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Cataclysm: New Raid Frames and Reforging(?)
In a recent Cataclysm beta build Blizzard introduced
new raid frames
, to allow better testing (since there are no new raids enabled) they have enabled them as party frames. The new raid frames are vastly different from the live version. Taking some design aspects of popular addons like
Grid
I believe Blizzard has designed raid frames that I personally might not have to use an addon for!
Also added in the newest build,
Reforging
has finally made its appearance. Performed by Highborne Thaumaturges in the major cities, reforging allows you take secondary stats on your armor and convert them to another secondary stat. An example used by the in-game thaumaturges is, if you have an item that increases hit rating but you would rather it increase your haste rating you can convert the hit to haste for a price.
Unfortunately we are unable to test reforging to get more exact information, as it is currently bugged!
Live
Icecrown Citadel Raid Buff Up to 30%
With today's maintenance the zone wide buff for has finally reached a staggering
30%
bonus to damage, healing, and health (see
Hellscream's Warsong
and
Strength of Wrynn
).
As with every increase we've seen in the past this should give some guilds still struggling with encounters that little extra needed push and guilds who are experienced will get an easier time. It should also be noted this is the final increase to the buff so don't expect another 5% to be tacked on again in a month!
As always, you can turn this buff off at anytime if you feel like trying the encounter in its most difficult form.
Live
Ruby Sanctum Now Open!
It seems after today's maintenance
The Ruby Sanctum
has been opened on North American realms after all!
Venture forth into the Sanctum of the Red Dragonflight and do battle with
Halion
, and the Twilight Dragonflight who have invaded their home!
You can read our strategy for the encounter on
Halion
's page. Note this information is from the testing phases on the Public Test Realm, and is subject to change!
Update:
For those still doubting this was intentional below is the announcement by Nethaera!
As noted in the official patch
3.3.5 notes
, (
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/
) the release of the Ruby Sanctum was briefly delayed to better align its availability across all regions.
We’re happy to announce that the wait is over, and the Ruby Sanctum is now open. To learn more about this exciting new raid dungeon, please visit the
Ruby Sanctum preview page
.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p3/rubysanctum.xml
Live
Icecrown Citadel Raid Buff Up to 25%
Coincidentally with today's patch the
Icecrown Citadel
raid buff has been increased to a hefty
25%
damage, healing, health bonus (see
Hellscream's Warsong
and
Strength of Wrynn
).
As with every increase previously done this will make the instance slightly easier for those still struggling with the many encounters in Icecrown Citadel.
Remember there's still the
30%
increase left for this buff, which should hit live realms on
July 20th
!
As always, you can turn this buff off at anytime if you feel like trying the encounter in its most difficult form.
Live
Brand New Cataclysm Info! (Some Major Stuff)
Ladies and Gentlemen! This past week I was afforded the opportunity to attend a
Press Event
at the Blizzard offices in Irvine. At that event we got access to a
lot
of new information about Cataclysm...information which we are now delighted to share with you!
Hang on to your hats, because there are some
big
changes waiting after the break—including a
new raid "downshifting system
, changes to the
Guild Advancement
system, and (bombshell) the complete
removal of the Path of the Titans
system!
All the info is after the break!
Live
The Guild Leader's Handbook - A WoW Nerd's Review
Not very long ago I received a copy of
The Guild Leader's Handbook
, a nicely-printed book authored by
Scott Andrews
of
WoW.com
's
Officer's Quarters
column. I'll admit, I had never really read the column before as, despite being a guild leader, I've always decided to remain blissfully ignorant on how to do things properly and have been just winging it with friends in my World of Warcraft escapades. We've been pretty successful, but I can tell where the ability to properly identify problems and make changes early on would have definitely helped in the long run to create a more productive and enjoyable experience for my guild's members, as well as myself. That's where Andrew's book comes in. The
Guild Leader's Handbook
offers a detailed look into the more technical aspects of effectively managing a guild in any MMO - dragon slaying is business, too! Check out my impressions after the break!
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The Weekly Marmot - Raiding With a Life
Hello, Wowhead! I'm devomorph, also known as
Lore
over at
TankSpot
. I make the Weekly Marmot, a weekly video show in which I give tips and tricks, talk about current issues, and otherwise discuss the World of Warcraft. Thanks to the magic of the internet and our new friends at Wowhead, I'll be bringing it to you here as well!
So, you've got a busy schedule. Work, family, friends, whatever it is, you've just got too much on your hands to possibly have any time to get into raiding. That's just for the guys who can afford to spend 40 hours a week in front of their PC, right?
Well, maybe not. This week I take a look at the actual time commitments necessary to participate in a successful raiding guild, and what you can do to get started and fit it into your busy life. Check it out, you might be surprised!
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Icecrown Citadel Raid Buff Up to 20%
As of today's maintenance, the Icecrown Citadel raid buff is up to a 20% damage increase (see
Hellscream's Warsong
and
Strength of Wrynn
).
Just as before, this is going to make the
Icecrown Citadel
encounters that much easier, so be prepared to see a new crop of guilds diving into the ICC content.
The buff should reach an astonishing
25%
on June 22nd, and
30%
on July 20th.
Remember, as before, you can always request that the buff be removed if you want to try the encounter in its most difficult form.
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A Look at WotLK Progression Statistics
Stompalina
from the Rawrcast tipped me off to an article they had up on their
website
that takes a look at progression statistics for WotLK.
I thought this was really interesting to look at—it tracks how quickly people progressed through the starting content in WotLK versus how quickly they progressed through ICC, and what percentage of players are actually completing the content, and draws some interesting conclusions about what we can expect to see in Cataclysm.
The article is here:
http://www.rawrcast.com/2010/05/wotlk-progression-statistics-looking-forward-to-cataclysm/
Live
Ruby Sanctum PTR Testing Dates
Daelo just posted the dates and time we will be able to test the upcoming
The Ruby Sanctum
raid dungeon on the PTR. The first testing date will be 2 days from now on
May 13, 2010
starting at 7PM EDT for US realms and 7:30PM CEST for European realms.
Update 5/13:
Since there are some issues with the character copy on the EU PTR realms, Ruby Sanctum testing has been pushed back to Friday May 14th at 7:30PM CEST.
Update 5/14:
Due to ongoing character copy problems, testing dates have been rescheduled; the US testing times are yet to be determined, and the EU testing times have been pushed back to Tuesday May 18th at 7:30PM CEST.
Now that the 3.3.5 patch is available for PTR testing, we wanted to have a round of focus testing for Ruby Sanctum this Thursday, May 13. Only normal mode will be available, with Heroic testing to occur at a later date.
Everything related to this zone is implemented for this test, please note any issues with the trash creatures and sub-bosses, loot, achievements, and quests.
US Testing Schedule:
Date to be
Live
Icecrown Citadel Raid Buff Increased to 15%
It's been a busy week in the World of Warcraft! With this latest raid reset, the
Icecrown Citadel
-specific raid-wide buff has had its effect increased again!
Hellscream's Warsong
and
Strength of Wrynn
will now increase damage, healing, absorption effects and health by
15%
.
You may remember that the buff was last increased to 10% at the end of last month, up from the 5% it provided when first launched at the beginning of March. Seems our
speculation
was correct, and this latest increase to the buff's effects was applied exactly four weeks later. I guess we can now assume we'll see the buff reach a staggering
20%
on May 25th,
25%
on June 22nd, and
30%
on July 20th.
This buff should definitely help out players trying to down some of the more demanding hard modes in Icecrown Citadel. Personally, I don't think that a lot of Icecrown Citadel's encounters were scaled properly for their intended difficulty level to begin with (ie. 10-man modes being downed without 25-man gear), so hopefully this helps even out the playing ground a bit more. Remember, you still have
Live
Cataclysm PvE Badge and PvP Point Changes
Blizzard just posted changes to the badge system in
Cataclysm
... they are going to become Hero and Valor points! Basically the PvP point system being applied to PvE raiding.
Hero Points
will be earned from most dungeons (much like
Emblem of Triumph
) and
Valor Points
will be from high-tier raids (like
Emblem of Frost
).
While there will be a maximum cap of Valor Points you can earn each week I personally think this could be one of the better changes to come to the badge/emblem/point system since the introduction of them in The Burning Crusade. So what does everyone think of the changes?
On the PvP side,
Conquest Points
will replace Arena Points as the complement to Honor Points. Personal rating requirements will also be removed from almost all items, including weapons.
You can read all the details in the original blue post, available after the break.
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Cataclysm Raid Progression Refinements
Update:
Some clarifications have been added to the bottom of the post.
Another blue post from the blue world of blue Blizzardness descends from the skies - this time it's about how raid progression is going to work in
Cataclysm
.
10- and 25-man raids will share the same lockout.
10- and 25-man raids will share the same loot.
Heroic loot will be, like in Icecrown, just a buffed up version of the Normal loot.
The raid leader will be able to decide between 10-man and 25-man (possibly on a boss-to-boss basis), much like you can now choose between Normal and Heroic mode for a raid.
Since 25-man raids will drop the exact same items as 10-man, to promote people actually going to 25-man raiding, Blizzard is making 10-man encounters drop less loot per player (actual items, badges, gold...). In short, if you can get 25 people, you will get more out of the raid than if you were to go with 10.
Heroic mode for the bosses will be unlocked simply defeating a specific boss as few as (probably) 1-2 times. Limited attempts will likely go away completely, except for rare bosses (e.g. Algal
Live
Treadmill Mode
Personally, I prefer
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
over both
Advance Wars 2
and
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
(Never really played the first
Advance Wars
), and I'll tell you why.
In Advance Wars: Dual Strike (AWDS), as you play, you unlock skills (+8% attack, faster movement through woods and grass, etc.) that you can equip on your commanding officers before a match. If you get all the highest level skills, and equip them on your two commanding officers, much of the normal campaign becomes incredibly easy. I'm capable of playing through it without paying too much attention, and using it to unwind when I don't want to have to think about anything too hard.
On the flip side, it also has the hard campaign, which assumes you have the best possible COs and the best possible skills, and is still designed to give you a challenge. None of the other Advance Wars games had this ability t
Live
New Item: Hellfire Kickin' Taco Supreme
We uncovered some
exclusive
news for you! By digging deep into the game files, we managed to uncover a new item added in patch 3.3.3:
!
This item was apparently unlocked in the maintenance earlier this week, and according to our latest information, the tacos drop from
Loremaster Skosiris
in Shattrath City. If you manage to survive long enough to bring him down, he has a 100% chance to share one of these delicious tacos with you!
So far no one has managed to pick some up in-game yet. If you're the first, be sure to submit a screenshot—and don't forget to run the
Wowhead Client
to get us the data!
In light of this great tribute to the
Overlord of Tacohead
himself, we've decided to rename the site in celebration.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to
Tacohead
!
Live
Icecrown Citadel Raid Buff Increased to 10%
The raid buffs that
were introduced
at the beginning of the month for
Icecrown Citadel
have been increased in this morning's maintenance. Originally set to increase damage, healing, absorption effects and health by 5%,
Strength of Wrynn
and
Hellscream's Warsong
have now been increased to
10%
.
Now that the first increase in the buff is now active we have an idea of how often the buff will increase. Expect the next increase (15%) on
April 27th
, which is four weeks from today.
Live
Bloodbathed Frostbrood Vanquisher in 3D!
In this last patch, we've been able to find the model for the
Reins of the Bloodbathed Frostbrood Vanquisher
!
This one's a beauty. You earn it for completing the 10-player version of
Glory of the Icecrown Raider (10 player)
. The evidence suggests that the 25-player version will reward a
Icebound Frostbrood Vanquisher
, for which we don't have a model yet. You can be sure it'll be here as soon as we do!
You can also see it on the item page here:
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=51954
Live
New Map for the Ruby Sanctum!
Something a little surprising was discovered in the patch files for 3.3.3, a new version of map for
The Ruby Sanctum
was tucked away neatly inside. On the right you can see the actual map, in the center we are pretty sure is
Halion the Twilight Destroyer
with his 3 lieutenants Baltharus the Warborn, General Zarithrian and Saviana Ragefire surrounding him.
More info:
http://www.wowhead.com/?zone=4987
The Obsidian Sanctum
reminds me a lot of this new map, and as I love all kinds of dragon related lore this new raid is really exciting me. So, what are your thoughts on this upcoming raid dungeon and all of precursor events that are leading up to
Cataclysm
?
Live
Which Direction Is Our Game Heading?
As many of you know, the original pitch for World of Warcraft was an epic adventure where you would band together with your peers and defeat a common enemy, be it a huge dragon, or an opposing faction's army. This is the reason that a lot of players initially bought the game, but it's also one of the aspects of the game that seems to be disappearing.
Live
Icecrown Citadel Raid Buff Now Live
The buff promised by Blizzard to make
Icecrown Citadel
easier has finally been enabled on live realms as of this morning's rolling restarts!
Strength of Wrynn
for the Alliance and
Hellscream's Warsong
for the Horde
increase damage, healing and health by 5%
. From looking at related spells it will slowly increase over time to finally reaching its top out point of
30%
.
These buffs will hopefully help out those raid groups that are having issues progressing through the raid encounter. But those who wish to do this without help still have the option to turn it off by speaking with your respective faction leader to disable the buff.
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