The Queue: [REDACTED]

So I was going to talk about [REDACTED] today, because the news about [REDACTED] being [REDACTED] is blowing my mind. But [REDACTED], so let’s just answer some questions.

Yeah, this happens to me a lot too.

Playing characters that have, over time, become cast as the bad guy is kind of frustrating. My WoW time has been pretty evenly split between factions, and the Horde has only gotten harder to empathize with. The accept quest button is honestly hard to click sometimes, and that’s not fun. Meanwhile, the Alliance’s insistence on always being the good guys and doing nothing about faction aggression is just as not fun.

This might have been an interesting storyline once, but it keeps happening. It’s long since become tiring and something has to give.

Theat “something” could be plenty of different things, though. Maybe it’s the Alliance deciding to punch back. Maybe it’s the Horde fragmenting into its own sub-factions (which already seems to be happening, if not formally). Maybe it’s a third faction popping up, full of people who are just done with this h*ckin’ nonsense.

I don’t necessarily think that the Horde need to go back to being scrappy outcasts, but the story, in general, needs to do something new. The status quo has gotten tiring and I hope Blizzard is going to do something new. Anything new. Let’s not cycle from “Horde gets new leader” to “LEADER IS EVIL” to “Horde gets new leader” again.

(Yes, I know, I’ve forgotten Vol’jin. But since the game also pretty much forgot Vol’jin, I don’t see the problem with that.)

I’ve never been an Illidan fan, but I found his Legion story really compelling. It was interesting to see his side of the story unfold, and to see him push back against the idea that he needed to be “fixed” before he could be the hero destiny demanded. Illidan has made mistakes (and plenty of them), but those mistakes have made him who he is. And it turns out… that was someone we needed when it came to finally defeating the Burning Legion.

Thinking about it, I can see how a similar logic might apply to Slyvanas. A life (and death) full of terrible choices led her to where she is now. She’s powerful in her own right, but also commands a force large enough to change the face of Azeroth… and she’s trying to bend the world to her will. Is Blizzard going to turn Sylvanas being a villain into Slyvanas being the hero we need just when we need her?

But also… they just did that.

I was just talking about the how the faction war is boring purely because it’s a status quo that hasn’t changed in years. The Horde are the bad guys, the Alliance are the good guys, and we’re all frustrated with the holding pattern we’re stuck in. (And, frankly, kind of bored.) I really, really hope Blizzard isn’t thinking, “This story worked for Illidan, so let’s use it with Sylvanas!” And I equally hope Blizzard isn’t thinking, “This story worked for Garrosh, so let’s use it with Sylvanas!”

Kick the status quo and give us something new.

Wait, really? People judged others based on their weapons? How would you even do that with everyone having their weapon transmogged into Ashkandi (or other weapon of choice)? Do you have to inspect everyone to see what they have equipped and then judge them? And if you do that, can’t you just as easily judge them on their whole set of gear? Why the weapon specificity?

I’m going to suggest… let’s just try not to judge people.

Except for tanks who don’t hold aggro and DPS who stand in the fire. But that’s not their poor weapon’s fault.

Honestly, all I’ve heard for Kul Tirans is Druids. (A quick search tells me Wowhead agrees with me on that point… unless there’s newer info which I’ve missed and the page just hasn’t been updated yet.)

So I think the real answer has to be that the classes haven’t been finalized. But, honestly, how can you look at the Kul Tiran Druid forms and want to be anything else? And because Druids can plan every class role, do you really need other classes?

The only real snag is that, story-wise, not all Kul Tirans are Druids, but I’m sure someone could retcon this in. Jaina is secretly a Balance Druid, pass it on.

As commenters have mentioned, despite scaling, drops remain where they always have been. So, yes, you can still go and farm for materials or gear in what was originally the appropriate leveling zone for them.

This means that you can still go farm linen if you need it, but it also makes that linen (or that whatever you’re looking for) a little harder to find. The lines have all started to blur. I’m already forgetting the original order of leveling zones, so when I’m looking for something that I know was in a specific level range, I have to go to Wowhead. That feels a little weird, but that’s the nature of change.

So, ahem, back to your original transmog question… the drop locations haven’t changed, though the scaling has. So if you’re level 60 farming for some level 30 greens, it’s going to be challenging because everything will scale to 60. But for the vast majority of us, I doubt it will be a problem, beyond finding the zones that were originally where level 30 greens dropped.

This entirely depends on who you’re playing with. I was running a +7 with some newer players this week and it did not go well. But then I immediately turned around and ran a +9 with players who knew their stuff and it went off without a hitch. (Except for the fact that Sanguine is really hard to see in Darkheart Thicket.) It’s possible to outgear Mythic+, but unless you really outgear it, you have to pay attention to the mechanics and the affixes to succeed. At +15 you have three annoying affixes to make your life more difficult.

This week, that’s bolstering (enemies buff their compatriots’ health when they die, making big group pulls harder), explosive (enemies can summon explosive orbs that explode for 50% of your health), and tyrannical (bosses have more health and deal more damage). None of these are impossible to overcome, but you have to know the affixes and how to handle them if you want to succeed. (Check this site for the week’s Mythic affixes, if you’re game to try some runs.)

I think it’s entirely possible to be well-geared to do a +15 even without being super hardcore. Gear on Argus puts you on really good footing for Mythic+. But you can’t ignore the fight mechanics and you can’t ignore the affixes. Find a group that can handle that, and you’ve got this.

That’s all for today, my Blizzard watchers. Let us carry on watching for Blizzards throughout the week and into the weekend, yes?