Spoilers: Preview of Algalon the Observer
by Alex Ziebart 
Apr 21st 2009 at 5:30PM
Please note that this post contains spoilers for the raid dungeon Ulduar. If you don't want to be spoiled, please stop reading. The above image has been blurred for your safety. You have been warned.
Wraith of EU-Ysondre has been hard at work toppling the hard modes required to access Algalon the Observer, the true final boss of Ulduar. They've yet to defeat Agalon, but they're one of the first guilds in the world to even see this boss in person.
MMO-Champion has a whole load of pictures from their raid, and I have to say... they're pretty trippy. It makes the psychedelic blues of the Malygos encounter look tame in comparison. The encounter also has an added hook to it: Upon reaching his chamber, you're given 60 minutes to fight him. After those 60 minutes, he despawns for theday week and you're out of luck.
Wraith of EU-Ysondre has been hard at work toppling the hard modes required to access Algalon the Observer, the true final boss of Ulduar. They've yet to defeat Agalon, but they're one of the first guilds in the world to even see this boss in person.
MMO-Champion has a whole load of pictures from their raid, and I have to say... they're pretty trippy. It makes the psychedelic blues of the Malygos encounter look tame in comparison. The encounter also has an added hook to it: Upon reaching his chamber, you're given 60 minutes to fight him. After those 60 minutes, he despawns for the
That time limit fits well into the story surrounding Algalon, that you have to stop him from sending a message to the Titans that Azeroth needs a nuclear facelift. It's also going to force raids to work well together to make some progress in that time limit. There will be no marathon 8 hours raids to beat Algalon the Observer. You get in and you get it done or you go home with nothing. I would be more than a little irritated if they did this for every boss, but in this situation? I love it.
Head on over to MMO-Champion for more pictures, and start digging a grave for your video card. I have a feeling this fight's bells and whistles will be a plague upon lesser rigs.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
pawpaw Apr 21st 2009 5:39PM
this wins. gg blizz.
i hope i have the opportunity to experience this while it's still relevant
hold up Apr 21st 2009 6:12PM
Agreed.
This encounter looks a-maze-ing. Makes me really consider moving to WoW EU. The US is so far behind on this its ridiculous. And it's definitely time for a realm change for me. The number one guild on the server still hasn't finished either 10 or 25 on normal mode.
Recommendations? Scilla? Ysondre? Mal'Ganis? Where do the hardcore go to play? :)
And just one more time... this looks absolutely insane. And I love the 1 hour time limit per week. Really emphasizes skill vs. brute force. GG Blizz - I have found my will to raid again.
"Just went I thought I was out, they pulled me back in." -Steve Van Zandt
Ayane Apr 21st 2009 7:06PM
"i hope i have the opportunity to experience this while it's still relevant ."
I give it...a month.....tops...before it becomes irrelevant.
Perhaps less. o_O
Good luck to you!
shaz Apr 21st 2009 5:41PM
Wow this sounds like a true test of skill and team work
Mr42 Apr 22nd 2009 6:28AM
...and hardware
spacehyena Apr 21st 2009 5:41PM
Oh my god...it's full of stars.
Meg Apr 28th 2009 11:45AM
This comment is the best thing I've read all day.
Drakk Apr 21st 2009 5:42PM
The screens look somehow... confusing :)
And the timer looks like a nice little twist, though I bet a lot of people will have a QQ for having to wait another day to get their phat lewtz... I don't mind actually, being the casual who's never going to get to Algalon anyway :D
Arashikou Apr 21st 2009 7:37PM
The time limit is fracking BRILLIANT because it does the same thing for raiding that dailies did for questing: It forces people to take time by removing the possibility of grinding constantly. If Blizz wanted a way to force the top guilds to take longer to beat content instead of grinding away at it, this is a pretty good one - you get one hour of practice wiping each week, and then you have to find some other way to amuse yourself for a while.
Heilig Apr 21st 2009 8:29PM
Developer 1: "Hey, Algalon is super hard. How long do you think it will be before someone downs him?"
Developer 2: "2 years ago? Six weeks. Now? Six hours."
Developer 1: "So do we make it harder?"
Developer 2: "Screw that. Just put an artificial cock-block in there. Make it where you can only fight him when the Widget of Unspeakable Power drops from Yogg-Saron."
Developer 1: "But what if it doesn't drop? People will be complaining about progression being based on a roll of the dice."
Developer 2: "Fine. Put an hour timer per week on it so no one even has a chance to learn the encounter before he's gone. It'll take people a while that way."
Developer 1: "That's just mean. And kind of lazy."
Developer 2: "Yeah. Let's go get some pizza."
Developer 1: "Sweet."
MechChef Apr 22nd 2009 8:44AM
I don't know, Heilig, but I had a similar line of thought as you.
Obviously, a 1-hour timer will make practicing on him more difficult. But, this also makes me think that Blizz is using this as a way artificially slow down guilds from blowing through their content.
Though it's probably nice to have a stopping point instead of beating your head against a wall night after night for hours.
jfofla Apr 21st 2009 5:43PM
Spoilers?
Months of PTR, Strat guides on every website, and you are concerned about spoilers?
Alex Ziebart Apr 21st 2009 5:44PM
Many of our readers are, yes.
Saintgutfree Apr 21st 2009 7:37PM
I have to agree though. If you're reading a website dedicated to the meta-game then you should be prepared for a spoiler or two.
A lot of what WI posts is guides to various things, like the Argent Tourney guides being posted. If you went to Gamestop and bought a Prima guide for a game, it would more than likely contain spoilers.
Simply: If you're reading a guide of any kind, you should be expecting spoilers.
I'm glad WI puts the spoiler warnings up, because it prevents someone from being able to complain about it. But I also question why someone would be reading this site, or WoWWiki, or MMOChamp, or ANY other Meta-game site and NOT expect the game to be spoiled. Whether it be upcoming patch notes, a guide to a boss encounter, or screen caps of the latest and greatest encounter, it's a spoiler of some kind.
AShadowPriest Apr 22nd 2009 9:40AM
I'm going to have to agree with Saintgutfree here.
It's a bit silly to read a meta-game website with in-depth information on various aspects of the game and be concerned about spoilers.
I'm going to go out on a limb here though and guess that since page views are dropping money into the authors' paychecks, they're going to go on putting up spoiler warnings. And really... who can have a problem with that?
DMK Apr 21st 2009 6:31PM
When there has been very, very little information out of the PTR about Algalon....yes, they should be concerned.
Max Apr 21st 2009 5:49PM
More *non-watermarked* screenshots at http://wowraid.com/index.php?topic=224.0
Trilynne Apr 21st 2009 5:51PM
Ahah. Ahahahahahaha. Who said Ulduar was easy? *rolls around in a fit of mad giggles* This dude will be NUTS. The time limit ALONE will be a HUGE barrier to, well, every single guild, pretty much. xD Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it, hardcore raiders. >.> I know you'll be happy to, and hopefully this will put an end to the 'it's too easy' QQ.
go away Apr 21st 2009 11:26PM
You're right....now it's time for the "omgz it's too hard!!" QQ's. nerf bat should hit in about 1 month thanks to YOU.
So if anyone wants a crack at it before it gets watered down, better start getting those hard modes on farm.
Crazymarc Apr 21st 2009 5:57PM
This looks like it'll lag like a biatch!!