I rarely highlight items that aren’t specifically related to Druids in some way, but this was just too great not to share. Gnomish Rogue Fenrix is retelling the story from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill film. The story is entitled “Gank Frank”, and only the first volume has been released so far. It’s already more than 60 images in length, each of which is enhanced by hand. The translation from movie to comic strip is incredibly well done, and I laughed out loud at some of the revised dialogue. Anyone who appreciated the Kill Bill movie(s) will love this!

» “Watch” Fenrix Tarantino’s “Gank Frank” via Funkytown Forums

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… You’d better accept before Blizzard changes their minds!

Some exciting rumors surfaced while I was away on vacation concerning the possibility of an out of combat resurrection spell for Druids in WotLK. I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, but it looks like our earlier suspicions concerning the addition of the caveat “with a casting time less than 10 sec” to the Druid version of Nature’s Swiftness may have, in fact, been well founded! A spell entitled Revive has surfaced and is described as:

Returns the spirit to the body, restoring a dead target to life with 1800 health and 1365 mana. Cannot be cast when in combat.

Currently, Priests cast Resurrection, Paladins cast Redemption, and Shamans cast Ancestral Spirit. This fourth form of resurrection is hopefully intended for Druids, at which point, we would be able to infer the following:

• Five Druids will be able to make stealth runs on Arthas.
• Druids will be the most desirable healer in the game. Forget about “LFHealer!” it will be “LFDruid” from now on. I’ve even heard that Restoration Druids will replace the Medic as the preferred healer in Half Life Team Fortress 2.
• Even Feral Druids will replace Holy Paladins, Holy Priests, and Restoration Shamans in groups and raids. It’s really THAT good of an ability.
• Druids will be getting a new form in the expansion: Big Green Blob Form.

Thanks to all the readers and commenters who shared this information with me! I would have posted about it sooner but can’t do so from my cell phone.

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Happy Arbor Day to all! All told, I received more than 30 excellent submissions! Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their Trees! Now go hug a tree in celebration of Arbor Day! Click on the thumbnails below to open the full-sized submissions!

Andrige wants YOU (“you” being Blizzard) to update Druids in Wrath of the Lich King so that we aren’t relegated to gaping-mouthed, googly-eyed kitty cats; low polygoned, big bottomed bears; slightly ridiculous-looking space chickens; or stalks of rotten broccoli. Otherwise, many players are likely to continue improvisation via the gorgeous skins Andrige has created and shared.

In his second submission, Andrige shares a scene straight out of another epic tale with oversized Ents taking down a “horde” of bad guys! Is that a ginger-haired hobbit I see tucked in the boughs of that Ancient?

Decked out in nearly a full set of PvP gear, Awarthu of Lothar (US) takes a break from Alterac Valley (no doubt avoiding any action that would result in the death of his Night Elf Druid brethren) to lend a helping tree branch to the Shattered Sun Offensive on Quel’Danas.

The above three snapshots were sent in by Bellwether of Dark Iron (US), author of 4 Haelz! I don’t even want to consider what’s being done to her poor Tree of Life in the first picture. Maybe that’s where Trees who let their triple Lifebloom stacks expire go when they die. The second image is a much happier one. Maybe that’s where Trees who keep Thorns on their tanks, remove poisons promptly, and share their Innervate with Mr. Phae swap their weapons during Innervate go when they die. The third picture is leaked from the Friends and Family Alpha and depicts one of the new Shaman abilities: Tree of Life Totem.

Brinden of Kalecgos (US) takes a break from beating evil Hordies to a pulp with his leafy branches to scold an unfortunate lumberjack for his conceit at trying to harvest wood. One would think that the fact that said tree flourishes on one of the floating islands in Nagrand would have been sufficient deterrent!

Eglador of Forscherliga (EU) sent in one of the few raid-based sets of images, the above three of his guild Liga Aventurica making attempts at Lady Vashj! The second tree shown is his raidmate, Kyría from another guild, Caballus Ridare.

Eranthe of Zul’jin (US) takes a moment to wave at the camera before engaging Teron Gorefiend in BT. Ermengol of Shadowsong (EU) shows us how to build a bonfire … out of Gold Spammers!

Gidget of Bloodhoof (US) waves from atop her weekly Flintweed Seed and Wild Quillvine fund and shows us what happens when a [Basic Campfire] building attempt goes seriously awry!

This pair of pictures was sent in by Jivethelle of Kul’Tiras (US). The first picture is a good example of Tree form’s terrible dental work. We can only assume she’s cooking some sugar-coated, chocolate-dipped honeycomb in the second, which would perhaps explain the state of her teeth.

“I managed to snap this picture of me and the other Trees of Life in Darnassus.  I’m the one with the Green Winter Hat and the Enormous Barbed Gill Trout in my off-hand.  Though looking again, I’m not even sure I’m in the picture.” — Korryna of Scarlet Crusade (US)

Leafshine of Steamwheedle Cartel (EU), author of the self-entitled blog, Leafshine.net is something of a music lover. While not quite as distracted by silver bells as her cousin Miss Leafrunner, who can be found in Feralas, Leaf does like a good tinkle. However, by far her favorite instrument is the gong, and her guildmates have persuaded her that the best gong in Azeroth can be found in Zul’Aman. Sadly, practicing on this fine instrument involves donning her best leather gear, and keeping nine of her closest friends alive while they discuss different musical paradigms with some forest trolls, and this big guy with the temerity to turn into a bear without being a Druid.

Lunarblossom of Lightbringer (US), author of A Druid’s Journey, cleans up after a long night of raiding with her guildmates in “Go Big or Go Gnome” by giving herself a refreshing rain shower of Tranquility in a Moonwell in Moonglade.

Mharai shifted uncomfortably, leaves rustling, bark creaking.  How did they know!? Every time, just as she was setting herself up for a picture BAM there was a Sentinel running after her, brandishing a couple of their wicked three-pointed… pointy things.  Running in this damned floral form was not an easy job, either! All she had wanted was a nice snapshot of herself next to the famous Darnassian tree but despite the friendly nature of their druids, apparently Tauren were not welcome in the new Night Elf homeland. Argh! here came another one.  With a sigh she lolloped forward, running again from the unfriendly Darnassians and giving up hope of a pretty picture. Mharai of Sporeggar (EU) belongs to the adorable roguish author of /hug!

Muffinator of Aman’Thul (US) sent this submission in a little past deadline but it was so amazing I made a special effort to post it anyway! Wow! After a long day of questing, Myna of Terrodar (EU) plays “Meanest Tree” with Mosswood the Ancient in Blade’s Edge Mountains.

Nebelmond of Die Silberne Hand (EU) is the envy of fishermen (and fisherwomen) everywhere with his stylish [Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat]. In fact, the Trollish partygoers couldn’t help but exclaim over his haute couture ensemble! No wonder he got an express invitation to this ordinarily very exclusive party.

Here Oio of Dragonblight (US) receives the punishment meted out by his guild Gênesis for his failure to properly root Amani’Shi Scouts in place on their way to the Dragonhawk boss, Jan’alai. (For those who aren’t aware, a Druid is a near-necessity for this corridor of trash, each pull of which includes an Amani’Shi Scout. Unless rooted in place, a Scout will bang on nearby drums to summon 2-3 elite companions.)

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! For a sneak preview of one of the new Druid class skills slated for Wrath of the Lich King — and specific to the Restoration spec — click the picture taken at right! This is my contribution to the Arbor Day Challenge, but try not to ruin the surprise for anyone else!

You may know Pummra of Whisperwind (US) as the author of Part Time Druid. What you may not know is that he originally got his start as a tough for Hogger of Elwynn Forest infamy. To this day, Pummra’s Riverpaw-given epithet is “Tree of Death.” Hogger raids are advised that, should Hogger spawn with Pummra in tow, they must bring a Warlock along whose sole purpose it is to keep him banished!

This contribution comes from my guildmate and friend, Satella of Scarlet Crusade (US) (who often posts here under his Mage’s name Crythia) and features his Tree of Life taking part in the Shattrath version of Darkmoon Faire festivities! Am I the only one completely incapable of landing on that stupid target?

Tiagantar of Durotan (US) takes our role as a proponents of positive carbon footprints to a whole new level by adding a solar-powered panel to the formerly high-emissions [Turbo-Charged Flying Machine]. No one tell Big Steam (of the Steamwheedle Cartel) about this innovation or he’ll be so much mulch!

Here Timbr of Skywall (US) engages in a popular Arbor Day tradition, planting a tree, high above the Scryer tier in Shattrath. Unbeknownst to most, the Scryers are actually pretty ecologically conscious, perhaps as a throwback to their earlier association with the Night Elf culture. Of course, maybe that’s a giant planter of Blood Thistle … Can anyone say, “potted” plant?

I received the following contribution from Tone who sacrificed a lot to get into the … Spirit of the Celebration!

“Who says you need to be in cat form to stealth? Westfall is uniquely suited for practice of the long-forgotten art of Treejutsu, the Way of the Tree. This poor Coyote does not even notice I am there!  Hey…why is he lifting his leg?” — Tinil of Silvermoon (US)

Wynn and Hibiscus of the Trinity Exiles guild on Terrokar (US) sent in these two pictures from Darnassus. I don’t know about you, but I’m having trouble seeing the forest for the Trees …

Yogi of Staghelm (US) submitted two beautifully contrasting images, the first taken in the solitude of Feralas with sunbeams piercing the veil of branches above and the second in front of the burning wall of fire found in the Sunwell Plateau.

Zackoria of Eredar (US) shows his “angry face” to the Kael’thas Sunstriders, against whom she’s waged a successful enough battle to have earned Exalted with the Shattered Sun Offensive. Surrounded by the red and orange and gold trees of Quel’Danas, he very much looks to be both in his element and season.

Leafy Learnings from Arbor Day 2008:

1. Tauren and Night Elf Restoration Druids look the same. While I would ordinarily consider this a bad thing and a sign of laziness on the part of Blizzard’s design team, it does have the benefit of bringing us closer together.
2. My readers are very creative! Someone even managed to include a don’t-pee-on-the-tree joke.
3. Of the images submitted, I’m only aware of three being at least partial photo manipulations (which includes mine).
4. My readers are masochists. There were four images of Trees on, in, or near FIRE. What’s wrong with you people?
5. There were 15 pictures taken in the Old World and 13 taken in Outlands, 3 of which were taken in Shattrath. Surprisingly, there was only one picture taken in Moonglade, perhaps because of it’s odd lighting.
6. There were 7 images related to raiding and 2 taken in Quel’Danas.
7. My readers like to toy with their emotions. In the pictures above there are two Trees pointing, three Trees waving, six Trees dancing, one Tree cheering, and one Tree crying. Additionally, there are two “flying” Trees.
8. My readers are procrastinators! I received 20 submissions within 3 days of the deadline (including my own). I had to set an earlier deadline (2 days before the images were released) because I’m out going to be out of town this week.

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I will kiss him and hug him and love him and call him “Toothy.” I rescued this little fella from the Stormwind canal system. But don’t tell anyone. We wouldn’t want to start a panic.

» View my pet collection (and create your own) at Warcraft Pets

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MMO Champion has a nice summary of the new information regarding the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. “Nice” but distinctly lacking in Druid-relevance. After poring over everything I could get my leafy hands on and finding essentially no reference to Druids, I decided I’d share with you my own brand of Druid-appropriate WotLK preview!

Druids to be Masters of Crowd Control

With the involvement of … one or more colors of Dragonflight, it only follows that portions of Northrend be swarming with Dragonkin. With the spell “Hibernate,” Boomkin will finally have the CC-based role they’ve been begging for. The spell will actually see an increase in utility as, when cast upon flying targets, it will cause the victim to crash to the ground and take falling damage in proportion to its body mass. Blizzard, however, will have the last laugh as Boomkin can’t cast Hibernate.

Balance and Feral Trees Scrapped

Video scenes seem to imply that Druids will gain access to two new forms: a Fire Tree and a Frost Tree! Correspondingly, our two non-Tree-based talent trees will be replaced with talent trees similar to those of the Mage class: Fire and Frost.

Dire Cat Form

In a bizarre amalgam of the Dire Bear and Cat Forms, Blizzard finally introduces the long-awaited Dire Cat Form for Druids. Shown at left howling at a full moon, we can only assume it will have Ghost Wolf-like speed and accordingly restore Feral Druids to their rightful Arena dominance (though due to susceptibility to Hunter’s Scare Beast, they’ll still spend the majority of Arena matches pillar humping like their Resto brethren).

Improved Mobility

Leafshine writes more about this in his article, New Wrath of the Lich King info – What about Druids?, but I’ve discovered evidence that his hopes might be true, including an image of what can only be the Druid’s new Aquatic Form, an orca! To make up for never giving us Teleport: Cenarion Refuge in the Burning Crusade expansion, we’ll be able to teleport to a strange, hollowed out tree city, making trips to the Auction House and back to Northrend less arduous!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this exclusive (totally fabricated) preview of what we Druids can expect to see in the expansion, and I’ll do my best to keep you posted on new information as it develops!

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