Posts with tag coren-direbrew

I don't like WoW's in game holiday events.

I never really did. In general, I'm not a big pet/mount/special cruft kind of collector, although I'll admit I've always wanted the Great Brewfest Kodo on my Alliance characters, just because I miss kodo. They're one of my favorite mounts. But be it Love is in the Air, Hallow's Eve, the Harvest Festival, or the Lunar Festival I just don't like the in-game holidays. What ends up happening is this: a lot of people do a lot of stuff, then there's a dungeon I can run once a day for special rewards I either don't care about or won't get, and then it's over.

Now, you could point out a few things here. First off, that it's okay if I don't like the content as long as I'm not forced to do it and I'll agree with you. The content is eminently avoidable. I do like that. I like not having to do any of this stuff. I don't have to rescue reindeer or go fight the Greench, but for some reason I find the holiday events annoying and I won't even pretend I know why I find them annoying. I just admitted I can avoid them. Why, then, do they bother me so much?

And here's another weird but true fact: they annoyed me a lot less when you could chain-farm them. Ever since they put holiday bosses like Coren Direbrew, The Headless Horseman and Ahune on the dungeon finder and made them drop one special bag a day (for your first run) I've found them far, far more terrible and annoying even though it means I can run them less. I actually find myself looking back fondly on the day that I ran the Headless Horseman twenty-seven times, as everyone in our group of five switched to every max level alt they had to get another shot at the fellow.

I don't even understand that one myself. I just said I don't like the holidays, and that I like being able to utterly avoid them, and now I'm saying that I don't like that I can run them less now?

It's official: Brewfest this year will be updated for Mists of Pandaria. This means you'll have 10 days from launch to get to level 89 so that you can queue for it, according to CM Nakatoir on the EU forums. You won't be able to access Coren Direbrew until after Mists ships, and you won't be able to fight him until you level to 89. This means that over the entire 15-day run of Brewfest, Coren will only be accessible for 10 days, and you'll only have as many tries at him as you can squeeze in once you hit 89, whenever that is.

You'll still be able to do the other Brewfest quests, because they don't have a level requirement. Man, I'm not going to get a lot of sleep this September and October, it seems. I need me my kodo. Someone stole the kodo from me back when it dropped directly from the boss, and I've never forgiven that person. She knows who she is.

Hope to see at least a few of you alongside me in the land of those desperately leveling to 89. At least the fight won't be undertuned, for once. Coren should be pretty hard for all of us undergeared level 89s smashing our faces against him. I won't pretend I'm not extremely disappointed by this decision. Cutting back on my available chances for that kodo in this manner is not cool by me.

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It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!

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WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold?

You don't trust this bar. First of all, you had to fight your way through a legion of Dark Iron dwarves and their constructs just to get here. Secondly, it's run by a shady leper gnome who has one grumpy-looking golem for a bouncer. Third, there's an awful lot of laughter, yet no one here looks amused.

You are right to be nervous. This is the Grim Guzzler. This is not a nice place.

Welcome to Blackrock Depths

For someone who began playing WoW post-vanilla, it's hard to explain just how amazing Blackrock Depths was back in early 2005. It's true that people often got lost there, but it was also a fantastic place to simply lose yourself. No area of the game has ever been as convincingly comprehensive or offered more to discover. There always seemed to be another boss, event, or area to explore, another secret to unlock. It's no secret, however, that BRD remains a favorite dungeon of many WoW Insider bloggers.

BRD wasn't just a dungeon. It was a civilization, and you were there to bring it to its knees.

Brewfest 2011 has finally come to a close. We all had some laughs, threw a lot of mugs at Dwarves, and spent a little too much time in Blackrock Depths. So many memories, so many alcohol-fueled regrets.

From farming i365 trinkets to hoping against hope for one of the two special holiday mounts, there was certainly a lot to do during this in-game holiday. (Did you know that 99% of the Brewfest mounts go to 1% of the population? #occupythegrimguzzler) But what about you? How did you spend your time during Brewfest? Did you accomplish all your goals? Or are you bitter over the fourth consecutive year of battling Coren Direbrew with nothing to show for it?

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Working on achievements? The Overachiever is here to help! Count on us for advice on Azeroth's holidays and special events, including new achievements, how to get 310% flight speed with achievement mounts, and Cataclysm reputation factions and achievements.

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Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week, we talk about the concept of mage healing, which in my opinion is like the concept of warlock winning. It simply isn't a phenomena that occurs in nature.

Since those heady, halcyon days of 2004, when mages began to walk to wilds of Azeroth and players were introduced to their glass cannon awesomeness, the topic of mage healing has from time to time emerged, poking its strange and intriguing head up into the mage conversation and usually disappearing just as quickly. The idea has precedence. Healers in Final Fantasy lore are called White Mages. More recently, Dragon Age has its Spirit Mages. Archetypal wizards have had access to magical healing in one form or another throughout fantasy gaming and literature, though rarely is it their strongest focus.

And just lately, the idea has been gaining some unprecedented traction among the WoW mage community. Recently, I've seen the concept presented with consideration and clarity on the official forums, among my own contemporaries in-game, and even right here in the comments section of this very column. It bears thinking about. Though the idea is extremely unlikely to ever be implemented, its increasing popularity and the improving practicality with which its proponents conceptualize it warrant attention. Mage healing, whenever it is brought up, is immediately interesting and always at least a little bit tantalizing, even for its most vehement opponents.

Like me.

The burning question about Hallow's Eve this year has been whether or not the Headless Horseman's loot table would be updated for level 80. It had seemed pretty likely, since Coren Direbrew had his myriads of drops tuned for the current expansion. Boubouille answered the question, though, when he posted the newly updated items over on MMO-Champion.

Of course, old Headless is still going to have three pretty key items. He'll still drop the Magic Broom, most likely, which has always been a crowd favorite to zip around the world. You can definitely expect the Hallowed Helm and Sinister Squashling pet, since those are key to the Hallowed Be Thy Name achievement. Weighted Jack-o'-Lanterns will still be common for the same reason.

Jump behind the cut to see the new stuff, though.

Hot off the forums comes word from Bornaak that Brewfest, that celebration of things like drinking, throwing mugs at invaders, and killing an unwashed Dark Iron Dwarf in hopes that he drops a kodo has been extended two days to October 5th. If, like me, you've been farming him for days only to pass the Kodo to your wife because, well, you love her and want her to be happy (and also you know you're doomed if you don't) then you'll celebrate additional chances to whack him in hopes of Kodo. Or deadly beer stein. Or maybe you just like doing Ram Riding, or got a late start on your tickets. Whatever the reason we can all celebrate the extension of this, our yearly excuse to go back to BRD and kill a dwarf to steal his lucky cha... er, I mean trinkets.

Now get cracking, make every second of those two extra days count. Complete your Achievements, get your loots, whatever you need you have more time.

Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we talk about the new gear (mostly weapons) available in patch 3.2.2 and Brewfest.

Much to everyone's surprise, Blizzard released patch 3.2.2 this week. I've talked extensively about what this patch means for Assassination Rogues via the Deadly Poison and Envenom changes, and how hard the loss of Throwing Specialization and a 30% damage cut will be hitting Fan of Knives. With the recently stealth buffs to Volley that snuck their way into the 3.2.2 patch, I am already wondering where Rogues and Hunters will land in PvE after the dust settles. The FoK nerf will hurt some of our AoE-centric PvP builds and compositions, but I don't feel that these strategies had much going for them in the first place besides an obviously overpowered talent.

Patch 3.2.2 also brings us Onyxia reborn, completely re-tuned for all of her level 80 glory. This means that she's not only been buffed to challenge level 80 raiders, but her gear has been taken up a notch as well. With ilvl 232 rewards from her 10 man version, and ilvl 245 gear from slaying her with 24 friends, there will be many Rogues foraying into her lair. There are also a few new items available from the Brewfest holiday, one of which surprised even me. Read on for the full details.

With Brewfest now underway, I hope everyone's had a crack or two at seasonal boss Coren Direbrew -- I myself am going to try to get a group for him as soon I'm done writing here. If you have, there's probably two major things you've noticed: He's level 80 now, and he has some new loot.

Let's take a look at his loot, both old and new.

Good Morning, and welcome to Brewfest, everyone! All aspiring Brewmasters, brush off your Ram riding skills and prepare for some fun. If you need a refresher on how to race those Rams, check out our Ram racing tips from last year. This will be one of your main sources of tokens, so you'll want to make sure you're good at it. For a quick rundown of how to get each achievement, you can read up on our Overachiever's guide to the 2009 Brewfest.

Officially-sanctioned drunkenness ahoy! The Brewfest boss Coren Direbrew has been updated for level 80 players and we'll see the return of the wolpertinger quest, but apart from that, the beloved holiday is back in all its judgment-impairing glory. Read on for a complete guide to the Brewfest achievements and getting the Brewmaster title. As with most of Azeroth's holidays, successful completion of the holiday meta is required for What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, and many players will be getting their violet proto-drakes immediately after completing Brewfest 2009.

Myself? All that stands between me and my giant purple drake is School of Hard Knocks. I didn't think I could hate anything in the game as much as I hated the old Tauren cat form, but I may possibly have been incorrect.

Oh well. Two days into the holiday and my main will be too sloshed to care.

Brew of the Month

Its former incarnation involved drinking each of the 12 brews mailed to your character over the course of the year, but after much hue and cry, was changed to its significantly more forgiving current form. I would just like to state for the record that around this time last year I wrote a thoroughly detailed and explicit article on why you needed to join the freaking club early in order to get the meta-achievement, but apparently not everyone was paying attention. Honestly, people.

Joining the Brew of the Month Club will run you 200 Brewfest tokens for the membership form and a trip to Orgrimmar or Ironforge to turn the membership in to Ray'ma or Larkin Thunderbrew respectively. Turn it in, and you're all set.

Oh, Brewfest mount. How much you have taunted me over the ages. I still recall last Brewfest, when a guildy of mine was quite distraught that he was not going to get the mount before the festival ended, only to get it on his very last Direbrew kill (and remember, we used to kill that sad dwarf five times a day). I've never gotten one myself, but that may change this upcoming Brewfest.

Bornakk has just announced that "there is quite a possibility that a change is in the works" for how the mount is acquired, and that "it will most likely be easier to get." A return to a token-based system, perhaps? Just a higher drop rate? A reward for the meta-achievement? I don't know, but we'll be sure to report as soon as we find out.

The token based system might be unlikely, actually, since earlier in the thread he said "I doubt we will make them purchasable with tokens, if we want to make changes to this we will likely go a different route" (comma splice!). How do you think they're going to make the mount easier?

We've heard about a lot of problems with the Headless Horseman summon this year already (and Coren Direbrew had issues as well), but Kimberly over on WoW LJ has the worst story I've heard so far -- a group asked her to heal, claimed they all had summons, and then after killing the HH with her summon, ditched her, presumably to find some other sucker with a summon. That's not just scamming someone into taking you along for a round of summons (as we heard about in Guildwatch yesterday), it's actually scamming someone out of the rest of their chances, because, assuming Kimberly is honest for the rest of the day, why would another group take her?

So this is clearly a problem. Let's fix it for Blizzard: how can we make sure everyone has five chances a day at summoning the Headless Horseman (one per day per group member) without ripping off people for helping their guildies or friends? Basically, we need a clear way of seeing whether someone has a summon or not -- maybe a debuff that resets at midnight every night, or a changing number of candles on the pedestal based on how many people in the instance can still do the daily quest? Right now, there's no accountability at all, and with droprates the way they are, getting screwed out of another chance at the HH (or even four chances, in the worst cases) can make the difference between having the achievement and not.

Any other good ideas on how to solve this problem and keep players accountable? I'm sure players with less than upright morals have no problem claiming their brother used their summon or lying to steal the summons of others, but it would be a lot more fair for everyone if the possibility for scamming wasn't there at all.

Yes, counting today, there are just five more chances for you to down Coren Direbrew during the Brewfest holiday, so if you haven't gotten lucky and gotten a mount yet, better keep trying. And if you haven't started collecting tickets coins, better get to it -- odds are that you're out of luck for getting the ~550 you need for everything, but you can probably still get at least 200 to join the Brew of the Month club.

Don't know how to drop Coren or do a keg run? We've got you covered on both. Personally, I got everything I needed (picked up two epics from Coren and joined the BotM club) save for the mounts, but those are so rare (and finding a group as DPS is so tough on my server) that I'm probably not going to bother. Fortunately, I'm looking forward to that other popular holiday that is just around the corner...

How you doing on Brewfest? Finished early or just now realizing that the holiday ends on Saturday? Downed Coren every single day with no mount to show for it, or went in there once and are now riding around on a kodo?