Wrath of the Lich King: Ask a Beta Tester

Though we don't have the persuasive powers required to convince Blizzard to give you all beta keys of your very own, we can answer your beta-related questions. Do you have a burning Wrath question that you just have to have answered? Leave it in the comments, and we'll be back here every day, same time, same place, to answer some of your questions.

Please Note: If you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now! We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving a few things away.

(for more general news on the beta,
check out our page all about Wrath of the Lich King)

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Ask a Beta Tester: World Explorin' I'm sorry, folks, but I have to revisit the school-specific spell power discussion... yes, again! As a great many commenters have pointed out, school-specific spell power has recently been removed from the beta versions of the tailored Shadoweave and Spellfire sets. Its overall damage has been decreased and converted to spell power.

• Binge asked.... Looking for details on the requirements for "World Explorer" achievement. Do we have to visit each sub-area of a zone? How about districts of an opposite factions capital (Stormwind cathedral, trade, old town, etc)?
• Sorano asked.... Is Shield of Righteousness effectively the attack Holy paladins can/should use between 6 seconds cd Holy Shocks? What would be your opinion on that new ability?
• Sorano asked.... With a build like this you get 10% baseline spell crit and 16% when using Holy Light or Holy Shock. It just seems to good to be true. Can anyone confirm?
• David asked.... I currently feel that Blizzard is treating us EU beta testers as second rate testers. Our beta server is currently overcrowded and having all sorts of lag and disconnects as you can see from our forums and we have been asking for a second realm for ages. And now we had an answer from Vaneras basically reafirming that we won't get any server and won't even get premades. i think this is extremely unfair and his a proverbial kick in the face to all of us EU testers.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Of Paladins and Primals We'll start off with a question that we've probably answered before, but let's try to clear it up....

• max attack asked.... With the new change to Sheath of Light put lower in the Paladin's Retribution tree, no longer allow for a viable Holy/Ret spec taking advantage of Sheath of Light's over time heals?
• Scunosi (and several others) asked.... Relating to the 3000 quests question, do dailies count as one quest or do they count for each time you turn them in?
• Sanzer asked.... In regards to the Paladin Holy tree -- the talent Purifying Power made me wonder if the number of undead in Northrend makes getting this talent worth the points. Am I going to be destroying so many undead that missing this talent would be a mistake?
• Brandon Tilley asked.... As a lower-level fury warrior, I dual wield two one-handed weapons. When you get Titan's Grip and dual wield two handed weapons, does it use your weapon skill for one-handed or two-handed weapons?
• Harmun asked.... I wonder what this will do to the primals market? Will it become mostly obsolete like the elemental market did after TBC? Now the only time people need old world drops like this is if they are leveling tradeskills... I ask because I'm sitting on a stupidly large stack of primal life I bought at what was a good price before the markets crashed as people stopped raiding (and getting new gear) and started farming primals while waiting for Wrath.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Professions and Primals Right now tailors in the beta with 410 skill can craft Frostweave Bags with 20 slots. However, it has pretty basic materials and I'd guess that there will be 22 slots, at least, at higher levels.

• Demonocracy asked.... Recently 22 slot bags have become available through a vendor in Shattrath for 1,200 gold each. When I saw this my first reaction was to buy-buy-buy, but I questioned whether this was an effort on Blizzard's part to draw gold out of the economy before Wrath. What are tailors capable of creating in terms of bags in Wrath?
• Several people have , in recent memory, written in to ask about weather in Wrath.
• Derringher had some engineering questions.... Are there gas clouds in WotLK for engineers to farm? / What are the WotLK equivalent of Motes and Primals in WotLK?
• turb0dog asked.... Has there been any more mention of Druids getting a "normal" rez without the cool down?
• Squelchy asked.... This may be boring, but what's farming like? I'm interested in mining, specifically. Stacks of Adamantite Ore sell like gangbusters on my realm's AH. What will be the new Adamantite in Wrath?
• Maz asked.... I'm interested in obtaining the Seeker title, for which you need to complete the 3000 Quests Achievement. Now, does that Achievement track how many quests you have completed so far? (e.g. 2544/3000)
• Maz asked.... Also, how hard do you think this Achievement will be to obtain? Does the average player complete ~ 3000 quests while leveling to 80 or do I have to go back to every zone and do each and every quest?
• Specialis asked.... For Warriors does 2-handed weapon spec. stack with dual wield spec. when one has Titans Grip?
• Mark asked.... I'm still struggling with the mana percentages for spells concept. If all the spells will be a certain percentage of your total - is there any reason to try and pump up your intelligence to get more mana any more? Why not stick with 1200 mana rather than pushing to get 6000.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Professions and gems We'll start out today with a simple enchanting question....

• WarwolfSwe asked.... Is there and new rod for enchanting? And do i need to upgrade the standard Runed Adamantite Rod to a Runed Eternium Rod?
• actodd asked.... Will Northrend have gem vendors like Outland does -- selling low end gems? If so, how do these gems compare to ones currently in game? How do the basic Northrend JC gems compare?
• RogueJedi86 asked.... As an extension of that, will there be basic glyph vendors? Because otherwise, it'll suck to have to go to players every time we want a glyph. Unlike Jewelcrafting, we'll have a big old Glyph tab in our spellbook from the first level we get a Glyph. Without basic Glyphs on a vendor, Scribes will be pushed a little too hard, harder than JC was with BC.
• Connor asked.... Do I get a seventh Glyph slot with lvl 1 inscription? I know it's not uncommon for max-level characters to drop their gathering profession for another crafting one. For me, the cost of leveling the profession wasn't worth the BoPs at the end but all I've heard is "seven if you've taken Inscription yourself." Seems like a no-brainer to drop my mining once I get my BS maxed and pick up a free glyph-slot. The only way I don't see that working out is if the 7th-glyphs are BoP or something....
• Meethan asked.... What does Murder Spree do now? Is it still borked as a Rhino's growl?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Beta from A to Z Today we've got achievements, zeppelins, and a few things in between. We'll start at the end of the alphabet and work forward from there!

• tehvoid asked.... Any news about the come back of the boats and zeppelins' crews? Do boats in Northrend have a crew?
• swaldman asked.... Are achievements per character, or per account?
• Jerematic asked.... With spell power being a universal stat among healers and casters, is there an obvious itemization difference between the two roles? For example, spirit & mp5 for healers and hit & crit for casters? Or is it less obvious and may result in confusion when rolling for loot?
• Wayne asked.... I know Blizzard has stated that they wanted to make pally tanking a little more responsive; have you experienced any change at all or has the tanking mechanics remained the same? Also, with the new Blessing of Sanctuary, does that mean that now, warriors and tankadins are looking for the same gear and the plate spell dmg gear is for the most part non-existent? Or would we still benefit more from spell dmg?
• Several people pointed out an error in my comments about the barber shop recently. Specifically, Justin noted.... "The barber shop doesn't let you change facial features or skin tone -- a real shame." Not entirely true. I just went in there and gave my undead a jaw that he has been missing for 3 years.
• MooGooGaiPan asked.... Regarding Glyphs, If we're only allowed a set number, how screwed are hybrid classes going to be? As a Druid, I often switch back between Feral and Resto. It's already a big pain to switch out gear, consumables etc, and now glyphs too? How expensive do you think the glyphs will be? I have a bad feeling the 'good' ones will be some sort of rare pattern like enchants, JC patterns, etc and it just won't be cost effective to switch back and forth repeatedly.

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Ask a Beta Tester: More about inscription We might have had more news today -- if Blizzard's beta servers could stay online for more than five minutes consecutively. We've been staring a lot at the "World Server Down" message since Blizzard rolled out patch 8905 late last night (or early this morning, depending on how you look at these things). Let's start today off with more on Inscription.

• Cruces asked.... From a healer's point of view, I understand that spells will get a huge casting cost and we loose downranking, but that won't be a biggie in raids where you'll have 2-3 raid mana batteries, but what happens to 5-mans? Will healers be able to cope with this in instances where you may not have a mana battery with you?
• Promethus asked.... I was wondering about some of the achievements, for the ones like finish every group dungeon in Classic WoW and every raid in classic WoW, do they give you a list of any sort to mark off what ones you have done and ones have not?
• Dightkuz asked.... Borean Leather is the new leather type, so I presume there will be an equivalent to Knothide Leather Scraps also, which I guess is Borean Leather Scraps? Considering that Frostweave Cloth can be turned into Bolt of Frostweave at 350 Tailoring, I suppose that Borean Leather Scraps can be turned into Borean Leather at 350 Leatherworking also?
• Andostre asked.... I have some alts that haven't reached 375 in their crafting skills, yet. Am I still going to have to start hunting for Primal Nethers and Primal Mights to get there once the expansion starts? The grinding involved in that will probably net me a level or two, XP which would be more fun to get questing in Northrend. I remember that when Burning Crusade started, many of the recipes that were dungeon and world drops became available through a trainer...
• J asked.... Here's one for the tankadins regarding spell power and gear: with the new stamina = spell power talent, will tankadins absolutely need spell power gear and weapons anymore? I can see the threat generation being enormous if we keep the same mechanics as now, but I noticed that some of the threat talents have attack power figured in. Just wondering if tankadins will now get just as much benefit out stacking a ton of stamina and using what has been thought of as the standard warrior tanking gear with defense, attack power, and a fast, powerful defense weapon and shield as opposed to continuing to stack spell damage?

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Ask a Beta Tester: All about Inscription (and a few other things) There's not much you'll be doing with Outland or Azerothian ore... unless you want your new Death Knight to be a Blacksmith or Jewelcrafter... but herbs of all levels will be used in the new Inscription profession. Use them to train Inscription, sell them on the auction house post Wrath... either way, you win!

• Twan kicks us off this morning with.... Is it worth stockpiling herbs or bars/ore if I had to pick one?
• There have been so many inscription questions continuing to fly around, I've just got to do a recap of all the things we have... and haven't... covered on that front.
• Eric had an Inscription question that didn't seem quite covered in our Glyph overview, above.... How does Herbalism work with Inscriptions?
• Elrof had another inscription question for us.... Are we going to be able to buy blank inscription parchment and, if we are enchanters, put spells on it to sell in AH? Or do we need to be insciptionists and enchanters in order to sell enchantments?
• Going for the Inscription trifecta, Jack Spicer asked.... Approximately how many inks it takes to craft a non-crafting tool item such as a scroll or a glyph.
• BladedDingo asked.... I have a question about the barber shops... I know we heard a lot about them already but I wasn't clear on something. Does it only change the hair/piercings or can you change the facial features too?
• Gohdan had a different barber shop question for us.... I was wondering how the barber shop would work work for races like Taurens and Trolls. These races' "hair style" and "facial hair" options are actually horns or tusks. It doesn't seem fair for them to lose customization options but it seems strange to change something as permanent as horns or tusks.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Scourge Strike, titles, and flying mounts What you're seeing up above is a flaming quill in a well of frozen ink. Is it useful? No. It looks wicked awesome sitting in the Inscription trainers' shop, doesn't it? Heck yeah it does!

• Askhill asked.... Does Lake Wintergrasp seem dominated by only one class, or is it pretty even among the 80s?
• yazah asked a couple of questions.... Why does the Scarlet Crusade employ Death Knights in Northrend? Doesn't that seem unlikely since they were slaughtered by them back in Tyr's Hand?
• yazah asked.... After level 77, are flying mounts "required" for questing? I mean, at some point, are some quests and quest hubs designed with the idea that players will have a flying mount?
• cachx asked.... What about the possibility of having more than one talent spec? This was mentioned at the WWI but I haven't seen anything about it since then.
• t_d asked.... Can you tell us more about Cold Weather Flying? Will it involve money to learn or just a quest line?
• Mark asked.... As someone who is still a long way from 70 I noticed that you don't mention anything relating to 'classic content' - are there any changes that will affect new players still in Eastern Kingdoms?
• sarah asked.... I don't know if this was already answered, but I was wondering what the scoop was with Badges of Justice? Should I hang onto the ones I have no and wait until I'm level 80 to spend them, or are they changing badges somehow?
• racoon asked.... I heard that the Champion of the Naaru title will be made unobtainable in Wrath. Will Hand of A'dal and of the Shattered Sun also become unavailable?
• Sorano asked.... Is it still possible to earn "of the Shattered Sun" and obtain a Netherdrake on the Beta servers?
• Jivundus asked.... I've noticed a new wording for stats on WotLK gear, "Increases your armor penetration rating by x." How does this relate to the current wording on gear, "Your attacks ignore y of your opponent's armor."

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Ask a Beta Tester: Enchanting, legacy content, and a beta medley Welcome back to Ask a Beta Tester, wherein WoW Insider's stable of beta testers answer as many of your Wrath Beta questions as possible!

• burton888's question.... Is there a "magic number" for Enchanting, in that you can disenchant everythng in the game (currently 275 for pre-WotLK content)?
• Red asked.... How is spell damage affecting a Paladin's Ret Aura? Is it reduced like a standard DoT tick or even further? What are the numbers looking like with tested spell damage?
• BigDaddyJay asked.... Where are the Warrior glyphs?
• zoombini asked.... Has anyone tried to go back to level 70 heroics at 80? How possible would it be to solo/duo them?
• Elrof asked.... Are we going to be able to buy blank inscription parchment and, if we are enchanters, put spells on it to sell on the AH? Or do we need to be inscriptionists and enchanters in order to sell enchantments?
• Meethan asked.... Does the 51 point Resto talent for Shamans still suck as much as my first impression of it?
• Erikamel asked.... Will my Death Knight have any bags beyond his backpack?
• rahiensorei asked.... With all of the achievements and titles for completing X quests, is there a way to see how many quests you've completed?

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Ask a Beta Tester: The Drakkensryd, Dispersion, and other stuff There are a few hefty bugs that they're trying to iron out that forces them to seal it off now and then, since the bugs bring the entire world server down. That and there was an XP exploit that the beta testers found and needed to be dealt with mighty quickly, so it was sealed off for that as well.

• Gareth asked.... How is the Storm Peaks coming along? Seems like it has a lot of history and culture behind it.
• dotorion asked.... Does Northrend have a 'level requirement' like Outlands?
• Saelie asked.... Does Dispersion take away/dispel DoTs?
• Legather asked.... Are we seeing any 2H weapons that are more inclined towards DK tanking? A 2H axe or polearm with parry and defense rating for example? Or are DK tanking stats being mostly awarded through armor? Does a DK dual wielding 'traditional' 1h tanking weapons experience and advantage in this regard?
• Stormshot asked.... Any word on what level a Deathknight's primary professions start out at? Last I heard they start out at zero, but I have to believe Blizzard is going to change this. If they don't, then my heavily armored warrior of death will be picking Peacebloom flowers in noobie zones and I can't imagine this is Blizzard's vision for the class.
• Raze asked.... I looked over the Wyrmrest faction members on Wowhead. Are there really all a bunch of Blood Elves and humans? It's getting pretty cliché and lazy on Blizzard's part to not even bother giving characters as important to the plot as Alexastraza generic Blood Elf models.
• ironblade asked.... Do you know how good the honor gains are in Lake Wintergrasp? What are the costs for the blue PvP weapons, or the epics if they've been implemented yet?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Draenei, titles, and more glyph discussion It's that time again, folks. Let's get this party started!

• Gary's question.... Any new storylines for the Draenei?
• Jake asked.... Are Prot Paladins having less downtime now with the buff to Blessing of Sanctuary?
• onetrueping asked.... I can haz rep?
• Everyone that has ever existed asked a bunch of glyph questions, so I'll try to give a rundown.
• Meethan asked.... Is Hammer of Righteousness a spammable ability?
• Aquen asked.... Is Honor going to be reset or just arena points?
• roadcloak asked.... If I already have a title and I qualify for a retroactive title via achievements, or gain a new title later, do I get a choice on which to keep? Can I later swap to the one I want the most?
  

Ask a Beta Tester: Glyphs and gorlocs Isn't this fella cute? Sooo cute? Adorable!? No? He isn't? Yeah, i don't think so either. We'll get back to these horrible abominations a little later...

• Meethan asked.... Is Hunger For Blood, the 51 point Assassination talent, at all useful for solo leveling?
• Drewcast asked.... Are there or will there be any Aldor vs. Scryer type factions?
• Hesed asked.... Will any other cities besides Undercity, Orgrimmar, Stormwind and Ironforge be getting any love? Or are they just as worthless as they were in BC?
• Jaisin asked.... Maybe this has been brought up before, but I can't help but wonder, do all players receieve an inscription page to use inscriptions or is it Inscriber only?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Storms of the Divine and Thunder varieties Preamble is for sissies.

• Sallix asked.... Looking at the new Divine Shield (reduces damage by 50%) will it still drop aggro or work like a shield wall-like ability? Also will Hand of Protection (reworked blessing of protection) still drop it's target's threat?
• dave asked.... Do level 70 toons start off with the max amount of rest XP when we install wrath? Or will rest XP start after the game is installed?
• Kiukiu said.... All across WoW Insider and in practically every response to an article here, I see some poster complaining about or sniping at Ret Paladins still being OP. Do they run rampant across Northrend? Do people beg to have them in dungeons to actually DPS? Is a Ret Paladin grinding near you a thing to fear or laugh at now?
• Taytayflan asked.... Do the player triggered knock backs, such as Shaman's Thunderstorm, effectively work on NPC's? Do they have diminishing returns?

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Ask a Beta Tester: PvP questions and random things Let's get right into the meat of things.

• Meethan asked.... Does Bone Shield stack with Earth Shield? If so can I see a screenshot?
• Meethan asked.... There's been an idea going around about using a large group of Death Knights to continuously use "Death Grip" to lock players and keep them from running. Does this work?
• Meethan asked.... What's with the presences and auras? Do they count separately? Stack? Passive?
• Montius asked.... How do the new warlocks feel in pvp? Our main ability of survival was our stamina and 20% extra healing from our fel armor. Now that we will be sharing gear with priests and mages and get more spirit and less stam, are we underpowered in survival?
• Atheira asked.... This is a question I've always wondered, does Beacon of Light attribute threat to the paladin or its target? And also with Divine Guardian, does it turn Divine Shield into an absorption bubble like some think it mentions, or how does that work, exactly?
• Uncaringbear asked.... One of the major complaints about TBC is the lack of uniqueness in the design of armor sets. For example, in TBC, PvP and PvE sets share the same models, even going as far as different classes sharing the same armor models (S4 anyone?). Has Blizzard addressed this in the WOTLK beta? Personally, I would love it if Horde and Alliance had their own unique armor, similar to the way it was in pre-TBC.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Of penguins and paladins We kick-start today's Q&A with a pressing issue...

• Gary asked.... Penguins. I love them. You should love them. Where are they?
• Celton asked.... What is it like healing with a Holy Paladin? Do you spam Holy Shock whenever its up? I can imagine with a buffed Holy Shock, instant cast Holy Light, ranged Judgement of Light, and Beacon of Light HoT, along with the new spell crit talents, you might not need to cast Flash of Light much at all anymore. In fact, it sounds like you might be standing around a lot and insta-casting when someone gets low. Is healing completely different now or do you still spam Flash of Light the whole time so you don't run out of mana?
• ashley wheat asked.... So does this mean that Howling Fjord is aimed more for the Alliance, and Borean Tundra is aimed at Horde due to how each faction has access to them?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Hunter-o-rama I approached our hunter in residence, Daniel Howell (you might know him as BigRedKitty), to find out some answers to some hunter-related Qs.

• Zayd asked.... Have any hunters in the beta tried tanking a 5 man run with one of their tenacity pets yet? I'm very curious to know how viable that is.
• Many commenters have asked about pet respec costs....
• Protego asked.... Will a tick bird respawn on a Rhino if it's killed or leaves the Rhino when you mount then dismount?
• Robert M. had a couple of questions for us.... Are there any plans for other wings of the Caverns of Time?
• Atomic asked.... Will a boat from Kalimdor take you to one side of Notherend. And the boat from the new harbor in Stormwind to the east side of Notherend, any confirmations on this please?
• Vispillo asked.... Silly question perhaps, but as I'm sure I'll do quite a lot of dying while leveling in the expansion. I'm curious to know how the corpse runs are, I'm especially curious since it's been mentioned that the regions are quite large. So I'm worrying about really long corpse runs. How bad is it?
• jurandr asked.... We all know that you can't walk through the Dark Portal until level 58, but what's keeping a pre-68 from hopping on the zeppelin (or boat) to Northrend?
• newg asked.... I have a question for you beta testers concerning the Retribution Paladin talent Judgements of the Wise. The talent is described as returning 60% of a judgement's damage as mana to 3 party or raid members. I have two questions regarding this: Is the Paladin guaranteed to be one of the beneficiaries of the mana return? (while in a group/raid of course), and if so, does the Paladin 'count' as one of the 3 recipients? And how are the recipients of the mana decided?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Of Northrend and Nesingwary Today we're going on safari...

• t_d asked.... Do we get to see Hemet Nesingwary do some big game hunting in Northrend and if so, who did he leave in charge of the Nagrand Expedition?
• Aracross asked.... Tell me about Old Stratholme. Do you know with who we will gain reputation? A new faction? Or no faction?
• lynnia asked.... People keep talking about how fair or unfair it is to get to Dalaran at certain levels. But surely you only have to get a mage or warlock to take you there once then you can use the flight point or is the flight point on the ground and you have to teleport up every time?
• Nevr asked.... Any ideas or info on what the world event is going to be that kicks off the expansion if there even is one? Any clues in the starter quests?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Aurora borealis and paladin tanking I may have mentioned this before, but I just have to say it again. Northrend is gorgeous. Gorgeous in a way that puts the rest of the game to shame. Just when you thought you'd seen all the good there was to see in Azeroth and Outland, Blizzard comes along and drops Northrend in our lap and makes everything we saw before look a bit plain and dull.

• grravie asked.... Northrend is an arctic zone. Will there be aurora borealis in the northern night sky?
• Arkhill asked.... When you get a beta invite, do you use our own character, or a pre-made one?
• Arkhill asked.... If its your character from live, do you keep the XP and gear you gained in beta when WotLK goes live?
• Bylak asked.... What's the status of real-time weather in Northrend? Will we have clear days, snowy days, blizzards, rain, or anything like that?
• Bart asked.... Now that Blizzard is looking at making Paladin tanking less reactive, how will this affect Paladin tank solo grinding? Are we still doing as much damage to enemies that hit us, we just rely less on it for threat?
• Hypo asked.... I've read that the new quests will try to explain the story somewhat, going away from the "Collect 20 pig snouts" variety. Is this true? Are the quests more diverse than what we've had before?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Crystalsong and downranking What exactly is going on in the screenshot above? Well, if you really want to know, there's only one answer: keep reading!

• slicertool asked.... Any idea what these 'focusing lens' things are for Jewelcrafting?
• Dightkuz asked.... All the screenshots I see of Crystalsong Forest look like the same brain-frying purple effect that the eco-domes in Netherstorm have. A whole zone can't be as painful to look at as it seems, right? It can't be just me that has to close his eyes flying through those domes.
• max attack asked.... For those of us that have not received a beta invite is there still any kind of hope?
• Sallix asked.... Is there a Fel Reaver/Devilsaur like creature that patrols around and will jump you when you least expect it?
• Meethan asked.... How does Anti-Magic Zone look currently? Have you tested it at all to see if it works? If so, is it good for real PvP? Probably on against spell casters but still. What about PvE?
• Robert W asked.... In TBC, we had our max quests increased by 5 to 25. Is that happening again in beta yet to a max of 30?
• archangel723 asked.... I wonder if you get penalized for using a lower rank while not training the max rank? Does the downranking nerf come in to effect by level? Does the game track the top rank that you've trained?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Is it not epic? Ready for more questions? Let's dive right in and ask: Northrend, is it not epic?

• Fancylad asked.... Does entering Northrend have the same "epic feel" that entering Outland for the first time had? You know, the whole "stepping out of the dark portal to find yourself already in the middle of a massive battle against the Burning Legion, intense music blaring, frantic scramble to keep your mission from being destroyed just as it starts" feeling?
• trebow asked.... With the possible inclusion of duel talent specs what is going to be the point in leveling alts? I have a BM Hunter and am halfway leveling a MM hunter but come WotLK I'll be able to experience both on the same Hunter. i love the idea of duel specs but it does seem to discourage peeps rolling alts of the same class.
• PimpyMicPimp asked.... Is the downranking nerf really hurting healers that badly? Or is it not as big of a deal due to the mana cost changes?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Don't want to look like a clown edition My reward for the time spent had been, in old Azeroth, great stats and a custom tailored set of armor that all matched and made me look pretty awesome. I stepped through the Dark Portal looking and feeling like a hero. An hour later I had a bright purple helmet, dark green robes, a yellow belt, and a pair of bulky blue gloves. Though each piece of armor was a tremendous improvement upon my carefully completed set, it left my character looking as though she'd been dressed by a colorblind clown.

• Mattimus asked.... What do quest rewards look like, graphically? Going into BC from raiding in WoW was incredibly jarring -- stripping off epics for bright green paints with big purple polka dots was one of the most painful things Blizzard could've done to anyone. Do the quest greens in Wrath allow us to quest in dignity, or are we going to be spending our off-time entertaining children's' parties?
• Chriasas asked.... Spellstones and Firestones have long been the most useless items in the Warlock arsenal. Any chance of them being removed in WotLK, or at least changed into something useful?
• Montius asked.... When you first make a Death Knight, he/she is part of the Scourge. Is it possible to send tells to Horde/Alliance while you are still doing the pre-quests?
• Mercy asked.... How much is it costing on the PTR to upgrade professions from 375 to the new level bracket?
  And also, how much Netherweave should we all be stashing the make that initial jump in First Aid?
• slicertool asked.... I've heard there is a threat meter being added. Is it in yet?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Priests, Retadins, and the Black Dragonflight In case the perspective in the above screenshot confuses you, I'll give it away: that's me riding a magic flying carpet. No, not the tailored version (though I'd expect the tailored version to be the same sort of thing), but one you ride for a quest. (I was assured before I took flight that these were the safest way to reach my destination, though the things seemed pretty flimsy to me...) However, now, on to your questions!

• Tridus asked.... The way it looks right now I expect that I'll be healing pretty much exactly the same way at 80 as I am right now, except without down ranking. Has anything really changed for Holy Priest healing?
• Eternauta asked.... Are Retadins becoming a desirable DPS class for raids/dungeons/etc?
• LibbyKino asked.... You say all four of the other dragonflights are fighting against the Blues? This surprises me because as I understand it the Blacks still hate everyone and everything. Are they really helping out in the fight, and if so... why?
• Natus asked.... Is Blizzard planning to add any new dungeons, raids, quest hubs to the old world at all, or is it silly to buy Wrath if you don't have a 70 already?
• Alex asked.... Are there any other ways to leave to the Death Knight starting area other then through Tyr's Hand?
• Milkgas asked.... You've talked before how the events and quests of the Death Knight starting area is instanced, but at the end I understand there is a quest chain which includes laying siege to Light's Hope Chapel. Does this mean that Light's Hope Chapel, its quests, and flight point no longer exist in the world? Does the same apply to Tyr's Hand?
• Doch asked.... Does being in Frost Presence affect the Unholy talents/spells like a Warrior's stance affects which strikes he can do?
• Scipio asked.... What happens when a Warlock in demon form dances?
• Warvanov asked.... In the Burning Crusade we saw a lot of the old school armor sets reused as new items in the BC dungeons. Any sign of this in Wrath? Will we be wearing the same armor dyed a different color again?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Rogues, Druids, Malygos, and more! Let's start the week out right by diving straight into some juicy questions!

• Gilgamesh asked.... With Hunters getting Exotic Pets and Warriors getting Titan's Grip, is the Rogue getting anything interesting?
• Aeryk asked.... If only 1 target is in range, will the new Murder Spree talent use up all 5 charges on them?
• Raukus asked.... I really want to hear some news on how Shadow Priests are shaping up. It seems like they're just getting glossed over by Blizzard so far, what's up with that?
• Drad asked.... I have rarely heard Druids being talked about: all the big news about them is their glyphs. So I've been wondering... what's happening to them?
• Vanadesse asked.... I'm a Resto Druid, and while in most cases Resto druids use Balance gear for soloing, I like to use feral gear. Will it be reasonable after the healing power to spell power change or will DPSing in my healing gear (it's always about a tier higher than feral) become more efficient?
• Helasmoth asked.... All I have heard about Death Knights so far has had to do with the Blood and Unholy specs. What does the Frost spec have in store for us?
• Darxide asked.... From what I can see from Lake Wintergrasp, winning depends on using the machines and vehicles scattered around the map. Does this mean that level is irrelivent here? A level 77 can have a fair fight against a level 80 if they are both in the same machines? Or is this a sort of endgame area restricted to level 80's?
• IvanZephyr had a lore question for us, and abandon all hope ye who enter here, because lore spoilers are below....
  With the four remaining dragonflights banding together against Malygos, there seems to be some shady things going down, even on the "good" side. I understand that the forces at Wyrmrest Temple captured, tortured, and killed Malygos' Prime Consort in an effort to force him to stop this war against magic users. My question is: How can Alexstraza the Life-Binder explain this horrible event? There is nothing to suggest that Malygos' mate posed any threat to the forces, she merely was the consort to him. Alexstraza is suppose to protect all life, and killing Malygos' consort is completely opposite of everything she is suppose to stand for. How does Blizzard explain this?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Everybody loves Warlocks edition There are apparently some classes we haven't been paying a lot of attention to lately, as several commenters have pointed out. Today, a little about Warlocks, and tomorrow a little about Rogues. See any classes we haven't been talking about yet? Then ask your questions about them -- we can only answer 'em if you ask 'em!

• alx1231 wants to know.... I haven't heard much on the state of Warlocks in Wrath. Is there anything cool that I should be looking forward to?
• ironblade asked.... Have they changed the XP rate of 60-70 as they did for 20-60?
• venumus asked.... As a Retribution Paladin, I rely on both spell crit and melee crit. Now that they are essentially one ability, does intellect and agility add together for one crit percentage?
• Doc asked.... I was wondering: what does Unholy spec do for Death Knights? Does it have some handy DPS or is it for PvP or soloing?
• evestraw asked.... How does Wandering Plague do in Alterac Valley or PvP flagged players in major cities? Is it like Zul'Gurub's plague?
• Alex asked.... I was wondering do Death Knights have access to their races racial ability, more specifically how does the Blood Elf's racial, arcane torrent, work on a Death Knight?
• PBoy227 asked.... From what I hear, the starting zone of the Death Knight takes place quite a long time ago...
• Lionhearte asked.... Have you seen any other place where siege vehicles are usable besides Wintergrasp and Strand of the Ancients?
• Bakuryu asked.... What do we know about phylacteries? Can they only be used by Liches? And what do they do? Are they any soul-containing object?
• ashley wheat wanted to know.... I need to know whether Badges of Justice will be used in WotLK.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Northrend, tanking, and pop culture Step off the zeppelin or boat to Northrend and you're in a new world. Even when there's not snow, Northrend simply feels cold. Piano playing in the background in Dragonblight even sounds like ice should feel. It's a brave new world of strange sights, unusual architecture, and unheard of beasts. Curious about what you should expect? Read on.

• Nizari asked.... Have you seen much of the Nordic influence that Wrath is supposed to have? I know you've discussed the Vrykul and the Val'kyr before, but I'm wondering if you've seen any more esoteric or obscure references? I'd find it mighty entertaining if there was a baker who sold Kransekake, or a cooking recipe to make Lutefisk.
• t_d asked.... I loved the addition of the Arakkoa and Consortium with Burning Crusade. Have you seen any more pop in Wrath of the Lich King and further more, has their stories been expanded on?
• Corusis asked.... In BC, we were treated to such disgusting quests as picking through Talbuk poop, fetching rotten eggs that cause you to projectile vomit, and rescuing Corki. What sort of unpleasant tasks will Blizz make players slog through in their desperation to get to 80?
• Freelier asked.... How much rep will I get with the old world reps while leveling in Northrend?
• Fantus said.... I am curious how the Paladin Protection Spec is doing at the moment in beta. Solo or grouped, but mainly solo since that was what I always found hard leveling that spec from 1-70.
• h8rain mentioned.... "...and DK's... well, okay, so far no DK I've run with has wanted to tank." Does not surprise me one bit. I expect a flood of DK and when you PST them if they can tank, the macro'ed response will be "Sorry, I am 'DPS' spec."
• Conner Murphy and Azzarrea both wanted to know about the fate of the Black Tabby Cat, which currently drops from Dalaran mages in the Alterac Mountains. The question being: will it still be attainable in Wrath?
• muxecold asked.... Does damage from Thorns and Retribution aura scale with spell power now? Does it scale with AP?
• Talamarr asked.... Do you forsee issues where players will be camping spawn points of vehicles, not even attempting to play the match?
• Sikachi asked.... What spec for DKs is best for AoE farming/grinding and how does it compare to other AoEing classes like Mages?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Dalaran and UI updates We're starting out today with a question on everyone's favorite mystical city: Dalaran. (That is your favorite mystical city, right? Because otherwise we'll have to start all over...)

• Alc asked.... How does Blizzard account for all the wanton slaughter of Dalaran folk by the Horde? How would a hordie get into Dalaran because of this?
• Drakkenfyre asked.... I see in the UI we get two new buttons. I would like to know what they are for. And is there an option to disable the calender display, and use the old Sun/Moon indicator instead? I don't need the calender, and I like the Sun/Moon indicator better.
• Dro asked.... Have there been any changes to the LFG tool? If so, anything PvP related? My big hope is that battlegrounds will be added at some point. Dungeon/quest/zone is good, but what about those of us who want to find a PvP group?
• Angus and Zuukal both wanted to know.... Has Sylvanas' model has been changed?
• Angus asked.... Is Sylvanas actually going to Northrend? When people get to fight Arthas, she should be there working to kill him. Illidan had lore characters after his butt. If anyone deserves to be in an Arthas fight it's her!
• Aler asked.... Any news on tailoring specialization? I assume the other specializations get new goodies in WotLK. How about tailoring?
  Both Shadowcloth and Spellcloth can only be made at particular locations in Outland - any word on what's happening to these in Northrend? Maybe new types of cloth?
• Lori asked.... I envisioned siege weapons to be akin to medieval siege engines that were stationary contraptions used to lob rocks, burning pitch and dead bodies at or over castle walls. Some were platforms that were moved manually to enable soldiers to get over castle walls. It seemed that one faction might be defending a castle while the other attacked it. The defenders would kill enemy players with ranged attacks or destroy the siege engines. The attackers would kill enemy players with ranged attacks and try to gain access to the castle, by breaching walls, at which point normal PvP would begin. Now it sounds like siege weapons means nothing more than motorized PvP. Is there more to it than that?
• Sephran asked.... I have warrior friends qq'ing about being useless in wrath. Have you grouped with any warrior tanks? Are they as "useless" as warriors believe?
• Randal asked.... Is Rend still a joke in Wrath, or is it being improved to the point of being useful with talents such as Trauma?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Wintergrasp and caster stats Let's start out with the PvP zone that's on everyone's mind: Lake Wintergrasp. Added in the last beta patch, Wintergrasp doesn't seem all there, but Alex has boldly ventured into the zone in an attempt to tell the rest of us about the zone.

• Boowat asked.... How does Lake Wintergrasp PvP actually work in regards to siege weapons etc. do i just go round running people over or driving into the side of buildings?
• Whiplashmtb asked.... With the new hunter pet changes, are there still going to be Hunter Pets with "caster" stats?
• wrez asked.... Have they made any changes the way fishing is leveled? Every other profession, be it primary or secondary, requires you to level it by performing more "difficult" tasks as you progress; be it the skinning of higher level mobs, cooking more fulfilling dishes, etc. It doesn't make any sense to become a Bassmaster by repeatedly plucking minnows out of the wading pool.
• Ponnicus asked.... One question I have been wondering is in regards to bonus healing -> spell power. Can we get some real world numbers of what your bonus healing was compared to what your spell power is now?
• We had a couple of questions about AoE grinding spots from muxecoid and Evan, which basically amounted to.... Are there any good spots for AoE leveling between 70 and 77?
• andyjay220 asked.... Is there any indication that Protection Paladins will be more effective offtanks?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Blacksmithing and sockets, revisited Today nearly everyone wanted more detail on the blacksmithing socket patterns we talked about yesterday. In fact, five individuals inquired: Do blacksmithing sockets stack with enchants? The answer is yes. (At least for gloves and bracers -- there are currently no enchants available in the game for belts.) Please, there's no need to keep asking. Really!

• Orno had a question about a different blacksmithing pattern I didn't know about until he mentioned it: Is Socket One-hand Weapon able to socket main-hands and is it also BS only?
• Aurion asked... I've heard that Rogues will be able to keep their combo points even if the mob is dead and can use them on the next one, is it true?
• ironlade asked... How fast do Death Knights generate runic power?
• James asked... What about items such as the Frozen Shadoweave and Primal Mooncloth sets? Sets that rely on whether or not you are healing. Are they the same stats with different set bonuses?
  Do you still need to be spec'd to either shadow tailoring or mooncloth to use the other? Does it even matter?
• Desitine asked... How does it work with pets that are attached to an item? Like say the bloodsail hat?
• h8rain asked... Or pets that require reagents?
• Gune asked... I remember hearing in a podcast that one of the devs at WWI hinted that we might be getting duel talents specs and be able to switch between them in wotlk. Has anyone heard about this?
• Dave, who is clearly losing patience with me, asked... Are there any changes in Azeroth except SW? Like the Sentinel Hill inn's roof fixed? Lakeshire's bridge? Anything on Horde side?
• Satanael asked.... I am very interested in playing a Death Knight as a MT in the expansion and I would like to know how they are stacking up in the beta as a tank... do they have what it takes to be a end game tank thus far.

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Ask a Beta Tester: Blacksmithing and socket slots Today we're going to kick things off not with a question, but with a statement. Eldacar of Boulderfist wrote in to tell us that he's just managed to hit 450 skill in Blacksmithing and to report on the new sockets available to Blacksmiths. Several people have asked how the sockets work, but with my complete lack of Blacksmithing skills, I haven't had much to say on the subject.

• Gnoa asked... Can you confirm whether or not the motorcycles are indeed new mounts in Wrath, and if so do you have to be an Engineer to use them?
• whack had a couple of questions for us... Does training for New Death Knights cost gold while questing for the Lich King? Can a Death Knight respec while under the control of the Lich King and will this also cost gold?
• Ian asked... How far towards level 71 do your level 70 characters start out?
• Gerb asked... Does the stealth animation of Rogues look like ice skating again? We've heard several times Blizzard is working on a totally new animation, I guess this is not in yet?
• Bsquared asked... I am a hunter that raids as BM spec and PvPs as MM spec. How will this affect my exotic pets? Will I be able to keep my exotic stabled without it releasing?
• Mekro asked... Is there any sign of Aldor/Scryer NPCs in Wrath?
• Guy asked... If the Death Knight starting area, etc, is instanced, can you party with friends or is it solo til after the epic ending?
• KillerSteve asked... Is all the gear you have with healing and damage changed to spell power as soon as you log into Wrath? Just wondering because I want to know if I need a grinding set of gear for Wrath.
  Are mounts and vanity pet slots unlimited in beta?
• Bylak asked... For someone who's interested in getting a head start on inscription, what kind of mats should I be farming? Is inscription/herbalism going the be the way to go?
• MaDaBr14 asked... Is the Death Knight starting zone in the past? Some of the events and people in the instance has made myself and some friends wonder if you're starting in the past and once you leave its the current?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Gold, Atiesh, and Mr. Tirion Fordring See what I go through to get you the juiciest beta information? That's three sharks I'm fighting off, all for you! Those things are vicious... but they were clearly have not been reading the beta forums, because they had no idea how overpowered Paladins are right now. But enough chatter: time for your questions!

• Hoops asked... How much gold roughly would you get from questing 70-77 (until you unlock the flying mount)?
• Justin asked... I had heard that Rogue's sap was being changed to work on more types of enemies. Can you list any changes to the types of targets that crowd controls like Sheep and Sap will effect?
• Chris Anthony asked... What are the drop rates on the advanced First Aid books?
• Tobias asked... I'm curious, throughout Outland I enjoyed the motes primals system, it gave fishing and engineering a nice little way of making money since almost everybody needed them. My question, does this system continue in Wrath?
• Dalixam asked... When you learn mounts and vanity pets as spells, how are they listed in your character tab? Alphabetically or in the order in which you learned them?
• Superstone asked... With Naxxramas being moved does that mean that Atiesh will no longer be gathered for? Or will it be reintroduced as some 25 man questline for the new and improved Naxx in Northrend?
• Darkshadow asked... In the beta, is Tirion Fordring still in the Eastern Plaguelands?
• Tisen asked... Are there new loading screens for the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor like there was when BC came out? Also what does the loading screen for Northrend look like?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Of textures, turtles, and Tuskarr If you're on a coastline in the World of Warcraft, encountering hostile pirates is always a possibility -- and Northrend seems to be no exception. I'm not sure what this intrepid crew intends to plunder, but if you meet up with them on the open seas, watch out -- I was nearly swallowed by an Orca trying to swim to shore. But enough about me: let's get to your questions!

• Warlia asked... Does the game really look more crisp and detailed like people are saying?
• Radiophonic wants to know... Mages get there at 71 but others have to wait three more levels? How is that fair?
• Chris came to us with two technical questions, which I'll tackle one at a time...
  Currently, spell haste rating lowers the global cooldown by a small amount, but melee haste rating does not. Since both stats are being consolidated into 'haste rating' in Wrath, how is haste rating working on the GCD in the beta right now?
• Jesity asked... I was wondering if mining has been implemented yet and if so, what new ores are available?
  On a different note, has First Aid been upgraded to include Frostweave?
• hoeding asked... Is there an Auction house in Dalaran?
• Frosty asked... Are there any special modes of travel between the areas, like zeppelins?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Do you not value your life fruit vendor edition I can't say enough good things about Dalaran. It's the most beautiful place in the game -- the architecture and textures in the area are more detailed than any we've ever seen. If it weren't for the invisible holes in the ground that send you plummeting to the Crystalsong Forest below, I'd probably never leave!

• Boowat asks... How do you actually get to Dalaran. It's really high up... can you only fly there?
• Ezzy asks... Are professions fully implemented yet? If tailoring is implemented, what size bag can you make with the new cloth?
• Bluemanchu asks... We currently use a mod to coordinate raids/instances between two guilds. Will the new WoW calendar have this ability or is it limited to members of one's own guild?
• Broadcloak asks... What are the rep rewards from the two starting zones? i.e. which one should I have my main do?
• Ven asks... I understand that the Death Knight runes will not stack with enchants (i.e. mongoose or executioner). As Death Knights progress throughout the game they are bound to get new weapons. When they get a new weapon and put rune enchants on it, does the appearance of the weapon change to reflect the presence of runes?
• erin asks... Are there any repeatable reputation hand-ins for Netherweave/Frostweave?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Death Knight-free edition Today I'm going to start out with a few questions that we've answered before -- but people seem so desperate to know, that I feel I have to at least point them in the right direction.

• Aracross asks... Is CoT3 (old Stratholme) in the beta?
• Samman asks... Is the epic flying mount training 5,000g?
• drjonesac2 asks... How are paladins shaping up in the Beta? Is actual playability living up to the hype?
• marck asks... Have any of the rewards from achievement points been revealed yet?
• Blayed asks... How are warriors holding up? They haven't really gotten the nerf-hammer, but every other class seems to be getting something awesome...
• Sean Martinez asks... How has the change to a unified spell power affected enchants like Enchant Weapon - Major Healing? Also what are the differences now between the runic and golden spellthread leg armor kits?
• Riph asks... I know that level 80 arena hasn't been opened up yet, but how have disc priests been fairing in PvP now that the whole "don't die" aspect of the tree has been messed around with?
• Ian R. asks... How does spellpower affect shadow damage or fire damage gear? Is any of the new 71 gear school specific or is there only spellpower now?
• Dightkuz asks... Does Netherweave drop from mobs in Northrend, just like Runecloth drops from mobs in most zones in Outland?

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Ask A Beta Tester: Will we ever run out of Death Knight questions? But, really, will you ever run out of Death Knight questions? There's an office pool going and I'm starting to worry...

• tal* asks... Will school specific spell power increase healing? I have Drape of the Righteous from Kara, which only increases holy damage right now. Will it increase healing done by holy spells in Wrath?
• max attack asks... If the spell effects of this libram are associated with Bessing of Light, and that has been taken from the game what will happen to this libram?
• Taytayflan asks... Are Alliance and Horde Death Knights hostile to each other before they leave the starting area? And if so, can they just fight it out, or will guards intervene?
• Nathan asks... Are you able to group with or talk to people of opposing races? E.g. If you are a human, can you group with or chat to an orc? If so, what language do they apparently speak?
• Zanzi asks... How do Death Knights gain talent points? Do they start out at level 55 with 46 points (and nearly-endless respeccing options) or do they start out with 0 but gain multiple points per level to catch them up?
• Alex asks... What is Blizzard doing with old Outland gear other than spell damage/healing in order to make them usable for upcoming Death Knights and classes which need different stats now?
• Fletch asks... There seems to be a lot of priest talents that increase the amount of healing received by a target by quite a large amount - is this increase needed because the mobs are doing a lot more damage, or is it partly to balance the change to spell power?
• freakinhawaii asks... With the spell gear all being switched over to spell power, will healers be competing with DPS for gear (especially in 5 man PUGs) or is there something that still sets healer specific gear apart?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Healing, now with 100% more spell power! In this image, we see a Zeppelin leaving Orgrimmar heading for Northrend -- so let's go with them!

• Bourgeoisie asks... What weapon skills do Death Knights start out with?
• Deri asks... How hard is it to get the mechanics of the Death Knight (runes and runic power) down at first?
• Sean asks... What bags does a Death Knight start with?
• Sallix asks... Does the current implementation of the barber shop allow you to choose old hairstyles (the ones at the character creation screen) as well as the new ones?

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Ask a Beta Tester: (Almost) All about Death Knights To kick off today's Q&A, I'm going to start with a question that's been asked a few times but left unanswered.

• Samman asks... For the last time, is the epic flying mount training the same price as on the live realms?
• Tsani asks... When the Death Knights join the Horde and Alliance forces, what is their starting reputation in those cities? Do they start at neutral like the Blood Elves/Forsaken with the rest of the Horde?
• Daemon Glidas asks... One thing I'm extremely curious is how crowded the Death Knight's "Spell Book" is. How large does the DK's initial Spell Book begin?
• Dightkuz asks... Any quests in the DK starting area that require group?
• Arras asks... How long does it take to get a death knight out of the starting area and into Outland? Is it something that can be done in a few hours?
• erin asks... Is the new Caverns Of Time "Old Stratholme" instance implemented yet?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Daily quests, skill trainers, and Arthas, oh my! I'd like to start out with a tiny bit of extra information on a question Alex answered yesterday.

• Vjax asks... Can you still do level 70 dailies for gold, and do you get XP for doing them?
• tehvoid asks... Is there a port from Shattrath to Dalaran?
• Rymer asks... Does what professions my characters have decide what starting zone I need to go to? Or will both zones have trainers so the choice is up to me?
• Tharko asks... I know we are supposed to come into more contact with Arthas in this expansion. How often have you seen him so far and what role will he play in the casual's experience?
• Athura asks... Can we encounter Alextrasza (aspect of the red dragonflight) somewere?

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Ask a Beta Tester: The Argent Crusade To everyone that asked about Arena points: We don't know anything about that yet, and Blizzard doesn't either. As soon as they know, we'll know, and then you'll know.

• Gurluas asks... How many high elves are there in Wrath, and what are their role now that they have thier own faction?
• Jariaji asks... Does the Cenarion Circle have any role to play in Wotlk, either as the Cenarion Circle or as a sort of offshoot faction like the Cenarion Expedition?
• Vjax asks... Can you still do level 70 dailies for gold, and do you get XP for doing them?
   
• The final question is full of plot spoilers, so stop if you're trying very hard to avoid them for some reason!

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Ask a Beta Tester: Seals, judgements, and more I'm going to start off with a question I've been waiting for -- because it allows me to properly express the full extent of my glee over the changes to the Paladin's seal and judgment system, which are, if I may be so bold, magnificent.

• Offhand writes in to say... I'm getting confused as to how paladin seals work now. It seems like they keep updating and changing that system.
• Tap asks... Will there be a new slot for the Death Knight or will I have to delete my banker? I need the bag space! Its hard to support a main and 8 alts (with WotLK 9 alts).
• Chucker asks... I'd read elsewhere that there will not be ports to the old-world capital cities in Dalaran?
• BiggusGeekus asks... What old world reputations are changing (if any)? Is it worth it to reputation grind now in anticipation of achievements, or are we better off just waiting it out?
• Mike asks... I've heard a lot of talk about whether crushing blows exist or not in Wrath. Can you provide some input on this topic?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Death Knights, bears, and buckets Multiple people had lots of questions about Death Knights, so I'm just going to list a bunch of them and then delve into what's going on.

• We answer... How Customizable are Death Knights? Do they get unique skintones, or unique racials?
• krat asks... Do all abilities that require runic power drain all of it, and if so, do they actually scale with the amount of runic power one has?
• jurandr asks... We know they're getting rid of the Amani War Bear mount. Will any of the other BC mounts be affected?
• Joene asks... Are factions implemented yet?
• Aryc Ogre asks... What I want to know is... do the walrus-people have a quest for you to retrieve their stolen bucket?

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Ask a Beta Tester: More Titan's Grip I tried to answer as many as I could, but time is a fickle mistress and I was going to write some sort of metaphor here but I can't think of one, so if you would all be so kind, come up with one for me.

• Jamesisgreat asks... How much gold are you getting rewarded per quest on average? I mean is it worth us saving up our gold for Wrath?
• Arkkoran asks... Will there be more character customization options in Wrath of the Lich King? More specifically, can you change fur color in the barber shops?
• moomento asks... I was wondering whether we can keep the honor we have currently in BC and spend it at level 80 in Wrath.
• Ian R. asks... Can Forsaken Death Knights heal themselves with Death Coil?
• Everrest asks... As an avid Frost Mage I'm curious how many of the mobs you've encountered in beta have frost resistance (or immunity!?). Is it a problem Frost Mages might only be facing irregularly or are 75% of the mobs made to resist cold spells?
• BigDaddyJay asks... I keep reading that Titan's Grip is great for early level grinding, but not so much for instancing. How come nobody is talking about the abundance of Haste gear and its effect on Titan's Grip?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Wyrmrest Temple and the dragon shrines I had to pick and choose questions I actually knew a thing or two about, so I couldn't really answer class questions about classes I don't play or don't know very well.

• juicyjuice asks... Will players who spent a lot of time with the Argent Dawn pre-BC have a significant advantage over people who may not have much or any Argent Dawn rep when WotLK hits?
• Joene asks... What's up with the dragon shrines, and what's inside the Maw of Neltharion?
• ironblade asks... Any good news on Titan's Grip? Is the DPS good and is it a viable leveling spec?
• poPixel asks... Screenshots are coming in of oversized Devilsaur pets - what about the more unique monsters hidden away? Is The Beast (remember UBRS?) now an option?
• Nizari asks... Are the elf NPCs in Dalaran Blood Elves or High Elves? I couldn't tell from the tour de Dalaran video that was posted.
• CJ asks... So when are we going to see some well-fed buffs from Wrath recipes?
• Wren asks... This may seem like a stupid question, but are we going to be limited to one Death Knight per server?
• Lori asks... I think Blizz said they wanted Northrend to feel larger than Outland. Have they achieved this goal?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Death Knights and Dalaran With over 200 questions yesterday on our initial Ask a Beta Tester column, I'm afraid we couldn't answer everyone's questions. (There just aren't enough hours in the day!)

• Necro asks... Any news on new Engineering?
• Warigami asks... Is there any new information at all regarding tailoring, especially new bags or crafted items?
• Jonny Dale asks... Any sign of the new dance moves we were promised?
• Dusseldorf asks... How far do the Death Knight starting quests get you?
• Jonny Cain asks... What level did Death Knights start with their professions? Zero? 250? 300?
• Dymphnah asks... ...what sort of mounts to DKs come with?
• Branden asks... Since you are getting jump started to level 55, do you automatically get all the flight paths that you would have by level 55?
• Jonny Cain asks... Are there auction house and trainers in Dalaran? Portals to the world?
• Jess asks... How does it work having Dalaran being one of the final zones? Do you have lots of people suicide running over to Dalaran?
• jtrain asks... Can you describe how the 2-zone approach is working out in the beta, and which zone is "better"?
• Sylvanra asks... How quickly would you guess T4/Heroic/normal Badge loot (not the expensive T6 style badge loot) to be replaced? Level 72? 73? 70?
• Lenyssia asks... Looking through the achievements I got the impression that they wouldn't be awarded by character but by account. Can you confirm this?
• Ryan asks... How has combining Spell Damage and Spell Healing into Spell Power effected hybrid classes?
• Zumwalah asks... How does spell power compare to healing?

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Ask a Beta Tester: Let's get this party started! The first edition - no solutions yet, but more than 200 questions, begging to be answered!