Filed under: Wrath of the Lich King

Gear is fairly easy to get at this point in the expansion life cycle of Wrath. That's not a flaw. That's actually how things should be: there shouldn't be too many artificial limitations keeping you from jumping into the newest content and getting a chance to at least see, if not down it. With the rise of 10 and 25 man versions of every raid and heroic modes, however, we are looking at something fairly unique to this expansion, a somewhat drastic power curve to gear scaling.

This isn't a new idea, and it's not one Blizzard themselves haven't commented on. It's one thing to be aware of it in a general way, however, and another to sit back and look at it. That's a comparison of itemization on select 2H weapons from the first crafted epic (equivalent to a Naxx 10 drop) up to hard mode Ulduar 25, which puts it squarely in the middle of the current expansion cycle. What you're looking at is a steady gain that leads to a nearly 60 DPS increase between the starting weapon (Titansteel Destroyer) and the last one compared (Voldrethar).

WARNING: This post is chock full of spoilers. Spoilers like you would not believe. If you'd like to be surprised about the Ruby Sanctum and what is contained within, I wouldn't recommend continuing onward. If, however, you are clamoring for more information, read on!

The latest push of the PTR revealed some new items and models that are exciting in and of themselves. What you haven't seen however, are the voice files that were released, including the sound files for General Zarithrian, Baltharus the Warborn, Saviana Ragefire and Halion the Twilight Destroyer, the bosses for the upcoming 3.3.5 raid instance, the Ruby Sanctum. Full transcripts of the bosses, as well as some other voice files involving the assault follow below.

With Cataclysm looming on the horizon, as Wrath of the Lich King winds down, it's a good time to reflect on the expansion and see how things could've gone better. In the recently concluded developer chat over Twitter, one person asked what features in Wrath Blizzard would redo or remove if they could turn back the clock. Their answer is something close to my heart, personally, and I agree wholeheartedly. "I would have really liked to see more Battlegrounds in Northrend," one of the tweets noted, "that is an area that I feel we fell short on."

Another area that the developers felt lacked a little more polish was the emblem system, which they described as "clunky". Of course, they admit that in hindsight there happens to be quite a number of things that they'd like to redo, pointing out that they are their own worst critics. I'm sure we've got our own ideas about what could have gone better, so let's have at it. Personally, I'm quite happy about their plans to improve Battlegrounds play in Cataclysm, so I guess I'll kick it off with that. What about you guys? If you could ask a favor of Chromie and her Bronze Dragonflight cohorts, what things would you have done differently about Wrath?

Like its last incarnation, the latest Q&A from WoW developers over Twitter was full of some great information, both about the current expansion and what's coming next with Cataclysm. Even better, you didn't even need to be on Twitter to read it, for those still hemming and hawing over social networking being a big fad they don't get.

We found out a few choice tidbits about Cataclysm, including what's going on with the Blasted Lands revamp, the possibility of more old-world heroics like Shadowfang Keep and Deadmines, and the state of the Plaguelands after Arthas' defeat. How Tol Barad will (and won't) be like Wintergrasp also came up.

We also learned a bit about Wrath's design philosophy, including what Blizzard liked about Wrath (questing), what they didn't like (limited attempts on bosses), and what's sticking around for Cataclysm (Dungeon Finder).

And that stuff's only the tip of the iceberg. What was in the Q&A that spoke to you personally? What are you excited about now that some of these questions have been answered?

Patch 3.3.3 hit the PTR last night, and if you weren't following WoW.com throughout the night, it's very likely you've missed a lot of patch news that has scrolled off of our front page already. For your convenience, below is a roundup of all of our Patch 3.3.3 coverage from the last day or so. Enjoy!

• Patch 3.3.3 PTR patch notes
• Cull Stratholme faster than ever before
• Early Cataclysm models/doodads
• Other new models and mounts
• Major changes to the auction house and game economy
• Patch 3.3.3's raid buff changes
• The patch's new achievements
• User Interface updates
• Trade Frozo the Renowned your Frozen Orbs for crafting items
• Death knight class changes
• Shaman class changes
• Warrior class changes

As the patch progresses, there will be plenty more where that came from. We'll be sure to keep you updated and if you've seen something that we haven't, don't be a stranger! Let us know via our tip line.

Today's announcement of the upcoming Ruby Sanctum raid, coming with Patch 3.3.5, was well-met, though it raised a number of questions as to the nature of the instance -- how will it work, what kind of loot can we expect, etc. Zarhym popped back into the original thread a few times to give clarification on a few points:

• While the instance has a similar layout to the Obsidian Sanctum philosophically, the three sub-bosses (Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn, and General Zarithrian) will each be own encounter all their own. The "drakes-up" functionality of Sartharion will not carry over into the Halion encounter.
• Heroic difficulty is likely to be toggled in the same way that heroic difficulties are handled in ICC (a UI toggle).
• Saviana, Baltharus, and Zarithrian will each drop an Emblem of Frost, but probably not special loot.
• Expect loot in the instance to be "about the same item level" as the Lich King items on their respective difficulties.
• The loot from Halion will be offset pieces as well as trinkets and other items "of that nature." So, basically, Sartharion loot.
• The instance is intended to be a prelude to Cataclysm and should provide some advancement for the new expansion's storyline before the 4.0 patch, drawing on Deathwing's desire to weaken the Wyrmrest Accord prior to his emergence from Deepholm.
• Arthas is still considered the final boss of the expansion -- this is merely a complementary raid, like Onyxia with ToC, with ties to Cataclysm.

Sounds like about what we were expecting. Keep an eye on WoW.com for more information on the Ruby Sanctum as it comes in, likely starting with the upcoming PTR.

The dungeon finder has really changed what players get excited about the most in the World of Warcraft. It's a strange world when one of the most anticipated updates to the game is the ability to tell Arthas to shut his yap. No, we don't mean kill him in Icecrown, we really do mean telling him to shut the hell up. Just in case you missed it in the patch notes we posted a little while ago, there's this waiting for us in patch 3.3.3:

• Culling of Stratholme: Players may now skip the initial introduction dialog to this dungeon once they have completed it at least once.

The pre-Culling of Stratholme dialogue is really cool to experience the first few times, but after that it just starts to feel like a waste of time. The dungeon finder made it even worse, because as awesome as it is, it eliminated some of the social stigma of ditching a group early. Oculus and Culling of Stratholme are the two instances I can always expect some dip to drop from. Hopefully this change and the deserter debuff becoming 30 minutes will discourage that sort of behavior.

The official Patch 3.3.3 patch notes have just been posted to the official site, so we're likely to see the PTR incredibly soon, if it isn't up right now. You can find the patch notes in full below. Do note, however, that this is Patch 3.3.3 and not Patch 3.3.5. This will not include the Ruby Sanctum raid dungeon.

Some highlights:

• Death Knights: Icy Touch: This ability now causes a very high amount of threat while the death knight is in Frost Presence.
• Many aura abilities such as Unleashed Rage, Abomination's Might, and Elemental Oath are now passive auras and do no need to be triggered by certain strikes.
• Frozo the Renowned has moved into the Dalaran Magus Commerce Exchange and will be trading your Frozen Orbs for various other trade goods. We do not yet know what these items are, but we'll be sure to look as soon as we get on the PTR.

Look behind the break for the rest of the Patch 3.3.3 patch notes.

These patch notes are up to date as of March 10th, 2010.

Just the other day we linked to a GameInformer article in which Tom Chilton mentions a new raid coming soon that would take place in the Ruby Sanctum. To make sure there is no confusion around this, Zarhym hit the forums to tell us exactly what this raid will be.

A powerful war party of the Black Dragonflight, led by the fearsome Twilight dragon, Halion, have launched an assault upon the Ruby Sanctum beneath Wyrmrest Temple. By destroying the sanctum, the Black Dragonflight look to crush those that would stand in the way of their master's reemergence into Azeroth and to ultimately shatter the Wyrmrest Accord – the sacred bond that unites the dragonflights.

The battle that is to come will surely deal a crippling blow to the Red Dragonflight, however, it is up to you to stop this unprecedented offensive and defend the Ruby Sanctum. First you must face the assault of Halion's servants, Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn, and General Zarithrian, before squaring off against Halion the Twilight Destroyer, a new and deadly force in this realm.

The Ruby Sanctum will feature 10- and 25-player content, Heroic difficulties and all-new rewards! Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to its release.

From the text, it sounds like we're getting four bosses in the Ruby Sanctum, unless they've taken a Northrend Beasts gauntlet-style approach to the encounters, or perhaps even another council-style battle. Later in the thread, Zarhym suggest that this may only be the beginning of Deathwing's attempts at shattering the Accord, so we may see the other Sanctums open before Cataclysm's launch.

There's an excellent interview with Tom Chilton, the World of Warcraft lead game designer, up on GameInformer. Lots of stuff we've heard before, but there are some interesting talking points. For example:

• They are looking into extending the dungeon finder to 10-man content.
• Chilton hinted that we may see a new boss in the Ruby Sanctum before Cataclysm launches
• They have a "general philosophical approach of getting the hybrids to where they're close to the DPS classes when it comes to DPS roles. Otherwise, those specs just turn into joke specs."
• They feel warlocks could use a boost to their DPS.
• Tol Barad, the Cataclysm equivalent to Wintergrasp, will be more of a Isle of Quel'Danas style daily quest hub instead of a farming zone.
• Before settling on death knights for Wrath of the Lich King's hero class, they specifically debated necromancers and rune-masters.
• They feel that with all the accessibility work they did on end game PvE in Wrath, end game PvP has become harder to get into by comparison.

It's a three page interview, so click through to read the whole thing! What really struck me reading this was that comment about hybrid DPS compared to pure. This "hybrid tax" concept has been harped on by posters on the official forums for a long time now, and this is a fairly straightforward way of putting it.

Are you wondering what has caused all the ruckus in the raiding community the past few days? Have you been typing your fingers to the bone since Wednesday night, arguing for one side or the other in forums and chat channels? Whoever you are, or whatever side you're on, in the still-burning aftermath of Ensidia's ban, I feel some reflection is needed. Thus, I am going explain, to the best of my ability, what happened to cause such uproar in the raiding community this week. I am also going to, as the title implies, offer my speculations.

GuildOx reports that Paragon, from the European Lightning's Blade realm, has defeated the Lich King and acquired the Frozen Throne achievement. While well-known guild Ensidia had defeated him yesterday on 25-man difficulty, they also employed some dubious techniques to win and later paid the price for it by having their loot and achievements removed.

Paragon, on the other hand, appears to have completed the encounter in an exploit-free manner and, according to MMO-Champion's Boubouille, did it on their first try. Congratulations go out to Paragon on their clean kill. Now let's see some of those heroic achievements!

We do not know whether or not this was used in the Lich King kills we've seen so far (Ensidia's kill screenshot suggests they did), but Daelo hit the European forums to make the announcement that they've temporarily disabled Saronite Bombs and the Global Thermal Sapper Charge. What does this have to do with the Lich King? Well, Daelo says...

We just made a hotfix that disables the siege damage dealt by Saronite Bombs and the Global Thermal Sapper Charge. The siege damage of the bombs was causing the Frozen Throne platform to rebuild, which greatly decreases the difficulty of the encounter.

We'll reenable the siege damage in a later update when the issue with the Frozen Throne is fixed.

It is a longstanding tradition for end bosses to be exploited in the most hilariously awful of ways, so seeing something like this isn't all that surprising. Here's hoping nothing else like it crops up.

Update: Ensidia has released a statement regarding their use of this bug.

Update, take 2: Ensidia's raiding crew has received a 72-hour ban from the game (as well as loss of loot and achievements) for using Saronite Bombs to "bypass The Lich King fight mechanics."

Last night was the world first 10-man kill, tonight it's the world first 25-man kill. The infamous Ensidia of Tarren Mill-EU has scored the kill, and there's a news post on their website confirming it. (Ensidia's site seems to have fallen offline, but you can still read their story via Google cache.) They walked away with Glorenzelg, High-Blade of the Silver Hand and Fal'inrush, Defender of Quel'thalas. Well done, crew!

WoW raiding is a bit strange these days, because this kill is actually just the beginning of the road. Now we get to watch the hard modes, which is likely to take quite a bit longer. That's our hope, at least. Will Ensidia walk away with hard mode Lich King as well, or will a group of underdogs come from behind? Will Stars show up in the spotlight again? Only time will tell.

Update: Ensidia's raiders have received a 72-hour ban from the game for "abuse of in-game mechanics or glitches with intent to exploit or cheat in World of Warcraft." A hotfix was applied last night to prevent the use of Saronite Bombs (which Ensidia used) in the encounter and Ensidia's loot and achievements have been removed. So that world first? Still up for grabs.

The latest edition of Blizzard Insider, Blizzard's very sporadic email newsletter (and no relation to our old name, WoW Insider) has been released. Issue 32 features a note that the Starcraft II: WIngs of Liberty site has been revamped, blurbs about the mobile Authenticator and the Armory app, and some calls to buy their merchandise.

More interesting for WoW fans, though, is an interview with Scott Mercer (Daelo), WoW's lead encounter designer, and Greg Street (Ghostcrawler), a crab who needs no introduction. They discussed the arc of Arthas and the Lich King from Warcraft II through World of Warcraft (congratulations again to Blood Legion on their 10-man world-first).

Please note that here there be spoilers for some details about the Arthas fight, so stay away if you want it all to be a surprise.