The Great Akazamzarak, PTR Throw Down in Dalaran, Upcoming Raid Testing, Lost Codex

[chaud]

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Patch 7.2 - The Great Akazamzarak
New Order Hall champions are coming in Patch 7.2 and today we are taking a look at The Great Akazamzarak.

If you aren't a fan of his speech in Dalaran, in Patch 7.2 you can ask him to stop!

Throw Down in Dalaran This Friday!

In this week's PTR Development Notes, we mentioned that we were planning to stress test some new server technology we're rolling out in Patch 7.2. Initially, our plan was to have everyone fight Withered J'im, but we wanted to come up with something a little more exciting to make it more fun to participate in.

So, this Friday (March 10th), we'll be turning Dalaran into a free-for-all PvP zone on the 7.2 PTR. You'll be able to attack anyone and anything you want - both players and NPCs alike. Oh, and you'll have the same buff mechanic used in the Black Rook Rumble world quest: every time you kill a player, you'll get a stacking increase to your health and damage (but reduced healing taken).

We're expecting this to be absolute mayhem... which is great, because we need to put our servers through the ringer! And since events like this are the sort of thing we can only do on the PTR, we're really hoping to have as many players participating as possible.

This event will run from 3 PM to 5 PM Pacific time on Friday. If you'd like to join us, please make sure you have the PTR downloaded and your character copied over ahead of time - while we want to stress test as much as possible, the PTR character copy system is likely to break in the process, so make sure you have a character ready to go!

Recent Action Against Real-Money Raid Clears

As some players have pointed out, we were indeed very conservative with this initial round of actions, and only issued penalties to a handful of the most egregious offenders who had blatantly and openly violated our terms of service. These are meant to serve as a warning to all players who participate in such activities, as we intend for future actions to be much more comprehensive, and the punishments more severe.

Raid Testing Schedule - March 9-10

On Thursday and Friday, March 9-10, we will be conducting raid testing of Tomb of Sargeras bosses.

Thursday, March 9

Demonic Inquisition - Heroic Tomb of Sargeras
13:00 PST (16:00 EST, 22:00 CET)

Fallen Avatar - Heroic Tomb of Sargeras
14:00 PST (17:00 EST, 23:00 CET)

Friday, March 10

The Desolate Host - Mythic Tomb of Sargeras
13:00 PST (16:00 EST, 22:00 CET)

Harjatan - Mythic Tomb of Sargeras
14:00 PST (17:00 EST, 23:00 CET)

After testing concludes on Friday, we plan to open Raid Finder Tomb of Sargeras over the weekend.

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a PTR environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the bosses being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Patch 7.2 - Druid Class Mount Changes

Note that today's build was made while we were in the middle of making these changes, so it's in somewhat of an incomplete state. In the next build, here's how it'll function:

- Completing the questline unlocks the form for all Druids on your account, but only enables it for that character.
- Once unlocked, you can enable/disable it at will by talking to an NPC that's in the Dreamgrove (if you've completed the questline) and in Moonglade (always, for the alts).
- When enabled, Travel Form will use the form of a Lunarwing Owl instead of a Storm Crow, and it will be rideable by party members. You won't need any additional keybindings or macros.
- Glyph of the Sentinel takes priority over Lunarwing Form being enabled. If you have that glyph applied, you'll appear as a Sentinel.

Hope that helps clarify what to expect!

FinalBossTV - The Lost Codex
FinalBossTV talked to The Lost Codex this week.

[Flaks]

I hope that d bag goblin disappears from dalaran and sticks to the mages hall cause I'm sick of his voicelines every time I pass by there.

[Leih]

I hope that d bag goblin disappears from dalaran and sticks to the mages hall cause I'm sick of his voicelines every time I pass by there.

Good news - on the PTR you can pay him to shut up!

[Bathory]

Oh boy. I hope those PTR forums are waterproof because that dalaran FFA sounds like it may produce a ton of tears.

[Deleted]

Wouldn't it have been easier to summon some cool boss like Ragnaros in Dalaran? FFA pvp seems like something that would cause people to not show up.

[Soisoisoi]

Best change in Legion so far is shutting that fucking Goblin up. I always afk near that bank (always have, it's just my default) and constantly have to move away if I'm watching something.

[Emerald Archer]

Best change in Legion so far is shutting that fucking Goblin up. I always afk near that bank (always have, it's just my default) and constantly have to move away if I'm watching something.

Why not afk at the other bank? >.> Seems like an easy soloution.

[Grimalkin of Old]

I, for one, enjoy The Great Akazamzarak's show :P

[Soisoisoi]

Why not afk at the other bank? >.> Seems like an easy soloution.

Doesn't matter where in Dalaran I am I always end up right where he is because I just run around aimlessly and AFK whilst talking to people / watching stuff. It's like I just end up there no matter what. I know it's a non-issue, but it's... still annoying. Obviously annoying enough for them to have fixed it.

[Decisive The Hallowed]

Pretty much avoid Dalaran at all costs because of the horrible loading times, and spend my afk times in my Order Hall. Didnt even think this Goblin was even a problem to begin with...

[Alexeht]

Damn I just checked ptr and they nerfed [Emerald Winds] so you can use them only in Highmountain ;(

[Trollhammer]

Damn I just checked ptr and they nerfed [Emerald Winds] so you can use them only in Highmountain ;(

You cannot be serious? What is the point in Nerfing it now when Flying is coming out..

[Hell-Nicø]

Good thing The Lost Codex finally got some spotlight.

MMO Champ should feature their videos on the news like they do with DL Comics, it's REALLY quality content and it should be promoted.

[Arvandor]

thank you blizzard for this fantastic npc.

the great akazamzarak with his german voice is one of the best npc that i meet in a video game!

i would NEVER ask him to stop talk..

a great high five for the german voice! :-)

ps: omg in english his voice is shit.. sorry for you all..

[Lochton]

Good news - on the PTR you can pay him to shut up!

Wish I could pay him to yell, just because people seem to be buggered about it. Hehe.

[strongyp]

Wouldn't it have been easier to summon some cool boss like Ragnaros in Dalaran? FFA pvp seems like something that would cause people to not show up.

Me and a lot of my friends will definitely be avoiding Dalaran when this is on, would have preferred a World Boss.

[FaerieDragon]

Druids rein supreme!!!! Yay to our flight form being a mount for others!

[Deleted]

Poor goblin

[CaspianRoach]

Wait hang on, mages get 2 new followers (Aethas, Akazamzarak) and the rest of classes get just one?

[Tensho14]

Wait hang on, mages get 2 new followers (Aethas, Akazamzarak) and the rest of classes get just one?

I'll gladly throw Aethas out a window to make it fair if that's the case.