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Live
Brewfest 2013 Guide (September 20 - October 6)
Celebrated by both the Horde and the Alliance, the Brewfest is a time to enjoy the fermented fruits of the harvest: pretzels, cheese, and booze! The competing breweries Thunderbrew, Barleybrew, and the Ogres, all come together outside of all the major cities in a bid to outdo each other with their special ales, meads, and beers. Brave adventurers are invited to sit back, take a pull, and sample the finest wares these brewers have to offer!
During Brewfest, players can acquire the title
Brewmaster
and collect fun mounts like
Swift Brewfest Ram
! Like 2012, there are epics available:
Brawler's Statue
Mithril Wristwatch
Thousand-Year Pickled Egg
Coren's Cold Chromium Coaster
Bubbliest Brightbrew Charm
Bitterest Balebrew Charm
In addition, there are two MoP items from vendors:
Pandaren Brewpack
,
Brewhelm
.
There is also a special experience buff:
Brewfest Enthusiast
.
High Tinker Mekkatorque
and
Vol'jin
will give speeches by their camps at 6:15 AM and PM server time, and then buff every
Live
Wowhead's Guide to Proving Grounds: Strategies, Bestiary, and Rewards
Proving Grounds
are new solo challenges in Patch 5.4 that both allow new players to learn a new role in a comfortable setting, or seasoned players to try something difficult and competitive.
This guide will help you get through challenges for each role and covers the following:
Rewards for beating various difficulties.
Rules to keep in mind for gear scaling and instance buffs.
Bestiary details for tank, healer, and dps challenges.
Detailed breakdowns of all waves on Gold and Endless, including some charts and videos.
The detailed strategy and bestiary sections were written experienced players of each role who spent substantial time testing Proving Grounds on the PTR:
DPS
:
Esoth
is a hunter in <Something Wicked> on Whisperwind, where he's been doing 25-man heroic progression raiding since Wrath of the Lich King. He writes the
Survival Hunter thread
on Elitist Jerks and maintains other WoW tracking projects on his personal blog, [url=
http://www
.
Live
Wowhead's Patch 5.4 Guide and Official Patch Notes
Patch 5.4 goes live on September 10th and we've got you covered so you can kill Garrosh in the
Siege of Orgrimmar
and get some epics in style! The Alliance and Horde have had enough of Garrosh's poor leadership and are storming the gates of Orgrimmar.
Besides a new 14-boss raid with a new mode of difficulty, Flex Mode, players can explore the
Timeless Isle
for vanity items and BoA epics. Plus, there's a new PvP season and players can finally finish their legendary questline to get a powerful cape!
We've got summaries of all the new content below, as well as links to blue posts and Wowhead's comprehensive PTR coverage.
Patch Notes and Overview
Players can finally kill Garrosh in the new raid,
Siege of Orgrimmar
.
There are 14 bosses and LFR loot is ilvl 528, Flex 540, Normal 553, and Heroic 566.
Flex mode
is a new raid type, in which players form a raid with 10-25 players and the bosses' health and damage will scale up or down. The difficulty is easier than Normal, but as it's intended to reward players for social interactions ins
Live
5.4 PTR: New Achievements and Rewards
Dozens of new achievements are coming in Patch 5.4, from exploration ones on the
Timeless Isle
to
Gamon Will Save Us!
. We've broken down all the achievements by category and highlighted the ones with cool mount and title rewards below:
Achievement Rewards
Mounts:
Players who complete
Glory of the Orgrimmar Raider
receive the
Reins of Galakras
. These achievements can be completed in Flex modes, and the meta achievement does not require heroic boss kills.
5.4's Ahead of the Curve achievements (
Ahead of the Curve: Garrosh Hellscream (10 player)
/
Ahead of the Curve: Garrosh Hellscream (25 player)
) also reward a mount:
Reins of the Kor'kron War Wolf
.
Active PvPers can get a
Vicious Saddle
for achieving
Grievous Combatant
/
Grievous Combatant
. This can be turned into Combatant Mount Quartermasters for a
Reins of the Vicious War Steed
or
Reins of the Vicious Warsaber
if Alliance,
Reins of the Vicious Skeletal Warhorse
or
Horn of the Vicious War Wolf
if Horde.
Titles:
For collecting twenty pet cats, you will get
Crazy for Cats
and
<Name> the Crazy Cat Lady
/
Man
. To learn more about all the collectible cats, check out
Live
5.4 PTR: Proving Grounds Now Testable
The Proving Grounds are now testable on the 5.4 PTR! As we
covered yesterday
, Proving Grounds are solo challenges that both allow new players to learn a new role in a comfortable setting, or seasoned players to try something difficult and competitive.
Proving Grounds allow users to select Tank, Healer, or DPS challenges. You can queue up from class trainers, or
Trial Master Rotun
who is by Flaskataur or Temple of the White Tiger.
Proving Grounds does have some similarities to Brawler's Guild in that they're solo challenges, but Proving Grounds lets you privately learn a role without people watching you fail on the sidelines, plus there are challenges for all specs. In addition, gear plays much less of a role in Proving Grounds success--all gear is scaled down to ilvl 463, like it is in Challenge Modes.
Once inside Proving Grounds, there are vendors that offer various amenities:
Miss Jadepaw
for Jewelcrafting supplies,
Nadaga Soulweaver
has Healthstones,
Mystic Quillstar
is a reforger, and
Furnisher Echoroot
sells basic food.
Video Preview
Olivia tested out the Proving Grounds on the PTR--che
Live
2013 Midsummer Fire Festival Guide (June 21 - July 5)
Midsummer Fire Festival
is here! Embrace the spirit of summer by honoring your faction's flames and desecrating the enemy's! Throughout the world, there are bonfires surrounded by questgivers and NPCs that sell summery items in exchange for
Burning Blossom
. There are commoner NPCs of all races that can be found lingering around the major cities that will give you a short quest to turn in at one of the main bonfire camps to get you started.
It's that time of year again. Acquire
flaming
threads
, a frosty
companion
, epic cloaks, and more! Horde players can obtain the title
Flame Keeper
and Alliance players can obtain the title
Flame Warden
.
This year there are new Pandaria bonfire achievements:
Flame Keeper of Pandaria
/
Flame Warden of Pandaria
and
Extinguishing Pandaria
/
Extinguishing Pandaria
.
In addition, Ahune now drops ilvl 480 capes.
Midsummer Fire
Live
Patch 5.3: Updated Brawler's Guild Guide
The Brawler's Guild, added in 5.1, is designed to provide players with solo challenges that test their DPS and situational awareness. Players fight various well-loved bosses with quirky abilities to gain ranks in the Guild, earning titles and vanity items as prizes. While gaining an invitation to participate in the Guild is exclusive, any player can gather around the Brawl areas and watch their friends learn the new bosses.
This guide covers how to obtain an invitation, the guild locations, vendors, all the bosses and their abilities, how to complete the achievements, vanity items, and fun touches like tribute NPCs to
Fight Club
.
We have updated it for Patch 5.3, which includes twenty new bosses, Challenge Cards, new vanity items, and spectator mode!
Also be sure to check out
GuildOx's new Brawler's Guild Ranking Tool
to see how far along your friends are!
Click the cut to read the guide!
Live
5.3 PTR: New Achievements and Rewards
Fifty new achievements are coming in Patch 5.3, and some have titles, pets, and mounts as rewards! We've highlighted the cool rewards you can get and listed all the new achievements by category.
Achievement Rewards
Mounts and Pets
:
For completing
Raiding with Leashes II: Attunement Edition
and collecting the 10 new battle pets from Burning Crusade raids, players get
Tito's Basket
. To learn more about battle pets in the patch, check out our
5.3 Battle Pet Preview
.
For winning 250 pet battles,
Brutal Pet Brawler
, players get
Stunted Direhorn
.
Players who have collected 200 mounts,
Mount Parade
/
Mount Parade
, get an
Armored Blue Dragonhawk
/
Armored Red Dragonhawk
.
Titles
:
Completing the meta-achievement for the new battleground,
Master of Deepwind Gorge
, rewards the title
Gorgeous <Name>
. To learn more about Deepwind Gorge, check out Blizzard's battlegrou
Live
2013 Noblegarden Guide (April 1 - 8)
It's time for
Noblegarden
--a hunt for loot, this time in the form of brightly colored eggs! We join together to "share the joy of life and friendship" all the while looking for carefully hidden eggs and devouring tons of chocolate!
Noblegarden
starts on
April 1 at 2:00 PM
and ends on
April 8 at 2:00 PM
--a change from holidays starting overnight on the weekends.
Brightly Colored Eggs
have been hidden all across the starting areas for both Alliance and Horde players to discover. These eggs can contain chocolates which serve as a currency to buy seasonal goodies--sometimes they also have special prizes! Simply head out to one of your faction's starting areas, grab some quests, and get out there and hunt eggs! Maybe you'll even earn some achievements along the way!
CRZ intially made many low-level areas crowded when Noblegarden started this year. A hotfix has been implemented that greatly
increases the spawn rate on Brightly Colored Eggs
.
We haven'
Live
5.3 PTR: New Battle Pets
Patch 5.3 has tons of new battle pets! There are eleven boss-themed ones from
Raiding with Leashes II: Attunement Edition
, new wild pets (
Unborn Val'kyr
) and drops from
Throne of Thunder
bosses, including
Viscous Horror
from Heroic-only
Primordius
.
There's also
Stunted Direhorn
for doing a ton of PvP Pet Battles,
Filthling
from the quirky Saurok area on
Isle of Thunder
, more cute direhorn pets, and a mini-
Gahz'rilla
,
Gahz'rooki
.
We've covered all the new pets, including their sources, abilities, and 3D models! Usual disclaimer that abilities and models are subject to change before 5.3 goes live.
Click the cut to read about all the new pets and click on our images below to view them in our 3D Modelviewer!
Live
Patch 5.2: Throne of Thunder Overview
Throne of Thunder
, the new Tier 15 raid, opened on LFR and Heroic difficulty this week. Whether you're running LFR for the new vanity pets or are starting heroics, this guide should have something for you. We've covered the following:
Loot tables, Dungeon Journal entries, and strategy videos for bosses.
Vanity loot--gear, mounts, and pets.
Details on the LFR schedule and required item level.
Information about the
Shado-Pan Assault
.
Achievements and weekly raid quests.
If you want more
Throne of Thunder
resources, check out the following:
TankSpot
for Tier 15 strategy guides.
GuildOx
for all your rankings needs, including the race to world first heroic completion!
Also be sure to check out our
Patch 5.2 interview with Lead Encounter Developer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas
, which covers Tier 15 progression and gear.
Click the cut to learn about
Throne of Thunder
!
Live
Patch 5.2: Isle of Thunder Content Guide
The
Isle of Thunder
is a new zone in 5.2 that is the location of a server-wide War Effort, new factions, and daily quests. However, there's a lot of vanity-related content as well, for players that dislike dailies.
This guide aims to cover the basics of completing your new dailies, but also to highlight all the other things you can do on the island. Since you access more content as you progress through the War Effort, we've also pointed out what things you can do now, and what things you'll have to wait a few weeks on.
Unlike factions tied to MoP's launch, the factions on the
Isle of Thunder
are not tied to getting raid-quality gear or unlocking dailies for other factions. While you can complete twelve dailies a day, it's possible to have fun on
Isle of Thunder
without doing any dailies and simply enjoying the other content, such as killing rare spawns, getting
<Name> Stormbreaker
for completing achievements, and farming troll transmog gear.
Live
5.2 Guide: New Rare Spawns and Elites
In the early Patch 5.2 beta, we covered new rare elites around Pandaria that dropped dinosaur mounts like
Reins of the Slate Primordial Direhorn
! Now that Patch 5.2 is imminent and we've tested out all phases of the Isle of Thunder, we're pleased to report that there are even more rare spawns and elites coming in 5.2! The Isle of Thunder has many rare spawns needed for
Champions of Lei Shen
, which drop items that can be used to summon elites for
It Was Worth Every Ritual Stone
.
Last week, I teamed up with Wowmartiean of
Martiean's Splitleaf Girdle
's fame to take down these rare spawns. Here's the video he made of all their locations and abilities, with me dying from
Ra'sha's Sacrificial Dagger
at the end:
Also be sure to check out Wowhead user Lore's great guide to all the
rare spawns in Pandaria
. His guide includes strategies for taking down all of these elites, as well as maps.
Click the cut for the details!
Live
5.2 PTR: New Achievements Preview
Patch 5.2 has over 100 new achievements, covering raiding, questing, PvP, and more! Several of these new achievements even have mounts or titles associated with them.
We've provided an overview of all the new achievements, broken down by topic. Here's a taste of what to expect:
Throne of Thunder meta-drake achievements, for
Reins of the Armored Skyscreamer
, and achievements for killing various bosses.
Raid-related Feats of Strength, such as
Ahead of the Curve: Grand Empress Shek'zeer
.
Completing various achievements around the phased questing zone
Isle of Thunder
for
Stormbreaker
and
The Stormbreaker
.
New
Archaeology
achievements for the Mantid solves.
Several PvP achievements including
Khan
for a new battleground title.
There's also
I've Got 9999 Problems but a Bone-White Primal Raptor Ain't One
, which defies categorization but is a Feat of Strength for grinding out the awesome
Reins of the Bone-White Primal Raptor
on the Isle of Giants[/
Live
2013 Love is in the Air (February 10 - February 23) Guide
Ah,
love is in the air
in the World of Warcraft: sweet flowers, perfume, and sharing gifts with loved ones! But, what's this? A sinister plot is afoot involving some shady goblin newcomers to the seasonal market--the Crown Chemical Company! It's up to us to help save Azeroth from their chemically altered goods all while spreading love and appreciation to our faction leaders and fellow players!
Love is in the Air
starts on
February 10
at
12:01 AM
and ends on
February 23
at
11:59 PM
. This holiday can be celebrated by the Horde in
Orgrimmar
and the Alliance in
Stormwind City
. Seasonal decorations such as wreaths, candles and ribbons can be found in all major cities and at most zone inns. Players will also find
Lovely Merchant
s, who sell seasonal gifts and goodies.
This year, there are updated ilvl 480 epic amulets for defeating
Apothecary Hummel
, as well as battle pet abilities for
Peddlefeet
and
Toxic Wasteling
.
Click the cut to read the full guide!
Live
5.2 PTR - Build 16539 - Reputation Rewards, Normal-Mode Feats of Strength, Tier Armor
Today's build has many 5.2 reputation rewards including mounts, some Feats of Strength for defeating bosses on Normal difficulty before 5.2, and a bunch of Tier 15 armor tokens!
Check out the latest additions!
Patch Highlights
Many reputation items for the other two new factions (
Kirin Tor Offensive
,
Sunreaver Onslaught
) were added in this patch:
Hitting Exalted with the new factions rewards you with a special Direhorn mount.
Reins of the Crimson Primal Direhorn
for Horde,
Reins of the Golden Primal Direhorn
for Alliance.
New Tabards requring Exalted with the new factions:
Shado-Pan Assault Tabard
,
Sunreaver Onslaught Tabard
,
Kirin Tor Offensive Tabard
.
These items let you port back to your home base on the new Isle of the Thunder King:
Kirin Tor Beacon
,
Sunreaver Beacon
Reputation banners:
Glorious Standard of the Kirin Tor Offensive
,
Glorious Standard of the Sunreaver Onslaught
Grand Commendations:
Grand Commendation of the Kirin Tor Offensive
,
Grand Commendation of the Sunreaver Onslaught
At Honored, you will be able to purchase ilvl 476 belts:
Shan'ze Scholar's Girdle
.
All Tier 15 class epics were added in this patch. Check out our list o
Live
2013 Lunar Festival (January 27 - February 9) Guide
It's time for the first in-game holiday of 2013, the
Lunar Festival
--so everyone break out the fireworks, show a little respect for your
elders
, and come celebrate the (lunar) new year!
The
Lunar Festival
is held every year starting on a date that typically coincides with the Chinese New Year. 2013's Lunar Festival starts on
January 27
and ends on
February 9
--a bit shorter than last year's. Ancestors of Azeroth are praised and honored by both Horde and Alliance, who then reward players with a special title,
Elder <Name>
, a celebration in Moonglade, and numerous
Coin of Ancestry
that can be used to purchase festive garb, patterns and fireworks!
While there were significant additions and changes in 2012, the
Lunar Festival
for 2013 doesn't have many changes. We've updated the post to reflect the new battle pet abilities the seasonal pets have gotten, and will update this guide once the holiday goes live if there are further changes.
Click the cut to get started!
Live
Feast of Winter Veil Presents Now Available
It's December 25th, so don't forget to open your
Winter Veil Gift
and loot your both of your 2012 gifts,
The Pigskin
and
Special Edition Foot Ball
! These are only available from December 25th-January 2nd, and award
They're Both Footballs?
. Opening any present today will also give you
He Knows If You've Been Naughty
!
And if you're looking for more Winter Veil news, check out our other holiday posts! The Blizzard Community team is a bit quiet this week, but we've got guides written up the rest of the week for you.
Wowhead's Holiday Wallpaper--the Sha of Merriment
Wowhead's Feast of Winter Veil Guide
Happy Holidays from Blizzard
Winter Veil Gifts
Here's the full list of possible gifts:
Festive Gift
Wand of Holiday Cheer
Gently Shaken Gift
Winter Veil Roast
or
Winter Veil Eggnog
Live
Exploration Guide: Riches of Pandaria
A new achievement was added in Patch 5.1,
Riches of Pandaria
, for finding many junk items hidden like
Ancient Pandaren Tea Pot
. There are 18 total and many vendor for and grant several hundred thousand experience if found while leveling. Based on excellent user comments such as
Lilikoi's
and our own experiences finding treasures, we've made a guide to this new achievement series.
There are four achievements in this series. If you found several items before 5.1, you will get credit for them.
Treasure of Pandaria
: Find a Treasure of Pandaria.
Fortune of Pandaria
: Find 5 Treasures of Pandaria.
Bounty of Pandaria
: Find 10 Treasures of Pandaria.
Riches of Pandaria
: Find all of the Treasures of Pandaria.
The guide below lists all the hidden objects you encounter, the items inside that vendor for gold, the hidden "Flag" quest that triggers when you find the object, coordinates that open a new map window, and an image of the treasure. Each tab also contains a zone map with pins that take you to the object's page when clicked on. Objects needed for the ac
Live
5.1 PTR: New Achievements - Brawler's Guild, Scenarios, Pet Battles
There's been a lot of discussion about
, a new Feat of Strength datamined last week for the Brawler's Guild, so we thought it would be a good idea to list all the other new achievements we've datamined so far for Patch 5.1. Highlights include many new Scenario achievements,
Wakener
which rewards a title, a series of exploration achievements for finding objects like
Statue of Xuen
, and several pet battle achievements with fun rewards.
Brawler's Guild
Name
Description
Bottle Service (Season 2)
Hit an angry spectator in the head with an Expired Blackout Brew.
Brawlin' and Shot Callin' (Season 1)
Reach Rank 8 with Bizmo's Brawlpub.
Brawlin' and Shot Callin' (Season 1)
Reach Rank 8 with Brawl'gar Arena.
Haters Gonna Hate (Season 2)
Win a brawl with ten stacks of You Stink!
I'm Your Number One Fan (Season 2)
Cheer a player on after they have won a brawl.
Now You're Just Showing Off (Season 1)
/
Now You're Just Showing Off (Season 1)
Defeat the following rare brawl bosses.
Rabble Rabble Rabble (Season 2)
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