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Phat Loot Phriday: Swiftsteel Bludgeon
Haven't done a Mace in a while, and there are surprisingly few melee maces floating around nowadays. Since Shamans can't wield swords, most of the really high end maces have spellpower on them. But here's one that's meant for cracking heads.Name: Swiftsteel Bludgeon (Wowhead, Thottbot, WoWDigger)Type: Epic One-hand MaceDamage/Speed: 105-196 / 1.50 (100.3 DPS)Abilities: Improves hit rating by 19, improves haste by 27, and increases attack power by 40. This isn't a weapon at the top of anybody's game (especially with the nerf to maces wielded by Rogues in 3.0.2). But it is good as a stopgap, especially for Fury Warriors in the offhand slot trying to spam Execute and needing a fast weapon to do so (at 1.50, this is definitely a fast weapon). But don't get too angry, commenters -- there are definitely plenty of other weapons to use at this level and above. The only reason you'd really jump on this one is if you're melee DPS in need of a nice Epic mace in Black Temple, and you're not first in line to grab any of the really great ones that come from the bosses. Not everybody gets to wield Warglaives or the Syphon, not right away. How to Get It: Drops from Black Temple trash, and seriously, have you been in there after the patch yet? It's a free-for-all. Blizzard's big solution to having no one see the endgame was to nerf it to oblivion before Wrath so everyone could get in there and get all of the Epic looting out of their system.So round up 24 friends (you'll still need to be at least a little epic before you go in there, don't skimp on the SSC and TK runs), head into BT, and loot the place for all it's worth. Eventually, this one will drop, and if you're a melee-er who needs a mace, win the roll and it's yours. Of course, you can expect it to be replaced in Northrend eventually, but who cares? An epic is an epic, right?Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Void Crystal, sells for 14g 1s 84c. Too bad you can't melt it down -- putting all your money into swiftsteel might actually be a pretty good idea in this economy.%Gallery-33600%
Phat Loot Phriday: Messenger of Fate
This week it's off to the Black Temple for a little stabby stab stabby.Name: Messenger of FateType: Epic One-hand DaggerDamage/Speed: 112-169 / 1.40 (100.4 DPS)Abilities: +22 Agility, +31 Stamina On equip: increases attack power by 44. Handmade for Rogues to use as an offhand. The speed makes up for all those offhand misses, and while Warriors who know what they're doing might like this one, too (since most of their abilities are all based on "next attack" procs), Rogues should get first pick on this one. This weapon was made for them. Also, while we're told the pic above is what this dagger looks like in 2.3, it used to look different. We're not sure why Blizzard changed it-- the old look is a little cooler. But then again, this new look is much closer to the icon. How to Get It: Drops from Gurtogg Bloodboil, a raging fel orc boss in Black Temple. The stats have it dropping at about 14 or 15%, but my guess is that it's a little lower than that. At any rate, if you can make it up to him in the Black Temple, and drop him about five or six times, it should pop up. Win the roll (or spend the DKP) and it's yours.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Void Crystal, or vendors for 14g 22s 63c.
Phat Loot Phriday: Amani Divining Staff
If you're as excited about 2.3 as we are, you'll love this spiffy new staff from Zul'Aman.Name: Amani Divining StaffType: Epic Two-hand StaffDamage / Speed: 144-304 / 3.20 (69.9 DPS)Abilities: +58 Stamina, +47 Intellect. That's hot. Red, Yellow, and Blue sockets-- socket bonus of +5 spell damage Equip: Improves spell crit rating by 31. Equip: +217 spell damage and healing. Very nice. And plus, it's all troll-looking. Personally, I love the look of the Zul'Aman stuff. I know everyone doesn't share my tribal tastes, but I think it's a great move by Blizzard to lighten up the look of the Outland gear a bit. How to Get It: Ah, yes-- the tough part. First, you have to get in to Zul'Aman, and then you probably want to make sure you can clear it first. This staff actually drops from the timed event in that instance. Just like the Baron Run in Stratholme, when you first zone in, you'll have 20 minutes to kill the first boss. If you kill that boss in time, an NPC will come out with a chest, open up the chest for you, and give you your loot. The loot table for that chest includes this staff, so you have to be lucky enough to see it.From there, things are still a little fuzzy. We know it's 20 minutes to the first boss, but after that, I haven't seen exact timer numbers (this EJ thread has a lot of good tactics for all the bosses, however). It might be twenty minutes for each boss, or it might not. Some guilds on the PTR have completed the timed quests, but there's not a lot of documentation around on the instance. Yet, that is-- pay attention to the WoW Wiki page, and I'm sure details will show up soon after Tuesday. I do know that Blizzard has it out for you-- the next boss' timer starts when you down the last boss, not when you get the loot. So the timer runs while you wait for the NPC to come out and open the chest. Awkward much?I should mention, also, that it's not entirely clear whether this staff is part of one big loot table for the timed event chests, or whether it only drops on a certain boss' chest. At any rate, it does appear in those chests at some point, so just complete the entire timed event quest (which Blizzard claims is very, very hard), and you'll be fine!Getting Rid of It: Disenchants to a Void Crystal, and sells to vendors for 16g 85s 85c. Which I usually say would never happen, but then again, remember that Zul'Aman, and especially those finishing the timed quests, is going to be full of bored Mount Hyjal guilds looking for new content. So there may be a few of these things disenchanted and sold off. Bummer.
Phat Loot Phriday: Speedy Racer Goggles
Today's PLP is actually a request. Reader Pol sent a request for this one (a while ago, actually-- sorry, I've been busy), and wanted to know the story behind these one easy-to-obtain and now very rare goggles.Name: Speedy Racer GogglesType: Uncommon Cloth HeadArmor: 53 ArmorAbilities: +14 Intellect Pre 2.3, they've also got +14 Agility on them, but post 2.3, they've got +16 to healing and damage. Also, they're notable for being the only goggles in the game (I'm pretty sure-- someone speak up in the comments if this isn't true) that don't have an Engineering requirement to wear. If you have two professions that aren't Engineering, and you want to wear some shades, these are them. And as goggles in Azeroth go, they don't really look too bad. But there's a problem... How to Get It: Erm, while these things were once super easy to come by, they're gone now. They used to be a reward for the Gahz'rilla quest that had you killing the big lizard in Zul'Farrak, but the other option from this quest was the famous mountspeed increaser Carrot on a Stick, so these goggles got neglected by most players coming through. Eventually, Blizzard decided that if no one wanted them, no one would have them, and the goggles got removed from the quest rewards, and are currently unavailable ingame.But here's the thing. Blizzard, as you might know, recently did an upgrade of lowbie items, including lowbie quest items like these goggles. And these goggles, as you see above, did get upgraded. If anyone had them sitting in their bags, they'll see the +spell damage on the item, not the old Agility buff.Does this mean Blizzard is bringing them back. Not necessarily likely-- instead of just tweaking each item separately, odds are that Blizzard just tweaked the recipes for the items, and thus this item got tweaked automatically. It may be coming back as part of the upgrades to Engineering (wouldn't it be great if Engineers could sell goggles like these?), but that's pure speculation at this point.Still, this is a nice item. It's kind of a shame it got pushed out by Carrot on a Stick. Maybe we'll see the Speedy Racer Goggles again somewhere else in Azeroth in the future.Getting Rid of It: Sells for 67s 45c to vendors, but if you got em, might as well hold on to them. They're as antique as items get in Azeroth.Update: Commenter rockatansky points out that they are not the only non-Engie goggles. But I'd hazard a guess that they are the only vanilla WoW non-Engie goggles.
Phat Loot Phriday: Serpentshrine Shuriken
In all of the different items we've done here on Phat Loot Phriday, we've never once featured a thrown weapon. Time to fix that.Name: Serpentshrine ShurikenType: Epic ThrownDamage/Speed: 97-146 / 1.40 (86.8 DPS)Abilties: +14 Stamina, which doesn't seem like a lot, but don't forget, this is on a thrown weapon. That's a whopping +14 Stamina you can't get anywhere else. Improves hit rating by 12 and critical strike rating by 20. And while thrown weapons used to be used only for pulling or tagging cowardly mobs, the Rogue ability Deadly Throw has changed the game. You can get some nice crits in (using this or any other high level thrown items) if you've worked up a good number of combo points on a target running away from you. Put on the HWL or Gladiator's gloves and this also becomes a spell interrupt, so you want as nice a thrown weapon as you can find. How to Get It: The Shuriken drops from trash mobs in Serpentshrine Cavern, at a rate of about 1%, so it's not super easy to come by. I'd really say the weapon is meant for Rogues, too, but I could see how fury Warriors and other classes would have an interest in it, so you might have to win a competitive roll on it, too. But spend a lot of time in SSC, be a little lucky, and you can probably pick it up without too much trouble.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants to a Void Crystal, and I bet that's where most of these things have ended up, because odds are that anyone who could really use it in PvP has already picked up the PvP version anyway. Maybe there's a reason we've never done a thrown weapon... Sells to vendors for 3g 63s 68c.
Phat Loot Phriday: Talisman of Binding Shard
As per your requests, last week we went a little "husky" and had an item that everyone could get. This week, we go Orca Phat, and show you an item no one can get-- anymore. The only legendary amulet in the game really is legendary nowadays, in that no one's seen it in a long time.Name: Talisman of Binding ShardType: Legendary NecklaceArmor: N/AAbilities: +13 Strength, +5 Agility, +8 Stamina +24 Fire and +24 Nature Resistance, which in the old days of raiding, was a huge deal for tanks in MC and AQ. Equip: When struck in combat, inflicts 4 Nature damage to the attacker. That's not much, but it was a nice little bonus back at level 60 (which is when this Talisman dropped) in terms of damage and threat for tanks who are getting attacked all the time. Also, the effect puts the lightning shield graphic on your character, which is fun. All in all, a nifty neckpiece for tanks at level 60. At least it was, before it got pulled from the game! *insert scary musical sting here* How to Get It: The year was 2005, and Molten Core, the 40 man raid, was big stuff. Not only did Tier 1 gear drop there, but Tier 2 gear did as well, and all the bosses had almost completely different loot tables than they do now. In Patch 1.4, Blizzard decided to even this all out, buff a lot of the gear down in the raid, and have only Tier 1 gear drop in MC (most of it anyway-- I think Rag may have still dropped Tier 2 gear).Anyway, none of that matters anymore, right? So while they were tweaking around the loot tables, one of the devs accidentally put this legendary necklace in Baron Geddon's table. It wasn't, we're told, even intended to go live, but since so much work was being done on the MC loot, it accidentally went out there anyway. And of course, it dropped.Noktyn, an Undead Warrior from Nurfed (yes, of the UI) got the drop, and you can see a screenshot of the raid above. As soon as it dropped, the GMs realized something had been given out that shouldn't have, and took it off the loot tables. But they let Noktyn keep the necklace. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find him on the Armory (there are no 60+ Undead Warriors-- Nurfed is a US guild, right?), but even if he was still playing, odds are he would have taken it off long before now, as it's not really Legendary grade any more. And of course, no one else can ever get the item, because it's never been seen on the loot tables since.But it is cool to think that the Orange necklace is still out there somewhere, waiting to fall into the lap of some boss we may someday face. Of course, if it ever does show up again, Blizzard will have to rename it. "Noktyn's Talisman" has a nice ring to it.Getting Rid of It: You can't. because you don't have it. But if you did, a vendor would give you 3g 36s 25c for it. And while it probably disenchants into a Nexus Crystal, we just don't know for sure. Because no one's ever disenchanted it, you'll never know-- maybe it disenchants into a beautifully tasty piece of Key Lime Pie.
Phat Loot Phriday: X'caliboar
As requested, we're going "husky" on Phat Loot today, with a cool two-handed, midlevel sword that anyone can get. Plus, if you ask me, this sword has one of the best names ever. Puns FTW!Name: X'caliboarType: Rare Two-hand SwordDamage/Speed: 98-148 / 3.30 (37.3 DPS)Abilities: +20 Strength, +8 Stamina Unfortunately, that an added enchant on the pic above-- the sword doesn't glow when you get it. A decent sword for Warriors and Paladins of the level (around 35-40). The Strength is very nice, obviously, and although you'll replace it soon (just like any other weapon in the early 40s), it's good to have around if you need to do any two-hand slicing. Plus, the name rocks. Obviously it's a play on Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur, but it drops from Razorfen Downs, so courtesy of Blizzard's witty item creation team, you get "X'caliboar." Funny. How to Get It: Take a trip through the aforementioned Razorfen Downs, another one of my favorite instances in the game (I especially like the Undead rave going on in there). Ragglesnout drops it, and he's a rare spawn that appears near that rave (in one of the huts on the spiral). Apparently he is pretty rare, so if you really want to the sword, you may have to restart the instance a few times to see if you can get him, and then just hope the sword drops-- it's seen at about 20% which isn't bad, but when you factor in the chance that Ragglesnout appears, it's a little more rare than that.He has a couple of other good drops for a Warrior, too-- a shield and a belt that are fairly nice. But this sword is the jewel of the bunch-- get in there, hope he spawns, down him, and maybe you too can have the chance to run around Orgrimmar or Stormwind yelling "I WIELD X'CALIBOAR! BOW DOWN TO YOUR KING!"Err.. maybe that's just what I'd do.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Small Radiant Shard, and sells to vendors for 2g 1s 44c.
Phat Loot Phriday: Black Bow of the Betrayer
You want a bow that will make people sit up and say "whoah?" You want a bow with a neat mana proc? You want a bow that requires a really, really good PvE guild to get? Here you go.Name: Black Bow of the BetrayerType: Epic Ranged Bow (where are the Legendary Ranged weapons, by the way?)Damage/Speed: 201-374 / 3.00 (95.8 DPS)Abilities: Increases attack power by 26, always very nice On Equip: Succesful melee or ranged attacks will grant 8 mana and if possible drain 8 mana from the target. That's incredible-- it's basically 40-45 mana per five seconds, which allows any Hunter to keep up their DPS for almost twice as long as normal. And if you want even more mana, there is a set of mail gloves created by Blacksmiths (dropped by Moam in AQ, I believe) called Black Grasp of the Destroyer that have the exact same proc. And while I haven't tried it out in game, I'm told that the effects of both stack. So with both the gloves and the bow, you'll never need mana again! If only Shamans could equip bows... How to Get It: Such a bow isn't going to be easy to get, and as the name might have already told you, this drops from the Betrayer himself, Illidan Stormrage, at the end of the Black Temple. There is a good argument made that if you're a Hunter able to get to Illidan, you probably aren't going to be worrying about mana problems anymore anyway. But to the victors go the spoils, so kill Illidan, be a Hunter (the mana proc on the weapon makes it just for you animal lovers), and win the roll and the bow is yours. The rest of the world gets to stare in awe at how frighteningly pointy this baby looks.Getting Rid of It: As far as I can possibly tell, no one has. But maybe there's a guild out there who has Illidan on farm, and just doesn't need it any more. In that case, it's the usual Void Crystal, or 10g 82s 33c if sold to a vendor.
Phat Loot Phriday: Blighted Leggings
Last week we got requests to do a lowbie item, and since everyone will be headed into SM Graveyard soon to get the Headless Horseman, I thought I might let you know about another piece of loot hidden in that not-often-traveled instance.Name: Blighted LeggingsType: Rare Cloth LegsArmor: 45Abilities: +17 Spirit Increases damage done by Shadow spells by up to 10. The Shadow spell might make you think Warlock, but the Spirit on these pants says they're for Shadow priests (Warlocks would rather have Stamina, as Life Tap can hook them up with mana as long as they have HP left). And for the level, they're very nice for young Shadow priests to grind with. How to Get It: They drop from Azshir the Sleepless, a rare mob in the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard wing. The GY is also where the Headless Horseman will be spawning during the upcoming Hallow's End holiday, so to get these, just camp your young Shadow Priest outside the instance, and then dive in with your level 70 group to get the Horseman. Once that's done, check and see if Azshir has spawned (he usually spawns in front of the Mausoleum), and if so, bring your Priest in, down him, and hope the pants drop-- they've got a 30% chance.And if they don't drop or he isn't there, worry not. The Horseman is a daily quest, and odds are everyone in your party will want something from him, so put your Priest back outside, come back the next day, and check again. By the time everyone in your party has a broom, you'll hopefully have grabbed these pants as well.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into Small Glowing Shard, and sells to vendor for 35s 59c.
Phat Loot Phriday: Crystal Spire of Karabor
This incredible healing mace is actually changing looks in patch 2.2-- thanks to our friend MMO Champion for the comparison pic above.Name: Crystal Spire of KaraborType: Epic Main-Hand MaceDamage/Speed: 16-132 / 1.80 (41 DPS)Abilities: +22 Stamina, +15 Intellect Increases healing done by spells and effects by 486, which is high enough to make grown men cry Restores 6 mana per 5 seconds, which makes grown Shaman everywhere weep with happiness And if your target is below 50% health, direct heals will grant an additional 180 to 220 health to your target, which makes healers' mouths everywhere drop open. Which means if you're direct healing someone below 50% health, you get at least +660 healing just from this item. Of course, not all +healing translates directly into heals (and definitely not on the lower ranks anymore). But still, that's a lot of +healing. Trivia: The Black Temple was previously known (long ago) as the Temple of Karabor, the center of Draenei worship everywhere. The Spire of Karabor is likely a piece of the temple itself (or perhaps the Altar within), fueled by years of Draenei faith and prayer. Pretty cool. How to Get It: It drops from someone named Van Cleef in the Deadmines!No, only kidding. Loot like this doesn't come easy-- you've got to be prepared for this one. Illidan himself drops this baby, when you kill him in the Black Temple. We haven't seen all that many kills yet, so a percentage isn't certain yet, but odds are it's less than 20% or so, and possibly a lot less than that. And considering this is a great mace for every healer in the raid, you're going to have to be pretty good and really lucky to call it your own.Getting Rid of It: Sells for 14g 32s 71c, and disenchants into a Void Crystal, but come on now. Don't even think about it.
Phat Loot Phriday: Ruby Drape of the Mysticant
Who knew a piece of cloth on your back could be so badass?Name: Ruby Drape of the MysticantType: Epic CloakArmor: 105Abilities: +22 Stamina, +21 Intellect Improves spell hit rating by 18 (hot for a cloak) +30 spell damage and healing, which is even hotter, especially for an item from Karazhan. There are better caster cloaks in the game, but they're all from higher level raids, so get this one and you'll be set for a while. How to Get It: As Kirk might say, KarazhAAAAAAAANNN!!! Prince Malchezaar, one of the last bosses in Medivh's tower, drops this baby. In fact, getting there is only half the battle-- because this cloak is so great, you'll probably have a harder time winning the roll to get this than you will actually defeating the Prince. It's around a 10% drop, which ain't bad, but every Mage, Shaman, Warlock, and maybe a Moonkin or two are going to be after this cloak, so it's really more luck than anything.But the good news is that once you get it, you're pretty much set-- there are sidegrades coming up, but there's really nothing that matches up to it until you hit Kael'thas.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Void Crystal, and sells to vendors for 3g 71s 96c.
Phat Loot Phriday: Remote Mail Terminal
We've done some rare items here on Phat Loot Phriday, but we've never done anything this rare. This high level engineering item is so rare it's not even in the game. (I promise next week we'll do something everyone can get.)Name: Remote Mail TerminalType: Engineering ItemDamage/Speed: N/AAbilities: When used, creates a Remote Mail Terminal that can send and receive ingame mail from anywhere. Last for five minutes. Pretty cool device, because I'm pretty sure the only mailboxes not in towns are in Gnomeregan, right? And just like the Repair Bot, this could be put to good use during raids-- instead of having to make your alt come all the way into the instance to trade with a group member, you could just put this baby down, and both check and receive mail right there in Karazhan. How to Get It: There's just one problem: you can't.Sure, all it requires is an Engineering level of 335, an Adamantite Frame, two handfuls of Fel Iron Bolts, a Khorium Power Core, and Fused wiring. But while the plans for this were a world drop in the Burning Crusade beta, they never made it to the live servers. GMs have said that apparently mail was getting lost sometimes in the send. And while sometimes is good enough for Goblin Jumper Cables, it's not good enough for player mail, so the Remote Mail Terminal is MIA for engineers until Blizzard decides to put it back in.Getting Rid of It: The schematic sells for 1g 25s, or did, when people were selling it. But it was also selling for thousands on the AH during the beta. Blizzard has already promised Engineers are getting some love soon, so maybe the Mail Terminal will make a return with the next expansion, if not before.
Phat Loot Phriday: Soul Cleaver
Sometimes you need some spell damage to get the job done. Every once in a while, you need a shield, or maybe a special trinket or a cool pair of shoulders. But every once in a while, you just need a big ass axe.Name: Soul CleaverType: Epic Two-Hand AxeDamage / Speed: 386-579 / 3.70 (130.4 DPS)Abilties: It cleaves your SOUL! +65 Strength, +63 Stamina, which makes this clearly a Hunter weapon. I'm KIDDING! No, Mortal Strike Warriors, this one's just for you, or maybe a Paladin or a Enhance Shammy if you've already got it. Also, your attacks ignore 315 of your opponent's armor, which is a nice bonus to damage. Plus, just look at it! That is a huge freakin' axe! How to Get It: You have to kill Teron Gorefiend, who you can find in the Black Temple, and who you can learn all about right here on WoW Insider's Know Your Lore. So far, it seems like about a 20% drop, which means your chances aren't bad if you're in a guild running BT and you can use this. Unfortunately, my guess is that a lot of these are going to end up as Void Crystals (disenchanted by clothies pissed that their robe or cowl didn't drop), but it's a good looking axe nevertheless.Getting Rid of It: Well, you could DE it, of course. Vendors will give you 18g 17s 17c for it.
Phat Loot Phriday: Antonidas' Aegis of Rapt Concentration
I'm a Resto/Elemental Shaman. I like shields. I especially like Epic shields. I especially like Epic shields with spell damage on them. And boy do I like Epics that have a nice tie to the lore.Name: Antonidas' Aegis of Rapt ConcentrationType: Epic ShieldArmor/Block: 6336 / 174Abilities: +28 Stamina, +20 Intellect Improves spell crit rating by 20, and increases spell damage and healing by up to 42 Antonidas is (actually was, because he was killed by Arthas, as all great Warcraft characters were) the head of the Kirin Tor, that conclave of wizards that you're hearing so much about lately. His pupil was Jaina Proudmoore (and it was she who he expected to eventually take over the Kirin Tor). When Arthas killed Antonidas (to claim the Book of Medivh), the Violet Citadel and Dalaran were both left wide open, and Archimonde moved in to finish off the job and destroy the city. Now, of course, Dalaran is being rebuilt, and it's soon going to be flying over Northrend. Until then, Antonidas' shield has found its way back into the hands of players. How to Get It: In fact, Archimonde must have grabbed it when he trashed Dalaran, because this is a drop from him at the Caverns of Time Mount Hyjal instance. In that instance, you fight Archi (as I like call him) fighting to gain control of the World Tree, and apparently he's been hauling this shield around with him ever since he sacked Dalaran-- drop him, and with a little rolling luck, it's yours.As a sidenote, apparently this was one of the drops on the world first kill of Archi as well. So not only can you get a shield that belonged to one of the greatest arch-mages the world of Azeroth has ever known, you can also get a shield that belonged to one of the best guilds in the game! Two for one!Getting Rid of It: Sells for 9g 55s 99c. Disenchants into a Void Crystal. Breaks my elemental Shaman heart.
Phat Loot Phriday: Gnomeregan Auto-Blocker 600
When you need to block, look no further than this amazing tanking trinket, used by aggro-grabbers the world over. Could it be the only thing the Gnomes have made that actually works?Name: Gnomeregan Auto-Blocker 600Type: Epic TrinketDamage/Speed: N/AAbilities: Equip: Increases the block value of your shield by 59. Use: Increases the block value of your shield by 200 for 20 seconds. If we're going to talk about why this trinket is so phat, we've got to talk about Block-- blocking is when your shield absorbs part of the damage that you've been hit with. The math gets complicated (it's not just a reduction in the block value, as your opponent's strength plays a part as well, and while some blocks can completely negate damage, not all do), so I won't go deep into it here, but higher the block value, less damage done when you block (and when you do is determined by your block rating, not your block value). Additionally, certain talents can add to your block value as well, as a percentage of what you've already got. So this trinket (with talents) adds a whole lot of damage reduction. But wait, there's more-- Warriors have an ability called Shield Slam, which adds your block value to the total damage of your slam. Since popping this trinket adds 200 to your block value, that's 200 directly pushed onto the base damage of your slam. If you build up a good base block value (350 is pretty good), add this on top of it, throw in Shield Master (the Warrior version of the block talent), and throw in a crit for good measure, you're talking a Shield Slam of around 2500. You're beating people down with just your Shield! And there's even more. Shield Slam isn't even a damage ability-- it's a threat ability (even better than Sunder Armor). You better believe a 2500 Shield Slam generates aggro. Pop this trinket, crit them with your shield, and not even that smarmy DPS clothie who refuses to install KTM will be able to peel that mob off of you. How to Get It: Heroic badges again, which means you need to down bosses in Heroic dungeons. And this ain't no walk in the park-- you need a whopping 41 badges to get this one. Then again, if you're a main tank who's good enough to want this trinket, you'll probably have no problem running all those dungeons.Getting Rid of It: You probably don't want to-- even if you have DPS trinkets to switch out, trinkets like this are always good to have around, just to see how much you can max out things like Block. But if you do have a sudden aversion to anything Gnome-made, you'll have to destroy-- vendors won't take it back.
Phat Loot Phriday: Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian
Veteran readers of the blog will remember when the world first of this baby dropped, but now that everyone's 70, maybe you too can get a raid rolling in Naxxaramas, and obtain for yourself the legendary (literally) weapon of Medivh.Name: Atiesh, Greatstaff of the GuardianType: Legendary StaffDamage/Speed: 130-243 / 2.90 (64.4 DPS)Abilties: There are actually four different versions of the staff-- Warlock, Mage, Priest, and Druid. You can see all of them over at WoW Wiki-- they all increase spell damage and/or healing of the equipper (the Druid one increases AP in feral forms as well), but they also have a party bonus, too. The Druid gives 11mp5, the Mage increases spell crit strike of the entire party, the Warlock grants 33 spell damage to the party, and the Priest gives 62 healing to everyone in the party. Additionally, all of the versions will do something very special: create a portal to Karazhan. Nowdays, players go to Karazhan all the time, so it's not that big a deal, but back when this staff came out, no one had ever been there, and so cracking open a portal was pretty cool And the staff grants various amounts of Stamina, Intellect or Spirit, depending on the version you have. Unfortunately, the stats are no longer that great-- they're incredible for level 60, but at level 70, it's pretty easy to come by equivalent (or even better) stats, and therefore, not really worth the trouble to obtain the staff. But then again, there is an immense amount of value in the lore of this item, considering that it was owned by Medivh himself. Why, might you ask, does something so awesome look so plain? Don't judge a book by its cover, son-- that model, though plain, matches the models used in Warcraft 2 and 3. This is a legendary item, and real power is inside. Also, spectral birds sometimes appear flying around the staff. So that's kind of cool. Also, the Shade of Aran (who is of course Medivh's father) will be kind of surprised if you show up to fight him with this thing on How to Get It: In many ways, this is the final goal of shipping WoW. To get the item, you have to first collect 40 Splinters of Atiesh, which drop from different bosses in Naxxaramas, which means you need to run the place a few times. Then, once you've got those together, you can combine them to make the Frame of Atiesh. Once you've got that, you head off to Anachronos, the great big dragon near the Caverns of Time in Tanaris.He'll send you in search of the Staff Head of Atiesh, which Kel'Thuzad has gotten his grubby little hands on. He's trying to put the staff back together, and the Argent Dawn is fighting against him, so if you can nab the Head away from him, more power to you. And the Base of Atiesh is the other item you'll need, and it drops from C'thun, the end boss of AQ40. See what I mean about this being the final goal?After you've done all that, Anachronos will reassemble the staff for you, but wait! It's corrupted! (Figures.) You then take it into Stratholme, and run an event in which you can vanquish the evil spirit from the staff. Along the way, you can pick up another legendary item, a 1h sword that's freakin' awesome, but disappears after only a few minutes. After you defeat the spirit, you're then allowed to claim the staff, giving you the world's phattest loot-- of 2006.Getting Rid of It: The Greatstaff of the Guardian! The staff of Medivh himself, shattered when Archimonde destoryed Dalaran! Reassembled from shards dropped by ancient demons and cleansed by the most powerful of Azeroth's heroes! And a vendor will give you 18g 45s 58c for it. Go figure.
Phat Loot Phriday: Blue Murloc Egg
With BlizzCon going down as we speak, what better item to cover than the hookup lots of people got at Blizzard's last big event (this event, you'll remember, we're all getting the Murloc Suit). And on a more personal note, let me just say that: God, I hate Murky.Name: Blue Murloc EggType: Noncombat PetAbilities: Summons Murky, an annoying (some say "cute"), periodically dancing Murloc When you click on him, he even makes the Murggurguguglglgg murloc sound, which you can actually download from the WoW Wiki page. Although I don't know why you would-- it sounds like a cat coughing up a hairball while trying to sing. God, I hate Murky. Whenever my guildie pulls him out, I just feel the urge to punt him (even moreso than gnomes). Murlocs are bad enough as it is, but when they're cute and tiny... Ugh. Hate, hate, hate Murky. How to Get It: You can't, unless you attended BlizzCon 2005-- Murky was one of the giveaways to attendees there, and Blizzard hasn't given him out since. They have given away a Pink Murloc Egg to European players (after they messed up their Burning Crusade netherwhelp pets)-- that summoned a very similar (but pink) dancing murloc named Gurky. And with all the possible name combinations (Lurky, Turky, Jerky), and green, purple, and orange baby murlocs found within the game files, there may be more baby murlocs coming to a giveaway near you in the future (ugh, I hope not). But for now, if Murky's not yours, he never will be.Good riddance, I say.Getting Rid of It: See? Vendors hate him too-- they won't take him. So the only way to get rid of him is by destroying the egg-- I recommend high-velocity punting.
Phat Loot Phriday: Everglow Lantern
This twinkalicious quest reward isn't exactly much loved, but it has its place.Name: Everglow LanternType: Uncommon OffhandDamage/Speed: NAAbilities: +3 Stamina Use: Heal your target for 135 to 165. Unfortunately, there's a gigantic 30 minute cooldown on this one, so it's not extremely useful. But in certain situations it comes in handy, and while it's likely you'll ditch this one fairly quickly, for the level or two that you have this paired with a good one hand weapon, the extra healing helps in a pinch. The thing looks pretty cool, too, as the glow spreads on your character, other characters, and in the surrounding area. Kind of fun to carry around at night with all the graphic options turned up, and RPers may even keep it around for those nighttime play sessions. How to Get It: This is a quest reward, that's available to both factions via two different quests. For Alliance, you've got to do Supplies to Auberdine, an escort quest in Ashenvale, and Horde can do Weapons of Choice at Camp T in the Barrens. Horde can get their quest at level 17 (though the mobs are much higher level, around 23-25), and Alliance can get the quest at 19 (though it too will be hard for someone that low to complete. But with help it's more than possible, so if you really wanted to put this on a 19 WSG twink, you definitely could.Truthfully, there are better items you could put on a twink, but speaking as a Mage who brings this thing into the lowbie battlegrounds, there's nothing like getting funny tells when people wonder how you heal yourself. I can only hope the other side wonders, too.Getting Rid of It: Oh right-- this is why I have this section. Because not all the phat loot you get is worth keeping. A vendor will give you 16s 32c for this, or it will DE into a Strange Dust, Lesser Astral Essence, or a Small Glimmering Shard.And speaking of Phat Loot, have you left a comment on our Spectral Tiger Mount contest yet? The contest ends tonight at 7:00pm EST-- if you haven't, hurry over and get it done!
Phat Loot Phriday: The Bladefist
This stunning fist (geeky pun intended, of course) is wielded by the Warchief at the top of Hellfire Citadel. And you've got to fell him (after fighting through his clan) to get it.Name: The BladefistType: Epic Main Hand FistDamage/Speed: 152-283 / 2.60 (83.7 DPS)Abilities: Chance on Hit: Increases your haste rating by 180 for 10 seconds. At level 70, that means an increase in speed of ~17% when it procs, which according to reports, is fairly often. (Procs per minute involves a lot of math, and regular readers will know I'm terrible at getting math right, but from what I understand, this thing hits at 3 PPM, halfway between Crusader (1), and Lifestealing (6). So pretty often, but not every time.) Also, I'm told the Mongoose enchant can stack with this ability, which means if you've got both going, it's a lot of slashy slashy and stabby stabby (technical terms). Unfortunately, this baby is Unique (not to mention Main Hand), so no, you can't dual wield them like Kargath does. How to Get It: To answer that, we have to go back a little bit in Warcraft Lore. Kargath Bladefist wasn't always warchief of the Shattered Hand clan, and he wasn't always known as the Bladefist. When he reached the level of grunt, the dude cut off his own hand, and replaced it with this weapon. And anyone badass enough to do that should definitely be Warchief, so he rose through the ranks and took over Shattered Halls. There's more to it than that (maybe we'll see a KYL someday on him), but that's what this weapon is all about.And you know taking it away from him is not going to be an easy task. You've got to storm into Shattered Halls (which means you've got to get the key, which is a nice quest chain in itself), and you've got to do it on Heroic mode. Make your way through the Gauntlet, past the stupid Ogre (I'm just kidding, he's awesome), and all those damn assassins (they are not), and then topple the Warchief himself. Pull this bad boy from his wrist (it drops at around 5%), and it's yours. Impressive, no?Getting Rid of It: I don't know why I ever decided to include this section. Why would you want to get rid of any of this phat loot? A vendor will give you 10g 46s 29c for it, and it will disenchant into a Void Crystal.
Phat Loot Phriday: Timeless Arrow/Shell
For sheer ranged damage (anywhere in the world, not just in Tempest Keep), no other ammunition does it better. This is the only Epic ammunition in the game, and it's pretty clear why.Name: Timeless Arrow (or Shell, for firearms)Type: ProjectileDamage/Speed: N/AAbilities: Adds 53 damage per second. That's like having an increase of over 700 attack power. The next highest ammo, Adamantite Shells, are +43 DPS, so this is far and above the best ammo you can obtain and use anywhere in the game. How to Get It: And so of course it doesn't come cheap (in either gold or effort). To get these arrows or bullets, all you have to do is buy them-- they're available from Andormu or Nozari in the Caverns of Time. But the first catch is that you've got to be Honored with Scale of the Sands to do it.Just to get Friendly with Scale of the Sands, you've got to obtain Vials of Eternity, so that means that you've got to beat both Vashj and Kael in SSC and the Eye. Yup, if you just stopped reading right now, I can't say I blame you.And after that, I believe the only way to gain Scale of the Sands reputation is to run Mount Hyjal and get rep from kills in there. Work your way to Honored, and you'll be able to buy this ammo. And the last catch on this one? Each stack of 200 is a whopping 2g a piece. Unless you're overflowing with money (and then again, if you've made your way to Mount Hyjal, maybe you are), this is strictly raid boss ammo only.Getting Rid of It: Vendor will give you 25c back for them if you decide you'd rather not pour out DPS like a Hefeweizen at Oktoberfest.
