Gearing into the Endgame

Heroes!

When it comes to gathering gear, getting stronger equipment to tackle bigger challenges is both essential and fun. Diving into dungeons, finding that piece you’re missing, and emerging stronger as a result is one of the foundational parts of Ascension.

However, many heroes experienced trouble jumping from the gear they obtained while leveling into late-game, more difficult content. Gathering gear in normal dungeons, then moving to Heroic and then onto Mythic, is the standard way to gear up before diving into end-game Mythic+ and Raids. However, at current, no real incentive exists for diving into Heroic Dungeons. 

This caused many Heroes to get hard-stuck on their progression, with their ilevel not yet high enough for Mythics, but unable to find groups to tackle Heroics or gather reputation: one of the main ways of getting better gear, especially in the early days of TBC.

Luckily, September brings two big updates to ensure that Heroes don’t falter on their progression to the top!

TLDR;

• Heroic Items can now be purchased from G’eras in Shattrath for Badges of Justice
• Heroes can now receive TBC Caches as rewards from Call Board Quests
  • These have a chance to contain powerful gear.
• Increased the number of Badges of Justice obtained from Call Board Quests

September Dungeon Gearing Update

• Heroic Items can now be purchased from G’eras in Shattrath for Badges of Justice
  • Any heroic dungeon now helps you get badges for the items you need
    • You’re not stuck running one Heroic Dungeon over and over hoping you get the item you need.
    • Using the Dungeon Finder random queue provides a bonus damage and healing buff, as well as extra rewards that you can claim while making progress towards the items you want
    • Run any heroic dungeon, get badges, and buy what you want
      • This ensures that people who want specific items from specific Heroics can queue together and tackle dungeons without sacrificing what they want.
  • Improves Heroic Queue Times
    • Queuing any heroic gives you badges towards the items you want
    • No longer limited by queuing only for the dungeon that has what you need
  • Quests that rewarded badges of justice has been increased:
    • Adventurers Needed (Normal Dungeon)
    • Heroes Needed (Heroic Dungeon)
    • Conquerors Needed (Mythic Dungeon)
    • Timewalking (Dungeon)
    • Timewalking (Raid)
• Heroes can now get [Call Board Caches] from quests on the Call Board
  • This allows solo Heroes the potential to grab essential gear by completing daily and weekly quests
    • Caches have a chance to drop drop normal and Heroic dungeon gear
    • Caches also have a chance to drop raid gear
      • Raid gear from Caches will always be one tier behind the current release

Goal

These changes smooth out the jump between hitting max level and getting into end-game content (Mythic Dungeons and Normal + Heroic Raids)

• Ensure that Heroics are rewarding no matter which you do
  • Because you’re always getting badges, making progress towards your next item
• Ensure faster queue times
  • Because all Heroics are more worth it
    • Since you can buy specific items with badges
• Help more Heroes get the gear they need to leap into Mythics
  • Making sure more Heroes can run Mythics and enjoy end-game dungeons
  • Give heroes the ability to get the gear they need to break through the ilevel barrier for Mythics, getting the gear they need to get into mythics, raids and other end-game content
• Allow Heroes to make progress even on their own
  • By getting relevant gear and badges off the Call Board
    • Caches will always try to reward relevant gear, and will upgrade as the expansion goes on
• Makes Call Board Quests more rewarding
  • Because you have more things to get with badges
  • Because you have a chance to get heroic and even raid gear from new caches
• Gives incentive to go out into the world to do things
  • Because you want to complete call board quests
• Clear catchup mechanic
  • All Heroes can complete the Call Board quests they prefer
  • Grab relevant gear and rewards that are clear and enticing
  • Grab gear without being left behind

September Mythic+ Update

Mythic Dungeons are end-game content. They provide powerful PvE rewards, some of the best gear in the game, and are markers of status and skill. As such, there should be a level of accomplishment and accolades in taking them down. Coming up with ways to dodge content, while clever, isn’t the same as having the skill to overcome mythic dungeons.

Over the past few months, Mythic+ ran into the following issues:

• In most dungeons, skipping content was far more efficient than tackling it
  • Causing egregious skip methods
• This goes against the intention of Mythic+: to serve as a place where Heroes can use their skill, builds, and power to overcome deadly enemies and exciting affixes.

To solve this, TBC Mythic+ Dungeons received a variety of tuning:

• TBC Mythic+ Dungeons received individualized timers, monster requirements, and mechanical tweaks tailored and customized to each individual dungeon.
  • To account for their variety and diversity.

September saw several changes to TBC Mythic+ Dungeons aimed at improving their flow, making them fun, and encouraging Heroes to overcome their challenge, rather than skip it.

What Happened

• Mythic+ timers have been customized fully to each individual TBC dungeon.
• Mob requirements have been fully customized to fit each individual TBC dungeon
• Transformed frustrating mechanics to be interactive, adding counterplay where possible
• Fixed many longstanding bugs
• Added QoL Changes

Check out the Full Changelog at the bottom of the article!

Mythic+ Item Recovery

Finally, Heroes: Ameer Greatluck will now have an option to recover accidentally recycled Mythic+ items!

For those of you unaware, Heroes can recycle Mythic+ items to gain Mythic Coins: a currency that allows you to purchase Mythic 0 gear, or upgrade your Mythic+ gear to better versions. However, if you’ve ever tried to navigate this menu, it’s no surprise that Heroes sometimes accidentally recycle the wrong item. Now, Ameer can help!

Heroes can now retrieve accidentally recycled Mythic+ items for a Mythic Coin cost. This cost is roughly equal to twice what the item recycles for, so while you should still be careful with it, rest assured that recyling a Mythic+ item is now an easily reversible decision!

Full Changelog

[Pending Restart] - [The Underbog] - Claw will no longer chain charge the same target every 3 seconds. Instead he will now charge the furthest target away every 5 seconds for 15 seconds. This charge sequence can only happen once every 30 seconds. (Previously had no cooldown) Since the charge is intertwined with dropping threat, Claw will no longer drop threat as frequent (faster than your taunt cooldown).

[Pending Restart] - [The Underbog] - Allergic Reaction (Sneezing Debuff) now triggers less often and has a 30 second duration reduced from 60 second duration and no longer triggers once it's applied.

[Pending Restart] - [The Underbog] - The combined health of Claw and Swamplord Muselek is now equal to all other bosses in the instance instead of being 40% more.

[The Slave Pens] - [Rokmar the Crackler] - Princess Pinchess now moves within a dedicated area close to her spawn position. She will no longer climb walls in panic.

[The Slave Pens] - [Rokmar the Crackler] - DPS players will now generate significantly less threat on Rokmar the Crackler for hurting Princess Pinchess and Tanks will generate significantly more threat by hurting Princess Pinchess. 

[Pending Restart] - [The Arcatraz] - Energy Discharge from the Arcatraz Sentinel now triggers every 1.2 seconds from every 1 second. The damage done remains unchanged.

[Pending Restart] - [The Arcatraz] - Arcatraz Sentinels can no longer spawn unrelenting spirits. This change aims to town down a very strong combination of the Sentinels Chain Lightning, Grevious Wounds (from taking AoE damage from passing by the chain lightning) and the Unrelenting Spirit keeping you in combat (which allows for Grevious Wounds to continue dealing damage).

[Pending Restart] - [The Arcatraz] - Exhausting Aura from the Ererdar Soul Eaters now only increases the cost of your abilities by 50% from 100%.

[Pending Restart] - [The Arcatraz] - Heal cast from Daliah the Doomsayer is now interruptable. 

[Pending Restart] - [The Botanica] Saplings that reach Warp Splinter now heal for their remaining HP instead of their full HP. Additionally, these saplings take 40% increased damage.

[Pending Restart] - [The Botanica] - High Botanist Freywinns Blue Saplings Ice Bolt Stun will now correctly obey diminishing returns.

[Pending Restart] - [The Botanica] - Laj is no longer immune to a school of damage when he transforms. Instead he will reduce the damage of that element by 50% and empower a different element increasing damage by 20%. (Listed in tooltip of spell)

[Pending Restart] - [The Botanica] - Stomp from Warp Splinter now has a 25 Yard Radius (down from 30) and has a 2 second cast time and also now correctly obeys the diminishing returns.

[Pending Restart] - [The Botanica] - Allergic Reaction (spreading cloud disease) from Laj will be removed upon killing Laj. 

[Pending Restart] - [Sethekk Halls] - The Duration of "Arcane Shield" (Damage Immunity Shield) has been lowered to 6 seconds from 8 seconds. This means you can get back in combat with Talon King Ikiss immediately after his long Arcane Explosion cast instead of having 3 seconds of him being able to attack you and you not being able to attack back. 

[Pending Restart] - [Auchenai Crypts] - Stolen Soul debuff now only reduces damage and healing done by 25% (from 50%) and will be removed when your stolen soul is slain or if 60 seconds pass, whichever comes first. This debuff previously reduced damage by 50% and lasted for 2 minutes. 

[Pending Restart] - Critters can no longer become unrelenting spirits in Mythic+.

[Pending Restart] - [Hellfire Ramparts] - Reduced the amplitude of which Watchkeeper Gargolmar would cast his Whirling Slash (knockback) by 40%. (AoE Knockback) 

[Pending Restart] - [Shadow Labyrinth] - Ambassador Hellmaw's fear will now have a 1.25 second cast time and can be interrupted and will now correctly obey Diminishing Returns.

[Pending Restart] - [Shadow Labyrinth] - The Instant Cast Shocks from the cultists will no longer target totems. This means that your tremor totem and other supporting totems will not be instantly sniped upon putting them down.

[Pending Restart] - [Shadow Labyrinth] - [Shattered Halls] - Kidney Shot from Assassins in Shadow Labyrinth and Shattered Halls should now obey diminishing returns 

[Pending Restart] - [Mythic +] - The Mob Requirements and Timers for each dungeon has been adjusted. Most dungeons have seen an increase in both timer and mob requirements to complete the dungeon.

[Pending Restart] - Corpse Runner now has increased durations in dungeons with longer runbacks.

- [Pending Restart] - Mobs who stun with the "Charge" spell in TBC Dungeons will no longer charge you (stunning you) in melee range and this specific "Charge" now has the same deadzone as the Normal Charge. This affects mobs in Hellfire Ramparts, Shattered Halls, Mana Tombs, etc.