Upcoming Adjustments announced for Old Kingdom, Nexus, Culling of Stratholme
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Jan 12th 2010 at 1:30AM
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, Instances, Bosses
Posts with tag ahn-kahet
Breakfast Topic: What dungeon have you had to relearn?
by Adam Holisky Dec 21st 2009 at 8:00AM
The random dungeon finder is not only great for gearing up alts and getting mains the necessary badges to fill out their gear -- it's an amazing tool which forces an increase in the WoW community's collective knowledge about instances and game mechanics. And while some of these game mechanics will be a discussion for a future time (hint: tomorrow's Breakfast Topic), today let's focus on what instances you've had to "relearn," more or less.
Take Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom. Prior to the random heroic dungeons, I probably ran this place a grand total of five times. My warrior tank got the bracers on his fist run through it, and I did it on a few more alts just to get the Northrend Dungeon Hero achievement. Other than that, when it was the heroic daily I'd just skip it and find something else to do. Nothing annoyed me more than the Insanity that Hearld Volazj casts, and the trash pulls got on my nerves when the DPS couldn't wait for the mobs to come to the tank, inevitably leading to a wipe.
In short, it was my least favorite instance and I was able to just ignore it. From the best I can tell, before these past two weeks, the last time I set foot in it was in May 2009.
But now, the random dungeon finder has forced me to relearn the place and deal with all its mechanics. I've found ways to deal with the Hearld Volazj's abilities on my paladin tank, and I've gotten rather vocal about the group staying put as I pull trash packs back to them. And just as important as knowing the mechanics is leading the run as a tank. For instance, if I see a DPS move up with me, I'll stop and ask him to go back. If he doesn't listen, I'll ask again politely. Third time around with a random DPS not listening I'll just threaten to kick, and by that point the group is pretty annoyed with him anyways. The next thing you know, he's out the door with a successful vote to kick. The next DPS that comes in always seems to behave.
So what dungeons have you had to relearn dear readers? And better yet, what ones have you had to change your tactics on with the introduction of the random dungeon finder?
Take Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom. Prior to the random heroic dungeons, I probably ran this place a grand total of five times. My warrior tank got the bracers on his fist run through it, and I did it on a few more alts just to get the Northrend Dungeon Hero achievement. Other than that, when it was the heroic daily I'd just skip it and find something else to do. Nothing annoyed me more than the Insanity that Hearld Volazj casts, and the trash pulls got on my nerves when the DPS couldn't wait for the mobs to come to the tank, inevitably leading to a wipe.
In short, it was my least favorite instance and I was able to just ignore it. From the best I can tell, before these past two weeks, the last time I set foot in it was in May 2009.
But now, the random dungeon finder has forced me to relearn the place and deal with all its mechanics. I've found ways to deal with the Hearld Volazj's abilities on my paladin tank, and I've gotten rather vocal about the group staying put as I pull trash packs back to them. And just as important as knowing the mechanics is leading the run as a tank. For instance, if I see a DPS move up with me, I'll stop and ask him to go back. If he doesn't listen, I'll ask again politely. Third time around with a random DPS not listening I'll just threaten to kick, and by that point the group is pretty annoyed with him anyways. The next thing you know, he's out the door with a successful vote to kick. The next DPS that comes in always seems to behave.
So what dungeons have you had to relearn dear readers? And better yet, what ones have you had to change your tactics on with the introduction of the random dungeon finder?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Instances
53 Emblems per day
by Mike Schramm Aug 7th 2009 at 4:00PM
Of course, if you're wearing a rep tabard, you'll also rein in a ton of dungeon rep. And if you hit the new Trial of the Champion, you'll pick up your Champion's Seals as well. And you'll have 13 Frozen Orbs to divvy among the group, a few extra Emblems and gold from doing the daily quests, and if you're good and/or lucky, you might even be able to clear up a few of the achievements or snag that blue proto-drake. Of course, doing this much of anything in the game will probably nab you plenty of rewards. But here's a tuned route to follow all the way around the world of Heroics. If I can find a willing group of
Filed under: How-tos, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Instances, Bosses, Making money
Ask a Lore Nerd: It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake
by Alex Ziebart Jun 2nd 2009 at 2:00PM
I didn't intentionally choose today's Scourge theme. Really. These things just happen. That Dragon-specific one I did all that time ago? I didn't plan that, either. I'm just awesome enough that these things come together all by themselves. Yep. It's my pure, radiant awesome.
What? What do you mean current game content dictates what topics are hot or not? Pssh, that's crazy talk. That can't be it. It's all me, y'all.
Briz9 asked...
"Who built Icecrown Citadel and the accompanying structures? Did Arthas build it after he became the Lich King, or was it already there?"
The massive Saronite structures that make up Icecrown as it is today is all fairly new, from what I understand. Most Scourge architecture is based on Nerubian architecture (as you can see in Ahn'kahet) but the Saronite structures in and around Icecrown seem more styled after the Lich King himself. You certainly didn't see that stuff in Warcraft III either, but I suppose that's not always a good indicator.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Ask a Lore Nerd
Completion rates on Wrath heroics
by Allison Robert May 21st 2009 at 1:00PM
Halls of Stone surprises me somewhat, as I really didn't think it was a difficult heroic (outside of running a Druid tank on the Brann Bronzebeard event), but Ahn'kahet is universally cited amongst tanks and healers for LOS issues and nasty damage. And Oculus...well, we've talked about Oculus here before. I still think the concept of the dungeon itself is fantastic, but the moment that one or two embarrassed people in your group admit that it's their first time on the drakes, you know you're in for a long and ugly run.
I hope Flyv revisits this data at some point, because I'd love to see how the numbers change over the course of Wrath. With achievements introduced only as BC was ending, we don't really have a good look at how dungeon popularity and completion rates evolved there, and I think the numbers say a lot about the content players prioritize when they get a toon (or multiple toons) to the level cap.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Instances, Achievements
The OverAchiever: Starting Glory of the Hero
by Allison Robert Apr 19th 2009 at 4:00PM
Time for some thrilling heroics. -- Jayne, "The Train Job"
When I look at the Dalaran landing pad, I see fewer red proto-drakes than I should be. This pains me, dear readers. The 5-man heroic achievements are a lot of fun, if admittedly time consuming, and they force you to think on your feet and wring the most out of your character's abilities. Plus - it's a proto-drake. If you didn't get a 10-man or 25-man drake before 3.1 hit, you're out of luck there. Odds are good that you're still waiting for a green one to hatch out of the worthless egg that snake-oil salesman from the Oracles sells you, some jerk is camping the Time-Lost spawn 24/7, and the worst DPS in your Pinnacle PuG was the guy who won the blue drake off of Skadi, right right?
A lot of the WoW population has been at 80 for a while now and has some quality gear under their belts, much of it obtainable without setting foot in a raid. You should be able to pull off all of the 5-man heroic achievements in decent blues with a good group. I highly recommend trying to run with a stable set of players and -- if at all possible -- at least one Shaman. This is more true if your group is still gearing up and needs the damage boost provided by Bloodlust/Heroism.
I thought initially about organizing these from the easiest to the hardest, but I think it's ultimately less confusing to list them dungeon by dungeon. We'll address each dungeon alphabetically, so let's get started with Ahn'kahet:
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Instances, Features, Bosses, Guides, Wrath of the Lich King, Achievements, The Overachiever
Breakfast Topic: The new 5-mans
by Allison Robert Nov 24th 2008 at 8:00AM
5-mans are still my favorite part of the game. Guild runs, PuG-runs, something in between...doesn't matter. And I've had a fabulous time in Northrend 5-mans so far. Yes, Herald Volazj is pretty much the clear winner of the early 5-man bosses (gotta love that Insanity debuff), but Azjol Nerub's been very popular, and the questline leading to the cutscene at the end of Drak'tharon Keep is getting a lot of good press. Not enough people are in the late '70's or at 80 to have had a good crack at Halls of Stone, Halls of Lightning, Utgarde Pinnacle, or Culling of Stratholme, so I'm not sure how those are going to go over, but I think players in general have really enjoyed the new dungeons.That there's markedly less emphasis on soul-crushing trash (I'm looking at you, Shattered Halls) and more emphasis on cool boss mechanics and gorgeous scenery is also pretty awesome. And then there's that giant drop in Azjol Nerub taking you past several levels of the ancient city that never fails to kill someone. I shouldn't find it funny, but I do, even when it's me.
How far along are you on the new Northrend 5-mans? Have you picked a favorite yet? And how many people have you seen die on the Azjol Nerub drop?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Instances, Features, Wrath of the Lich King
Phat Loot Phriday: Jedoga's Greatring
by Mike Schramm Nov 21st 2008 at 7:00PM
Last week, I asked what you all wanted to see here, and the answer I heard most was "leveling upgrades through Northrend." So we're going husky (around size 72-79) for a while -- here's a nice attack ring from an instance that levelers will probably be hitting up this weekend.
Name: Jedoga's Greatring (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory)
Type: Rare Ring (Unique-Equipped, which means that you can only wear one at a time)
Damage/Speed: N/A
Name: Jedoga's Greatring (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory)
Type: Rare Ring (Unique-Equipped, which means that you can only wear one at a time)
Damage/Speed: N/A
Filed under: Hunter, Rogue, Items, Analysis / Opinion, Phat Loot Phriday, Wrath of the Lich King
Ahn'kahet's Herald Volazj: Quite possibly the coolest boss ever
by Alex Ziebart Nov 18th 2008 at 2:00PM
Not only is Ahn'kahet visually stunning, but it gives you a glimpse into the story of Yogg-Saron and his relation to the Scourge and other forces. It's a little repetitive in some places (the first boss is a bit boring), but it also houses some of the best 5-man bosses we've seen yet. The final boss, Herald Volazj, is the embodiment of the technical advances Blizzard has made with the gameplay in Wrath of the Lich King. I almost feel bad mentioning him at all, because I've been running Ahn'kahet repeatedly with people who have never done it before. Seeing them wig out the first time they do the boss is awesome.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Instances, Bosses, Wrath of the Lich King
Know Your Lore: Preparing for Wrath of the Lich King
by Alex Ziebart Oct 30th 2008 at 2:15PM
So what we're going to do today instead is prepare you all for the expansion. We have a lot of Know Your Lore entries already for many of the characters and stories that'll be moving forward in Wrath of the Lich King, so here are some suggestions on what you should read so you have some background as to what the heck is going on in Northrend!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Expansions, Lore, Know your Lore, Wrath of the Lich King
Wrath boss names revealed in Achievements
by Eliah Hecht Jul 24th 2008 at 6:00PM
Filed under: Instances, Raiding, Bosses, Wrath of the Lich King, Achievements
