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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsThe Queue: Firelands FAQ
by Mathew McCurley 
Jun 28th 2011 at 11:00AM
It's patch day, and with patch days come many questions. Luckily for you, we've gathered some of the most frequently asked questions about Rage of the Firelands in this handy, Queue-sized guide, so that you can embark on your patch day shenanigans without a worry in the world. Well, unless you happen to be on a PVP server; in that case, have fun doing your dailies.
With the extended maintenance and hints to read the patch notes, Blizzard looks to be setting us up for a fiery Tuesday. There's a lot of fire in our future. I know that it is too soon (ha ha, get it?) to start thinking about what's coming next before we've even sunk our teeth into this new stuff, but I have a feeling that after three to four months of lots of fire, whatever is coming down the pike is going to need a hint of refreshment and a fire-lite motif. Nonetheless, I am excited for all of this new content.
Follow along below for the answers to some of the most common questions about patch 4.2 and all it entails.
What's going to happen to my valor points?
All valor points will be converted into justice points. The justice point cap, however, remains at 4,000 points. So you'll be give justice points up to the cap. If you have any valor points left over, they will be converted into currency at a rate of 47 silver per point.
Let's say you have 3,000 justice points and 1,100 valor points. Since you cannot get over 4,000 justice points, 1,000 of your valor points will be turned into justice points, and 100 will be turned into 47 silver per point.
Do I need to be attuned to the new raid instance?
No. The Firelands is immediately accessible by heading to the Sulfuron Spire in Hyjal. Grab nine or 24 of your bestest friends and head in to punch new bosses in their loot bags.
Where do I go to start the new daily quests?
The new daily quests that open up the Regrowth and the Molten Front are available at the Shrine of Malorne in the southwest portion of Hyjal.
What quest do I have to complete to open up the new dailies in Hyjal?
In order to access these new quests, you will need to have completed up to and including the quest Aessina's Miracle, in which the ancient Aessina quenches the fires consuming the western forests of Hyjal. After you complete this quest, you should be able to access the new content at the Sanctuary of Malorne.
There're only like 4 or 5 quests at the new hub! How do I get more?
You start at the Sanctuary of Malorne and have a few quests a day until you get 20 Marks of the World Tree, the new personal currency you accumulate by completing these new dailies. After 20 of them, which is a few days of dailies, you head into the Firelands and the Molten Front proper. Keep doing dailies for more Marks of the World Tree.
How do I get started on the legendary quest chain?
Players must first kill a Molten Lord inside of the Firelands or have completed any one of the achievements for the previous raid tier (clear Bastion of Twilight, Throne of the Four Winds, or Blackwing Descent) to open up the beginning quest for Dragonwrath, which sends you back to your capital city and onward to the Bronze Dragonflight.
Are there any new factions to gain rep with?
Raiders will be able to gain reputation with the Avengers of Hyjal. Reputation will be capped out early with trash kills in the instance, so many boss kills will likely be needed to reach exalted with the faction.
What are crystallized firestones, and why are people so excited about them?
Crystallized firestones are items that drop from heroic mode bosses in the Firelands and allow you to create heroic versions of items that never had heroic equivalents. For instance, items you purchase from the valor points vendors now have a heroic version that you can purchase with the regular item plus a firestone. This is great for relics, tanking guns, and other slot items that have trouble being put on loot lists because of their relatively class-specific nature.
Has the amount of hit rating gone up for bosses?
No. Blizzard originally was tossing around the idea to increase the hit rating needed to hit cap on the new bosses, but this is not the tier that that is happening. Perhaps next tier. Right now, hit ratings are staying the same.
What's the deal with all the hunter "taming challenges"?
Patch 4.2 is introducing 10 new pets for hunters to tame, including lava spiders, an obsidian cat, a metallic crab, a ghost owl, and more. Each potential tame has a gimmick or vulnerability that must be exploited before the hunter can tame the beast. These new unique taming challenges are scattered around the Regrowth and the Molten Front daily questing hubs.
Any 5-man content?
There are no new 5-man dungeons coming with patch 4.2. You can still get valor points from doing your seven weekly random Zandalari and heroic dungeons.
Does the new arena season start tomorrow?
No. The new arena and PVP season begins usually one week after the current season ends. After Season 9 ends, the numbers will be crunched and rewards will be given out, including titles and drakes, to the winners of the PVP season. This usually takes about a week. Once that is all done, PVP Season 10 will start up.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 12)
AudreyR Jun 28th 2011 12:41PM
The Emerald Dream has many, many, many layers. While the bulk of it does indeed represent what Azeroth would be with out sentient beings, there are some layers which are much closer to the material world. Yet other layers are on the other extreme of the spectrum with half-finished mountains and barely any life at all.
I suppose what I'm saying is that the Emerald Dream is an ogre....I mean, onion.
hicks Jun 28th 2011 12:44PM
Here's the easy-cheesy explanation for Krasus getting weaker (keep in mind I've never read the books, so I'm going off your post entirely): the more powerful a being, the harder it is to "split" into different times and the greater effect it has on you. As relatively (as compared to a big bad dragon like Krasus) powerless humanoids, the effect is negligible.
There. Can I write some books now?
loop_not_defined Jun 28th 2011 12:51PM
I wonder if Krasus' condition had to do with him being a powerful entity, and with him being sent 10,000 years back - as in, 10,000 years that he already lived through. Rhonin, in comparison, only lived for 30-40 of the 10,000 years he was sent back through.
Does the time-distance take more energy? Do entities "co-exist" for the entire time-distance they're sent on? For example, is Krasus essentially co-existing across a full 10,000 years, since both Past Krasus and Present Krasus lived through those years (one going forward, the other going back)? Did Rhonin only co-exist for a relatively short-period, meaning the other 9,960 years were easier to push him through?
I'm sure at the end of the day this all comes down to "lol Knaak", but the thought spawned some ideas I felt like sharing.
AudreyR Jun 28th 2011 1:01PM
I think the Krasus angle does have to do with him being a dragon. Dragon biology is fairly fuzzy, and we don't actually know all that much about them, but they seem to mostly magic as opposed to most playable races. It could be that when Krasus went back in time, that magic had to be split between the two.
This would also explain why going back to a time when our own characters would also exist doesn't effect us as badly. All playable races are more material in nature, with magic being a miniscule part of their biological make-up.
It's worth noting that the magic making up the Bronze Dragon flight is temporal in nature, meaning that they can deal with several selfs in the same time period. However, it is still very possible for them to spread themselves too thin.
Of course, it also could be that the Titans simply safe-guarded the Bronze Dragons and that could be falling apart, leading to the Infinite Dragonflight.
I guess it really boils down to *shrug*.
Apis Jun 28th 2011 1:40PM
You're not, by any chance, wearing a red shirt are you?
Schiffer Jun 28th 2011 11:10AM
More specific question regarding the staff:
Where specifically can I pick up the quest? I have completed BWD and BoT, so I should be eligible to get the quest....but where? Hero's Call board? Given to me when I log in?
Spelio Jun 28th 2011 11:13AM
I am curious about this myself.
Jack Mynock Jun 28th 2011 11:14AM
This information is in the patch notes.
Wilk Jun 28th 2011 11:18AM
Speak with Ziradormi in Grommash Hold (Org) or Coridormi atop the Wizard's Sanctum (SW) to start the chain.
Schiffer Jun 28th 2011 11:19AM
Thank you, Wilk.
(cutaia) Jun 28th 2011 11:24AM
"This information is in the patch notes."
He's right, you know...just go here: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/2723732
Then the next step is to just refresh it over and over again until the website is back on line. Once it is, you just have to sift through a few thousand words of information to find the answer you seek.
Now, don't you feel silly?
Schiffer Jun 28th 2011 11:27AM
@cutaia
Oh Lord! If I had known it was that easy, I would've spent my entire work day refreshing there instead of hoping a more knowledgable person could answer me here in 15 minutes.
Sorry for wasting your pixels, Spelio!
SR Jun 28th 2011 11:40AM
Well... the patch note IS posted on this site, and a quick Ctrl+F and typing "Tarecgosa's Rest" until you find the entry you're looking for takes all of... what, 20 seconds?
While I won't deny he was brash in stating that, I don't agree with bashing him for being direct.
Noselacri Jun 28th 2011 11:50AM
His knowledge of where the information rests implies he knows the answer.
It would've taken everyone less time and grief if he typed out Wilk's response instead of being a grade a poopface.
But...this is the internet. Par for the course.
SR Jun 28th 2011 11:57AM
With all due respect, he's not obliged to answer as much as anyone else who read the information by actually finding them.
As I said, he was brash, but you're no better for feeling entitled to getting information you were too lazy to find in the first place.
MattKrotzer Jun 28th 2011 12:02PM
As I've said numerous times... Google works the same for me as anyone else, so if I choose to mock and ridicule you instead of answer your question, it's probably because you were being lazy.
Or because I'm just a jerk. (Ask Noselacri.)
Noselacri Jun 28th 2011 12:03PM
@SR
By your logic, we should abolish The Queue entirely. All these answers can be found elsewehere (mostly patch notes, with a little extra WoWpedia or Googling).
Jaq Jun 28th 2011 12:17PM
You know what I'm tired of?
The existence of Google allowing people to be rude and inconsiderate. It's not cool and it's not clever. Common courtesy seems to be dying on the internet. Imagine a previous generation acting that way. "Hey, how do you get to the post office?" "There are maps, buy one!"
Feel free to downrate me into oblivion, but yeah-it takes just as long to type out the answer if you know it as it does to write a sarcastic response. And the former is POLITE, ya know?
SR Jun 28th 2011 12:17PM
Nose, no. That's not how my logic works.
Finding information by yourself by searching for it? That's looking at sites like WoWinsider and WoWhead.
Demanding information while sounding as if they're entitled to people going out of their way to spoon feed information that could be found in 20 seconds' worth of effort from THEIR end? That's what I have problems with.
MattKrotzer Jun 28th 2011 12:25PM
SR: That's exactly my point.
Also, it's best to ignore Noselacri if you're going to post more than once on the first few pages of the Queue. It bothers them immensely, and they'll start focusing on everything you do. It makes it miserable to try and have fun, honestly.