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Phat Loot Phriday: Amani Divining Staff
If you're as excited about 2.3 as we are, you'll love this spiffy new staff from Zul'Aman.Name: Amani Divining StaffType: Epic Two-hand StaffDamage / Speed: 144-304 / 3.20 (69.9 DPS)Abilities: +58 Stamina, +47 Intellect. That's hot. Red, Yellow, and Blue sockets-- socket bonus of +5 spell damage Equip: Improves spell crit rating by 31. Equip: +217 spell damage and healing. Very nice. And plus, it's all troll-looking. Personally, I love the look of the Zul'Aman stuff. I know everyone doesn't share my tribal tastes, but I think it's a great move by Blizzard to lighten up the look of the Outland gear a bit. How to Get It: Ah, yes-- the tough part. First, you have to get in to Zul'Aman, and then you probably want to make sure you can clear it first. This staff actually drops from the timed event in that instance. Just like the Baron Run in Stratholme, when you first zone in, you'll have 20 minutes to kill the first boss. If you kill that boss in time, an NPC will come out with a chest, open up the chest for you, and give you your loot. The loot table for that chest includes this staff, so you have to be lucky enough to see it.From there, things are still a little fuzzy. We know it's 20 minutes to the first boss, but after that, I haven't seen exact timer numbers (this EJ thread has a lot of good tactics for all the bosses, however). It might be twenty minutes for each boss, or it might not. Some guilds on the PTR have completed the timed quests, but there's not a lot of documentation around on the instance. Yet, that is-- pay attention to the WoW Wiki page, and I'm sure details will show up soon after Tuesday. I do know that Blizzard has it out for you-- the next boss' timer starts when you down the last boss, not when you get the loot. So the timer runs while you wait for the NPC to come out and open the chest. Awkward much?I should mention, also, that it's not entirely clear whether this staff is part of one big loot table for the timed event chests, or whether it only drops on a certain boss' chest. At any rate, it does appear in those chests at some point, so just complete the entire timed event quest (which Blizzard claims is very, very hard), and you'll be fine!Getting Rid of It: Disenchants to a Void Crystal, and sells to vendors for 16g 85s 85c. Which I usually say would never happen, but then again, remember that Zul'Aman, and especially those finishing the timed quests, is going to be full of bored Mount Hyjal guilds looking for new content. So there may be a few of these things disenchanted and sold off. Bummer.
The Rift loot guide part three lists Minstrel, Lore-master goodies
Ten Ton Hammer has been giving us the lowdown on all the shiny new gear LotRO players can acquire in The Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu, the new raid instance Turbine added to the game in the Book 11 update. First they listed the coin rewards. Second, it was the gem rewards for Guardians and Champions. They've just launched part three and this time they're covering all the sweetness Minstrels and Lore-masters can acquire with the elusive gems that drop in the instance.Lore-masters can get a new armor set awesomely and appropriately called "The Elder Days," which gives mad stat boosts as well as some shadow damage mitigation. Minstrels can gather up the pieces of a suit of armor called the "Armour of the Wandering Bard," which provides similarly sweet stat bonuses and tactical critical modifiers. There are new weapons for both classes as well.It's excellent gear, and all this on top of all the other lovin' Minstrels and Lore-masters got in Book 11. We'll let you know when part four of the guide hits the streets.
Officers' Quarters: Sweet victory
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Back in September, I talked about how to manage the raid after a wipe. So I thought it would be helpful to follow up on that column and talk about the opposite. Specifically, I want to talk about guild-first kills. Guild-first kills are among some of my favorite moments playing Warcraft. I'll never forget my guild's first Ragnaros kill, way back when. It's a huge shot of adrenaline to see that big baddie finally topple over into a motionless, sparkly pile of purple and gold. You've worked hard, you've persevered through any number of failed attempts, and it has all paid off. It's an amazing feeling, isn't it? But as an officer, your work is not yet done!
Massively's massive giveaways day 2: World of Warcraft
If you joined us on day 1, you'll know that we armed you with enough Tabula Rasa loot to bury all the Bane you're killing. You'll also know we have nefarious plans to give a ton more stuff away, so let's get to it! Today's giveaways are World of Warcraft-related, so WoW players, get your trigger fingers on your keyboards and get ready to leave some comments to win some cool stuff. Our first giveaway gives you a chance to win one of our perennial favorites, a 60-day game time card. Short of being a US resident 18 years or older (be sure to check out the official legalese), all you have to do to roll on this phat lewt is leave a simple comment in this thread by 9am EST tomorrow, Sunday November 4. No fuss, no muss, easy as pie. Mmmmmm, pie...
Like loot? Massively wanna give ya some.
As you may have heard, there's some new kid on the block covering MMOs (no, not that one!). Luckily, that kid brought along some bribes in a cheap and transparent attempt to win your love and affection, and all of today's giveaways are WoW-themed. We know some of you principled individuals have a firm stance against Free Stuff, and we respect that. For the rest of you, check in on Massively today to win some 60-day game cards, and even a special prize. We could tell you what it is, but we'd have to kill you -- because it's top secret. We can't even give you a hint, so don't ask us!
Badges of Justice may not be in WotLK
I sure thought that Badges of Justice were here to stay (especially since Blizzard has been ramping up where they're used and what they buy), but maybe that's not the case. When a player asks if they'll still be around in Northrend, Neth says it's not a sure thing, and that's a lot less certain than I thought I was.I really don't think Blizzard will abandon the turn-in system entirely-- although Badges are a little different than they've ever done it before (and yes, they probably do need a little tweaking in how they're given out), the system works. It gives people a reason to run instances, and it lets you choose what you want to run, and then choose the loot that you want from that run. Token-based loot, in general, is so far a great alternative to the drop or the quest system.However, I can definitely see Blizzard moving on to some new tokens. Maybe as WotLK comes out, they'll just spread these Badges around more and more, making the Heroic loot more and more easy to get, and then when we reach Northrend, the next iteration of token loot will go back to being much more rare.
Don't forget your gems!
Since it's the first of the month (or close enough), those of you with Consortium rep (which would be roughly anyone over level 60) should remember to fly out to Aeris Landing in Nagrand and visit Gehze for your monthly lot of free gems. The better your rep, the more gems you get, and the more likely they are to be blue-quality. Both of my high-level characters are merely honored, so I got a couple of Unmarked Sacks of Gems, each containing three or four uncut green-quality gems. Not huge, but hey, a few extra gold never hurt, and it's certainly enough to be worth flying out for every month. Blizzard originally had plans to have the gems come in the mail, but that was buggy and they ultimately scrapped it in favor of a monthly quest.The different rewards, depending on your Consortium reputation, are: Friendly: Gem Stuffed Envelope Honored: Unmarked Sack of Gems Revered: Bulging Sack of Gems Exalted: Bag of Premium Gems Maybe it's time to start grinding Consortium rep...any tips on that? Also, jewelcrafters, do you see a spike in your business around the beginning of the month? Just curious.
Massively's Massive Giveaway Extravaganza
We conducted some recent focus group research and made an astonishing discovery: people like free stuff. Therefore, to celebrate the kick-off of this here blog, we are giving away boatloads of stuff -- every day for the next two weeks we'll have some amazing giveaways lined up. There will be something for you whether you play Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars, EVE Online, or any other of a number of current MMOs. So what do you have to do to win free stuff? Just check in with us every day for the next week and see what we have to offer -- you can always find out what contests are currently running at this link. We're kicking off day 1 with a non-stop series of 24 hours' worth of Tabula Rasa giveaways -- you'll have no less than 24 chances to win some cool TR schwag today. Everything kicks off at 8am EST, so tune in for some fun and prizes. Say what you want about Massively, but don't say we never gave ya nothin'!
Last few days for Headless Horseman farming
About a week and a half ago, the halls of Scarlet Monastery were packed with more players than they've seen in a long time. Corpses of Horde, Alliance and unwitting Scarlet Crusaders littered the floor when Hallow's End hit the servers and plate-wearers world wide began their obsessive quest to nab the Horseman's Helm. Of course, the warriors and paladins aren't alone in their enthusiasm. Since there are a variety of goodies that can be acquired, it wasn't difficult to find groups to challenge the Horseman the first few days of the event. As players have collected the items they were hoping to get or simply got bored of the encounter, it's become more difficult to find a group to take down the cackling loot piñata. With the real life holiday of Halloween marking the end of its Azerothian counterpart on Wednesday, time is running out to summon the Horseman. Hopefully more people will be online and willing to get a couple more shots at the helm/pet/ring they've been salivating over.Personally, it took me over thirty-five attempts to get the Helm for my warrior, and I have guild mates that are still trying to get the Sinister Squashling. While the drop rates are certainly random, in my experience, these two items are both the most sought after and the least common. While I'd love to get the pet for one of my characters, the grind for the helm was enough for this year.Have you achieved your Hallow's End goals? What are you still hoping to get accomplished?
First Illidan China kill by The Seven
Just about a month and a half after they first got access to the Burning Crusade, a Chinese guild has downed Illidan Stormrage over the weekend. World of Raids has more, including the fact that it only took 52 days total, and that a Gnome Rogue picked up the offhand. As many are noting, lots of players are still dressed up in Tier 3 gear, which means they just barrelled right through SSC and TK up into the Black Temple.Incgamers has an interesting point, however-- Chinese players, getting BC so late, supposedly had the benefit of all the nerfs and tweaks that Blizzard added to all the encounters since it first was released here. From Vashj's bugginess to the attunement removal, it could be argued (I'll leave this one up to you guys) that China is playing a much easier Outland endgame.At any rate, downing Illidan is always an achievement, no matter what game you're playing. Grats to The Seven in China-- now here's hoping they go back and actually try enjoying that raid content![ via MMO Champion ]
Officers' Quarters: Loot whores -- Are you their pimp?
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Let's talk about loot. Is any subject more controversial in the entire game? After all, the game itself is centered around loot, like it or not. Loot opens doors and conquers enemies. Without it, you'll only see a fraction of what the game has to offer at max level. Without it, you're going to struggle in battlegrounds and the arena. It's the only way to advance your character at the level cap. Currently, the best loot in the game essentially advances your character by 81 levels, to 151 (not counting certain legendary warblades). So it's no wonder that so much guild drama is the direct result of decisions about loot.
Breakfast Topic: Yeah, what Eyonix said
The other day Mike wrote about how he considers the Headless Horseman event to be too easy, how giving away epic gear equivalent to those found in Heroics somehow cheapens the epics others have to earn. Evidently he's not the only one with that concern. Posters on the forums were complaining about this very issue, and Eyonix had this to say in reply:Players have a chance to participate in a fun holiday event and get a nice ring (or helmet) two weeks out of the entire year. The drops are great items, and upgrades for many, but they are certainly far from the best in-game. I'm sorry but this event doesn't undermine anything you've accomplished. Are you sure your complaint doesn't stem from the fact that your epic raid loot makes you feel like you're better than others who have lesser gear? I'm not accusing, just asking.He makes a valid point, that Eyonix. While some of the gear from the Headless Horseman encounter is very good, this is something that happens for only two weeks out of the year. Much like the epic loot dropped from bosses for a limited time last year (I can recall a faboo belt I got off a Lich in undead Stratholme) during the fall, these items are only available for a limited time, so act now! Really I see it as a great way to gear up those that can't run Heroics, and currently I think this is the best holiday event we've had. The items are good, but are they so good that they're worth making a fuss over?
Phat Loot Phriday: X'caliboar
As requested, we're going "husky" on Phat Loot today, with a cool two-handed, midlevel sword that anyone can get. Plus, if you ask me, this sword has one of the best names ever. Puns FTW!Name: X'caliboarType: Rare Two-hand SwordDamage/Speed: 98-148 / 3.30 (37.3 DPS)Abilities: +20 Strength, +8 Stamina Unfortunately, that an added enchant on the pic above-- the sword doesn't glow when you get it. A decent sword for Warriors and Paladins of the level (around 35-40). The Strength is very nice, obviously, and although you'll replace it soon (just like any other weapon in the early 40s), it's good to have around if you need to do any two-hand slicing. Plus, the name rocks. Obviously it's a play on Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur, but it drops from Razorfen Downs, so courtesy of Blizzard's witty item creation team, you get "X'caliboar." Funny. How to Get It: Take a trip through the aforementioned Razorfen Downs, another one of my favorite instances in the game (I especially like the Undead rave going on in there). Ragglesnout drops it, and he's a rare spawn that appears near that rave (in one of the huts on the spiral). Apparently he is pretty rare, so if you really want to the sword, you may have to restart the instance a few times to see if you can get him, and then just hope the sword drops-- it's seen at about 20% which isn't bad, but when you factor in the chance that Ragglesnout appears, it's a little more rare than that.He has a couple of other good drops for a Warrior, too-- a shield and a belt that are fairly nice. But this sword is the jewel of the bunch-- get in there, hope he spawns, down him, and maybe you too can have the chance to run around Orgrimmar or Stormwind yelling "I WIELD X'CALIBOAR! BOW DOWN TO YOUR KING!"Err.. maybe that's just what I'd do.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into a Small Radiant Shard, and sells to vendors for 2g 1s 44c.
Officers' Quarters: Dark pacts, Part 2
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.Two weeks ago, Officers' Quarters presented Part 1 of an in-depth look at guild alliances -- how to avoid all the negativity and actually make them work. I talked about assessing compatibility, communicating, and keeping your finger on the pulse of your own members' feeling about the other guild. This week, we'll talk about leadership roles, loot rules, and more!
Suvega's DKP
Yesterday we talked about various loot-distribution systems. This prompted Suvega to write in and show us the DKP system he uses as guildmaster for his guild (Anarchy on Archimonde). I think it's very clever, so I'd like to tell you all about it. My own guild uses a standard zero-sum DKP, which I've been happy with so far, but I think this might be better.DKP is awarded to each member as follows: One point for showing up on time One point per boss kill (one more point if the boss goes down on the first try of the night) One point for staying to the end of the raid Triple points are earned if this is a "learning raid" on which many wipes will probably occur Each item has a fixed price (generally between 25 and 35 DKP). When an item drops, everyone who wants it whispers "bid" to the loot distributor (who I think is the GM, but it wouldn't have to be). The person who has the most DKP wins the item, and the item's price is deducted from her DKP.
The pros and cons of set loot tables
Hardcore Casual has a short but interesting piece up comparing EVE's loot system to that of WoW and EQ. WoW uses what's called a fixed loot table system, which means that everything you kill in game has a set list of loot that drops from it, in varying degrees. If you kill Illidan, you know exactly what he might drop, even if you don't know exactly which piece on that list will drop. But EVE Online apparently uses a much more random loot system-- when you loot, you might get anything.A better comparison (especially for Blizzard fans) might be Diablo, where almost anything can drop almost anywhere. The problem with a random loot system like this, however, is exactly what I ran into in Titan Quest (a pretty darn good Diablo clone): halfway through the game, a great item will randomly drop, and you'll get a thrill from getting a sweet weapon. However, because you randomly hit it big, you'll have the problem of nothing better ever dropping again, and the game is pretty much over. Diablo fixed this by having separate areas to go through (and I believe TQ got patched in the expansion to fix this a little bit). But in WoW, you don't have that problem-- every new instance you go into will have better gear than the one before it, guaranteed. You can look it up on WoW Wiki, or look at the loot lists, and know exactly what's there.In fact, some say WoW's loot tables are too random-- I always see Paladin loot drop whenever there's no Paladin in the group. But it does take a little bit of fun out of the game world when everyone is huddled around the Curator saying "cmon staff, cmon staff, cmon staff!" Giving us a boss or two where the loot is totally and completely random (out of almost any item in the game) could actually be fun.
Phat Loot Phriday: Blighted Leggings
Last week we got requests to do a lowbie item, and since everyone will be headed into SM Graveyard soon to get the Headless Horseman, I thought I might let you know about another piece of loot hidden in that not-often-traveled instance.Name: Blighted LeggingsType: Rare Cloth LegsArmor: 45Abilities: +17 Spirit Increases damage done by Shadow spells by up to 10. The Shadow spell might make you think Warlock, but the Spirit on these pants says they're for Shadow priests (Warlocks would rather have Stamina, as Life Tap can hook them up with mana as long as they have HP left). And for the level, they're very nice for young Shadow priests to grind with. How to Get It: They drop from Azshir the Sleepless, a rare mob in the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard wing. The GY is also where the Headless Horseman will be spawning during the upcoming Hallow's End holiday, so to get these, just camp your young Shadow Priest outside the instance, and then dive in with your level 70 group to get the Horseman. Once that's done, check and see if Azshir has spawned (he usually spawns in front of the Mausoleum), and if so, bring your Priest in, down him, and hope the pants drop-- they've got a 30% chance.And if they don't drop or he isn't there, worry not. The Horseman is a daily quest, and odds are everyone in your party will want something from him, so put your Priest back outside, come back the next day, and check again. By the time everyone in your party has a broom, you'll hopefully have grabbed these pants as well.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into Small Glowing Shard, and sells to vendor for 35s 59c.
Phat Loot Phriday: Crystal Spire of Karabor
This incredible healing mace is actually changing looks in patch 2.2-- thanks to our friend MMO Champion for the comparison pic above.Name: Crystal Spire of KaraborType: Epic Main-Hand MaceDamage/Speed: 16-132 / 1.80 (41 DPS)Abilities: +22 Stamina, +15 Intellect Increases healing done by spells and effects by 486, which is high enough to make grown men cry Restores 6 mana per 5 seconds, which makes grown Shaman everywhere weep with happiness And if your target is below 50% health, direct heals will grant an additional 180 to 220 health to your target, which makes healers' mouths everywhere drop open. Which means if you're direct healing someone below 50% health, you get at least +660 healing just from this item. Of course, not all +healing translates directly into heals (and definitely not on the lower ranks anymore). But still, that's a lot of +healing. Trivia: The Black Temple was previously known (long ago) as the Temple of Karabor, the center of Draenei worship everywhere. The Spire of Karabor is likely a piece of the temple itself (or perhaps the Altar within), fueled by years of Draenei faith and prayer. Pretty cool. How to Get It: It drops from someone named Van Cleef in the Deadmines!No, only kidding. Loot like this doesn't come easy-- you've got to be prepared for this one. Illidan himself drops this baby, when you kill him in the Black Temple. We haven't seen all that many kills yet, so a percentage isn't certain yet, but odds are it's less than 20% or so, and possibly a lot less than that. And considering this is a great mace for every healer in the raid, you're going to have to be pretty good and really lucky to call it your own.Getting Rid of It: Sells for 14g 32s 71c, and disenchants into a Void Crystal, but come on now. Don't even think about it.
Ask WoW Insider: Which BC loot has been escaping you?
Welcome to Ask WoW Insider where we publish one of your questions every week. Last time we looked at whether or not healing can be as competitive as dpsing, and this week we return our attention to one of everybody's favorite topics: loot. Sephran writes: I started karazhan about 4 months ago. I was a resto druid and I was looking for that Shard of the Virtuous. The 1st time we rolled, another resto druid got it.. she promptly left the guild the following week... The 2nd time I passed it on to someone else who needed it A LOT more then I did. The 3rd time.. lost the roll again. Once I transfered guilds I thought it would be better.. but alas.. it dropped with more new people to kara.. I once again passed the hammer to another person for a super mega upgrade to them. The 5th time.. it dropped and I finnally won it!!! Tops my Happiest moments in WoW, thats for sure. Then on Opera my priest friend finally got her Masquerade gown that she had never seen drop since the 1st time I got it 4 months ago. So I'm wondering what TBC drop has escaped you? Any good stories to go along with why you haven't gotten it? We looked at this question shortly before BC came out, "in memoriam" for items we might truly never see now that focus would be shifting to all the new gear that would await in Outland. So now that the expansion is out, what gear has been eluding you? What is that one drop you just can't seem to get, or finally found its way to you after a long and strange journey? We need your questions! Send us your inquiries for next week to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.
Changes to loot items coming in 2.2
Drysc tells us that there are changes coming to the latest Upper Deck loot items in 2.2. The Goblin Gumbeaux Kettle is going to keep its one hour cooldown, but everyone who loots it will get Gumbeaux (warning: may cause intestinal gas) for the entire three minutes it stays on the ground. Can't wait to see those pop up around Shattrath (or, as Drysc says, in the middle of raids).And good news for the few who were able to grab the Spectral Tiger Mount (or just picked it up on eBay). Apparently the cat is getting "a little more armor" and the ethereal effect of it will be improved. Sounds great. I still haven't seen one of those ingame yet-- have you?People are still complaining about the hourlong cooldown on the gumbo (sorry, Gumbeaux), and I'm torn. One on hand, an hour is a really long time for an item that's just a joke. I get to summon Vargoth every few minutes (and often do when I get bored). But then again, it is just a joke-- who really cares whether you have to wait five minutes or an hour to burp your heart out? It's a fun loot reward-- be happy you got one and enjoy it as is.
