Project Lore

Recently I commented on crafted PvP gear and how cheap it was. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. While its a cheap way to get started for PvP gear, PvE is so easy right now that you can easily get much better gear from heroics or even just level 80 instances. The next step up (although debatable) is the Savage Gladiator's set. The Savage Gladiator's set is not that much better than crafted PvP gear by and large, and for the amount of effort it takes to get Savage Gladiator's items, its not difficult to clear some heroics for comparable, if not superior, gear. In patch 3.1, Savage Gladiator will no longer be obtainable. Instead, the current step up from Savage Gladiator, Hateful Gladiator, will be purchasable for about the same amount of resources. In short, Savage Gladiator is really not that spectacular unless you really like playing battlegrounds and Wintergrasp and have lots of extra honor to burn. Most players are probably better holding off until 3.1 hits and Hateful Gladiator gets cheap. There are three options for purchasing the Savage Gladiator set in 3.0.x. You can use a lot of honor (45,000-70,000 per piece), arena points and some honor (200-400 arena points and 8,000-12,000 honor per piece), or Emblems of Heroism. You can purchase Hateful Gladiator's pieces with Emblems of Valor or arena points, rating, and honor. In 3.1, Hateful Gladiator will likely still have the option of being bought with Emblems of Valor, but you will definitely have the option of using only honor. Anything in the columns "Season 6" is still uncertain. It is unclear how VoA drops with work in Season 6, so I showed my best guess. Emblems of Conquest may be exchangeable with a requirement of some lowered rating for Furious Gladiator's gear; its unclear. "X honor" means that we know it will require only honor to be bought with a possible option of a mix of arena points and honor. "X arena points" means its certain that it will cost only arena points. "Removed from PvP currency exchange?" means that these items are probably no longer accessible.

Click to read more ...

Ah, the smells of spring. The snow has melted, the sun is shining, and there is a new content patch on the horizon. And its a doozy. Most serious PvE players have content to a satisfactory farm status. Most PvP players have all the gear they are capable of getting this season. Players have found distractions like achievements or the arena tournament, but there is little sense of progression for most players who have been level 80 for months. We have received confirmation from Bornakk that Arena season 5 will end very soon, as early as April 14.The Deadly Gladiator's titles and frostwyrms will be handed out, and patch 3.1 will be launched nearly simultaneously, and its even implied that season 5 will end only after patch 3.1 hits. Could this mean that patch 3.1 will hit as early as next Tuesday? Its likely. In the meantime, be sure to spend any arena points you have left over. All arena points will be set to zero once season 6 starts ends and all teams will be disbanded. Honor will remain intact. In fact, I suggest you save up the current maximum of 75,000 honor to start buying any deadly gladiator's pieces that you may need. Matchmaking ratings (MMRs) will be preserved, so when you start up your new teams next season, you will quickly progress to a rating that reflects your skill and likely your current ranking. In other news, the Arena Tournament is moving past phase 3 on April 7th. This is the cut-off for players to play their 200 games to get their armored murloc pet (which we have been using as a thumbnail for every PvP post) and try to get in the top 1,000 teams to advance for cash prizes. I personally missed the boat and threw away $20 on this deal. Have any of our readers secured their murloc or even a spot in phase 4?

Click to read more ...