soloing-instances
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110% guarantee soloing old raids will not be harder post squish
Technical Game Designer Chadd Nervig, aka Celestalon on Twitter, has answered a tweeter's question about item squishing with the following tidbit: .@ToppTheDwarf The item squish *will not* make soloing old raids harder. We promise, and 110% guarantee it. - Celestalon (@Celestalon) February 9, 2014 I read this, and my ears perked up. I really enjoy running around killing things indiscriminately in old raids, and I've wondered as to whether or not that would continue to be possible after the item squish. It's good to hear that Blizzard has no intention of letting older content stay as it is while our characters' ability to pump out damage is drastically reduced. Of course, this leads to the obvious question -- what approach is Blizzard going to take for keeping older raids and dungeons' mobs and bosses abilities proportional? The obvious answer is that all of it will be squished along with our characters' gear and abilities. I suppose that will include items dropped of of old bosses too. It will be interesting to see the approach that Blizzards' designers take with the new expansion to make this change go as smoothly as possible.
Mionee checks off soloing Cataclysm raids, begins bloodying Mists
Evidently, the EU realms are a hotbed of death knight creativity and initiative. While he might be among the best-known players for his crazy soloing accomplishments, Raegwyn is hardly the only DK to crack the code of soloing endgame content. Mionee, a savvy and seasoned death knight from top EU guild Envy, is also making name for herself from soloing a few little things. What kind of things? Everything from Deathwing, Ragnaros, and a challenge mode dungeon down to older content such as Yogg-Saron/0 keepers and the Lich King. "The only normal mode encounters that cannot be soloed right now as a DK are Kalecgos in Sunwell Plateau, Valithria Dreamwalker in Icecrown Citadel (unless you're a draenei with Gift of the Naaru), Conclave of Wind in Throne of the Four Winds, as well as Hagara the Stormbinder and Spine of Deathwing in Dragon Soul," Mionee muses. "That leaves quite a lot of soloable encounters. On a more general note, what's left to solo are the heroic versions of some encounters, or the 25-man versions of bosses that have only been soloed in 10-man." "To give a rough estimate," she continues, "by the end of Wrath of the Lich King, I was doing Mount Hyjal; by the end of Cata, I had completed nearly every possible heroic encounter from Wrath (a few exceptions aside); and right now, I have completed everything in Cata aside from the three above-mentioned encounters." Mionee gives us the inside scoop on soloing some of the game's toughest content and answers the question of whether death knights are really overpowered, after the break.
Spiritual Guidance: Revisiting The Burning Crusade and Wrath, solo
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. On Wednesdays, shadow priesting expert Fox Van Allen's comes from out of the darkness to bask in your loving adoration. Fox is weak versus Bubble Lead. To be fair, it's incredibly easy to get bored with current content. Sure, things like the Molten Front and Firelands are fun and exciting for a while, but several months later when you find yourself running the same content over and over ... well. I'm always looking for new and different things to do with my shadow priest. Last year, when I started getting bored with Icecrown Citadel, I started running heroic Magisters' Terrace solo, farming it for all sorts of goodies inside that I never wound up getting when the content was relevant. It turns out that soloing that stuff was a lot of fun, and judging by the emails I got after, a lot of you agreed with me. Some of you have been pressuring me to update that article for Cataclysm. Obviously, a lot has changed. Mainly, we've gotten stronger, but we've also got a few new tools at our disposal. Soloing Magisters' Terrace is old news. This time around, we're going to solo some more intimidating content: Wrath heroics and BC raids.
Wings Over Atreia: Endgame = end of game?
It happens. All good things must come to an end... except (hopefully) your favorite MMORPG. After all, the whole idea of the MMO is to keep going endlessly, right? To supposedly ever-evolve -- there is no final "win" that concludes the story as in single-player RPGs. However, what do you do when you hit the level cap and have "been there and done that" with everything in game? I guess that's the disadvantage of not having a sandbox; as much I love the graphics and my friends in NCsoft's Aion, there really is just a finite list of things to do. Now before anyone gets up-in-arms or sneers "I told you so," no, I am not quitting and I haven't given up on the game. I still enjoy it. It just so happens that my mind zeroed in on the topic this week as I logged in over the course a few days and just stared at my screen, wondering what I wanted to do. While I was feeling under the weather a bit (which dampened my endurance and enthusiasm to complete any major dungeons), I started wondering about what there actually is to do in Aion after you reach and sit at maximum level for a while. For me, the two things that keep me interested in my virtual worlds are the community and friends that I find in game as well as exploring and experiencing new things. One involves the company providing regular content updates; the other allows for player-created content. But once there is nothing left to explore or experience, friends can drift away... so what does that leave? Pondering this subject and watching the community around me actually brought up some expected -- and some not quite expected -- answers. Join me past the cut to look at different ways Daevas spend their time in Atreia and how they keep their interest sparked.
Blood Pact: Warlock soloing instance bosses for fun and profit
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. In a dark and hidden place, the true masters of the arcane arts share secrets and swap stories. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Did you know that warlocks can do more than bask in the tears of the weak and cowardly as we blaze a trail to supremacy? It's true! While tears are their own reward, it's sometimes good to take a moment to pad your purse or pick up a hot new ride or just earn the respect you know you're due. "But," I hear the doubters in the back exclaim, "those things are not the rewards of one man. It takes a well-honed team of friends five, 10, even 20 strong to wrest some of those treasures from the enemies who hold them." This might be true for most heroes, but warlocks are not "most." Quite aside from knowing that "friend" is another word for "disposable minion," warlocks are masters at daring alone what once took many hands. The dungeons and raids of the previous eras of World of Warcraft have many rewards to offer, and it's never been easier for an enterprising warlock to go after them. There's gold, achievements, titles, and for the patient, even pets and mounts to be won. By readying yourself to run these solo, you can save yourself the hassle of coordinating with other retro seekers, as well as avoiding the agony of having to roll off when that dreamed-of 1 percent drop finally pops up in the loot window. All you need is to equip yourself with the right tools and use a few of the right tactics. After the jump, all you need to know to take down instance bosses as well as a list of which ones to go after now before they are gone when Cataclysm launches.
Shifting Perspectives: Karapalooza 2010
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week, after saving the world, we end it for others. They were in our way. Every so often I get the hankering to go stomp a place that previously rode my ass like Zorro, and I nominate Karazhan as being among the better places to do it. After wiping to heroic Icecrown bosses for a few hours, there's something wonderfully therapeutic about venting your frustrations on the tenants of an older raid, particularly when they cough up 1,000 gold, mounts, enchants, and gear that looks delightfully silly on a level 80. You remember Kara, right? It's that place that used to be hard. Doesn't narrow it down? It's the big building occupied by crazy dead people. Also doesn't narrow it down? Harumph. The place with the long hallway full of undead concubines? I see that jogged your memory.
15 Minutes of Fame: The solo artist
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. DKs are OP -- there, we said it. Now then, we can move on with our discussion of ... well, of an OP death knight. This particular DK, however, brings more to the plate than the sheer muscle of his class. Raegwyn of EU Zuluhed-H brings a wealth of raiding experience, class skill and game savvy to bear in his continuing campaign to conquer as many bosses and instances of WoW as possible, completely solo. We get a lot of "check me out soloing X" videos submitted here at WoW.com, but Raegwyn caught our eye with his video of a solo kill of Al'ar from Burning Crusade's 25-man Tempest Keep instance The Eye. He's made masterful headway in heroic Pit of Saron and most recently polished off an instance that still catches level-appropriate groups off guard: heroic Ahn'Kahet. We talked to this Austrian death machine about why gear is nice but timing is everything when it comes to taking down bosses on your own.
The Queue: Soloing Zul'Gurub like a Q
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.As Alex mentioned yesterday, he and I will be taking turns with the queue. So don't fret, Alex will be back in your loving graces tomorrow. As this is my first post for the queue, I feel like I'm boldly going where no man (Alex is a superman) has gone before. And who better to welcome me than John de Lancie's iconic Q character? With Picard oddly facepalming himself... huh. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Anyways, I digress. On with the Q!037 asked... "Is it possible to solo Zul'Durub to farm the mounts? If it makes a difference, I am a 10 Man Naxx geared Enhancement Shaman."
One versus them all
We've seen Paladins soloing some crazy things, but player Parvati of the Zangarmarsh server wants to know what class would be best to solo pre-BC high level instances.I suppose it would depend on the instance. Druids can stealth past a great deal of Black Rock Depths trash to get to the bosses that drop the good loot. But a Paladin would do better in Stratholme. And Hunters can go just about anywhere.Parvati doesn't give his motives behind the question, but cash farming sounds like the obvious motive. But why restrict yourself to old world zones if that's the case? Cash is far more free flowing in the Outlands.Whatever his motive, I would like to hear what you think. Not just what class, but why.
