The Stars Align!

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Thalraxal
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by Thalraxal »

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Omen now sleeps among the silt of Lake Elune'ara. But each year, during the festival, he stirs...

Omen was one of the Ancients, powerful demigods who oversaw the wilds of Azeroth. He was once known as a creature of both great strength and wisdom, and a friend to many. Like many of the Ancients, he fought the Burning Legion in ages past, and suffered greatly for it. Gravely injured in battle against the demons, Omen slept to recover, but his demonically inspired dreams slowly drove him mad. When he awoke, Omen had been consumed by rage, and rampaged across Kalimdor until he was finally defeated near Nighthaven by a band of ancient heroes, and with the help of the moon goddess, Elune. Defeated, Omen fled into the waters of Lake Elune'ara. He rises every year during the Lunar Festival. It's unknown if the druids planned to invite large numbers of adventurers to Nighthaven to fight the maddened demigod if he rose from the lake, or if its the large number of revelers there for the Lunar Festival who wake him up.

Omen serves as a seasonal boss for WoW's Lunar Festival, which is based off of the Chinese New Year. In 2009, Chinese New Year was today, January 26, while this year it'll be on February 19. So yeah, if you're using an old calendar don't believe it when it says Chinese New Year is. For that matter, the dates my 2009 Daily Calendar gives for Easter won't line up either. Similarly, WoW's Lunar Festival started on Saturday, January 24 in 2009, and will begin on February 16 this year.

While many of the other Ancients who fell in the War of the Ancients were restored during Cataclysm by the efforts of the Guardians of Hyjal, Omen wasn't one of those.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by NigelTittysh »

Are the models in this thread the general quality of most WoW models? They look like absolute garbage. I can't even tell what I'm looking at most of the time because of how weird the textures snap on the skeletons.
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Thalraxal
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by Thalraxal »

Yep! While my calendar is from 2009, most of these models are from 2004. I think that The Lich King (who I didn't even use his character model for, I liked the cinematic image of freshly ascended Arthas sitting on the Frozen Throne too much not to use it) is the only boss so far who wasn't from vanilla WoW.

EDIT: Oh! Doom Lord Kazzak was from Burning Crusade, but he uses a vanilla Doomguard model, so he doesn't actually count.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by IskatuMesk »

They are still recycling alpha models for current content, so yeah, that's pretty representative of the game.
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Re: The Stars Align!

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Which alpha models are they still using? I know Khadgar comes back in Warlords, and was using a modified alpha model back in Burning Crusade, but with all the hype about new character models, they've surely given him an update. Its that damn wolf model, isn't it?

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Deep in the depths of Maraudon lurks a great white croocolisk of myth.

Rotgrip is the mythical white crocolisk who lurks in the waters bellow Princess Theradras' platform in Maraudon. The renowned dwarven hunter, Hemet Nesingwary, doesn't even think he's real. Rotgrip probably has the honour of being the most overlooked boss in the game, since it's only really practical to hunt him down after taking down Princess Theradras, and really isn't mentioned anywhere. Since the elemental princess is the main boss of the instance, most people are packing it up when she goes down rather than jumping into crocolisk infested waters to fight this guy.

The years have not been kind to poor Rotgrip, however. The entire Maraudon instance was slashed in level, reducing his level from a proud 49, to a sad 38. Furthermore, the advent of the LFD and its handy list of what bosses are remaining in the dungeon, not to mention the Dungeon Journal, has reminded people that he actually does exist.

The only meaningful quote about Rotgrip apparently comes from my 2009 World of WarCraft calendar.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by IskatuMesk »

The Wight is one they recycle whenever possible, there's some other undead they also use quite a lot. Yeah, there's a lot of old wolf models, too.

Also, monks can 1shot that guy, too.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by Thalraxal »

IskatuMesk wrote:The Wight is one they recycle whenever possible, there's some other undead they also use quite a lot. Yeah, there's a lot of old wolf models, too.

Also, monks can 1shot that guy, too.
Wights? Really? How are they getting use out of them in WoD? I'd have assumed that it'd be pretty light on the undead. Or did they reskin it again, like they did to make troll berserkers?

Eh, I'll give the monks this one. Upper cutting a giant croc in the water is kinda badass.

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"Come, intruders..."

Broggok is an observer demon in the service of the Illidari. His job at the Blood Furnace at Hellfire Citadel is to ensure the loyalty of the newly minted Fel Orc recruits. He's also happy to make adventurers fight all of the neophytes under watch before engaging in battle himself. Lazy demon.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by IskatuMesk »

That guy is also 1shottable by monks. Actually, I don't know why that guy is even a boss anymore. The only remotely threatening thing in that instance is the entire room full of mine guys if you pull literally the entire thing.

And yeah, they keep "reskinning" the wight over and over and using that horrendously, disgustingly bad abomination they call a rig for it.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by Thalraxal »

I get the impression that most bosses are just shouty dungeon mobs now. Broggok at least has some sense of presence, since he makes you fight all of his fel orc neophytes first. With all this monkish one-shotting I imagine it'd be easy to just steam roll past some of the less noticeable bosses.

I guess I could see it being useful for hulking monstrosity type things, but it's such an ungainly model. As nice as it is to be able to reuse assets, there comes a time when you really should start over. Oh, well. Care to guess what model tomorrow's boss uses?

Today brings us our third Dragon of Nightmare! Geez, 2009 was really front-end loaded with these guys.

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"Peace is but a fleeting dream! Let the NIGHTMARE reign!"

Taerar was one of the four Dragons of Nightmare, former guardians of the Emerald Dream who'd been corrupted by the evil force that had invaded it. He, alongside the other three Dragons of Nightmare, emerged from the Emerald Dream, intending to spread their madness and corruption into Azeroth. Taerar's corruption consumed his physical form, leaving him as nothing but a shade of his former self. Unlike Lethon and Emeriss, Taerar has survived and is still in the game.

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"Peace? PEACE? Peace is but a fleeting dream! Let the NIGHTMARE reign!"

Taerar survived the cleansing of the Emerald Dream, and has continued to spread madness and corruption. At least until adventurers aided the fifth Dragon of Nightmare, Ysondre, in putting a stop to that. Presumably dead, but his last word suggest that he might have survived in some fashion. Plus he is some sort of a spectral ghost dragon thing.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by RazorclawX »

Thalraxal wrote: Wights? Really? How are they getting use out of them in WoD? I'd have assumed that it'd be pretty light on the undead. Or did they reskin it again, like they did to make troll berserkers?
Pale Orc Berserker: http://www.wowhead.com/npc=80822/night- ... -berserker


Khadgar: http://www.wowhead.com/npc=83823/archmage-khadgar

WoD Wolves: http://www.wowhead.com/npc=81000/garn-nighthowl
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Thalraxal
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by Thalraxal »

The berserkers don't look too terrible, but I'm also not looking at them in-game and in motion. Same old wolves. At least Khadgar's looking dapper.

And here's our first boss with a model based on the wight!

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"I'll feast on your bones!

Atal'alarion is a troll berserker who lurked in the depths of the Temple of Atal'hakkar where he guarded the Idol of Hakkar. Tragically for Atal'alarion, he was removed from the game when Blizzard nerfed Sunken Temple and removed the level of the dungeon he was on. Presumed dead?
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Re: The Stars Align!

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"Scream your dying breath!"

Wait. It's Kel'thuzad and his quote isn't "Your curiosity will be the death of you."? Madness.

Kel'thuzad was once a human mage and a member of the Kirin Tor. However, having become fascinated by necromancy after witnessing its use by the death knights employed by the Orcish Horde during the Second War, he was quick to cast aside those allegiances, after all, the Kirin Tor's shortsightedness and cowardice were just holding him back, and journey to Northrend, heeding the call of the Lich King. In return for his loyalty, the Lich King promised Kel'thuzad power and immortality. Kel'thuzad gladly accepted.

Returning to Lordaeron, Kel'thuzad established the Cult of the Damned, and achieved his life long goal of starting his own religion. He also founded his own school of necromancy, Scholomance, secreted away under the town of Caer Darrow. Through the Cult, Kel'thuzad soon began to spread the Plague of Undeath throughout Lordaeron. He was then killed by Prince Arthas as part of the Lich King's plan. While some may have seen that as a betrayal, Kel'thuzad understood that it was merely part of a greater scheme. His loyalty was soon rewarded, as Arthas returned from Northrend as death knight and loyal servant of the Scourge, and was tasked with raising Kel'thuzad from the dead. Using the power of the High Elves' Sun Well, and corrupting it in the process, Kel'thuzad ascended to lichdom. Together, Arthas and Kel'thuzad carried out the will of the Scourge's demonic masters, and summoned Archimonde into Azeroth.

The Scourge was left to its own devices in the wake of the Burning Legion's defeat. Kel'thuzad served as majordomo to King Arthas for a time, but the death knight was soon called back to Northrend by the Lich King, leaving Kel'thuzad in charge of the Scourge's holdings in Lordaeron. Commanding the Scourge of Lordaeron from the floating Necropolis, Naxxramas, high above the still burning ruins of Stratholme, Kel'thazad seemed to be the indisputable ruler of eastern Lordaeron. A land now known as the Plaguelands. However, there were still holdouts against the Scourge, and Kel'thuzad was ultimately defeated by the joint efforts of the Argent Dawn and the Scarlet Crusade. Tragically, while his phylactery had been captured, the man tasked with delivering it to the Argent Dawn for its speedy destruction, Father Inigo Montoy, never did. It was soon discovered that Montoy had been a Scourge agent all along, and had returned the phylactery to his masters. Naxxramas, however, was seemingly forced to retreat, leaving the skies above the Plaguelands and returning to Northrend.

As the forces of the Alliance and Horde began their assault on Northrend, Naxxramas was quick to counter attack, launching an assault on the Alliance fortress of Wintergarde. The dread citadel was soon under renewed attack by large groups of adventurers, this time coming at them in groups of ten or twenty five, rather than forty. While Kel'thuzad and Naxxramas were likely defeated, it seems that his phylactery managed to elude destruction once more.

I kind of suspect that Kel'thuzad was originally planned to be part Icecrown raid, but Blizzard had been getting some flak for recycling content during Wrath of the Lich King, so I think they nixed that in favour of having a new raid lich encounter.

Anyway, it would appear that Kel'thuzad managed to survive the fall of the Lich King. However, with the newly appointed Lich King Bolvar sitting on the Frozen Throne still in a state of dormancy, there's not much for an Archlich and massive flying fortress to do. Having revived the Cult of the Damned as the KT Fanclub by offering miniaturized versions of himself to members, selling the use of his likeness and those of his minions in Naxxramas to a popular card game and even going so far as to convert Naxxramas into a massive cardsoleum, Kel'thuzad has at least been keeping busy.
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Re: The Stars Align!

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"We've lost many patrols to the black drake wandering outside Nethergarde Keep. Can you help, hero?" -Watcher Mahar Ba

Teremus the Devourer is a young black dragon who roams the Blasted Lands, near Nethergarde Keep and the Dark Portal. His favourite pastimes include devouring patrols sent out from Nethergarde Keep. Once a proud and noble elite boss, Teremus has fallen on hard times after the Cataclysm, and has been reduced to a mere rare spawn.

Despite Watcher Mahar Ba's plea for help, there isn't actually any quests associated with defeating Teremus.

Canonically, Teremus is probably dead. Wrathion has made claims of being the last black dragon on Azeroth, and it seems unlikely he'd miss one as overt as Teremus the Devourer. Even if he somehow survived Cataclysm, he likely would have been killed during the Iron Horde's invasion of the Blasted Lands.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by IskatuMesk »

Teremus enjoyed many strolls in Stormwind, too.
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Re: The Stars Align!

Post by Thalraxal »

I'm imagining Teremus and Lord Kazzak casually strolling through Stormwind together, chatting amicably, as they destroy everything that gets in their way.

Anyway, it's back to the Deadmines today!

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"You landlubbers are tougher than I thought! I'll have to improvise!"

Mr. Smite served as first mate for the Defias Brotherhood's refurbished ogre juggernaut, and served as the first line of defence against boarders. He was famous for his mastery of a wide range of weapons.

Despite a bold and improvised defence of the ship, Mr. Smite was defeated by adventurers when they stormed the Deadmines, seeking the head of his boss, Edwin VanCleef. Mr. Smite was presumed dead, and removed from the game. When recruiting his replacement, Vanessa VanCleef chose the worgen, Admiral Ripsnarl.

However, despite rumours of his death, that doesn't seem to have been the end of Mr. Smite.

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"You! What are you doing here?"

Yorik Sharpeye bears a striking resemblance to the famous Tauren pirate, furthermore, he's possesses a brass compass which once belonged to Mr. Smite. It seems likely that Mr. Smite somehow survived the initial destruction of the Defias Brotherhood, assumed a new identity and somehow ended up in Pandaria.

The Mr. Smite was my favourite boss from Classic Deadmines. The entire encounter was a lot of fun, especially with him swapping weapons in the middle of the fight. So here's a video of the old encounter that I found on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY7frfcqvvw

Also, I meant to link this video when Edwin VanCleef came up, but forgot to, so here's classic Deadmines in song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX7ehxyYRQc
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