Patch 5.4 - Visions of Time: Courting Destiny
Patch 5.4 adds a quest line on the Timeless Isle that involves working for Kairoz of the Keepers of Time. He is on the Timeless Isle because the Bronze Dragonflight is not as powerful as it once was, only being able to catch furtive glimpses through time. He has created an hourglass that will allow for a window into the timeways, but you must collect 50 x Epoch Stones to make it usable.
After collecting the stones, you embark on a series of weekly quests to use the Vision of Time in different locations to calibrate the Vision of Time. Kairoz eventually will reveal that there is a traitor among the Bronze Dragonflight.
As the hourglass grows more powerful, he will send you to the Temple of the White Tiger to see a glimpse of Garrosh and Anduin, which is the scene you see below.
Patch 5.4 - Malkorok Preview
Malkorok is the ninth boss in the Siege of Orgrimmar. The encounter takes place under Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar.
Raid Testing Schedule - September 3 - 4
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
On Tuesday, September 3, and Wednesday, September 4, we will continue testing raid encounters in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid.
Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms.
Tuesday, September 3
- Galakras - 25 Player Heroic - 10:30 PDT (13:30 EDT, 19:30 CEST)
- Malkorok - 25 Player Heroic - 13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)
- Paragons of the Klaxxi - 25 Player Heroic - 16:00 PDT (19:00 EDT, 01:00 CEST)
Wednesday, September 4
- Sha of Pride - 25 Player Heroic - 10:30 PDT (13:30 EDT, 19:30 CEST)
- Spoils of Pandaria - 25 Player Heroic - 13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)
- Thok the Bloodthirsty - 25 Player Heroic - 16:00 PDT (19:00 EDT, 01:00 CEST)
As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss 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.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Connected Realms and Battlegroups
so who is getting grouped with who then, and will it go by current battlegroups?
The battlegroups is a factor for sure that needs to be taken into account, but I cannot say yet if they will be a limiting factor. Also, we are still in the process of determining which realms to connect, so we it will be a little while still before we can announce a list of the realms that will be connected. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Darker Nights
"Patch 5.4 will have a test case for darker nights in Orgrimmar, Stormwind, and Vale of Eternal Blossoms."
Blue-tagged! Sleep tight and enjoy the night, don't let the Sha of Nightmares bite! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Flex Raiding
Sure, makes total sense, but btw three raid lockouts per week may be overkill. H Raiders seem not excited about Flex.
Not sure why heroic raiders would run flex more than once or twice unless their progression in heroic was really slow. (Source)
You're not sure why..? because of ridiculous trinkets, set bonuses, and weapons if they've been RNG-screwed in ToT.
Set bonuses are a problem if you've just been very unlucky. Trinkets are a problem if we screw up the balance. Wpns should not be. (Source)
If you rerolled or something, maybe, but if you have a N or H weapon from the previous tier, you should be good to go. (Source)
Raid Finder
Getting bored of people moaning about LFR. Take it away and I may as well cancel my sub.
We like LFR. It's not going anywhere. Just trying to provide additional features on top of it. (Source)
you never put in the tools like a good voice communication system for LFR to succeed as organized gameplay. ur fault
I don't think difficult + voice forces random groups to coordinate, but it's a fair criticism that our voice sucks. (Source)
i will not use flex on principle its an attempt to kill lfr.
It is not an attempt to kill LFR. It's an attempt to provide a more casual alternative to N for social groups who don't enjoy LFR. (Source)
the thing is...LFR Takes away the epic experience. dont believe me? look at every raid since 4.3.
Another POV is LFR provides an epic experience for players who otherwise never would have had it. (Source)
100% agree that LFR is less epic than normal (or flex). But it is more epic than a YouTube of the fight. (Source)
PvE
Is the normal mode still all open on the first week?Tom Chilton says the normal will just open wing 1 on the first week.
The plan is normal will all open on the first week. (Source)
Out of curiosity, will in the Siege raid. Will the Horde have a time where a npc clear out a portion of the mobs?
We are trying to give both H and A cool moments in the raid without just mirroring each other. (Source)
Does this mean it will take four lockouts for the cloak quest? Or will you be able to kill he last three in week 1?
The latter. You just only get loot for the first "kill" that week. (Source)
wiait, so position has changed that legendary cloak could be unlocked in first week? Now it will take at least 4 weeks?
You can "kill" all the celestials on day one. You only get loot from the first one you defeat every week. (Source)
so the next xpac will be another cataclysm, you had this talk before that launch about difficulty and need to change
No, the problem with Cat was there was no alternatives to HC dungeons. As I said, exclusive is fine as long as alternative exist. (Source)
Weekly News Recap
Another very busy week full of news, so here is your chance to catch up!
- August 26
- We looked at the General Nazgrim encounter.
- Another developer interview:
- The Horde version of the cinematic after Garrosh will show the process of the Warchief selection. The Alliance version will be slightly different.
- The technology for scaling up old content is mostly in place now, but the devs haven't come up with a good rewards scheme for scaled up old dungeons and raids yet.
- DiabloFans posted a nice recap for the Reaper of Souls expansion.
- August 27
- Patch 5.4 PTR - Build 17337 had a few class changes.
- The official PTR notes were updated with many class changes.
- August 28
- We looked at the Visions of Time: Hidden Threads cutscene, which takes place in the destroyed Stormwind Harbor.
- Another developer interview:
- Blizzard isn't ready to show off any of the new player models yet, but hopefully will have an announcement soon.
- Changing the player model risks causing players to no longer feel attached to their character.
- Upgrading player models has never been done successfully in an MMO.
- August 29
- We looked at the Galakras encounter.
- A monk soloed Stone Guard Heroic 10 Player difficulty.
- August 30
- There was a small PTR build with a few changes.
- We looked at the Reins of Galakras mount. This is the reward for the Glory of the Orgrimmar Raider achievement, which can be completed in Flex, Normal, or Heroic difficulty.
- September 1
- We got a big developer interview that is worth reading! It includes information like the 25% completion of new character models.
- Setup of the Month was posted.
More...