Patch 4.2 Preview: The Firelands
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
For ages, the Elemental Plane served its purpose as a secure realm to imprison Azeroth's primordial spirits... until the Cataclysm ruptured its boundaries. Without warning, Ragnaros's armies surged toward Mount Hyjal, intent on burning the World Tree of Nordrassil to the ground. In the ensuing conflict, many brave heroes gave their lives to protect Hyjal from destruction. By their noble sacrifices, the impossible was achieved: the Guardians of Hyjal pushed Ragnaros's minions back into the Firelands.

Now, the battle to protect Hyjal rages in Ragnaros's smoldering realm. As territory is gained and Azeroth's champions edge closer to the Firelands' inner sanctums, a monumental task lies ahead. Entrenched around Ragnaros's lair -- Sulfuron Keep -- are his most trusted guardians, including the turncoat Druids of the Flame and their mysterious leader. Yet Hyjal's defenders cannot afford to shy away from any of these dangers. Should Ragnaros prevail against the incursion and succeed in destroying Nordrassil, Azeroth will suffer a blow from which it might never recover.


World of Warcraft patch 4.2 will offer hardy adventurers an opportunity to turn the tide in the Firelands, a huge outdoor raid of the highest difficulty, with 10-person and 25-person normal and Heroic modes. It will be a scorching opportunity to delve into this Elemental Plane, where six unique bosses stand between you and the reinvigorated Ragnaros. The great fire lord's chamber is shielded by:

Beth'tilac

Her fiery webs reach far overhead, daring her adversaries to simultaneously face their fears of both spiders and heights. Only by taking hold of her webs and climbing into her domain yourself will you find a way to thwart her evil designs.


Lord Rhyolith

Heroes face a difficult challenge: attack this massive magma giant's bulk while forcing him to move against his will among volcanic eruptions that ultimately spell his doom... or yours.

Alysrazor

Are you ready to fly the fiery skies? Catch her singed feathers and use them to soar above the inferno, or perish at the whim of this swift firehawk.


Shannox

The ferocious flamewakers of this Elemental Plane are terrifying enough, but Shannox has brought companions to his side in defense of the Firelands. This mighty hunter will require that you find a way to deal with his blazing pets before he burns you to a crisp.


Baleroc

Baleroc stands before the gate to Sulfuron Keep, amidst a river of combustion that serves as the Sulfuron moat. The bridge to Ragnaros’s blistering chamber can only be crossed by those who find a way to put an end to this towering elemental monstrosity.

Majordomo Staghelm

Ragnaros's latest chief lieutenant stands before the door to his master's chamber in Sulfuron Keep. Majordomo Staghelm's treasonous efforts will all come to a head before the very seat of his new master.


Defeat his guardians and a memorable battle with the enraged Ragnaros awaits you in his chamber. Ragnaros's normal and Heroic modes offer two completely different encounters for raiders to conquer.

Because the Firelands raid is outdoors, players will be able to mount and attempt to avoid the highly dangerous groups of enemies milling about. The order in which you engage the first four bosses in the zone will be up to you.




This will also be one stop of many in a quest to build the legendary staff Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa’s Rest. A weapon of unsurpassed quality, Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa’s Rest will not only require a spectacular effort by its owner to construct; it will reward the entire guild with a new and unique non-combat pet upon completion.

A tantalizing collection of unique rewards await those who brave the heat, and defeat the lords of the Firelands. With a new raid tier of armor and weapons, three new mounts (including the rare and highly sought flaming Anzu), a slew of new personal and guild achievements, an epic storyline, a grand musical score, and seven unique boss encounters, 4.2 and the Firelands raid will burn an indelible mark in World of Warcraft history.

Are you prepared to taste the flames?

This article was originally published in forum thread: Patch 4.2 Preview: The Firelands started by Boubouille View original post
Comments 118 Comments
  1. Fogol's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by ScorchHellfire View Post
    Looks like they decided to change anthricyst's name... makes me wonder how blizzard doesn't catch these things before hand...
    An (an) Thri (3) Cyst (cyst) --- now say it out loud.

    so because people don't know how to read and have a small vocabulary, they should have to rework content...
  1. FrostHate's Avatar
    http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/9...msonfireha.jpg
    Sorry, I just had to.
  1. Scratches's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Brosemon View Post
    FIRElands too red? Really? Are you serious? Are you SERIOUSLY serious?!
    Hurr Durr, fire am red. Moar blue and purple and green fire imo.
    You do realize that fire is nothing but a chemical reaction, upon which its color is determined by the compounds that are burning, right? For example, when you burn potassium, the flame is purple. Yes... purple fire. (Sodium will give you a bright yellow color; copper, depending on the specific compound, can result in either a blue or green flame; etc, etc.)

    Now who sounds like the idiot?

    I'm not demanding pink double-rainbows and pastels all over the place, fuck no... but, damn, you can still create a theme for a raid without taking the Gears of War approach to it... >_>
  1. Shamslam's Avatar
    That spider looks amazing 0,o
  1. Donald Hellscream's Avatar
    so all the retarded whiners who didnt like that lord anthricyst's name was "close" to anti christ got it their way and had a awesome named boss renamed?.. blargh!
  1. VanishO2's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Lihonessa View Post
    I agree, Ragnaros looks a lot better without those hideous legs.
    Well, unless he still has them of course, but they're below the platform... But at least we won't be forced to see them, I hope.
    Normal mode =/= Heroic mode... who said he won't come out of his jacuzzi at a certain point, at least on heroic? lol
  1. McNeil's Avatar
    Lord Anthrycist name is changed??? Bah I loved that name
    Whats his new name now?
  1. mmoc97bc1ed76a's Avatar
    In all fairness Anthricyst was a play on Antracite as far as I know - which is rock-hard coal. Rhyolite on the other hand is a regular rock type associated with evolved magmas and much more related to lava and volcanoes than coal.

    Not that Blizzard has ever cared about geological corrections in the past though.
  1. errosync's Avatar
    You do realize that fire is nothing but a chemical reaction, upon which its color is determined by the compounds that are burning, right? For example, when you burn potassium, the flame is purple.
    Yes, let's apply modern science to a fantasy game where you can ride a constellation horse, genocide is accepted, alchemy still exists and Thorium isn't a radioactive material and is mined in large quantities. Let's throw all the previous artwork about the Firelands and Ragnaros, who have been depicted as flaming red since the game's creation, out the window and start making everything purple and blue because those shades of fire exist and one guy thinks it would look so much cooler.

    Making comparisons to places like Vashj'ir is ridiculous because they're fundamentally separate. Vashj'ir is an oceanic zone, meaning it better have lush water foliage, pretty colorful fish and reefs and multiple shades of blue, or they did it wrong. The Firelands is a barren wasteland of magma, flaming earth, lava and fire and if it weren't colored appropriately, it would be wrong. The Firelands has been, is and will continue to be red, deal with it.
  1. Donald Hellscream's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by McNeil View Post
    Lord Anthrycist name is changed??? Bah I loved that name
    Whats his new name now?
    most likely lord ryohlith
  1. Keristrasza's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Garganchewin View Post
    "Look Ma no legs"

    Good thing we had all that Rag model QQ.
    I saw some where that he still has them, but its for heroic only.
  1. KEFIOX's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dewote View Post
    Flaming Anzu? O_O
    Must. Have. Flaming. Anzu!
  1. Xyonai's Avatar
    It looks like things...
    *Sunglasses*
    ...Are about to heat up.
  1. tusker's Avatar
    This raid looks great... 4.2 will be a ton of fun it seems. Here's to hoping they also release at least one or two other single boss raids in 4.2.
  1. Scratches's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by errosync View Post
    Yes, let's apply modern science to a fantasy game where you can ride a constellation horse, genocide is accepted, alchemy still exists and Thorium isn't a radioactive material and is mined in large quantities. Let's throw all the previous artwork about the Firelands and Ragnaros, who have been depicted as flaming red since the game's creation, out the window and start making everything purple and blue because those shades of fire exist and one guy thinks it would look so much cooler.

    Making comparisons to places like Vashj'ir is ridiculous because they're fundamentally separate. Vashj'ir is an oceanic zone, meaning it better have lush water foliage, pretty colorful fish and reefs and multiple shades of blue, or they did it wrong. The Firelands is a barren wasteland of magma, flaming earth, lava and fire and if it weren't colored appropriately, it would be wrong. The Firelands has been, is and will continue to be red, deal with it.
    Yes, because educating some idiot that thinks the only kind of fire is the red kind is the same as wanting to inject the rules of reality into a fictional setting. It makes perfect sense!

    Jump to further conclusions and rage harder, you're doing it wrong.

    Also, I didn't say it would look cooler. Reading comprehension skills -- they're your friend...
  1. Nicools's Avatar
    Blizzard just released pics and info about the legendary staff btw =p it has it's own article at battle.net

    ---------- Post added 2011-04-28 at 07:19 PM ----------

    us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/2685003#blog is the link to the blog
  1. Xires's Avatar
    I hate to be the one to look at the half empty part of the glass but....didn't Blizzard say they wanted to stick with the TBC mentality of releasing 2 raids per tier so we all aren't stuck in just one place like we were in Wrath?
    What I've seen here looks really good but....7 bosses only?
  1. Kiro's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Collected View Post
    Y'know.. honestly.. had they re-worked MC and upgraded the bosses, loot and some of the mechanics.. I would have looked forward to that just as much as this.
    No, no more recycling already wow. Who am I kidding, I'm sure they're already doing that with it and every other old raid.
  1. delcatty's Avatar
    were is abyssal maw
  1. Xires's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by oatmealpoet View Post
    Many people tout Sunwell as one of the great raid instances....it also only had 6 bosses. I don't understand the fuss. If the content is challenging enough, we don't need 12 bosses in there.
    True i na sense. But TBC was about killing Illidan and stopping Archimonde. After that was done the x-pac in many peoples eyes was done. Sunwell was seen as more of a filler until wrath launch.
    Very few guilds defeated Sunwell, and only about 5% of raiding guilds managed to clear it even after the 30% nerf. About 90% of the player base never got to see anything in sunwell save for trash farming.

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