Project Lore

It pains me to say it, but after several months of dutifully raiding Ulduar, one of the coolest aspects of the dungeon just isn't the bee's knees anymore. I'm talking about the Iron Concourse, that long stretch of dark iron dwarf-infested land that sits between your raid and Flame Leviathan each and every time you start a new lockout period. In the previews leading up to the dungeon's release, nothing could've sounded more epic: you and your buddies jump into some high-powered engines of destruction as your tear across the map, laying waste to the gate-keepers of Ulduar and anything else that might be unlucky enough to sit in your path. And it was fun... the first few times. The scale was huge, the concept above and beyond what you'd normally find in a dungeon, and the on-going narration from Brann Bronzebeard was a real atmospheric treat. Blizzard could do with fixing the ramp bugs while they're at it! But now, just as soon as I first jump into a vehicle at the start of the event, I can't help but count down the time until the whole affair is over. Once the majesty fades, the Iron Concourse is nothing more than a terribly easy, drawn-out trash-clearing exercise of the worst kind. Ten to fifteen minutes of demolishing towers is enough to kill my raiding buzz. I've rallied against nerfs to Ulduar in the past, but now I'm putting out the call: nerf the Iron Concourse! Despite the negative connotations the word has come to be associated with over the years, it's not always such a bad thing. The way I see it, there are two ways to "nerf" something: to make it easier or to make it more convenient. Blizzard's been doing a lot of both lately, and while I'm not a fan of the changes they've made to a lot of the bosses in Ulduar, I would welcome just about any remedy to ease the pain of having to clear this area. What can they do? They can't very well make the vehicles any stronger or faster without having to retune the Flame Leviathan encounter, and it may just make clearing more of an ordeal to make it any more difficult. Likely, the easiest thing to do is simply make the enemies weaker (and get rid of those damnable helicopters!). As it is right now, the iron dwarf gnats that stream out of the storm towers right now can be easily dealt with, but the bigger mobs act as nothing more than huge damage sponges. Unless you're running into the dungeon with a bunch of people who have sub-200 item level gear, the Iron Concourse just doesn't pose much of a challenge. And if you're doing that, you probably just shouldn't be in Ulduar anyway. What do you think, guys and gals? Has the Iron Concourse event become as rote and annoying for you as it has for me? I'm always hesitant to suggest things that make the game too convenient for players (let's face it, you've got to put some effort in), but when you're forced to engage in an encounter like this with no tangible rewards for doing so, maybe it would be better to just get it over with as soon as possible. Hey, we've all dealt with worse trash, but at least you might get some gold or the occasional drop out of it. Are there any other parts of Ulduar you feel the same way about?

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