Epic lulz.

My friend Auden has started a new WoW comic, called Hammer of Grammar, in which Gweryc appears as a character. She's done some excellent work, with very positive reviews on the WoW forums. Definitely worth your time.

I'm holding out for a Hero

With the buzz surrounding the Death Knight Hero Class, I'm reminded of the old pre-BC Hero Class rumors. Anybody else remember those? At the time I was terribly excited by the possibilities. My priest, a Demon Hunter? My druid, a more powerful caster?

Of the predictions made in the Hero Classes rumor, some did find their way into The Burning Crusade. For example, Druids can now summon Treants, and they do have a Crow Form. And mages can summon Water Elementals. In fact, the WoWWiki entry itself remarks:

It may be interesting to note that Summon Water Elemental is now a 41 point Frost Mage talent, released with The Burning Crusade expansion. Considering this article was created prior to the public release of information about Burning Crusade content, this particular part of the rumor leads one to believe there may have been some accuracy behind it.

With whatever accuracy may lie in the Hero Class rumor, let's have a look at this entry for Dwarven hunters:

Mountaineer
The Mountaineer is similar to the ranger (no pet, energy bar), but without the stealth aspects. The Mountaineer is hardier in melee combat than the hunter and also has more extensive tracking and detection abilities.

lol wut? Melee, you say? An energy bar, à la rogues -- implying a Mountaineer is meant to melee? In that sense, Gweryc is potentially a forebearer of Mountaineers-to-come rather than a mere modern-day sideshow attraction. Is there some future World of Warcraft where melee hunters are desirable?

"The future will be better tomorrow."

Oh, Blizzard, how you do like to tease. Much is being bandied about at the latest BlizzCon, but it's the new Inscription profession that's caught my attention.

What can you reveal about the new profession coming with the expansion?

The Inscription profession will allow players to permanently enhance their own spells and abilities and those of other players. You can think of it as enchanting for your spells and abilities. We'll provide more specific details on the mechanics of this new profession in the months ahead.

A shorter cooldown on Raptor Strike? A stun proc on Mongoose Bite? What in the world might happen if I added a knockback to Counterattack? Maybe a spell interrupt on Wing Clip? I have no idea what will be possible, but the potential for Inscription is huge.