LifeBinder: Queen Alexstrasza

With Cataclysm coming, well really Deathwing, it’s time we saw what his most coveted ‘item’ is other than his forged Dragon Soul – Queen Alexstrasza.  What role she will play in Cataclysm it’s unsure at this moment but I am hoping with all my heart she is brought into full bloom in the most epic battle – Life vs. Earth.  By the way Blizzard, if you are reading this, a complete CGI battle of this would be AMAZING to watch *hint hint*.

Sylvanas

On a NightSkye personal note:  Alexstraszas’ model, both ‘human’ and dragon form, are the most beautiful in the game (next to Lady Sylvanas that is).  I was driven insane about wanting to know more about her, the Queen that is (well, Sylvanas too hehe).  So enjoy!

LifeBinder: Queen Alexstrasza

Alexstrasza, appointed as queen of all the dragons by the titans, is the guardian of all life in the world of Azeroth.

The Second Well of Eternity

The  great Aspect of the Red Dragonflight is one of the three Great Dragons that fought against the demons of the War of Ancients, and later Neltharion, who betrayed his fellow Aspects by sealing a portion of their power and souls into the Dragon/Demon Soul.  After that war was “won” Illidan took it upon himself to empty three vials of waster from the Well of Eternity into the river of Mount Hyjal, Alexstrasza decided to use the Well to heal the war torn land by placing a magical acorn from the Mother Tree, G’hanir, into the second Well.  It was here Nordrassil was born.

During the Second War, 10,000 years later, the Queen became more vulnerable to the Horde, resulting in her being captured – even thought her Red Dragonflight tried to desperately protect her.  She was captured and enslaved, forever to give birth to her young for the Horde to use in their own ways.  At this point Deathwing began to plot, the Red Queen his eternal enemy and obsession, but it was his plotting that actually freed her.

Alexstrasza Dragon Form

The orcs that captured her and kept her within the fortress of Grim Batol, began moving their captive dragons away to safeguard them from the reaches of the Alliance.  Deathwing knew this and attacked one of the caravans – battle ensued – and it was here the death of the Queens prime consort, Tyranastrasza, was slain by Deathwing.  It was here, at this pinacle moment, that the LifeBinder was set free!  Her first act after years of torture was to swallow her captor, Nekros, whole and reclaim each of her children from the hold of the Horde.  With the help of Korialstrasz, her former mate, she rejoined Nozdomu, Malygos, and Ysera – along with the human mage Rhonin, to destroy the Demon Soul.  Once destroyed the Aspects power released and drove back Deathwing into hiding, escaping the wrath of his brethern.  The ravaged caravan still remains in the Wetlands swamps, the only sign to what truly happened that day.

The Queen and her children resumed their posts as protectors of all life and began rebuilding the world.

Alexstrasza Human Form

When the races began their war against the Lich King in Northrend and Malygos declared war on all mortal spellcasters (especially the Kirin Tor who resided in Dalaran, the Red Dragonflight allied themselves with the mortals against Malygos.   This was due to the promise Alexstrasza made to Rhonin – to never harm or war against the race of the rescuers.  So the Wymrest Accord was formed, Alexstrasza as its head.

It was revealed too that the Queen, along with her brethren, are the descendants of Galakrond the Massive Dragon.

“Galakrond, a massive proto-dragon, was the “progenitor of dragonkind”. From him, the Titans created the Aspects. His size alone was greater than all of the Aspects combined.

Grand Necrolord Antiok is in charge of the effort of the Scourge to raise Galakrond as a frost wyrm”  – Warcraft: Legends Volume 3/Audience with the Dragon Queen Questline/Galakrond and the Scourge Questline.

Alexstrasza can be found on the top of Wymrest Temple in Dragonblight in her 12 foot human form, though can be seen in her true form during the Wrathgate questline as well as in the defeat of the Malygos raid, Eye of Eternity.  She can be seen in a flashback during the Yogg-Saron fight in Ulduar, during the creation of the Demon Soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know I talked before the Lore behind the beautiful Red Queen but she has such a moving history, especially if you read the following novels :

So go out and read those books because they are so wonderfully written.  I am so in love with the World of Warcraft Lore, RP or not, it’s just so wonderful the world that Blizzard has created.  So much thought has been given and so much care given – it is well worth the time to read them.

Happy Hunting!

Cataclysm: Blue Posts About Different Things

Cataclysm:  Blue Posts About Different Things

As far as HUGE news is concerned it’s on the low but Blizzard has given a few news releases this week that is worth looking in to (links to sources attached).

“New Class
In any event, we have no plans to add another class in Cataclysm. We don’t want to saturate the game with new classes if they start to feel and play way too similar to existing classes. We came up with some unique class mechanics for death knights we ultimately think work very well. It’s a much younger class and took some times to really fine-tune, but we’re happy with the role they play in World of Warcraft now.

With two new races and a number of new race/class combinations available in Cataclysm, I have a feeling you’re not going to see newly created characters overwhelmingly death knights. ( Source)

NightSkye:  I understand their thinking on this about the new race/class combos (you know I’ll be making more Tauren goodness as well as Worgen!) but a part of me still wishes there would have been something new.  I’m sure like most players out there, there are a few good alts under your belt, I just don’t want to start a new character over and it be dull.  Though perhaps it was so dull due to doing the SAME quests over and over and over….and OVER…..again.

Low level quests itemization in Cataclysm
We have reitemized every quest in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. We have also spent a great deal of effort on the leveling experience of every class. Even classes that traditionally struggled with low-level leveling should feel dramatically better. (Source)

NightSkye:  Well, that goes with my previous comment hehe.  Thank you Blizzard for new quests for starting a new character because I honestly don’t think I could take another Barrens character….

UI Improvements in Cataclysm
We are working on many raid / party improvements for Cataclysm. The challenge is that different features or layouts are “mandatory” for different players. Thus I would not at all be comfortable saying that you won’t want UI mods for Cataclysm, and that’s not our goal anyway. The default UI could be improved a lot though. (Source)

NightSkye: I am not a huge fan of the Blizzard UI but it does work for those who do enjoy playing that way.  I’m a very big fan of more gaming space to UI space but not so small of a UI that it’s near impossible to play.

Cataclysm Beta Opt-in
It will be coming “soon”. It’s important though to make sure those interested are signed up with their correct information so that when it does start, we can get you in should you be selected. We also want to make sure that those that are looking forward to the beta are aware that they will be activated via their Battle.net account and will not need to follow any links to any other sites. We are aware there are some phishing scams out there trying to take advantage of people’s desires to be in the beta. And there is only one place where signing up to or activating a beta should happen (your Battle.net account via the main login on the site. ) Please be safe and we’ll be getting the word out once we actually do enter into the beta. (Source)

NightSkye:  I am glad that Blizzard is communicating with us so that the scammers out there can’t get to us.  Either way I want “soon” to be now to see if I was selected.  Please let me be selected!  /beg  hehe.  No but seriously, please be aware that any email sent to you about BETA is a scam and not to be trusted!

Cataclysm Talent Trees
First off, I think your actual feedback hit the right mark. I try and advise players when giving feedback to imagine that we are making bullets on a list of things to discuss in a class design meeting (because honestly that is often exactly what happens). If I go into a meeting and say “Some players said they were bored by the talent trees,” the other designers might ask “What do they mean by that?” and I would have to answer “I don’t know.” On the other hand, if I go into a meeting with a 20-page list of someone’s redesigned talents, we’re not going to make a lot of progress either. If I say, just to give a couple of examples, Subtlety rogues are worried that the tree is changing focus, or Combat rogues think they don’t have any cool, new mechanics, then that’s the kind of thing that can launch a brainstorming session.

Here’s a secret about game design: ideas are cheap. Coming up with something clever isn’t really the hard part. The hard part is thinking of all the ramifications of your idea, including how it will impact various parts of the game, whether it will be understandable by players, whether it’s consistent with the rest of the game design, how difficult it will be to implement and maintain, its propensity for bugs and so on. That’s a long way of saying many times we can’t use the actual suggestions, but from the suggestions we can tell what problems the player is trying to fix, and then we can decide whether we think the problem is legit and explore ways to address it.

As far as the actual Cataclysm talent trees, they are early. We are exploring some new ideas now but I’d be very surprised if the shipping versions look anything like this. We still want to remove more passive talents and we want to make sure there are more meaningful decisions. Now, sometimes meaningful may mean slightly painful when there are two things you really want and can’t afford both. ( Source)” – Blizzard

NightSkye:  Anything that will make us a bit less cookie-cutter and more ‘fun’ would be great.  I understand that SOME talents are required in a spec but I’m not a big fan of after a huge upgrade like that and all your class leader demands a respect asap or you don’t raid hehe.  I do enjoy being a BIT different so if Blizzard can do that and still make it viable for raiding – two thumbs up!

Anyone agree/disagree?

Happy Hunting!

Cataclysm: Grim Batol Preview

Cataclysm: Grim Batol Preview

As a raider I am always looking forward to new dungeons or raids coming up.  Grim Batol is especially exciting because of the lore attached to it – the hiding place, the ‘nest’, the hidden lair of Deathwing.  I have read about Grim Batol in the World of Warcraft novel: Night of the Dragon and to be honest I couldn’t get enough!  If you haven’t already read it I suggest you do because it is EXCELLENT!  Okay a side tangent there but back to Grim Batol!

The original post can be found here.

“During a bloody civil war among the three dwarven factions of Ironforge, the Bronzebeards ousted the Wildhammer and the Dark Iron clans from the ancient corridors of the mountain city. In the wake of the defeat, the Wildhammers ventured north and forged a new home, Grim Batol, in the mountains of what is now the Twilight Highlands. However, although they worked tirelessly to create a better future for themselves, the Dark Irons, who established the city of Thaurissan in the Redridge Mountains, could not move beyond the memory of their defeat. Consumed by the desire for revenge and desperate to control the entire dwarven region of Khaz Modan, the Dark Irons led a two-pronged assault on the Bronzebeards in Ironforge and the Wildhammers in Grim Batol. Despite their past differences, these two embattled rivals joined forces and drove the Dark Irons out of Khaz Modan, decimating the armies of the treacherous clan’s sorcerer-thane, Thaurissan. Yet victory carried grave consequences. Although Thaurissan’s wife and queen, Modgud, was slain during the attack on Grim Batol, her death tainted the mountain fortress. While the Bronzebeards rebuilt their glorious city of Ironforge, the Wildhammers felt forever changed by the horrors they witnessed at Grim Batol. They fled their cursed home and never returned.

The abandoned city’s defiled corridors later became home to a number of nefarious plots. When the Demon Soul was discovered by the Dragonmaw clan and used to force Alexstrasza’s drakes to serve the Horde, Grim Batol acted as the red Dragon Aspect’s torturous prison. The Dragonmaw held Grim Batol through the Second War, before they were driven out by Deathwing, who planned to steal Alexstrasza’s eggs. Yet as Deathwing carried out his plan, the Demon Soul was destroyed, and the powers locked within were returned to Alexstrasza, Ysera, Nozdormu, and Malygos. Deathwing narrowly escaped an assault by the four re-empowered Dragon Aspects, although he did not leave empty-handed; in his grasp were the eggs of Alexstrasza. For their vile transgressions, the fleeing Dragonmaw were shown no mercy, and the struggle came to a quick end. Members of the red dragonflight were left behind to keep watch over Grim Batol, and for years they successfully guarded its desolate halls from further intrusion… until the arrival of the Twilight’s Hammer, a sinister cult who worshipped Azeroth’s malefic Old Gods.

The cult, seduced by Deathwing’s thirst for absolute domination over Azeroth, has claimed the Twilight Highlands as its base of operations. The black dragonflight has driven off the agents of the red dragonflight who guarded Grim Batol so that it may be used as a fortress for training Deathwing’s minions. The halls of Grim Batol run so deep into the highlands that it is unknown to what twisted end the Twilight’s Hammer is using this doomed dwarven marvel.

Called to action by the red dragonflight in the Twilight Highlands, players will be charged with putting a decisive end to the foul machinations developing within the level-85, 5-player dungeon of Grim Batol. The ferocity of the enemies within should not be underestimated, and with the assistance of brave Red Drakes and a handful of explosives, players can thin the ranks of Grim Batol’s occupiers through bombing flights into the ruined city’s corridors. Regardless of how successful these attacks might be, General Umbris will not allow his army to fall so quickly. In the end, adventurers will be left to their own devices, venturing into the darkest recesses of the dwarven fortress, where a nightmarish enemy is taking shape. Will you be able to uncover Grim Batol’s secrets and emerge unscathed, or will your destiny be sealed within this tortured city, like so many brave heroes before you?” – Blizzard.

Ooohhh excited!!!  Most have thought this fight would involve a ‘vehicle battle’ of some sort but Blue has stated “Just to clarify, it’s not vehicle combat at the beginning of the dungeon. The forces of the Twilight’s Hammer within Grim Batol are massive, so you’ll start the dungeon with a bombing run through the halls to thin their ranks. It’ll be a set flight path and will not involve aerial combat. This is only to get things started. This dungeon is not vehicle-driven at all.” – Blizzard.   Either way I am happy that this lore magnet is going to be released with Cataclysm (I mean, how could it not?) and by looking at the screen shots it looks even more amazing than I could have imagined from reading Night of the Dragon.

So get to reading, readers and players, that or just continue to drool like the rest of us hehe.

Happy Hunting!