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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsOnyxia returns in Patch 3.2.2
by Michael Sacco 
Aug 12th 2009 at 9:12PM
You read that right. In honor of WoW's 5-year anniversary, in the upcoming Patch 3.2.2, Onyxia will make her triumphant return to the world of Azeroth!
The patch will convert Onyxia's Lair to a 10- and 25-player dungeon, along with new items whose models match the old-school gear available in the vanilla instance, like Tier 2 helms. Additional rewards include a 310% speed flying mount modeled after Onyxia herself!
As a bonus, anyone who logs in during the 5-year anniversary event in November will get an Onyxia Whelpling pet.
The full announcement after the break!
The full announcement reads as follows:
She has lurked in her lair and done battle with the many brave adventurers who travelled to that familiar location over the years. Now, in honor of the World of Warcraft 5-year anniversary, the dreaded brood mother Onyxia is being revamped to make a return to the forefront of Azeroth, as part of our big plans for the upcoming 3.2.2 content patch.
This permanent update to Onyxia will convert the dungeon into 10- and 25-player modes. We will be adding new items to Onyxia's loot table that have the same model as some of the classic loot from this dungeon, like Tier 2 helms, with stats updated to match the current level of content. There will be a special new item too: a normal drake-sized 310% speed flying mount modeled after Onyxia herself called an Onyxia Broodling. We will also be updating the encounter mechanics to be more fitting for modern raiding, but we can guarantee players will get to experience the frightening horror of deep breaths once again.
Then for a limited time, after the 5-year anniversary event officially begins in November, anybody who logs in will receive an Onyxia Brood Whelpling pet.
We're very excited to bring this classic encounter back to provide a fun new experience for both new and veteran players. Further details will be available in the near future, and we will be setting up the Public Test Realms soon to help test out this fight along with all the new content we have planned for the patch. Keep an eye on the forums for updates!
Filed under: News items, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 15)
Otome Aug 12th 2009 9:38PM
This seems like Blizzard's way of saying sorry for the disappointment that was the 'memory of' gimmick, but I sure as hell ain't complaining.
And she drops a %310 mount? Good times ahead. Time to return to a time where people have Ony on farm and it means something.
Lannden Aug 12th 2009 9:39PM
Freaking awesome.
Gallow Aug 12th 2009 9:42PM
whats awesome is how much work blizzard puts into this content.... its all brand new!!!!
Its amazing all the hard work they put into naxx to come out in wrath. I'm pretty sure that raid instance barely made it into release with all those new bosses and abilities. kudos blizzard on not recycling old content and old armor and weapon models.
Michael Sacco Aug 12th 2009 9:42PM
I, too, hate fun.
Adam Holisky Aug 12th 2009 9:45PM
Hmmm....
Sacco, you're fired for hating fun. Fun hater.
SaintStryfe Aug 12th 2009 9:49PM
That's really unfair. First, Naxx is something maybe a few percent of the playing population got to see at level. It was a perfectly good idea to bring it up to snuff and make it a usable instance that people will still go to.
Second, Onyxia is obviously a little gift to fans who've been playing three, four even 5 years. It's not tier, it's not realigning it, it's simply a gift to people who enjoy seeing this older armor that people liked, but being able to use it too. The 310 mount and the pet just are nice.
Get your self-important head out of your butt and enjoy the game for a change.
Trent Aug 12th 2009 9:51PM
You do realize this isn't even a main patch? This is added content (read: bonus). I get the frustration with Naxxramas..but seriously, this isn't even comparable.
Grendalsh Aug 12th 2009 9:44PM
So, once more Blizz provides a a bucket of awesome sauce with a side of 'well that sucks'.
Considering about 1/2 my guild hasn't hit 60 yet, and several that have still haven't seen, much less downed, the Old Lady, I'm mixed on this.
I absolutely love that Blizz is making old content relevant again. At the same time, removing content (Tier 3 Naxx, Tier 2 helm) or encounters (lvl60 Ony) borks the game for NEW players (remember, there ARE players just now starting the game, and they're paying to play just like you did) as well as makes old content inaccessible for players who haven't gotten to it yet.
For those of my guild that HAVE seen Ony, it's only because we organized a lvl 60s Tour and Wipe and broadcast it for puggers. Some of these already had chars in Northrend, but never got to see Ony while leveling.
kashback Aug 12th 2009 9:55PM
Who the hell does a 40-man raid "while levelling"? It's really not the same as Hogger or Van Cleef, these really are places that people don't go to as part of the levelling process anymore, because endgame content stops being relevant when the required level cap isn't the cap anymore.
When was the last time anyone did an Outland heroic, even, while levelling?
Beliam Aug 12th 2009 10:01PM
It's not "while leveling," I've seen more than one guild level to 60 and then cut off experience in order to do classic raiding. Just because running 60 Ony won't gear you for Icecrown doesn't mean it's not relevant. And "relevance" aside, people still do it because it's fun.
Grendalsh Aug 12th 2009 10:02PM
Everyone in my guild. Because we like lore and enjoy experiencing content AT level. Just because you. Think the only point to the game is getting to max level as fast as possible and miss half the game content, doesn't mean others feel compelled to skip to the end too.
Lokasenna Aug 12th 2009 10:04PM
"I've seen more than one guild level to 60 and then cut off experience in order to do classic raiding."
In the whole week since they've been able to cut off experience?
trig565@hotmail.com Aug 12th 2009 10:10PM
!
mind filling me in on what server you're on & guild name? ive been looking for a place to level an alt so i can do the old raiding.
Grendalsh Aug 12th 2009 11:06PM
HMS Dawntreader on Silvermoon-A. We just picked up a new crewmate that's only been playing for 2 weeks. We've got several chars that are xp capped at mid 60s that are still working Azeroth end-game dungeons. (We didn't cross into Outlands in order to diminish leveling.. got to about lvl64ish when Blizz announced the XP Toggle..) We have alts we may cap at 60 for the hell of it so we can release our mains to Northrend, but that won't be till we're done with Outlands..
Beliam Aug 12th 2009 9:44PM
Having come off the initial high, I'm not sure this is such a great idea. Are they going to remove L60Onyxia? If so, how are level 60 raiding guilds going to progress? This makes Nefarian essentially unkillable for anyone who is the appropriate level but doesn't already have an Onyxia Scale Cloak.
Unless they're planning on revamping every 60 raid to 80, which seems like an awful lot of work for "do you have any idea how long (creative, interesting fan idea) would take to implement?" Blizzard. And even then, that's a lot of raids to go obsolete AGAIN when Cataclysm hits next year.
And on another note, will 80 Ony drop her head so we can go turn it in and maybe trigger a Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer for everyone, not just 60s and below?
kashback Aug 12th 2009 9:57PM
Blizz has said on many, many occasions that they don't support the level 60 raiding community, they support the level cap raiding community.
True facks.
Mike Aug 12th 2009 10:01PM
So what you're saying is Blizzard should keep in old content solely for the unimaginably infinitesimal portion of the population who still play it, instead of taking the opportunity to expand and open it up for everyone to enjoy?
Schadow Aug 12th 2009 10:22PM
I have seen nothing about removing the scales (the reagent for the cloak) from the game. If anything, they should be more plentiful on the AH if the instance is being farmed more.
As far as the L60 raiding guilds - it's kind of a farce, isn't it? The abilities are different, there are more items and item enhancements, more viable class trees, more add-ons - it's nothing like Vanilla WoW, even at level 60. The game has moved on.
I started playing at the very end of Vanilla. I recall when nightbane was a reasonably fierce critter. Then patch 2.4 came along and he was a pushover wimp. It was a sad thing to see.
I would imagine fans of ony would love to see her return to her full, powerful, glorious self instead of being laughable. I would love to see the World Dragons updated as well.
But I am not much of a purist, I guess. I would love to see heroic versions of all old instances, to revive the interest in them and make them current. LFM - need tank, heals and DPS for H-VC. How awesome would that be?
Grendalsh Aug 12th 2009 11:36PM
This isn't about raiding lvl60 dungeons repeatedly with 1.10 abilities and gear..
This is about EXPERIENCING a lvl60 raid dungeon, at or near level, so that it's still somewhat of a challenge.. before moving on to the next dungeon. We're not farming Tier 2 gear, we're snagging the acheivement, maybe finishing a couple quests, seeing what was there, maybe running Strat for the 20th time for that stupid mount cause we're bored, but not actually RAIDING. And once we've seen all the content, we'll move on.
xtremebmx_77 Aug 13th 2009 2:41PM
@ Beliam
Do you realize that a larger number of people will be able to enjoy this when it's reworked, as opposed to only a few die-hard vanilla raiding guilds? Unless you plan on hanging around 60 for an extended period of time, it can almost feel like a waste working so hard to get tier 2 gear when outland drops stuff just as good in a 5-man. I mean, there's always fun to be had when doing classic instances, but it'll be even more fun when you're getting gear that you can and should spending your time on.