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Patch 5.2 PTR: Shocking raid preview of Lei Shen
This is it. This is the final battle of the Throne of Thunder (excluding Ra-Den, of course). It's just going to be you and your party against Lei Shen. I'm telling you, this guy has many different ways to fry your raid. I haven't taken on a boss this technically complex since lady Vashj or even Yogg-Saron. Lei Shen has multiple phases along with intermissions in between them. Read on about the different ways you can wipe!
Patch 5.2 PTR: Jin'rokh and Lei Shen raid testing announced
We are in for a treat. The testing schedule Jin'rokh the Breaker and Lei Shen have been announced. Jin'rokh is currently the first boss of the instance while Lei Shen is the last boss. Not sure what the relation is between Jin'rokh the Breaker and Jin'rohk, The Great Apocalypse (if there is one). As always, your gear levels won't matter for the purposes of the PTR. What you're wearing will scale up accordingly to help with testing. Here's how to get into the Throne of Thunder. For previous bosses tested, you can check out Olivia's take on Horridon or my impressions of both Horridon and Iron Qon. Raid Testing Schedule - January 25 On Friday, January 25, we will be testing two more raid encounters in the Throne of Thunder. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Jin'rokh the Breaker - 10 Player Normal 10:30 PST (13:30 EST, 19:30 CET) Lei Shen - 10 Player Normal 16:00 PST (19:00 EST, 01:00 CET) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. This is particularly true for these early tests as we are still nailing down overall patch stability. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) to item Level 502 for the purposes of testing Normal modes. source
Patch 5.2 PTR: Staring into the face of Iron Qon
The first question that crossed my mind was is this guy pronounced Iron Con or Iron Chon? I think it's the latter, but I don't have a clue. Anyway, Iron Qon is one of the last few bosses in the Throne of Thunder before you can challenge the Thunder King himself. After experiencing a few wipes, the current iteration of the boss abilities just seem overpowered. With any new boss, there's always that slight chance that we're not doing it correctly or that it's bugged. Usually, we assume that we're doing it wrong. But after repeated attempts and trying a myriad of assorted positions and strategies, nothing was working. We had a hard time putting a serious dent on that first flying quilen. The furthest we progressed was no less than 60% health. Not exactly promising, right?
Patch 5.2 PTR: The horror of raid boss Horridon
You know what's worse than fighting a giant dinosaur? A giant dinosaur with cannons. I don't know what those Zandalari trolls have been up to, but they're outfitting these lovely and peaceful dinos with weapons of war with the aim of unleashing them on us. Are we just going to stand by and let them trample all over us? Nope! Not one bit! Read on!
Patch 5.2 PTR: Wrathion's quest continues
The black dragon Wrathion has a new chapter for players to complete when patch 5.2 releases. The updated patch notes has revealed that in the new Throne of Thunder raid, Wrathion is going to charge players to infiltrate the palace. While we don't know exactly what tasks he'll want us to perform, it's bound to take some effort and skill involved. What exactly are we going to get performing these random tasks for Wrathion? It has to be good since we're diving into another raid and challenging all these raid bosses. The reward is a legendary quality metagem called Crown of the Heavens! It remains to be seen if this gem can fit into any socket or if, like the weapon counterpart, must be inserted into a Sha-Touched helmet. I can't help but wonder if the gems will have special or enhanced properties compared to the normal meta gems that we use. Here's hoping we'll be able to select a version of the gem which helps enhance our roles. Stay tuned though as we expect to find out additional details on what Wrathion has in store!
Patch 5.2 PTR: Reputation gain changes
One change that's arrived with the latest patch 5.2 notes is one that has to deal with bonus reputation. Players have stated how grinding and repetitive the reputation can be. A suggestion that was offered was to bring back reputation tabards so players could continue to earn reputation while participating in dungeons. This would offer players two methods to earn reputation: Dailies and dungeons. Blizzard disagreed they didn't want players to double dip as dungeons already reward loot from bosses along with valor points. The developers mentioned sometime back in December that they were planning a way to include bonus reputation through dungeons. A suggestion was brought up by our own Matthew Rossi where players could represent a faction for a limited time. That looks like the compromise solution we were looking for! Patch 5.2 PTR and Patch Notes You can now earn bonus reputation for your first dungeon and scenario of the day. You can select which reputation you choose to champion by selecting it from the reputation panel on the character screen. When you queue for a dungeon or scenario, the UI will remind you which reputation you are championing and allow you to change the reputation from there. (You cannot change that reputation once you are in the dungeon or scenario.) source The UI has changed so that the Reputation panel in the character screen displays which reputation they have purchased Grand Commendations for. That's great for people like me who've accidentally purchased the same reputation commendation twice. How about it guys? What do you think of this alternative way to earn reputation? You can still knock out your dailies but between the commendations and the bonus reputation from dailies, I wager you'll be able to hit Exalted at a nice rate.
Patch 5.2: Horridon and Iron Qon raid testing announced
More raid testing has been scheduled tomorrow for both Horridon and and Iron Qon on 10-man normal difficulty. Horridon was originally slated for last week but technical issues forced the testing to be deferred. If your gear levels aren't at high enough level, player gear will be scaled in the raid to assist with testing. If you're not sure how to get to the Throne of Thunder, we can show you how! Raid Testing Schedule - January 17 On Thursday, January 17, we will be testing two more raid encounters in the Throne of Thunder. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Horridon - 10 Player Normal 10:30 PST (13:30 EST, 19:30 CET) Iron Qon - 10 Player Normal 16:00 PST (19:00 EST, 01:00 CET) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. This is particularly true for these early tests as we are still nailing down overall patch stability. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) to item Level 502 for the purposes of testing Normal modes. source
Patch 5.2: Throne of Thunder raid testing schedule announced
Tomorrow on January 11, we'll be seeing raid encounters being tested on the public test realm for patch 5.2. Horridon and the Council of Elders will both be available on normal mode in the new Throne of Thunder raid. If your gear levels aren't at high enough level, don't worr. Player gear will be scaled in the raid to help with testing. In case you're wondering how to actually get into the raid instance, we have a guide showing you how to do just that! Raid Testing Schedule - January 11 On Friday, January 11, we will be testing our first two raid encounters of the 5.2 test cycle. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Horridon - 10 Player Normal 10:30 PDT (13:30 EDT, 19:30 CEST) Council of Elders - 10 Player Normal 16:00 PDT (19:00 EDT, 01:00 CEST) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session or cancel it entirely, due to bugs, builds, server hardware issues, etc. This is particularly true for this test, since it's our first 5.2 raid test. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) to item Level 502 for the purposes of testing Normal modes. source
Patch 5.2: How to enter the Throne of Thunder raid
The recent PTR update for patch 5.2 has fixed issues with interactive objects! In other words, we can finally click the portal at the portal area in the Shrines that will transport us over to the Island of the Thunder King. You'll run into a few NPCs that are leading the charge such as Jaina for the Alliance and Lor'themar for the Horde. Your faction will have assorted daily quests for you to go out and undertake. But we're not here for that. Where's this new raid instance? Read on!
Get a load of World of Warcraft's Isle of the Thunder King
Those of you holding fast to your martial arts ursines in World of Warcraft are probably quite geeked about the upcoming patch 5.2. The second major post-Mists of Pandaria update for the game includes a new quest hub, raid, world bosses, and a farm that you can buy and make your very own. Our sister site WoW Insider took a closer look at 5.2, which is currently on the public test realm. The focus of the article was the Isle of the Thunder King questing zone, which involves a struggle between the Sunreaver Onslaught and Kirin Tor Offensive factions. The area has plenty of cool quest elements; it allows players to transform into the lizardy Sauroks, to be a counselor to golems, and use a ritual stone that summons group bosses. The article notes that players will see the return of a couple of familiar faces, such as the Image of Archmage Vargoth.
Patch 5.1 PTR: Upgrading items with justice and valor
One of the most interesting features of Patch 5.1 is the ability to upgrade your items with justice and valor points (as well as upgrading PvP items with honor and conquest points) and in order to give you a sense of what the current state of this feature is on the PTR, I went looking for the upgrade vendor. They're not hard to find -- look for the ethereals who do transmogrification and reforging, and you'll find them standing in the same areas. I confirmed this by going to Orgrimmar and the Shrine of Seven Stars, and there they were. Since I was on a premade character with no honor or conquest gear and no epics, I could only test the justice point interface. Still, it's worth taking a look at how the process will work. As you can see from the above screenshot, the current interface will look familiar if you've reforged your gear at any point. But there are some differences.
Patch 5.1 PTR: Level 90 Premades now available
Given that character copies onto the PTR seem to be either extremely unreliable or nigh impossible at the moment, with nobody at WoW Insider able to copy their level 90s over, we have some very, very good news. Blizzard Blue Sapperwix has confirmed that level 90 character templates are now available! These templates cover every class and race, allowing you to make your own level 90s, with gear, gold, gems, all manner of frippery. They usually also have professions at a decent level. So get over there and get testing! I know I will. Sapperwix You've been asking for it and I'm pleased to announce that with the latest build of the 5.1.0 PTR: Level 90 Templates Are Now Available. So c'mon down to the PTR and make some 90s and help us test the latest WoW patch. Please be sure to post any bugs you find on the PTR Bug Report Forum: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/2359401/ source Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Patch 5.1: More new achievements
There are several new achievements coming in, many for the Brawler's Guild, as you'd expect, given that it's a new feature coming in the patch. We posted previously about an earlier batch of achievements, and we were right in thinking that the earlier release was far from a finite list. The same applies to these achievements, so if there's something you're waiting for, don't give up hope. First, there are some changes to pet-related feats of strength. Deathy, Murkablo, Murky, The Marine and Tyrael's Hilt's feats of strength are all now account wide. It makes perfect sense that only one character has to have any of those pets for them all to get the achievement. There are also two new achievements, one pet battle-related which is Pandaren Spirit Tamer, which requires you to defeat all the Pandaren spirits in battle, and awards you one of the Air, Earth, Fire and Water spirit pets. If you want to get the other three, they can be farmed from daily quests, such as Burning Pandaren Spirit. Additionally, a raid achievement called And... It's Good! requires players to fly through the discs above the Engine of Nalak'sha in Mogu'shan Vaults on Normal or Heroic difficulty. Our favorites of these are the Brawler's Guild ones, which include The First Rule of Fight Club. There's also the two Rabble Rabble Rabble achievements, which sound really interesting as it currently appears that players are portaling into the opposite faction's city. Dirty Fighter is also very interesting, it makes us wonder just exactly how one goes about playing dirty in the Brawler's Guild! Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Patch 5.1 PTR patch notes update for Oct 23
An update to the patch 5.1 PTR has just been released, with a bunch of new changes and adjustments. Along with a ton of class tweaks, there are plenty of changes and updates to Pet Battles and more. Most importantly and probably top on everyone's priority list is a change to raids that players have been waiting for for a very long time. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines -- as of patch 5.1, you will no longer need to be in a raid group to enter a pre-Mists of Pandaria raid. Scenarios are now going to include Dungeon Finder queue features like leaders, backfill, and vote to kick. The Dragon Kite can now be used in Pet Battles! Are balloons far behind? We hope not. Read on for the full list of updates.
Mists of Pandaria cruises toward first big patch
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is chugging along quite nicely, and while there are players content in the current journey to the new endgame, there are always those asking, "What's next?" For the latter crowd, Blizzard has announced that the first major post-expansion content update is heading to the test server soon. Patch 5.1 is slated to advance the storyline, add quest hubs and factions, introduce underground fighting rings in capital cities, improve the pet battle system, and allow players to upgrade gear with valor points. Blizzard says that the progress toward the patch's deployment is a sign that it is taking its commitment to faster content delivery seriously.
Patch 5.1 coming to the PTR soon
When they said they wanted to get patches out faster, they appear not to have been kidding, because patch 5.1 is already slated to head for the PTR soon. And it looks like it's going to be chock full of improvements. The Brawler's Guild, allowing you to engage in solo PvE content against various difficult monsters, similar to the Proving Grounds concept from a while ago. The ability to upgrade the rarity of pets in the pet battle system via an as yet undisclosed method. Wrathion's legendary questline will advance. You'll be able to spend valor points to upgrade items. All of this and news of the advancement of the Horde/Alliance conflict. If you're wondering how that will move forward, patch 5.1 will have the answers for you. Coming soon to a PTR near you. The complete text of the announcement is behind the break.
Would we want content that hasn't been tested?
Lately, the EU forums have been on my must-read list due to posts like this one. Poster Ask (no sign of Embla) posed the question, as it is right and appropriate that Ask should do, of whether or not Blizzard could or should release new content without there being a PTR or beta for it. I wasn't even done sputtering yet when CM Takralus pretty much said what I would have, were I not busy sputtering. Takralus - "New" content and an idea New content must be tested. Many, many players enjoy being able to test and give their feedback on upcoming new content, and we put that feedback to good use. But, many more people do not test it, and first experience it when the content is actually released. The simple truth is that if you do not want to see maps and tactics for upcoming content, it's not too hard to avoid. Neither of those are things that will burn into your mind, never to be forgotten. The day WoW launched, even that had first been through an alpha and then beta test, where people could play and give feedback for months :P source Even with beta tests, bugs get through. Anyone remember Sinestra? At the time Paragon killed her, they talked about the fight and its issues. One of those issues was that Paragon was one of the first guilds to really see Sinestra, and as a result, the fight had bugs that were not discovered until after Paragon began seriously pushing for the kill. In other words, not testing Sinestra on the PTR had consequences that may be acceptable with a single fight that only a few players will even see while it is current and that will be fixed by the time other guilds go back while outgearing it. These consequences would absolutely be ruinous if they were felt by everyone attempting to do normal-mode raiding content. To a degree, not running a PTR or beta test is irresponsible on Blizzard's part, especially with content meant for the majority of players. I really think the responsibility for walking into a raid fresh, unspoiled by tips or beta testers, is on the players. Better we have some spoilers than untested content. And yes, we had both an alpha and a beta for World of Warcraft. They didn't translate to having everyone know everything when it went live. Heck, half the time, it just confused you because stuff changed so much. I really fall on the side of those who appreciate beta testing. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
PTR build 5.0.4 available and forums are live
The PTR discussion and bug report forums are live, and Cataclysm patch 5.0.4 is ready for download. The version may initially show up as 5.0.3 but will change to 5.0.4 "soon." Blizzard Community Manager Kaivax says the Public Test Realms will be up "Soon. Very soon." Kaivax also reminds us that those of us with accounts that are linked to the Mists of Pandaria beta will not be able to download or otherwise access the PTR. Some forum posters report that the PTR realms are coming up right now. So if you don't have access to the beta but do want to check out what will develop into the final Cataclysm patch, head on over to Battle.net and download the PTR build from your Account Management screen. All relevant blue posts are after the break. Editor's Note: The patch 5.0.4 PTR patch notes were just made available, you can find them right here.
The Queue: Avatar
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. If you haven't watched Legend of Korra yet, you're a bad person. The first season ended this past weekend, so it's a perfect time to catch up on the whole thing. CowboysFTW asked: I have 4 85s. A Combat Rogue(main), Arcane Mage, Ret Pali, and an Unholy DK. My question is simple, going into MoP, what would be the most fun to play through to 90 first? I'm curious about trying out a Monk but I simply want to hit 90 ASAP. Any suggestions?
The Dangers of Datamining: A cautionary tale of a not-so-evil Magister
Some time last month, I was chatting with a friend about various story bits in WoW when we wandered onto the subject of the blood elves and what they're up to in the story. I pointed out the short story In the Shadow of the Sun for more recent sin'dorei lore, adding that of course the story took place prior to Wrath in the time line, so it really wasn't the most up-to-date bit of lore, although it was a wonderful read. My friend asked if I thought we'd see anything with the blood elves in Mists, and I replied that I didn't think so, but then we didn't really know that much about storylines in Pandaria yet. "Well, yeah," they replied. "But what about Rommath? I mean, he's part of the Twilight Cult and all." I paused for a moment, confused, and then realized what they were referring to. "That was a set of datamined voice files that never made it to game," I clarified. "Well yeah, but he's evil," they insisted. "No, he's not -- as far as the game and the lore is concerned, that conversation never happened, and Rommath is still the same old Rommath. A little cranky and snooty, but definitely not evil. Until proven otherwise." They pondered this, and the conversation moved on from there. I've had this conversation again and again -- in game, on Twitter. And this, my friends, is just one example of the many dangers of datamining.
