Project Lore

[caption id="attachment_6419" align="alignright" width="259" caption="Depressed and alone, Onyxia seeks refuge at the top of her Lair and the bottom of a bottle of Jack."][/caption] No matter how many bugs Blizzard attempts to squash during the testing period (and it's a lengthy list, already), some are going to slip through. There's just nothing you can do about it with a game of this size and complexity. As a result, expect to see plenty of small tweaks applied to the game over the next few weeks, perhaps even nerfs to Icecrown Citadel bosses. The first of those updates has already been unleashed on the servers, and typically, they concern a lot of the new content. Things such as reducing the drop rate of Epic items in the 5-man dungeons of the Frozen Halls or fixing the problems with bosses respawning and players disconnecting towards the end of the chase sequence in Halls of Reflection. But if there's one thing that definitely needed the attention, it was Onyxia. And, thankfully, she got it. Perhaps jealous of all the attention being given to the new bosses in the game, Onyxia decided she was going to pitch a hissy fit and defiantly stay in Phase 2, unwilling to come down or be killed. My guild encountered this unfortunate bug and I've heard tales from around the internet of many others encountering the same issue, as well. So good news, everyone, it's been dealt with! Here is the full list of tweaks for 12/9/09, including giving the old dragoness her meds:

• Onyxia has settled down and is once again killable and flying in the proper areas during phase 2.
• Icetouched Earthragers casting Avalanche now deals appropriate damage.
• The quest “Keeping the Enemy at Bay” is now completable.
• Totems are no longer targeted by chain effects as intended.
• The Death Knight chest piece, Scourgelord Chestguard, has been updated to reflect appropriate tanking statistics.
• Emblem of Triumph quartermasters now exchanges one Emblem of Conquest for one Emblem of Triumph.
• The NPC Usuri Brightcoin in Dalaran now exchanges one Emblem of Triumph for one Emblem of Frost.
• Bosses no longer respawn in the new Frozen Halls 5 player dungeon after being defeated.
• Scourgelord Tyrannus now heals to full when the encounter begins.
• The chance for epic items to drop off trash mobs in the Icecrown Citadel raid dungeons has been reduced.
• The chance for epic items to drop off trash mobs in the Frozen Halls 5 player dungeons has been reduced.
• Running up the ramp at the end of the 3rd encounter in Halls of Reflection will no longer disconnect players. http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21723843673&sid=1
• Trading soulbound items will no longer make them appear as lost. http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21723842445&sid=1
• Improved Counterspell now triggers Burning Determination as intended.
• The Call to Arms: Warsong Gulch daily quest is now properly offered to players of all levels.
• The quest “No Mercy for the Merciless” can now be completed as intended.

Likewise, there's been an interesting development on the Icecrown Citadel progression front. You may recall that we figured out that the next section of the dungeon, The Plagueworks, would be released in 28 days (now 26, I believe) on January 5th. Blizzard has confirmed this date, though they also verified that the reason for such a long wait was, in fact, the holidays and assured us it wouldn't be that long the next time. It also seems as though the number of attempts allowed on the primary bosses of each wing (not including the Storming the Citadel section we currently have access to) has been bumped up by five.  That's to say that instead of getting 5 for Professor Putricide, 10 for Blood Queen Lana'Thel, and 15 for the Frostwing Halls, we'll now get 10, then 15, then 20. Hopefully it'll reduce the QQing when people start getting rolled on these bosses.