Zul’Aman opens tonight, at midnight Paris time, on the TBC Anniversary realms, with a timer, hostages and a mount. Our October 12 article set the scene. This one fills the gaps the sources left at the time: the length of the timer, the real reputation tier for heroic keys, and what Blizzard and players still have to prove in the coming days.
The Zul’Aman gong timer: values Blizzard has not confirmed
Neither MMOHuts (Kipp Stryxs, October 10) nor Warcraft Tavern gives the length of the hostage timer. The Icy Veins guide describes the original mechanic: you hit the gong at the entrance, the timer starts, killing Nalorakk adds 15 minutes, killing Akil’zon adds 10, and no other boss extends the time. A boss must be dead before the timer ends. Otherwise its hostage is executed and the loot is lost.
The starting figure comes from elsewhere. Timesaver (Sam Okonkwo, updated September 1) gives 20 minutes, or 45 minutes at most with the two additions. The article does not cite Blizzard for this figure, and it still described the release date as an estimate: treat it as unconfirmed. It mentions no penalty per death, only that a wipe (the whole group dying) costs you the bear for that lockout.
A deduction, not an announcement: if those values are right, only two of the first four bosses in Zul’Aman buy time. The other two, Jan’alai and Halazzi, have to fall inside the margin that Nalorakk and Akil’zon already created. That is what a guild will need to time on its very first attempt.
Heroic keys: Honored confirmed, the old tier from a single source
On October 12, our two sources disagreed on the reputation tier for heroic keys. Once the texts are read in full, there is no doubt left. MMOHuts writes that the requirement drops to Honored, and Timesaver (Sam Okonkwo, October 12, relying on Warcraft Tavern) gives the same tier. Warcraft Tavern, the original source, lists it too: the three texts agree.
Only one of these sources says where we start from: Timesaver writes that the requirement went from Revered to Honored. Neither of the other two texts says so. For a guild that does not have its keys yet, the practical upshot is one reputation rank less to earn.
What the patch adds at vendors, according to a single source
MMOHuts is the only one to cite a line our first article did not have: Outland faction vendors will sell Leatherworking recipes for Greater Drums, Knothide Quiver and Knothide Ammo Pouch. The two other sources we read do not mention them. Better to open the vendor window than to plan a purchase around that one line.
What Zul’Aman still has to measure
The raid is not open yet: no first clear, no fix so far, and Blizzard’s final patch notes are still to be read. Three measurements will tell what this phase is worth.
- The real timer: starting length and additions per boss, measured in game, to compare with the 20, 15 and 10 minutes above.
- The return of raiders: our October 15 count showed 96,523 characters raiding the week of September 30 to October 6, against 212,821 three weeks earlier, 55% fewer. The figures for the week of October 22 to 28 will show whether Zul’Aman brings them back.
- The bear’s lifespan: according to Timesaver, citing Warcraft Tavern, Blizzard has announced no removal date for the mount.
The calendar adds pressure. WoW Forever launches on November 4, thirteen days after Zul’Aman opens. Guilds aiming for the bear before moving to Forever have thirteen days, and the date of the next phase, the Sunwell Plateau, is still not announced.
0 Commentaires
Aucun commentaire pour le moment. Soyez le premier à commenter !