Project Lore

ProjectLorians were busy providing an assortment of original content the last few days and missed a few tidbits of news.  I figure that the mantra of "better late than never" applies, since we want to keep everyone well informed.  Or we could cope out and just say we were really checking our facts, thrice over.

According to a screenshot from the Enigma raiding guild on NA-Deathwing, the Lick King's last defenses will be accessible on February 2 (or February 3 for EU).  The Frostwing Halls houses two unknown bosses, Sister Svalna and Valithria Dreamwalker, and Sindragosa, the original frost wyrm.  Valithria, a captured green dragon, is going to be an interesting encounter.  Especially to those with fond memories of Dungeons and Dragons' combat variations.  Sindragosa is part of the lockout counter, along with Putricide, Lana'thel and the Lich King himself.

My guild is still stuck on Professor Putricide, and has not even attempted any of the Crimson Hall bosses (something I have disagreed with).  It's fairly obvious that we are falling behind, so I doubt Solidsamm will be seeing Sindragosa any time soon.

In other news, Solidsamm will be seeing a new non-combat pet shortly.  According to various sources, a Competitor's Souvenir has been added to the North American servers.  Unfortunately, no visual imagery or animations have been datamined as of press.  If you were around for the Summer Olympic games two years ago, you'll likely remember the Spirit of Competition vanity pet that was randomly awarded for participating in Battlegrounds.  It's worth noting that the tabard from the last olympics was called the Competitor's Tabard.  Either way, the closely named Competitor's Souvenir will likely be obtainable once the 2010 Winter Olympic games kick off on February 12.

Blizzard has posted their official preview of the Icecrown Citadel raid instance. Here are the highlights:

• The Argent Crusade and The Knights of the Ebon Blade have formed an alliance called the Ashen Verdict to take on Arthas. It is co-led by Tirion Fordring and Darion Mograine, as well as Horde and Alliance figures.
• Characters that will be making an appearance include Highlord Tirion Fordring, High Overlord Saurfang, Muradin Bronzebeard, Highlord Darion Mograine, and King Varian Wrynn.
• The dungeon comes with a 10 player and a 25 player version.
• There are 12 encounters in the dungeon. For each encounter, there will be a way through the interface to choose normal mode or hard mode.
• The rewards for the 10 man normal encounters start at iLevel 251. 10 man hard and 25 man normal item levels start at 264, and 25 man hard mode encounters reward iLevel 277 loot.

Here is a list of known encounters, in somewhat chronological order as you progress through the dungeon: Lord Marrowgar (who we saw referenced in the weekly raid quest), who commands the scourge at the base of the citadel. He is a "monstrosity" fused together from various bones of the undead. Lady Deathwhisper, Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned. An airship battle between the Ogrim's Hammer and The Skybreaker. The Horde forces are led by Overlord Saurfang, and the Alliance forces are led by Muradin Bronzebeard. The Lich King's "most powerful Death Knight", presumably the spirit of Bolvar in Saurfang the Younger's body.

Players then enter the upper reaches of the citadel, which contains three wings. The Frostwing Halls have players invading along side the Ashen Verdict, and it contains the following encounters:

• Valithria Dreamwalker, a green dragon corrupted by the Scourge for unknown purposes.
• Sindragosa, the former consort of Malygos who was raised as a Frostwyrm during the introductory cinematic for Wrath of the Lich King.

The second wing is the Plagueworks, which contains the most horrifying experiments conducted by the Scourge.

• Festergut and Rotface, abominations of a new sort.
• Professor Putricide, the mastermind behind the Plagueworks.

The third wing of the upper reaches is named The Crimson Hall, and is home to the upper-ranking San'layn.

• Valanar, Keleseth, and Taldaram, three San'layn princes.
• Blood-Queen Lana'thel.

And, of course, the final encounter:

• Arthas, the Lich King.

There seems to be one unannounced encounter, as this only totals eleven, bu the San'layn encounters may be separate. Check below for the full text:

All across the lands of Northrend, many battles have been fought against the vile Scourge. Countless lives have been lost since the Alliance and Horde first reached the frozen wastes, but the champions of Azeroth continue to march forward. Now Icecrown Citadel, the cornerstone of the Scourge's power and the home base of the Lich King, is their final target. Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade have forged an alliance with Darion Mograine and the Knights of the Ebon Blade to form the Ashen Verdict. The strongest combatants of this coalition, along with the champions of the Alliance and Horde, will lead the charge against the citadel. This dungeon reveals the culminating story events and battles of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack. Join the legendary heroes Highlord Tirion Fordring, High Overlord Saurfang, Muradin Bronzebeard, Highlord Darion Mograine, and King Varian Wrynn in an epic battle against the Scourge and their master. Icecrown Citadel features 10- and 25-player versions of the raid dungeon, and each version has 12 encounters. Each encounter can be fought in either normal or Heroic mode, and players can use a new user interface feature to toggle easily between difficulties. The rewards in the raid dungeon start at item level 251 in the normal mode with 10-player encounters, increase to item level 264 in the Heroic mode mode with 10 players and the normal mode with 25-player encounters, and then finally reach item level 277 in the Heroic mode with 25 players. Grand Entrance of the Citadel After breaching the fortress, players will face a legion of undead guards directed to repel any invaders. Commanding the defenders is Lord Marrowgar, a monstrosity fused together from the bones of the undead. Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned, Lady Deathwhisper is the next opponent. She bolsters the faith of her followers by promising them the opportunity to give eternal service in undeath. As they continue their ascent, the Alliance and Horde heroes ultimately end up outside of the citadel where their hatred for one another erupts into a battle for dominance over the Rampart of Skulls. Players will join in battle alongside High Overlord Saurfang on the Orgrim's Hammer gunship or Muradin Bronzebeard on The Skybreaker in a unique encounter. Each faction will protect its gunship and try to destroy the other one in a back-and-forth battle to see who is truly worthy of facing the Lich King. The Lich King's most powerful death knight then stands as the final obstacle for the heroes to enter the upper reaches of the citadel. The Wings of Icecrown Citadel After the heroes of the Alliance or Horde defeat the other faction on the gunships and wipe out the creatures near the entrance, players will venture into an area with three separate wings. Here they will face a multitude of terrors that must be vanquished in order to confront the Lich King. In the Frostwing Halls players will battle alongside the Ashen Verdict and push into the lair of the deadly frost wyrm Sindragosa, who continues to strengthen her brood with the help of Ymirheim's vrykul. Along the way, the heroes will stumble upon Valithria Dreamwalker, a captured green dragon whom the Scourge is using as a test subject for their own ends.... The Plagueworks contains the most twisted experiments ever produced by the Scourge. In this wing players will face two new forms of abomination in Festergut and Rotface, who currently protect their devious creator, Professor Putricide. The Crimson Hall contains the leaders of the San'layn, undead blood elves who oversee the Scourge's operations throughout Azeroth. The blood-princes Valanar, Keleseth, and Taldaram were raised into undeath by the Lich King to avenge themselves while protecting their blood-queen, Lana'thel. The Frozen Throne After clearing all three wings, players will ascend to the Frozen Throne, where the Lich King and his runeblade, Frostmourne, await to deliver them to their deaths....

Sylvanas and Jaina are nowhere to be mentioned! Both of this have very strong emotions toward Arthas, so hopefully their stories are continued in the Frozen Halls. Oh, and for those of you keeping score, here is our updated iLevel chart:

10-man	ilvl	25-man
Naxx	200
KT, EoE	213	Naxx
Ulduar	219
IC 5 mans	219
Ulduar hard	226	Ulduar, KT/EoE
CC	232	Ulduar weapons
IC heroics	232
	239	Ulduar hard
CC hard	245	CC
IC	251
	258	CC Hard
IC Hard	264	IC
	277	IC Hard

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