M'uru preview, WotLK warlock spell, Blue posts

Yesterday all Sunwell Plateau bosses but the fifth one and Kil'jaeden was disabled by Blizzard to gather feedback on the M'uru encounter.

WARNING: Spoiler

From what we have seen the M'uru/Entropius encounter has two phases; phase 1 ends when M'uru dies and then Entropius comes out for phase 2. So far two guilds managed to reach phase 2, Vodka and Nihilum but they died right after the start of phase 2. It seems like phase 1 is all about crowd control on the adds and burst dps (damage per second) on M'uru.

Loot that is likely to drop from M'uru

• Blackened Naaru Sliver
• Glimmering Naaru Sliver
• Steely Naaru Sliver

Information about the M'uru encounter

• Negative energy: Black beam frequently used on multiple targets. (1k average dmg)
• Darkness: This ability creates a large void zone which deals around 3000 shadow damage per sec, it also spawns several Dark Fiends.
• Call Shadowsword Berseker (melee dmg) and Shadowsword Fury Mage (spell dmg)
• Summon Void sentinel: Large voidwalker that hits very hard (8-9k), also has a Shadow Pulse ability (AoE) which deals about 3-4k shadow damage. 8 Void Spawn appears upon a Void sentinel death.

WotLK: Possible warlock spell

Kalgan reveals a small piece of info regarding future warlock abilities in the expansion.

We definitely feel the need for warlocks to gain some sort of active defense so we don't have to try to balance them around the assumption that they're "tanking" melee classes. For example, an idea we're running with internally is the concept of a warlock being able to cast a spell that places a circle of demonic power on the ground. The warlock would be able to teleport to this location from within a relatively short range (ie: 40 yards), and would also be able to summon demons more quickly if they're standing within the circle.

Note: this idea is intended as a sneak peek, it's not something that we're planning for 2.4, it would be more likely as an expansion ability, and may change entirely before said time.

Worldwide Arena Battle is coming closer

Are you ready to take on the world in the arenas? The World of Warcraft team will be testing the WoW Arena Tournament on the Tournament Test Realm, and you are invited to be a part of the action. Players in all regions will access the same realm, so the call is going out to all PvPers in North America, Europe, and Korea to log into the Arena Tournament Test Realm and participate in all-out PvP action!

The Worldwide Arena Battle will take place this Sunday between 12PM to 3PM PST, and members of the Community and Development teams will join in the fray, including a head to head match between community managers from around the world for world dominance. The results will also be posted on the Tournament forum!

No character copies will be needed for this unique event as you will get access to the character and gear of your choice just by logging in. The 2.4 PTR patch will provide access to the Tournament realm so download it soon and we’ll see you on the battlefield!

WotLK: Lake Wintergrasp to be more active than Halaa

Based on the information we already know, I think Lake Wintergrasp will be more active than Halaa because one of the things that hurt Halaa was the Diminishing Returns on honor points. With this removed in patch 2.4 people will be able to continue piling up honor points until they've had enough. I know rewards play a huge factor, so with the knowledge that people have now of items we've made available through honor points, I think it will continue to be a busy place for a long time.

Mage vs Warlock balance

Mages will get new abilities in the expansion too, believe it or not. In fact, we intend to tone down how strong of a counter warlocks are to mages through the wotlk spells/talents.