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Argent Tournament is for the casual player
If it wasn't any more clear, Nethaera made a couple of responses in a thread over at the forums complaining about the itemization of Argent Tournament rewards. She reiterated that Blizzard's design philosophy behind the event was to cater to the "casual players who may not take part in regular raiding". She also teased that "there is more to the Tournament than what is currently available."The original poster complained that there was no epic item for Restoration Shamans. Other players chimed in with how iLevel 200 items this deep into the expansion made no sense. On the other hand, the weapons are flat out awesome-looking, and fairly easy to get at a casual, if somewhat glacial, pace. Blizzard insists that the content is designed for the "fun and flavor" and in that sense the Argent Tournament probably works. Still, gear is a compelling reason to play -- something Blizzard has acknowledged on numerous occasions -- and this is why the Argent Tournament rewards are less than appealing. Particularly in a World of Warcraft where even casual players can PUG 25-man raids for a shot at iLevel 213 gear or higher. In the new, more accessible raid design philosophy, even casual players can experience the so-called endgame. That's the true success (or some may argue, the failure) of Wrath.
In-game fixes for April 20th and April 21st
Tongiht Bornakk has released another long list of in-game fixes that has already been applied today. He notes that these changes might not become active until after the servers reset tomorrow from the maintenance, so we don't know for sure what's in and what's out yet. Some of these changes would affect Ulduar raids tonight if they are already live.A few of the more notable changes include: All of the additional creatures spawned during the XT-002 Deconstructor encounter can now be snared in either difficulty. For the Hodir encounter, the damage from Champion of Hodir's Freezing Breath has been reduced, the haste effect from Starlight has been decreased, and the timer for the hard mode has been decreased. For the Thorim encounter, the Runic Colossus should stop channeling Runic Smash once engaged in combat, the Dark Rune Champion should no longer whirlwind after being disarmed, and the Runic Colossus should no longer melee when it charges. The buff players receive from Tenacity in Wintergrasp is now stronger. The full list of today's changes, and previous changes, after the break.
The Queue: Service with a smile
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today. Welcome back to the Queue. We offer you service with a smile.Kenmoe asked... "Is the construction of the Argent Tournament colosseum at all dependent on realm participation like Quel'Danas was? I was wondering if the goblin dailies 'A Chip Off the Ulduar Block' and 'Jack Me Some Lumber' helped construct the building faster. If so, is there any way to see progression like there was with Quel'Danas?"
First day for Champions in the Argent Tournament
How you uh, how you comin' on that Argent Tournament you're working on? Huh? Got a big, uh, big stack of Valiant's Seals there? Gotta, gotta nice little title you're working on there? Your big achievement you've been working on for one week? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling lance? Well, if you have been working on the Argent Tournament dailies since Tuesday's release of patch 3.1 then you're set to become some of the first Champions today, earning your home city's achievement.After you finish off the five dailies today, you'll need to go through a couple more quests. The first is The Valiant's Challenge, where you have to go and challenge a rider via Squire Danny. After that you'll want to go and complete A Champion Rises to get an Argent Squire or Argent Gruntling pet (pictured above) and 10 Champion's Seals.Once you're done with that, the next step is to begin the dailies, which will allow you to begin stacking up on more Champion's Seals for things like Tabards, Pets, and Mounts. Of course the other thing you can do is repeat the The Valliant's Charge line of dailies to earn the right to represent other factions in the Tournament.The four daily quests which you can obtain Champion's Seals are listed below.
WoW Insider Show live this afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern
Our podcast goes live again today as usual, and it should be a good one. We're going to welcome Rogue blogger Chase Christian back to the show, Turpster should be along for the ride as usual, and we're planning to have an old friend on who we haven't seen in a long time: Duncor may be making his long-awaited return, which should be a lot of fun. Of course we'll be talking all about patch 3.1, including how the dual spec system is working so far, some of the major class changes that made it through, and what's going on with the Argent Tournament. And we can't forget about the Ulduar cinematic -- that was a fun bit of lore that popped up out of nowhere this week.The show starts at April 18, 2009 3:30 PM EDT var date_span = document.getElementById("date"); var date = new Date(date_span.innerHTML); var monthname=new Array("Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug", "Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"); var weekday=new Array("Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday", "Friday","Saturday"); var year = date.getFullYear(); var day_of_month = date.getDate(); var month = monthname[date.getMonth()]; var day = weekday[date.getDay()]; var hour = date.getHours(); if (hour > 11) { if (hour > 12) {hour -= 12} am_pm = "PM"; } else { am_pm = "AM"; } var minute = date.getMinutes(); if (minute < 10) { minute = "0"+minute; } date_string = day + ", " + month + " " + day_of_month; date_string += " at " + hour + ":" + minute + " " + am_pm; offset = -date.getTimezoneOffset()/60; if (offset >= 0) { offset = "+"+offset; } date_string += " in your time zone (GMT"+offset+")"; date_span.innerHTML = (date_string); over on our Ustream page (or just check the feed right down on the bottom of this post), and we'll be chatting live with you during the show as well as answering emails that you send to theshow@wow.com. We'll see you this afternoon!And if you've got a little bit of time after the show, be sure to head on over to Rawrcast's Ustream page for their show, directly after ours. Our friend Stompalina is going to have none other than the inimitable Turpster, and apparently he'll be playing a game show that you can participate in. Turpster was also on The Instance earlier this week, too, so give that a listen if you just can't get enough of the T. Man that guy's like the Jaina of podcasts this week -- he's getting it on with everybody!Update: That Rawrcast show with Turpster is apparently next week, April 25th. So if you thought you missed it on Saturday, no worries -- tune in next week to catch it live.
Argent Tournament Dailies: Battle Before The Citadel
Congratulations, Argent Champion! You've progressed past the Valiant rank and become a true Champion of the Argent Tournament. You're the finest that the Tournament has to offer and you've made your city proud. And that means playtime's over ... again. Yep, it's time to kill some Scourge outside Icecrown Citadel again, but this time you're after their commanders, the ones you've so deftly avoided in the past.Let's go!
The Queue: Rested
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.Good afternoon, folks. I want to take a second to apologize for The Queue's absence the last couple of days. Patch days pretty much murder Adam and I, so we set this thing aside for a couple of days. We're much less busy now though, so it should be back on schedule!thatoneguy asked... "So is the Argent Tournament a one time thing or is it going to keep coming back? I'm kinda worried i'll miss it if I reroll with a friend."
Argent Tournament Dailies: At the Enemy's Gates
Congratulations, Argent Valiant! You've progressed past the Aspirant rank and proven your chops at mounted combat before your peers. You've even become a representative of your home city in the Argent Tournament. Well, guess what? Playtime's over. Remember, the whole point of the Argent Tournament is to train all comers into Scourge-killing badasses, so now that you've proven yourself, it's time to crack some decaying skulls. And this time, you get to do it on horseback.Find out how after the jump.
Breakfast Topic: Your favorite mount?
Mounts are one of the best parts of World of Warcraft, especially the flying ones. Over the course of levels 30-80 we collect a bunch of them (so many that there's even an Achievement for it -- don't forget to check out our guide) and everyone has one or two tied to their action bars that they use every day. I've got two: the Big Battle Bear) and a Zhevra. But in an ideal world, we all have a list: the Ashes of Al'ar, the now removed Amani War Bear, the Spectral Tiger, the Deadly Gladiator's Frost Wrym ...Top of my list? While I love dragons (and have my eye on a Twilight Drake), the mount I really want is a unicorn. Yes gentle readers, an actual unicorn. Not a striped zebra crossbreed found wandering in the Barrens but a pure white beast of myth. Last week, while exploring the Argent Tournament in Icecrown, I finally found one. Granted it's technically a 'Quel'dorei Steed' but it's a unicorn - with an Azerothian twist. I only hope Blizzard decide to turn this vehicle into an actual mount -- and soon because I will grind anything to get it.Anyway, it got me thinking about mounts (and don't forget we have an awesome guide on the subject). I have a friend who collect everyone going (he's got ninety nine at the moment) and strives for the Ashes to complete his collection, others are still using their race-specific epic mount or gryphon/wind rider. So I ask you, readers, what mount do you want the most? It doesn't matter if it's an old mount now removed, a ridable version of your favourite Azerothian animal or just something straight out of myth, speak up.
The best of WoW Insider: Special patch 3.1 edition
The day World of Warcraft fans have been waiting for has finally come: Patch 3.1 is out today. There's new content, a new raid, a brand new dual spec system (for the first time, we'll be able to switch between character specs on a whim, with minimal costs), and tons of class changes, UI updates, and secrets to find. It's a whole new game! Wondering what's new in the patch? Check the links below for everything you need to know. WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 3.1Want to drink straight from the firehose? This is everything we've ever posted about patch 3.1, from the earliest hints and rumors to the final patch notes and galleries from the PTR. If it's in the patch, it's on this page. World of Warcraft Patch 3.1 Official patch notesAll of Blizzard's changes... that they want to tell you about. Patch 3.1: Secrets of Ulduar in picturesDon't like reading? View everything new about the patch in pictoral form. WoW Patch 3.1: Class changes roundupFrom Mages to Death Knights, here's all of the class changes you'll be dealing with when the patch is live. Patch 3.1 Secrets of Ulduar roundupEverything we've unearthed about the new Titan-related raid. Dual speccing in three easy stepsUnsure how to get your two specs going? Here's a quick and easy guide, backed up with everything we know about the system at release. The awesome weapons of the Argent TournamentBecause despite all of the fun features and new environments, we're really in it for the loot, right? Official Ulduar cinematic revealedThrall! Jaina! Wrynn! All of our heroes (except Saurfang, unfortunately) show up in this video prequel to the new content.
Breakfast Topic: What do you think of 3.1
It's been a long old twenty four hours but the US servers have had Patch 3.1 running life for a little while now. I can just imagine the thousands of people swamping Ulduar, the Argent Tournament and every class trainer from Azuremyst to Thunderbluff will be stood on by thousands of toons trying to dual spec. Now over the last few weeks Breakfast Topic has been, quite understandably, a little Patch 3.1-heavy. We've asked about your most anticipated feature, whether your guild is ready and where your toon will be when the realms restart (just in case you were wondering, Serisa is waiting outside Ulduar to see if the above happens on live as well).So if you're lucky, you've had a few hours to poke around and take a look, I want to know what your impressions are of The Secrets of Ulduar now that it's gone live?
WoW Insider's Patch 3.1 FAQ
Our own Elizabeth Harper has been hard at work gathering together all of the most frequently asked questions that we've received over the last few weeks regarding patch 3.1. Now that the realms are finally coming up, it's a good time to get these out to you all because many of you will probably be asking them soon, too!Our FAQ is listed below, and if you ever want to find it again just bookmark this page. It will always be there, and should there be a need to update it at any point, we'll be sure to do so! Thanks for sticking with us today, ladies and gentlemen.
Everything you wanted to know about World of Warcraft: The Secrets of Ulduar but were afraid to ask
This morning the World of Warcraft is eeriely silent as the latest mini-expansion The Secrets of Ulduar (aka Patch 3.1) goes live across US and Oceanic servers (with Europe to follow tomorrow). In a few short hours the servers will reopen, along with the doors to Ulduar, the newest dungeon, but if you're not au fait with the ways of Azeroth all this information is likely to leave you a little purplexed but fret not as we've put together a little guide to what you need to know about the latest patch.
Patch 3.1 achievements round up
Everybody loves achievements, right? ...no, I guess not. Some people like achievements, right? Yes! Patch 3.1 brings a lot of cool stuff for you guys to do as well, so here's all of it in a nice little package for you to pick through. Have fun! There's already a few people ready to pick up the Insane title, but we'd like to assume most of you are slightly less insane. Only slightly. For you guys, we have a get to completing Insane in the Membrane. As of today, the Black and Plagued Proto-Drakes are gone for good. A batch of brand new achievements have been added to the Noblegarden event, which has been extended to a week and will begin on April 26th. Note that you will need these for What a Long, Strange Trip Its Been. We've posted an early version of Ulduar's achievements, too! Chef de Cuisine is getting a bit easier for Alliance players. They can get their hands on Dig Rat Stew on their own now! In exchange, Lil' Game Hunter is becoming easier for the Horde. Enjoy your Sprite Darters and Westfall Chickens! The Argent Tournament has a load of its own achievements as well. If you enjoyed this stuff, keep an eye on our achievements column, The Overachiever. We'll probably be going over a lot of this, especially the Noblegarden and Argent Tournament achievements, in the coming weeks. Patch 3.1 is live and it takes us into Ulduar, delivers us dual specs, and brings significant changes to all the classes! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1 and the official patch notes!
The Argent Tournament Dailies thus far
One of the big features coming in today's patch is the Argent Tournament, and with it comes a whole load of daily quests. Like we've done with Patch 2.4 and Wrath of the Lich King's release, we've been working on a series of guides to all of the new dailies. We aren't finished (there are a lot of quests), but we've been slowly trickling out guides over the last week or so. We've already had a few requests to get the guides we've done already gathered into one place, so we shall do just that.The guides we have completed are... Jack Me Some Lumber A Chip Off The Ulduar Block Learning The Reins A Valiant's Field Training The Edge of Winter
The awesome weapons of the Argent Tournament
It's kind of sad and funny that the best-designed weapons in Patch 3.1 aren't going to come from Ulduar but from the cool but overshadowed Argent Tournament. As great as the Tier 8 armor designs are, most of the Ulduar weapons just aren't on par, with the awesomely-named Voldrethar, Dark Blade of Oblivion looking like something you'd stick into an hors d'oeuvre sooner than you would stick it into an opponent. Remember Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood? Or Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds? The new 2-handed sword from Ulduar follows that great naming tradition but minus the visual badassery.On the other hand, the iLevel 200 weapons from the Argent Tournament are some of the best-looking weapons in Wrath of the Lich King. The best thing about them is that aside from being cool, they're thematically designed to fit specific races. As the Argent Tournament highlights being able to 'champion' a particular major or racial city, it's highly appropriate that the rewards fit the theme. Unfortunately for many players who raid, these weapons won't be upgrades. However, the Argent Tournament was specifically designed for the solo player, a wonderful concession to a sizeable portion of the game's customers. Those players should find that the Argent Tournament weapons are excellent upgrades from quest rewards or even heroics. %Gallery-50027%
World of Warcraft Patch 3.1 Official Patch Notes
Here we are ladies and gentleman, the official patch notes for the live version of patch 3.1. Features of this patch include: Dual Specs Ulduar Argent Tournament Major Class Changes Swimming Mounts New Inscriptions A few reminders about these notes. First, they were obtained from the official patch files. Secondly, the notes are subject to change at the whim of Blizzard. If they do, you'll be able to find the changes here. Third, not everything on the PTR makes it into the live patch – and not everything in the live patch was on the PTR.The full notes are after the break: Part I and Part II.For a concise listing of everything we've written on the patch, check out WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 3.1.
The Queue: Save me Jebus!
Sanctuary! Sanctuary! Save me Jebus!Oh, why did I teach him that word?Ghola asked..."About that Argent Tournament - any idea if that area will be a Sanctuary? I play on a PvP server and I imagine it will be Wintergrasp 2.0 for the first few weeks after 3.1 if PvP is allowed there..."
Breakfast Topic: Virtual Pets
3.1 is looming ever closer and most of the players who aren't storming Ulduar are probably going to be hitting Icecrown for the Argent Tournament thanks to the promise of new mounts and, of course, the zone-specific pets! Now I love pets, I once gave a guildmate all my gold and asked him to go all the way to Netherstorm to get me a Blue Dragonhawk Hatching. Admittedly, I don't have that many and while I normally whip out Frosty or Mini Tyrael when we're in instances, I'm usually found exploring Azeroth with a much simpler pet, my Orange Tabby Cat.It seems like most of the WoW Insider staff - bar Alex and his roomba thingy - have pets and until two months ago, I had an ancient orange kitty called Jerry (known universally and beloved as The Ginger One). Sadly I had to put him to sleep but being followed by a virtual cat makes me wish we had more personalisation options in game. Hunters can name and feed their pets but why can't we do the same with our non combat ones? Yes we can brush them, put them on leads and play ball but it's not really the same thing is it? At the same time because I now have a pair of cats, I'd love to be able to summon several kitty minions who would follow me into battle. Anyway, here's a morning question for you: do you have virtual forms of your real world pets? If yes, do you have a particular one? If you don't, is there a particular non-combat pet you'd like to have? Would you like just one? How about many?
Argent Tournament Dailies: A Chip Off the Ulduar Block
A Chip Off the Ulduar Block is the counterpart to Jack Me Some Lumber, which we talked about a couple of days ago. This time around we need to gather up some stone to be used in building the coliseum. It's another Goblin quest, so naturally this stone must come from the most morally questionable location possible. This time around we're plundering Titan ruins. You're sent off to the Storm Peaks equipped with a Goblin Chisel, and it's time to find your stone. You'll find them in the Foot Steppes and the Inventor's Library, which I've marked on the map above. Yes, there are two different locations you can finish this one, and I find there are advantage to each. The Inventor's Library is surrounded by Library Guardians that drop Relics of Ulduar. If you still need Sons of Hodir reputation, this is a good place to this quest. Two birds, one stone. The Foot Steppes is full of rhinos, so if you need their sweet, sweet meats, you'll want to do this there. It's really your choice.
