RIP: Greathelm of the Scourge Champion

Because I was a late convert to WoW, I basically rolled my characters right from level 58 Azeroth content and into Outland, neatly bypassing all of the later dungeon and raid content "vanilla" WoW had to offer. My gear was for the most part "quest greens," just your standard fare, and though none of it matched, I didn't really care, since I was switching out new equipment all the time, and certainly before I ever had the chance to get attached to my avatar "looking" a certain way.

So I never really understood all of the complaints WoW veterans - the players who had cleared old-world raids and had matching tiered gear sets - made about none of the gear matching, or even about Outland gear making their toons look like clowns or dancers at a carnival. None of my characters had matching sets of gear until the PvP sets at level 70, and until then, I was just happy to quest along in whatever clothing came my way.

Until I began leveling my death knight. Who was given a beautiful set of level 58 blues right out of the starting gate - gear that made her look cool, intimidating, powerful, just as a servant (err, former servant) of the Lich King should. I give kudos to Blizzard's DK designers - every single item given to us in the starting zone looks, well, badass.

And when I reached Outland, I was asked to get rid of my matching set of DK gear and give it up for, well, apparently an outfit that makes my toon look a bit like a trapeze artist, richly painted in bright, vivid colors which are better suited for a Skittles ad than for fighting minions of the Burning Legion.

In Azeroth, I took screen shots of my character about every five minutes, and in every one of them she looked the part of a death knight. Now I try to avoid taking screen shots, or make them into "action shots" that at least make my poor, bedraggled character look like she's fighting an interesting monster while being forced to wear spandex hot pants and a Superman cape. I now truly understand why players who were around to see the transition between their classic dungeon gear and Outland greens were more than a little perturbed at giving up those lovely, matched tier sets.

I find myself imagining what new fashion emergencies await my character as she transitions into Wrath content. Wrath has been heralded as WoW fashion's return to drab, earthy colors, and for my part I didn't mind it one bit when my mages traded in their vibrant costumes and donned more conservative vestments. But I do wonder if anything my death knight finds in Northrend will equal the sheer Gothic beauty of her DK starting gear.

On the bright side, at least Outland has enabled me to expand my Haliscan caballero costume.

Tundra Stampede!

Perhaps the Sparksocket engineers should have thought things through more before placing a humungous minefield right beside the ancestral migration patterns of the Northrend mammoths. Still, there's not much a land mine can do to a rampaging herd of these tusked wanderers, and maybe the fact that even walking in the Storm Peaks is unsafe serves to dissuade the endless masses of crazed Nessingwary poachers, who are hell-bent on wiping out the natural ecology of the continent. So... natural engineering or simple technological gaffe - you be the judge!

The Headless Horseman's Carpet

When I signed up for that rug-weaving class, I thought it was to make a carpet for me, not my horse! Tailors who possess both the Flying Carpet and The Horseman's Reins will be glad to know that they can ride both mounts at the same time, due to a strange bug which doesn't seem to differentiate between the two.

It seems that the Horseman's steed is the only mount to which this bug applies. But now creepy undead horses everywhere can enjoy comfortable, 230-thread-count, high-speed travel, without all the saddle sores. I just hope it's machine washable.

Professions for a Newer, Colder Continent

Forget Glyphs, what today's adventurers really need as they brave the cold environs of Northrend is a nice warm scarf. Today, a look at plausible professions we haven't seen in-game.

Knitting. From frost-resistant scarves to reinforced hats and fuzzy, woolen socks, adventurers have all sorts of options for staying warm and dry as they explore Northrend. Unlike tailoring, knitting would fill the custom character equipment slots of hat, scarf, mittens, and socks.

Tattooing. Like Enchantment, but for your character's skin, tattooing would open up a new level of character customization. Not only could you choose your own distinctive tattoo, but each tat could impact spells and abilities, add to base stats, or give your character extra resistances to magic.

Brewing. Everyone loves making unusual and distinctive dishes via the Cooking profession (not to mention meals which add to base stats, resistances, or health and mana regeneration), but there are very few beverage options available to today's cooks. What about a profession which allowed you to brew your own ale, ferment your own wine, or blend your own tea? Despite the obvious amusement of making your character tipsy by your very own alcoholic beverages, each drink could bring its own benefits, like restoring mana, giving a short-term magic buff, or increasing the drinker's base stats.

Is there a profession you wish Blizzard would add to the game? Tell us about it in the comments below.