World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria

At Blizzcon this year it was announced that a new World of Warcraft expansion would be released. Its name, Mists of Pandaria. Since it’s been announced we’ve seen a lot of opinions on the content that has been released so far, and whilst some of what we’ve seen written is good, a lot of it has been pretty bad. So, in this post we’ll tell you what we know so far about the new expansion and as information is released, we’ll be sure to keep you Warcrafters updated.

I have a WoW character named Findor who is on the EU realm Mazrigos. Titus’ laptop is evil and so currently he can’t play WoW, but we’re working on that one (I WILL have him playing). During the WoW posts that aren’t related to this awesome new expansion (such as posts on the upcoming Patch 4.3) we’ll most likely follow the adventures of out characters through festivals and changes in the game.

So, in this post, let’s have a look at the latest information released regarding Mists of Pandaria.

New Race

“Couched in myth and legend, rarely seen and even more rarely understood, the enigmatic pandaren have long been a mystery to the other races of Azeroth. The noble history of the pandaren people stretches back thousands of years, well before the empires of man and before even the sundering of the world.” – Blizzard.

Yes, the pandaren. A new and exciting race that looks just like...well, pandas. This is Blizzard’s first neutral race as you can choose whether your pandaren will be Horde or Alliance. From what I’ve read (and this is in need of confirmation) you begin as a pandaren with no set faction and choose which side to take before leaving the starting area. Some players have said that this is a step forward for Blizzard, that being able to choose your faction gives the player that little bit more freedom. However, I would have to agree with those who claim it to be a bad idea, that choosing your own faction is a little pointless and just adds confusion to a simple game. I also believe this new race to lack creativity and bear (oh, the pun here was SO unintended) too much resemblance to ‘Kung-Fu Panda’.

As with all races, the pandaren come with their own lore which has been fantastically worded by Blizzard, and I would feel as though I had defiled their work if I shortened and summarised it. So, here is the currently available lore straight from Blizzard’s website.

“Denizens of a wondrous and fertile land, the pandaren once labored under the oppressive thumb of a monstrous race of ancient warlords known as the Mogu. Through tenacity, diplomacy, and a unique form of unarmed combat, the pandaren staged a successful revolution that deposed the Mogu and established a pandaren empire that would prosper for thousands of years.

During the bleak days that preceded the sundering of the world, when demons flooded onto Azeroth and threw the entirety of the mortal realm into jeopardy, the last Emperor of the pandaren discovered a way to protect his land from the devastation. His deal with fate shrouded his land within an impenetrable mist for ten thousand years, but the nature of his transaction has left Pandaria haunted ever since...

Wanderlust

It is the rare pandaren indeed who sought a way beyond the mist. Generations ago, pandaren explorers began to gather on the back of a giant turtle: Shen-zin Su. The great sea turtle roamed Azeroth's oceans, perhaps the only contact pandaren had with the outside world. Eventually, they too lost contact with their mist-shrouded homeland.

Players who choose to create a pandaren character will start their journey on the back of Shen-zin Su. When the great turtle is threatened, and their whole wandering homeland is in jeopardy of being swallowed by the sea, players will have to accelerate their training and spring into action.

During their time on the turtle, players will first encounter the Alliance and Horde. Before they are finished, they'll have to make the most important decision of their lives: Which of the two factions will they support as they venture out to heal a world broken by the Cataclysm and threatened by a global war?” - Blizzard

Racial abilities and available classes

The pandaren, as with other races, have their own racial abilities which are listed below.

EPICUREAN

Increases the stat benefits from food by 100%

GOURMAND

Cooking skill increased by 15.

INNER PEACE

Your rested experience bonus lasts twice as long.

BOUNCY

You take 50% less falling damage.

(How cute is that!?)

QUAKING PALM

You touch a secret pressure point on an enemy target, putting it to sleep for 3 seconds.

The classes available to the pandaren are:

-          Monk

-          Hunter

-          Mage

-          Priest

-          Rogue

-          Shaman

-          Warrior

Did you just say there was a Monk class?

Yes, yes I did. If you’ve ever played table top games like Dungeons and Dragons or Castles and Crusades, you may be familiar with the Monks, martial artists and masters of chi and energy. Well, the soon to be introduced Monks are very much like this. They are experts in martial arts (a form of fighting introduced by the pandaren masters) and are also able to use chi energy expertly. They can be Tanks (defence), DPS (Damage (per second)) and Healers (kind of obvious there) in raids, dungeons and battlegrounds.

Monks can wear cloth and leather armour and are able to wield fist weapons, one handed axes, one handed maces, one handed swords, polearms and staves (which seems like a fair selection of weapons). Instead of mana they use chi in order to use special abilities (for example, the move ‘roll’ which enabled the pandaren to roll a short distance requires 50 chi to use). Blizzard have only released three of the abilities that will be used by Monks, one being roll and the others are named spinning crane kick and statue of the jade serpent. The class is available to all races in each faction, like the Death Knight class in Wrath of the Lich King.

Other new features

So far, Blizzard has only released two additional features to the public and they are: challenge modes and pet battle system. Let’s learn a little bit about each of these new features.

Challenge Mode

The aim of this mode: finish the dungeon as fast as possible and try to beat its best completion time. Through that you can earn a bronze, silver or gold medal.  Your armour will be neutralised, meaning that your own armour is temporarily stripped from you and replaced with armour that is suitable for the instance you are entering in challenge mode – making it fair for everyone who is entering. For this mode it is vital that you work as a team in order to achieve the best possible time. You can compare your medals with everyone else in the realm.

The rewards:  so far we have been told there will be new armour art (patch 4.3 stay tuned for more info on this), mount drops and titles. Blizzard claim there is more, but what it is I have no idea.

Pet Battle System

Hello, my name is Professor Oak. Welcome to the world of Pok—Huh?

No, you haven’t reached the world of Pokémon, Blizzard has just created something similar. Yes, now WoW is appealing to all ages as vanity pets gain the ability to battle each other and level up. Have you always wanted to destroy your best friend’s Lil’ Deathwing? Well, now you can. Your vanity pets each have their own special abilities that they can use when battling each other. Every time they fight, they gain experience points and are able to level up, unlocking new moves and becoming even more powerful than before.

That was bad, but I promise you, it gets worse. You can now catch vanity pets in the wild. Yes, you heard me – the wild. So, whilst strolling through the forests of Azeroth you may come across a vanity pet. Upon crossing its path you will open a battle sequence which will allow you to fight said pet with your own and/or catch it. Not only that, but lurking in Azeroth are vanity pet trainers, who may offer to teach your pets great tricks or challenge you to a battle with your pets in order for them to receive training. In Blizzards words “make a name for yourself as Azeroth’s most renowned pet trainer!” Can Nintendo sue them for this? I mean seriously, can they? What is Blizzard doing!?

So, what are your thoughts on the latest expansion so far? Do you think that the new pet battle system is great, or perhaps you agree with me on that one? Whatever your thoughts on the latest information, share it with us – we would love to know.

Here’s the trailer for Mists of Pandaria as released by Blizzard.