Posts with tag Wow,Warcraft,Epic

Most of you have probably seen the news that Peep, the super-rare epic flying phoenix mount pictured above, was first given to Ezra. Last night, Method, of A-Sylvanas (Eu), got the world-first drop of The Ashes of Al'ar, the item that summons Peep. This was on their guild's first kill of Kael'thas, the final boss of The Eye. I don't think there are enough kills of Kael'thas that we have any idea what the drop rate of the Ashes is, but if it's anything like the Deathcharger's Reins (from Baron Rivendare) or the Fiery Warhorse's Reins (from Attumen), expect it to be significantly less than one percent.

By the way, how do we abbreviate "Kael'thas"? I would go with KT, except Kel'Thuzad has that one already. Perhaps just "Kael"? It's a bit of a surprsie to me that he would drop this; for some reason it doesn't seem quite "serious" enough for him. I had previously hypothesized that Peep might drop from the boss Al'ar, the Phoenix God, but that does not seem to be the case. Anyway, grats, Method!

[via MMO-Champion]

It's a common complaint that level 70 epics are too marginal of upgrades over dungeon blues; heck, I've even kept some quest reward greens over Karazhan epics. It looks like a lot of that is set to change with patch 2.1. According to reports from the PTRs almost every 70 epic has had its stats buffed in tonight's PTR patch, and fairly considerably, too. World of Raids is reporting that Tier 4 gear has had its item level ("ilvl" for short) bumped from the current 105 up to 120; Tier 5 has gone from 120 to 133; and the rest of the epic loot has been increased a corresponding degree -- T4-level stuff has gone up by 15 ilvls, and T5-level stuff by 13.

What's all this ilvl nonsense, you ask? Well, the math is pretty complicated (1.5th roots are involved), but in short, ilvl represents how "good" an item is. An item's equip level is used to be determined by its ilvl, back before BC (specifically, it was ilvl minus 5, with a cap at 60), but other than that there's no way to directly see ilvl in the default UI (mods can show it). Items that are supposed to be comparable have the same ilvl: all T4 gear has the same ilvl, every Jazeraint Helm, regardless of suffix, has the same ilvl, and so forth. That is all to say, ilvl is a way of measuring "how much" stats a piece of gear has. For more details on ilvl calculation, see the WoWWiki page on the subject.

So, getting back to the subject at hand: level 70 epics are getting better. Their ilvls are getting boosted, which means they get to have more stats. And for examples of specifics, head over to World of Raids, where they're keeping a constantly updated directory full of new item tooltips, in alphabetical order. Edit: MMO-Champion also has a very good listing of new stats. There are also a few reagent changes for some craftables. World of Raids reports:

Blacksmith changes (5-7-07)
- Tier 3 weapons require 5 nether vortex.
- Tier 2 weapons require 8 primal nethers.

Engineering changes (5-7-07)
- Goggles now require a primal nether.

(Image courtesy of the International Mountain Bicycling Association)

I am impressed by EU forumgoer Yippi. Despite having two characters at level 70, one at level 69, two more at 60, and a host of lower levels, Yippi has never even seen a world drop epic. That's enough to make you wonder if the darn things even exist! Even though, in my experience, I have to say that they do -- while leveling, I've gotten Robes of Insight, an Underworld Band, a Jeweled Amulet of Cainwyn, and I've seen (though I didn't win) a Krol Blade. Maybe I'm as lucky as Yippi is unlucky?

But, I don't know... like the guys over at Penny Arcade say -- green is the new purple. Maybe missing out on those world drop epics isn't that bad after all.

Interested in more forumgoer opinions? Take a look at previous forum posts of the day!

This video is pretty short, and is just for the purpose of showing off what those of you who haven't been on the test realms are missing. I'm sure this'll get patched any day now, but seeing an epic gryphon freak out is just something you should do at some point in this world (of Warcraft). As you can see, the bug only happens when you fly forward for more than a couple seconds; strafing or hovering doesn't have the same graphical glitch. Still, seeing my bird behaving like this makes me wonder if it really was worth that pile of gold. After all, I don't even have that many miles on it! I wonder if it's still under warranty...

Previously on Moviewatch...

A much-vaunted part of 2.1's Engineering "review" has been the 11 new epic goggles. Blizzard haven't exactly been forthcoming about their stats, and Thottbot's test database doesn't have most of them yet, but with a little scouting around I've managed to collect the stats on 10 out of the 11 goggles (I couldn't find anything on the cloth healing ones). Part of the reason this information is a little hard to find is that even if you're an Engineer of appropriate skill level, you only see the goggles corresponding to your armor type on the trainer, so no swapping down to leather goggles for Hunters if you like the stats better.

Anyway, for the most parts, the stats look like they only slightly beat out most easily available stuff, which is honestly a little disappointing, when compared to professions like Tailoring or Blacksmithing that let you craft some pretty awesome items. On the other hand, the material requirements aren't that extreme. The reason behind these pieces' sub-incredible stats, I've heard, is that they only require 350 skill to create, and therefore have a lower item level than pieces that require 375 skill, resulting in a lower itemization budget. It'd be nice if they were upgradeable, like some of Blacksmithing's stuff, so you could start out with a small investment and build on that over time to something truly extraordinary.

Well, see for yourself; the stats are after the cut. DPS Warriors, don't worry; unlike G'eras's stuff, there's one here for you, as pictured above. And if anyone finds the info on the cloth healing goggles, please drop it in the comments and I'll edit it in.

I finally got my epic flying mount for my main the other day, and boy is that thing fast! 5200 gold well spent, if you ask me (5000 for the training, 200 for the mount itself). There aren't too many flying mounts available in game. Alliance get the choice between four different colors of gryphon: blue, red, purple, and green (I went with blue). The Horde counterpart is windriders, which come in yellow, red, purple, and green. Additionally, both factions in theory have access to the Nether Drake. Members of the top Arena team on each realm at the end of each season will get an armored Swift Nether Drake, which gives a 310% speed increase (other epic flying mounts are a 280% increase). For those of us who aren't going to be making it to the top of the Arena ladder anytime soon, Blizzard have said that there will be a way to get a 280% (non-armored) Nether Drake via questing, which will be "difficult" but not require a raid. Drysc also said there will be a 310% speed boost counterpart to the Arena reward, though he was unable to give details on how it might be attained. I'm guessing massive gold sinks.

Have you got your epic mount yet? What color did you go for? And do you think it was worth the gold?

We're having a lootful Friday around here, so I just want to take a quick second to address something that's been going around ye olde internets for the past few weeks.

Grom Hellscream does not have a legendary axe.

Contrary to popular belief, Grom Hellscream's axe does actually drop in the game, and no, it ain't orange. In fact, the name heard to this point -- Grom'ogh, Edge of Hellscream -- isn't even the moniker of the in-game weapon. Instead, our buddy Grom carried around Gorehowl, a regular old epic axe of pretty decent statistics.

Anyway, just a little bit more loot info for you on a Friday evening. The controversy has been settled, the true identity of the axe revealed, yada yada. Now be sure to let my pally and my shammy roll on it.

In a post on the beta forums, Tigole has confirmed that we will see epic drops in 5-player dungeons on "hard" mode. Level 70 dungeons on "hard" will have epic loot tables and lower level dungeons on "hard" will have level 70 loot tables. Of course, without solid information (yet!) on what drops and where, raid dungeons may still be contain the very best items -- but for now you can look forward to finding some very nice gear without gathering more than 5 other players. Anti-social folks like myself are no doubt rejoicing at this very moment.

[Thanks, Chris!]