Matthew posted the other day that Blizzard has
posted a bestiary for
Wrath of the Lich King, and noted that they've posted news about two new beasts we'll find in Northrend: The Nerubian Vizer, part of the spider people that follow
an "unseen emperor," and a Plague Eruptor, the "most destructive" part of the Scourge's army. But what Matthew didn't mention was that there were eight other creatures mentioned in the bestiary. What, you might wonder,
are these guys all about? We don't know (well, at least one of them we do). But we can guess. Get out the speculation salsa and chips!
- Shovel Tusk: "Tusk" brings us to the Tuskarr, a race of Walrus-men in the Borean Tundra. And Shovel hints that this is a beast of burden or utility for the Tuskarr-- something like the Clefthooves in Nagrand.
- Darkfallen: Your guess is as good as ours on this one. Sounds like something to do with the Scourge-- maybe someone that has fallen into ghostlike or demon form.
- Ice Troll: No big surprise here-- we already knew there were trolls in Northrend. But it'll be interesting to see what trolls look like in the ice and snow-- surely they can't walk around with just those loincloths, right?
More, including the one member of the bestiary we at WoW Insider have already seen, after the jump.
- Proto-dragon: We already saw this one, or at least a version of it, at BlizzCon. The Vykrul in Utgarde Keep are training Proto-drakes, which appeared to be some mutation or alteration of the Blue Dragonflight. We don't know for sure, however, that the models we saw then were finalized. But what we saw looked like a steampunk-esque alteration of the blue dragons.
- Magnataur: "Taur" obviously points to Minotaur or Tauren, and it occurs to me that while we've seen lots of twists on Humans, Elves, and Trolls, we haven't really seen too many variations on Tauren. So maybe the Scourge have obtained some Tauren specimens, or this is a tribe of Tauren that have separated from the mainland.
- Wendigo: We've seen these before, too (and they're actually based on a "real" mythical creature), but it'll be cool to see what changes Blizzard makes for the far north.
- Flesh Giant: Another member of the Scourge-- we've seen them in the halls of Naxxaramas, but they'll probably see changes as well.
- Jormungar Wyrm: A worm (surprise!). Supposedly there may be only one, that acts as a raid boss. Also interesting that it's named for Jörmungandr, a serpent in Norse mythology that was so big it encircled the world.
This is only the first word on these creatures-- Blizzard will likely update the bestiary over time with official pics and info about all of these things. But that's what we know so far.
Subscribe
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-28-2008 @ 5:47PM
sam said...
""Taur" obviously points to Minotaur or Tauren"
It could also point to a variant on the centaurs.
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 6:16PM
Switch4475 said...
They were a form of creep in WC3 - Frozen Throne. The best way I could describe them is as a cross between a centaur and a woolly mammoth - or so I recall. You sometimes got them in little creep camps of ittle magnataurs (level 3) up to the big magnataur chieftains (level 10). Should be quite interesting to see them in WoW.
1-28-2008 @ 5:48PM
Aubrey said...
Wh6y don't you try looking these up on WowWiki. A lot of them, like Shoveltusk, are there with photos.
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 5:48PM
Villanimm said...
"But it'll be interesting to see what trolls look like in the ice and snow-- surely they can't walk around with just those loincloths, right?"
There are ice trolls in Dun Morogh... if I remember correctly, they're just in loincloths. xD
Reply
1-29-2008 @ 3:53AM
Z-lot said...
My thoughts exactly. I suspect Blizzard will do yet another copy+paste with the trolls, moving those Dun Morogh character models to Northrend...
By the way, the Dun Morogh trolls were once famous for the invading scene at Ironforge airport. Too bad that you can't get up there any longer, though hopping onto a gryph from IF to the northern zones takes you through that part as well.
1-28-2008 @ 5:49PM
Aubrey said...
http://www.wowwiki.com/Shoveltusk
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 5:50PM
Aubrey said...
http://www.wowwiki.com/Shovel_tusk
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 6:02PM
braydn said...
the good news is that once the beastiary goes online, we know they are on a loose timeline now, if i remember correctly, the last time the bestiary went up for burning crusade, the game was out 8-9 months later, so i think we can safely assume the expansion will probly be out this fall, but not before Blizzcon 3, otherwise, no one will even go to it...
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 6:25PM
Khanmora said...
Don't expect a Blizzcon 08. Remember the last one they did before 07 was in 2005.
1-28-2008 @ 6:08PM
Wulfhere said...
Magnataurs are centaurs with the bodies of mammoths instead of horses - http://www.wowwiki.com/Magnataur
Apparently you see one in the WoTLK trailer Blizz released, it's the big white thing that kills the human priest.
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 6:57PM
Baluki said...
Nope, that's the Wendigo.
1-28-2008 @ 6:09PM
peaglemancer said...
Nice pic.
"The spice extends life, the spice expands consciousness.."
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 6:20PM
Triquetral said...
Alot of these are on wowwiki....
Manataurs: http://www.wowwiki.com/Magnataur
Shovel Tusks: http://www.wowwiki.com/Shovel_tusk
Jormungar Wyrm: http://www.wowwiki.com/Jormungar_wyrm although you already had that one
Ice Trolls (with yes...loin cloths lol): Links already in the article i believe
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 6:52PM
Zakk said...
@ the forum link: I love it when people say "beastiality" instead of bestiary. It's a misspelling within a misspelling! Ha!
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 7:28PM
Aticus said...
I would love to battle the Wendigo as it was in the Wrath trailer. I hope they make the Wendigo as big as the trailer and make it an Elite. That would be epic!
-Aticus, http://www.paladintales.blogspot.com
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 11:19PM
Suzaku said...
Just look them up on wowwiki, jeeze. The only one that we don't know anything about is Darkfallen.
And seriously, Magnataur speculation? They were creeps in WC3, and their entire society was more or less detailed in the Lands of Mystery.
Reply
1-29-2008 @ 2:51AM
Odok said...
My opinion on the proto dragons is that they were the original dragons before the Titans created the aspects and divided them up. A few may not have been blessed for whatever reason, and remained as these blank templates, or common ancestor. However, without the powerful blessings of the Titans, they were enslaved by the Vrykul.
Reply
1-29-2008 @ 3:53AM
dotorion said...
http://battle.net/war3/neutral/creeps.shtml#icecrown
and
http://battle.net/war3/neutral/creeps.shtml#northrend
should already give you an image of some mobs, if the wowwiki pages didn't. Also, the Ice Trolls in Dun Morogh wear loincloth, so I wouldn't count on too many model changes, unless they will recolor a few of the Zul'Aman trolls as models for Northrend ice trolls.
Reply
1-29-2008 @ 6:25AM
Aerei said...
I think the main thing about the frost trolls(in Northrend, not the Frostmane) is that they're the largest breed known to exist, as tall as the Zandalar, but with a bulk like the Amani in Zul'Aman. So, enlarged and recoloured versions of ZA trolls it is! I doubt they'll have much clothing for the most part; they didn't in WCIII and their skin is sheathed in ice in any case. I suppose their regeneration allows them to suffer any non-supernatural chill without harm.
And, I sadly have to agree with the going sentiment. If you're going to write an article about speculation, take 5 minutes to research current accepted theories and existing info on the subject. :\
Reply
1-29-2008 @ 11:46AM
Theadrick said...
Please do some more research before posting information. As others have stated, alot of this information is already well known. Magnataurs for example were in WC3 and there is an entire section describing their society, race, etc in the RPG supplement: Lands of Mystery (written in part by Metzen himself).
Reply