You’ll meet the great bear guardian first, dire Nalorakk. Be sure to lead many players his way if you dream about riding that wicked looking bear sometime in the near future. Akil'zon is the eagle avatar and master of storms. Unlike his Zul Gurub counterpart, the lynx avatar Halazzi does not have three acolytes that resurrect one another. Jan'alai, dragonhawk avatar puts up a good fight protecting the eggs of the flying hunter. Many will find their doom by the hands of Hex Lord Malacrass but none is as powerful as the master himself, Zul’Jin.

A troll with a dark past

<-250x250 Square - left->Zul'jin's ability as a warrior quickly prompted him leader of his tribe and his need drove him to reunite the wandering troll tribes of Zul’Aman under a single ruler. This extraordinary feat echoed back from the Troll Wars, when the tribes reunited last in the face of mortal danger. Such were the times when Zul’Jin took charge, as Humans joined the High Elves in a crusade to drive the forest trolls back into the wilderness and claim their lands. His raiding parties laid waste to the surrounding areas of Quel'thalas in a time when trolls were weak and defensive. In the conjuration of the Second War, Zul’jin’s plans to unite all trolls under one nation came to a halt however, as he has been captured and tortured, losing his right eye. When his wardens were attacked by a small troll war-party, Zul’Jin cut off his own arm with a fallen spear and escaped to Zul’Aman.

In his rage he searched for new ways to vanquish his foes and found the tools of his revenge in Hexlord Malacrass VooDoo. The totemic spirits revered by the forest trolls in their ancestral shamanistic practices were bound to the greatest and most powerful troll fighters, inside Zul’Aman. Thus the bear, eagle, lynx and dragonhawk avatars were born. As the high elves turned blood elves when Quel’Thalas was destroyed by the scourge and now fight alongside the horde. Forest trolls were always notorious for their war habits, feared by enemies and allies alike, so these events did nothing to smother Zul’Jin’s heart. In his rage, Zul’Jin now turns against the horde and everyone entering Zul’Aman hereby is a foe.

The Zul speaks

“Dis was our land. TROLL land. We Amani was here before anyone! Da' elves and dere Alliance came to drive us out. But we never give up. We never forget... Da' elves took my eye. I cut off my own arm to escape 'dem... and now, 'de fight alongside da' HORDE!? I SPIT on da' Horde! I hate you, I hate you all... But I got a surprise for ya' now, so come on in... De' Amani never give up! We never forget. We never die. 'Dis is our land: you wanna stay, you stay here forever! We gonna bury you here.”

Four spirits pour into one

The wooden doors behind Malacrass’ sanctuary lead to an inner garden where the troll chieftain takes residence. You may think the four avatars defeated, but you are wrong. This matter has always been between Zul’Jin and Malacrass, but the totemic avatars are bound to the Zul alone, for he performed the summoning. That is why we can see them hovering atop the terrace in spirit form, inactive as if waiting for a sign.

As you approach Zul’Jin, he rushes along with a dozen troll warriors that die to three AoE blasts. Le the spank and tank begin! Raiders should spread around Zul’Jin evenly to avoid nasty surprises in the later stages of the fight. In the humanoid form he whirls and hits everyone in melee range so keep an eye on the rogue. He also randomly uses grievous throw which impacts for 3k and leaves a debuff like Rokmar the Crackler in Slave Pens does. The bleeding effect ticks for 2.5k every 2s and disappears if the targeted player is at full health. Be warned that Zul’Jin switches phases every 20% and dps needs to give the tank time to establish agro again, due to threat wipes.

At 80% we have Zul’Jin slightly annoyed by our presence as he calls upon the spirit of the Bear spirit for assistance as he turns into a brown hairy beast. Unlike Nalorakk he casts Paralysis on everyone, debuff which stuns for 4s each 5s and deals up to 4.5k damage unless dispelled. The priority lies with the main tank (due to the recent threat reset) and then healers. Again, luck isn’t a factor so play your cards right and down at 60% Zul’Jin call upon the aid of the Eagle spirit as the bear ghost falls to the ground seemingly dead.

From here on casters will have a tough time doing anything so melee DPS will be the main source of damage. He does not attack anyone so melee should go all out. Lightning zaps you for 1250 each time you cast a spell, but this mana feedback can be fooled by using spells with long casting times and then pulling an instant cast spell at the same time. This way you only get zapped every 4 seconds, because WoW interprets your chain as one single spell. The eagle hasn’t yet landed and the storms are getting annoying. Small tornadoes randomly patrol the terrace and deal 1000 damage with an additional pushback effect. Healers have problems here and must avoid getting cornered by tornadoes. DPS casters are advised to deal damage only as long as there is enough healing to pass around.

With proper control, Zul’Jin reaches 40% and starts off the gamble phase. The lynx that enforces his look upon the master troll can fixate and attack a random person in the raid, therefore ignoring all other attempts to gain agro. It’s hard to describe the kind of attacks this lynx can pull off. Suffice it to say that evasion will not help, nor parry or dodge. Just use blessing of protection, vanish, ice block or whatever life savers available. As a mage I died in two hits which landed in exactly one second, so not even a warrior’s intervene is enough on cloth wearers. When the lynx isn’t fixating anyone, it does a blade dance like Kargath in Shattered Halls, leaving a stacking bleeding debuff on people hit. This phase is hands down the hardest in the battle, so expect to lose up to three people.

Only 20% hit points to go and Zul’Jin falls, only to rise again as a dragonhawk. The spirit casts a smite type spell randomly into the raid, but it’s an area effect so you need to move out immediately when you get hit for the first time. The holy fire ranges somewhere into 3500 damage and ticks every second, so three of these will most likely see you dead. After fighting the lynx, melees get punished in return when the dragonhawk twists high into the air, for pushback and damage inflicted on everyone within melee range. It’s a race against time by now as you may have one healer dead and the rest with moderate mana issues. Raiders must be spread out to avoid his flame breath ability, pretty much the way Jan’alai hit. Just burn him down as fast as possible and don’t get smited in the process.

As the last few percents of his life are removed, Zul’jin’s power wanes and the four spirits forever leave his body in a final release. The warlord of Zul’Aman is defeated and you can now loot his blood to complete the end quest. I’m positive you’ll be back for another round once the three day cooldown wears off and the instance resets. It’s a great new area to spark interest in the minds of lore and loot hunters. Sunwell Plateau should come out soon enough, otherwise there will be no incentive for players to complete Hyjal and the Black Temple with such generous items available in Zul’Aman.

<-250x250 Square - left->If you thought you knew everything about World of Warcraft, think again. Over the vast Eastern Plaguelands and into the north, there lies a newly found area which some believe to be their capital of Zul’Aman (Zul stands for chieftain). The Amani Empire is a long lasting legacy of shamanism and voodoo in the Northern Kingdoms. Even now, when their power dwindles, the vicious Amani trolls are still proud of their ancestral heritage, ready to fight tooth and claw to protect it. Good news travel fast in Azeroth and we make haste to witness the unveiling from Hatchet Hills - Ghostlands. Surely there must be relics of great importance to be had within its ancient halls and we wonder if the savage beasts still claim ownership over the old power node of the Amani. Bud Nedreck is the regular tomb rider and we’re pretty much in his employment as we enter the site, dreaming for treasure and fame but prepared for the worst.

Forest trolls?

You have to understand hat the forest trolls of Lordaeron are a different breed that what we’ve encountered thus far starting with the Barrens. In times of old, their race was divided into two great empires bearing the name of their capitals, centers of great influence in both the real and the ethereal. One is known as Zul’Gurub and the other is the recently rediscovered Zul’Aman. Many centuries ago High Elves traded arcane knowledge with Humans, allied themselves to purge trolls and claim the land as their own. A massive bloodbath ensued and the Amani trolls grew weak in numbers, retreating to the safety of the forest. It is believed Zul Aman is one of the last standing outposts of Amani power, left untouched by the taint of outer influences. Zul’Jin is the uncontested leader of the Amani and he devised a plan, a magic so dark that he could imbue his brethren with the powers of the great totemic gods. Hex Lord Malacrass and his which doctors managed to call upon the powers of the bear, eagle, lynx and dragonhawk.

Follow the dress code, hit the gong for loot

Remember to take the Zul’Aman starter quest from Shattered, in the Lower City. The letter you receive must be brought to the attention of Bud Nedreck, in the outskirts of the temple. Bud is the leader of the expedition that landed the discovery in Hatchet Hills. He’ll pretty much send you to a flaming doom in the process of reaping every piece of treasure Zul’Aman has to offer, but a tough shield and a couple of dedicated healers will tend to your continual well being. In fact it’s highly recommended the group setup looks something like this: two tanks, three healers, one melee dps, four ranged dps (out of which a mage and a warlock are a must, with bonus points for shadowpriests). “Looking for Zul’Aman class raid” won’t be that uncommon, so basically you have one of each class. Once inside, buffed and ready, you should wait the rogue NPC and then the click the gong to your left. Everyone should hit it at least once. It isn’t the brightest of idea to make some noise when entering a deadly fortress, thus as the gates open, many non elite trolls rush you for an AoE fest, along with two elite guards. They don’t hit too hard and one tank can hold two targets throughout the instance, with proper healing. Throughout the instance elites hit for 1500-2500 on plate so guys dressed in full epic Karazhan items won’t have any problem passing the gear check. Anything less requires extra care, skill and wipes, but it’s doable.

Nalorakk versus Misha

Zul’Aman is special in many ways, but one thing will strike you from the very beginning: there isn’t much trash to clear. All you have to do is descend to the right, grab the patrol, and keep going right for five more packs and there you have the first boss. It’s that easy and you shouldn’t be taken by surprise and wipe here, because if you engage Nalorakk the Bear Avatar within 20 minutes, you will get extra loot from his hostage. Do you see this power tripping troll? His mask and outfit are native to Zul’Aman; one of the most bizarre, slightly ugly, yet inventive graphical works in all World of Warcraft. Once engaged, he’ll alternate between two phases. In human form he performs a random charge to raid members that are further away, but only hits for 5k on cloth so he can’t one shot anyone. Also expect a mangle type debuff on the main tank which doubles bleeding effects on the target. Feel free to tank and spank until 90% when he turns into a huge bear which incidentally deals bleeding type damage so you need to switch tanks in order to cope. Watch out for the frontal cleave now and top off the tank because Nalorakk uses an area of effect silence which damaged for 1k and lasts for 3 seconds. Even with strong dps the fight lasts long so expect another bear form at 60% and 30%. He stays furry for about 15% so just taunt and burn him down fast once he’s human again.

Congratulations, your raid just got two free epics on par with Black Temple/Hyjal loot. Each of the four avatars holds a hostage, member of Red’s prospector team most likely. Poor Tanzar is a troll and he resides in the cage nearby. Talk to him and receive his thanks. Having your entrails sacrificed to the forest gods is not a pleasant way to go, thus generous gratitude is understandable. The map Red asked of you is found on this same platform, near the cage. Once you turn the quest in, it’s Amani tusk collection time, along with investigating the terraces of the other three bestial avatars.

sTrolling

Just like the Zul’Gurub modus operandi, there is a choice on who to kill next because the way is clear. We decided to do it the hard way and take on the challenges of Akil'zon the Eagle Avatar, so back you go and turn left from the crossroad near the entrance. Brace yourselves. Even for experienced raiders this is the one of the nerve wrecking Zul’Aman tests of endurance, because if you don’t do it right, you just wipe. Most people are new here, so expect things to go bad a couple of tries. The scout you see in the distance is a mere decoy for what will become a deadly gauntlet race. While it only looks like 3 double pulls and then a mini-boss, reaching the Anash’Ani Tempest is harder than it seems because he keeps spawning guards. Each 30 seconds or so two more troll elites rush in from the rear and need to be picked up by the main tank, along with 4 non elite birds which eventually get AoE. This is where our main tank really shines, because he is a paladin. Druids can do a good job as well, but warriors always have troubles with keeping agro on multiple targets. As a mage you’ll have serious mana issues, as your arcane explosions get supplemented by the warlock’s seed of corruption and whatever area of effect spells raid members have to offer. The key is for tanks to properly pickup targets while everyone is moving as one, up the slope.

Akil’zon - tougher than Stormherald

I’m always amazed how fast one can reach the next boss. It’s either wipe or 7 minute of trash clearing and now the Eagle Avatar Akil’zon waits at the end of the stairs, ready to make your life miserable. Timed loot is available only if you manage to engage the boss within 20 minutes from the last kill. Unfortunately there are always delays for resurrections, buffs and loot rolling when people are new to the instance. Not to mention the fact that once you release a prisoner from his cage, he roleplays all the way to the chest and takes his time to unlock it.

Akil’zon may not look much, he hits like a girl and his favorite random sport is lifting people in the air, laughing as they take fall damage. He also fires a random chain lightning type spell which forks in all directions from the primary targets and hits for about 4.5k leaving a stacking 50% increase in nature damage debuff. It is a good idea to spread around the boss evenly. This alone can’t kill anyone, but the joke’s on you. Roughly each minute he targets a random group member except for the highest on the agro list, lifts it 10 yards above ground and charges him with electricity.

Every raid member will not take increasingly more nature damage in ticks starting from 500, then 1000, 1500 and 2000 each two seconds. If you’ve had the misfortune to see a tornado in real life, then you’d know there is one safe spot to be found, precisely in the eye of the storm. This translates to running as fast as possible to the guy flying above. Just look for the big shadowy spot on the ground. Tanks must also run and drag the boss along, because everyone is running and healing will be scarce. I find it easier for everyone to clump up 5 seconds before the storm comes, since it’s the only way you can wipe here. The problem is that sometimes bad luck causes you to lose raid members due to the long walk and lack of instant heals. The storm itself only lasts about ten seconds, but it’s enough, considering that some will have nature damage taken amplified by a lot. In four to five storms Akil’zon should be cut down to size, relinquishing his avatar’s spirit back to Zul’Jin.

Harkor, the little dwarf prisoner, is clearly impressed, as you arrived just in time to save his hide. Free loot again, but here’s where it gets harder and 20 minutes doesn’t feel like enough time anymore. Jump to the other side of the terrace and be ready to enter yet another gauntlet, leading to the Jan’alai, the Dragonhawk Avatar. But that’s a story for tomorrow.

After the release in June of the 1.8 firmware for the PlayStation 3, the new capabilities included recognition and playback of the video files encoded into the AVC High-Profile format video. The MPEG4 codec allows the files to be compressed and to keep the a very good level of quality.

The DivX Company announced today that its famous compression technology for videos will be implemented in the PlayStation3 systems as well, as part of a firmware update. Therefore, all PS3 users will be happy to find out that their gaming systems will soon be alble to play DivX files as well. The DivX compression technology is well known on the internet for its extremely good reputation when it comes to file size and video quality, by combining a lower bitrate with the reduced size of the video file. You might have seen in my game reviews here many DivX videos - I selected the format for its superior streaming capabilities.

The PS3 owners were already able to stream videos, but from now on, with that upcoming firmware update, they will be able to watch video files natively encoded in the DivX format.

1UP sure has a way of sniffing out stories before they happen, to such a degree that speculations run rampart and at times nothing really happens. It may or may not be the case with today’s story, which prompts Marvel Universe Online as the unhappy nominee for a Microsoft project cancellation. Ever since Microsoft announced the game on 26 September 2006, details have been scarce if any, complete with a lack of direct responses from developers when confronted with the issue in several interviews. Teasers are common place after one year of development cycle, including concept art, 3D renderings, screenshots and story snippets, but it isn’t the case with Marvel Universe Online. It’s rather sad to see it turn into vaporware, as the game world has a huge fan base that anxiously awaits its arrival to the online realms.

To put things into context, Cryptic Studios is the Marvel Universe Online developer, also known for comic based MMORPGs City of Heroes and City Of Villains. Not two weeks ago, publisher NCSoft acquired the rights for thee two retail releases. Approximately 15% of Cyptic’s staff was relocated to Mountain View, California to start a new studio under the NCSoft banner. With the IPs out of their yard, one would think Cryptic is free to pursue other projects, including Marvel Universe Online, but while Microsoft insists that the sale will not negatively affect any such projects, we’ve yet to hear news of the comic title.

Cyptic’s upcoming superhero MMORPG has not been cancelled outright, but Microsoft is known to take their time when it comes for such official announcements. 1UP’s inside sources prompt the game development to be on the bricks though. There was talk of “a big Microsoft first-party title that's been in the works for a very long time that people are very excited for” but looking back on the facts, Marvel Universe Online isn’t a perfect match. Aside from the mysterious source, Cryptic developers were cryptic themselves when it came to passing information about the game. 1UP is very eloquent in this regard, citing the suspicious inability by the project's collaborators to confirm the game's on-going development. Up until now, all we have is the game cinematic trailer which conveniently doesn’t present any type of in game footage.

Enough time has passed and it’s time for yet another Blizzard goodie to hit the World of Warcraft live servers. Patch 2.3 went live today on the US servers and will be up for Europe early tomorrow after maintenance. It’s a matter of preference actually, because we have Zul Aman and its animal bosses for PvE raiders in 2.3 and we’ll have the start of the PvP Season 3 complete with a ladder reset in exactly one week. Supplemented by serious class tweaking, big changes are coming to the live servers for everyone. It’s part of Blizzard policy to release new content on a regular basis and we see new instances introduced to the game each four months and a ladder reset on the same timetable. Time’s up, thus game hype will once again rise as old accounts get reactivated and the flame is rekindled in the hearts of MMO gamers.

Patch testing and changes have been the bread and butter of WoW fan sites all over the net for a month now, so let’s take a quick look at what the future has in store for us. First and foremost we have Zul Aman, which will be fully reviewed hands on in a couple of days. This lost temple can be found in the Ghostlands and requires no attunement quests performed. It’s a relic of the old Amani Empire, one of the two troll factions known to Azeroth (the Gurubashi Empire being the other). Zul Aman is Blizzard’s way of responding to public feedback. For a fact, Karazhan proved to be a huge success, if not due to its native fun filled encounters, then because of its wide accessibility. Here we go again with events scaled to go up from Prince Malchezaar and beyond. Guilds that are just about to enter Serpentshire Cavern and Tempest Keep: The Eye will find Zul Aman just about right in terms of gear versus challenge.

Too bad Blizzard didn’t learn anything from last Halloween, when alliance players were forced to wait in front of Scarlet Monastery and deal with PvP against countless horde that had the advantage of the home court. Ghostlands is the Blood Elf starting area, so be ready to witness the same scenario again: Several groups get ready to enter Zul Aman and start gathering by the summoning stone. We have horde and alliance together, bundled for a group hug, when someone attacks and just like a bar fight, everything ends up in a bloody mess.

Zul Aman is the home of the elder totemic gods of the Amani trolls. It’s been a place of worship since the very beginning thus the upper priesthood hierarchy has been granted powers beyond those of mortal trolls. You’ll meet the great bear guardian first, dire Nalorakk. Be sure to direct nightly prayers his way if you dream about riding that wicked looking bear out sometime in the near future. Akil'zon is the eagle avatar and master of storms. Unlike his Zul Gurub counterpart, the lynx avatar Halazzi does not have three acolytes that resurrect one another. Jan'alai, dragonhawk avatar puts up a good fight protecting the eggs of the flying hunter. Many raids will find their doom by the hands of Hex Lord Malacrass but none of the above is as powerful as the master himself, Zul’Jin.

Needless to mention, loot rises to the occasion by pumping up as much spell and melee haste as possible within level 131 items, along with melee armor penetration stats. In terms of item level alone, these should neither make nor break high end raiding itemization on guilds raiding Hyjal and Black Temple. But in practice, Zul Aman will boost casual raiding guilds itemization to a great extend, introducing item stats previously native to the high end part of the spectrum. It’s a bit unfair from Blizzard’s part, but then again, they always nerfed encounters in order to make them more accessible. Another random drop specific to Zul Aman is the enchant weapon: Executioner recipe. The enchant grants the use a chance to deal attacks that ignore 840 target armor for 10 seconds, for a good dps boost against low armored targets. Needless to say, Executioner is the new mongoose for PvP use, a clever time sink which gobbles up roughly 500g on each application. WoW greatness is never cheap. Not unless you count the new mad alchemist healing potions which grant a random buff on each use, stackable with any elixirs and flasks you may use at the time.

There can’t be a good patch without random freebies. Although the proper riding skill is required, engineers will be happy to know that Blizzard graced them with new normal and epic flying mounts. Flying machines they are called and supposedly have nothing in common with flying saucers. It’s still a question of goblin versus gnomish engineering. If they bug and end up in a huge explosion I’ll bet on gnomes. Maybe it’s better to have faith in goblin racing minds. There is little profit to be gained should your flying machine suddenly stop and fail high above Netherstorm. Awesome 8 seconds to treasure life before the corpse run though. It’s a good think the Cenarion Expedition has new hyppogriph mounts for sale, just as good looking and more dependable.

Now that I mentioned PvP, many things will change in a week so I recommend you start farming honor right away if you haven’t already. If you’re a newcomer to competitive PvP, 50k honor would just about grab you four pieces of the now honor-standard Gladiator set. Its arena point requirements have been removed and the old blues High Warlord set becomes obsolete. New trinkets that give a specific class bonus and boost your hit points by 1750 for 20 seconds are also available, sharing different cooldown than regular damage dealing trinkets. Blizzard seems to think nuking is out of control, or at least it will be with the new itemization and skill changes. Season 3 Vengeful Gladiator armors and weapons have plenty nice surprises to show, most notably being the introduction of extra armor (the green markup) and armor penetration. Gibing casters seems to get easier and easier, but what do they get in return?

Hunters get a ranged mortal strike effect on each aimed shot. Warriors get important talents from the fury tree moved to arms. I can’t even begin to stress the importance of this minor change. We’ll have brick walls that hit like trucks, are immune to fear for a long time and hit fast and harder as the battle drags on. Priests get a lovely discipline buff and can land Pain Suppression on any team member, just like paladins do with their Blessing of Protection. Mages have the damage coefficient tax removes thus fireballs and frostbolts will deal roughly 10% more damage. Dual wielding shamans have so many changes in store for them, that I’m almost tempted to get one in my arena teams. Whenever shamanistic rage gets activated, shamans get 30% reduction on both physical and magic damage, unkillable for 30 seconds.

Many more undocumented changes will stir things up even more. I have to admit, I came to love these first aid packs that boost enjoyment for a while longer. MMORPGs are born, live and eventually die, but WoW has its moments even after three years of existence. Be sure to get the patch in advance with the automatic background-downloader. Servers should be up by 11 AM tomorrow, but you never know what complications may arise. Patch days tend to get unexpected errors and delays in realm resuscitation.