warlords-of-draenor-raids
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Highmaul and the first world boss opens on December 2
After tomorrow's scheduled maintenance, the normal and heroic versions of Highmaul will be available for raiding on US realms (with EU opening on December 3). The LFR and mythic versions of Highmaul will begin to open the following week. In addition, the first world boss will start spawning in Gorgrond -- either Drov the Ruiner or Tarlna the Ageless, which will alternate every week. Both world bosses drop similar ilvl 650 loot. Normal and heroic are both flexible between 10-30 players and don't share lockouts. You'll find the entrance to Highmaul in western Nagrand (remember, there's no queuing like there used to be for SoO flexible raids). Don't forget your bonus rolls! Head over to Fate-Twister Tiklal (Warspear) or Fate-Twister Seress (Stormshield) to purchase your first set of 3 Seals of Tempered Fate. They can be purchased with gold, Apexis Crystals, Garrison Resources, or Honor Points. You can mix and match or buy all 3 with one type of currency, but the more you buy with the same type of currency the more expensive it gets. You can also get one of these free from a level 3 Dwarven Bunker/War Mill in your garrison, or from a rare follower mission. You are limited to 3 per week across all sources. Check after the break for the full Highmaul raid unlock schedule. Blackrock Foundry is due to open several weeks later.
Warlords of Draenor: Beta raid testing schedule for Monday, July 28
Raid testing for Warlords of Draenor will continue on Monday with two new scheduled encounters, according to a post made by Lead Game Designer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas. As with last week's testing, both encounters will be on Heroic difficulty, allowing players to bring a group of anywhere from 10-30 people in order to test the content. To get in the raid, speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade, who is now also located in Dalaran, Shattrath, and both factions Vale Shrines, as well as Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and your garrison. Oregorger from Heroic Blackrock Foundry will begin at approximately 10:30AM PDT, and the Twin Ogron encounter from Heroic Highmaul will begin at approximately 4pm PDT. Characters that participate in testing will have their effective level scaled to 100 for the purposes of testing, so no need to worry about gear or level. Keep in mind that testing periods are subject to change at any time -- so if you're interested in testing, keep a eye on the official forum thread for any updates.
Warlords of Draenor: Raid testing to begin Monday, July 21
Lead Game Designer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas has announced that the Warlords of Draenor beta will begin raid testing tomorrow with two Heroic encounters -- one from Highmaul, and one from Blackrock Foundry. As a Heroic level encounter, the raid will accommodate anywhere between 10 and 30 players. Players that wish to test the encounter can speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade in either Stormwind, Orgrimmar, or their garrisons, once the encounters are open for testing. The Butcher from Heroic Highmaul will be available for testing beginning at 1:30pm PDT, and Gruul from Heroic Blackrock Foundry will be available beginning at 4pm PDT. Please note that testing periods are subject to change at any time -- if you're interested in testing, keep an eye on the official thread in case any changes are made to times or dates.
Warlords of Draenor: Raids will be non-linear wherever possible
Lead Encounter Designer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas has taken to Twitter to discuss the developers' plans for raid linearity in Warlords of Draenor: @Featherkin Varied layouts, but aiming for nonlinear where possible. Highmaul layout resembles Firelands; Blackrock Foundry more like ICC. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) February 12, 2014 We can see the map for Blackrock Foundry above, and understand what Watcher means with regard to the ICC-esque layout. The circular room at the top is likely to be the room you're looking to unlock by completing wings. And a Firelands-ish layout has much the same effect on raiders. While the world first progression guilds will dislike it, as they thrive on assessing who's behind and who's ahead in the race, they're a tiny percentage of the total raiding playerbase. For the rest of us, it's incredibly frustrating to get stuck on a boss, for whatever reason, and feel like there's nothing you can do but repeatedly throw yourselves at that same encounter.
