Scholomance to be revisited?
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 30th 2008 at 8:30PM
Everybody's favorite trash bin, Scholomance, might be getting a revisit by Blizzard. Late last week, CM Wryxian posted on the WoW Europe forums asking players for their thoughts on the expansion, and since then, people have given it a general thumbs up -- while Scholo has always had issues with too much trash in too cramped quarters (in fact, it was already revamped a few times to be tuned down -- it used to be a 10 man raid equal in difficulty to UBRS), players still frequent it, and they have really enjoyed the fact that it was a branching dungeon that had some pretty cool lore associated with it -- the story of Darkmaster Gandling and his school of Necromancy (and all the hot teachers there) is a good one.Of course, what Blizzard might do with the instance, we have no idea -- at this point, it's soloable at 70, but it still does provide a great source of Argent Dawn rep, and there are actually a few epics dropping in there now. Maybe they'll revamp it like Naxx, or it'll be the first "old world" instance to be given a Heroic setting? Or maybe Blizzard is asking players what they think about the instance because they're thinking of cutting it -- in order to introduce some new leveling content in the Plaguelands. The fact that they're asking about it at all means that there must be something in store for Gandling's old school, but what that is, we have no idea.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Quests, Lore, NPCs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ScytheNoire Jul 30th 2008 8:35PM
Scholomance time travel... you go back in time to an event that happened in the past there... wait... time travel for all the old instances!
Phoulmouth Jul 30th 2008 8:43PM
I wish they would revamp some of the old content for higher levels. I miss running UBRS and scholomance and all those old dungeons. I think if they took one or 2 of the old dungeons and retooled them they would be surprised at the number of people that would run them just for old times sake.
Cecilq Jul 31st 2008 11:45PM
I hear what you're saying, but retooling old-world instances to make them interesting for level-70s would rule them out for anyone still making their way through the old world (both existing players leveling alts & those new to WoW).
Maybe the heroic option for old-world instances (should it be introduced) could boost the difficulty to heroic Hellfire levels. Under that setting, mobs could drop heroic Hellfire-quality epics.
That way, not only would level-70 players find the old instances to be challenging, but they'd also get some relevant loot out of the deal.
jbodar Jul 31st 2008 4:40AM
Unfortunately, not many seem to want to run those instances, but they are necessary for epic mount quests. For example, locks need to hit the lab in Scholo for a part of their chain. Hopefully I'll run them all one day.
grofer Jul 31st 2008 10:42AM
Caverns of Time old Stratholme?
Sky_Paladin Jul 30th 2008 8:47PM
I will be terribly disappointed if it isn't revamped to become Hogwarts.
Super Guest Man 9000 Jul 30th 2008 9:00PM
"I got it bad! I'm hot for teacher..."
Badger Jul 30th 2008 11:58PM
"I've got it maaaade ... SOOOO ... maaaade ..."
Tim Jul 30th 2008 9:07PM
The only way I think revisiting old dungeons will work is if Blizz regards them as "classics" and creates a unique Baron run style challenge for each, giving you special achievements that together give awesome loot or unlock a special quest chain in Northrend.
It would be fun to do a timed challenge in a retuned Scholo, one that plays on our familiarity with the place and uses that knowledge to give us a different experience.
That or turn it into a PVP dungeon of some kind. =P
hpavc Sep 11th 2008 2:47PM
I liked the .5 quests inside the instances, BRD was the best ... pvp style tauntless 5v5 fight was a blast and frankly still is. That little gnomes 2 second cooldown spamable kidney punch was awesome. And the shaman's spam battle 'rez on his buddies as well.
my2cents Jul 30th 2008 9:08PM
I've always hated running Scholo. I think the overall concept and design of it is great, and the bosses are well-tuned, but the trash is a total pain in the ass. At 60, running Scholo was always a pain in the ass, and nowadays (unless you're doing your epic mount quest) you're unlikely to bother with it past level 57 since doing virtually *anything* in Outland is a better time investment. So as it stands now it's pretty much there just for epic mount quests.
My suggestion would be to lower the level of all the mobs in there by 3 or 4 levels (to make it more compelling to players who are not high enough to quest in outland yet), remove about 25-30% of the trash and change the larger packs so that only one or two mobs in the pack are elite. I'd also change the mobs that fear or emit poison clouds (either reduce durations/damage or just remove those mechanics) I know this sounds like it would make Scholo totally different and *much* easier...but Scholo is no longer endgame content. It hasn't been for quite some time. There is no need for it to come with such a large time investment and learning curve (Yes learning curve. To first time levelers Scholo would seem pretty difficult imo.) Who wants to struggle through repeated wipes in long instances when leveling?
-Apparently no one. For example, if you stand outside the Gnomer instance you might not come accross another player for several hours or longer.
/end rant
Warcloud Jul 30th 2008 9:22PM
Scholomance is still the best dungeon out there (raids excluded). I never got to run it as much as I'd like and would want to see it brought back to relevance.
Knucker Jul 30th 2008 9:38PM
I'm surprised you posted a picture by that artist. >.>
Badger Jul 31st 2008 12:02AM
I was logged into DeviantArt and took a look at that guy's Gallery, and ... Good LORD! That whole *page* deserves a giant neon "NSFW" sign!
Super Guest Man 9000 Jul 31st 2008 2:40AM
Yeah his stuff is added to my.."other" WoW fan art folder...
Thallid Jul 30th 2008 9:50PM
My only concern with them re-fixing this instance is what they're going to do about the Ace of Portals card dropping from Gandling. I mean, it seems to be out of place for a lv. 60 Darkmoon Ace to drop from a lv. 70+ place, doesn't it?
hpavc Jul 30th 2008 10:45PM
I would like to see a quest giver outside that made all 8 rooms + teacher should be an optional contiguous event. Perhaps part of an escort of what not (get a book from the first room with the succubs, get another from jandice, get another from the dread dude and activate it with the lich dude and rez a pile of bones to help in the teacher event)
I like the tier .5 quest boss there and the quest chain with the 'whatever you do dont talk to these guys' should be more accessible for the masses.
The paladin mount quest is quite special. They obviously show a lot of love for the the place.
I run it all the time frankly, long pulls or not. Sure its no high speed strat ... but its a variety of mobs.
West Jul 31st 2008 2:13AM
Scholo and Strat (live/dead) are still my favorite instances in the game. Maybe it's the countless runs in them both at 60.
As a uber 70 prot pally i still run them both solo for kicks. It's fun to be able to kick that battle mage's butt in live strat and plow all the way through scholo.
Gimmlette Jul 30th 2008 11:38PM
Love Scholo and spent one day soloing it after I hit 70. I recommend all my guild members go through it at least once, to do a quest or just to see it. To me, Strath is more of a mob pain than Scholo. The mobs seem to be there for a reason. We run it as a guild to get enchanting mats for those toons in that level. It's also great fun to MD the bosses onto an unsuspecting party member. One of my officers is waiting to get me back for MD-ing 6.5 million zombies onto him as we were clearing.
I could see an Heroic setting which eliminated half of the packs of mobs but you had tougher bosses. I'd hate to see them eliminate the place. There is so much lore, so many quests that bring out the stories of people and places that the game for those of us who like that aspect, would be sorely diminished.
I'd like to see relevant rep rewards from Argent Dawn. Just as you can't get the major mana potion recipe until you do the quest for the orb, have there be trinkets or enchants or pots or some things that you can only get if you run the instance for the rep. Maybe something such as ZA where, kill all these bosses in X number of minutes and a chest spawns with goodies. In combination with an heroic setting, people would come.
Charles Jul 30th 2008 11:58PM
Back before I was a raider, I spent almost every night clearing Scholo. My favorite instance by far. What would be the best thing? A Tabard of the Scholomance Flag, or one from the carpet in the final room which is a variation of the flag.