Posts with tag mists-of-pandaria-rares

When a couple friends of mine in high school would talk about the lizard-people living underground, controlling the world's governments and manipulating our society, something tells me they weren't talking about the saurok. Much like the grummles (a miserable race of gnome-like Sherpas, though some people are quite partial to them), the mogu shaped the saurok through the powers contained within the waters of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.

Their intention was to make the saurok their enforcers, their troops, their battle-worthy servants that would reinforce borders and protect the mogu empire. Instead the saurok grew out of control, so much so that the mogu emperor lead a campaign to rip the souls out of the rebellious reptiles.

Now, you may be thinking about that old saying, "my enemy's enemy is my friend," right? Well, unfortunately that's not true all of the time -- in this case we just have two enemies, much like that one Shado-Pan daily. While the saurok don't have the resources or power of the mighty mogu, they are still quite the nuisance.

There are a number of saurok champions scattered across Pandaria, all of which share the following abilities:

• Grappling Hook Much like Rushing Charge, Grappling Hook will prevent you from straying farther than 20 yards away from the target, at least for more than 5 seconds at a time.
• Vanish The saurok sheds all DoTs and disappears into the shadows. Don't freak out like I did the first time I fought one; it didn't evade, it just took the cowardly rogue's way out. You do have a shot at hitting the saurok before he disappears, so make it count.
• Smoked Blade If you failed to bring the saurok out of stealth, he will use Smoked Blade which hits for 55% of your health.
• Vicious Rend A stacking bleed that deals moderate damage, Vicious Rend also functions to provide a sort of soft enrage for the saurok rares -- you need to kill them before the damage from the bleed, in addition to other sources, becomes unmanageable.

Sprinkled throughout Pandaria you can find some rare examples of these domineering magi. They're not terribly difficult, compared especially to other rare spawn types, but they can certainly hold their own. It's never a bad idea to go into battle with one knowing what will surely be thrown at you.

• Dark Bolt: This is what the mogu will be spamming at you. With no cooldown and a second-and-a-half cast time, expect lots of these to be thrown your way. They don't hit for much, so they should be easy to shrug off.
• Shadowbolt: Offering a much larger beating than Dark Bolt, this spell has a 1.8 second cast time and a five-second cooldown. Considering it hits for significantly more, you'll want to do your best to interrupt it whenever you can, if you can. If only to make things easier for yourself.
• Voidcloud: Pretty straightforward -- the sorcerer spawns a cloud, and if you stand in it, you'll die in short order. Avoid the clouds, which will not be hard at all.

Unlike the pandaren rare spawns, for instance, there are no special mechanics forcing you to cope with the mogu's attacks. It's a very by-the-book mob to fight: don't stand in the bad, interrupt the most painful spell, and drop the enemy.

Here is a list of each mogu sorcerer, their location, and what special item they can drop:

• Borginn Darkfist: Found in Kun-Lai Highlands, drops the Crate of Kidnapped Puppies
• Gaarn the Toxic: Found in Krasarang Wilds, drops Gaarn's Leggings of Infestation
• Kang the Soul Thief: Found in Vale of the Eternal Blossoms, drops Kang's Blindstone
• Karr the Darkener: Found in the Dread Wastes, drops the Imbued Jade Fragment
• Kor'nas Nightsavage: Found in the Jade Forest, drops the Darkstaff of Annihilation
• Norlaxx: Found in Townlong Steppes, drops the Big Bag of Mysteries
• Sulik'shor: Found in Valley of the Four Winds, drops the Crystal of Insanity

Good luck clawing your place at the very top of the Pandaria food chain!

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Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.

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The enigmatic, apostrophe-loving mantid remind me a bit of the aliens in the movie District 9 -- bug-like, unpleasant looking creatures that, despite appearing to be foreign and strange, harbor the same kinds of emotions and instincts as humans. And while the mantid don't have large puppy dog eyes to draw our sympathy like the prawns, they do have a rich and complicated history that simultaneously invokes sympathy and uncertainty.

The Klaxxi are fighting a war against their own people, attempting to restore sanity to the mantid by dethroning their fear-driven queen, while being regarded as heretics by the remaining dominated legions of their kin -- but can we really trust them? Our alliance with the Klaxxi may simply be a marriage of convenience, and as soon as the empress is dealt with and their house is in order the re-unified mantid may turn their sights back to the pandaren, and us.

For now, however, there are a few "evil" mantid champions that need to be dispatched, all of which share the following abilities:

• Blade Flurry – The bug will wildly jab and prod in a cone in front of itself, dealing massive damage to anyone caught in its swath.
• Tornado – Summons a tornado that travels in a circular path, triggering Harsh Winds for any players that get too close.
• Windsong – Buffs the mantid's attack and movement speeds and makes it immune to snares and roots.

To squash these bugs, lots of room will be required as you will need to keep clear of any tornadoes that spawn. Ranged classes will find kiting to be near impossible while Windsong is up, meaning that the majority of this fight will have to be conducted within melee range, unless you have a tank chum. Run through the mob when he begins to cast Blade Flurry if you're in melee range, otherwise just get the heck out of there.

There's just something about the hozen that makes me so happy. It's probably their bizarre dialect where nearly every word is some variation of ook or grook or dook, or perhaps their propensity for scatological haikus. Either way, you can imagine my apprehension whenever I came across one of these pinnacles of hozenhood. Clearly it had to die -- if only for a shot at the plentiful gold, experience, and perhaps a rare item that it might be holding -- but boy did it hurt to ook that grookin' hozen in the dooker.

Like the pandaren, jinyu, yaungol, and other rare spawns, no matter how slight one of these adversaries may look, you still want to approach them with caution. The hozen rare spawns possess several punishing abilities that make it a threat to anyone with lead feet. Likewise, this is not a boss you want to fight in close confines. These abilities are:

• Bananarang: The hozen throws a banana, which spins out in a line away from him, and then returns. If it connects, the target takes 45% of their maximum health as physical damage. Yee-ouch.
• Going Bananas: Flipping his lid, the hozen bounces around and does physical damage to anyone he lands on. No much you can do other than run around and attempt to evade any landings. Though, admittedly, this will be pretty easy if there's enough room for you move around.
• Toss Filth: Puts a debuff on the target, increasing damage taken by 11%. Can stack, and each stack lasts 30 seconds. Basically makes the fight a race against the clock.

Basically, the best way to approach these is to constantly be on the move. Get your licks in, don't get hit by the banana when it goes out, and try to avoid getting stomped on. Not much you can do about Toss Filth, so just focus on getting the hozen down before it stacks too high, or kite if that's possible with your class. Cooldowns are a must as the fight draws on, if you have too many stacks of the debuff.