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The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV 2.5 dungeons
I mentioned a while back that it was kind of neat how the whole setup of Final Fantasy XIV had come full circle. At the start of the 2.0 patch cycle we were scurrying away from tonberries and bashing our heads against Demon Wall; in the final patch, we're back to both of those spots, along with the oft-seen and never-explored Keeper of the Lake in the midst of Mor Dhona's wreckage. It's a neat counterpoint. Having played through all of the dungeons now, well, you get to rescue tonberries. That alone makes the last set of dungeons worthy. As in every set of dungeons, there are winners and losers amidst the bosses, good points and bad ones. The dungeons as a whole are very reluctant to let you do much speeding through, with pulls being pretty aggressively gated. So let's talk mechanics, let's talk atmosphere, and let's carefully coach you through the process of kicking the crap out of your final expert roulette competitors.
Heroic Dungeon Bosses in 5 seconds
Oh god, oh god, oh god... That really is a giant bug. So, there you are in the Gate of the Setting Sun heroic, on your first run, and a really giant bug comes smashing through the walls. A really giant bug. Really giant. Ugh. You don't want to have to think on your feet, you don't want to have to explain tactics to the panda gently rocking in the corner, or the blood elf running in circles screaming "I can feel them crawling in my hair!" What you need is some five second explanations to copy and paste into chat, that your party can read and execute. And it's OK, WoW Insider is here to help. We've totally stopped freaking out about the giant bug. If you're wondering where the heroic versions of the leveling dungeons feature in this guide, they don't. They're almost exactly the same as the leveling dungeons, for bosses in 5 seconds purposes! Gate of the Setting Sun Striker Ga'Dok: Don't stand in the green. Healers watch for Prey Time and Impaling Strike. His two strafing runs create a wide strip of death from one side to the other. Stay in corners. Tank adds.
5 things you need to know about the Shado-Pan Monastery
This is the final one of the four leveling dungeons that you'll encounter on your journey from 85 to 90. In my opinion, it is also by far the hardest to get through. There's a lot of stuff in here that hits like a train right now in the beta, or so it seems. I think this dungeon strikes a really great balance between being hard enough to challenge experienced players and not so hard that it's impossible or too difficult for newer players. Of course, we've given you a walk-through of the four bosses, and they're also included in our bosses in 5 seconds post for this set of dungeons. You're welcome! For those of you who don't want all the spoilers of a walk-through but need a little more information than can be transmitted in 5 seconds, here we are again with your friendly 5 things you need to know correspondent, giving you just enough knowledge to sound like you might know what you're talking about! I would mention that given the plethora of information already floating around about the bosses in this dungeon, 5 things you need to know has chosen to concentrate a little more on the trash. The trash in this dungeon, from a healing perspective, is a real pain. I've healed this dungeon 16 times now, and I blow more cooldowns on trash than I do on bosses, unless boss fights start going pear-shaped. Now, before we get onto the 5 things, I want to make a separate point. This dungeon, as I mentioned, has some high damage levels, especially from trash. Remember the trash from the Zandalari dungeons? Well, some of the trash here hits about as hard as that, if you're not careful to avoid it. This dungeon is all about avoidable damage, and taking out the problematic trash as priority rather than just AoE-storming through the place is really vital for your healer's sanity. OK?
Mists of Pandaria: Cleaning up the Stormstout Brewery
The Stormstout Brewery opened its doors for business last week. Megan and I, both avid brewery enthusiasts, decided to pay a visit. You can find the brewery entrance in the Valley of the Four Winds. As you adventure through the valley, you'll be assisting Chen Stormstout, and your adventures will take you inside the brewery, where you have to assist him in retaking and restoring the brewery to its former glory. Our brewery testing composition consisted of myself healing (on a priest, naturally), Megan on her druid (the tank), a balance druid, and two mages. Our character levels were all over the place, from freshly transferred 85s to level 87s. Ook-Ook Not exactly Donkey Kong, but Ook-Ook is a giant banana-chucking monkey. Ook-Ook has a pretty fun mechanic that enables players to jump on top of barrels and direct where they go. He has a few friends that are busy. If the barrels make contact with you, you'll explode and take some damage (Brew Explosion). Don't worry -- it's not lethal. Ook-Ook Goes Bananas at 90%, 60%, and 30% intervals. He starts throwing some bananas around; they're harmless. His attack speed goes up, and he hits a touch harder. You'll see a wave of barrels coming in, so either dodge them or jump on them.
Crowd control basics by class
So, crowd control. Contrary to the name, it isn't really a good way of controlling crowds; rather, it's a great way to control the size of the crowd of mobs mercilessly attacking your tank. Crowd control in this post means abilities that can be applied prior to a pull. We'll get to abilites like Psychic Scream, warriors' Intimidating Shout and Shadowfury a bit later, but they're not our primary concern right now. There are some situations, particularly in the Rise of the Zandalari dungeons where pre-pull CC isn't possible (such as the adds on the way to Nalorakk in Zul'Aman) where you'll need to CC on the fly, but this is rarely the case. Not all classes have crowd control abilities of the type we're talking about here. Warriors and death knights have a few stuns, fears and Hungering Cold, all of which can be put to excellent use but aren't really crowd control in this sense as they can't be cast prior to the pull. So which classes have these pre-pull crowd control abilities, and what are they?
The Anvil of Crom: A look inside the Forgotten City
A couple of weeks ago I took you on a tour of the Breach, one of two new instances that debuted with Age of Conan's free-to-play Unchained patch. Today, we'll nose around the second dungeon, an outdoor playfield called the Forgotten City that -- like its predecessor -- has AoC's distinctive far-eastern flavor written all over it. The two instances are similar in that they both scale to a player's level between 40 and 80, and they're both accessed via the Gateway to Khitai zone that serves as the entry point into AoC's Rise of the Godslayer content. That's about where the similarities end, though, as the dungeons are quite different in terms of visual style and challenge level. %Gallery-129172%
The Anvil of Crom: Once more unto the Breach, dear friends
Ah yes, where else but Massively can you get a lesson in both Shakespeare and Age of Conan (in the same article, no less)? Nowhere else, I tell you, and before we get to the Conan part, let's get ye olde English out of the way. Many of you have no doubt uttered today's titular phrase on your way into a particularly nasty game dungeon. A few of you may have even uttered it correctly. Here's your gold star. The rest of you, pay attention: It's unto the breach. Unto, not into. So said Shakespeare and later Olivier in his 1944 film adaptation of Henry V. And yeah, I used to say it wrong too. Anyway, on to the AoC. The Breach in question is one of two new solo dungeons added with the Unchained update, and thanks to Blood and Glory, this particular dungeon is the only one of the pair that your humble columnist has found time to sample. %Gallery-128404%
The Anvil of Crom: Your guide to the Refuge of the Apostate
Wow, I've completely forgotten how to play my Demo. Due to recent adventures in Bear Shaman land, my level 80 Age of Conan characters have been collecting quite a bit of dust. I haven't really missed them yet, either, as the Shaman is a heck of a lot more enjoyable than I expected. That said, he's only 35, and therefore he's out of the running when it comes to showing me through the new Refuge of the Apostate dungeon content that Funcom released a few days back. Join me after the cut as I get reacquainted with spamming shockstrike and running around with various succubi pets and a severe outbreak of particle effects. I might even be persuaded to offer up a proper guide for the new dungeon (and some review commentary) as well.
Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: The Stonecore
Adventurers will find the site of the Stonecore in Deepholm, wedged on the west side of the Temple of the Earth. A flying mount (or a crafty summon) will be needed to discover the entrance. Earthen Ring Shaman are attempting to maintain the World Pillar and prevent it from sustaining any further damage. This is the same instance where Deathwing acquired some armor upgrades. You can read more about the Stonecore from the official preview. For an idea of what to expect and strategies to employ, keep on reading. At a glance, here's the gist of the instance. four boss encounters levels 82-84 average item level 272 recommended (according to dungeon finder)
Countdown to Cataclysm: The Deadmines dungeon guide
This article is part of our Countdown to Cataclysm series, preparing you for Cataclysm launch one day at a time. The Deadmines has been a classic staple dungeon for any leveling player. In patch 4.0.3, the instance received a complete facelift. Players will no longer be taking down Edwin VanCleef, as the game has progressed forward in time and has been updated to reflect the events that have occurred in the game. The Defias stronghold appears to be housing the next generation of Defias forces. They're being led by Vanessa Vancleef, Edwin's daughter. At a glance: five boss encounters level 15 - 21 Alliance and Horde players both have access to this dungeon via dungeon finder
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Dragonkillers, draenei and deranged elves: An overview of Burning Crusade instances
Are you ready to step into the dungeons of the Burning Crusade, but are quaking in terror upon reading the Raid Attunement Chart? Fear not! WOW Insider present a quick and relatively painless guide to the dungeons available in the Burning Crusade, including level recommendations, bosses, and links to loot if we've got it!
