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Brewfest tip for casters: Get both spell trinkets
If you're like me, you've been madly farming the elusive Great Brewfest Kodo since Brewfest began. Even when I was having a bit of hand trouble, my little dwarf found his way into Blackrock Depths to do beer-laden battle with the big, bad, belligerent brewmaster. But there's an important tip that you should remember while Brewfest continues. The two spell trinkets are both useful to all spell casters (who don't out gear them) after the content patch unifies spell damage and spell healing into Spell Power. Right now, the Dark Iron Smoking Pipe is a spell damage trinket, and the Direbrew Hops is a healing trinket. But in the content patch, both will be turned to spell power -- the Pipe has 43 spell power and 155 on use, the Hops have 44 spell power, 153 on use. Of course, this begs the question about how the Pipe and Hops will compare to other trinkets when the patch hits. Timbal's Focusing Crystal from Heroic Magister's packs 44 spell power. You'll have to decide whether you want an on-use bonus 154ish spell power from the brewfest trinkets, or Timbal's on-use proc for 285 to 475 extra damage. The Hex Shrunken Head from Zul'Aman is a clear upgrade from the Hops and Pipe, since it has more constant spell power and high on-use spell power. Coren's dropped trinkets are equivalent to the 41-Badge trinkets purchaseable from G'eras. The Essence of the Martyr and Icon of the Silver Crescent are both slightly better than either Hops or Pipe since they have 44 spell power, and 158 spell power on use. But for 41 badges each, I'm probably not going to lose any sleep over 5 spell power every 2 minutes. [Thanks Rikitiki for the tip!]
Breakfast Topic: The last week of Brewfest
Yes, counting today, there are just five more chances for you to down Coren Direbrew during the Brewfest holiday, so if you haven't gotten lucky and gotten a mount yet, better keep trying. And if you haven't started collecting tickets coins, better get to it -- odds are that you're out of luck for getting the ~550 you need for everything, but you can probably still get at least 200 to join the Brew of the Month club.Don't know how to drop Coren or do a keg run? We've got you covered on both. Personally, I got everything I needed (picked up two epics from Coren and joined the BotM club) save for the mounts, but those are so rare (and finding a group as DPS is so tough on my server) that I'm probably not going to bother. Fortunately, I'm looking forward to that other popular holiday that is just around the corner...How you doing on Brewfest? Finished early or just now realizing that the holiday ends on Saturday? Downed Coren every single day with no mount to show for it, or went in there once and are now riding around on a kodo?
Make the most of World of Warcraft's Brewfest with WoW Insider!
There's just a week left to enjoy the latest wacky, elaborate holiday event in World of Warcraft! The second annual Brewfest offers some changes and tweaks to the fun from last year, and WoW Insider has all the details you'll need to make the most of this holiday. Looking to earn yourself a seasonal mount? Looking to join the beer o' the month club? Head over to IronForge or Orgrimmar, but not until you read through everything Massively's sister site has to say on the subject. Cheers! Tips for Brewfest keg runsBrewfest is in full swing, and there's on aspect that most participants dread: Keg running. It's not terribly hard once you know how it goes, but figuring it out can be a real pain. Let's see if we can ease the learning process, shall we? Tips for taking down Coren DirebrewI ran Direbrew with a full group twice over the weekend, and it's not too bad -- as long as you can five four other people, all "with summons" (which just means, I had to learn, that they haven't done the quest yet that day, so Direbrew will appear in BRD), it's a fairly easy fight. Planning for the Brewmaster title in advanceA lot of people are understandably upset that the Brewfest mounts are now boss drops instead of buyable items. I've heard from no small number of folks who saved their Brewfest tickets from last year's event in order to purchase the mount with less hassle this year, only to discover that -- oops -- that wasn't in the cards. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Around Azeroth: Shoulda taken that left at Albuquerque
Oi! This... this don' look like Brewfest. Coren? Hurley? Lads? Where'd ye go? By Ragnaros' fiery teets, I'm not in Khaz Modan am I? Bloody hell, it's impossible to steer these contraptions! Ach... well, let's get a good look a' where we are, then we can work on the gettin' back part, aye?Oh. Crap.Reader James submitted this image to us, and we're always looking for more! Serious pictures, funny pictures, or downright bizarre pictures, we'll take them all. Just remember to remove your UI first (alt+z), then send them to aroundazeroth@wow.com with a short description. If you'd like, include your WoW character's name and server as well so we know who to thank for the screenshots!%Gallery-1816%
Barrens Chat: Bubbles bubbles everywhere...
And way too much to drink.Just a short this week in honor of Brewfest. Which has ironically fallen on the same week as this school's homecoming, so no matter where I look there are parties and drunken revelry. Anyways, I haven't had the chance to participate in Brewfest too much this year, although I did roll up an alliance not long ago and rode the Tram for the first time.In closing, have a safe and happy World of Warcraft holiday, and don't drink and ride!See you next week. %Gallery-22361% Barrens Chat is a weekly comic strip that's been shortened today due to too many trips through the festival grounds. If you're looking for something longer, why not try an unwanted parody. Like 'em short and sweet? Try this shocking shorty. Come back next week for another comic!
The best of WoW Insider: September 16-23, 2008
Yes, motorbikes have made it into Azeroth -- in the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion, engineers will be able to make Harleys, and anyone who can get their hands on one will be able to drive it (though getting your hands on one might not be so easy). But that's not the only big news floating around sister site WoW Insider this week -- check the links below for news about Brewfest, Azeroth's favorite drinking (and ram riding) holiday. News Coren Direbrew now drops cross-faction Brewfest mounts, teleportation deviceBrewfest is underway in Azeroth, and Coren Direbrew is the Dwarf you want to insult for epics. Planning for the Brewmaster title in advanceHere's the low-down on what you need to do to get the achievement ready for the Brewfest holiday. Motorcycles finally implemented in the Wrath betaAzeroth, get ready for biker gangs -- the expansion's new BoE Engineering mount is roaring into town. WoW Insider Interview: Blizzard speaks about Authenticator securityBlizzard answers our questions about how the account Authenticator works. Paladin changes in beta build 8962What's up with plate-wearing healers in the latest Wrath beta build. Features Ask a Lore Nerd: Portals, Pandaren and Jaina ProudmooreOur resident lore obsessor talks about portals, Jaina Proudmoore and her rocky relationship with Arthas, and everyone's favorite Panda race. WoW, Casually: Get thee to BrewfestOur casual players' column takes a look at the latest holiday and all the drinking there is to do. Is "Leading the Cavalry" possible?There's a new mount achievement coming soon to the game, but is it even possible to get 75 mounts on one character? Ask a Beta Tester: Mounts, threatmeters and tabardsIf you've got a question about the Wrath of the Lich King beta, odds are that AABT has an answer. Guildwatch: It's not me, it must be youDrama, downed, and recruiting news from as many guilds as we could round up in our weekly guild column.
Tips for Brewfest keg runs
Brewfest is in full swing, and there's on aspect that most participants dread: Keg running. It's not terribly hard once you know how it goes, but figuring it out can be a real pain. Let's see if we can ease the learning process, shall we? Here are some things that worked for me: Take a walk (or run) up and down the course before you start the race. Find out where all of the apple barrels are on the course. There should be one at the beginning, one at the end, and two spaced out in the middle. You don't need all four of them, but knowing where they are is the important part. Let's pick which ones you want to use. Let's number them: The barrel at the beginning is #1, and they're in numerical order from there, #4 at the end. Ignore #1 and #3. Pretend they don't exist. They aren't there. There are only two apple buckets, #2 and #4.
Tips for taking down Coren Direbrew
Like many players, I was really bummed to hear that the Brewfest mounts had been moved from tickets to the holiday boss -- I was really looking forward to racing those rams for tickets, and I'm not always the best at finding a group for myself. But I ran Direbrew with a full group twice over the weekend, and it's not too bad -- as long as you can five four other people, all "with summons" (which just means, I had to learn, that they haven't done the quest yet that day, so Direbrew will appear in BRD), it's a fairly easy fight. To start it all off, you've got to do the Welcome to Brewfest quest from the guy outside of Orgrimmar or Ironforge, and then pick up the Save Brewfest quest there as well before grabbing a group and heading to BRD.Update: Some people are saying you don't need the starter quests, which is probably true -- there's a quest NPC inside the instance, so probably all you need to do is talk to him. But it is important to not have done the quest already that day -- pickup groups won't take you if you've already summoned him that day, as that means they get one less chance at the loot.
WoW, Casually: Get thee to Brewfest!
Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has limited playtime.Brewfest is here and unless you are opposed to virtual beer-related events, you should get down to Ironforge or Orgrimmar and join the fun. It isn't as casual-friendly as the Midsummer Fire Festival, but it's a blast and every activity can be done by a player with very little playtime, even the boss: Coren Direbrew.Unlike the Fire Festival, you don't get experience by the fistfuls for levelers or cash rewards to fill your coffers, but there is the Brew of the Month Club and, seriously, how can you resist that? There will be Achievements awarded for obtaining many of the Brewfest goodies, including drinking every beer you get in the club, so belly up to the bar and start Chugging and Chucking. Join us after the break for some tips and tricks to get the most out of your Brewfest experience.
Breakfast Topic: Steak on eggs
After posting two articles concerning mount-related issues yesterday (Engineering mounts in Wrath and the changes to the Brewfest ram/kodo), I went back to Blackrock Depths with a group to have another crack at everyone's newest best friend, Coren Direbrew. This time I was in the company of a half-crazed warlock determined to get both Brewfest mounts. He'd missed his chance at the ram last year and sworn up and down that it would never happen again, only to be aghast at Blizzard's decision to make both mounts a boss drop. To him, I imagine, it was time to knuckle down and show that ugly, yellow-bellied, boot-licking, random-number-generator just who was boss. However, as the day wore on, he realized that -- insulting the random number generator? Not a good idea.
Planning for the Brewmaster title in advance
A lot of people are understandably upset that the Brewfest mounts are now boss drops instead of buyable items. I've heard from no small number of folks who saved their Brewfest tickets from last year's event in order to purchase the mount with less hassle this year, only to discover that -- oops -- that wasn't in the cards. One particularly irate guildie logged off to go enjoy a mini-Brewfest of her own courtesy of the fridge after discovering that the ingame version wasn't going to cough up a ram.The new boss, Coren Direbrew, is pretty cool and I'm happy to see older content being made relevant again (especially when it's an instance as cool as BRD), but as far as I can tell from the forums and various data sites, the drop rate on the mounts is...less than spectacular. I'm seeing estimates that range from as little as 1% to as much as 15%. Blue poster Kisirani pops up to say it's "much, much easier" to get a Brewfest mount drop than it was to get the Sinister Squashling off the Headless Horseman. Wowhead lists the Squashling as a 2% drop, so maybe the 15% figure for the Brewfest mounts is more accurate.The mount might be a crapshoot, but you can cover the other bases on an upcoming Achievement and title by planning ahead:
WoW Moviewatch: Some Brewfest highlights from last year
It's been an exciting couple of weeks in World of Warcraft. First there was the Harvest Festival, then Talk Like a Pirate Day, and now, Brewfest. Players are invited to kick back and relax with their friends while they participate in fun activities related to the alcoholic beverage we know and love -- beer. Some of the festivities include the Dark Iron Dwarves, racing rams, and beer goggles. While the special mounts are rare drops now, it doesn't hurt to get out your stein and have a good time trying to get it. If you fail, well, you're still drinking, so that's a plus!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Coren Direbrew now drops cross-faction Brewfest mounts, teleportation device
Brewfest is underway today, and with it comes more news of the new boss, Coren Direbrew. You may remember the hubbub surrounding the decision on Brewfest mounts: A Brewfest Kodo would be implemented, but rather than allowing Alliance a chance at it, it would be Horde only, with the Rams becoming Alliance only. Now that Brewfest is live, that decision has been reversed, at least partially. Now, neither mount can be purchased with Brewfest tickets. However, instead, both drop from Coren Direbrew down in the Grim Guzzler. That means that the Alliance and the Horde can both go after the Ram and the Kodo, but only as a rare drop.
Rounding up Brewfest
Brewfest is upon us, and for those of you who missed out on the festivities last year, we're rounding up all of the events from the first ever Brewfest 2007, as well as the previews we have for this year. Brewfest 2007Information Check out the tips and tricks for completing the quests and earning tickets. Discussion Read up on how players spent their Brewfest last year, including what they purchased with their tickets and what their overall goals were. Check out the reader poll that assessed how much of what people wanted out of Brewfest was actually achieved. Extras Check out Brewfest, the movie! Last year's Brewfest was pretty buggy from launch, and we had the details, including the buggy quests and Dark Iron raids. While some of their fixes worked well, others were patchy, at best. Brewfest 2008Previews The mount system from 2007 that allowed players with enough tickets to purchase a [Swift Brewfest Ram] is gone. This year, the Alliance will have access to rams, while the Horde will get a kodo. Needless to say, people are not pleased by the change. A new holiday boss is being implemented, with loot that is definitely worth the effort! Check out the Grim Guzzler! %Gallery-8222%%Gallery-8945%
Is Leading the Cavalry possible?
I mentioned the Leading the Cavalry achievement earlier, the achievement that requires 75 mounts to... well, achieve. The big question is, is that actually possible? Let's find out!Let's use a Forsaken for our example, since they have no factors working against them like racial boundries on mounts. Keep in mind that some races will have a harder time, like Tauren can't use two of the five Horde mounts, and Gnomes don't allow anybody but Gnomes and Dwarves to use mechachickens.The Horde has Peacocks, Raptors, Wolves, Skeletal Horses, and Kodo. From a glance at Wowhead, there seems to be...
Strange things are afoot at the Grim Guzzler
A lot of us pre-Burning Crusade players hold a warm place in our hearts for the Grim Guzzler, the bar in the middle of Blackrock Depths. It's a hangout for desperadoes and shady figures run by a leper gnome with a demonic bar wench and a metallic bouncer. Most of the patrons would usually kill you as soon as look at you, but as long as they're drunk and you don't bother them too much, they'll generally leave you alone. Of course, sometimes it's worth bothering them, since a few of the patrons and staff drop some pretty cool loot. Despite this charming atmosphere, the Grim Guzzler is in the middle of a sprawling dungeon of hostile Dark Iron Dwarves, so ever since the Burning Crusade, people don't seem to go down there too often. That said, you might want to check it out in the next few days. There's a few new faces down at the bar since patch 2.4.3 went live, including an Arena gear vendor named Griz Gutshank, a Dark Iron Brewer who can't hold his brew, and a couple of goblin roadies setting up for a Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Check out the gallery for a complete illustrated guide to the new faces and surprises at the Grim Guzzler, and maybe I'll see you there tonight for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Oh, and try the Sulfuron Slammer -- It's Plugger's newest specialty! %Gallery-27816%
PTR maintenance concludes, Hallow's End up for testing
An apparently new Blizzard employee named 'Boxinabox' (uh, what?) has just announced that the PTR is back up and fully functional after a 'maintenace' period. Man, who the heck is this guy/gal?The interesting part about this phase of the Test Realm is that Hallow's End is up for testing! We might get to see Horseman mounts if the models that have been dug out of the game files are any indication, but we won't really know until we actually see them drop. Maybe they've gotten rid of the oh-so-phallic Broom mounts this time around? We'll find out, won't we?If you're interested in checking out and testing Hallow's End before it gets pulled, you ought to hurry and get on the PTR. Brewfest was pulled after only a few days, so your time may be limited.Edit: Never mind. See you in 5-7 hours!
Breakfast Topic: What mounts should we get for Brewfest?
It's official. No Kodos for Alliance and no Rams for Horde this year at Brewfest. The decision has been made and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it for this year. But what should Blizzard have done? Kodos really aren't too exciting, in my opinion. They feel slow. I ditched mine for PvP mounts as soon as I possibly could. Rams aren't really very interesting either, but they are at least a novelty Horde-side.Should the mounts be faction neutral, brewfest only mounts, like a steampunk car or a wooden horse made of beer barrels? Or should this be an opportunity for the factions to see how the other half lives -- at least on mounts?What mount would you like to see for next year's Brewfest?
Meet Coren Direbrew, dispenser of awesome trinkets and brewmaidens
The Brewfest is currently live for testing on the PTR, and one of the biggest changes is the addition of yet another holiday specific boss, Coren Direbrew. Coren himself isn't completely new. He was also present in the Grim Guzzler last year, when he would give you a quest to deliver brew to the Brewfest and get an offhand tankard in return. This year, however, it appears he's a bit more surly. Instead of simply completing a quest, this time you need to fight him. Luckily, the loot he drops is more than worth the hassle. Most of it is clones of the trinkets available for badges from G'eras, but there's also a couple other drops that look like a lot of fun. Overall, the loot should draw a lot of people out to Blackrock Depths to beat him up. A list of his loot is coming up after the break.
PTR Brewfest includes summoned barmaid pets, rams and kodos segregated by faction
You may remember that we announced that a Brewfest Kodo was hidden in the WoTLK Alpha files some time ago. With patch 2.4.3, the Kodo did in fact get into this year's Brewfest. The Brewfest is currently open for testing on the PTR, and you can see the Kodos for yourselves - but only on the Horde side. That's right. Blizzard has added the Kodo mount, but not in the way many of us had hoped. The Ram mount is now available for purchase only on the Alliance side, and the Kodo mount only on the Horde side. Kisirani has confirmed that this is intended. She says that they came to this decision only after much deliberation, but it's likely staying, although she'll listen to constructive criticism. As you can imagine, this has not been well received.
