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Archive for the ‘WotLK’ Category

The initial rush of getting Wrath of the Lich King and rushing your way to the end of the new content as fast as possible has probably worn off by now many times over and you may even have a second character all the way up to Level 80 and standing by, waiting to do something. So, what do you do next? What else is there to do when you hit the magic 80? Luckily, Blizzard is among the best and always prepping end-game content and this time around is no different.
New Dailies
There are new dailies throughout Northrend, starting at Level 71 and going up to Level 80. They are all good ways to get gold (up to 450 a day with all 25 dailies) and they’re all going to be a great way to boost your reputation quickly and effectively as you surge forward to get your rare items.
Instance Progressions
Places like Icecrown Glacier are loaded down with multiple options for end-game content including instance progressions where you can play through most of the build up to Icecrown Citadel (though it is not yet in place for you to actually play through). There are tons of rewards, great lore involved and a number of ways to get into both PvP and instances in this segment of the game.
Raiding

There are of course raids and dungeons you can run at Level 80 as well. There are currently four raids to play through – Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, The Nexus, and the Vault of Archavon. In the end, you’ll be able to get through a whole lot of content and then you can run through all of the Level 70-80 instances again in heroic mode. Expect new dungeons and raids to be added as the game ages as well, with probably another two years between now and the next expansion pack.

PvP

The PvP content has never been Warcraft’s strong point, but this time around, there is quite a bit of new content to enjoy if you know where to look. This includes Season 5 Arena play, the new PvP daily quests in Grizzly Hills, the new battleground – Strand of the Ancients, and the new outdoor PvP zone, Lake Wintergrasp which offers some of the best PvP rewards in the game.
Achievements
When all else fails, start getting some of the nearly 1,000 achievements in the game, building up your character and your profile to showcase all of the amazing things you’ve done that others have not. Get 100 mounts, defeat everyone on heroic, explore every continent – there are tons of these to do.

When WotLK launched, it brought the idea of the 10 man raid to a full head and included a number of new options for smaller guilds, casual players, and those with less time than large guilds to enjoy raiding content that they could not enjoy previously. It has made the game more accessible to many players and yet the quality of play in the 10 man raid has not been raised as it needs to be due to the completely new format and style of play that so many players are having trouble with.
What a 10 Man Raiding Group Looks Like
A 10 man raiding group is going to fundamentally look a bit differently from any other group out there. While the 10 man raids are technically considered to be easier than the 25 man raids (and currently are pretty easy when you get it down), they do require quite a bit of flexibility from every member on your team. You’ll be going up against 1 million HP bosses with two teams of players and if a healer goes down you may have one extra on your staff. The same is true for your tank, so it is important that every single person on your team can play at least two roles. This is much easier these days with stats compounding for casters and tanks.
For tanks, you should have two tanks for every 10 man group and at least one off-tank who will act as DPS but can step in for tanking if necessary. Feral Druids, Blood Death Knights and Retribution Paladins are all good for this.
For healers, you’ll need two for most groups – this provides one for each tank but can make it hard to maintain the healing you’ll need to keep your group members alive against AoE bosses or ones with diseases or DoTs. Three healers is better, though you then need to consider whether you have enough DPS coming from the remaining 5 DPS members, especially against bosses with enrage timers that are shorter than most.
The best way to balance this out is to have two dedicated healers and an off healer who can throw out heals as needed for DPS members when they get hit – Shamans, Druids and Paladins can all play this role if they are properly specced. Shadow Priests are also good here because the Priest gear is all pretty close to the same now since Spell Power covers healing and damage.
Keep in mind that when you go into a 10 man raid, you need to flexible and versatile. Keep your eyes open, build up a group of highly talented, multi-functional people and bring the player not the class and you’ll do well.

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Reputation building was one of the biggest grinds in Outland and since the release of Northrend, many people have started seeing the same basic returns in the new content. However, the reputations have been streamlined slightly more this time around, making it much easier to get through content while developing reputation and not needing to spend weeks or months building it up before you can get the necessary rewards you need for your class or your raiding strategies.
Tabards
Tabards are the first addition to the game that has made it so much easier to hit top level content in reputation grinds without having to spend hours and hours grinding away in a dungeon you’re tired of. You can now purchase tabards for all the major neutral factions and wear them into any of the dungeons in the game and build reputation with that faction. Tabards are available from Quartermasters in reputation homes and in Dalaran. Heroic dungeons reward anywhere between 1000 and 2000 reputation for completion of the dungeons.
Questing and Instances
In addition to the way in which you can run instances with tabards, you can also now quest much more with each faction than before. Certain quests will reward you with more reputation for entire groups of factions. In addition, a lot more is tied to your main factions (horde and alliance) as there is no major faction split this time around (no Aldor or Scryer this time out). You can also switch between factions much more easily as in the case of Frenzyheart and Oracle. Progressive instancing has also made reputation gain at higher levels easier once you get to places like Icecrown Glacier.
Spread Out Dailies
The Dailies available throughout Northrend are not only more numerous, they are available starting at Level 71 and will continue to flow into your quest log through Level 80. You can use them all to boost reputation, allowing you to get reputation higher at a lower level than you could in the past. This is great for those who are more interested in the rewards available than reaching a higher level sooner.
Regardless of how you play the game, reputation gain has been made much easier than it ever was before. For those that know how to play the new system, the game is built much more friendly to anyone that just wants that mammoth a bit cheaper or their new enchants.

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