Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsGhostcrawler: There will (not) be at least 31 bosses in Icecrown
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 10th 2009 at 7:00PM
Ghostcrawler has posted an interesting little hint at the next patch (we know of) headed to the game. In response to a discussion about "tanking niches," he talks about Icecrown Citadel over on the forums, and just happens to mention that people might think of tanks as waiting outside until "boss 4, 17 and 31 (yes, IC is that big)." 31 bosses? More like Icecrowded, am I right?Blackrock Depths is the largest 5-man in the game, if not the largest instance, and it boasts over 40 bosses (that's mostly counting encounters, though -- you wouldn't count The Seven, for example, as seven different bosses), including lots and lots of optional bosses and even a holiday boss. Ulduar, by comparison, has about 14, and Karazhan is about that same size (though that depends on how you count random bosses, like the Opera Event). No matter how you slice it, 31 raid bosses is a ton of bosses to go through -- Icecrown could be a return to a really epic, large-scale instance.
Of course, there will likely be wings involved (Naxxramas' Quarters have worked out pretty well, I think), and with the new changes to raid lockouts, Blizzard no longer needs to squeeze the raiding experience into an average of two or three nights a week (which is what it seemed like they were usually aiming for before). If yours is the kind of guild that likes to clear everything in one night, though, you might want to start freeing up some time now.
Update: GC now says he didn't mean the instance would have 31 bosses, he was just throwing in some ridiculous number to prove a point. Our question: why did he say "yes, IC is that big" if he didn't mean it would be that big?
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Bosses, NPCs, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 7)
conker87 Aug 11th 2009 7:02AM
Getting to the end where Arthas sits:
"I've been waiting for you"
GANONDORF?! WTF!?
Candina@WH Aug 10th 2009 7:18PM
So... 31 bosses.
4 wings of 7 bosses + 2 'gate keepers' and one Arthas?
5 wings of 6 bosses + Arthas?
If I had to put a 'thematic' guess...
6 wings of 5 Bosses + the Arthas encounter. Or should I say.. 6 LEGS....
Creese5704 Aug 10th 2009 7:21PM
HOLY CRAP! This is going to be interesting if the next raid has that many bosses.
Kuma Aug 10th 2009 7:22PM
Haha, wonder if we'll see UD Kaelthas :P
perderedeus Aug 10th 2009 7:22PM
They will probably make a portion of them optional. Think Ulduar... you could skip Ignis and Razorscale off the bat, and also Iron Council. You could also avoid doing Thorim, Freya, Hodir or Mimiron if you really wanted to.
That said... THIRTY ONE...
dan Aug 11th 2009 2:36AM
How are the keepers skippable?
jfofla Aug 10th 2009 7:23PM
It will not matter if there are 31 or 131 bosses if you cannot launch the instance.
The game is completely broken right now.
danawhitaker Aug 10th 2009 9:45PM
What are you talking about? I've been running the new Trial of the Champion 5-man nightly since 3.2 dropped and usually the daily and other heroics without any issues whatsoever. How exactly is the game broken? Maybe all those emblems of triumph and emblems of conquest and champion's seals in my currency tab are all an illusion.
jbodar Aug 10th 2009 10:58PM
Correction: your realm is broken.
Everybody Aug 11th 2009 2:22AM
You bums really should have used those free transfers you were offered, eh?
Sierro Aug 11th 2009 5:58AM
I think you should see the flood of "additional instances cannot be launched" on the european forums. It's great that your realms are working fine, but it's certainly not that way for most of us over here. And for what it's worth, my realm Eonar-EU, hasn't had any free transfers from it.
Hippymusic Aug 10th 2009 7:25PM
31 Bosses?
So maybe it'll take the "top" guild more than a weeks to clear it's normal modes. Nice. give us casuals a chance to feel good for a bit,
Dave Aug 13th 2009 6:10PM
stfu casual
Tony Montana Aug 10th 2009 7:41PM
Damn I need to get my WoW on and get through some of the end game content before the next patch I'm a little behind on Naxx and Uludar too.
mark Aug 10th 2009 7:30PM
Arthas will have 100,000,000 hit points, and there will be 14 stages to the fight. Estimated encounter time will be over 1 hour. Runback upon death will be 8 minutes, and frostmourn will only be a .8% drop rate.
devilsei Aug 10th 2009 7:54PM
Nope, that .8% is wrong. You forgot his hard mode too.
Hardmode will involve a very intense fight, followed by some lunch, then several re-inactments of "Thriller!", followed by a very light dinner, before you have to tuck him in to sleep while you stay awake for 2 hours to keep all the bad dreams away.
When he awakens the next day fresh, he then yells at you that he's ready for breakfast.
Because you killed Sindrigosa, he can't just fly down to the mess hall. So you have 30 mins to fight your way to the Citadels kitchen, and requires at least ten 450 skilled master chefs with a chef hat to gather around a large cauldron and operate it.
During so, a bunch of hungry mobs will rush you and the 15 others have to keep them away while the chefs play a rousing game of simon says with the cauldron, whiping everyone if one person fails. Failing also locks you out from fighting Arthas.
IF you do succeed, Tirion rushes in and yells at you about why you are cooking a hot meal for the Lich King, then attacks. You must then lead him over to the closest heavy object and knock him out with it, then take the Ashbringer and use it to stir the soup. Following this you must tame three large dogs and leash them to the bowl to drag it back upstairs, racing against time and the horde of hungry hungry hippo zombies (and behind them? DEHTA, angry about whoever killed them in the first place).
When you finally get back, Arthas will complain his soup is cold, so several fire mages must hop into the bowl and spam pyroblast, careful not to heat it up too much, else you'll burn Arthas's poor frozen tongue.
Finally. After all this! Fordring arrives and challenges Arthas to an epic match of Rock, Paper, Scissors. One player must take control of Fordring, and the rest must try and protect the area from a combined attack of the dragons and undead using cannons, catapults. The ammo is from the fecal matter of the dogs tamed earlier. Three players must mount them, and use them to eat the "Unstable Ghouls" running about, and turn them into explosive poo, which other players must loot and carry to the vehicle players.
If you do indeed manage this feat, Arthas will thank you and say he's tired of all this stupid "Evil Domination" crap. Ner'zhul, it reveals, is really only interested in making a thriller specific band, and required those in the most peak of physical and mental perfection to do the dances, cook the food, and walk the dogs.
YOU, the raiders, are that. In thanks he removes himself from Arthas, possesses Fordring (who's more than happy to quit the paladin life to carry on the profession of dance master), and kicks Frostmourne, now called Frostgren (frost-grin) over the edge of the citadel's roof. You all then jump over the edge, first to grab the weapon mid-air gets it. Otherwise, whoever survives the fall, and the ensuing fight, at the bottom, gets it instead. And once you have Frostgren, you are no longer allowed into Icecrown Citadel.
Tyras Aug 10th 2009 7:57PM
Frostmourne WILL NOT drop, and even .8% is too high.
Reason for Frostmourne not being a drop is because it causes someone to become soulless, even if The Lich King is dead, it will be destroyed by Tirion and his band of Righteous men. Don't expect the drop, it would ruin the meaning of Frostmourne.
devilsei Aug 10th 2009 8:16PM
Tyras, true we'll never get Frostmourne. We get FrostGREN. See? Its a happy version of the sword. Who wants a sad sword...?
And to be serious, I doubt Tirion would do that. They didn't destroy Kel'thezud's phylactery, ensuring his reanimation, and I doubt they didn't know a Lich can recreate itself from just its phylactery, considering they are supposed to be the all-undead-knowing, undead asskickers. They kept it as a trophy instead. So they won't destroy the legendary sword of the Lich King, they'll keep it as a trophy if we don't get it, so they can polish and grow their egos.
Clbull Aug 10th 2009 10:46PM
@Tyras
Perhaps Frostmourne could be a Legendary quest item that drops (with a low drop chance) that then must be handed in to the Argent Crusade. They then cleanse the blade so that you can use it without it taking your soul.
PvtDeth Aug 11th 2009 2:45AM
Wow, devilsei. Prepare to be plagiarized much. (not by me, by the all of the internets) Say hello to ctrl-C.