BloodFurnace
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Around Azeroth: Into the Blood Furnace
Reader Drakid of Arygos sends us this very pastel image of Blood Furnace, one of the wings of Hellfire Citadel in Hellfire Peninsula. With a name like "Blood Furnace," you'd really expect something more ominous than these pastel pinks and blues, though I doubt the choice of colors makes the monsters inside any friendlier.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Phat Loot Phriday: Glaive of the Pit
So I was thinking about what to do for Phat Loot this week, and it occurred to me that we've never done a Polearm. The reason is probably because most polearms suck (they tend to be faster than most 2hands, and what you really want with a 2hander is high damage and slow speed), but if you really want a polearm, this one's not bad. I kind of wanted to do Vendorstrike, because I think it's a cool idea, but I know none of you hardcore guys would let me get away with calling it "phat."Name: Glaive of the PitType: Epic Two-Hand PolearmDamage / Speed: 330-497 / 3.70 (111.6 DPS)Abilities: Three red sockets, with a socket bonus of +4 crit rating Chance on hit: steals 238 to 262 life from enemy (although the word on this proc is that it doesn't happen that often) It's a polearm, so chances are no one will really want it (hey, at least I got to post that picture, right?). If you're a Mortal Strike warrior who doesn't yet have an epic weapon (which isn't very likely, considering where this comes from), or you just really, really, really want to wield a polearm sometimes, it might be the phat loot for you. Just throw some gems in it, and then wait a bit, because something better will come along pretty quickly. How to Get It: Then again, there's lots of item tweaking going on, so maybe things will change-- who knows? Anyway, this is a drop from Magtheridon, one of the first 25 man raids in Outland. If you've ever run the Blood Furnace, and looked down through the grate after you've killed the final boss, you'll see Mag (he's also the voice yelling throughout the instance). Mag, of course, is a Pit Lord, hence the name.Drop him and hope for about an 8% chance, and this baby will drop. And hey, think about it this way-- if you really want it, you'll probably get it. Because no one else does.Getting Rid of It: I feel so bad for polearms now. I guess The Eye of Nerub isn't so bad for hunters at 60, but I can't seem to find a really amazing polearm. I guess the arena polearm isn't too bad. Anyway, the Glaive will give you 14g 58s and 33c from vendors, and will disenchant into a Void Crystal.
Meet the new endgame, much harder than the old
I don't know if you all have noticed yet, but the 5 man dungeons in Outland are hard. Like they actually require skill, group coordination, and class knowledge hard. Like Coldlight on the forums, I love it.When you first get in there, things start out fairly easy-- Ramparts and Blood Furnace bosses have their quirks (the last guy in Blood Furnace plays out like a mini-Geddon with the AoE, but he gives you so much warning, it's no real trouble to get away in time), but the good stuff starts coming later. In Slave Pens, there are trash mobs (not bosses) that lay down mind control, and they come with a whole crowd of people. There are 5 man bosses in Auchindoin that do some nasty AoE and bosses that require DPS control (the stuff that Dives yells about). Durnholde and Black Morass in CoT are two tough instances that grab on to you and don't let go until you're all dead or the instance is over. And then, just when you think you've broken everything Blizzard has to offer, you try Heroic mode, and the difficulty ramps right back up again (perhaps in disproportion to the gear offered, but that's another story).WoW is not a hard game by any means-- that's why so many people like it so much. But especially now, when almost no one has picked up the top endgame gear, more than a few groups are actually finding a serious challenge. I'm having a lot of fun working through it (wiping isn't that fun, but winning after the wipe is), but players who were just messing around in PUGs before are being forced to learn their stuff, or wipe out. It's a whole new endgame out there.
Instance Spreadsheet offers overview of swirly portals in Outland
Ryianne of Stormrage has assembled this freakin' terrific spreadsheet of all the Outlands instances, a must-have close at hand for anyone like me who considers running instances the most fun part of the game. Want to know where the Shadow Labyrinth is, or what level Blood Furnace is, or what rep is given in the Underbog (both regular and Heroic runs)? It's all here.Ryianne hasn't added one thing a lot of players might want-- exactly how to get attuned to the instances that need attuning. That info has been floating around, though, and it's definitely out there if you need it (my guild is holding a Karazhan attunement drive lately, trying to push our latent 70s to get the key so we can start downing stuff in there). Ryianne also says she's still working on it, so if you have more to add (like the fact that it's Thrallmar rep for Horde in the first three instances), let her know.But it is cool to see, in a "big picture" sense, all the different options available when someone says "Let's run something." With the expansion, Blizzard has really paid a lot of great service to the 5man instances (not just in size and quantity, but in variety and skill), and nowhere is that more apparent than in a large overview like this.
Finding your way through Outland's first instances
Definitely my favorite part of BC so far has got to be the instances. We haven't seen new 5-man content in such a long time, and it's so much fun to be facing new pulls, new lore, and new bosses, most of them with brand new models, and even audio! Although, while I do like Magtheridon's voice, it seems like yes, those "puny magics" are actually holding him for a long, long time-- we get it.Most of the new strats aren't too hard to get down with trial and error, but there are a few quirks to figure out. And for that reason, my guild's raidleader, Belacroix of Gothic Bunnies on Thundehorn-H, has punched together a few quickguides of the first few instances-- two wings of Hellfire Citadel, and The Slave Pens and the Underbog in Coifang Reservoir. They're not complete walkthroughs by any means, but if you want a little insight on how to take down certain bosses or what you'll find in there, Bela's guides are a good read.WoW blogger Relmstein has also been running instances in Outland, and he's got even more complete walkthroughs for Hellfire Ramparts and the Blood Furnace (so far, the Furnace is my favorite). And I have to make a mention of WoW Wiki as well (and everyone that works on it)-- they've got strategy up for almost every boss seen in the instances so far, so if you've got a group stuck on something, they're the place to go.
Around Azeroth: The Blood Furnace
Reader Almus of Shadowsong sends in this image of the final boss in the Blood Furnace wing of the Hellfire Citadel, an early dungeon to be found in the Outlands. He claims the whole dungeon is full of amazing views like this -- and with eye candy like this, how can anyone be content waiting these last weeks to the expansion release.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.
