zulgurub
Latest
WoW Archivist: WoW's 20 greatest non-legendary weapons, part 2
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Based on your comments from part 1, I feel the need to explain my criteria so that people can debate these choices with the right frame of mind. This list isn't just for a weapon that had good stats, or a great model, or even one that is a big part of the lore. Those are all bonuses here, but they are just that -- bonuses. This list is about weapons that straight-up delighted us because they did something new or unique, because they were memorable in some grand way that other weapons haven't been. Gorehowl and Ashkandi, as beloved as they are, as gorgeously modeled as they are, just weren't interesting enough as items to make the list. They deserve honorable mentions, though. A lot of amazing weapons have been left out, including some of my personal favorites, but hey, WoW just has too much greatness for any mere top 20 list to contain. Let's proceed to the top 10!
Patch 5.2 PTR - The return of Zul'Gurub in transmog form
If you're old enough a World of Warcraft hand to remember the original Zul'Gurub raid, then you probably remember the gear introduced in that raid as well. It served many a player who hadn't gotten lucky yet in MC, as well as filled gaps in itemization which were fairly common at the time (I tanked for a long time with the Bloodsoaked Legplates and Zandalar Vindicator's Breastplate) - but of course, as the years progressed it became harder to justify holding on to this set, and once Zul'Gurub was removed as a raid at the beginning of Cataclysm, so too was the ability to gather the unique gear from the raid. Similarly, when Zul'Aman was converted to a 5 man some of the unique skins from that dungeon were also made unavailable. Now the folks at Wowhead have data-mined up these sets, 429 greens with skins matching the old ZG and ZA pieces. What does this mean? Well, for starters it means plate wearers can look like Spider-Man again. Some of the pieces still have class restrictions on them like this paladin breastplate - whether or not that will change before these pieces make it live (if they do) it's still very interesting. Now all we need is a green polearm with the Halberd of Smiting model. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The balance between new and old content
In some ways, the development team on World of Warcraft has to constantly pay for their own successes. Nostalgia is a potent force, and players often look back fondly on their favorite experiences and want to experience them again. The recent patch 5.1 changes allowing max level players to enter and solo older raid content is a testament to how much goodwill there is towards these older experiences. In both Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria, older dungeons were revamped and raised to the then-level cap as heroics, and two older raids (Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman) were brought into Cataclysm as five man dungeons to tie into a further storyline. Today, while reading the forums I came across a post by Nethaera that really sums up the difficulty in this kind of balance between player nostalgia and new experiences. One of the things I think Cataclysm showed us was that there are limits to how much time players will accept spent on revamping old content and that Blizzard really has to focus on what's new in order to keep the game moving forward. As much as we all love a good soak in nostalgia, it's never as good to actually eat the leftovers as we convinced ourselves it was.
Corrupted Blood's seventh anniversary
You guys remember the Corrupted Blood plague, right? It's a story from when World of Warcraft was young, one that's had an affect on the game ever since. The Zombie Invasion that led off Wrath of the Lich King? That was inspired by the Corrupted Blood plague. To make a long story short, Corrupted Blood was n debuff used by players to help them defeat Hakkar, the end boss of the 20 man Zul'Gurub raid. As Alex explained in the WoW Archivist on the plague, Corrupted Blood was actually a debuff cast on the players, and it spread because hunter and warlock pets could get the debuff, be dismissed, and when summoned again would still have the debuff on them. This allowed those players to release the Corrupted Blood debuff into heavily populated areas where it wiped out hundreds in short order, especially lower level characters who didn't have anywhere near the health pools to endure the disease. The debuff didn't have a very long duration otherwise, and so it usually ran its course or killed people before they could leave Zul'Gurub with it. But creative players found a way to use their pets to become architects of destruction on a wide scale. I personally remember a friend back in these days, when I raided on Azjol-Nerub, who managed to kill Orgrimmar with his pet and Eyes of the Beast. (Hey, Tyr. Still miss you, dude.) He ran that thing into a crowd of Horde players outside the old AH and from there, it was pandaemonium. It actually ended up being so bad that the entire server ended up shut down from multiple pets with the debuff turning Ironforge (back then the only place with an AH) into something from a Romero film. So let's all take a moment and remember the Corrupted Blood plague of September 13th, 2005 on this, its seventh anniversary.
The OverAchiever: 3 things that should be achievements but aren't
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we wonder how to make more work for ourselves. Not everything in the game is destined to be an achievement, but every so often you find yourself doing something and thinking, "Yes, I deserve 10 useless points for this." This feeling is most likely to occur while playing after a few beers and having one's sense of artificial outrage over the state of the world heightened for a bit, but sometimes you really find yourself wondering why demonstrable accomplishments in the game aren't actually achievements. When I started writing this article, I toyed with the idea of including a list of (largely snarky) possibilities like the following: Pugging an Outland dungeon that doesn't have a death knight in it. (Don't tell me that luck doesn't play a role in any achievements, because we all know it does.) Successfully skipping Baine trash without anyone butt-pulling a mob pack and dying. Participating in two hours of trade chat without the word anal appearing once. Leading a raiding guild for one month or more without suffering a psychotic breakdown. But these aren't achievements. They're myths, like unicorns and balanced budgets. Let us try to examine more reasonable suggestions.
Patch 4.3 PTR: Streamlining changes for Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman
The latest patch 4.3 PTR notes have a significant change in them for those of us running heroics for valor points (that is to say, everyone running them). When patch 4.3 drops and the Zandalari heroics are dropped down into the common pool of heroics, it'll be easier to complete the dungeons. Why is that, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Patch 4.3.0 PTR Notes Zul'Gurub Players now only have to kill two of the four initial dungeon bosses (High Priest Venoxis, Broodlord Mandokir, High Priestess Kilnara, and Zanzil) to face Jin'do the Godbreaker. Zul'Aman Players now only have to kill two of the four Troll avatars before they may face Hex Lord Malacrass. source This means you'll only need to kill two of the bosses to get to the end in the case of ZG, and two plus Hex Lord to get to the end of ZA. The good news is, this will make these dungeons go a lot faster. The bad news is, good luck convincing a group to kill Dragonhawk or Kilnara. This is a fairly big sign that Blizz expects us to be saying goodbye to these instances as soon as we can get into the new Twilight 5-mans. I'm all for it, myself. I hate running ZG now; it takes forever. But I can definitely see people objecting to the way this will force them to miss out on mount changes or loot from bosses no one wants to do. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Two Bosses Enter: Temple Guardian Anhuur vs. Daakara
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. Another Troll boss bit the dust last week when Hex Lord Malacrass fell to Vanessa VanCleef. This week, the Troll who inherited Zu'Aman in Cataclysm is up to bat: Daakara. Can Daakara pull out a win against Titan construct Anhuur? %Poll-68053% Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.
Does the Rise of the Zandalari dungeon tier serve a purpose?
Perhaps what I should be asking is, "Does the Rise of the Zandalari dungeon tier still serve a purpose?" When patch 4.1 launched, the two Zandalari dungeons, Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman, served as a "more advanced" level of heroic dungeon, with better gear (epic ilevel 353 gear almost as good as what drops in tier 11 raiding's normal modes) and more reward. Running just heroic dungeons before patch 4.1, it was possible to accumulate 70 valor points per day per heroic, for a grand total of 490 points in a week if you weren't raiding. Patch 4.1 shook things up, and although patch 4.2 introduced a new raid, the same basic system that debuted in 4.1 is still with us. The Zandalari heroics not only dropped epic gear, they allowed non-raiders to collect twice as many valor points, a grand total of 980 valor points. It also allowed players to run heroics in a less limited fashion; you had up to seven in a week and you could run them once a day, all seven at once, or at any other rate you liked until you'd run your seven in a week's time. This was, overall, a positive change and one that allowed non-raiders to collect the tier gear available on vendors faster. Patch 4.2's change to the valor cap (reducing it to 980 in a week) meant that the Zandalari heroics could supply non-raiders with as many VPs as raiders got from raiding.
Two Bosses Enter: Vanessa VanCleef vs. Hex Lord Malacrass
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. The bosses of Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub have not been faring very well in this tournament. Godfrey knocked Venoxis out of the tournament two weeks ago, and last week, Setesh eliminated Halazzi. Setesh. Nobody even likes Setesh! Will Hex Lord Malacrass fare better? Considering he's up against dear Vanessa ... he might have a tough time with it. %Poll-67647% Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.
Two Bosses Enter: Setesh vs. Halazzi
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. Another week, another round of Two Bosses Enter! This week we see another boss from tier 2 Cataclysm heroics in action: Halazzi of Zul'Aman. Halazzi will be pit against Halls of Origination's Setesh. %Poll-67340% Follow along for the rules of the matchup, a review of what these bosses can do, and a discussion of last week's winner.
Two Bosses Enter: Lord Godfrey vs. Venoxis
In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, the bosses of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title. This week's edition of Two Bosses Enter marks the first competitor from tier 2 Cataclysm heroics: Venoxis of Zul'Gurub. He'll be up against an old favorite of this expansion, Lord Godfrey. Who'll come out on top? %Poll-67035% Follow along for the rules of the matchup, a review of what these bosses can do, and a discussion of last week's winner.
WoW Archivist: The Corrupted Blood plague
The WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? In late September of 2005, the world was struck with a terrible, virulent plague. In the early days of this plague, it was believed to be well under control. Casualties were few and far between, constrained to indoor quarantine zones, protecting the outside world from the violent malady. These quarantine zones did not last long. Common vermin and pets acted as carriers, delivering this plague out to the greater world. Men, women and children were all infected. The young died instantly. The old were forced to weather a tortured, wasting existence prior to their death. Innocent bystanders acted as unknowing carriers, delivering the plague from one victim to the next. The death toll rose high enough that major city centers had been almost completely killed off, leaving only piles of corpses to rot in the streets. We're not talking about the Black Death or a modern pandemic like SARS or H1N1. We're talking about Corrupted Blood, a disastrous plague that struck within the virtual world of Azeroth, hurtling World of Warcraft into the public eye and placing it under scientific scrutiny.
WoW Archivist: Patch 1.7, Rise of the Blood God
The WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? As we go through the patches of classic World of Warcraft, you've seen all along that Cataclysm is essentially a sequel to the original game. Everything in Cataclysm ties into things that began all those years ago. The Twilight's Hammer, Ragnaros and the other elemental lords, Nefarian and Onyxia ... all of those things hearken back to the Azeroth of 2004 and 2005. It isn't just the main plot of this expansion that ties back into the original game either -- oh, no. The little side stories we experience and investigate tie back into the original game, too. Today, we're looking at patch 1.7 from September 2005. It is the patch that introduced us to Zul'Gurub and the Blood God Hakkar, both of which made their return just months ago. In addition, patch 1.7 includes: Arathi Basin Stranglethorn Vale's fishing event Implementation of the dressing room Debuff limit raised from eight to 16 Let's explore, hm?
Know Your Lore: Zul'Gurub, a historical survey
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. The Gurubashi trolls were once the greatest empire of jungle trolls in the world, rivals to the great forest troll empire of Zul'Aman to the north and a power to be reckoned with. Their tens of thousands of years of history have seen wave after wave of humiliation, defeat and loss, and they are without a doubt responsible for much of that defeat. They have consorted with powers not to be trifled with and driven their neighboring troll tribes into slavery or exile. The empire of the Gurubashi, centered in their great city of Zul'Gurub, was founded after the great war with the Aqir that forever divided the insect state into the distant northern Nerubians and the southern Qiraji. While this defeat was near-total for the arthropod empire, it also fractured troll society forever. Before the war, the Zandalar tribe had stood preeminent, although it was the Amani and Gurubashi who led the charge against the Aqir. Theirs was the hereditary rulership of all troll tribes, theirs was the way of scholarship and it was to them that the hereditary priesthood of the trolls derived its furthest development. Yet none of these facts could prevent the division of the trolls. After the war, a weakened and shaken Zandalar tribe found itself no longer the center of troll society. It still ruled the ancient birthplace of all trolls, it was still respected ... but the power had forever shifted to the Amani and Gurubashi, and it was not to shift back for tens of thousands of years. (Spoilers for the Zul'Gurub 5-man are in this post.)
Know Your Lore: Vol'jin vs. the Zandalar
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. I was going to do the Dark Trolls this week (seriously, whatever happened to these guys?), but then those darn Zandalari went and recruited the Gurubashi and Amani for a world-spanning plan to restore troll hegemony and bring back the empires of the past. Amazingly, the primary opponent of King Rastakhan's plan to unite all the troll tribes on Azeroth is, in fact, a troll himself. Vol'jin, leader of the Darkspear tribe and long-standing ally to Thrall, is no stranger to confronting the mighty. He flat out threatened to kill Garrosh Hellscream, the new warchief, right to his face. He took part in the military operations against Daelin Proudmoore, spearheaded the reclamation of the Echo Isles against his old friend Zalazane, and has worked tirelessly to unify and bolster the Darkspear ranks, going so far as to ultimately defeat and destroy the Sea Witch that killed his father Sen'jin. Since his people have joined the Horde, Vol'jin has balanced on the knife's edge between ancient troll customs and the demands of the Horde. Despite those who mistook his caution for weakness, Vol'jin has in recent days proven that he simply acts exactly when he believes the time is right, with precisely calculated choices that give maximum effect for minimum cost. Vol'jin has mastered the economy of action. Why, therefore, would he refuse the Zandalari offer? Is it merely because of his loyalty to Thrall and the Horde he himself helped create? Or is there more?
Ol' Grumpy's first week with Patch 4.1
Hi, kids. It's me, Ol' Grumpy. You may remember me from my guide to Cataclysm instance protocols or perhaps from when I explained that you'd have to relearn some old bad habits from the previous expansion. This time, I'm here to explain how to adjust to the new realities of patch 4.1, our two new heroic instances Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman, and our Call to Arms feature in the dungeon finder. I've noticed some weeping, some wailing, and some gnashing of teeth over these new introductions with the passing of our first week with patch 4.1, and I'm here to help. First off, calm down already. The Call to Arms feature didn't trap you in a deserted old house outside of town and murder everyone from the camp but you and that cute guy you've always liked from the other camp. It didn't steal your dog, kick your car, or write nasty things about your ma and pa on the back of the barn, either. And while both ZA and ZG provide more challenge than the previous tier of heroics, they didn't steal your cattle or set your grave on fire, either. In short, the level of consternation and yes, even whining about this has been entirely over the top. These instances are puggable with a little luck and some work, and CTA has shortened queue times, which was its only real goal. So what should you do? Well, being an irascible old curmudgeon, I will happily tell you what to do. Especially if it keeps you off of my lawn. My wife just planted roses! Stay off!
WRUP: Those damnable hats
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! Hats! Fun, frilly hats! What a great week for colorful, whimsical, frilly hats! Not since the show Blossom went off the air have I seen so many hats in so many various shapes and sizes! If you've been following the news this week, well then ... you know all about fun, frilly hats. You know who was wearing them and when. You have well-formed opinions on whose hat was the frilliest. And, of course, you're all too aware of what a terrible show of disrespect it is to not wear a fun, frilly hat. Hats! What's that you say? Hats are boring and uninteresting? Well, I guess there was other news this week. Like Patch 4.1, some major content release for that World of Warcraft game. Something about trolls and a re-release of Zul'Aman and a Zul'Gurub as 5-man heroics. In honor of the occasion, I thought it appropriate to tack on a bonus question to this week's WRUP: "What are your thoughts on the new five-mans, Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman?"
Lichborne: A quick patch 4.1 primer for death knights
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. By the time you read this, there is a very good chance that patch 4.1 will be live, or the servers will be down while patch 4.1 is being implemented. If it's not this week, chances are that we'll see it next week. With that in mind, today seems like the perfect chance to get in one more quick rundown of patch 4.1's features for death knights. We'll discuss all the latest class changes, as well as look at a couple of other general changes that will affect death knights.
Scott Mercer talks redesigning Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman
Blizzard Insider, Blizzard's online newletter, sat down with World of Warcraft Lead Encounter Designer Scott Mercer to discuss the upcoming patch, Rise of the Zandalari. The interview goes into detail about revamping the old dungeon content, what classic dungeons Blizzard would potentially like to tackle next, and the challenges of turning a 10- and 20-man raid into a 5-man heroic dungeon. Hit the jump for the full question and answer session.
Patch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Gurub
Of the two "new" troll-themed 5-mans going live in patch 4.1, Zul'Gurub seemed by far the easier with the groups I had on the public test realm (PTR), though both it and Zul'Aman require an average ilevel of 346 in order to queue through the dungeon finder. However, if you're going to pug this content, be advised that there are a number of different mechanics that can wipe groups quickly. Shifting Perspectives readers will be familiar with elements of this article, as I wrote a guide to Zul'Gurub for druid tanks and healers in late March. I've expanded that here and have also tried to include a sense of the instance from a less class-specific viewpoint. Because the instance's mini-bosses have fairly simple mechanics (and regrettably, I never landed a group that did all of them), I've ignored them here in favor of the instance's five "real" bosses.
