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Ashen Verdict strength ring in minor content patch
Bornakk popped onto the forums late Thursday to confirm that Blizzard is planning to add a +strength version to the Ashen Verdict rings in an upcoming mini-patch. The appearance of the four current rings with patch 3.3 caused a minor furor on the forums, with plate DPS being left out in the cold. While there are +strength DPS rings available elsewhere in Icecrown Citadel, there's no replacement for a reputation ring's valuable proc. One of the interesting things about the +strength ring's initial absence wasn't its absence per se, but the reason for omitting it. Apparently the Ashen Verdict choices were a reproduction of older reputation-linked quest items (e.g. Violet Eye and Scale of the Sands rings) that allowed only four choices, and Blizzard wasn't able to get past the programming issues to add a fifth option before 3.3 went live. Well, that's going to get fixed in the upcoming mini-patch, which will also see a few other class-related changes. The date of the patch is still anyone's guess, but we'll keep an eye out for you.
Scattered Shots: It's all hunter loot in ICC, part 2
Welcome to Scattered Shots, written by Frostheim of Warcraft Hunters Union and the Hunting Party Podcast. Each week Frostheim uses logic and science mixed with a few mugs of Dwarven Stout to look deep into the Hunter class. Last week we took a look at all the ICC hunter loot that could be purchased or crafted, as well as a bit of discussion about how the ICC itemization impacts hunters and the hunter specs. This week we're going to dive in headfirst and dig through the piles of boss loot and see what gear comes out on top. I should note right off the bat that we have no idea at all what kind of loot the Lich King himself is hoarding. I wouldn't be surprised to find his loot is a higher iLevel than the rest of ICC, and likely what he has to offer will stomp the equivalent slot gear into a gooey gnome puddle. And no, he will not be dropping Frostmourne, though if he did I think we can all agree that a soul-devouring blade that corrupts and controls you is clearly a hunter weapon. So join me after the cut as we take a look at Quel'delar, the Ashen Verdict rings, and everything else that drops in ICC worth looking at!
Professor Putricide: Video and explanation
On Tuesday night, my guild hit the new Icecrown Citadel bosses in the Plagueworks wing -- Festergut, Rotface, and Professor Putricide. While Festergut and Rotface are both pretty straightforward encounters, Putricide is a different matter. Due to Icecrown's gating system, you will have only 10 attempts on Putricide this week (on both 10- and 25-man, so 20 total if you see both versions of the fight), and mistakes are costly. Moreover, our raid found some pretty good strategies for both Festergut and Rotface, but there's a lot of conflicting information about Putricide. Our hunter's guess was that the encounter on the PTR might have been buggy, and that's why the different strategies we read seemed at odds with each other, so our raid leader looked it over and took what turned out to be a pretty good shot at what we needed to do. After wiping on Putricide-25 3 times and walking away from it convinced that the encounter was still bugged, we split the raid into multiple 10-man teams and took a crack at it there. The footage you'll see above is our 10-man's 4th attempt and a clean kill (i.e. no deaths), with my annotations on the fight. Past the cut are a few more notes (and one correction) that I hope will be helpful.
Patch 3.3: Updated Icecrown Citadel raid information
The Icecrown Citadel raid overview here on WoW.com has been updated with even more information on the bosses contained in the Plagueworks, which has opened this week. You'll find summaries on the new bosses along with links to other resources like loot, videos and detailed strategy for Rotface, Festergut, and Professor Putricide. If you're just setting foot in the instance now, don't worry as there are resources for the first bosses in the Lower Spire. Enjoy and good luck! Read the Raid & Boss Information Guide Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Encrypted Text: Knowing your stats
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss how a few stats interact with various rogue specs. Have you ever had a problem finding a group as a rogue? My own rogue isn't immune to this issue, and I sometimes find myself without a raid group on a Saturday night. The rogue population has been steadily growing since its sharp decline right after the launch of Wrath, and that means increased competition for the coveted melee DPS raid slots. With the plentiful bounty of Death Knights and Ret Paladins vying for the three different two-hand weapons that drop from just the first 4 bosses of ICC10 and ICC25, it can be tough finding your place. However, with hard work and good performance, most raid leaders will see the value in bringing back quality DPS. To ensure that you're on the reinvite list, doing as much damage as possible will leave the most tangible evidence of your efforts (as well as being your overarching goal). Sometimes this means doing more with less, and using the gear you have to its highest potential before you're able to reap the benefits of the great 251/264 epics that you're working towards.
Breakfast Topic: Which Plagueworks boss have you enjoyed so far?
Good news everyone! The second wing in Icecrown Citadel is open. Inside the Plagueworks, we'll be taking on the next generation of abominations that Arthas and his lackeys have been working on. Festergut, Rotface and Professor Putricide will be available for your raid. Have you fought them yet? Which one is your favourite? Festergut will be a bit chaotic the first time you go in there. Be careful of the gas in the room. Rotface looks to be a technical fight that demands some precision in movement from players. Watch out for the oozes! Now Professor Putricide? We've been fighting abominations in Icecrown and other places. This time we get to fight as one. All you have to do is drink a potion and voila! If you haven't heard his audio yet, you'll be in for a treat. He's got some amazingly catchy sayings. Perhaps in the future, we'll do a roundup post of the best lines and quotes that Wrath of the Lich King had to offer. If you haven't done the wing yet, which boss are you looking forward to? If you have, which is your favourite? Note: You only get 10 attempts on Professor Putricide before he despawns for the week. Use them wisely! Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Lichborne: Emblem of Frost gear for death knights
Welcome to Lichborne, the Death Knight column. This week, Daniel Whitcomb is really regretting turning on his boombox in Acherus at the new year's party. By now, I assume a good portion of you have managed to get on your daily heroics at least a couple times a week, maybe even have an ICC raid or three under your belt. If so, you're starting to amass enough Emblems of Frost to maybe possibly think about buying a piece of gear. Of course, the problem with Emblem of Frost gear is that it's a little bit more expensive than, say, Emblem of Triumph gear. You're not going to get away with gearing up quite as fast, at least not until all of ICC is open and you have a good group for the place. No 25-emblem tier gear here. So that also makes it important, especially for the more casual player, to pick what you buy carefully. Let's take a look at the various options.
Raid Rx: Healing Festergut and Rotface
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. With the impending release of the Plagueworks wing in Icecrown Citadel, how about some healer tips for the two abominations? Between the two of them, I think Festergut is easy to understand conceptually but harder to execute. Be prepared to bring on the healing as it will stress the healing team.
Crimson Halls, next wing of Icecrown Citadel opens in two weeks
Bornakk has confirmed that the next wing of the Icecrown Citadel, Crimson Halls, opens in two weeks. The next one after that will be Frostwing Halls. According to Blizzard: The Crimson Hall contains the leaders of the San'layn, undead blood elves who oversee the Scourge's operations throughout Azeroth. The blood-princes Valanar, Keleseth, and Taldaram were raised into undeath by the Lich King to avenge themselves while protecting their blood-queen, Lana'thel. Plagueworks has just opened today, starring Professor Putricide and his buddies, Festergut and Rotface. And before you have time to yawn at the lack of new challenging content, the next wing will be open. We'll keep you updated on any details, as usual.
Ready Check: Lady Deathwhisper
My guild is made up of long-time gamers, including folks who've been roleplaying for dang near two decades. And even though we like to style ourselves "hardcore raiders," we all have to admit that we have those characterization inclinations from time to time. We like our immersion. We like our stories. So when we came across Lady Deathwhisper, we had to make a story up for ourselves. As the story goes, we met and defeated Kel'Thuzad back in Naxxramas. But, Arthas wasn't quite finished with his trusted lieutenant yet, and raised him (again) from the dead. But something went horribly, horribly wrong. Lord Kel'Thuzad returned from the grave as Lady Deathwhisper! Naxxramas was only a setback, but it was one heck of a setback! While this little story of ours has no real basis in real game lore, the comparison between the two characters is absolutely appropriate. Both boss fights involve heavy magic damage, adds that spring from the walls to defend the boss, and more than a little coordination. I actually think Leady Deathwhisper is the most difficult fight of the first wing of Icecrown Citadel, which makes her a decent comparison to Kel'Thuzad. Let's take a look behind the jump and start breaking down the fight.
Reminder: Second wing of Icecrown Citadel opens soon
After four weeks of repeatedly storming the citadel, the next wing in Icecrown Citadel should be opening soon. Specifically, the Plagueworks should be available on January 5th. At least, that's what Muradin here said. The screenshot above shows that there are still 28 days remaining even though it was taken this week. I'm not sure if there is a glitch in the Matrix or what. In theory though, we should be breaking through the gates with next week's raid reset. More bosses available, means extra loot and more Emblems of Frost to pick up. The bosses Festergut (My impressions) Rotface Professor Putricide Some loot Black Bruise (Festergut) Trauma (Rotface) Tiny Abomination in a Jar (Professor Putricide) I'm getting impatient. I want to kill Arthas already. Don't you? But we'll just have to wait. This will help satisfy our raiding cravings a while longer. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
The Queue: Allie gets lost in Icecrown edition
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Allison Robert will be your host today. Alex is popping out for a RL issue, so I'm afraid, dear readers, that you're going to get stuck with the writer who will spend the entirety of a question today wandering off the Icecrown map. HC SVNT DRACONES. Frostwyrms, anyway. As a warning, the answer to said question contains what some players will consider a spoiler, so don't read past the cut if you don't want to know anything about an upcoming Icecrown encounter. TAD asks... Will experience acceleration go away once Cataclysm drops? We don't think so, because the 1-85 grind for a new character will still be pretty lengthy even with experience acceleration, but truthfully we don't know. I'd argue that Blizzard doesn't have much of a reason to change current leveling speed, because it's only efficient if the character in question is outfitted in heirloom items (particularly the chest and shoulders with the +experience boost). This obviously won't happen for a genuinely new player seeing the content for the first time. As you've probably also observed with alts on a different realm from your main, leveling's not that fast without being bankrolled by another toon or sitting on a pile of heirlooms. Then again, I'm one of those crazy people who enjoys questing for its own sake and I'll be doing all the new quests anyway, so what do I know?
Encrypted Text: Rogue tips for raiding Icecrown Citadel, part 1
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss some of the tips and tricks to remember when raiding Icecrown Citadel. With patch 3.3's release last week, we saw a brand new tier of raid content released. Our mission to assassinate Arthas while he sits upon his throne has reached its conclusion. After dealing with the immediate threat of Yogg-saron's corruption and proving ourselves in the Argent Tournament, we've been selected as the agents of the Lich King's demise. We haven't come this far to fail now! Before we can walk in and show Frostmourne and company what's up, we have to cut our teeth on Arthas' doorkeepers first. The first four bosses of Icecrown Citadel are now available to tackle, and provide some of the most interesting and innovative mechanics that we've seen in a boss fight yet. Considering that you'll be facing these same 4 bosses for the new few weeks, it provides a great opportunity to really learn the fights and capitalize on any tricks that will keep you alive. Read on for my analysis of the first wing of ICC from a rogue's perspective, with specific tips and tricks for assassins only!
Shifting Perspectives: How to be a good PUG druid
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week, everyone discovers (as I have been saying for years, but who listens to the bear tank with an ass the size of Cincinnati? No one, that's who) that PUG's are not so bad. Moore returns with a ukulele. I'm going to pull out one of the big guns on the folk scene in the Americas -- Richard Shindell. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a high-quality version of this song available anywhere online, and I highly recommend listening to the versions off Shindell's Sparrow's Point or (more especially) the live album Courier. Yes, it starts off slow, but give it a chance. On A Sea of Fleur-de-Lis is a very odd, albeit poetic, song with esoteric lyrics, although they make a little more sense once you know they were written while Shindell was considering leaving Union Theological Seminary. Otherwise, as with many of Shindell's pieces, BYO subtext. Beat that, Moore. Anyway, after reading Archmage Pants' article on the new LFG system for mages and Daniel Whitcomb's guide on the same for death knights, I decided it wasn't fair letting a bunch of smelly DPS have all the fun. "But some death knights tank," you object. That's just a widely-disseminated myth, as all those of us on the Retaliation battlegroup know. You have tried the new LFG, right? Allow me to be the Virgil to your Dante in this new, more lucrative version of hell. Concerning tanks, by the way --
The Queue: What red totem u have
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today. Patch 3.3 is just awesome. The new Dungeon Finder means that not only are you able to run dungeons faster and easier than ever, but you also get the dubious honor of running into any of the myriad crazy people that play this game. Some of those crazy people are me (see above). And, for somebody else, the crazy people might just be you. Speaking of the Dungeon Finder, we've got an actual topical question for The Queue today. Everybody gather 'round by the fireplace, grab some cocoa, and be educated. Spriesty asked... I have a question. Is the new looting system working as intended? I was surprised to see in a group the other night a person win DE mats over a person greeding for an off-spec. So what, we all have to need now, even if it's off-spec, and then trade if needed??
Shifting Perspectives: Druid strategy in Icecrown Citadel - Marrowgar
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week, we cross our fingers and hope there are more fights like the gunship battle up ahead. Hail, druids. I'll be continuing a look at Balance gear whenever the gear lists on Wowhead start behaving themselves (down, boy!), which I sincerely hope is going to start happening soon. Right now they're kind of a mess post-patch. In the meantime, I've been able to return to raiding with the benefit of a new computer, and the guild stomped through Icecrown Citadel last night (with, as I previously vowed, Jaina Proudmoore's coin in my packs because it is awesome and lore-appropriate and I could not be a bigger nerd). As with Ulduar, I'd like to do a series of class-specific tips for each encounter. Again, I go into these assuming you have a basic understanding of the fight's mechanics, and then delve into more druid-specific commentary. Before the next set of Icecrown bosses hits, I hope to have covered Marrowgar (here), Lady Deathwhisper (in which binding Remove Curse to all of your hotkeys plays a significant role in the raid's success), the gunship battle (we wanted to wipe the raid so we could come back and do it again, that's how awesome it was), and Saurfang (who, for some incomprehensible reason, lacks a Cleave ability. Maybe it's a recessive gene). We'll start with Lord Marrowgar, who will probably be the most commonly-seen Icecrown Citadel boss due to his inclusion in the weekly raid quest. Experienced Burning Crusade raiders will recognize this encounter as an unholy mating of Leotheras, Mother Shahraz, and Naj'entus. It sounds complicated, but it's really not.
Second wing of Icecrown Citadel to open in 28 days
Already, a number of guilds have cleared out the first bosses in the lower areas of Icecrown Citadel. After taking down the Deathbringer, talking to your friendly faction hero yields some information as to when the doors will open. In Trial of the Crusader, one new boss opened every week. In Icecrown Citadel, it seems like they're increasing the time between gates. As reported by Stratfu, the next area will open in 28 days (which is expected to be the Plagueworks containing Festergut, Rotface, and Professor Putricide). January 5th is the target date for the next set of bosses. At the rate we're going (28 days between gates), we won't see Arthas until April. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Patch 3.3 Icecrown Citadel raid boss information and resources
Patch 3.3 is out! With the release of Icecrown, WoW.com aims to help prepare you with the long journey through the Frozen Throne. In this post, you'll find general information about the various bosses along with the strategies to take them down. There are 13 bosses in Icecrown. The first four bosses in the Lower Spire will be accessible the moment the patch goes live. The rest of the instance will gradually open up later on. Certain encounters will have limited attempts, but you won't have to worry about them later on. Lastly, attunements are not required to enter Icecrown Citadel on normal mode.
Breakfast Topic: What will be the first thing you do in patch 3.3?
Patch 3.3 is here! Rejoice! Be merry! There's new stuff to do! If you're not quite sure where to start, I strongly suggest checking out our patch 3.3 guide. There's many new activities to look forward to. This is the patch where we make Arthas pay for his crimes. The Argent Crusade, with the aid of the Alliance and Horde will be making their final push into Icecrown Citadel and they need your help. So there's a few things you can start off with: Check out the new dungeon finder (and farm those Emblems)! Head into the new Icecrown 5-player dungeons Try and get the Quel'Delar Buy a new bag Start planning for the fishing tournament in Northrend Assault Icecrown Citadel itself Run a nerfed version of Oculus Send your Heirlooms to your toons of the opposite faction (on the same account). For me personally, I'm locked and ready to break into Icecrown Citadel. What about you guys?
Raid Rx: Healing Lord Marrowgar
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. Welcome to the first test of Icecrown. Once you've blasted your way past the many patrolling skeletons, you'll run into this giant floating bundle of bones. You can consider this boss a warmup compared to the rest of the instance. Marrowgar shouldn't be too taxing on us healers, eh? How hard could he possibly hit anyway? Well, that largely depends on the rest of your raid adapts. The amount of healing needing to be done depends on how quickly the rest of the raid responds and how much damage they deal. Same old story, right?
