Front page 5man links go nowhere</h1> <article> <h1>Front page 5man links go nowhere</h1> <p>Kurtosis — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:38:34 GMT</p> <p>New tank, reading up on strats, found your site from a comment in wowhead.com. Just fyi, it seems the front page, left-menu 5man strats only link back to the home page, instead of to an actual strat.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Freya</h1> <p>Jaia — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:07:03 GMT</p> <p> </p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p><i><br />Deep within Ulduar lies Freya's seemingly serene lush forest glen. As beautiful as it is, its Ents, Elementals and Freya herself have been twisted by Yogg-Saron's evil.</i><br /><br />The entire process leading up to the boss fight, is very similar to the Sartharion battle: kill groups of adds and kill (or leave alive - various levels of hard mode) the three mini-bosses just to get to the boss herself.<br /><br />The trash mobs, however, are more challenging than the Sartharion trash. Blizz definitely took it upon themselves to create trash packs that cannot be simply AoE'ed down. Since Ulduar's inception, however, they have thinned out the trash, making it a little easier for the average 10-man runs.</p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.<br /><br />Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.</p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <h3>HP</h3> <p><br />1.4 million (10-man)</p> <h3>The Elders</h3> <p><b><br />Elder Brightleaf -</b> If left alive, Elder Brightleaf increases all magic damage dealt by Freya and her adds by 60 percent. Upon entering the Conservatory of Life, Brightleafs the leftmost elder.<br /><i><br />Brightleaf Flux -</i> Randomly stacking buff that ups Brightleaf's damage by a percentage.<br /><i><br />Solar Flare -</i> Deals approximately 8,500 Fire Damage to a number of targets (decided by the number of Brightleaf Flux stacks).<br /><b><br />Elder Ironbranch -</b> If left alive, Elder Ironbranch increases physical damage dealt by all Allies of Nature by 50 percent. Elder Ironbranch is located in the Northeast corner of the Conservatory of Life.<br /><i><br />Impale - </i>Inflicts approximately 18,000 Physical Damage every second for five seconds.<br /><i><br />Iron Roots -</i> Roots the target in place and does periodic Nature Damage per tick.<br /><b><br />Elder Stonebark -</b> If left alive, Elder Stonebark increases physical damage dealt by Freya by 75 percent. Elder Stonebark is directly to your right as you enter the Conservatory of Life.<br /><i><br />Fists of Stone -</i> Slows Stonebark's movement speed by 20 percent but increases damage dealt by 250 percent. When active, Stonebark also has a chance to reduce the target's chance to block, dodge or parry by 100 percent for 20 seconds.<br /><i><br />Ground Tremor -</i> Deals approximately 9,000 Physical Damage to enemies within 100 yards and interrupts any spells being cast for 8 seconds.<br /><i><br />Petrified Bark - </i>All melee attacks are reflected for 30 seconds.</p> <h3>Freya's Attacks and Abilities</h3> <p><b>Attuned to Nature (stacked 150 times in the beginning of the fight) - </b>Increases healing received by 4 percent per stack.</p> <p><br /><b>Nature's Fury - </b>For 10-seconds, those infected with Nature's Fury will inflict approximately 2,200 Nature Damage to all nearby allies every second.<br /><br /><b>Sunbeam -</b> Appears as a beam of light from the sky and does approximately 5,500 Nature Damage to anyone within 8 yards of it.<br /><br /><b>Eonar's Gift (Touch of Eonar) - </b>Eonar's Gift appears approximately every 45 seconds as a fast-growing, thin green tree somewhere within the fight's boundaries. The tree must be burned down as quickly as possible as if it is left up, it will heal Freya and the existing adds for a portion of their maximum health.</p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <p> </p> <h3>Raid Composition</h3> <p>2 Tanks<br />2-3 Healers <br />506 DPS</p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p>The following macro describes example raid assignments:<br /><br />/rw Freya incoming<br />/raid Phase 1 MT: [Tank 1]<br />/raid OT: [Tank 2]<br />/raid Healers: MT [Player A], OT [Player B], Raid [Player C]<br />/raid Gift of Eonar spotters: [Player 1], [Player 2]</p> <h3>Before the Pull: Dealing with the Add Packs</h3> <p>The add groups come in three varieties: All flower (Lashers); the Dragon, Lasher, Ent groups; and the Tree Elemental/Nymph packs.<br /><br />The flower packs are several swarming Lashers with one dominant, larger Guardian Lasher. FF on the larger Lasher, until it is down and have the priests in the group focus on removing its Pollinate buff. Pollinate can stack up to 10 times and heals the Lasher 15 percent and increases its damage done by 25 percent per buff. Once the Guardian Lasher is down, you can AoE down the rest of the pack.<br /><br />When it comes to groups with the dragons, FF on the humanoid first, while (if available) a warlock banishes the lasher. After the Humanoid is down, FF the Ent, then the dragon and finally, finish up with the the lasher. During this trash pack, beware the storm clouds that manifest above players, as they can take out a large portion of the raid if people are not paying attention.<br /><br />The final group (Large Tree Elemental and Nymph): Have one tank take each and FF the Nymph until dead before switching to the Tree Elemental.<br /><br />As for the Elders, the fights are all pretty straightforward, the healers just have to be especially on their toes for Ironbranch and Stonebark. If the tank can pop his or her cooldowns to survive the Stonebark fight, it will also help with raid survivability.</p> <h3>On the Pull</h3> <p>As you engage Freya, she is, in essence, untouchable as she starts the fight with 150 stacks of a buff that increase all healing on her by 4 percent per buff (all total - 600 percent increased healing). <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><strong> Main Tank</strong></span></span></span></span> Until the buffs are dealt with, the raid should not bother with her (with the exception of the tank who is picking her up). <br /><br />To remove her buffs, you need to kill the adds she spawns (six waves' worth). As with the earlier trash mobs, there are three randomly spawned varieties of adds you will be dealing with: a swarm of lashers; a large tree elemental; and two larger lashers and a water elemental. <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><strong> Tanks</strong></span></span></span></span> The OT must try and pick up as many of the adds as possible, with the MT grabbing an extra whenever possible.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> When she spawns the three elementals (Ancient Water Elemental, Storm Lasher, Stone Lasher) you have two main options. They must all die within seconds of one another of they will revive with full health. To deal with this, you can either have the entire raid FF one at a time until they are all down to about 10 percent and then AoE or burn quickly; or, you can designate raid members to FF each one and just make sure that the burning process is going similarly for each (adapting if necessary). (Ten buffs removed per add killed)<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> The lasher swarm can be a bit of a handful and is hard to keep under control. Raid members can AoE them down to about 25 percent and should the focus on killing one at a time. You do not want to AoE them all the way down as they explode when they die. Too many dying at once can be highly detrimental to the raid. Everyone should have any aggro reducing abilities (Feign Death, Fade, Shatter, Invisibility, Shadowmeld, etc.) on the ready for when Freya calls in the swarm as they scatter to everyone. (One buff removed per add killed)<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">OT, DPS, Healers</span></span></b></span></span> The final add she calls is a large tree elemental, the Ancient Protector. The OT can grab and the raid can focus on burning him down. The trick to this battle is that he casts Conservator's Grip, which silences raid members. To avoid the silence, all raid members should position themselves under the mushrooms that spawn when he is active. (25 buffs removed per Protector killed)<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> Whenever a Gift of Eonar spawns, any available DPS should burn it down as quickly as possible, as it will begin to heal all enemy mobs after 10 seconds.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> After the sixth wave of adds, Freya will be out of Attuned to Nature stacks and will no longer be invincible. At this point, the entire raid should focus fire on her (breaking away only to burn down any Gifts of Eonar that spawn).<br /><br />Once Freya is no longer invincible, she will begin to throw out green smoking acorns. Raid members should avoid these as they will explode after a certain period of time.</p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b><br />Lumberjacked - </b>Defeat Elder Brightleaf, Elder Ironbranch and Elder Stonbark within 15 seconds of each other.<br /><b><br />Con-speed-atory -</b> Defeat Freya within 20 minutes of the first creature you kill in the Conservatory of Life.<br /><b><br />Deforestation -</b> Defeat two Ancient Water Spirits, two Storm Lashers and Two Snaplashers within 10 seconds.<br /><b><br />Getting Back to Nature -</b> Defeat Freya while she is affected by 25 stacks of Attuned to Nature.<br /><b><br />Knock on Wood - </b>Defeat Freya while leaving at least one Elder alive. </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Hey Arph</h1> <p>Bassaren — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:10:55 GMT</p> <p>Nice site you got here, been a long time hows the raiding? Want some strats and Vids for the rest of Ulduar, some hard modes and the 10 man ***. I can arrange something with my guild, could be fun. </p> <p>What kind of traffic you generate here, and how often do you update it. Anyway if you are interested shoot me an email exojoe@hotmail.com</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Kologarn</h1> <p>Jaia — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:48:53 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p>With hints of Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Black Knight, Kologarn and his two detachable arms block the way past Ulduar’s Shattered Walkway. While some of the prior bosses you have encountered have been optional, Kologarn must be beat to progress forward. Upon his death, his fallen body serves as the bridge you need to cross.<br /></p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.<br /><br />Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.</p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <h3>HP:</h3> <p>Kologarn: 6.3 million (20,917,000 Heroic)<br /><br />Left Arm: 5.2 million <br /><br />Right Arm: 5.2 million</p> <p> </p> <h3>Kologarn</h3> <p><b>Focused Eyebeam -</b> Two eyebeams are cast simultaneously, and head from opposite directions to the same target, ultimately following the target as they move. Each beam inflicts approximately 3,000 Nature damage (4,500 in Heroic).<br /><br /><b>One-Armed Overhead Smash -</b> One-Armed Overhead Smash is cast if one of Kologarn’s arms is dead. Inflicts less physical damage than the Overhead Smash but still applies a stackable debuff (Crunch Armor - reducing the target’s armor by 25 percent) on the target.<br /><br /><b>Overhead Smash -</b> Inflicts physical damage and applies Crunch Armor - a stackable debuff that reduces the target's armor by 25 percent for 45 seconds.<br /><br /><b>Petrifying Breath - </b>If there are no melee targets in range, Kologarn casts Petrifying Breath, which inflicts approximately 15,000 Nature damage every one second (20,000 in Heroic), and applies the Brittle Skin debuff. Brittle Skin increases damage taken by 20 percent for eight seconds. Someone must be in melee range at all time, as Petrifying Breath is essentially a raid wiper.<br /><b><br />Stone Shout -</b> Stone Shout is a channeled, raid-wide ability that inflicts approximately 1,000 physical damage and occurs when both of his arms are dead.<br /></p> <h3>Right Arm</h3> <p><b>Stone Grip - </b>Grabs one target (three on heroic), incapacitating them and inflicting approximately 4,000 Physical Damage every second (5,450 in Heroic) until they are freed. 3,700 to 4,300. The Arm will release its target(s) once a certain amount of damage has been done to it (100,000 in Normal, 480,000 in Heroic).<br /><br /><b>When the Right Arm dies - </b>Once the Right Arm dies, Kologarn’s health decreases by 15 percent, until the Arm respawns. The Arm’s destruction also causes four stone Rubbles (elementals) to spawn. The Rubbles cast Stone Nova, which inflicts approximately 8,000 Physical Damage to targets within 10 yards of the caster and increases damage taken by 5 percent for 10 seconds.<br /></p> <h3>Left Arm</h3> <p><b>Shockwave - </b>Inflicts approximately 9,500 Nature Damage to the whole raid (15,000 on Heroic).<br /><br /><b>When the Left Arm dies - </b>Once the Left Arm dies, Kologarn’s health decreases by 15 percent, until the Arm respawns. The Arm’s destruction also causes four stone Rubbles (elementals) to spawn. The Rubbles cast Stone Nova, which inflicts approximately 8,000 Physical Damage to targets within 10 yards of the caster and increases damage taken by 5 percent for 10 seconds.<br /></p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Suggested Raid Composition</h3> <p>2-3 tanks<br />2-3 healers <br />4-5 dps<br /></p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p>The following macro describes example raid assignments:<br /><br />/rw Pulling Kologarn<br />/raid MT: [Tank 1], OT: [Tank 2]<br />/raid Rubbles: [Tank 3]<br />/raid Call out if you are Stone Gripped<br /></p> <h3>Positioning </h3> <p>All melee should be standing right in front of the boss, alongside the MT and OT, preferably to their left (this way you can FF on Kologarn and the Right Arm without repositioning)).<br /><br />Ranged DPS and healers should be spread out throughout the left side of the room so as to avoid too many people being hit by the Eyebeams at once. <br /><br />While there are a number of ways this encounter can be handled, the easiest is to mitigate risk of losing players to the Right Hand’s Stone Grip by burning down the Right Hand whenever it is up.<br /></p> <h2>On the Pull</h2> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">MT and Melee</span></span></b> </span></span>All melee and the tanks must be very aware of their surroundings when attacking the boss as one wrong step will send you plummeting over the edge of the cliff.</p> <p><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #c79c6e;"> Main Tank and OT</span> </b></span></span>Kologarn triggers once you run into the room. Upon his initial animation and emotes, the MT should run up and pick up his Torso. The MT and OT must taunt off one another as the stackable debuff which occurs approximately every 10-15 seconds, Crunch Armor, reduces their armor (each stack reduces armor by 25 percent). Wait no more than two stacks before taunting.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> All ranged and melee DPS should focus fire on the Right Arm, burning it down as quickly as possible.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #0000ff;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Healers</span></span></b></span></span><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #0000ff;"></span></b> </span></span>Although the tanks are the No. 1 priority in healing, the healers should be aware of which raid members are being drawn into the Right Hand’s Stone Grip to help keep this person alive until DPS can do enough damage to free the person.<br /><br /><b>Heroic:</b> <i>In Heroic, three raid members will be grabbed by the Right Hand at one time. The DPS required to free them is nearly 5 times that of normal mode (480,000).</i><br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> When a member is targeted by by the Eyebeams they should run to their right or out of the room while avoiding any people in their way. <br /><br />When the Right Arm is destroyed, all DPS should switch focus to Kologarn’s torso and burn any cooldowns (including Heroism if there is a Shaman in the raid). <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Rubble Tank</span></span></b></span></span>From the destroyed arm the four Rubbles will spawn, the Rubble Tank will need to pick up and gain aggro on all. They should be pulled to the left of the boss and tanked there. Any raid members who are within range of their AoE should move.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">AoE</span></span></b></span></span> Once aggro is stable on the Rubbles, any AoE or ranged members should switch from the Torso to burning down the Rubbles as quickly as possible. When the Rubbles are down AoE ranged should return to fighting the torso.<br /><br />When the Left Hand respawns, repeat the process, until the boss is burned down.<br /><br />Compared to his Right Arm, Kologarn’s Left Arm is fairly harmless and can be ignored throughout the fight by everyone, other than the healers, who will have to compensate for Shockwave Sweep, which does raid-wide Nature Damage every 20-30 seconds.</p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b>With Open Arms</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat Kologarn without destroying either of his arms.<br /><b><br />Disarmed </b>(Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Destroy both of Kologarn’s arms within 12 seconds and then defeat Kologarn.</p> <p><b><br />If Looks Could Kill</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat Kologarn without any raid member being hit by Focused Eyebeams.</p> <p><b><br />Rubble and Roll</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat Kologarn with 25 Rubble creatures alive.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Hodir</h1> <p>Jaia — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:52:04 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p><br />Once you enter the Halls of Winter, you are not fighting to defeat Hodir but to free the Titan Watcher from Yogg-Saron's hold. Upon nearly killing him, Hodir will be free of Yogg's ties and will offer you his cache of riches, available in one of two chests (depending on how quickly you complete the battle).<br /><br />Unlike most encounters that have very obvious phases, fighting Hodir is more of a one-phased battle that has many sub-phases, depending on his attacks at any given moment. <br /><br /><b>Of note: Before you enter this battle, you will want to visit your Video Options (Effects Tab) and make sure you have Projected Textures checked. The warning effect for Icicles is not visible without this button checked and knowing when and where Icicles are going to strike can make or break a successful encounter.<br /> </b></p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p><i>Although the battle can be done without, Frost Resistance gear can make for a much more survivable raid. If healers find they are running out of mana too quickly, however, it is recommended that they skip the resistance gear in place of their regular attire. <br /><br />The various three-piece Epic-quality Frost-resistance gear can be picked up on the Auction House for a fairly decent price. Each of the sets - Glacial (cloth), Polar (leather), Icy Scale (mail) and Icebane (plate) - provide 438 Stamina, 286 FR and seven sockets of various colors.<br /><br /></i>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.<br /><br />Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.</p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <p> </p> <h3>HP</h3> <p>6.9 million (10-man)<br /><br /><b>Biting Cold -</b> Biting Cold is a stackable DoT aura that deals frost damage. Similar to the Keristrasza fight in the Nexus, moving dispells the DoT, which should not be allowed to stack more than twice.<br /><b><br />Flash Freeze -</b> When Hodir casts Flash Freeze, he instantly ice blocks anyone not standing in a snowdrift (2 circles on the ground which are hit by Icicles before being safe). Raid members and NPCs that have been Flash Frozen can be targeted by raid members and freed. (Each Ice Block has approximately 40,000 HP.)<br /><b><br />Frozen Blows - </b>Is a buff Hodir casts upon himself, adding approximately 30,000 frost damage to his melee attacks but lowering the physical damage he does for 20 seconds. In addition, when Frozen blows is active, the raid takes 4,000 frost damage every two seconds.<br /><b><br />Icicles - </b>Occasionally, Icicles fall from the ceiling, do 12,000 Frost Damage to anyone standing in their path and causing a knockback. There is a blue circle animation that occurs on the ground before the Icicles fall. Thanks to this animation, these are completely avoidable.</p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Raid Composition</h3> <p>1-2 tanks<br />2-3 healers <br />5-6 dps</p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p>The following macro describes example raid assignments:<br /><br />/rw Hodir Incoming<br />/raid Call out if you are Ice Blocked<br /><br />When you look into Hodir's room, you will notice four frozen NPCs (eight in Heroic) standing in a row in front of the boss. These NPCs, when freed, will help in the battle and offer certain bonuses to your raid.<br /><br /><b>From Left to Right:<br /></b><br /><b>Priest:</b> Field Medic Penny (Alliance 10-man and Heroic), Field Medic Jessi (Alliance Heroic), Battle-Priest Eliza (Horde 10-man and Heroic), Battle-Priest Gina (Horde Heroic). Upon release from Ice Block, the Priest will attack Hodir with Smite as well as heal and Dispel Magic.<br /><br /><b>Druid Moonkin: </b>Eivi Brightfeather (Alliance 10-man and Heroic), Ellie Nightfeather (Alliance Heroic), Tor Greycloud (Horde 10-man and Heroic), Kar Greycloud (Horde Heroic). Upon release from Ice Block, the Druid will attack Hodir with Wrath and will cast Starlight, a spotlight-looking spell that increases the attack and casting speed of all friendly targets standing within its borders by 100 percent. Lasts for one minute.<b><br /><br />Shaman:</b> Elementalist Avuun (Alliance 10-man and Heroic), Elementalist Mahfuun (Alliance Heroic), Spiritwalker Yona (Horde 10-man and Heroic), Spiritwalker Tara (Horde Heroic). Upon release from Ice Block, the Shaman will attack Hodir with melee attacks and will cast Storm Cloud on a random friendly targets. The Storm Cloud, charged with electrical bolts, will empower up to four friendly targets touching the Storm Clouded player by increasing their Critical Strike Damage by 135 percent for 30 seconds.<br /><br /><b>Mage: </b>Missy Flamecuffs (Alliance 10-man and Heroic), Sissy Flamecuffs (Alliance Heroic), Veesha Blazeweaver (Horde 10-man and Heroic), Amira Blazeweaver (Horde Heroic). When it comes down to it, the Mage is the raid's biggest asset, once freed from Ice Block. The Mage will attack Hodir with Fireballs, can quickly remove Flash Freeze from players and other NPCs and conjures Toasty Fires. Toasty Fire warms all nearby targets and blocks them from being affected by Biting Cold.</p> <h3>On the Pull</h3> <p><b><br />Reminder: Visit your Video Options (Effects Tab) and make sure you have Projected Textures checked to see the warning effect for Icicles. </b><br /><br />Upon engaging Hodir, keep in mind everyone needs to keep moving when the Biting Cold buff appears. While this is easier for melee to accomplish; spell casters, ranged and healers can use the one/two cast, strafe to the left (or right) rule to keep their debuff down. It is everyone's own personal responsibility to make sure their debuff doesn't stack too high (try and not let it get above two), as the higher the debuff is stacked, the more work it is for the healers to keep that raid member alive.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b> </span></span>While the tank(s) runs in to entangle Hodir, the rest of the raid should focus on freeing the NPCs. Once the NPCs are freed all raid members should FF on Hodir, who will be tanked in the middle of the room.<br /><br />Unlike many battles where placement is key, the Hodir encounter is a much more organic fight, with people migrating toward certain NPCs for the buffs they offer. As time goes on, the NPCs will move and raid members will likely follow.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ranged, Spell Casters and Healers</span></span></b> </span></span>Ranged, casters and healers will find that positioning themselves by the Mage NPC and the Toasty Fires will help and keep their DPS and heals more consistent. However, because only a certain number of people can be affected by the fire, anyone standing within its range should check and make sure they are indeed getting its buff.<br /><br />Anyone who is effected by the Toasty Fire debuff also places a debuff on Hodir as they attack. This stackable debuff, Singed, increases the damage taken by Hodir from spells. Each stack ups the damage taken by 2 percent and in total it stacks up to 50 percent.<br /><br />As everyone attacks Hodir, Icicles regularly fall from the ceiling, doing damage to those standing within their range. Cued to their immanent fall by snowflakes and if Projected Textures are on, by blue circles on the ground, anyone standing there should move out of the circle. As the Icicles do 12,000 damage and have a knockback effect.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Healers</span></span></b> </span></span>While healers regularly have their hands full in this battle dealing with Icicle damage and regular raid damage, their urgency is increased when Hodir is buffed with Frozen Blows.<br /><br />On top of buffing Frost Damage done to Hodir's attacks (but lowering his Physical Damage) and therefore putting more of a strain on the healers, the buff also deals 4,000 Frost Damage to the entire raid every two seconds. Group healing can come in handy when dealing with the raid-wide damage if people are standing close enough together.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b> </span></span>Usually, right after Frozen Blows, Hodir will begin to cast Flash Freeze. Upon the Flash Freeze call-out, two circles will appear on the ground (similar to the regular Icicle warnings, but of a much larger circumference). All raid members should immediately migrate to just outside one of these two circles, wait for the icicles to fall and then stand within the circle until Hodir casts Flash Freeze.<br /><br />Anyone not inside the circles will be frozen into place. While the tank continues to focus on Hodir and the healers on healing. All DPS, melee and ranged, should free any raid members or NPCs from their Ice Blocks, before returning to Hodir.<br /><br />This process continues until Hodir relents.</p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b>I Have the Coolest Friends </b>(Heroic and Normal Difficulty)- Defeat Hodir without any friendly NPC dying.<br /><br /><b>Staying Buffed All Winter</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Possess the effect of Toasty Fire, Storm Power and Starlight all at the same time.<br /><br /><b>Cheese the Freeze</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat Hodir without any raid member being hit by Flash Freeze.<br /><br /><b>Getting Cold in Here </b>(Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat Hodir without any raid member having more than two stacks of Biting Cold.<br /><br /><b>I Could Say That This Cache Was Rare</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat Hodir before he shatters his rare cache.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Thaddius</h1> <p>Serpantine — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:19:57 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p><em>"Thaddius, built from the flesh of women and children, it is said that their souls are fused together - eternally bound within that foul prison of flesh."</em></p> <p>Throughout Naxxramas you may have heard screams of a woman crying for help -- meet Thaddius, the Flesh Titan.</p> <p> </p> <h3>Gear requirements</h3> <p>Like most Wrath of the Lich King raid encounters, this fight is tuned for players who are using level 80 epic gear, as well as the best flasks and food buffs available. Getting the best possible gear for your character will make this fight a whole lot easier.</p> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like <a target="_blank" href="http://www.worldofstrats.com/o/raidgoldguide">WoW Gold Secrets</a>, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.worldofstrats.com/o/raidgoldguide"><b>Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.</b></a></p> <p> </p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <p><strong>HP: 3,850,000 (Heroic: 30,400,000)</strong></p> <p> </p> <h3>Feugen's Abilities:</h3> <p><b>Static Field - </b>Deals 3500 Nature damage to all nearby enemy targets.</p> <p><b>Magnetic Pull - </b>Pulls an enemy target from the opposite platform to the caster.</p> <p> </p> <h3>Stalaag's Abilities:</h3> <p><b>Power Surge - </b>Increases the caster's attack speed by 200% for 10 sec.</p> <p><b>Magnetic Pull - </b>Pulls an enemy target from the opposite platform to the caster.</p> <p> </p> <h3>Thaddius' Abilities:</h3> <p><b>Chain Lightning - </b>Strikes an enemy with a lightning bolt that arcs to another nearby enemy. The spell affects up to 8 targets, inflicting greater Nature damage to each successive target.</p> <p><b>Ball Lightning - </b>Inflicts 17500 to 22500 Nature damage to the enemy target. (only cast if nobody is in melee range)</p> <p><b>Polarity Shift - </b>Places either a Negative Charge or Positive Charge to all nearby enemy targets. Players near other players with the same Charge type increases each their damage dealt. Players near other players with the opposite Charge type deal damage to nearby raid members.</p> <p><b>Berserker Enrage - </b>After six minutes in combat Thaddius will Berserker enrage, increasing all damage done by 1,000%.</p> <p><b></b> </p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Recommended Raid composition</h3> <p><strong>10 Man:</strong></p> <p>2 Tanks<br />3 Healers<br />5 DPS </p> <p><strong>25 Man:</strong></p> <p>2 Tanks<br />5 Healers<br />18 DPS</p> <h3> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.worldofstrats.com/o/raidgoldguide"><b></b></a></p> </h3> <h2>On the Pull</h2> <p><span style="color: #00ff00;"><strong> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Raid</span></strong></span> The raid should split up into two groups for Feugan and Stalaag, generally your dps should be split evenly between the two as they both need to die within seconds of each other. Both groups need to engage their respective targets at the same time, and should coordinate using voice chat.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Healers</span></strong></span> An AOE healer should go with the Feugan group while a single target (such as a Paladin) goes with the Stalaag group. </p> <p> </p> <h2>Phase One</h2> <p>Downing Stalaag and Feugan will be considered as phase one.</p> <p><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><strong> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Tanks</span></strong></span> You must each engage your targets at the exact same time; use voice chat to synchronize your actions. Throughout the fight you will be thrown by either Stalaag or Feugan onto the opposite platform where you must begin fighting for aggro each time you land.</p> <p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">DPS</span></strong></span> You must communicate between your two groups to determine which group needs to speed up dps and which may need to slow down. Once both mini-bosses are at around 5% health, go all out and down them both.</p> <p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Healers</span></strong></span> Keep your tanks alive, Feugan's group healer must heal the raid as well. </p> <p> </p> <h2>Phase Two</h2> <p></p> <p><span style="color: #00ff00;"><strong> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Raid</span></strong></span> With Feugan and Stalaag down, the tesla coils will zap Thaddius, bringing him to life after a few moments. Both groups need to jump off of their platforms and onto Thaddius' ledge. When Thaddius becomes targetable, the real fight begins.</p> <p>A few seconds after the fight begins Thaddius will cast Polarity Shift. When he does this, you will get either a positive or negative charge. Depending on the Charge you received, move to the appropriate marked area in the diagram. Negative charges should gather at the edge of the ledge beside Thaddius, and Positive should gather against the wall. Within your Charge group, stay as close to each other as you can to benefit from the increased DPS conferred by the Charge.</p> <p>Thaddius will re-cast Polarity Shift every so often. Whenever your Charge changes, move to the appropriate area for your Charge as quickly as you can.</p> <p><strong><span style="color: #c79c6e;"> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Tanks</span></span></strong> You must grab Thaddius when he becomes active and drag him a few yards to the right, which allows more of the Ledge to be accessed making it easier to switch sides. You also need to pay attention to what charge you have and adjust accordingly</p> <p><span style="color: #800000;"><strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Melee DPS</span></strong></span> You will be the markers for everyone to group up on. Stay at your maximum melee range from Thaddius; it is your job to stay at your max range from Thaddius while still paying attention to your charge. The raid will be grouping as close as they can to you in order to maximize dps.</p> <p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ranged DPS</span></strong></span>, <strong><span style="color: #0000ff;"> <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">Healers</span></span></strong> Keep note of where the melee on your side is. You'll need to be close enough to them to share your Charge with them and receive the buff they give you as well.</p> <p> </p> <p>As long as nobody crosses charges, this boss is ~shockingly~ easy to take down.</p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>XT-002 Deconstructor</h1> <p>Jaia — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:37:07 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p>This mechanical giant blocks the way to the Antechamber of Ulduar. With a voice reminiscent of Elmo and an obsession with toys, fighting XT-002 and its Tympanic Tantrums is kind of like fighting a infant on steroids.<br /><br />The fight itself is fairly straight-forward and DPS-intensive, with the main challenges coming from the adds that need to be AoE'ed as quickly as possible.<br /></p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.<br /><br />Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.<br /></p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <h3>HP</h3> <p>6.9 million (10-man)<br />19.5 million (Heroic)<br /><br /><b>Gravity Well - </b>XT-002 occasionally launches a Gravity Well at a random raid member. The Gravity Well charges the target with dark energy, causing them to explode after 9 seconds and pulling any players within 10 yards into the gravity well, dealing approximately 12,000 shadow damage (15,000 on Heroic).<br /><br /><b>Light Bomb - </b>XT-002 occasionally launches a Light Bomb at a random raid member. The Light Well does approximately 2,500 holy damage (3,500 on Heroic) to the target per tick and any raid members within 10 yards for 9 seconds.<br /><br /><b>Tympanic Tantrum - </b>XT-002 deal 10 percent damage every raid member (and pet) every second for eight seconds and dazes nearby raid members. Occurs approximately every minute.<br /><br /><b>Summon Adds - </b>Every 25 percent health, when the Deconstructor exposes its heart, it also will summon adds from the four junkheaps in the corners of the room. The adds spawn randomly and can come from any number of the corners at one time. The adds are as follows:<br /><br /><b>XS-013 Scrapbots -</b> Scrapbox head directly to the boss and when in range, are ingested by XT-002 and heal her for approximately 1 percent health per bot. <br /><b><br />XE-321 Boombots -</b> Boombots explode at 50 percent health and can easily wipe a raid if allowed to detonate too close to the group. On the plus side, their explosions also affect the other trash mobs and can be used to kill nearby Scrapbots.<br /><br /><b>XM-024 Pummelers - </b>Can be offtanked away from other raid members (does aoe damage, and has knockback).<br /></p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Raid Composition</h3> <p>2 Tanks<br />2-3 Healers - While do-able with two, is easiest done with three healers to deal with the mass raid damage during the Tympanic Tantrums.<br />5-6 DPS<br /></p> <h3>Raid Preparation</h3> <p>If you have a Warlock in the raid, be sure every raid member has a Healthstone to use on the first Tympanic Tantrum to help out the healers.<br /></p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p>The following macro describes example raid assignments:<br /><br />/rw XT-002 Incoming<br />/raid MT: [Tank 1]<br />/raid Pummeler OT: [player 1]<br />/raid Healing MT [healer A], OT [healer B], Raid [healer C]<br />/raid Add Control (AoE) East Side: [player A]<br />/raid Add Control (AoE) West Side: [player B]<br />/raid Call out if you get behind on adds<br /><br />Before the pull, you will have to clear several trash mobs on the junk piles to the left and right of the door. Be careful to stay out of range of the pathing boss as you do so.<br /></p> <h2>On the Pull</h2> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #c79c6e;"> Main Tank</span></b></span></span> Upon pulling XT-002 the tank should position the boss at the base of the stairs opposite the entrance. This location will help extend the time for many of the add spawns to reach the boss. <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span> </b></span></span><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"></span></b> </span></span>Begin DPS as soon as possible and go all out, however save all cooldowns for when the Heart drops at 75 percent health (as well as 50 percent and 25 percent). <br /><br />Every minute XT-002 will cast Tympanic Tantrum. The one-minute cooldown is tied into exposing the heart however, and can be avoided with high DPS groups. Upon the Tantrum triggering, every one in the raid will begin to take 10 percent damage every second per 8 seconds. <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Healers</span></strong></span> </span></span>Healers can rely on group heals if everyone is close enough together or HoTs if the raid is topped off before the Tantrum starts. Focus should be paid to any members that have been hit by Gravity Well or Light Bombs immediately before Tympanic Tantrum as their damage will be much greater.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b> </span></span>To help out the healers as much as possible, all raid members should have a Health Stone if there is a Warlock in the group. The Health Stone can be used during the first Tantrum, a Health Pot during the second, etc. Any members that have any form of self-healing ability should use their ability to help out.<br /><br />All raid members should be aware of their surroundings at all times and if they get Light Bomb or Gravity Well, they should immediately run away from all other raid members. The same can be said for any members standing near someone who has been Gravity Welled or Light Bombed.<br /></p> <h2>Phase 2</h2> <p>At 75 percent health, XT-002 will state that it is tired and will drop its Exposed Heart out from between its legs. The Exposed Heart has approximately 1.5 million hit points (7.5 million in Heroic) and takes double the damage that the boss does (with all damage done channeling through to the boss). <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span> </b></span></span>At this point, all DPS should focus on the heart and trigger all cooldowns (do not kill the Exposed Heart however, if you don't intend to do hard mode). This is also a good time to pop Heroism if you have a Shaman in the group.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Melee</span></span></b></span></span> Melee should continue on the heart during the entire time it is exposed.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">OT and AoE</span></span></b> </span></span>The AoE raid members assigned to add control should continue focusing fire on the heart while keeping track of their respective trash heaps. Once adds spawn they should break off the heart and deal with the trash mobs. <br /><br />Boombots should be taken out first, well before they reach the raid. They can be utilized to kill surrounding Scrapbots. All Scrapbots should be AoE'ed down as quickly as possible so they do not reach the boss.<br /><br />The OT should run around and grab any Pummelers that spawn, OTing them to the side. As long as your DPS is on target with the boss, the raid should not have to bother with the Pummelers.<br /><br />Once the XT-002 pulls its heart back in, the encounter switches back to Phase 1.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">OT and AoE</span></span></b> </span></span>Despite Phase 1 resetting, all the adds remain and AoE must continue to be dealt with before returning focus to the boss. The OT can continue to tank the Pummelers through the fight, if at any point, he or she is dealing with too many, some of the DPS may have to branch off and help burn them down.<br /></p> <h2>Hard Mode</h2> <p>If in any of the Exposed Heart Phases the raid kills the heart, Heartbreak will set in, triggering the Hard Mode. XT-002's health will reset to 100 percent and both damage and health will be increased.<br /> <br />In addition to the regular attacks, two new ones will be added to the XT's arsenal:<br /><br /><b>Life Spark: </b>Light Bombs also summon a Life Spark, which damages all nearby targets with Nature Damage.<br /><b><br />Void Zone: </b>Gravity Bombs also summon a Void Zone that deals 5,000 (7,500 on Heroic) Shadow Damage to anyone who stands inside of it.<br /></p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b>Nerf Engineering</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat XT-002 Deconstructor without him recovering any health from XS-013 Scrapbots.<br /><b><br />Nerf Gravity Bombs</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat XT-002 Deconstructor without any raid member dying from a Gravity Bomb.<br /><br /><b>Nerf Scrapbots</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat 20 XS-013 Scrapbots within 12 seconds using XE-321 Boombots.<br /><br /><b>Must Deconstruct Faster</b> (Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat XT-002 Deconstructor in 205 seconds.<br /><b><br />Heartbreaker </b>(Heroic and Normal Difficulty) - Defeat XT-002 Deconstructor after destroying his heart.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Auriaya</h1> <p>Jaia — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:27:57 GMT</p> <h2>Overview </h2> <p><br />After defeating Kologarn and crossing the Shattered Walkway, you will encounter Auriaya guarding the way to Freya. Along with Kologarn, Auriaya is one of the only bosses that does not have a Hard Mode.</p> <p>While the boss is mainly a "tank and spank"er, her various feline adds make the fight a more interesting battle and very much a placement and awareness fight.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Gear and Consumables</h2> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.<br /><br />Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.<br /></p> <h2>Abilities </h2> <h3>HP</h3> <p>3.2 million (10-man)<br />16.7 (Heroic)<br /></p> <h3>Auriaya</h3> <p><b>Sentinel Blast -</b> Inflicts approximately 5,500 Shadow Damage and increases Shadow Damage taken by 100 percent for five seconds. Stacks up to five times.<br /><br /><b>Sonic Screech -</b> A Sonic blast that deals approximately 80,000 Physical Damage (245,000 on Heroic) split between all enemies within its path.<br /><b><br />Summon Swarming Guardian -</b> Summons a pack of approximately 15-20 Swarming Guardians. The Guardians have low health and can be AoE'ed down. <br /><br /><b>Terrifying Screech -</b> A raid-wide fear that lasts for five seconds.<br /><br /></p> <h3>Sanctum Sentry (Two in 10-man, four in Heroic)</h3> <p><b>Savage Pounce -</b> Pounces on a target, inficting approximately 10,250 Physical Damage and an additional 5,000 Physical Damage every second for five seconds.<br /><br /><b>Strength of the Pack -</b> For every Sanctum Sentry alive, the other members of the pack within 20 yards gain an damage increase of 50 percent.</p> <p> </p> <h3>Feral Defender</h3> <p><b>Feral Essence -</b> Starting out with nine essences, the Feral Defender can revive himself at the cost of one essence (essentially, he has nine lives). Each essence increases damage dealt by the Feral Defender by 50 percent - the more he revives, the weaker he gets.<br /><b><br />Feral Pounce -</b> The Feral Defender pounces, stunning the target for four seconds and inflicting approximately 450 Shadow Damage per second for four seconds.<br /><b><br />Feral Rush - </b>The Feral Defender charges the target, dealing approximately 950 Physical Damage and causing a bleed effect that lasts for six seconds.<br /><br /><b>Seeping Feral Essence - </b>Upon the Feral Defender's death, When the Feral Defender dies it leaves behind Seeping Feral Essence - a void zone that does 6,500 Shadow Damage every second to anyone standing within it.<br /></p> <h2>Raid Preparation</h2> <h3>Raid Composition</h3> <p>2 Tanks<br />2-3 Healers <br />5-6 DPS<br /></p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p>The following macro describes example raid assignments:<br /><br />/rw Auriaya Incoming<br />/raid MT: [Tank 1]<br />/raid OT: [player 1]<br />/raid Healing MT [healer A], OT/Raid [healer B], Raid [healer C]<br /></p> <h2>On The Pull</h2> <p>Once all the pre-boss adds have been dealt with, the entire raid should stand together just around the corner from the stairwell where Auriaya will be pulled from on the outer perimeter (either staircase works, just choose whichever she is closest to). This is intended to keep the raid out of LoS of the Sentries in order to avoid anyone being hit by their pounce ability.</p> <p>Other than the tanks, the entire raid should avoid doing anything until the OT has control of both Sentries.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #c79c6e;"> Tanks</span></b></span></span> Upon the pull, which can be done by the tank or via Hunter's Misdirect, the Main Tank should pick up Auriaya and the OT should gather the Sanctum Sentries. The MT must tank Auriaya with her facing the raid, as the damage done by Sonic Screech (80,000 Physical damage) will be split evenly between 10 people... a much more manageable 8,000 per person. <br /><br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> The entire raid should FF on burning down the two Sentries. Once they are dead, switch focus to Auriaya. Throughout this process, the Main Tank should continue to have Auriaya facing the raid in order to keep the Sonic Screech damage spread out.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Melee DPS</span></span></b></span></span> While Melee can attack Auriaya from behind, they must pay attention to her cast bar to be able to get in front of her for the Screech when it occurs.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> Things to be aware of: When Auriaya casts Summon Swarming Guardian, the adds can be AoE'ed down fairly easily. Also, she will regularly fear the raid with Terrifying Screech, however, this can be mostly mitigated if you have a Shaman in the group that can drop Tremor Totem.<br /><br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> Once Auriaya summons the Feral Defender (around the one-minute mark), all DPS should, yet again, switch targets and burn down the Defender as soon as possible. <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><strong> Off Tank, Raid</strong></span></span></span></span> Even when tanked by the OT, the Defender will have the tendency to bounce around between targets, because of this, all raid members should continue to stay as close to one another as possible.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> Upon the Feral Defender's death, the entire raid needs to move the battle (and Auriaya) away from the void zone that spawns beneath the dead Defender. In order to avoid raid members being feared into the void zone, it is best to bring everyone to the platform that you didn't pull the boss onto. Once you are in position, continue to DPS Auriaya until the next Defender is spawned.<br /><br />Repeat this process until Auriaya's death, moving away from the Defender's void spawns. After the second Defender dies, move Auriaya and the battle to the center platform between the two staircases. If necessary, move her back to the other corner of the original platform from which she was pulled, and continue this process until she is dead.<br /></p> <h2>Achievements </h2> <p><b><br />Crazy Cat Lady -</b> Defeat Auriaya without destroying her Sanctum Sentries.<br /><br /><b>Nine Lives -</b> Defeat the Feral Defender while defeating Auriaya. </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Ignis the Furnace Master</h1> <p>Jaia — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:07:41 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p><br /><i>Along with Razorscale, Ignis the Furnace Master is considered to be one of the optional bosses in the first section of Ulduar, The Siege of Ulduar. However, it is necessary to kill him in order to receive the overall raid achievements, The Siege of Ulduar and The Secrets of Ulduar.</i><br /><br />What is a fairly straightforward fight is made a little more complicated by the regularly cast Flame Jets. Should a caster be caught midcast during the Flame Jet, they will be blocked from that school of magic for eight seconds. Healers in particular need to be highly cognizant of when Ignis is preparing to cast.</p> <p>While the majority of the raid will be focusing fire on Ignis, at least one tank and one very strong DPS member will be needed to deal with the adds that Ignis summons on a regular basis.</p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.</p> <p><br />Click here to try out WoW Gold Secret</p> <p> </p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <h3>HP</h3> <p>5.5 million (10-man)</p> <p><br /><b>Activate Iron Construct -</b> Activates an Iron Construct (see Iron Construct, below). </p> <p><br /><b>Flame Jets -</b> Flame Jets do approximately 6,000 Fire Damage (9,000 in Heroic) and interrupts any spellcasting, preventing the caster from casting any spells from that school for eight seconds. Targets affected by Flame Jets also take 1,000 Fire Damage (2,000 in Heroic) every second for eight seconds. Flame Jets has a three-second cast time.<br /><b><br />Scorch -</b> Inflicts approximately 2,500 Fire Damage every half-second to targets in front of the boss within 30 yards. In addition, the ground within 13 yards becomes scorched, inflicting approximately 5,000 Fire Damage every second. Iron Constructs gain Heat while standing on scorched ground.<br /><br /><b>Slag Pot -</b> Ignis charges a random target and incapacitates them, inflicting 5,000 Fire Damage every second for 10 seconds. If the target survives, they gained 100 percent haste for 10 seconds.<br /><br /><b>Strength of the Creator -</b> Ignis gains a stackable buff, Strength of the Creator, for every Iron Construct that is active. This 15 percent damage increase stacks up to 99 times.</p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Suggested Raid Composition</h3> <p>2 tanks<br />2-3 healers <br />5-6 dps</p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p>The following macro describes example raid assignments:<br /><br />/rw Pulling Ignis<br />/raid MT: [Tank 1]<br />/raid Construct OT: [Tank 1]<br />/raid Healing MT [Healer A], OT/Raid [Healer B], Raid/Slag Pot [Healer C]<br />/raid Call out if you are in the Slag Pot</p> <h2>On the Pull</h2> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b> </span></span>The raid should stand between the two pools, in the center of the room, so the main tank can kite the boss around them in a circle.</p> <p><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Hunter(s)</span></span> </b></span></span>To assist the MT in gaining aggro, any and all Hunters should misdirect onto the target to help pull Ignis.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><br /><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><b> Main Tank</b></span></span></span></span> Once Ignis has been aggroed, lead him toward the right pool (not in, just near) and tank him in a small circle around the raid and between the two pools. At all times, Ignis must be faced away from the raid. </p> <p>It is also possible to tank Ignis in a back and forth pattern in front of one of the pools or, additionally, in a back and forth pattern between the two pools. No method is better than the other, the main focus is to find the one that works best and keeps your raid members out of scorch and harm's way.</p> <p><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">OT and Construct DPS</span></span></b> </span></span>Both the OT and the Construct can DPS Ignis for the first 15 seconds of the fight, before a Construct is spawned. However, once it is, the OT needs to pick it up and drag it over the Scorched ground, where it will gain the stackable Heat buff. Heat increases its haste and movement speed by five per application. <br />Throughout this time, the Construct DPS can continue to FF on the boss, however should at all times be aware of the number of buffs on the Iron Construct(s) and be ready to switch targets once the buff hits about 18.<br /><br />Upon 20 Heat stacks, the Construct becomes Molten, with 100 percent increased haste and inflicting approximately 5,000 Fire Damage per second to any enemies within seven yards. Once the 20 stacks are reached and the Construct is Molten, the OT should bring the Molten Construct to one of the two water pools, causing the Construct to become a Brittle Construct. While the Construct is Brittle, it is unable to perform actions and critical strike chance against it is increased by 50 percent. <br /><br />The DPS assigned to Constructs must attack once from at least 10 yards away once the OT has left the Construct and moved onto (or continued on) with the next add. Any single attack that does more than 5,000 damage will cause the Brittle Construct to shatter. Shattering the Construct will remove one of Ignis' Strength of the Creator buffs, however, it will also inflict approximately 19,000 Physical Damage to enemies within 10 yards.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><span style="color: #000000;"> </span></span><b> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Healers</span></b></span></span></span> Healers have their hands full in this battle. On top of the significant melee damage the MT will be taking, raid members getting Slag Potted and keeping the OT alive; they must also pay attention to the Flame Jet timer (three-second cast) since they risk becoming locked out of a school of spells for eight seconds. While Flame Jets are able to be dodged and resisted, it is better to not assume that that will happen.<br /><br />If possible, have one healer assigned solely to the Main Tank and a healer who, on top of raid healing, focuses on healing those that end up in the Slag Pot. While a DoT will show up on raid members who are in the Slag Pot, it is often easiest for healers if raid members just call out when they have "Potted." If healers find themselves in the pot, they can heal themselves (bubble, shield, etc.), but it is still best if someone else top them off.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Spellcasters</span></span></b> </span></span>Much like the healers, spellcasters must be aware of when Flame Jets are about to go off, can throw off their spell rotation.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b> </span></span>Essentially there is only this one phase, just keep Ignis on the move, keep the tanks and everyone alive and keep the Construct adds to a minimum and this is a simple battle.</p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b>Stokin' the Furnace - </b>Defeat Ignis within four minutes.<br /><b><br />Shattered - </b>Defeat Ignis after shattering two Iron Constructs within five seconds.<br /><b><br />Hot Pocket - </b>Survive being thrown into Ignis' Slag Pot. </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Symbiotic-Chromaggus(US) combat log review</h1> <p>morrigann728 — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:37:09 GMT</p> <p>I spent a little while this afternoon going over your log site and comparing to the sites we have used previously which have been WWS, WMO and now currently using WOL. This is by no means our guilds full opinion just my own as I have as of lately been the combat log manager for our guild. And I very much appreciate you guys offering us an oppurtunity to critique your upcoming addition to your site. I will be keeping an eye on it as it progresses thru beta to see if it becomes more inline with something that we would look at to use.</p> <p> </p> <p>Here are my thoughts after a look over (yes i know its beta so not perfect)<br /><br />1) Very simple breakdowns which for a casual player makes it easier for them to understand what they are doing, but leaves alot more details wanted for the more serious player who break spells down even further to analyze where a gain can be found with a gearing change.<br /><br />2) The upload system itself is similar to WWS and WMO uploading which in my personal opinion can be a headache with bandwidths especially as the site gains popularity and multiple people upload at once. Which is the main reason I enjoy World of Logs upload system as it is a LIVE upload link and generates reports as you go so if you are tweaking raid comps for specific encounters or trying to work out details for those encounters you can analyze after a wipe immediately.</p> <p> </p> <p>Again thank you for the oppurtunity to give you guys some feedback to your new addition.</p> <p>Morrígan</p> <p>Symbiotic-Chromaggus(US)</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Razorscale</h1> <p>Jaia — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:28:18 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p><br />Razorscale is one of the optional bosses within the first section of Ulduar - The Siege of Ulduar. </p> <p>The fight features three phases - the first two (dragon in the air, dragon on the ground) alternate until Razorscale is at 50 percent. The third and final phase consists of Razorscale permanently grounded and is a definitely a DPS race to burn the drake down as quickly as possible before a stackable debuff makes your tank one-shotable.</p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.</p> <p>Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <h3>HP</h3> <p>4 million (10-man)<br />12 million (heroic)</p> <h3>Razorscale</h3> <p><b>Devouring Flame - </b>Utilized in the various phases, Devouring Flame throws a lava ball at a player, inflicting approximately 6,500 Fire Damage. Once the Devouring Flame hits, its effects linger on the ground and continue to do approximately 6,500 Fire Damage per second to anyone standing within 6 yards of the animation and persists for 25 seconds. In the final phase, this effect is only fired at the tank.<br /><br /><b>Fireball - </b>Inflicts approximately 11,500 fire damage to an enemy while the drake is in flight.<br /><br /><b>Flame Breath - </b>Flame Breath inflicts approximately 15,000 Fire Damage to players in a cone in front of the drake. The Flame Breath also does damage to all enemy NPCs as well, and can be used to help kill adds if they are tanked in front of the dragon.<br /><br /><b>Flame Buffet -</b> During the final phase, when Razorscale is grounded permanently, Flame Buffet is a stackable debuff that increases the Fire Damage a player takes by 1,000.<br /><br /><b>Fuse Armor -</b> Debuff that stacks up to five times and reduces the armor, attack and movement speed of an enemy by 20 percent for 20 seconds per debuff. Is solely utilized in the final phase and must be dealt with by using alternate taunting tanks.<br /><b><br />Wing Buffet -</b> As the fight transitions back to phase one from phase one (when the drake is preparing to take flight), Razorscale casts Wing Buffet to knock players back in a 35-yard radius.</p> <h3>Adds</h3> <p><b>Dark Rune Guardian -</b> Mainly Melee Damage.<br /><b><br />Dark Rune Sentinel -</b> Whirlwind ability, should be avoided by melee dps<br /><br /><b>Dark Rune Watcher -</b> Melee Damage and lightning abilities (Nature Damage spells)</p> <p> </p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Suggested Raid Composition</h3> <p>2 Tanks<br />2-3 Healers<br />5-6 DPS</p> <p> </p> <h3>Assignments</h3> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal">The following macro describes example raid assignments:</span></span></p> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"></span></span>/rw Starting Encounter<br />/rw MT (Left side): [Tank 1]<br />/rw OT (Right side): [Tank 2] </p> <p> </p> <h2>On the Pull</h2> <p>To begin the encounter, speak with the Expedition Commander NPC. The friendly NPCs will begin to repair the harpoons as adds spawn from Dark Iron vehicles within the battlefield. The raid should proceed to the left side of the harpoons and spread out to avoid multiple people taking AoE damage from Razorscale's Devouring Flame.</p> <h2>Phase 1</h2> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> If Devouring Flame is cast, all raid members must get out of its lingering flames as soon as possible, and stay out until it extinguishes itself. These blue-tinged flames continue to do per second Fire Damage to anyone standing in their borders.<br /><br />Healers - Ideally, the healers need to keep all raid members' health above 12,000 to avoid deaths by Razorscale's Fireball. By targeting Razorscale, it is possible (albeit very briefly), to see who the fireball targets will be. If you have enough healers, it is possible to have someone dedicated to general raid healing and whose main focus is keeping up the fireballed.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS and Tanks</span></span></b></span></span> During this phase, all members should FF on the adds as the tanks pick them up and bring them within the raid's range. Watchers should be killed first; Sentinels should be ranged DPS members' priority when they spawn; and Guardians killed last.<br /><br />When a Harpoon is ready, have one member designated to click it.</p> <h2>Phase 2</h2> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> Upon the second Harpoon (fourth for Heroic) being launched, Razorscale will be stunned and grounded for a brief period of time. Because of this, it is important on the second (or fourth) Harpoon emote, that most of the existing adds be burned down as you do not want Razorscale grounded while your tanks are overwhelmed with adds. It is better to lose a few seconds before Razorscale lands in order to get maximum DPS on the Drake when she does land.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid Leader</span></span></b></span></span> Designate one tank to call out when to use the second harpoon.<br /><br />DPS - Once Razorscale is grounded, all DPS and any available tanks should FF the stunned drake (a tank is not necessary until Razorscale is nearing the 50 percent health mark). All raid members should stay to the drake's side so as to avoid being hit by Flame Breath as the Drake breaks out of its chains and takes to the air again. As the drake does take flight, he also casts Wing Buffet, a knock-back ability. Although it is annoying, it is one of the least troublesome of Razorscale's abilities.</p> <h2>Phase 1, again</h2> <p>Upon Razorscale's flight, return focus to the adds while the friendly NPCs repair the harpoons. Repeat pases 1 and 2 until Razorscale nears, and hits, 50 percent health.</p> <h2>Phase 3</h2> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><b></b></span></span></span></span>When Razorscale is nearing 50 percent health, it is particularly important that most adds be killed before bringing the drake down as once it reaches 50 percent health, it will be permanently grounded and need to be tanked.</p> <p><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><span style="color: #c79c6e;"><b> Main and Off Tank</b><span style="color: #000000;"></span></span></span></span></span> The Tank and OT will need to take turns taunting Razorscale in order to avoid being incapacitated by the Fused Armor Debuff (the tanks should alternate at every two debuffs). If the debuff is allowed to reach five stacks, the tank will not be able to move, or use any abilities.</p> <p><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> DPS should hold off on damage until the tank has aggro. <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> All raid members at this point should move into the middle of the battlefield as the tank and OT lead the drake away, at no point allowing it to face the raid. Ultimately, Razorscale should be tanked in a circle around the raid, constantly moving. <br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><b> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Healers</span></b></span></span></span> Healers will need to really fight to keep the tanks up at this point as the combination of Devouring Flame (at this point just used on the tanks) and the stackable Flame Buffet debuff will increase the damage the tanks are taking exponentially.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> Burn down the drake as quickly as possible (burn all cooldowns and Heroism if you have a Shaman in the group), as too many Flame Buffet debuffs will cause the tanks, and the entire raid, to be one-shotted.</p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b>A Quick Shave - </b>Defeat Razorscale without allowing her to fly into the air more than once.<br /><br /><b>Iron Dwarf, Medium Rare -</b> Defeat 25 Dark Rune Guardian Dwarves with Raorscale's Flame Breath.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Flame Leviathan</h1> <p>Jaia — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:36:09 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p>Flame Leviathan, the first battle in the Ulduar instance is unique in that it is solely a vehicle-based battle. There are two required phases and an optional third, which impacts later play, essentially creating hard modes for later bosses.<br /><br />It also is unusual in that it doesn't matter what your raid make-up consists of. Tanks and Healers are for the most part, inconsequential... obviously though, after you get past FL, that will change. <br /><br />Because your vehicle's hit points are tied to your gear level, FL is considered the instance's first (and mandatory) gear check.<br /></p> <h2>Gear and consumables</h2> <p><i>The Flame Leviathan fight, as mentioned above, is essentially tied into your gear level. The higher the item level the better. Because of this, you should equip any items you have that are higher level but not as optimal as your regular gear.</i></p> <p>In WotLK, professions can be used to craft high quality epic gear. Most raid bosses also drop an epic bind-on-equip item. These items are the easiest way to get your character geared up fast, but they're expensive to craft or buy on the AH. The easiest way to get your hands on them is to use a guide like WoW Gold Secrets, which has tips for making several thousand gold per day. This is a great way to save time and down bosses faster.</p> <p>Click here to try out WoW Gold Secrets.<br /></p> <h2>Your Weapons (Vehicles)</h2> <h3>Salvaged Siege Engine</h3> <h4>Driver/Front Seat</h4> <p><b>1. Ram: </b>Rams any enemies in front of the demolisher, dealing 22501 to 27501 damage and knocking them back. Also deals 2850 to 3150 siege damage to buildings.<br /><br /><b>2. Electroshock:</b> Shocks all targets within a 25-yard cone in front of the caster. It also interrupts casting and prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 4 seconds.<br /><br /><b>3. Steam Rush: </b>Puts the steam engine into overdrive for a short duration, rushing forward, dealing siege damage and knocking back enemies.<br /></p> <h4>Back Seat</h4> <p><b>1. Anti-Air Rocket: </b>Fires an explosive missile that explodes on contact with air targets.<br /><br /><b>2. Fire Cannon: </b>Fires a cannon blast.<br /><br /><b>4. Shield Generator: </b>Activates the shield generator on the siege engine, absorbing a limited amount of physical, fire, frost and arcane damage taken for 5 seconds.<br /></p> <h3>Salvaged Chopper</h3> <p><b>1. Sonic Horn:</b> Sends a wave of force in front of the motorcycle causing 6,300 to 7700 damage to all enemy targets within 35 yards in a frontal cone.<br /><br /><b>2. Tar:</b> Drops a pool of tar for 45 seconds that slows the movement speed of enemies within 10 yards. Tar can be ignited. Lasts for 45 seconds.<br /><b><br />3. Speed Boost:</b> Fires the fuel injectors on the bike increasing its speed by 100 percent for 5 seconds.<br /><b><br />5. First Aid Kit: </b>Heals your passenger fully over 4 seconds.<br /></p> <h3>Salvaged Demolisher</h3> <h4>Driving Seat</h4> <p><b>1. Hurl Boulder:</b> Hurls a massive boulder into the distance dealing 27000 to 33000 to enemies within 8 yards of the explosion.<br /><br /><b>2. Hurl Pyrite Barrel:</b> Hurls an orb of pyrite into the distance, dealing damage, but consumes ammo. <br /><br /><b>3. Ram:</b> Rams any enemies in front of the demolisher, dealing 19000 to 21000 damage and knocking them back. Also deals 2160 to 2640 siege damage to buildings.<br /><br /><b>5. Throw Passenger </b><br /></p> <h4>Other Seat</h4> <p><b>1. Mortar: </b>Fires a miniature explosive blast dealing fire damage to all enemies in the target area.<br /><br /><b>2. Anti-Air Rocket:</b> Fires an explosive missile that explodes on contact with air targets.<br /><br /><b>3. Grab Crate: </b>Uses a hook and chain to grab the targeted Pyrite crate.<br /><br /><b>4. Increase Speed:</b> Injects liquid Pyrite into the engine, increasing movement <br />speed by 100 percent. Lasts 20 seconds. <br /><br /><b>6. Load into Catapult: </b>Load yourself into the catapult arm, using yourself as ammunition.<br /></p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <h3>HP</h3> <p><i> Depends on how many towers you have destroyed (numbers provided are approximate).</i><br /> <br />If no towers are active: 23 million<br />If one tower is active: 35 million<br />If two towers are active: 50 million<br />If three towers are active: 75 million<br />If all four towers are active: 115 million<br /></p> <h3>Attacks</h3> <p><b>Flame Jets: </b>Inflicts 2,000 Fire damage to enemies surrounding the caster within a 50-yard range. Interruptible.<br />Battering Ram: Rams the target, dealing Physical Damage and knocking it forward. Also leaves the target with "Battering Ram" debuff which increases damage taken by 100 percent.</p> <p><br /><b>Gathering Speed:</b> Stackable buff that ups Flame Leviathan's movement speed. Can be reset by Overloading Circuit.<br />Turrets: Passengers in the demolisher can be launched to the Flame Leviathan and can destroy the four turrets and then trigger Overload Circuit, which stuns the boss, resets his Gathering Speed buffs and causes him to take 50 percent more damage for 10 seconds.<br /></p> <h2>Preparation</h2> <h3>Suggested Raid Composition</h3> <p>2 Salvaged Siege Engines<br />2 Salvaged Sieve Demolishers<br />2 Salvaged Choppers<br /></p> <h3>Hard Mode Vs. Regular Mode</h3> <p>Before triggering the encounter, you have the ability to start in Hard Mode or regular. By speaking with Brann Bronzebeard, all four of the defense system towers will be kept inactive, keeping the encounter in regular mode.<br /><br />By speaking to Lore Keeper of Norgannon the four orbital defense weapons will be turned on, thereby triggering the hard mode. On top of adding a new facet to the FL battle, each tower left standing will also increase FL's health by 50 percent. You can, however, tailor the hard mode to your liking by destroying any number of the towers. If you proceed to destroy all four, you will return to normal mode.<br /></p> <h3>Phase 1: The Gauntlet</h3> <p><b>Storm Beacon - </b>There are several Storm Beacons in your path (towers from which adds spawn). Destroy as you go. FF on the Storm Beacon's door and you can destroy adds as you destroy the tower.<br /><br /><b>Tower of Flames - </b>First tower on the left. Fiery balls periodically fall from the sky, dealing 15,000 Fire Damage to nearby enemies and increases FL's Physical Damage by 50 percent if left active.<br /><br /><b>Tower of Frost - </b>Second tower on the right. Periodically deals 15,000 Frost Damage to nearby enemies, encases them in ice (the ice tomb can be destroyed by other raid members) and decreases the raid's movement speed by 20 percent if left active.<br /><br /><b>Tower of Life -</b> First tower on the right. Periodically deals 15,000 Nature Damage to nearby enemies, decreases Fire Damage Dealt to FL by 10 percent and summons Nature Guardians to assist FL in the battle if left active.<br /><br /><b>Tower of Storms -</b> Second tower on the left. Periodically deals 15,000 Stormstrike damage to nearby enemies and increases FL's Physical Damage by 25 percent if left active.<br /><br /><b>Various trash mobs</b><br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Raid</span></span></b></span></span> The entire raid should move northward as a pack, so as to not allow one vehicle to get overwhelmed. Destroy any mobs and Storm Towers in your path. Ultimately, you need to disable any towers you do not want up (if you chose hard mode), stock up on as much Pyrite as possible and make your way to where Flame Leviathan will enter the fray.<br /><br />Once you reach your final destination, do not aggro the two Iron Colossi guarding FL's "lair," until you are ready as their deaths will trigger the boss. While the majority of the raid's purpose at this point is to just destroy towers and adds, a few members have additional roles.<br /><br />Siege Engine Passengers and should shoot down flying Pyrite crates for the Demolisher Passengers to target and use Grab Crate in order to stock up on Liquid Pyrite ammo. Demolisher Passengers can also shoot down the crates as well.<br /><br />As you reach the end of the Gauntlet, there is a repair circle for you to bring your vehicles back up to full health. This must be done before the two Iron Colossi are dead.<br /></p> <h3>Phase 2: Flame Leviathan</h3> <p>When the raid is repaired and ready to go, attack the remaining groups of adds, including the two Iron Colossi. Upon the second Colossi' death, Flame Leviathan will head into the ring. After a brief emote, FL will target a Siege Engine or a Siege Demolisher (placing a purple target mark over its head). The targeted vehicle must kite FL in a circle around the room for 30 seconds, staying out of its range if possible and using any evasive measures available (shield or speed boost). FL switches targets every 30 seconds, someone in the raid should be chosen to call out when this switch nears so all potential targets can get as far away from FL as possible in order to mitigate damage taken.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">DPS</span></span></b></span></span> All DPS should FF on the boss whenever possible.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Salvaged Siege Engine Drivers</span></span></b></span></span> When not targeted by FL, get close enough to use your Electroshock ability in order to disrupt its Flame Jet casting. If you are near enough in range of FL, Ram can be used to up the damage done to the boss. Steam Rush should be utilized mainly when fleeing from FL and can be used to maneuver away from any Orbital Defense systems if you have left them up.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Salvaged Siege Engine Passengers</span></span></b></span></span> In theory, the Siege Engine Passengers have the easiest role within this battle. Keep the Fire Cannon targeted in FL at all times and keep firing. When it has been announced that Circuit Overload is coming, save up energy to blast as much as possible. When your Siege Engine is targeted and Flame Leviathan nears, use the 5-second Shield Generator to help mitigate damage taken.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Salvaged Chopper Drivers</span></span></b></span></span> Chopper Drivers should drop tar in front of FL path whenever possible to help slow him down (the tar can be ignited by Demolishers, more about that later) and use Sonic Horn whenever FL is in your path.<br /><br />Your other main focus should be to pick up any raid members who are out of their vehicles (mainly Demolisher Passengers after they are done overloading FT's circuits. Because Chopper Drivers have a speed boost and the ability to heal their passengers, they are ideal for rescuing the vehicle-less.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Salvaged Demolisher Drivers</span></span></b></span></span> When not targeted by FL, your main focus should be to ignite any tar in FL's path in order to deal extra damage to the boss using Hurl Boulder. While you can Hurl Pyrite Barrels at FL at all times, it is often best to save for when Overloaded Circuit occurs as its immense damage is increased.<br /><br />Once FL's Speed buff has stacked a few times, the Demolisher's passenger has loaded his or herself into the catapult and the Demolisher is in range, the driver can throw the passenger onto FL's back.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Salvaged Demolisher Passengers</span></span></b></span></span> Ideally with two vehicles, one Demolisher should be of a high DPS class and the other should be a healer. <br /><br />When in the vehicle, the Passenger is responsible for reloading the Pyrite ammo as well as doing damage with Mortar, and, if the Demolisher is targeted to use Speed Boost to help avoid the FL's damage.<br /><br />However, the Passengers' main goal is to be launched on top of FL in order to overload its circuitry. To do so, the passengers need to load themselves into the catapult and wait for the driver to launch them.<br /><br />Once on the top of Flame Leviathan, the DPS and Healer need to destroy one of the turrets and use the Overload Circuit ability (this can be done up to four times (four turrets to be destroyed in total). Generally it is good to aim for Overload Circuit at every 20 percent health (80, 60, 40 and 20 percent). Ideally, it is best if you can time the Overload Circuit when FL is on top of ignited tar so it takes extra damage.<br /><br />When FL is overloaded, his speed buff resets and he takes 50 percent increased damage. Everyone should FF on him at this point and pull out all the big damage abilities (Mortar, Hurl Pyrite Barrel, Fire Cannon). <br /><br />When Overload Circuit is complete, the DPS and Healer will be thrown from FL and should be picked up by Choppers and healed before being returned to their Demolishers.<br /><br /><span id="dnn_ctr505_ContentPane" class="DNNAlignleft"><span class="normal"><b><span style="color: #00ff00;"> Raid</span></b></span></span> As long as all members understand their role within their vehicles, this is an easy battle to fight and complete!<br /></p> <h2>Achievements</h2> <p><b>Orbital Bombardment - </b>Defeat Flame Leviathan with at least one Orbital Defense System Active.<br /><b><br />Dwarfageddon -</b> Destroy 100 Steelforged Defenders in 10 seconds on the Ulduar Gauntlet.<br /><br /><b>Unbroken -</b> Defeat Flame Leviathan on the first try without anyone repairing their vehicle.<br /><br /><b>Three Car Garage -</b> Defeat Flame Leviathan while in each of the following vehicles: Salvaged Seige Engine, Salvaged Chopper and Salvaged Demolisher.<br /><br /><b>Take Out Those Turrets -</b> Destroy a Flame Leviathan Defense Turret.<br /><br /><b>Shutout - </b>Defeat Flame Leviathan without causing a System Shutdown.<br /><b><br />Orbital Devastation - </b>Defeat Flame Leviathan with at least two Orbital Defense Systems active.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Minor suggestion</h1> <p>Ashtan — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:21:21 GMT</p> <p>Hey guys, I just found out about your site about 10 minutes ago and I haven't had an chance to upload any combat logs yet but I was looking at some of the other guilds that have posted and I found one thing that was kind of ..... distracting (for lack of a better word) when I was trying to quickly browse the data. All of the Column Header Labels are aligned to the left while most of the column data are aligned to the right. This can make viewing the data slower. This is nothing major... just kind of a cosmetic thing. I once had to program an Excel clone so I'm picky about columns :) lol.</p> <p>Anyway, looks great other than that (for the 10 minutes i've been looking around) and I look foward to helping you beta test your project.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>A Glimpse Inside?</h1> <p>Blitzd — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:04:54 GMT</p> <p>I found this video of some cool screenshots from Ulduar. Enjoy!</p> <p> </p> <p> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Oh3yQeNotI&hl=en&fs=1" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> </object> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>3.1 is live</h1> <p>Arphir — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:17:28 GMT</p> <p>It's available for download now, though I'm hearing that most, if not all, servers are offline.</p> <p>Official 3.1 Patch notes: <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/">http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/</a></p> <p>We'll be hitting Ulduar immediately when the servers are up and will start developing our guides in the next 24 hours, so keep checking this space for updates. If you're not on the mailing list -- get on it!</p> <p>A quick word on the plan.</p> <p>When Ulduar hit PTR, I noticed something. A bunch of sites out there were copying and pasting info about boss abilities off of Wowhead, maybe adding one or two lines of commentary, calling them "strats," and advertising them with big flashy graphics.</p> <p>Off the top of my head, I can only think of one site which consistently was writing at least one paragraph of original content about <strong><em>how to actually kill the boss. </em></strong>It sort of pissed me off, because I'd click these strats/guides, and there was basically no content there. I'm sure this generated lots of hits and advertising clicks for those sites, but where's the value?</p> <p>So I decided we weren't going to do that on World of Strats. We are going to publish quality Ulduar guides based on experience inside the instance. If we don't have value to add we are not going to publish bullshit. Granted we will document the abilities just like everyone else, but as always, the focus of our guides will be on making it clear what you actually have to <strong><em>do </em></strong>to complete the encounter on normal, on heroic, with hard modes, with achievements...</p> <p>Stay tuned.</p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Combat logs in 3.1</h1> <p>Arphir — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:13:40 GMT</p> <p>Just a quick FYI that we've been tweaking the list of known bosses in our <a href="http://beta.worldofstrats.com/reports">Raid Reports</a> combat log analytics over the past 48 hours and I think we should auto-detect all of the new bosses in 3.1 now (e.g., all Ulduar bosses, and Emalon the Storm Watcher).</p> <p>We will be monitoring the combat logs that come in -- when we saw one where Emalon wasn't being detected properly, we fixed that, so new logs of Emalon should be handled correctly.</p> <p><a href="http://beta.worldofstrats.com/reports"><strong>Upload your combat logs now!</strong></a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>New feature: analyze your combat logs!</h1> <p>Arphir — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:58:27 GMT</p> <p>We've been tinkering with a new feature on World of Strats: combat log analysis.</p> <p>You can now <a href="http://beta.worldofstrats.com/reports">upload combat logs</a> from your raiding nights to our servers, and we'll generate detailed reports about those logs. If you want to know who did the most damage, see detailed statistics about your performance on a certain boss, or figure out why your raid kept wiping, this tool can help you do that.</p> <p><a href="http://beta.worldofstrats.com/reports"><strong>Check it out. It's free.</strong></a></p> <p>Right now as you'll see our goal is basically to give you tons and tons of data. If you want to know exactly how many of your Mirror Image's Fire Blasts against Grobbulus on the third attempt of the night missed... we can tell you that. Over time we plan on adding more "smart" features using the content in our boss guides, too.</p> <p>Please be aware that this stuff is totally beta right now -- there are still kinks we're working out. You'll see some bugs. However, we have some awesome ideas in the works that we think can take combat log analysis way beyond what's out there on the web today.</p> <p>We can use your help. Sign up, try it out, and don't forget to <a href="http://worldofstrats.com/community/forums/16.aspx">stop by our Raid Reports beta forum</a> and post your feedback or bug reports. We need feedback. Lots of it. The faster we can track down bugs -- the sooner we can get on to even greater things.</p> <p><strong>In conclusion. Sweet links:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://beta.worldofstrats.com/reports"><strong>The Raid Reports combat log analysis homepage</strong></a></li> <li><a href="http://beta.worldofstrats.com/reports/Details.aspx?l=2"><strong>A sample report generated from a combat log</strong></a></li> <li><a href="http://worldofstrats.com/community/forums/16.aspx"><strong>The beta forum (come! fill this up with goodness!)</strong></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twQlpFrm5iM"><strong>Bear Force</strong></a></li> </ul><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>How to Use / Glossary of Terms</h1> <p>Arphir — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:17:20 GMT</p> <p>We expose a massive amount of info about your combat logs -- sometimes it can be hard to interpret without a guide. Here's a list of the various numbers we provide and what they actually mean.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Rankings vs. Ability Details</h2> <p>First, to understand what all the columns in your report signify, you need to figure out whether you're viewing the Rankings for a particular log, or the Ability Details.</p> <p>Which is pretty easy -- the Rankings are what you see by default, and they list all the actors in the log (players, mobs, etc.). By default you can view Rankings of all players and friendly NPCs, but if you use the Actors dropdown, you can see all this info about Hostile actors, too.</p> <p>Whereas, the Ability Details pages give you info on just one actor at a time. Again, you can call up Ability Details for any player, mob or NPC, friendly or hostile, just by clicking their name in the Rankings.</p> <p> </p> <h2>What the Columns Mean</h2> <p>A Rankings report adds up all the numbers for multiple actors in the whole log, or in a specific time period (like your third Grobbulus attempt). Here's what the columns contain for each actor:</p> <p><strong>Presence: </strong>This is the % of the time period that the actor was actually present in the log.</p> <p><strong>DPS Time, DTPS Time:</strong> This is the % of presence time that the actor spent actively dealing damage (DPS) or taking damage (DTPS).</p> <p><strong>DPS: </strong>Damage Per Second. This is the amount of <em>Effective </em>damage the actor dealt, divided by his DPS Time.</p> <p><strong>DTPS: </strong>Damage Taken Per Second. This is the amount of <em>Effective </em>damage the actor received, divided by his DTPS Time.</p> <p><strong>Raw Damage:</strong> This is all of the damage that the actor dealt or received, to anyone, even if it got mitigated (such as by a block).</p> <p><strong>Effective Damage:</strong> This is your key damage stat. It's the amount of damage that the actor dealt, minus damage they did to allies, minus damage that was mitigated (such as by a block), and minus overkill. This is where you look to figure out how much damage you're really putting out.</p> <p><strong>Crit %: </strong>Pretty self-explanatory, this is the percentage of the actor's attacks that were critical strikes. Remember that since an NPC's special abilities usually can't crit, this overall number will tend to be lower for a bad guy than it is for a player.</p> <p><strong>Miss %:</strong> This is the percentage of the actor's attacks that missed or were resisted. It doesn't include attacks that were dodged, parried, etc.</p> <p><strong>% Blck, Ddg, Par:</strong> This is the percentage of attacks that were blocked, dodged, and parried, respectively. At the moment we only expose these under Damage Received, but we'll add them as optional columns under Damage Dealt soon.</p> <p><strong>Max:</strong> This is the biggest hit that the actor dealt or received, depending on the table you're looking at. Clicking the numbers in this column and seeing that your guildie got gibbed for 130k from a Shadow Fissure is usually good for a bit of amusement.</p> <p><strong>Friendly Fire:</strong> This is how you figure out, basically, who keeps on blowing up your raid. If they've dealt a lot of Friendly Fire they're probably blowing everyone up (you can click their name and check their Ability Details to know for sure). If they've received a lot of Friendly Fire, they may not be running away from their teammates fast enough.</p> <p><strong>Overheal / % Ovh:</strong> In the Healing Done and Healing Received tables, you'll find these columns. Respectively, they contain the raw amount and percentage amount of healing from or to the actor that was overheal (over the target's max HP). That's a mouthful, but it's really pretty straightforward -- this is the amount of healing that was wasted.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Complete Ulduar boss list</h1> <p>Arphir — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:43:04 GMT</p> <p>All Ulduar bosses have now been announced by Blizzard and/or tested on the PTR. Here's the full list:</p> <li>Flame Leviathan</li> <li>Ignis</li> <li>XT-002 Deconstructor </li> <li>Hodir</li> <li>General Vezax </li> <li>Thorim</li> <li>Mimiron</li> <li>The Iron Council</li> <li>Freya</li> <li>Auriaya </li> <li>Kologarn </li> <li>Algalon the Observer </li> <li>Yogg-Saron</li><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>So i was bored...</h1> <p>Serpantine — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:08:57 GMT</p> <p>My friend made me 500 white and green flares....and so heres a few of the more family-friendly things i did with them XD</p> <p><a href="http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030509005804.jpg" target="_blank" title="http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030509005804.jpg"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030509005732.jpg" target="_blank" title="http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030509005732.jpg"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030509004630.jpg" target="_blank" title="http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030509004630.jpg"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://img111.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030409201942.jpg" target="_blank" title="http://img111.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wowscrnshot030409201942.jpg"></a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Hodir</h1> <p>Arphir — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:29:33 GMT</p> <p> </p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p>The first boss in Ulduar. Overview is TBD.</p> <p>Kill video from <Wretched> (partial video): <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ULzk9EqrnY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ULzk9EqrnY</a></p> <p><em><strong>This guide is based on information from the Public Test Realm and is still under development. Please check back often for updates.</strong></em></p> <p> </p> <h2>Abilities</h2> <li><a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62039"><span style="color: #003399;">Biting Cold</span></a>: Deals increasing periodic damage to stationary enemies. Movement diminishes this effect. </li> <li><a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s63512"><span style="color: #003399;">Frozen Blows</span></a>: Physical damage reduced by 70%, but attacks deal 40,000 additional Frost damage. Hodir will occasionally gain this buff.</li> <li><a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s61968"><span style="color: #003399;">Flash Freeze</span></a>: Encases the target in a block of ice. 9 second cast time. Cast every 40 seconds or so. Affects all players who are not standing on a Snowdrift. </li> <li><a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62460"><span style="color: #003399;">Falling Icicles</span></a>: Periodically, snowflakes will begin falling upon a small area of the ground; a few seconds later, an Icicle will fall on the same area, dealing around 12,000 damage to anyone it strikes. Shortly after the Icicle lands, a Snowdrift will form. </li> <li><a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62463"><span style="color: #003399;">Snowdrift</span></a>: Players standing in the Snowdrift are immune to the effects of Flash Freeze. </li> <li><a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62469"><span style="color: #003399;">Freeze</span></a>: Inflicts Frost damage to nearby enemies, immobilizing them for up to 10 sec. Deals around 5,000 damage per target. </li> <li>Melee: Hits a tank slowly for heavy damage. </li> <li>"<a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62823"><span style="color: #003399;">Toasty Fire</span></a>" found on Thottbot and can "warm friendly units." Standing near a Toasty Fire will render a player immune to the effects of Biting Cold and Freeze. The Fires are dropped by the Mage NPCs.</li> <li>8 friendly NPCs are encased in blocks of ice in Hodir's room. Once the fight has started, freeing these NPCs will cause them to assist you in battle against Hodir.</li> <p> </p> <h2>Gear Requirements</h2> <p><strong>Tanks</strong> Frost Resistance gear does not seem to be required but can help mitigate the largest attack in the fight (40k Frozen Blows)</p> <p> </p> <h2>Phase One</h2> <ul> <li>Engage Hodir</li> <li>DPS Hodir</li> <li>Dispel Freezes</li> <li>Free NPCs when you can</li> <li>When Hodir begins to cast Flash Freeze, move to Snowdrifts to avoid being immobilized</li> <li>There are two chests in the room; every three minutes, Hodir destroys one of them. After 9 minutes total, Hodir enrages. It is speculated that each chest contains an epic and that Hodir himself will carry one epic, so the faster you kill him, the more loot you'll get.</li> </ul><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Ulduar Overview</h1> <p>Arphir — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:11:50 GMT</p> <h2>Overview</h2> <p>This will be an overview guide to the Ulduar instance. Guides for individual bosses and wings will be added as more information becomes available. A preliminary <a href="http://worldofstrats.com/community/forums/p/71/85.aspx#85"><strong>Hodir</strong></a> guide is up already based on PTR testing.</p> <p>If you have any info about Ulduar we've missed please add it in the comments and we'll roll it into the guides!</p> <p>Quick facts:</p> <ul> <li>There will be 14 bosses according to Blizzard, 8 of which will have "hard modes" (similar to Sartharion with Drakes up)</li> <li>There's a legendary mace in Ulduar! It's called <a href="http://www.spooncraft.com/pve/raiding/update-new-healing-legendary-mace-in-ulduar/">Val'anyr, Gavel of Ancient Kings</a>, and requires the collection of 40 fragments to obtain (similar to the old Atiesh quest in Naxxramas 1). Speculation is that it's a healing mace since the classes which can use Val'anyr are Priest, Paladin, Druid and Shaman, but who knows at this stage--maybe it can take multiple forms like Anathema/Benediction.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <h2>Bosses</h2> <p>All 14 bosses of Ulduar are now confirmed via Blizzard announcements and PTR testing.</p> <ul> <li>Flame Leviathan: confirmed by <a href="http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/3p1/ulduar.xml">Blizzard</a></li> <li>Ignis: confirmed by Blizzard, present right at the beginning of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HshUOQlPfok">Ulduar Preview video</a></li> <li>Razorscale</li> <li>XT-002 Deconstructor</li> <li>Hodir: tested on PTR, information moved to the <a href="http://worldofstrats.com/community/forums/p/71/85.aspx#85"><strong>Hodir Guide</strong></a><strong>.</strong></li> <li>General Vezax</li> <li>Thorim: confirmed by <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15443404659&sid=1">Daelo</a> <ul> <li>Possible abilities: <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62560">Berserk</a>, <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62912">Thorim's Hammer</a>, <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62042">Stormhammer</a>, <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62470">Deafening Thunder</a></li> </ul> </li> <li>Mimiron: likely boss based on datamining and mentions by <a href="http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/3p1/ulduar.xml">Blizzard</a></li> <li>The Iron Council: confirmed by <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15443404659&sid=1">Daelo</a></li> <li>Freya: confirmed by <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15443404659&sid=1">Daelo</a></li> <li>Auriaya</li> <li>Kologarn</li> <li>Algalon the Observer</li> <li>Yogg-Saron: confirmed by <a href="http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/3p1/ulduar.xml">Blizzard</a> <ul> <li>Possible abilities: <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s63042">Dominate Mind</a>, <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s63795">Psychosis</a>, <a href="http://thottbot.com/test/s62565">Touch of Dominion</a>, Sanity-related effects</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <h2>Loot</h2> <p>Loot has not been patched into the PTR yet.</p> <p>The Normal mode (10-man) version of the instance will drop ilvl 213 epics, equivalent in quality to those available in Naxxramas-25.</p> <p>The Heroic mode (25-man) will drop ilvl 226 epics and a new type of badge, the Emblem of Conquest.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Ulduar is here</h1> <p>Arphir — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:04:25 GMT</p> <p><strong>Update 10:33pm PST: Information from the Feb. 26 Hodir test on PTR is in the <a href="http://worldofstrats.com/community/forums/p/71/85.aspx#85">Hodir Guide here</a>.</strong></p> <p><strong>Update 5:16pm PST: </strong><a href="http://worldofstrats.com/community/forums/p/70/84.aspx#84"><strong>Our Ulduar Overview guide has been started here.</strong></a></p> <p>As of only an hour ago, both the 10 and 25-man versions have been made available (in part) on the PTR. Only 1-2 bosses will be available at a time for testing. Daelo has posted the schedule thus far:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #333399;">The following is the tentative schedule for this weekend: <br /><br />On the North American test realms: <br /><b>Hodir</b> - Thursday night, February 26, starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST. <br /><b>Iron Council</b> - Friday night, February 27, starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST <br /><br />On the European test realms <br /><b>Thorim</b> - Friday night, February 27, starting at 7pm CET. <br /><b>Freya</b> - Friday night, February 28, starting at 7pm CET. <br /><br />This schedule could change at a moment's notice due to server, bug, or patch status. I'll try to keep everyone informed as much as possible. Ulduar and the bosses to be tested will remain also open a variable length of time. How long they stay open depends upon a host of factors including designer availability, bug status, etc. <br /><br />We also hope to have the zone open on Sunday for each respective realm for a longer period of time. </span></p> <p>Source: <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15443404659&sid=1">Official WoW forums</a></p> <p>We'll be updating this post daily as we get new information, so check back.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Best guide ever.</h1> <p>Serpantine — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:34:27 GMT</p> <p>I felt i had to share this, all our guides should look like this imo haha</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://pwniepedia.com/index.php?title=Sartharion">http://pwniepedia.com/index.php?title=Sartharion</a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Ulduar is coming soon!</h1> <p>Arphir — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:19:31 GMT</p> <p><strong>Recap: There's so much info here I've summarized some of the key points.</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>There will be 14 bosses in Ulduar, about the same as Naxxramas. With that said, 11 of them will have 'hard modes' like Sarth + 3D so expect it to be much more immersive than Naxx!</strong></li> <li><strong>The final boss is an "Old God of death" -- probably </strong><a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Yogg-Saron"><strong>Yogg-Saron</strong></a><strong>!</strong></li> <li><strong>The first encounter will be a massive siege weapon battle culminating in a fight with a Flame Leviathan tank. It sounds a lot like Sartharion to me (four towers, the more of them you pre-kill, the easier the Flame Leviathan is). Guess we will need a Leviathan + 4T guide!</strong></li> <li><strong>The known bosses so far are: Iron Army & Flame Leviathan, Freya, Thorim, Hodir, the Iron Council, and (probably) Yogg-Saron.</strong></li> <li><strong>The PTR will be up soon, but only a few bosses will be available to test at a time, and you'll need to bring your own gear (Naxxramas gear recommended).</strong></li> <li><strong>Mentioned in a <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15198911238&pageNo=1#6">later post</a> by Daelo -- the siege weapons in Ulduar will scale with your gear!</strong></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Breaking news just within the past few hours: Blizzard has published an Under Development preview of Ulduar. Here's the text -- I've added <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>highlights</strong></span> to emphasize some interesting new tidbits.</p> <h2 style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Ulduar</span></h2> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">For countless millennia, Ulduar has remained undisturbed by mortals, far away from their concerns and their struggles. But since its recent discovery, many have wondered what the structure's original purpose may have been. Some thought it a city, built to herald the glory of its makers; some thought it a vault containing innumerable treasures, perhaps even relics of the mighty Titans themselves. They were wrong. Beyond its gates lies no city, no treasure vault, no final answer to the Titan's mysteries. All that awaits those who dare set foot in Ulduar is a horror even the Titans could not, would not destroy, an evil they merely... contained. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Beneath ancient Ulduar, <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>the Old God of death lies</strong>,</span> whispering.... Tread carefully, or his prison will become your tomb. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">As the next step in tiered raid progression in Wrath of the Lich King, Ulduar is set to blow players away with gorgeous setpieces, sprawling battlefields, and innovative boss encounters. Ulduar's design aims to provide a fun, unique, and innovative raid experience, but it also includes additional challenges - and rewards - for seasoned raiders. In this sneak-peek at World of Warcraft's newest raid dungeon, we'll take a look at some of the new content that makes Ulduar rise above the crop of amazing dungeons already available in World of Warcraft. </span></p> <h2 style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Welcome to Ulduar</span></h2> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Many players have already gotten their Wrath of the Lich King raiding feet wet in Naxxramas and the Sartharion raid, but Ulduar is the first example of the expansion's much larger, truly epic scope of raiding, as will be evident from the second you set foot in the instance. The most obvious difference between Ulduar and its predecessors is that the dungeon actually comprises two separate raid areas. <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">The first section is an epic battle against a vast army</span></strong> standing between you and the entrance of the dungeon proper; in the second area, you will dive into the heart of the dungeon itself and finally discover the secrets of Ulduar. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Ulduar's new master has rallied his own massive Iron Army to guard the entrance to Ulduar and to prevent any unwanted guests - including you, especially you - from reaching the inner sanctum. Thankfully, you'll be able to face the Iron Army on even footing: although the main Horde and Alliance forces are focused on the forces beyond the Wrathgate and on each other, some who are better able to appreciate the true magnitude of Ulduar's threat have managed to scrap together a small fleet of siege vehicles to aid you in the assault. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">You and your friends will have to use these vehicles wisely to break through Ulduar's defenses. A mix of motorcycles, demolishers, and siege engines will be at your disposal, each granting unique abilities to the pilot and the passenger. Motorcycle drivers, for example, can create pools of liquid tar that snare opponents and can be set on fire by area effect attacks, while demolisher passengers can load themselves into the vehicle's catapult so that the pilot can launch them into the distance. If used judiciously, these and other abilities will help decimate the Iron Army and any other threats lying in wait between you and Ulduar. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">One such threat is the Flame Leviathan. After you've plowed through the innumerable ranks of the Iron Army, you will be confronted by an enormous tank. Mimiron built the Flame Leviathan as part of the V0-L7R-0N weapons platform, which means that it packs quite a punch. Normal spells and abilities won't be enough to take down this juggernaut, so you will have to rely on your siege vehicles to outmaneuver and defeat the boss. After wearing the massive war machine down, you will have to launch players onto the tank's back to destroy its defense turrets and sabotage the Leviathan before you can move on. Of course, if you'd like an additional challenge beyond this naturally frantic (but extremely fun) fight, you can try your hand at one of the Flame Leviathan's different Hard Modes (see sidebar). </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Of course, the vehicle gauntlet, the Iron Army, and the battle against the Flame Leviathan are only the start of World of Warcraft's most ambitious raid to date. Patch 3.1 will hit the Public Test Realms very soon, so you will be able to see for yourself what other challenges await beyond the gates of ancient Ulduar. </span></p> <h2 style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hard Boiled</span></h2> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Ulduar brilliantly illustrates the new design challenges and innovations that come with the bigger scope of the expansion's raids. In order to make raid content more accessible, it has to offer a lot of variety, but it also needs to include a very granular means for players to adjust a raid's difficulty. This concept was first realized in the Burning Crusade with the introduction of Heroic mode, and Wrath of the Lich King is developing the idea even further with new Hard Modes. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Boss fights that have a Hard Mode are affected by certain variables which players can control and which change the encounter's difficulty. For example, spread throughout Ulduar's vehicle section are four defense towers you can destroy. The more towers you leave intact, the harder the encounter with the Flame Leviathan will be, but the loot will also be better. </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Ulduar isn't the first dungeon to include Hard Mode, but it certainly makes the most use of it. <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">Out of 14 bosses, 11 will have a Hard Mode that offers additional challenges and rewards.</span></strong> Ulduar will appeal to a wide range of play styles, but the dungeon also has great longevity and a high replay value.</span></p> <p>Source: <a href="http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/3p1/ulduar.xml">Official WoW Europe site</a></p> <p> </p> <p>And shortly after the WoW Europe announcement, Daelo made <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15198911211&sid=1">this post</a> to the US official WoW forums:</p> <p> </p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="blue"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Ok, we're getting close to the point where we will need testing of Ulduar boss encounters on PTR, so let's talk about Ulduar testing! <br /><br />We're going to be performing testing differently than in the past. We're looking for much more targeted feedback, and we don't want to just have the zone freely open and allow extended, unsupervised testing to take place. So, when the PTR servers come up with 3.1.0, by default Ulduar will be turned completely off. We'll instead enable Ulduar and specific bosses during times where the encounter team can observe testing. <br /><br />Shortly after 3.1.0 PTR is up and running, I'll post a schedule that will indicate when we will open specific bosses to testing. We'll have testing opportunities for both EU and NA region PTRs in their respective prime time playing hours. There might also be a boss or two we do leave up for extended testing, and some bosses will only be tested in either the EU or NA. Some encounters won't be up on the PTR at all! There's 14 boss encounters in Ulduar, there will be lots to test. The schedule will be quite flexible, check in the Dungeons & Raids forum and on the PTR forum for updates. <br /><br />The first set of boss encounters to get testing will include: <br /><br /><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Freya <br />Thorim <br />Hodir <br />The Iron Council</strong></span> <br /><br />Both 10 player and 25 player versions of the encounters will be open to testing, and we expect players to have nearly full Naxxramas gear. While Jillian McWeaksauce might make appearances on the PTR to provide testing consumables, please try to bring your own. <br /><br />I hope to see raid groups of many different skill levels on the 3.1.0 PTR servers when they become available!</span></span></p> <p><span class="blue">Source: <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15198911211&sid=1">US Official WoW Forums</a></span></p> <p> </p> <p><br />In short it looks like this will be a massive instance that utilizes all of WoW's newest features. In particular Blizzard is banking on 'hard mode' mechanics to give the instance replayability and make it accessible to everybody yet challenging to even the most elite raiders.</p> <p>What do you think about Ulduar? Is the 'hard mode' design strategy a good one? Has your guild even attempted Sartharion + 3D yet? Post your opinions in the comments section!</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> </main></body></html>