WoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifWoW Insiderhttp://wow.joystiq.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/WoW Insider ShowEvery week, the WoW Insider Show brings you news and views from the World of Warcraft and the site that covers it all, WoW Insider. We introduce a panel of rotating guests, including bloggers from WoW Insider and other WoW blogs, and many popular personalities from around the WoW community. From the live listener chat and polls during the show, to the emails direct from listeners (reach us at theshow@wow.com), right on to the "meat" of the show -- in-depth discussion of the most popular news and posts on WoW Insider -- the WoW Insider Show is a terrific source of news and entertainment about what's going on with Blizzard and their World of Warcraft. Listen live every Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern on our Ustream page (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wow-insider-show) or subscribe to the feed and let us know what you think by reviewing the show right here in iTunes.Arcane Brilliance: How to solo Magtheridon for fun and transmoghttp://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/arcane-brilliance-how-to-solo-magtheridon-for-fun-and-transmog/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/arcane-brilliance-how-to-solo-magtheridon-for-fun-and-transmog/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/arcane-brilliance-how-to-solo-magtheridon-for-fun-and-transmog/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Magtheridon gets mad
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. In good news, the most esteemed archmage Christian Belt has escaped from the alternate timeline where he was forced to perpetually watch reruns of Fox Van Allen's appearance on The Price is Right. The bad news is that this means this is Josh Myers' last mage article for a while, but he had fun while it lasted!

My mage wasn't level-capped when Magtheridon was relevant content. I was a resto shaman, content to spam my one PUG raid night a week spamming four ranks of Chain Heal on other people. I still remember those days fondly, as they were my first exposure to "real" raiding. Also, Magtheridon's Lair was considerably easier than tier 4's other 25-man raid, Gruul's Lair, and the only way to get access to your tier four chestpiece.

I first learned Magtheridon's Lair was soloable at level 85 by managing to do it on my hunter, because pet classes are overpowered (though the ones with self-healing are even more so -- I'm looking at you, Megan O'Neill!). Speaking of potent self-healing, I followed with my blood death knight, and then conquered the pit lord with my enhance shaman. The natural next choice would have been to take a warlock or maybe a feral druid, but I wanted a challenge. Also, Magelam was craving a Crystalheart Pulse-Staff, so he was my fourth choice. I ended up spending about two hours last November perfecting my strategy and have since been able to down him consistently whenever I want a quick 50 gold and some level 70 epics to sell.

Continue reading Arcane Brilliance: How to solo Magtheridon for fun and transmog

WoW InsiderArcane Brilliance: How to solo Magtheridon for fun and transmog originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 05 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguide-to-mageshellfire-channelershow-to-magtheridonmage-guidemage-infomage-solos-magtheridonmage-talentsmagtheridonmagtheridons-lairsoloing-as-a-magesoloing-magesoloing-magtheridonsoloing-tier-fourwow-magewow-mage-infowow-mageswow-magtheridonJosh MyersSat, 05 May 2012 14:00:00 ESTThe Light and How to Swing It: The Fall of Deathwing, ret edition, part 2http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/01/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-the-fall-of-deathwing-ret-editio/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/01/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-the-fall-of-deathwing-ret-editio/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/01/the-light-and-how-to-swing-it-the-fall-of-deathwing-ret-editio/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Seasoned ret paladin Dan Desmond is here to answer your questions and provide you with your biweekly dose of retribution medicine. Contact him at dand@wowinsider.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!

This is it, guys and girls. This is the moment we have all been training for while hitting that poor target dummy in Orgrimmar, because only repeatedly bashing a plank of wood will truly prepare you to square off against a dragon as epic as the big DW. So pick up your weapon, your bag of tricks, and your handful of cooldowns -- it's time to kill Deathwing the Destroyer.

Spine of Deathwing

I remember when there was wild speculation on what the Deathwing fight in Dragon Soul would actually look like. The devs announced that we would jump on him for part of the fight, and my strange brain secretly hoped that we would start at his tail and work our way up, maybe chopping off his legs and wings into a giant container of dry rub so the Titans could come on down and throw it on a massive barbecue. Honestly, we should have done that with Onyxia so she couldn't be resurrected 14 times!

Continue reading The Light and How to Swing It: The Fall of Deathwing, ret edition, part 2

WoW InsiderThe Light and How to Swing It: The Fall of Deathwing, ret edition, part 2 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>class-helpDan DesmondDanDesmonddeathwingdragon soulDragonSoulfeaturedguideguide-to-paladinsguide-to-palliesguide-to-pallysJoystiqmadness-of-deathwingpaladin-guidepaladin-infopaladin-retribution-the-light-and-how-to-swing-itpaladin-talentspally-guidepally-infopally-talentspatch-4.3raidingret paladinsRetPaladinsretribution-paladin-the-light-and-how-to-swing-itspine-of-deathwingtalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guideworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.3wow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-paladinwow-paladin-infowow-paladinswow-pallywow-pally-infowow-patchwow-patch-4.3wow-patch-4.3-newswow-patch-newswow-talent-guideDan DesmondWed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 ESTThe Light and How to Swing It: The Fall of Deathwing, ret edition part 1http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/-fall-of-deathwing-ret-paladin-part-1/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/-fall-of-deathwing-ret-paladin-part-1/http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/-fall-of-deathwing-ret-paladin-part-1/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Seasoned ret paladin Dan Desmond is here to answer your questions and provide you with your biweekly dose of retribution medicine. Contact him at dand@wowinsider.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!

Well, here we are, the first two of the final four bosses of the expansion. That is, we think Deathwing is the final boss of the expansion -- it is still unclear whether Blizzard will pull another We're not done with the next expansion yet! raid on us like it did in Wrath with Ruby Sanctum. Regardless, we have a raid that needs a conclusion and a guide to go along with it, so let's get started!

Please note that this guide, like many others I have written, is for the normal version of each encounter. Some mechanics, like Fading Light and Twilight Sappers, either work differently or have been removed on the Raid Finder difficulty.

Ultraxion

I really wish I had more to say about this fight, but Blizzard isn't having it. Simply put, Ultraxion is this raid's Patchwerk with the addition of a button. Yes, you really do just stand in one place, run your rotation train on him, and hit a button when the situation calls for it. I honestly wish there were more to this fight, but there it is.

Continue reading The Light and How to Swing It: The Fall of Deathwing, ret edition part 1

WoW InsiderThe Light and How to Swing It: The Fall of Deathwing, ret edition part 1 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>blackhornclass-helpDan DesmondDanDesmonddragon soulDragonSoulfeaturedguideguide-to-paladinsguide-to-palliesguide-to-pallyspaladin-guidepaladin-infopaladin-talentspally-guidepally-infopally-talentspatch-4.3ret paladinsRetPaladinsRetribution-paladinretribution-paladin-the-light-and-how-to-swing-ittalenttalentsultraxionwarmaster-blackhornworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guideworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.3wow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-paladinwow-paladin-infowow-paladinswow-pallywow-pally-infowow-patchwow-patch-4.3wow-patch-4.3-newswow-patch-newswow-talent-guideDan DesmondWed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 ESTWoW Insider's guide to Warlord Zon'ozzhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/09/wow-insiders-guide-to-warlord-zonozz/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/09/wow-insiders-guide-to-warlord-zonozz/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/09/wow-insiders-guide-to-warlord-zonozz/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Ready Check helps you prepare yourself and your raid for the bosses that simply require killing. Check back with Ready Check each week for the latest pointers on killing adds, not standing in fire, and hoping for loot that won't drop. Questions, comments, or something you would like to see? Email me at tyler@wowinsider or message me on Twitter @murmursofadruid.

Unlike the other encounters in Dragon Soul, Warlord Zon'ozz only requires a single tank. For cooldown purposes, it is possible to bring in a second tank; however, there isn't too much of a need to do so. Per usual, you will want to have around five to six healers. Switch your off tank for an additional healer if you feel that would help. Your DPS should be a solid mix of both ranged and melee; there does need to be a solid balance of both. Healers should be split among the DPS, with tank healers staying with the melee.

Abilities

Zon'ozz doesn't have all that many abilities, but he's still a hands-on encounter. Most of your time will be spent watching the Void of Unmaking and bouncing it back and forth. Healers will focus more on clearing away Disrupting Shadows. For once, tanks probably have the easiest time on this encounter, only really having to watch out for a single ability that occurs about once per phase or so.

Continue reading WoW Insider's guide to Warlord Zon'ozz

WoW InsiderWoW Insider's guide to Warlord Zon'ozz originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>dragon-souldragon-soul-guidedragon-soul-raidfeaturedguideguide-to-raid-leadingleadershippatch-4.3raid-guideraid-leaderraid-leader-guideraiding-guideraidswarlord-zonozzwarlord-zonozz-guideworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.3wow-guidewow-guide-to-raid-leadingwow-patchwow-patch-4.3wow-patch-4.3-newswow-patch-newswow-raid-leaderwow-raidingwow-raidszonozzzonozz-guideTyler CarawayFri, 09 Dec 2011 17:00:00 ESTWoW Insider's guide to Morchokhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/wow-insiders-guide-to-morchok/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/wow-insiders-guide-to-morchok/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/wow-insiders-guide-to-morchok/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Ready Check helps you prepare yourself and your raid for the bosses that simply require killing. Check back with Ready Check each week for the latest pointers on killing adds, not standing in fire, and hoping for loot that won't drop. Questions, comments, or something you would like to see? Email me at tyler@wowinsider or message me on Twitter @murmursofadruid.

Greetings raiders, and welcome to WoW Insider's raid boss strategy guides! With the release of 4.3 and the new Dragon Soul raid, we're finally onto the last bastion of evil in this expansion. Finally we are given the chance to face down Deathwing himself and end his destructive madness. Before we can reach this cataclysmic destroyer, though, we'll first have to break the siege upon Wyrmrest Temple and battle our way through the most powerful minions the Destroyer has in his arsenal.

The first of this is Morchok, a giant earth elemental that is assaulting the front gates, as it were, of the Temple itself. Although not challenging for the first encounter of the raid, this pile of rocks isn't going down without a fight. Are you prepared to break yourselves upon his body? (Oh, wait ... that's a different encounter, isn't it?)

Continue reading WoW Insider's guide to Morchok

WoW InsiderWoW Insider's guide to Morchok originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Dragon-soul-guideDragon-Soul-Morchokdragon-soul-raidfeaturedguideguide-to-raid-leadingleadershipMorchokMorchok-guidepatch-4.3raid-guideraid-leaderraid-leader-guideraiding-guideraidsworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.3wow-guidewow-guide-to-raid-leadingwow-patchwow-patch-4.3wow-patch-4.3-newswow-patch-newswow-raid-leaderwow-raidingwow-raidsTyler CarawayFri, 02 Dec 2011 16:00:00 ESTThe Light and How to Swing It: Retribution in the Firelands, part 1http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/31/retribution-paladin-firelands-part-1/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/31/retribution-paladin-firelands-part-1/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/31/retribution-paladin-firelands-part-1/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. This week, Dan Desmond walks you through the Firelands.

Firelands has been out for a couple of months now. Many have gotten their hands dirty fighting against the minions of Ragnaros; a few have even beaten the elemental lord himself. But many more are just rolling up their sleeves, waiting for their friends and guildmates to get bored of playing in the sun (seriously, it's going to be there for another 5 billion years -- I think you can play a little Warcraft here and there and it won't mind). Well then, what better place to start than at the beginning?

Continue reading The Light and How to Swing It: Retribution in the Firelands, part 1

WoW InsiderThe Light and How to Swing It: Retribution in the Firelands, part 1 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>class-helpfeaturedfirelandsguideguide-to-paladinsguide-to-palliesguide-to-pallyslord-rhyolithpaladin-guidepaladin-infopaladin-talentspally-guidepally-infopally-talentsragefaceretribution-paladinretribution-paladin-the-light-and-how-to-swing-itrhyolithriplimbshannoxtalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-paladinwow-paladin-infowow-paladinswow-pallywow-pally-infowow-talent-guideDan DesmondWed, 31 Aug 2011 14:00:00 ESTRaid Rx: Healing Majordomo Staghelmhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/majordomo-staghelm-healing-guide/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/majordomo-staghelm-healing-guide/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/majordomo-staghelm-healing-guide/#commentsFiled under: ,

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading, the Matticast.

Anyone else excited about transmogrification? I'll be shooting for tier 2, tier 5 and tier 6 looks. I'd rank those three as the greatest-looking priest sets of all time. But we're not here to talk about things like cosmetic looks, because no one cares about that stuff, right?!

This week, we duck back into Firelands and take a look at Majordomo Staghelm. Among encounters that emphasize the use of cooldowns, the heroic phase of Halfus would be the Superbowl of all healing cooldown encounters. But the 25-man version of Majordomo, I would classify as the Olympics. There is a ton of preparation that needs to happen before throwing the entire raid in there. Before we devise a strategy that's going to work for you, there are a few questions you'll want to ask.
  • How many healers do you want to take in?
  • How many overall defensive raid cooldowns are available?
  • Is your DPS amazingly high?

Continue reading Raid Rx: Healing Majordomo Staghelm

WoW InsiderRaid Rx: Healing Majordomo Staghelm originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredFirelandsguidehealinghealing-guidehow-to-healMajordomoraid-guideraid-healingraiding-guidewow-guidewow-healingwow-raid-guidewow-raid-healingMatt LowFri, 19 Aug 2011 19:00:00 ESTReady Check: WoW Insider's guide to Ragnaroshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/ragnaros-strategy-guide-firelands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/ragnaros-strategy-guide-firelands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/ragnaros-strategy-guide-firelands/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Ready Check helps you prepare yourself and your raid for the bosses that simply require killing. Check back with Ready Check each week for the latest pointers on killing adds, not standing in fire, and hoping for loot that won't drop.

This is it, folks, the end of the the line. We have already faced down the rest of his minions: Shannox, Beth'tilac, Lord Rhyolith, Alysrazor, Baleroc the Gatekeeper, and Majordomo Staghelm. All that remains is to challenge Ragnaros himself. The battle to reach the Sulfuron Keep has been long. Each encounter offers a new challenge for players to overcome, but none of those fights holds a candle to what remains. Ragnaros is no pushover; any player seeking to bring down the Lord of Fire should be amply prepared.

One thing worth mentioning about the Ragnaros encounter is that very little of it is gear-dependent. If you are capable of reaching him, then you are more than capable of taking him down. More of the fight relies upon flawless execution of the mechanics than it does the raw output of your raid group. Should your group struggle to down him, don't fret. This is an encounter that takes time -- time to learn the ins and outs, how to move, what to do, and how to deal. Keep at it; things will click eventually, and suddenly he becomes cake.

Continue reading Ready Check: WoW Insider's guide to Ragnaros

WoW InsiderReady Check: WoW Insider's guide to Ragnaros originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredfirelandsfirelands-guideguideguide-to-raid-leadingleadershipragnarosragnaros-guideraid-guideraid-leaderraid-leader-guideraiding-guideraidswow-guidewow-guide-to-raid-leadingwow-raid-leaderwow-raidingwow-raidsTyler CarawayFri, 19 Aug 2011 13:00:00 ESTRaid Rx: The value of the all-purpose healerhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/29/raid-rx-the-value-of-the-all-purpose-healer/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/29/raid-rx-the-value-of-the-all-purpose-healer/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/29/raid-rx-the-value-of-the-all-purpose-healer/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading, the Matticast.

When it comes to setting up healing in raids, we like to lump healers into different specializations. We have players who strictly tank heal or raid heal. In some cases, there is a specific role they need to play within the encounter (like kite healing). Blizzard has done a great job of trying to equalize the healing classes to the point that they can do everything competently. Even then, we continue to instinctively place the different classes into specific healing roles. If you are a healer who has traditionally done only one type of healing, then it is time to diversify.

Continue reading Raid Rx: The value of the all-purpose healer

WoW InsiderRaid Rx: The value of the all-purpose healer originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguidehealinghealing-guidehow-to-healraid-guideraid-healingraiding-guidewow-guidewow-healingwow-raid-guidewow-raid-healingMatt LowFri, 29 Jul 2011 19:00:00 ESTThe Care and Feeding of Warriors: DPS in the Firelandshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/23/the-care-and-feeding-of-warriors-dps-in-the-firelands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/23/the-care-and-feeding-of-warriors-dps-in-the-firelands/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/23/the-care-and-feeding-of-warriors-dps-in-the-firelands/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host.

Now that we've covered gearing up in detail, it's time to talk about what to do with that gear. Now that the Firelands have been out for a while, we've all had a chance to get in there and kill some mobs. That includes me; I have also had a chance to do that. So what have I experienced in my excursions to the hell of upside-down fire elementals? (Okay, they're not upside-down.)
  • For starters, all three DPS warrior specs are really close together right now. In my experience, arms and fury DPS is neck-and-neck, with arms performing better on some fights and fury better on others. Also, SMF and TG fury are both pretty viable, with TG seeming to move ahead once you're using a pair of Firelands 2H weapons.
  • Once again, gearing up takes you past the nerfs in a few weeks. I basically raid with a fury spec and an arms spec, and some nights I respec from TG to SMF and/or the other way around. (Now that my axes have dropped, I usually stay TG.) My DPS was much poorer going into Firelands than it is now. The difference was pretty dramatic, and while I'm hardly blowing ahead to the top of the charts, DPS is solid again. Basically, what's controlling my DPS (again) is encounter design (again).
  • Be prepared to use your utility abilities. Rallying Cry. Remember it? You'd better, because it's a raid-wide cooldown that you're definitely going to be using on Majordomo Staghelm. Speaking of Majordomo, if you have Seeds on you and you blow up the raid, it's because you forgot you have one of the best abilities in the game to get out to range in time and then some of the best abilities in the game to get back in.
  • Blizzard needs to very quickly create and implement a set of non-tier DPS plate shoulders. Look at me -- I'm still wearing ZA shoulders. I am knee-deep in Firelands every week. I've killed Domo several times now. Why won't you give me shoulders? There is absolutely no option for plate DPS save tier, although there are several pairs of tanking shoulders. This is bloody insane, and it needs to be addressed. Firelands or the valor point vendors need more loot, guys.
So let's discuss the Firelands from a DPS warrior perspective.

Continue reading The Care and Feeding of Warriors: DPS in the Firelands

WoW InsiderThe Care and Feeding of Warriors: DPS in the Firelands originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>armsarms-warriorarms-warrior-the-care-and-feeding-of-warriorsclass-helpfuryfury-warriorfury-warrior-the-care-and-feeding-of-warriorsguidepatch-4.2smf-furytalenttalentstg-furywarrior-guidewarrior-infoworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guideworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.2wow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-patchwow-patch-4.2wow-patch-4.2-newswow-patch-newswow-talent-guidewow-warriorwow-warrior-infoMatthew RossiSat, 23 Jul 2011 16:00:00 ESTRaid Rx: Guide to healing Alysrazorhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/raid-rx-guide-to-healing-alysrazor/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/raid-rx-guide-to-healing-alysrazor/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/raid-rx-guide-to-healing-alysrazor/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading, the Matticast.

Up for a really big bird? Maybe a little BBQ bird? Although more of dragon than anything, Alysrazor does sort of look like a bird. This fight isn't really as challenging as Baleroc, but it does have a fair share of obstacles. You'd better be able to heal on the move, as this encounter will throw a ton of stuff your way when you least expect it. Know where your tanks are at all times, because if the monsters they're tanking become really angry and throw a tantrum, you'll need to step up and keep them alive.

If you have a basic understanding of the encounter, keep reading. You may wish to refer to the encounter journal or other resources to get the whole picture of what is going on and what the different roles are.

Continue reading Raid Rx: Guide to healing Alysrazor

WoW InsiderRaid Rx: Guide to healing Alysrazor originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>alysrazorfeaturedfirelandsguidehealinghealing-guidehow-to-healpatch-4.2raid-guideraid-healingraiding-guidewow-guidewow-healingwow-raid-guidewow-raid-healingMatt LowFri, 22 Jul 2011 16:00:00 ESTTotem Talk: An enhancement guide to Shannox and Balerochttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/16/totem-talk-an-enhancement-guide-to-shannox-and-baleroc/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/16/totem-talk-an-enhancement-guide-to-shannox-and-baleroc/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/16/totem-talk-an-enhancement-guide-to-shannox-and-baleroc/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement, and restoration shaman. Josh Myers once only tackled the hard questions about enhancement but has recently expanded his sphere of responsibility to all shaman DPS specs. (And no, two-handed enhancement is still never coming back.)

Every fight in Firelands has its positives and negatives for enhancement shaman. Rhyolith takes reduced damage for 60% of the fight, but he goes molten at 25%, and you need to burn him before he burns you. Beth'tilac spends the first 3 minutes making you run around like a confused wildebeest while you try to avoid scary fire on the ground, but then he gives you a nice, long burn phase at the end.

This seems to be the Firelands model, at least in the first four fights. Every fight has periods of low damage to the boss followed by intense DPS phases. Shannox, the Hagrid of Firelands, is no different. His first phase will either make you want to rip your movement keys off your keyboard or make you want to reroll an arcane mage, while his second will just make you want to roll arcane.

Continue reading Totem Talk: An enhancement guide to Shannox and Baleroc

WoW InsiderTotem Talk: An enhancement guide to Shannox and Baleroc originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>balerocenhance-shamanenhance-shaman-dpsenhance-shaman-totem-talkenhancement-and-balerocenhancement-and-shannoxenhancement-shamanenhancement-shaman-dpsenhancement-shaman-firelandsenhancement-shaman-patch-4.2enhancement-shaman-totem-talkfirelands-raid-guidesnhance-shaman-firelandsshannoxJosh MyersSat, 16 Jul 2011 18:00:00 ESTThe Care and Feeding of Warriors: How to spend your valor pointshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/16/the-care-and-feeding-of-warriors-how-to-spend-your-valor-points/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/16/the-care-and-feeding-of-warriors-how-to-spend-your-valor-points/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/16/the-care-and-feeding-of-warriors-how-to-spend-your-valor-points/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host.

Patch 4.2 is in full swing by now, with most players having unlocked either the Shadow Wardens or the Druids of the Talon for the various vendors. Many guilds are already working on heroic modes, and even more are fighting their way through the raid to one degree or another.

And what does this all mean to us warriors? Well, it means new gear, for one thing. The past couple of weeks, we've discussed gear you could pick up in the Firelands raid itself as well as via reputation rewards and unlockable vendors (and a quest chain). Now, it's time to discuss what you can buy for valor points, since we're getting close to the third week and you should have been able to pick up some points as well as had a shot at Occu'thar.

Before we go into the big list o' loot, I wanted to say that a couple of weeks in, I'm feeling like I'm getting a handle on how warriors perform in the Firelands raid. It's like I figured: Once again, warriors need to get geared up to equal other DPSers. I feel that for right now, arms DPS is the easiest to sustain, then SMF fury, and finally TG fury. I expect TG will pull ahead once I'm using a couple of Firelands weapons. On a fight like Rhyolith or Staghelm, I can sustain more DPS than on an Alysrazor or Shannox, where I have to target switch more, move around to chase down mobs or avoid damage and even interrupt. I think perhaps the nerfs to fury were more than was needed, but we'll see once a couple more weeks are gone and we're talking about set bonuses and Firelands level weapons.

Speaking of set bonuses, let's start talking about valor point rewards.

Continue reading The Care and Feeding of Warriors: How to spend your valor points

WoW InsiderThe Care and Feeding of Warriors: How to spend your valor points originally appeared on WoW Insider on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>class-helpguidepatch-4.2talenttalentsValorValor-gearValor-pointwarrior-guidewarrior-infoworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guideworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.2wow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-patchwow-patch-4.2wow-patch-4.2-newswow-patch-newswow-talent-guidewow-warriorwow-warrior-infoMatthew RossiSat, 16 Jul 2011 16:00:00 ESTWoW Insider's Guide to Occu'tharhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/06/wow-insiders-guide-to-occuthar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/06/wow-insiders-guide-to-occuthar/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/06/wow-insiders-guide-to-occuthar/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Occu'thar is a deranged demon found within the western wing of the Baradin Hold raid instance. Released in patch 4.2, he offers a chance for both hardcore raiders and casual PUG players to get their tier 12 gloves and pants, as well as an assortment of Season 10 PVP gear. This is WoW Insider's Guide to Occu'thar.

When you zone into the post-4.2 Baradin Hold, the first thing you'll notice that last patch's Demon Containment Unit trash have been deactivated. The now defunct Destroyed Containment Unit stand silent in the hallways, leaving room for you to engage this patch's new trash, the Eyes of Occu'thar. If you've learned anything from Cataclysm raiding, it should be that trash mobs will do everything in their power to kill you, and it's in your raid's best interest to be prepared. These optical oddities are no different.

Continue reading WoW Insider's Guide to Occu'thar

WoW InsiderWoW Insider's Guide to Occu'thar originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>baradin-holdbaradin-hold-boss-guidebaradin-hold-bossesbaradin-hold-guidebaradin-hold-raid-guideeyes-of-occutharfocused-fireoccutharoccuthar-abilitiesoccuthar-guideoccuthar-raid-guidepatch-4.2patch-4.2-baradin-holdsearing-shadowstol-barad-raid-bossesworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.2wow-patchwow-patch-4.2wow-patch-4.2-newswow-patch-newsJosh MyersWed, 06 Jul 2011 14:00:00 ESTRaid Rx: Lord Rhyolith and Beth'tilac healing impressionshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/01/raid-rx-lord-rhyolith-and-bethtilac-healing-impressions/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/01/raid-rx-lord-rhyolith-and-bethtilac-healing-impressions/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/07/01/raid-rx-lord-rhyolith-and-bethtilac-healing-impressions/#commentsFiled under: , ,

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 Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast.

Firelands is here! Yay! The other night, my raid took down entry bosses Beth'tilac and Lord Rhyolith. Both have their share of intensive healing phases. This week, I'll walk you through a little bit of the threats involved and approach the two encounters from the mindset of both a healing leader and a healer. I'll let you know when to save and when to use your cooldowns.

How much have the encounters changed since the last time I faced them on the PTR? I have to say not much, since the mechanics and damage are about the same. To be fair, when I tried them out on the PTR, it was done with a 10-player group. I found the live version 25-man to be much more forgiving at times, despite the high output of damage.

Continue reading Raid Rx: Lord Rhyolith and Beth'tilac healing impressions

WoW InsiderRaid Rx: Lord Rhyolith and Beth'tilac healing impressions originally appeared on WoW Insider on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>bethtilacfeaturedfirelandsguidehealinghealing-guidehow-to-heallord-rhyolithraid-guideraid-healingraidingraiding-guidewow-guidewow-healingwow-raid-guidewow-raid-healingMatt LowFri, 01 Jul 2011 19:00:00 ESTFirelands: WoW Insider's first impressionshttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/06/29/firelands-wow-insiders-first-impressions/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/06/29/firelands-wow-insiders-first-impressions/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/06/29/firelands-wow-insiders-first-impressions/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Pssst. Hey you. Yeah, you. Come here. Do you like clearing trash? Is clearing trash, like, the best? Do you love trash respawns on tight timers? Well, have I got the raid for you!

Patch 4.2 has been live on servers for a little over 24 hours now, which means that the Firelands raid is just as new. Hardcore raiders that we are (well, some of us), a team of WoW Insider writers headed into the raid instance on its inaugural night with the intent of offering our first impressions.

How would the new encounters test healers? What kind of issues would tanks face? Would crowd control efforts would be necessary? Matt Low of Raid RX, warrior tank Mat McCurley, and enhancement shaman Josh Myers all headed into the Firelands to find out. What follows are their insights and opinions from the point of view of a healer, a tank, and a DPSer, respectively.

Gallery: Firelands' Trash First Impressions

Giant Fire Scorpion vs. Bear!Giant Fire Scorpion vs. Bear, past 2That's a lot of trash.Molten Surger 3- Close UpMolten Lord, looking bored

Continue reading Firelands: WoW Insider's first impressions

WoW InsiderFirelands: WoW Insider's first impressions originally appeared on WoW Insider on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>cataclysm-raidcataclysm-raidingDPSing-the-firelandsfireland-raid-opinionsfirelandsfirelands-first-impressionfirelands-raidhealing-the-firelandshow-do-i-DPS-firelandshow-do-i-heal-firelandshow-do-I-tank-firelandspatch-4.2raid-guideraiding-opiniontanking-the-firelandsworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.2wow-patchwow-patch-4.2wow-patch-4.2-newswow-patch-newsFox Van AllenWed, 29 Jun 2011 18:00:00 ESTWoW Rookie: A raid rookie's lexicon of raiding languagehttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/06/16/wow-rookie-a-raid-rookies-lexicon-of-raiding-language/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/06/16/wow-rookie-a-raid-rookies-lexicon-of-raiding-language/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/06/16/wow-rookie-a-raid-rookies-lexicon-of-raiding-language/#commentsFiled under: , ,

New around here? WoW Rookie has your back! Get all our collected tips, tricks and tactics for new players in the WoW Rookie Guide. WoW Rookie is about more than just being new to the game; it's about checking out new classes, new playstyles, and new zones.

Breaking into the raid scene can be intimidating for a new player, especially one who's not done anything like 10-man or 25-man raiding. We can hope that 5-man dungeons provide a basic idea of the general dynamics: healers heal, tanks tank, and damagers damage.

Most experienced raiders use language that a new player won't find in the game interface. Words like "tank" have a relatively obvious meaning, but phrases like "void zone" can be a little tougher to interpret when a new player first encounters them. This raider's lexicon has been built through 6 years of WoW raiding, and decades of MMO playing before Azeroth become an MMO.

This guide is intended to help new raiders get an idea what the heck everyone else is talking about. Be warned that most raids also have their own internal lexicon, too; we can't tell you what everyone is saying, but hopefully we'll get you caught up on the most basic stuff.

Continue reading WoW Rookie: A raid rookie's lexicon of raiding language

WoW InsiderWoW Rookie: A raid rookie's lexicon of raiding language originally appeared on WoW Insider on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>featuredguidehow-to-play-wowhow-to-raidnew-to-world-of-warcraftnoob-guideraid-termsraidingraiding-for-beginnersrookie-guideworld-of-warcraft-guideworld-of-warcraft-helpworld-of-warcraft-noobsworld-of-warcraft-rookieswow-guidewow-helpwow-noob-guidewow-noobswow-to-play-world-of-warcraftMichael GrayThu, 16 Jun 2011 15:00:00 ESTTotem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 1http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/totem-talk-cataclysm-raiding-as-a-restoration-shaman-part-1/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/totem-talk-cataclysm-raiding-as-a-restoration-shaman-part-1/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/totem-talk-cataclysm-raiding-as-a-restoration-shaman-part-1/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how.

You've done all your prep work, and the time has come to step into a raid. You've got your gear shined up and ready to go. You've got your gems and enchants in place, and you have chosen your raiding spec and glyphs. You're here to chew bubblegum and down raid bosses ... and you're all out of bubblegum.

Now, while you may be prepared to step into the ring and take on Ivan Drago, preparing yourself with some boss knowledge is always good. We're going to start by taking a look at all the bosses in this tier's raiding content in order of what is largely considered to be the standard progression path. I'll talk about them them roughly in order of easiest to hardest difficulty, with emphasis on what you should know as a raiding restoration shaman for these fights.

Continue reading Totem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 1

WoW InsiderTotem Talk: Cataclysm raiding as a restoration shaman, part 1 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>class-helpfeaturedguideguide-to-shamansrestorationrestoration-shamanrestoration-shaman-columnrestoration-shaman-totem-talkshaman-guideshaman-healingshaman-infoshaman-restoration-columnshaman-restoration-totem-talkshaman-talentstalenttalentsworld-of-warcraft-class-guideworld-of-warcraft-guidewow-class-guidewow-class-helpwow-guidewow-shamanwow-shaman-infowow-talent-guideJoe PerezTue, 26 Apr 2011 20:00:00 ESTPatch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Aman, part 2http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/patch-4-1-guide-to-the-new-zulaman-part-2/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/patch-4-1-guide-to-the-new-zulaman-part-2/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/patch-4-1-guide-to-the-new-zulaman-part-2/#commentsFiled under: ,

Continue reading Patch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Aman, part 2

WoW InsiderPatch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Aman, part 2 originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>Allison RobertTue, 26 Apr 2011 19:00:00 ESTPatch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Amanhttp://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/patch-4-1-guide-to-the-new-zulaman/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/patch-4-1-guide-to-the-new-zulaman/http://wow.joystiq.com/2011/04/26/patch-4-1-guide-to-the-new-zulaman/#commentsFiled under: ,

Of the two "new" troll dungeons introduced in patch 4.1, Zul'Aman was the more difficult on the PTR, to the point that it actually felt a little overtuned for folks trying to do it solely in heroic blues. I'd compare it to heroic Magisters' Terrace of The Burning Crusade or heroic Halls of Reflection in Wrath of the Lich King, at least in the sense that it can be a pretty unforgiving place if you're not sitting on any raid-quality gear. I only ever pugged ZA while on the PTR, so estimates of the content's difficulty are necessarily colored by that. If you're going to do this place with a competent set of guildies, you probably won't need to worry as much.

If you're familiar with ZA's pre-4.1 incarnation, you'll recognize a lot of the same mechanics, mobs, and bosses at 85. I used to organize "bear runs" for my guild back in BC and would go so far as to say that, in marked contrast to Zul'Gurub, about 90% of the dungeon's raid mechanics have survived in one form or another.

Continue reading Patch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Aman

WoW InsiderPatch 4.1: Guide to the new Zul'Aman originally appeared on WoW Insider on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]>guide-to-zul-amanguide-to-zulamanhow-to-do-zul-amanhow-to-do-zulamanpatch-4.1patch-4.1-zul-amanpatch-4.1-zulamanpatch-4.1-zulaman-guidepatch-4.1-zulaman-walkthroughworld-of-warcraft-patch-4.1wow-patchwow-patch-4.1wow-patch-4.1-newswow-patch-newszazul-amanzul-aman-patch-4.1zulamanzulaman-patch-4.1Allison RobertTue, 26 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST