Rage of the Firelands PTR Development Notes - October 22, 2024
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
Today, we’ve begun testing Elemental Rune Dungeons in the Cataclysm Classic 4.4.1 PTR.
Elemental Rune Dungeons are a new optional game mode, which can be activated in most Cataclysm Classic heroic dungeons by interacting with the Mysterious Elemental Device near each dungeon’s entrance and selecting “Activate Protocol Inferno”. The mode is not available in Zul’Aman or Zul’Gurub, due to their already-advanced rewards.
Items able to be purchased include:
The intended starting iLvl for these dungeons is 346, and in the PTR, we’d appreciate your feedback from running them with the Cataclysm Classic Level 85 character templates, to get the intended difficulty experience.
Elemental Rune Dungeon Testing
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
As with Wrath of the Lich King Classic’s Titan Rune Dungeons, we aimed to create a way for players both returning or new to Cataclysm, as well as those creating alts, to gear up a bit quicker this far into the expansion.
It’s well known that the original Cataclysm’s Heroic dungeon difficulty was reduced substantially over the life of the expansion, to the point where most players continue to feel that the mechanics became trivial. Our goal with Protocol Inferno, our first Elemental Rune Dungeon difficulty, is to raise the challenge level to a point where, particularly for characters close to iLvl 346 gear, the mechanics need to be considered once again.
Also, in comparison to Wrath Classic’s Titan Rune Dungeons, Cataclysm’s dungeons are, from the outset, mechanically more complex than dungeons in Wrath. Looking back on Titan Rune Dungeons’ initial Alpha Protocol difficulty, and how that difficulty progressed to Beta and then Gamma, we believe the reception to the dungeons, their accessibility, and their difficulty progression would have been smoother had we not introduced new mechanics in Alpha. With Elemental Rune Dungeons: Protocol Inferno, we hope the original Cataclysm Heroic dungeon mechanics shine through.
Continue reading...
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
Today, we’ve begun testing Elemental Rune Dungeons in the Cataclysm Classic 4.4.1 PTR.
Elemental Rune Dungeons are a new optional game mode, which can be activated in most Cataclysm Classic heroic dungeons by interacting with the Mysterious Elemental Device near each dungeon’s entrance and selecting “Activate Protocol Inferno”. The mode is not available in Zul’Aman or Zul’Gurub, due to their already-advanced rewards.
- Upon activating Protocol Inferno, a floating element will appear and all 5 players in the group will need to channel it.
- For PTR testing, we’ve set the requirement to one (1) player activating the floating element.
- Elemental Rune Protocol Inferno dungeons can also be queued-for by using the automated Group Finder tool, and they require a minimum item level of 346 to queue for. When using automated Group Finder to queue for these, players will not need to interact with the Mysterious Elemental Device. Protocol Inferno will already be active.
- Activating Protocol Inferno will grant creatures in the dungeon the “Fury of the Firelord” buff, increasing their health and damage.
- Each boss in Protocol Inferno dungeons will drop 2x of a new currency, Fissure Stone Fragments, per player. If players have defeated all of the other bosses in the dungeon, the final boss of each dungeon will drop an extra 3 Fissure Stone Fragments.
- This currency can be used to purchase items from the new NPC, Kyanite Stonetender, in Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
Items able to be purchased include:
- Normal Tier 11 Helm Tokens
- Normal Tier 11 Shoulder Tokens
- Satchels for all non-weapon drops from Heroic Throne of the Four Winds
- These satchels also have the chance to drop the following mounts:
- Reins of the Drake of the North Wind
- Reins of the Vitreous Stone Drake
- Reins of the Drake of the South Wind
- All non-weapon Heroic Nefarian Drops
- All non-weapon Sinestra Drops
- The Heroic versions of the following trinkets:
- Bell of Enraging Resonance
- Heart of Rage
- Symbiotic Worm
- Protocol Inferno also brings with it new Achievements to earn.
The intended starting iLvl for these dungeons is 346, and in the PTR, we’d appreciate your feedback from running them with the Cataclysm Classic Level 85 character templates, to get the intended difficulty experience.
Elemental Rune Dungeon Testing
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
As with Wrath of the Lich King Classic’s Titan Rune Dungeons, we aimed to create a way for players both returning or new to Cataclysm, as well as those creating alts, to gear up a bit quicker this far into the expansion.
It’s well known that the original Cataclysm’s Heroic dungeon difficulty was reduced substantially over the life of the expansion, to the point where most players continue to feel that the mechanics became trivial. Our goal with Protocol Inferno, our first Elemental Rune Dungeon difficulty, is to raise the challenge level to a point where, particularly for characters close to iLvl 346 gear, the mechanics need to be considered once again.
Also, in comparison to Wrath Classic’s Titan Rune Dungeons, Cataclysm’s dungeons are, from the outset, mechanically more complex than dungeons in Wrath. Looking back on Titan Rune Dungeons’ initial Alpha Protocol difficulty, and how that difficulty progressed to Beta and then Gamma, we believe the reception to the dungeons, their accessibility, and their difficulty progression would have been smoother had we not introduced new mechanics in Alpha. With Elemental Rune Dungeons: Protocol Inferno, we hope the original Cataclysm Heroic dungeon mechanics shine through.
Continue reading...