Player reaction to the 5-man Trial
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 6th 2009 at 8:00PM
All right -- patch 3.2 has been out for a few days now, and I would say that most people who are interested have had a chance to go in and run the brand new 5-man instance. Of course it's not the only change in the patch (far from it), but it's the one I was most looking forward to, and unlike the raid instances, it's all in there and doable, ready for our judgment. So what did we think?I tried it yesterday, and my first impression was "underwhelmed." I definitely don't feel that way about 3.2 as a whole, but the instance itself seems less than impressive, a one-room fight with almost as many boring moments as there are exciting ones. The fights themselves are actually pretty commonplace for a Heroic -- the jousting fight is probably the least-liked among the playerbase (seriously, whoever really loves the jousting mechanic over at Blizzard needs to take a good long look in the mirror for some self reflection), while the best is of course the Argent Confessor, who summons a random figure from our "past memories" to fight. I got Illidan and Onyxia the first few times I ran the instance, but of course Hogger and Van Cleef and Heigan the Unclean also have a chance at making an appearance. I did like the fight, but I was kind of bummed the old memories didn't bring any of their abilities with them -- they all have the same three abilities to throw at the group.
As for the lore, I'm torn. On the one hand, I did like that Blizzard mixed it up a bit, and tried to get us a little more involved in what the NPCs are doing than just having us go off on our own and take down a dungeon. On the other hand, that intro will be even longer the 25th time I'm doing it, and I'm still not convinced that messing around with an Argent Tournament is worth our time. One person dies in the whole instance (spoiler: it's the Black Knight, and he dies three times), and so while it was cool seeing our names shouted and being cheered on by the crowd, I can't help but think that it's still all just fun and games. When do we get to put somebody's eye out?
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Instances, Lore, Bosses, NPCs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
rallix Aug 6th 2009 8:09PM
I actually really like the 5 man. It's a fun instance and the gear is quite nice for a heroic. I've dpone it everyday on all 3 of my toons. My only problem is that blizzard needs to make it to where the first fight isnt always a wipe, when you get dismounted you should have time to buff and change weapons before the npcs kill the healer and wipe the group
Foxpaw Aug 6th 2009 8:20PM
You're doing it wrong. Buff up before getting on the mounts (once you're mounted you can't be buffed). Put your weapons on your action bar or make a macro to switch back to your primary weapon. The hardest part of this encounter isn't the buffing or the weapon switching, it's the tank picking up aggro on all the mobs before someone dies, and that's what makes this encounter challenging and fun.
volrathy Aug 6th 2009 8:32PM
The hardest part about the jousting bit is when it ends the enemy all remount and run around killing you on their mounts
Vandersveldt Aug 6th 2009 8:43PM
lol you're supposed to run over them
Necroz Aug 6th 2009 8:57PM
OMG it's blows so hard
I despise jousting and the 20min intro.... YAWN!
It's been 2 days and I'm never running it again
"The crowd cheers for me!"
I boo the new instance.
noelkytty Aug 6th 2009 9:03PM
I do like seeing something new, but being an Ulduar veteran, I'm only seeing disenchanted abyss crystals for loot. To be honest, so far Naxx10 DE runs are looking better, reward to time ratio.
kabshiel Aug 6th 2009 9:49PM
The intro is way too long. The first fight is really awkward: combining the bad jousting mechanics with a messy transition to a normal fight is a bad idea. The rest is fine, assuming you can get into the instance in the first place.
Bubsa Aug 6th 2009 11:22PM
The hardest part of the instance is having to sit through the endless dialogue at the start everytime.
Gothia Aug 7th 2009 2:37AM
This, like most things, is a learning experience. Jousting doesn't bother me, but the dismount is clunky and all 3 focusing on the healer is a pretty mean way to do business. I read from a comment that the tank has to aquire aggro after dismount and that part should be smoother. The macro from an earlier comment for switching weapons was also a good idea.
Question: during the wirlwind I have noticed excessive damage. Can members just run away from him or is he focused on tank? Can he be kited without damage to tank? What have you found workd in this stage?
Glyphtastic Aug 7th 2009 4:50AM
After everyone is dismounted, simply run out. Once everybody is out, run in again: the champions will reset and will be fightable, on foot and standing close together -- far easier than picking up aggro from them scattered all over the floor and 2-shotting your healer.
Bob Dewane Aug 7th 2009 9:25AM
@Foxpaw
The tank having to pick up aggro on all 3 after the dismount is what makes the encounter "chalenging and fun"?!?!?!?! I take it you're not the tank. Every single time my group has wiped in transition someone blurts out that "if the tank would just do his job..." I think I speak for all tanks when I say that part of the encounter is not fun for any of us.
@Glyphtastic
Can you actually run out? Granted, I haven't tried during the transition but when I did try as my group was wiping on phase 2 of the Black Knight on heroic, as I ran for the door I saw a gate in front of the portal. Sadly I didn't get to the gate before I was wiped but it sure didn't look like something I could have gone through. Anyone know if you can, in fact, run out?
Aykwa Aug 7th 2009 12:22PM
Come on people, the part where you are all dismounted isn't all that hard. Your mobs should already be marked, you all just quickly change weapons and stand together in one spot. Then the tanks can AOE taunt (Warrior use Challenging Shout, Druids use Challenging Roar, Paladins use Righteous Defense, especially easy if they all go right after the healer, cast it on him). Main challenge of the transition is for everyone to swap weapons while at the same time grouping up together. You can make it even easier by pre-selecting a central spot before the fight starts, where you will all immediately gather upon dismount.
Nick S Aug 7th 2009 12:32PM
We handle the 2nd phase of the first fight by having everyone run to the tank and stand in his Consecrate/Thunderclap/DnD/BearWW. Ranged enemies get silenced and taunted, GG.
L8onautry Aug 6th 2009 8:10PM
Definitely agree with the intro being boring the millionth time.....maybe they can put in a mechanic to distinguish if someone has never been in there before and THEN play it, but if all 5 have run it before it could just get down to business??
SaintStryfe Aug 6th 2009 8:21PM
I like that idea, I also would love to see some more reactions from the NPCs.
If my Draenei hails Garrosh I'd like him to turn his nose up, while if I hail Lady Proudmoore, I'd like her to maybe emote something about how I've become a skilled fighter since she saw me in Dustwallow. If my orc hails King Wyrnn I'd like him to growl annoyed, while Garrosh laughs. If my Shaman hails Thrall maybe he could drop a totem in respect. If my mage bows to Lady Proudmoore, she could return it. That sorta thing would be fun, but I guess it's a bit complicated.
Mitch Aug 7th 2009 8:49AM
You people and your complaining. The instance takes like 15 minutes at most to get through. I definitely don't want to complain about a little extra dialogue instead of a lot of extra trash. Honestly, think about it. And not only is it short, but you get more epics. I don't need anything from there on my main but it's a nice way to get abyss crystals.
Give an inch they take a mile . . . .
Ryan Aug 6th 2009 8:10PM
The announcer dies, poor fella gets choked and turned into a ghoul.
Dreyden Aug 6th 2009 10:29PM
That's my favorite part! The Black Knight went Darth Vader on his ass.
Orrine Aug 7th 2009 7:33AM
"You spoiled my entrance!" must be replaced by "You talk too much!" :)
dfgreat1 Aug 6th 2009 8:11PM
Jousting is super easy with some practice, Just takes a few days of doing the dailies to get the hang of it