#wow beta

Anyway ok so I moved on to the Verdant Fields map, which is from beta Emerald Dream. fellow WoW enjoyers may know that it took us about 20 years to actually get this zone in-game (ditto dragon isles), but that the maps we got on live were not based even a little bit on these beta maps.

Here's a screenshot in The Verdant Fields where I outlined what I think is probably the size of the human male model, based on the size of the grass textures and the scale of the hills (yes I'm serious and yes I looked for and could not find a preexisting NPC to demonstrate scale. if someone knows where he is or how to add him in noclip then please tell me)

HOLY FUCK! BIG SQUARES!

but that really is not all

really fucking big map.

I have so many questions. I need to re-read The WoW Diary and scour it for details on the original, beta Dream. I know it was going to be a max level area (level 70 in fact at the time of its development) but I want to know more about the planned scope of it and I want to know what general shape it was going to take.

is that yellow texture meant to indicate where a river will flow? based on the size and position of it, my first impression was absolutely that the yellow texture is meant to represent water (this is an early enough version of the map that I'm really unsurprised that actual water physics are nowhere to be found) but after looking around I really just am not entirely sure?

like, this reads as a lake on the right hand side of the picture, then with a narrow river snaking across the top of the screenshot before diving down to meet another "river". it wouldn't make sense in the lore for this to be a road, would it? is the lower left quadrant, roughly, meant to be marshes, hence the many little connecting parts? did they intend for this to be hell on earth to traverse with vanilla mount rules? how was this terrain going to impact PvP

Sekhi: Elemental/Restoration Shaman and Farseer

For Sekhi, I figured the Farseer fit best. Farseer makes it so when you cast certain spells (100% chance for Primordial Wave and a smaller chance for others depending on talent choices) you summon an ancestor spirit to fight alongside you and mimic your spellcasts.

At first they'll be a rare bonus, but the further along you get the more often they appear. Its a fun bit of fluff for Sekhi since she's a vulpera and their caravan family is extremely important to them in lore. I figured it would be the most fitting for her.

Nelen Fullmoon: Arcane Mage and Spellslinger

Who here remembers the Needler from Halo? Yeah, its basically that!

Whenever an arcane mage with this hero selection burns some Clearcasting, they generate arcane slivers that zip towards nearby enemies and embed themselves in their bodies, doing both direct damage and damage over time! The further along you go, the more often this happens and the more damage they do!

Nitika Dawnhoof/Darkhoof: Holy/Shadow Priestess and Oracle/Voidweaver

Nitika, in my story, is kinda sorta two people sharing the same body. Dawnhoof is a Seer of An'she (holy priest, but using sunlight specifically) while Darkhoof uses Shadow Magic, specifically Sha-based powers.

Oracle is an interesting one so far. You get a new spell that acts as a permanent buff, giving you bonuses to spellcasting. I haven't had much of a chance to use it yet but... c'mon, she's a SEER of An'she! How could I not make her an Oracle?!

As for Voidweaver, it makes it so when you use Void Torrent it creates a pool of void energies that chases enemies around. Other stuff too, but again I haven't had that much of a chance to play around. I bet some shadow priests are gonna have a lot of fun with it though.

Jaie Swiftpaw: Brewmaster Monk and Master of Harmony

The Master of Harmony is a fun one. Every time you attack or heal you store some of it within your chi, and (in Jaie's case) when you use Celestial Brew that chi empowers you, giving you a big damage buff!

I almost went with the other Brewmaster choice (Shado-pan) but the way it works is that you build up charges when you do damage equal to 100% of your max health, then unleash them every time you spend 400 energy total. It sounds neat, but Jaie is a tank so she does not so much damage and has a LOT of health. I think she's going to be using 400 energy a lot more often than she'll be doing that much damage.

Bet it'd be a fun one to do as a Windwalker though.

Galdia Grimaxe: Protection Warrior and Colossus

Colossus is just perfect for Galdia. You get a new attack when you choose it called "Demolish" that does just that. Your character will do a channeled combo attack and basically beat whatever is infront of them black and blue.

It gives bonuses to other attacks like Shockwave as well, and you can empower how much damage it does by using Shield Slam (as a protection warrior of course.) I'm really looking forward to beating up a few raid bosses using this one.

Mola'raum: Unholy Death Knight and Rider of the Apocalypse

We don't really see it come up anymore now that Shadowlands has ended and been consigned to the "well, they gave it their best shot in a really shitty situation" bin, but a Death Knight is part of an organization outside of the Alliance and Horde. Rider of the Apocalypse focuses on that.

Your abilities will have a chance of summoning one of the four horsemen of the Ebon Blade: Mograne, Trollbane, Nazgrim, or Whitemane. They will aid you in combat by fighting alongside you and either buffing you or debuffing your enemies.

One of the early talents you get with this one is potentially pretty broken too: On a Pale-er Horse. Basically, you can ride your Deathcharger in combat.

I THINK WE'RE GONNA SEE PEOPLE DOING THAT ONE A LOT! At least it fits Mola'raum, he uses a spear!

Grimo B. Blamstick: Marksmanship Hunter and... Dark Ranger?

Yeah, look, Imma be honest. NONE of the hero talents fit Grimo, even the one Marksman don't get. He's a hunter yes, but his whole thing is he's a gearhead engineer who loves blowing shit up and shooting guns.

Sentinel is about your "bond to nature" (he's a goblin) and the other one is beastmaster and survival hunters so thats out of the question anyways.

Dark Ranger is my pick because it didn't fit him AS BAD as Sentinel.

D'oh well.

Edwood Vargas: Destruction Warlock and Hellcaller

Hellcaller however, fits Edwood perfectly... though it'll likely make my druid hate him even more than she already does for being a forsaken and a warlock. Hellcaller magic is the powers used by the Satyr, the fel-corrupted night elves who sided with the Burning Legion.

For the record, that druid I mentioned? She's a night elf.

Yeah.

That being said, the abilities sound fun as heck. The first one you get is that it turns Immolate (or Corruption if you take it as Affliction) into "Wither" which does shadowflame damage up front and over time, and can be empowered by other talents. I really like these ones that don't just give you new abilities, but upgrade old ones into the new ones.

It gives me something fun to play around with and helps cut down on button bloat.

Dareley Steelhammer: Holy Paladin and Lightsmith

He's a paladin, and his name is literal. The Steelhammer family has been blacksmiths in Ironforge since before the War of the Three Hammers. When I heard one of the upcoming Paladin hero talents was built around literally forging the light into weapons and shields? Yep, that was Dareley.

You gain the spell Holy Bulwark which lets you throw a weapon or shield made of pure Light to your allies, giving them an offensive or defensive buff for one.

For another, you get a choice of two "Rites." Rite of Sanctification which blesses your weapon to give you bonus armor and increase your primary stat, or Rite of Adjuration that gives you a stamina buff and makes your spells sometimes cause your target to erupt in healing light.

THATS RIGHT! WE GET OUR PALLY SEALS BACK!

But yeah, Dareley is my dedicated Healadin, so I'm going to REALLY enjoy this one come the first raid. :D

Samantha Montebank: Subtlety Rogue and Trickster

I'm really loving how well some of these are fitting my characters (pity about Grimo but d'oh well.)

Trickster looks to be a pretty fun one to play. Right from the start you get the talent "Unseen Blade." It makes it so your primary combo point building attacks (Gloomblade/Backstab and Shadowstrike in my case) will cause your target to get Fazed.

Fazed targets take more damage from your attacks and, this is the big one, can't parry them. For a rogue this is a preeeeeeetty nice bonus.

You can only Faze them once every 20 seconds however and the debuff only lasts five... but some talents can give you a chance to reset that limit (one of them gives a nice bonus to Slice and Dice, making you even faster too.)

Sam is rapidly becoming one of my favorite melee characters, and this might just make her moreso.

Shalandrae Deeproots: Druid Druid Drudity Drood

Question: Which Spec/Hero Talents did you pick for your druid, Shalandrae?

Answer: Yes.

Shalandrae is one I love to just go with whatever I want to be at the moment, especially with how easy it is to be geared for multiple specs now (unless you're an M+ sweatlord in which case I hope you get the psychological care you clearly desperately need.) So I'm going with all four!

Guardian/Druid of the Claw: Druid of the Claw is built for beasts, and for bears its downright devastating. Your first ability gives your auto attacks a chance to turn Mangle into a new attack, Ravage, which does tremendous damage and can be enhanced to cause bleeding and a whole host of other fun things.

Feral/Wildstalker: This one is actually an option for healers too. Its a little beast, a little plant. Your attacks against enemies can inflict them with bloodsucker vines that drain their health, while heals can give symbiotic blooms that give you more heals!

Balance/Elune's Chosen: Need I say it? More boom for the boomkin! Your first talent makes your big boom spells (Fury of Elune or Full Moon) hit even harder, and it continues on from there. If you like Fury of Elune like I do then there's talents to give you a chance to summon a shorter-lived one at random, or to cut the cooldown of it, and such. Space lasers for everyone!

Restoration/Keeper of the Grove: Tree law! TREE LAW! TREE LAW!!! Treant lovers, this one is for you guys! I get a ton of use out of mine when I'm healing, having the backup is nice, and for my fellow tree huggers... this makes your trees hug back! The talents not only empower your Grove Guardians, it makes them empower you as well! Expect to see a lot of botany if you pick this path.

Aziguni: Beast Master Hunter and Pack Leader

Unlike Grimo, this one PERFECTLY fits Aziguni. Its all about working with your beastly buddies to raise all sorts of hell!

The first ability enhances Kill Command so that the next one you use will cause you to attack in unison with your pet for bonus damage, and it also has a host of other perks like enhancing Mend Pet for those tougher fights, letting your pets buff you for a change, and the like.

Aziguni is a bologist in my story, having researched and catalogued various fauna on all the worlds the Draenei fled to after Argus fell, and this would easily be something she would go for in character.

Zhan-min Irontummy: Enhancement Shaman and Totemic

Can I just say as someone who has played WoW almost since the beginning (and then only because I couldn't at first as I was fresh out of high school and had no money) that I love that totems are making a comeback?

Totemic is a neat build. Right from the start you get a new totem that not only causes earthquakes that damage enemies constantly, but replaces your Windfury totem by making it so your Windfury weapon enchantment turns your weapon into a permanent Windfury totem!

It also has options to give your other abilities the chance to summon other totems as well. Lava lash a fun spell? Well now it might bring back Searing Totem! I missed that little guy!

So yeah. Veeeeeeeeeery happy with this one.

Laurelgosa/Laura Brightflame: Devastation/Restoration Evoker and Flameshaper

I almost went with Scalecommander for the DPS side of things, but I decided in the end this fits well for both. After all the ruby flames can kill or cure, so why not have them do both?

Flameshaper deepens the evoker's connection to the Red Dragonflight, giving you the spell Engulf right off the bat. Like Living Flame it can heal allies and hurt enemies, but instant cast and for a higher amount than the former.

From there it enhances your breath attacks (deep breath/dream breath will fly farther and faster) while giving your other abilities a guaranteed heal/damage over time effect.

Quite the nice addition to my evoker spellbook.

Leza: Fire Mage and Sunfury

Oh hey! Its Kael'thas! I haven't seen you since Sunwell Plateau! How've you been m'dude? ... oh wait, sorry, mistook you for someone else.

Yeah, this thing is one big love letter to the late King Sunstrider. You even get his ability to fuck with gravity like he did in that fight. Hell one of the talents is literally called "Merely a Setback!"

Outside of that however, it looks like a lotta fun. You generate spellflame orbs (up to three of course) during and out of combat which buff your spell damage, and when you use your big buff spell (Combustion in my case) you summon a phoenix to fight alongside you.

Expect almost every Blood Elf mage to take this one. Seriously.

Alalestria Wintersky: Frost Mage and Frostfire

I said almost every Blood Elf mage.

Alalestria is a dedicated frost mage, a maigster of House Wintersky, in my story and I figured this would be a fun fit for her. Its a bit awkward at first as most frost/fire spells are locked to those talent trees, but the further down you go the more talents will cause your other spells to PROC the other element!

For example: One talent makes it so Comet Storm also calls down a Meteor (and vice versa,) another makes your Ice Lance turn the target into a Living Bomb. You also get Frostfire Bolt back, but now this talent makes it so whenever you cast frost, it enhances fire, and vice versa. Frostfire is both, so it buffs both too!

It starts out slow, but by the end you'll be seeing some REAL fireworks!

Sinranir Downstrider: Asassination Rogue and Deathstalker

This one is pretty damn nasty. Using Ambush from Stealth gives your target three stacks of "Deathstalker's Mark" which causes any finishing moves that use five or more combo points to deal bonus Plague damage and enhance one of your other attacks as well.

A fitting one for Sinranir, who is a contract assassin who wound up in service to the aforementioned Alalestria through a botched assassination attempt on her late father, Danaforth.

While it may seem pretty situational, good for the start of a fight since you need to be in stealth to mark enemies... that changes when it comes time for the endgame stuff. The final talent is "Darkest Night" which makes it so when your last mark is consumed it makes your next Envenom (in my case) that uses five or more combo points to have 100% critical chance, deal 30% more damage, and apply three new marks! The fun never ends!

Well, for you. Not so much for them. I imagine they'd much rather it did.

Mal'gum: Fury Warrior and Slayer

Malgum is actually the long-lost brother to the aforementioned Aziguni (the beast master hunter) and the reason why is that he was press-ganged into becoming a man'ari eredar when Argus fell, having stayed behind to 'hear out what Kil'jadeen had to say' (oops.)

To avoid the fate of being killed and used to fuel the soulforges, he had to become useful to Sargeras, and that meant killing things. The slayer abilities hone that to a razor edge, then drive that edge into something that'll scream and bleed.

Your first ability is a passive that causes your attacks to have a chance to penetrate your enemy's defenses, doing a free attack and applying Executioner's Mark, which buffs the next Execute's damage (and can stack.)

The tree uses Bladestorm a lot, so I hope you like that one (at least for Fury, dunno about the other ones) and it has a bunch of buffs for pursuing enemies as well (like a choice node where Charge also gives you a big speed buff once it runs out, or charge and heroic leap each cut the cooldown of the other.) A good pick for people who just want to cause some carnage.

Gremori Autumnleaves: Havoc Demon Hunter and Fel-Scarred

"Lets play a game, I call it WHO'S THE BIGGER MONSTER?!"

Fel-scarred is for those who want to raise some hell literally. It buffs your Metamorphosis power!

The first node is Demonsurge, which enhances the health and armor bonuses of being in your demonic form, as well as making it so your enhanced abilities will cause a "Demonsurge" which makes them EXPLODE and deal AoE fire damage!

From there its all about power enhancement and lowering or resetting the cooldowns of your other big hitters. This definitely makes demon hunter, a class I've always been kinda 'meh' about, feel more interesting to play.