Gelbin Mekkatorque


 * "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

High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque, King of Gnomes, is the current leader of Gnomeregan.

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.

Background


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. The highest office in Gnomeregan, High Tinker, has been held by the crafty Gelbin Mekkatorque for the past seven to nine years. Gelbin is one of the most renowned inventors ever, and has been honored as a just and skillful leader. While in office, High Tinkers are allowed to hold grand titles but only hold their power for set terms of office, after which they return to the work force. Mekkatorque took on the title "King of the Gnomes". The "king of the gnomes" is a bit less silly than the title sounds (but still pretty crazy).

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. 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.

While he suffered flak wounds from the release of the bomb in Gnomeregan, his genius is still strong enough to keep his title. He's a good man, too.

Mekkatorque spends the overwhelming majority of his time working on plans to retake Gnomeregan, knowing that many of his people are still trapped inside with no means of escape. While he appreciates the hospitality of the dwarves, Ironforge is too small for both races, at least in the long term. In addition to his efforts to retake Gnomeregan, Mekkatorque works with the dwarves on a regular basis to perfect new military technology and strategies. He is partially responsible for the new models of dwarven flying machines being sent into the field, but his people are too few to make much more of a contribution to the Alliance at this time. Mekkatorque has also assigned a team to researching anti-Scourge weaponry, knowing that an undead attack is imminent.

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. Gnomish inventors organize into pairs, an odd crazy-guy/sane-guy relationship. One is always trying to push the limits of his devices to unknowable extremes while the other does everything he can to keep the invention from becoming disastrous. It was two pairings of just this type that created the underground railroad that connects Ironforge to Stormwind Keep. 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, it is heavily implied that he was the sane one.

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

In 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.

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
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
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.

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.
 * Mekkatorque is, like most gnomes, using a mechanostrider for traveling. The strider-model he is using seems to be a 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 For the Horde! or 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."
 * 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!


 * 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!


 * 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.

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.