Category Archives: faction-champions

Two Bosses Enter: Tyrannus tyrannizes ToC faction champs for the season title

Posted on by
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive.

The Icecrown Citadel/Trial of the Champion 5-Man season of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves came to a smoking finale in a burst of multi-gladiatorial action this week, leaving Scourgelord Tyrannus implacably flapping on Rimefang above the bloody arena floor as the dust settled. Tyrannus claimed the season victory in a frantic skirmish with the ToC faction champs, claiming 57.4% of the vote to the champ crew's 37.5%. With the judges panel handing up a split decision before the match, spectators had to work out this deathmatch in the comments and the poll.

How did the season arrive at this final matchup? Reader-Judge John Zakour said it best in his own comment: "This whole argument kind of reminds of the old 'Who would win if Hulk fought Superman?' question ... The answer: It depends who's writing it. In this case, it's how you see the fight. Somehow, I just see the PvP champs taking down Tyrann (even if it means the warrior needs to respec). I don't think I've ever wiped on Tyrann, even pugging. I have wiped a few times on the PvP champs, and that's with just three of 'em. My 'logic' was five of them would be tough to beat. Ironically, I have probably wiped on Paletress more than any other boss in the game, yet I somehow didn't feel right picking her over Tyrann. Yet, I may have picked her over the PvP champs. It's all just subjective fun."

See what other readers had to say about the final match of the season, after the break.

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Tyrannus tyrannizes ToC faction champs for the season title

Filed under: ,

Two Bosses Enter: Tyrannus tyrannizes ToC faction champs for the season title originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 26 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Two Bosses Enter: Tyrannus joins ToC faction champs in season finale

Posted on by
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive.

It was a close match, but Scourgelord Tyrannus foiled Argent Confessor Paletress' attempt to snatch away a Thunderdome victory and get into the season's finals. It will be the Scourgelord who steps foot into the cage this week to face off against the Trial of the Champion PvP faction champs in the season finals of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves. The vote was 51.5% in favor of Tyrannus, to Paletress' 44.9%; three out of four judges also handed the fight to the intimidating Scourgelord.

Now, it's time to clear the field and let the finalists square off: Scourgelord Tyrannus and his mount, Rimefang, versus all five of the Trial of the Champions PvP faction champions. For the final time in this season of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Tyrannus joins ToC faction champs in season finale

Filed under: , ,

Two Bosses Enter: Tyrannus joins ToC faction champs in season finale originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 18 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Two Bosses Enter: Faction champs elude LK, Paletress takes on Tyrannus

Posted on by
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive.

We're down to the second and last match of the semi-finals in the ICC 5-man/Trial of the Champion season of Two Bosses Enter, One Man Leaves. This week, the Trial of the Champion PvP faction champs handily scampered beyond the reach of the Halls of Reflection version of the Lich King, 58.2% to 38.5%). Their victory earns them a berth in the season finals, throwing down inside the Two Bosses Thunderdome against the winner of this week's matchup: Argent Confessor Paletress versus Scourgelord Tyrannus.

Two Bosses Enter Semi-Finals
The Five-Man Bosses of Icecrown Citadel and Trial of the Champion

Match 1: ToC PvP Champions vs. Lich King (Halls of Reflection version)
Match 2: Scourgelord Tyrannus 60.7% vs. Argent Confessor Paletress 60.7%

As you can see, Paletress and Tyrannus are seeded in identical positions going into this deathmatch. Just as in previous Thunderdome tussles, we'll allow Paletress to front-load her usual supporting cast (after all, Tyrannus has Rimefang to keep him company). Let's see what the judges predict for this matchup, after the break. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Faction champs elude LK, Paletress takes on Tyrannus

Filed under: , ,

Two Bosses Enter: Faction champs elude LK, Paletress takes on Tyrannus originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 12 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Two Bosses Enter: LK voted back in, stalks ToC faction champs

Posted on by
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive.

Despite a campaign by Judge John Zakour to bring back Eadric the Pure in last week's vote (offering to give away two Zakour books to readers if Eadric was voted back in), there will be no running away in the Thunderdome again this season. The Lich King stalked predictably back into contention with a lead of just 0.9% -- a mere 21 more votes than Eadric. As Judge Sky Paladin put it, "The difference between victory and defeat was less than a raid group." The spectator decision throws the Lich King back into the Thunderdome today in the first match of the semi-finals.

Two Bosses Enter Semi-Finals
The Five-Man Bosses of Icecrown Citadel and Trial of the Champion

Match 1: ToC PvP Champions 50.1% vs. Lich King (Halls of Reflection version)
Match 2: Scourgelord Tyrannus 60.7% vs. Argent Confessor Paletress 60.7%

Instead of holding the judges' decisions for after the fight as we have in previous matches, we're going to share their votes with you now, before the reader poll so that you can use their rationales to help you consider your vote. Now, let's settle back for the first match of the semi-finals, the Trial of the Champions PvP Champs versus Lich King (HoR version). Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: LK voted back in, stalks ToC faction champs

Filed under: , ,

Two Bosses Enter: LK voted back in, stalks ToC faction champs originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 05 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Two Bosses Enter: ToC champs edge out Devourer, Black Knight wrangles Paletress

Posted on by
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive.

It took hard work from all five ToC PvP champs to take down the Devourer of Souls in this week's Thunderdome pit fight -- but take him down they did. Three of our four judges gave the champs the nod, while tournament spectators saw them just squeaking by.

Join us after the break for the judges' decisions and final results of ToC PvP champs vs. Devourer of Souls, and then cast your own vote for the next Thunderdome deathmatch: The Black Knight vs. Argent Confessor Paletress. Dr. Dealgood's got the right idea: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: ToC champs edge out Devourer, Black Knight wrangles Paletress

Filed under: ,

Two Bosses Enter: ToC champs edge out Devourer, Black Knight wrangles Paletress originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Raid Rx: 2009 Boss healing awards

Posted on by


Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related.

Welcome to the 2009 healing awards where we look back on some of the craziest healing encounters introduced in Wrath of the Lich King. Which fights frustrated healers the most? Which ones involved a ridiculous amount of healing? Which boss went directly against our role as healers? The judging panel should have consisted entirely of gnomes, but Wilfred Fizzlebang was unable to make it at the last minute and I was asked to step in at the last minute to help finalize the results.

Continue reading Raid Rx: 2009 Boss healing awards

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Raid Rx: 2009 Boss healing awards originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lichborne: Death Knight tips for Trial of the Crusader, Part I

Posted on by
Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly foray into the news, strategy, and zen of being a Death Knight, with your host, Daniel Whitcomb.

So. You've conquered Ulduar and Naxxramas. Or maybe you've just collected a lot of badges and got some nice shiny gear. Either way, you're ready to go humor that old codger Fordring and fight and die in his silly little Arena. Even if the whole thing is obviously a waste of good time that could be spent killing the Scourge, the Ebon Blade's agreed to cooperate, so you'd better be ready too, death knight. So today, we'll give you a few tips about surviving the first few bosses of the Trial of the Crusader the death knight way.

Continue reading Lichborne: Death Knight tips for Trial of the Crusader, Part I

Filed under: , , , , , , , ,

Lichborne: Death Knight tips for Trial of the Crusader, Part I originally appeared on WoW.com on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Raid Rx: Heroic Faction Champions

Posted on by


Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. I finally lived through Faction Champions and now you can too!

After surviving defeating Faction Champs in Trial of the Grand Crusader, I've managed to figure out a few tricks healers can use to help themselves. While it's almost impossible to come up with a unified and methodical strategy, I've compiled a list of tips and advice to maximize your survivability and the players around you. Think of it more as guidelines as opposed to solidified rules.

Continue reading Raid Rx: Heroic Faction Champions

Filed under:

Raid Rx: Heroic Faction Champions originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ghostcrawler cleans up two dev chat questions

Posted on by
As you probably noticed if you watched along with us, yesterday's developer chat (with Blizzard's J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton taking questions from Twitter and answering them on the forums) was a little light to say the least. Rather than answer questions about game balance seriously, the devs chose to make fun of hunters taming druids and do a lot of hinting and winking. Fortunately, we have Ghostcrawler -- he's responded to concerns about two of the questions yesterday over on the forums.

The first is in response to some feedback about what the devs yesterday called "binary" hard modes -- they said that instead of providing multiple levels of difficulty (as in Sarth and his drakes), they'd prefer to have a hard mode either on or off (you'll be able to toggle between the two in Icecrown). This relates to what we just said recently, with different types of guilds looking for different types of content to play. GC replies that the "in-betweens" in terms of difficulty will come with later bosses in normal mode -- if you want to play a challenge without stepping into the hard modes, Blizzard will do their best to make sure that the last bosses on normal give you that challenge. Which makes sense -- bosses should ramp up in difficulty as the instance goes along, and no one would suggest, for instance, that Yogg was nearly as easy as Flame Leviathan.

And GC also talked about one of my favorite (and missed) game mechanics: crowd control.

Continue reading Ghostcrawler cleans up two dev chat questions

Filed under: , , , , ,

Ghostcrawler cleans up two dev chat questions originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Blood Pact: Warlock guide to surviving Trial of the Crusader, part 2

Posted on by

Every week Blood Pact serves you up a dish of warlock delight. Chock full of juicy chunks of detail, smothered in lashings of class specific tips all topped off with a sprinkling of hundreds and thousands of mage tears.

This week I'm rounding off the Trial of the Crusader guide with the last three bosses; Faction Champions, Twin Val'kir and Anub'arak. A more diverse trio of boss fights you will be hard pressed to find. As with last week I aim to bring you the flavor of the fights with some insight into how they look through a warlock's eyes. Again, I'll be linking only a selection of the loot from the overly complex table. This week the Horde drops for normal mode.

Faction Champions

This will be one of those fights you either love or hate. If you haven't done it before, and don't know what it's all about, then I suggest you have a look through a full strategy; such as those on WoWWiki or Wowhead. There's a huge amount of detail to the fight most of which is pretty irrelevant when you boil it down to your role. If you are leading the fight for the first time then be ready for a headache in assigning everyone their responsibility. If you're not leading then listen to what you need to do and go for it.

Continue reading Blood Pact: Warlock guide to surviving Trial of the Crusader, part 2

Filed under: , , ,

Blood Pact: Warlock guide to surviving Trial of the Crusader, part 2 originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments