lady-vashj
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Patch 2.4: Hyjal and Black Temple attunements removed
Blizzard announced the following important four lines in their 2.4 Patch Notes: Players will no longer require an attunement quest to enter Hyjal. Players will no longer require an attunement quest to enter the Black Temple. Players who have completed the attunement quests for Black Temple and Hyjal will be granted the title of "Hand of A'dal". You may now fight Prince Kael'thas and Lady Vashj without first killing all the other bosses in their respective dungeons. I have to say, despite the difficulty of Vashj and Kael'Thas, I am quite surprised to find that Blizzard has removed the attunement requirements from Patch 2.4. Naxx, Blackwing Lair, and even Molten Core still require people to become attuned. Now seemingly, two of the hardest and most revered raids do not. While the removal of the attunement is obviously a way to get more people to see their new raid zone, the Sunwell Plateau, all is not golden. Many, many, many raiding guilds and players who have already made the brutal trek through Vashj and Kael will be quite upset. On the other hand players who are not yet able to, but perhaps ready for, the first few bosses of MH and BT, will undoubtedly rejoice.What are your opinions of this change? How do you think it will affect the raiding landscape?
How to stop Vashj and Kael from destroying your guild
Last week our own Marcie Knox pointed out in her Ready Check column the daunting task that's given to raiders when they face Lady Vashj and Kael'Thas Sunstrider. These two bosses have earned their reputation as a guild killer, and are some of the hardest encounters in the game. While there is a plethora of information out there on how to defeat the technical aspects of the fights, very little is written on the social aspects these fights give us. Examining what can be done to keep a group of raiders together during this difficult time is critical to success.Lets take a brief look at why these two encounters are so difficult. When it comes down to it, Blizzard is testing our ability to deal with two different skill sets. The first being immediate and unknown change, and that comes with Vashj during phase two and three: which side will the Naga spawn, where will the Tainted Element appear, how many times is your main tank going to get rooted and bat poison dropped on him, which way will the tanks need to drag the Naga around to avoid getting the melee cleaved, etc... On the flip side to Vashj's unknown factors exists Kael'Thas. Kael is definitely a scripted encounter. We know what order the advisers are going to come up in, we know (sans gaze) where they'll go, we know what Kael will do when he reaches 50%, and we know what order we need to get the weapons down. This fight is all about repetition of a scripted encounter.
Two Bosses Enter: Lady Vashj vs. Princess Huhuran
Two bosses may enter... but only one will get to leave in WoW Insider's fantasy deathmatch series. Every week we pit two of the World of Warcraft's raid bosses against one another in a battle that your votes get to decide. This week we have Lady Vashj from Serpentshrine Caverns in Outland matching up against Princess Huhuran from Ahn'Qiraj in old Azeroth. Though both of them are perfectly happy to wipe player raids, how would they fare against one another? Ultimately, that's for you to decide -- so read on!
One Boss Leaves: Geddon vs. Vashj wrap-up
For the past week's Two Bosses Enter matchup, Vashj has come out on top -- but by the extremely narrow margin of one vote. You read that correctly, because the opinion of a single reader means that Vashj will continue to our next round. For those of you who need to know all the details, here's the final results: Be sure to check back tonight for another matchup -- though we're getting closer to determining the boss of all bosses, we still have quite a way to go! For full details on our matchups, check our brackets.
WoW Moviewatch: World of Warcraft Raid Bosses
"World of Warcraft Raid Bosses" dramatizes life on the other side of the screen for Arthas, Lady Vashj and Sylvanas Windrunner. Performed live at San Diego Comic Con last August, this WoW skit won the Judge's Choice award. Unfortunately, the video posted on YouTube was shot by someone in the audience and very little of the actors can be heard. I found a clean MP3 of the dialogue, replaced much of the bad audio of the original and reposted the video. My apologies to the original posters, but this play was far too entertaining to be ignored due to audio problems.If you'd like to see more Costume Plays, head to American CosPlay Paradise. For a transcript of the play, click over to this Livejournal entry.Previously on WoW Moviewatch...
Two Bosses Enter: Baron Geddon vs. Lady Vashj
Welcome to another edition of Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy boss deathmatches. Every week we pair up two new bosses from the World of Warcraft and pit them against one another in a fight to the death -- and eventually, one will walk away the ultimate winner. This week we're considering a fight between one of Ragnaros' many minions in the Molten Core -- Baron Geddon -- and Serpentshrine Cavern's own Lady Vashj. Though these bosses come from vastly different level instances, don't let that fool you -- we're here to talk theorycraft, and that means considering how these two bosses would realistically fare against one another and not just making a list of everyone's hit points and damage ranges. So are you curious about these two bosses -- or already have an opinion? Keep reading for more info and your chance to vote.
WoW Moviewatch: Vials of Eternity
This raid movie is so well crafted, I don't even know where to begin. Take the excellent "story behind the story" video Legend of Stalvan and mash it up with the elegant, well-edited and highly entertaining Serpentshrine Caverns raid video and throw in moments of bizarre humor plus the most memorable rendition of an 80s emo tune ever to be sung a capella over Teamspeak and you have this machinima masterpiece. Guild Numen of the UK Silvermoon server have unequivocally set the bar for raid videos.Don't be put off by its twenty minute plus run time. It's worth every moment of your time. Highlights after the jump.
WoW Moviewatch: Serpentshrine Caverns Raid Montage
The other day I half-jokingly complained that Nihilum should cut together a highlight reel of their boss fights in the Black Temple. To my surprise, I discovered that the guild Indomitable of the Zul'jin server has done just that for their Serpentshrine Cavern Raid Cinematical. And they did it with no UI interface to clutter the screen. Plus, they didn't show the entire fight each time, but just the highlights. Ah, machinima nirvana.Don't let the slow open put you off, this is one of the best videos I've ever seen for showcasing a raid. From the epic, driving music to the many different camera angles used for each fight. Well thought out and executed.Plus, there are some real gems in this video, especially for those of us who will never see this content otherwise. Keep an eye out for the AE'ing horde of murlocs, the swordsman boss with the whirlwind move, the giant that, um, expels bubbles and the animation of the bridge rising out of the water that leads to the climactic Lady Vashj encounter. And if you want to see some shiny raid gear, watch the closing credits with solo shots of everyone from the raid.For you budding machinimists out there: note how this video is cut to the music. When there is a big hit in the music, the video cuts to another dynamic moment. When there is a big swell in the music, the video shows a dramatic moment. Music isn't just an element you throw in after the fact, it drives the entire piece dictating pacing and tone.Previously on Moviewatch...
Ex-Nihilum member claims guild exploited
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WoW_Insider_Ex_Nihilum_member_claims_they_cheated_to_down_Vashj'; There's some pretty interesting forum drama going on in the European Raids and Dungeons forums. Lewt, an undead priest who spent two years in the guild before quitting WoW, claims that Nihilum purposely exploited a bug on their world first Lady Vashj kill (instead of an accidental bug that took away HP, as the guild states.) According to Lewt, you can purposely wipe at 20 percent and have a paladin use Divine Shield, which I don't really understand unless Lewt actually meant Divine Intervention. Then Vashj will reset to Phase 2, but since her HP is connected to the pillars she has, the HP will disappear when they despawn. This leaves her at 1 HP. Presto, a priest pops a soulstone and Shadow Word: Deaths her, and there you go. Lewt even provides a screenshot of him finishing off Vashj with an SWD, complete with chatlog. Kungen, Nihilum's guild leader, fires back with some screenshots of guild chat immediately following the kill, which are full of confusion. He said that the HP loss was a bug during the fight that surprised Nihilum, not a specific strategy that they exploited to get the kill. Lewt responds by saying that Nihilum had exploited in the past on BWL, bought gold, and had the guild second-in-command, Awake, pay Kungen's real-life bills. I've heard the first two accusations, but the last one is freaking awesome. My guild leader never pays my bills. And from there, the thread goes on in many entertaining ways, with Nihili (or whatever) and ex-Nihili arguing about the guild: whether it's possible to lead a normal life in Nihilum, whether the "Danish Mafia" edged out the English players, and a lot of other things that I'd probably understand if I spent more time on the Euro forums. I really don't know enough about the Vashj fight to judge this. I don't like Nihilum's guild recruitment policy and the gold buying rumors, but I'm not exactly ready to take the word of someone who named themself "Lewt." Another forum poster probably has the right sequences of events: The raid wiped, they noticed that Vashj had bugged out, Lewt decided to pop the soulstone and SWD her, writing "Sorry, I couldn't resist" in chat. Then the Divine Intervention thing was when they were trying to get their loot off Vashj #1 while Vashj #2 had spawned. And now that Vashj is fixed and the top guilds are on to Black Temple, it's sort of a moot point anyway. As proven with Overrated, guilds who truly cheat will get found out eventually. What do you think?
Method Man and Vashj
As a society we are not always interested in seconds. We prefer firsts, the first man to walk on the moon, the first man to swim the English Channel, heck even the first woman got plenty of notice in her day. And yes, Nihilum did managed to down Lady Vashj first, but I have been following the story of the second guild to kill the snake-headed wench, and I am happy to report their day has finally come. For those of you not obsessed with minutia the way I am, the guild Method from the Sylvanas (EU) realm killed Lady Vashj on May 5th. Something happened though that makes this kill more interesting than just any old world 2nd. The encounter bugged out and the guild, after all their hard work, lost the chance at looting the corpse. That's right folks, imagine watching Lady Vashj's corpse despawn in front of your very eyes. I know I would cry wet, salty tears. Naturally members of the guild contacted a GM, but to no avail. It was a whole day before the guild finally got resolution. They did get a mail message though that told them that their loot would indeed be delivered. World of Raids says Method received a Krakken-Heart Breastplate and Gauntlets of the Crestfall amongst other things. Congrats to them for getting their just rewards. If you're interested in learning more details about the fight, Method will be interviewed by WoW Radio on May 13th at 12:30 EST. I'm sure they'll have some fascinating insights. [via World of Raids]
Know Your Lore: Lady Vashj
This is the first in a Know Your Lore twofer this week, since we missed it last week. We also have to get these two lore figures down quickly, before someone kills them and makes us all look like fools. FOOLS I TELL YOU! Anyway, first up is a slimy, wily maiden with a deep sense of loyalty and devotion to anyone who commands her. Who: Lady Vashj. What: Formerly a Night Elf, now a Naga. History: Vashj was born over 10,000 years ago in the city of Zin-Ashari at the height of the Night Elves' power on Azeroth. She was of the Quel'Dorei, or the Highborne caste of Night Elves, who would eventually become the High Elves and then the Blood Elves ... I think. It's kind of confusing. As a Highborne, she quickly rose through the ranks of public service and became a handmaiden of Queen Azshara. Unfortunately for Vashj, Azshara liked the High Priestess of Elune -- Tyrande Whisperwind, future ruler of Darnassus and love object of Illidan and Malfurion Stormrage -- better than her, and offered to make Tyrande her majordomo. (No, not the guy with the adds in Molten Core. Read!)
Lady Vashj hotfix: untimely death soon to follow
According to Tigole, a hotfix to the Lady Vashj encounter (the final encounter in Serpentshrine Cavern) should go live on US realms in the next 24 hours -- presumably during this Tuesday's maintenance, though Tigole doesn't specify. Specifically, the hotfix should adjust the amount of hitpoints some of the add spawns have. With only three guilds up to Lady Vash so far, this hotfix sets up some real competition. MMO-CHAMPION makes the reasonable speculation that if the hotfix requires downtime US guild Death & Taxes will likely get the world first kill, because US maintenance comes before EU maintenance. But if it's a hotfix requiring no downtime (that may have even gone live already), EU guilds Curse and Nihilum will have extra time to work on the encounter before their instance resets, giving one of them the world first. So who's going to win this race? If I don't see a first kill announcement somewhere in the next 24 hours, I'll be greatly surprised.
The only group that can down Magtheridon is Blizzard
Just a little Magtheridon server joke. The instance servers kept crashing on Sunday, and eventually they had to restart the whole realm. But in all seriousness, the always inquisitive Ghostwalka asks on the WoW Forums why no one has talked about fighting the boss Magtheridon yet. Magtheridon is a 25-man boss fight that doesn't require complicated keying -- you just walk to the back of the Hellfire Citadel and stroll on in. So why has all the focus been on the recently-downed Gruul and Karazhan, but not Magtheridon? Ravel of Death and Taxes, one of the few guilds to try Magtheridon, said that the answer's pretty simple -- "We fought Magtheridon. And then he killed us. And then we fought him again, and he killed us again. And then we said @@%! that." Magtheridon is either too gear-dependent or too untuned to be defeated now. Death and Taxes is concentrating on Serpentshrine Cavern, where they've apparently begun fighting through the four bosses before Lady Vashj. Other commentators referred to Magtheridon as "quite intimidating" and "a hell of a fight." But since Magtheridon is a one-boss encounter like Onyxia, I'm guessing we'll start to see attempts on him in the next few weeks. Has your guild tried any of the 25-man bosses? How is the raid game looking on your server?
