Freedom, once again…

Wrath launch has come and gone but it definitely merits a post on what I’ve seen so far. It is absolutely beautiful. Ever wanted to see Ireland but never had the time or money to go there? Ever wondered what Ireland would be like if you had bagpipe background music? Wait, aren’t bagpipes Scottish? Okay, maybe I mean Scotland. Anyway, Ephii is leveling in Howling Fjord, which to me, looks and sounds exactly like the way I would imagine Scotland with bagpipes in the background.

For the next 10 levels, I have freedom. I respecced to shadow to cut down on leveling time (my playtime is limited so I need to get the most out of it) and let’s be honest, zomgwtfpwning everything is fun. I’m using a cookie-cutter spec for the time being just because there is too much to do and not enough time to worry about the nuances of balancing PvP and PvE talents. Although I probably should because the Horde are having a field day ganking Alliance in Northrend… =X Well, it’s what I get for leveling on a PvP server…

I managed to finish all the quests in Valgarde last night and did a run of Utgarde Keep. The gear from quests and bosses are definitely comparable to T5 or ZA gear. Most of the time, it’s not superior but still comparable and might be worth changing an epic for a blue or a green if the stats on it are more your cup of tea.

Utgarde Keep, like everything else I’ve seen of Northrend so far, is beautiful. Utgarde (Catacombs and Keep) definitely has a Diablo flavor to all of its elements. No secret cow level but there’s a not-so-secret ghoul level in the Catacombs!! Our group didn’t have a healer for the Keep so I stepped up to the plate to heal it as shadow (which is not hard at all if your tank and you are both T5 & ZA geared).

Some Puts & Takes on Healing UK as Shadow (Not England… which can never be healed. xD I didn’t mean that.)

My perspective is heavily biased by our gear – it isn’t the best but it’s not laughable. I don’t know how you might fare if you are wearing Outland greens and blues still. Kara gear is a good start, though you might find it a little more challenging (but also more fun).

It was our first time in there so we pulled one group at a time. The dungeon is at the same level of difficulty as some of the easier heroics in Outland. The trash doesn’t hit too hard and if they do, it’s nothing a fast reaction time can’t fix.

Keep in mind that your healing spells have a much longer cast time now than you’re used to as Holy! We’re back to 2s Flash Heals, 3s Greater Heals, and for those of us who loved 3.0 – no more CoH. Cancel-cast on your tank for bosses. Otherwise, PoM and Renews are enough to take care of everyone. You won’t really run out of mana but drink up before the boss pulls. You’ll need it.

Buffs? Fort of course. Shadow Protection is also useful in the boss fights. ALL the bosses deal shadow damage.

1. Prince Keleseth
   First boss in UK. He does Shadow Bolts, summons undead adds, and puts someone in a frost tomb (looks like a mage’s Ice Block).  Tankable and spankable. If you’re group is slow to take down the frost tombs, keep an eye on the player who got tombed. The thing hurts – ~8k damage over its full duration. Most 70s will die or come close to it (namely squishies).

   You can shackle the undead adds if you want. Or just bring them together and AOE them down. They go down pretty quickly.

2. Skarvald the Constructor & Dalronn the Controller
   The strategy here is to down Skarvald to about 10%, kill Dalronn, and finish off Skarvald to avoid a prolonged spirit phase of either NPC. The point is to kill them as closely to the same time as possible. Between random charges from Skarvald and stray Shadow Bolts from Dalronn, Binding Heal will be your best friend. At least 3 people (including the tank) will be getting hurt at the same time for most of the fight and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them was you.
3. Ingvar the Plunderer
   Last boss in the instance and the only one who does AOE damage. PoH will be useful but be mindful of the 3s cast, as you no longer have CoH or talents to reduce cast time. Stay back to avoid his Smash ability, which is a 10-yd AOE during phase 1. He’ll also silence with Staggering Roar (6s silence), which also does AOE damage up to 60-yds. This one is pretty much unavoidable so HoT and PoM.During phase 2, he has buffed versions of all his abilities in phase 1. There’s also a spinning axe you might want to avoid… But if you see something sharp spinning around next to you, you probably don’t have to be reminded about that, right?

   So for Ingvar, PoH for the melee who refuse to run out of the 10-yd AOE and for the 60-yrd AOE damage. Once he’s down, grab his head and show it off in town! Or just give it to the gross guy who asked you to get it for him in the first place.

Utgarde is easy and fun, and altogether beautiful to look at (as is everything else). If you find yourself bored in the instance, just hit that Shadowform button and challenge yourself to see if you can keep everyone up with just Vampiric Embrace!