Crusader's Evaluation

3.2 has been out for a good long while now and we are soon to be taken into 3.2.2, along with the newly realized Onyxia's lair. However, it took some good while to get all of the new encounters released so I have been saving some of my thoughts until now.

Personally, it is one of my favorite raid instances in the game, as of this time. Ulduar was not bad but it could never really rise to point where I was excited about it, at least the same way I was about Naxxramas and now Trial of the Crusader. Oddly, it is the very nature of the instance that I like so much, which is, it has minimum of the fuss that most raids have. Of course, I am talking about trash.

Ulduar was particularly painful at times because trash itself often had to merit their own tactics. There were a large variety of them and while the challenge was welcome, after it became a routine, the tactics became tiresome and not at all satisfying. On the contrary, whole group would sigh when being held from reaching Vezax, Auriaya, or Mimiron because you had to stop to mark mobs and focus on taking them down with the care often only associated with the bosses themselves.

When it comes to TotC, I was never one to hold back my skepticism about the four tier difficulties; 10-man, 10-man hc, 25-man, and 25-man hc. Seemed overly complex to me but then again, it seems to work very well for this instance. Once your group gets the hang of it, if decently geared, it should have no trouble clearing the normal modes. The instance itself has no trash so this can even done as a side note, if your guild still wants to focus on clearing some of Ulduar's hard modes.

Also, because the five encounters can each be cleared under a decent time, you can even do two in one day, which not only helps gearing up but also collecting of emblems, a large quantity which you will in fact need to get a full tier 9 set. The encounters themselves are successful in my opinion, as so far, I have not once been bored by them. They have a nice balance that you have to pay attention but not overwhelming to a point where you need to have a degree in high WoW science to complete them.

Northrend Beasts is a three phase fight where you fight three completely different encounters in quick succession, each with their various strategies. It is also a fight that seems to set the tone for the whole instance, which is good coordination within your group. The fight is not difficult if you are coming properly geared from Ulduar, but every does have their job to do and if they are not carried out, the fight will inevitably turn against you.

Lord Jaraxxus is one of those fights that is extremely simple for the MT and just won't leave the OT alone. Once against it has various aspects, like add tanking, random flames to mind, and abilities interrupt, so the whole group has to coordinate to get through the fight successfully. A well aoe capable tank is preferred for the role of an OT, since you will be dealing with several adds, all which the dps needs to burn down.

Faction Champions is one I have never before seen in the game, which is a pvp encounter. It follows most of the rules for pvp and is unlike you will find anywhere in Northrend. For tanks, you will not actually tank anything. Rather your duty is to keep one of the major dps on you as much as possible. For a death knight, this provides numerous tools in the form of Chain of Ice, Dark Command, and Death Grip. You cannot get real aggro, so be prepared to use the following powers the second they come out of cooldown.

For DPS and healers, it offers all the pvp elements; use abilities to snare others enemies and burst damage down one target at a time. Healers need to run and heal almost constantly as the enemy dps will try to go for them nearly constantly, se be prepared. The fight does not actually require pvp gear, which equal resilience, but a pvp trinket would not hurt if you find yourself constantly as a target of CC abilities.

The Twin Val'kyrs are one of those mind games, which essentially means the whole fight is one big prank. The whole fight revolves around the idea that you have to have the opposite colour aura to the color of the boss you are fighting. Joggling and changing to the right aura plays a crucial role in realizing just when to change aura and when to go for which boss. It takes time to get used to but is essentially a very simple fight.

The last fight is against Anub'arak, a boss everyone should find familiar from Naxxramas. Basically, it is both a challenge for both tanks and healers. The OT who deals with the tanks will be taking a lot of damage, especially on 25-man where cooldowns are necessary to survive the debuff stacks applies by the adds. The boss also does a load of constant raid wide damage so healers need their best game to get through it.

All and all, both the encounters and loot has something for everyone and is every bit worth battling through and farming for the best tier gear. As an added bonus, the trophy emblems that are needed to cash anything but the easiest set of gear are universal for everyone. So there are five trophies per run to be shared by everyone, instead of getting annoyed when a murphy's law designates that only half the raid gets the badges they need and the rest spend the evening grinding their teeth.

All and all, a very enjoyable raid for myself.

Argent Daily Guide - Part 2

As you fly from the west, land immediately in 12 by 28. The area is riddled with targettable, small trees, the source of lumber for the Argent Tournament. Yes, you will anger some treehuggers, as you chop them down but they are just a small irritation. Usually I see people just going from one tree to the other and not even kill the guardians.

If you got the Sewer Stew cooking daily, follow the river east to around 28 by 39 and start picking carrots. You need four and if you were smart, bringing the chilled meat with you, the daily can be cooked on site.

If you got the Shifting Sun Curio jewelrycrafting daily, head just slightly north, beyond Crusaders' Pinnacle and lay waste to some scourge there until they yeld you a Scourge Curio. Easy and quick.

Chipping Stone

No rest for the hero, as we mount once again and fly to the Storm Peaks. If you do not have an epic flyer, I suggest you port to Dalaran and take a flight path to Frosthold. It will be quicker, but otherwise, just fly over yourself.

Your objective is the valley that hosts the Engine of the Makers, where you will see odd pieces of architecture laying around in the snow, just like discarded rock from bigger assemblies that look like they broke off from somewhere a century ago. Blow them up and pick 15 stone blocks for your goblin employer.

The great thing about this spot is that it is a dream for jewelrycrafters, since half of our dailies can be completed here. There are proto dragons flying around 44 by 59 for Intricate Bone Figurine, revenants at 41 by 61 for Bright Armor Relic and plenty of iron dwarves at 37 by 64 for Wicked Sun Brooch. There are additional iron dwarves in 27 by 67 and the cave there.

From there, simply head back to the tournament grounds and collect your bounties. If you choose all cash rewards, you are looking at around 120g for line of dailies that take barely half an hour to complete. I do these quests almost everyday, simply because they are so rewarding and take so little effort to complete.

Of course, remember to also return the jewelrycrafting and cooking dailies to Dalaran. If you are feeling enterprising, do not take the flight path, but fly there yourself, following the mounts on Icecrown's eastern border, for they are riddled with saronite. You will pass two valleys on your way, both sitting on your western side, all good spots as well, so circle around and pick easy materials.

I usually also pass through Crusaders' Pinnacle on my way, because the valley there, controlled by the scourge, has a high concentration of saronite nodes, and of course, any saronite node can also spawn a titanium node. I almost never run out of titanium by just simply doing these small rounds on my way to from A to B.

That ends the guide this time. Naturally, if you have a question or comment, leave a note and I will elaborate on any parts that were unclear.

Continued from: Argent Daily Guide - Part 1.

Argent Daily Guide

Surprisingly, I have been giving tips about completing the Argent Tournament dailies to a few people in the past couple of days. The biggest problems seem to be the jousting fights, against both the scourge and champions, with many wondering what the good tactics are. So, instead of repeating myself, figured it was worth typing it down. Here, I will give you a brief tour of my morning daily run, however, remember that it assumes you are both a miner, jewelrycrafter, and of course able to do the champion dailies. So, if you are not, just skip those parts.

Journey starts at Dalaran, where I quickly pick up my jewelrycrafter and cooking dailies - with luck, it is a quest I can complete on the way. Next I hitch a ride to the tournament grounds where I pick up the following daily quests:

• A Chip Off the Ulduar Block
• Jack Some Lumber

• Threat From Above
• Taking Battle to the Enemy
• Battle Before the Citadel
• Among the Champions

First things first, arm your lance, pick up a steed, and head to The Ring of Champions. The simple rules of jousting is to knock your opponent's shield down with throwing spears, while keeping your own up. Once he is down to one or less, charge him. Of course, never start a fight without full health and your own shields up to maximum.

If you are used to fighting valiants, know that against champions you have to maneuver a lot more. They are faster and hit harder, but the same pattern still exists. Essentially, they will give you chase, periodically breaking off to a distance, from which they will throw spears and quickly charge you. However, they are slower than you, so keep your distance before they break off, evade and throw your spears a couple of times. This should bring their shields down and you can charge yourself, either when they prepare for their own, or before.

The best tactic is actually charge them right before them and remain in close quarters, while buffing your shield and preventing them from charging at all. Couple of seconds after, they will abandon their tactic and give chase again. Repeat four times and your first daily is done.

The Dead Dragon

Next, mount your gryphon and head west, to around 45 by 31, near the Shadow Vault. Follow the mountain range towards the location and pick up any ore that you happen across. The mountains have a lot of nodes, so do not discard it. On site, you will take down the flying, undead dragon. This can actually be soloed, if you have some gifted gear, though if you are unsure, do a quick shoutout in General chat, you should rarily have trouble finding a friend or two who are on the same quest.

In a group, you do not need a tank, or healer. Just two DPS can engage the dragon and burn him, and his henchmen, down. When soloing, I briefly buff with some food, blow my Horn of Winter, and as the dragon is coming from around the corner, summon my Army of the Dead. Do not be ashamed to burn cooldowns, it is what they are for, and in the end, the fight is very brief.

Paladins should have no trouble soloing the quest with their bubbles and healing spells. I have also heard of non-plate wearers being able to do it, including shadow priests and mages, but since they are not my forte, cannot provide help how to accomplish it, and like I said, if you are unsure, get a group. It is a social game after all.

From there, head south to 45 by 49. You will see ghostly, humanoid enemies here, moving in packs and under the leadership of scourge spellcasters. Engage them and quickly dispatch 15 of them, and you will have complete both Threat from Above and Taking Battle to the Enemy.

The Citadel

The next battlefield will be just south of Corp'rethar. This time, follow the eastern mountain slope south on your way, because there are several spawn points near each other. You will find a small Argent Crusade post just after the horrow gate, so equip your lance and grab a horse, it is time to lay waste to the enemy. Kill the flying gargoyles on your left and right as you ride south. You will need to spear them from the air, however do not bother with a shield; they will knock it down and still do almost no damage.

Next, you will see death knights, both commanders and lieutenants, on a slightly sloping ground. I highly advice to fight them one by one, although the lieutenants are the easiest. Do not even think about the foot soldiers. They will fall if you as much as cough in their direction. As always, engage with a full shield and health. Anything less, is probably stupid.

The lieutenants go down fairly easily; begin the fight with a charge and immediately escape to a distance before they can react. Be aware not to run into additional forces, or you will be overwhelmed. Quick turn, throw spear and continue to evade him. Repeat and after a couple of spears, the lieutenant goes down.

The commanders are tougher and unlike the last one, start off with your spear, at max range. Before the spear lands, retreat from him, keeping at a distance, running back and around him. Turn and throw another spear as soon as possible and charge when his shield is in one or less. The fight is faster phased than the champions and you are best simply evading him. Do not bother to buff your shield in between throws. You might even aggro a scout, but do not panic.

I have had three scouts on me and still being able to burn the commander down. Simply evade and charge him. When you are not charging, you should be throwing spears, always on the move. In the end, the fight should go smoothly after some practice. You need to kill one commander, five lieutenants, and ten scouts, before you can call it a day.

By now, you have completed all the quests that reward champions seals. So, if you have no cooking or jewelrycrafting dailies, nor felt like taking the goblin tasks, you can now fly back to the tournament and return the quests. For me, the journey continues to the Crystalsong Forest.

Continues: Argent Daily Guide - Part 2