"This makes me super happy. I want to join this guild." What sort of guild does it take to evoke that kind of reaction from Community Manager Zarhym on the official forums? Gnomes -- lots and lots of nothing but gnomes.

"Gnomes are tiny little bundles of concentrated awesome," writes Forbidra, the GM of an all-gnome guild on Wyrmrest Accord (US). "They have endured so much hardship, and yet their indomitable spirit and insatiable curiosity shines through. Gnomes attack their problems with their intellect and ingenuity, rather than with brute force. Still, many players consider gnomes a joke race and don't take them seriously. We in Gnomeregan Forever respectfully disagree. Many of us in G4 not only love roleplaying our characters but actively strive to combat gnomish stereotypes and discrimination on our realm. We believe that gnomes can do pretty much anything any other group of players can do and have heckuva lot of fun doing it!

"Oh, indeed we do! And honestly, all joking aside, most people seem to secretly love gnomes. Whenever our guild goes someplace together, people stop and stare. You can almost see thought bubbles popping over their heads: 'OMG, gnomes!!' Sometimes they will follow us. They have no idea what we are up to, but they figure with that many gnomes, it's gotta be fun, right?

All gnomes. All fun. All the time. Meet Gnomeregan Forever.

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

At this point in WoW's evolution, we've become somewhat accustomed to reports of gutsy solo boss kills. However tricky to pull off, most of those accomplishments involve content from a previous expansion and rely on the particular skill sets of a determined death knight or paladin. But soloing current raid content, let alone current heroic raid content? Not so much.

So when shadow priest Shantál of Al'akir (EU) recently pulled off an eye-popping kill of heroic Alysrazor, the WoW community sat up and took notice. With a painstakingly developed strategy that carried him outside the flame wall and exposed him to increased damage, Shantál picked his way around each road block in the encounter to achieve a uniquely remarkable victory.

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

My question to you this morning, dear reader, is both a simple and complex one: Does anyone really deserve a legendary?

A friend of mine was recently regaling to me some drama surrounding his guild when a member felt he deserved the Elementium Gem Cluster for Fangs of the Father. This rogue is in pretty poor standing with the guild but has been in it a while, and he only recently started attending their 25-man raids (which is the core of their raiding initiatives). When the clusters started going to another rogue, he decided to take to the general channels and QQ about it.

Now, of course, that was pretty much exactly the wrong thing to do on his part. But there is a deeper issue that presents itself -- his opinion that he deserved the legendary.

This mindset that one deserves some specific purple pixels on the screen always surprises me to some extent but even more so when those pixels are orange. Some folks -- those who are active in guilds nonstop and show up to nearly everything -- obviously are great candidates for the legendary. But does anyone really deserve it just because they're awesome? And even in the case of the super-active player, isn't getting a legendary just a once-in-a-blue-moon added bonus?

Discuss.

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Transmog sets are hot, hot, hot -- just ask the guy who gave away 1 million gold after building his personal fortune by selling gear destined for transmogrification sets. It's the rare player who hasn't caught on to the fact that selling those dowdy old leveling greens can rake in surprising amounts of gold in today's mogging era.

Taking things a step further by assembling and selling full transmog sets, however, is the province of fewer players -- a select few indeed, according to Mickél of The Blackest Rose, a transmog set dealer on Madoran (US-H). "We were the first to do it on our server, and I have a feeling one of the few in game who is selling complete mog sets," he explains. "My partner works on making custom sets from the random greens we have; hers are often very clean and perfect-looking. I use the named sets, i.e. Emerald, Righteous, Abjurer's, etc."

Before you cry, "Aha! Must do this!" -- think upon the sheer amount of time and effort that goes into a transmog dealership done right. Mickél and his partner Aridas have to farm up each and every piece of gear. No set is complete without every last piece that shows, whether it drops quickly or not. The team needs to develop and market customized, themed looks and then farm up whatever's required from the four corners of Azeroth. They have to find a profitable way to offload all the random pieces picked up along the way.

And what about those teeth-grinding runs when a piece that's needed just won't drop? Run it again. And again. And again.

So why would any player in his right mind spend hour upon hour grinding for lowbie gear?

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame, Transmogrification

Could you play World of Warcraft if you were totally blind? What if you were legally blind and suffered from progressive hearing loss, too? Or let's say you could see and hear just fine, but you suffered from a panic disorder -- and you were a tank. Perhaps you were physically disabled, but you had someone to help you out in the game -- or then again, maybe you played all on your own.

If we haven't already lost you to the inspirational barrage of the previous paragraph, consider one more possibility: Would you still play World of Warcraft if you were quadriplegic? Quadilious of Drak'thul has been DPSing his way through endgame raids for years now -- and now, he's building a site for other disabled gamers. Quad's slowly but steadily refocusing his website as a resource for others, sharing his years of experience overcoming WoW's mechanics and contacting medical professionals and other disabled gamers to round up ideas, tips and inspiration for disabled gamers in general.

On the back of a dragon from the seat of a wheelchair, Quadilious returns with an update on Dragon Soul, smaller raid teams, and adaptive gaming.

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Filed under: 15 Minutes of Fame

Soulbound! When World of Warcraft devotees become devoted to one another, do their characters get in on the action too? Some players save their gaming passions for a WoW-themed wedding cake, but other couples prefer to tie the knot in Azeroth as well.

Are you a real-life couple who's also celebrated your love through an in-game wedding? Here's your chance to declare your love before your fellow Azerothians. Send us a recap of your in-game ceremony, and we'll consider you for a special June wedding profile of your characters' big day. We'll select one couple for a full-length WoW Insider interview to run in June, traditionally the month for wedding bells.

How did you meet? Where was the ceremony? Did you wear a White Wedding Dress, or did you take a different angle to wedding day fashion? Read us your vows! Did the other faction leave you in peace? And pictures -- don't forget to include screenshots of your special day. Keep your recap to 500 words or less, and send no more than four .jpgs of the event. (We'll get more info and images during the interview for the couple selected to be featured.) Send the glorious details to lisa@wowinsider.com no later than the last day of April. We can't wait to dish!

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Filed under: Interviews

When Game of Throne's Hodor, actor Kristian Nairn, showed up to talk Star Wars: The Old Republic and RIFT on the podcast of our sister site Massively back in February, we knew it marked a temporary state of affairs. As enthusiastic about lightsabers as the Belfast resident was at the time, we suspected he'd eventually make his way back to Azeroth, the gaming world that's captured his heart and imagination.

... Which is how I found myself logged into World of Warcraft late last night, merrily ignoring my deadline for transcribing the final pieces of this interview, as Nairn and I struggled to find a Game of Thrones-themed guild name that hadn't already been devoured whole by hungry fans of the critically acclaimed HBO series. (Meanwhile, the Riders of Brohan were keeping my Decline button busy with repeated invitations to their own spin on a fantasy-named guild. Folks, if you're an aspiring Bro, this is your big chance -- this guild's obviously riding hard in search of a full roster.) After a crazed evening spent losing signatures to the Bros and new character deletions as quickly as we could recruit them, success was had. A guild was created, my final interview with Nairn was completed, and I logged out to finish cobbling together a handful of meandering conversations with Nairn conducted since February of this year.

Does the man have more than a monosyllabic "Hodor" to say about why his heart lies with Azeroth? Why, yes -- yes, he most certainly does.

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

Can playing World of Warcraft maintain or improve your brain power? When it comes to specifics like improving cognitive function, there really haven't been many significant, sizeable research studies that can put hard numbers on the line. WoW player and early onset Alzheimer's disease sufferer Bill Craig would certainly attest to the power of gaming in maintaining brain function -- he's living proof that WoW can be a vital part of a brain-healthy regimen to stretch and maintain cognitive function. (If you haven't already read Bill's story, you owe it yourself to follow that link. It'll make your day.)

So when news of a fresh research project looking at WoW's effects on cognitive abilities in older players started making the rounds in the national media, Bill was one of the first to ping us with an excited email. "Tell us something we didn't already know, right, Lisa?" he crowed. "Guess I might be called a 'pioneer' of sorts, huh?" Indeed, Bill, you're totally my hero -- and look out, because it looks like the scientific world is starting to catch on and catch up to our secrets.

This week, WoW Insider interviews Dr. Jason Allaire at North Carolina State University, who co-authored the recent study showing that playing WoW can boost certain cognitive functions in older adults. Himself a former WoW player and long-time MMO player, Dr. Allaire shares a gaming-filtered view of how his research and WoW interrelate to show that indeed, World of Warcraft can be good for your brain.

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

Join a leveling guild? More often than not, I find myself advising players to steer clear. My Drama Mamas mailbox is overflowing with tirades from players stranded by the inevitable explosions of time-bomb guilds that've been hastily duct-taped together by random new players. Even the groups that manage to gather a congenial group of people almost unfailingly burst into flame when members reach the endgame and hit Real Issues: loot rules, raid group membership, scheduling conflicts, rules of conduct ... In these rudderless, inexperienced groups, drama is unavoidable. Most disintegrate sooner rather than later, with members moving on to guilds with more formal organization, rules, and missions.

But then we heard about a European guild that seems to have a lock on this whole leveling guild thing. Tipster Ben jumped the English language barrier to clue us in: "This guild is different. People recently start to create leveling guild mostly for the perks, and this people are here way before the perks. I believe they are around for helping and not for making gold." We investigated and found a guild that's focused not on reaching the endgame but the journey there -- special events and grouping and friendships and contests and retro raids and teamwork ... And the officers seem to enjoy organizing it all as much as the players do participating in it.

Why would an experienced WoW player keep coming back to a level 54 character to spend a massive slice of her time and energy leading a guild full of players who are toddling through content most players are more than happy to speed-jump? It's all about The Leveling Agony.

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

What, ho! If thou dost live anywhere at all near Austin, Texas, we hath a merry proposal for thy consideration: a chance to win weekend passes for two to hear WoW soundtrack composer David Arkenstone on the weekend of March 31 and April 1 at the Sherwood Forest Faire near Austin. Forsooth, 'tis verily so -- a meatspace contest for readers in a single mid-U.S. region. (Our most sincere condolences to residents of other fiefs and kingdoms ... There's only so much of the noble Sir Arkenstone to go around!) Mark you, there be no place more fitting to tarry on a sunny spring morn than a renn faire featuring three-time Grammy nominee David Arkenstone performing songs including some of his melodious compositions for World of Warcraft.

So hear ye, hear ye (in plain English): We're giving away two pairs of tickets (a $72 value per pair) for the weekend of March 31 and April 1 to Sherwood Forest Faire, 35 miles east of Austin, Texas. To enter, leave a comment on this post before the contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Sunday, March 18, 2012. Since this is a location-specific event, please don't enter unless you can actually attend the faire in Austin on March 31 and/or April 1; alternate dates and locations are not available, and we want a WoW fan who can be there to enjoy these shows. Winners must be legal residents of the United States or Canada (except Quebec). You may only enter once, and winners must be 18 years of age or older. Two winners will be chosen at random, and tickets will be held in their names at the Will Call window of the faire admissions area. See the official rules for more details. Jousting in your entry comment is optional.

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Filed under: Contests