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Live
News Roundup: Titan Runestone Droprates, Flex Raiding Discussion
After the huge news on Thursday that
Flex Raiding
is coming in Patch 5.4, many players understandably had questions about this new feature. which allows players to form a dynamically-scaling raid between 10 and 25 non-pug players and receive loot that's better than LFR. Bashiok and Taepsilum addressed many of these concerns over the weekend:
Flex is intended for players that are interested in getting weekly groups together for fun and some challenge, but who also don't want super-strict raiding requirements.
Unlike Normal modes, you can invite friends from your Real ID and Battle.net tag to Flex raids.
Removing Tier Tokens from flex raids is something that's worth considering, as raiders might feel forced to run LFR, Normal, and Flex at the start of a new tier otherwise for bonuses.
Letting people zone in and clear Flex trash with 8 people is something the devs are considering. This would allow to get raids underway while waiting to fill spots.
While it may be "optimal" to clear flex raids with a certain number of players, or do 10-player normal instead of 12-player Flex, Flex Mode isn't
Live
News Round Up: Legendary Guide Updated, Battle Chest Sale
Today's news roundup features a lengthy discussion on WoW's RNG loot system. While
5.3 will reduce the amount of bad bonus roll streaks
, some players are frustrated by feeling unrewarded for killing a boss.
There's also a Warcraft Battle Chest Sale until the 23rd, and the 2013 Student Art Contest Winners have been selected--as prizes, they'll get a mentorship with a member of the World of Warcraft art team!
Legendary Guide Updated
With
Pinnacle of Storms open on LFR
, more players may find themselves completing their legendary metagems. We've updated our
Legendary Quest Guide
with some user comments and videos on the challenging single-player scenario, The Thunder Forge, you'll need to complete after getting 20
Secrets of the Empire
.
There's also been a confirmed issue with ilvl 502 gems not working on upgraded ilvl 504 helms:
Yes, it is intend
Live
Throne of Thunder: "Pinnacle of Storms" LFR Overview
Today, the fourth and final wing of
Throne of Thunder
LFR is scheduled to go live this week: players can fight
Iron Qon
,
Twin Consorts
, and
Lei Shen
for ilvl 502 loot, including shoulder tokens from
Iron Qon
and helm tokens from
Twin Consorts
. You will need a minimum average item level of 480 to queue up--if you're stuck on how to get there, check out our
gearing guide
.
Check out our overviews of the other three LFRs:
Last Stand of the Zandalari
:
Jin'rokh the Breaker
,
Horridon
, and the
Council of Elders
Tier 15 gloves and
Living Sandling
.
Forgotten Depths
:
Tortos
,
Megaera
, and
Ji-Kun
. Tier 15 legs and
Ji-Kun Hatchling
.
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http://www.cuckhead.com/news=2
Live
News Roundup: New Armored Dragonhawk Rewards, Durumu in LFR, Zarhym on April Fools
5.3 PTR:
Mount Parade
Rewards
We've been datamining a ton of gorgeous mount models, and now we're seeing some new mounts on the 5.3 PTR! The rewards for
Mount Parade
are now learned by players who have obtained 200 mounts:
Armored Blue Dragonhawk
for Alliance,
Armored Red Dragonhawk
for Horde. This achievement is reminiscent of
Mountain o' Mounts
and its dragonhawk rewards:
Blue Dragonhawk
,
Red Dragonhawk
.
Click on the modelviewer pics to view them in our 3D Modelviewer!
News Round Up
The
third wing of LFR opened this week
and in spite of some hotfixes, players are still finding
Durumu the Forgotten
pretty challenging. Bashiok discusses the issues with
Durumu the Forgotten
and how the maze visual effect could use some alteration.
EU CM Taepsilum discusse
Live
April Fools' Roundup, 3rd Wing of LFR Opens Today and Loot Overview
April Fools' Roundup
We love coming up with April Fools' ideas at Wowhead and seeing what clever things other sites come up with! This year, the Wowhead Staff plotted to liven up the 5.3 PTR with
cosmetic character auras, Earth Day, Doritios Locos feasts. and more
. We hope you all had fun with it, and we'd love to see some cosmetic rewards or updated world events in the future on the real PTR!
Here's some of our other favorite pranks:
ElvUI users did the Harlem Shake
upon logging in, which not only made your character dance but shook up all of your ability buttons.
WoW Interface discovered that Blizzard was switching to a Flash-based UI
, with swf and js files in the Patch 5.4 alpha client.
WarcraftPets broke the news that players can summon multiple pets at a time
but with a cost--the more pets you have out, the lower their polygon count
Live
Throne of Thunder: "Forgotten Depths" LFR Overview
The second wing of
Throne of Thunder
is scheduled to go live this week: players can fight
Tortos
,
Megaera
, and
Ji-Kun
for ilvl 502 loot, including Tier 15 legs and
Ji-Kun Hatchling
from
Ji-Kun
. You will need a minimum average item level of 480 to queue up--if you're stuck on how to get there, check out our
gearing guide
.
We've also included strategy videos from
TankSpot
of the new encounters, loot tables from the new bosses, and confirmed drops from the new LFR loot satchels such as
Reins of the Black Primal Raptor
.
Click the cut to learn more about the bosses available today!
Live
Throne of Thunder: LFR Opens Today, Loot Satchel and Encounter Previews
The first wing of
Throne of Thunder
opens today for LFR: players can fight
Jin'rokh the Breaker
,
Horridon
, and the
Council of Elders
for ilvl 502 loot. You will need a minimum average item level of 480 to queue up--if you're stuck on how to get there, check out our
gearing guide
.
We've also included an overview of the LFR Loot Satchel changes, as well as strategy videos from
TankSpot
of the new encounters.
LFR Schedule
With the release of Patch 5.2: The Thunder King, the vast
Throne of Thunder
raid will become available. As in previous raid tiers, Raid Finder wings and availability difficulties will be staggered.
To
access the new Raid Finder wings
you will need a minimum average item level (ilevel) of 480.
This is our current schedule based on a planned patch release date of March 5. If the patch is delayed, or if we d
Live
News Round Up: Vanity Loot in LFR Satchels, 5.2 Trinket Preview, Ghostcrawler on Class Balance
Loot Improvements Coming to LFR Satchels
Many of us have felt the disappointment of using a
Elder Charm of Good Fortune
in the hopes of obtaining a Sha-Touched weapon and getting
Dividends of the Everlasting Spring
instead. In 5.2, it seems that these bags will contain more fun things, similar to
Misty Satchel of Exotic Mysteries
! Besides pets and mounts, there will be
LFR versions of trash drops
and valuable vendor trash in the style of
Riko's Treasure Map
from
Brawler's Purse
.
Bashiok
The change is still in for the failbags to ... not be fail. They'll have a chance to contain things like very valuable grey items (essentially randomizing the gold you get from the bags), LFR versions of non-boss loot,
Spirit of Harmony
, consumables, pets and mounts, and... maybe some other stuff I forgot. Lots of things! Opening them should have some anticipation and surprise now. :)
Ghostcrawler on Class Balance and Trinkets
Ghostcrawler has posted a ton of updates on class balance this week--specifically, Discipline Priests had a lot of changes today. We've organized all of his comments below by class.
In addition to class balan
Live
5.2 PTR: Raid and Scenario Preview, No New Dungeons
Today's 5.2 feature covers information about upcoming encounters--raid bosses and scenarios! While some bosses have incomplete entries so far and the loot tables aren't known yet, you can still get a sense of what the encounters are like with the Dungeon Journal. We think it's pretty neat that the Dungeon Journal is deliberately vague about
Ra-den
, a heroic-only encounter, by saying he's instead "shrouded in mystery"--brings back a sense of player discovery.
And as there's no new 5-player dungeons planned for the rest of MoP, we've highlighted our 5.2 scenario summaries to give you a taste of upcoming small-group content.
No New Dungeons in 5.2
People who read the
5.2 PTR Patch Note Preview
may have noticed that there was no mention of new 5-player dungeons. Zarhym clarified that this was intentional, as it would disrupt the current progression model.
LFR has taken the place of dungeons for gearing-up mid-expansion. While players enjoyed
Magisters' Terrace
at the end of Burning Crusade, in the current raid context, it's strange for a dungeon's loot to be on par with raid gear. Players were unhappy with how 4.3 dungeon loot was compa
Live
News Round Up: 5.1 Angler's Tabard, Mistweavers in 5.2
In today's news, Blizzard dropped more hints about 5.2--this time, concerning Mistweavers. There's also a few posts on the creative side of the community--one highlights an interview with Michael Whelan, the artist responsible for the iconic image of Deathwing, over at
WoW Insider
, and the other covers the annual Blizzard Holiday Spotlight, featuring your most artistic cards and tastiest treats inspired by Azeroth. Speaking of Winter's Veil, Blizzard is also running a sale on most of their products if you are looking for the perfect stocking stuffer!
And it wouldn't be a news round up with at least one mention of LFR. Draztal explains why the decision was made to remove the status message upon zoning in.
New
Anglers Tabard
Adding to our list of
undocumented model changes
, the
Anglers Tabard
received a facelift in 5.1! It's no longer a duplicate of
Theramore Tabard
.
In addition, the
Bone-Inlaid Fan
now
Live
5.1 News: New Scenario Rewards, Old-World Boss Nerfs
Today's news round up covers new Blizzard features for scenarios and pet battles, information on just how exactly some of the old-world bosses were nerfed for soloing purposes, and insights into why LFR no longer shows you progress status when joining. We also have some information on new scenario rewards: some epics and recolored armor for transmog fun.
Updated Scenario Loot
WoW Insider
reported yesterday
that scenarios now have improved rewards, including ilvl 476 epics! Here's the details.
Pre 5.1,
Cache of Treasures
was rewarded for completing scenarios: it had a small chance to contain ilvl 463 armor with random stats.
In 5.1, players get
Greater Cache of Treasures
from completing any random scenario. This still can contain
Cache of Treasures
, as well as wider variety of loot. Lucky players can find an ilvl 476 epic item or an ilvl 463 weapon, while less-lucky players get an ilvl 450 armor item.
While the 476 items have the same color scheme as the old 463 items for that role, the 450 items have a different color scheme. So if you were say a
Rogue
that never had a shot at
Live
News Round Up: Garalon LFR Hotfixes, Battle.net World Championships
Today's news round up covers LFR fixes to
Garalon
, World of Warcraft Monopoly, and information on the upcoming Battle.net World Championships! The Challenge Mode competition was a highlight at MoP's launch party, and you can catch more of that at 7:30 p.m. PDT this Friday, as players from Asia's top raid teams race though
Shado-Pan Monastery
,
Scarlet Halls
, and
Stormstout Brewery
.
Terrace of Endless Spring
is open tomorrow, but if you're still progressing through
Heart of Fear
, <Method> uploaded
many normal-mode videos
and one for
Heroic Imperial Vizier Zor'lok
.
Also around Azeroth: the Darkmoon Faire just ended, but if you want a trinket by the next Faire, check out WoW Insider's
guide to obtaining a deck
, covering crafting, farming, AHing, and trading.
Garalon
LFR Fixes
We’ve recently hotfixed the Raid Finder version of
Garalon
, reducing both his health and Furious
Live
News Round Up: Jade Pandaren Kite, Conquest Point Cap, LFR Analysis
For a brief look at what's new on the PTR, here's some pictures of one of the new mounts, the
Jade Pandaren Kite String
! This is a reward for collecting 150 mounts and completing
We're Going to Need More Saddles
. It doubles as both a ground and flying mount.
News Round Up
Today's news round up has an update on
, as well as additional posts on the pressure to gear up, run LFR, and do many daily quests. We have all the posts below under the cut, and our friends at WoW Insider have an
in-depth analysis of what's right and wrong with the Golden Lotus reputation grind
that should resonate with a lot of players.
Cap Increased
To help everyone keep up with the
upcoming system
in 5.1 that will allow you to upgrade your Conquest gear with
s, a hotfix is being implemented very soon tha
Live
New Scenario: Assault on Zan'vess, Blizzard Analyzes LFR
Today's news covers two aspects of WoW that are designed to be easily accessible for many players: Scenarios and LFR. We have a preview of a new scenario on the PTR, as well as a ton of blue posts discussing players' perceptions behind LFR.
Assault on Zan'vess
Recently, a new scenario was open for testing on the 5.1 PTR,
Assault on Zan'vess
. For everyone complaining that scenarios feel a bit easy, this one should be a welcome challenge. The mobs hit hard, pulling additional groups can be lethal, and coordination is actually required on bosses.
This scenario appears to change based on your faction, as Alliance players start off on their gunship and kill a Horde commander later on.
Stage 1: Join the Assault
Players land on top of their faction's gunship, and are told to join in the assault by getting on one of the gyrocopters.
Stage 2: Defenses of Zan'vess
You're asked to fly over Zan'vess and destroy the sonic shield, which is maintained by several generators around the island. As your character makes loops around the island, you can bomb the control towers as well as shielding yourself from enemy fire. You'll also n
Live
Mists of Pandaria: Tier 14 Preview
With
Heart of Fear
open soon, we wanted to do a preview of all the tier gear players can now acquire outside of
Sha of Anger
, including the LFR and Heroic versions.
LFR: ilvl 483
Normal: ilvl 496
Heroic: ilvl 509
Bosses in
Heart of Fear
drop the following tier tokens:
Wind Lord Mel'jarak
: Gloves
Amber-Shaper Un'sok
: Legs
Grand Empress Shek'zeer
: Chest
Click on the images to view them in our 3D Modelviewer!
Cloth Armor
LFR
Normal
Heroic
Mantle of the Burning Scroll
Robes of the Burning Scroll
Leggings of the Burning Scroll
Hood of the Burning Scroll
Gloves of the Burning Scroll
Live
5.1 Epic Warlock Questline, LFR Open and Elegon Hotfixes
We've got some details to share with you about an epic
Warlock
-only quest chain datamined on the PTR, but first, some raid info!
The second half of
Mogu'shan Vaults
opens today on US servers. Here's some key facts to remember:
It requires ilvl 460 to queue up for both parts of the zone. All six LFR bosses have ilvl 476 loot.
The first LFR run for each segment rewards 0
Valor Points
. So by running both segments of LFR once, you could earn 0
Valor Points
per week. Rerunning a segment of LFR grants 5
Valor Points
.
You can run the same LFR multiple times per week and use
Elder Charm of Good Fortune
every time.
LFR segments for
Heart of Fear
and
Terrace of Endless Spring
won't be out until November--and they'll have a staggered release.
Check out our
raid preview
of
Mogu'shan Vaults
to learn about the new gear, boss mechanics, and armor models.
In addition, Heroic
Elegon
got some hotfixes:
This week will see some changes coming to the
Elegon
encounter in Heroic mode
Mogu'shan Vaults
. The Discharge effect that o
Live
Patch 5.0.5b Live Today, Valor Point Acquisition, Heroic Method Kills
The first three bosses in Mogu'shan Vaults open on LFR difficulty today on EU servers.
Check out our
exclusive Method kill videos
to learn the fights!
In addition, Method is currently working on heroic progression this week, and will be rebroadcasting their heroic kills over at Twitch! You'll be able to watch them here starting at 17:00 CET / 07:00 (AM) PDT:
http://www.twitch.tv/sco
http://www.twitch.tv/rogerbrown
http://www.twitch.tv/leeds
There's also a small but much-needed patch today that will allow players to interact with in-game objects again such as healthstones, archaeology digsites, and lootable mobs.
We will be releasing a patch on Wednesday October, 10 beginning at 8:30 a.m. PDT to resolve an issue that could sometimes prevent players from interacting correctly with in-game objects.
As the patch is relatively small, patching time should be minimal. See you in Pandari
Live
Mogu'shan Vaults: Exclusive Method Videos, LFR Unlocks Today
Mogu'shan Vaults
on LFR difficulty unlocks today on US servers. It is split up into two sections, each consisting of three bosses. You will need an
460 ilvl
to queue up.
Normal mode was open last week, and if you cleared all the bosses on that difficulty level, you can begin heroics this week.
Heart of Fear
and
Terrace of Endless Spring
will not be available until October 30th on Normal Difficulty.
Check out our
Mogu'shan Vaults Raid Preview
for a look at the Dungeon Journal, loot lists, and armor models of all the encounters.
Our friends at
Noxxic
have also just released a cool tool that we wanted to share with you:
DPS Rankings
. This is a quick way for players to see what each spec is capable of doing in end-game raiding and how they rank up, including DW/2H comparisons for Frost Death Knights, Fury Warriors and Windwalker Monks. If you're not sure how to spec for your first raid, this tool may help you out!
Exclusive Method Videos
<Method> cleared
Mogu'shan Vaults
this past week: they were kind enough
Live
Mists of Pandaria: LFR Changes
There's been a lengthy thread on the official forums about LFR, and Blizzard shared some of their upcoming changes for Mists of Pandaria:
They are hoping gear designed for LFR in future tiers is a small step up from last tier's normal mode gear, not a replacement for last tier's heroic gear.
If harder bosses on normal/heroic difficulty have an ilvl boost to reflect that difficulty, that ilvl boost will not apply to end-boss loot in LFR.
Terrace of Endless Spring
and
Heart of Fear
LFR were initially three queues to be released on the same date, a month after MoP's release. Instead these three LFR queues will have a staggered release, one week after the other.
Hello my fellow non-murloc creatures of Azeroth,
Please allow me to chip in with a few updated bits of information about LFR, I hope that you view this as an improvement and a step in the right direction over the current version of LFR. We do hear you and your feedback is seriously taken into consideration each time we decide to apply any change to the game.
We know that competitive players seem to dislike the idea of having to go through LFR to
Live
New Ghostcrawler Blog: Mists of Pandaria Looting Explained
Well, we knew after the bombshells Blizzard dropped both at the press event and later that week about LFR and looting, Ghostcrawler would have to explain it for us. And here it is.
Hey, how about that landslide of Mists of Pandaria information? It has taken a few days, and will probably take a few more, for the nuance of everything to really sink in. One of the topics we've been getting lots of questions about is the crazy new loot model we're introducing in Mists. We've answered several related questions in the forums, but thought it might be prudent to just put all the information in one place.I should clarify that the systems we're introducing are actually pretty simple in practice. I'm only going into a fair amount of detail because those are the kinds of questions we are getting. You don't have to understand all the particulars to participate, and we're certain that it will just all make sense once you are experiencing it in-game instead of hearing it described (that whole "show, don't tell" thing). Let's begin:
Personal Loot
Here is how looting works in today's Raid F
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