Mechagnome

An example of a mechagnome. The light emanating from them may be green, blue, yellow or even purple.

Mechagnomes are small gnome-like clockwork creatures who are found in Nortrend. They have a strong connection to the titans, albeit it's unknown exactly what their original purpose and reason for creation is.

Various Information

• Mechagnomes can be found in the Borean Tundra (Geysir Fields) and various places in the Storm Peaks.
• Their master is called Mimir. This might be Mimiron.
• They come in different sizes, but are usually at the same size of a normal gnome.
• According to Gearmaster Mechazod, mechagnomes eventually became gnomes due to the Curse of Flesh. The gnomes at Fizzcrank Airstrip think he is just crazy. If he is right it means mechagnomes are the ancestors of normal gnomes.
• If gnomes derives from mechagnomes, their obsession and expertise with mechanics and technology could be explained as a trait from when gnomes were robots. In other words, the gnome's fascination for making cold steel and electricity into "living" beings may descend from the mechagnomes sentience of being such constructs themselves. Also, the mechagnomes and later the gnome's interest for engineering may have been implemented by the titans in order to make mechagnomes effective workers.
• Matching their appearance, mechangnomes act very robot-like. Their behavior is is marked by a pragmatic, objective and sometimes commanding way of thinking, and they seem to have a habit of meticulously analyzing their surroundings. While this trait often may seem odd to the mortal races, it often makes it very easy to understand mechagnomes and pick up the information they give.
• When performing an action or a choice, mechagnomes often utter their reasoning out loud. From what they are saying, the minds of mechagnomes are clearly much similar to a computer-program, processing variables and executing commands.
• While they usually appear to be nearly braindead, most mechagnomes seem to have some kind of pseudo-consciousness. In the quest Slaves of the Stormforged where you have to free some mechagnomes from the iron-dwarfes, some of the mechagnomes are clearly thankful for being freed ("Thank you, <race>. I will join your struggle against the stormforged"). A few special mechagnomes, like Gearmaster Mechazod, are furthermore quite conscious of their own actions, talking like "normal" gnomes.
• Apparently, mechagnomes has a connection to what could be "titan databanks" - they can sometimes be observed "accessing" these databanks in order to retrieve information they need. This can be done either directly through the Databanks or through nothing at all, as seen when Attendant Tock attempts to contact them when analyzing a piece of strange metal.
• Mechagnomes has been seen riding mechanostriders. The only ones doing this reside at the Inventor's Library, but they seem to have quite a bit of them. The model they use seems to be  [White Mechanostrider Mod B]. It is unknown whether these mechanostriders have anything to do with those used by normal gnomes.
• Mechagnomes possess the convenient ability of going into standby-mode. They often do this after completing or being released from a task. Most likely they will stand in standby until their master gives them a new order, as they have little reason to do anything else. It is unknown how long a mechagnome can remain in this state.
• Gnomes who has been turned into mechagnomes may be reverted back to their original form. The player has to revert several newly "mechanized" gnomes back to their fleshy form in the quest Re-Cursive (Alliance). After being mechagnomes, these gnomes had apparently not become fond of being so.
• Engineers can learn how to craft their own mechagnomes. One model is from a quest in the Storm Peaks where the engineer acquires a schematic left behind by Mimir (see SCRAP-E below). The other one is Jeeves (also see below) which is learned from a schematic randomly found when "skinning" mechanical creatures in Northrend.

Named

• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif Gearmaster Mechazod
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif Attendant Tock
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif Dirkee
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif Mimiron
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif SCRAP-E, simple vendors created by Engineers.
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif  [Jeeves], another vendor created by Engineers. Higher quality than SCRAP-E.
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif Gnimo, Adventurous Tinker. Will accompany any Alliance-player who has their own  [Reins of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth].
• File:IconSmall Mechagnome Small.gif Fumblub Gearwind
•  [Wind-Up Train Wrecker], a small mechagnome who will smash any nearby  [Toy Train Set].

Inspiration

They are likely a reference to the Cybermen from Doctor Who due to some of their quotes, their obsession with "Decursing" people (comparable to the Cybermen "Upgrades"), and  [The Ultrasonic Screwdriver] (comparable to The Doctor's sonic screwdriver), which is a quest item for one of the Fizzcrank Airstrip gnomes who first met the mechagnomes.