Cory Stockton interview reveals more info on Firelands in patch 4.2
by Mathew McCurley 
Apr 28th 2011 at 1:00PM
Raiding the Firelands
From what Stockton says, it appears that Firelands is the entirety of the new raid tier, complete with seven new bosses sporting a full tier of itemization. The final boss is Ragnaros, with a heroic mode completely different from the normal version of the fight. Stockton says Blizzard went out of its way to not reuse models and give the Firelands a new and different feel.
On the size of the raid zone, Stockton confirms land mounts will be usable and that the zone is about four times as large as the Obsidian Sanctum, home of Sartharion and his protective twilight drakes. The first four bosses of the encounter are non-linear as well, giving raid groups plenty of options to start with.
The tier sets for patch 4.2 will have their art aesthetics rooted in the creatures of the Firelands, with warlocks taking on the appearance of lava spiders. Stockton confirms that one plate set will resemble the original Molten Giants from the Molten Core, who will be returning with an all-new model and texture. The set abilities are unique this time around, actually granting abilities that many of the bosses or creatures use in the Firelands, as opposed to the cut-and-dry bonuses of previous tier sets. It's something new that Blizzard is trying, and I'm really excited.
Fire resistance isn't going to be an issue, as Stockton says the gate on content is too restrictive when you add in resist checks as part of the gear checking. In addition, epic profession patterns will be dropping in the instance for all professions.
Baradin Hold will also be getting a new inmate, as Stockton describes as "a new buddy" for Argaloth who is a similar "random loot machine."
Thrall returns
Stockton confirmed that there will be an epic level 85 quest line that all max-level players can pick up without any prerequisites. The story is the reward, with no epics or loot as part of doing the quest. The story revolves around Thrall and is potentially linked to his status as the new aspect of earth. We haven't seen Thrall since the Maelstrom, and now that Deepholm is all better from its little boo-boo, I cannot wait to see what happens with Thrall.
Legendary staff
The legendary weapon coming with 4.2 will be an offensive caster staff, with bonuses that will not be attractive to healers. Guilds that complete the legendary will get a guild-wide reward as well; while the specific reward has not been announced, Stockton hinted it could be a companion pet.
As for how long the epic staff should take to construct, Stockton says that 10- and 25-man raiders should be completing the staff at the same pace, with 25-man teams having a potentially quicker time with the "professions" part of the quest. We don't yet know what this refers to, but the speed at which 10-mans can get the staff versus 25-man groups seems to have changed since the last time Blizzard spoke about it.
Dailies and more
Also coming in patch 4.2 is the encounter journal, Blizzard's own version of Atlasloot, showing players the loot that bosses drop and the abilities each boss possesses. The system is designed to make PUG group explanations easier for the group or raid leader. You will not have to defeat a boss to gain any of this information -- it will be ready to go in your encounter journal.
Hyjal and the Firelands dailies will be the "solo" content of patch 4.2, enabling players to bring the Guardians' fight into the Firelands itself. Over the course of completing dailies, players will earn currency that unlocks separate areas of the new Firelands environment and slowly enlarges the Guardians of Hyjal's influence in the area. Players get to choose which portions to open up -- but it is a unique phasing experience, as players will always be able to quest with each other despite having different areas unlocked. There will be gear, vanity items, and even mounts.
Patch 4.2 should be up on the PTR soon, and with all of this content coming, it should be another great patch for Catacylsm. Blizzard is really pouring on the patch 4.2 information, and we've got a lot of previews in the coming week, based on its latest information timetable.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Matt Apr 28th 2011 1:05PM
WoW! (pun intended :P) Unique abilities on armor sets rather than just modifying a class ability? That's awesome!
I've always wished that there were more items with special effects other than trinkets. I love that dagger that drops a meteor, this seems like even more fun :D
Shinae Apr 28th 2011 1:37PM
I know!!! I hope all those bonus abilities will be as awesome as I'm imagining.
Birk Apr 28th 2011 1:38PM
Holy mackerel!
I think that the "abilities on gear" thing is being understated; personally, I find that to be THE reason why I'm so excited about this patch.
Gear has long been relegated to expendable, boring, and with the exception of shoulders and helms, entirely forgettable.
If Blizzard implements this correctly, this could completely revitalize the gear treadmill into something unique and interesting. Very excited for this one!
-Birk
MattKrotzer Apr 28th 2011 2:16PM
Agreed. This is potentially a HUGE deal. I'm actually excited to see what (potentially horrendous looking) Tier 12 armor has in store for us.
Snuzzle Apr 28th 2011 2:46PM
I humbly request, nay demand, that the druid's set be modelled after Fandral Staghelm's flaming kitty, and that the ability we get is to make our feral forms (and okay, moonkin and resto too) fiery.
Please and thank you!
Noah Apr 28th 2011 3:47PM
Snuzzle, I could not agree more with you. Custom forms is something I'd LOVE to see in game. Of course, I'm not expecting to just be handed an armored, flaming kitty. Most likely we'd have to complete achivements like beating Ragnaros on heroic, or defeat the original ragnaros without taking damage (guess which one's easier :P). Anyway, I think I may get back into the game after hearing this.
cloudhopper013 Apr 28th 2011 6:24PM
Screw the flaming kitty, druids need a scorpid form. RIGHT. NOW.
(check the video, he has one)
Mr. Crow Apr 28th 2011 1:14PM
Tier 12 Shadow Priest 4pc: "Your Mind Blast criticals place a Shadow Cinder on the target. When you Shadow Word: Death, the Shadow Cinder erupts into a pool of Shadowflame that deals damage in a 10-yard radius for 5 seconds per Shadow Cinder."
Man, what I wouldn't give for something like that.
Light'em up.
Birk Apr 28th 2011 1:39PM
Dude if you ever apply for Blizzard you've got my vote ;)
-Birk
Nina Katarina Apr 28th 2011 1:45PM
There's a Kotaku interview out that reveals that one of the weapons is a drood staff that will turn you into a firecat. Guessing that one drops from Fantool Dorkhelm.
magicjamie Apr 28th 2011 1:26PM
Gotta say, between this and the GC interview, I am REALLY looking forward to this patch and the zone (even as a non-raider!).
Fletcher Apr 28th 2011 1:35PM
Only one raid? Noooes!
I suppose I shouldn't worry overmuch, since I'm unlikely to actually raid it. The quest thingy looks cool though.
loop_not_defined Apr 28th 2011 2:52PM
Reading the MMO-Champion side of this interview, it says that the interviewer asked two questions (new Argaloth boss and other raid content) and Cory only answered the first one. Ignoring the second question still implies that there isn't anything else, though.
dannyleitner Apr 28th 2011 1:35PM
Does anyone know if legendaries will ever be like heirloom items? As in, it takes so long to craft them for most people, and by the time many have them crafted, the next content is being released, so why not have the item scale with player level? Also, if i did the work to attain a legendary item, i would always want it displayed to show my hard work, not just get it for one new content release, then throw it into the bank...
"Cross my fingers for a legendary shield, someday, someday..."
Uriul Apr 28th 2011 1:46PM
They've answered that in the past, and the answer was basically "no". The slightly longer version is that since legendaries are all weapons, and weapons are the coolest upgrade you can get, they don't want to give people a weapon they'd use forever since it'd then remove the fun of getting an upgrade.
Hopefully at the very least they won't put any more Legendaries on the last tier of an expansion... doing it that way basically means you never really get any use out of it, since by the time you complete it you have the raid on farm. (Assuming they continue the farming shards model.)
Shinae Apr 28th 2011 1:42PM
As much as I love shields (I'm mainly a prot warrior and a resto shaman), it doesn't make sense to have a legendary that only 2 classes would use (unless it has the ability to switch between being a STR shield and an INT shield, then it would still only be 3 classses).
At least there's a BoA shield now, in Archaeology.
Tarvos Apr 28th 2011 1:47PM
Wait, Thrall's gonna be the new Aspect of the Earth - i.e. taking Deathwings old position? So that means either a) Thrall's never gonna lead the Horde again and we're stuck with Garrosh *groan* or b) Thrall returns and suddenly the whole of Azeroth's Earth is on the Horde's side **crosses fingers for b**
Shinae Apr 28th 2011 1:52PM
I wonder if (and hope that) the encounter journal will be implemented not only for Fireland bosses but also for current bosses. (I can't access Blizz's site atm.)
rhorle Apr 28th 2011 2:04PM
They start with entries for Cataclysm content only but plan to add WotLK, TBC and vanilla entries too - later'
From the mmo-champion "translation"/summary of the interview
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2273-Cory-Stockton-interview-on-Buffed.de-Patch-4.2-Extra-Information
lidstrom Apr 28th 2011 2:08PM
deepholm's little boo-boo isn't fixed -- i still have to finish questing there on my 49 alts!!!
sorry thrall!