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Posts with tag well-of-eternity

Arcane Brilliance: Gearing your mage up for the Raid Finder in patch 4.3

Raid Finder
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This week we discuss some ways to make sure your mage's wardrobe is filled with only the prettiest dresses, most mysterious cowls, sparkliest wands, and ... er, staffiest staves.

Patch 4.3 has been with us for a good solid month now, and I sincerely hope that by now we've all escorted our mages through a good portion of the new content it offers. As all the best patches do, 4.3 has ushered in a fresh tier of gear and a new progression hierarchy to follow in getting said gear. Best of all, we have a whole new gearing tool to play with in the Raid Finder.

If you happen to be one of those mages who looks at his item level and finds it still languishing somewhere below the minimum requirements to join the battle to vanquish Deathwing, I believe a gearing guide is in order. Without further preamble, I present Arcane Brilliance's Handy Guide to Shiny Things, patch 4.3 edition.

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Filed under: Mage, Analysis / Opinion, (Mage) Arcane Brilliance

Shifting Perspectives: The best and the worst of patch 4.3

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Shifting Perspectives for cat, bear, restoration and balance druids. This Tuesday, we chortle our way through 5-man trash.

Oh, patch 4.3. I didn't know what to expect from you after so many bad, ugly, or just plain bizarre PUGs on the public test realm, but you turned out to be pretty cool. I don't have to wear ugly gear anymore, the Dragon Soul raid is live, Vengeance blows up like a grade school volcano science experiment, and Deathwing no longer roasts all my archaeology dig sites with the sadistic glee of an NPC who knows that I will never get the Crawling Claw if I am dead.

On the downside, I have to deal with Echo of Tyrande trash ("Hey, where'd the healer go?"), and Thrall still does not seem to have realized that the rest of the world moved on to epic mounts several years ago.

You win some, you lose some.

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Filed under: Druid, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives

Patch 4.3: End Time, Well of Eternity and Hour of Twilight images

The new patch means new heroics -- and just in case you haven't been wandering around on the 4.3 PTR yourself, we've got a collection of images from all three of the new heroic dungeons. The new heroic dungeons are located in the Caverns of Time as well as the Dragon Soul raid. Two heroics, End Time and Hour of Twilight, are located in a new corridor to the right of the Battle for Mount Hyjal entrance. You'll know you're there when you see all the scenic charred trees and ashes.

If you head down the corridor, End Time is the first entrance on your left; if you head to the end of the corridor, you'll see the entrance to the Dragon Soul raid on your left and the entrance to Hour of Twilight on your right. But what about Well of Eternity? Well, that dungeon has its own entrance -- it's on the other side of the caverns, next to the entrance for the Black Morass instance.

Of course, if you're queuing via the Dungeon Finder or the new Raid Finder tool, you won't need to travel. But if you want to know what you'll see once you're inside, take a peek at the galleries below for screenshots from each zone and the bosses within.








Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

Filed under: Cataclysm

WoW Insider's guide to Well of Eternity

Illidan Stormrage in the Well of Eternity 5-man.

Demons die when a lore nerd goes to war.
QQs will sound and drown the fun
When a lore nerd goes to war.
Each PUG dies and ninja lies
Tank will quit and the the queue will rise
When a lore nerd goes to war.
Demons die, but count the cost,
The valor's won, but the cheevy's lost. -- Bellajtok

Well of Eternity is chronologically the second of the three dungeons you'll encounter in patch 4.3, but it was also the last of the three to become available on the PTR. There were also a few bugs with the second encounter when it went live, so you probably won't find as many useful videos or things online about it. However, it's a pretty cool dungeon, with quite possibly the funniest 5-man achievement in the game.

If you want the quickest possible guide to all the new 5-man boss mechanics, read Patch 4.3 5-man bosses in 5 seconds or less.

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Filed under: News items

Know Your Lore: The Dragon Soul

The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

It was a tiny, small, inconsequential disc. Golden in color, simple in appearance, the talisman was far more dangerous than any could comprehend. Well ... almost anyone. The goblin servants of Neltharion, the Earth-Warder, created the object, and even they weren't truly aware of just how terrible that creation truly was. For the golden disc held not only the power to tear through the Burning Legion; it held the power to control every dragon, every flight in the world -- with the exception of Neltharion, of course.

For he would rule them all. The voices told him so and promised him glory above all creatures of the world, mortal or immortal, no matter how insignificant. The Burning Legion was simply an army of pests to be eliminated, as were the kaldorei; the War of the Ancients was a petty squabble marring the glorious moment of his ascension. It was only a matter of time.

The Dragon Soul was perhaps the most dangerous creation in existence, and it was held in the claws of a dragon that was most certainly completely insane.

Today's Know Your Lore contains some information regarding Thrall, Twilight of the Aspects, the 4.3 5-man dungeons and the Dragon Soul raid. If you're avoiding spoilers, I'd skip this for now.

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Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore

Know Your Lore: Queen Azshara, Light of Lights

The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

In all of Kaldorei history, stretching back to days unknown, no monarch has ever been as beloved as Queen Azshara. Though she spends her time these days idling deep under the ocean, in patch 4.3 we finally see through the window of the Caverns of Time the leader that was once the crowning glory of Kaldorei civilization. She was born with golden eyes, a rarity at the time and so uncommon among the Kaldorei that they were heralded as a sign of future greatness.

But the greatness for which Azshara was destined would have caused her followers a moment of pause had they realized it had nothing to do with them at all. After all, when one is born into a world that demands greatness, one has to walk the fine line between greatness and humility. Though Azshara excelled at many, many things, humility was nowhere to be found on that list. Proud, arrogant, and incredibly powerful, Azshara let the devotion of her people go to her head and nearly brought Kaldorei civilization as we know it to an end because of it.

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Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore

WoW Insider Live Stream: Well of Eternity, take two


The PTR boss totally won the last time we tried to stream Well of Eternity, the newest dungeon on the patch 4.3 PTR servers. Well, we certainly aren't going to take that for an answer, so we're back with another shot. Watch and chat along with WoW Insider staff members as we try to nab ourselves the Dragon Soul and avoid that pesky disconnect boss in the process. Round two ... fight!

Join the chat after the jump!

Update: Stream's over, thanks for watching!

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Filed under: Cataclysm

WoW Insider Live Stream: Well of Eternity

The WoW Insider crew is getting ready to stream more patch 4.3 PTR 5-man dungeons with the newest available time romp, the Well of Eternity. Watch and chat along with WoW Insider bloggers and staff members as we wipe, make mistakes, and blame Alex Ziebart for screwing it up for everyone. It'll be fun!

Join the chat after the jump.

Update: The stream has ended and the PTR boss won. We will reschedule for a future date.

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Filed under: Cataclysm

Patch 4.3 PTR: Well of Eternity heroic dungeon available for testing

If you've been waiting for the Well of Eternity 5-man heroic dungeon to open on the patch 4.3 PTR, wait no more. It's now available from the Dungeon Finder tool, and you can zone into it successfully. The screenshot above is of Peroth'arn, the first boss in the instance, bossing around various minions (including a Highborne using a Blood Elf model, for some reason).

If you've been itching to sink your teeth into some serious lore, there's no time to lose! Hop on the PTR and get to testing as fast as you can.

Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Lore, Cataclysm

The OverAchiever: Examining patch 4.3's new achievements

New Darkmoon Faire achievements on the patch 4.3 PTR.
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, all hell breaks loose.

Hey folks. The Littlest Pet Shop option was the most popular choice in last week's The OverAchiever: Wrapping up Mountain O' Mounts, but that was before all manner of patch 4.3 goodness was datamined on Tuesday night. I spent the subsequent 24 hours in a caffeine-fueled haze running three characters around the PTR investigating the new achievements for you.

I bring tidings of great, albeit currently bugged, joy to you all.

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Filed under: Achievements, The Overachiever

Patch 4.3 PTR: New loading screens and zone maps

You can't hit a new dungeon without knowing where you're going these days, can you? MMO-Champion has datamined the new loading screens for all three new dungeons, the new Darkmoon Faire, and the Dragon Soul raid, and Wowhead News snapped up maps for all the new instances, as well as some old.

The zone maps include not only the new instances and raid dungeons, but a new map for the Vault of Archavon, the Forge of Souls, and Baradin Hold. Baradin Hold seems to indicate we'll be seeing a third boss with this patch. I wonder what will happen to the wandering eyes of Occu'thar?

Check out the gallery for a look at all loading screens and maps for patch 4.3.




Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Patch 4.3: Blizzard's official preview of the Well of Eternity heroic dungeon

Today seems to be a huge day for patch 4.3 news, as Blizzard has just released a second 4.3 dungeon preview, this one for the Well of Eternity. After opening the gateway to the past in End Time, players will be transported back in time to Azshara's palace during the War of the Ancients to retrieve the Dragon Soul. Sounds easy enough, right? Yeah, not so much -- the Dragon Soul is busy hovering over the Well of Eternity and being used to open the portal that will allow Sargeras into the world.

In order to retrieve the Dragon Soul, players will have to fight and defeat the enemies that stand in the way, including Queen Azshara herself. Also seen in Well of Eternity are two names that should ring a bell to those familiar with lore -- the pit lord Mannoroth, whose blood is responsible for the corruption of the Orcish race, and Varo'then, head of Queen Azshara's personal guard. We already know what happens to Mannoroth and Varo'then in the future, so what will happen if we mess with them in the past?

It seems as though all this mucking around in time is something players will have to be considerate of, however. According to Zarhym, "The tragic events which took place at the Well of Eternity must ultimately come to pass, leading to the Great Sundering, the creation of the Maelstrom, and the loss of countless lives."

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm looking forward to saying hello to the younger versions of Tyrande, Malfurion, and Illidan. Check out the official website for the full preview, with plenty of images and more information on the various bosses in the dungeon.

Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Raiding, Lore, Cataclysm

Patch 4.3: Rogue legendaries, Raid Finder, and more

Blizzard's patch 4.3 info drop continues tonight with interviews going up across the blogosphere. Our sister site Joystiq posted a whole bunch of new info about 4.3's dungeons earlier, and now we've learned a few really cool pieces of information from Curse's interview with Greg Street (aka Ghostcrawler) about the new rogue legendary weapon, the Raid Finder, and more.

First, the rogue legendary is actually a pair of legendaries -- specifically, a pair of daggers named the Fangs of Father (which may be a mistranslation), according to Taiwanese Gamebase. GC explains across his interviews that rogues have understandably felt left out of this expansion both in terms of numbers and content, so giving them a legendary of their own was a good way to get them into the spotlight. The quest line for these daggers will revolve around the single pure black dragon egg that players helped protect in the Badlands. The dragon will hatch (it's a boy!) and lead rogues on a time- and gold-consuming quest around the world for their well-earned blades.

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Filed under: Cataclysm

Tom Chilton shares info on patch 4.3 dungeons and more

When Zarhym said that patch 4.3 goodies were imminent, we didn't know he meant this soon. Our parent site, Joystiq, has the details from Tom Chilton, game director for WoW. He talks about the trio of new 5-man dungeons and the lore behind the final chapter of Cataclysm's story.

The new 5-man dungeons will have us exploring a future where Deathwing wins, to show Nozdormu the endtime that would happen if Deathwing were allowed to bring his plans to fruition. After convincing the leader of the Bronze Dragonflight to aid us, we travel back in time to the Well of Eternity to allow Thrall to steal the Demon Soul. The Demon Soul is an ancient dragon artifact that will be the focal point of our attack on Deathwing. Finally, we enter the Hour of Twilight, escorting Thrall and the Demon Soul to Wyrmrest Temple, which is where the final battle begins.

Chilton also talks about the Deathwing encounter itself, sharing with us details on the mobile fight that is like nothing we've ever seen before. Deathwing will be on the run, and we will be giving chase across the world. As Deathwing is trying to heal himself and regain his strength, players will be ripping away his armor plating and fighting the lava beasts that lurk within his body. There will be a new balancing mechanic that forces players to stay balanced while fighting, adding an entirely new angle to the encounter.

The final showdown will occur with players fighting Deathwing from floating islands in the Maelstrom. The full article on Joystiq has more details on the encounter and what we can expect to see when facing Deathwing. From my perspective, patch 4.3 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting patches of all time!

Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!

Filed under: News items

Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The curious whispers of Tirisfal Glades

The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft.

Long ago, before Human civilization had progressed into kingdoms and civilized society, the Kaldorei of Kalimdor participated in a war that ultimately split the world apart. The war was about power, as all wars ultimately are in Azeroth -- this time, the powers of a mysterious font of energy known as the Well of Eternity. Suffused with arcane magics, the Well commanded the attentions of countless Highborne who grew dependent on its powers. So too, did the Well draw the attention of the dark forces of the Burning Legion and its leader, Sargeras.

Though the War of the Ancients ended in a victory for the Night Elves, it wasn't the last they'd see of the Well of Eternity. In an act of desperation to keep the arcane font alive one way or another, Illidan Stormrage used a vial of water from the original Well to create a new one, high atop the peaks of Hyjal. Horrified by his actions, his brother Malfurion had him imprisoned, and the Aspects created the World Tree and charged the Kaldorei with guarding the new Well. The practice of arcane magic was forbidden from use in Kaldorei society, punishable by death.

But the Kaldorei underestimated the depths of the Highborne's addiction. And both Highborne and Kaldorei alike didn't realize there were far worse, darker powers to worry about ...

Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on why it happened. The events presented are events that happened in Azeroth's history, but the conclusions are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact.

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Filed under: Lore, Know your Lore

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