Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) will be your host today.

Andy provided the correct answer for yesterday's Queue. And let me tell you, he's right.

Except the Pink Ranger. I had such a crush on her ...

Shrinknet asked:

What level does my fishing need to be in order to catch Cata-level fish, and can I reach it with bonus items?

Continue reading The Queue: Clearly, the correct answer is Tommy, the green Ranger

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The Queue: Clearly, the correct answer is Tommy, the green Ranger originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The most impressive thing about this picture is not that Varraline of Pyreal Dream on Elune (US-A) managed to get three tallstriders together in one shot. No, it's that Varraline has somehow coordinated an entire purple and green Darkmoon Faire outfit to match her mount. And it's not just the outfit -- it's the whole picture! The tent, the banner, the purple elf skin and the green fireworks. I salute you, Varraline, for your dedication to one of the ugliest color combinations possible, one that is only seen at the Darkmoon Faire, Wimbledon and Mardi Gras -- three events where most of the people attending are too drunk to notice how awful purple and green are together.

Gallery: Around Azeroth 3


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Around Azeroth: Everybody knows that the bird is the word! originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the For the Lore and Raid Warning podcasts), shows you how.

Hard to believe that another year has come and gone, isn't it? It seems like only yesterday we were waiting in line for the Cataclysm to drop. Now we're at the end of the expansion, complete with the last raid tier and a battle for the survival of Azeroth against the aspect of death himself. But the new year has come, and it's a perfect time to look back on a rather full year of activity while we eagerly await the release of Mists of Pandaria.

Tier 11: A slice of heaven

The release of Cataclysm was something that was eagerly anticipated by a rather large number of players -- new talent trees, new spells and abilities, and a ton of new content. After making our way through the various dungeons and heroics, we set foot into the first tier of raid content for the expansion only to find out that we were pretty awesome. Using our new tools and tricks, we were able to destroy and outclass a lot of fights. Heroic Chimaeron was a perfect example of a fight in which restoration shaman just destroyed the competition and were heroes of a higher healing caliber.

Tier 11 gave us a lot of opportunity to make use of our brand new mastery, Deep Healing, and not just use it but let it shine. Many of the boss fights had mechanics that would bring a large number of the raid members' health down to very low totals, allowing our Healing Rain and Earthliving Weapon proc to explode onto the scene. Magmaw, Chimaeron, and Halfus all had a ton of damage to heal through and really let us pour on the healing juice.

Continue reading Totem Talk: 2011 for restoration shaman

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Totem Talk: 2011 for restoration shaman originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When I talk to people about my gaming (which is 99% WoW and 1% other), if they play too and we get chatting about it -- or even if they simply have an understanding of how an MMORPG works -- the question they will inevitably ask is, "What do you play as?" Or if they play WoW too, they might ask, "What is your main?" My knee-jerk reaction to this is to say "paladin tank." My tankadin was my second-ever character on WoW, the first one that was on the right server where all my friends were, and my first to hit max level.

When Cata hit, she was my first 85, and for a short while she was my only 85. I've PvPed on her as retribution (and as protection for a while, but the less said about that the better!). But since then, as I've become ever more PvP-focused, the amount of time I spend tanking has dwindled considerably. I still do it, and I still enjoy it, especially when it's really challenging, which it seems to me is sadly less and less the case for tanks right now. But the thing is, PvE is just not as exciting to me as PvP. So the character that's getting the most play is my shaman, by a pretty long way. My priest and my warlock are next in line -- and heck, even my hunter gets more playtime than my paladin these days!

And yet when someone asks me what my main is, I'll still say "paladin tank." Maybe it's because I spent such a long time getting to know her. I was too nervous to level by tanking when I first started, so the leveling process took forever. Maybe it's because I like to surprise people by saying I play a tank (see a previous Breakfast Topic for why I think they might be surprised). Maybe it's just because she was my first.

But I think the idea of a main could be something quite significant in WoW. It's how you identify yourself. It's your positioning and your role in the big machine, and it's who you feel you are online. Possibly.

So how about you? What is your main? How do you decide? Do you simply tell people that it's the character you play the most right now? Has your main changed, and if so, why? What's your WoW identity?

My name's Olivia, and I'm a paladin tank. Honest.


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Breakfast Topic: How do you decide which is your main? originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Tuesday morning, everyone. This week has had its share of silence, for sure. I'm not sure if the folks at Blizzard's just enjoying the last bit of the holidays or secretly playing that other game, but either way, they didn't have much to say this week. That's not say there wasn't activity and stuff to discuss, not at all. The Darkmoon Faire's back in town, for one, and we've all been looking back at some of the best and worst stuff to come out of 2011. This is also the week we had to say goodbye to that freaking sweet corgi in the picture above. We can only pray Blizzard gives him back to us a pet some time in the future. If they do not, it shall surely go down in the annals of history as one of the greatest MMO tragedies of all time.

Downtime this morning is a series of rolling restarts starting at 10 a.m. PST, so you should have time to dig in to all the retrospectives and guides we have ready for you. Read on for the usual roundup.

Continue reading Tuesday Morning Post: Good night, sweet corgi edition

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Tuesday Morning Post: Good night, sweet corgi edition originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Join us every weekday evening as Today in WoW runs down all the WoW news that you could possibly want. From comments from Blizzard's blues to the latest datamining info -- we've got you covered.

Don't forget to check out The Daily Quest and our Weekly Podcast Roundup to find out what else is going on in the WoW community. And if you have a news tip, feel free to drop us a line and let us know.

Continue reading Blue Posts and Other WoW News: Post-holiday blues and the known issues of the Darkmoon Faire

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Blue Posts and Other WoW News: Post-holiday blues and the known issues of the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Fox Van Allen and Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Feed Fox's ego by emailing him, tweeting him at @foxvanallen, or sacrificing your first born to him.

Hey everyone, great news! The Darkmoon Faire is back in town! From now until Saturday, Jan. 7, you can play some games, eat some carnival food -- and oh yeah, make a ton of money off it.

Usually when new content is released, it's only the level 85 characters who can make money hand over fist. But the coolest thing about the Darkmoon Faire is that you don't need to be a level 85 character to participate or even profit off it. A level 20 character can have just as much fun at, get just as much benefit, and even make as much money as a level 85. It just takes the right amount of knowledge.

And, oh yeah, it also takes a Darkmoon Adventurer's Guide. You're carrying one of those on you at all times, right? Right? Well, according to Wowhead, most of you sub-level 85 players aren't. And that's a gigantic missed opportunity for a lot of money -- thousands upon thousands of gold. The kind of money that's just unheard of at lower levels.

Continue reading Profiting off the Darkmoon Faire

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Profiting off the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Darkmoon Faire is in full swing again, from now until Jan. 7. The event has run into some issues this month, but it's still a grand ol' time overall. Many of you are still working on your Darkmoon Faire achievements, however, and others still have yet to step onto the new Darkmoon Island at all.

So what can you do at the Faire? What games are there to play? What achievements can you earn? All of those questions and more are answered in our Guide to the new Darkmoon Faire. Don't miss it.


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Don't forget WoW Insider's guide to the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title.

The votes have been tallied and Brann Bronzebeard, greatest explorer in the history of Azeroth, takes the championship title in the first exhibition season of Two Bosses Enter. With a clear win and holding almost 700 more votes than his opponent, Brann decisively took this match on the road to victory. Not only was Brann a popular contestant on this season of Two Bosses Enter, but commenters were drawn to his haphazard approach to danger and his affinity for unleashing horrors onto Azeroth that will one day need to be slain for loot.

There were some wonderful responses to the final matchup last week in the comments. While I'm not going to be talking about all of them, since many are too long to appropriately format here, I have to highlight all of the spectacular effort in the comments coming up with the fan-made scenarios of these fun matchups. Thank you guys for making Two Bosses Enter fun each and every week.

Now, it's time for the event you've all been waiting for. Brann Bronzebeard takes a decisive victory against his brother, Muradin -- but how does the young dwarf out-drink his older and more resilient brother?

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Brann Bronzebeard wins the exhibition season

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Two Bosses Enter: Brann Bronzebeard wins the exhibition season originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The newly revamped Darkmoon Faire returned yesterday for its monthly one-week engagement in Azeroth, but it wasn't a flawless return. Players working on the Darkmoon Defender, Darkmoon Dungeoneer, or Darkmoon Despoiler achievements may have noticed the tally of items turned in has been reset, with few exceptions. Players have also been reporting that these monthly quest turn-ins, which should be resetting, are not, leaving players with dungeon-acquired items that cannot be turned in for another set of tickets. If this has happened to you, don't panic -- Community Manager Kaivax has chimed in on the issue, and although no fix has been put into place yet, Blizzard is aware of the issue and working on a fix.

Kaivax
We are aware of issues affecting the Darkmoon Faire, which began again today, particularly regarding monthly quests and some related achievements.

Our teams are investigating the issue and would like to assure you that we are working hard to solve the issue.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing.


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Known issues from the Darkmoon Faire originally appeared on WoW Insider on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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