molten-core
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So many dungeons, so little time
This thread in the raid and dungeons forum is not the first - nor will it be the last - to complain about the difficulty in scheduling an increasing number of raid dungeons. As raiding guilds seek to advance through higher level instances, some raids need to be cut out of the rotation - and for most guilds, Molten Core is getting left in the dust. Of course this means that players who are still missing the one piece of tier 2 that drops in Molten Core are now stuck without a way to acquire it, but it also has implications for unguilded players and up-and-coming guilds. When I joined my first raiding guild, I had part of my blue class set, as well as assorted blues and greens from Scholomance, Stratholme, Blackrock Spire, and Dire Maul. But for guild exclusively running Naxxramas, Ahn'Qiraj, and Blackwing Lair, that may not be sufficient gear to be able to contribute. As the leader of a small guild working towards gearing up for 20-player instances, I fear that this will intensify the problem smaller guilds have with players raiding for a while and jumping into guilds that have progressed further in end-game content. Though perhaps I am too pessimistic - will players soon simply be skipping over Molten Core to attempt Blackwing Lair in better gear coming from lower dungeons (dungeon 2 set, etc)? As the scourge invasion event completes on more servers we can begin to see what sort of fallout may come from this growing library of raid dungeons.
Molten Core Done Quick(er)
Ever been to Molten Core? Well, some people have been there few too many times - as you can tell by watching this speed-run through the core by Norwegian guild The Axemen (EU - Ravencrest). Time? 70 minutes (though the video is only 36 minutes long, speeding through non-boss pulls). My best times through MC have been closer to three hours, and were more commonly three and a half to four, with loot distribution and the occasional stupid wipe, so I must say I find 70 minutes exceedingly impressive. And if you've never been to Molten Core, but are curious as to what the place is like, this video should give you a good idea of what you'd see inside.
Raid Timers Still Broken?
Though all realms were restarted on the 31st in order to restore raid reset timers to their normal behavior, raids still aren't resetting on their ordinary schedule. Blizzard hasn't made any comment on the matter, so it's hard to say whether they're intending to change raid reset timers or whether the timers are still bugged. Nevertheless, my Blackwing Lair ID seems to be resetting mid-day Thursday instead of its scheduled Tuesday. Hopefully we'll get some clarification on what's going on soon, but until then be aware that raids aren't on their usual schedule.
Raid Reset Issues Continue
This morning's server restarts, which were intended to fix raid resets, apparently did not solve the problem. Community manager Eyonix tells us they have managed to identify the problem, however, and are working on implementing a fix that will not require additional playtime interruption. As much as I disliked the initial change that put all raids on a fixed calendar of resets, I've come to appreciate the predictability of such a system. Hopefully we'll see a fix soon!Update: All raid IDs on European realms were manually reset today in order to solve this issue. Ouch.
Raiders Rejoice!
It may be a small change, but an important one for many guilds raiding Molten Core. For those of you who don't know, to summon Majordomo, which allows you to summon Ragnaros, you must douse several runes throughout Molten Core using a special item - aqual quitessence - that is obtained from Duke Hydraxis far off the coast of Azshara. The item is single use, unique, and it's a long, long run to get to Hydraxis and back. So each raid you must ensure that several players have made the trek to Hydraxis to acquire a fresh batch of aqual quitessence - an organizational headache, I assure you. And let's not even get into the number of raids that have had to stop while several players hearthed and ran to Azshara, because everyone assumed someone else would bring aqual quitessence that run. However, today community manager Eyonix announced that there will be a multi-use version of the aqual quitessence that players will be able to acquire upon reaching revered with the Hydraxian Waterlords. Huzzah!
Exploit or Creative Use of Game Mechanics?
When new content is opened to a player-base 6 million strong, it's obvious that some will come up with interesting tactics that Blizzard never considered. However, whenever someone finds a new trick, debate rages as to whether it's an exploit or a legitimate tactic - a debate Blizzard rarely involves itself in. Usually, when players find an unintended loophole in an encounter, Blizzard will eventually patch it, but this may be weeks or months after the tactic was originally discovered. Currently a hot topic is the ability to use the paladin ability Divine Intervention (a 3-minute protective shield) on Blackwing Lair's first boss, Razorgore the Untamed. This tactic allows the raid to effectively skip the first phase of the fight - by most considered the only hard part. But, in the time Blackwing Lair has been available, Blizzard has neither commented on this nor implemented a patch to prevent this behavior, which, for many, is as good a stamp of acceptance as needed. Is this working as intended, and just allowing creative players easier access to loot? Or is it an exploit Blizzard simply hasn't taken the time to fix?
