Glorious! Achievement & New Rare Champions in Jade Forest

 

Quick beta update here: With the re-opening of the Jade Forest I was able to hunt down the last few rare Pandarian Champions needed for the Glorious! Achiement. I can confirm that as of right now there are a total of 56 rare Pandarian Champions that can be found across Pandaria. (See screenshot below.)

The rares added in the Jade Forest each drop a Small Bag of Goods, a nice blue bop piece of armor, and an epic item level 420 weapon. All of the weapons I found were bop, except for the Fishsticker Longbow which is bind on equip and drops off of Sarnak, a Saurok that spawns in a cave on the eastern coast.

Searing Gorge Rare Spawns

Searing Gorge is a fiery and rocky zone located in the mid-Eastern Kingdoms. It is home to the Thorium Brotherhood, Dark Iron Dwarves, various types of fire elementals, golems and spiders. It is also home to seven rare spawns ranging from level 47-50.

Shleipnarr is a gorgeous fiery horse that looks exactly like the warlock Felsteed mount (my mount of choice for the warlock ground mounts). This rare is also very likely a reference to Sleipnir, the eight legged steed of Odin, one of the Norse gods. I hadn't realized this until I had read Navi's post: My favourite rare spawn(s). Here is the Wikipedia entry for Sleipnir for anyone curious: Sleipnir.

Both Slave Master Blackheart and Smoldar spawn underground in the Slag Pit, so if you don't run into them where their dots are on the map below - don't worry, they may still be up. If you don't use SilverDragon, just do a /target Slave Master and /target Smoldar to see if they are. Slave Master Blackheart spawns in the Slag Pit, right in front of the Quarry Gate. Smoldar spawns down in the lava pool right before you get to the Flamewraiths.

Click Map to Enlarge

Each of these rares in order by level, and as you'll find them in the world:

Sneak Peek: Special drops from Rare Champions of Pandaria

Each of the rare champions in Pandaria drops a nice piece of blue bop gear and a chance to drop Small Bag of Goods. Several of them also have a special item unique to that particular rare. These special drops include fun vanity items, trinkets, companion pets and items that will be very useful in pvp.

I've put together a list below of each one of these super fun items sorted by the zone they can be found in, along with screen-shots and which rare drops the item.

I will be updating this post (which will more than likely become it's own page at some point) as new items/information are available. Also, don't forget - you can click on the images to see larger, more detailed images. Until then, enjoy!

Dread Wastes

Ai-Li's Skymirror - Drops from Ai-Li Skymirror (Pandaren)

Elixir of Ancient Knowledge - Drops from Krol the Blade (Mogu Warrior) 

Eternal Warrior's Sigil - Drops from Gar'lok (Mantid) 

Golden Fleece - Drops from Omnis Grinlok (Saurok)

Videos of each new type of Rare Champion in MoP

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!! Mists of Pandaria Beta Post:

After days of searching, I'm pretty sure I've found every new rare champion that currently can be found on the beta. (The Jade Forest is still offline.) That includes the Saurok as well, which are not yet included as part of the Glorious! Achievement.

The achievement as seen in the screenshot above, will definitely be changing in the near future I'm sure. Not only are Saurok missing, but there are two rares (Kal'tik the Blight and Urgolax) that are listed twice. When all of them are added in there will be over 50 rares! =)

I've gotten pretty familiar with fighting each type of champion, and I can say the toughest ones for me as a hunter were the Panaren and the Jinyu. Well, the Pandaren were not necessarily difficult as much as they were annoying. With only one silence, if they got two heals off in a row their health would reach full again and the fights would just last forever.

The Jinyu I found difficult because not only do you need to interrupt a spell that will kill whatever they are targeting, but they hit pretty hard as well. The lower level Jinyu that I came across weren't that bad, but the higher level ones I had to try often more than once to get them down. I also had to blow every cd. One of the fights I actually finished with about 1% of my health left. Yikes!

Anywho, I thought it would be nice to actually show you guys how each of these rares actually fight instead of just writing about it. So without further adieu, here is each type of rare pandarian champion in action:

Westfall Rare Spawns

Westfall, a zone populated mainly by humans and known for it's farms and rolling pastures is home to seven rares ranging from level 10 - 14.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, these rares give an enormous amount of experience when you find them on toons that are similar in level. Killing one of these rares is basically equivalent to one quest turn in, and finding them at rested will give double the xp - so be sure to look for these guys when your questing to speed up your leveling!

Slark and Brack, both murlocs (cringe), move VERY quickly along the shoreline. They also have the potential to pull a lot of friends, so be careful.

Vultros can be found in five different areas, each area he spawns at is littered with hay bales. He is tamable by hunters, and makes a nice pet for lowbies. He even has his own post here.

Master Digger spawns all the way at the back of the Jangolode Mine where the quest Livin' the Life takes place.

I also read that Leprithus only spawns at night. I have no idea if this is a rumor on not. It took me a while to finally find him up. When I eventually did find him up it was at night, although I did check his spawn area during the day as well. If anyone has seen him up during the day (not just light out - but actually during the daytime hours) I'd like to know purty pwease.

Click map to Enlarge

Each of these rares as you'll come across them out in the world:

New Rares & Achievements Implemented in last MoP Beta Patch!

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!! Mists of Pandaria Beta Post:

I was pretty ecstatic this weekend when I logged into the beta to find that a massive amount of new rares and rare related achievements had been added in the most recent patch. There are three achievements related to a handful of rares that can be found in each one of the Pandaria zones. (That's a handful of rares in EACH zone, there are quite a few new rares! I counted 49 total on the list in the achievement tab - not all rares are currently listed on the achievement in beta.) 

The new Mists of Pandaria rare achievements are:

A Worthy Opponent - Defeat one of the powerful champions of the Pandarian races that wander the continent.
Could We Find More Like That? - Defeat one of each type of Pandarian champion.
Glorious! - Hunt down and defeat each and every one of the Pandarian champions.

Arathi Highlands Rare Spawns

Arathi Highlands is a large grassy zone in southeastern Lordaeron. Arathi has several notable features including great circles of binding protected by elementals, the ruins of Stormgarde Keep which has been overrun by ogres and syndicate, and the Thandol Span - a massive dwarf-made bridge connecting Arathi to the Wetlands. This zone is also home to ten rare spawns ranging from level 26-29.

An interesting thing to note about the rares in Arathi Highlands, is that none of them actually patrol around once they've spawned in.

Kovork can be found at the end of the cave at Boulderfist Outpost. Geomancer Flintdagger waits at the end of the cave east of Hammerfall (Drywhisker Gorge). Zalas Witherbark can be found just inside the cave at Witherbark Village.

Prince Nazjak has four different underwater spawn points in Faldir's Cove, but once spawned in he doesn't patrol between them. He can usually be found inside one of the sunken ships.

Singer can be found inside the small house at Northfold Manor staring at the fireplace. Be careful when engaging her on low level toons, and ironmen toons especially - she has a mind control ability and she can and will use it.

Click map to enlarge

Screenies of each rare in order by level, and exactly as you'll find them in the zone:

Sha of Anger - MoP World Boss

The Sha of Anger, the physical manifestation of rage, has escaped from the Shado-Pan Monestary in Kun-Lai Summit. Amid the brutal conflicts gripping Pandaria, the dark entity has grown ever more powerful. recently, the sha has been seen wandering Kun-Lai, using negative energies to corrupt everything the being encounters. -Dungeon Journal

Like Galleon, the Sha of Anger is a rare world boss requiring a raid to down. He spawns in Kun-Lai Summit, and currently has 218M health on the beta. This boss will have a few achievements associated with it including Settle Down, Bro (I forsee a lot of people linking this in trade in the future), Sha of Anger Guild Run, and of course the achievement very few will see: Realm First! Sha of Anger.

8/17/12 Update: According to the dungeon journal, it looks like the Sha of Anger will drop the mount Reins of the Heavenly Onyx Cloud Serpent.

Stonetalon Mountains Rare Spawns

The Stonetalon Mountains are a range of peaks that lie between Ashenvale and Desolace. This zone is also home to five rares. 

Taskmaster Whipfang can be found on the scaffolding just north of Cragpool Lake, and if you look closely his weapons are two hot iron pokers. ;)

Nal'taszar, a neutral mob to both factions, shares the same model as the Sprite Darter Hatchling. I'd like to note that he does not drop the actual hatchling, the hatchling pet can be found in Feralas from the Sprite Darter Egg. 

Sorrow Wing is a lone blue wyvern that flies near the road by the Sludgewerks. He also looks like an unarmored version of the Armored Blue Wind Rider.

Brother Ravenoak, is a druid that can be found channeling a spell in front of the moonwell in Stonetalon Peak. Like Nal'taszar, he is attackable by both factions since the shattering.

Sister Riven can be found flying all by herself, and is the only harpy left in what remains of the Charred Vale. (One of the places I used to fear most when I began playing.)

Click Map to Enlarge

All five rares as you'll find them in the world. ~

Mogolympics, Representin' Undercity

For anyone unaware, JD, co-founder of Mog Madness and author of Amateur Azerothian is hosting a transmog competition in the spirit of the Olymics called the Transmogolymics. Unfortunately I missed Mog Madness, but I highly enjoyed looking at the entries. This time, I am NOT going to miss it because I absolutely LOVE transmogging and the categories look really fun! ^-^

Image courtesy of Amateur Azerothian

There are nine different medal events, and the categories are as follows:

Archery – Build an outfit around your favourite bow.
Cycling – Build a biker outfit to compliment the Chopper. It must be either Leather or Mail.
Discus – Build an outfit around one of the shield skins seen here
Equestrian – Build an outfit to compliment one of the horse mounts in the game. (Faction limitations apply, so no Orcs on a Stormwind pony)
Fencing – Time for some swordplay. Build your best outfit around the 1h sword of your choice.
Javelin – Build an outfit around the polearm of your choice.
Hammer Throw – Build an outfit around your favourite two-handed hammer.
Wrestling – We’re going to deviate from olympic wrestling and go to the sports entertainment aspect instead. Using one of the “championship” belts, design your own Azerothian pro wrestler. Think of the oversized belts, such as the Firemend Cinch seen here.
Freestyle – Build your own NPC. Could be an innkeeper, could be the Green Orc Lantern. Doesn’t matter.

Upon entering each participant is assigned a random faction, and they need to create a flag-bearer for their faction using that faction's colors. Boy was I excited to get assigned Undercity, and Ironstevo was just thrilled when I asked him to be my flag carrier! Of course he still can't wear any gear with stats, so he was kind enough to let me use his model in MogIt to come up with something worthy of representing the forsaken.

Ironstevo representing Undercity

I have already started dabbling with a few outfits (which I cannot post here), and ultimately I can't wait to see what other people come up with for these categories (especially the biker outfits and wrestling ones). Judging by who has already signed up, I think there will definitely be some amazing entries. All I have to say is I'm glad I'm not one of the judges for this because I bet they'll have a tough time for sure.

There are already over 20 people signed up for this competition and there is still room for more, so if you love transmogging and haven't signed up yet check it out! The current list of challengers can be seen here: Mogolympics. Tome of the Ancient also has some of the latest gossip on the event here: Transmogolympics.

You can also read the full rules and sign up here: Transmogolympics. 

Grand Expedition Yak & Grey/Blonde Riding Yak Preview

Grand Expedition Yak, aka the new Traveler's Tundra Mammoth

Yeah, it's not a rare spawn I know. Heck, it's not even a rare drop, but I just love mounts like this and wanted to share because I'm super excited about it. The Grand Expedition Yak is the Mists of Pandaria version of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth. It comes with two vendors, and when the vendors are ejected it can carry two additional passengers.

The Grand Expedition Yak can be purchased from Uncle Bigpocket the Used Yak Salesgrummle at the Grummle Bazaar in Kun-Lai Summit. His pockets need to be big because this mount is looking like it's going to be another massive gold sink - which I totally approve of by the way. =)

Uncle Bigpocket, Yak Vendor