A Case For Spec-Specific Armor: Intrigue

Intrigue, Earthen Ring (US)

Character: Intrigue

Race: Draenei

Class: Shaman

Gender: Female

Location: Earthen Ring (US)

Prize Earned: 36,000g

What You Should Know: A Resto Shaman, Intrigue required over four months to assemble a look that would visually capture the spirit of the element of water using mail armor. So in essence, this is Intrigue's submission of how armor could look in the future if Blizzard were to develop not only class-specific armor but specialization-specific armor for each class as well. A fascinating prospect. Read on to catch the interview with Intrigue and more on this incredibly unique look!

Helm:  Relentless Gladiator's Ringmail Helm

Shoulders: Relentless Gladiator's Ringmail Spaulders

Chest: Fenclaw Armor

Cloak: Hibernal Cloak

Bracers: Not transmogrified

Gloves: Scaled Silithid Gauntlets

Belt: Girdle of the Gale Storm

Legs: Chimaerascale Legguards

Boots: Boots of the Qiraji General

Weapon: Mallet of the Tides

Shield: Wormscale Blocker

Keelhaul: You competed in the WoW Factor Show's premiere on Earthen Ring in February. Boy, have you taken your efforts to the next level! Can you tell us a bit about your first experience in the show?

Intrigue, WoW Factor Earthen Ring (US), February 25th, 2012

Intrigue:  To be honest my first mog for the show in February was a throw together just cause it was cute and something to wear to the competition. I was only there to watch. My mog set that won this second competition was in the works at the time was not ready for the first competition. I actually had no intentions of being in the competition as I knew it was a cookie cutter outfit and could not win. Then u guys opened trade and gave me 1,000g I was stunned, I was like ah ha ok! Never Ever settle for an incomplete look or fill in pieces.

Keelhaul: So what inspired this new look you revealed at this weekend's second competition on Earthen Ring?

Intrigue:  To be honest it sprang from the idea that Blizzard has nothing in the premade sets that say I am a restoration shammy. The outfit itself encompasses all the aspects of the elements a shaman uses but its foundation is water.  Earth, fire and air are represented in the shoulders and helm, the orange gold gems represent the warmth of fire, the swirling white mists that flow from the shoulders represent air. The cold glacier spikes the strong majestic peaks of ice encased mountains.  

The shield and mace where chosen for their vibrant colors they where a perfect mesh of color to bring in the cloak and they reminded me of the bright underwater colors of tropical fish. The legs hand and feet the soothing lapping of a clear pure lake on a sunny day. So all my pieces inspired me to make this outfit not one but the combination of all coming together.

Keelhaul: How did you practice the assembly of this look?

Intrigue: I did not have Mogit at the time in making this outfit so I used AtlasLoot, the web and the in-game viewer, as I had taken a break from WoW for RL and did not even know about Mogit. But now Mogit is my God. I love Mogit because it makes life easier.

Keelhaul: So if this look wasn't ready for the February show, how long did it actually take you to acquire all the pieces?

Intrigue: 4 months 12 days and few hours added on for good measure.

Keelhaul: Which piece was the most difficult to acquire?

Intrigue: I would have to say my shield.

Keelhaul: Setting out over months of time trying to acquire these pieces sounds like you were creating your own quest line.

Intrigue: My quest that set this all in motion was the need to take from the world all the things that would represent a Resto Shaman and from all of the expansions of WoW this outfit was to be a representation of a Resto Shaman first and foremost and a tribute to all of WoW's designers. So all of Azeroth needed to be searched and scoured for the perfect pieces to bring this outfit together.

This was not the easiest thing I have ever set out to do not by a long shot. Sometimes the repetitive searching for the rare spawn or camping him for hours got discouraging but what I had envisioned was worth the hours spent searching for each piece. But the feeling of success when that piece finally fell into my hands was so worth the wait. And winning last night's competition also showed me that I met my challenges and I overcame each and every obstacle. Most importantly, I left my mark on the world I know as WoW.

Keelhaul: Were you doing this personal quest line alone?

Intrigue: Several people thought that this outfit would not work. That it would not blend and flow the way I envisioned it and so the need to prove them wrong also drove me to complete the quest I had set for myself. I like a good challenge. I so wanted to bring all the designers and different aspects of each expansion in.

I was never truly alone on my quest, my constant companion was Delenfer, [1,000g winner] and my worgen protector and my RL boyfriend. He was my biggest supporter and helped me conquer all the obstacles in my path when I set out on my quest to create the prefect representation of the Resto Shaman. I would also like to thank my friends Cet and Silent for popping into AQ 40 several times to help us take out the Twin Emperors, although finally me and Del 2-manned them and got my shield.

Keelhaul: We spent a great deal of time analyzing your look, and it's worth mentioning that where many other players leverage pieces that are intended to go together as the foundation for their look, yours was quite the opposite. Your foundation was mixed and matched with a variety of disparate pieces from entirely different expansions in terms of style, texture and detail. But in the end it worked. We didn't pick up on your Resto Shaman theme which was brilliant, by the way. Was there anything else we missed that you feel is important to mention?

Intrigue: My answer is going to be 'no'. I knew a few things [the judges didn't like] were minor, but my "schizophrenic textures" style won the day *inserts evil grin*. Now I can go back to my anti-psychotic meds. { lol }

Keelhaul: This show went longer than we had intended, so I'm sure you had plenty of time to survey the room. Who were you most impressed with?

Intrigue: I will have to say Sopphira, [5,000g winner] and Aquanus, the reason behind that being they took pieces from several sets to make outstanding outfits. They where not premade cookie-cutter sets. There where a few others. The 2 gnomes should be mentioned. Props to them for the originality of their sets.

Sopphira, 5,000g winner

Keelhaul:  What are you going to do with your 36,000g winnings?

Intrigue: I am sharing it with my guildies, I did not do this competition for the gold. I did it to show peeps that you do not need the cookie-cutter sets to make an outstanding outfit that represents your class, spec and race.

Keelhaul:  What do you value about transmog?

Intrigue: Easy answer. I like to create and make unique, one-of-a-kind creations and share my creations with friends. I like the challenge of finding a piece and making that piece come to life, whether it's for me or someone else and to make them smile. I mean seriously, what is better than knowing you did something for someone and you know that smile made their day? It's important because it allows me to share with my friends and help them. It shows me that I can meet a challenge and overcome it.

Keelhaul:  If another player wanted to assemble what I'll now refer to as the "Intrigue" look, what advice would you give them?

Intrigue: Plan, plan and more planning, do not fly by the seat of your pants like I did because an outfit like Trigue's was not easy to obtain and planning it out will make it take alot less time then the way I did it.

Keelhaul:  If you had to begin an entirely new look but you could carry over one piece from this one, which piece would you take?

Intrigue: The shield, because it is one of the uniquest items in the game and would be a challenge to build another outfit off of it.

Keelhaul:  If you had the attention of the Blizzard Art Department, what would you say to them?

Intrigue: Where the hell is the pink (joking). I would ask them why they do not incorporate more color palettes into the gear. They have a primary color scheme that they use with slight deviations. The reason I would make this statement is they have some gorgeous pieces that are un-matchable. A wider use of the color chart in gear would open a whole new world of transmogging. (for example the outfit I created, although mostly muted tones, you will find nothing else to go with it.)

Keelhaul:  Fantastic, thanks for sharing your story with us, Intrigue!

Elbicnivni (16,000g), Opreemaeldoz (16,000g) , Intrigue (36,000g)