Grimrail Depot, Weekly Story Quests, BMAH, Setup of the Month, Movie Concept Art

[chaud]

Blue Post Roundup, The Sage Kings, Play Your Way's Build of the Week, Lightning Wizard on the PTR

This Week in Review, Top 5 Plays of the Week

Warlords of Draenor - Grimrail Depot
Today we are taking a look at Grimrail Depot, one of the new dungeons in Warlords of Draenor. If you are a fan of trains this is just the dungeon for you!

Warlords of Draenor - Weekly Story Quests
It looks like there will be even more reasons to log in frequently in Warlords of Draenor, as there will be weekly story quests!

Finally met up with Azuka Bladefury, a female Warlord, in Nagrand
You'll be seeing much more of her during level 100 weekly story quests. (craig_amai)
Weekly short stories that tap into our many level 100 spaces. Many different subjects, but Azuka plays a big role. (craig_amai)
Do we learn about various lore each week? Are they random or a scheduled order?
Semi-scheduled intro, midpoint, and finale with randomness in between. A mix of local stories and big character stories. (craig_amai)
Is it possible to 'miss' these quests? Say, by not being able to play on a given week? Possible to do them again later?
You can't miss them. If you skip a week and it rerolls something else, you'll still get it again later. (craig_amai)

Warlords of Draenor - Black Market Auction House
The Black Market Auction House has moved from Pandaria to the Ring of Blood in Nagrand for Warlords of Draenor.

Kalidiar has noted some interesting new items for sale, such as Tabard of the Arcane, Grimoire of the Four Winds, Swift Razzashi Raptor, and more.

Blue Tweets

Classes
New major glyphs coming for defensive dispels in #Warlords. 2 charges but increases cooldown by 4 seconds. Courtesy of & co. (holinka)
Bad idea if reducing cc. Also, can you stop adding glyphs like this. Priests have more mandatory glyphs than we can use
we'd be pretty happy if everyone had more than three "mandatory" glyphs (holinka)

Do you ever think you went too far with ability pruning?
Not sure. Playing some classes on beta, I really love the extra action bar space and streamlined nature of the classes. (holinka)

Melee uptime seems really high. Dmg is high from some melee but I assume you have a series of numbers passes to do. Good stuff.
there is tuning but have heard a lot of concerns about melee mobility...but I don't think it's all melee. (holinka)

Any mobility changes planned for next build?
We probably need to start getting more specific than "mobility" at this point. Some melee are great here, others are not. (holinka)

On live I can go 10 min with almost no empty gcd. On beta I already had more empty gcd in less than 2 min testing.
There's quite a few tiers of difference involved there. That's normal. (Celestalon)

Death Knight (Forums / Skills / WoD Talent Calculator)
Purpose of "Enhanced Will of the Necropolis"? Are dk tanks designed to drop below 30% every 30 secs?
"Designed to", no. Able to benefit from Will of the Necropolis that often, yes. (Celestalon)

Monk (Forums / Skills / WoD Talent Calculator)
maybe when the ww numbers start to drop you guys will agree. Blizzard sold us a "fast pacing street fighter style".
.Threats like that have long lost their sway over us. It's still a fast-based combat spec. People are are spreading this idea... (Celestalon)
...that Windwalkers are some slow spec now that is energy starved. That's not at all the case. It's simply not. (Celestalon)

Paladin (Forums / Skills / WoD Talent Calculator)
Attack speed from Empowered seals doesn't have any effect on Crusader Strike cooldown in beta. Intended?
Yes; attack speed is not haste. (Celestalon)
It isn't worth to seal-dance then, is it? Thank you for your answer.
It should still be. Tuning may be off. (Celestalon)

1) Can you give me a PvE scenario where Seraphim > FV/EmpS? I really don't see it beating them even after...
You find the pooling/burst gameplay fun, you want bursts semi-frequent of damage. (Celestalon)
Even if you could call it fun(you can't), damage(which it lacks) trumps fun on and serious progression
Tuning hasn't happened yet. (Celestalon)

Art
the basilisks, warpstalkers and tallstriders of draenor will have new model? please they need one, thanks
We tried to update as many iconic creatures as possible, sadly we could not get them all. (_DonAdams)

PvP
you mentioned a "cool new feature" you hadn't shared yet...still coming, or did I miss something?
Still coming...but there have been hints out there. (holinka)

I've been around since Day one - I would love to see stats that show me I'm wrong and PvP is not a niche
In the US and EU, the number of people doing random battlegrounds is as high or more than LFR. (holinka)
likewise as many people do 2s as normal raiding. As many do 3s as heroic raiding. Not a niche. (holinka)
and the number of people doing 5's is the same as those doing CM's?
Yeah very few people do 5s and we don't think it is very good gameplay either (holinka)
Does that number filter out people doing only the legendary quest?
This was the trend before the legendary quest (holinka)

(wod) why are incaps and disorients seperate DRs? promotes caster cleaves with moonkin or wl. if combined: melee+ranged best comps
A lot of history with those DR categories. Not prepared to make that seismic of a shift. (holinka)
reading from your comment that i'm right essentially, but the change would be too much for now. right?
No not really. The game has been working pretty well with those DR categories. Don't feel such a disruptive change is needed. (holinka)

so basically Ashran is a AoE fest with PvE mobs thrown into the mix for fun?
It's important to note that we're trying to offer a new type of experience with Ashran including the "giant zerg" feel (holinka)
it isn't for everyone but some people REALLY like it. Variety is the spice of life...in WoW (holinka)
Also regarding the zerg, spell clutter culling will be coming soon, and that'll help with the visual soup. (Celestalon)

Are the Vicious Saddle mounts going to be obtainable in WoD as well, or will they get replaced by new mounts?
still obtainable (holinka)

Lore
Reading the Talador preview. Is the Kirin Tor neutral again in WoD?
Khadgar is. He wants to get the politics out of the Kirin-Tor. (DaveKosak)
Can't you just make him a alliance hero that is willing to work with the Horde for the greater good.
That's exactly what he is. (DaveKosak)

Will we see the ettin in Draenor (WoD)? Thanks .
No ettins, but we have Ogronn, Lesser Gronn (don't think that's the real name) Gronn and Magnaron. Many giants! (_DonAdams)
Why no Ettins? WoD is as good a time as ever to explain their existence.
There is evidence that they're in the ogre/ogronn/gronn family. That's all anyone knows. (_DonAdams)

Didn't the Arakkoa try to summon an Old God to Outland so why isn't he showing up????
The Dark Conclave doesn't exist yet. Most arakkoa do not worship Old Gods. At least not at the time of WoD (BC -30 years). (_DonAdams)

Who are the Scorpars? beasts o humanoids scorpions? we will see them?
Creatures we ended up cutting. You won't see them in WoD. At least not at launch... (_DonAdams)
To clarify: MAYBE NEVER. (_DonAdams)

So is Sethe who the arakkoa in Outland's SMV were trying to summon?
Nope. That was Dark Conclave trying to summon an unnamed Old God. Sethe is a primal god worshipped by the Sethekk (_DonAdams)
Is that Old God planned to show up in WoD? I.e. is he native to Draenor?
No plans for him at the moment. The arakkoa may not even be in contact with him yet. We don't know.

Reputation / Questing
Hi!, is the ending for FFR under redesigning? We've never been able to see it/test it, while SMV has an ending with Karabor.
Not being redesigned. The finale for Frostfire has an (amazing) in-game cinematic which we have not yet revealed. (craig_amai)

World
Then... Why have them next to the giant PvP zone? Why not just make it hard by distance, which Kara/BSF provides.
Seeing other players is totally cool, see: Dalaran. Flying to stuff because your hub is not near anything isn't cool. (Muffinus)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Ashran the island off the coast? Seems like you put the hub far from everything...
Looking at fast ways to get from your garrison to Ashran hub. Keep in mind: Garrison is in SMV/FF, you see a lot of them. (Muffinus)
So World > Garrison > Hub is the intended path to take this expansion?
The endgame of WoD has yet to be unveiled - you'll be fighting all over, think 5.1+Timeless Isle combined (Muffinus)

Dave... Alex... Why is there suddenly, what appears to be, a portal to the Emerald Nightmare near Stormwind?
OOOoooo mystery!! (Will make sense once all the dungeons are in.) (DaveKosak)

are we going to have intact draenei cities outside of shadowmoon? ie shattrath a neutral hub?
I believe there are some in Talador? Smaller pockets of resistance, at least. (_DonAdams)

Will The Dark Portal in Outland fade away? Thanks .
Well the portal in Blasted Lands now links to Draenor (Tanaan Jungle) but as for the Hellfire portal... good question. (_DonAdams)

Garrisons
Oh so will my faction Leaders randomly show up garrison? No? Ok well how about access to my bank? No?
If you've played the beta, you've seen Thrall/Durotan there. So yes, they do Storehouse gives you bank acc (Muffinus)

the ability to destroy our forces while being united
This is why you're building a garrison, Ashran isn't half of the story of what you're ultimately building up to in future. (Muffinus)
I still disagree with moving the capitols to Ashran but okay
The capitol is really your garrison, it's where you start from, where many things intersect, and ultimately = winning vs ??? (Muffinus)

So, do we get a target dummy at some point in those garrisons?
If you take the Sparring Arena, yes! (Muffinus)

Normal Garrison missions are 30m, I just got a rare mission with an 8 hour duration! Intended?
Longer time, epic-er rewards (Muffinus)

Computers - Setup of the Month
Each month or every 2 months, depending on the hardware evolutions, we will post a couple of hardware setups for those of you who are thinking of upgrading their computer!

This month
The current SSD prices are trending slightly downward over the past few months, with all SSDs under $1 per gigabyte when on sale.

The Haswell refresh is here for non-overclockable CPUs, with the overclockable versions likely coming in the next few months. These may offer somewhat better overclocking performance, which may worth waiting for if you are overclocking to the limits of air cooling.

The new Haswell Refresh CPUs are here and just like their predecessors they run a little bit on the warmer side. Depending on how much you want to overclock, you may need to spend a bit more for a better CPU cooler like the NH-D14.

Unless you are doing a lot of video rendering or something that is similarly multithreaded, you do not need the 4790K and should spend that money elsewhere.

Make sure to keep your AMD and Nvidia drivers up to date.

Don't hesitate to post any feedback in the comments of that news post, and don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions! If you are interested in Folding@home, take a look in our team's thread.

Peripherals/Monitors

Component	Puppy	Dolphin
Monitor	ASUS VS228H-P 22-Inch Monitor - $120	ASUS VS248H-P 24-Inch Monitor - $150
Keyboard	Kensington Pro Fit Media Keyboard - $14	Cyborg V.5 - $48
Mouse	Logitech G400s - $50	Razer DeathAdder 2013 - $66
Speakers	Creative A250 2.1 Speaker System - $26	Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $35
Component	Narwhal	Unicorn
Monitor	Dell P2414H Monitor - $210	HP ZR2440W 24-inch - $305
Keyboard	Logitech G510s - $78	CM Storm QuickFire XT - $120
Mouse	Logitech G500s - $53	Razer Naga 2014 - $60
Speakers	Logitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System - $50	Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $75

Puppy and Dolphin
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Puppy and Dolphin.

Component	Puppy	Dolphin
Case	NZXT Source 210 - $35	NZXT Source 210 - $35
Power Supply	EVGA 600B - $45	EVGA 600B - $45
CPU	AMD FX-6300 - $110	AMD FX-8320 - $150
Heatsink	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $30	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $30
Motherboard	ASUS M5A97 R2.0 - $95	ASUS M5A99FX PRO - $115
Memory	Kingston HyperX Blue 4GB 1600 - $43	8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $81
Graphics Card	Gigabyte R7 260X - $100	ASUS R9 270X - $180
Hard Drive	Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $51	Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $75
DVD	Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22	Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22
Total	$531	$733

Narwhal and Unicorn
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn.

Component	Narwhal	Unicorn
Case	Cooler Master HAF 912 - $44	Corsair Air 540 (Special Layout) - $130
Power Supply	Rosewill Capstone 650W - $95	Rosewill Fortress 750W - $130
CPU	Intel 4690K - $235	Intel 4690K - $235
Heatsink	Thermaltake Frio - $63	Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $78
Motherboard	ASUS Z97-A - $145	ASUS Z97-A - $145
Memory	8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $81	16GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $185
Graphics Card	ASUS R9 270X - $180	MSI R9 280X OR ASUS GTX770 - $290 / $300
Hard Drive	Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $75	Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black - $136
SSD	Crucial MX100 128GB (Review) - $75 OR SanDisk Extreme II 120GB (Review) - $75	SAMSUNG 840 EVO 128GB (Review) - $90 OR SAMSUNG 850 Pro 128GB (Review) - $130
DVD	Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22	Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22
Total	$940 - 1070	$1404 - $1459

Warcraft Movie Concept Art
We got a better look at the movie concept art that was shown off yesterday.

Dark Legacy Comics #449
DLC #449 takes a look at how to stop some disasters.

[moveth]

BMAH got a massive upgrade. Excited to see what kind of things are gonna be posted.

[Jester Joe]

Weekly story quests? You'd think they'd be advertising that a bit more, sounds interesting.

[OmniSkribe]

Grimrail Depot is cool, but truth be told I hoped it would be something like Ships but across Draenor landmass and without loading screen (like ships in Lineage 2, lot of fun and RP moments or like trains in Red Dead Redemption).

[Mouri Kogorou]

that movie concept art, nerdagasm.

[Harbour]

Concept art is epic. I think is obiously Draenor side coz of the scales. I have a boner when imagine how it will be look in the movie. Goosebumps.

[Sierra85]

that train instance looks unreal

[Venziir]

Concept art is epic. I think is obiously Draenor side coz of the scales. I have a boner when imagine how it will be look in the movie. Goosebumps.

It is indeed, obviously, the construction of the Portal on the Draenor side, not just because of the scales, but because of the mountain range, the wagons etc, it's all orcs and it's all Draenor.

[Frontenac]

It is indeed, obviously, the construction of the Portal on the Draenor side, not just because of the scales, but because of the mountain range, the wagons etc, it's all orcs and it's all Draenor.

Also, if it was on Azeroth, the Dark Portal would be in a marsh (Black Morass).

[Keosen]

Holy shit is that a drawing ? (the pic before last)

[Andeus]

Rosewill PSUs are really hard to find in Europe (if at all). There should be some alternative to those specs.

[Deleted]

Pretty badass that they chisel the Dark Portal out of a goddamn mountain range.

I'd always imagined it was built out of stone bricks, or something. But now I think of it it always was just a huge seamless chunk of rock.

[Deleted]

Dark Legacy comics are such shit. I can't be the only one that thinks that?

[TmrAsakura]

that train dungeon looks really cool and interesting

[Venziir]

Dark Legacy comics are such shit. I can't be the only one that thinks that?

I usually enjoy them and find them to be "spot on", this however, not so much.

- - - Updated - - -

Holy shit is that a drawing ? (the pic before last)

Yep it is!

[Rankonelol]

Awesome concept art.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

A lot of the five man fights make me unsure about how I feel about the return of stutter step casting. You either deal okay damage while avoiding fire or taxing the healer in order to do better damage.

Maybe they've done this on purpose for fives though and will keep raid bosses about as on par as Gruul when it comes to mobility.

[Isolyphic]

For a preview to the Garrison missions, play the Duty Officer missions on STO. Exactly the same thing but WoW's is extremely watered down.

[lagmoose]

So can we suplex the train? (good ol' Sabin!)

Hmm Swift Razzashi Raptor... could it be... that the Zulian Tiger will pop up there every now and then too? :O

[Queen of Hamsters]

So can we suplex the train? (good ol' Sabin!)

Hmm Swift Razzashi Raptor... could it be... that the Zulian Tiger will pop up there every now and then too? :O

I'd be royally pissed off if it didn't. Already working to have 1 million gold on 3 servers to be able to buy it out if it shows up. I just don't know at what hours the BMAH resets...