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TalonBot
06-23-2009, 08:12 AM
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wow.com/media/2009/06/crusaderscoliseummodes.jpgSo now that a lot of the dust has settled from the big 3.2 patch notes (http://www.wow.com/2009/06/18/patch-3-2-ptr-patch-notes/)bombshell last week (and before it gets all stirred up again by the PTR starting up), let's reflect a bit. Specifically on the fact that unlike all of the instances in the game so far, the Crusaders' Coliseum will let you run it (http://www.wow.com/2009/06/17/crusaders-coliseum-details-released/) four different times (in 10-man and 25-man normal, and 10- and 25-man Heroic) every raid lockout period. We talked about this on the podcast (http://www.wow.com/2009/06/22/wow-insider-show-episode-95-just-for-you/): that's a lot of running the same content. But Zarhym replies with what Blizzard's thinking on this (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=17900052145) is. Currently, when you go to Ulduar, you have to decide as you go whether you'll take on the bosses' hard modes or not, and once your decision is made, that's it for the week. But with four different modes, running normal won't lock you out of Heroic, and vice versa. You've got the options to choose from.

I still think, though, that this is more of an experimental release on Blizzard's part, rather than a full rethinking of the way dungeons should be done. The Coliseum isn't an instance like we've ever seen before (though Vault is probably the closest) -- it's supposed to be extremely modular, and it's very much a patch-specific release rather than standard content like Naxx or Ulduar. We'll have to see exactly how it works, but my guess is that Blizzard is testing the waters (http://www.wow.com/2009/05/02/ulduar-nerfs-and-blizzards-new-raid-philosophy/) with this and the other raid content in Wrath. Chances are that if for some reason this doesn't work out (will we eventually see raiders running all four modes every week, and finding the content much more repetitive (http://www.wow.com/2007/11/18/heroic-daily-repetition/) than Blizzard planned?), the idea of simply having hard modes on bosses rather than lockouts probably isn't completely abandoned yet.


http://www.blogcdn.com/www.wow.com/media/2009/06/ah061109patch32swipe.jpgPatch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW (http://www.wow.com/guide-to-patch-3-2/#coliseum), and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest (http://www.wow.com/guide-to-patch-3-2/#ioc). WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 (http://www.wow.com/guide-to-patch-3-2/) for all the latest!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion (http://www.wow.com/category/analysis-opinion/), Odds and ends (http://www.wow.com/category/odds-and-ends/), Blizzard (http://www.wow.com/category/blizzard/), Raiding (http://www.wow.com/category/raiding/)

Why Blizzard is splitting normal and Heroic modes off on their own (http://www.wow.com/2009/06/23/why-blizzard-is-splitting-normal-and-heroic-modes-off-on-their-o/) originally appeared on WoW.com (http://www.wow.com) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).

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