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Drop rates surface on 2.4 items and substances
Patch 2.4 has been upon as for almost a week now, and that's long enough for Wowhead to have collected reliable data on some of the interesting new things in the patch. Here's what I've noticed, leading off with what is (to my mind) the most interesting piece of information: Shattered Sun Supplies have a 10% chance to contain a Badge of Justice Wretched Fiends and Wretched Devourers each have a 30% chance to drop Mana Remnants for "Arm the Wards." Though this is probably reduced a bit by players who kill the Wretched without having the quest, I think 30% is close to the true drop rate (based on my own observation). I guess that's it, really; the numbers on Bash'ir Phasing Device, Nether Residue, and Sunfury Attack Plans are hopelessly diluted by old and non-quest data, so we may never know true drop rates for those. Still, I'm glad to know about that 10% chance for a Badge. It's lower than I'd thought it would be, but I can understand why they would want to make it take a while for solo-only players to earn awesome epics.For comparison, I checked WOWDB and Thottbot. WOWDB gave 9.2% for the Badge, which is similar, and 98% (!) on the Mana Remnants, which is clearly wrong. Thottbot says 9% on the Badge, and 27% on the Remnants.
Realm progression rankings for the Shattered Sun questline
The efforts to retake the Isle of Quel'Danas proceed apace. Some realms are going faster than others, but Drysc assures us that even the low-population realms will get the phases auto-completed for them eventually if they don't have the manpower to get there fast enough on their own. What if you want to see exactly how the realms stack up? We talked last week about a manually maintained forum post; however, that has problems with trustworthiness and the difficulty of keeping it updated.Edur, of Gorgonnash-A (EU), has created a web site that relies on game data form participants to rank the realms according to their completion of the Sunwell questline, and a very nice site it is. You can see all the US and European realms and where they stand both on the main phase quests and on the side accomplishments, like constructing the portal from Shattrath to Quel'Danas. There are also nice progress charts for each individual realm, and, most usefully, ETAs for when the objectives might be reached given current rates of completion.
Breakfast Topic: Fun surprises
As many of you are, I've been doing my duty to my server and pocketbook by completing the Shattered Sun Offensive daily quests every day. I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed that the reward for many of the quests is [Shattered Sun Supplies]. Before opening it, I was excited. I expected some nifty food and potions, maybe gems or herbs, and greens. I like to be surprised by some things, so I hadn't looked up the current loot list. Needless to say, after a few days, and a bag full of useless 68 greens with + resistances on them, I became discouraged. Then I opened my first one of the day, and voila! A [Badge of Justice]! Because I rarely have much time to spend in-game these days, I hadn't collected any of these yet (sad I know). The experience actually reminded me of the two times that [Wall of the Dead] dropped for me, and the time that [Kang the Decapitator] fell into my hands, and the roll came out in my favor. The two rarest pets I've ever farmed and received, the [Captured Firefly] and the [Tiny Crimson Whelpling], also definitely gave me a natural high.What warm and fuzzy memories do you have of surprising drops and good fortune? Patch 2.4 sounds great, but what's in it for you? Find out on our Sunwell Isle page where we list the impact on classes, professions, PvP, Raiders and many other playstyles and interests including walkthroughs on the new Sunwell Daily Quests. Looking for more great info? Check out the WoW Insider Directory for the best of our guides and analysis.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Aftermath
The Care and Feeding of Warriors plays catch-up this week with Patch 2.4. Matthew Rossi has been tanking the new five man, doing badge runs, and being obscenely lucky on drops this week, to the point where he's almost embarrassed about it. The word 'almost' was used advisedly.So this week I've been running around doing as much of the new content as I can, dailies, the new five man, an abortive run into Sunwell Plateau (no matter what your friend in the Illidan guild tells you, you cannot heal that instance in Karazhan gear, not that I really expected to survive) and of course the usual raiding, which includes our badge runs into Kara and ZA. As primarily a tank, I usually pass on DPS gear unless no dedicated DPS players need/want them, so while i have a few good pieces it hasn't been my main focus.This week, however, the loot fairy came along and just threw gear at me. On Wednesday night, our usual SSC clear netted me World Breaker, a mace I've always stared at with wonder. First off, I've always loved the model. Check it out, that thing is wicked. I never expected to get the weapon... like I said, prot spec... but nobody else who could use it wanted it. So I snatched it up greedily and made cooing Gollumesque noises about it and went on with tanking. Since I have some decent pieces for my chest and legs but lacked any plate helmet, shoulder or glove option for whackery, I ran out and picked the new Savage Plate gear for those slots and enchanted/gemmed them up. I knew I wasn't going to set the world on fire but I thought I could have some fun in BG's.Amazingly, it turned out that I was right.
Phase 3 Dailies: Making Ready
Though the Sun's Reach Armory has been taken by the Shattered Sun Offensive, it is still not fully stocked and equipped. This is where you come in. Smith Hauthaa just outside of the Armory needs you to gather ore so she can make the Armory an Anvil.Supplies are on the way, she says, but she doesn't want to waste time while she waits. She sends you to retrieve three pieces of Darkspine Iron Ore. You won't be mining for this ore, nothing as simple as that. You need to kill Darkspine Myrmidons along the eastern coast of Quel'Danas. They drop Darkspine Chest Keys which are then used to open chests along the naga encampments. The Myrmidons fight like really boring Warriors, using Sunder Armor and Demoralizing Shout. The area is also lousy with Darkspine Sirens, which fight like Frost Mages. Ice Armor, Frostbolt, Frost Nova, that sort of thing.You'll likely need to do quite a bit of fighting to get your three pieces of ore, simply because there are so many mobs in the area. Once you work into a rhythm, it should only take as long as 'Arm the Wards!' does each day. While this quest may seem like one of the more time consuming Quel'Danas dailies, it is certainly worth the effort. Why? Because when this quest is completed a certain number of times, it unlocks the Anvil. Unlocking the Anvil unlocks the new Badge of Justice rewards, and yet another daily quest. If you're itching to make a purchase from Smith Hauthaa, encourage your friends to do this quest as often as they're able.Aside from unlocking the next step of Quel'Danas, this quest has another reward. Upon completion, you will receive 11 gold, 99 silver, and 250 Shattered Sun Offensive reputation. Once the anvil and Badge of Justice rewards have been unlocked, this quest becomes 'Don't Stop Now...' and retains the same objectives. For further information on this quest, you can head on over to Wowwiki or Wowhead.
Phase 3 Dailies: Taking the Harbor
This quest is likely as straightforward as the Shattered Sun Offensive dailies could possibly get. What is it? A kill quest. You get it from Magister Ilistar within the Sun's Reach Armory, which has become friendly at the conclusion of phase 2.Magister Ilistar wants you to thin the ranks of the Dawnblade on the island itself. Specifically, he wants you to kill six Dawnblade Summoners, six Dawnblade Blood Knights, and three Dawnblade Marksmen. Their names are good indicators of what they can do. Summoners are warlocks, Blood Knights are... Blood Knights, and Marksmen are hunters. In my experience, these mobs are a little more difficult than the Wretched and Robots of the earlier dailies, but alone they still shouldn't be too hard. The only threat they truly pose is the fact that they are fairly tightly packed, so single pulls might be hard if you're the only one doing this quest. However, Quel'Danas probably won't be underpopulated at any point while trying to complete phase 3, so you'll be just fine.Once you finish that up, head on back to Ilistar and turn it in! Easy! You'll be rewarded with 11 gold, 99 silver, and 250 Shattered Sun Offensive Reputation. When phase 3 is completed, his quest is replaced with Crush the Dawnblade. The name of the quest is the only thing that changes. Same objectives, same reward. For further information on this quest, you can also check Wowwiki and Wowhead.
Sunwell Phase 3 daily quest walkthroughs
Though no servers have reached phase 3 of the reclaiming of Quel'Danas, it's always good to be prepared. Many servers began Phase 2 just yesterday, and phase 3 is well under way. My server sits at around 14% complete of retaking the Armory after Day One, and I expect this to pick up over the weekend. Within a week, many of us will likely be transitioning into the most anticipated of the phases.Why is it the most anticipated? Well, as soon as this phase begins, you gain access to a General Goods vendor, vendors to trade PvE tier tokens for PvP gear, as well as a handful of new daily quests. As you progress through this phase, you also gain access to the new Badge of Justice rewards vendor. The ultimate goal of this phase? Capturing the Sun's Reach Harbor.%Gallery-19191%Take a look behind the jump for walkthroughs for each of the phase 3 daily quests!
Phase 3 Dailies: Ata'mal Armaments
After completing the anvil for Sun's Reach Armory, Smith Hauthaa of the Shattered Sun Offensive needs a little more help gathering materials. We've been gathering Darkspine Iron Ore for her, and now she needs a more pure metal to create an acceptable alloy.In this quest, you're sent to the Ata'mal Terrace in Shadowmoon Valley, to gather Ata'mal Armaments. This metal was once used by the Draenei living in Karabor, but has since been taken by the Fel Orcs, corrupted, and abused. The anvil you just helped Hauthaa make has been blessed by the SSO's clerics, and just happens to be capable of purifying that metal.So what you do it gather up five of those armaments, then head back to the Isle of Quel'Danas. Stand near Smith Hauthaa's anvil just outside of the Armory, and use the Armaments. This will cleanse them and break them down, making Cleansed Ata'mal Metal.On the Ata'mal Terrace, the Armaments drop from any of the fel orcs there. The Shadowmoon Chosen, Shadowmoon Slayers, and Shadowmoon Darkweavers. These mobs aren't especially difficult, we've been killing them since the Burning Crusade launched. Nothing scary about them. The only thing to worry about are the Shadowsworn Drakonids, the wandering elite... drakonids. They're not as unforgiving as their Netherwing Ledge counterparts, but can still be a thorn in your side. This is the final quest in phase 3 of the retaking of Quel'Danas. Its rewards reflect that and are a step up from all of the others. Not only do you get 18 gold, 28 silver, and 350 Shattered Son Offensive Reputation, you also get a choice between two neat weapon oils. Physical DPS can choose the Righteous Weapon Coating, and casters can choose the Blessed Weapon Coating.As always, for more information on this quest, you can always check out Wowwiki or Wowhead.
Phase 3 Dailies: Intercept the Reinforcements
This quest begins on the Isle of Quel'Danas from Vindicator Kaalan. You'll find him inside of the newly acquired Sun's Reach Armory. He sends you back over to Ayren Cloudbreaker for a Dragonhawk to use. If you remember, he's the same Blood Elf you spoke to for the quest Distraction at the Dead Scar.Yes, this is another 'bombing run' quest, though slightly different. Your goal is to bomb the three Elven Destroyers just off of the coast and kill six Dawnblade Reservists to... well, intercept reinforcements. When your dragonhawk takes off, it'll fly past each of the three boats(Dawnchaser, Blood Oath, and Sin'loren). You'll use the Flaming Oil provided to you by the NPCs, and throw it at the sails of the ships. Big, easy targets. You should have more than enough time to hit them all. Eventually your dragonhawk will land on the Sin'loren, where you begin slaughtering Blood Elves again. You can migrate over to the other two ships, but your ride back is on that particular boat. You chat with the dragonhawk when you're done because he was kind enough to wait for you, and you're taken back to the mainland.You should have no difficulty hitting all three ships with the Oil on one pass, and while the Dawnblade Reservists aren't especially numerous, they respawn very quickly. This quest should only take you a few minutes assuming there aren't dozens and dozens of people trying to do the quest at one time.For your minor inconvenience of needing to sit astride an undulating dragonhawk yet again, you will receive 7 gold, 59 silver, and 250 Shattered Sun Offensive reputation.Once Phase 3 of retaking Quel'Danas is complete, this quest will be renamed "Keeping the Enemy at Bay," but the objectives and road to completion remain the same. For more information on this quest and others, you can check out Wowwiki or Wowhead.
Sunwell Isle Realm progression list
Are you interested in which phase each Realm is on in the race to complete the Shattered Sun Offensive? Well then Masterdragon has the list you need. He has compiled a list of all of the servers and which phase is currently being worked on. Drysc has blessed the thread with a blue post congratulating him on his endeavors -- and presumably to make the list easier to find.Masterdragon will be updating the list two or three times a day and requests that you check the list before posting your server's phase status.I'm impressed that Masterdragon is putting in all this effort to update this tracking list. It's too bad that Blizzard can't provide one for us so that he doesn't have to. An official list could indicate the percentage completed for each phase as well. But I suppose they have enough work putting a spin on the undocumented changes that have popped up in Patch 2.4.Do you think Blizzard should have an official list? Or are you just happy that a fellow player took the initiative to make one himself?
Report Card: How do the new phase 1 dailies measure up?
Having had a chance both on the live and test servers to do the Shattered Sun Offensive dailies, I think I can safely say that Blizzard has thoroughly outdone themselves. There's variety, there's travel (instead of staying in the same small area all the time), there's excitement, there's good loot, there's all kinds of varied quests that make me think that I may never go back to Ogri'la or Skettis ever again unless I really need something from the vendors. There's still things that could be slightly better, but for the most part, Blizzard has shown that they've taken valuable lessons from previous content and stepped up their design for patch 2.4.
Phase 1 Dailies: The Multiphase Survey
Finally, we reach the end of our grand tour of the phase 1 Shattered Sun-related daily quests. "The Multiphase Survey" is assigned by a doubtful Draenei named Harbinger Harnomen who can be found somewhat clockwise of the flight master in Shattrath, and it goes like this: Go to the Spirit Fields in Nagrand, which are near that giant crystal Oshu'gun. Put on the provided Multiphase Spectrographic Goggles. Fly/ride around and look for Multiphase Disturbances (pictured), which are only visible when wearing the goggles. When you find one, get near it and right-click your goggles. The disturbance will disappear. Six of these "readings" and you're done; flutter on back to Shattrath for 4g 10g, 250 Shattered Sun rep, and another Shattered Sun Supplies (c'mon, Badge!). Seven daily quests later, what's our total take? 78 gold, 1550 Shattered Sun Offensive reputation, a Major Rejuvenation Potion, and two Shattered Sun Supplies. Not bad for the work of an hour or so.
Phase 1 Dailies: Sunfury Attack Plans
Here is another Shattered Sun daily that originates in Shattrath, from Lord Torvos who stands just north of the flight master (right by where you picked up "Gaining the Advantage"). The premise of "Sunfury Attack Plans" is that we know that the Sunfury elves up in Netherstorm have some attack plans, and we want them. We want one of them per character, every day. So get yourself to Netherstorm, find some Sunfury elves (any Sunfury elves), and kill them until one of them drops the attack plans. I usually go for the mobs near Manaforge B'naar simply for convenience.Like many single-drop quests, this can be maddeningly inconsistent. Today I got the plans on my first kill, and a guildy of mine claims to have killed over 100 before finally receiving the item. We'll have to wait until a bit of data for the database sites has been collected before we can find out what the drop rate is, although if I had to guess I'd put it around 10%. For your troubles you are rewarded with 4g 10g, 250 Shattered Sun Ofensive rep, and a Shattered Sun Supplies, which contains a random green item and has a chance to contain a Badge of Justice as well.
Phase 1 Dailies: Gaining the Advantage
You've dealt with automata and the Wretched on the Isle of Quel'Danas. You've slain demons and blown up the transporter at the Throne of Kil'Jaeden. Are there more Shattered Sun-related dailies left to do? You bet! There are three quests that are assigned in Shattrath, and here's one of them: Gaining the Advantage. Posts on the other two are coming shortly.Allegedly, some people in Stormwind can make oils that will help in the fight against the Legion, and they need Nether Residue to do it. This quest is assigned by Emisarry Mordin who paths near the flight master.For this quest, all you need to do is be a skinner, herbalist and/or miner, and go out and do some gathering. Any Outlands herb (not Golden Sansam or Dreamfoil), ore node, or (I assume) skinnable mob has a chance to drop Nether Residue, of which you need eight for the quest. The drop rate on herbs felt like around 30%, possibly higher on higher-level herbs. So it's a fairly easy quest to do, and as a bonus, you get some herbs/ore/leather. Go on back to Shattrath to turn it in, and be rewarded with 16g, 250 Shattered Sun rep, and two one Major Rejuvenation Potion.
Phase 1 Dailies: Blast the Gateway
This is the companion quest to "Blood for Blood," and is given by Magistrix Seyla up at the Throne of Kil'Jaeden ("The Missing Magistrix" is a prerequisite). In "Blast the Gateway" you take on a mission to help shut down the Legion Gateway, by means of an interesting quest mechanic. Right-click the supplied Sizzling Embers to release a pet Living Flare, which follows you around. Contrary to what WoWWiki says, I find that it will not despawn if you use your flying mount, as long as you don't get too far away from it (so be careful on your epic mounts). Find and kill the Incandescent Fel Sparks, which are fire elementals that wander the Throne area. They have a fireball, but like most of the mobs involved in the dailies, they're not hard to kill. Every a Fel Spark is killed with your Living Flare nearby, the Flare energizes. Note that you don't actually have to kill the Spark yourself; if you see some other people killing one, go help, and any flares in the vicinity will get energized. Once your Flare accumulates enough energy (it takes about five eight kills), it will become "unstable" and turn green. Take it over to the Legion Gateway, near Magistrix Seyla, and it'll release its fiery power. Done! Talk to the Magistrix for 12g and 250 Shattered Sun rep. I did have my Flare despawn on me once, but I think I flew up very high or something. I've definitely had it follow me on my flying mount just fine. But you should be careful, because if it does despawn you have to start the quest over.
Phase 1 Dailies: Blood for Blood
Now that you've completed "The Missing Magistrix" and teleported to the Throne of Kil'Jaeden in Hellfire Peninsula (or flown there if you've already done the teleport before, but completion of "The Missing Magistrix" is required for this quest), you're ready to do Blood for Blood and its companion quest, Blast the Gateway (next post). Magistrix Seyla at the Throne assigns both quests. Blood for Blood goes like this: Kill Doom Heralds, those big swordy demon things you see stomping around, and loot their blood. You need four, and it seems to be a 100% drop. The blood powers the Felblood Siphon that you'll use in the next step. Find Felblood Initiates (pictured) casting wavy green things at the structures on the ground and cower at their eliteness. Now use the Felblood Siphon on them, and, just like the giants from Ferelas, they will weaken into non-elite pushover Emaciated Felbloods. Kill. Do this four times, and you're ready to return to the Magistrix for 12g and 250 Shattered Sun rep. This was a fun quest, although last night it was absolutely impossible to find any Felbloods because of all the players competing for them. Much easier today though; they might have upped the spawn rate (edit: they did). The Felbloods stun briefly when you use the Siphon on them, which gives you a chance to get some distance and/or cast a spell. Next up is Blast the Gateway, which is a good quest to do at the same time as this one. I wonder where Kazzak is hanging out, though -- has he always been killed when I've been up there, or did they move him?
Phase 1 Dailies: Erratic Behavior
Continuing our examination of the phase one daily quests in patch 2.4, here is "Erratic Behavior." It is easily done at the same time as the other Isle of Quel'Danas daily, The Sanctum Wards. It's gotten from the Shattered Sun Staging Area, and asks you to convert five Erratic Sentries into friendly ones by means of the magical crystals they give you.The Erratic Sentries are found in the same place as the mobs for The Sanctum Wards: an arc starting at the Staging Area and proceeding broadly southwards along the western shoreline. They're non-agressive (yellow) mechanicals (pictured), and although they're level 70, it's still uncommonly easy to kill them. Sometimes they can be found reduced in health bandaging themselves up, and in general they move a bit oddly -- I guess that explains the "erratic" part.After you kill and loot, target the corpse and right-click the Attuned Crystal Cores in your inventory; the Sentry will turn into a friendly one and stagger around briefly before disappearing. Note that you can't convert corpses that you haven't killed yourself. Convert five corpses, and you're done. Return to the staging grounds for 9g, 150 Shattered Sun rep, and warm fuzzing feelings for helping get to Phase Two. This quest is still available in Phase Two, but renamed to "Further Conversions."
Phase 1 Dailies: The Sanctum Wards
Welcome to the first post of a new series on the daily quests available in Patch 2.4. I'll be going through all the quests that are available in phase 1, one by one. This is one of the two daily quests on the new Isle of Quel'Danas, and it's called "The Sanctum Wards." It goes well with Erratic Behavior, which I'll cover in the next post.The quest itself is pretty simple, and goes in two parts. Hunt down Wretched Devourers and Wretched Fiends, and slaughter them for their Mana Remnants. You'll need four Remanants, and the drop rate felt like it was around 50%. The mobs are only level 68, and don't pose much of a problem; they do a puny drain life/mana and a very short silence. They can be found starting in the Shattered Sun Staging Area and spreading in an arc down near the western shoreline. Once you have your four Mana Remnants, come back up near the Staging Area to a Crystal Ward (pictured, at 49,35) and right-click the stack of Mana Remnants in your inventory. There's some nice pretty zapping effects, and you're done with your quest. 9g and 150 Shattered Sun rep await you. You have now completed one of the two quests that will progress your server towards Phase Two, so thanks for doing your part! This quest is still available in Phase Two, but renamed to "Arm the Wards."
Dirt Dog Gaming's Sunwell daily chart
So, by now I'm sure many of you have made your way to the Sunwell and started figuring out the daily quests. You've probably checked out our walkthroughs of the new dailies for Shattrath and the 1st phase of the offensive, and gotten your bearings pretty well. Still, there's a lot of quests to deal with, and it can understandably get a bit boggling sorting through them all. That's where Infamy of Dirt Dog Gaming steps in, with a very handy chart that breaks down all the various phases of the offensive with handy color coding indicating which quests are progressive towards unlocking content. It's definitely a very nicely done resource, and one which should help you plan out your daily runs as you work towards exalted SSO reputation, epic flying mount money, or just unlocking the island completely. Check it out!
Top 5 must-dos in Patch 2.4
Patch 2.4 is finally going live, and with all of the new content, it will be pretty overwhelming when you first log on and attempt to decide what you want to do. With new loot, new quests, and new areas to explore, there will be plenty to keep you busy!05. Regarding your User Interface: The default UI is changing, so along with updating and reconfiguring add-ons, you should learn more about the changes you're going to need to make.04. For the explorer: If you like to be prepared, check out our coverage of the maps for Sunwell Isle. If you'd rather dive right in and be surprised, then check out your own map of the Eastern Kingdoms. The little island at the very top is your new destination! Either way, the easiest way to get there is from the Ironforge (Alliance) or Silvermoon City (Horde) Flightmaster.For the rest of the countdown, hop through the break!
