Ironstevo Finishes the WoW Ironman Challenge (Again)

 

This incredible rendition of Ironstevo and his trusty blueberry minion Belnak was created by the talented @hugshot

Well guys n' gals, Ironstevo has done it again. He's reached the next level cap of the WoW Ironman Challenge as it currently exists. It was a long and wild ride to level 100, and a MUCH different experience than getting from 1 - 85 three years ago. He was also the first warlock to finish during this expansion, and the only one to finish without having either shadowmeld or feign death (two highly used life-saving abilities by many irons).

 

I'm not going to get all wordy here, because I'm about to do that in the transcript you can clearly see below. This is from the WoW Challenges podcast episode titled "Knowing is half the Battle," where I was asked to talk a bit about my experience with the challenge. Wall of text, yeah I know, at least I was kind enough to put the questions in bold to break it up a bit.

 

 

1. Tell us a little about yourself - the player behind the characters!

Bored? Check out the WoW Iron Man Challenge(s)!

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Are you a veteran WoW player who is tired of garrison chores? Raiding got ya down? Leveling alts just not holding your interest right now? Well, I've got just the thing for you - the WoW Iron Man Challenge!

Let's face it, these past several years we've gotten used to running from one quest objective to the next as quickly as possible. Pulling as many mobs as we can at a time, mowing everything down in our paths with no real sense of danger. Between the addition of heirlooms, talent changes and the world around us things have gotten so easy that leveling has become (at least to me) a bit of a bore.

Well this challenge will turn that experience right back around. It is quite difficult, and adds a real sense of danger back into the world of leveling. Clearing paths to a named mob, carefully planning out routes of escape, feeling your heart beat rise as you make your way through a cave (hoping nothing respawns in your face), wiping the sweat off your brow as you make it through another fight with only 27hp left - these are all things commonly experienced by iron man challengers. As difficult as this challenge is, I have always found it fun and very rewarding, both from a gameplay perspective, and for the community formed around it. It'll also really make you appreciate the small things in game. ;)

That being said, the WoW Iron Man challenge is still around and thriving. Since I last posted regarding the adventures of the Iron Steves, there have even been two new challenges created in addition to the original. :D

What is the Iron Man Challenge?

For anyone unfamiliar with the WoW Iron Man challenge, it is a player-created challenge with the ultimate goal of trying to make it to max level in only grey/white gear, with no spec and without dying. (See link for full set of rules.)

New Rares in Nagrand and Tannan Jungle (Patch 6.2.2)

Yeah I know, I haven't been posting much this expansion. With two kiddos under three years old, it's pretty hard to find the time these days. There's just no way I would have been able to cover the insane amount of rares added in WoD. Thankfully little additions to the game like the new 6.2.2 rares aren't too much to take on, and have motivated me to write up a quick post.

I also figured it was about time to make a few updates around the blog on various pages, the most notable one being to the "List of Rares by Zone" page. I couldn't cover every vignette in Draenor or the treasures right now, but I did link to the Wowhead guides for each zone so that they can be easily found in one place.

So anyway, let's get on to these new rares! In the latest mini patch 6.2.2 there were seven new rares introduced (all pictured on the map above). Three of these are located in the un-instanced version of Highmaul in Nagrand, one is located in the un-instanced version of Hellfire Citadel, and the remaining three are located beyond the Dark Portal in Tanaan Jungle. All of these rares can be accessed with flying mounts after achieving Draenor Pathfinder.



How to get the "Predator" Title

A few days ago I read an article on Blizzard Watch talking about how to get the Predator title in Tannan Jungle. As soon as I saw this title I knew I HAD to have it for myself. I love titles, and this one especially I just had to have floating over my head. (Plus I also love a good rare-related challenge!) According to the article, you would need to be randomly ported to the demon Xemirkol by using the item: Master Hunter's Seeking Crystal. Upon killing him, you'll receive the Predator Achievement and corresponding Predator title. Although you will need the Crystal to reach Xemirkol, I found out that there is a little more to reaching him than just having the Crystal and being lucky.

After a few days of scouring Wowhead comments on pages related to this achievement and talking with people in game, I was able to figure out how to pretty much guarantee myself a port to Xemirkol. Here is what you'll need to do if your seeking out this title for yourself:

My Fantastic New Fel Friend (How to Tame a Green Fel Wolf in Tanaan Jungle)

Yesterday I managed to tame myself an amazingly awesome new pet in Tanaan Jungle - a beautiful green fel wolf. I LOVE her. She matches my little Fel Pup perfectly. Heck, she even matches the transmog I've been sporting for the past few weeks! I strolled around with her triumphantly through Lion's Watch after my victory and promptly received a whisper asking how I was able to make her mine. After explaining the details to my fellow hunter, I figured I'd post them here as well for anyone who may have missed this little hunter treat. Oh, and I almost forgot - the best thing about this pet is that you don't even have to be a Beast Mastery spec hunter to tame & enjoy!

Tamed Felbound Wolf & Fel Pup

You see, wolves with this skin and color have never been tamable prior to patch 6.2. I've been watching these lovelies wander the woods outside my garrison since beta, but have never been able to tame one because they are technically 'aberrations'. Well in the latest patch there was a brand new item introduced that will allow you to tame one of these awesome looking animals for one minute. This item is called the Vial of Fel Cleansing.

The 7 Mount Dropping Rares of Draenor

I love camping for rares, this shouldn't be a secret to anyone who has been following this blog for the past few years. I like setting up my characters in a safe cozy spot to wait for a prize that could show up in minutes or even days. I actually enjoy the wait, and I cannot convey just how happy I am that Blizzard has implemented some RARE rares back into the game. That feeling - when your target appears after waiting and waiting for what can sometimes seem like a decade - it just can't be beat.

In MoP the spawn timers on rares were so short they hardly felt 'rare' at all. There wasn't even a real TLPD or Aeonaxx equivalent. Alani was nice as her drop was guaranteed, but I never could find the time to farm for shards (I did still get the mount though - Thank You Reinoverall!) and would have loved to camp for SOMEthing in Pandaria.

In WoD there are dozens of silver dragons called 'vignettes' in each zone. They are actually quite common though - even more so than MoP rares (they even loose their silver dragon portrait after your character has killed a particular one). They do however drop some interesting and unique loot. I straight up did not have the time or energy to find all of them throughout beta and go on to post about them. For anyone interested in learning more about these vignettes, Wowhead has some incredibly in depth articles on them for each zone in Draenor. Notable loot, maps, screenies, they have it all. Here they are by zone:

• Shadowmoon Valley
• Frostfire Ridge
• Gorgrond
• Talador
• Spires of Arak
• Nagrand

I did however have time to CAMP! That's right, as soon as I found out that there were going to be RARE mount dropping mobs scattered throughout Draenor, I just knew I had to find out as much as I could about these guys.

Throughout Draenor there are seven, that's right, SEVEN mount-dropping rares. Six of these rares have a 100% chance to drop a mount for anyone who participates in the kill (Source). The seventh drops one mount which will need to be rolled upon. Each of the mounts looks just like the rare which it dropped from.