The dungeon finder has really changed what players get excited about the most in the
World of Warcraft. It's a strange world when one of the most anticipated updates to the game is the ability to tell Arthas to shut his yap. No, we don't mean kill him in Icecrown, we really do mean telling him to shut the hell up. Just in case you missed it in
the patch notes we posted a little while ago, there's this waiting for us in
patch 3.3.3:
- Culling of Stratholme: Players may now skip the initial introduction dialog to this dungeon once they have completed it at least once.
The pre-Culling of Stratholme dialogue is really cool to experience the first few times, but after that it just starts to feel like a waste of time. The dungeon finder made it even worse, because as awesome as it is, it eliminated some of the social stigma of ditching a group early.
Oculus and Culling of Stratholme are the two instances I can always expect some dip to drop from. Hopefully this change and
the deserter debuff becoming 30 minutes will discourage that sort of behavior.
Tags: 3.3.3, arthas, caverns-of-time, culling-of-stratholme, dungeon-finder, lich-king, patch-3.3.3, patch-3.3.3-ptr, ptr, public-test-realm, shut-up-already-arthas, stratholme, wow-patch-3.3.3, wow-patch-3.3.3-ptr, wow-ptr
Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King
Feb 19th 2010 at 7:00PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ramco Feb 19th 2010 7:06PM
I've already heard it quite a few times in Warcraft III. I've heard it way too much in WoW. Thank you Blizzard!
Josh Feb 19th 2010 7:12PM
So what's up with the Deserter debuff? How do you get it? I remember getting it once the first day the Dungeon Finder was released when I used the dropped group, but I have yet to see it since then, and I've used the "Leave Party" portrait option plenty of times to bail on groups that suck. I thought maybe they'd gotten rid of the debuff or something, since I never get it, so I wonder how you actually get it...
Maybe I shouldn't be saying anything, heh.
Drakkenfyre Feb 19th 2010 7:34PM
You only get it if you drop from the group in the first 15 minutes of the group.
Hoggersbud Feb 19th 2010 9:43PM
And you don't get it if certain other things happen, such as a death, or somebody else leaving before you.
wickdliltattie Feb 19th 2010 7:12PM
I remember reading how people ditch Oculus, which honestly I am a pretty new player, have a level 80 toon, and the first time I fought it, yeah kind of a pain, but I actually do not mind it now. I kind of like Oculus. But I am glad they are dropping the opening dialouge, cause I get all wound up going in to get it over so I can have a chance at that drake. Hmmm.
slythwolf Feb 20th 2010 11:48AM
Oculus used to be a lot worse. They have nerfed the hell out of it so people are halfway willing to run it.
Task Feb 19th 2010 7:14PM
I lol'd at "Cull Stratholme faster than before.." title of the article.
And thank you for finally listening to us... Now we want our Moose/beaver/ Canadian animal equivalent, please and thank you.
Tomatketchup Feb 19th 2010 7:30PM
YOU'RE TOO SLOW YOU'RE TOO SLOW YOU'RE TOO SL-*shot*
Bvannas Feb 19th 2010 7:59PM
Its a nice change, but Im going to miss killing the time by noseying round the city abit. The repair lady, chance to stock up on food and drink, guess youd better stock up on Strathlome Lilies while you still have the chance :P
slythwolf Feb 20th 2010 11:50AM
If you really want Stratholme Lilies, you can always go to the Caverns of Time, zone in on your own, and not start the dungeon.
Fletcher Feb 19th 2010 8:20PM
Thank the Light, brothers and sisters! Our prayers have been answered!
steven Feb 19th 2010 8:53PM
Finally, my /yell "WTB Skip" has been heard. What about the first boss in UP? "WTB Skip" there as well.
Eudeyrn Feb 19th 2010 9:06PM
The first boss in UP takes 30 seconds to begin. Things like CoS and ToC 5 man had such long wait times that it was reasonable to add an option to remove them. That's just going overboard. What next, have them shorten the hallways because it takes too long to run down them?
As far as I can recall, here are the changes from Vanilla->BC->WotLK that they've added to speed up dungeon runs:
Less maze-like entrances to dungeons (before you even get in, that is - ST, BRD, even WC were nuts)
Less multi-level, maze like dungeons
Less trash, smaller packs,
Massive boost to AoE tanking and DPS (maybe unintentionally - I don't know if they genuinely meant to kill off CC)
Summoning stones with level restrictions
Quick exits or portals out near the end boss
Summoning stones without level restrictions
Random dungeon finder with insta-ports in and out
Shortened time between waves in VH
Skippable dialogue sequences for non-first time players
I think a short pause here and then is bearable, considering how far we've come. I think at a certain point, you might as well just put a piñata at the portal and call it a day.
Eudeyrn Feb 19th 2010 8:56PM
Nice nerdrage. You've obviously missed another important change in the patch notes:
Anyone in a dungeon party can now re-queue their group for a dungeon, as players will still be prompted whether or not to accept their chosen role.
This means that even if you aren't the leader, you can initiate a re-queue, and if the designated party leader does not accept the re-queue in a timely fashion, they will be kicked, just like if they didn't accept the original popup.
Hoggersbud Feb 19th 2010 9:57PM
Told you they could fix it. Hopefully they won't ever make this mistake again. It's an oversight, but still a nasty one.
grugan Feb 19th 2010 10:08PM
I have a great idea, gimme 2 frost emblems as soon as I join lfg, kthnxbai
garygantenk Feb 20th 2010 1:33AM
You're so unfunny.
Hagu Feb 20th 2010 6:08PM
The only thing worse than dropping from CoT/Occ is the design problem with "Elders of the Dungeons". I had people drop right after the Elder in 4 runs in one day. Why didn't Blizzard fix this??? With LFD this is not a surprise. It is not fair to the people in the first group who have to wait, the people who join with some bosses down.
If they must have "Elders of the Dungeons", then it needs to be after the *last* boss.
neoimmortal Feb 20th 2010 8:27PM
So will they drop the bronze drake mount boss?
N-train Feb 20th 2010 9:16PM
No because the timer for that event doesn't start until you begin fighting waves inside Strath itself.
This will most likely skip over the conversation Arthas and Uther have, bringing Arthas right into the entrance as though you had just sat through it.