Faience's Adventures in Outland: It's the end of the world as we know it...
...and after my dozenth death, I'm not so sure that I feel fine. Sure, it started out all fun and games with Tyren's announcement on the forums that there might be some "cool events" on the beta realms this evening. But cool, I wonder, for whom? Certainly not for the poor denizens of the now ravaged Shattrath City -- the Outland's only major city. On the beta realm Hellfire, CMs Ordinn and Tseric orchestrated the destruction of this fine city, throwing wave after wave of bosses at the city's populace.
Want to see what happens when the game's most dangerous monsters converge on a single city center? Well, read on to find out.
On initial approach to the city's gates, I found the city to be a smoking ruin, its gates guarded by less than friendly infernals. (He's a little hard to see, but trust me, he's there, hiding in that green glow.)
The tunnel entrances to the lower levels of the city seemed to be unguarded, from the outside -- but within the city more infernals lurked. These Draenei guards kept a close watch on the city's outer gates, but certainly failed to warn me of what I would find inside...!
Fortunately for those wishing to jump into the fighting, Shattrath is arranged on two levels -- and the lower level is below ground level. I leapt into the lower city, making sure to stay clear of those infernals (whom I learned, over the course of the evening, could easily one shot me). I headed towards the Terrace of Light at the heart of the city, dodging flaming rubble and navigating through dense clouds of red smoke. With care, I dodged additional guards to land in the city's heart, only to be dismayed by the sight of death that awaited me.
Highlord Kruul stood amongst a massive pile of skeletons and corpses, hacking away at any players within range. Few withstood his wrath -- not to mention his varied minions. (Including everyone's favorite elite, the Son of Argul.) By the time Kruul was defeated, hundreds of skeletons littered the terrace. While waiting for my "Mark of Death" to wear off (a fun debuff everyone received on dying to Kruul or his pals which seemed to cause you to die instantly if you entered combat with it on), I decided to say hello to Kruul's corpse. He certainly wouldn't have let me get this close before -- the guy probably has something against Gnomes.
Players crowded around Tseric ("Tsericc") to wish him a friendly hello and request mad epix.
But there was no end in sight -- we were soon treated to a visit from Emeriss and Lethon.
Emeriss held the Terrace of Light while Lethon guarded one of the bridges to the city's center.
And now? Emeriss and Lethon continue to stalk the outer parts of the city, while a pair of Pit Commanders (72 elites) keep guard over the Terrace of Light.
After hours of domination over Shattrath City, this invasion shows no signs of being repelled -- and one has to wonder, will Shattrath ever be quite the same?
Read more about Faience's adventures in Outland.
