WoW: Cataclysm still on target for a 2010 release
Lich King weapon drop changes
by Allison Robert 
Feb 8th 2010 at 4:00PM
The following is the list of changes Blizzard's planning to make to Lich King-25 weapons:
- Royal Scepter of Terenas II: MP5 replaced with haste rating.
- Archus, Greatstaff of Antonidas: Critical strike rating replaced with haste rating.
- Heaven's Fall, Kryss of a Thousand Lies: Armor penetration replaced with haste rating.
- Fal'inrush, Defender of Quel'thalas: Haste rating replaced with armor penetration.
- And on Lich King-10: Stormfury, Black Blade of the Betrayer: Armor penetration replaced with expertise.
EDIT: The changes have been confirmed by Ancilorn on the EU forums now as well.
Filed under: News items, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
sleeper Feb 8th 2010 4:06PM
Needed change. The original stat allocation on several of the weapons were really head-scratch-worthy. To this day I don't understand what they were thinking in design, but I'm relieved they fixed the issue.
Rapskallion Feb 8th 2010 5:02PM
I agree. Putting ArP on a slow dagger? Who at the design team thought that was a good idea. I can almost see it on a fast dagger for Close Quarter Combat spec rogues, but even that isn't optimal over Hack and Slash due to white crit capping.
Glad they fixed it... and those other weapons too.
Friday_Knight Feb 8th 2010 7:18PM
Yeah a good change. I just wish they'd give these uber weapons some unique models. Even though each of them only seems to share a model with one other drop from Icecrown it's still kind of a let down that the super awesome weapons you get from finally bringing down ARTHAS look just like the weapons you got clearing through the place to get to him.
Tomatketchup Feb 8th 2010 4:06PM
So... what can I say really?
This was a good change.
...yeah...
...it's so cold here.
Artitian Feb 8th 2010 4:20PM
As a boomkin I really wish they'd kept the critical strike rating on the staff but oh well...
Gerik Feb 8th 2010 4:46PM
There's plenty of options that are available to you if you just want crit. A Frozen Bonespike and Scourgelord's Baton would be really easy to get because no other casters want that junk.
Changing the crit to haste on the staff makes it an excellent option for healing druids and priests, and a not half bad alternative for cloth DPS casters who don't want to bother trying to put together a Royal Scepter/Bloodsurge+Spindle combo.
rich Feb 8th 2010 4:47PM
There's still a staff with SP / Crit / Haste instead of SP / Haste in there, and loses the Spirit to boot.
Wyred Feb 8th 2010 7:16PM
As a disc healer, I will definitely be aiming for the mace now that it's crit/haste. Spirit is pretty much a dump stat for us now, possibly more so than for caster dps. Just gotta down that lich king first...
Jason P Feb 8th 2010 4:22PM
Ok quick question, which I know will make me seem like a Newb, but I have to ask:
One the 2 daggers listed above, does the Feral Attack Power help a Rogue? (It's been a long time since I've played my rogue characters for any decent amount of time.
Elofax Feb 8th 2010 4:28PM
Feral AP does nothing for rogues. It's a stat that applies only to druids in feral form that is found on all physical-dps items that ferals are capable of wielding (even if a feral druid is highly unlikely to wield a one-hander when two-handers have such better stats for them).
Elofax Feb 8th 2010 4:29PM
That should say physical-dps weapons, not physical-dps items. =P
Jason P Feb 8th 2010 4:57PM
Thanks. That's what I thought.
scherbaddie Feb 8th 2010 8:30PM
it's a conversion of the weapon damage or dps portion of the item's stats, as ferals would otherwise be unable to use those stats. http://www.wowwiki.com/Feral_attack_power
Boz Feb 8th 2010 4:22PM
Now if only they'd give The Lich King comprehensive unique weapon model drops.
Heaven's Fall and the Royal Scepter are the only unique models, I believe. The other models either drop off other ICC bosses or, such as the case of the Crossbow, ICC heroics. I'd prefer my BiS weapon not be a reskinned version of a weapon I already had.
Oh well; there's always Cataclysm.
videvekartuspaan Feb 8th 2010 4:33PM
i feel like the design on most icc weapons has been kinda lazy to be honest. There aren't that many unique models, and it kinda pisses me off that theres gear that looks EXACTLY like tier gear. I ahve no complaints about the instance itself though, you can see the work they put into it.
N-train Feb 8th 2010 6:38PM
It is a mild shame that the models are kind of lackluster, but at the same time, if it was a choice between the dev team spending time and money on cool models or on the raid itself, I'd pick the raid in a heartbeat. My guild and I have been running this place since open and I'm still not even remotely tired of it, its such a blast.
Plus I've never really come across a model I honestly hated (in Wrath), so even if there's not some new ones I'm quite okay with what I've got.
Angus Feb 8th 2010 8:02PM
"It is a mild shame that the models are kind of lackluster, but at the same time, if it was a choice between the dev team spending time and money on cool models or on the raid itself, I'd pick the raid in a heartbeat."
That's not how it works.
They have a team who's entire point IS the models.
That team made the tier and all the other loot.
That team has nothing to do with encounter design or anything besides making the models.
This team also has some problems CHECKING the gear on every model. I really don't like seeing the pommel of my mace sticking through my face as a tauren when it is sheathed.
Fist weapons have been hit or miss or miss for years and don't get me started on the fact that the exact same 2-handed weapon is bigger on a gnome female than a blood elf female...
Boz Feb 9th 2010 11:40AM
My intent was not to say, "Blizzard is lazy," but more to say that the Lich King - arguably the biggest boss faced by gamers from a lore perspective - deserves a loot table of unique models.
I would have been happy with Blizzard simply adding stats to existing unused models in the data files. The logic is easily justified: The Lich King has minions in every corner of Azeroth, so his cache of armaments is surely representative of anything Blizzard might dig up:
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/28/the-wrath-you-never-saw/
BigBadGooz Feb 8th 2010 4:26PM
ele shamies rejoice
briker Feb 8th 2010 4:28PM
There is no feral attack power per se anymore. It's only the amount of attack power that a druid will get out of the weapon based on it's dps. The number you see is just to tell you what that is.
And /cheers for the SP Mace change - there was no well-itemized option for an elemental shaman before this. Now it can be used, fully itemized, for either resto or elemental. It's much better this way.