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Does Blizzard need to put out more content faster?
It seems a complaint I've heard a lot about Blizzard lately is that 2 years between expansions is just far too long. We'll languish too much without new content, and people will leave for Age of Conan and Warhammer Online and other games, they say. Myself, I think the length between expansions is acceptable, provided that Blizzard is working on improving and adding new content. To some extent, they are doing this. 2.4 was a tour de force that granted us a whole new area to grind and quest in, and if Blizzard can be out patches like 2.4 on a regular basis, I can forgive them for a few delays in the expansions. That said, I do feel like they could stand to pick up the pace.
The tanking Rogue strikes again, 5-mans Gruul
You may remember Gaeowyn, the Rogue from Shards of Existence who tanked Mother Shahraz thanks to an insane amount of dodge via agility. She's struck again, this time taking down Gruul with herself tanking, along with a Paladin (with Blessing of Kings), a Shaman (with Grace of Air), a Hunter with Scorpid pet Sting, ad a Druid (using Insect Swarm in addition to Mark of the Wild, of course). After all the buffs and debuffs, she had 76.31% dodge, 12.16% parry, and 14.16% chance to be missed, resulting in 102.63% avoidance. She posted a link to her spec and gear for tank mode, too. The video's short, but it took them a little over 23 minutes to down him. They also got to discover that his Growth caps out at a 30-stack, and that it expires after 5 minutes.
Magister's Terrace round-up
If you're like me, you'll be running the brand-new 5-man dungeon of 2.4, Magister's Terrace, as soon as you can. How can you not love a 5-man with four bosses borrowing elements from 25-man raids, a cutscene, and a guaranteed epic even on normal? If you're looking for more information on what to expect, here's a round-up of WoW Insider's coverage to date and our Magister's Terrace gallery.Follow the cut for a host of helpful articles on bosses, drops, videos, and scenery!
Breakfast Topic: How do you distribute 5-man loot?
I've noticed something a bit unexpected and confusing over the last few months: apparently, the way my server generally deals with loot in 5-mans is strange. Rather than rely on the in-game roller, we pass on all loot, and let people call need on a piece. Then we all roll need or greed on the stuff. If there's an enchanter in group, they can disenchant the loot for the winner on a greed roll and hand over a shard. Lately, though, since Blizzard started allowing server transfers, it seems a lot of the new 70s have come in and told us that this method is a bit weird. Why don't we just use the in-game rolling system? Why should enchanters be expected to automatically be willing to shard gear for non-enchanters without compensation? These are questions that are really alien to most of our server community, but there they are. So, I thought I'd ask you, dear readers. How do you deal with 5-man loot on your servers or groups? Do you just use the built in roll system? Do you use Master loot? Do you pass and discuss? Is it generally expected that an Enchanter will gladly shard loot for everyone in the group, or is it expected that an Enchanter only need shard his own loot?
Around Azeroth: The Magisters' mural
Player Shisou of the Mug'thol server was exploring the new 5-man Sunwell instance, the Magisters' Terrace on the PTR. In the room with the first boss, Selin Fireheart, he found this beautiful mural on the wall. He has some speculation on its origin:"I'm not entirely sure why the high elves would decorate their buildings with murals of themselves being subjugated by a gigantic demon overlord, so I'd have to assume that this was painted more recently by Kael's artsy fanatics."Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, no more sunsets. No, really. Ok, only if it's a sunrise in new Patch 2.4 lands. We'll take those anytime. Oh, and no more shots of Omen killed in Ogrimmar. It's cool, we get it. A lot of it.%Gallery-1816%
Breakfast Topic: The perfect group
You've been trying for days to get a group together to run an instance so you can clear out your quest log. Your guild isn't interested in whatever you're up to, and you've wound up in the looking for group channel, where you find three rogues and a hunter who are interested in joining you. Hopefully at this point you wake up from your nightmare... at which point you may be compelled to spend some time considering the ideal group configuration. So what classes would you put in your ideal group? For a 5-man, a 10-man, a 25-man?
Patch 2.3 and you: pre-60 dungeons
Leveling is getting a boost. Along with some new content in Dustwallow Marsh, patch 2.3 (going live tomorrow!) will bring across-the-board changes for characters between levels 20 and 60. The XP required for each level is being reduced by 20%, quest XP is getting buffed, and the so-called "leveling" dungeons are getting some major changes. Here is what the patch notes have to say at the moment: Elite mobs outside of pre-Burning Crusade dungeons have been changed to non-elite. The level ranges of pre-Burning Crusade dungeons have been adjusted to a narrower range. Meeting stone level requirements, the Looking for Group system, and quests have been adjusted to match the new dungeon level ranges. All old world dungeon bosses have had their loot revisited. Players will now find that the loot dropped inside instances will be of Superior (blue) quality. Well, that's vague enough, isn't it? Level ranges adjusted to "a narrower range"? We can't have that. So I went through to all the old-world dungeons on my trusty 70 rogue and checked the level ranges of the mobs there. I'll also show you a sample of a new or improved item for each dungeon; new items are on the left, and old items on the right for comparison. That means a lot of pictures, so dial-up users beware, I guess. TL;DR version: minimum level stays the same, maximum level nerfed down to somewhere between 3 and 5 more than the minimum level. If you want all the fun details, let's get to it!
Patch 2.4 is nearly ready for testing
"Sunwell is coming along nicely," says Tigole (a.k.a. Jeffery Kaplan). "It will be on the PTR shortly after 2.3 goes to the live realms. We still need to perfect 2.3 a bit on the PTR." There it is. Most of us suspected that patch 2.4 would be the big Sunwell patch, but now it's official. There's going to be lots of new instancing coming up once all the big changes in patch 2.3 go live. Tigole even adds that "The 5 person dungeon is complete and the 25 person raid instance is progressing nicely. There's also a cool "public" area featuring brand new daily quests called Sunwell Isle." The 5-person dungeon plus even more daily quests are a bit more to look forward to for those casual gamers who thought all their goodies were finished in 2.3, and that 2.4 would be almost entirely about the new 25-person raid dungeon. For the more hardcore-inclined among us, this will be the startling conclusion to The Burning Crusade expansion, the last big raid before Wrath of the Lich King! How does it feel? Exciting? Nostalgic? More of the same?
Where to start with 2.1 content
The 2.1 patch this week introduced enough new quest lines, top-end raid content, flying mounts, and L70 solo & small group content to qualify as its own game. With a three day weekend looming I didn't even know where to begin. So I scoured the web and found the where to go and what to do to get me started. THE BLACK TEMPLE: Already planning to strut around Shattrath in your T6 Raid gear? Don't bank that T5 set too quick. The Black Temple attunement quest is ... epic. And it hasn't even been fully discovered so far. What is known is that you will have to slog through a great deal of the Burning Crusade raid content that comes before it: Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair, Serpentshire Cavern, The Eye and The Battle of Mount Hyjal. And many of those raids require extensive attunement quests of their own. If you are still itching to begin, you can dig in with the Tablets of Baa'ri chain out of Shadowmoon Valley to start grinding that Ashtongue Deathsworn rep. NETHERDRAKE EPIC FLYING MOUNT: First, don't confuse this with the Swift Nether Drake top Arena teams are awarded with at the end of every season. That one has a speed increase of 310% and has an armored appearance. This is the normal epic nether drake with a speed increase on par with other epic flying mounts: 280%. What's special about this epic flying mount is that it can be obtained through solo and small group quests. No raid required. What is required is a great deal of dedication.The first steps on your journey is to dig yourself out of Hated reputation with the Netherwing clan and get all the way to Exalted. This is accomplished through solo, 5 man and 3 man daily quests. Head to the south east corner of Shadowmoon Valley and speak to Mordenai in the Netherwing Fields. A complete write up can be found here.
What's your favorite 5-person group?
With so much 5-person content in Outland, I've been having a lot of discussion with my guildies as to the "perfect" group makeup. With 9 classes, there are tons of options available to anyone starting a group. Tanks: Warrior, Bear Druid, or Paladin. Maybe a Warlock if you have an insane warlock in your guild (I'm looking at you, Turinok!) Healers: Priests, Resto Shammies, Healadins, Druids. I'm personally a big fan of having as much healing as possible in a group. Fewer wipes = shorter runs = happier Paulie. DPS: Pretty much everybody else. I'm going to share with you what I think is my favorite 5-person group for the normal Outland instances. This group likely wouldn't work in Heroic instances, and it's been long enough that I've been out of Azeroth that I couldn't attest to the effectivesness of the group in the "old world." I look forward to your comments on it, and your comments about your own groups. Tank: Paladin Healer: Paladin DPS: Mage DPS: Enhancement Shaman DPS: Elemental Shaman Strengths: Only 1 true squishy in the group, and 4 potential healers surrounding her. 2 blessings, 8 totems, arcane brilliance for more mana for everyone. As I play an alliance shaman, I still come off as shiny, new, and exotic to my guildies. With spell damage and crit buffs from me (the elementalist), and windfury and Strength of Earth from the enhancement shaman, there are benefits for everyone. With Blessing of Wisdom and Mana totems, mana regen is doing just fine. Weaknesses: No rogue to pick locks on chests, no Priest for stamina buffs. I'll count on you lot to tell me further weaknesses. What's your favorite 5-person group? Is your group best for Azeroth, Outland, or even Outland Heroic instances?
