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Very cool the 1.11.0 patch " Shadow of the Necropolis" is out. Take a look at the patch notes.

Version 1.11.0

World of Warcraft Client Patch
Shadow of the Necropolis

Floating above the Plaguelands, the necropolis known as Naxxramas serves as the seat of one of the Lich King's most powerful officers, the dreaded lich Kel'Thuzad. Horrors of the past and new terrors yet to be unleashed are gathering inside the necropolis as the Lich King's servants prepare their assault. The Scourge marches again...
Naxxramas is the new 40-man raid dungeon that will present even the most experienced and powerful players with an epic challenge.

General

* The cost to unlearn talents will now decay over time. This cost will be reduced by a rate of 5 gold per month to a minimum of 10 gold.
* After a disconnect from the server, it is now possible to log back in immediately, instead of receiving the message, "A character with that name already exists."
* Chain targeted spells and abilities (e.g. Multi-shot, Cleave, Chain Lightning) will no longer hit stealthed or invisible units unless visible to the caster.
* Fear: The calculations to determine if Fear effects should break due to receiving damage have been changed. The old calculation used the base damage of the ability. The new calculation uses the final amount of damage dealt, after all modifiers. In addition, the chance for a damage over time spell to break Fear is now significantly lower. Note that Fear continues to be roughly three times as likely to break on player targets as on non-player targets. In addition, Intimidating Shout now follows that player versus non-player distinction, while previously it did not.
* Periodic Healing: Spells which do periodic healing will now have their strength determined at the moment they are cast. Changing the amount of bonus healing you have during the duration of the periodic spell will have no impact on how much it heals for.
* Reflection: Effects which cause reflection will no longer reflect triggered effects separately from their base effects (eg. Impact, Improved Shadow Bolt, Aftermath, etc.)
* Optimization code known as "M2Faster" is now enabled by default. M2Faster can improve performance in crowded scenes when "Vertex Animation Shaders" is turned on.

Battlegrounds

* Alterac Valley
o Most of the NPC guard units have been removed.
o Players now drop more quest items.
o Creatures that remain in Alterac Valley have had their hit points reduced.
o The buff that is periodically cast by each faction's Captain has been changed to a flat 20% hit point buff.
o Upgrading troops through armor scrap turn-ins will also now result in your team's General enabling a periodic buff to your melee and spell damage.
o This buff scales from 10% at the Seasoned unit level, 20% at the Veteran unit level, and 30% at the Champion unit level.

Druids

* Innervate: This spell is now a base ability for all Druids, trainable at level 40. Any Druid who formerly had the Innervate talent now has the Swiftmend talent instead.
* Nature's Grace: You will no longer consume this effect when casting a spell which was made instant by Nature's Swiftness.
* Swiftmend: This new talent has been added to the Druid Restoration tree, replacing Innervate as the 31 point ultimate talent. It consumes a Rejuvenation or Regrowth aura to produce an instant heal.
* Enrage: Tooltip edited to clarify functionality.

Hunters

* Counterattack (Survival Talent) - All ranks of this talent will now share the same cooldown.
* Scorpid Poison: Duration slightly lengthened.
* Changed the way hunter pet family armor bonuses and penalties are applied to allow the exact value from the Natural Armor talent to be applied correctly. This may result in a very slight loss of armor to some pets (less than a third of a percent).
* Improved Scorpid Sting: The aura from this Sting will now be removed (as intended) when a different Sting aura is placed on the victim.

Mages

* Due to significant talent changes, mages will have all talent points refunded and can be respent. Training costs for all talent spell replacements have been significantly reduced.
* Arcane Explosion is now instant cast and will no longer remove the Presence of Mind effect when used.
* Evocation - Is now available to all mages (via trainer), starting at level 20.
* Conjure Food now has a new rank (Rank 7) available in Stratholme.
* Frost Ward now has a new rank (Rank 5) available as item loot in dungeons.
* Mana Shield - Damage taken will now be absorbed by other absorb spells (e.g. Ice Barrier, Power Word: Shield) before being absorbed by Mana Shield.
* Dampen Magic - Damage and healing reduction increased on ranks 3 through 5.
* Amplify Magic - Damage and healing bonus increased on ranks 2 through 4.
* Counterspell - Fixed a bug that made Counterspell unresistable.
* Winter's Chill - Changed to increase crit chance by 1% per stack, but stacks up to 10 times.
* Improved Scorch - Duration of Fire Vulnerability increased to 30 seconds.
* Blast Wave: The bonus this spell receives from effects that increase spell damage has been increased.
* Cold Snap: This talent will now always clear the cooldown for Frost Ward, even if the cooldown was triggered by casting Fire Ward.
* Cone of Cold: The bonus this spell receives from effects that increase spell damage has been increased.
* Fire Ward: The amount of damage absorbed by this ward was increased substantially on all ranks.
* Frost Ward: The amount of damage absorbed by this ward was increased substantially on all ranks.
* Arcane Power: This ability will no longer stack with Power Infusion. If you gain both at the same time, Arcane Power will take precedence.
* Added a new level 60 quest available from Archmage Xylem in Azshara for mages.
* Fire Ruby now has a sell value and can be disenchanted.

Paladins

* Benediction: This talent will no longer incorrectly provide a double discount to Seal of Justice.
* Blessing of Light: It is no longer possible for a target to appear to have multiple ranks of Blessing of Light. These multiple auras had no beneficial effect, merely causing confusion. Problems with targeting the spell when the caster has Blessing of Light effect on them have also been fixed.
* Divine Favor: It is no longer possible to cast this immediately after a healing spell and "retroactively" make it a critical hit.
* Illumination: When several critical effect healing spells are cast very quickly, you will now receive the correct mana refund for each one.
* Judgement of Command: Now consumes a charge of the Zandalarian Hero Charm. In addition, when this spell is resisted it will no longer erroneously still do damage.
* Judgement of Righteousness: Now consumes a charge of the Zandalarian Hero Charm.
* Seal of Command: Clarified tooltip.
* Vengeance: Seal of Command critical hits can now trigger this ability.
* Vindication: This effect will no longer be absorbed by Grounding Totem.

Priests

* Lightwell - Casting time reduced. Lightwell object increased in size to make it easier to click; relative click radius decreased slightly.
* Mind Control: If you cast Power Word: Shield while Mind Controlling a target, the Recently Shielded aura will now appear on the correct target instead of yourself.
* Shadowguard: This Troll Priest racial spell now works with Vampiric Embrace, Blackout, and Shadow Weaving. In addition, the damage from Shadowguard will now consume charges of the Zandalarian Hero Charm's Unstable Power aura.
* Spirit of Redemption: This spell has a number of fixes: Priests prematurely leaving battlegrounds with this aura on will now receive the Deserter debuff (as intended); Priests in Spirit of Redemption form at the completion of a battleground will have the aura removed without dying; It will now work correctly with the Darkmoon Card Twisting Nether item, resurrecting you after Spirit of Redemption has run its course; If you should die underwater the Spirit of Redemption will no longer have a breath bar appear; the Warlock Drain Soul spell will terminate producing 1 shard when the Priest switches to Spirit of Redemption form; You will no longer have to wait 30 seconds for graveyard resurrection upon your first death while using Spirit of Redemption.
* Vampiric Embrace: This ability will no longer heal for damage caused when the target had no life remaining.

Rogues

* Detect Traps is now a passive skill.
* Pick Pocket: This ability will no longer trigger effects on your target.
* Slice and Dice: This ability will no longer play its sound effect twice.
* Vanish: Cancelling your Stealth aura while Vanish is running will now cause Vanish to be canceled as well.

Warlocks

* Shadow Ward now has a new rank (Rank 5) available as item loot in dungeons. The amount of damage absorbed by this ward was increased substantially on all ranks.
* Curse of Agony: The damage from this spell will now continue even if the caster dies or leaves the area.
* Emberstorm: This talent will now correctly increase the damage the Warlock takes from Hellfire.
* Hellfire: Aftermath can now be triggered by this spell.
* Improved Shadowbolt: Periodic damage spells and non-damaging spells will no longer consume charges of Shadow Vulnerability.
* Shadowburn: If you cast Drain Soul while this aura is on the victim, you will no longer receive two soul shards upon the victim's death.
* Soul Link: If your pet is banished, it will now break the Soul Link. In addition, Soul Link's tooltip has been clarified to indicate it only works with your imp, voidwalker, succubus, or felhunter.

Shaman

* Due to significant talent changes, Shaman will have all talent points refunded and can be respent. Training costs for all talent spell replacements have been significantly reduced.
* Searing Totem - Mana cost reduced.
* Disease Cleansing Totem - Duration increased.
* Fire Resistance Totem - Duration increased.
* Flametongue Totem - Duration increased.
* Frost Resistance Totem - Duration increased.
* Grace of Air Totem - Duration of ranks 1 and 2 increased.
* Nature Resistance Totem - Duration increased.
* Poison Cleansing Totem - Duration increased.
* Stoneskin Totem - Duration increased.
* Strength of Earth Totem - Duration of ranks 1 through 4 increased.
* Tremor Totem - Duration increased.
* Windfury Totem - Duration increased.
* Windwall Totem - Duration increased.
* Mana Spring Totem - Mana cost reduced.
* Healing Stream Totem - Mana cost reduced.
* Two-Handed Axes/Maces (Enhancement Talent) - Skill levels gained with these two weapons will now be retained if you decide to unspend this talent point and return to it later.
* Flame Shock - Damage over time portion of all ranks slightly increased. Mana cost of ranks 3 through 5 decreased. In addition, a new rank is available (Rank 6) from Upper Blackrock Spire.
* Improved Reincarnation (Restoration Talent) - Fixed a bug where rank 1 of this talent was not decreasing the cooldown properly.
* Rockbiter, Frostbrand, Flametongue and Windfury Weapon mana costs reduced.
* Elemental Fury: Tooltip now indicates it increases the critical damage for Searing Totem, Magma Totem, and Fire Nova Totem.
* Fire Nova Totem: This totem now receives increased damage from effects that increase the Shaman's spell damage.
* Grounding Totem: This totem will no longer reflect the Mage talent Combustion back onto the Mage.
* Healing Wave Totem: This totem now receives increased damage from effects that increase the Shaman's healing.
* Lightning Bolt: Mana cost reduced approximately 17%.
* Magma Totem: This totem now receives increased damage from effects that increase the Shaman's spell damage.
* Searing Totem: This totem now receives increased damage from effects that increase the Shaman's spell damage.

Warriors

* Improved Revenge - Chance to stun at each rank changed to 15/30/45%.
* Bloodrage - Fixed a bug that caused Bloodrage to cost twice the intended health
* Sweeping Strikes: This spell has a number of fixes: When used in conjunction with Execute and the second victim is below 20% health, they will be hit with the full Execute amount. If the second victim is not below 20% health, they will be hit with normal melee swing damage; If the ability you are using does not deal damage, it will not use a charge of Sweeping Strikes; The extra attack it generates when used with Whirlwind now has the correct damage range; The additional attacks generated by this ability will now properly take into account the armor of the second target.
* Whirlwind - When this ability is used with Sweeping Strikes, it will burn only one charge of Sweeping Strikes and will generate only one additional attack.
* Retaliation - This ability will now function correctly at full melee range.
* Intimidating Shout - The cowering in fear effect will no longer be applied when the target resists this shout.
* Shield Slam: This ability now costs 20 rage to use and the damage it does is modified by attack power (normalized to 2.2 speed). However, the base damage has been reduced. It generates more threat per rage and more damage per rage than it did previously.
* Flurry - The tooltip for this talent has been adjusted to indicate it only works on normal melee swings. And ranks 1 through 4 of this talent will now activate correctly again. Your haste will now last only the intended next 3 swings.

Items

* Key rings have been added to the game.
o Level 1-39 = 4 slots
o Level 40-49 = 8 slots
o Level 50-60 = 12 slots
* Stack sizes have been updated:
Stacks of 20
o Leather (Light, Medium, etc.)
o Cured Hides (Light, Medium, etc.)
o Shards (Small Brilliant, etc.)
o Enchanting Dusts (Strange, Illusion, etc.)
o Flash Powder
o Rogue Poisons (Instant, Crippling, etc.)
o Rogue Poison Reagents (Essence of Pain, Deathweed, etc.)
Stacks of 10
o Hides (Light, Medium, etc.)
* We have re-evaluated the mechanics of consumable items in the game and concluded that these should work in a more intuitive manner. As such, most items that can not be equipped with right click abilities have been streamlined into one of three categories. Using an item of a particular category will trigger a shared cooldown among all other items in the same category. The categories break down as follows with category cooldowns as listed.
o Potions 2 minutes: This includes items such as Health Potion, Mana Potion, Invisibility Potion and Mighty Rage Potion.
o Aggressive 1 minute: This includes items such as explosives, Really Sticky Glue and Discombobulator Ray.
o Non-Aggresive 2 minutes: This includes items such as Healthstone, Night Dragon's Breath, Whipper Root Tuber and Target Dummy.
* Many items that can be equipped have had their cooldown category removed and will be controlled exclusively by the item's self cooldown. For example, the Gnomish Mind Control Cap should no longer trigger the cooldown of the Talisman of Arathor.
* We have re-evauluated the class specific quest rewards for both Zul'Gurub and Ahn'Qiraj Ruins. To bring them more in line with the effort required to attain them we have upgraded the superior items to epic quality.
* All food/drink can be eaten while silenced. Previously some food/drink could not be consumed when under the effect of a silence.
* The Gnomish Mind Control Cap may now only be used on targets that are not in combat.
* An updated set of armor rewards have been added to vendors for Honor ranks 7, 8, and 10.
* The armor rewards for Honor ranks 12 and 13 have been increased in level and stat point allocation.

Professions

* Four new nature resist cloth armor recipes have been added to the merchants at Cenarion Hold for those with high Cenarion Circle reputation.
* Three new nature resist leather armor recipes have been added to the ghost leatherworker of Silithus for those with high Cenarion Circle reputation.
* Three new nature resist plate recipes have been added to the merchants at Cenarion Hold for those with high Cenarion Circle reputation.
* The two-handed agility Enchanting recipe now provides a green glow on those weapons.
* When a paladin is replaced by their Evil Twin due to transporter malfunction, they can no longer revert to their normal self using divine shield.
* Tranquil Mechanical Yetis are no longer unique.

Quests

* Light's Hope Chapel has been revamped and is now a fully functional quest hub.
o A new mailbox has been added.
o The chapel is now flagged as an inn.
o A guard system is in place.
o New vendors have been added.
* Dozens of new quests have been added to Light's Hope.
* New quests available in Zul'Gurub and Light's Hope Chapel for head and leg resistance enchantments.
* Several new tradeskill quests have been added to assist players in obtaining frost resistance armor and items.
* A new LEGENDARY item quest has been added! Casters rejoice (and druids too)!

Raids and Dungeons

* Zul'Gurub
o Class specific armor quests given by the Zandalarian trolls of Yojamba Isle no longer require Bijous or Coins for completion. Armor quests now only require a Primal Hakkari piece and appropriate faction with Zandalar.
o Class specific enchantments given by Zanza the Restless no longer require Arcanum (Librams) from Dire Maul. The requirements have been changed to items found within Zul'Gurub. Speak with Zanza the Restless for more information.
o The various clan speakers (Bloodscalp Speaker, Sandfury Speaker, etc) have had their hit points reduced considerably.
o Zandalarian Armor Replacement - Because of the changes made to the armor rewards from the Paragons of Power quests, the trolls of Yojamba Isle will now offer to replace pieces of armor that have been lost or deleted.
o After careful consideration we have decided to add an additional loot table to the High Priests of Zul'Gurub. Players should now see two items in addition to the tokens when slaying these bosses.
* Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj
o Ossirian the Unscarred - There is a new crystal that will be visible before the encounter begins. Players can use this crystal just like any other crystal in the encounter, but it cannot come back up during the encounter.
o Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj Class Set Reward Replacement - Because of the changes made to the rewards from the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj class set quests, players can obtain replacements for lost or deleted quest rewards from Warden Haro, Keyl Swiftclaw, and Windcaller Yessendra in Cenarion Hold.

User Interface

* Text that a raid leader sends to chat will now be displayed in a different color and will have the [Raid Leader] label.
* There is now a new raid warning chat channel available to raid leaders and assistants. Text that is sent to this channel will appear in the center of the screen for all players in the raid. The channel is called raid warning and text can be sent to it with "/rw"
* Raid leaders now have a Ready Check button on their raid interface. This can also be sent with /readycheck from the chat line. A ready check sends an "Are you ready?" Yes/No dialogue to all players in the raid. The raid leader will get feedback in 30 seconds on all the players who were not ready or who did not respond.
* Players now have a Raid Info button on their raid interface that functions the same way /raidinfo worked before. This function will display a pane showing all of the raid instances that a player is saved to, rather than displaying it to the chat window.
* Players in a party may now select an option that allows them to reset an instance.
o You only get the reset instance option if you are a party leader.
o The UI option appears if you are a party leader, you have one or more instances open, and you are not currently in an instance.
o The UI option is a right-click option off of your own portrait (like party loot options).
o You get a warning dialogue when you select this option asking if you really want to reset all instances.
o If you select reset all instances, all non-raid instances will be reset to their starting condition.

World Environment

* New flight paths can be found at Ratchet and Marshall's Refuge, Un'Goro Crater.
* Flight paths added between:
o Morgan's Vigil - Lakeshire
o Revantusk Village - Light's Hope Chapel
o Aerie Peak - Chillwind Point
o Stonetalon Peak - Nijel's Point
o Cenarion Hold - Feathermoon Stronghold
o Cenarion Hold - Camp Mojache
o Cenarion Hold - Un'Goro Crater
o Gadgetzan - Un'Goro Crater
o Crossroads - Ratchet
o Theramore - Ratchet
o Ratchet - Talendris Point
o Moonglade - Talonbranch
o Splintertree - Valormok
o Hammerfall - Revantusk Village
o Camp Mojache - Freewind Post

Macs

* "Maximized Windowed Mode" on a multiple display setup now leaves extra displays available for desktop use.
* In windowed mode, the window position and size is now saved on exit.
* Command-clicking the zoom button in windowed mode will now toggle amongst a few standard sizes.
* The desktop is no longer displayed when switching between full-screen resolutions.
* Cinematic support on 10.4.x systems has been revised to use CoreVideo for playback.
* Fixed a bug that could disrupt window sizes of other apps and desktop icons when switching in and out of fullscreen mode.
* Keyboard event processing has been improved and is less likely to drop keystrokes.
* The config.wtf variable "screenshotFormat" allows the user to choose "png", "jpeg", or "tga" (Targa) format for screen shots.
* Fixed an issue in WoW where pasting in multi-line text from the clipboard would result in one long line of text in the text view.
* Fixed an issue where international characters were not being copied and pasted correctly in some situations.
* Conditional support for future OpenGL performance enhancements in OS X.

Posted by Noel at 01:13 PM | Permalink

Great Guide to Scholomance.

Scholo is a level 57-60 dungeon that was recently capped at a 5-player limit. Prior to the v. 1.10 patch, the only reason to do five-man Scholo was to complete the few quests it offered. Groups frequented it for the rare item drops from the numerous bosses that inhabit the place, including several tier-0 armor pieces. Post-release 1.10, the team size cap was lowered to 5 but drop rates on rare items were supposedly increased.

Posted by Noel at 11:43 AM | Permalink

Nice set of rumors and other information over on WorldofWar.net.

This article is, in essence, simply a list. It’s a compilation of the insights I garnered while at E3. As this was written a few weeks after E3 ended, some of this information is already out, and I’m simply confirming it and its source. Most of what is contained herein is new, however. In short, while at E3 I got the scoop on a whole lot of WoW-related information. In the interests of keeping you, my fellow game geeks, in the know and up to speed, I thought I’d share all the rumor and scoop about the WoW universe with you. I hope you find this info as interesting as I did.

Posted by Noel at 10:59 AM | Permalink

Wonderful FAQ on the Scourge Invasion World Event. This was originally posted by Ghostwalka on the game forums. Check it out!

Scourge Invasion FAQ:

Q: Where is the Web Site containing all the Blizzard released information?

A: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/events/scourgeinvasion/

Q: How long will it last?

A: Unknown for now. The rumors range from a month to until Kel'thuzad is killed to until you defeat ALL of the Necropolises. It will last much, much longer then the 16 hour war with the Ahn'qiraj though.

Q: How is it started?

A: Still unknown. The AQ War Effort doesn't start until the Emissary is killed. This might trigger the first time Baron Rivendare is killed on a new server. That is the best guess anyway. Or perhaps the first time someone completes the 'Above and Beyond' quest which is to kill Rivendare and take his head to the Argent Dawn for a reward.

Q: What happens?

A: During the invasion, multiple events occur.
First, outside of every major city, there are glowing points where low level undead spawn(9-11). These drop Dim Necrotic Runes that can be turned into a quest giver for faction once.
Secondly, in Azshara, Winterspring, Tanaris, Eastern Plague Lands, The Blasted Lands, and the Burning Steppes there are massive invasions of Level 59-60 undead. These invasions occur at specific sites gathered around 'Necrotic Crystals'. Undead spawn continuously from these points and wander around, killing local wildlife in one shot. Also, flying necropolis send bolts of energy to and from each stone, so it is easy to find them if you find the hovering Necropolis and follow the bolt of energy that shoots out every 30 seconds or so.

Killing these undead around the crystals results in a bolt of damaging energy being sent back to the crystal. You have to kill about 100, if not more, of the undead to fully destroy it... but with dozens of people working at it, this doesn't take to long. Maybe 20 minutes.

When the Necrotic Crystal is 'destroyed', it is replaced by a 'Damaged Necrotic Crystal' that four Cultist Engineers appear around and begin to repair. If you leave the Damaged Crystal being repaired by the Cultists alone for a time, it will be restored to the normal Necrotic Crystal and the event starts all over again.

You can disrupt the Cultists by using the Necrotic Runes that drop from the invading undead. Take 8 of the runes and talk to one of them, and use the command given to turn it into a Shadow of Doom. This fight is similar to a Duke fight in Silithus. You need at least a good duo with a good healer to beat these. They spawn and go straight for the person who disrupted them, flagged to that person's group. It works just like a Duke, Templar, or Prince in that regard.

Major Warning: Only transform ONE AT A TIME. They are monsters when you fight two or more at once. And, like the Dukes, they are unsoloable unless you are either very good or have very good gear. However, most Template characters were and are unable to solo them. Duos are possible with one being healer the other melee/dps/tank or a Paladin or Shaman healtanking.

The dangerous part comes in the adds. You're almost guaranteed to have at least two level 59-60 adds. So its preferred to have more then one person with you unless you are ahead of the spawn rate.

These Shadows drop the rest of the Undead Slaying Set. Killing all four results in the full destruction of the Necrotic Crystal and an interruption of the event for a time.

There are multiple invasion points scattered across each of the above named zones. Destroying all of them, presumably, destroys one of the Necropolises sent to the area. Another will show up until there are 0 Necropolises left(ask the Argent Dawn Recruiter for more information)

Q: Where do I get Necrotic Runes?

A: They drop from the 59-60 undead mobs that spawn continuously at the invasion points across Azshara, Winterspring, Tanaris, Eastern Plague Lands, The Blasted Lands, and the Burning Steppes. They are fairly common.

Additionally, there is a chance for a Rare/'Silver Dragon' undead to spawn in place of the normal ones. These have a chance of dropping one of the Undead Slaying pieces and 4 to 6 Necrotic Runes.

Q: Are there quests involving the Invasion?

A: Yes. One at each major city involves gathering Dull Necrotic Runes from the 9-11 Undead outside. Three of them earns silver and faction with the Dawn. This is repeatable once at each major city, but otherwise is not doable multiple times.

One more is at the Argent Dawn Camp in each major city, that sends you to speak to the Argent Recruiter at LHC. Because of the Level 60 XP involved, this rewards some silver. Do it for the silver and faction.

The last two are obtained at Light's Hope Chapel. They involve killing one Shadow of Doom and gathering 10 Necrotic Runes.

Completing the Shadows of Doom quest gives you the choice of a few of the Consecrated Sharpening Stones or a few of the Blessed Wizard Oil. About 4 gold at 60, too. It and the other will be nice XP for those not yet 60.

Completing the quest to gather 10 Necrotic Runes allows you to turn in Necrotic Runes for the other rewards offered. This one also rewards about 4 gold at 60, too.

Q: Where do I get the full Undead Slaying Sets?

A: Three sources: Shadows of Doom, the 'Rare' Undead at the Invasion points, and turning in 30 Necrotic Runes to the Argent Dawn Outfitter in LHC. The first two can drop either part of the set, while the last is the only way to get the gloves.

Mcclark's Findings:
Bracers: 100% drop chance off of the rare "Bone Witch" Which type of bracers he drops is random (plate, mail, etc)
Gloves: Finish the 10 Necrotic Shards quest from the commander, then talk to the quartermaster and give him 30. You are able to choose which type you want.
Chest: Semi-rare drop off the Shades of Doom
All pieces are BoP and the set bonus for each is a 2% damage bonus against undead(3-piece, no bonus for 1 or 2)

Q: Where do I get the Tabard of the Argent Dawn?

A: Turn in 10 Necrotic Runes to the Argent Dawn Quartermaster in Light's Hope Chapel after completing the two new quests offered at LHC regarding the killing of a Shadow of Doom and the gathering of 10 Necrotic Runes.

Q: Where do I get the Tabard of the Scarlet Crusade?

A: At present, it is CONFIRMED it was re-added to the random loot table of SM. Further, it is CONFIRMED that it drops from the Goon Squad that comes in to help Herod after he dies. Get ready to get your Scarlet Tabards, folks!

Q: Where are the new Bosses?

A: The new bosses are found in Stratholme, the Scholomance, Dire Maul, the Scarlet Monastery, Shadowfang Keep and the Razorfen Downs.

If there are multiple new bosses in DM and SM for each of the wings, that is unknown. The only known new boss at this time is Scorn in the SM Graveyard. He is a Lich who enters the Graveyard after you kill the Undead Blood Mage in the Crypt.

Leave the crypt after you kill the Blood Mage and you will see Scorn floating towards you down the road. He hits normally for his level(32 Elite), and he has some nasty Frost AE Spells for even level groups trying to tackle him.

The new one in Shadowfang Keep is a Scourge Abomination. His name is Sever, and he is found in the area formerly patrolled only by Ghosts near where the Butcher and the Baron are. There are no prereqs to his appearance. He is level 25.

The new boss for RFD, Lady Falther'ess(hmm... what could that name mean?), is bugged on the Test Server. Very bugged. She should be fixed by live.

She might spawn in if you open the middle Holding Pen between the human who teaches you Goldthorn Tea and the small Ogre.

The new boss in DM West is named Revachion! Credit to Nerfed for finding him!

The Stratholme Boss, found by Harmonia, is a Lich that patrols around the fountain in the main area next to the small chapel and the Side Gate to Stratholme.

His name is Balzaphon, and he kicks major butt. Serious frostbolt spammer that does a ton of damage. Drops any of three +damage and healing blues, including an amazing staff and a +22 dam necklace called 'Chains of the Lich' and TWO! TWO! Corrupter's Scourgestones.

The Scholomance Boss evades us. So far, we know where it ISN'T!

It is NOT ANYWHERE but the Front Room, After you kill Kirtonos, or after you do the Viewing Room. I just took a group with Harmonia and slaughtered everything in Scholo and those were the only things we could not do.

Those were also the only things that were impossible to do because we had no cube of doom and no blood. And we didn't finish wiping out the front room.

So, KEEP LOOKING FOR THE SCHOLO BOSS! Post if you find it! If the Strath boss is any indication, its going to be absolutely awesome.

If you find any more, shout out on this thread. It'll be added to the FAQ.

Q: Are there new Loading Screens shown for the above named instances?

A: SM, RFD, RFK, and SFK have brand new loading screens! Checking the rest soon. So do other dungeons, it seems, like Blackrock Spire!

Q: Did they improve loot in some of the lower instances like SM?

A: Yes, they did. In addition to the new bosses, some items, like the Hypnotic Blade from Doan... got an upgrade.

The Hypnotic Blade now has +9 Spell Damage and Healing on it.

Any more are as yet unknown.

Q: Are the new Bosses in those instances permanent?

A: Unknown at the present time.

Q: Where do I get the Letters from the Undead?

A: The Letters from the Undead are found on the 59-60 Undead Invasion monsters. Kill them until they drop. There are at least 6 of them, and each leads you to a quest that involves you returning to Light's Hope Chapel then obtaining the next step of the quest in the mail shortly after.

The rest is up to you.

Further information might be found in this link, however:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?FN=wow-general&T=8466071&P=1

Q: Why are the Scourge invading these regions?

A: As it is, these six places they are targeting are key points of Magical Power. Further, they are attacking the two 'Human' cities; Stormwind and Undercity.

The reason for these things is obvious.

Undercity and Stormwind are being attacked because in both places the Lich King will gather a great many new 'recruits' for his army, either by reanimation... or renewed domination...

Azshara is a center of magical power, and not even we have discovered all its secrets yet. Controlling it would give their Liches something to do and more magical abilities to command.

In the Tanaris Desert, two things are located; The Caverns of Time and Uldum. One is the nesting ground and passage into the Timestream used by the Bronze Dragons, the other is the location where the Titans used their power to manipulate the very face of Azeroth to their whim. If the Scourge took control of either location, the effects would be dramatic and horrifying. Further, cutting off Goblin access destroys trade, which is something we need... and the Scourge does not.

In the Burning Steppes, there is the already troubled war between the Blackrock and the Dark Iron. Plenty of bodies to reap from the fallen. Further, there is access to the Dragon Eggs and Dragon Whelps that the Scourge is making use of and transforming into a new generation of different Undead Dragons.

In Winterspring, they have another Goblin city to shut down. But, moreover, they have access to the ghosts of the Highborn they can bring under their control. Also, secrets lie underneath Winterspring, including the former Prison of Illidan. Further... it is a perfect front for them to assault the last true bastion of the Burning Legion on this world; Mount Hyjal.

In the Blasted Lands... there is the Dark Portal. Need I say more?

In the Eastern Plaguelands, the two factions who truly oppose them beyond we Adventurers of the Alliance and Horde currently fight against them. The Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn. This is the 'front', and should it fall, the rest will have no buffer point and Undercity itself will be next as the Crusade and the Dawn are crushed should the Scourge win.

Q: Will this event cause a great deal of lag and crash continents like the AQ Opening did?

A: Not likely. Its spread out over both continents, with lots of fun to be had at both. There will be a rush on LHC on the first day, but otherwise it should be very easy and not cause major crashes.

Q: Is there really a Father Inigo Montoy at LHC?

A: Yes. You killed his father. Prepare to die.

Q: Will there be more Q&A?

A: As soon as I learn more I'll update with new information.

Q: Can I repost this FAQ on other sites?

A: Of course! Share the wealth! Feel free to give credit, but knowledge is for everyone. Credit as ya like!

Q: Will the Scourge attack SW and UC?

A: (In the words of Mcclark)

Yes. This is my personal experience.
I was riding through SW amazed at how cool my raptor yelled when I saw in the chat log:
Stormwind City Guard yells: Help! The Scourge are attacking the park! (Why they would attack there I have no idea). I quickly ran to the park and this is what I saw: No guards there, maybe the yell just came from no where. A 61 elite Abomination (forgot what he was called, not rare/named or anything) and a weak 54 elite skeleton (called "Flameshocker") were in the process of destroying Officer Pomeroy. Another mage and I that showed up to help Pomeroy. Even with the help of 2 epic't out mages, Pomeroy died fairly quickly. The abomination then proceeded to three-shot me.
When I rezzed, saw:
Stormwind City Guard yells: Help! The Scourge have reached Stormwind Keep!
Highlord Bolvar Fordragon yells: (something like this cant remember exactly what he said) Do not let them through! Protect the King at all costs!

Q: What are the rare spawns that appear around the crystals?

A: Credit to Mcclark!

Bone Witch: uses the Skeletal Mage model and has a 100% drop chance of one of the UD slaying bracers.
Spririt of the Damned: uses a white Shade model- has a 150dps ranged with a fair amount of HP.
Abomination: Name unknown at this time. Fair amount of HP and melee damage.
Banshee: Name unknown at this time.

Q: What are the rep gains on the Invasion Mobs and Quests?

A: Credit to Mcclark!

Normal Trash: Skeletal Shocktroopers, Berserking Ghoul, Spectral Soldier - 5 rep
Rares, listed above: 10 rep, stops at revered
Shadows of Doom: 50 rep even to someone who is revered.
Under the Shadow and the 10 Necrotic Runes quest: 50 rep
Other quests unknown at this time.

Q: This seems like another blatant attempt to become an MVP.

A: Shush, you. I'm excited for the new invasion and want to answer questions myself and imagine people need and want answers.

I'd post stuff like this even if I am not an MVP.

I honestly don't care if I become an MVP and I don't honestly don't know if I want to be one with the stupidity running rampant against them.

Helping other people is not sucking up. Helping other people is helping other people.

Also, that is not a question.

Posted by Noel at 11:07 AM | Permalink

Very nice review of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Preview

So what is offered to devoted players in The Burning Crusade? First and foremost on anyone's list would be the hundreds of hours of new gameplay in a completely new area for high-level characters. This begins with the opening of the Dark Portal from Azeroth to Outland, which will be similar to a world-event, but will not require that all players be in the same area to experience it. Although the details were sketchy at this point, Blizzard has stated that regardless of where you may happen to be on the world map when this occurs on your server, and regardless of your level, you will experience something akin to hell freezing over. Or the gates to hell opening up and unleashing monsters like you have never seen before. Or the announcement of Starcraft 2 followed by a server crash. Okay, so the last one was a stretch, but I assure you that whatever does happen, you will want to be online for it, even if your character is still only level 25 or so.

Posted by Noel at 10:17 AM | Permalink

This sounds like so much fun. The World of warcraft website has new information about the Scourge Invasion. Looks great. This may be the best event ever! No really!

With each victory against the Scourge, the defense grows stronger. As more and more invasion attempts are beaten back by the defenders, the Argent Dawn will be able to bestow increasingly more powerful blessings upon those fighting the invaders. If the mortal races focus on clearing the Scourge camps all over the world that have sprung up beneath each necropolis, perhaps the invasion can effectively be halted or even repelled. Those who wish to take up arms against the undead invaders should speak with a representative of the Argent Dawn to learn what regions need help and how the defense is holding up.

Posted by Noel at 09:37 PM | Permalink

Very detailed guide to The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj. Includes information on the trash mobs and a page on each of the bosses. If you like spoiler information this is for you.

Posted by Noel at 09:04 AM | Permalink