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Ready to storm the Throne of Thunder
With patch 5.2 around the horizon, one of the things I've noticed in my guild is the energizing effect of the incoming content. Our flagging interest has been restored - we're even killing new heroic bosses that we hadn't gotten around to with recent events getting in the way. If there was an opposite to a sensation of impending doom, patch 5.2 has it in spades. An impending sense of hope and optimism? Whatever it is, it's real and I'm seeing it everywhere I turn. Being the kind of person who usually flees from hope like a vampire flees from a subprime mortgage (they prefer to buy outright, those crafty vampires) I find this experience confusing, baffling, and a little worthy of study. I don't recall so much excitement for a patch in recent memory. So what's got everyone so excited about patch 5.2? Dinosaur mounts. Okay, there's more to it than that, or the dinomancers with their dinomancy (and yes, I would love to play a dinomancer) or the chance to wipe out the Zandalar once and for all, which as a Hero of the Zandalar Tribe I'm a little conflicted about. A lot more, actually. But those things certainly don't hurt.
Patch 5.2 Gear Previews: Season 13, tier 15, and Throne of Thunder
If you've been waiting for some new WoW loot to drool over, today Blizzard posted previews of season 13's "Tyrannical" PvP armor sets. Season 12 will be coming to an end on March 5, making the Tyrannical sets your new PvP goal. Though we have to say, the paladin set looks kind of dangerous, like you might put someone's eye out accidentally with those giant blades attached to your shoulders. (It reminds us of warrior's tier 2 Wrath set, which also seemed like tempting fate. What if you tripped?) So, PvP paladins, please be careful and try not to run with scissors -- or those huge shoulders -- okay? For PvEers, Blizzard also has previews of tier 15, which will be arriving with patch 5.2 -- that is to say, soon. Thankfully, Blizzard has finally taken the preventive measure of putting bells on the priests so they can no longer sneak up on you. (Apologies to stealth-loving priests everywhere.) And if that's not enough preview action, our friends at Wowhead also have Throne of Thunder boss drops from the PTR (if you're not seeing them, click to sort "By Boss"). Happy looting, everyone!
The Queue: Virgin sacrifices, Throne of Thunder progression, and old gods
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Dawn Moore will be your host today. I was supposed to ritually sacrifice some virgin olive oil yesterday but I completely forgot. Fortunately the sports game the sacrifice was intended for hasn't started yet, and even if it had, it wouldn't be over for days. As it turns out though, I'm a Queue virgin -- that's right, I've never done a Queue before in my three years writing for WoW Insider. Go figure, right? So how does this being sacrificed thing go? I assume there are cookies. RussHada asked: So once Throne of Thunder is released, what will be the official path of progression? Should my group (11/16N) run normal ToT after all 5.0 normal is cleared? Or are there some heroics (MSV?) we should do first, then ToT?
Patch 5.2 PTR: Heroic 25-player raid testing announced
We're almost there! I'm not sure if this is the last batch of testing to occur but over the next few days, a flurry of 25-player heroic raid testing will be available for players on the PTR. The current build on the PTR has reached release candidate status which certainly means we're getting closer and closer to the patch 5.2 being deployed on to the live servers. Be sure to grab yourself a full suit of tier 15 gear before storming these heroic bosses though. Expect your gear to scale up to help you in your efforts. WoW Insider Throne of Thunder boss impressions Jin'rokh, the Breaker Horridon Iron Qon Lei Shen, the Thunder King Tortos Megaera Twin Consorts Ji-Kun Durumu the Forgotten Dark Animus Council of Elders Primordius Today's blue post with full details can be found behind the cut below.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Final phase available for testing
Currently open on the 5.2 PTR is what will be the patch's final phase, including the single player scenario described in Crithto's "Day on the Isle of Thunder" and the new world boss Nalak. The ever-diligent Perculia over at Wowhead has the complete write-up for both Nalak and the other world boss Oondasta, including blue post commentary, their dungeon journal entries, and known loot tables. Also included is some particularly interesting spoiler information regarding the storyline for 5.2. Check out the spoilers after the break.
Patch 5.2 Raid Preview
Blizzard Community Manager Daxxarri posted a lengthy blog over on the official forums today, providing a preview of the upcoming Throne of Thunder raid. This blog provides two really interesting elements, quite separate from reviewing the actual content itself. First off, Daxxarri has shared a summary version of every single boss's lore with us. If you're wondering just why exactly you're fighting a triceratops, this blog will tell you! It's really interesting to learn the lore behind the bosses, making the raid more than just a series of puzzles. The stories revolve around power and its destructive effects, from Jin'rokh, who started life as a quest-giver in Zul'Gurub, before being corrupted by the Thunder King and given shamanistic powers, controlling lightning alongside his huge strength to crush his foes. Horridon is a sadder tale, for me, as he seems to have simply been captured by Jalak, and forced into battle. Having fought him, though, he doesn't seem very peaceable. There are several other great stories in the blog, for example, did you realise that the Mogu actually created the Saurok? I sure didn't. The stories, in brief, are very similar to those in the dungeon journal, along with the recent addition of Ra-den, who, it is revealed, was guarding the Engine of Nalak'sha. But more than that, there is what could almost be considered a director's commentary, provided by Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas. Ion provides a brief summary of the team's approach for every fight, how they came into being, what was the inspiration behind them, and so on.
Lichborne: More death knight loot from patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. We continue our loot preview this week by delving into the Forgotten Depths and Halls of Flesh-Shaping in the Throne of Thunder. The same disclaimers apply as did last week. Since this is based on PTR information, drops can change. In addition, this preview focuses on normal gear, so your gearing priorities may change if you get Thunderforged gear or heroic gear. With that in mind, lets dig in and see what the next six bosses of Patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder raid have to offer.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Primordius
Your raid will run into Primordius in the later stage of the Throne of Thunder. Poor Primordius seems to be a saurok of some sort. The Dungeon Journal indicates that this is the chamber where the mogu first created or modified them. Check out the Know Your Lore column that Matt Rossi wrote a while ago about the subject. I always thought these guys were annoying. Now you've got another chance to put one of the main saurok fellas to rest for good. Expect to be overwhelmed the first few times you try this. It'll end up being a little confusing simply because of all the different abilities, buffs, and debuffs involved.
Blood Pact: Reputable sources of warlock loot in patch 5.2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill splits the warlock loot over two weeks to keep things light. Various people have been referring to Throne of Thunder as Thund'uar, a name I fully intend to steal and use. It's just a perfect blend of the new raid and its supposed raid model, Ulduar, with the expected troll-like apostrophe thrown in for good measure. But this week I won't be listing out the Thund'uar loot drops; I'll just drop in with a lighter piece covering gear miscellany and the new faction offerings. Next week, we can discuss how the PTR patch buffs and nerfs fit in with the expected performance of warlocks in Tier 15 while listing out the loot, instead of dropping a lump of lists in your lap.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Crushing the Council of Elders
Thought you saw the last of Gara'jal in Mogushan Vaults, did you? Yeah, so did I. Mogu'shan Vaults was merely a setback! The Council of Elders is the third encounter in the Throne of Thunder. I surmise it's the whole leadership of the Troll empire right there looking to stop your raid team from progressing any further into the compound. As you can guess, this encounter is the first council-type encounter of the raid. They'll have to handle the various abilities and spells that the Council is dishing out while slowly whittling them all down. They don't have a shared pool so you do you have your work cut out for you. Now there are going to be a ton of things going on but your raid should be able to pick up on the different abilities without too much of a hassle.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Raid testing for Throne of Thunder continues
Raid testing for patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder raid continues tomorrow with testing of 10 player heroic content. For those wondering where all the 25 player testing is at, fear not -- there will likely be testing of 25-man normal modes at the end of this week. Keep your eyes peeled! Raid tests tomorrow will take place at 10:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 4 PM PST. If this is your first time testing, fear not -- your gear will be scaled to suit the encounter. WoW Insider Throne of Thunder boss impressions Jin'rokh, the Breaker Horridon (Olivia's take) Iron Qon Lei Shen, the Thunder King Tortos Megaera Raid Testing Schedule -- February 20 On Wednesday, February 20, we will be testing more raid encounters in the Throne of Thunder. Note that we will likely be doing 25-player Normal testing (of many encounters) on Thursday and Friday. I'll post a schedule for those tomorrow. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Wednesday, February 20 Horridon - 10 Player Heroic 10:30 PST (13:30 EST, 19:30 CET) Ji-Kun - 10 Player Heroic 13:30 PST (16:30 EST, 22:30 CET) Primordius - 10 Player Heroic 16:00 PST (19:00 EST, 01:00 CET) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) for the purposes of testing the encounters, depending on difficulty and their location within the zone. source
Ra-den encounter features a return of limited attempts
The Throne of Thunder has been compared to Ulduar in more ways than one -- the size and scope of the dungeon, the multitude of boss encounters, and even the thematic elements of the dungeon itself. But it looks like there is one more comparison to add to the pile. Ra-den, the bonus boss unlocked only upon defeating Lei-Shen on heroic mode, has a mechanic to limit the number of times he can be engaged in any given week. Those that remember Algalon remember the one hour limit on attempting the boss. One careless pull, one wipe, one disconnect could potentially ruin a guild's chances for downing the boss in a lockout period. But Ra-den isn't limited by a time clock; instead, he's simply limited by the number of attempts a guild can make. Screenshots have shown that number to be 30, however keep in mind that the number of attempts, and even the limited nature of the encounter, can be changed at any time. Patch 5.2 is still on the PTR, after all. Blue poster and Game Designer Watcher had some words of wisdom to share following the unplanned discovery of Ra-den's limited attempts on the PTR.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Killing Throne of Thunder's Ji-Kun
Rejoining Lore from TankSpot and his guild Months Behind, Ji-Kun was our next target. Hers is an interesting fight, which somewhat split the group's opinions, leaving us undecided on whether it was genius or gimmick. Rather like Alysrazor in Firelands, Ji-Kun has a mechanic involving feathers. Actually, she has several mechanics involving feathers, if you include Quills, but the main one I'm thinking of here, indeed the main mechanic of the fight as it is intended, is Daedalian Wings. The tooltip isn't enormously useful here, but this is the buff received by players when they loot feathers from killing off the Hatchlings in one of the nests. Ji-Kun is positioned on a very elevated platform in the center of a circular room, with five other platforms positioned around the edge, below her level, and four more platforms positioned above her. These platforms are the key to this fight, which, apart from their mechanic, is, frankly, rather dull. Some of your party will be traveling to and from the lower platforms, while most will likely remain on the upper.
Patch 5.2: Getting ready for release day
Earlier today, we mentioned Bashiok's patch 5.2 release date estimate of late February. However, the blog post in which this tentative release date was mentioned contains a lot of great information on preparing for the patch which should not be missed. Some of the topics covered include: How to reach the Isle of the Thunder King and entering the new raid instance. Throne of Thunder normal difficulty available in the first week, Heroic difficulty opens the week after Throne of Thunder on Raid Finder opens the same week as Heroic raids (Week 2) with a new section each week after that 480 item level needed to enter Throne of Thunder on Raid Finder All Valor points will be reset and converted down to Justice points Current Valor items will have their costs reduced (25-50% reduction) Valor item upgrades won't be available in patch 5.2 Recapping the Legendary meta gem and what will happen to your Sha-Touched weapons Ability to champion select reputations for the first Heroic and Scenario queue of the day The Tillers can also help your reputation by issuing you work orders from the various factions. 5.2 Valor items are tied to raid reputation from boss kills and not dailies (which can be earned via Raid Finder) If you're still looking for ways to prepare for patch 5.2, our very own Kristin wrote up some excellent points to get yourself ahead of the pack.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Durumu the Forgotten
I can't remember the last time I've fought a beholder. The earliest ones were seen during Burning Crusade right? The last time would've been on the prisons of Tol Barad. It's a giant eye which shoots laser beams and Durumu isn't an exception. I would have never guessed Lei-Shen would keep one of these around. This encounter specifically is going to stress on your raid's capabilities to think and move on their feet. Anyone else hate fighting giant, floating eyes?
Know Your Lore: The Zandalari
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. They are the first of the troll Empires, the first of the troll tribes, and in fact, the first of trolls as a cohesive race. The Zandalari have seen it all, from the very dawn of civilization to the evolution of the night elves to the Sundering to countless wars to present day. They have been watching both the culture and the assorted tribes of trolls splinter further and further, into smaller and smaller tribes. They have been watching as their race continues down the slow path towards eventual extinction, with little choice in the matter. The Zandalari are tired of watching. As some of the first known intelligent races on Azeroth, they have seen it all, from vast troll Empires to splintered sub-groups. They are not about to walk that path to extinction quietly. After all, there's another, far more ingenious option available. And although their first plan may have failed, their second plan is far more likely to succeed, given the strength of their allies of old. In patch 5.2, we're about to face off with the Zandalari for the second time -- the first being the revamp of Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman in Cataclysm. But who are the Zandalari? Why should we care about this random group of trolls over any other? Please note: This post contains some spoilers for patch 5.2 content.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Ji-Kun, Durumu, and Primordius raid testing announced
Three bosses will be available for Throne of Thunder testing today, all on the 10-man difficulty. If this is your first time testing, your gear will automatically be scaled up to meet the ilevel required in this raid zone. Tier 15 gear should also now be available from the Flaskataur NPC in front of the faction shrines so consider picking up a set and testing those out in addition to the encounters! Not sure how to find the raid zone? Here's how you can get into the Throne of Thunder. WoW Insider Throne of Thunder boss impressions Jin'rokh, the Breaker Horridon Iron Qon Lei Shen, the Thunder King Tortos Dark Animus Megaera Twin Consorts The blue post announcing today's testing can be found behind the cut below.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Killing Throne of Thunder's Dark Animus
Dark Animus is the ninth boss in the Throne of Thunder, followed by Iron Qon, Twin Consorts, and Lei Shen. It's preceded by some fairly stern trash, and on entering the room players are greeted by the image seen above. It's all a tad confusing to the uninitiated, but what you're essentially fighting against is that red, gloopy substance. The story goes as follows: During his reign, Lei Shen labored to build a mechanical servant that would defend his citadel without fear. When this experiment failed, rage took hold of the Thunder King. He poured this negative emotion into his next, amd most successful creation: the Dark Animus. To this day, the ornate construct observes its duty, empowered by the mysterious substance at the heart of all the Mogu flesh-shaping experiments. This fight is definitely one of the most interesting ones I've attended on the PTR. Again, I was privileged to join Lore from TankSpot and his guild Months Behind for testing on my restoration shaman. The fight begins with the spherical blob you see in the center of the room. It will not aggro onto nearby players until struck, but when aggroed, it will explode, activating a number of the smallest robots visible above by powering them with Anima.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Defeating the Twin Consorts in the Throne of Thunder
Lu'lin and Suen are rumored to be the only known female mogu that exist. These two are the last bosses that stand between you and the Thunder King himself. In the spirit of attempting to badly pronounce boss names, I believe Suen is pronounced "Swen" (and not Sue-n). Interestingly enough, our iLevel was scaled up to 517 for this test. In many of the previous test encounters, we were at 502. That should offer some idea of what the group's gear progression should be at when they challenge the Twin Consorts. Read on for more!
Patch 5.2 PTR: Meeting Megaera
Megaera is the fifth boss in the the new patch 5.2 raid instance Throne of Thunder. Some of the players who have witnessed this boss have deemed it "Magmaw 2.0". The story of Megaera is a tragic one. Lei Shen took a young cloud serpent, turned it into a multi-headed hydra, then stuffed it somewhere in the depths of Lei Shen's throne. She's actually not that far off from Tortos. Those two should hang out more often. Anyway, have you ever heard of the Lernaean Hydra that Hercules killed as a part of his 12 Labors? Like the hydra in that story, when one of Megaera's head is destroyed, two more heads will then spawn in it's place. Her body takes damage that's equal to the head's maximum health. Bad news? You can't seal off the heads when you kill one.
