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Arena of Annihilation provides a quick and easy blue weapon at level 90
Ever since Nagrand, the latest version of Ring of Blood has been a great rite of passage. Once you're close to max level, you beg, wheedle, or cajole 4 friends, strangers, or even enemies to join you in fighting a series of elite mobs, with the final reward being a blue weapon that will serve you well until you get something better from a heroic dungeon. Luckily, this tradition continues in Mists, and it's even easier to get started. Once you're 90, head to Kun-lai Summit and the Temple of the White Tiger. Gurgthock will be standing next to a gong just outside the temple proper, and he'll give you a quest to enter the Arena of Annihilation, with the reward being the choice of a couple weapons tailor made for your class. Once you get the quest, what you'll want to do is queue for the Arena of Annihilation scenario. Open the Dungeon Finder Interface (The hotkey should be "I" by default) and choose the Scenarios option. Choose Specific Scenarios from the drop down menu, check the box next to Arena of Annihilation, make sure no other boxes are checked, and hit Find Group. Within moments, you'll be in the Scenario and well on your way to your weapon. Once you defeat the final boss, Wodin the Troll-Servant will be waiting right there in the scenario to reward you. The weapon will be a nice, solid rare weapon of ilvl 450. It's not as good as a heroic dungeon drop, but if you just dinged 90, it's bound to be better than the quest green you're likely using, and it'll help boost your item level so you can run heroics that much faster. 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!
Mists of Pandaria beta: Gurgthock's return
Proving that no vast, unexplored vista is too remote for a good bout of brawling for profit, Gurgthock has made a return in Mists of Pandaria, along with Wodin the Troll-Servant and Zena, Wodin's warrior kitten. If these names sound familiar to you, they absolutely should -- Gurgthock and his arenas have been a fixture in every expansion to date. Featuring battles to the death against various opponents from each unique expansion, Gurgthock's arenas are a staple of WoW expansion leveling, usually featuring some pretty amazing loot as rewards. Currently, my character on the beta is at level 87, and Gurgthock's quest is grayed out. The quest, featuring a brand new slug-fest called the Arena of Annihilation, is likely meant for characters at level 88 or 89. However, judging from the rumors at the Temple of the White Tiger, none of these opponents are going to be a particular pushover. In fact, there's rumors of one fighter simply called The Wrestler who can wipe the floor with any opponent he faces. The Wrestler? That sounds kind of familiar ...
Guest Post: Three fresh ideas for world PvP events
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. Of all the PvP events I've participated in over the years, the battle for Halaa in Nagrand always sticks out in my mind as one of the best-executed examples of world PvP that the World of Warcraft has ever produced. The battle for Halaa brought together several areas of warfare in perfect harmony. The element of surprise The battle for Halaa took place at any time. Whenever the opposite faction felt like taking control of the city, they could form a raid and start bombing. It left the controlling faction scrambling to assemble a defense when the words "Halaa is under attack!" popped up on their screens. Aerial assault Players had to activate one of four wyvern stations and fly over the city of Halaa to drop bombs, causing massive amounts of damage. Until the defenses were weakened, players could not successfully enter the city. Sabotage While enemy players were taking to the skies, one of the keys to success was to destroy the activated wyvern stations to prevent those enemy players from immediately taking off for another bombing run. Siege warfare Once the city's defenses were eliminated, the conquering force moved into the city center and held the city captive. Either the defending faction would break the siege and regain control of the city or it would be lost to the conquering heroes. Spoils of war Defeating your enemy within the boundaries of Halaa yielded you a Halaa Battle Token. Once you controlled Halaa, those tokens could be spent on various rewards, including the coveted Dark War Talbuk. With new expansions come new territories to explore and conquer. Sadly, Nagrand and the war-torn city of Halaa fell to the wayside in favor of Wintergrasp once Wrath of the Lich King was released. So what does a player who is hungry for world PvP do now? If you have some friends and are will to do a little organizing and promoting, here are three new ideas to spring on your server.
