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[Ultratech]

Did those ever end up making it into the game? Because that really would be terrible.

Pretty sure it pops up after you've hit Revered with The Black Prince and got the 6000 VP quest done.

Doesn't sound hard though since you just have to win a battle of the new BGs each.
You're bound to get it done eventually unless your BG group just sucks THAT bad. Otherwise, you could potentially complete it in 2 BGs. (One each.)

The one after it sounds pretty rough since you have to fight the enemy commander in their base, who is a boss-level mob with a cool 130 million HP. You aren't gonna be able to solo him...

 

[Berordn]

Pretty sure it pops up after you've hit Revered with The Black Prince and got the 6000 VP quest done.

Doesn't sound hard though since you just have to win a battle of the new BGs each.
You're bound to get it done eventually unless your BG group just sucks THAT bad. Otherwise, you could potentially complete it in 2 BGs. (One each.)

The one after it sounds pretty rough since you have to fight the enemy commander in their base, who is a boss-level mob with a cool 130 million HP. You aren't gonna be able to solo him...

I'm not too worried about the boss encounter since a few other people in my guild will be finishing A Test of Valor the same time I am, and the area's already pretty dead on my server.

Winning BGs though... ehn. It's not something Alliance is particularly known for on my battlegroup.

 

[CrashPrime]

One of my last big "yay" moments in WoW came from soloing Molten Core for like 7 months straight for this singularly awesome result.

I must confess that I haven't even made it to level 90. My question is, at level 90, is Molten Core still the only "easy" old raid content that's soloable? I'd love to come back and wreck BWL and BT if it's do-able without class specific trickery.

Whats the deal with soloable old content? The hunt for Thunderfury was long, frustrating, and very rewarding. I am chasing after my next bite size quest for something cool.

 

[Berordn]

I must confess that I haven't even made it to level 90. My question is, at level 90, is Molten Core still the only "easy" old raid content that's soloable? I'd love to come back and wreck BWL and BT if it's do-able without class specific trickery.

Whats the deal with soloable old content? The hunt for Thunderfury was long, frustrating, and very rewarding. I am chasing after my next bite size quest for something cool.

All the (remaining) Vanilla raids were pretty easily soloable at 85, I think. BWL being the only real exception with Razorgore, and with just one other person (or some trickery) you could down him eventually/easily. 5.1 made that even simpler.

Most of the BC raids are cake too, and they were easy in 4.3 gear. I made a point of soloing Hyjal every week on my druid back then for the staff off the second boss... which still hasn't dropped.

At 90, a lot of Wrath raids are soloable by hybrids and heavily armored characters now, and even my mage can solo EoE and Onyxia.

 

[Anoregon]

gnome warrior

 

[Tunesmith]

One of my last big "yay" moments in WoW came from soloing Molten Core for like 7 months straight for this singularly awesome result.



I must confess that I haven't even made it to level 90. My question is, at level 90, is Molten Core still the only "easy" old raid content that's soloable? I'd love to come back and wreck BWL and BT if it's do-able without class specific trickery.

Whats the deal with soloable old content? The hunt for Thunderfury was long, frustrating, and very rewarding. I am chasing after my next bite size quest for something cool.

At 90 as a DPS Monk I've soloed: MC, BWL, AQ20, AQ40, Gruul's Lair, TK, SSC, Mt. Hyjal, BT, ICC10 (healer boss in heal spec), Naxx10, Obsidian Sanctum 10/25.

Additionally duoed ruby sanctum, Ulduar10, Ony10.

There's a fair bit you can do once you're geared.

 

[Tarazet]

There's crafted 476 and 489 gear, but other than that you mostly just have to cap on valor and wait if you're not running raids outside of LFR.

473 ilevel is enough to try normal MSV if you're wearing appropriate gear though.

The crafted gear is 476 and 496, but the 496 stuff is horribly expensive to make because it takes Blood Spirits, which means disenchanting raid epics. The valor gear is 489.

 

[Berordn]

The crafted gear is 476 and 496, but the 496 stuff is horribly expensive to make because it takes Blood Spirits, which means disenchanting raid epics. The valor gear is 489.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

But honestly, Blood Spirits keep dropping in price and I think they've fixed most of the dupe exploits for it. It won't be too long before they're worthless.

 

[Tunesmith]

The crafted gear is 476 and 496, but the 496 stuff is horribly expensive to make because it takes Blood Spirits, which means disenchanting raid epics. The valor gear is 489.

5.1 added 496 valor gear via the Dominon Offensive/Operation: Shieldwall factions.

 

[Tarazet]

5.1 added 496 valor gear via the Dominon Offensive/Operation: Shieldwall factions.

You're right, they did. They also added 458 trinkets that are actually worth a shit.

 

[Angry Grimace]

a winner is me

 

[strafer]

a winner is me

 

[Prologue]

Anyone mind summing up how gearing up at 90 is? More streamlined or is it more time consuming?

 

[Hoplatee]

a winner is me

Congrats! Just came from that place as well. Got the worst possible loot that you could get at 70, haha. 3x Vanq as well!

 

[Hoplatee]

e: damnit, wanted to edit this in the other post

Anyone mind summing up how gearing up at 90 is? More streamlined or is it more time consuming?

Pretty streamlined and path is clear. Heroics gives you Justice points and 463 Item Level gear. You can upgrade those items to Item Level 471. You will also get Valor Points per dungeon.

You also have to do A LOT of dailies to increase your reputation with Factions. Every daily quest gives you 5 Valor Points (I believe). Valor Points are used to buy Epic items from the Factions you do dailies for.

You can earn unlimited amounts of Justice Points and up to 1000 Valor Points a week. JP items costs 1250 to 2250 (around that) and same for Valor Points.

You can also craft / buy some Epic chest/gloves.

When you reach Item Level 460 you can do raids with total strangers to get raid loot. Per daily you get a few Lesser Charm Coins which you can turn to Greater Coins once a week to add 3 bonus rolls during said PUG raids to hope you win a item.

It is time consuming if you want to be ful epic but if you don't care that much about it I would call it pretty good. The grind is pretty bad for one (important) faction but overall it is rewarding once you get going. But that rep grind is only really needed if you have desire to buy plenty of epics or care about adding mount / pet # 812380 to your collection. The Tillers farm is pretty good for making your own materials like leather, ores, herbs or just food. Really fun faction to do as well.

That is about it I think! I'm sure I forgot something obvious but others might add.

 

[Dawg]

a winner is me

 

[Berordn]

Anyone mind summing up how gearing up at 90 is? More streamlined or is it more time consuming?

Pretty linear. Once 90, you'll probably be able to do heroics immediately. If not, just continue questing until you can, the blues you get from the questlines will suffice.

Gear up to 463 or thereabout and you'll be on level for the LFR and normal mode for the entry-level raid, Mogushan Vaults. Gear rewarded here is 476 on Raid Finder and 489 on Normal.

At 470 you'll be able to do Heart of Fear on LFR, that's also the recommended level to be trying it on normal mode. Gear rewarded here is 480 on Raid Finder and 496 on Normal. Hand, Leg and Chest tier 14 tokens are also available here.

After you clear Heart of Fear you'll be able to do the last raid in the tier, Terrace of Endless Spring. Gear rewarded here is the same as Heart of Fear, 480 on Raid Finder and 496 on Normal. Head and shoulder tier 14 tokens drop from bosses here as well.

In addition to the instances, many professions can craft 476 epics from Spirits of Harmony and appropriate mats. There's also 496 epics from raid dropped patterns that use a raid exclusive material as well, though these'll be more expensive. Many of the factions have 489 epics available with valor points as well, and Operation: Shieldwall and Dominance Offensive also sell 496 epics. None of these are better than what you can get from raids, but if you're going to be doing dailies, it's something to look out for.

 

[Hoplatee]

I also have a question. Since this is the first time in all the time that I played that I am not in a guild but still want to do some pug raids every now and then...

How the hell do you manage to get in a group? I only see insane things (Ilvl 489+, link achievement) or people just not messaging back. (Resto Druids hated or something?) Sure, I only experienced the LFR versions (and often top them but that means nothing) but I even offer to explain what to expect on fights as a healer since I did my research. Got around 20 flasks ready, food, pots, everything. Still not good enough. Everyone is so damn focused on ILVL or the bloody achievement that you cleared it.

My ILVL is 480, I tanked/healed *everything* in this game apart from most of the Cataclysm stuff. I have all the achievements with dates to prove it to them if they would ask. Surely things in Panda raids wouldn't be shocking to me or is there some insane boost in difficulty that I am not aware of? It seems that mostly DPS that is really tested?

I don't have any of those leadership skills to start my own raids so I guess my only option would be to join a guild again or is there some magic I can perform?

e) the most hilarious thing was one person asking for 490+ ILVL, achievement but then he was in blue gear himself. Made me chuckle and not even bother trying.

 

[Rokam]

I also have a question. Since this is the first time in all the time that I played that I am not in a guild but still want to do some pug raids every now and then...

How the hell do you manage to get in a group? I only see insane things (Ilvl 489+, link achievement) or people just not messaging back. (Resto Druids hated or something?) Sure, I only experienced the LFR versions (and often top them but that means nothing) but I even offer to explain what to expect on fights as a healer since I did my research. Got around 20 flasks ready, food, pots, everything. Still not good enough. Everyone is so damn focused on ILVL or the bloody achievement that you cleared it.

My ILVL is 480, I tanked/healed *everything* in this game apart from most of the Cataclysm stuff. I have all the achievements with dates to prove it to them if they would ask. Surely things in Panda raids wouldn't be shocking to me or is there some insane boost in difficulty that I am not aware of? It seems that mostly DPS that is really tested?

I don't have any of those leadership skills to start my own raids so I guess my only option would be to join a guild again or is there some magic I can perform?

e) the most hilarious thing was one person asking for 490+ ILVL, achievement but then he was in blue gear himself. Made me chuckle and not even bother trying.

You pretty much listed most of the options. I'd suggest maybe on Monday nights looking for a raid as well, best chance of getting into one without an achievement. Or you could buy a run from a guild to get the achievement as a last resort if you've got the gold. I'd say look for a casual guild.

 

[Hoplatee]

You pretty much listed most of the options. I'd suggest maybe on Monday nights looking for a raid as well, best chance of getting into one without an achievement. Or you could buy a run from a guild to get the achievement as a last resort if you've got the gold. I'd say look for a casual guild.

Oh yeah, gold. That is a good one. Didn't consider that one yet! Everything is buyable.

I am loaded. I found out a few days ago that Haunted Mementos were worth 30k. Yeah, I still had 4 of them. Sold 2 of them.

 

[Sciz]

I must confess that I haven't even made it to level 90. My question is, at level 90, is Molten Core still the only "easy" old raid content that's soloable? I'd love to come back and wreck BWL and BT if it's do-able without class specific trickery.

Whats the deal with soloable old content? The hunt for Thunderfury was long, frustrating, and very rewarding. I am chasing after my next bite size quest for something cool.

Almost everything pre-Cata is trivial. Decently geared tanks can chew up a number of normal mode Cata bosses as well.

Surely things in Panda raids wouldn't be shocking to me or is there some insane boost in difficulty that I am not aware of? It seems that mostly DPS that is really tested?

There's not much that hasn't been seen in the game before, but there's a pretty big gap in how lethal most mechanics are between LFR and normal, and the demand on the healers shouldn't be underestimated. The game's just not as pug friendly as it was before Cata.

 

[Dawg]

I used to use that fake achievement linker. Always worked. 99% of groups will never inspect you in the raid and check your achievements, especially if you know tactics and perform well.

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

Oh yeah, gold. That is a good one. Didn't consider that one yet! Everything is buyable.

I am loaded. I found out a few days ago that Haunted Mementos were worth 30k. Yeah, I still had 4 of them. Sold 2 of them.

Hah. I grabbed a haunted memento sometime for myself in Wrath for around 3-5k at most. Only have the one though, and it's too awesome to get rid of.

 

[Hoplatee]

Almost everything pre-Cata is trivial. Decently geared tanks can chew up a number of normal mode Cata bosses as well.

Yeah. Problem is just how long your interest will last. It gets kind of boring to whack away 10+ million solo. That is mostly the reason I never bother with any of the later Wrath and Cata content to solo. It is easy but it just takes such a long time.

I did try the last 5 mans released during Cataclysm. Some bosses did kill me pretty fast but I just went in without knowing anything. In End Time there is some dragon with 14 million HP or something and limited uses on some hourglass (?), that one just destroyed me in no time. Ran out of charges or something.

Hah. I grabbed a haunted memento sometime for myself in Wrath for around 3-5k at most. Only have the one though, and it's too awesome to get rid of.

Yup, it actually is pretty much one of the very few unique items around I'd say. Many people who had them deleted them because they were all kinds of buggy (and still are) or just didn't care about it.

I used to use that fake achievement linker. Always worked. 99% of groups will never inspect you in the raid and check your achievements, especially if you know tactics and perform well.

I considered that as well but if I bump into one that actually does inspect that might cause some drama which I am not that interested in.

There's not much that hasn't been seen in the game before, but there's a pretty big gap in how lethal most mechanics are between LFR and normal, and the demand on the healers shouldn't be underestimated. The game's just not as pug friendly as it was before Cata.

Alright, thanks for the heads up. Think I will just buy myself to the achievements then. Heck, maybe they like my performance and take me along more!

Spoiler

Or mock me

 

[ch0mp]

What achievement are they asking for anyway? There is no separate normal achievement, you can get it in LFR.

 

[Hoplatee]

What achievement are they asking for anyway? There is no separate normal achievement, you can get it in LFR.

Oh you are right indeed. Thought there was another one for 10/25 man. I am really blind. Those are only for heroic.

But in other news the Golden Lotus exalted quest was pretty fun.

 

[Ultratech]

a winner is me

Welcome to the club.

 

[strafer]

So no more iLevel upgrades come 5.2.

Don't know what caused that change.

 

[Westlo]

So no more iLevel upgrades come 5.2.

Don't know what caused that change.

Ilevel upgrades are simply something they have introduced for non raid patches. If 5.3 came out with a new battleground and some more daily (yay) hubs then you'll see ilevel upgrades again.

Personally I'm never going to use them ever....

Edit - okay lol I just saw the tweets on mmo-champ, i'm gonna lmao if they keep re-evaluate it after every raid patch instead of outright saying what it is...

 

[Rokam]

-We are experimenting with removing the attenuation of Chain Lightning. This means Chain Lightning won't do less damage on subsequent targets.
-The Elemental 4pc does trigger from Overloads.


....YES!

 

[Yoshichan]

a winner is me

Congrats buddy!

 

[Robin64]

I thought 5.2 would have it so the new gear in 5.2 wasn't going to be able to be upgraded.
But now I see Blizz are just removing the upgrade vendor entirely! What the deuce..?

 

[Enosh]

panda land in cata greens is some of the worst leveling experiences I have ever had

it's similar to the wrath to cata transition but that one at least had the common decency to give you regular quest rewards with better gear, here it's just fucking xp for 7 or more quest in a row and then maybe one crappy green

plus there are like 3-4 mobs constantly together (and not the "small" mobs with little hp either)

 

[Rokam]

I thought 5.2 would have it so the new gear in 5.2 wasn't going to be able to be upgraded.
But now I see Blizz are just removing the upgrade vendor entirely! What the deuce..?

Which pretty much confirms that the new raid rep will include LFR, since we'll have nothing to spend valor on. I wonder if they'll remove the overall valor cap.

 

[Robin64]

Well what do the Sunreavers and Kirin Tor factions sell?

Edit: Nothing in right now. But I would guess 496 stuff for some slots the Krasarang factions didn't hit.

 

[Finaika]

Why are they removing item upgrades?

 

[Robin64]

Via Twitter

No, it's really that having valor for upgrade and valor for gear at the same time creates stressful decisions.

 

[Rokam]

I agree with that, but if they don't put it back in by 5.3 the same problem as previous expansions will occur and that is valor becoming a useless currency.

 

[questionmark]

Well what do the Sunreavers and Kirin Tor factions sell?

Edit: Nothing in right now. But I would guess 496 stuff for some slots the Krasarang factions didn't hit.

I assume it will be higher than 496.

 

[Torraz]

Just started again. Protection warrior seems pretty fun at leveling. I noticed that my gathering skills are only at high 400s though. What do I do? Is there gathering to be done below 500?

 

[Deputy Moonman]

I agree with that, but if they don't put it back in by 5.3 the same problem as previous expansions will occur and that is valor becoming a useless currency.

I've been annoyed with a lot of the implementation of getting geared in MoP. Acquiring justice points and valor points takes too long with how few you get for quests and doing instances, which in turn makes getting them feel like a miserable grind. The way they made a bunch of the reputation grinds linked together and unavailable until hitting revered with Golden Lotus disrupts the flow what we're used to in wow where you do quest lines for factions until they're all done, at which point you unlock that faction' dailies. And then in LFR, which I really enjoyed in Cata, getting drops is completely hit or miss. And i know that's the point of RNG, but now bosses basically don't drop loot and killing them is unsatisfying. Hey look we killed a boss, but now we dont even get to see loot, regardless of winning it. I've always felt that seeing all the cool gear drop off of bosses was half the fun of killing a boss, and now that's gone. Did no one else press Ctrl+right mouse click on boss drops to see how your own toon looked in it? My main is a lock, but checking out plate and mail gear was something fun to do. It helped pass the time in raids and made you feel like at the very least, you were accomplishing something. In LFR, people just stare at a wall and say nothing after each boss kill. Why? Because there is nothing to look at and no tangible return linked to the boss. Sure, you get gold... in a bag... Where is the fun in that?

 

[Tarazet]

panda land in cata greens is some of the worst leveling experiences I have ever had

it's similar to the wrath to cata transition but that one at least had the common decency to give you regular quest rewards with better gear, here it's just fucking xp for 7 or more quest in a row and then maybe one crappy green

plus there are like 3-4 mobs constantly together (and not the "small" mobs with little hp either)

There is a vendor in Dawn's Blossom with 384 Pandaria greens. Also, most of the production professions can easily make 384 greens with the chance to crit 415 blues.

 

[Berordn]

-We are experimenting with removing the attenuation of Chain Lightning. This means Chain Lightning won't do less damage on subsequent targets.
-The Elemental 4pc does trigger from Overloads.


....YES!

...because elemental shaman have always had such issues on AoE.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I thought 5.2 would have it so the new gear in 5.2 wasn't going to be able to be upgraded.
But now I see Blizz are just removing the upgrade vendor entirely! What the deuce..?

I think its pretty apparent there's some serious disagreement behind the scenes about this system.

 

[Tarazet]

I think its pretty apparent there's some serious disagreement behind the scenes about this system.

He says that having to decide between spending valor on gear and spending it on upgrades results in "stressful decisions." Well, no shit. Kind of like if you want to roll Blacksmithing and Engineering, you're going to be stressing over how best to use your Spirits and ores, or if you want to roll a pure DPS class, then you lose the flexibility of being able to choose other roles for better queue times. Tradeoffs are a good thing, because otherwise everyone would be able to get everything all the time.

 

[Berordn]

I think its pretty apparent there's some serious disagreement behind the scenes about this system.

All the backpedaling they're doing really makes this seem likely. When they slapped valor gear onto quartermasters a month before release and then held back the upgrade system, it was kind of clear there was some sort of fight.

 

[FLEABttn]

it was kind of clear there was some sort of fight.

A fight where nobody wins. Especially the players.

I've got an idea Blizz. For 5.2, just go back to one of the systems we had in prior expansions. Take your pick, I don't care at this point because they were all improvements over what we ended up with, and they were clearly designed by someone who had a clue.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Is it my imagination or does every Silvershard Mines BG begin with the horde spawned closer not only to an active cart but to its destination?

 

[Angry Grimace]

A fight where nobody wins. Especially the players.

I've got an idea Blizz. For 5.2, just go back to one of the systems we had in prior expansions. Take your pick, I don't care at this point because they were all improvements over what we ended up with, and they were clearly designed by someone who had a clue.

I didn't mind either WLK or Cata. It just got hairy in MOP when it became a huge grind to get any points.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

He says that having to decide between spending valor on gear and spending it on upgrades results in "stressful decisions." Well, no shit. Kind of like if you want to roll Blacksmithing and Engineering, you're going to be stressing over how best to use your Spirits and ores, or if you want to roll a pure DPS class, then you lose the flexibility of being able to choose other roles for better queue times. Tradeoffs are a good thing, because otherwise everyone would be able to get everything all the time.

Nah it's stupid. It's been a while since they've done something that's bad for PVP and PVE but they managed it with the item upgrade.

Is it my imagination or does every Silvershard Mines BG begin with the horde spawned closer not only to an active cart but to its destination?

Yeah they spawn closer to lava and water. It's about even for earth.


It's a pain in the ass to be alliance side in RBGs, it's basically a free cap for Horde, and that can mean the difference.