Coren-Direbrew
Latest
Strange things are afoot at the Grim Guzzler
A lot of us pre-Burning Crusade players hold a warm place in our hearts for the Grim Guzzler, the bar in the middle of Blackrock Depths. It's a hangout for desperadoes and shady figures run by a leper gnome with a demonic bar wench and a metallic bouncer. Most of the patrons would usually kill you as soon as look at you, but as long as they're drunk and you don't bother them too much, they'll generally leave you alone. Of course, sometimes it's worth bothering them, since a few of the patrons and staff drop some pretty cool loot. Despite this charming atmosphere, the Grim Guzzler is in the middle of a sprawling dungeon of hostile Dark Iron Dwarves, so ever since the Burning Crusade, people don't seem to go down there too often. That said, you might want to check it out in the next few days. There's a few new faces down at the bar since patch 2.4.3 went live, including an Arena gear vendor named Griz Gutshank, a Dark Iron Brewer who can't hold his brew, and a couple of goblin roadies setting up for a Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Check out the gallery for a complete illustrated guide to the new faces and surprises at the Grim Guzzler, and maybe I'll see you there tonight for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Oh, and try the Sulfuron Slammer -- It's Plugger's newest specialty! %Gallery-27816%
Patch 2.4.3 is going live today
It's official now: Patch 2.4.3 is indeed going live. You can download it now by logging into the game, and when the servers go up again, you can go buy mounts for all your level 30 alts. Here's some of the other highlights of the patch: Epic gems can be purchased for Arena points -- and yes, the Arena versions are not unique-equipped! You can now undertake a quest to beat up an old man and steal his hat. Haris Pilton is showing off her new line of 22-slot designer handbags, now for sale in Shattrath's Lower City. A new holiday boss and holiday boss loot appeared on the test server and will hopefully appear in time on live. Coren Direbrew is now a 5-man boss for the Brewfest, and new Headless Horseman loot should appear this Hallow's End. There was a bit of a nerf for the Rogue talent Cheat Death WWI attendees can now use their pet code to grab their own pet archangel! The new in-game loot from the Hunt for Illidan TCG expansion is now live. There were many profession changes as well, including new tailoring patterns. You can also check out the full official patch notes (via MMO-Champion) after the break.
Meet Coren Direbrew, dispenser of awesome trinkets and brewmaidens
The Brewfest is currently live for testing on the PTR, and one of the biggest changes is the addition of yet another holiday specific boss, Coren Direbrew. Coren himself isn't completely new. He was also present in the Grim Guzzler last year, when he would give you a quest to deliver brew to the Brewfest and get an offhand tankard in return. This year, however, it appears he's a bit more surly. Instead of simply completing a quest, this time you need to fight him. Luckily, the loot he drops is more than worth the hassle. Most of it is clones of the trinkets available for badges from G'eras, but there's also a couple other drops that look like a lot of fun. Overall, the loot should draw a lot of people out to Blackrock Depths to beat him up. A list of his loot is coming up after the break.
PTR Brewfest includes summoned barmaid pets, rams and kodos segregated by faction
You may remember that we announced that a Brewfest Kodo was hidden in the WoTLK Alpha files some time ago. With patch 2.4.3, the Kodo did in fact get into this year's Brewfest. The Brewfest is currently open for testing on the PTR, and you can see the Kodos for yourselves - but only on the Horde side. That's right. Blizzard has added the Kodo mount, but not in the way many of us had hoped. The Ram mount is now available for purchase only on the Alliance side, and the Kodo mount only on the Horde side. Kisirani has confirmed that this is intended. She says that they came to this decision only after much deliberation, but it's likely staying, although she'll listen to constructive criticism. As you can imagine, this has not been well received.
