New Rares and Mounts Coming in patch 5.2

There are quite a few things I'm excited about in patch 5.2. Naturally, one of those things is the addition of a whole heaping ton of new rares. We've got many different types of rares to look forward to as well; new world group bosses on each of the new islands, rare elites requiring a small group to kill, rare soloable elites and other miscellaneous rares will all be making an appearance soon! We're even going to be seeing some new mounts - DINOSAUR MOUNTS - from these guys. Hurrah!

Zandalari Warbringers & Warscouts

The Zandalari Warbringers are five rare elites that will be spread out around the continent of Pandaria. These rares can be found in The Jade Forest, Krasarang Wilds, Kun-Lai Summit, The Dread Wastes and Townlong Steppes. (See map with locations further down in this post.) They each have 21079k health and will require a group to defeat. (On the ptr we were able to defeat them with a group of three - two BM spec hunters and an elemental shaman, however it went much more smoothly with a full group of five.)

Each of these rares drop 3-4 very nice reputation items including: Stolen Celestial Insignia, Stolen Golden Lotus Insignia, Stolen Klaxxi Insignia and Stolen Shado-Pan Insignia. They also tend to drop either a Big Bag of Zandalari Supplies or a Small Bag of Zandalari Supplies. Each of these bags will contain a fairly decent amount of crafting materials, and are basically another version of the bags that drop off of the rares in Townlong Steppes. That's not all these guys can drop though!

Zandalari Warbringers (Click photo to Enlarge)

If you look carefully at the screenshots above, you'll notice that the Warbringers are sitting on different color mounts. There are three colors that they can spawn in, and the color that actually spawns seems completely random. You may ask, Why does it even matter? Well here's why - because these rares each have a small chance to drop a mount, and not just any mount - their mount. The one they are sitting on when you engage them. Killing a Zandalari Warbringer on a Jade Primordial Direhorn will give you a small chance at that mount. At least this is what I have seen so far. I saw these mounts drop multiple times on the ptr, and each time the color that dropped was the exact same color as the one ridden by the Warbringer. It could be coincidence, but until I see otherwise I'm pretty sure this is the case.

Here are some screenshots of each of these new Direhorn mounts (which I think look absolutely fantastic).

Amber Primordial Direhorn

Jade Primordial Direhorn

Slate Primordial Direhorn

Ok, enough drooling over mounts - let's get back to fighting these rares. As I mentioned before, they will require a group to defeat. Preferably a tank, healer and at least a couple of dps. It is possible to kill these guys with less people, and with only dps so long as you have a pet that can tank or are good at kiting. (Obviously gear will make a huge difference too.) Naturally it's going to be more difficult without a proper group though.

All five Zandalari Warbringer's share the same abilities, and when you click on their nameplates you will notice that each rare has four different buffs. Each buff grants the rare a different ability. There are more than four possible buffs that they can have, however the ones you see on the actual mob will be the ones used while fighting that particular rare.

These buffs they can have and their respective abilities are:

Tribal Mask --> Horrific Visage (Causes a random person to flee in fear for 8 seconds. Pretty self-explanatory.)
Scarab Brooch --> Scarab Swarm (These scarabs can be aoe'd down, they don't do a ton of damage but they can be annoying to healers. They will eventually despawn if not killed.)
Thundering Sigil --> Thunder Crush (The spell effect is very obvious on the ground in front of them. It looks like a lightning cloud sitting just over the ground. Move out of it.)
Star Map --> Meteor Shower (These are very big meteors - it's hard not to see them. They do hurt, but are easy to move away from, especially for ranged who can stand out of range of the shower entirely.)
Spirit Charm --> Vengeful Spirit (The Warbringer will periodically summon a spirit that will go after different party members. DO NOT let this spirit hit you. She hurts - very badly. She also moves very slowly and can be slowed even further. If she's coming at you just move away until she despawns.)

You can see a really short version of the fight with one of these guys in the video below, along with the loot and mount drop - and then using said mount (running, /mountspecial).

Ok, with all this talk about the Zandalari Warbringers I nearly forgot about their less intimidating friends wandering around nearby. Near each of the five locations where you'll find the Warbringer's, you'll find their buddies - the Zandalari Warscouts, skulking around in close proximity. There were usually one or two just sort of wandering around a short distance from the spawn points of their more formidable mounted friends. These guys are soloable. They are also very important if your looking to get the new achievement Zul'Again, which is to kill 10 Zandalari Warscouts and 5 Zandalari Warbringers.

Zandalari Warscout & Loot

Zandalari Warscouts have 5297k health, and like the Warbringer's - the Warscouts also have buffs that grant certain abilities. They seem to have the exact same buffs as the Warbringers as well, however instead of having four different random abilities they have three. Their loot table is also basically a trimmed down version of the Warbringer's loot table. Instead of dropping multiple reputation items, they seem to drop just one, as well as a bag of crafting materials.

As of right now, Zandalari Warbringers and Warscouts will be located in the areas marked on the map below.

Rares on Isle of the Thunder King

There are also a bunch of rare elites that can be found in different areas throughout the Isle of the Thunder King. Most of the ones I ran across had 3151k health and were soloable. These rares included a couple of Mogu Spirit Channelers, a Mogu Crafter, a Zandalari Gatekeeper and even the Zandalari God-Hulk. I did run across one rare though who was no pushover, and that was Goda - the huge Drakkari Golem (pictured below on the bottom right). Goda had 21079k health and required a solid group with a tank, healer & dps to down.

Some of the rares I stumbled across on Isle of the Thunder King

Each one of these rares, including Goda, dropped an item called a Lei Shen Ritual Stone. The flavor text reads "A spell focus used to summon powerful combatants at key points throughout the Isle of the Thunder King. The opponents will require a group to defeat."

These Ritual Stones can also be looted from chests throughout the Isle. These chests are labeled "Trove of the Thunder King," and also contain about 40 gold and a grey item that vendors for about 25 gold. 

I'm not sure where these "key points" are yet, but I've got a lot of these stones saved up and hopefully I'll get to find out soon.

Nalak <The Storm Lord> (Boss)

Nalak is going to be one of the new world bosses coming in patch 5.2. We'll be able to find him on the Isle of the Thunder King flying high above the new raid encounter Throne of Thunder. He has 305M health and is buffed with Static Shield, which zaps nearby targets with nature damage. You can actually see the jolts of lightening coming off of him as he flies around - it looks pretty neat.

Nalak <The Storm Lord>

Lore (via Dungeon Journal):
When Lei Shen discovered a rare clutch of thundering cloud serpents, he was awed, and set to subjugating them. The largest hatchling fiercely resisted, and when Lei Shen visited the handling pens, he laughed mightily at the charred mogu that lined the walls. He took the hatchling for his own, and for its obedience, granted it power over the storms and the sky. For thousands of years following the death of the Thunder King, Nalak has guarded the walls of his hidden citadel, awaiting his return.

Abilities (via Dungeon Journal):

Arc Nova - A pulse of electric energy inflicts 350000 Nature damage to players within 35 yards and knocks them back.
Lightning Tether - Nalak tethers several players to him, inflicting 10000 Nature damage every 1 sec. and an additional 20000 Nature damage if they are greater than 30 yards from Nalak. Lasts 15 sec.
Static Shield - Jolts of power surrounding Nalak inflict 20000 Nature damage every 1 sec. to a random player.
Stormcloud - Nalak places storm clouds above several players, which inflict 50000 Nature damage every 3 sec. to all players within 10 yards for 30 sec.

Isle of Giants - Oondasta (Boss)

Oondasta is the second new world boss we'll be seeing in patch 5.2. This boss can be found in the tar pits in the very middle of the Isle of Giants. He has 872M health, and is surrounded by a bunch of elites called Zandalari Dinomancers with 1575k hp. There is also one particularly nasty mob who stands just in front of him named Dohaman the Beast Lord with 42159k hp. I haven't had a chance to test out this raid encounter yet, but I must say this boss looks very formidable!

Oondasta

Lore (via Dungeon Journal):
As the war against Lei Shen's island citadel began, Alliance and Horde scouts made an effort to intercept missives between the major Zandalari camps. One such exchange seemed to revolve around an unfamiliar Zandalari word, always surrounded by terms of conquest and power: Oondasta. Somewhere in Pandaria, the Zandalari Beast Ward raises their mighty beasts as engines of war, and is putting the finishing touches on this Loa-infused monstrosity. The exact location, however, remains unknown...

Abilities (via Dungeon Journal):

Crush - Oondasta crushes his current target, inflicting 462500 to 537500 Physical damage and reducing armor by 25% for 1 min. This effect stacks.
Alpha Male - Oondasta seeks only the most hearty challengers, making him immune to taunts, but also increasing tank-specced players' threat against him by 100%.
Frill Blast - Oondasta's armor is more than just for decoration, and can charge up this powerful blast that inflicts 800000 Fire damage to all players in a 60-yard hemisphere in front of Oondasta.
Growing Fury - Oondasta's rage grows as the fight progresses, increasing all damage by 10%. This effect stacks.
Piercing Roar - Oondasta unleashes a piercing roar, inflicting 200000 Physical damage to all players and interrupting spell-casting, preventing spells of that school from being cast for 10 sec.
Spiritfire Beam - Oondasta fires a beam of spiritfire energy at a player, inflicting 138750 to 161250 Fire damage and jumping to a nearby ally. Up to 20 players can be affected, with damage increasing by 50% with each jump.

(Note: Information in this post is subject to change, as it is from the ptr.)