Previews

I set out to create Caolinn, who was to be a female Draenei, with a little concern. I'm not a fan of playing an "ugly" character. I have to look at this chick a lot, so it's nice to not be repulsed every time I look at her. So, after having heard that the Draenei were "ugly monster things," I naturally was not looking forward to it.

Introducing a new story addition to Warcry's Burning Crusade collection!

Chapter 1

As I headed into Farstriders Square in Silvermoon City for my regular training, a man approached me. I didn't realize who he was at first, but as he came closer I saw his face. It was "Knight-Lord Bloodvalor," Captain of the Blood Knights. After greeting him, he went straight to the point of why he came.

What to do at level 67? You're almost out of quests, you can't raid... time to tie up loose ends. Do what ya ain't done. In the case of the mage they call Jayne(z), this involves heading back to Terokkar and conquering the multiple wings of Auchindoun. Which he does, 'cause he's badass like that.

Er, well, it turns out there's actually quite a bit I've not done. Bunch of quests in Nagrand to finish off, and then there are the Auchindoun instances that I haven't actually got a chance to complete. So, why don't I start off with those?

Sigh. We need more people on Blade's Edge (PvP). Never a good tank on when you need one, I swear!

After getting a party, it's time to go to the Auchenai Crypts. Technically, the Crypts are a higher level than the Mana-Tombs, though it's a significantly easier instance and might as well be lower-level. The Crypts are filled with Draenei ghosts, as well as some living Draenei seeking to use the spirits of the dead for their own gain. I'm not entirely sure what use the spirits of the dead actually have... I mean, they're, y'know, dead. Deceased. Ex-Draenei. Unless you're planning on scaring the tenants off the land so you can buy it real cheap and get at the hidden diamond mines underneath...

And you'd have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids!

Click the link below to read: "The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 11: Dungeon-Crawlin' Fool"!

Sit and I will share with you the tale of the Exiled Ones, the lost Eredar who escaped the clutches of the Evil One. This is the story of those who travel, running before the legions of Sargeras, running from those who would betray their own people into a lifetime of servitude in exchange for power. This tale is not one of nearly escaped danger, for I fear the danger will soon visit upon us here, in Azeroth.

The ever-present pyromania continues as our loveable and niftitastic hero... well, okay, he's the one being set on fire. Whether by stupid "Level Skull" warlocks helping to seal back a monstrous demonic Pit Lord, or Alliance dive-bombers flying overhead... the Mage They Call Jayne(z) makes good use of his Fire Ward button this time around.

Speaking of Hellfire Citadel, I've covered the first two wings and briefly mentioned the third. But nowhere have I given any coverage to the fourth and final wing: Magtheridon's Lair.

That'll change!

...kinda.

When the leader of the beta guild I'm in (shout out to Fen an' my BCT homies!) decided that we had enough level 67s wearing our tag, he got off his Dreadnaught-clad ass and said "Right, we're gonna go pwn Magtheridon." Got plenty competent raiders in the guild, all with good gear from live or from Beta... and hell, we're only 3 levels below the cap. That couldn't -possibly- make a difference, could it?

Heh.

Hit the button below to read "The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 10: Move Out of the Rain of Fire, Dammit!"

Something's wrong with the Mage They Call Jayne(z). His heart is no longer moved by the people and places in Outland--he finds it stale, dull even! Not even the desire for PHAT LEWTZ can cure this restlessness... whatever could be the matter? What could turn his heart away from the niftiness of Outland to the plain ol' lands of Azeroth? I dare not tell you.

Wait, I totally dare tell you. Jayne(z) decides that it's time to enter one of the coolest "new" places in the expansion.

From what my guildies had told me, after hitting level 66 I had some new options available to me. Some new quests, and a particularly cool new instance to run. I'd run through Hellfire Citadel and the Slave Pens quite a bit, and couldn't find any Auchindoun groups... but this one was popular. This one was cool. So, I packed my Travelers' Backpacks and decided it was time to go back to Azeroth!

After spending a bit of time looking for a good group, I took a portal to Thunder Bluff and started flying down to Tanaris. Oh, Tanaris. Good times, good times.

By the way, there's been a subtle theme thus far in the entry. Can you guess what it is?

If you guessed "Time," you're wrong! It was actually "Italics," you silly nubcakes! That's right-I was headed to the Caverns of Slightly Slanted Letters!

Oh. Maybe it was Time after all. Sorry, my bad.

Click the jolly, candy-like button below to read:

"The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 9: Let's Do the Time Warp Again!"

The Burning Crusade: Names to Know

Feeling overwhelmed by the news coming from beyond the Dark Portal? A bit confused, finding it hard to sift through? Well, we here at WarCry have a short, handy little guide to the most important places, people, and things that you'll encounter. Think of it as a pocket glossary of sorts!

Our hero dons his Crimson Felt Hat and goes out onto the wide rolling plains of Nagrand. Coincidentally, Nagrand is virtually identical to the American Midwest, except with fewer endless miles of farmland and more crazy animals, beings from another plane of existence, gigantic diamonds, fire-bombing Wyvern raids, and a trio of big game hunters.

Okay, maybe it's not so like the Midwest.

As one can expect, there's a boatload of quests for yours truly, with objectives all over the massive zone of Nagrand. I can tell right away that this is going to be a blast. No, really, it's actually pretty cool. But what would I be without my sarcasm? Certainly not your loveable, humble, narrator!

I've got quests up the wazoo, which is a very uncomfortable place for quests. Apparently, the Mag'har had another village far to the West, which was then invaded by the Murkblood tribe of Broken, who slaughtered most of the inhabitants. But since the Greatmother is sick and dying, Garrosh Hellscream can't get off his emo ass and go do something. So, the orcs ask if a certain awesomely nifty Mage can go help them get revenge. Unfortunately, as revenge is against my code, I have to decline.

Just kidding. You know me better than that, people! I'm all over that revenge thing.

Click that little "Read More" to, well, read more of "The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 8: Unadulterated Awesomeness."

Unlike other past installments, in this episode our gallant Hero In A Dress does not kill enemies and Take Their Stuff(TM). Oh no, not for lack of trying... but because they kill him. Thankfully, they're generous enough not to Take His Stuff, because that would just be annoying.

I join a group for the Mana-Tombs, believing it to be the first wing of the zone. To be fair, it's not too far out of my level-I'm 64, approaching 65, and the mobs are all around the same-but I think all of us are expecting something far easier than what we get.

While we wait for the rest of our group, I get some quests. Auchindoun, from what I've seen, has two primary quest centers. The first, outside the Auchenai Crypts, is a group of Draenei who are mourning for their dead kin inside the Crypts. The only quest I can get at the time is from a young Draenei child named Ha'lei, whose quest is titled "I See Dead Draenei."

Sigh. What's next, Brus Wil'lez?

(Incidentally, this starts a chain where you deal with an NPC named "Dirty Larry." Double sigh.)

The little link below will lead you to "The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 7: Auchindoun or Auchindoun't?"

Don't forget - we have two image galleries that are constantly being updated with Burning Crusade screenshots so make sure you check them out!

Burning Crusade General Screenshots - This gallery is full of anything and everything from scenery to quests, to dialog, to whatever we happen across!

Burning Crusade Items - Want to know what some of those fabled Burning Crusade items are? We've been screnshotting every new item we come across so you can see the stats, right from the game (also, check out our Burning Crusade Database for all of your item and quest needs).

You've followed his journies to a dark and treacherous wasteland, read about his daring exploits battling demons and foul abominations that could only spawn from the darkest abyss (or the mind of a writer in Irvine, CA)... but this time, read and be amazed as the Mage They Call Jayne(z)... does absolutely nothing (much) of consequence whatsoever. And largely because people tell him to.

Oh, the suspense!

Anyway, I decide to go find another area for quests. To the south, I see what looks like a Horde settlement... but upon seeing lots of red names above the various Orcs, Trolls, and Gnomes there I decide that maybe I should look somewhere else. Heading farther south, I reach Stonebreaker Hold, the ACTUAL Horde place. Sweet. I receive a few quests there, as I am wont to do. I decide to start on the quest to kill some of the Royal Teromoths in the area. There's also another quest I work on at the same time regarding the Wolf Spirit of Draenor.

Apparently, once the Orcs started getting all big, mean, and red, they lost contact with the primal Wolf Spirit-and one of their shamans is trying to show the spirit that "Hey, we're cool again, man!" He decides that the best way to go about doing this is to dress in a wolf pelt outfit, so he asks me to go kill a bunch of Timber Wolves and get their pelts.

A-bwuh?

Gee, you ever think the reason the Wolf Spirit left was because you WERE KILLING WOLVES TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM? I mean, I've only got over 400 Intellect, so maybe I'm missing the intelligence in this act? (Although, going by D&D rules, I guess that'd be more of a Wisdom thing, wouldn't it...? Bah, I digress)

Click that little friendly link below to read "The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 6: Fear and Loathing in Terokkar Forest"

where can i find the complete list of questions?

The Answer:
There is a complete list of all of our Burning Crusade coveraged located at: http://wow.warcry.com/content/info/burning_crusade/index.php

#36:

the flying mounts only available to buy in the Outlands (etc) or are they in the same areas where you would normally buy the land-mounts?

Ain't seen any vendors yet, and there aren't any down by the Troll mount guy in Sen'Jin, so I'd have to say that yes, they're only available in Outlands.

#37:

You mentioned that it takes 15,000 honor to purchase a GM weapon. Starting from scratch, this would take many many months to attain in today's system. Starting from scratch in the new system, it seems like a very easy task. 25 honor per kill would equate to 600 kills to be able to purchase a GM weapon. It only takes a few days to get that many kills. Is it really this easy? Is there a large honor difference when killing someone 1v1 vs killing someone in a battleground (i.e. do you still get 25 honor per kill in battlegrounds)?

I get anywhere from 20-30 Honor Points per kill 1v1, currently. While you might think "Hey, that's really simple to get the GM weapon then!" keep in mind that old Rank 14s got more than just one weapon upon hitting their rank--they could get ranged weaponry, a shield, different weapons depending on if they wanted to go 2H or Dual-Wield, as well as the Rank 12 and Rank 13 armor sets on the way to the top. Those will be all seperate purchases now.

#38:

I'm currently rank 8, and working towards 11 for the pvp mounts. If I don't make it before the expansion is released, are they still available and what do they cost (honor/marks/etc)?

They are still available. They require 30 Marks of Honor from each battleground (AB, AV, WSG)... though those only stack to 20 currently, that will be changed in Burning Crusade.

#39:

what are the new zones in the burning crusade(except outland and the new starting zones)?

Er, the new zones in the Burning Crusade ARE Outland and the new Starting Zones. To be more specific, there are seven zones in Outland: Hellfire Peninsula, Zangarmarsh, Terokkar Forest, Nagrand, Blade's Edge Mountains, Netherstorm, and Shadowmoon Valley.

#40:

I just found this site, and i must say cool site indeed! A thing that has made me, to say the least, pretty mad is to see the new items. Can it be that they render all our efforts in MC/BWL/ONY/AQ/ZG utterly useless, by implementing far better items than is achievable now? Or do they change stats on current raid gear? This is something im very keen on discovering, as tbh i am gonna stop raíding BWL right now, if they dont change stats on the current tier sets.

My Netherwind gear is completely unchanged. You might want to stop raiding then, if that's the case. :/

#41:

How can you buy Alterac Manna Biscuits and other consumables with the current Honor Point system?

Not sure about Alterac Manna Biscuits, but I know that Combat Potions are 1 honor point apiece.

#42:

I have two questions. One, I doubt you'll be able to answer right now, but here goes... How long are the non-BC epic sets viable? The thought of doing MC and BWL for countless hours for nothing sickens me. Will my Tier 2 armor and Blackwing Lair gear be useful to me while raiding in my high sixties and perhaps even 70? Will there be any point to MC/BWL/Naxx once BC comes out?

Related to #40... it does help in levelling, I would assume, especially through Hellfire Peninsula. There, I was just blowing through content, and it definitely seemed like it was tuned more for people in blues than in raid epics. It's slowing down now, and I believe that Blizzard intends for people to gear up in comparable gear from the earlier dungeons and quests to match what raiders can do. As level 65, I've replaced 4 pieces of my raid gear thus far, but I'm starting to see some VERY nice rewards.

It'll help you level, yes... but it likely will be replaced, I'm afraid.

#43:

I have currently Rank 14 high warlord gear (and weapons) and I noticed I can buy the new set (with the same name) for honorpoints at lvl 70. My question
is: do you have to be "rank 14" (or former rank 14) to buy those for honor, or is honor alone enough (and not taking any ranking into account) ?

Honor alone will buy you it, but like I said--that's only one piece of gear or one weapon.

#44:

1. Does the rested-XP bonus system work the same at level 60 and beyond?

2. Will level 60 players start off with 150% rested bonus (assuming they have been level 60 for long enough :))?

3. Do you get XP from mobs in the "old world" and existing instances (assuming they are high-enough level ofc), e.g. MC?

To the first--yes, Rested XP does work. To the second... I'm afraid not. :/ I'm just as disappointed from you are. The third question... yep, you do. I haven't actually RUN any of the old instances, but you do get experience from them if they're appropriately levelled :P However, raid experience (in a 40 man) IS practically nothing.

More to come later!

So, while admiring the renovation of Castle Greyskull, I was quested to go inside. Apparently, the other Blood Elves used to control these ruins and now a bunch of badies infest them. Well, that's where Sephirothlol comes into play!

We return to Outland and everyone's favorite Troll Mage with a thrilling narrative in which our hero finally gets done with questing in Hellfire Peninsula, heads to the Mushroom Kingdom of Zangarmarsh, and finishes up in the wondrous Shattrath City--encountering a familiar face. He also has a valuable life's lesson reinforced: "There is no problem in this world that can't be solved by finding the right person or thing and setting it on fire."

One by one, the quests in my log dwindle until I find myself on the very last chain... fittingly enough for an introduction to Outland, it asks us to find the demonic Messenger who wanders around the north of the zone and take from him the orders from his boss, Arazzius the Cruel. Naturally, we're going to accomplish this goal by setting him on fire. While I'm on the subject, why the hell are villains always calling themselves stuff like "Doom Lord" or "the Cruel," huh? If I were a super evil villain, I think I'd call myself "Jayne(z) the Bunnyhugger." That way, when I revealed my SUPREMELY DASTARDLY PLAN, everybody would be taken off guard. I'd also take pains to not speak in a low ominous rumble or grow horns on my head and wear a jet black mask or whatever. Do these guys have no concept whatsoever of subtlety at all?

Oh, right, videogame. Nevermind.

Like the Defias Messenger, there's plenty of "/1 Hey, anybody seen the Messenger lately?" flying around the zone. Unlike the Defias Messenger, this guy is elite, fairly rough to kill, and surrounded by murderous demons. Westfall would be so much cooler with elite demons all over, IMHO.

Click the handy little link below to read:

"The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 5: Pyromania In Outland"