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Category: Warlords of Draenor

Heart of the Valorous Buff This Weekend (Again), Southshore vs Tarren Mill

Quote from: Blizzard
Heart of the Valorous Buff This Weekend

Beginning Friday, August 8 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, through Monday, August 11 at 9:00 a.m. PDT, we’ll be applying the Heart of the Valorous buff which will increase the rate of Valor Point gains an additional 100%. Don’t wait to get in on the action!

MMO-Champion datamined a new map which is titled Southshore vs Tarren Mill. We should be getting information on it very soon according to pvp dev Holinka!

And it looks like there’s more to come in the pvp world!

Warlords of Draenor Zone Preview: Nagrand

Quote from: Blizzard

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Our latest zone preview takes us into the expansive hills and rocky outcroppings of Nagrand, a verdant land located west of Talador and south of Frostfire Ridge. Here, great beasts cause the ground to quake beneath their feet, and the wolf riders of the Warsong—the legendary orc clan led by Grommash Hellscream himself—are always on the prowl. But they’re not the only ones who make this verdant land their home. We sat down with Senior Game Designer Eric Maloof and Associate Game Designer Kurt Sparkuhl to learn more.

(Check back later for music: Coming soon!)

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Q. How is the Nagrand of Draenor different from the Nagrand people know from Outland? What’s the story in this zone?
Eric Maloof:I think players will find that the Nagrand of Draenor isn’t really all that different in spirit from the Nagrand of Outland. There are some obvious physical differences—for example, the floating islands aren’t there anymore—but you’ll easily be able to see where those floating islands came from. We very much wanted to respect what people really enjoyed about their experience in Nagrand in The Burning Crusade and capture that, while still providing a twist to what you’ll experience there.

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You’ll be led to Nagrand by a quest you’ll receive in your Garrison that involves sending new supplies to the front. The Alliance and the Horde—not working together, of course—are trying to establish a toehold in the zone in order to take on the Warsong clan. The Warsong clan has had problems with the ogres in the past, but they’re really the top power here.

The Alliance will be working alongside characters such as Vindicator Yrel and Rangari D’kaan, Thaelin, and Hansel as they progress through the storyline. The Horde will be working alongside Thrall, Durotan, Draka, and Drek’thar—even Aggra will show up and surprise Thrall.

Kurt Sparkuhl: Players will also have the opportunity to return to the Throne of Elements. Without spoiling too much, the elemental balance has been disrupted, and the elementals upon the plateau have become unstable. It will be up to players to unravel the mystery behind the disturbance before it’s too late.

The zone is just filled to the brim with story.

One of the things that sets Nagrand apart from any other zone is the amount of character-focused stories you’ll encounter. The zone is just filled to the brim with story. There’s the main story and what’s going on in the Throne of Elements, but we’ve added in a lot of additional Easter eggs and tons of cameos and backstory on old favorites, so keep an eye out as you go through the zone. You’ll also meet a new faction here.

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Q. How would you describe the zone’s ambience? What’s it like?
Kurt Sparkuhl:It feels like old Nagrand. Out of all the zones, it’s the one that’s supposed to feel the most familiar. When Draenor became Outland, Nagrand was probably the area affected least by the world breaking apart. Now you’ll see all these big canyons and rocky outcroppings all over the zone, implying that after the big explosion happened and Draenor turned into Outland, those floating islands were kind of what was left of those big ridges. There was a conscious effort to make it feel familiar to some extent, while still creating something new.

Eric Maloof: You’ll encounter a lot of new points of interest in this version of Nagrand. There are some things that are no longer there, too—Halaa and Garadar, for example, don’t exist. These were created after Outland became what it did. Highmaul takes up a large portion of the zone, and it houses a Raid instance as well. It’s massive.

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Q. Which locations would you say are some of your favorites, and why?
Eric Maloof: This one’s tough. There are so many good places to choose from. I’m definitely partial to Lok-Rath. It’s located outside the main Warsong base and is the Warsong clan’s main presence in the zone. I like the story of what’s happening there and the dynamic change in the questing once you get there. Plus, it’s a beautiful Warsong location.

I also really like the Spirit Woods. In Outland, you had the Spirit Fields. In Warlords of Draenor, the Spirit Woods are what surround Oshu’gun. You get to learn more about the forces that dwell there and what they’re doing—we explain that a bit as you’re taking care of business.

…we get to see more of the backstory of the Burning Blade clan…

Kurt Sparkuhl:I think the two I like the most are Hallvalor and the Ring of Trials. Hallvalor—which became the ogre-inhabited Burning Blade Ruins in Outland—is super cool; we get to see more of the backstory of the Burning Blade clan, which we haven’t gotten to show before. We get to see how their clan operates and some of their traditions. There are some familiar faces—at least one in particular— that you’re going to get a lot of backstory on.

The great thing about the Ring of Trials is that players get to see it a bit earlier on in its existence and learn more about why it’s there and what its purpose is. It’s been built up as a sort of neutral hub, and players will be able to interact with all sorts of NPCs from all over Azeroth and Draenor—it’s pretty cool, but I don’t want to spoil too much.

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Q. What outposts will players be able to build in Nagrand, and how do they impact the Garrison?
Eric Maloof: The Alliance and the Horde get the choice of two different buildings. You’ll get access to this decision early on, though your blueprints are waylaid by the Warsong at the start, so you’re going to need to recover those first. You’ll be able to build either a Corral or a Tankworks for your Garrison.

For the Corral, you’ll get either a Talbuk on the Alliance or Frostwolf on the Horde, which you can ride all the time while you’re in Nagrand—this is where mounted combat comes into play. If you build the Tankworks, the Alliance gets a Siege Engine and the Horde gets a Demolisher.

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There’s plenty to see and explore in Nagrand—though we wouldn’t recommend idling too long on the road when the Warsong Outriders are making their rounds.

Shadowmoon Valley Rare Locations Guide

In Warlords of Draenor there are many rares in each zone, a lot of them are to kill while leveling to diversify the leveling experience. It’s a combined and improved version of leveling and the timeless isle. To help you keep track of them all we’ve compiled a list of all the rares we’ve been able to find. Remember WoD is still in beta, anything can change. If we missed any feel free to leave a comment with the location and name of the rare mob or event. Click on the map for a full size version.

Number Rare Name Image Comments
1 Gorum  photo SMVRare1_zpscafba041.jpg
2 Amaukwa  photo SMVRare2_zps78a7953b.jpg He flies around in the sky so you might not find him right away.
3 Ku’targ the Voidseer  photo SMVRare3_zps1ec3cbd5.jpg
4 Killmaw  photo SMVRare4_zps98820e61.jpg
5 Podling Leafmender  photo SMVRare5_zpsc5a45ba0.jpg
6 Mad “King” Sporeon  photo SMVRare6_zps3c12da39.jpg
7 Rai’vosh  photo SMVRare7_zps51720ed2.jpg
8 Ba’ruun  photo SMVRare8_zps4138462c.jpg
9 Crystal Event  photo SMVRare9_zps265a6549.jpg Should result in acquiring follower Artificer Romuul
10 Dark Emanation  photo SMVRare10_zps719bd2c9.jpg
11 Rockhoof  photo SMVRare11_zpsffb15863.jpg
12 Darktalon  photo SMVRare12_zps2a20fd1f.jpg
13 Behameye  photo SMVRare13_zpsc84425bc.jpg
14 Motherom’ra  photo SMVRare14_zps56a90b1f.jpg Unknown how to activate the fight
15 Yggdrel  photo SMVRare15_zpsa5a0f81e.jpg
16 Venomshade  photo SMVRare16_zpsab666086.jpg
17 Insha’tar  photo SMVRare17_zps78007113.jpg
18 Silverleaf Ancients Event  photo SMVRare18_zpsca7ef126.jpg
19 Faebright  photo SMVRare19_zpsef314943.jpg
20 Velos  photo SMVRare20_zps22e87c4d.jpg
21 Brambleking Fili  photo SMVRare21_zpseeb20739.jpg Level 100
22 Master Sergeant Milgra  photo SMVRare22_zpsd3a2a451.jpg Level 100
23 Shinri  photo SMVRare23_zpsd2f6d0f2.jpg
24 Hypnocroak  photo SMVRare24_zpsb6af9d81.jpg All praise the hynocroak!

Garrison Building Perk Changes

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This morning’s patch has brought some changes to some of the building perks for the garrisons. Here’s an overview of the changes:

Building Removed Effect Added Effect
Barracks Level 2 Increases follower cap by 10 Increases follower cap by 5
Mage Tower Specific portals per level Each level allows you to choose a portal to 1 ogre gateway
Bunker Level 3 Gives one extra raid bonus roll per week You get one of the 3 bonus roll coins per week for free
Trading Post Level 2 Gives you access to the auction house in your garrison
Gladiator’s Sanctum (Sparring Arena) Level 1 Allows the collection of broken bones from enemy players (used for Conqueror’s Tribute)
Gladiator’s Sanctum (Sparring Arena) Level 2 Gives access to Nemesis quest series for defeating enemy players of specific races
Gladiator’s Sanctum (Sparring Arena) Level 3 Grants access to the Battle Royale arena event

These changes make the Gladiator’s sanctum interesting to pvp players while the bunker will no longer be mandatory for progression focused raiders.

WoD Beta: Toybox First Look

Toybox
A new beta build went up this morning and it allowed EU players to copy their characters! Which of course meant it was time to take a look at the toybox! A slight lack of sleep went into the making of this video!

Save the Date! You’re Invited to a Warlords World Premiere, New Animated Mini-Series: Lords of War

The release date and cinematic for Warlords of Draenor will be announced next week!

Quote from: Blizzard
Save the Date! You’re Invited to a Warlords World Premiere

A storm of iron is headed Azeroth’s way—be among the first to witness its fury at the world premiere of the Warlords of Draenor cinematic! Join Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime, Chris Metzen, and World of Warcraft designers Ion Hazzikostas and Brian Holinka for the grand unveiling, streamed live from the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles. But that’s not all—we’ll also host a live interview with the WoW developers, announce the Warlords of Draenor launch date, and debut the first episode of a new animated lore mini-series: Lords of War. You won’t want to miss it!

When: Thursday, August 14 at 9:30 a.m. PDT (18:30 CEST)
Where: Join us on WorldofWarcraft.com to watch the live stream, or attend** the event live at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, located at 929 South Broadway in Los Angeles. (Doors open at 8:30 a.m.)

Live Attendee Bonus: Anyone who joins us live and in person in L.A. will also receive a beta key for Warlords of Draenor.*       

*Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to get there early! Beta keys will be given out to everyone who comes down for the live event.

**Please note: World of Warcraft is rated T for Teen; some content on display at the event may not be suitable for children ages of 12 or younger. Anyone 12 years of age or under must be accompanied by an adult.

So not only will we get the release date and the WoD cinematic, we will also get a new mini series about the warlords! Something like the burdens of shaohao seems extremely likely.

As far as speculating about the release date goes, the announcement now could indicate an october or even late september release. However given the current state of the beta a late november or december release date seems more likely. It’s really fingers crossed on this one to just hope it’s the former rather than the latter, we are approaching the 1 year anniversary for Siege of Orgrimmar and everyone could use a change of scenery! At the same time patch 6.0 isn’t even on the PTR yet and last time anything was said about 6.0, it was said it would go to the live servers 4 to 6 weeks before the release of WoD. Which would give the early option a really really tight release schedule.