Mists of Pandaria Beta: The Unga Ingoo scenario

During my sojourns on the beta, I assiduously ground my way to level 90 for one reason and one reason only: to get flying back as soon as possible. But since I'm here now, I figure I might as well explore some of the new content the game has to offer -- namely, scenarios. If you listen to the WoW Insider Show, you know that I've been looking forward to scenarios. They're content that you can run more easily than a dungeon without tight constraints on role. Just hop in and go.

So of course, I went in as a prot warrior and tanked it. Don't blame me; blame how amazing prot is as a leveling spec in Mists of Pandaria. What follows is a run-through of the scenario I ran (called Unga Ingoo), complete with a variety of screenshots of the action. If you like pirates, monkeys, monkey pirates, monkey pirates on islands, or just smashing any of those things in the face in your own private monkey island, then you'll like Unga Ingoo. Also, Monkey Island was a classic game series -- but that's neither here nor there.

A trio of terror

As you can see, the scenario finder works like a slightly stripped down version of the Dungeon Finder, grabbing in this case three people and marking you all as DPS. Doesn't matter what your spec is when you sign up. Everyone goes into one common queue, which means it takes a lot less time overall. If you're a tank or healer, you'll probably experience a slightly longer than normal queue, but I still got in within five minutes both times.

Arrival is exactly the same as a current dungeon group: You're all ported right to the action.

Unlike a dungeon, scenarios are broken up almost into quests in that you have separate objectives that you have to complete. In the case of Unga Ingoo, our trio of terror was tasked with escorting Brewmaster Bo. Brewmaster Bo is a pandaren brewmaster with all the self-preservation instincts of Thrall in the Durnholde Keep instance -- except he's also drunk and thus has lost his inhibitions entirely. Luckily, he kept his clothes on for the entire scenario and even lent a hand as we forced a phalanx of foes to fall down a flight of punches.

We also hit them with magic and bashed shields in their faces. You know, for variety.

Circle of healing

One of the ways Brewmaster Bo helped us was in placing these neatly marked healing circles on the ground for us. They heal for enough that a pure DPS could effectively tank the mobs, as long as he or she used survival cooldowns on occasion to mitigate some damage. As prot, the healing circles made these trash packs quite manageable.

We proceeded down the beach, dispatching waves of foes, although at one point we lost a player due to his not standing in the healing circle. A quick rez later, and we were down the beach and to our objective, a crude still that Brewmaster Bo commandeered for the making of some toxic moonshine in order to summon the leader of the pirate hozen. The objective? Monkey pirate annihilation! But first, we had to keep the hozen off of Bo while also gathering the means for him to concoct his pirate swill.

We divided into two teams. Two of us scoured the local jungle for ingredients, while I stood vigil at Bo's side. No damn, dirty apes would get their stinking paws on him while I was on watch.

What followed were moments of hectic activity punctuated by moments of catching our breath, as waves of monkey pirates assaulted the beach. They did enough damage that the healing circles became an absolute necessity -- if I had been a DPS spec, I would have needed another player to help me man the beach. Even as prot, I had to use my arsenal effectively and keep my eyes out for healing circles to stay upright.

We eventually managed to fill the cauldron while using the local bombs and cannons as well as some well-timed Heroic Leaps to keep the pirates at bay. Finally, the swill was complete. Off in the distance, we heard the bellowing of our final opponent -- the dreaded Captain Ook himself. What fearsome war cry did he unleash upon us?

Dread and Ook

Well, I suppose a literal threat to put boot to my hinder is dread, in a way.

The fight with Captain Ook was pretty interesting. While it didn't strictly speaking require a tank, the fight's mechanics were varied. There were power-up oranges on the ground that we had to try and keep him away from (stuns were helpful there) and a significant amount of avoidable damage in the form of explosive areas that would spawn on the ground. In the end, of course, it ended as it was destined to from the moment the Captain dared to cross us.

We all died.

No no, I'm kidding.

Captain Ook met the fate of all pirates who forget the letter h in their names. Well, really, all pirates eventually die, even of old age. But this one died so that I could get 30 valor points, and that's a fine end to a foul corsair, in my book.

I had a lot of fun with the scenario. The mechanics are tuned so that you have to pay attention, stay out of things as much as possible, and find your healing circles. I wouldn't mind if future scenarios actually had healing barrels you could smash open or what have you, but in general, I was very satisfied with my scenario experience. It's fast, easy to queue for, and just enough of a challenge to keep a group of three hopping.

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!