I'm getting back to WoW Insider after a month's real-life-related absence and have been spending some time playing catch-up on the site. One of the articles that caught my attention was Matt Rossi's popular "One reason tanks won't PuG," in no small part because I play a tank and my own PuG runs have been few and far between of late. My main, a Tauren Druid, respecced from balance to feral at level 69 because there were so few tanks on my server, and I literally spent months and months tanking PuG's to get experience and gear.
During that period I saw everything from rogues rolling on +healing maces to warlocks needing on tanking cloaks, and I learned that you never can tell what you're going to get from a PuG. Yes, you'll get hunters who can't trap, mages who never resheep, rogues who mistakenly believe they leveled a warrior, and priests who Power Word: Shield you straight off the pull -- but you'll also find people who know their class well, or are in the process of learning just like you are, and who are fun to be around. I have now killed Illidan with a contingent of people who showed up to my PuG's back when I was a wee lolbaretank in quest greens and Heavy Clefthoof, so as a matter of personal experience I think PuG's are a somewhat underrated way to meet people who will later turn out to play crucial roles in how you experience the game.
I don't PuG as frequently anymore due to time constraints and increased time spent leveling alts, but I still hang out in LFG from time to time for the pure enjoyment of meeting new people. Yes, it is often difficult to PuG tanks and healers (I would submit, as someone who typically tanks or heals in dungeons, that it is also difficult to PuG skilled DPS), but a lot of people could make it easier on themselves than they do. If you're having problems finding a tank or healer for your PuG's, try these.
Well, well, well, who doesn't love a surprise ending? Despite rampant and on going accusations that I have fixed this deathmatch series in Illidan's favor since the beginning (which is laughable because I only took over the feature a few months ago), it looks like Scourge of the Outland was, say it with me now, "not prepared."
Kel'Thuzad, the Archlich of the Plaguelands, trusted lieutenant of Arthas, final boss of Naxxramas and of pre-BC WoW, laid the smack down on all the haters. Two bosses may have entered, but only one has left. Final results below.
That wraps up this series we started all the way back in June with 32 bosses. Each pair entered a neutral arena and you got to vote who walked away the victor. Whether based on abilities, lore or random poll clicking, you chose the ultimate winner.
When Wrath of the Lich King launches, we'll be bringing about another round of Two Bosses Enter with a mix of all new bosses and some returning favorites. Until then, thanks to everyone who participated and made this a fun event for everyone involved.
Special thanks the reader Ian for the pointing us to the pic of Kel'Thuzad above. Kel's publicist would be proud.
Raid Rx is designed to encapsulate and cure the shock and horror that is 25-man raid healing. Ok, so it's mostly horror... Anyways, if you're a big fan of X-TREME Whack-A-Mole (or are being forced into it against your will) this is the column for you. People sure can be pushy when it comes to drops. Hands off, ladies. That Netherweave is mine!
Today I share with you one of my deepest secrets. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't lay awake at night, seething about the unfairness of raiding drops. Oh, sure, there's always that elusive piece that has a 0.0002% drop rate that every healer wants. Those are pie in the sky dreams of healing uberness. No, that's not what I mean.
I'm talking about the regular gear that's supposed to be dropping at semi-predictable intervals every week. Most bosses have a fairly limited loot table, and in the raiding world, most of that centers around the tier token system. You are supposed to have a 1 in 3 chance of seeing your token on any given kill. But what if that goes horribly wrong? And worse, what if it starts hurting progression?
Join me after the jump for a tale of woe and angst, plus what Blizzard has been doing to unintentionally fix the situation (sorta).
Two bosses enter... but only one will get to leave in WoW Insider's series of fantasy deathmatches. We've scoured the instances of Azeroth and Outland looking for the most interesting bosses Blizzard has to offer us and picked out a group of 32 to pit against one another until we come out with a single winner in the end. And the best part -- you get to tell us who wins.
This is it. Thirty-one deathmatches later it's down to the final match. In one corner, The Lord of the Outland, the Betrayer of Azeroth, and one of the baddest bosses of the Burning Crusade: Illidan Stormrage! In the other corner, the Archlich of the Plaguelands, the right hand man of Arthas, the final boss of the floating city of Naxxramas: Kel'Thuzad! Read on to learn more about each boss and cast your vote.
The last two of the Final Four have entered the Arena for a raid boss deathmatch and only one has left alive. This was one of the most anticipated fights in the series as the bane of the Outlands, Illidan Stormrage faced the Old God of Ahn'Qiraj, C'Thun. The debate over who would be victorious raged but in the end, Illidan walked out the winner.
While some readers voted based on powers available to each opponent ("shear ftw!", "no one survives the eye beam of death!"), others cast their lot based on lore ("c'thun is an old god and undefeatable", "illidan is clever and prepared"). Whatever the reason, it was clear from the voting results seen below that C'Thun was not prepared.
Up next, the final battle of the series. The end boss of pre-2.4 Burning Crusade, Illidan Stormrage vs the end boss of pre-BC WoW, Kel'thuzad. Which boss will leave the arena alive? Which boss will reign supreme? Which boss will be sharding his purplez for greenz when the Wrath expansion launches? Cast your vote in the final installment of Two Bosses Enter!
Submissions are starting to trickle in to our inbox, and some of them are quite surprising. Brysan wrote in about his machinima experience, outlining the journey from wee newblet to intermediate hobbyist. However, he'd like some constructive feedback on his latest piece, a PvE video of his guild's Illidan Stormrage kill.
Having graduated from Windows Movie Maker up to Sony Vegas and WoW model viewer, he wanted to make a video that was more artistic than boastful. Brysan managed to come up with an entertaining storyline with what I felt was a decent voiceover and nice visuals. Since he's looking for ways to improve, I'll note that sometimes the lipsynching is off, the aspect ratio changes randomly, and the metal soundtrack made me want to cry, but that last one is more personal than anything. Make sure to include credits for any music you're using in the future!
[Thanks, Brysan!]
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Two bosses enter... but only one will get to leave in WoW Insider's series of fantasy deathmatches. We've scoured the instances of Azeroth and Outland looking for the most interesting bosses Blizzard has to offer us and picked out a group of 32 to pit against one another until we come out with a single winner in the end. And the best part -- you get to tell us who wins.
We're down to the Final Four and have arrived at the most anticipated fight in the series. Tonight, Illidan Stormrage steps into an Arena with the old god C'thun. And the one that steps out alive, will move on to the final match against the Naxxramas end boss, Kel'thuzad. Want to learn more about these two bosses and voice your opinion on who would win in a fight? Keep reading.
According to Ian Beckman, Blizzard has a trailer for the new 2.4 patch that they don't want you to see. In the Blizzard-issued version, Kael'thas believes that the Sunwell is the root of all evil and destroys it. When the destruction makes things worse, he turns to Illidan Stormrage for help.
Ian's version, however, tells the story of monsters that overtake the "pool of awesome." Kael'thas has an identity crisis and it just gets really random from there. If you like all things fun and happy, then this is the Sunwell for you! I wonder why Blizzard would cover up something so cool?
Last week, Illidan Stormrage the Betrayer, entered the arena against double threat of Ahn'Qiraj, the Twin Emperors. Did Illidan's Shear decimate the Qiraji brothers or did the Lord of the Outlands fall to the siblings' superior numbers?
Reader Dierle summed it up well: [Illidan would] use his normal elf form to slice up the melee vulnerable twin, and his giant demon caster form to blast apart the magic vulnerable twin. Even if they DID get allowed to use their proximity heal, Illidan could throw down his warglaives and use his fire elementals to keep them separated. That would make it game over for the Twin Emperors.
Illidan moves on to the Final Four. His opponent will be determined when the voting opens tomorrow in the death match of Ahn'Qiraj bosses: Princess Huhuran vs. C'thun.
Two bosses will enter... but only one will get to leave! Every week at WoW Insider, we pit two of the baddest bosses in the World of Warcraft against one another in a fantasy death match -- in the end to emerge with a single boss of bosses, victorious above all others. And the best part? You get to tell us who walks away the winner and who doesn't get to leave our arena at all.
Today, the terror of the Black Temple, Illidan Stormrage throws down against Ahn'Qiraj's double trouble, The Twin Emperors. Who will survive to move on to the Final Four and who will face defeat at the hands of a superior foe? Read on for the details and the chance to cast your vote
Back in May 2007, when the Black Temple materialized in Patch 2.1, high end raiding guilds were drooling at the idea of taking down the infamous Illidan Stormrage, scourge of the Outland. Unfortunately for those guilds that achieved their lofty goal, there has been little else to challenge them. The telling fact is, when the Sunwell Plateau goes live in Patch 2.4 sometime this Spring, it will be the first new 25-man content to hit the game in a year!
And this is where Lore, a level 70 Blood Elf Paladin whose guild has had Illidan on farm for the past three and half months, now sits. For 25-man raiders, clearing Black Temple hasn't been the real challenge. Finding a new goal worthy of their time, dedication and uber-gear has been the task just out of their reach. And Lore's guild has been suffering for it with attrition, disinterest and players leaving the game entirely.
The news that new high end content is coming is great news, but it can't come fast enough for elite raiders who aren't quite the minority they used to be. WoW Jutsu shows that more than 6% of raiding guilds have entered Black Temple already.
Has Blizzard made the right choice by ignoring this group of players in favor of cranking out PvP improvements, 10-man instances and Cooking Daily Quests? Or has Blizzard dropped the ball for a good chunk of its player base?
You want a bow that will make people sit up and say "whoah?" You want a bow with a neat mana proc? You want a bow that requires a really, really good PvE guild to get? Here you go.
Name: Black Bow of the Betrayer Type: Epic Ranged Bow (where are the Legendary Ranged weapons, by the way?) Damage/Speed: 201-374 / 3.00 (95.8 DPS) Abilities:
Increases attack power by 26, always very nice
On Equip: Succesful melee or ranged attacks will grant 8 mana and if possible drain 8 mana from the target. That's incredible-- it's basically 40-45 mana per five seconds, which allows any Hunter to keep up their DPS for almost twice as long as normal.
And if you want even more mana, there is a set of mail gloves created by Blacksmiths (dropped by Moam in AQ, I believe) called Black Grasp of the Destroyer that have the exact same proc. And while I haven't tried it out in game, I'm told that the effects of both stack. So with both the gloves and the bow, you'll never need mana again!
If only Shamans could equip bows...
How to Get It: Such a bow isn't going to be easy to get, and as the name might have already told you, this drops from the Betrayer himself, Illidan Stormrage, at the end of the Black Temple. There is a good argument made that if you're a Hunter able to get to Illidan, you probably aren't going to be worrying about mana problems anymore anyway. But to the victors go the spoils, so kill Illidan, be a Hunter (the mana proc on the weapon makes it just for you animal lovers), and win the roll and the bow is yours. The rest of the world gets to stare in awe at how frighteningly pointy this baby looks.
Getting Rid of It: As far as I can possibly tell, no one has. But maybe there's a guild out there who has Illidan on farm, and just doesn't need it any more. In that case, it's the usual Void Crystal, or 10g 82s 33c if sold to a vendor.
Malygos is a new kind of antagonist for the Warcraft universe in that he's probably the enemy with the least actual evil we've seen so far, in sharp contrast to the Burning Legion, the Scourge, the Old Gods, and a host of others. As we've already noted, some players think he may actually be right: he wants to protect Azerothians from the magic they're dabbling in, for fear that they might end up bringing the Burning Legion back with it, except that he goes about "protecting" the people by waging war on them, which somehow eerily familiar....
Anyway, Malygos is just the latest example of an antagonist in WoW that we can almost sympathize with, a bad guy that isn't all that bad. Malygos' particular place at the other end of our attack buttons can be attributed mainly to his conflicting point of view rather than an evil and corrupted soul. His ultimate aim is still the greater good of all life -- he just believes (wrongfully, we hope) that he needs to destroy the minority of magic users in order to save the remaining majority of all other life on the world.
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