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Spiritual Guidance: Playing catch up with shadow priests
Fox Van Allen steps out of the shadows every Wednesday to take control of Spiritual Guidance, telling you all you need to know to melt faces with expert precision. The era of patch 3.2 held some dark days for a shadow priest. The fights in Trial of the Crusader were definitely not built for shadow priests, especially in heroic mode. We scaled terribly with new gear. Our tier 9 gear was questionably designed. Every class has their own problems, but the problems that besieged shadow priests were bad enough to negatively effect raid performance. It wasn't hard for shadow priests to get left behind. Patch 3.3, though -- this is our time. The changes to the spec have already been detailed: buffs to our glyphs, talents, and haste-affected DoTs gave us a ten-to-twenty percent boost to our damage right off the bat. Our tier 10 gear gives powerful two- and four-piece bonuses. And best yet, the fights in the new Icecrown Citadel five-man dungeons and raids seem as if they were built for us. We add tremendous value to an ICC raid in almost every fight. Actually seeing those fights, though -- that can be a challenge. Patch 3.2 did a lot of damage to the shadow priest class's reputation. An increased emphasis on "gear score" in the game can (unfairly) get an average-geared shadow priest written off. We can't just take playing for granted -- past problems with the spec means there's a higher bar for us. If you got left behind in the last patch or even if you're a newly minted level 80, don't worry -- you can catch up quick. Here's how.
Time Is Money: Putting your emblems to work
Kebina Trudough here, offering you the best gold making secrets they don't want you to know about! I was like you once, poor and homely, before I discovered my patented system. Now you too can fill your pockets with the good stuff without ever breaking a sweat! Why spend all your time toiling when you could be vacationing in the Hot Springs? I'm not offering these tips for 100 gold, or 90 gold, or even 50 gold! No, not even 20 gold! My system is yours for FREE! Satisfaction guaranteed or I'll give you a full refund (handling charges may apply). After all, Time Is Money. If you're like me, you have a lot of excess emblems sitting around. Maybe you never got around to spending them before the next tier came out, or maybe the badge gear just never quite compared to your raid drops. Whatever the case, there is no sense letting them go to waste when you could put them to work and earn some gold! First, here is a quick breakdown of the current badge system, from most recent and difficult to acquire on down: Emblem of Frost: These can be acquired primarily by raiding Icecrown, completing the Raid Boss Per Week "weekly," or by completing one WotLK heroic dungeon per day using the Random tool. Emblem of Triumph: Most raids now drop these badges, as well as heroics. You will also be awarded these for doing any number of WotLK heroic dungeons past your first one per day using the Random tool. You will also get some by completing your first normal WotLK dungeon per day using the Random tool, as well as completing the Raid Boss Per Week "weekly." Also of note: If you get Heroic Oculus using the random tool, don't drop group! Not only has it been nerfed like crazy, but when you defeat the end boss, every player will receive a loot bag that will contain these badges and more, plus a chance at getting the super rare Reigns of the Blue Drake, which used to be available only by killing Malygos, who now drops his 25-man version (Azure) in both 10 and 25-man. Emblem of Conquest: Originally, these were acquired by running 10-man Coliseum, or 25-man Ulduar. Emblem of Valor: Originally these dropped from Ulduar 10-man and Naxxramas 25-man. Emblem of Heroism: These were among the first WotLK badges, and dropped from Naxxramas 10-man and heroic dungeons.
Phat Loot Phriday: Bryntroll, the Bone Arbiter
How would you plate-wearing raiders like your best-in-slot (pre-Shadowmourne) weapon first thing upon stepping into the 25-man version of Icecrown Citadel? If Lady Luck is on your side, it could happen. Bryntroll the Bone Arbiter was, for a few glorious weeks, far and away the best weapon available to death knights and retribution paladins before Shadowmourne and its own Heroic counterpart. Slightly less awesome for warriors, but still pretty amazing. Can you believe it drops from Lord Marrowgar, the first (and probably the easiest) boss in ICC? Let's talk numbers, shall we? Name: Bryntroll, the Bone Arbiter Type: Two-Handed Axe Damage: 801 - 1203 Damage, 294.7 DPS Speed: 3.40 Attributes: 169 Strength 161 Stamina One red socket and one blue socket Chance on hit: Steals 2138 to 2362 life from target enemy.
Raid Rx: Healing Festergut and Rotface
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. With the impending release of the Plagueworks wing in Icecrown Citadel, how about some healer tips for the two abominations? Between the two of them, I think Festergut is easy to understand conceptually but harder to execute. Be prepared to bring on the healing as it will stress the healing team.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Warriors in Icecrown Citadel, part II
The Care and Feeding of Warriors this week goes back to Icecrown Citadel to discuss the last two currently accessible encounters, the Gunship Battle and Deathbringer. Matt Rossi kind of wishes the Deathbringer fight was just against a great big talking axe. We don't have enough boss fights with inanimate objects. Okay, so you've done the first two bosses in the place. Now what? Well, now you launch yourself via poorly designed goblin explosives between flying boats and you fight the son of possibly the greatest living warrior on the face of Azeroth. And then if you're Alliance you turn the whole thing over to a gnome with a frying pan and go raid Trial of the Grand Crusader for another week, I guess. Horde are presumably too clever to trust the opening of Icecrown to breakfast technology. Or too hungry. At any rate you're stuck with the same content as the rest of us. So let's get on with it, shall we?
Insider Trader: The Icecrown craftables and Primordial Saronite
As thousands of screaming Alliance and thundering Horde storm the very gates of Icecrown Citadel, the Ashen Verdict is working hard to supply us all the only logical weapons and armor to fight Arthas. That is to say, they're taking the very essence of an Old God, his very bile and blood, and turning it into weapons and armor. There's absolutely nothing that could go wrong with that plan. So, charging nobly forward, let's take a look at the Icecrown recipes, how you get them, and how good they are. However, more importantly, whether it's worth your time and money to make the items, or simply sell the materials. All of the recipes from Icecrown Citadel are learned by turning in Primordial Saronite. As has been mentioned before all over the site, you pick up Primordial Saronite for the cheap-at-twice-the-price cost of 23 Emblems of Frost, or by having the Primordial Saronite drop from the 25-man Icecrown bosses. You have to complete 12 random dailies in order to buy them through the Dungeon Finder, though doing the weekly raid quest will cut that time down significantly. Each recipe costs 1 Primordial Saronite. However, in addition to the Primordial Saronite, you also need to have a certain reputation with the Ashen Verdict.
The Queue: More like Porkrend, am I right
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Michael Sacco will be your host today. That's influenza A virus subtype H1N1 up there, but I'm pretty sure you thought it was just a really blurry map of Northrend at first glance. I'm not wrong. You thought it. Mr. Shinra asked... Why exactly are there places where we suddenly and magically cannot mount up (I mean *aside* from combat which is obvious), such as getting killed by the trash after Ionar in Halls of Lightning and having to run all the way back. You've seen how big and expansive those halls are, I don't see a major reason why we cannot mount up to get back a bit quicker. At least in Culling of Stratholme we can ride from that house to the city proper-- so its not a consistent rule entirely either. I'm not suggesting there aren't places where it makes a bit more sense; I can understand small areas such as the various vendors in Orgimmar and their tiny huts, where there just isn't enough room, but a lot of the times, it seems like we have to dismount because... the game said so, and nothing else. For the majority of locations where it occurs, why do we have to dismount? The rule in place for 99% of the game is that you cannot mount indoors. There are some exceptions to the rule, such as Ironforge, but that's the basic idea.
Raid Rx: 2009 Boss healing awards
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. Welcome to the 2009 healing awards where we look back on some of the craziest healing encounters introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. Which fights frustrated healers the most? Which ones involved a ridiculous amount of healing? Which boss went directly against our role as healers? The judging panel should have consisted entirely of gnomes, but Wilfred Fizzlebang was unable to make it at the last minute and I was asked to step in at the last minute to help finalize the results.
WoW Insider Show Episode 122: Press the [Spoon] button
The WoW Insider Show podcast continued along its very merry way this Saturday, and a good time was had by all. Guest co-host Matt Rossi and I discussed our favorite WoW.com stories from the first half of 2009 (with more to come this Saturday), talked a little about Icecrown progression and gating, and weighed in on the quality of Wrath's various patches. We also discussed some very romantic Saber Lash fight strategies, as you might guess by the title of this week's show. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to listen this week -- we've still got a few kinks to work out with the new format, but we're pretty pleased with this week's show and next week's should be even better. As always, if you have a question or comment for the show, email us at theshow@wow.com and you might just hear it on the air. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page:
The Queue: Allie gets lost in Icecrown edition
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Allison Robert will be your host today. Alex is popping out for a RL issue, so I'm afraid, dear readers, that you're going to get stuck with the writer who will spend the entirety of a question today wandering off the Icecrown map. HC SVNT DRACONES. Frostwyrms, anyway. As a warning, the answer to said question contains what some players will consider a spoiler, so don't read past the cut if you don't want to know anything about an upcoming Icecrown encounter. TAD asks... Will experience acceleration go away once Cataclysm drops? We don't think so, because the 1-85 grind for a new character will still be pretty lengthy even with experience acceleration, but truthfully we don't know. I'd argue that Blizzard doesn't have much of a reason to change current leveling speed, because it's only efficient if the character in question is outfitted in heirloom items (particularly the chest and shoulders with the +experience boost). This obviously won't happen for a genuinely new player seeing the content for the first time. As you've probably also observed with alts on a different realm from your main, leveling's not that fast without being bankrolled by another toon or sitting on a pile of heirlooms. Then again, I'm one of those crazy people who enjoys questing for its own sake and I'll be doing all the new quests anyway, so what do I know?
WoW Insider Show live today at 3:30 PM Eastern
The WoW Insider Show returns to the airwaves today at 3:30 PM Eastern time, bringing you a hot, steaming plate of holiday leftovers. Well, if the latest WoW news and views are what you ate for Christmas dinner, anyway. Michael Sacco will be your jolly host, likely getting his halls decked by co-host Matthew "Burly Ives" Rossi, with a possible appearance by venerable editor Adam Ho-Ho-Holisky. We'll be discussing the part of Winter Veil to which everyone really looks forward: the presents, as well as the team's and our favorite articles of 2009 and the wait for more Icecrown bosses. Maybe we'll even talk about Christmas. And as usual, of course, we'll answer your emails and talk live with the denizens of our seedy chatroom. You can email us any time of night or day at theshow@wow.com, and you'll be able to listen in to the show on the feed on our Ustream site, or after the jump.
Further explanation for Icecrown's delayed gating
Most everyone was a bit perturbed when we discovered that it would be 28 whole days before the new wing of Icecrown opens up (though we've since learned it's just going to open whenever Blizzard flips the switch.) Even the explanation from Blizzard that only the first gate will be this long of a wait due to the holidays didn't calm everyone down. Raiders have been waiting a long time for this! We weathered Trial of the (Grand) Crusader for long enough, right? And this showdown has been a decade in the making! You can't just give us the first wing and cut us off like that. You're a tease of the worst sort, Blizzard! Personally, it wasn't until I noticed there was an in-game, story-based reason for this extra long delay that I came to accept it. At least, there's justification if you play Alliance. Admittedly, I don't know the Horde side of this. But regardless, if you've beaten Deathbringer Saurfang or read the linked post above, you might remember this line from Muradin: "I've brought in the best gnomes we've got to get those doors open." Now, you might be expecting a "teehee gnomes" joke out of me here, but no. This goes far deeper than that. If you stick around long enough to see the Alliance take command over the Deathbringer's Rise, you might notice that there's actually only one gnome that shows up. Yes, it's that determined grimace up above, wearing a stylish vest and wielding an oddly shaped frying pan with two dimensional fried eggs glued to it. That is, apparently, Muradin's best gnome. It is his only gnome. He only brought one. It is up to frying pan man to get us through that huge saronite door. I think the ol' dwarf is being optimistic when he says 28 days, which might be why the counter hasn't gone down since the day patch 3.3 launched.
The Daily Quest: Stealing from Icecrown
We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. WoW in an Hour really enjoys doing the new raid weekly quest -- nice raid rewards, under an hour of play. Chill of the Grave has some great suggestions for Death Knight gear to be found in the new 5-mans. HTFTMFW takes you through quick strategies for the first four bosses in Icecrown. Starnaglethron has a declaration of love for the Dungeon Finder (which most of you would probably echo). And finally, Pike has some bad news for you Glyph of Bestial Wrath addicts. There's a new glyph in town and he'll up your DPS. Click here to submit a link to TDQ
The Queue: What red totem u have
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today. Patch 3.3 is just awesome. The new Dungeon Finder means that not only are you able to run dungeons faster and easier than ever, but you also get the dubious honor of running into any of the myriad crazy people that play this game. Some of those crazy people are me (see above). And, for somebody else, the crazy people might just be you. Speaking of the Dungeon Finder, we've got an actual topical question for The Queue today. Everybody gather 'round by the fireplace, grab some cocoa, and be educated. Spriesty asked... I have a question. Is the new looting system working as intended? I was surprised to see in a group the other night a person win DE mats over a person greeding for an off-spec. So what, we all have to need now, even if it's off-spec, and then trade if needed??
Icecrown Citadel gated progression update
We were all a little baffled at the discovery of a 28 day delay in Icecrown Citadel before the second 'wing' of the instance unlocked. A whole month? That's a really long time, and if it were 28 days between every 'wing' opening, we wouldn't be facing Arthas until early April. Raiders wouldn't even have access to hard modes until shortly after that. That was not a particularly pleasing discovery. Luckily, Daelo has hit the forums to tell us that it's not going to be that way between every wing. The first wing has an extra long delay because of the holidays, and each of them afterwards will be faster. He also adds some details about an increased number of attempts on the end bosses: In other news, the initial number of attempts to defeat the major bosses at the end of each wing of Icecrown Citadel has been increased by 5. This means you'll have 10 attempts for Professor Putricide, 15 attempts when The Crimson Halls are available, then 20 when the Frostwing Halls becomes attackable. Overall, it's good news. I know all of my raiders will be relieved to hear things will speed up again after the holidays.
Guildwatch "makes a potion out the QQ"
The story here is all about sweet, sweet ego: Aliana had a sense of entitlement while raiding -- she was angry that items she would really like to have were going to someone who could only do 4k as opposed to her 9k, thanks to a lousy so-called fair DKP system. We'd like to think Grator is a true Guildwatch fan: we just sit back, listen in, and make a delicious potion "out the QQ." Lots more QQ potion in this week's Guildwatch, along with the last downings before Icecrown and recruiting notices from around the realms. If you have something to send us (and please do -- the coffers are running a little low, probably because guild business has slowed down pre-patch), throw us an email at guildwatch@wow.com. Hit the link below to read on.
Second wing of Icecrown Citadel to open in 28 days
Already, a number of guilds have cleared out the first bosses in the lower areas of Icecrown Citadel. After taking down the Deathbringer, talking to your friendly faction hero yields some information as to when the doors will open. In Trial of the Crusader, one new boss opened every week. In Icecrown Citadel, it seems like they're increasing the time between gates. As reported by Stratfu, the next area will open in 28 days (which is expected to be the Plagueworks containing Festergut, Rotface, and Professor Putricide). January 5th is the target date for the next set of bosses. At the rate we're going (28 days between gates), we won't see Arthas until April. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Patch 3.3 Icecrown Citadel raid boss information and resources
Patch 3.3 is out! With the release of Icecrown, WoW.com aims to help prepare you with the long journey through the Frozen Throne. In this post, you'll find general information about the various bosses along with the strategies to take them down. There are 13 bosses in Icecrown. The first four bosses in the Lower Spire will be accessible the moment the patch goes live. The rest of the instance will gradually open up later on. Certain encounters will have limited attempts, but you won't have to worry about them later on. Lastly, attunements are not required to enter Icecrown Citadel on normal mode.
The Lore of Patch 3.3
In many ways Wrath of the Lich King can be considered the logical conclusion of one of WarCraft's major story lines. Arthas, the evil sovereign of the scourge, will meet his doom in Icecrown Citadel. Each Wrath patch up until now has lead to this defining moment -- the face off between Arthas and the players representing the next generation of heroes of Azeroth. Who will win? What happens after Arthas is defeated? Is Arthas defeated? These questions lend themselves to a spectacular conclusion to a great tale. In The Lore of Patch 3.3, Michael Sacco, Alex Ziebart, and I will take a look at all the various plots, characters, and environments that lead up to this grand confrontation with the Lich King. You'll want to know this story. You'll want to know this lore. For when you finally face off against the wielder of the Frostmourne, you'll know why you're going toe-to-toe against him, and why your fate can make or break the very face of Azeroth. This article, while containing essential lore, also contains heavy spoilers. Do not proceed if that bothers you.
Breakfast Topic: What will be the first thing you do in patch 3.3?
Patch 3.3 is here! Rejoice! Be merry! There's new stuff to do! If you're not quite sure where to start, I strongly suggest checking out our patch 3.3 guide. There's many new activities to look forward to. This is the patch where we make Arthas pay for his crimes. The Argent Crusade, with the aid of the Alliance and Horde will be making their final push into Icecrown Citadel and they need your help. So there's a few things you can start off with: Check out the new dungeon finder (and farm those Emblems)! Head into the new Icecrown 5-player dungeons Try and get the Quel'Delar Buy a new bag Start planning for the fishing tournament in Northrend Assault Icecrown Citadel itself Run a nerfed version of Oculus Send your Heirlooms to your toons of the opposite faction (on the same account). For me personally, I'm locked and ready to break into Icecrown Citadel. What about you guys?
