December 9, 2009

Frozen Halls 5-man dungeon attunement walkthrough

The new 5-man dungeon complex in patch 3.3, The Frozen Halls, has three instances:

The Forge of Souls

Pit of Saron

Halls of Reflection

The Pit of Saron and the Halls of Reflection require attunement. In this walkthrough we'll guide you along each quest you need to do in order to be attuned properly.

Please note that this information is based off the PTR version of patch 3.3. Things may have changed slightly since its live release. We'll update the post as necessary.

Alliance / Horde Difference

The objectives and rewards for the Alliance and Horde quest chains are exactly the same. The only difference is that Horde players talk to Sylvanas Windrunner. You can read both versions of the guide:

Alliance Walkthrough
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/frozen-halls-5-man-dungeon-attunement-walkthrough/#alliance

Horde Walkthrough
http://www.wow.com/2009/12/08/frozen-halls-5-man-dungeon-attunement-walkthrough/#horde

Alliance Walkthrough

Step 1: Get the quest "Inside the Frozen Citadel"

This quest begins the attunement quest chain. You can obtain this quest by talking to Apprentice Nelphi who walks around Dalaran, frequently making stops at the various banks. This quest is technically optional; it's just a breadcrumb quest to lead you to the dungeons. But, it counts towards various quest totals, so you might as well do it.

Step 2: Go and talk to Jaina Proudmoore in the Forge of Souls

Jaina is right inside the Forge of Souls. Talk with her, and you'll get the next quest "Echoes of Tortured Souls."

Step 3: Clear The Forge of Souls

In particular, you'll need to kill both Bronjahm and the Devourer of Souls.

Step 4: Turn the quest into Jaina, get the next one.

Jaina and friends should appear and open up a portal to the Pit of Saron. Complete the quest and grab the next one in the line, aptly called "The Pit of Saron."

After you turn in "Echoes of Tortured Souls" you are attuned to the Pit of Saron.

Step 5: Go into the Pit of Saron

Enter the portal (or enter the instance later on) and talk to Jaina to turn in the quest. She'll then give you the next quest in the chain "The Path to the Citadel."

Step 6: Free 15 Alliance Slaves, clear the Pit of Saron.

As you clear the quarry in the Pit of Saron you'll come across lots of bad guys with slaves attached to them. Just kill the bad guys, and the slaves will be freed. You'll also need to kill Forgemaster Garfrost, who is the first boss in the Pit of Saron.

Step 7: Talk to Jaina

After you defeat Ick and Krick you'll see Jaina nearby ready to talk to you again. Turn the quest in, she'll now give you the quest "Deliverance from the Pit" where you have to go and kill the final boss of the Pit of Saron, Scourgelord Tyrannus.

Step 8: Kill Tyrannus

Clear the rest of the instance and kill Tyrannus. Once he's dead you can turn the quest into Jaina and get the next quest in the chain called "Frostmourne."

After you turn in "Deliverance from the Pit" you are now attuned to the Halls of Reflection.

Step 9: Meet Jaina in the Halls of Reflection

Even though you're attuned to all the instances, you'll want to finish up the quest chain, since it gives a couple Emblems of Frost. Enter through the gate to the Halls of Reflection (or go into the instance via whatever means you go), and talk to Jaina again. Start the event.

Step 10: Defeat Marwyn

The Halls of Reflection event requires you to defeat several waves of trash, and the bosses Falric and Marwyn. Once you've defeated Marywn you'll automatically be given the one time quest "Wrath of the Lich King."

Step 11: Talk to Jaina, escape the Lich King

Go up and talk to Jaina and escape the Lich King. This requires you to complete the rest of the Halls of Reflection instance.

Turn in the quest to Jaina when you're done, and that's all she wrote.

Again, please remember that this article is based off the PTR versions of the quests. Things could change a little bit between the testing version and the live version.

December 8, 2009

WoW Patch 3.3 goes live Tuesday

We've gotten confirmation from our sources that patch 3.3 is set to go live tomorrow. We should be seeing the downloader get the rest of the files after the downtime begins (which hasn't been announced yet). There are no new patch notes just yet, however those should be coming shortly.

We have been working hard today on our patch 3.3 information, and will have a lot of great content for you throughout the day tomorrow. You can check out everything you need to know, and then some, in our Guide to Patch 3.3.

Hang tight! Should be a fun day tomorrow!

Additional resources that you're probably immediately interested in:

Latest Patch 3.3 PTR Patch Notes
http://www.wow.com/patch-notes/patch-3-3/

Tier 10 armor set gallery
http://www.wow.com/2009/11/09/tier-10-armor-set-gallery/

Class changes
http://www.wow.com/guide-to-patch-3-3#classchanges

Latest news
http://www.wow.com/guide-to-patch-3-3#latestnews

WOW Kalu'ak Fishing Derby details

Blizzard has just released the details of the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby that's coming with patch 3.3. The full announcement after the break.

Some of the major points of the announcement:
The derby happens at 8:00pm Server Time every Wednesday.
You have to be the first person to catch the Blacktip Shark and turn it in to win the Derby.
The quest giver, Elder Clearwater, is located in Dalaran.
Two item rewards (detailed after the break). One is a BoA +5% XP ring, and one is a BoP pair of boots that teleport you to Booty Bay.
Winning the Derby increases Kalu'ak rep by 5000.

The full details after the break.

From Slorkuz:

Coming in patch 3.3.0, the esteemed Tuskarr of the Kalu'ak are proud to introduce to Northrend the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby, a test of fishing skill with a healthy dash of luck! Every Wednesday beginning at 8 PM players can try to catch the elusive Blacktip Shark. Elder Clearwater sits in Dalaran for one hour awaiting the return of the quickest, most experienced fisher to bring him the first catch of the night. This champion fisher will be rewarded in-kind for his or her fishing expertise. Those who aren't able to return with the first catch will still receive just reward for getting the Blacktip Shark to Elder Clearwater before he takes his leave.

It is said that these sharks' favorite meal are the bite-sized Pygmy Suckerfish. Perhaps a hook in their waters will do the trick. Because of the increased concentration of fish, you have an increased chance to catch a shark from fishing pools. Don't forget, in patch 3.3.0 you never catch trash from fishing pools, regardless of skill.

The derby winner will receive a substantial chunk of experience (or money at maximum level) and gain 5000 reputation with the Kalu'ak. In addition, the champion will be given a choice between two unique rewards:

Dread Pirate Ring
Binds on Account
Unique-Equipped
Finger
+34 Stamina
Requires level 1 to 80 (80)
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 53.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 29.
Equip: Experience gained from killing monsters and completing quests increased by 5%.

Boots of the Bay
Binds When Picked Up
Feet
Requires Fishing (200)
Equip: Increased Fishing +15.
Use: Whisks you away to the finest drinking establishment in Booty Bay. (1 Day Cooldown)

To keep it interesting, the Achievement "Master Angler of Stranglethorn" has been changed to "Master Angler of Azeroth." This can be earned by winning either the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby or the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza.

Please bear in mind this feature will be undergoing testing on our Public Test Realms and is subject to change prior to the release of patch 3.3.0.

Official Patch 3.3 confirmation and patch notes [Updated]

Confirming our earlier post, Blizzard poster Zarhym has just announced the release of Patch 3.3: Fall of the Lich King today on the official WoW forums. The complete patch notes are available here on WoW.com or on Blizzard's patch notes page.

There are still several hours to go until the patch goes live, so until then, check out our Patch 3.3 resources:

Guide to Patch 3.3
http://www.wow.com/guide-to-patch-3-3

Patch 3.3 patch notes
http://www.wow.com/patch-notes/patch-3-3/

By the way, commenters -- this is official! You owe us 10g. You know who you are. We'll be watching our mail!

Update: We will be seeing the trailer tomorrow (not tonight).
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21627634661&sid=1&pageNo=4#74