So...many...new toys...in next patch...

[Lansiron]

Okay, that? Is just neat.

I approve, mind, of weapon and armor motifs based on current game content, but it's cool to see we can now get ahold of some things suited more to our origins than simply reflective only of our most recent conquests.

One of these days I'd love to see high-end armor that's truly fancied-up versions of the "classic" looks of classes and archetypes, too. Warrior gear consisting of shining fullplate with royal blue highlights for that classic "footman" look, for example, or the fur-leather-and-spikes available to orcs to harken back to the grunts of old, to name the images that immediately come to mind. Stuff like that is already in-game, yes, but ideally we'd get those motifs in endgame gear, too, to seem a "paragon" of those archetypes from classic Warcraft.

Also, I suggest we contemplate the RP potential the Argent Tournament holds. This is fertile soil.

To get one thought out of the way, though: Yes, everyone is wondering why everyone's stopping for fun & games while war with the Scourge looms.

Reasoning I'm guessing behind it? Fordring, Mograine, and the boys too a look at the tired Alliance vs. Horde idiocy that's currently going down in the skies above Icecrown, then looked at the Citadel's firmly-shut gates and the simmering evil that lurks within, then thought about that, and went "Okay, we need to get spirits up and mutual hostilities down or we're fucked." Enter the Tournament, something that does exactly that as well as keep the national pride in the people firmly intact. In history, leaders have always used public spectacle and celebration to bump up morale and drive when it's been needed for one reason or another--same deal here.

(Though I'm still not sure why they chose to put it in Icecrown, and not a more pleasant and infinitely-less bescourged spot like Crystalsong)

[Aleros]

If there's a Darnassus staff, I'm wearing it for RP.

[Gryphonheart]

...

(Though I'm still not sure why they chose to put it in Icecrown, and not a more pleasant and infinitely-less bescourged spot like Crystalsong)

Actually, putting it in Icecrown makes perfect sense.

1. It shows the Lich King that we're not afraid of him. Hell, we're throwing a party on his front lawn. What's he gonna do? Hobble out and yell at us to get off of it?
2. It means that if the Lich King does start up a major offensive, the bulk of the forces united against him are right there to put it down before it builds momentum.
3. It remains close enough to basically sound the charge and not have to worry about the forces getting tired and losing morale before getting to the citadel.
4. It allows the champions to get accustomed to fighting in frozen climes.
5. It doesn't give the Lich King room to maneuver and gain an advantage.
6. The introduction of Dalaran has made Crystalsong real estate incredibly expensive. No one wants the sub-prime mortgage crises to invade Azeroth. Besides, the Argent Crusade got a good deal from the penguins that previously occupied the glacier the stadium is now being built on.