Category Archives: toc

The OverAchiever: How to get disappearing mounts

Posted on by

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we offer supplication to the gods of RNG.

Four mounts will be disappearing as a result of current Wrath achievements becoming feats of strength in Cataclysm. As such, this article's essentially an extension of The OverAchiever: Do them now!, which singled out all of the known future feats. If you're interested in snagging a Swift Zulian Tiger, Swift Razzashi Raptor, Swift Alliance Steed/Swift Horde Wolf or Crusader's Warhorse, you'll find some information past the cut.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: How to get disappearing mounts

Filed under: , ,

The OverAchiever: How to get disappearing mounts originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The OverAchiever: Do them now!

Posted on by

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, it's time to get a move on.

We've had some recent news concerning achievements in categories we've already covered, and my original intent this week was to play catch-up with that in addition to finishing off the new reputation, world event, and feat of strength achievements in Cataclysm. However, given equally recent news concerning achievements that are set to become feats (and may do so as early as patch 4.0.1), I thought it would be more sensible to cover the stuff that you'd want to do as soon as possible before it disappears.

I've cross-checked the list of known Cataclysm feats of strength against the feats already present in game, and as far as I know, this should be a comprehensive set of current Wrath of the Lich King achievements that will become inaccessible as of patch 4.0.1, patch 4.0.3, or Cataclysm's release (or at least, a comprehensive list as of the current beta and PTR builds).

I've written this list assuming the following:
  • Although it hasn't been officially confirmed that all of these will disappear in patch 4.0.1 or 4.0.3 rather than the expansion itself, for the time being, I'm guessing it's one of the two patches you need to worry about.
  • With the recent announcement of arena Season 8 ending on Oct. 12, 4.0.1 may hit in less than two weeks. Zarhym's post just made it clear that the season could end as early as the 12th, not that it definitely would, and there's still a lot of stuff to fix on the PTR and beta -- but every Tuesday from hereon is a potential patch day.
  • Accepting Oct. 5 or 12 as possible patch dates, I've included an opinion on the feasibility of getting the following achievements done as quickly as possible.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: Do them now!

Filed under: ,

The OverAchiever: Do them now! originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wrath Retrospective: Ulduar and Trial of the Crusader, part two

Posted on by
Trial of the Crusader was, for all intents and purposes, an experiment. The world part of raiding, from suppressor rooms to the Twin Emperors and beyond, has always been the stifling mechanic of trash. "The real meat of the dungeon's content should be the boss fights," the masses cried! And for the most part, they are right. Trash serves many purposes, from creating artificial time sinks and flavor, to teaching players mechanics that they would then need to hone, skill wise, against a boss. Trial of the Crusader paved a very different path, succeeding in many areas, but ultimately failing in many others. ToC was uneven at best, soul-destroying at worst.

Let's look back!

Continue reading Wrath Retrospective: Ulduar and Trial of the Crusader, part two

Filed under: ,

Wrath Retrospective: Ulduar and Trial of the Crusader, part two originally appeared on WoW.com on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Arcane Brilliance: Level 80 mage gearing road map, part 2

Posted on by
The dawning of another Saturday brings with it another edition of Arcane Brilliance, the weekly mage column delivered direct to your driveway by a paperboy who blinks from house to house, fending off overprotective guard dogs with the occasional conjured ball of flame and constantly demanding his two dollars (I really, really wish I could have found an actual clip of that, but yet again, YouTube has failed me). It's all pretty impressive, especially when you consider that this paperboy is also wearing a dress.

Okay, after last week's part one of this topic, many of you disagreed with my assertion that a fresh level 80 mage should attempt to upgrade his gear prior to jumping into random heroics. I understand this point of view. Farming random heroics is by far the fastest way to gear up initially, and it is true that if you find the right groups, you and your pathetic new-80 DPS may be viewed less as a liability and more of a charity project. Thinking about it, I too secretly enjoy having someone in the group who's needing on blue drops because they're honest upgrades for him. As long as we have a decently geared tank (or a healer who's capable of keeping him up even if he isn't), even a dungeon run with terrible damage dealers can go relatively smoothly.

If you wish to gear up as rapidly as possible and you don't mind the idea that you won't quite be pulling your own weight at first, then by all means, skip my first few suggestions for gearing up and head directly for the random heroics. Better yet, get together with some better-geared guildies and queue together. That way you'll always be in a good group and one that doesn't absolutely require you to be up-to-par right away.

This week, regardless of the path you've taken to get there, I'm going to assume that you've been industrious and spent a significant amount of time gearing through drops and collecting emblems in those random heroics. Here's the general road you should be following ...

Continue reading Arcane Brilliance: Level 80 mage gearing road map, part 2

Filed under: ,

Arcane Brilliance: Level 80 mage gearing road map, part 2 originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 22 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | 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

The OverAchiever: The 25 most evil achievements, part 1

Posted on by
What are evil achievements? They're the soul-killing rep grinds, the raiding milestones that required sacrificing a farm animal to get, and even fun pasttimes like battlegrounds into which a sizable dose of misery has been added. Eventually you just want to grab the nearest developer and shake him back and forth, screaming, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Last week I previewed three of the most evil achievements in the game, both to collect my own thoughts and to canvass commenters' opinions for a larger article. This week, I'd like to present the first set of evil achievements for your reading, wincing and antacid-chugging pleasure.

A note on judging the "evil value" of achievements: I've been adding to this list for a while, and it's drawn from both the achievements we've covered in this column and some I've seen players complain about frequently in game. Obviously, there's no real way to quantify exactly how difficult or excruciating achievements are, so I'm going with the definition I gave above. Any incredibly difficult or RNG-saturated achievement made the short list, but I also tried to keep some unusual picks in mind. In this vein, there's an achievement in today's column that, while extremely easy by today's standards, was a screaming horror when it first debuted. I may wind up doing a list of honorable mentions as well.

So, in no particular order, I am pleased to present World of Warcraft's 25 most evil achievements, starting with #25-16 this week.

Continue reading The OverAchiever: The 25 most evil achievements, part 1

Filed under: ,

The OverAchiever: The 25 most evil achievements, part 1 originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Two Bosses Enter: Grand Champions gang up on Marwyn; Eadric faces Lich King

Posted on by
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. It's a brand new season and a brand new format, introducing judges from WoW.com and the WoW community at large -- and of course, your votes. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble!

Last week's matchup between Marwyn and the entire ToC PvP Champions team was a good set-up for this week's deathmatch between Eadric the Pure and the Lich King (5-man version). It's all about balance. Yes, lore comes into play. But inside the Thunderdome, lore isn't the only factor. Every point must be balanced against the others.

This week, a group of five adventurers -- the ToC Grand Champions -- made short work of Marwyn (just as your own groups probably do whenever you face Marwyn in a random). Step into the Thunderdome with us after the break, where we'll hear the judges' decisions and consider what many of you have been waiting for: the first of many bouts involving some version of the Lich King himself. Oh yes, it's finally time ... And in the words of Dr. Dealgood: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here."

Continue reading Two Bosses Enter: Grand Champions gang up on Marwyn; Eadric faces Lich King

Filed under: ,

Two Bosses Enter: Grand Champions gang up on Marwyn; Eadric faces Lich King originally appeared on WoW.com on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments