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The 15 nastiest trash clears of WoW
I was reading through some links while writing a follow-up to Robert's Not-So-Original WoW Miscellany when I happened across some discussions concerning the game's most agonizing trash. This is a popular subject for players, not least because complaining is a lot of fun, but I don't think anyone's going to argue that there haven't been some legitimately unpleasant trash clears in WoW. Fortunately, most of the really bad trash clears are a distant memory, but there was at least one recent one that almost everyone who raided Dragon Soul could agree on. I'm going to include both dungeons and raids here, mostly because Shattered Halls was among the first things to go on this list. After including that, I knew there were other, equally nightmarish 5-mans that had to be included in the interest of fairness.
Lichborne: Passing time until Pandaria on your death knight
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. With a release date finally forthcoming for Mists of Pandaria, we have less than two months until the expansion drops and even less time until we reach patch 5.0.4. With all that in mind, how do you pass the time until then? This week, we'll take a look at a few things death knights can do to look and feel their best when the expansion drops. Solo to swell your stables Soloing is a time-honored death knight tradition, and with the expansion winding down, it's the perfect way to pass the time. When choosing your soloing target, you may factor in nostalgia, transmogrification needs, or just plain ease of access. Another popular reason is grabbing mounts and pets. In the Cataclysm era, both Vortex Pinnacle and The Stonecore normal modes drop a mount. Soloing same-level dungeons can be a bit hairy, but considering these two were in the game at the start of the expansion, you should find that even with Dragon Soul raid finder gear, you'll barely break a sweat in blood spec. As a bonus, both of these mounts will be going account-wide in Mists of Pandaria, so you'll be grabbing some possible stylish mount options for your alts as well.
The OverAchiever: Mountain O' Mounts in 5-man dungeons
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we continue our Mountain o' Mounts grind by beating the crap out of various bosses in the hopes that they'll barf up some transportation. This week's article addresses the mounts you can find in 5-man content, of which there are quite a few. However, please note that I haven't included special holiday mounts like the Headless Horseman's mount or the Big Love Rocket. Even though they technically drop from 5-man content, they're only available under special circumstances, so they'll pop up in a later guide. As a note to anyone following the Mountain o' Mounts series, I'll be preempting it for two weeks to run full guides on the Noblegarden and Children's Week 2011 holidays, which begin on April 24 and May 1 respectively. We'll return to Mountain o' Mounts on May 5. Also read: Combining The Ambassador and Mountain O' Mounts, Mountain O' Mounts in Outland, and Mountain O' Mounts in Northrend.
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman in The Vortex Pinnacle
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. Heroic content is still being tackled by everyone out there. Whether you are a new level 85 character getting in for the first time, an alt getting ready to gear up, or just farming your daily valor points, you will at some point wind up in these instances. Last week, we talked about healing through The Stonecore; this week, I thought we could talk about healing through The Vortex Pinnacle. The Vortex Pinnacle is honestly one of my favorite dungeons in Cataclysm. I just love the look of it and that feeling you get the very first time you step foot in it. Everything from the mobs to the architecture to the view when you pan your camera to look into the sky and around is just quite awesome. To me, it is probably the most visually appealing instances Blizzard has created to date ... It isn't your normal dungeon crawl here. It's also a blast to heal and has some pretty nice gear for a restoration shaman in need of upgrades.
The OverAchiever: More Glory of the Cataclysm Hero
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we finish our first look at Glory of the Cataclysm Hero. We took a break last week to cover the Lunar Festival, but this week, we'll finish our preliminary look at the Glory of the Cataclysm Hero, rewarding the Volcanic Stone Drake. More extensive strategy guides will be done on a dungeon-by-dungeon basis; here, I'm just interested in a quick assessment of the general difficulty level of the achievements required. As with our first article, I've organized the meta according to dungeon and boss for quick reference past the cut. This week, we're covering the Lost City of the Tol'vir through the Vortex Pinnacle.
The Queue: Min-maxing archaeology
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. What does one do after hitting level 85? Spend three straight days digging up rocks, of course. Zin'rokh, you will be mine. Even if your model is upside down now. MoarHeroisms asked: What's a good time to use the green archaeology fragments to solve artifacts? Is it a good idea to use a handful at once?
Cataclysm Dungeon Guide: Vortex Pinnacle
Ahh, the Vortex Pinnacle, for whenever I want to go hit up an instance that involves jumping in cyclones (or tornadoes) that toss you from platform to platform. This 5-man instance is the ... pinnacle of the Skywall complex in the Uldum zone. You can find it just southeast of the shores. Make sure you go the right direction or else you might end up in the Throne of the Four Winds raid instance. Oh, and you're going to need a flying mount. The forces of Al'Akir are waiting to storm Uldum and the rest of Azeroth. Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to clear out the place and prevent them from really establishing a foothold on our lands. At a glance, here's the gist of the instance. three boss encounters levels 82-84 average item level 272 recommended (according to dungeon finder)
Cataclysm 101: What to do first in Cataclysm
Cataclysm has already gone live in Europe, and it's only hours away now for those of us in North America. Are you prepared for it? Do you know what you need to know to hit the ground running when Cataclysm content becomes active on live realms? If you don't, we're here to help. Below are answers to some of the most common questions that have been asked about starting the Cataclysm experience. How do I learn to fly in old Azeroth? You can get your Flight Master's License in Outland or Northrend, but the much better options are Stormwind for the Alliance and Orgrimmar for the Horde. Horde players want to talk to Maztha and Alliance players want to talk to Bralla Cloudwing. Wowhead has excellent maps for finding both of them.
