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Liveblogging BlizzCon's Dungeons and Raids Panel
Yep, WoW Insider is back with more Liveblogging goodness. This time we bring you the Dungeon and Raid panel direct from the BlizzCon floor. After the jump look out for all the latest info on Zul'Aman, Uttgarde Keep, and lots of other yummies.
Breakfast Topic: Killing the lore
Instance after instance, Blizzard introduces us to new and exciting bosses -- usually figures of high lore, that we'd previously considered undefeatable. Yesterday at E3 we were given a first preview of Zul'Aman, in which we've learned we'll also be killing a major figure of lore: Zul'jin. Zul'jin, a leader of Troll infamous for his raids against Quel'Thalas, will be the instance's final boss. So soon enough, yet another figure of lore will be permanently removed from the lore by virtue of a world first. On a practical note, I wonder if there will come a time when in-game instances contain all of the universe's major figures of lore and we'll be completely out of things to kill. But considering storyline, I wonder -- when we're powerful enough to kill bosses such as Kael'thas, Archimonde, and Illidan, what challenges could the rest of Warcraft lore pose for us? And does being able to kill them weaken the lore associated with them?
New Dungeons & Dragons preview gets tactical
GameTrailers has provided a very insightful video preview of the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics game. We were afraid that those unfamiliar with the franchise would have trouble keeping up with the series' complex series of rules--and we may have been right. It appears players will have a lot to learn in the tactical RPG. Watch the footage and tell us what you think.
Ask WoW Insider: Heroic instance difficulty
Welcome once again to Ask WoW Insider, a weekly column that publishes your questions for our readers to answer. This week's question comes from Maedhras of Mannoroth, who wants to know the difficulty order of the heroic dungeons: Here's the question that has me hesitating to take my friends into heroic instances. What is the correct order of difficulty of Heroic Instances? Is it in any way related to their non-Heroic level (ie. Ramparts would be the easiest, with Arcatraz being the hardest?) (I shudder at the idea of the 2 Sentinel pull in Heroic Arcatraz). From what I've heard, the non-Heroic level is no indication, but I've been able to clear ramparts (what a scam btw, the last boss does not give a badge) and got my buttocks neatly handed to me in a Red Gift Packaging Ribbon in Steam Vaults. So what's the dealio? Also, where does Kharazan come in, difficulty wise? Which heroics do you find the easiest and most difficult? What would you suggest for players just starting out doing heroics? And relatedly, which do you find much harder than their normal counterparts, and which relatively similar? Got questions? Hit us up at ask AT wowinsider DOT com, and we may just publish yours next week.
Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics gameplay video
You read the interview, now watch gameplay footage from this upcoming Dungeons & Dragons game for PSP. Does this brief clip reveal any answers to the questions you had about this game?
Will you be revisiting the old instances?
In today's Around Azeroth, which featured a shot of the final room of the live wing of Stratholme, I mentioned the fact that there's no reason for new players to visit the place anymore -- they may only see it from screenshots! With quests in Outland waiting at level 58, there's no longer a compelling reason to visit the level 60 dungeons again and again for gear. You'll improve upon anything you find with your first quest rewards, so what's the point of running these dungeons? Won't they be left behind like Zul'Ferrak, Sunken Temple, Blackrock Depths, and other below-60 dungeons where it's often simply too difficult to find a group before you outlevel the content. It's not that these dungeons aren't fun, it's just that the trouble to find a group of players interested in running them -- when so many people are busy leveling towards whatever "end game" there is at the moment -- is often a pain.However reader (and blogger), Gitr proposes an alternate reason to revisit some dungeons: solo content! And we're not just talking about what you can solo at level 70. If we get ten levels an expansion, the next one will give us level 80, after that 90, and eventually 100. So perhaps we can't do these things now, but will we eventually be soloing Molten Core and Naxxramas just for the fun of it?
Splatterhouse does the Monster Mash onto US/EU Virtual Console
The Virtual Console is really starting to heat up! We can't believe it, but it looks like American and European fanboys are going to get a great game before Japan does: Namco's gory Turbografx-16 brawler Splatterhouse. This is definitely one of the three best games ever about a masked parapsychology major trapped in a haunted mansion and forced to destroy lots of disgusting monsters with a board, and it's coming sometime in March!We're also getting Double Dungeons-- but as Turbografx-16 lovers, we're trying to put a positive spin on this news article, and would prefer to talk more about Splatterhouse.What Turbografx-16 games are you waiting for? We're dying for Blazing Lazers and China Warrior ourselves.[Via Siliconera]
Ask WoW Insider: How does tier gear work?
Our question today at Ask WoW Insider concerns tiered gear and where to get it. Candide from Hallowed Arcana on Farstriders writes: "So as a new lvl 60, (Actually to 61 now)I have no tiered gear. Whats worse is I have no idea where to start. Do I need teir 1 through 5 gear before I can get teir 6? I have been playing WoW for a year now, but actual time played is only something like 20 days so in most things I am still a noob. My guild is usually very friendly and helpful but they are all working the run to 70 while im limping along at 61. Can you please expalin to me what gear I should look for, what tiered gear is, and where to get it. The whole tiered armor concept can be daunting to new players -- can you help Candide sort it out? Got questions? Hit us up at ask AT wowinsider DOT com; every week we'll pick one of your questions to publish and be answered by your peers.
Are you raiding?
Over the past few months, it seems as though all of the big raiding guilds -- both Alliance and Horde -- have disbanded on my server. For my part, I've watched each drama-filled guildsplosion while nodding to myself, thinking this to be an obvious result of the coming Burning Crusade expansion. By next month we'll all be jumping into playing Draenei or Blood Elves, or leveling our mains to 70. And would you rather spend four hours a night, as Zubon of Kill Ten Rats puts it, for a tiny chance at rolling on a desired item -- or would you rather just wait a few more weeks and pick up similar-quality gear as quest rewards and new instance drops?I know I stand firmly in the latter camp. The closer we've gotten to the expansion's release, the less I've bothered with my main. Why push forward into raid dungeons when I'll be replacing most of my gear in the leveling spree to come? So when I play, I play alts -- getting a new class to 60 just seems more useful than the slight chance of a minuscule improvement for my priest main seems right now. But what about you? Are you out there pushing through raid content? And if so, I must say I'm curious -- why?
5-player epics confirmed in the expansion
In a post on the beta forums, Tigole has confirmed that we will see epic drops in 5-player dungeons on "hard" mode. Level 70 dungeons on "hard" will have epic loot tables and lower level dungeons on "hard" will have level 70 loot tables. Of course, without solid information (yet!) on what drops and where, raid dungeons may still be contain the very best items -- but for now you can look forward to finding some very nice gear without gathering more than 5 other players. Anti-social folks like myself are no doubt rejoicing at this very moment.[Thanks, Chris!]
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No plans to tweak the current raid dungeons after BC release
After our rather lengthy discussions the past couple of days about the viability of the current raid dungeons come the BC expansion, I thought you guys would be interested in this post from Tigole, that I discovered via Tobold (which he in turn snagged from Blue Tracker).To sum it up...there will be no major changes to the current endgame raid dungeons whatsoever come the Burning Crusade release. No new loot tables, no adjusting of current loot, no new caps and no new timers. Nada. Tigole hopes some players will be able to experience them for the first time with the new level caps,and others will be happy that they will be spared their umpteenth MC run. However, he does mention the possibility exists in the future for the raid instances to be overhauled, but that is not on the agenda anytime soon.In a sense, I am disappointed, but at the same time I would much rather have them working on the new BC content (and getting it into our hands ASAP) than spend time re-balancing C'Thun and redoing his loot table for a group of 70s or 65s or whatever. But he does leave the door open just a crack, so maybe those dungeons will be redone at a point when the new BC content starts to become old hat. Heck, maybe a patch eight months down the road will turn those raid dungeons into really awesome 25 mans, or maybe even 10 or 5 mans. That would certainly be interesting. What do you guys think? Are you a little disappointed? Or could you care less about the old stuff?Oh! I almost forgot...for a lighter look at the current raid loot vs. new BC gear debate, check out our friends over at Not Addicted.
Japanese hardware sales, 18 September - 24 September: Dungeons and Dragons edition
The Dark Sage, Lyte, has been travelling 'cross the land, defeating evil monsters wherever they may roam! What's my level? 21, now quiet. You're ruining the mood. *ahem* So, you come across a dark cave. Rumors say this cave holds a treasure of infinite power. Do you wish to enter? Totally. Dude, a Dark Sage wouldn't say ... never mind. Okay, you go in the cave. A trap! Spikes come up from the floor. Roll to evade. Why do you always put traps in caves? I'm the game master, dammit, I can do whatever the hell I want! *ahem* Roll. Ah, a 17! You manage to evade the traps. You venture deeper into the cave. What...what's this? Oh, it's horrifying! It's ... no, but it can't be ... but it is! It's the evil Passion-Sucking Pixie! It attacks! You lose 23,118 HP! Oof! Uh...I cast Magic Missile! The spell did 139,835 damage! The Pixie dies! You gain two experience points!Just two?Dude, you've killed it like a thousand times.- DS Lite: 139,835 4,950 (3.69%) - PS2: 32,673 1,516 (4.43%) - PSP: 23,118 3,877 (14.36%) - GBA SP: 2,145185 (7.94%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,186 58 (4.66%) - Xbox 360: 1,109 181 (19.50%) - Gamecube: 763 133 (21.11%) - DS Phat: 316 162 (33.89%) - GBA: 20 7 (25.93%) - Xbox: 8 1 (14.29%)(Note to readers: the DS Fanboy staff is rather inexperienced with D&D, so we apologize for any inaccuracies. Or if we offended. We love you guys!) [Source: Media Create]
LFM ZG PST
Sometimes, bored players suggest crazy things. Yesterday's madness was a random pick-up-group expedition to Zul'Gurub; twenty bored players venturing into (mostly) uncharted territory for kicks and giggles. I joined simply to see what on earth this group would be capable of, in one of those "well, why not?" moments. The problem with such a group is its very nature -- advertised on the LFG channel, it contained many players who had never been in Zul'Gurub (or even a 20-man raid) before, and who were generally unprepared. No soul shards, reagents, potions or bandages; these brave adventurers had but the (low-durability) clothes on their backs.
An Epic Journey of Epic Proportions
Last night, my raid leader was looking for fools -- ahem, volunteers -- to undergo an "Epic Journey of Epic Proportions", as he called it. I love the random and offbeat things that one ends up doing in WoW (from random Molten Core pick-up groups to helping out guildies with crazy quests), so I signed up. The epic journey in question? Infiltrating four dark, dastardly dungeons in order to "Steal fire! Become men! Obtain red (absolutely not pink at all) wisp minions!". With the Midsummer quests ending soon, and a sudden desire for rare pets, an adventure was on the cards.
Breakfast Topic: u want 2 b our healr?
Sometimes, the inevitable happens. You're down a man (or woman), halfway through an instance, and one of you has to pick up a replacement. Or perhaps you're on the other side -- you really want to get into a particular instance to do all those quests cluttering up your log.Some players in the latter category may hang around capital cities occasionally asking in LFG and waiting for appropriate LFM broadcasts. However, it's safe to say that not every player in Orgrimmar wants to do RFC, and not every player in Stormwind wants to do the Stockades. Unfortunately, I've seen a huge rise in the number of unsolicited whispers recently from players asking for help in these instances -- and more.I wouldn't mind so much if they were phrased nicely, or gave me some motivation to join. "u want 2 come to dm with us? u heal?" isn't sufficient justification for a high-level character to leave the comfort of a city and run through a low-level instance with strangers. Of course, some players take this opportunity to play tricks on unsuspecting lowbies -- what's your reaction to random instance invitations? Have you ever found one compelling enough to take up? Or did you manage to phrase your LFG nicely enough that you were deluged with help?
Breakfast Topic: Favorite Fight
There are a lot of interesting encounters throughout Azeroth, but some seem to be more memorable than others. Certain raid bosses will always inspire players to gather around the corpse to take screenshots and display their accomplishment, but sometimes smaller encounters are more intense and exciting. One of my favorites must be the fight on the top of the temple in Zul'Ferak, where you look down to see a mass of trolls grouping up at the bottom of the stairs - and knowing you're going to need to fight through all of them to escape. What's the one fight you most remember? An instance or a wandering elite? Or maybe even a PvP kill - let's hear about them!
Dungeon Content Updates
Tigole has made a post updating us all on the current status of future dungeon development. Thus far, announced dungeons for the expansion have been smaller-scale, which will hopefully serve to balance out the game when we've been seeing a lot of 40-player raid content released recently. Karazhan: A max-level (70), ten player raid dungeon, to be released in the expansion. Tigole describes it as "non-linear," and I wonder if that implies a winged dungeon (similar to what we've seen in Scarlet Monastery) or if it simply means you can approach the bosses in whatever order you wish (similar to what we've seen in Zul'Gurub). Additionally, there will be shortcuts to allow players to return to their previous location in the dungeon and continue play from where they've left off, if they've had to leave mid-run. Hellfire Citadel: Another expansion dungeon. This one is confirmed as a 4-wing dungeon, with two wings appropriate for level 60-70 players and two wings for level 70 players. One of the max-level wings will be limited to 5 players, and the other will be an Onyxia-like "quick" raid, with a single boss (Magtheridon). Naxxramas: To be released with patch 1.11. This will be a level 60 raid instance that will feature tier 3 gear. We should expect more news on Naxxramas at E3 in a couple of weeks as well as seeing it live on the public test realms in "a few more weeks."
C'Thun's Loot Table?
No, C'Thun has not been killed yet, but there are already rumors floating around as to what he might drop. Sure, there's no proof of any of this, but news of this nature seems to inevitably leak early - from Nefarian's loot tables to every set of patch notes. Casters will immediately be drawn to a new legendary item - a trinket dubbed The Piercing Eye of the Abyss. It gives an underwhelming bonus of 2% spell crit but also has the following interesting effect...Upon death, you have a chance to be possessed by the spirit of the Old God for 20 seconds. While possessed you cannot be attacked or targeted by any spells or effects and your damage spells deal bonus Shadow damage. When the effect ends, you die.While certainly interesting, I'm not entirely sure what to make of this item, or any other item that requires your death as a pre-requisite for usefulness.
