Icecrown-Citadel
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Patch 3.3 PTR: The fate of Bolvar Fordragon
Before we go any further, I want to warn you now that there are massive spoilers behind this cut for the Icecrown raid dungeon, including the fight with the Lich King himself. Seriously, they are massive. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't click through to the rest of this article. I am warning you now. Just don't.
Lich King animation found
SPOILER WARNING: There is a spoiler behind the cut. Spoilers, generally defined, are hints or flat-out explanations of events in a story. Therefore, if you were to read behind the cut, you would get a hint or explanation about something happening in the Icecrown raids. I'm just warning you.Zaneosak over on YouTube has put together a video that's pretty much a final conclusion to some things in the Icecrown Citadel in patch 3.3. Is it the final explanation? Well, let's take a look at the video behind the cut and then discuss it.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Lord Marrowgar abilities and achievements
Lord Marrowgar is on the PTR tonight, and he's already been downed by a number of groups and guilds. Remember, however, that this is the test realm so there's a good chance the boss is undertuned and will be a bit harder come patch 3.3. Or not, Lord Marrowgar (who has less health than someone like Lord Jaraxxus) may just end up being a 'gimme' boss to ease you into progression. Either way, don't read too much into his difficulty tonight.Even if he's not perfectly tuned yet, the testing has given us some idea of how his fight will go. His notable abilities are... Whirlwind - Just what you would expect, a physical damage AOE. When it lands, it also applies a DoT. Lord Marrowgar will announce the ability before he uses it, so your melee will want to get out of the way so they don't get hit with the bleed. Saber Lash - Seasoned raiders will know this ability well. It's an incredibly powerful melee strike that splits its damage across three targets (on 25-man, two targets on 10-man) so you'll want all of your tanks standing together. That way, nobody gets 1-shot by it. Coldflame - A line of (cold) fire spawns, and you must not stand in it. Do not stand in the fire. Seriously, people. Bone Spike Graveyard - Lord Marrowgar throws a bone spike in a chosen direction, and anybody directly in the line of fire will be impaled. The rest of the raid will need to DPS down the spike to free impaled players. It can be avoided, and it will not hit targets being hit with Saber Lash.
The best of WoW.com: September 29 - October 6, 2009
Things are hopping as usual over in Azeroth, and Joystiq sister site WoW.com is jumping in time with the tune. Patch 3.3 is being tested, and from what we know so far, it'll bring a new raid, new 5-mans, and possibly the end of the story of Arthas Menethil (a.k.a. The Lich King himself). Want to learn more? Read on! News World of Warcraft Patch 3.3 PTR patch notesHere's what Blizzard has put in the new patch so far. Blizzard releases details on Icecrown CitadelOfficial details on what the new raids and instances will be like. Cataclysm starting zone lore and other new details revealedHints on what we'll find in the starting zones of the new races. And boy do they sound fun. Patch 3.3 PTR: New Tauren skins foundA new look for the cow people in patch 3.3. Patch 3.3 PTR: New weekly quests to do while raidingThe new patch will bring with it more rewards for raiders who go after certain bosses. Features Patch 3.3 PTR: Pit of Saron first impressionsOur bloggers headed into the new instance, and survived long enough to come back with these impressions. Patch 3.3 PTR: Undocumented paladin changesPally changes on the PTR so far. Scattered Shots: Patch 3.3, what's on the horizon for huntersLooking ahead to what's in store for ranged DPS. Arcane Brilliance: Patch 3.3 PTR changes for magesBlink is fixed? Go figure! Patch 3.3 PTR: Undocumented druid changesUpdates for shapeshifters from the latest public test realm.
Patch 3.3 PTR: The Pit of Saron in motion
As you might have read, a few members of the WoW.com crew hit the PTR over the weekend and took a few runs through the Pit of Saron, one of the new 5-man dungeons in Patch 3.3. It's also the only one currently available for testing. We didn't walk away from it with only our impressions posts for you, oh no. We also have screenshots and video.Above you'll find our video of Forgemaster Garfrost, the first boss of the instance. Behind the cut below, you'll find the other two bosses (Krick and Scourgelord Tyrannus) and something a little... special. All of the videos are edited to make sure none of the story moments of the instance are included, so the narrative won't be spoiled for you at all. Enjoy!%Gallery-74549%
Patch 3.3 PTR: Pit of Saron first impressions
Welcome to WoW.com's two part piece on our first impressions of the Pit of Saron, one of the three new 5-man dungeons in the upcoming Patch 3.3. First up is Matthew Rossi from the point of view of a tank, followed by Matt Low with a healer's take.Okay, first off we're going to try and keep all spoilers after the cut. If you're interested in them, you go ahead and look, but please be warned. Today, your intrepid WoW.com team assembled in the super justice fortress and set forth to brave the Pit of Saron, the currently accessible dungeon on the PTR.We were a stalwart group consisting of myself, Alex Ziebart, Matt Low and Tristan from The Elitists podcast. Since there was a bug where some non-premade characters were unable to see the instance due to phasing issues, we played premades (except for Tristan, but his gear was at about that level as well): Myself as a gnome warrior tanking, Matt on a human priest and Alex on a dwarf ret paladin. While my human's DPS gear is about as good as the premade, my tanking set has more T8 in it, so the gnome felt even more OP than usual for a level 80 instance. We did bosses on both normal and heroic and the general consensus is, heroic seemed undertuned or perhaps not even tuned yet at all. We saw no major differences between our normal and heroic fights.As was mentioned in the official Blizzard page about the Pit of Saron and Patch 3.3, there are two bosses before you can access the final challenge of the instance. Since we were an Alliance group, we had Jaina Proudmoore helping us (sort of) along the way.
Patch 3.3 PTR: NPCs hint at events of Icecrown instances
Once again they're hard at work at MMO-Champion digging out juicy bits from the 3.3 PTR files. Like what, you may ask? Oh, like the existence of somebody named Deathbringer Saurfang, that's what. And that's not all: we also will apparently see appearances from Muradin Bronzebeard, as well as the expected appearances by Sylvanas, Jaina, Varian, Saurfang the Elder and the like. We're also seeing possible hints at the Quel'Delar questline with new appearances by Lor'themar Theron and Grand Magister Rommath.In addition, other tantalizing changes are evident. Baine Bloodhoof is listed as a leader and a boss mob in these files... preparations for Cataclysm, or is Baine going to step into the spotlight sooner? There are also a host of AV figures listed. Perhaps updates to Alterac Valley are in store? At any rate, it's tantalizing indeed to imagine seeing two Saurfangs in one raid. Can Icecrown Citadel contain that many cleaves?
Breakfast Topic: The Lessons of the Wrathgate
I was interested to find out via our very own Mike Schramm the Fleshcrafter that Blizzard has a YouTube channel now. The main reason I was interested? Because I can watch the Wrathgate cinematic several times a day and not get tired of it. It's simply one of the things I enjoyed most about Wrath of the Lich King, a potent, powerful and personally experienced series of soloable quests that leads to an awesome rampage through Undercity that creates more tension and drama than it solves. No matter what toon, I've made sure to go through this complete quest chain as soon as I can, as both Horde and Alliance get to see some fantastic lore goodness and interact as near equals with the big figures of their respective factions.Who gets to escort Jaina to her meeting with Thrall? You do. Think of it this way: remember in WCIII when Rexxar and Thrall met up with Jaina? This time, it was you and Thrall. It really did an amazing job of injecting immediate, powerful connection between your character and the great figures of the factions, as well as bringing the war against the Lich King (and the presence of other forces seeking to take advantage of it, ala Putress and Varimathras) back home to the cities of old Azeroth. Who can forget seeing Orgrimmar crowded with refugees?Moreover, watching the Alliance soldiers rally around Bolvar and the Horde come sweeping in under Saurfang the Younger always gives me a bit of a nostalgic feeling. This was the culmination of the 'This threat's so big we have to work together' mindset that saw us form the Might of Kalimdor under Saurfang, that united us against Kil'Jaeden at the Sunwell. This was the last, best hope for peace and unity. Had Bolvar and Saurfang not fallen, had the Forsaken not been split by civil war, if a unified front persisted against Arthas at this critical moment who knows? We might well be looking at the first steps of real detente between the factions, perhaps even a pan-Azerothian league of states and powers that includes all of the Horde and Alliance races as Putress strangles it aborning.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Behold Quel'Delar
If you remember back to our Quel'Delar post (I know it was a different world back then) here's the sword itself, according to World of Raids. The sword definitely appears to bear a certain kinship to Quel'Serrar in terms of its appearance. We've also had reports in the comments that the Quel'Delar quest chain involves the Sunwell in some way - picking up where patch 2.4 left off, perhaps? The more we learn about this sword, the more interesting it becomes. Is it a trick of the Lich King? The famous Runeblade left behind by the Sunstrider dynasty? As of yet, all we have are tantalizing glimpses. I personally hope to get to see more soon.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Icecrown 5-player dungeon maps
You want Icecrown 5-man dungeon maps, you say?You need cross-server instances as you make your way up the Citadel?You've got it. In the gallery below we're happy to give to you the Icecrown 5-man dungeon maps, fresh off the Patch 3.3 PTR. They cover the three wings of the 5-man version. The maps for the raid are not on the PTR yet. The three wings of the 5-man are the Pit of Saron, Halls of Reflection, and the Forge of Souls.Check 'em out below.%Gallery-74485%
Patch 3.3 PTR: Craftable nature resist gear
The patch 3.3 PTR is up (as you must have noticed if you're reading the same site I'm writing on), and among other things, it contains a battery of crafted gear that confers nature resistance for users of the various armor classes. There's leg and foot wear for all armor types, in various versions where appropriate (like DPS/tanking/spell for plate). This is a pretty good sign that we're going to want/need nature resist somewhere in Icecrown Citadel. The mats list is another hint in that direction, calling as it does for Icecrown Thing of Crafting Things [PH]. It's a good thing they put "PH" there, or I might not have known the name was a placeholder. But seriously folks, get ready to craft another set of resistance gear. I'm not particularly jazzed about this myself - I mostly raid as a druid these days, and we have little enough bag space as it is - but I guess it's one way to make sure players don't consume the content too quickly (if they have to stock up on Things of Crafting Things from earlier bosses first). Still seems like a silly hoop to make us jump through.
World of Warcraft Patch 3.3 PTR Patch Notes
Blizzard has just released the patch notes for the Patch 3.3 PTR. As with all PTR patch notes, please be aware that they are the early stages of the finalized patch notes, and not everything may yet be in them. These notes are particularly shorter than what most would expect, however there are still some juicy goodies.The PTR is not up yet. You'll hear it here when it is. These notes come a day after the information and pictures of Icecrown were released.Some of the highlights from the patch notes released thus far: The Forge of Souls, the first wing of the 5-player dungeon, is currently available for testing. Additional Icecrown Citadel dungeon and raid content will be made available in future test builds Misdirection: Redesigned. Instead of having finite charges, it now begins a 4-second timer when the hunter using Misdirection performs a threat-generating attack, during which all threat generated by the hunter goes to the friendly target. In addition, multiple hunters can now misdirect threat to the same friendly target simultaneously. Rogue Vanish: For the first second after this ability is used, neither Vanish nor Stealth can be broken by taking damage or being the victim of a hostile spell or ability. Shaman Fire Nova Totem: This totem has been replaced with a new spell, Fire Nova, which is available at the same ranks as the old Fire Nova Totem. Existing characters will automatically learn this new spell in place of the totem. With a Fire Totem active, shamans will be able to use Fire Nova (fire magic) to emit the same area-of-effect damage as the old Fire Nova Totem from the active Fire Totem, not consuming the totem in the process. Fire Nova will activate a 1.5-second global cooldown when used and has a 10-second spell cooldown. The caster must be within 30 yards of the totem to use this ability, but does not need to be within line of sight of the totem. Black Magic: This enchantment now sometimes increases haste rating for the caster rather than inflicting the caster's target with a damage-over-time effect. It is also now triggered by landing any harmful spell rather than inflicting damage with a spell. Entire patch notes after the break.This post is currently being edited.
Blizzard releases details on Icecrown Citadel
Looks like patch 3.3 might be closer than we thought. Over on the European site, we have a massive info dump about Icecrown Citadel's Frozen Halls, a new instance with normal and heroic versions offering iLevel 219 (on Normal) and 232 (on Heroic) gear. It sounds like the new 5 man we were told was coming. (Edited to add: the North American site has caught up to our European brethren.)It seems that Horde and Alliance each get their own juicy lore goodness in addition to loots, as players will be able to accompany Sylvanas Windrunner or Jaina Proudmoore as they seek a path into the heart of Icecrown Citadel for their individual reasons. (It's safe to say Sylvanas is probably looking to shoot Arthas a lot.) Once inside the Frozen Halls, players must confront the bosses of the Forge of Souls and the Pit of Saron before finally confronting Arthas himself. Sounds pretty bloody epic to me. The text indicates that each section will have its own unique means of challenging the players before confronting the bosses. With names like Bronjahm the Godfather of Souls (is that a James Brown reference) and Scourgelord Tyrannus, I think it's safe to assume we're not going to be offered tea and crumpets, unless of course they're evil tea and necromantic crumpets.So there you have it. Go forth and feast your eyes on screenshots of this 'massive, sprawling 5 player dungeon' if I may paraphrase.Since we know many of you can't access WoW's official website at work, the complete details from Blizzard are reproduced after the break.%Gallery-74362%
Breakfast Topic: What do you want to see in Icecrown Citadel?
While a lot of us (myself included) have been starving for Cataclysm news lately, it would behoove us to remember that we still have one more patch to go: Patch 3.3, the (hopefully) epic showdown with one of the most iconic figures in Warcraft lore, the Lich King himself. We've actually learned very little about it so far. We got Ghostcrawler admitting there's not 31 bosses, and a few other BlizzCon tidbits, but beyond that, what do we know?The other day, Zarhym at least gave us a small hint or two, saying that the 5-man dungeons would be epic and essential to the overall fight against Arthas, that they would be separate content from the raids, and that neither dungeons nor raids (Thank Elune) would have vehicular or mounted combat (the airship battle will not be a vehicle fight, it seems). Of course, that does give us hope, but doesn't get us to the meat of the dungeon so to speak. So I'm sort of wondering: What do you want or expect to see in Icecrown Citadel, both the raids and the dungeons? Are there certain bosses or boss encounters you want to see? What type of storylines would you think epic enough for the 5 mans? I'm still hoping for the completely ignoble, futile death of Tirion Fordring, but that could just be me.
Breakfast Topic: I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds
Forgive me for quoting Oppenheimer quoting the Baghavad Gita. It just seemed a very appropriate title for a post about how the Wrath story arc is about to come full circle.If you play or have played a DK past level 58, you had the experience of the DK starting area, with the intensely well crafted solo play from doomed soul raised from death by the Lich King to rising power among the armies of the dead to eventual rebellion against the Lich King and his designs for Azeroth. Even if you haven't, if you're level 74 or above I hope you've experienced the Wrathgate event, with its excellent cinematic. (If you have not been to the Wrathgate yet somehow, don't click those links.)Now, as we digest our BlizzCon diet of news and information from this weekend, we now know that a new expansion is in the works and we, therefore, can anticipate the last act of this expansion when we storm Icecrown Citadel and confront Arthas/Nerzhul in his seat of power. In the very near future, we are going to be fighting the Lich King, and when he eventually is defeated we will have come to an end to this particular story. If you're playing a DK in particular, this is the big moment for you. While we don't know what, exactly, will be happening to Arthas we do know that with his defeat, your DK has done what Darion Mograine set out to do and defeated the very being who raised the Death Knights to their shallow unlife.
BlizzCon 2009: How far along is the development of Cataclysm?
We knew Cataclysm was coming, but it's nice to be able to play it. Today. At BlizzCon. Yes, rather than firing up the PTRs to let visitors kick Onyxia's butt (again) or proffering a glimpse of Arthas' defeat, attendees get their first taste of the new expansion set. How awesome is that? To be able to play the game this weekend, though, suggests that it's at a good stage in development. After all, Wrath was announced at BlizzCon 2007 but we didn't actually get to play it (at least the internal Friends and Family Alpha version) until the WWI in July 2008, nearly a year later.Blizzard's Lead Level Designer on World of Warcraft, Cory Stockton, has stated that Cataclysm's development began before Wrath shipped (there's a surprise ...) but it's obviously futher along than many might have thought and then Mike Morhaime hesitantly confirmed the game was slated to be released in 2010 along with StarCraft II. So when exactly could we expect to see the third World of Warcraft expansion?
Day two of BlizzCon 2009: Round-up
Well, readers, BlizzCon 2009 is over and done, and our staff is slowly but surely beginning to make its way home in celebrated zombie-like fashion. In the meantime, we've outsourced article production to our household pets, so be gentle with your criticism of Toonces' efforts today (stupid cat can't even spell QQ correctly). Anyway, here's what happened on Day 2 of BlizzCon: SATURDAY'S PANELS: We liveblogged the panels on Breaking Into the Industry, the general World of Warcraft Q&A, WoW Game Systems, the Dungeons and Raids panel (which included information on both Icecrown Citadel and Cataclysm content) and the second WoW Class Discussion panel. NEW FEATURES ANNOUNCED: Blizzard announced a long-awaited feature in the form of cross-server instances, which should dramatically increase the pool of people available to run a 5-man at any given time. We won't have to wait for the expansion; they believe it should be ready to go live in patch 3.3. Another long-awaited feature will make its debut in the form of rated battlegrounds and arena points from wins. A beloved feature of the old honor system -- ranked (and faction-specific) PvP titles! -- will also return. WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WE'RE ALL &$#*%*^ED NOW: Cataclysm continued its storm through the con, and we've got in-depth looks at an array of the announced features. Read on for a look at the Cataclysm narrative, tanks and the removal of +defense, an explanation of the Mastery system and new talent functionality, what we know about the Path of the Titans, the introduction of guild leveling and talents, the known dungeons of Cataclysm, and what we can expect to see in patch 3.3's Icecrown Citadel raid and 5-mans. PATCH 3.2.2: On the subject of Wrath game patches, Matt Rossi takes a look at the most eagerly-anticipated part of patch 3.2.2, the return of Onyxia. LIVE RAID: The top-ranked U.S. guild, Premonition, did a live raid against a series of selected bosses, falling eventually to...Hogger? No one saw that coming. CLASS AND ROLE COMMENTARY: Zach Yonzon and Eddie Carrington respectively have you covered on Warlock and Hunter information from at the Class Q&A panels, Christian Belt's written his column on Cataclysm and Mages, and Matticus examines the information released on stat changes and their likely repercussions for healers. VIDEOS: We have additional video of the new Worgen and Goblin starting areas, the finalists and winner of the costume contest, and the Dance and Soundalike contest. %Gallery-70748%%Gallery-70706%%Gallery-70745%%Gallery-70746%%Gallery-70747%
BlizzCon 2009: What to expect in Icecrown
Oh hey guys -- remember the other World of Warcraft expansion, the one we're currently playing? Turns out this one has some cool stuff too. The most interesting thing (at least to me) that we heard from the Dungeons and Raids panel is that we're going to get some sort of cinematic or lore moment on Arthas' death (if he does in fact die). I remember being somewhat disappointed when Illidan finally croaked for my guild; for such an important lore figure, he really went out with a whimper and not a bang. Anyway, here's what we know so far about the Icecrown Citadel raid confirmed to be coming in patch 3.3: There will be at least 4 floors' worth of content in Icecrown Citadel, which I would guess means it'll be reminiscent of how you worked your way up from the sewers of the Black Temple to the roof with Illidan. They plan to make more use of the warp/teleport mechanic currently used in Ulduar that makes it possible for players to see bigger dungeons without spending a lot of time just running from place to place. Sindragosa (the same dragon you saw Arthas raising in the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic trailer) and the Lich King are two confirmed bosses. Based on the "Shadow Vault" scene glimpsed in Yogg-Saron's brain room, I'd wager you'll be seeing Saurfang the Younger and Bolvar as well. Read on for more news on Icecrown Citadel!%Gallery-70747%
Speeding up Trial of the Champion
Trial of the Champion, the latest dungeon, has quickly become a popular daily destination. It's no wonder why; in under half an hour, with little difficulty, you can begin outfitting your character(s) with epics of Ulduar quality!At first, I wasn't sure if I agreed with Blizzard's decision to start handing out welfare epics again. Surely we can't be that close to the next expansion, Cataclysm!Then I realized how easily I could now gear one of my alts, which was something previously impossible to me. Being a main healer, I knew I would never have the opportunity to bring an alt to a raid, so my favorites have not even hit 80 yet. Now that I know I could get them Ulduar-ready in such a short time, I have renewed interest in leveling them. I can also see why Blizzard would want to help players gear up at this point in time. In Burning Crusade, so few people got to see Sunwell and experience what the expansion was all about, that this time around, they seem to be gunning for the general raiding population to reach Arthas (Icecrown Citadel). Having accepted this acceleration in "progress," I was left with one major qualm. The introduction to Trial of the Champion, which must be endured each run, is way too long. Unbearably long. Go and make a triple-decker sandwich long. Then a few guildmates and I discovered that there is indeed a way to hasten the process.
Insider Trader: Not like it used to be
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Lately, there has been a lot of talk about vanilla WoW and the way things used to be. Now that experience gains can be shut off, players can actually move through some of this content the way it was meant to be experienced. Well, it won't be exactly the way it was, but it's as close as we're getting. Blizzard has also been implementing more elements from the old world. Naxxramas was a vanilla dungeon, and was redone to become the first raid instance of the second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, set back on Azeroth no less. In fact, soon we'll all be battling Onyxia once again, deep breaths and all!Professions used to be different too. Of course, most of the changes to the system have been for the better, but there were some elements that could be recycled for the future. Last week, Insider Trader discussed a new, more progressive direction for professions, including some of the ways that this could be implemented. This week I'll be shedding new light on one particular vanilla element that has been phased out, exploring ways in which it could be reborn.
