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Your guide to World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, instances, and professional kvetching about high-end raid content.

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There Will Never Be Enough WoW Websites

There's just so much data wrapped up in a game of this size, it seems like people will never tire of finding new and interesting ways to catalog it. Take for example this little gem:

http://www.wowjutsu.com/us/

While it's always nice to be able to "measure" your guild against another using some sort of metric or another, the whole ranking system on the site isn't what pulls my attention so much as the total player/guild numbers and the percentage of these that have killed the various bosses. The site works by mining WoW's Armory information and registering which drops you've gotten from which boss. It's a very cool thing that likely only Blizzard can do better, but it's awesome that you can even do this much with just the Armory and some know-how.

I've just started getting into Black Temple, and it's a little nutty to me that only half of one percent of the guilds listed are exploring the place. Raiding's a niche, but it's such a FUN niche!

Posted by Bethany, Jul 3, 2007 1:29 pm PT 0 Comments
Karazhan: Prince Malchezaar
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Posted by Bethany, Jul 2, 2007 2:11 pm PT 0 Comments
Tempest Keep: High Astromancer Solarian
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Posted by Bethany, Jul 2, 2007 11:36 am PT 0 Comments
Tempest Keep: Al'ar
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Posted by Bethany, Jul 2, 2007 11:21 am PT 0 Comments
Tempest Keep: Void Reaver
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Posted by Bethany, Jun 28, 2007 1:13 pm PT 0 Comments
Serpentshrine Cavern: The Lurker Below
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Posted by Bethany, Jun 28, 2007 12:57 pm PT 0 Comments
Serpentshrine Cavern: Hydross the Unstable
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Posted by Bethany, Jun 25, 2007 1:05 pm PT 0 Comments
Netherwing Reputation Guide

Are you ready to cruise the winds of Outland on your own dragon? Check out our Netherwing Reputation Guide, and you'll soon be flying the scaly skies.

Posted by Bethany, Jun 7, 2007 5:32 pm PT 2 Comments
Hellfire Citadel: Shattered Halls Heroic Mode Guide
Shattered Halls on Heroic mode is one of the most challenging 5-man instances in the game, primarily due to a number of large pack pulls and the very high damage output of the melee creatures. When planning to do SH heroic, crowd control and snare abilities are definitely king right now--a mage for Polymorph is a virtual necessity, and abilities like mass-fears (warrior, priest, warlock), Piercing Howl, Earthbind totems, and so on can help keep the damage diverted. A main reason to complete this instance is for the lengthy Tempest Keep attunement quest chain, which includes a timed portion, putting a bit more pressure on things. Everyone needs to stay on their toes to complete the instance in the time required.
Posted by Bethany, May 14, 2007 3:00 pm PT 0 Comments
Auchindoun: Shadow Labyrinth Normal Mode Guide

Shadow Labyrinth is Auchindoun's level 70 instance. There's some pretty good loot to be had, a few quests (which you sadly cannot get until level 70, so you'll have to settle for gold and gear rewards instead of experience), a good variety of bosses who will each test different skills… and a lot of trash mobs in general. Killing stuff in here nets you a bunch of Lower City rep, nets you Soul Shards if your faction happens to have control of the Auchindoun towers, and the cultists and demons within drop lots of Marks of Sargeras and a few Fel Armaments for those of you who aim to increase your Aldor rep.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 4:59 pm PT 0 Comments
Auchindoun: Sethekk Halls Normal Mode Guide

Sethekk Halls is a level 66-69 dungeon located in Auchindoun, east of the Ring of Observance. Sethekk Halls is home to a nest of arrakoa that call themselves the Sethekk; they have betrayed their people and carted away the relics of Terokk (an ancient hero of the arrakoa).  Besides the usual loot and quests, there's an extra advantage to running this instance—the key to Shadow Labyrinth, Auchindoun's level 70 instance, drops off the final boss here. (The key is actually to the gate leading to the instance. You do not need the key to zone in to Shadow Lab, only to open up the gate. If someone else opens the gate, you can go through that way as well.)

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 4:21 pm PT 0 Comments
Auchindoun: Mana-Tombs Normal Mode Guide

Mana-Tombs is a level 64-66 instance in Auchindoun, located north of the Ring of Observance. There is a group of Consortium clustered outside, who answer to Nexus-Prince Haramad. They claim they cannot enter the tombs due to shielding installed by a rival ethereal faction that's already set up camp inside and is in the process of stripping the tomb bare of anything of value. They'd like you to clear the way for them (presumeably so that THEY can then strip the tomb bare of anything of value, but hey). You'll encounter many types of ethereals in Mana-Tombs, and mobs will give you Consortium rep when they die.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 4:01 pm PT 0 Comments
Auchindoun: Auchenai Crypts Normal Mode Guide

Located west of the Ring of Observance, these crypts are where the Auchenai priests interred the dead, including a deceased Naaru. However, a fallen Draenei exarch has been futzing with necromancy and raising a bunch of restless ghosts, which can't be a good idea. The quests in this instance come at the end of fairly involved quest chains, so be sure to start those earlier to maximize your instance time. This is a level 64-66 instance, though the Horde quest chain here doesn't start until level 67. Go figure!

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 3:46 pm PT 0 Comments
Coilfang Reservoir: The Steamvault Normal Mode Guide

The Steamvault is the highest-level non-raid instance in Coilfang Reservoir, meant for players at or near the level cap. There are three bosses here, but besides the loot considerations, Steamvault is a great place to get reputation with Cenarion Expedition. Not only do the monsters give rep, but Coilfang Armaments are a frequent drop as well, and the instance has three bosses which can be killed fairly efficiently. Quick, easy, and full of rep–doesn't get much better than Steamvault.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 3:32 pm PT 0 Comments
Coilfang Reservoir: Slave Pens Normal Mode Guide

The Slave Pens is the second 5-man instance in Coilfang Reservoir, which is best suited to players level 62 and above. Slave Pens gets its name from the multitude of enslaved Broken in the instance who being driven by numerous Naga slavemasters to further their nefarious deeds. There are three bosses, and in normal mode there's one quest to complete that you can pick up from Watcher Jhang outside.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 3:16 pm PT 0 Comments
Coilfang Reservoir: Underbog Normal Mode Guide

The Underbog is a 5-man dungeon in Coilfang Reservoir, and is appropriate for those players around level 63 and higher. The design of the zone is vaguely reminiscent of areas of Maraudon, with pools of water and lots of aggressive plant life. There are several quests to complete here, and with a little prep work ahead of time, you can get them all done in the same run.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 2:26 pm PT 0 Comments
Hellfire Citadel: Shattered Halls Normal Mode Guide

Shattered Halls is Hellfire Citadel's level 70 instance, and is a place you're certain to get quite familiar with if your goal is to become revered with the Horde or Alliance Hellfire factions. This is the only Hellfire instance that gives reputation gains above Honored, so you'll need a few cycles through to make your way to revered—however, there are several quests to complete, some reputation gain items that make the journey easier, and of course a few choice pieces of loot along the way to sweeten the deal.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 12:04 pm PT 0 Comments
Hellfire Citadel: Blood Furnace Normal Mode Guide

Blood Furnace is the second instance in Hellfire Citadel. You can theoretically start running it at level 60, but the difficulty, pulls, and damage taken are a bit higher overall than Ramparts. There are two quests to complete, a boss that revisits abilities used by another raid boss in Naxxramas, and you'll get your first glimpse of Magtheridon, the mighty pit lord who's only barely being held captive in the cavern below the instance. You can sneak a peek at him through the floor of the massive central chamber, which is a grate. He also shouts repeatedly about how he is going to wreck havoc on his captors as soon as he wins free. Magtheridon is not a happy camper.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 11:49 am PT 0 Comments
Hellfire Citadel: Ramparts Normal Mode Guide

Hellfire Ramparts serves as the introduction to Burning Crusade instances. You can hit it as soon as you go through the Dark Portal, it's only three bosses long, it's got a couple of quests, and it's quite not-painful even with a pickup group. Whether you're polishing off all your Hellfire quests, looking for your first Burning Crusade blue drops, or just getting away from busy questing areas and mobs of ganking level 70s outside, Ramparts makes a good haven for expansion adventurers looking to get their feet wet in Outland.

Posted by Bethany, Apr 11, 2007 11:23 am PT 0 Comments
Please Pardon the Dust (Devils)

This union is a personal project I've wanted to work on for quite some time now; I play a lot of WoW, I talk a lot of shop about WoW, so it only makes sense to carve out a bit of internet and share that with other people. There are a lot of things planned for the union that'll start rolling out in the upcoming days, so if you're WoWishly inclined, keep on the lookout for updates.

There will be some guidestuff, there will be some editorialstuff, there may even be some randomfunstuff! Anything goes on the good ship S.S. WoW Compendium, so climb aboard if you like, there's plenty of room. 
Posted by Bethany, Mar 29, 2007 2:31 pm PT 0 Comments