Reader Chad forwarded us this screen shot of a conversation that takes place over on Elder rise in Thunder Bluff between two Tauren on the patch 3.2 PTR. Apparently it actually begins with a new quest by the Dalaran Portals, as pointed out in this thread at Scrolls of Lore, and while the quest leads nowhere, you do get to hear the linked dialogue.

In it, Aponi Brightmane, a wounded warrior who wishes to return the front lines in Northrend, and Tahu Sagewind, a Druid, speak together about the history of Druidism, the moon, and the sun. They speak of Elune, whom they know as Mu'sha, one of the eyes of the the Earth Mother. They mention that it seems strange that if Tauren were the first Druids as their legends claim, that all Hamuul Runetotem teaches is the moon power of the Night Elves. Tahu wonders if Druids themselves, because of this, are out of balance. The idea segues back into the idea of the world out of balance due to the influence of the Scourge, wondering if sitting idle in Thunder Bluff is really a good idea when the Northern front is so bleak, wondering if balance must needs to be returned by action.


[Expand 1 Paragraphs]

Sometimes, during the summer, it can be especially difficult to find time to enjoy the game. Arena fighters are no different, which is why the following two interviews are a little shorter. We were only able to grab a little bit of their time, but we wanted to get their unique perspective on some aspects of the Arena.

Soballinlol is a Warrior on the Mug'thol server, who is 3rd rated in the Vengeance battlegroup on his 2v2 team. Even more spectacularly, Soballinlol's 5v5 team has achieved the number one place on the battlegroup. Nailpolish is also on the Mug'thol server, but is in the 7th ranked 2v2 team on her battlegroup, and the 8th ranked 3v3 team.

[Expand 5 Paragraphs]

Ready Check is a twice-a-week column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, Vault of Archavon or Ulduar, everyone can get in on the action and down some bosses. Today, we step back a little and look at endgame in the context of sports.

[Expand 3 Paragraphs]

This installment of All the World's a Stage is the thirty-sixth in a series of roleplaying guides about how to roleplay various aspects of the lore and gaming elements of WoW.

What is inscription anyways? I mean, we all know that it's the newest profession, added in Wrath of the Lich King, and it lets you make these "glyphs" which allow you to modify or improve your various class abilities in interesting ways. In gaming terms all that makes perfect sense, but when it comes to telling a story with your character, there are a lot of details missing.

[Expand 5 Paragraphs]

When Blizzard announced that the new Tier 9 sets with Patch 3.2 would be faction-specific, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought how awesome that would be. It would mark the first time tier sets would be themed to a faction. It was something many players had been asking for. But as the saying goes, "be careful what you wish for..." In this case, players such as myself are actually going to see the return of faction-specific armor except that there's one niggling detail we'd forgotten about the first faction-specific gear sets (Level 60 PvP) -- they were armor class-based.

That's right. As wonderful as many players thought those faction-specific armor sets were, they were actually somewhat homogenous in that classes that shared the same armor type (i.e., cloth, leather, plate) had the same models. Apparently this is Blizzard's philosophy with armor set design: either the class sets are faction-neutral but look distinct from each other or they are faction-specific but look the same across armor class. The only time Blizzard broke from tradition was with the much-maligned Sunwell Plateau gear which was both faction-neutral and shared a look across armor class. It felt lazy.

[View Remaining 4 Paragraphs]

[View Remaining 3 Paragraphs]

Hell yeah! MMO Champion has done its usual data-mining magic and managed to unearth most of the latest Arena gear and whoa, does it look amazing. Boubouille notes that many of the sets are incomplete and that some Photoshop work was done for display purposes, but I think we get the general idea. Season 7 items are the latest iteration of evolutionary design, which builds visually upon older sets. This design evolution was hinted at in vanilla World of Warcraft, where the old Warlord / Field Marshal PvP sets were minor visual upgrades from the Champion / Lieutenant Commander sets. The Season 7 item sets should probably called Badass Gladiator because, well, personally I think they're just... badass.

[View Remaining 1 Paragraphs]

It's officially summer, or Midsummer, if you like. This week's list is pretty hefty and even has a few seasonal entries. Enjoy!

• Cru the Dwarf: Sir Lothar has been given some cryptic orders.
• Dark Legacy Comics: Invention Time! I really liked this one. What could go wrong with Invention Time?
  
• GU Comics: Ingenious Plan. I have not yet done this, but I can't say I've been looking forward to it either. I did however spend some time screwing up my karma by the bonfire in Silvermoon City.
• GU Comics: More Fire Catching. I echo these sentiments.
• In the conclusion to Victor's plight from Experience Points, the punishment is laid out. I for one, agree RedWoodElf's comment. Then he ventures out onto a date "IRL" but doesn't get what he bargained for. Personally, I like comparing their head sizes. Oddly enough, he bravely pushes through.
  
• Check out the latest from Flintlocke vs. the Horde. I am totally jealous of that dude's button.
• In LFG's latest, the gnomes are getting restless, though they remain content to do nothing about it.
• NoObz: I'm Worth It. I never find any good options either.
• NPC: Kitty Names Revealed. It seems that cat identities are similar to those of females on the Internet.
• NPC: Perspective. Heck, people need guild bank alts these days! I have two.
• Teh Gladiators: The Beast Rares its Ugly Head(s).
• Kuo: When the Kobold disappears, the adventurers employ their own methods of finding him.
• World of Warcraft, eh?: The Battle is Lost. I love the detail of the creepy centaur's fingernails. I can't wait for the new features!


[View Remaining 1 Lists]

Helghan of <Fear and Loathing> on Greymane must have a sunny disposition, because all the plants are growing in his direction. Then again, all of these plants are dead. Maybe he should consider a prescription strength deodorant. I'm sure that Old Spice doesn't entirely cover that rotting flesh smell, and that can't be good for the local flora. Helghan tries to get himself off the hook by claiming that his level 80 tauren druid brother, Baracknroll, clawed all these plants to death while running him through a dungeon. Sure, blame it on the cat.

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

[View Remaining 1 Paragraphs]

So patch 3.2 will be bringing some pretty significant changes to PvP Battlegrounds to say the least. Not only will Wintergrasp be morphing into a weird quasi-battleground with queue, but Warsong Gulch is getting a time limit, Eye of the Storm and Arathi's resource goal is being slashed, and we're getting a whole new battleground in the Isle of Conquest. In short, we're going to have some soul searching to do while we decide where to get our non-arena organized PvP fix on.

[View Remaining 3 Paragraphs]