WoW:BC Flying Mounts, Blood Elf Paladins, Draenei Shamans

It's a crazy world out there in Azeroth, and it's gonna get even crazier after the release of the Burning Crusade expansion. This week Blizzard revealed more details about flying mounts, and yesterday came the surprising announcement that the Paladin and Shaman classes will be available for both factions in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade! However, this will only apply to the new Blood Elf and Draenei races:

"The blood elves have harnessed the power of the Light for their own needs, supporting the Horde with renegade blood elf paladins. Meanwhile, the draenei have been granted the wisdom and strength of the elements, and some among the newest members of the Alliance now follow the path of the shaman."

Believe it or not, Blizzard has a good explanation for this awkward mix-up, and you can read about it on this new "class combo" page from the (European) WoW website. Four new screenshots are also at hand in our gallery, if you still find it hard to imagine how a Draenei Shaman or a Blood Elf Paladin might look like.

As for the flying mounts available for lv.70 characters in the Outlands, this "Nether Drakes" page details quite a lot about controling them, flying to locations that are otherwise unreachable by foot or boat, as well as some basic take-off and landing procedures.

"Both Horde and Alliance will have their own special type of mount, but there are also mounts that will be extremely rare even among the most powerful characters. The nether drake is one of these.

(...)

Flying your nether drake is like swimming in the air - you have complete freedom over which direction you want to go. An alternative way to start flying is by simply running off a high ledge that would normally send your mount into a fall; the nether drake will reflexively spread its wings to avoid a clumsy plummet and instead start hovering in the air until you tell it where to go.

There are several ways to get back on the ground. The easiest way is to simply dismount, but that may not be the best idea when you are flying at a high altitude or crossing the void. A safer (and much more graceful) way is to swoop down and touch the ground to land."

The Nether Drake trailer that appeared some time ago is now also available on the WoW website, and if you haven't seen it yet, it's a must!

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)