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Prepare for Battle: The Pre-Expansion Iron Horde Incursion

We might get the 6.0 PTR soon(TM)! Blizzard posted a blog post about the 6.0 patch!

Quote from: Blizzard
Prepare for Battle: The Pre-Expansion Iron Horde Incursion

Get ready for first contact with the Iron Horde—oh, and you’ll probably want to prepare yourself for battle. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be testing a pre-expansion patch that will bring players to the brink of great peril, as the Iron Horde begins to aggressively gain a foothold on Azeroth.

As part of this patch, players will encounter fierce new opponents and get their first chance to experience a number of updates we’re making to the game. In addition to changes to the skills and abilities for every class, this patch will introduce brand new features such as 20-player Mythic-difficulty Siege of Orgrimmar, as well as systems adjustments including stat squish and diminishing returns on crowd control. The next chapter in the World of Warcraft saga is coming at you armed to the teeth.

Treacherous Developments

The Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands has turned blood red. Hundreds of strange-looking orcs are violently pouring into Azeroth, killing everything that stands in their path. Nethergarde and Okril’lon have already fallen, and while the Horde and the Alliance moved as quickly as they could to get reinforcements to their people, they are too late. The Iron Horde invasion has begun.

In this desperate hour, King Wrynn and Warchief Vol’jin have called upon their greatest champions to join the front lines in the Blasted Lands and do whatever they can to stop the Iron Horde . . . before the rest of Azeroth falls before them.

Word of this surprise attack sends players rushing to the Blasted Lands to reckon with the barbarous infiltration. After the fall of a high ranking Iron Horde general named Gar’mak Bladetwist, you’ll report what you’ve witnessed in the Blasted Lands to King Wrynn or Warchief Vol’jin. It’s apparent to both the Horde and the Alliance that this is only the first salvo in a much larger conflict, and the only way to win is to take the fight directly to the Iron Horde . . . by journeying through the Dark Portal into Draenor.

The Infiltration of Blackrock Spire

An advance party of Iron Horde forces has barged right out of the Blasted Lands and pushed all the way to Blackrock Mountain, where they found refuge and supplies in Upper Blackrock Spire. There can be only one response: the Alliance and the Horde of Azeroth must face this iron incursion head on.

Available to level-90 characters for a limited time, this specially revamped five-player version of Upper Blackrock Spire sets the stage for the coming counterstrike against the Iron Horde. Here, you will face Orebender Gor’ashan, Kyrak, and Commander Tharbek as you begin to take the fight to the enemy and sharpen the skills (and swords) you’ll need to succeed on an unwelcoming alien world.

Draenor is waiting.

Talador Follower Locations Guide

In Warlords of Draenor you can recruit followers for your garrison each zone. You’ll come across a lot during questing, but the zones are so big you might miss them. As we discover the rarer followers we’ll add them to the list as well. 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 Follower Name Image Comments
1 Miall / Morket Bladehowl photo TaladorFollower1_zpscfe97a64.jpg Alliance / Horde
Artillery Outpost Follower
1 Magister Krelag / Magister Serena photo TaladorFollower1-Horde_zps30c6d9f3.jpg Horde / Alliance
Mage Tower Outpost Follower
2 Soulbinder Tuulani photo TaladorFollower2_zps2d71a691.jpg
3 Image of Archmage Vargoth photo TaladorFollower3_zps73f1f00b.jpg 1 out of 4 quest items
4 Pleasure-Bot 8000 photo TaladorFollower4_zpsd5590666.jpg Alliance quest on west side, Horde quest on north side
5 Defender Illona / Aeda Brightdawn photo TaladorFollower5-Horde_zpsf79be1e3.jpg Horde quest on south side, Alliance quest on north side
6

Premade Groups: Looking for Adventure

Quote from: Blizzard
Group Finder is getting a new addition in Warlords of Draenor to make it easier for you to group up. In a raid and need more adventurers to round out the group for a Normal or Heroic raid or need help finding like-minded players for a group quest? The Premade Group option within the Group Finder can help.

Looking For Adventure

To start browsing for groups that are looking for more you’ll want to open Group Finder (Bound to the I key by default) then click on the Premade Groups option for PvE content such as questing, dungeons, and raids.

Within the Player vs. Player tab, you can create premade groups for Arenas (2v2, 3v3, 5v5), Arena Skirmishes (2v2), Battlegrounds, and Rated Battlegrounds. You can also access the Player vs. Player pane directly (Bound to the H by default). Additionally, there’s a custom option to allow you to create groups for things not on the list, such as forming a raiding party to do a little world PvP in a capital city with a few new friends.

Once you’ve identified a group that looks promising you can sign up to join it; the group leader will be notified that your pending join request needs their approval.

Recruiting For Danger

Those who want to take matters into their own hands can form groups by selecting ‘Start a Group’. Here’s a breakdown for what the different fields are for.

Name: Give the group a name. It helps if the group name is something descriptive like “UBRS run”.
Type: What is the purpose of the group? Questing? Running a Dungeon? Running a Normal raid, etc.?
Requirements (optional): You can elect to use it to specify additional requirements, such as a minimum item level or use of voice chat to facilitate communications.

  • Minimum Item Level (optional): It’s important to note that the minimum item level requirement must be less than or equal to your own item level.
  • Voice Chat: Some groups may prefer members joining Voice Chat in game for greater coordination.
  • Description (optional): A place available for those that want to provide more information, such as loot rules, or other information pertinent to the group.

When your settings are ready, simply click ‘List Group’ to be listed.

Holding Out For A Hero

Players applying to join the group show up as potential applicants where the group leader can accept or decline. For raid groups, both the raid leader and players identified as raid assistants share the ability to accept or decline applicants. Additionally, raid groups will be able to see what ranks the applicants have attained in Proving Grounds (Bronze, Silver, or Gold). Meanwhile, a tally of the different roles in the group so far is reflected to provide an overview of how the group formation process is progressing.

These changes and more await, making it easier to find like-minded players. Good luck, and happy grouping!

Gaze of the Black Prince Active, WoD Cinematic Teaser

Let’s round up tonight’s news with the last few tidbits!

It looks like the Gaze of the Black Prince buff is already active!

Quote from: Blizzard

Gaze of the Black Prince buff is currently live and active and will remain active through Tuesday, August 26 at 9:00 a.m. PDT.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our blog has been updated. 🙂

Blizzard also released a new teaser for the WoD cinematic today!

Artcraft—Dem Trolls, Mon

Quote from: Blizzard
Hey again—Chris Robinson here with a new Artcraft, and today we’re showing off the female and male Troll models. We’re wrapping up work on both of their models, and we thought it’d be cool for you to see them side-by-side. Showing both genders together gives you a more cohesive visual story and a more complete picture of the Trolls’ character, who they are, and where they come from.

One of the unique challenges for the Troll models were their tusks. In the character customization options, you have the ability to select from a number of tusk “styles.” While other race models (like the Tauren) have similar customization options, the additional modeling, texturing, and animation articulation of the Troll face—and mouth especially—made this a distinctive challenge. We actually had to model the Troll with a flat lower lip; then, for each facial customization option, we went in and posed their lips to naturally wrap around each tusk option.

We hope you enjoyed this quick look at the male and female Trolls, and we’ll see you in the next Artcraft!