Dungeon-2
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WoW Archivist: Strat 45 -- the original challenge mode
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? Mists of Pandaria will introduce a new feature to WoW called challenge modes. Challenge modes are timed heroic dungeon runs offering rewards based on how fast you complete them. What newer players may not know is that vanilla WoW also had a timed dungeon run. It was known as the 45-minute Baron, Strat 45, or sometimes simply Baron run. This "challenge mode" was actually just a quest (called Dead Man's Plea) to engage Baron Rivendare within 45 minutes and then kill him, or he would execute his prisoner and you'd fail. Why 45 minutes? That's just how Rivendare rolls. The timed run was perhaps the most infamous step in the quest line to upgrade vanilla's rare-quality Dungeon 1 set into a mix of upgraded rares and epics known as Dungeon 2 or "tier 0.5." The quest line was added in patch 1.10, but it was removed entirely with Cataclysm's Shattering. Because it was a part of that quest line (occurring roughly a third of the way into it), everyone wanted to complete a successful Strat 45 run. Trade chat in cities was full of "LFM 45Baron must know pulls!" However, very few PUGs in that era ever finished the run on time. It really was that difficult.
45 Minutes or your Strat Run is Free...
No, I didn't come up with the clever Domino's Pizza analogy, but in the latest Weekly WoW over at Video Game Generation, they claim that the possibility of a pick-up group successfully completing a 45-minute Strat run is about as guaranteed as that old pizza gimmick that went the way of the dodo. The focus this time is on the Dungeon 2 armor sets, the problems with them, and basically the lack of fitting items for the casual endgamer. I'm probably more on the casual side of the player fence myself (at least compared to some), and as I'm just entering the endgame again with my latest character, I have to say I have been a bit frustrated at the sheer amount of grinding & raiding that I will have to endure to procure the gear that I've been eying. Then again, I don't expect Blizzard to just hand it to me, either...In any case, there are a lot of good points raised in the article, so check it out...
Dungeon 2 Armor Quests
So, by now I imagine everyone has heard about the Dungeon 2 armor sets - and the lengthy quest chain involved in acquiring them. The quests, while both expensive (plan on spending around 350 gold at minimum - if you farm and craft (or have friends who can craft) all of the required reagents. But if you're prepared to try your hand at this quest chain, grab your Dungeon 1 set bracers and head over to the Ironforge throne room (for Alliance) or Thrall's Chambers (for Horde) to get started. And if you need help from there, this thread in the quest forums and this post on WoWWiki provide thorough walk-throughs of the chain. Stuck on the required 45-minute Stratholme run? Check this video for some guidance. Anyone out there done these quests already? Anyone trying? What do you think of them? Myself, I'm just before the Stratholme portion, slowly gathering materials. While the quests are long, the gear is of high quality and I personally really like the look of the set art - yes, it's only a slight revision from the Dungeon 1 art, but I like it a lot. I could complain that all of the sets lean heavily towards hybridization - so, for example, my priest's dungeon 2 set is neither extremely good for healing nor extremely good for damage dealing, but the set is fairly well-rounded and useful in either situation, though you can find better individual pieces to specialize in either. This may or may not suit your play-style. [Thanks to Dave for a couple of these links.]
Hope for the Pirates?
There's been a lot of frustration among those who spent time factioning up with the Bloodsail Buccaneers - which automatically lowers your standing with the Steamwheedle Cartel. Those who made the grind to get revered with the pirates to get their pirate hat are now discovering that they're unable to acquire their Dungeon 2 armor set, because the second step of the quest requires you to visit Gadgetzan, where loyal Bloodsails are attacked on sight. To those contemplating the slow grind back to good standing with the Goblins, Tigole offers a ray of hope - patch 1.11 will feature several quests that will help Bloodsails return to good standing with Goblins throughout Azeroth.
Official Dungeon 2 Graphics and Stats
Rumor no longer - the official graphics and stats for the Dungeon 2 armor set (sometimes called tier 0.5) have been released by Blizzard, as well as information on modifications to the Dungeon 1 (sometimes called tier 0) armor set. I don't see anything unexpected here, but if you haven't been following the rumor mill too closely, it's worth checking out.
Dungeon 2 Armor Sets
I no longer recollect a time at which I could read the Warcraft forums without seeing posts requesting epic gear options for casual players who couldn't raid. With patch 1.10, Blizzard is attempting to provide better gear options for non-raiders with both improved dungeon itemization and new, Dungeon 2 armor sets. But just because there's no raiding required doesn't mean collecting the set will be easy...For starters, the armor is an "upgrade" of your existing armor set - this means to get the full Heroism set (the warrior set) you'll need your full Valor set. You work through the quest chain sequentially (there's a specific order) upgrading each piece of your set (though, no, you do not need the full set to start the first quest). Each step in the quest chain requires a number of quest items as well as a quantity of gold. One step, in particular, requires a run through Stratholme to Baron Rivendare in 45 minutes - and depending on where that timer starts, that could prove to be a challenge. What are your opinions on this new armor set? Going to rush to get it or couldn't care less?For information on the sets, PartingVisions has some nice images of the new sets as well as some information on individual pieces, and this thread in the test realm forum is attempting to compile known information about the Dungeon 2 sets.
