I started a Goblin hunter earlier this week and after totally completing the starter zone I have to say I’m pretty happy with what Blizzard has developed for The Horde’s newest allies.  You start out in Kezan, a colorful area which is chaotic as only a goblin zone can be.  Architecture is very similar to what you see in the current Venture Company areas or in the Shimmering Flats, and mishaps by the residents is not an uncommon occurrence.  Goblins start out with two very nice racial skills; Rocket Jump (activates your rocket belt to jump forward) and Rocket Barrage (launches belt rockets at an enemy, dealing fire damage). Those who choose Alchemy as a profession will start with a 15 point skill advantage, and the Time is Money skill gives you a 1% increase in attack and casting speed. Perhaps the best racials though are Best Deals Anywhere, which gives you the best discount regardless of faction, and the parting gift you get as you exit the zone, a “pack hobgoblin” which allows you to call your very own banker, no matter where you are! He’s good for 1 minute and has a 30 minute cooldown.

Progression is managed though a pretty standard series of quests which will seem all too familiar to veteran players. First you get an introduction from the guy standing directly in front of you, who then sends you off to the next quest giver, located very close by. The sequence continues, with quests being a mix of kill, collect, deliver, and report, all designed to allow you to enlarge your realm of familiar territory without getting totally lost. I didn’t find any of it terribly challenging, but neither was it boring. “Cute” is the word that keeps coming to mind.

One very cool thing that makes this experience different than any of the previous starter areas is that after the first half dozen quests you’re given a Hot Rod to jet around in. It makes exploring the starter area much more fun and the comments you get from citizens when you accidentally run over them are classic. The fact that you’re given a quest in which the task at hand is to run over a series of “bad guys” makes it even more fun. You keep the Hot Rod for the rest of the time you’re in the “noob” area, which mean for some two dozen quests. The down side is that when you move to the next zone level, you lose your wheels and are back to walking.

Moving from the starter area to the full Lost Isles experience involves being teleported to the beach at Shipwreck Shore, which is on the second largest island. After a cut-scene plays through you start the first of another two dozen quests which include bomb-throwing monkeys, a gyrochoppa bombing run, and a couple of missions to help Thrall, as well as an escort quest through a cavern. Once done with these you’re sent off to Town-In-A-Box in a most goblin-esque way – launched through the air to land in your next new home, the largest of the three islands. The center of this island is a volcano and there are just over 50 more quests that can be obtained before you’re finally sent by boat to the newly constructed docks outside of Orgrimmar (on the beach, near Skull Rock).

A few things I noticed that are different from all the starter areas in the pre-Cataclysm races:

• There are a lot of phased quests, meaning you can’t get future quests until you’ve done the quests which come before. Anyone who’s completed Icecrown will recognize the pattern, and it works well in such a high level zone. How this will play out with veteran players who’ve already completed other starter zones numerous times, or even those who’ve completed the entire Goblin experience once or twice and don’t want to do it again remains to be seen.
• Rather than quests frequently being clustered, most of them were sequential. There were times when you could pick up three or four quests all together, but for the most part you obtained a quest, completed it, and turned it in before the next quest giver showed that she had quests available. Power players who rush through content by doing quests in clusters will find this frustrating.
• It doesn’t appear to me that you can leave Lost Isles until you’ve completed most of the quests. The NPC who gives you the exit quest is phased and there’s no way off the island except by boat…a boat which won’t leave the dock until you’ve got the exit quest. I’ll play through this at least once more to insure that this is actually a fact.

So, in a nutshell that’s Kezan and the Goblin race. It’s fun, colorful, and zany and should appeal to Horde-minded players who need a bit of change. I’ve tried during the week to think of the downsides to the Goblin race and all I’ve come up with is — they’re short!

• Icecrown Citadel: The Frozen Throne
• Icecrown Citadel: The Forzen Halls
• Tier 10 Armour Sets
• Cross-Realm Dungeon Finder
• Quest Tracker

To look at the newest patch notes check out Blizzards official patch notes. Here We’ll leave you with the newly released Trailer for Patch 3.3. Enjoy

So here we are again, on the verge of the final major patch of this expansion. It feels like only yesterday when we were all raging at M’uru wipes. Here’s a brief overview and reaction to the upcoming patch.

There are a LOT of changes coming to the new player experience system. Believe it or not there are still people out there that don’t play this game. I know it’s hard to believe! Between not getting dazed any more in the first five levels and rogues starting out actually dual-wielding, I’d say this is a welcome improvement for new and old players alike. Updated tooltips will help better explain what your abilities actually do to a newbie. These changes are awesome and will vastly improve new player experience.

Scrolling through the notes here… blah blah blah AOE damage cap blah blah blah… “Pet Resilience: All player pets now get 100% of their master’s resilience.” … HURGH. Holy sweet Jesus it’s about time they did that. How long has this been wanted? Probably ever since resilience was introduced with the Burning Crusade. Continuing on, we see ANOTHER will of the forsaken change. Are you freaking kidding me? This ability has to be the most messed with, toyed around, tinkered mechanic in the game. It seems like every patch they change it in some minute way. This time it shares cooldowns with similar trinkets. Neat, I wonder what the next patch will hold for WotF. I guess this is the reason they added “Will of the forsaken nerf” to the dropdown box of reasons when you try to close your account.

Unique totem art is cool. Aesthetics, while petty, do play a huge role in the “presentation” of the game. “Players no longer need to kill the final bosses in all four wings of this dungeon in order to teleport to Sapphiron. Teleportation orbs have been added to allow players access back and forth from Sapphiron’s lair.” Betrayer of Humanity runs, anyone? This is awesome. So far so good.

Some of the class changes are pretty mundane. DKs are getting a threat boost with Rune Strike. Druids get more haste in resto. A lot of hunter pet changes, mostly to improve avoidance and streamline the pet’s talent trees. They also doubled the speed at which hunter pets level. It seems like we get a lot of help with leveling in these final patches. Not much in the way of changes for mages, some mana cost improvements in fire which will be welcomed. Now as for paladins, something that made me raise an eyebrow was lay on hands causing forbearance – if used on yourself. Making it a 20 minute cooldown is a little much also. Paladin’s already don’t have many “Holly Crap!” abilities, so having to choose between 50% less damage and a full heal sucks the big one.

Priests get some shadow improvements, with haste now affecting their DOTs. Rogues don’t really have anything of note, except when ‘deadly’ is stacked to five stacks, your offhand poison will proc. That’s a nice addition. For shaman, you can now ankh every 15 minutes if you have it talented. Also elemental mastery in the elemental tree has been changed to 15% haste instead of crit chance. This is an AWESOME change, since elemental shaman are already stacked on crit. Warlocks have a bunch of talents switching around and changing. Conflag has been redesigned as has the talent Molten Core. Honestly, I have no idea what these changes mean because a warlock is one of the few classes I’ve never leveled. Sorry, kids. Oh, and warriors. Let me summarize your class changes:

Right, now that I’ve completely summarized the warrior class changes with the blank space above, let’s move on to the Icecrown content. As far as the “gated” entry to the multiple wings, it confuses me to a point. Elite guilds are going to spend two weeks clearing the first wing and the rest farming the crap out of it until the second wing is opened. They’ll have a substantial amount of gear and will probably blow through the second wing in just one raiding week. I could be wrong, because I have no idea of the difficulty level of Icecrown Citadel. From years of raiding experience and watching what the top guilds do, however, it’s pretty easy to guess what’s going to happen. I truly hope someone does blow through the fast wing, be it Ensidia or vodka or whoever, because I am dying to see what happens to the Lich King at the end. Arthas is a personal favorite villain of mine. Anyway, moving on. The new, NEW looking for group system features cross-realm pick-up groups. This idea is awesome, and I really hope it works out. Some things that could hold it back include laggy transitions, bad group make up and lack of leadership. I for one hope the launch goes smoothly.

This by far is not coverage for the entire load of patch notes. It just covers the most pertinent issues and changes. If you have any questions or comments, please follow the link here to discuss it on the forums.

For the full listing of patch notes, follow this link.

1. Get A Cool Pet! – Any character that logs into the game between now and Sunday, December 6 at 11:59 p.m. will receive an Onyxian Whelpling pet. This non-combat pet will be available for a limited time only.

2. Onyxia Raid Upgrade - Onyxia, the Brood Mother is getting a new model, a heroic mode, and a 310% speed flying mount drop. The update to Onyxia will convert the dungeon into a 10-player mode with a 25-player Heroic mode for the daft and celebrated. Here’s what Blizzard says on this “Loot will include Tier 2 helms, with stats updated to match the current level of content. There will be a special new item too: a normal drake-sized 310% speed flying mount modeled after Onyxia herself called an Onyxia Broodling. We will also be updating the encounter mechanics to be more fitting for modern raiding, but we can guarantee players will get to experience the frightening horror of deep breaths once again.”

3. World of Warcraft 5 Year Sweepstakes – Blizzard is running a 5 year Anniversarry World of Warcraft Swepstakes and will be giving out weekly prizes to players as a way to say “thanks” for being a part of the World of Warcraft community these past five years. >>>check it out

4. Dev Team Reveal - Developpers reveal their Epic stories about how the game came to be and what aspects of World of Warcraft are remarkable to them … err to their charater …. i mean to them>>> ROFL jsut check out the more than 40 interviews with the extended team here

5. The World of Warcraft Battlecry Campaign – This, also, is not bad… players take a photo of themselves with the Horde or Alliance logo in hand and submit it online. The ‘image collective’ is then organized into a mosaic and you can monitor the progress visually on the Battlecry campaign site. The greater the number of photos submitted, the more artwork Blizzard unlocks on the website. Once the total number of submissions reaches the threshold, an exclusive piece of art is revealed in a master mosaic.

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Video Games

Diablo I & II � The weapon “Wirt’s Third Leg” is a reference to the character of Wirt the peg-legged boy from Diablo, and his wooden leg which you could actually pick up and wield as a weapon after Wirt’s death in Diablo II. “The Cow King’s Hide” is a piece of chest armor which can be looted from Onyxia and other random world Mobs, and it refers to The Cow King from Diablo II, located on the real Cow Level. The enemy Razorclaw the Butcher and the item Butcher’s Cleaver are references to the overlord unique monster in Diablo 1 and the item he dropped. The item Shadowfang is a reference to the sword of the same name in Diablo II. One of the tips displayed as the player logs in to the game is ‘There is no cow level’, a reference to the fact that there was no cow level in Diablo I. The phrase ‘There is no cow level’ is also the instant victory cheat code in the Blizzard RTS Starcraft. WoW players who purchase the collectors edition receive a gift coupon in-game which can be redeemed for a mini-Diablo pet.

Donkey Kong � In Un’ Goro Crater, the gorillas sometimes drop an item named “Empty Barrel”, a reference to Donkey Kong throwing barrels at Mario in the Nintendo arcade game and the continued importance of barrels in the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64 series.

The Legend of Zelda � In Un’Goro Crater there is a character named Linken (Link) who has a bit of amnesia. Doing quests for Linken will help him regain his memory. He will remember a raft, a throwback to the original The Legend of Zelda where one of Link’s collectible items is a raft. One of the other items you must bring Linken is a faded photograph, which shows Linken with a female princess that is similar to Princess Zelda. Other items you find in his old rafts are a map and a compass, objects that are found in every Zelda game dungeon. If you complete Linken’s quests he will reward you with Linken’s Boomerang and Linken’s Sword of Mastery, references to Link’s trusty boomerang and the Master Sword. Near Linken there is also a Kodo named Dadanga, similar to Dodongo, a monster from the Zelda series, and if you talk to its owner she will tell you that it “hates smoke”, a reference to a hint given in the Legend of Zelda that “DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE”. Also during these chain of events there is an NPC named Miblon, a reference to the enemy (Moblin) from the original Zelda game. You must buy a piece of ham for Miblon, which opens a gate to an Evoroot. In The Legend of Zelda, you must give a piece of ham to a Moblin to access another part of a dungeon.

The Lost Vikings � In Uldaman there are three dwarves who are the three lost vikings from Blizzard’s sidescrolling game. As a horde player you are reqired to kill them to fully complete the instance, and their combat abilities from the original game have been translated faithfully to the Warcraft universe. There are also two items, a staff and an amulet, that you must retrieve in conjuction with a quest called the “Staff of Tsol” and the “Amulet of Gni’Kiv”. These two items spell “Lost Viking” backwards.

Mortal Kombat The same dwarves who quote Evil Dead and AC/DC while doing target practice outside of Kharanos also shout “Mortar Combat!” in precisely the same manner “Mortal Kombat!” is shouted in the soundtrack to the movie of the videogame. – note: these dwarves’ lines consist entirely of sound files taken from the Dwarven Mortar Team unit from Warcraft III, so the references are not originally from World of Warcraft.

Neverwinter Nights � In Ironforge there is a gnome named Fentwick, referring to the character Fenthick in Neverwinter Nights.

StarCraft � Across the gameword are disabled shredders with a picture of Infested Kerrigan on the screen. Also, the Silithid hives and the surrounded infested areas are strongly reminiscent of the Zerg hives. WoW players who purchase the collectors edition receive a gift coupon in-game which can be redeemed for a Zergling pet.

Super Mario Bros. � In Un’Goro Crater two characters named Muigin and Larion can be found. Larion, who is clad in red and blue, is based on Mario while Muigin, in green and blue, is based on his brother Luigi.

Ultima � At the Darkmoon Faire, a periodic world event occurring on one of the continents, there is a fortune teller who will ask you morality questions that are almost directly pulled from the morality questions asked at the beginnings of Ultimas 4, 5, and 6.

Ultima Online � A certain quest has the player delivering a book called Studies in Spirit Speaking. When read, the book contains series of Os (OOOoOoo), just as the dialogue of player ghosts appeared in Ultima Online. The Os in the book also represent text in binary that reads “Ultima Online Napa Valley Knights of Chaos” (referring to a player guild on an Ultima Online shard). The title of the book is a reference to the necromancer-related skill required to understand ghosts.

Fable: The Lost Chapters In the Undercity, there is a NPC named Theresa that wanders around aimlessly. She is blindfolded and is a mind slave to one of the Undead characters in the game. This is most likely a reference to a blindfolded character of the same name in “Fable: The Lost Chapters”.

Film and Television

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective � An NPC named Finkle Einhorn can be found in Blackrock Spire as part of the quest “Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!” This is a reference to the dual lives of Ace Ventura’s antagonist, Finkle/Einhorn. There is also a mace called ‘Finkle’s Lava Dredger’ and a dagger called ‘Finkle’s Skinner’.

Aliens � In the human barracks west of the town of Goldshire there are two NPCs named Quartermaster Hicks and Quartermaster Hudson, who are named after Corporal Hicks and Private Hudson from Aliens.

Apocalypse Now � In Stranglethorn Vale, there is a boss named Colonel Kurzen, who went insane and raised an army from a small, hidden compound. This is a reference to Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. The two Colonels’ backstories are very similar.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force � An NPC named Oglethorpe Obnoticus can be found in Booty Bay. He’s a reference to Oglethorpe, one of the unbelivably stupid Plutonian aliens, and their source of knowledge, Orbnaticus, a giant mirrored disco ball that Oglethorpe insists is actually a supercomputer. The NPC is an engineering trainer who gives the quests The Pledge of Secrecy and Show Your Work.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery � Part of the quest to open Ahn’Qiraj involves a gnome named Doctor Weavil, who sends a yeti named Number Two to attack the player working on the quest when his ransom demand fails.

Big Trouble in Little China � The Six Demon Bag is a trinket; its tooltip text says it “Blasts enemies with the power of wind, fire, that kind of thing!”, quoting Egg Shen’s description of the contents of his Six-Demon Bag in the film.

Carlito’s Way � In Westfall, there is a Defias NPC called Benny Blanco, the same name as the John Leguizamo character in the film.

Chasing Amy/Congo � A quest in Un’Goro crater is named “Chasing A-Me 01″, and tasks the player with finding and rescuing a mechanized female gorilla from a pack of wild apes.

Chris Farley, Saturday Night Live – The dance moves of the Ogres in Dire Maul, as well as the Moonkin form, are the same as those made famous by Chris Farley during the Chippendales sketch on Saturday Night Live.

Commando – During the second boss encounter in the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, Lt. General Andorov makes the same threat to Rajaxx that Arnold Schwartzenegger’s character Matrix makes to Sully: “Remember when I said I’d kill you last? I lied.”

Conan the Barbarian � In Badlands there is a cave with the corpse of the warrior king sitting on a throne and propping up a sword that Conan retrieves. Also, Saru Steelfury, the Artisian Blacksmith in Orgrimmar, says (if you are qualified for Expert Blacksmithing and not Artisian) “No one, no one in the world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts … this you can trust, Steel,” which is a quote from the movie.

Dr. Strangelove � In the description of the Ashenvale Horde quest “[24]Between a Rock and a Thistlefur”, the questgiver says to you “(character name), we must not allow… an expansion path gap!” intended to be a reference to a line in the movie talking about a mine shaft gap.

Dracula � The Guild Master of the Undercity is named Christopher Drakul, clearly a reference to Christopher Lee, who played the vampire lord more than any other man in film.

Army of Darkness � Around the dwarven capital there are some dwarves doing target practice. If you wait there long enough eventualy one will say “THIS IS MY BOOMSTICK!”, a reference to Army of Darkness. (This is the same dialogue used for the Dwarven Rifleman in WarCraft III.) Similarly a gunshop outside the Auction House in Orgrimmar is named “Boomstick Imports”.

The Exorcist � In the War Quarter of the Undercity, there waits a Level 40 Priest trainer named Father Lankester, obviously named after the priest Lankester Merrin.

Farscape � The Accessories Quartermaster NPC in the Old Town section of Stormwind is named Officer Areyn. She is the spitting image of Claudia Black’s character Officer Aeryn Sun from the Farscape television series.

Fight Club � There is an area in the Undercity where two NPCs named Tyler and Edward are fighting. The undead around them also have names from the movie, such as Marla and Chloe. There is also a weapon in the game named Fight Club.

Forrest Gump � A dwarven fisherman named Gubber Blump can be found on the beach near Auberdine; he is a reference to both Forrest and his friend Bubba. His dialogue is similar to both characters; he introduces himself “My name’s Gubber, Gubber Blump” and later recites a list of all the different ways to cook crab.

Fraggle Rock � There is a NPC in Un’Goro Crater who is similarly named Spraggle Frock.
Full House � In Stormwind, there is an NPC named Stephanie Tanner. She is found near a corner at the Trading District. The NPC has dialogue in a Paladin quest.

Full Metal Jacket � Ghede in Thunder Bluff upon talking to him while doing the Un’goro Soil quest says: “Be advised, Jackson � I am in no mood for any comment that you think is cute or funny. I am here to make sure that the Arch Druid’s research proceeds as planned, and I will weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve my beloved Cenarion Circle.”

Gamera � The Blackfathom Deeps instance features a giant turtle named Ghamoo-ra, a clear reference to Gamera. The turtle also bears more then a passing resemblance to the movie monster. In the Hinterlands, there is a turtle boss called Gammerita.

Ghostbusters � There is a NPC in the Eastern Plaguelands named Egan that gives you his blaster. The blaster will release the souls trapped inside the ghostly and spectral citizens of Stratholme, and then can be used again on the souls to free them. A direct reference to Ghostbuster’s character Egon Spengler. There is also a NPC in Death Knell named Harold Raims which spoofs Harold Ramis, the actor who played Egon. In The Hinterlands, one can find The Temple of Zul. Zuul the Destroyer was the ‘villain’ in the first Ghostbusters movie. There is also a mage quest in the Undercity (and a similar one in Stormwind) which involves the investigation of disturbances and the capturing of ghosts in Containment Coffers. Also, in Stormwind, there are three NPC mages that walk around and talk about “crossing the streams”, and that it would be bad.

Ghost in the Shell � Outside Kharanos, next to Steelgrille’s Depot, there is a house built into a hill, with turning gears on top of it. Inside, there are two gnomes who send you on missions regarding Gnomeregan. Right outside their house is an amalgamation of technology, which looks suspiciously like a Tachikoma from the Ghost In the Shell series. These cute, happy blue robots have existed in every series of Ghost In the Shell, and have four spiderlike legs, two arms to manipulate with, a roundish body, and a large tank in the back.

Godzilla � In the Zul’Farrak instance, players can summon and fight a giant hydra named Gahz’rilla, an obvious reference to the giant behemoth of Japanese movie fame.

Goodfellas � In Goldshire there is a NPC named Remy “Two Times”, who states “I’ll give you the best price in town…best price in town!” This is a reference to Jimmy Two Times in the movie “Goodfellas”, who has a similar tendency to repeat himself in dialogue like “I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers.”

Highlander � a master swordsman named Klannoc Macleod, the Islander can be found on Fray Island near Ratchet, a reference to Connor MacLeod.

The Hulk � In the Troll stronghold of Zul’Gurub is a boss by the name Bloodlord Mandokir. While fighting him, random players will get a message from him saying “Don’t make me angry. You won’t like it when I’m angry.” which is a quote from Bruce Banner before he transforms into the Hulk. If the player decides to attack the Bloodlord after he has given this message, the Bloodlord will charge forward and beat the player to death. Additionally, one of the voice emotes for Orc characters is ‘Orc smash!’, a reference to The Hulk’s catchphrase, “Hulk smash!”

Jaws � The fishing trainer in Lakeshire is named Matthew Hooper. Matt Hooper is the name of the character Richard Dreyfuss played in Jaws. He was an expert on fish and sharks. Also, to open the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj, the player kill a large shark named Maws.

Kill Bill � There is a weapon called the Hanzo Sword. This may also be a reference to the character from Kill Bill was based upon, Hattori Hanzo, an actual ninja, trained from childhood and first fought in combat at 16. He lived from 1541�1596.

Labyrinth � In the Ironforge side of the Deeprun Tram that connects the two main Alliance Cities, there’s a little gnome called “Haggle” who bears a distinct resemblance to Hoggle from the movie.

Land of the Lost � Un’goro Crater is a steep walled valley filled with dinosaurs. Two NPCs are Williden Marshal and Hol’anyee Marshal, direct refences from LotL’s characters: Marshal, Will, and Holly. There are crystal pylons which use red, green, blue, and yellow power crystals, visual references to the crystals used in Land of the Lost’s pylons.

The Last Starfighter � In the Orgrimmar’s Cleft of Shadow, the level 35 Troll near the Rogue Trainer is named Zando’zan, a reference to the Assassins that go after Alex’s Beta Unit back on Earth.

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome � Gadgetzan, in Tanaris, is obviously inspired by Bartertown from the third Mad Max movie. The town has a large caged dome in the center where fighting between Horde and Alliance is permitted, which is the exact same concept as Bartertown’s Thunderdome. Also, Tanaris is a desert area that is very similar in appearance to the one in the movie. (arguably, some players also contend that Gadgetzan is very similar in style to Mos Eisley in Star Wars)

Masters of the Universe � When Winna Hazzard’s kitten, Saber, is exposed to the Tainted Moonwell of the Ruins of Constellar in Felwood, he becomes a huge green tiger with yellow stripes, similar to Cringer/Battle Cat.

Mission Impossible � A rogue quest in the Barrens is titled “Mission: Possible But Not Probable.”

Monty Python’s Flying Circus � In the Eastvale Logging Camp in Elwynn Forest is a lumberjack named Terry Palin, who sometimes says “I’m a lumberjack, and I’m OK. I sleep all night and I work all day.” These are the lyrics to the chorus of Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song, originally performed by Michael Palin. The character’s first name probably comes from either Terry Jones or Terry Gilliam, two other members of Monty Python. Additionally, an NPC named Bingles can be found east of the lake in Loch Modan while “Biggles” is the name of Terry Jones’s character in the “Spanish Inquisition” sketch. In this, Jones wore pilot goggles identical to the ones Bingles wears. The pilot goggles in turn are a reference to the fictional pilot Biggles. There is also a consumable item purchasable at the Darkmoon Faire called “Crunchy Frog”, a reference to the unpalatable chocolates described in the sketch of the same name.

The Music Man � Meggi Peppinrocker in Everlook gives out the quest “Trouble in Winterspring!” which borrows heavily from the lyrics of Meredith Willson’s song “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man. In the musical, Professor Harold Hill sings of how playing pool requires “judgement, brains and maturity”, and how he’s developed “a cool head and a keen eye”. Meggi uses these same phrases and other direct quotes from the song’s lyrics when talking about her experiences in the wilderness of Winterspring.

Oz � In the Black Rock Depths instance of Blackrock Mountain there is a jail. Several prisoners in this jail cell (evident in the jailbreak quest) bear names and semblances to characters on the TV Show Oz. I.e. Tobias Screecher is a reference to Tobias Beecher, a prisoner and protagonist in Oz.

Pinocchio � In the Badlands is a gnome with a small mechanical servant called Servo, itself a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Servo will occasionally say things like “someday I’ll be a real boy!”

Popeye � A beggar in Stormwind occasionally says “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”, a frequent quote from the character Wimpy.

Predator – Before the second boss encounter in the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, Lt. General Andorov replies, when asked: “If it bleeds, we can kill it”. This is the quote used in movie Predator, when Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) discovers, that the hostile and invisible alien actually drops yellow-green blood when hurt.

The Princess Bride � The object that brands a player to ‘attune’ them to Blackwing Lair says “Have fun storming the castle” when you touch it. This is a quote from Max the Miricle Worker in the movie The Princess Bride.

Psycho � The undead innkeepers in the Undercity and in Silverpine forest are named Innkeeper Norman and Innkeeper Bates.

Pulp Fiction � In Ravenholdt, there is a mysterious human with the name Winston Wolfe with the tag “The Wolf.” This is a reference to Harvey Keitel’s character in Pulp Fiction. Also, Lord Ravenholdt can give rogue players a quest to recover a sealed azure bag “the contents of which are a private matter”, a possible reference to the mysterious briefcase of Marcellus Wallace whose glowing content is never revealed to the viewers.

Raiders of the Lost Ark � In the Badlands you must gather two quest items called the Staff of Tsol and the Amulet of Gni’Kiv. When found you must put the staff and amulet together and place them into a miniature city, mimicking a scene in the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Ren & Stimpy � Out of the many pets in WoW there is a breed of cat, cornish rex, this refers to the episode “Dog Show” where George Liquor entered Stimpy into a dog show as a “Cornish Rex hound”.

Sanford & Son � In the city of Orgrimmar one may visit Droffers and Son Salvage where orcs Dran Droffers and his son Malton are proprietors. Their names are anagrams for Fred Sanford and Lamont. The quest “Ripple Recovery” is an obvious reference to Fred Sanford’s wine of choice on the show.

Scarface � In the Eastern Plaguelands, an NPC by the name of Tirion Fordring lives in a small house in the wilderness. When a monster approaches him, he gets out his hammer and says, “Say hello to my little friend.” This is a quote from the movie “Scarface” from 1983 starring Al Pacino.

The Silence of the Lambs � In Dire Maul North, there are a series of quests that involve the creation of an Ogre suit; one of the components of the suit is an Ogre Tannin, which is found in a basket. When you obtain the Tannin, an ogre (Gordok Bushwacker) comes charging down the stairs screaming “It puts the tannin in the basket or it gets the mallet again!!” This is a reference to the Buffalo Bill killer in the film (and novel), who instructed his victim “It places the lotion in the basket” and threatened that “it gets the hose again.” In an additional link, Buffalo Bill was making a suit out of human skin. In a cave in Thunder Bluff is a character named Clarice Foster. This is a reference to the FBI agent in the film (Clarice Starling) and the actress who played her (Jodie Foster).

The Simpsons � In the Library instance of the Scarlet Monastery, a miniboss named Houndmaster Loksey yells out “Release the hounds!” when attacked in a voice very similar to that of Mr. Burns, the greedy owner of the Springfield nuclear power plant. The two characters also have similar hair styles. Also, in Dire Maul, after killing King Gordok and causing the ogres to become friendly, some quote The Simpsons, such as “I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T!”

The Six Million Dollar Man � In the Badlands, Lotwil Veriatus’s robot Servo says “We can make it better, stronger, faster. We have the technology.” This is a reference to the opening credits of the 1970s TV show The Six Million Dollar Man.

SNL � One of the items you can receive in the game is called a “Happy Fun Rock” in reference to a Saturday Night Live skit commercial for a product named Happy Fun Ball. “Do not taunt happy fun ball” “Happy Fun Ball sticks to some types of skin” etc.

South Park � In the Instance Stratholme is a boss named Timmy the Cruel. He yells his name again and again similar to the South Park character of the same name. Timmy the Cruel is also a reference to the first human mission in Warcraft III, where Arthas saves a boy named Timmy from a pack of gnolls, and was turned into a ghoul when the plague spread. One of the guards in Stormwind is named “Officer Brady”, probably a reference to Officer Barbrady.

Star Trek � In Booty Bay, there is a goblin named Scooty who operates the “Transporter 3000″. Completing the quest and using the transporter takes you to Gnomeregan, where a goblin named Sprock waits on the other side, with his faction labeled as “Away Team”. Also, in Gadgetzan there is a goblin named Jhordie Lapforge who stands next to a similar Transporter which serves as the destination for the Ultra-Safe Transporter available to Engineers of the Gnomish persuasion. Finally, in Orgrimmar, the NPC Engineer’s name is Nogg, a Deep Space Nine Reference. In Oggrimmar in the Valley of Honor there is a goblin named Sovik which is reminiscent of the Vulcan Saavik first introduced in The Wrath of Khan.

Star Wars � The racetrack in the Shimmering Flats features a vehicle that is strikingly similar to the podracers found in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In the hangar in the Military Ward of Ironforge sits Xiggs Fuselighter, wearing a white and orange outfit strikingly similar to that of an X-Wing pilot. The name is similar to Biggs Darklighter, friend of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Superman � There is an NPC on the docks of Southshore named Farmer Kent, a reference to Clark Kent and his childhood of growing up on a farm.

Terminator � The final Hunter talent in the Beast Mastery tree is called Bestial Wrath and in its description is “your pet doesn’t feel pity or remorse or fear” which is a line taken out of Terminator, “Listen. And understand. That terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!” In Marvon Rivetseeker’s workshop in Ratchet, there is a mechanical arm upright in an elongated jar on an end table. This is a reference to Terminator 2: Judgment day, where a microchip and mechanical arm were recovered by Cyberdyne Systems Corporation from the remains of the first terminator.

The Shawshank Redemption � In Tanaris, there is a quest called “The Scrimshank Redemption”. While the content has little to do with the movie, the quest title is a rather obvious reference to the movie.

Top Gun � In Alterac Valley the Wing Commanders on Alliance side are Ichman, Slidore and Vipore, and on Horde side are Guse, Jeztor and Mulverick. The names are similar to the pilots Iceman, Slider, Viper, Goose, Jester and Maverick from Top Gun.

Toxic Avenger � The rare weapon Toxic Revenger inflicts special damage to its target that makes it glow radioactive green, much like the hero of the Toxic Avenger movies.

Transformers � An NPC named Grimlok may be found in Uldaman, named after the leader of the Dinobots. Grimlok says “Me Grimlock, king!”, one of the original character’s lines from Transformers: The Movie.

Under Siege � In the old district in Stormwind, there is a cook named Stephen Ryback, a reference to Steven Seagal, and his character from the movie Casey Ryback. He was also a cook.
Xanadu � At the Stormwind bank, the aforementioned Olivia Burnside touts the security of the bank by stating, “No one’s ever stolen anything out of here. Not in the whole history of… the whole history!” Olivia Newton-John’s character Kira makes an almost identical comment to Sonny when he tells her he’s going to take her out of Mount Olympus.

Literature

The Anarchist Cookbook � A late level mage quest begins with a tome known as The Arcanist’s Cookbook. This is a reference to The Anarchist’s Cookbook, a collection of articles on explosives, hacking, and other shady business.

Crime and Punishment � There is an NPC in Stormwind City named Nikova Raskol, a play on the name Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

Damon Knight � The book “how to serve man” can be found in some areas of the game through killing NPCs or pickpocketing them, a reference to Damon Knight’s short story “to serve man”, which was later made into a Twilight Zone episode, which was also parodied in the Simpsons.

Discworld � In Dustwallow Marsh there is a Watchman called Captain Vimes, a direct reference to Captain Vimes of the Night Watch, one of Terry Pratchetts popular Discworld characters. There is also a series of quests in Duskwood for a group of NPCs belonging to The Night Watch.

Flowers for Algernon � An undead man in the Apothecarium of the Undercity named Algernon stands holding a peacebloom, a reference to the aforementioned novel.

The Green Hills of Africa � In Stranglethorn Vale, there is a big game hunter’s camp, led by Hemet Nesingwary, an anagram of Ernest Hemingway, who was also a big game hunter and former soldier. Besides various hunting quests, one of his aides gives a quest to retrieve lost pages of Nesingwary’s book, “The Green Hills of Stranglethorn”, alluding to Hemingway’s “The
Green Hills of Africa.”

Hades’ Daughter � There is an NPC in Teldrassil named Asterion who is trapped and must be set free. This is a reference to Sarah Douglass’ character in the Troy Game series.

The Lord of the Rings � The 1 Ring � An item in reference to The One Ring. It gives +1 to Strength, Agility, Stamina, Spirit and Intellect. It’s reportedly not as good as The 2 Ring. It can be obtained through fishing, a reference to how Gollum finds the ring in a river. There are also many visual similarities to the art direction of the films, such as Blackrock Mountain and the surrounding Burning Steppes bearing a striking resemblance to Mount Doom and the surrounding country of Mordor. More directly, a dwarven reimagining of the Argonath exists in southern Loch Modan. Beren’s Peril, an area of Silverpine Forest, is possibly named for Beren, a man of LotR’s past. Furthermore, the /silly emote for a human male talks about an ‘idea for a movie’ (that movie being the story of LotR, replacing “ring” with “bracelet”, and other thoughtful changes.)

H.P. Lovecraft � During the quest “The Star, the Hand and the Heart” in Dustwallow Marsh the god of murlocs is summoned. The god of these fish-men is called Dagun, which is an obvious reference to Dagon, one of the Great Old Ones. Dagon is featured in Lovecraft’s Shadow Over Innsmouth. A movie with the same name has also been made.

The Old Man and the Sea � In Booty Bay, there is a fishing trainer named Old Man Heming, an allusion to Ernest Hemingway and his novella. Also, there is a hunter in Stranglethorn Vale called Hemet Nesingwary — scrambled writer’s name.

Shakespeare � In Undercity the four bankers have the last name Montague. This is a reference to one of the feuding families in Romeo and Juliet. This is more certainly derived from Mercutio’s line, when mortally wounded ‘A plague o’ both your houses!’, that plague, of course, being the one of undeath, in this case. A butcher called Dirge Quikcleave in Tanaris says “Get thee to a cheesery!” when sending you on a quest to gather cheese and other cooking ingredients. This is a reference to “Get thee to a nunnery”, a line from Hamlet to Ophelia. Some undead creatures drop a ‘pound of flesh’, a reference to The Merchant of Venice.

A Song of Ice and Fire � There is a gnome in the gardens of Castle Stormwind by the name of Tyrion, probably a reference to Tyrion Lannister, the Imp. It is also possible that Duskwood’s “The Night Watch” refers to the faction of the same name in the George R.R. Martin books, particularly since both battle the undead.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy � In Deeprun Tram, there is a Leper Gnome by the name of Haggle who walks around and says, “Forty-two… forty-two what? It could be anything…” This is a reference to the Douglas Adams’ classic where the answer to “The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything” is “Forty-two”.

Treasure Island � Every time the chest in Stranglethorn Vale is placed in the arena someone named Short John Mithril announces it. Short John Mithril is a reference to the pirate Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novel.

A Tale of Two Cities � In Booty Bay, there is a tailoring shop with a sign outside proclaiming the shop name to be “A Tailor to Cities”, an obvious reference to the Charles Dickens novel.

Walt Whitman � in Duskwood, in a house near the alliance griffon there is an NPC named Whit Wantmal which is an anagram of Walt Whitman

Kurt Vonnegut � In the Swamp Of Sorrows, there is a canine/demon boss named Kazzak, probably based off the hound of space, Kazak, from Vonnegut’s book The Sirens Of Titan

Music

ABC (band) � A dwarf in Eastern Plaguelands gives a quest called “When Smokey Sings, I Get Violent”, a reference to ABC’s song When Smokey Sings which contains the line, “When Smokey sings, I hear violins.”

ACDC � A dwarven mortar team in Dun Morogh sing “I’m TNT!” and “I’m dynamite!” during their target practice; these are lyrics from the chorus to “TNT” by ACDC.

Alizée � The female night-elf’s dance styles is taken from the French pop-singer.

Bob Dylan � A quest in the Western Plaguelands called All Along the Watchtowers is named for the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower, made famous by Jimi Hendrix.

Bauhaus � Royal Overseer Bauhaus of the Undercity Census Bureau may be named for the seminal goth band. This could also be a reference to the german Staatliches Bauhaus school of architecture and art which deeply influenced the modernist period.
Barber of Seville and Marriage of Figaro � A human in Southshore is named Bartolo after a character in these operas (he gives the quest Bartolo’s Yeti Fur Cloak).

The Beatles � Michelle Belle NPC at the inn in Goldshire is very similar to the lyrics of the song ‘Michelle’ � “Michelle my belle, these are words that go together well.” See also Ringo Starr, below.

Depeche Mode � In the Blasted Lands, there is a quest giver that wants to collect crystals which drop in the zone, and the name of the quest is “Everything Counts in Large Amounts”. Also referred to in a series of quest for rogues in Teldrassil, two quests with the names “The Apple Falls” and “Destiny Calls”, which is a reference to lyrics of the song “The Bottom Line”.

The Doors � Lord Serpintias, one of the bosses in the Wailing Caverns says “I am the Serpent King..I can do anything.” This is a reference to Jim Morrison of The Doors whose alter ego was known as The Lizard King. The line is taken verbatim (minus the substitution) from the song “Not To Touch The Earth”, one of seven songs that make up a medley known as The Celebration of the Lizard.

Guns N’ Roses � There is a quest in Stranglethorn Vale called “Welcome to the jungle” a very obvious reference to the opening song of the Appetite for Destruction album.

Harry Belafonte � There is an item in the game called Tel’Abim Banana, which might be a reference to the Harry Belafonte song Banana Boat, with the lyric “Come mister tally man, tally me bananas”.

Jay-Z � During the Halloween special event, a quest from a needy orphan requires you to perform emotes to NPCs to collect candy. The Tauren innkeeper in Thunder Bluff asks you to dance, and once you do she also dances and states “I may have ninety-nine problems, but dancin’ ain’t one of them!” This is a reference to Jay-Z’s popular song, “99 Problems” in which he says “I got 99 problems but a b**ch ain’t one”. (This line is also directly lifted from an

Ice-T song of the same name, though it is unclear which song Blizzard is referring to).

Led Zeppelin � A quest for the Instance Dungeon Stratholme called Houses of the Holy is an obvious reference to the band’s 1973 album of the same name

MC Hammer � The male Orc’s dance style is the same as seen in the rapper’s videos, most notably “U Can’t Touch This”

Men At Work � Caretaker Alen in Eastern Plaguelands says “I come from the land down under… where women plague and men sunder.” every now and then, as a reference to the “Men
At Work” � Song “Down Under”

Michael Jackson � The male night elf dance moves are very similar to those of pop-singer Michael Jackson’s.

The Muppets � If the “/silly” command is used as an Orc player, the character will sometimes state “It’s not easy being green”, a reference to a song of the same title performed by Jim Henson’s most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog.

Peter Murphy � The quest Deep Ocean, Vast Sea in Darkshore references a song from the Bauhaus singer’s solo album, Deep.

Pink Floyd � During the Alliance quest to gain Artisan First Aid, one of the injured patients will sing the opening lyrics to the Pink Floyd song “Goodbye Cruel World” off of the album The Wall.

Pomeroy � In Stormwind City there is a guard named “Patroller Pomeroy” possibly a reference to the band Pomeroy.

Oingo Boingo � The Undead quest Dead Man’s Party refers to a song by Oingo Boingo and features NPCs named after band members Steve Bartek and Danny Elfman.

Olivia Newton-John � In Stormwind the three bankers are named Olivia, Newton and John. This is a reference to the singer/actor from the 80s.

Rammstein � The name of a Horde side quest ‘Ramstein’ and a boss in the Stratholme instance as the objective of the quest.

Ringo Starr � A quest in Un’Goro Crater called “With a Little Help from My Friends” has the player rescue a Goblin named Ringo. The quest is named for the song sung by Ringo on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.
Siouxsie and the Banshees � In the Dire Maul West instance there is a rare spawn called Tsu’zee and there are two Wailing Banshees right behind her.

Steely Dan � A Tanaris quest called Cuergo’s Gold references the Steely Dan song Cuervo Gold.

Tenacious D – There is a belt that drops from a boss in Hellfire Ramparts in the Outlands, which has the quote ‘It has the power… to move you.’ which is an obvious quote from ‘Wonderboy’ by Tenacious D!

The Toyes � If the “/silly” command is used as a male Troll player, the character will sometimes recite, in a heavy Jamaican accent, “I kill two dwarves in the morning, I kill two dwarves at night. I kill two dwarves in the afternoon, and then I feel alright. I kill two dwarves in time of peace and two in time of war. I kill two dwarves before I kill two dwarves, and then I kill two more,” a direct reference to the Toyes song “Smoke Two Joints”. The band Sublime did a cover of the song; it’s unknown which version Blizzard was making reference to.

Fatboy Slim � There is a quest called “Weapons of Choice”, a reference to the popular Fatboy Slim song “Weapon of Choice”, made famous it’s music video starring Christopher Walken.

Fashion

Abercrombie � Near Darkshire an old man is named Abercrombie, as in the popular clothing company (or perhaps the Primus song “My Name Is Mud”). Or perhaps it’s just a name that’s been in common use long before the clothing company became famous, although he does present a series of quests, during the culmination of which he produces a hideous monster of his own creation named “Stitches” (resembling the Abomination creature in Warcraft 3). It’s widely accepted that “Abercrombie and Stitches” is not an accidental near-homonym for the “Abercrombie and Fitch” brand.

Other

Billy the Kid � In the bat-trainer’s alcove in Undercity you will find Patrick Garrett with a shovel in hand. This is a reference to Pat Garrett who was a friend of Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid. Garrett eventually shot Billy twice in the back. Now Patrick Garrett shovels guano in a city of the dead, presumably his eternal reward.

Christopher Walken � The senior warrior trainer of the undead race is called Christoph Walker, apparently named after the actor.

Circus � Ironforge the three bankers are named Barnum, Bailey, and Soleil. This is a reference to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Cirque du Soleil.

George Carlin � Zesty Clam Meat and Tangy Clam Meat drop throughout the game. George Carlin has a rant about the seemingly meaningless advertisement words zesty and tangy in a stand-up show he did some years ago.

Gregory Charles � The undercity rogue trainer’s name is the same as French Canadian singer/actor/entertainer Gregory Charles [1].

Hindenburg disaster � One of the zeppelin goblins near the Undercity is named Hin Denburg, after the famous crashed German zeppelin.

Homestar Runner � In Thorium Point in Searing Gorge, there is an NPC named “Master Smith Burninate”, a reference to Strong Bad’s dragon, “Trogdor the Burninator”. Also Strongbad and friends are in the special thanks in the end credits.

Karl Malone � One of the NPCs in Stratholme goes by the name of Postmaster Malown, a reference to Karl “The Mailman” Malone of the Utah Jazz. He drops a rare mace named Malown’s Slam.

Kym Wilde � There is an NPC at Thunder Bluff named Kym Wildmane, which is possibly a reference to the actor Kym Wilde or the singer Kim Wilde.

Lee Van Cleef � In Westfall, the player can enter an instanced dungeon called the Deadmines, the boss of which is VanCleef, after the well-known spaghetti-western star. He has a similar voice and the same sharp facial features as said actor who became famous for playing notoriously ice-cold villains. On another note, Hideo Kojima, the developer of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, modeled the elderly Solid Snake after Lee Van Cleef.

O RLY? � After the saying became popular among players, one of newly added Goblin Auctioneers in Booty Bay was named “O’Reely”. There is also a white owl that flies around a hut near Steamwheedle Port in Tanaris named “O’Reilly”. Furthermore, there has been added an Undead auctioneer by the name of “Yarly” in the Undercity Auction House.

Peanut Butter Jelly Time � One of the Tauren Male’s dance cycles is based on the famous Dancing Banana that appears in the popular Internet Flash.

Smith & Wesson � In Ratchet a High Elf sailor will give you a mission to travel down the coast and kill the cannoneers Smyth and Weasson, an obvious reference to fire arm company Smith & Wesson.

Thundercats � The small inventory icon for several necklaces utilizes the Thundercats logo. There is also a horde quest in the Scarlet Monastery where one of the reward items is The Sword of Omen, the sword of The Thundercats. In addition, the “Samophlange” quest chain starting in the city of Ratchet is likely a reference to a moderately famous series of outtakes from the show.

Wickerman � During the 2005 Halloween season, Blizzard introduced the festivities of Hallow’s End, which includes the burning of an effigy of a man (named Wickerman) in front of Undercity. Although this references a movie of the same name ([3]), it is probably also a reference to the annual Burning Man festival held in Nevada. The possibility also exists that it refers to the ancient pagan practice of burning men alive as human sacrifices, called Wicker Men.

Yuen Woo-ping � Woo Ping, the Weapon Master in Stormwind City is named after the martial arts choreographer and director.

For more video game Easter eggs, why not head over to our source EEGGS.com

Know some that we missed? Why not mention them in the forums, located here.

Cameron Diaz

Where you may know her from: There’s Something About Mary, Charlie’s Angels

What We Know: Appearantly she plays a character called Hippopotamus on Detheroc

Eliza Dushku

Where you may know her from: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse, Wrong Turn

What We Know: We know that recently she updated her twitter asking her fans wether she should roll an Alliance or Horde Character. You can check that at the link provided Here

Mila Kunis

Where you may know her from: That 70’s Show, Family Guy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

What we Know: Appearntly Mila knows her stuff. Her and Her boyfriend McCauly Culken play all the time and when interviewed by WoW.com they quized her on her warcraft knowledge and scored pretty high in their books. The only other fact we know is that she  plays Alliance.

Felicia Day

Where you may know her from: The Guild, Dr.Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, The Legend of Neil

What we Know: She definatly plays WoW which was her original inspiration for the Show “The Guild“. She even sat down with Asylum.com to teach guys how to meet women through World of Warcraft. Cute, Nerdy and lvoes to play video games… Can you say total package?

Kate Beckinsale

Where you may know her from: Underworld Series, Van Hellsing, Click

What we know: She appearntly Raids with a guild by the name of Malum Factum on the server The Forgotten Coast. This is one that will almost fall into my rumor pile but, a man can dream can’t he?

The new dungeon system is not the only worth while feature coming up in the new patch. along side it are such features as:

• Cross-realm Instancing
• Instance teleporting
• Smarter Group matching
• Daily Random Dungeons
• Group Disenchanting
• Need before Greed Update
• Looking for raid and vote Kick

I have always given new features a chance so I will not slam this idea completely down as of yet, but if it is similar to the PUGs i have experienced in other games well, I think Blizzard may have a whole lot of flaming to deal with…

Come talk to us about this topic on our

10. Curator

Biggest damage multiplier in the game to date, I believe. When he was evocating he’d take like 400% more damage. Big numbers make us nerds go “HURRGHH,” and white knuckle our wireless WoW gaming mice with excitement. Yeah, really… it’s that fun, I promise.

9.  Ossirian the Unscarred

What’s better than running around like a chicken with your head cut off, avoiding giant ass tornadoes and needing to time clicking a crystal exactly right, all at the same time? Nothing is! That’s why Ossirain makes my list. A controlled chaos fight that is so unique that we’ll probably never see anything like it again.

8. Patchwerk

Okay, anyone who doesn’t like this fight is probably a healer or a tank. If you’re a ranged DPS, you probably cream yourself thinking about doing this fight. This is a fight where DPS, especially ranged, can just absolutely unload with no thought about threat generation whatsoever. Patchwerk today is still used as the standard “test dummy” for raid DPS. You all know what I’m talking about, too. Having 6 different people link meters after Patchwerk and engaging in some sort of e-peen measuring system that somehow makes their everyday lives better. Sounds like great water cooler chat at work. “Hey Frank, what’d you do last night?” “I topped meters at 6.7k DPS on my DK in a 10 man Naxx run on Patchwerk.” “Oh… well… I have to go now… nice uh, nice talkin’ to ya Frank.”

7.  Hodir

I know I’m jumping a few expansions here, but bear with me. Hodir’s fight is another one of those fights where everything bad can happen at once, but it has awesome buffs that make the fight fun. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy 200% critical strike damage? 28k executes always brightens my raid night up. Yeah, another fight that isn’t fun for healers. I suppose it’s a masochist type of thing. I enjoy healing hard fights. The more crazy spiky damage the better! Anyway, next boss.

6.  Archimonde

Yeah, I know a majority of people hate this fight. Actually, I was with you there while my guild was learning that… in fact… wait… I still hate this fight.  Uh, yeah, get off my list Archimonde. Worst fight ever.

The real 6. The Lurker Below

Bear with me here, I know it isn’t incredibly epic, but it’s one of those fun fights where you get to laugh at idiots. We’ll start with laughing at idiots in PUGs. Toward the end of Burning Crusade, when every boss fight got nerfed, we started to PUG and sell our loot. We would tell the PUGs to go ahead and jump in the water to get ready for the boss Lurker boss fight. Of course, since we hadn’t cleared the trash all the way yet, they’d just get nearly instantly killed by the fish in the water. I know it’s evil, but it was hilarious and awesome at the same time. Also when idiots died to spout it was pretty awesomely funny because they would fly about five-hundred feet away from where Lurker is. I once lauded a guild mate so hard, that they ragequit the guild. Oops. Take a joke, friend. Anyway. Lurker, number six. Moving on.

5. Netherspite

Oh man, where do I start. Portals that make you grab instant aggro and give you 50k health, portals that make your damage go exponentially up while taking exponentially more damage. Well, there’s also the lame portal that lowers your mana and increases your healing power… lame. Sorry healers, I know we were all a bit disappointed that everyone else got some kickass buff and we got one that sucked. Anyway, another one of those fights that you don’t have to worry about aggro and can just blow the boss up. After learning the boss fight and farming it for months on end, it was always funny to see who could stay in the beam the longest, or have someone ninja the beam from them and having them fight over it to the point of standing point blank on the portal and not really being sure who has it. I’m getting a little too nostalgic here, gonna tear up man. Man cry. MOVING ON!

4. Nefarian

I chose Nefarian for several reasons. One, he’s the son of Deathwing, which makes him completely awesome simply by being related to one of the coolest villains ever. Also, the second reason, the boss fight mechanics themselves. Phase one was funny because it could be the easiest thing ever (bronze/green) or it could be the most difficult thing you’ve ever done in your raiding career up until that instance when the color combination was red and blue. The randomness of it all, and the cruelness of some of the combinations had to leave some developers cackling evilly in their giant… developer… castles. Or wherever developers develop things. Phase two was awesome because of the different class abilities that Nefarian did. Just another horrible and hilarious random event. The mages could get their class debuff and start sheeping everyone right when Nefarian resurrected his troops to zerg you. Great stuff.

3.  Ragnaros

I picked Rangaros for several reasons. The boss fight itself isn’t as epic as the events surrounding it. Picture yourself, you’ve just bought this brand new game set in the Warcraft universe. You spend 4 months leveling up to level 60 because you’re a newb and you don’t know how to do it any faster. You run Scholomance and UBRS for your Magister’s gear and your Lightforge gear. (Hey, Lightforge had spirit on it. ++++++++++++ regen man!) When you’ve gathered all of this, you and a group of friends decide to start getting people together to form a 40 man raid. This 40 man raid goes into the newly released Molten Core and wipes 16 times on the first pull. You call the raid. Next time they only wipe once clearing trash and you’re looking at the first boss. 6 laborious, toiling, tear-filled, raging months later you’re staring at a giant firelord. This is it right now. This is the end of WoW as you know it. After you beat Rangaros you have beaten EVERYTHING. For those of you who experienced a guild first downing Ragnaros, and I know I’m not alone, you know what I’m talking about. Screaming yourself hoarse after seeing that freaking hammer drop into the lava. Good times. Very, very good times.

2.  Kael’thas Sunstrider (raid version)

Legendary weapons at your disposal, crazy zero-gravity phase, adds, and a crazed magician villain. Doesn’t get much better than that. The first phase was the easiest, of course. It was fun as a hunter pulling the caster add to the warlock tank. Other than that, not much to it. Second phase got way crazy with all the adds engaged, plus Kael… plus the weapons. Geez! After the weapons dropped though, that’s where the fun really began. There’s nothing like playing with a legendary weapon that makes a frequent raider like myself happy. Like a vast majority of the WoW community, I’ve never been blessed with having one. So 5 minutes of fame with one was a great time. A lot of elements made this boss  fight an epic one, right down to the last phase where Kael causes zero gravity and breaks all the glass in a movie-esque scene. Just a great fight overall.

1. Vaelastrasz the Corrupt

Yeah, there could have been other choices for number one. But this is my list, so I get to put what I want at the top. Vael was an awesome fight for a million reasons. Having unlimited energy, mana, rage, etc. was probably the top reason. Spamming whatever you wanted with complete disregard for your own safety was never a good idea though. It had to be a controlled insanity, which is part of what made that fight so unique. Tanks had to keep their aggro lined up, one after the other, clicking off their blessing of salvation when they wanted to spike their aggro. Oh, right, forgot to mention. THE TANKS EXPLODE. One after the other. How awesome is that? On top of that, one random raid member gets 20 seconds to walk to the back of the room, cast all their spells instantly and eventually explode. So you have a slowly exploding raid to contend with as well. Overall, an amazing fight.

Yes, I probably left out YOUR favorite fight or this fight should have been on there. I’ll agree with you though. Some of these fights are interchangeable as far as awesomeness goes. I just chose these ones because they are near and dear to my heart. I hope you enjoyed my first top 10 list. Follow this link to discuss it on the forums!

Let’s be honest here. The majority of WoW players who argue one side or the other are players that either: A, are new to the game (By new I mean a player who has only leveled ONE character). Or B, players who stick only to one faction without even giving the other side at least a 20-30 level shot. For those players in the latter category, before you pass judgment based on ignorance and, well let’s face it, LAZYNESS – do me a favor? Log on, create a new character of the opposing faction and give that toon’s leveling the old “college try”. Either that or RESEARCH the other side, at the very least!

From my almost 4 years of experience with this game, I’ve noticed that about 90% of the people complaining on the forums or in trade chat (that’s not what that channel is for by the way), that their faction was harder to level than the other, don’t have a bloody clue what leveling the other side is even like. Hell most of the complaining I hear in game, about ANYTHING, is built on a foundation of ignorance. I was guilty of it myself once and even now sometimes my guildmates will correct me and say: “Achilles, you might want to look that up….” Anyways, that’s a whole other issue.

As a WoW player who has faced leveling both Horde and Alliance toon’s to level cap – I, naturally, have my own opinion regarding this matter. When speaking of generalities, both factions when starting out, have the same basic areas, enemies, and instances. Meaning that the areas usually have mobs of the same level, and starter instances on both sides are organized the same way, so the new players can get the feel of what it’s like to function in a group. Both factions have areas with enemies of the same levels (e.g.: Westfall 10-19, and Barrens 10-19), both factions have roughly the same amount of quests to help you level, and both factions have the same world drop rate in terms of green and blue leveled items. So in actuality, is there really a huge difference in the beginning?

Some players will argue that the Alliance have more quests to do in the earlier areas like Westfall and Redridge. Others will say that the Barrens (although boring at times) have some of the easiest quest lines ever, and as a result going from level 1-23 is a snap. In terms of leveling from 1-25, I will agree that leveling a Horde toon up until this point is easier. BUT the Alliance, I have noticed, have maybe 10-20% more quests at their disposal. So when you think about it hard enough, it evens out – Well, at least for the early levels.

When you get to the middle level areas, the game changes drastically. In areas like Stranglethorn Vale and Tanaris, everything becomes harder. Not only because there are more enemies, and therefore more chances to run into elites, but because now, both factions are now REALLY competing. Areas like the two I mentioned above are, for the most part, evenly controlled – meaning that there is an Alliance town, and a Horde town in the area. Places like Duskwood, and Thousand Needles are reserved for specific factions, but now, it’s anyone’s game. Ever been on a collection quest with a really crappy drop rate, and see a member of the opposing faction run in and engage 3 or 4 mobs at once, leaving you with nothing to do but wait for a re-spawn? THAT is why leveling sucks, my friends. The moment you introduce that kind of inter-faction equation into the game, it makes things sluggish and well….aggravating. Once you get used to the fact that levels 25 to basically 59 are going to give you a run for your money, you can and will, find ways to deal with it, and PERHAPS get back into an even pace.

So here it is – the home stretch! 60-80. Now most of you are wondering, “home stretch? Is he freaking kidding me???” But to be honest, from personal experience, leveling from 60-80 is infinitely easier then 1-60! The reason being is that since the introduction of death knights in the last expansion, finding groups for things like quests and instances has never been easier! Considering DK’s can do both tanking and dps, finding a group for an instance can take a matter of minutes due mainly to the fact that there are more DK’s out there now than any other class. And if you level like I do, instances are your life-line. With rest experience you can gain anywhere from 4-6 bars PER Outland instance just by killing mobs. That, coupled with the fact that bosses drop some decent gear for leveling, makes the journey to level-cap, as long as it may seem at times, just a tad easier. Outland is notorious for having more quests then actual mobs, (slight exaggeration obviously) so I’ve never had trouble finding something to do. I’ve leveled a DK from 58-66 just by messing around in Hellfire Peninsula and Terrokar Forrest, with a few instance runs thrown in there for a change of pace. That leaves 70% of Outland still untouched, and attaining those last 4 levels is a snap simply by completing quests in the remaining 5 areas.

Now you’re wondering, “What about the two factions? Is there a difference in leveling between the two in Outland?” – From what I’ve seen, not really. Outland is designed a little differently than Old World. Yes there are areas in Outland that favor one side over the other. Yes there are areas that have both Alliance and Horde towns. BUT because Outland is now considered Old World as well, you won’t find much competition for quest mobs or gathering quests. The reason for this is quite possibly because players find it a little much leveling from 58-70, so a lot of toons go unleveled; most just sit at 45 or 50 collecting dust. A lot of players I talk to wish that their toon could just jump from 58 to 70. Therefore, a lot of players don’t even bother with Outland. I know because I do it too.

Now the final push is approaching – 70-80. This, by far, is my favorite part of the game. There is so much to do in Northrend, so many new challenges to face for both factions. In my opinion, Blizzard did a great job of trying to balance out the number of quests between the two factions. I have 2 level capped toons on either side: An Alliance and Horde paladin, and an Alliance and Horde Rogue, including several other toons of all classes ranging from levels 30-65. You don’t get much more unbiased than that. As a result, I was able to gauge the difficulty of leveling in Northrend twice over for either side. The conclusion I came to is that leveling in Northrend, no matter which side you play for, is SO much fun. It’s the most populated part of the WoW world so it’s easy to find groups for instances. Finding someone to help you with that really “hard to complete” quest is easy, and the quests are not only vast in number, BUT they seem much more original than before!

I do have to say this: Whether you’re playing Alliance or Horde, leveling is still a pain in the ass, simply for the fact that most of the quests are repetitive and redundant. I mean HOW MANY TIMES can you pick up a great goretusk liver before you question whether or not you should be out kicking a ball around, or reading a book? Go “here”, pick “this” up. Go “here”, kill “this guy”. And then there’s my personal favorite, go “here”, collect “this many” of “this”, then come back to me so I can send you to the opposite end of the map to do the EXACT SAME THING. There has been MANY a time where I complete a quest chain and have actually physically hated myself for doing it. Because let’s face it, guys – There are better things to do with ones time than repetitive quests.

The bottom line is that whichever faction you’re used to playing, more often than not that is the side you prefer to level. So OFCOURSE you’re going to say that Horde is easier if you play Alliance, and vice versa. If you spend 2 years in game leveling a human paladin, running raids with him, pvping with him, all you will ever know is one side of the game. Hell, even by only playing ONE CLASS you only know a FRACTION of the game. In conclusion, I don’t believe that one faction is easier to level than the other. I believe that Blizzard did a good job when it comes to creating an even leveling playing field. But don’t take my word for it. If you’ve never played an alliance past level 25, or vice versa, try it! Branch off, my friends! The world of Azeroth is far vaster then just Crossroads or Goldshire…. explore!

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