gamed our own system to make something broken. It’s a set of rules, but it can be broken—so we've kind of learned that."
QUEL'DELAR
ITEM DESIGN
was, “Hey, let’s make an item that slows things it hits." That got the OK because people thought it meant “reduces movement speed.” Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication, and it was implemented as an attack-speed reduction proc, which turned out to be stronger than every other similar effect in the game. Because of that, we ended up having to buff the respective class abilities before the weapon could finally be put down.
•	OWEN: Frozen Shadoweave. The mistake there was that the items crafted from it had nothing but offensive stats on them, which made players who equipped them do way more damage than they were supposed to and made them feel like the items in the raid tier just weren't very good because they didn't have as many offensive stats. Then the characters were really, really fragile and died when you breathed on them funny.
♦	TRAVIS: If we're going to talk about Frozen Shadoweave, I'll give you the fun short story about the whole debacle. When you're looking at an entire expansion as a whole in spreadsheets, at a certain point it becomes a haze of numbers. Back then, we were pretty stingy with the rate at which we replaced your gear, so item levels incremented slowly, and the socketing system was entirely conceptual at that point. We really didn't understand how it would impact the items that we were making. So as a result, just looking at numbers on the spreadsheet you'd say, "That's reasonable; it's within our stat budget, so it can't be so broken."
What ended up happening is you had crafted items, attainable only by a certain subset of classes at the beginning of the expansion, that were better than anything three raid tiers later. It just completely threw out of whack the entire intended balance between the classes because Shadow priests and warlocks basically had a three-patch leg up on everyone else.
When we went to nerf those items and put the new versions on the test realm, the community exploded. Shadow priests had aneurysms. This was back when most players couldn't access raid content, so for many, these were the best items they were ever going to see—so it really fundamentally upset them that we were nerfing them. Instead of nerfing them, we decided to revert the change and buff every other item in the game. I think I spent about two weeks hand-buffing everything from Karazhan, Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep, and Mount Hyjal. I had to buff about 600 items because we couldn’t nerf one subset of items.
' ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT I WISH SOMEONE COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND DERAIL WOULD BE BLACKHAND S BREADTH."
—Jonathan	.
Two items caused us to have to buff everything in the game.
•	JONATHAN: One of the items that I wish someone could go back in time and derail would be Blackhand's Breadth. It was the first trinket with real serious player power on it [an increased Critical Strike Rating]. Up until that point, trinkets were supposed to be cool, fun flavor effects that didn't really make you much more powerful. Trinkets were toys. But as soon as that item was created and players had it, every trinket from that point forward had to be about player power. So, you lost the opportunity for a cool toy in every tier.
•	OWEN: Sometimes, mistakes don’t have such drastic results. I once put in a little hidden flavor item on a giant in Dragonblight—just this gray sword called Enti's Quenched Sword. It was a fiery sword that had been quenched out, so I made it have really low damage... or so I thought. It turned out that the way I made it have really low damage actually gave it a massive damage range, so for low-level characters it was by far the best weapon they could equip. You had little low-level warriors running around one- and two-shotting guys for an entire patch. Sometimes you just get funny results like that.
• KRIS: When The Burning Crusade first went live, there was a weapon up in Netherstorm that did only arcane damage. If you had any Spell Power, the Spell Power would channel through the weapon and would hit for your total Spell Power plus weapon damage. So it was insane. We had to hot-fix that one in a hurry to get things back to normal.
Trinkets like the Talisman of Ephemeral Power and Zandalarian Hero Charm were huge mistakes that made us have to make big balance changes afterward.
•	TRAVIS: We no longer build items where the entire budget is that hyper-focused. The other thing that’s equally important is to make sure you can't click multiple items.
♦	KRIS: It used to be you could click the Talisman of Ephemeral Power and Zandalarian Hero Charm in immediate succession, which gave you a huge amount of Spell Power back-to-back. So mages would go click, click, POM [Presence of Mind], Pyroblast, you're dead.
•	TRAVIS: What we no longer do is frontload the entire trinket. We've made a Zandalarian Hero Charm-like trinket since then, but instead of starting with the entire budget up front and getting weaker, we build into the awesome effects—but they're not immediately insane. Ж
ENTI'S QUENCHED
SWORD
This humble gray item caused quite a tumult in PvP circles, so its level requirements got a hasty revision.
AUCTION HOUSE
Bill
By Matthew Craggs
Alliance or Horde, PvP or PvE, there is one tie that runs throughout Azeroth: gold. Whether you’re buying a Flask of Endless Rage before a 25-player Icecrown Citadel run or selling a few Ruined Leather Scraps, gold is an essential element in World of Warcraft. 'Ti t re are plenty of ways to earn gold and many more ways to spend it, but the most blatant form of capitalism is the Auction House. For some players, the Auction House is more than a way to earn a quick buck or armor upgrade it’s a game within a game, a chance to stand out in the wotld. discover fresh challenges and solutions, and, ol course, to become filthy, stinkin’ rich.
JVOIIKISSG THE ATCTIOS НОГКЕ
FOR MANY, THE AUCTION HOUSE IS MORE THAN A WAY TO f ’ GET RID OF EXTRA ITEMS, IT’S A GAME ALL ON ITS OWN	.
AUCTION HOUSE
"Playing the World of Warcraft market is the best way to make gold with the least amount of work,” Sorinis (Sargeras-US) says. “I can run my 25 daily quests and fly around to gather resources myself, but these actions are very time-intensive and 1 must be logged into the game to do this. The Auction House can make me money while I am at work, or out doing other things.” This doesn’t mean that gold grows on Resto druids for avid auction players, rather that they seek to maximize gains from the time they spend.
"I’m involved in the Auction House more than the average player,” Basil Berntsen explains, “but I don’t spend more time playing than them. I just spend my time more efficiently.” Basil, who goes by Euripides on Drenden-US, writes the blog Gold Capped on Wow.com. Though he has many profession-specific tips, Basil admits that the economy in Azeroth “basically boils down to supply and demand and why people are buying stuff!’
Supply and demand can come from a myriad of sources, some a natural result of the market and others born from human characteristics. Primordial Saronite is an example
made my first 5,000 gold buying recipes in Shattrath City and reselling them on the Auction House.” Players were willing to pay more to save themselves the travel effort. If you’ve ever bought or sold two Small Eggs for 10 gold during Feast of Winter Veil, then you’ve seen what laziness can do to supply and demand.	_
To dig deeper and employ richer strategies, there’s only one path to take. “Research, research, research!” Sorinis advises. “Pick only a few items at first and gather data on those items over a period of time. I have a notebook that sits next to me where I gather pricing data. I have even gone as far as to plot them on a graph. The more data that I have the more able I am to see how the market trends.” Mods such as AuctionLite, Altoholic, and Auctioneer (which Basil describes as “a Swiss Army Knife—it doesn’t do everything perfectly, but no other add-on does everything that Auctioneer does.”) can help you track Auction House data, manage crafters, post auctions in bulk, and search for good deals. Aside from the market data, Basil insists it’s equally important, if not more so, to know what
Auction
‘THE АГСТЮЖ HHI'NE CAN MAKE ME MONEV WHILE I AM AT WOIIK. OH OCT DOING OTHEIK THINGS.” —SOIIIKIS
House
Busies
What can I sell? Most anything
that is not soulbound or a
quest item can be sold on the
Auction House.
of a naturally strong commodity: hard to procure, highly sought after. Human influences can sway supply and demand as well. For example, bind-on-equip items that drop from the raid that is the target of the weekly quest become more plentiful for a few days. "But if you sell right away, the prices are down,” Tar-suskai (Medivh-US) points out. "Wait two weeks and the price will go up when [that raid] isn’t the weekly anymore.” A member of Dauntless, Tarsuskai also notes that prices tend to drop during the weekend when more players are online and posting more auctions, whereas gem prices may skyrocket when raids reset on Tuesdays. Basil reminds us that an Auction House seller should never underestimate a player’s need for instant gratification. “During Burning Crusade I
role the item you’re selling plays in the game. “Understand why buyers buy it, who’s buying it, and what someone’s going to do with it.” As a cautionary tale, Basil recalls a time during Burning Crusades when he spent half of his gold on an item that Auctioneer told him was a steal in an attempt to resell the item for a profit. Later, when the item didn’t sell, he found out a recent patch had made the item nearly obsolete and no one would pay for it. Auctioneer didn’t understand the role of the purchase, just the data, and Basil paid the price.
Auctioneer requires that you do regular scans of the Auction House so it can extrapolate trends and provide you with a good snapshot of the market. By setting parameters, you can then post auctions that automatically undercut similar stacks on the Auction House or ferret out good buys using a Snatch List—a part of the mod that finds auctions at a set percentage lower than market value. Mods such as Auctioneer don’t make the moneymaking game easier; they just make it more efficient and one of the biggest timesavers is automatic undercutting.
Probably one of the most controversial topics amongst auctioneers, both amateur and pro, is undercutting. Every-
How does it work? Talk to an auctioneer NPC, pick an item to sell from your inventory, set a minimum or buyout price, and a time limit of 12, 24, or 48 hours. You’ll have to put down a deposit on your auction, which Mill be refunded if у our item sells. When your item sells (of course it will!), you’ll get gold in your mailbox.
What’s the catch? This service isn’t free. The Auction House takes a cut from every successful auction. The cut is 5% for faction auctions and 15% for auctions on the neutral Auction House.
		Auctionljte - .Sell					
	Competing Auctions		* Buyout Per Item		Buyout Total		
Auction Item	♦	lx		229 0 W	0	22 9 0	0	A
Book of Glyph Г	Mastery	lx		22 9 90 .	0	22 9 90*	0	
	lx		22 9 90 U	0	22 9 90 9	0 -	
Number of Items (m	2x		24 9 0<	0«	48 • 0 w	0	
3	stacks of 1|	lx		24 9 50 •	0	24 9 50 v	0	
Starting Price	item)	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 • 90 a	o*	24 9 90 9	0#	
18	9 50 w	*	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 9 90 •	Of	24 9 90 9	0 V	
Buyout Price per item)	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 • 90 w	o#	24# 90	0«	
24	ф	й	W Scanned 25 listings.	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 9 90 •	o#	24 • 90 9	0	
	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24# 9(1 v	09	24 9 90 9	oe	
Duration	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 • 90 a	09	24 9 90 9	0#	
12h	24h	• 48h Pricing Method	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 • 90 a	09	24 9 90 9	0#	
э per item	per stack	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 • 90 a	09	24 9 90 9	09	
Deposit 9 0	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 9 90 a	09	24 9 90 9	09	
	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 • 90 w	09	24 9 90 9	09	
Create fiction	lx	Book of Glyph Mastery	24 9 ao a	09	24 • 90	09	❖
^8668# 5 w 14
Browse Bids Auctions Search Appraiser Pptf	BegnCounfcer	AuctionLite  Buy AuctionUfce - SaJI
TWO ADD-ONS THAT CAN HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR AUCTIONS.
Top: AuctionLite helps you sell goods quickly and easily based on current market conditions. Bottom: Auctioneer’s BeanCounter feature will keep track of all the items you’ve bought and sold.
							
th BeanCnuntpr: AuctionHistory Database					Configure		4 x.
L t?' ltems 528	Item	Transactions	Bid	Buy	Net	Qty	Price/...	Seller/Buyer A
Entries 1812	{Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00	18 00	20	90	Kazzk
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 50 00	18 50 00	0 20	92 50	Tetsumi
Destromath Data ♦	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Dungg
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	0 20	90 00	Kazzk
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 50 00	18 50 00	20	92 50	Tetsumi
Lost 1925 80	(Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	17 85	17 85 40	20	89 27	
from 06/21/10	(Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 50 00	18 50 00	20	92 50	Tetsumi
t	to 07/09/10	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	17 40 77	17 40 77	0 20	87 03	
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Dungg
Saronite Ore	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	17 85	17 85 40	0 20	89 27	
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	IB 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Runeaholic
Sear ch	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Dungg
Exact name search	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00	20	90 00	Kazzk
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Kazzk
Show Neutral AH data ;	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Kazzk
	(Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Runeaholic
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Dungg
\/ Bids	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Runeaholic
Auctions	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 50 00	18 50 00	0 20	92 50	Tetsumi
	(Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Dungg
	[Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90	Dungg
	(Saronite Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	0 20	90 00	Dungg
	[Saronite Ore)	Won on Buyout	18 00 00	18 00 00	20	90 00	Kazzk
-Vх Outbids	[SarcMWte Ore]	Won on Buyout	18 SO 00	18 50	0 20	92	Tetsumi
Failed Auctions	V'						> 1;
18659 FSilft							
Browse	Blds	Auctions	Search		Appraiser	₽«st	BeanCounter	AuctionLite - Buy			AuctionLite 	Sell
lie IBirdi of the Auction House
WJorld of Warcraft relies on
I the Auction Houses as the backbone, the heart, and the central nervous system of the in-game economy. These bartering posts are a means of supporting, keeping ahve, and communicating the health of the economy. For players, they’re a means to a quick buck or upgrade, but for Blizzard developers, the Auction House is a constantly evolving machine without which the game’s infrastructure could crumble.
In the beginning, in World of Warcraft’s beta, the Auction House didn’t even exist. As a result, the developers
felt something was missing. "When we created the Auction House, we wanted to solve a problem we had in the beta test and also create a subgame within World of Warcraft while we were at it,” Game Director Tom Chilton explains. “The problem we were trying to solve was the cumbersome method of buying and selling goods entirely through public chat channels. [However,] it was pretty clear in our beta test that having the entire trade economy for the game operate through public chat channels was an archaic way to do it.”
In structuring the Auction House, the developers wanted to encourage a
84
5 A
AUCTION HOUSE
.	one agrees that if you undercut—
post an auction with a lower buyout price than the others listed— your auction will sell. Where the discrepancies appear is in how often and by how much do you undercut? “What annoys me is people who put up something that drastically undercuts the other items,” Tarsuskai says. “A buyer is going to buy whatever is at the top of the list. Why undercut 10 gold when you can undercut by 25 silver and still sell?” In Tarsuskai’s opinion, you cut profits not only for yourself but also for the other people who have to try to undercut you. Other auctioneers, often more
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casual auction house players, fear they can’t compete with people who closely monitor their auctions and will cancel and repost with an undercut if someone undercuts them by a trivial amount. This type of competitive undercutting can lead to what Basil calls Auction PvP.
“Auctioneers are by nature a big gregarious lot and are often very competitive... Either you’re going to make a sale or he’s going to make the sale.” The competition can be rigorous and people often utilize extreme measures to take down their competition. Attacking the supply, a high-risk maneuver, attempts to corner the market by controlling the product. “I’ve heard stories of glyph guys who buy thousands of herb stacks so the other guy can’t get their mats,” Basil says. “They’re making a farmer very rich but if the farmer can produce more because he’s making a profit, he may flood the market and increase demand.” The PvP becomes a test of tenacity, bag space, and time.
Still, as Sorinis notes, it’s very hard to control the market. “I never
know how many other people are sitting on a fat stack of goods, and there have been times when I start to buy on a massive scale only to see someone else come into the market and dump a large stack of their own resources into the Auction House.” Here, Sorinis would be left with many stacks of an item that’s price is unnaturally low. The choice is to sell at a low price or wait it out and hope the market stabilizes Either way, Sorinis is going to lose time and money.
With the know-how and these little tricks, auctioneers sit on a thick chunk of gold. Though no one wanted to go on record for exactly how much gold they had stockpiled, some had hit the gold cap (214,748 gold; 36 silver; and 46 copper) multiple times. Moreover, they do what every rich person does: They spend it. Except instead of charity organizations or flashy cars and fancy clothes,
World of Warcraft offers guilds, mounts, and armor.
‘‘Right now I’m funding my guild,” Basil explains where the profits from half-an-hour a day in the Auction House go, “but that’s light. So as long as I make 5,000 gold a week, I break even."
“I’m a huge mount collector,” Tarsuskai counters, “I’ve easily spent 1,000,000 gold on mounts.” Some of that money he admits went to inflated price tags, but he doesn’t care because he has the money to throw away. “My mage is my main character; everything else is subservient to him. I’ll spend anything, everything, for him... If I want it badly enough I’m going to throw so much gold at your face.”
Unlike raids or PvP, you can reap the rewards of the Auction Houses whether you invest five minutes or five days. If you buy and sell wisely and take the time to understand the value of an item beyond its sale price, you will start to see a higher return from fewer hours of gameplay. Just remember what the Goblins say: “Time is money.” X
metagame that didn’t only serve as a means of delivering necessary items to buyers but also as an opportunity for sellers to earn a profit. “To that end, we wanted to make sure that the system would work for players that wanted to log in, quickly search the auction house for good deals and be able to re-sell them with what we believed at the time to be reason able efficiency.” Now, with the release of the Remote Auction House, the developers are even redefining “reasonable efficiency.”
However, the players aren’t the only people who benefit from the transac
tions that take place every second The design team, many of whom are avid buyers and sellers themselves, watch the Auction Houses with a close eye, but gold isn’t on their mind. “We’re able to track the prices of major commodities, for example, enchanting materials, metals, etc., to see whether supply is outstripping demand or vice versa,’ Tom says. Information of this nature may help to lead to decisions that affect the rest of the world, such as the removal of ciaftmg cooldowns.
Additionally, the Auction House itself is constantly under review. Past changes include simplification of the
UI, the ability to sort by item type, and the removal of the eight-hour auction. Many gamers who regularly play the Auction House are pushing for a “buy order” system where they could place an order for a set number of an item at a predetermined cost and allow sellers to search the Auction House looking for a buyer, instead of the other way around. Though there are no official plans for such a change, anything is possible, as the Auction House has proved to have a life of its own, occasionally even surprising Chilton and the developers.
“When we created the Auction
Houses we included the ‘neutral Goblin Auction House that players could use to trade items between the Alliance and Horde,” Tom says. "Obviously, we knew it would be used for that, but we didn’t consider that it would be used to simply move gold from one faction to the other by placing a low-value item on the Auction House at an absurdly high price for a character on the other faction to purchase”
Now that they know where the faction gold is going, maybe someone can tell us where all the Auction House deposits and cuts end up.

REMOTE AUCTION HOUSE
Лгстюжк
AKE 3BEVEK WI T OF TOTH IKASG
THE REMOTE AUCTION HOUSE PUTS THE POWER OF THE BID IN YOUR HANDS, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE
By Andy Salisbur y
Economical thinkers all over Azeroth have been making the Auction House work to their advantage since the days of Upper Blackrock Spire. Whether you’d like to sell the fruits of your high-level profession or just a stack of leather, there are plenty of great ways to make use of the player-run marketplace.
Previously, you had to log in to World of Warcraft in order to post new’ auctions, check on those you’ve currently listed, and collect your winnings. With the release of the Remote Auction House, you now have the ability to browse the Auction House and keep track of your auctions in real time, no matter where you are—and with a subscription to the new World of Warcraft Remote service, you can buy items, post auctions, and collect the gold from successful sales from anywhere, too.
So, just how does the Remote Auction House work? First things first, make your way to the Auction House section of the World of Warcraft Armory (www.wowarmory.com). Log in to your Battle.net account and you’ll find yourself on the jH| Summary tab for your primary character. From there, you can navigate to the Browse Auctions, My Bids, My Auctions, and Create Auctions tabs.
The Cl Browse Auctions tab will let you see everything on your faction Auction House or the neutral Auction House. From there you can search by name or browse through broad categories like weapons, glyphs, or gems, and fine-tune your hunt if you're just looking for, say, two-handed weapons or druid-specific glyphs. Any player can surf the Auction House this way for free, and with a subscription to World of Warcraft Remote, you can bid or buyout the item of your choice once you’ve found the category you're looking for.
If you’ve got some outstanding bids you’re curious about, make your way over to the 4^1 My Bids tab. There, you’ll find the status of your active bids, including those you’ve won and those you haven't. If you’ve placed a bid on an item and would prefer to buy it out instead, you can easily do that, too.
So, you put up some of your own auctions last night and want to check them while you’re at work? Make your way to the PI My Auctions tab. From there, you can see just how healthy your current auctions are, if you’ve got some coin waiting for you in your inbox, or if the auction went completely untouched. If your auctions ended up selling, you can collect your hard-earned gold right through your browser.
If some of your auctions didn’t sell, or if you remembered that you left a few stacks of Borean Leather in your backpack, don’t worry about it—it happens to the best of us. Head to the 4Я Create
Auctions tab and set up your sales just like you would in-game. From there, you can check which sellable items are in your bags, bank, mailbox, or all of the above. Once you’ve found what you want to sell, set up the stack size and total stacks just as you normally would. While you’re setting up your auctions, you can even see how much competitors are selling theirs for, so you can price your loot accordingly.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re just trying to get rid of a few stacks of reagents or you’re a power seller with an economics degree, the Remote Auction House has something for everyone. The ability to browse the Remote Auction House and check the status of your bids is available for free as a part of the Armory, while an optional subscription to World of Warcraft Remote will let you buy, sell, and collect your earnings for $2.99 every 30 days—check out the chart for exactly what you get for the coin.
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Bid on auctions
FOR THE PRICE OF A LATTE...
Get real-time notifications when your auctions sell or expire
Get real-time notifications when you win auctions or are outbid
Mew your characters’ current gold
View the status of your auctions and search for similar auctions
View the items you can sell in your bags, bank, and mailbox
View the status of auctions you are bidding on
View your successful auctions
Buy out auctions
Create auctions from items in your bags, bank, and mailbox
Cancel your auctions
Collect gold from successful auctions
Collect gold from unsuccessful bids
Relist items for sale from your expired auctions
Collect all outstanding gold with a single click
FREE SUBSCRIPTION
View the items you’ve sold in the Auction House
View your expired auctions
View the status of auctions you created
Browse the Auction House
FEATURES




So, you’re the type of person that finds yourself on the road pretty regularly. Be it on the bus, at the airport, or any time you're away from the computer, you’ve no doubt had lingering thoughts about just how your auctions are faring.
Enter the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory app, available as a free download on Apple’s App Store for your iPhone or iPod touch, and the Remote Auction House app, available for Android. Crank up either app and log in to your Battle.net account, and you’ll be able to access the Remote Auction House directly from your mobile device.
Just like with the web version, you can check your auctions, browse those currently running on your realm (faction or neutral), keep up to date on the status of your bids and auctions, and put more goods up for sale.
While it’s all on a much smaller scale than the version available in your browser, it keeps all of the functionality. Just make sure to keep your mailbox nice and empty, so you can receive all of the income from your auctions posted on the run! X
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JEWELCRAFTING
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MASTERS OF ALL THINGS SMALL, SHINY, AND FASHIONABLE, JEWELCRAFTERS MAKE THE WORLD OF AZEROTH SPARKLE WITH GORGEOUS JEWELRY AND ADORNMENT. IT REQUIRES PERFECT PRECISION AND A STEADY HAND, BUT IF YOU’RE READY TO TAKE FILLING YOUR GEAR’S GEM SOCKETS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, IT’S TIME TO GIVE JEWELCRAFTING A TRY
By Josh Augustine
iamonds are forever, but in Azeroth, that precious gem isn’t going to be very useful without a jewelcrafter to give it a particular cut, causing it to boost one or two of your attributes. Gems have been in the game since World of Warcraft launched— engineers, tailors, and the rest of the crafters were pounding and weaving Moss Agates and Citrines into their products long ago—but it wasn’t until The Burning Crusade that gems became the centerpiece for another level of gear and character customization. This revolution of gemcutting was partially fueled by the draenei, whose extensive experience in fitting magical gems into armor came crashing down to Azeroth in that expansion. Jewelcrafting is a hearty profession filled with nuances, perfect for those players looking for a profession with almost no end to the challenges and I the rewards of pursuing the more economic aspects of I the game.
► TEAM PLAYER
Any guild leader worth his or her salt knows the immense value of an experienced jewelcrafter to a guild, regardless of its size. Anyone getting new
gear on a semi-regular basis—and let’s face it, that’s just about everyone, from every-night raiders to casual alt-levelers—will require new gems frequently. To serve the broadest market possible with their gems, jewelcrafters need a lot of recipes. In fact, because gems are so diverse and such an essential part of character customization, jewelcrafters have more recipes available to them than any other crafters in the game. As a jewelcrafter, this is fantastic, because it means that no matter what reputation you’re raising, what dungeon you’re running, or what enemy you’re killing in Northrend, there’s a very good chance that you can acquire a jewelcrafting recipe along the way.
There’s a lot more to jewelcrafting than just gems— necklaces, rings, and the occasional trinket fall under the profession’s jurisdiction as well. Some of the jewelry is tame, providing straightforward bonuses to attributes like Spirit or Attack Power, but other rings and necklaces provide very unique bonuses, such as the Embrace of the Dawn, a level-70 necklace that buffs the user’s party, raising their stats by 10. The entire arsenal of necklaces available at a variety of levels is capable of just about anything, from boosting Critical Strike Rating to absorbing Shadow damage incoming to any party member.
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Caere’s Remain
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Jewelcrafting is a profession of refinement: Take things already valuable and tweak them delicately to make them even more valuable. One of the most important ways that jewelcrafters do this is by prospecting ore. Miners chip away at earth and clay to reveal usable ore, but jewelcrafters take it one step further, sifting through the ore to find small precious gems located within. Functionally, the jewelcrafter requires a stack of five ore in order to prospect it, which will reveal anywhere between one and three gems, determined by chance. This can be done with almost any type of ore and is one of the primary ways that a jewelcrafter can produce enough gems to satisfy all of his or her customers. It’s also a great way to make some quick money on the side, as quite often, the gems found within the ore are worth more than the amount that miners sell their ore for at the Auction House.
ESPECIALLY AT EARLIER LEVELS, YOU CAN BET A FRIENDLY JEWELCRAFTER HAS SOME JEWELRY THAT WILL HELP YOU CONSIDERABLY

JEWELCRAFTING
► OOOH, SHINJES!
Of course, some jewelcrafters value function over fashion, and lean toward the ultra-shiny Focusing Lens gems that create a wavy line of magic between you and your target. It’s a fun effect for joking around during raids or creating techno dance clubs in Dalaran, but their true value comes when you’re trying to track someone down. Whether it’s a flag carrier hiding inside a bush in a Battleground or a rare mob spawn you ve selected with the /target command but just cant spot on screen, simply use the Focusing Lens and your character will be whipped around to face your target with big wavy lines pointing you to its exact location. But until the gnomes inevitably figure out a way to harness this technology for laser weaponry, you’ll have to settle for these focusing lenses only helping you find your prey, not actually kill them.
Thankfully, jewelcrafters aren’t selfish, so all of the fine jewelry mentioned up to this point in the article can be traded or bought at the Auction House by anyone, regardless of their profession choices (and jewelcrafters can make a pretty penny by selling their goods to other
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\\ HAT ARE Al.I THESE HOLES IN MY GEAR FOR, ANYWAY?
Receiving gear with gem sockets in it can be pretty confusing the first time, but the rules of socketing gems are pretty simple. Most sockets are associated with a particular color— red, blue, or yellow—though occasionally, you’ll encounter a colorless socket or one that accepts only meta gems. Colored gems come in each of the three primary colors as well as three hybrid possibilities. For example, there are red gems and blue gems, but also purple
gems that are considered to be both red and blue for all intents and purposes.
Matching up all of the sockets on a piece of gear with gems of their respective colors will grant an additional bonus, listed on the gear as its Socket Bonus, but is not required (you can put a blue gem in a yellow socket, for example). The exception to this rule is meta gems, which are high quality gems with especially potent effects, such as increasing your
characters). Especially at earlier levels, you can bet a friendly jewelcrafter has some jewelry that will help you considerably. So when you encounter a jewelcrafter in your travels, stop for a moment to browse his or her wares, pick up a fancy new piece of glittering gear, and send them along with your thanks.
► SAVING THE BEST FOR YOURSELF Jewelcrafters’ generosity has a limit, so some things are reserved only for those truly dedicated to the craft, such as the series of animal themed trinkets available in three waves—levels 35 to 55. level 70, and level 75. There are five types of trinket in each wave, one for each major role in the game (melee DPS, caster DPS, healing, and tanking) and one for speed or stealth bonuses An additional trinket the Dark Iron Scorpid Figurine (available at level 55) is fairly unique in Azeroth, as its “on use” ability summons a small scorpid that temporarily causes all of your melee attacks to inflict a damage-overtime poison. Ouch!
Animals aren’t the only ones that love jewelcrafters, either. Tiny stone constructs will come to the aid of jewelcrafters in their moments of need
run speed or chance to resist stuns in addition to typical stat bonuses. Only head pieces have a meta gem slot, meaning each character will only have one meta gem equipped at a time. These meta gems have requirements in order to function, such as the character having at least two blue gems and two yellow gems in the rest of their gear, so players need to be aware of these rules when choosing which gems to insert into their gear.
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(of course, you do have to build them first). These tiny stone statues channel healing powers into their master with great fervor, healing the jewelcrafter for a short time, before their power supply is exhausted and they collapse.
Don't forget gems! Jewelcrafters cut incredible gems for other players but is it really any surprise that they'd save the most powerful gems for themselves? Dragon's Eyes are special gems, purchased
IF YOU’RE FEELING LUCKY, YOU CAN GAMBLE A BIT BY BUYING STACKS OF ORE AND PROSPECTING THEM FOR GEMS
from the jewelcrafting shop in Dalaran, that are imbued with a special type of magic that allows them to boost your abilities in ways that other more widely available gems can only dream of—a 65% to 70% increase in stats granted over epic gems, usually. Jewelcrafters can possess as many Dragon’s Eyes as they can afford, but are only allowed to have three in their equipped gear at any time.
►	ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD
So, you want to make the jump into jewelcraft ing? Drunkenex of Durotan-US has some advice for you: “I would definitely recommend jewelcrafting to new players. It can be expensive to level, but really pays off in the end.” Shipwrecked of Bloodscalp US suggests that new jewelcrafters prospect ore to acquire the gems they need to level, but because which gems you get through
this method are determined by chance, you may need to sell your excess quantities of some gem types to buy the ones you need from the Auction House. Another good option is to advertise m the trade channel that you're willing to craft anything for free (using their materials) and, if you’re really looking to level quickly, costs be damned, offer a 5-gold tip if you level up your jewelcrafting
skill using their materials. Instead of advertising, Drunkenex prefers to simply keep an eye on the trade chat channel and “meet up with someone in Dalaran who’s posting for a certain cut.”
►	GO BIG OR GO HOME
Jewelcrafting may be expensive to level but once you start hitting the higher levels, you can earn that money back a hundredfold. Jewelcrafting is the epitome of the old saying “you need to have money to make money,” and if you can afford to lay down some serious gold up front, you can get your hands on some hefty, almost-instant profit via the Auction House. One option is to purchase uncut gems from the Auction House, cut them into a version of that gem that’s very valuable on your realm (you’ll need to keep an eye on the constantly fluctuating prices), and put it right back up on the Auction House. Occasionally, you’ll get a “perfect” version when cutting an uncommon Northrend gem. These gems have slightly higher stat bonuses, and command a little extra gold when sold If you’re feeling lucky, you can gamble a bit by buying many stacks of ore (or mining them yourself), prospecting them all, cutting the gems you find, and selling the cut gems. Shipwrecked recommends Saronite Ore as the conservative investment, which “has a
JEWELCRAFTING
loaming n;e loam
As a jewelcrafter, you have a lot of recipes to learn if you want to be able to help out everyone in your guild; but luckily, Timothy Jones in the Dalaran jewelcrafting shop wants to help. He has some tough quotas to meet from his “wealthy shipping concerns” in the goblin capital of Undermine and he’ll reward you with gold, experience, and a Dalaran Jewelcrafters Token each time you help him out by completing one of his daily quests (chosen at random from six possible quests). These tokens can be used to purchase recipes and Dragons Eyes from him or his associate, Tiffany Cartier. All of the quests require that you attain a specific item from prey in Northrend and combine it with two uncommon gems to make a nice piece of jewelry he can sell. You've got a lot of options for places where you can hunt the necessary material for each quest, but some are doser to Dalaran than others. Here are our suggestions to help you meet your quota quickly:




4% chance, individually, for each color rare gem to drop. If you have gold and are willing to gamble on the gem market, you’ll want to buy some Titanium Ore. It has the same 4% chance for each rare gem, but you also get a 4% chance of any color epic gem dropping. I like to choose a price point where the ore is cheap enough that if I don’t get any epic or rare gems, I don’t feel I lose out completely."
If you’re a miner, you can control the entire production process from raw minerals scavenged from the earth to a perfectly cut gem placed into a piece of gear. Shipwrecked advises that "you should have one cut for each color and quality of gem, because you’ll make more for a cut gem than an uncut one—and you don’t want to throw gold away by not being able to cut a gem.” Of course, if you’re missing cuts for some uncommon gems, you can instead combine them with a Frozen Orb every 20 hours to create an Icy Prism, which is guaranteed to contain rare gems, and possibly an epic gem.
Regardless of how you choose to make your money (and even if you choose to go the altruistic route, cutting gems to help friends and allies instead of profiting off of them), jewelcrafting opens up exciting avenues for enjoying World of Warcraft in entirely new ways. So get out there, get your hands dirty, and give it a try! X
Blood Jade Amulet
Made with: Dark Jade, Bloodstone, Vrykul Amulet
Dropped by: Northrend Vrykul Convenient Location: Assorted Vrykul in Ymirheim in the center of Icecrown Low-level alternative: Assorted
Vrykul in Skorn in northwestern Howling Fjord
Bright Armor Relic
Made with: Bloodstone, Huge Citrine, Elemental Armor Scrap
Dropped by: Northrend Elementals
Convenient Location: Crystalline Ice
Elementals west of the Crystal Vice in northern Dragonblight
Low-level alternative: Frozen Elemen tals south and east of Death’s Stand in eastern Borean Tundra
Glowing Ivory Figurine
Made with: Chalcedony, Shadow Crystal, Northern Ivory
Dropped by: Northrend Shoveltusks or Mammoths
Convenient Location: Ironwool Mammoths west of КЗ in Storm Peaks
Low-level alternative: Shoveltusks in all of southern Howling Fjord
Can’t wait?
Tiffany Cartier will trade you a Dalaran Jewelcrafter’s Token for every 10 Titanium Powder you bring her, so you have the option to prospect Titanium Ore for Titanium Powder (or just buy the powder directly from the Auction House) to earn your gem designs. It’ll be a lot more expensive than doing the daily quests for the tokens, but when you’re desperate to learn a particular cut, this is the fastest way to get it.
Intricate Bone Figurine
Made with: Sun Crystal, Dark Jade, Proto Dragon Bone
Dropped by: Northrend Proto-Dragons Convenient Location: Blighted ProtoDrake in Valkyrion in western Storm Peaks Low-level alternative: Proto-Whelp Hatchling in Ember Clutch in western Howling Fjord

Shifting Sun Curio
Made with: Sun Crystal, Shadow Crystal, Scourge Curio
Dropped by: Northrend Scourge
Convenient Location: Lost Shandaral
Spirits in scattered ruins below the river in Crystalsong Forest
Low-level alternative: Assorted Scourge in the Temple City of En’kilah in eastern Borean Tundra
Wicked Sun Brooch
Made with: Huge Citrine, Sun Crystal, Iron Dwarf Brooch
Dropped by: Northrend Iron Dwarves Convenient Location: Stormforged Loreseekers in cave north of Frosthold in western Storm Peaks
Low-levbl alternative: Assorted Iron
Dwarves in Giants’ Run in eastern Howling Fjord


FEATURE
WE MISS YOU.
May Ed’s legacy of work be an eternal beacon of his loving dedication and legendary kindness.
Blizzard would like to dedicate this article to the celebration and memory of prototype painter
EDDIE WIRES (1972-2010).
DC ACTION FIGURES
Everyone has their favorite World of Warcraft characters. You can track them down in game, snap a screenshot, and adorn your desktop with their visage, but that’s not always enough. Thankfully, the steady hands at Blizzard Entertainment and DC Unlimited provide a line of collectible, delectable action figures.
World of Warcraft action figures measure anywhere from 3.5 to 13 inches high and start at $20 a pop. While dozens of them now exist, these robust manifestations of raid bosses, playable characters, and monsters from all walks of life weren’t always available on store shelves.
BLIZZARD AND DC UNLIMITED HAVE TAKEN ON A MONUMENTAL TASK: CREATING ACTION FIGURES OF OUR BELOVED WARCRAFT CHARACTERS. NOW, FIND OUT HOW THEY DO IT
TIDN
HE'S BEEN RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES...
The action figure development process is so similar to the game, that many of them have directly influenced the creation of World of Warcraft’s in-game models. For example, in Cataclysm, Garrosh Hellscream is becoming the warchief of the Horde, and he’s also getting an extreme textural makeover. His newest incarnation has been standing on our store shelves all along. The in-game Garrosh is directly taken from the Garrosh action figure.
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Exact color specifications are detailed by Blizzard’s artists and handed over to painter Ed Wires. However, changes are often made after the action figure is sent to production.
When action figures are painted during manufacturing, each and every brush stroke is counted.
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Photo: Joe Toreno
The process first began back in late 2007, when Blizzard’s Executive Art Director Nick Carpenter noticed a void in the world of fantasy toys and decided to fill it with the denizens of Azeroth. “I was complaining that our toys weren't up to snuff. 1 soon got a call from Paul Sams who told me, ‘OK kid, now take this and run let’s see what you've got.’ ” And the World of Warcraft action figure was born.
A lot of deliberation goes into choosing which action figure is going to be made. “There’s an inner circle of guys I work with here at Blizzard-Glenn Rane, Sam Didier, and Chris Metzen are usually my partners in crime in this space,” says Nick. "I'll throw them poses and I’ll get feedback, so I'm not just developing this stuff in a vacuum. I’ll hand them artwork and say, this is what I’m thinking of, we should really push it here,’ and Sam will throw out something I hadn’t even thought about, like ‘hey, if you take those horns and turn them around it’s going to be so much cooler!’ and I’ll try it out. It’s actually funny because it's the exact same process we go
through when we’re developing the games.”
But before the folks over at DC even see so much as a sketch, the art team at Blizzard has to ultimately decide who’s going under the knife. “It’s kind of a back and forth process,” Nick explains. “In wave one and wave two, we were trying to hit on the player characters. We weren’t sure how long this line was going to go, so we wanted to pick iconic ones We had a couple new races at the time, the draenei and the blood elves, and we wanted to make sure we were highlighting those.”
Once a character is chosen, the creation process can begin. According to Nick, the primary challenge lies in fashioning detail where there currently is none. “In Warcraft you have these very simple polygonal characters. If you look at how a shoulder pad is attached, there is no strap, there is no belt buckle, there’s none of this stuff that helps you understand exactly how it functions. These are amazing characters, but there’s just not a lot to stare at if you create a figure with no articulation,” he said. “So the vision behind
DC ACTION FIGURES
Nick Carpenter
TAKING DESIGNS AND REALLY PUSHING THEM PAST THEIR LIMITS HAS BEEN A DRIVING FORCE FDR ME. WHEN YOU FEEL YOU'RE DONE. GO TEN STEPS FURTHER.1'
THE LICH KING	gas, are quick to rise up	Winterstorm, but now	Dreadnaught Battlegear	a noble background	Skeeve is at home in
Arthas Menethil Now known as the Licit	and defend their friends in the Alliance, fighting	“lives on” as an undead Warlock. Nearly 3,000	found in Naxxramas.	which permits him to be one of the few to wear	the shadows. His rogue abilities make him a vi-
King, this once proud	with unmatched cour-	years of experience have	3 NIGHT ELF DRUID	the armor of the Silver-	cious adversary and not
individual was the crown prince of Lor daeron and a Knight of	age and valor. ILLIDAN	bestowed immeasurable power upon him.	Broil Bearmantle As one of the few night elves born with antlers,	moon City Guardians. DRANEI MAGE	one to be trifled with. SERIES 4
the Silver Hand. He has	STORMRAGE	SERIES 2	Broil was bestowed a	Tam uura	
since fallen from grace	Twin brother of Malfu-		rare gift from nature,	Tamuura possesses the	5 LADYVASHJ
to become the most re-	rion Stormrage, Ilhdan	DRAENEI PALADIN	foretelling that he	powerful Tempest set	Born just before the
cent incarnation of the	was born a night elf and	Vindicator Mar rad	was destined to do	of armor and is poised,	War of the Ancients in
immortal Lich King, and	now rules Outland from	Stationed on the	great things. As years	ready for battle at any	the old capital city of
lays siege to Azeroth.	the Black Temple. After defecting to Sargeras	Skybreaker, which currently patrols Icecrown,	progressed, he became a powerful shape shifter	moment.	the night elves, Azshari, Vashj was once a proud
SERIES 1	during the War of the	Maraad possesses an	with many forms, and	HUMAN PRIESTESS	night elf noble. She has
	Ancients, he came to be	interesting lineage.	was given an idol	Sister Bene dr on	since become a member
1 BLOOD ELF ROGUE Valeera Sanguinar	known as The Betrayer.	His sister gave birth to the assassin Garona	crafted by the immortal Remulos, son of the	Wielding a book of runes, Sister Benedron	of the naga, after she and her followers were
After being severed from the Sunwell by	ORC SHAMAN Rehgar Earthfury	Halforcen, and he is currently her oldest liv-	demigod Cenarius.	isn’t unfamiliar with keeping her allies alive.	sent to the bottom of the sea during the Great
the Scourge, many high elves have banded	As an orc who was born on Draenor, Rehgar is	ing relative	4 TROLL PRIEST Zabra Hexx	Her stylized details provide a unique	Sundering.
together and call	all too familiar with war.	2 GNOME WARRIOR	Featured in the Ash-	appearance, making	MURLOC 2-PACK
themselves blood	Growing into a strong	Sprocket Gyrospring	bnnger comic, Zabra	you wonder how	Fish-eye and Gibbergil
elves. Survivors such	warrior at a young age,	Not much is known	Hexx was an inhabitant	familiar she is with	An ever present part
as Valeera are com nutted to regaining	he was captured and sold into the orcish	of Sprocket, but he clearly answers the	of the Scarlet Monetary before Scarlet Crusade	her shadow form.	of World of Warcraft, murlocs have become
the power they once	arenas. He was later	call of battle. Wielding	claimed it as their own.	TAUREN HUNTER	a cross between comic
commanded.	handpicked to partici pate in the orcs’	Ashbrmger and riding a mechanostrider, he’s	He has a staff named after him in-game, and	Brave Highmountian Asa native of Mu Igo re	relief and worthy adversary. These beloved
DWARF WARRIOR Thargas Anvilmar Living beneath the snow-capped mountains of Khaz Modan, the	invasion of Azeroth UNDEAD WARLOCK Meryl Felstorm	primed and ready to go. HUMAN WARRIOR Archilon Shadowheart Ready to stare down his	is the namesake of the Horde’s tier 9 armor set. SERIES 3	and a proud noble of the tauren people, Brave Highmountain revels in the customs of nature.	amphibians even served as the inspiration for the song “I Am Murloc.” SUCCUBUS DEMON
noble dwarves revel in	Meryl Felstorm was	opponents in the heat	BLOOD ELF PALADIN	UNDEAD ROGUE	Amberlash
the thoughts of vicious	once a human sor	of battle, Shadowheart	Quin'thalan Sunfire	Skeeve Sorrowblade	One of the many pets
battles. Many, like Thar-	cerer known as Meryl	bears the prestigious	Quin’thalan possesses	Like many undead,	that warlocks can sum-
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DC ACTION FIGURES
IS NONE
PREMIUM SERIES 2
SERIES 5
SERIES 7
SERIES 6
PREMIUM SERIES 1
PREMIUM SERIES 3
combat, having just fired the first shot.
regions of Northrend his home.
mon from the great beyond, succubi aren’t to be taken lightly.
Horde, and remains the Undercity.
7 DWARVEN KING Magni Bronzebeard King of Khaz Modan, Thane of Ironforge, and head ot the Bronzebeard Clan, Magni has a noble lineage.
GNOME WARLOCK Valdremar with Voidwalker Voyd Standing only a few feet high, Valdremar poses a mortal threat when accompanied by his voidwalker companion, Voyd.
GOBLIN TINKER Gibzz Sparklighter Never happy with even the most dangerous results, goblins are in search of the biggest explosion Azeroth can provide. Gibzz is no different.
10 ORC WARCHIEF Thrall
A former slave and the son of the mighty Durotan, Thrall is responsible for restoring the Horde to glory and wields the mighty Doomhammer. He hails from the Frostwolf Clan, and can be found in Orgnmmar's Valley Л of \X isdom.
ORC WARRIOR Garrosh Hellscream Son of the mighty Grom Hellscream, Garrosh was personally invited into the Horde by Thrall. After quickly
bers of the New Council of Tirisfal in their battle against the Twilight’s Hammer.
9 TUSKARR
Tavru Akua
A member of the proud
Tuskarr people, Tavru Akua calls the icy
GNOLL WARLORD Gangris Riverpaw W hile it ’s unclear how structured Gnoll societies are, it’s well known that their War
NIGHT ELF HUNTER Alathena Moonbreeze with Soma
Accompanied by her loyal pet, Soma, Alathena stands in the midst of
HUMAN PALADIN Judge Malthred Dripping in Judgement armor and wielding the mighty Sulfuron Hammer, Judge Malthred is ready to smite any undead that might be unfortunate enough to cross his path.
ILLIDAN
(DEMON FORM)
While lllidan Stormrage is already know n to be an antagonist of the highest degree, his evil ways can push him to the edge of darkness prompting the emergence of his demon form
TROLL HUNTER TAZ'DINGO
\X hile Taz'dingo might not be notable for anything personally, his name is a popular vic torv chant for all trolls.
6 ALLIANCE HERO Lo’Gosh
Known today as Var-ian Wrynn, Lo’Gosh is the son of King Llane Wrynn and is the reign ing king of Stormwind. During a brief gladiatorial stint in the depths of Dire Maul, he was temporarily named Lo’Gosh (Orcish for “Ghost Wolf") by the orcs that held him.
WORGENSPY
Garm Whitefang The mighty Worgen are being let loose on Azeroth after a long stay behind the Greymane Wall, and Garm is joining them. The large lupine creatures will likely make worthy adversaries to the Horde.
ONCE A CHARACTER IS CHOSEN, THE CREATION PROCESS CAN BEGIN ACCORDING TO NICK, THE PRIMARY CHALLENGE LIES IN FASHIONING DETAIL WHERE THERE CURRENTLY
8 ORC ROGUE Garona
Technically half orc and half-draenei, Garona is one of the few crossbreeds in Azeroth today. She makes her trade as an assassin, and is perhaps best known for killing King Llane Wrynn. She later joined her son and other mem
is a savage combatant. With akimbo weapons and a snarl on his face, he isn't prepared to back down.
rising in the ¥4 Horde’s ranks, he was appointed as an advisor to the Warchief, and led the Horde into Northrend. His hatred for the Alliance knows no end, and he can't con tain his lust for war.
SCOURGE GHOUL Rottingham
Members of the undead scourge are known for being killing machines, and Rottingham is no different. Standing in a typical ghoul stance, his bandaged body displays the ravages of war.
FORSAKEN QUEEN Sylvanas Windrunner Formerly the Ranger-GeneraJ of Silvermoon, Sylvanas faced death at the hands of Arthas and his evil blade. She was brought back as a banshee, one of the un dead, and after freeing her mind from the Lich King’s will, she founded the Forsaken. She’s now a strong ally to the
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DEATH KNIGHT
WORGEN
DRUID MOONKIN
Photos: Joe Toreno
"FROM fl SCULPTURAL STANDPOINT, THEY ALL HAVE INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF DETAIL, BUT NORMALLY THE MORE ARMOR fl CHARACTER HAS, THE TRICKIER IT GETS.
—Jim Fletcher

DC ACTION FIGURES
к GNOLL
it was 'OK, we re going to create these characters and they’re going to be highly detailed—we’re going to dig out detail where it doesn’t exist.’” Today s action figure catalog
is flush with variety. From goblins to ghouls these are widely different character designs, and Nick understands the unique challenges that each one presents. “I think the biggest challenge is when we get in a phase where I have to design a character that hasn’t been designed yet. It’s by far the most challenging, but it's also the part that’s the most fun." Once a design has been put in place, DC tackles each action figure’s individual needs. Jim Fletcher, design director for DC Unlimited, was extremely attentive to this. ‘‘From a sculptural standpoint, they all have incredible amounts of detail, but normally the more armor a character has, the trickier it gets. For example, the murlocs went the fastest but the tauren hunter deluxe figure took the longest to create so far.”
In order to create the figure, Blizzard supplies
DC with reference art. Once received, this art is transferred over to sculptors that make use of a variety of techniques in order to complete an initial sculpt. Once made, the sculpt will be cast multiple times into resin figures that are sent to painter Ed Wires. Wires has painted every single figure produced by DC in the World of Warcraft line, and he’s responsible for matching the exact color specifications. Once the models are ap proved, one painted copy (for color matching) and one unpainted copy (meant to help work out any engineering issues that might exist) are sent overseas for evaluation.
But even after the toy design is finished, there’s still the massive production hurdle that the two teams need to overcome. Nick explains that production poses some extreme challenges, and requires a certain amount of sacrifice. “The most frustrating part for me is getting the same results out of production. Ed Wires and I really put a lot of subtleties into the colors used for the skin tones, armor tones, and metals on the figures. When we send it to production, they have to make a lot of reductions because there’s
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NICK CARPENTER, EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR
HUMAN PALADIN
KOBOLD & GNOME ROGUE
“IT’S ACTUALLY FUNNY, BECAUSE IT’S THE EXACT SAME PROCESS WE GO THROUGH WHEN WE’RE DEVELOPING THE GAMES’
—Nick Carpenter
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DC ACTION FIGURES
there are several stages of cleaning up the detail. Once a figure is finished and approved, I will make a silicone mold and cast the prototype in resin, and send it to the painter, Ed Wires.
INTERVIEW: MICHAEL LQCASCIO
WORLD nF WRRCRRFTACTION FIGURE SCULPTOR
to have the structure correct before jumping into detail. Sculpture is very time-consuming, so what may seem like a minor alteration could wipe out days of work. The details and textures come last, and of course, can be very timeconsuming. I will often make each piece of armor separately and then fit them to the figure when complete. This way it is easier to focus on the armor, and the final product will look more convincing. The design art adds extra dimension to the in-game graphics, and we’ll frequently add even more layers of detail when it is in three dimensions.
We want the forms to have a clarity and crispness, so
Which action figure was the most difficult to sculpt?
• Michael: When I saw the painting for Lady Vashj, 1 knew I wanted to sculpt her. Пае difficulties were in posing her correctly, the long
When creating a sculpt how do you prepare and what materials do you use?
• Michael: I begin by roughing out the proportions and pose of the figure. Everything ia Warcraft has an epic vibe, so there needs to be a lot of realistic detail. Hie pose needs to convey the strength and power of the character, so knowing a bit about the race, class, et cetera, helps. 1 usually sculpt the figure without armor to give the sense of its structure and anatomy, and then 1 lay on the basic shapes of the armor. It’s important
serpent lower half, her six arms, the snakes in her hair, and all the detailing. She just has a lot going on and it was a balance to make sure it read fluidly. Of course, there is also the need to make the prototype somewhat friendly to mass production. The snakes on her head were particularly tough, and we wanted to hide the seams from separate pieces as much as possible. It was a lot of work, but it was a worthy challenge.
How did you originally start as a sculptor, and when did you begin to work on Warcraftfigures? • Michael Locascio: I began as an apprentice in a fine art studio for a bronze monument maker. Through happenstance I decided to try out toy sculpting after seeing what McFarlane Toys was putting out; they were located in New Jersey, not far from me. I worked for them for about five years before becoming a freelance sculptor. I had been working with DC Direct for a while, and when they got the Warcraft license, they wanted me involved, particularly because I was used to doing figures with high levels of detail. I spoke to Nick Carpenter for a while before beginning, and we were instantly in accord with how we envisioned the figures.
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SAMWISE DIDIER: PANDAREN BREWMASTER
If the pandaren brewmaster looks familiar, that's fora reason. Nick Carpenter explains, “The pandaren was a concept that Sam Didier had done and everybody fell in love with it. The fun thing about it was I wanted to pay homage to Sam, so I made the face planes very similar to his face. If you look at the pandaren, you’ll see little hints of Sam in it.”
i
just no way that they can paint on an assembly line and recreate that kind of detail. So, we go through this optimization phase and we have to lose a lot of these paint options but still retain the same vision, and we find that it’s a struggle. It can be a very frustrating process because these beautiful pieces of artwork go into production, come back, and what we see is softening in the molds and paint reductions. But it’s something that we're working very closely with DC to control, and they’re very, very, very helpful in that process.”
“We use various weights of PVC plastic to
Г “WE WANTED TO
MAKE THE PANDAREN 1
A RACE IN WORLD OF WARCRAFT BUT DUE TO COMPLICATIONS WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THAT, ALTHOUGH WE FELT IT WAS AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY LTO CREATE A TOY."
—Nick Carpenter	A
manufacture the figures,” explains Jim. “Some of the parts that need more support or need to better hold their shape are made of ABS plastic. The deluxe figures have been the most challeng ing so far, but thi is due to their weight and figuring out how to support the figure properly, not the actual detail of the figure.”
While only humanoid figures are currently available, much larger plans have been on the table for some time now. The
only persisting issue is one that has affected us all. “The toy line has been somewhat hamstrung by the economy, and when I first got involved about four years ago, every
V
thing was going smooth and everybody was pretty happy with the way things were shaping up. Then we kind of hit this depression,” says Nick. "The economy hit and we found that we were getting a lot of pressure on us to reduce the scale of the toys. At the time, I had big plans to start developing larger scale. The abomination is something that’s always been on my list of toys and I haven’t been able to get to him because he’s larger than a deluxe figure, and we just couldn’t make it work due to pure scale. So, things like dragons and mounts were just immediately off the table. In the meantime, what we started looking at was, ‘OK, so maybe what we do is have the Warcraft action figures retain their current size and what we do is come up with a potential new line that has its scale reduced so we can incorporate mounts, as a part of the Cataclysm launch.’ It’s definitely something on the horizon.”
For information on where to pick up World of Warcraft action figures of your very own, visit www.dccomics.com/dcunlimited/wow. Ж
107

OPERATION
OPERATION
OPERATION
THE FIGHT FOH
GNOMEREGAN
The gnomes have been displaced from Gnomeregan for several years due to a series of unfortunate events. Around the time of the Third War, the troggs surfaced from the depths of Azeroth and overran the gnomes, becoming entrenched in the lower sections of the city.
The problem then was how to get rid of these invaders. Mekkatorque turned to his chief adviser, Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg, who made a radical proposal: Flood Gnomeregan with toxic radiation. Mekkatorque agreed and made the order to irradiate the city.
The plan was a catastrophic failure. Although the troggs became irradiated from the toxic assault, their siege continued unabated. The radiation proved far more harmful to the gnomes— nearly 80 percent of the gnomish population perished, and many of the survivors mutated into deranged leper gnomes.
Mekkatorque evacuated the survivors, who were taken in by the dwarves of Ironforge. Not all gnomes left Gnomeregan, however. Thermaplugg remained behind and seized control of the city, such as it was. It is rumored that Thermaplugg actually knew of the trogg invasion before it began, and that he orchestrated the events that befell the gnomish race. Though these reports were never verified, Mekkatorque believes they could be true.
Mekkatorque ordered that Thermaplugg be exterminated, and groups of adventurers reported success in that mission. However, it appears that these groups had defeated only a clever mechanical facsimile of Thermaplugg. Now, Mekkatorque is gathering forces to put an end to the real Thermaplugg and reclaim A Gnomeregan.
The leaders of the gnomes and the trolls have sounded the call to arms. Do you have what it takes to join the fight?
Cataclysm isn't here yet, but there is upheaval in the World of Warcraft all the same. For a limited time, you'll be able to help Azeroth's two displaced races try to reclaim their lost homelands. Alliance players will be able to help High Tinker Mekkatorque lead a campaign to retake Gnomeregan from the dreaded troggs. Horde players can assist Vol'jin as he steels the Darkspear trolls for an assault on the Echo Isles.
These quest lines won't be available once Cataclysm arrives, so if you want to participate, don't tarry when the event goes live on your realm. You can check on the availability of the quests by visiting the appropriate area in Azeroth. Alliance players should visit Tinker Town in Ironforge, while Horde players start in Senjin Village, the current home of the Darkspear trolls.
МЕННЯТПВРиЕ
GNOMEREGAN
FERH1RE
мЁнКИТДЯРиЕ НПНТЕЧПЧ!
FIGHTING FOB THE
THEGNOMESAND TROLLS HAVE BEEN IN EXILE FOR MUCH TOO LONG. NOW IT’S TIME TO FIGHT BACK, AND YOU CAN HELP
PITCHING IN
layers who wish to assist Mekkatorque and the gnomes can report for duty in the Tinker Town section of Ironforge. The first step is assembling a band of volunteers and herding them (and yourself) through some rigorous training exercises.
Once you're trained in the ways of the gnome army, it's time to set up some monitoring stations— you can't send the troops into a toxic trap!—and learn how to operate the mechanical forces. An army isn't just made of fit troops and state-of-the-art armaments, though. Mekkatorque realizes that the hearts and minds of the people must be behind any operation, and he intends to create an inspirational speech. You can help by using an ingenious playback device to show the proposed speech to various victims—er, volunteers.
Troops: check. Weaponry: check. Morale: check. Time to roll into Gnomeregan and teach Thermaplugg a thing or two!
"As you go through the preparation quests, and then get sent on reconnaissance missions in the air, you start to get really excited about getting Gnomeregan back to its rightful owners," says Morynne of Destromath-US. "It does tell a pretty good story of the dissension between Mekkatorque and Thermaplugg. It really makes you dislike how things happened in the past!

GNOMEREGAN
high tinker, Mekkatorque is a brilliant inventor—his credits include the Deeprun Tram—and he is held in high regard despite the Gnomeregan fiasco, which weighs heavily on him. Although he brought the Gnomeregan evacuees to the shelter of Ironforge, he realizes that it is a temporary solution and spends most of his energy devising strategies to get the gnomes back to their home.
ECHO ISLES
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The Darkspear tribe has a long history of displacement. Long ago, the Darkspear were driven from the mainland of Stranglethorn Vale by the Gurubashi trolls, taking shelter on a remote island. Unfortunately, that home was destroyed by a mysterious sea witch. The Darkspear turned to the Horde for assistance, and Thrall granted them the Echo Isles off the eastern coast of Durotar.
Again, this home would not be permanent: The witch doctor Zalazane eventually went insane, stripping the free will from the Darkspear trojls on the island. To protect his people, Vol'jin ordered them to leave the Echo Isles. Currently, the tribe resides in Sen'jin Village, directly across the water from Zalazane's stronghold. It is from Sen'jin Village that Vol'jin plans to launch an offensive to kick Zalazane off the isles, clearing the way for the Darkspear to return there.
But, hold on—didn't we kill Zalazane? We brought his head back to Master Gadrin a long time ago, right? While many adventurers sought to make their mark by slaying Zalazane (and thought they had done so), it all was an elaborate trick played by the crazy witch doctor. The "head' of Zalazane that adventurers brought back to Sen'jin Village returned to its actual form after a few days—painted rocks, coconuts adorned with tusks, and even the heads of Zalazane's enslaved trolls.
Now, the time to strike at Zalazane has come.


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Players begin the adventure in Sen'jin Village, where the first assignment will be to prepare for a bit of reconnaissance; it would be folly to launch an attack without having some idea what your force is up against. Your goal will be to assemble a rather unusual team of spies and deploy it in key areas of the Echo Isles.
Along the way, you 11 discover a possible ally to recruit to the Darkspear cause Everyday citizens will need to be on board with the plan as well, so you'll be tasked with recruiting some volunteers from the area around Senjin Village.
With the spying and recruiting done, it will be time to join Val'jin in an epic assault on the Echo Isles.
Kaitsuburi, an orc death knight on Dentarg-
EVICTING ME



ECHO ISLES
BONUS ITEMS
Meet the Leaders
While these fights are aimed at freeing the gnomish and troll homelands, any race can take part. However, for the good of the armies, it's best that everyone fit in. To help with that, you'll get a special item that makes you appear like a troll or gnome.
These items are perfect for keeping unity in the ranks, and as a special treat, you'll get to keep yours.
The leader of the Darkspear tribe, Vol'jin is known to be one of Warchief Thrall's main strategic advisers. Vol'jin has made the Darkspear tribe a vital part of the Horde, and he played a key role in retaking the Undercity from Varimathras and Putress.
Vol'jin founded the colony of Sen'jin Village in order to save his tribe from the mind control of the mad Zalazane, and he now uses it as the headquarters for his plans to retake the Echo Isles.

X Trtcncs
ST13HMIMG i
he signature Battleground of Burning I Crusade, Eye of the Storm artfully melds
1 elements of Arathi Basin's resourceaccumulation mechanics and Warsong Gulch’s flag-running objectives to create a unique Battleground experience. To emerge victorious, players need to constantly shift their strategies, balancing attacking and defending towers with capturing the flag, all the while making sure the enemy doesn't outmaneuver their team!
So, how should players fine-tune their battle plans to ensure all the bases are covered? Marshal Aelwyd and Lieutenant Comma er Peace, Zuljin US veterans of many a
Netherstorm skirmish, have been talking to PvPers to gain insight and understanding of this fluid and fast-paced 15-on-15 Battleground. Their mission: to look beyond Battlegroupspecific biases, myths, and preconceptions and learn what it takes to emerge victorious.
Here’s their report, presented in a back-to-basics format designed to help all Eye d? the StoAn combatants understand how winning tactics might be deployed—and how potential pitfalls might be avoided—in this tricky Battleground
116
EYE OF THE STORM
LOCATION Netherstorm
OBJECTIVE Capture tow ers and occupy them to ac cumulate resources. Capture the flag in the center of the Battleground and bring it to a tower controlled by your faction to earn additional resources.
MAXIMUM
PLAYERS PER TEAM 15

WIN CONDITIONS Accumulate 1,600 resources
OPEN TO Level 61 + players
LEVEL BRACKETS 61 69, 70-79, 80
□s BASICS
In Eye of the Storm, teams can generate resources two ways—by capturing and holding towers, and also by picking up the flag that spawns in the middle of the Battleground and returning it to a base they control. Over the years there has been much debate over which players should prioritize, but when it comes down to it, the numbers do not lie. Here’s the way Eye of the Storm works:

EYE OF THE


Resources from Flag Captures when: 1 tower controlled = 75 resources 2 towers controlled = 85 resources 3 towers controlled = 100 resources 4 towers controlled = 500 resources
Resources from Towers when: 1 tower controlled = 1 resource/second 2 towers controlled - 2 resources/second 3 towers controlled = 5 resources/second 4 towers controlled = 10 resources/second
IIS
This means if both teams control two towers for the entire game, the team that captures the flag the most times will win, and if a team controls three towers for the entire battle, it won t matter how many flags the othei team capture, they will not be able to generate more resources than the team controlling three towers.
Thus, it becomes clear that capturing towers should be prioritized over capturing the flag. In a stalemate-type situation, capturing the flag will swing the balance in your favor.



к THWI-Й TACTICS
F 5|
Capturing tow’ers is vary straightforward: If you have more of your players in the tower zone than enemy players, you’ll slowly but surely gain control of the tower. The greater the disparity between your plgyers and theirs, the faster the tower will turn.
► PACK ATTACK
“One of the fundamental rilles of any Battleground is safety in numbers," says Aelwyd. “Moving together is especially important in Eye of the Storm, because you need superior numbers to capture a tower. Attack in ones and tw os, and not only w ill you likely get p eked off with ease, your lesser numbers mean you won’t even jnove the bar in your favor. So group up and go in together. And ride right up to the tower. Don’t let the enemy engage you outside of the tower zone, where your presence is ineffective.”
Peace has more advice, “If you do manage to kill most of the tower defenders, concentrate on precentiijg them from getting back into the tow’er zone quickly by cutting them off at their graveyard. Characters w ith AoE slowing, fear, or entrapment effects should go camp the graveyard and deploy' them as soon as the enemy rezzes. That way they’re being kept out of the tower zone for a few' precious seconds, which can help you capture the tower. Just make sure enough
people stay at the tower to continue turning it.” "Characters that are stealthed don’t count as being in the tower zone, so if vou want to help your team capture a tow r, make sure you're visible,” reminds Aelwyd.
► HOLDING UP THE ENEMY
“If an enemy group attempts to attack a tower you’re defending, try to move toward them and engage th ii outside of the tower zone,” recommends Peace.
“That i thes re not turn ng the tower. This w iU also give you the advantage—if you get killed, vou’ll rez at the gras ard and can oin the defenders again very quickl’ fan enemi pl. у er get killed they 11 end up back at the closest tower they control and won’t be able to help their friends anytime soon ”
► SNEAKY CAP
The tower capture zone extends a fair distance away from the tower, enab ing sneaky pla ers to sit out of sight slowly tw ng it to tli ir fa or. “I can t tell you how rai times I've helped capture an undefended tower simply by sitting behind it, out of sight.’ says Aelwyd. “If no enemy pla rs can see у >u, they won’t be alerted to w hat’s going on, and most players rezztng ui their gravey ard often rush oft in search of adventure, rather than checking e status of their tor er. Just remember to call tor help as the tower gets close to being neutral—as soon as the tower turns to neuti al, an alert w ill sound, and the enemy' w ill likely rush back to defend.”
IIP
1-1-ЛБ STRATEGIES
Capturing the flag is an important way of gaining additional resources, and is often the key factor between winning and losing if both teams control the same number of towers. Successfully running the flag requires a certain amount of control over the battlefield. Here’s some good ways of making sure you can keep the “flag train” running without interruption.
► RUNNING A FLAG TRAIN “Optimal flag running requires a couple of flag carriers,” explains Aelwyd. “One person should run the flag, while the other waits in the middle—usually with some kind of backup. Since the flag respawns fairly quickly after it’s captured, the person in the middle can then grab the flag and run it back to the tower while the prior flag runner returns to the middle. This kind of “relay” tactic delivers the fastest possible flag capturing, and also ensures that there’s at least one person defending the flag. While anyone can run a flag, characters with speed-running abilities are the best choice.”
“BEAR IN MIND THE WELL-KNOWN WAR ADAGE THAT NO PLAN SURVIVES CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY”
—Peace, ZuVjin-US
► DEFENDING THE MIDDLE
“A resilient healer/DPS combo, and characters with knockback effects are great for holding the middle,” suggests
means their towers will very likely be very lightly defended. So instead of calling for reinforcements, suggest a tower attack and make a heroic last stand, holding out in the middle as long as possible to buy time for your teammates to capture a tower."
DIVERSIONARY TACTICS
If the enemy is busy defending their towers, it’s more difficult for them to also run the flag. If you’re in a two towers vs. two towers situation, take the initiative and make sure your team is always pressuring
at least one enemy tower.
“Identify and call out the least-defended tower, group up, and move in together,” says Aelwyd. “Keep harassing the enemy and pressure their tower zone. This kind of situation is a win-win. If you’re on the attack, the
enemy will need to draw in players from other areas of the battlefield to defend their position. If they don’t, they’ll lose their tower and you'll gain
HOLDING THE FLAG “Cap smart,” says Aelwyd. “Don’t capture the flag if the
enemy controls the middle. That means they will gain the initiative by grabbing the flag when it respawns. Wait at your tower until your faction re-establishes control over the middle, and then cap it. Also, be aware that the more towers your team controls, the more points you get for the cap. If it looks like you’re going to gain a tower, wait until it turns before capturing the flag. Likewise, if you see a tower being attacked and you might lose it, don’t
tower, or by grabbing the flag— which your team can make very difficult by hunkering down and going into a full-on defensive posture.
Peace. “Survivability is more important than outright killing ability—
a huge advantage. If they do, other targets will become more vulner-
wait around. Cap it quickly and go help your teammates defend.”
When you’re about 90 points from victory, capture the flag and that
staying alive long enough for your teammates to reach you if you need help is key. One thing to remember, though—if the enemy team attacks the middle with a large group, that
able. The important thing is to watch what’s going on and call out the new target as soon as you begin to see your attack being broken down by the defenders.”
Peace adds, “If both teams control two towers, but your team is ahead on points, holding the flag can be a good tactic. The only way the enemy can win is by capturing another
should be enough to give you the win. If you’re going to turtle like this, though, make sure you watch the enemy like a hawk, and get players to where they need to be.
120
enemy players fighting in the middle, that means a tower is probably lightly defended. Look at the closest one, and if that has a bunch of defenders, you can quickly deduce that the other one is the place to attack.”
Peace agrees. “As soon as you start thinking ahead of the enemy, it forces them to react to you, giving you a huge tactical advantage, because you’re dictating the pace of the battle. In a situation where teams are equitably geared and skilled, the team that takes the initiative will almost always tip the scales in their favor. The key is ensuring you communicate clearly so your teammates can assist you quickly and efficiently.”
road between nodes in Arathi Basin. In Eye of the Storm you’ll often see a similar type of clustering occuring, and experienced players are always watching for it. When it happens, look for the farthest enemy tower from where players are fighting and head toward it. Since players aren’t rezzing there—because they’ll be rez-zing at the closer tower to where the fighting is happening—it will likely be lightly defended. Just make sure you call out the attack so you can get help."
“No matter how well prepared your potential Eye of the Storm strategy might be, something you must always bear in mind is the well-known war adage that no plan survives contact with the enemy,” says Peace.
So, what should you do if your plans don’t go well and you need to improvise?
“A trait shared by most successful Eye of the Storm veterans is their ability to read the battlefield, quickly assess what the enemy is doing, and work out how to outmaneuver them,” says Aelwyd. “If you know where the enemy players are, you also know where they aren’t. For example, if there’s a bunch of
“Understanding how many Battleground players play the game can also help give you an advantage,” reveals Peace. “I hate to generalize, but many players don't think very strategically, especially if they’re playing in a PUG, and often look to the closest source of action and head toward it.
That’s basic human nature, and why you often see clusters of players doing strategically disadvantageous things like fighting in the middle of the battlefield in Warsong Gulch, or skirmishing on the
, HEADING THE PLAYERS
COMMUNICATION
“Good communication is fundamental to any successful Battleground strategy,” says Aelwyd.
“Especially in a large Battleground like Eye of the Storm, where it’s often difficult to see what’s going <Л elsewhere. It’s imperative that players call out enemy movement tha sooner your teammates are aware of what’s going on, the sooner they can react and get to where they need to be. A poorly defended tower can be turned fairly quickly, even by a handful of enemy players, and sometimes your teammates might have a lot of ground to cover to get from one tower to another. So call enemy movement early, and call it often.’
121
1.Ш1П RUSH
STACTICS
► TEAM OPENING STRATEGIES
There are numerous opening gambits that you can deploy in Eye of the Storm—here are our five favorites. Al) of these strategies involve breaking down your team of 15 into smaller groups, and require each group to move together and coordinate as a cohesive unit. Therefore, these tactics are recommended for use with either a fully premade team, or a partially premade team where there are enough players working together so that the rest of the group can be assigned easy-to-understand tasks. That’s not to say these tactics won’t work with a PUG, but generally speaking, the key to making them work is players moving together as coordinated units, something that you definitely need to stress to your teammates.
When you are breaking the team down into smaller units, make sure each group has a good mix of at least one, but preferably two healers, and a good selection of DPS characters with both high-burst and crowd-control capabilities.
Team breakdown
Two Tower Cappers—individually operating, very resilient players, such as a paladin, druid, or discipline priest.
> One Attack Team of six.
One Attack Team of seven.	________
Objective
A fast rush out of the gate where the team tries to capture all towers, or at least three.
Instructions
Assign a faction tower to each Tower Capper, and an enemy faction tower to each Attack Team.
Strategy
Each Tower Capper rides to their assigned faction towers
to slowly capture it, while also monitoring the battlefield to call out attackers and general enemy movement.
The two Attack Teams should rush their respective enemy towers. “It’s very important that the attacking groups ride right into their target’s tower zone so they can start turning the tower immediately,” reminds Aelwyd. "And it’s imperative that none of them dismount early or stop outside of the flag zone—remember, strength in numbers. So, go in together and fight close together’
The Tower Cappers should call for help if they need it—call in the number of attackers so that sufficient Attack Team members can break away from their group to successfully defend. As soon as the threat is eliminated, they should return to their target tower.
If the team captures four, everyone should move up to below the enemy starting zone to lock down the opposing team. If the team captures three, the two closest towers should continually pressure the remaining enemy tower to keep them in a defensive position, while the remaining single Tower Capper continually monitors the situation to call out potential enemy threats if they become apparent.

WEATHERING THE STORM
MORE ADVICE FROM EYE OF THE STORM EXPERTS
I often cast slowfall on iny teammates just before the start. Being able to quickly float down to the tower can help buy extra seconds.
—Aelwyd, Zul’jin-US
Never underestimate the power of Thunderstorm and Typhoon. Correct use of these can win deadlocked EOTS games.
—Cotillion, Staghelm-US
The flag is just a bonus, is not the key to victory. Focus on the bases.
—Tranchard, Medivh-EU
Paladins, turn off Crusader Aura, otherwise your team might miss the tiered rocks below or even possibly fall to their death.
—Drsexxytime, Rivendare-US
122
EYE OF THE STORM
► Keep the pressure off your Holding Team in the middle by constantly attacking the enemy towers. Make sure that your team moves in together—don't attack individually or you'll easily get picked off and throw your attack into disarray.
If you find yourself all alone at a tower, like it or not you ARE the defense. So don’t leave.
—Heavi, Sisters of Elune-US
b Э Both attack teams need to get forward as quickly as possible. Paladins should use crusader aura—but only when everyone has jumped down!
Ь b Tower cappers should be calling out all enemy movement, since they have the best view of the entire battlefield.
iWU-CAP MID IUIM LAR
Team breakdown
► One Holding Team of three—preferably a plate-wearer, resilient healer, and crowd-control character.
b Two Attack Teams of six.
Objective
Capture and hold two towers, run the flag, and harass the enemy.
Instructions
Designate a faction tower to each Attack Team. Each team needs to have three players nominated for reinforcement duty.
Strategy
Both Attack Teams ride to their respective faction towers to — capture.them. The team-of threp should ride to the middle to hold that position and start running the flag.
At this point, the Holding Team needs to start reporting enemy movement. "If the middle is not being attacked, the Holding Team should call out an enemy tower to attack since they have the best view of the battlefield and can see which tower is the least defended,” explains Peace. "Whichever team is opposite that tower should move in and attack. Yes—that means no defenders. The point is not necessarily to capture that tower, but to pressure the enemy to draw in their forces and let the Holding Team continue to run the flag. If the middle is attacked, the Holding Team needs to call in reinforcements—whichever Attack Team is under the least pressure should send their three nominated reinforcement players to help out. However, if the middle comes under an attack by more than six enemy players, that probably means a tower is lightly defended, so the Attack Team closest to the least-defended tower should move in for the cap, while the Holding Team simply last as long as they can, and then should move to defend whichever tower they left behind.
b b One of the keys to success with this strategy is ensuring the two Attack Teams quickly respond to what's going on. To make sure that happens, the Holding Team needs to have an experienced player responsible for making snap decisions and accurately calling all team movement.



If your enemy holds three towers, the one that lies diagonal to yours is the one that is most likely to be the least defended.
— Werik, Die Aldor-EU


Eye of the Storm is a healer’s battleground because the longer you stay alive and keep your teammates up, the easier it is to hold or take a node.
—Basharic, Suramar-US
ATTACK FROM THE BACK OF EACH TOWER, IT CATCHES OPPONENTS OFF GUARD A T TIMES.
—Souperman, Scilla-US
3 CAP AND RUSH




This classic strategy easy to execute, as long the two Attack Teams a able to move together as unit. As in all Battlegrounds strength in numbers is the key. Ensure that the DPS characters target the enemy healers first, and that they do so in a coordinated fashion. Control characters can provide vital help by keeping the enemy DPS characters off the team's healers.
THE TURNON POintisfree OFENEmies
—Gisors, Gilneas-EU
f you don t see the tow er capture bar, you re in the wrong spot. Don’t fight on roads, and fighting at the flag is fighting on a road! It ’s typically better to spend most of your time at enemy bases instead of at your own.
—Thortok, Ner’zhul-US

► The moment each Attack Team's tower turns, they need to ride forward and start piling on the pressure. Success with this strategy is contingent on keeping the enemy on the back foot.
The solo Tower Capper should be responsible for calling all enemy movement. Their communication can be vital to keeping the team coordinated.


When you’re defending a tower, staying abeata tower is the most important tomg. Use hne-of-sight to make it as difficult as possible for the enemy to kill y ou and buy as much time as possible for ) our teammates to come and help you.
—Pitorro, Zul’jin-US
124
-> TOTAL IMJMINATinN
to their
Strategy
"This is an extremely risky strategy, and is only recommended for very strong premade teams
Strategy
The Attack Team
Ж SPSS*"
continue to m У Meanwhile, the Tower г ё 'П peoP’e to



Team breakdown
Ь One Attack Team of seven.
► One Attack Team of eight.
► b Two nominated Tower Cappers.
Objective
Rush the enemy faction towers, then_back-cap your own towers while the bulk of your forces lock down the enemy.
Instructions
Designate a faction tower to each Attack Team. Each team needs to have two nominated Tower Cappers who will return to back-cap their faction towers when the enemy towers are taken.
It might be fun killing people, but don't lose sight of the objectives. Having an excellent game statistically is not worth much if you end up losing the overall battle.
—Turosha, Norgannon-US
When attacking, always fight within the enemy’s base territory. You want to quickly take away the enemy’s control °f the base to cut off the respawn at the graveyard.
—Felyae, Kiljaeden-EU
eye of the storm
Team breakdown
лиаск Team of sir
Objective
An advanced three
Instructions
Team and Tower Capper'll ^“ Р^оп Attack
Team will rush (he	^’Person Attack
14
* This all-out strategy can deliver a swift victory if it works. But only try it out if your team ls fenced, well coordinated, end fully geared up. Failure to execute this strategy properly Will likely result in the team
Put in a defensive position that will be hard to recoverfrom.
with a lot of experience,” warns Aelwyd. '"The objective is for each Attack Team to go all-out and rush and capture the enemy towers from the get-go. Just understand that if this tactic backfires, your team will end up rezzing at their starting area, a long way from the battle, enabling the enemy to push forward and possibly gain the advantage.”
Peace agrees, “It’s very risky, but if your team has the strength and confidence to pull it off, it can be a simply devastating opening gambit that can push the enemy back to their starting position almost immediately. At that point, your team can take full control of the battlefield and either kill the enemy mercilessly, or run the flag a few times to quickly finish the game. This is definitely a "death or glory” strategy, but who doesn’t like to play for those kinds of high stakes every now and then?”
}v
Ihe narrow paths connecting the north and south halves of the map make offense the best defense, because they have to run right by the node. —Novaflame, Whisperwind-US
Rocket boots + Parachute + Elemental Shaman = Getting the flag before anyone else and laughing at all who dare approach. just make sure you atm your jump correctly.
Ikestorm, Elune-US
Keep moving, force your adversary to react constantly to your actions and he will always be running after you.
Enoreth, Rashgarroth-EU


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THE EEDEDD DEHIDD THE JMITIBDE 0Г HORDE PRIDE
I, AND RAISED HIGH
WARCHIEF THRALL’S WEAPON W^S BESTOWED AS A TESTAMENT OF FAITH AND HON<
ABOVE THE CLANS AS A GUIDING LIGHT DURING THE
SALVATION OF THE ORCS
126
i
9
known circumstances on the
Doomhammer is a namesake
to son. Many generations of proud Doomhammer patriarchs served as loyal members of the Blackrock clan, each one wielding tltc hammer righteously.
mer, father of Otgrim. Eventually, young Orgriin,
mer, knowing one day it would be his own. Orgriin
of the Frostwolf dan, and in a fateful meeting with
about the weapon:
and powerful, and the shaft is made of carefully crafted wood. Over the years, the shaft has had to be
killed, leaving only an orphan son. But Orgrim’s eyes
Orgrim brought Gul’dan and his Shadow Council
Warchief Blackhand. He succeeded Blackhand as warchief, leading the orcs to conquer the mighty human city of Stormwind—and then, three years later.
Gul’dan then abandoned the orcs to search lor the
with him. Ute orcs’ numbers were crushed. Their homeworld, Draenor, was shattered into the floating wreckage now known as Outland when Ner'zhul
flee. Even the mighty Orgrim was taken as a prisoner of the Alliance, though he quickly escaped to wander Azeroth as a hermit.
on the foreign world grew weak. One orc stood out
“IT IS AN OLD AND HONORABLE WEAPON, PASSED DOWN FROM FATHER IS TO ELDEST CHILD!’ к
—ORGRIM DOOMHAMMER, WORLD OF WARCRAFT: RISE OF THE HORDE
replaced, but the stone itself has not a chip on it. It is called the Doomhammer because when its owner takes it into battle, it spells doom for the enemy."
Orgrim also told Velen of a prophecy about the weapon. “It is said that the last of the Doomhaminer
to the orc people. Then it will pass into the hands of one who is not of the Blackrock clan, all will change again, and it will once again be used in the cause
Little did Orgrim know that he would be the last
gladiator named Thrall. When he reached maturity.
the renegade Frostwolf clan. It was there, studying
his heritage: He was the forgotten son of Durotan.
flared and burned with newfound intensity. Hearing of Thrall's might, Orgrim anonymously sought out Thrall and provoked the young warrior into combat. When Thrall bested him, Orgrim revealed himself as the warchief, and named Thrall his second-in-
chaos and destraction that would befall his people.
orcs began, as Thrall and Orgrim infiltrated the Alli-
greater glory with Doomhammer, figirting with leg-
Durlng a critical strike on their oppressors,
of Azeroth after the opening of the Dark PortaL He
passed the Dooinhamtner to Thrall, who raised it
the orcs’ second-in-command. Every mortal being
the orcs have regained their proud tradition, lifted
But then darkness fell. Orgrim's old friend
Orgrimmar, on Azeroth.
the warlock Gulden's treacherous manipulations.
Doom hammer.
12$
R HI JTDKV or THE
DHCIJH HORDE
The orcs were a peaceful, clan-based shamanistic society with strong traditions and proud bloodlines, who amicably shared their homeworld Draenor with the draenei... until fate drew them into a titanic battle of dark magic, greed, and betrayal.
The orcs’ nightmare began when the demon lord Kil’jaeden discovered the powerful race and sought to bring their considerable number into his Burning Legion, an army of demons in service of the fallen titan Sargeras.
Kil’jaeden reached out to the orcs’ most respected shaman, Ner’zhul, and deceived him into believing that the orcs would soon be attacked by their neighbors, the draenei. Ner’zhul rallied the clans into battle against the draenei at first, but eventually discovered Kil’jaeden’s deceit-only to have his power usurped by his ambitious apprentice, Gul’dan.
Gul’dan, upon Kil’jaeden’s orders, offered the orc chieftains vast power in the polluted blood of Mannoroth the Destructor. This evil ichor transformed the orcs into bloodthirsty warmongers. They enslaved some natR'e ogres and allied with others to exact a nearly complete annihilation of the draenei, spilling their blood across the wasteland Draenor had become. Only one chieftain chose to forsake the power of the demon blood: Durotan of the Frostwolf clan.
Meanwhile, Sargeras was embroiled in a war with the denizens of Azeroth. He possessed the human wizard Medivh and made contact with Gul’dan on Draenor, offering him a profound new power on this other world.
Together, Medivh and Gul’dan opened the Dark Portal, allowing the savage orcs to infiltrate Azeroth and wage war against the humans and their allies. The worldquaking battle cost both sides dearly, but the Alliance finally surged, forcing the orcs back to Draenor, and eventually destroyed the Dark Portal.
Ner’zhul, having been cast out of the Horde, in time fell prey to madness and depression. From his refuge in Shadowmoon Valley, and with the help of Teron Gorefiend, he reopened the
Dark Portal and sent troops to Azeroth to
collect artifacts he needed to open additional portals.
This drew the Alliance’s Л attention, however, and a large army came through the portal in an attempt to close it for good. These Alliance forces thwarted Ner’zhul’s plan, but he managed to open more portals that tore Draenor apart. Outland was born.
I
5
THE POLLUTED BLOOD OF MANNO ROTH THE DESTRUCTOR TRANSFORMED THE ORCS INTO BLOODTHIRSTY WARMONGERS
Ner’zhul was caught by
Kil’jaeden while trying to flee through one of his portals, the demon still furious about Ner’zhul’s refusal of his power. He destroyed Ner’zhul’s body and fused his soul to a crystal-entombed suit of armor— thus creating the Lich King.
The once-proud orc society had been shattered, until a new hope arose in an orphan slave known as Thrall.

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роотнптшш

FOLLOWING THE REPLICA OF FROSTMOURNE, BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT AND EPIC WEAPONS ARE UNLEASHING THE FULL FURY OF WARCHIEF THRALL’S MIGHTY DOOMHAMMER UPON THE PHYSICAL WORLD. WE SAT DOWN WITH NICK CARPENTER, EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR ON BLIZZARD’S CINEMATICS TEAM, TO CHAT ABOUT THE PROCESS OF BRINGING ONE OF WARCRAFTS MOST HALLOWED ICONS TO LIFE
Wielding Doomhammer—Thrall’s legendary weapon—is no longer relegated to fantasy.
Warcraft players can now lay their hands on the real, physical Doomhammer, developed in collaboration with Epic Weapons, the same company that forged the real-world version of Frostmaurne.
The task of bringing this part of the Warcraft universe to life was no simple undertaking, according to Nick Carpenter, executive art director on Blizzard’s cinematics team.
"It was a process,” Nick says with a tired laugh.
“It had to be as realistic as possible, so when you held this thing, you really felt like you owned a piece of Blizzard and a piece of Warcraft. [Our creative process] is so meticulous that there’s always this moment of 'Is Blizzard crazy?’ But Epic was ready to
DOOMHAMMER
take this journey with us.”
“When we created Frostmourne with Epic Weapons, it was our first opportunity to bring a Warcraft weapon into the physical realm, to create something you could actually wield and feel,” Carpenter says. “It was a huge learning process, and we looked at a lot of movie props, but we finally got there through attrition.”
Shortly after the runeblade was forged, Nick had an opportunity to see the masters of fantasy weapon-making at work. “In between Frostmourne and Doomhammer, we contracted with WETA Workshop to create a life-sized bronze sculpture of an orc on a wolf for the Blizzard campus.” This 12-foot statue was originally sculpted and produced as a 15-inch collectors1 piece given to employees as a holiday gift, and it was blown up and manufactured via computerized 3D modeling. “WETA brought a lot to the table from Lord of the Rings, and it was a great opportunity to learn from them.”
Nick had acquired a lot of experience by the time he became involved in the development of the Doomhammer replica, but it was still a daunting task. “The Doomhammer is a tremendously important part of the Warcraft lore,” Nick explains. “It was first seen in all its glory in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, when Thrall and Grom Hellscream take on the
Pit Lord. When Thrall wields this symbol of the orcs’ power, it’s one of the most iconic
Photos: Jonathan Snyder
"THE MANDATE WAS TO HAVE THE DOOMHAMMER
LOOK LIKE IT HAD BEEN BEATEN UP FOR HUNDREDS of years:’
—Nick Carpenter
moments in the franchise, and we had to make sure that came across.”
The initial inspiration for the Doomhammer’s design actually came before Warcraft III, from a little-known footnote in the franchise’s history: “After Warcraft II, Blizzard spent some time developing a point-and-click graphic adventure game called Warcraft Adventures, which covered a lot of the orcs’ history. It was canceled after about a year in development, but all of the design was already there. In that game, you saw Thrall as a baby and watched him evolve,” Nick explains. (This storyline was later adapted into a novel, Warcraft: Lord of the Clans, written by Christie Golden.) “When baby Thrall was discovered by the humans, he was wrapped in a cloth that bore his family’s symbol. That’s the symbol you see etched into the hammer.”
As for the actual look of the weapon, that started with a sketch by Chris Metzen. “I was the prerender director for Warcraft III” says Nick, referring to the game’s lush cinematics. “So we took Chris’s drawing and applied the philosophies of prop design to extrapolate from it. The Doomhammer is an incredibly powerful weapon, but it’s been passed down generation after generation, and been through a lot of battles. We looked at a lot of metals and materials to get it just right. We really art directed this piece six years ago. The footwork was done; now we just had to clean it up.”
“To create these pieces, they pound a hand-made object the way they did back in medieval times. Certain parts are molded, but it’s at least 50°o hand-built, including the wrapping of the leather. So each one will be unique,” Nick explains.
“But the most important part is also the toughest: the weathering.”
“The mandate was to n have the Doomhammer К look like it had been beaten up for hundreds £ ч	of years. The handle had
И been replaced at some |y point, but it was still in
Thrall’s hands for about 10 F years,” Nick says. “We weal through a significant testing process on the handle, trying to nail the look we wanted, which was like the rotten wood of an old shovel. We also looked for metal that had a weathered look, and we wound up using dark cold steels with acid washes. The leather grip is hand-wrapped and worn with saddle oil. As the final versions came in, I took sandpaper and alcohol and weathered each piece individually, then sent it back for them to use as their control.” They did show mercy to one spot on the hammer: “The wolf symbol on the hammer U specific to Thrall and important in the lore, so Epic cleaned up that area to make that beacon visible.”
“These was one thing we couldn’t pull off, which was the fur at the base of the handle. We just couldn’t get the weathering right. I would have sat there with them weathering those furs by hand,
but, ultimately, we couldn’t control the result to our satisfaction and we decided to skip it. The hammer doesn’t suffer for it, though.”
The final result of the Doomhammer replica would make even the bravest of humans cry, “zug zug!” “The thing is unbelievably heavy. You can barely control it when you swing it. We’re still trying to figure out what the best base will be. It can’t be hung on the wall, it’d pull the studs out,” Nick says with a laugh. “We’re looking at a desk-style mount, but so far the focus has just been on the hammer.”
And what about the possibility of other legendary weapons from Azeroth landing on our humble planet? “This was a great project to work on, and we’re talking about doing more of these iconic weapons... I can’t wait to get started on other big, titanic objects.” X
Hugh Sterbakov is the Emmy-nominated self leather who co-created and writes the comic book Freshmen. He also writes and buys the toys for the hit TV show Robot Chicken and is working on his first novel when he isn't fishing with his mage, Angrywife, on the Lothar-US realm.
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commumiy
A
FAN ART
Christina Marie Yen
Benjamin Sjbberg
We want to see your visions, too! Send your art to fanart@worldofwarcraftthemagazine.com and your work could appear in a future issue.
YOUR TURN!
LOCATION AWARE
YOU’D BETTER WATCH YOUR STEP AND START TALKING IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE AS A TANK
By Marty Cortinas
If you're staring at a monster’s crotch, you're doing it wrong.
Look, I appreciate that you've got healers to protect and DPS breathing down your neck, but you've got to do more if you don’t want to be just another mediocre tank. Start with where you stand and how you communicate.
Many of the toughest encounters in World of Warcraft require tank movement, precise placement of mobs, or both. It's rare when you get to stand in one place to tank and spank. When you tank an encounter, consider the boss's abilities and position it appropriately. Are there area-of-eftect
melee attacks? Does the boss have a knock-back? Are there secondary attacks that are position-sensitive? if you have to move, where will your healers be positioned? Are there line-of-sight issues for ranged DPS or healers?
When 1 PuG Drak'Tharon Keep as a
Dred. The good tanks take healing range and line of sight into account and move appropriately. The others tend to plunge headlong into the line-of-sight nightmare of the raptor stables.
A good example of a raid encounter that requires the ability to adapt is the Northrend Beasts encounter in the Trial of the Crusader. Gormok is a stand-still fight for the tanks. Acidinaw and Droadscale force the tanks to not only be mobile, but
a	у mix of abilities. Before the
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first burrow in the fight, the Dreadscale tank will need to clear debuffs on raid members, but the tank
TELL EVERYONE WHICH DIRECTION YOU ARE HEADING SO DAMAGEDEALERS
GET OUT OF THE WAY AND HEALERS KNOW WHERE TO
FIND YOU J
wherever, as ’ the worm's fire spit will kill most clothies. Icehowi is
largely stationary, hut the lank needs to position him in such a way as to mitigate knockback on himself and the melee DPS.
There are times — like during the Icehowl fight — when the best position for a tank is to have your back to a wall. Given how the game's camera works, should you keep the default position, you'll most likely wind up looking through your transparent head at an uncomfortably close view of the mob you’re tanking. Moving the camera, but not your toon, helps make these moments easier to handle. Pull-
much of the fight as possible is another good habit to develop. (When 1 first saw someone do this, against Mar'll in Zul'Gurub, it was like looking at a new world.)
Remember that you're part of a team and that it helps to let people know what's happening. Ina fight like Northrend Beasts.
Gormok, we use voice chat to make sure
к that the healers and the current tank know when the
actual switch is going to happen. Usually it's a countdown
V like “Sparky Ш Taunting in F 3,2, 1, now!"
When Dread scale and Acid
maw show up, let people know when
a worm, if you need to kite, tell everyone which direction you are heading so damagedealers get out of the way and healers know where to find you. Similarly, it helps to let everyone know if something isn’t going as intended. If your taunt fails, say something.
Know how to move and how to talk, and you'll make things go a lot more smoothly for your team. X
Marty Cortinas is editor-in-chief of World of Warcraft Official Magazine and tanks as a Protection warrior for his guild, who will never let him forget the time he took on the Northrend Beasts wearing a Chefs Hat. Or the time he fought Jllidan without a shield.
OPS
FOUR COMMANDMENTS
X ТА ПН! Г T11Г11 11 I	THE TANK KEEPS THE BOSS’S ATTENTION, THE
 ПЛ III I HEALERS ARE MAKING SURE THAT THE RAID lllllllir inriulllll	DOESNT COLLECTIVELY DIE AND THE DPS’
I U HULL IIILIIlflLL WERE IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING ELSE
By Andy Salisbury
s long as yvu'w been playing World of Warcraft, you’ve been told that DPS stands for Damage Per Second. We damagedealing classes can do a lot more than just throw spells at monsters, and DPS should really for Decisive Party Support.
Now, 1 understand if you're reluctant to mge, but hear me out. With the help of my r commandments, you can change from a rup-of-the-mlll damage dealer to a bossstymieing, group-saving player that every leader is dying to get his or her hands on.
BE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST WIPES
As DPS, your role Isn't just to hit tire boss as hard and fast as you possibly can—you need to watch out for tire others in your group as well. If there are adds in the fight that threaten the well-being of youthealets, take care of them straight away. If there’s an ability that the boss casts that needs to be interrupted, interrupt it—no questions asked. Ihink there’s a possibility that you’re close to drawing aggro and killing a few of your DPS brethren from a swipe? Thrn on World of Warcraft’s built-in aggro meter (Interface > Display > Show Aggro Percentages) and always be mindful of it.
You need to assert yourself as more than just a pretty pair of swords, and the willingness to sacrifice a marginal amount of DPS in order to ensure the survival of the group is essential to that. Situational awareness pays dividends. Being mindful of your surroundings will get you a sure spot in a raid, and turn you into a more reliable
group member.
► FOLLOW THE KILL ORDER Boss kills come in many dilfcrent forms. Some simply pit your group against a single boss who will throw one of several abilities at you while 1 it is tanked and spanked. I Others will force your entire crew, whether it's a raid or party, to tackle additional enemies before the big bad boss is taken down once and for all. In times like this, the leader will
put together a kill order—which
YOUR ROLE ISN’T JUST TO HIT THE BOSS
AS HARD
AND FAST AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN
must be followed.
When left alone, adds can wreak havoc on a group by killing essential personnel in a manner that’s entirely avoidable. As a DPS class you need to make sure that you’re conscious of what adds are coming, and when. While it might suck to miss some uptime on the boss and drop a few spots on the DPS meters, what really matters is that the boss fight ends in a successful kill.
► USE YOUR COOLDOWNS EFFECTIVELY Cooldowns pose a unique opportunity for you to give your DPS a shot in the arm by using an ability or item that will provide you with a strong
bull. When using your cooldowns, it's essential to follow a couple of rules. First of all, make sure that the boss has plenty of debuifs on him—if you pop a cooldown too early, you might not get the most bang for your buck. Secondly, be sure to use your cooldowns as early as you possibly can (while still honoring the previous rule). If
you're able to use a single cooldown twice during a boss fight, you’ve effectively doubled its potency.
► BE PREPARED
While you can’t always control what gear will drop, you’ve got direct power over your enchants and gems, as well as the flasks and food you bring with you. Making sure that you’ve got all the latest information on which these are best suited for your class and spec will get you
invited back time and time again— group leaders love folks that do their homework.
Also, should you find yourself going into a raid dungeon against bosses you've never seen before, do yourself a favor and watch a video or two online, read strategies, and understand the mechanics. If you show up prepared, it'll make things easier on you and your group. Ж
Andy Salisbury is an editor, a rogue, and a gentleman. When he's not foraging the latest raid Instance for epic loot, he can be found theorycrafting every possible ounce of DPS out of his energy pool.
I3P
J
HEALING
S BATTLEFIELD
THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF HEALING CHALLENGES, BUT TO MANY, THE ULTIMATE TEST IS FOUND IN A BATTLEGROUND
By Julian Rignail
veryone loves healers, right? They keep Г the party alive, they provide handy hurts, and if things go horribly wrong, they can even bring their fallen comrades back to life.
Healers! What's not to love?
Well, healers, actually.
[ discovered this the first time I entered a Battleground and got flattened by a warrior and couple of rogues armed with unbelievably powerful weapons from a place I later discovered was called UBRS. They cut me down before I even had the chance to look at my keyboard and figure out which button I should be pressing. And it happened again and again. 1 might be surrounded by my teammates, but I was singled out every time as the primary target for termination with extreme prejudice. Man, these enemies hated me. With a passion!
After that first hectic Battleground, I reviewed my combat logs to figure out what was going on, and t also perused my Spellbook to see if 1 was missing anything that might be useful for PvP that I’d not really used before due to its limited use in PvE. Because while i love healing, one thing I like even more is a challenge, and this situation seriously piqued my interest. How could I do better next time? What could I do differently? What opportunities was i missing? And so began my love affair with Battlegrounds, fueled by a desire to become better, survive longer, and ultimately avoid becoming somebody else s statistic.
So, how should you tackle going into a Battleground? First and foremost, understand that you're going into the toughest, most unforgiving and potentially frustrating environment in World of Warcraft, so set your expectations accordingly.
The pace of the action is lightning fast, you’re up against a merciless enemy that may be more experienced and better geared than you, and when you're new to it, you'll die a lot. When that happens, what you need to do is pick yourself up, figure out what happened, and start learning from your experience.
The second thing you need to know is that Battleground healers play three roles. Yes—three!
First, you’re a healer. Thats the easy bit, and you should pretty much know how that works already You keep your friends (and yourself) alive. Second, you’re a tank. Yes, that sounds nuts, but it’s	i
true. In Battlegrounds,	I
healers are the “aggro	I
magnets” that attract the most enemy attention. Expect to have to do your job while being shot, clobbered, ganked, blasted, roasted, and everything else you can think of. And third, you're
EXPECT TO HAVE TO DO YOUR JOB WHILE BEING SHOT, CLOBBERED, GANKED, BLASTED, K AND ROASTED ,
someti nies a DPS class. In certain situations you’ll need to use your damage, crowd-control, and dispel spells to help kill the enemy. That's the wonderful thing about Battleground healers. We can do it all. And that's why we’re the most dangerous people on the battlefield.
So, how do you survive and indeed thrive in all this craziness? Well, start thinking like a tank. Spec talents and use glyphs that mitigate damage taken, boost your survivability, and speed up your
actions. Start acquiring gear with Resilience on it—that is an extremely effective way of reducing inbound damage—and use items that have a decent amount of Stamina. All of these things will help buy you more time to stay alive and hopefully survive long enough for your teammates to take out the opposition before they get you.
The other big thing is move, move, move! The moment you stop moving in a Battleground is the
moment your enemies catch up with you start wailing on you. Watch what's going on. If you have foes on you, run toward your friends so they can help you. Look at places where you i can hide out of sight, even I briefly, and of course, al-I ways Jo ok for line-of-sigh L options that will give you even a second’s respite to heal yourself. The best Battleground healers are the ones who are fleetest of foot.
So, stay frosty!
Sure, Battlegrounds are tough, es-
pecially for beginners. But if you’re prepared to practice and learn from your experiences, they can deliver some of the most rew arding, fun, and outright joyous moments in the game. Ж
Julian Rignatl has been healing in Battlegrounds ever since they were invented, and is currently trying la push the outer limits of the Resilience envelope (and by virtue, the frustration Level of his foes) with his Discipline priest.
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What arc guilds for?
Seriously. It's worth asking the question.
As I sit down to write, my guild, the PC Gamer guild, is on the verge of killing the l.ich King in 25-player mode. We've dropped him a few times in 10-player, where we do most of our raiding. Our 25-player teams raid less, and have been more ad hoc. But over the few months since the Fall of the
l.ich King content update (patch 3.3) and Icecrown Citadel, the teams have coalesced, the goals have solidified, and our leaders have sharpened. We've decided we're going to take down the Lich King. And we intend to carry through.
Which brings me back to the question: What are guilds for? When we created the PC Gamer guild, it was more about finding like-minded players to have fun with. We didn't really have any intention to raid, and we didn't have any intention to PvP. We just wanted to make a few friends and have people to talk with when questing.
Our guild mandate was nonexistent. We had no goats. We had no structure.
Out of that chaos emerged two things: a lot of goodwill and a lot of player enthusiasm. But it took us almost six months
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before we could consider any
serious raiding, and even now, our PvP turnout is lackluster.
We were lucky because we accidentally recruited superb raid leaders. Ihey took up the challenge to organize our community. They understood how to invest energy into logistics and gearing up. They set up a forum, a loot system and a schedule. All I had to do and still do, was decide where to point their energy.
At first, our thinking was abo ut trying to do every- i thing. We ran craz.y events I and dragged the entire I guild into Battlegrounds. We'd run multiple Arena teams, explore all the raid dungeons available, and even try to schedule regular Heroic groups. We wanted to be everything to everyone.
It was exhausting. For the officers, for our leadership, and for our players. I've realized that if your players love the guild and the game, they’ll want to play as much as possible. But sometimes, it’s better to clear the schedule, clear the calendar,
WE'VE STOPPED TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING AND JUST WANT TO DO SOME THINGS к WELL A
and give all players a chance to decompress.
Now, we're far more organic. We’ve stopped trying to do everything and just want to do some things well. We raid often, we have silly events, but we let the players who want to do PvP and Arena go off and do their own thitig. If they want support, either through crafted items arranged events, we can make it happen. But were not going to try and organize their fun.
So, what is the guild for? You can have PvP guilds. I You can have raiding guilds. And you can have questing and casual guilds. Whatever the stated goal of the guild, it comes back to the one idea we had at the start: We wanted some friends to talk with as we played.
It doesn't matter what your goals are. As long as you understand that the goal is to be social (and supportive) your guild will be a success. Ж
Tim Edwards is the dashing editor-in-chief of\>G Gamer in the UK.
Illustration: Wei Wang
We're now rapidly approaching our fifth
BlizzCon, and are as excited as ever to share our enthusiasm for game development with all attendees, as weft as those watching on the Internet and television the world over. In years past, we've used this convention as a platform to announce each new World of Warcraft expansion, share the latest developments on existing games, lift the veil on the work we do behind company doors, host live tournaments, and provide hours of entertainment by well-known comedians and musical acts. With each BlizzCon we’ve stepped up our game, increasing the size, scope, and accessibility of the festivities; and each time the global demand for tickets has increased. But there’s one key aspect of the event uniquely special to us: It’s become an incredible avenue for Blizzard gamers to unite under one roof. For community managers, there's no greater pleasure than watching a large group of gamers come together in a lively social environment. With BlizzCon now on the radar of so many players, we watch every year as friends, family, guiidmates, and Arena teams make their arrangements to come together for one intense weekend. The concept is pretty simple. We make the games, we rent the venue, and we provide the atmosphere
and entertainment. What makes BlizzCon the catalyst for great times and memories, though, is the community’, which comes together to celebrate the countless bonds which have been formed within the games.
Long before BlizzCon, players form connections on our forums, planning to take their social gaming through a quantum leap into the real world. In J the industry, this is often Л referred to as “awesome!’ Я By the time we hit the week of the convention,	Я
we see hundreds of players meeting up to enjoy the temperate Southern California vibe.
As the hundreds of Blizzard Entertainment staff arrive that first morning, eager to get things going, it's been humbling to witness attendees lined up by the thousands. We’ve cruised down the trail of people each year with cameras rolling, and the reactions we get are remarkable. Everyone is soon gathered for opening ceremonies and developer panels,
THERE’S NO GREATER PLEASURE THAN WATCHING A LARGE GROUP OF GAMERS COME TOGETHER IN A LIVELY SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
cheering, hollering, laughing, clapping, and sometimes hilariously booing along with the events on each stage. Some come from around the world to compete, more to sample upcoming titles or content; some come to participate in—or just enjoy—the many contests held for the show. Jay Mohr riding a motorized turtle two years back was priceless, as w'as Ozzy closing down the house last ’ A year. And we can't forget the ft after-parties that extend the %	fun until the wee hours.
BlizzCon is a celebration of the Blizzard community, an event that allows us to ш experience their enthusiasm ' first-hand. Sure, we’re extremely passionate a out making great games, but it’s the community that makes the play experience epic. We look forward to BlizzCon 2010 and hopefully many more to come. We'll see you soon! Ж
Zarhym is a community manager and chattering skuii rumored to lurk in the Blizzard forums and community sites.
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W4
Illustration: Glenn Rane