Yes, yes, I know. We’re a few days late on this news, but if you’ve just come off a weekend-long bender like the Lore Hound crew (or… just myself), then you too can revel in the glorious word: Trolls are making a comeback! Truly the best news for fighting off that killer hangover, two new Heroic Level-85 dungeons will be introduced with the content — Zul’Gurub and Zul’Aman. If both of those names sound familiar, they should; the former was a 20-man raid removed as the Cataclysm swept over Azeroth, the latter a late-term Burning Crusade dungeon best known for its time-limit reward mechanic and badass Amani War Bear mounts. Consequently, as of the new patch’s release, Zul’Aman will also cease to be a raid.
Zul’Gurub will feature the bulk of the changes with brand new encounters and its lore/design tweaked in accordance with everything that has occurred post-apocalypse, but perhaps the most interesting thing about the pair is that they will be classified as a different tier of Heroic than those already in the game, reflective of their increased difficulty and 353 ilevel loot. As with the initial tier of Heroic content, you’ll need to meet a minimum ilevel again, that target being 346. As a bit of a reward for your patience, Tier 2 Heroic Randoms will reward you with 140 Valor Points, as opposed to the 70 offered with Tier 1. No word on whether or not you’ll be able to earn both bonuses every day.
And for the collectors out there wondering what will happen to their precious mounts and pets, here’s what Blizzard has to say on the matter:
New versions of the rare raptor, tiger, and bear mounts will be available, while the old versions of these mounts will remain unique to those who already have them. We’ll reveal more about how these updated mounts can be obtained in the future.
In addition, Patch 4.1 will bring the usual bevy of class and balance changes, though you may be wondering what’s up with the Firelands raid. Certainly this couldn’t be the first major content patch in a long time without a raid attached? Well, Blizz is playing coy with details at the moment, and despite the early testing, Patch 4.1 may still be weeks or months off from final release. On top of that, MMO-Champion has uncovered models likely used in the Firelands (notably, Ragnaros with legs), plus some indication of new dailies found in the earliest set of files.
While we’ll have to wait on the big raid reveal, both Zul’Gurub and Zul’aman are available on the PTR right now.
:D