Wowpedia

We have moved to Warcraft Wiki. Click here for information and the new URL.

READ MORE

Wowpedia
Register
Advertisement
AllianceGelbin Mekkatorque
Image of Gelbin Mekkatorque
Title King of Gnomes, High Tinker
Gender Male
Race Gnome (Humanoid)
Level ?? (Boss)
Class Tinker
Reaction Alliance Horde
Affiliation(s) Alliance, Gnomeregan
Occupation High Tinker of Gnomeregan
Location New Tinkertown, Dun Morogh
Status Alive
Relative(s) Unknown
"You never really understood, did you? It is our loyalty to our friends that provides our truest, greatest strength... My friends. It is a power that numbers cannot match."
— Gelbin Mekkatorque, High Tinker of Gnomeregan

Gelbin Mekkatorque is the current High Tinker of Gnomeregan, and is also styled "King of Gnomes".

Gelbin has been at the helm of the gnome race during some of its most difficult and trying times. Since his title is an elected one, the fact that he has held his position throughout such hardship is a testament to the love his people have for him.

A brilliant inventor, Gelbin Mekkatorque rose quickly to prominence among the meritocratic gnomes with his innovative designs and creative problem-solving skills. He built the very first functioning mechanostrider, assisted in the development of the dwarven siege engine, and was instrumental in the creation of the Deeprun Tram running from Ironforge to Stormwind City.

Although one wouldn’t know it from looking at him, the loss of Gnomeregan weighs heavily on the high tinker. He was unprepared for the invasion that swept through his beloved city, and he was betrayed by a trusted advisor who convinced him to react hastily, resulting in unnecessary deaths. Now Mekkatorque’s brilliant mind has taken on a surgical focus with one single outcome: the retaking of Gnomeregan.[1]

Background

High Tinker Mekkatorque

Gelbin on the reclaimed surface of Gnomeregan.

Gelbin Mekkatorque

Gelbin Mekkatorque in Tinker Town.

The gnomes have not had a proper king or queen for over four hundred years. Instead, they prefer to elect their highest officials for set terms of service.[2]

However, when the troggs began their invasion of Gnomeregan, Gelbin was unprepared to stop them. At the behest of his top adviser, Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg, he ordered that the city be bathed in toxic radiation. So the radiation bomb was released.[citation needed]  Though the radiation stopped the troggs' advance, it ultimately killed more gnomes than troggs. Now the High Tinker carries the weight of the dead on his shoulders and seeks to avenge his people by reclaiming their lost city.[3]

He was one of the members of two pairs of gnomes that are credited with the construction of the Deeprun Tram, a fast running form of transportation between Ironforge and Stormwind.[4] It is however unclear of which member Gelbin represented in his pair—the "crazy" one, or the "sane" one—but judging by how Gelbin kept revising Sicco Thermaplug's erroneous calculations while designing the prototype siege engine[5], it is heavily implied that he was the sane one.

In World of Warcraft

WoW Icon update This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque is a boss and quest giver located in Tinker Town in the dwarf city of Ironforge.

He starts the quest A [35D] The Grand Betrayal.

During Brewfest, Mekkatorque will ride out of the city to the festival grounds at 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. each day for the ceremonial tapping of the keg. Players present when he does this will receive a 2 hour Brewfest Enthusiast buff that increases XP gained by 10%.

See List of Ironforge NPCs.

The Liberation of Gnomeregan

Wrath-Logo-Small This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

During the Operation: Gnomeregan event leading up to Cataclysm, Mekkatorque led the gnomes and their allies in an attempt to retake his beloved city from Thermaplugg and his minions.

Cataclysm

Cataclysm This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

High Tinker Mekkatorque can now be found under a tent at New Tinkertown, the portions of Gnomeregan's surface reclaimed during the battle against Thermaplugg. He is present at the Elemental Unrest meeting. During the Elemental invasion, Mekkatorque protects the Military Ward of Ironforge from the Elements.

Mekkatorque has been leading the gnomes in retrieving gnome survivors and slowly reclaiming portions of Gnomeregan. He has been fighting against Thermaplugg's irradiated gnome forces, who are bent on keeping the gnomes from rebuilding and finishing their reclamation of Gnomeregan. Mekkatorque eventually leads a combined gnome and dwarven force in defeating one of Thermaplugg's most loyal henchmen, Razlo Crushcog.[6]

Wolfheart

WoW-novel-logo-16x62 This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

In the novel Wolfheart, Gelbin represented the gnomes in the vote to include Gilneas into the Alliance.

Inventions

Gelbin Wei

Gelbin Mekkatorque by Wei Wang.

GelbinBrewfest

Gelbin taps the keg at Brewfest.

King-Of-Gnomes-On-Mechanostrider

Mekkatorque rides to Brewfest atop his mechanostrider.

Gelbin Mekkatorque invented the mechanostrider, the gyromatic micro-adjustor, the repair bot, the Deeprun Tram, and the prototype of the dwarven siege engine.[7] He wields a weapon named Wrenchcalibur.[8]

Trivia

  • In World of Warcraft, Gelbin Mekkatorque is a few inches taller than other gnomes.
  • High Tinker is an elected position, though the rulers are allowed to choose grand titles for themselves. Gelbin calls himself "King of Gnomes", which oddly seems to mirror Sicco Thermaplugg's self-styled title of "King of Gnomeregan", which was an act of egotism on his part. He does however, unlike Thermaplugg, acknowledge that he doesn't actually hold any legal authority[9].
  • Mekkatorque is, like most gnomes, using a mechanostrider for traveling. The strider-model he is using seems to be a Ability mount mechastrider [White Mechanostrider Mod B] that can be seen when he is venturing outside Ironforge during Brewfest. While this mount give players a 100% speed increase, the one Mekkatorque use is moving much slower and can actually be outrun by a 60% speed increase-mount. Still, it moves faster than a player is able to run and seems to, conveniently, be instant-cast. As Mekkatorque is slightly larger than other gnomes, his mechanostrider is also a little larger than the same model when used by a player. During Operation Gnomeregan he was seen riding another type of mechanostrider, a blue version of the 100%-speed one. He still chose to use his old Mod B when he attended Brewfest the same year.
  • During Operation: Gnomeregan Mekkatorque says "IT'S A TRAP! That's a fully functional irradiator!" which is a reference to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi where Admiral Ackbar yells "It's a trap!" after discovering that the second Death Star is functional and that they've been lead into a trap.
  • Gelbin and Vol'jin, the Darkspear leader, share a number of odd similarities. Both of them were betrayed by a most trusted friend (Sicco/Zalazane), both were forced out of their homes, both lead a force to retake their home land (Operation: Gnomeregan/Zalazane's Fall), during Brewfest both of them road out of their respective cities to the festival grounds at 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. each day for the ceremonial tapping of the keg, and prior to the Cataclysm they both were in another race's "capital" (Ironforge/Orgrimmar).
    • Furthermore, both Vol'jin and Gelbin are unattackable by members of the opposite faction, and are not part of the Horde Inv bannerpvp 01 [For the Horde!] or Alliance Inv bannerpvp 02 [For the Alliance!] achievements respectively.
  • Strangely, Gelbin was friendly to Horde players from Patch 4.0.3a until Patch 4.1.

Quotes

  • "I trusted Thermaplugg. Never did I expect that he would betray us."[10]
  • Mekkatorque's voice was changed in patch 3.3.3, as were his lines of dialogue.
    • Aggro I won't stand for that!
    • Greeting Hello there! Welcome to Tinkertown.(Removed in 3.3.3)
    • Greeting Any news from Gnomeregan?(Removed in 3.3.3)
    • Greeting I just love to tinker!
    • Greeting Necessity is the first cousin of invention.
    • Greeting Welcome, friend!(Added in 3.3.3)
    • Greeting Why hello there! How can I help?(Added in 3.3.3)
    • Killing A Player Pick on someone your own size!

During Operation: Gnomeregan

At last it is time for the exiled gnomes to return.
Once again Gnomeregan will be our home!

Gossip What is going on here?

The dwarves have kept us safe in their home for some time now, and for that we thank them. However, the traitorous Thermaplugg's occupation of our home must at last come to an end.
Gnomeregan has festered beneath the atomic weight of our ill-conceived plan for too long. The detonation of the radiation bombs drove us from our city, but now we possess the technology to take it back!
We will regain what is ours... and bring Thermaplugg to justice!

Gossip What is your plan?

Operation: Gnomeregan is divided into a number of phases:
First, we must retake the air tower. This will allow our planes to give us air support as we move towards Gnomeregan's main entrance.
In addition, a cache of mechanized Battle Suits was discovered in one of the nearby buildings. Once we have those suits, our assault on the entrance should be unstoppable.
Then, we go straight for Thermaplugg in the heart of Gnomeregan!

Personality and traits

Gelbin Mekkatorque, before the fall of Gnomeregan, was the absolute peak of all things a Gnome could aspire to be, a brilliant tinker who invented countless wonderful inventions and a trusting friend who valued his fellow gnomes. After the fall of their city and the massive loss of gnome lives, Mekkatorque grew far more weary and consumed with guilt, as he felt it was his fault for trusting Sicco Thermaplug, his close friend, in his attempt to rid them of the Trogg problem plaguing the city. Guilt, and a desire to not be pitied by the Dwarves who had take them in, would plague Mekkatorque until Gnomeregan was assaulted by his forces. The lives lost still weighed heavily on his mind,despite systematically beginning to reclaim their home and his hope dimmed for the future, as the melancholy of his life before the fall of Gnomeregan clung to his heart and mind until Thermaplugg tried to kill him in his recently reclaimed quarters. During the fight, Mekkatroque regains his hope for the future, and realizing that despite Thermaplug's betrayal, it had been because of his friends, the Alliance, and everyone's hard to work who had died in reclaiming the city for the sake of the Gnomes. Mekkatorque has now banished his inner demons, regaining his hope and belief that trust in his friends, will cause Gnomeregan to not only raise again, but to be even better then it once was.[5]

Aside from his own personal feelings, Mekkatorque is incredibly inventive, and quick witted during a fight. Before becoming High Tinker, Mekkatorque invented an incredible amount of useful items, of which he believed would benefit all of Gnomekind. Above all, he exemplifies what is best in Gnomes, which is why he was elected to the position of High Tinker and is still a much beloved leader amongst them, as he is creative, and compassionate. He is motivated by curiosity, inventiveness, and altruism. His biggest flaw is his own inability to properly deal with his emotions because he feels he must be a leader first and foremost, and be "Gelbin", second. For Mekkatorque, understanding the universal laws of the world and science is easier then understanding himself, but even then, he can come to learn and grow as a person given enough time and personal reflection. His friendships and responsibility to his people and the Alliance are what guide him as a person and as a leader.[5]

Gallery

Patch changes

  • Cataclysm Patch 4.1.0 (2011-04-26): No longer friendly to Horde players.
  • Cataclysm Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23):
    • Moved to Gnomeregan.
    • Updated for level 85.
  • Wrath-Logo-Small Patch 3.3.3 (2010-03-23): Updated with a new model and voice clips.
  • Wrath-Logo-Small Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Updated for level 80.
  • Bc icon Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): Updated for level 70.
  • WoW Icon update Patch 1.7.0 (2005-09-13): Racial "Leaders" have been strengthened, and are now worth slightly less honor.

References

External links

Preceded by:
Unknown
Position:
High Tinker of the Gnomes
Succeeded by:
Incumbent
Preceded by:
Unknown
Position:
Ruler of Gnomeregan
Succeeded by:
Sicco Thermaplugg

nl:Gelbin Mekkatorque

Advertisement