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Three Free Un'Goro Packs to Celebrate 70 Million Hearthstone Players!Breaching the Tomb - Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
The next step of Breaching the Tomb is available now. Head to the Broken Shore to pick up Self-Fulfilling Prophecy from Velen. This will also grant another 1500 Armies of Legionfall reputation.
Riddle Me This - An Inside Look at the Riddle of the Mind-Seekers
Be sure to grab the Riddler's Mind-Worm if you don't already have it!
On April 9th, thousands of players in the Secret Finding Discord Community came together to locate hidden pages scattered across Azeroth from Uldum to the Well of Eternity. Their reward for solving the riddle of the Mind-Seekers? The spine-tingling Riddler’s Mind-Worm mount. In this blog, we’ll shed some light on the origins of the Mind-Seekers, expose the real solution to each riddle, and discuss the challenges of making hidden items in Azeroth.
The First Thread
As with any quest or activity, hidden secrets begin with a cool idea. In some cases, it’s a particular reward or implementation detail that drives the design. The chain of hidden orbs that unlocked Kosumoth the Hungering, for example, began with the team’s desire to see a single player’s accomplishment broadcast across an entire region.
There may have also been a minor rivalry in the Level Design team to see who could make the most hidden cave, too.
This time, the spark was the Riddler’s Mind-Worm, which first made its appearance as the team was concepting ideas for Patch 7.2 class mounts. It didn’t cleanly fit into any particular class, but the team liked the idea of a sinister worm from an otherworldly plane of existence. When the Mind-Worm was born into Azeroth, it clearly needed a suitably mind-bending home.
Riddles of the Mind-Seekers
The creation of the Mind-Seeker’s riddles began with the designation of a cipher. As some clever players have correctly surmised, the code book in this case is World of Warcraft: Chronicle—Volume 1. All of the riddles began with pictures or lore found within, though players didn’t always follow the clues in the manner intended. In some cases, it was quite the opposite!
We expected that players would first gather their information from datamining. The pages, when written in order, form the ISBN number of the Chronicle. From there, players would apply the first clue, “…of Sea, Spirit, and Self…” to unlock the location of the second clue. The key is found within the cosmology chart:
At the intersection of the planes of water (the sea), spirit (…spirit) and reality (the self) lies the Emerald Dream. Coincidentally, the second clue is located by the Emerald Dream portal in Azeroth. Though this solution was proposed in the Discord channel on the very first night, this page was not found for quite some time. Kudos to the player who first proposed it—you were correct all along!
From solving this riddle, we expected players to make two connections:
Everyone, Get in Here!
As the secret-finding group swelled to several thousand (and eventually well over 10,000) players, subtle ideas and suggestions gave way to the brute force of bodies and minds. Overnight, players from across the globe canvased Azeroth, checking anything remotely related to the words in each riddle. If a “stone” was mentioned, no stone was left unclicked. It was only a matter of hours until all the pages were found and a sea of players exploded out of Westfall on a school of flying, evil worms.
Though we didn’t expect that players would necessarily find all the pages in this manner, it was a spectacular sight to behold. In addition, in the majority of cases, someone did post the correct solution, though they may not have known it!
So, what were the intended solutions to each riddle? We’ve explained the first riddle—now here are the rest:
Clue from page 78: “…first of lords to fall…”
As referenced in the Chronicle, Ragnaros was the first elemental lord to fall to the Titans. It just so happened that he was also the first to fall to players in Molten Core. This riddle had several solutions, and this page was found in the Firelands.
Clue from page 161: “…the wind, the eye…”
The Chronicle contains a picture showing the Black Empire. At the border of Al’akir and C’thun’s domains lies the westernmost river in Uldum—the location of this page.
Clue from page 655: “…the plume, the tomb, the scarab moon…”
Further in the Chronicle is an image of the Ordered Azeroth. Drawing lines from Un’Goro (the volcanic plume) to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms (the vault of Y’shaarj) to the scarab-filled Ahn’Quiraj forms an arrow that points at the vault of Y’shaarj, where the page lies.
Clue from page 845: “… in snow, sand, and stone…”
In the image depicting the aftermath of the Aqir and Troll War, Uldum, Ulduar, and Uldaman form a triangle. In the center of the triangle is the Well of Eternity, and this page.
Clue from page 1127: “…behold the battle, unblinking…”
In the image “The Thunder King Battles Xuen, The White Tiger,” several tiger statues watch the battle unfold outside of the Shado-Pan Monastery, where this page is located.
Clue from page 2351: “…bejeweled watcher…”
In the image “The Titan Forged Stronghold of Uldum,” the jeweled watchers oversee the Halls of Origination, and this page.
Clue from page 5555: “...ray of sunrise…”
Perhaps the most deviously hidden note, this riddle could nonetheless not withstand the tide of secret-hunters combing Azeroth by this point. Several things led players to the final location in Westfall—a location with a lighthouse and associated ray of light, and beautiful sunrises. The actual clue, however, was hidden in the background of the Chronicle image of the Sundered World.
In the background, there is a stylized image of a compass. Following the eastern ray of the compass to the shoreline it intersects with gives you the location of the Gift of the Mind-Seekers.
Secret Knowledge
We learned many things from this treasure hunt, the least of which is never to underestimate the ability of the heroes of Azeroth to come together and unite against a common foe. The organization and dedication of the secret finding community was an awe-inspiring sight to behold. We hope you enjoyed this treasure hunt as much as we enjoyed watching the hunt!
As a final note, the Mind-Seekers would like us to let you know that they will be seeing you again soon—and that your thoughts are delicious.
The First Thread
As with any quest or activity, hidden secrets begin with a cool idea. In some cases, it’s a particular reward or implementation detail that drives the design. The chain of hidden orbs that unlocked Kosumoth the Hungering, for example, began with the team’s desire to see a single player’s accomplishment broadcast across an entire region.
There may have also been a minor rivalry in the Level Design team to see who could make the most hidden cave, too.
This time, the spark was the Riddler’s Mind-Worm, which first made its appearance as the team was concepting ideas for Patch 7.2 class mounts. It didn’t cleanly fit into any particular class, but the team liked the idea of a sinister worm from an otherworldly plane of existence. When the Mind-Worm was born into Azeroth, it clearly needed a suitably mind-bending home.
Riddles of the Mind-Seekers
The creation of the Mind-Seeker’s riddles began with the designation of a cipher. As some clever players have correctly surmised, the code book in this case is World of Warcraft: Chronicle—Volume 1. All of the riddles began with pictures or lore found within, though players didn’t always follow the clues in the manner intended. In some cases, it was quite the opposite!
We expected that players would first gather their information from datamining. The pages, when written in order, form the ISBN number of the Chronicle. From there, players would apply the first clue, “…of Sea, Spirit, and Self…” to unlock the location of the second clue. The key is found within the cosmology chart:
At the intersection of the planes of water (the sea), spirit (…spirit) and reality (the self) lies the Emerald Dream. Coincidentally, the second clue is located by the Emerald Dream portal in Azeroth. Though this solution was proposed in the Discord channel on the very first night, this page was not found for quite some time. Kudos to the player who first proposed it—you were correct all along!
From solving this riddle, we expected players to make two connections:
- The solutions would be found in the World of Warcraft:Chronicle—Volume 1. (You can view the original IGN preview here.)
- The solutions may involve drawing a triangle between three elements in a picture.
Everyone, Get in Here!
As the secret-finding group swelled to several thousand (and eventually well over 10,000) players, subtle ideas and suggestions gave way to the brute force of bodies and minds. Overnight, players from across the globe canvased Azeroth, checking anything remotely related to the words in each riddle. If a “stone” was mentioned, no stone was left unclicked. It was only a matter of hours until all the pages were found and a sea of players exploded out of Westfall on a school of flying, evil worms.
Though we didn’t expect that players would necessarily find all the pages in this manner, it was a spectacular sight to behold. In addition, in the majority of cases, someone did post the correct solution, though they may not have known it!
So, what were the intended solutions to each riddle? We’ve explained the first riddle—now here are the rest:
Clue from page 78: “…first of lords to fall…”
As referenced in the Chronicle, Ragnaros was the first elemental lord to fall to the Titans. It just so happened that he was also the first to fall to players in Molten Core. This riddle had several solutions, and this page was found in the Firelands.
Clue from page 161: “…the wind, the eye…”
The Chronicle contains a picture showing the Black Empire. At the border of Al’akir and C’thun’s domains lies the westernmost river in Uldum—the location of this page.
Clue from page 655: “…the plume, the tomb, the scarab moon…”
Further in the Chronicle is an image of the Ordered Azeroth. Drawing lines from Un’Goro (the volcanic plume) to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms (the vault of Y’shaarj) to the scarab-filled Ahn’Quiraj forms an arrow that points at the vault of Y’shaarj, where the page lies.
Clue from page 845: “… in snow, sand, and stone…”
In the image depicting the aftermath of the Aqir and Troll War, Uldum, Ulduar, and Uldaman form a triangle. In the center of the triangle is the Well of Eternity, and this page.
Clue from page 1127: “…behold the battle, unblinking…”
In the image “The Thunder King Battles Xuen, The White Tiger,” several tiger statues watch the battle unfold outside of the Shado-Pan Monastery, where this page is located.
Clue from page 2351: “…bejeweled watcher…”
In the image “The Titan Forged Stronghold of Uldum,” the jeweled watchers oversee the Halls of Origination, and this page.
Clue from page 5555: “...ray of sunrise…”
Perhaps the most deviously hidden note, this riddle could nonetheless not withstand the tide of secret-hunters combing Azeroth by this point. Several things led players to the final location in Westfall—a location with a lighthouse and associated ray of light, and beautiful sunrises. The actual clue, however, was hidden in the background of the Chronicle image of the Sundered World.
In the background, there is a stylized image of a compass. Following the eastern ray of the compass to the shoreline it intersects with gives you the location of the Gift of the Mind-Seekers.
Secret Knowledge
We learned many things from this treasure hunt, the least of which is never to underestimate the ability of the heroes of Azeroth to come together and unite against a common foe. The organization and dedication of the secret finding community was an awe-inspiring sight to behold. We hope you enjoyed this treasure hunt as much as we enjoyed watching the hunt!
As a final note, the Mind-Seekers would like us to let you know that they will be seeing you again soon—and that your thoughts are delicious.
World Boss - Drugon the Frostblood
Drugon the Frostblood is up this week, rewarding players with gold and a chance at item level 860 loot.
Weekly Bonus Event - Battlegrounds
PvP Brawl - Warsong Scramble
With the release of patch 7.2: The Tomb of Sargeras, you can experience some of your favorite player-vs-player Battlegrounds with a little extra twist.
Every other week a new PvP Brawl will be available to players looking for something just a little different. Each Brawl will offer a variety of modes, rules, and scenic changes to the usual Battleground gameplay, and you’ll find them in the Group Finder tool (hotkey “I”) in the Player vs. Player tab. Just like Random Battlegrounds, you’ll receive a reward for achieving victory.
Warsong Scramble – Capture the Flag
Do you have a flag? Warsong Gulch has always been the scene of an epic Capture the Flag battle, but what happens when you can capture your enemy’s flag without your own at base? Find out when you step into this PvP Brawl! We’ve also added a few more power-ups to the field of battle to stir things up a bit. To win, your team will need to be the first to capture 5 flags.
Every other week a new PvP Brawl will be available to players looking for something just a little different. Each Brawl will offer a variety of modes, rules, and scenic changes to the usual Battleground gameplay, and you’ll find them in the Group Finder tool (hotkey “I”) in the Player vs. Player tab. Just like Random Battlegrounds, you’ll receive a reward for achieving victory.
Warsong Scramble – Capture the Flag
Do you have a flag? Warsong Gulch has always been the scene of an epic Capture the Flag battle, but what happens when you can capture your enemy’s flag without your own at base? Find out when you step into this PvP Brawl! We’ve also added a few more power-ups to the field of battle to stir things up a bit. To win, your team will need to be the first to capture 5 flags.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)Mistweavers in Patch 7.2.5
We're looking into a some of the various things mentioned on this thread and others, for an upcoming PTR build:
--We understand the complaint about losing your Essence Font channel due to movement, now that it has a cooldown. Going straight to "Essence Font can always be cast while moving" is still the sort of thing we want to be careful about. Cast-while-moving isn't something that should proliferate too much outside of special buffs or spells that have that as a main purpose, but it's an option that we may try out on PTR.
--We'll buff Life Cocoon to better account for the large HP inflation in Legion.
--We're going to try a version of Refreshing Jade Wind that no longer has the Essence Font hook, and is much more efficient simply based on its own healing. That likely means making it cheaper rather than stronger, and probably means a longer cooldown or duration than what it has now. Both so that it's less disruptive by using fewer GCDs, and so that it's not a limitless way of pouring mana into smart healing. It should be a basic rotational option for a constant healing boost, with a positional factor.
--We're going to buff Rising Thunder, initially simply using the same knob as in beta of changing Rising Sun Kick's cost. That version of fistweaving was generally popular (among the crowd that wants something with that much complexity), and possibly only fell away because it was never tuned back up enough to account for the loss of the beta version of Black Flame.
Our overall approach to Mistweaver in 7.2.5 is more focused on looking at specific issues like these, rather than any kind of deep overhaul. We also expect that the overall package of changes so far effects an increase to the total healing power of the spec (which was intended), and of course can do further tuning as we get a more solid idea of how much that is. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
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