Fresh from our first run of Patch 3.2′s new 5-man dungeon, the Trial of the Crusader, come these videos of our exploits inside Tirion’s Big Top. Sneep of <Goon Squad> was kind enough to Fraps each encounter (in HD, no less!) as we progressed through the instance. The videos show the Champion encounters — both mounted and on foot — as well as the Argent Crusade representative fight (we had Argent Confessor Paletress this time) and the final battle against the Black Knight. Our group makeup was:

• Talid, Resto Druid
• Sneep, Elemental Shaman
• Arnesca, Prot Paladin (Alex Ziebart)
• Venda, Survival Hunter
• Mosta, Elemental Shaman (Me)

The mounted battle against the Champions is shown above, and the rest of the videos are after the jump. Be sure to watch in HD by clicking the “HD” button on the Youtube UI!

EDIT: There was some offensive chat in the first video I posted, and it’s been removed. Apologies to anyone who was offended by the remarks; they weren’t in any way intended as serious.

Continue reading Patch 3.2: Trial of the Crusader HD videos

Filed under: Patches, Instances

Patch 3.2: Trial of the Crusader HD videos originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For today’s WRUP, I’m just going to let the team speak for themselves. In the form of this poem by Michael Gray:

Would you raid listening to GWAR?
Would you raid in Ulduar?
Would you raid with an axe?
Perhaps you’d raid in good old Naxx?
Would you raid, Mike I am?
Would you raid Sartharion?

I would not raid, Mike I am!
I will not raid old Karazhan!
Would you, could you, with a hose?
Would you, could you, raid Malygos?!

Malygos, Mike I am?
I’d love to raid old Malygos.
Would you, could you, raid WotLK?
All 10 mans this weekend, it might just be!

Of course, one poem leads to another…

Continue reading WRUP: We’re taking poetic license on this one

Filed under: Odds and ends

WRUP: We’re taking poetic license on this one originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The schedule for the 2009 San Diego Comic Con is finally starting to emerge, and Blizzard has now confirmed details of its presence there.

It looks like Blizzard is going to be running a panel on Thursday, July 23rd (the first officlal day of the con, which this year is July 23rd to 26th) with Chris Metzen and a host of people associated with Blizzard products from Upper Deck, Wildstorm, Tokyopop, and J!nx. Interestingly, Nick Carpenter, the creative director for Blizzard cinematics, is also going to be there, so it looks like this might be a particularly good opportunity to get information about Blizzard’s lore and art direction, on top of the Warcraft comics, minis, and cards. I’ve included the full list of panel attendees behind the cut, and as of now the panel looks to be scheduled in Room 6BCF.

If anyone’s interested in what the Blizzard Comic Con panel was like last year and the nature of the questions answered, here’s our 2008 write-up. Do we have any readers who are going to Comic Con this year?

Continue reading Details of Blizzard presence at Comic Con

Filed under: Events, Blizzard, News items

Details of Blizzard presence at Comic Con originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A kodo peacefully grazing in the middle of Tarren Mill? To those of us familiar with the Hillsbrad Death Zone, it’s an unthinkable idea. But Thommas of <Pirates lnc> on Gnomeregan is free to go AFK without fear. On a PvP server, he’d be just a smear of fur on the grass by now, and there’d be three level 80 rogues stealthed and waiting for him to rez. But on his quiet PvE server, the only thing he has to worry about is a wandering bear, and they tend to stay away from downtown TM. Bears — nature’s quitters.

Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We’d love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. Please include the word “Azeroth” in your post so it does not get swept into the spam bin. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing — use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more battleground scoreboards, gold seller ads, or pictures of the Ninja Turtles in Dalaran.

Filed under: Screenshots, Around Azeroth, Galleries

Around Azeroth: Nature boy originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, that’s me, the handsome draenei shaman up there with the irresistible moustache. Despite the bugs with the encounters on the Patch 3.2 PTR, my party had a fun time in the Trial of the Crusader, the new 5-man normal and Heroic dungeon in the Crusader’s Coliseum.

We were a bit surprised to discover that each boss in the Normal version of the instance drops one or more very well-itemized item level 200 epics (heroics/Naxx 10-level gear) and the Heroic version drops item level 213 epics (Naxx 25-level gear, non-Sapph/KT), as shown in our loot gallery. And this is on top of the healthy number of Conquest badges and Champion’s Seals you get for running it!

If things stay the way they are, this instance will be the absolute best place to gear out your fresh-to-80 alts, a godsend for those who need shards, and an amazing source of Conquest badges and Champion’s Seals for those desiring specific rewards.

With this information in mind, are you looking forward to the Trial of the Champion? Were you already? Does the new information about drops help sway you? After seeing pictures and video of my shaman in action, Is your only point of contention not being able to run the instance with me personally? I’m sorry, ladies, there’s only so much of me to go around here.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast topics

Breakfast Topic: Excited about the new 5-man? originally appeared on WoW.com on Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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