Keen-eyed and oddly-gearedDwarf Priest noticed somone a little odd hanging out at the World's End Tavern in Shattrath. Lounging about, sizing up the likes of bag-meister Haris Pilton, the Eye of Divinity let Dwarf Priest see a spectre lurking, lurking at the Tavern's floor. Not a Raven, ever more, but Ricole Nichie.
Ms. Nichie has been lurking there for a little while, but you can (apparantly) only see her if you happen to have the Eye of Divinity equipped. And since that comes from the Cache of the Firelord from old Molten Core -- it's not like you're going to see a lot of those flooding the game any time soon.
This kind of thing just goes to show how richWorld of Warcraft can be, riddled with many easter eggs and sideswipe pop culture references. This one's pretty obscure, even if it's been around for a while -- you have to be wearing a Priest-only item that's not really that useful in current content. Still, it'll keep inspiring the intrepid among us to peer a little closer at the World of Warcraft around us.
With the advent of the Burning Crusade, flying and epic flying mounts at 70 became a sink for the extra gold floating around Outlands in player's pockets. There has been speculation ever since about what a similar sink might be in Wrath of the Lich King.
In jest, Nethaera put forth the following: Animal rescue centers will be set up by D.E.H.T.A (Druids for the Ethical and Humane Treatment of Animals) and the movement to rid the world of Nessingwary will need funding! Save the penguins! Save the world!
Considering what a pain the Nessingwary quests can be, it's almost sad that he gets to continue recruiting for the butchering of beasts. Still, at least there will actually be penguins to "save!"
She also hinted at some of the actual possibilities for our next big purchases. Inscription will be the next trade skill, which will likely see many players dropping other professions and paying to level it, as well as all players shelling out hard-earned gold in order to purchase inscriptions on a regular basis.
It's official now: Patch 2.4.3 is indeed going live. You can download it now by logging into the game, and when the servers go up again, you can go buy mounts for all your level 30 alts. Here's some of the other highlights of the patch:
Haris Pilton is showing off her new line of 22-slot designer handbags, now for sale in Shattrath's Lower City.
A new holiday boss and holiday boss loot appeared on the test server and will hopefully appear in time on live. Coren Direbrew is now a 5-man boss for the Brewfest, and new Headless Horseman loot should appear this Hallow's End.
Although there is information being leaked about the upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King, because of the alpha testing that is currently underway, it is too soon to tell what will make it into the final copy, and what will not. Furthermore, most things will be changed, and there are details that may never be leaked until, of course, release.
Still, it is a valuable experience to peer into Blizzard's process of designing, reforming, and progressing the game's professions. This week, Insider Trader will focus on analyzing the tentative progression of the leatherworking trade.
In addition, we'll take a brief look at professions-related changes in the upcoming patch 2.4.3. While mounts at level 30 and Haris Pilton might be first in your mind, Blizzard isn't overlooking the trade sector this round.
If you haven't had an opportunity to log onto the PTR, or you're not the testing type but are still curious about patch 2.4.3, we've added a complete image gallery showing off some of the more interesting visuals from the test realm. From the construction in Stormwind to the new TCG loot, there's some really fun stuff coming our way.
If you havent read the full patch notes yet... well, what are you waiting for? The gallery below has most of the eye candy, but there are a lot of changes worth looking at that aren't quite as photogenic, such as the Cheat Death changes, some quest tweaks and the retuning of Magisters' Terrace.
Click on the first picture in the gallery to start your guided tour of what awaits in Patch 2.4.3!
It has begun. Anti-inflation measures intended to reduce player Gold before Wrath of the Lich King arrives have been put in place on the test server. Everyone's favorite (or most hated) socialite Haris Pilton has transformed into more than just a nod to bad pop culture, Patch 2.4.3 sees her as the single biggest gold sink in the game. Just like her enterprising real-life counterpart, Pilton has launched a new line of bags and jewelry that is sure to bait some players into parting with their hard-earned Gold.
In the World of Warcraft, there are heroes -- that's us, supposedly -- and then there are the bit players. These are the vendors, the quest givers, or even the random mobs or raid bosses who are really only there for us, the heroes, to kill and loot. We don't pay them too much attention. In fact, there are very few NPCs whose names we remember. Do any of you Horde players know who Kaja is? I'm willing to bet very few can answer the question but at the same time I can assure you you've visited her more than a few times -- she's the Guns & Ammunition merchant in the hut beside the Auction House in Orgrimmar, and every Hordie has gone to her for repairs.
Who doesn't know Griftah and his dubious wares? How about Haris Pilton in the tavern in Shattrath? Some NPCs are more famous than others, of course... l mean, there's Thrall. Let this breakfast topic be an homage to our silent (and sometimes not so silent -- that Cro Threadstrong is always yelling!) friends who make our experience in the World of Warcraft more interesting. Who's your favorite NPC? For the sake of discussion, let's try leaving out the dungeon bosses. Those guys get too much press, anyway. Is there an NPC that's memorable to you in some way? I always like queueing from Yula the Fair because she's just so goshdarned purty. Then there's Lady Liadrin, whom we all know is destined for big things (I like my girls all Blood Knight-y). Any NPC out there stand out for you in some way? Their name, their scripted actions, or even the way they look. Who do you think deserves the best supporting character award?
Xella found an extremely fascinating change in 2.3 over on LJ-- Warden Iolol is no longer known by that name. Instead, he is known as Warden Moi'bff Jill. He claims that a "secret vote" was passed around, and that his name was changed.
Secret vote? The only place I know of where Iolol's name got mentioned negatively was in our own "Forum Post of the Day" about worst NPC names, and the forum post that accompanied it. Of course, there could have also been a "secret vote" somewhere else, and I don't remember Iolol drawing all that much ire-- the most hated names, if I recall, were Nutral the flight master and Haris Pilton.