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Breakfast Topic: Who could be a new world boss in Cataclysm?
One thing that was missing from the Wrath expansion, conspicuously or not, was a world boss on par with those such as Kazzak and the Emerald Dragons. For better or for worse, Blizzard completely removed them from the game, reserving the massive figures towering over the landscape for instanced quests or dungeons. Blizzard touched a bit on why they've not used world bosses in Wrath in the recent Twitter developer chat. They observed that there are issues with the bosses that have prevented them from feeling comfortable making more world bosses, such as issues with groups racing to bosses, or the ability of people outside raid groups to deliberately mess up boss attempts. On the other side of the coin, though, they did imply that they like world bosses, and will probably implement more in Cataclysm if and when they can find a satisfactory work-around for the problems.
Breakfast Topic: Should Cataclysm bring back the world boss?
Robin's post about fun with kiting yesterday immediately reminded me about the old days of 40 man raiding. Don't worry, this isn't a nostalgia trip per se... in many ways raiding is better now than it's ever been... but one of the things I enjoyed back in classic WoW were the world bosses. Bosses like Azuregos, the Emerald Dragons and Kazzak (as well as summoned bosses like Maws and Eranikus) added a feeling of competition that simply couldn't be had by being the first to clear a raid. If Blizzard wants to bring the antagonism between Alliance and Horde back to the forefront, well, even on a PvE server back in the day one could watch Horde and Alliance guilds jostle over Azuregos. Heck, we were griefed pretty hard doing the green dragons, especially Emeriss, as Horde players would come running up to die under our tank and become mushrooms. Burning Crusade had a couple of world raid bosses (a recycled Kazzak and Doomwalker) but for the most part they weren't terribly compelling: the gear they dropped was comparable with Karazhan (eventually it was made BoE to try and drive raiders towards it to harvest them for sales, which happened to some degree but is hardly what you'd call a sign of an exciting time, scavenging bosses for BoE's) and it seems like the practice has fallen out of favor since those days. While there are wandering big elites in Howling Fjord and Zul'Drak, they're either just there with no real rhyme or reason, or they're involved in quests. So I ask you: would you like to see big world bosses return in Cataclysm? Or do you think they're an artifact of an older time, and we're better off without them?
More free character transfers open for the EU
A new batch of fre realm transfers have opened up for European servers, which is always a good thing. A lot of these transfers are ones we've seen before though, so hopefully this time around these options will be more successful than they may have been previously. We also have a whole load of transfers opening up to EU-Magtheridon specifically for the Alliance, so they're continuing to try and repair the faction imbalance there. Right now, we're looking at... Horde players on EU-Magtheridon may transfer to Haomarush, Tarren Mill, Trollbane, Zenedar, and Silvermoon. Alliance players may transfer to EU-Magtheridon from Aerie Peak, Aggramar, Alonsus, Aszune, Azjol-Nerub, Bronze Dragonflight, Bronzebeard, Emerald Dream, Eonar, Khadgar, Kul Tiras, Runetotem, Shadowsong, Silvermoon, and Turalyon. Check behind the cut below for the rest of the current free character transfers.
Forte Gaming goes the way of the Alamo
Forte Gaming, one of the top guilds in World of Warcraft and the world's first to kill Anetheron, disbanded over the weekend. Their web page cites recruitment woes, long delays between content releases, and continually postponed raid times as reasons for the fall. "For many it has felt like a slowly sinking ship for some time and now it's over," says the guild's last post.Forte was consistently ranked in the top two or three guilds in worldwide rankings and stayed in a tight race with Nihilum for game firsts, snagging no less than nine legendary Warglaives from Illidan in the Black Temple. In their three-year reign, they changed realms three times. Although the raiding arm of the guild (EU Boulderfist-A) will no longer exist, they will still maintain a more casual form of the guild on their previous server (A-Kazzak-EU).
Ask a Lore Nerd: You're how old?
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, WoW Insider's newest weekly feature column. Have a question about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe? Click the Comments link below, ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer you in a future installment!We have no reason to delay, so let's get right into the meat of things!Jere asks: I might be wrong on location, but why is there a member of the Argent Dawn stationed in Dun Morogh just southeast of IF?Answer: Unfortunately, we have no idea. Father Gavin might just be an emissary or representative from the Argent Dawn to Dun Morogh, but he has no quests or dialogue attached to him. It's possible he'll be used for something in the future, but it seems unlikely. He simply exists. Nothing more.
Guildwatch: Years between bosses
Here at GW, we love even the small downs (heck, this week, we reported on a downing in the Stockades -- although it was by the Horde), but when other guilds are able to clear out the whole endgame in the time it takes you to go from one endgame boss to another, it's probably not the best idea to go on to the forums bragging how great your progression is.That story and many others in this week's GW, which starts right after the break. Your tips fuel our column -- please send any and all tips about drama, downed, or recruiting guild news to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Click the link below to read on.
Doom Lord Kazzak makes friends in 2.4
Everyone loves the new daily quests. They're fantastic! Fast, easy, good rewards. Spread across the world so there's always somewhere else to go if a spot is crowded. Absolutely awesome.The location of a couple of these daily quests has caused some inadvertent hilarity, though. The close proximity of the Throne of Ki'jaeden quests to Doom Lord Kazzak has sent the Hellfire Peninsula death toll skyrocketing. I was waiting for him to spawn for a few days, just to see how quickly he'd be taken down by people scrambling for gold, due to the changes to his loot. Specifically, making it all BOE.I was lucky enough to be in the zone at just the right moment and was able to hear his very cool opening speech. Accompanying that speech, though? The dying screams of dozens of innocent questers. Music to my ears! I flew up to take a closer look at the carnage, and I stumbled across my favorite little detail of the entire thing. There was a Nightmare Vine spawn at the bottom of the ramp leading up to Kazzak. Just inches within his aggro radius. One by one, herbalists would deviate from their quests and run up to that Nightmare Vine, only to die horribly to the Doom Lord. Well played, Blizzard. Well played.Snippets of my chat log behind the jump!
Guildwatch: Down for the count
Tons of guild activity going on-- I don't know what it is, but you guilds are downing tons of bosses out there lately. I've never seen the tipbox filled so full, and this column takes longer and longer to put together every week. I think it's great-- Blizzard made this bosses to be killed, right? Even bubble butt here.This week's GW, complete with not only downed news, but also drama and recruiting notices, starts right after you click the link below.
More EU migrations
The European free character migrations on some PvP servers continue, since apparently they haven't had quite the intended effect yet. Thundgot says:Due to population differences between some of the highest and lowest populated PvP realms, the following Free Character Migration will be available November 7th to 13th:From: Crushridge, Frostmane, Grim Batol, Kazzak, OutlandTo: Boulderfist, Daggerspine, Vek'nilashPlease note that the migration may be closed at any time should a destination realm's population rise too high.This is the same source realms as before, and one of the same destination realms (Boulderfist). It looks like not too many people chose to take advantage of this move last time. So get moving, people!Oh, and to answer a question that was asked in another thread: Europe will be getting patch 2.3 on November 14th, a week from today (source).
Free character migration for some EU servers
Wow, we haven't had one of these for a while. Starting yesterday (oops), players on a few high-population European PvP servers will be able to transfer to some of the lower-pop ones for free:Due to population differences between some of the highest and lowest populated PvP realms, the following Free Character Migration will be available from October 24th to 30th:From: Crushridge, Frostmane, Grim Batol, Kazzak, OutlandTo: Boulderfist, Jaedenar, Kor'gallPlease note that the migration may be closed at any time should a destination realm's population rise too high. (Thundgot)Edit: Apparently the following additional EU migrations are also active until the 30th:From: Zul'JinTo: Uldum, Tyrande[Thanks, Rauten]As the post says, you should take advantage of this ASAP if you want to move, because they do occasionally close these early.Are you on any of these servers? If you're on the "from" realms, do you agree that overpopulation is a problem, and if so, are you going to move? If you're on the "to" realms, do you think your realm needs more players?
Two Bosses Enter: Doom Lord Kazzak vs. Vaelastrasz the Corrupt
Another weekend, and you know what that means -- it's time for another episode of Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy deathmatches between some of the toughest bosses in the World of Warcraft. Each week, two bosses walk into our arena, but only one of them gets to walk out again -- and at the very end, we'll wind up with one boss who wins out over all. The best part of all this is that you get to tell us who winds up the winner every week.Some internet connectivity issues caused us to skip last week, but this week we're back with a vengeance, talking about one of my favorite boss fights in the game -- Vaelastrasz the Corrupt, who we're pitting against Doom Lord Kazzak. So what are you still reading this for? Read on to find out a bit about each of these bosses and tell us who would win if they met up!
Around Azeroth: Kazzak flyby
Reader Firestalker of Kargath sends us this shot taken on a casual flyby of the Throne of Kil'jaeden, where we see Doom Lord Kazzak flanked by a pair of Deathguards. (I know, they look like Fel Reavers, but they're a bit nastier.) Firestalker notes that there's no actual throne, and so Kazzak just stands there, waiting to be attacked. "Must be an interesting life." Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
How do YOU think the Dark Portal opened?
Today's forum watch has started a new humor thread about the origins of the reopening of the Dark Portal. Many debated if it was Kazzak or some other power, or if it had always been open. Quite a few people had their own opinions about how it opened: Chuck Norris may have roundhouse kicked it open. Rick Astley might have "rickroll'd" it open. Kazzak reopened it because Pokemon Silver came out 3 months earlier in Outlands. A Blizzard comic submission seems to have their own theories as to how the Dark Portal opened. A fairly blunt opinion stated that, "Blizzard wanted more money." I personally like the idea that someone finally discovered what the "unused light switch in their garage" did.
Around Azeroth: The throne of Kil'jaeden
Reader Eccentricity sends in this amazing overview shot of the throne of Kil'jaeden in Hellfire Peninsula. The area is really only supposed to be accessible by flying mount, but intrepid explorer Eccentricity managed to reach this cliff-top vantage point at level 62. If you decide to take time to visit this scenic spot yourself, beware -- usually you'll find Doom Lord Kazzak waiting here, and neither he nor his minions are particularly fond of visitors.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part. See more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Phat Loot Phriday: Amberseal Keeper
It's Friday again, and that means it's time to check out another piece of sweet gear available for you to find in Azeroth. Since we've done melee and ranged, let's do a cool caster piece this week.Name: Amberseal KeeperType: Epic StaffDamage, Speed: 144-228, 3.30 (56.6 DPS)Abilities: +20 Intellect bonus +5 to Arcane, Fire, Nature, Frost, and Shadow resistance Restores 12 mana / 5 seconds Increases damage and healing done by up to 44 Nice staff for almost any caster-- there are better staves out there for specific classes (except maybe druids), but the Int bonus and the across the board 44 boost make this a nice staff to have as you work toward your sets But then again, it's a heck of a challenge to get-- see below How to Get It: Drops from the demon Lord Kazzak, an outdoor raid in Blasted Lands. And even as outdoor raids go, this guy will give you as much trouble as he possibly can. He's got a crazy undodgeable shadowbolt volley that will kick the crap out of your and your raid, and he's got a spell called Mark of Kazzak: drains mana from the target for 250/sec, and then explodes them aoe for 4000 damage when it's done. Yeah, scary. And if anyone does happen to die during the fight, Kazzak casts Capture Soul, a spell that instantly gives him 70,000 health.And one more thing: you have to finish the fight in three minutes, because if it lasts a second more, Kazzak goes into "Supreme Mode" and starts tossing Shadowbolts every second, which works out to almost 1000 dps for everyone in the raid. Can you say wip? The good news is that the drop is 15%, so even though Amberseal Keeper is a great staff, it's almost worth more as a sign that you were able to down this monster.Auction Price: BOP, natch. Vendor it (if you're crazy) for 11g, 92s, 78c.
