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Although the raid offers 5 unique and "fun" encounters, there are only 5 bosses in this dungeon, and you get to challenge them on 4 different difficulty levels each week. As a result, the replay value of this instance dies pretty quickly. Functionally, this dungeon should serve to hold our interests in the gap between Ulduar and Icecrown's eventual release date, and in that sense I feel this instance falls short, primarily due to a lack of content.
I'd say this instance is below-average overall, but it's definitely fun the first couple of times through it. |
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Cheese, on October 7, 2009 |
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+1 |
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Because a servant of the Lich King coming back from the dead makes little sense, yeah? |
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Cheese, on October 26, 2009 |
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Ulduar has something in it for almost anyone that resides in a decently-populated server. The encounters are varied and dynamic, with many of them including multiple levels of difficulty and reward. The zone itself combines linear and non-linear formatting - some boss encounters are entirely optional (Ignis, Razorscale, Assembly), others can be done in any order deemed fit by the guild heading in (Hodir, Thorim, Freya and Mimiron), and yet some others must be faced in order to continue to advance in the instance and serve as checkpoints (Flame Leviathan, XT-002, Kologarn and General Vezax).
Combined, these factors allow many guilds - more than in any previous raid - to successfully progress through the dungeon at their own pace. There's enough room in here for the "casual" and for the "hardcore" raiders simultaneously. I believe this is one of the best raids Blizzard has ever developed, and I hope they keep this model for progression in mind while designing Icecrown Citadel and other future raid instances. |
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Cheese, on September 28, 2009 |
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+1 |
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This is a well-scripted encounter, with special effects and lore galore, but I feel the fight mechanics are a little too simplistic. Conceptually, the only people that should have a difficult time in this fight are the tanks and the healers, but only insofar as they are both responsible for keeping the tank alive; meanwhile, the DPS classes/specs, which make up the majority of the raid, fall into a very steady and easily repeatable routine that basically amounts to "don't eat a cosmic smash or big bang."
I want to give this encounter a 5 because of the amount of work Blizzard put into the scripting and effects of the encounter, but the rather simplistic mechanics force me to downgrade that rating to a 4. |
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Cheese, on October 7, 2009 |
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+1 |
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There are 3 general ways to approach this fight. Depending on which of the mini-bosses you decide to kill last (Stormcaller Brundir, Runemaster Molgeim or Steelbreaker), the mechanics your raid will need to overcome to defeat the encounter changes. In this sense, I feel that the fight has a lot of replay value while you are progressing; however, most people skip the "intermediate" difficulty stage (killing Molgeim last) entirely. There is very little incentive for approaching the fight in this manner, and I don't feel the difficulty gap between Molgeim-last and Steelbreaker-last (where the real reward is found) is especially large. |
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Cheese, on September 28, 2009 |
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