by Reuben Waters on Dec 10, 2009
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The release of patch 3.3 for
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World of Warcraft
has been the talk of
the MMOG town this week. While the 3 new instances that comprise the
Frozen Halls have brought players back to the game in droves, sometimes
its the introduction of new functionality or gameplay mechanics that
ultimately sets the server queues on fire. Today well be taking a look
at the new Dungeon Finder system along with a pair of excellent guides
to the Frozen Halls zones and a chance to dive into this weekends
Global Agenda beta event right here in Loading
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You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).
Here are today's top 5 Pulse results:
WorldBiggest movers today:
StarSometimes I love me a good spectacle, and the launch of World of
Warcrafts patch 3.3 this Tuesday certainly did not disappoint. It
hasnt been since the launch of Wrath of the Lich King over a year ago
that Ive seen my server so full full to the point that the already
cramped quarters of Dalaran became a solid wall of characters. How the
city didnt come crashing down into the Crystalsong Forest under the weight
of all that massive shoulder armor is anyones guess.
Seeing such a mass amount of near-motionless players packed into the
city like enchanted sardines was interesting yet somewhat disturbing at
the same time. At first I assumed that the server was beginning to
buckle under the sudden influx of players logging in to check out the
Frozen Halls, but thats when I remembered the new shiny that 3.3 added
to everyones in-game toy box: the mighty Dungeon Finder.
As evidenced in todays Epic Thread, the new Dungeon Finder is by
and
large a major success for those players who opt to stay on the more
casual side of MMOG street, as well as those players hoping to complete
their current armor sets before the challenges ramp up deeper into
Icecrown Citadel. In a nutshell (for those of you unfamiliar with
what the Dungeon Finder is all about) the system allows players to
queue for either standard or heroic versions of dungeons in a similar
manner to the cross-realm battlegrounds system. In a matter of
minutes you can be grouped and stepping into an instance which in and
of itself is a fairly major leap forward from the former LFG system.
The big draw here though seems to be the ease of obtaining badges, with
some players obtaining enough in a single day to purchase a higher item
level epic armor piece.
There are, however, certain downsides to the way the Dungeon Finder
currently functions. Much like the potential disparity in gear between
players when stepping into WoW battlegrounds without a premade group,
the same holds true with how the Dungeon Finder places players into
groups. In other words, the system doesnt account for your current
level of gear even though the standard progression through Heroic
instances and raids can be brutal to the undergeared if you attempt to
tackle content too far above your current rung on the progression
ladder. A perfect example would be the new
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77839">Forge of Souls
instance
where the initial trash mob pulls are essentially a gear check.
Undergeared groups will wipe within moments of stepping into the zone
while active raid guilds are blowing through the zone faster than the
real Godfather of Soul could say the word blow.
Over the next two weeks Ill be diving headfirst into the new system
with one of my fleet of level 80 characters thats yet to step into any
of the instances in Wrath. Theyll be starting out in a selection of
the finest in crafted and faction reward ilvl 200 gear, so anything
obtained via badges will end up being a hefty upgrade. At the end of
that period Ill assess how useful a tool the Dungeon Finder is for the
most casual of players and what type of gear they can hope to obtain by
only hitting perhaps a couple of instance runs a day at best. Be sure
to check back in a couple of weeks when I report my findings right here
in a future edition of Loading...
If youre a WoW player but have yet to dive into 3.3, we have the
full
patch available right
here for your downloading enjoyment. Or if youve been among
the near-zombies milling about Dalaran over the past few days waiting
for instance queues to pop, be sure to check out our epic thread below
and add your thoughts to the discussion!
Before I depart on my epic journey in pursuit of shiny new epics, I
also wanted to point out that readers have until 9pm today to enter
their codes for a chance to jump into
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/926">Global Agendas
play test this
weekend. Be sure to check out the full details on how and where to
enter your code right
here!
Have you been diving into the Frozen Halls or ripping through
instances
with the new Dungeon Finder in World of Warcraft this week?
Share your
experiences with the latest and greatest mega-patch right here in the
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forums!
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- Reuben "Sardu" Waters and the Ten Ton Hammer team