Lilian-Voss
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Heroic Dungeon Bosses in 5 seconds
Oh god, oh god, oh god... That really is a giant bug. So, there you are in the Gate of the Setting Sun heroic, on your first run, and a really giant bug comes smashing through the walls. A really giant bug. Really giant. Ugh. You don't want to have to think on your feet, you don't want to have to explain tactics to the panda gently rocking in the corner, or the blood elf running in circles screaming "I can feel them crawling in my hair!" What you need is some five second explanations to copy and paste into chat, that your party can read and execute. And it's OK, WoW Insider is here to help. We've totally stopped freaking out about the giant bug. If you're wondering where the heroic versions of the leveling dungeons feature in this guide, they don't. They're almost exactly the same as the leveling dungeons, for bosses in 5 seconds purposes! Gate of the Setting Sun Striker Ga'Dok: Don't stand in the green. Healers watch for Prey Time and Impaling Strike. His two strafing runs create a wide strip of death from one side to the other. Stay in corners. Tank adds.
Know Your Lore: The undead, part 3 -- the cold, bleak future
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. One of the things I've most wanted to make clear in this series is that neither the Scourge nor the Forsaken have the monopoly on undeath now. The Scourge were joined by the will of the Lich King, and the Forsaken defined by their defection from the Scourge's ranks under Sylvanas Windrunner, but neither group created the state and neither has exclusive control over the creation of new undead. There are still vast numbers of Scourge in Northrend today, milling about under the control of the new Lich King, held in check but still a potential threat to the world. The Forsaken grow in numbers and might due to no small part to Sylvanas' deal with the val'kyr and her own experiments with the Plague of Undeath. But both of these groups, for all their numbers, are not the only means to create more of those trapped between life and the sepulcher. The Risen (former Scarlet Crusaders from Stratholme and Tyr's Hand, now enslaved by Balnazzar), ancient and modern self-willed undead, and even those directly cursed by unfathomable forces (such as the continent of Kalimdor itself) have all existed over the years. With the parting of the Mists of Pandaria, it would be easy to forget that the lands of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms will not be standing still. We know that both Scarlet Monastery, home of those remaining forces that did not make the trip to Northrend as part of the Scarlet Onslaught after the onslaught of Acherus, and Scholomance itself will see new developments, new stories. As we turn our attention away from these cold, chill places, the dead refuse to remain quiet.
Mists of Pandaria: Dungeons and challenge mode
Mists of Pandaria will launch with nine heroic dungeons, four of which were previewed to one extent or another at last week's press event: Temple of the Jade Serpent, the Stormstout Brewery, the updated Scholomance, and the updated Scarlet Monastery. Temple of the Jade Serpent Blizzard is taking a new approach with its introductory dungeon of the expansion. Rather than starting you off in instances that are entirely secondary to the expansion's story arc and saving the dungeons that tie closest to the plot of the expansion for the level cap, the very first dungeon you run in Mists of Pandaria will set the story's tone. The Temple of the Jade Serpent will display the expansion's villainy right up front. The sha, as you've heard by now, are the core external villains in the land of Pandaria. They are the manifestation of negative emotion. The Temple of the Jade Serpent will be your introduction to the sha. The Temple is where, once upon a time, an old emperor of Pandaria beat down the Sha of Doubt and saved the entire empire. Unfortunately, the war that the Horde and the Alliance have brought to Pandaria's shores has rekindled the Sha of Doubt and the temple has fallen under its influence. We did get to tackle the Temple hands-on at the press event, so we can provide a few concrete details about the bosses within and their abilities.
Know Your Lore: The unfortunate tale of Lilian Voss
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Every zone in the old world was touched by Deathwing's emergence, and with the changes came new lore and storylines. One of the more poignant tales of new Azeroth comes from Tirisfal Glades, where newly raised Forsaken soldiers struggle to come to terms with their fate. Before the fall of the Lich King, every "newborn" Forsaken was raised from former members of the Scourge that had broken free from the control of the Lich King. However, after the fall of the Lich King, the Forsaken were left without a way to create new Forsaken. Having lost countless Forsaken soldiers in the Northrend war, Sylvanas Windrunner sought out the val'kyr, former servants of the Lich King. The val'kyr had a very special talent -- they could raise the dead to life. Thus, Sylvanas had a way to create new Forsaken soldiers out of any corpses that happened to be handy. The only drawback to this process was that one never knew how the awakened corpses would react. While some eagerly joined the ranks of the Forsaken, others were far too tied to their former lives to accept their fate. One of these newly minted undead was a woman named Lilian Voss, whose former life was unique to say the least. Lilian was a member of the Scarlet Crusade.
