Posts with tag akilzon

After spending many hours and relying on the dungeon finder to pick up tanks on the 4.1 PTR, I managed to get a nice handle on the updated bosses in Zul'Aman. Unfortunately due to time constraints, the group was only able to challenge the first four animal bosses. We weren't able to progress past the Lynx or Dragonhawk bosses. While there were new mechanics introduced, after wiping over 10 times to the Dragonhawk boss, I can safely say that there need to be some slight numbers adjustments. WoW Insider rogue specialist Anne was able to join me as we continually wiped, figuring out new mechanics. Thank goodness for repair bots.

As an aside, perhaps someone can answer me this question: Why are raid groups looking for players for Icecrown Citadel on the test realm?

So far we're hearing that most guilds are slowly working their way through Zul'Aman-- while some guilds waltzed in and took over the place, others have had a few bumps in the road, but if you've taken down Karazhan, progression seems to follow about as easily as Blizzard expected.

The toughest part so far seems to come right before what most guilds traditionally take on as the second boss-- Akil'zon, the Eagle god. We ran through boss strategy the other day in our Zul'Aman guide, but the problems people are having are coming from the trash mobs before the encounter-- there's a Suppression Room/Gauntlet type of run that some players are having a hard time with.

So far, the strategy seems to be, first of all, to keep moving. Just like in the other gaunlet areas (the aforementioned Suppression Room, the Lyceum, and the Shattered Halls gaunlet), slowing down will get you mobbed to death. Two tanks seems to work well (one to take elites, the others to take Warriors), and a Paladin tank will not only keep mobs off of clothies, but help out with AoE as well. Keep the group together, get those eagles down first and then focus on the other targets together, and it should be a piece of cake.

Have any other good suggestions for people trying to make it through the gauntlet in Zul'Aman?

Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them, brought to you by David Bowers and Dan O'Halloran.

Patch 2.3 has hit the PTR and the new itemization has some very interesting items for druids of every spec. The new equipment is coming from three sources: the new 10-man raid zone, Zul'Aman, the Arena Season 3 vendor and the new Badges of Justice rewards.

Today I'm going to focus on the Zul'Aman drops. Here's a list by boss:

Nalorakk the Bear Avatar

(Cat) Bladeangel's Money Belt (Leather Waist) 227 AC, +25agi, +27sta, Blue Socket, +4atk socket bonus, +21 crit, +58 atk, 77 armor negation.
A solid upgrade to the Girdle of Treachery from Karazhan, but not quite as good if you can get a Belt of Deep Shadow crafted. Arguably, one of the top 3 or 4 belts in the game. Be ready to /roll against rogues for this belt for your Cat Druid.