Glimpses of Azeroth

Intermission music

2010-12-13T04:37:00.000-08:00

My computer has been fixed and is running within nominal parameters again. Unfortunately, delay number two hit like a bomb in the form of patch 4.0.3 (the Shattering) and then World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. In short, everything about the old world has changed, and the lives of rarespawns are not exempt.

* Some rares have vanished, and by all accounts are gone permanently.

* Some rares have changed locations, looks or loot. This applies to a large number of them, actually.

* Some new rares have appeared in old zones.

At the moment, everything is totally chaotic. My old rarespawn information is safely preserved, but I need to gather massive amounts of new data to restart the blog properly. Fortunately, right before the Shattering patch hit, I did a final tour of old Azeroth and snapped most of the ambience pictures that I needed to have.

For the future of the blog, I'm planning to do posts which will describe both a pre- and a post-Cataclysm information block for each rare. Despite the disappearance of many creatures permanently, many others have received a lot of attention and are now much more detailed, look cooler or are even mentioned in lore. The last portion makes me feel extra warm and fuzzy, of course.

You may be wondering if I missed out on any rarespawns which have been removed.

The answer is, I don't think I have. There are still three which I have not seen and documented, despite countless stakeouts at every conceivable time. However, I believe that each one of these may still appear within the game. Should this turn out not to be the case, I'll make a blog entry which says just that.

Anyway, this has been your "in the works" report for now. Stay tuned!

~Dragonshade

Rarespawn shorts: Gnawbone

2010-10-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Okey, I have a confession to make. Even I, with my nearly boundless enthusiasm for rarespawns in World of Warcraft, sometimes find myself lost for words. There's some rare mobs that just aren't that special, and I can't speculate much about them either. They're just plain and average, and my entries tend to reflect that. But I still want to cover them, and for that purpose I'm going to experiment with a shorter entry form for some of these mobs. Don't worry, I won't do this with any creature that I believe has some more worthwhile qualities. This is just to get some of these duller mobs out of the way so I can focus on the more unique ones.

Let me know what you think about this "short" entry type.

Gnawbone

Gnawbone is a rare gnoll found in the Wetlands, in the Eastern Kingdoms. He's somewhat tricky to locate because he can spawn in many different spots along the Sundown Marsh in the central part of the zone, and patrols quite far.

Gnawbone has no real special abilities or loot, and is an easy kill for any class. He does drop the crude flints required for Rethiel the Greenwarden's quest to slay the gnolls cutting down and burning the trees of the zone.

Gnawbone is a Mosshide gnoll, a vicious tribe who are cutting a swathe of destruction through the Wetlands in their desire to expand.

His name is derived from the common gnoll line "More bones to gnaw on", showing their desire to consume their enemies.

Gnawbone is a very average rare, with not much to distinguish him. He will likely vanish in Cataclysm, when the Wetlands will be drastically changed.

Until next time.

~Dragonshade

Hagg Taurenbane: Champion of the Razormane

2010-10-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

The southern Barrens is an area set to undergo catastrophic changes in the oncoming Cataclysm. As such, today's rarespawn is another one which will very likely be gone for good once it happens. The reason is that the southern Barrens will become a quite changed place, and much higher in level. Because of this, and because the Barrens have a large amount of rare mobs, I am trying to feature as many of them as I can before Cataclysm hits.

Therefore, let us peek at Hagg Taurenbane.

Who is Hagg Taurenbane, and where do I find him?

Hagg Taurenbane is a rare elite quilboar found in the Barrens, on Kalimdor.

Hagg Taurenbane is found in Blackthorn Ridge, one of many quilboar settlements in the Barrens. Blackthorn Ridge is located in the southern part of the Barrens, almost straight west from the dwarven stronghold of Bael Modan. Hagg can be found standing around several of the camps here. He does not walk around at all, thus making him fairly easy to find (aided by the fact that he has a somewhat short spawn time).

Combat and loot

For an unwary adventurer, Hagg can cause some problems. As an elite, he has a lot of health for his level. Furthermore, he is immune to a number of conditions (like stunning, sleep, traps and fear) which can be a genuine problem for some classes. He also has a number of abilities, all classic warrior abilities. Hamstring, demoralizing shout and cleave are all in Hagg's arsenal.

An added note is that fighting Hagg may also involve adds, due to the stealthed quilboars in the area. If you can overcome these problems, Hagg can be downed and looted. Unfortunately he has no unique or special loot to provide, but at least a bonus magic item is a bonus. But maybe not worth it, depending on how easy you can kill him.

Lore and trivia

Hagg has a title, something that is rather uncommon among rare mobs (and classic WoW mobs in general). He is the "Razormane Champion", a title befitting an elite warrior-type monster. The Razormane quilboar are one of the most infamous tribes of quilboar, and go all the way back to Warcraft III, where you must defeat them during the orc campaign to secure the alliance with the tauren. That Hagg bears the surname "Taurenbane" only shows the deep hatred these two races harbor for eachother. Another notorious rare mob I covered earlier, Captain Flat Tusk, also belongs to the Razormane.

As a champion of the Razormane, there's a good chance Hagg has been involved in some of the deeds of his tribe, such as the slaying of Mankrik's wife, a rather famous Horde quest. The Razormane emerged from the Razorfen Kraul to invade the Horde territories, a major hostile move by the quilboar. As the Champion of his tribe, most likely Hagg has been in the forefront of this offensive, probably selected by Charlga Razorflank herself to lead the assault.

Having a name like "Taurenbane" is just another thing that makes this guy interesting. While not a very special rarespawn, he has enough little fun facts surrounding him to make him above average. I am very fond of mobs which ad to a small hierarchy or mini-story, and Hagg fits in well as the elected champion of a quilboar tribe. He's worth looking up, especially since he is most likely doomed.

Until next time, beware the pig-men.

~Dragonshade

Zul'Brin Warpbranch and NEW HEADER!

2010-10-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

This post serves two purposes. As the title indicated, I want to pull your attention to the header of the blog, which now sports a brilliant and awesome new logo for the blog. This one was designed and created by my good friend (and guildie) Athorist, who's also been a supporter of the blog for a long time. I cannot express my gratitude enough for taking the time out to create this for me. It really makes the blog look so much cooler! I hope everyone who reads this agrees.

Thank you so much!

Oh right, I should have a rarespawn as well.

This post also features Zul'Brin Warpbranch!

Finding the witchdoctor

Zul'Brin Warpbranch is a rare mob troll found in the Eastern Plaguelands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Zul'Brin can be found in Zul'Mashar, a small troll enclave in the upper region of the Eastern Plaguelands, just Northeast of the exit to the Ghostlands. Zul'Brin can spawn in several different spots here, including on the large ziggurat-like temple. He is not undead like some of the trolls nearby, and thus registers as a humanoid if you can track those. He has a rather long spawn timer, and is thus somewhat hard to locate.

Hexxed!

Zul'Brin is hostile to all player characters, so anyone encountering him need to be ready for a fight. Should you choose to engage him, you'll find that Zul'Brin is something of a pushover. He has several spells at his disposal (chain lightning which jumps between enemies, a direct-damage flame shock, a healing wave to heal himself or others and a hexx spell to turn an opponent into a frog) but with as little health as he does, he stands little chance against even a single well-prepared adventurer.

As with many other mobs, the only thing that can cause problems here is by running into Zul'Brin at low health, or allowing the fight to get messy. Often he spawns near at least one Mossflayer Scout, annoying mobs which shout for help immediately when aggroed. This could potentially result in lots of adds joining in. But Zul'Brin himself doesn't do this, and will likely die very fast.

When defeated, Zul'Brin yields nothing special apart from the usual green-quality drop. While the robes he wear are attainable by players and look rather fetching, Zul'Brin does not specifically drop them.

Da hexxer's story

Zul'Brin is one of the Mossflayer tribe of forest trolls. One of the forest troll tribes who defected from the Horde after the departure of the legendary warlord Zul'Jin, the Mossflayer are hated and despised by other trolls and the Horde in general. Further, it seems from the mobs found here and their choice of living place that the Mossflayer are at least dabbling in necromancy and the creation of the undead.

Furthermore, forest trolls usually kill and eat sentient beings (even other trolls), something which serves to further make them outcasts. The Mossflayer came south from the Ghostlands, possibly in order to learn more about the undead. With his powers and appearance, it seems that Zul'Brin is the head shaman of the tribe. He is the spiritual guidance of the trolls, whereas the warlord (whom we will adress later) is the secular one. What loas Zul'Brin worships, if any, is unknown, though it would likely be a degenerate and terrifying form of worship.

In Zandali, the purest form of the troll language, adding the word "zul" as a prefix to a troll's name means "master of voodoo". How perfectly appropriate for Zul'Brin, who is a shamanistic witchdoctor! His surname "Warpbranch" is wonderfully evocative as well, bringing up images of twisted, dark voodoo rites performed by the campfire in the plague-haunted land.

I should also note that Zul'Brin received a new model (like most forest trolls) in patch 3.0.2, becoming much more muscular. From what I can tell, this change also hid his face behind the voodoo mask you can see in my screenshots, a change which makes him look more like a witchdoctor.

I really like this guy. He looks really cool (most trolls do), has a great get-up, a great name and he fits his little slice of lore perfectly. This is the kind of rarespawn that set me off on my quest to find them all, and well worth looking up!

Until next time, stay away from the voodoo;

~Dragonshade

In service of the Crusade: Foreman Marcrid

2010-10-13T13:50:00.001-07:00

The Scarlet Crusade, a fanatical organization of human zealots, is one of the major enemy faction in World of Warcraft. From the Scarlet Monastery dungeon (the rarespawns of which we'll cover eventually), to Stratholme, to the Ashbringer story and all the way to Northrend, the Crusade have been there challenging players. It's safe to say that the Scarlet Crusade has been something of a classic part of WoW ever since its inception. Interestingly enough, there are a lot of rarespawns associated with the Scarlets, and it's high time we take a look at the first of them.

Without further ado, Foreman Marcrid.

Who is Foreman Marcrid, and where do I find him?

Foreman Marcrid is a rare mob human found in the Western Plaguelands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Foreman Marcrid can be found around the Northridge Lumber Camp, straight north from the Ruins of Andorhal. The Crusade have set up a small lumber operation here, based around a sawmill, and Marcrid can usually be found either around the mill itself or at the small camp with tents straight west of the building. Marcrid does not wander around much, so he is fairly easy to locate if he is up.

Fighting Marcrid

Marcrid is not a threat if handled carefully. He is a typical melee mob, with a cleave and a strike ability that does extra damage. The main problem with fighting Marcrid is that at low health he will "call for help". People who have played since the days of classic WoW probably remember this enemy ability, which draws in every hostile mob in range. If you have not cleared the area around Marcrid before fighting him, you may find yourself swamped in enemies.

If you carefully remove the mobs surrounding the Foreman and then engage him, you should have little trouble defeating him. Interestingly, he does have a unique drop. Marcrid carries the blacksmith plans to Frostguard, an interesting sword with a very special look. Frostguard was first seen in the free bonus campaign to Warcraft III involving Rexxar, and thus has a bit of a pedigree to it. While the sword itself was not very useful even back in the day, it looks very neat, and makes for a cool (no pun intended) roleplaying accessory. Fortunately the plans are not Bind on Pickup, and can thus be sold and traded.

Marcrid's lore

There's no specific lore about Marcrid, but he's one of those rares where you can infer a lot from just his name and where he spawns. As mentioned earlier, the Northridge Lumber Mill is where you can find this guy. It would seem fairly clear from his title that he is the overseer of the operation, probably sent out from Hearthglen to harvest sufficient amounts of lumber for the Crusade's needs.

The lumber operation here is of sufficient concern to the nearby alliance and horde encampments that they seek to sabotage it in a memorable quest involving plagueland termites. Presumably Marcrid and his underlings are quite hardy and capable to have been given this mission, and as most Scarlet Crusaders they are likely quite cruel and show little remorse.

Finally, his possession of the unique blacksmithing plans imply to me that Marcrid is either a blacksmith himself (though he wields an axe like a lumberjack), or keeps it for some other reason. Maybe a relative of his was a blacksmith killed in the Third War, and Marcrid keeps the plans close to him for sentimental reasons? Interesting that the Warcraft III Frostguard appeared in the Kul Tiras section of the game, another faction of stubborn, reactionary humans...

In closing, Foreman Marcrid is a cool rare with lots going for him. Scarlet Crusade members tend to look cool and striking in their uniforms, and Marcrid looks every bit the Foreman he's supposed to be. He has a unique piece of loot, and fits in with the area he can be found in. With the Western Plaguelands undergoing massive changes in Cataclysm, track down this guy while you still can.

Until next time, keep your blacksmithing plans close to your heart.

~Dragonshade

Public note

2010-10-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.

I just wanted to do a quick shout-out to my good friend Alicia for getting this blog featured on WoW Insider this week! I really appreciate it, and hope some of the new readers will enjoy what they find here.

Several new posts are in the pipeline for this week, so stay tuned!

~Dragonshade

Curses here, curses there, curses everywhere - The Accursed Slitherblade

2010-10-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Possibly the most generic form of rare mob is the one that not only has no special abilities, loot or lore surrounding it, but also no real name. Many of these are named mostly as a description of what they are ("Murderous Blisterpaw"), and while these kinds of rarespawn are not really numerous, there are a few of them in the old world. In this rather brief entry I'll cover one of these poor "nameless" rarespawns.

This post is about the Accursed Slitherblade.

Finding the Accursed Slitherblade

The Accursed Slitherblade is a rare mob naga found in the Desolace on Kalimdor.

The Accursed Slitherblade is found off the coast of Ehtel Rethor in the northwestern corner of the zone. Every time I have found this mob he's been in the reef between Ethel Rethor and Ranazjar Isle, quite a bit down near the seafloor. However, wowhead reports that he can also spawn on the Isle itself (corroborated by a screenshot) and near the beach on the other side. Give the area a good search if you're looking for this mob.

Fighting the Accursed Slitherblade

This rarespawn is another one with no special abilities (and he's really mad about it). He's a very quick and simple fight for any class.

As expected (since I kind of spoilered it in the opening paragraph), the naga does not have any unique or even notable loot either. Just the standard generic drops, with a magic item for your trouble.

Lore of the Accursed Slitherblade

This mob opens so many unanswered questions. If he's cursed, why does he still live with the other naga? What form does his curse take? Bad luck? Itchy... uh... fins? An overwhelming desire to possess anything of the color magenta? Maybe his curse is that he shall forever remain nameless, referred to only by his "title"...

At least we do know that the nameless one is one of the Slitherblade naga, a group who under the leadership of Lord Kragaru have assaulted hapless vessels off the coast of the Desolace. Maybe the Accursed one stole some treasure he shouldn't from one of the ships, or from the ruins? Who knows.

In closing, there's really nothing remarkable about this rarespawn. The Accursed Slitherblade is totally average, distinguished only by his silver dragon and name.

Until next time, I hope you never lose your names and have to be referred to as "Accursed Human". That would be weird.

~Dragonshade

Who's that girl? Singer

2010-10-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

This is an odd one. In one of the earliest posts on this blog I talked about Gravis Slipknot, a human rarespawn found in the Alterac Mountains. Just like Gravis, the rare in this entry wears the garb of the Syndicate, the band of thugs and robbers created by dispossessed Alterac nobility. And just like Gravis, this rare has some... quirks concerning her status with the group. Read on and you'll see.

This post is about Singer.

Who is Singer and where can I find her?

Singer is a rare mob human found in the Arathi Highlands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Northfold Manor is the main base of the Syndicate in Arathi, and true enough Singer can be found there. She spawns in a few different locations, all inside the buildings. The small shack on the edge of the central field is a possibility, as is the barn. She may also appear inside the small buildings, though I have personally never seen her there. Singer does not wander at all, just moving around her spawn point a few steps this way and that. She also has a rather distinctive appearance as she is the only mob around the area to wear a dress. Her respawn time is fairly short (I have observed her spawning more than one time per day) and will thus often be found alive.

As a side note, I never quite got why Northfold is called a "manor" when it is quite obviously just a farm. Sarcasm? Boasting?

Fighting Singer

Singer is an odd mob to fight. She has very little health, and her standard ability is just a warrior-like demoralizing shout. She then wades in swinging a blade in each hand. For any character high in level this is all there is to her, a mob with a name who dies very very fast. However, for characters of level 25 or lower, Singer can be a very different fight.

Singer possesses an ability called Dominate Mind which is effective only on enemies level 25 or lower (although there are some differing accounts on the exact level range, this is the value given by wowhead and I'll believe that) which mind controls the character. For characters trying to defeat Singer solo, this means she will most likely de-aggro and go out of combat. For characters with pets, being mind controlled while your pet kills Singer, this will make it impossible for you to loot her afterwards. This ability is pretty much the only real threat Singer poses, so be careful if you are of a level able to be affected by it.

Interestingly, while Singer does wear the orange bandana of a Syndicate member, Singer does not change your Syndicate reputation when slain. Neither does she drop the Mark of the Syndicate trash item. However, Singer has two unique drops to her, neither of which fit her at all. Her cloak and amulet are both items heavy in spirit, something which makes no sense considering her abilities as a melee-heavy enemy. Maybe her mind-dominating ability indicates that she's a priest of some kind?

Her cloak is actually quite pretty with very bold colors. If Singer spawns inside the small hut, there is also quite frequently a treasure chest right beside her as well. This may cause LoS issues, and even make her bug out, so be careful!

Singer's story

As noted, Singer wears the bandana of a Syndicate member but this is not supported by anything else in-game. Singer remains hostile even to those crazy enough to grind themselves up to Neutral with the Syndicate faction. This makes her a bit of an enigma. Who is she? Is she just some crazy person who's holed up here and dresses like the Syndicate for fun?

My explanation for this would be that Singer is, for lack of a better word, nuts. She's a somewhat deranged and violent young woman recruited by the Syndicate for her terrifying ability to control the minds of others. The source of this ability, be it corrupted divine magic or an arcane version, remains mysterious. Still, Singer seems quite happy to just carve people up with her blades, and thus if her mind control fails to impress an enemy, the Syndicate can always rely on her to go in with flashing steel as a backup plan. However, maybe she's just a bit too nutty to recognize friend from foe, which is why her affiliation is with the Syndicate is tenuous at best?

And hey, while I'm speculating, I like to think that her name comes from the fact that her song is the means by which she mind controls someone. Singing a mesmerizing song like a siren would be an interesting twist on it...

Singer is a pretty cool rare, with her own drops and a cool look. She's well worth seeking out for those interested!

Until next time, put cotton wads in your ears.

~Dragonshade

The Ongar - Chasing a slime for months

2010-10-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

You can't tell because of how I structure the entries, but some rarespawns took me virtually no time at all to find, others eluded me for months (some still do as of this writing). Today's entry, another slime (thus untrackable by hunters), took me a very long time to track down. I visited Felwood a lot, but never quite managed to find it until a friend of mine accidentally stumbled across it and asked if I still needed to photo it. Quite a bit of luck for me!

This post is about the Ongar.

What is the Ongar, and where do I find it?

The Ongar is a rare spawn slime found in Felwood, on Kalimdor.

The Ongar appears in and around Bloodvenom Falls, in the center of the Felwood zone. As mentioned, the Ongar has no creature type and thus cannot be tracked by common means. This means you must use a rarespawn finder addon, manual targeting, or visual searching to locate it. The Ongar can spawn in several spots around the falls, several of which are wholly or partially underwater. A common spot to find it (as it is often killed when it spawns around the large pool by the road) is the smaller pool near the waterfall up near the eastern cliff face. Get there by going east from the southern end of the bridge and up the hill. Other spawnpoints include the small waterfall under the bridge and the large pool by the road, as mentioned.

It appears that the Ongar has a rather slow respawn timer, and is thus hard to find. I don't know the truth of this, but as it spawns in an area where there are a few quests, and since many people pass by here (the Horde flight point is nearby), seeing the Ongar may be a rare occasion. The Ongar does wander around a bit, so be patient and thorough when looking for it.

Battling the Ongar

As hard as it is to locate, the Ongar is a definite pushover in combat. Possessing no special abilities whatsoever, and little health. It is basically just a regular slime with a name. As such, any class can take it out easily, for that delicious extra loot.

While it has no unique loot, the Ongar does drop a couple of things of interest. First, it provides a slime sample for the Undercity questline to test the oozes of the world, which seems natural. Second, it has a somewhat high chance of dropping an Oozing Bag, the only source of the rare Disgusting Oozeling vanity pet. Be warned though, even if the Ongar drops the bag, the chance of it containing the pet is low as well. But sometimes the gamble pays off! I'm also amused that the Ongar often drops the trash item "Bubbling Green Ichor", as the creature is in fact not green.

On a somewhat odd note, one of the old patches contains the note that " Rare Felwood creatures should now have loot." Presumably at one point the Ongar and the other Felwood rares had poor or missing loot (similar to the situation with Ruul Onestone and some others still) but that this was corrected.

The lore of the Ongar

My personal belief is that the name of this slime is a pun on "hunger", referring to the devouring nature of ooze creatures. It might be totally wrong though, and if anyone has a better hunch, please let me know! I'll also assume the thing was named by someone, as I cannot imagine a slime being that sentient.

The slimes of Felwood are among the most heavily corrupted in any part of the world. They have become deeply tainted by the same demonic energies which have turned Felwood into a twisted, nightmarish land. As oozes are quite susceptible to these kinds of influences, it is a clear indicator of how much the surrounding habitat has been affected. In a way, slimes and oozes in World of Warcraft are indicator species, giving important hints about the state of their environment.

There's not much I can say about the Ongar as an individual, as that concept is hard to apply to a slime. I will say, however, that the blue-green color is quite nice, probably my favorite ooze coloration. Interestingly, the Ongar shares this color with Sludginn (which I covered here), an ooze found in an area not usually considered to be corrupted. Maybe the Ongar is a rare, uncorrupted Felwood slime?

In closing, I love this guy if only because of the enormous joy when I finally found it. I love the slime model and the color and the Ongar has a nice surrounding to slush around in. All in all, a nice rare to encounter.

Until next time, bring a change of clothes. You might get slimed.

~Dragonshade

When themes go bad: Magister Hawkhelm

2010-09-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

I often speak of "themes" in my evaluation of various rare mobs. This is because there is so little about most of them that I look deeper, analyzing them in a way I never would otherwise. Oftentimes I note that they have an evocative, fitting name for what they are. This happens a lot, but not always. Some raremobs have oddly chosen or just weird names, which may refer to something I don't know about, or possibly just be chosen because it "sounds cool". Sometimes though, you get a weird incongruence between what a mob does and what it's named. And today's rarespawn is a good example of that.

This post is about Magister Hawkhelm.

Where to find the Magister

Magister Hawkhelm is a rare mob blood elf found in Azshara, on Kalimdor.

Magister Hawkhelm spawns in the small blood elf-controlled area near some ancient ruins called the "Thalassian base camp". She can be located in two places that I know of, and does not stray from her spawn point. Take note that one of her spawn points, located at the tallest cliff of the camp underneath some ruins, sometimes obscures her quite a bit from casual study, and makes her harder to spot visually.

Defying the sin'dorei

Magister Hawkhelm is (perhaps surprisingly) a hostile mob to both Alliance and Horde players. There are fewer rarespawns which are hostile to the Alliance only, for some reason, and Hawkhelm is not one of them. This has a good lore reason, which we'll get to in the next section. Suffice to say for now that anyone straying near (perhaps for one of the quests in the camp) will invoke Hawkhelm's wrath.

Now, here's the surprising part. Magister Hawkhelm has no magical abilities of any sort. I know that is a bit of a stereotype for a blood elf, but come on. She's named "Magister", a title usually only seen on spellcasters within blood elf society (it is related to the word "mage" after all). However, Magister Hawkhelm only attacks with a normal melee, a ranged bow attack and a multi-shot that hits all her enemies.

Because of these simplistic abilities, Hawkhelm is an easy kill for any class. She has no unique loot, providing only the generic reward in the form of a drop.

Sin'dorei stories

Actually, we can infer quite a bit about this woman from her location. She is clearly party of Magus Rimtori's expedition in search of long-lost Highborne artifacts, and works for the Magus in some capacity. Rimtori's thirst for arcane power drove her to betray the Horde, and she murdered the orcs accompanying the team. Rimtori's search for demonic magic and betrayal makes her a dangerous and hated individual, and Hawkhelm seems to be one of her loyal followers.

Of course, as I mentioned, with that name I fully expected Hawkhelm to be a mage herself, as are many of the traitor blood elves in the camp. However, with her purely mundane abilities it seems she may be a magister by some other means, perhaps by some form of knowledge or academic expertise? She would appear to have ranger training, though she still dresses in the simple robes of a spellcaster.

It's always great to see blood elves outside of the areas introduced in the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King expansions. They're somewhat unexpected, and almost always have a specific story or purpose. Of course, it should be noted that prior to the release of Burning Crusade, Hawkhelm, Rimtori and the other elves here had quite different models (and much uglier ones) made from retooled night elf models. If you want to see what these look like firsthand, look into the Scholomance, where some students still bear this quite freakish model.

All in all, Magister Hawkhelm is amusing because of how her name and abilities don't match up. She has a nice little spot in lore, and is a quite cool rare in my book. With the enormous changes to Azshara coming in Cataclysm, this rare is quite likely to vanish forever, and thus now is the time to seek her out if you so wish.

Until next time, don't betray your allies over objects of power.

~Dragonshade

March of the silithid: Haarka the Ravenous

2010-09-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

I think it's interesting to note that some creature types are a lot more frequently used for rarespawns than others. I'm not sure what motivates this, if it's related to the quality and look of the model itself, or if it's little more than the whim of the developers. At any rate, each zone on Kalimdor which has a silithid hive has at least one rare silithid, be it a tank or a wasp. I think it's really cool that almost every silithid hive has its own rare named silithid, it really adds some character to these creatures. Today we take a look at another of these rares!

This post is about Haarka the Ravenous.

What is Haarka, and where can I find it?

Haarka the Ravenous is a rare mob silithid found in Tanaris, on Kalimdor.

Haarka can be found in the Gaping Chasm in the south-eastern corner of Tanaris. This is the larger of the two silithid hives in the zone, and somewhat expansive with several tunnels. I found Haarka underground in the eastern-most underground area (the entrance being close to the cliff walls of the zone), but I have seen reports that it can spawn in other spots as well. A good hint for hunters seeking this mob who are not using a rarespawn tracking addon is that you can track creatures through the ground. Standing on the ground in a silithid hive lets you see any beast-type silithid beneath you on the minimap as well, which saved me a lot of time ins searching.

Hunting the silithid

Haarka is a straightforward melee mob, like other silithid tank mobs. Haarka attacks with a warrior-like sunder armor and Thrash, a very common mob ability which grants extra melee swings. However, despite these abilities, Haarka is an easy foe to defeat and little more than a normal silithid.

Since the revamp the Beastmastery, Haarka is a tameable creature. Classified as a Beast, it can be tracked down by hunters and tamed by those with the Exotic Pet talent. As Cunning pets, silithid tanks are very flexible pets which can be adapted to many situations. Their racial ability, Venom Web Spray, both immobilizes and causes damage, which makes them well-suited for PvP combat. Silithids are thus fairly popular pets.

Haarka uses the "green" silithid model (actually kind of a blue-green mix) which is not rare, but very nice-looking. If you are not a Beastmastery hunter you may choose to slay Haarka for its loot, which is the standard magic item. No unique loot or other drops to be had.

The lore of Haarka

Since Haarka is found in the Gaping Chasm, home to the Hazzali hive of silithids, it seems safe to assume it is part of that hive. Indeed, Haarka shares an appearance with some common silithids in the area. It is hard to kno whether silithids have enough sentience and sense of individuality to give themselves names, or if names are bestowed in them by others. "The Ravenous" epithet would indicate hunger, possibly why the creature has become notorious enough that its name is well known.

I would guess that Haarka is one of the more powerful silithid warriors of the Hazzali hive, and known and feared by the people of Tanaris for its hunger. Since there are quests which confirm that people have vanished into the silithid hives, never to return, such fears are probably well-founded.

All in all, Haarka is a nice little rare. Anything that you can tame is special in my book, and this particular look and coloration works great for this mob. It also has a cool name, which manages to be both alien and threatening at once. If you want to see Haarka yourself, do so before Cataclysm, as this rare will almost certainly no longer exist once the massive changes to Tanaris take effect!

Until next time, stay out of the hive.

~Dragonshade

A pirate's life for me! Kregg Keelhaul

2010-09-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Happy international Talk Like a Pirate Day, everyone! In honor of this most momentous of holidays, I'm presenting a bonafide pirate rarespawn. And no, I'm not going to type out this entry in pirate-speak. There's limits to what I think people will put up with from me. Anyway, on to the entry!

This post is about Kregg Keelhaul. Arrr me hearties! Sorry!

Who is Kregg Keelhaul, and where can I find him?

Kregg Keelhaul is a rare mob goblin found in Tanaris, on Kalimdor.

Kregg is a pirate, and in Tanaris the best place for a pirate to be is Lost Rigger Cove, a small secluded area on the coastline, south of Steamwheedle Port. Kregg can appear in several locations in this area, including on the two ships (one finished and one being built) and inside the larger building. He does not patrol to any extent, so it is fairly easy to locate him if he is alive. He is a goblin, and thus not hard to spot among the many pirates of other races.

Fighting Kreeg

The main problem with any mob in Lost Rigger Cove is the many potential adds. Since they will flee when low on health, it's important to control each fight so as to minimize extra adds joining in. This is of course only applicable for those of the proper level. This goes for Kregg as well. He wields a really big two-handed sword, which marks him as a melee mob right away.

Kregg is a fairly typical "warrior" type mob, with a cleave and a heroic strike-type ability. He's not a danger in and of himself. As is common with mid-range rare mobs from the vanilla WoW period, he has no unique drop. It should be noted, however, that he can drop a Southsea Pirate Hat for that quest, which amuses me greatly because Kregg wears no hat on his model.

The lore of Kregg

Actually, when it comes to this scurvy dog we have a tiny snippet of lore to go on. In and of himself, Kregg is just your average melee-focused mob. One would think that he is an enforcer for the Southsea Pirates (though curiously he does not seem to grant Gadgetzan reputation when slain).

However, the fun thing is that he's not the only goblin pirate named Keelhaul. Captain Keelhaul is a goblin captain with the Bloodsail Buccaneers, situated in his ship off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale. One questline leads you to slay him, along with the other leaders of the Bloodsail in order to stop their plans to raze Booty Bay to the ground. Since the Bloodsail and the Southsea pirates are similar in organization and purpose, it's not a far stretch to assume the two are related.

I think these two are definently related. I believe Captain Keelhaul to be the brother of Kregg, and the brighter and more driven of the two. He may even have put in a good word to get his brother a position with the Southsea pirates. Kregg, being more the type to bash someone with a sharp implement, would likely have jumped at such a chance. I love these little mini-scenarios, myself.

Unfortunately for those of you who want to see this rare, Lost Rigger Cove is a very well-frequented area, and he has a rather long respawn timer, so you may have to be lucky or visit during off hours to catch him alive.

In closing, Kregg isn't that interesting by himself, but his little snippet of lore and the fact that he's a pirate elevate him to a cool little rare!

Until next time, don't keep that cursed indian gold.

~Dragonshade

I WILL BREAK HIM! - Carnivous the breaker

2010-09-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

You know, considering how hard the furbolgs of Kalimdor were hit by the Third War, there's still an awful lot of them around. Sure, most of them are corrupted by the demonic presence, but still, their numbers are fairly large in the adjoining zones of Winterspring, Felwood, Ashenvale and Darkshore. It is in that last area where we find the subject of this post.

Proudly presenting Carnivous the Breaker!

Who is Carnivous, and where can I find him?

Carnivous the Breaker is a rare mob furbolg found in Darkshore on Kalimdor.

Carnivous can be found in the furbolg encampments south of the Wildbend river in the southern part of the zone. He is completely stationary as far as I can tell, spawning in one spot and then just standing around unless aggroed. As the furbolg encampment here is not very large, looking for him is a quick affair, even if he doesn't have a very distinctive appearance. He's just your average dark-furred furbolg.

Combat and possessions

Carnivous is just as corrupted as his fellow furbolgs, and will attack anyone. He has a rather mean armor debuff (halving your armor value) and the common thrash ability which grants him extra melee attacks. However, given his low health he is only a threat to a very low-level character. No class should have an especially hard time taking him down if they so wish.

As is standard, Carnivous has no special drops, providing a generic magic item. However, if you can take him down around the appropriate level, a green item can prove either useful or give a little money when sold. Really, for any rarespawn entry, just keep in mind that even the generic loot is a way to make money.

The lore of Carnivous

Like most furbolgs in Darkshore, I would assume Carnivous comes from one of the larger tribes further inland. It's possible he is a Deadwood furbolg (suggested by WoWwiki), though there is no exact confirmation. None of the furbolgs in Darkshore help in the Timbermaw reputation grind, unfortunately, even if they are Deadwood furbolgs lore-wise.

As a corrupted furbolg with melee-based abilities, I would guess Carnivous is a champion or subchief of his tribe. He just gives me the impression of a creature adept at fighting, but maybe not a leader. And come on, I can't be the only one who thinks of Ivan Drago when seeing that name...

All in all, Carnivous is a rather average mob. The main thing he has going for him is his awesome name. With a rather low respawn timer, you should be able to find him fairly easily with a bit of searching, which may be fun considering the upheavals Darkshore will soon see...

Until next time, don't let the corruption blind you.

~Dragonshade

Rare felguard: Kaskk

2010-09-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

Desolace is a zone about to get a heavy retooling with the release of Cataclysm. The now-shattered landscape seems to finally be getting some semblance of life back, which will be a very interesting change to watch. As it is currently (and has been ever since the original release of World of Warcraft), Desolace is one of those zones that is in the backwater of the world. There's not much happening here, nor does the zone have any particularily exciting lore or events. The best thing in Desolace is the utterly amazing dungeon instance Maraudon, one of my favorite old world dungeons. However, I must save a post about that particular place for a future post, and instead focus on the zone itself, outside Maraudon's gates.

This post concerns Kaskk.

What is Kaskk, and where can I find him?

Kaskk is a rare mob felguard found in Desolace, on Kalimdor.

Kaskk is located in the Mannoroc coven, a demon-controlled area in the lower half of the Desolace zone. Heading east from Shadowprey village or south from Nijel's Point will get you there, though the Horde flightpoint is much closer. Kaskk is a fairly stationary rare, and will not stray far from his spawn point. He can appear in a few spots across the coven, but is easy to spot due to his distinctive look. Kaskk carries an unusual blade for a felguard, one that always reminded me of the design for orc weapons in the Lord of the Rings movies. It's a brutal weapon, little more than a sharpened slab of metal.

The tactics of Kaskk

There's not much to say here. Kaskk has no special abilities of any sort. He will simply wade into combat, swinging that nasty-looking sword. As such, unless you are very weakened, he will not pose any form of danger, especially to a class with good ranged capability.

Kaskk drops the standard magic item. He will also allegedly drop the felguard blood required for the Desolace reagents quest, which is only appropriate I suppose.

The lore of Kaskk

Very little to say about Kaskk specifically. Felguards are mo'arg, just like the many Legion inventors and engineers seen in other places. However, felguards seem to be mo'arg who are utterly focused on combat, having no interest in contraptions or sophisticated strategy.

As felguards seem to have little initiative of their own, they're usually subservient to a master. I would suspect that Kaskk serves Lord Azretoch, the Doomguard leader of the mannoroc coven directly.

As a final point to this rather sparse entry, I should add that Kaskk seems to have a very long respawn timer, probably several days. As such, he is a very very rare mob to encounter due to the Mannoroc Coven getting some traffic of adventurers doing quests. While he may not have much in the form of personality, drops or abilities, Kaskk is notable for his scarcity alone.

If you stop by the Desolace, why not see if he's there? He's a sight most people won't have seen!

Until next time;

~Dragonshade

Gilmorian: Another bonus rare

2010-09-07T18:39:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering why I'm doing back-to-back posts lately, there are a few reason. For one, due to several circumstances (and sometimes to writer's block), I have seriously fallen behind my planned schedule for the blog. Another thing is that once I have started writing, it's much easier to write a second entry right away than it is to wait a day or two and then try beginning to write again. Getting started is always the hardest part for me! Finally, there are a lot of rares left to cover which in all honesty are not that exciting, comparatively. Backing these guys up with another entry makes them stick out less, I think.

What do you think? I treasure the opinions of those of you who follow this blog, and would like to hear from you. Just leave a note here, or at my email adress at tellana@gmail.com and tell me your views.

With that being said, on to another rather average rare, Gilmorian.

Where can I find Gilmorian?

Gilmorian is a rare mob murloc found in the Swamp of Sorrows in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Gilmorian can be found wandering up and down the Misty Reed strand on the eastern edge of the Swamp of Sorrows. He looks rather like most murlocs, with no particular feature or unusual color to distinguish him. He wanders quite far up and down the coast, I've noted, so you may want to cover the entirety of the coastline just to make sure. I'm not sure if the wowhead notes about finding him off the coast out in the water are actual spawn points or just cases of people pulling him out there. I'd guess the latter, if I had to make a choice.

Incidentally, this is the first rare from Swamp of Sorrows to be featured in the blog. Enjoy the new tag!

Combat and loot

Gilmorian, like almost all murlocs, is a threat to anything that comes close. He's honestly not much of a threat, but he does try. He has a couple of rogue ability, both able to gouge and use sinister strike. I should not that he never goes into stealth despite his rogue-like abilities, and is thus much easier to find for it. He doesn't have much health or hit very hard, though, and should be easy to defeat.

Gilmorian has no special drops, but at least (Unlike Ruul Onestone) he drops better loot than average mobs, thus adhering to the rarespawn common standard.

Special notes

There's not much to say about Gilmorian. His name (actually I don't know the gender of any murloc, and I'd rather not find out either. But "Gilmorian" sounds like a male name to me) is of course a pun about gills.

Apart from that, the only thing I can really think of is that his rogue abilities remind me that a lot of murlocs in the game fight with dirty tactics. Quite fitting for these little terrors!

With a rather slow respawn time and being easily killed, Gilmorian is another very average but rarely encountered rarespawn. There's not much to distinguish him except for his name.

Until next time;

~Dragonshade

Not worth killing: Ruul Onestone

2010-09-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of ogre rarespawns in World of Warcraft. That alone is not very surprising, given how ogres tend to pop up everywhere. What is surprising is that there are also a lot of people named "Ruul". There's a tauren questmaster in Mulgore, another tauren quest NPC in Ashenvale, and a nasty elite blood elf in Shadowmoon Valley who is part of the Cipher of Damnation questline. And then... there's this guy.

This post is about Ruul Onestone, or as I'd like to call him "More trouble than he's worth"

Who is Ruul Onestone, and where do I find him?

This particular Ruul is a rare elite ogre located inside the ruined city of Stromgarde in the Arathi Highlands, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Ruul is an odd rarespawn in that he only ever spawns in one spot. He will always spawn on the top floor of the tower in the south-west part of Stormgarde, the same tower where Alliance players do the quests involving the archgame Trelane. As a result, if you are doing this quest and Ruul is alive, you -will- have to fight him to complete it. And that can be a headache.

Ogre terror

To put it mildly, Ruul is a nuisance.

He is a level 39 elite in an area of only normal mobs. He is also an elite standing right on top of a quest objective. He attacks using a lightning bolt, and can also cast a bloodlust ability on any ally, which means that adds that join the fight can become very dangerous. Also, he has a lot of health compared to the normal ogres.

Some classes have an easier time dealing with elite mobs like this than others. And if you are of sufficient level, he will probably not be a problem. The issue is that you pretty much -have- to kill him, and may not even be aware that he's there (or that he's an elite!) before running into him. Blizzard do this on occasion, depositing a nasty rarespawn in a zone where many people go. I suppose even game developers need to indulge their Gygaxian tendencies sometimes.

The real kick-in-the-pants only occurs when you manage to kill Ruul. Yes, this is also a rarespawn who drops poor loot. In fact, very poor loot. His chances of dropping even an uncommon ("green") magic item is about the same as a regular mob. So after all that trouble, you don't even get anything for your efforts, except getting to possibly complete a quest. I have no idea what possesses a designer to situate an elite in such a spot and then also give it a really crappy loot table, but that's just how it is.

Ruul's lore

I'm not even sure what I can say that can top the sheer sadism of the above section. Ruul is a two-headed ogre mage, but does not have the blue skintone which is often claimed to signify arcane corruption. I suppose he is more of a normal shaman type, which is well supplemented by him using shaman spells. I should probably say that ogres with two heads seem to have some form of generic aptitude for spellcasting, be it mage or shaman magic.

Ruul is interestingly only one of several rare mobs in Stromgarde (there's actually another rare ogre here too, whom we will get to in some time). In his role as the one elite ogre in the area, I will have to assume that he is the most powerful of them, and thus the defacto leader. We can guess that he is of the Boulderfist clan, and is probably a servant of the local ogre warlord, Kor'gresh Coldrage (who is incidentally also involved in the Trelane questline). Interestingly, since Kor'gresh is also an ogre mage, it's possible Ruul is an apprentice, pupil of colleague of him.

In closing, Ruul is an interesting rarespawn. He's a huge bother for the unprepared, and can be an annoyance. But that kind of makes him notable as well, although I think giving him such a poor loot table is just rude. All in all, he's certainly made his mark in the annals of rarespawns!

Until next time, just wait until a high-level character kills him. Then get the quest object.

~Dragonshade

Zul'arek Hatefowler - Trolls have awesome names

2010-09-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings, readers. As I have been seriously lacking in posting morale over the last few months, I figured I'd squeeze in a second post now that I have the creativity flowing. Thus, for your consideration (and to cleanse the palate of the dullness of the last post), I present to you a troll with an awesome hairdo and one of the best names ever in World of Warcraft.

I present to you... Zul'arek Hatefowler.

Trolls... trolls everywhere

Zul'arek Hatefowler is a rare mob troll found in the Hinterlands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Zul'arek can be found in either of two locations. These are the two small areas filled with troll ruins called Zun'watha and Hiriwatha. These are close to the Alliance flight point at Aerie Peak, just a short bit to the east. Hiri'watha is a bit further east, being situated directly south of the Quel'danil Lodge. For Horde players, the trip is much longer, from the opposite side of the zone. Zul'arek is another rare that doesn't move too much, just pacing around a little. He does not look terribly different than the other trolls around him, so careful searching is required if you do not have a means to track him.

Zul'arek took me quite some time to find, probably due to the fact that these areas are so close to the Alliance flight point and since there are quests in this area as well.

Combat and possessions

Zul'arek is a hostile mob to both Horde and Alliance and will thus always be a hostile encounter. Zul'arek is surrounded on all sides by other trolls, and this may thus become a messy fight if you're not careful. Zul'arek is not a very tough mob, but he does have a special ability in the form of a shadow bolt volley which hits every enemy in range. Just make sure nobody is on low health when engaging him and he should be easy to defeat.

When defeated, Zul'arek does not have any unique drops. He will provide the typical universal magic items when defeated. However, in a nice touch, he also drops the troll tribal necklaces required for a quest for the Wildhammer dwarves for the Alliance. Interestingly, this quest was once a repeatable quest which provided reputation with a unique Wildhammer faction. Whatever plans Blizzard may have had for this faction did not pan out and it was eventually completely removed from the game. Today, the quest is a simple one-time thing which provides no unique reputation.

The lore of the forest troll

First off, I just want to repeat how much I love this guy's name. I mean "Zul'arek" is a brilliant troll name to begin with, but "Hatefowler"? That just pushes it over the edge. It always conjures up images of trolls worshipping enraged fowl spirits, trying to channel the power of the savage grouse, the ferocious hen and the bloodthirsty turkey. Either Zul'arek feels a special connection with his fowl totem, or he has successfully slain some kind of vicious poultry of unusual size...

Given where he spawns and that he carries a tribal troll necklace, it would seem rather clear that Zul'arek is part of the Witherbark forest trolls, a tribe who spread over both the Hinterlands and the Arathi Highlands. As usual, Zul'arek is probably a notable troll among them, possibly a subchief under another rare troll, Zalas Witherbark. Interesting that he also possesses shadow magic, something many forest trolls use... (I always see rare mobs as creatures which have distinguished themselves enough that their name is well known to other races, or that those other races create a name for the creature.)

Finally, I have to comment that I really like the design of this guy as well. I really like the looks of World of Warcraft trolls, and the "bulky" forest troll model looks good with all those tattoos, crazy hair and other things trolls have going.

In closing, I really like this guy. His name just makes him a character in his own right, and he fits in neatly with the surrounding area and lore. Zul'arek is a really cool rare.

Until next time, don't get ganked by Wildhammer dwarves!

~Dragonshade

Another ogre, another pun: Hahk'Zor

2010-09-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Remember some time ago when I mentioned that ogres in World of Warcraft have their share of pun names? Well, that's by no means limited to ogres alone, but today's rarespawn also happens to be another "in-joke" ogre rare. And like the previous one, this one also has an internet slang name...

This post is about Hahk'Zor.

Who is Hakh'Zor and where can I find him?

Hakh'Zor is a rare mob ogre found in the Burning Steppes in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Hakh'Zor can be located in and around Dreadmaul Rock in the eastern part of the Burning Steppes. He just paces around his spawn point, but can appear either outside the ogre caves or inside on the lower level. Amusingly, some have reported him walking into a small pond just outside the Rock, almost vanishing in the water. "I can't swim" joke goes here.

How to fight Hahk'Zor

Hahk'Zor is a totally uncomplicated mob. He has no special abilities at all, just a basic melee attack. He's not very tough, and doesn't have any dangerous special attacks. In effect, he's just another ogre, just with a name.

To compound this, poor Hahk'Zor has no special drops either. Unique drops are rather scarce among the vanilla rarespawns, and mostly clustered around the lower and upper levels. Hahk'Zor just drops a random green for your disenchanting or selling pleasure.

The lore of Hahk'Zor

And even in this regard, this guy doesn't have much going for him. Let's get the most blatant fact out of the way first: His name is a pun on "haxx0r", which is internet slang for hacker. When they were making these ogre rarespawns back in the day, someone evidently really liked the idea of having several named this way...

Hahk'Zor uses the ogre "leader" model which normally pops up for stronger, more capable ogres. Their heavier armor and the big spiked fist signify their status, and many vanilla WoW ogre bosses have this model. For that reason, Hahk'Zor is quite possibly a leader of the Dreadmaul ogres.

There's just not much to say about Hahk'Zor. He's an ogre with a name, nothing more. There are a few rares like this in the game, and in my mission to cover every rarespawn, these also have to be covered. Fortunately most rares have a few more interesting facts about them.

Until next time;

~Dragonshade

Archaeology for fun and profit (but mostly profit): Digmaster Shovelphlange

2010-08-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

The virtual world of World of Warcraft is divided between the normal "zone" areas shared by all players, and the dungeon "instance" zones which are shared only by a single party (or raid) of characters. Rarespawns, interestingly, can be found anywhere, be it a normal or instanced area. Today's rarespawn is not actually found within an instance, but he does spawn in the area immediately outside one. So while not inside the Uldaman instance, today's rarespawn still properly belong to the Uldaman area.

Today's rarespawn is Digmaster Shovelphlange.

How to find the digmaster

Digmaster Shovelphlange is a rare elite goblin found in Uldaman in the Eastern Kingdoms. Uldaman is accessed from the Badlands, and in the future I will tag all dungeon entries with the zone the dungeon is located in as well.

Shovelphlange can be found in four different locations in the dig area just outside the Uldaman portal. He can be found in four of the different rooms in the dig, but does not move, so he can be easily searched for by simply checking each room in turn. He has a rather long respawn timer, and since there are several quests located in the are the odds of finding Shovelphlange alive are rather slim unless you're searching for him.

Fighting the digmaster

Shovelphlange is a hostile mob, just like the rest of the creatures in the Uldaman area. As an elite, he has a good amount of health and can be a bit of a challenge for characters too low level. However, he is a rather unsophisticated melee fighter, assuming a defensive stance and using sunder armor to debuff his opponent.

As a result, Shovelphlange shouldn't be too difficult to defeat for any class, provided you clear out any potential adds first. When defeated, Shovelphlange has not one, not two but three drops unique to him! First off, his most common drop are a pair of rather badly itemized boots. Leather with strength and stamina? I have no idea what they were thinking even back then.

His other two drops are less common, but much more interesting. The first is a nicely itemized one-handed axe which looks like a spiffy mining axe. A rather attractive item for roleplaying, even if there are other more common options. The last item is also quite neat, a helmet that looks like a mining helmet and isn't engineer-specific. There are a couple of options, one is a bind-on-pickup quest reward, and the other is a somewhat hard-to-find zone drop from the Uldaman instance itself. Whichever you choose to pursue, it is quite a cool-looking helmet for anyone who has ever dreamed of being a miner. Something to consider for Halloween, maybe?

(Keep in mind that the helmet and axe are bind-on-equip as well, so you can give them away or send them to other alts if you so wish. Or sell them.)

The lore of the digmaster

While he is not found inside the instance, Digmaster Shovelphlange is actually the only rare mob found in the Uldaman zone. A lot of old world dungeons have rarespawns inside the instance, and some actually have several. But Uldaman only has Shovelphlange. Of course, he does fit into his environment quite well.

If you have never visited the are or done the quests related to it, Uldaman is one of the three major Titan laboratories left on Azeroth, abandoned for millennia. Within lie the secrets of the Makers themselves, a fact that has attracted many malevolent beings. The major force in the dig area seems to be the Dark Iron Dwarves, and presumably Shovelphlange is an unscrupulous prospector hired by them to help in the excavation work. As twisted as they are, doubtlessly even the Dark Irons have an interest in their own origins, and their affinity to the odd creatures called Earthen.

With his title, his position in the most interesting areas of the dig and his elite status, I speculate that Shovelphlange is the overseer of the entire operation, responsible for making sure the equipment works and everything flows smoothly. Doubtless he is not the planner behind it, nor does he have any form of supreme authority, but I will guess that he is the guy making sure things blow up good and the excavation doesn't collapse on their heads. He was probably recruited from some less moral goblin cartel, like the Venture Co.

With three unique drops and a good spot in lore, Digmaster Shovelphlange is a cool rare. I hope he survives into Cataclysm and can receieve a shiny new goblin model (maybe giving him that helmet?) but we'll see, as he future is still clouded.

Until next time, don't let the dig collapse.

~Dragonshade

Great Father Arctikus - Ice troll warlord

2010-08-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Circumstances beyond my control and a severe case of writer's block have messed with my update schedule lately. To everyone reading this, I'm very sorry for that and will try to do better in the future. I was recently re-motivated by finding and photographing three more rarespawns I was missing in-game, which made me very happy. I'm not sure I'll reach completion before Cataclysm arrives, but I'm going to try!

Anyway, onward to today's entry.

Interestingly enough, starter area rares are often more interesting than those found in secondary leveling zones. For some reason, many memorable critters exist in the starter areas which have some piece of lore, a quest, unique loot or just look interesting, whereas rarespawns in the level range of 20-40 rarely have any of that. Today we're visting yet another rare mob found in the dwarven homeland of Dun Morogh, and a quite interesting one at that!

This post is about Great Father Arctikus.

Where to find Arctikus

Great Father Arctikus is a rare mob troll found inside Frostmane Hold in Dun Morogh in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Frostmane Hold is not very large, just your average-sized cavern complex. Arctikus will patrol around inside, usually walking around one of the larger chambers. Since he is on a very short respawn timer (like most starter area rarespawns), this means that he is rather easy to find.

Combat and loot

Unlike many non-elite rares, Arctikus can create a bit of a problem for an unprepared player encountering him. He is level 11, a good 3-4 levels higher than anything else in the Frostmane area, meaning a character doing quests around those lower levels may get in trouble. Furthermore he is fortified by a paladin-like Devotion Aura which reduces physical damage done to him and hits quite hard.

His most dangerous ability, however, is that he has a pair of healing spells. One is a heal-over-time and the other is a heal which will restore him to 100% health. None of his abilities pose a danger if you are close to his level or higher, but engaging him at a lower level may end up very messy. Fully restoring his health before chopping your character down is something he is perfectly capable of. Interesting how his abilities are Paladin-like, eh?

For those adventurers lucky enough to encounter and kill Arctikus at the appropriate level, he has two unique pieces of loot! One is a simple white-quality belt, and the other is a simple mace. Neither is very exciting, but it is always nice to find unique pieces of loot.

What's his story?

Compared to many rarespawns, Great Father Arctikus has a place in lore. His title and the names of his drops were good indications, but in this case we actually have a confirmation: Arctikus is the leader and ruler of the Frostmane Tribe. It's always great to find reference to a rarespawn in lore, and this confirms his place as the "big bad" of Dun Morogh, sending out his warriors to attack the dwarves and gnomes.

As with most ice trolls, Arctikus also got something of a makeover with the release of Wrath of the Lich King. With the creation of the new, beefy ice troll model used for the Drakkari and other trolls in Northrend, even their old world cousins received some attention and got upgraded. This makes sense, as according to lore the Frostmane are closely related to the Drakkari. As with the new forest troll models previously implemented, the female trolls look the same as normal jungle trolls. A shot of Arctikus' old model can be seen in the lore link above.

Finally, Arctikus is one of few rare mobs that has some unique lines. I didn't even notice this the first time I ran into him, but when he attacks you he will shout out a line in the troll language.

I must confess that I didn't actually go back with a troll character to learn what it is he's saying. Instead I just looked it up online. According to WoWhead observers, his two possible lines are:

"You dare defile Frostmane Hold, [race]. Prepare to die!"

and

"Oh, we are going to get along just fine, [name]."

I love that he has these extra lines as well, they really cement him as a unique individual within the Frostmane community. I wish more mobs had little touches like this!

In closing, Great Father Arctikus is an awesome rarespawn. He has a great model, a solid place in lore, unique drops (which fit with the lore) and even some quotes! I love this guy and think everyone who hasn't seen him should go look for him.

Until next time, watch out for troll ambushes;

~Dragonshade

Rare mobs will make you... jump, jump! Takk the Leaper

2010-08-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a good while since I feature a rarespawn that was more than a curisosity, so I figured today would be a good day to present another semi-famous one. Today's rarespawn is part of a group of old world rarespawn raptors found in several zones of Kalimdor, connected through something I will talk about at the tail end of this review. So then, on with the show.

Glimpses of Azeroth presents Takk the Leaper:

(No, I didn't race change. It was halloween, and Melisandra was in a pirate costume!)

Who is Takk and where can I find it?

Takk the Leaper is an elite rare mob raptor found in the Barrens, on Kalimdor.

Takk is found on and near the ridge in the northern Barrens close to the Sludge Fen. It roams around a bit, wandering on a small patrol path. Takk can appear in several spots, including under the large tree pictured above, right at the slope down towards Durotar. Takk is easily distinguishable from any other raptor in the Barrens by his dark grey coloration, which is very eye-catching!

Worthy of a hunter

Takk is a quite popular rarespawn to seek out and tame for hunters. It is only level 19 and not elite, making it accessible early. Furthermore, Takk has a special dark grey raptor skin shared with only two other kinds of raptors in the game. The first are deviate raptors within the Wailing Caverns, and the second are Gundrak raptors in Zul'drak.

Once, Takk had a very fast movement speed when tamed, and was thus a choice pet for many hunter stables. He could chase down enemies rapidly, a very handy trait in PvP. After the pet normalization, however, Takk has the same movement speed as any pet. However, because of this, should you want to have this color of raptor but don't want to take the time to hunt Takk down, you can grab a deviate stalker from the Wailing Caverns at anytime. These are not elite, while Takk is one, so should be easier to tame as well. Still, finding and taming a rarespawn is a reward in itself for me, as I love the thrill of the hunt. As usual, for more information on raptors as pets, consult Petopia, a brilliant resource site.

For non-hunters, slaying Takk is an easy business. While Takk is an elite, the only special ability of the raptor is a charge. It may cause some trouble for a melee character, but a ranged class should be fine. There is no special reward for slaying Takk (anymore, see below!) apart from the standard green-quality item.

Lore section

Takk is an interesting case. Due to the coloration shared with the corrupted raptors in the Wailing Caverns, one can speculate that it is another beast touched by the strange, nightmarish powers emanating from Naralex's sleep. However, Takk dwells quite far from the Caverns, and there are documented cases of raptors of this color elsewhere. Mayhap Takk is simply a rare color variation, naturally occuring. Interestingly it has been reported that Takk drops both intact raptor horns and a raptor head for two separate Barrens quests, meaning Takk seems to be a fairly normal raptor apart from its color.

The really interesting thing about Takk, of course, is that Blizzard chose to immortalize this rarespawn in the form of a non-combat pet - the Leaping Hatchling. Resembling a miniature Takk with a special "leaping" idle animation, this pet was implemented in Wrath of the Lich King. At first, the pet dropped from Takk itself, meaning that the rarespawn was suddenly under constant siege by people wanting the pet and farmers wanting to sell it. After a short while, however, this was changed so that the pet is instead obstained from a clickable item called "Takk's nest". The nest can be found in the same area as Takk, but is on a wholly independent spawn timer. Thus Takk can now live in relative peace again.

Does the presence of a nest and a hatchling mean Takk is a female? I have no idea! I have read nothing to indicate which gender cares for the nest among WoW raptors, and because of this lack of information I have gone with neutral pronouns this time.

Takk is one of those famous rarespawns, in their own way. Many hunters, especially Horde ones, can tell stories of hunting for this beast back in the day. And Takk is definently a good-looking creature to call your pet. Add to that the fact that Takk has a non-combat pet made in its honor, and you have another winner.

Until next time!

~Dragonshade

Thunder lizards of the Barrens: Thunderstomp

2010-08-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thunder lizards have been an important feature of Kalimdor ever since Warcraft III. As soon as your Horde refugees reached the new continent you (with a little help from Thrall) had to fight herds of these dangerous lightning-spitting beasties. These creatures seem to be a natural part of the fauna of Kalimdor, with no real connection to any corrupting influence. They're just there, just like the kodo.

Today's rarespawn is Thunderstomp.

What is Thunderstomp, and where do I find it?

Thunderstomp is a rare mob thunder lizard found in the Barrens of Kalimdor.

Thunderstomp can be found in the area close to the path leading to Dustwallow Marsh. Thunderstomp wanders a large area here and can be found almost anywhere east of the north-south road and south of the road into Dustwallow. Thunderstomp is a distinctive dark green in color, quite different from the reddish normal thunder lizards, and this combined with the size of the lizards make it an easy mob to spot.

Hunting the great lizards

Thunderstomp is a hostile mob and will attack anyone that gets close. It attacks by spitting a lightning bolt which jumps between enemies and with an (appropriate) Thunderclap which does AoE damage. However, neither of these abilities are very dangerous, and Thunderstomp is an easy mob to defeat for any class.

Unfortunately, thunder lizards are still not tameable by hunters. Thus, there is not much choice between slaying Thunderstomp, or letting it be. If defeated, Thunderstomp yields a generic magic item.

What is Thunderstomp's story?

As I said in the introduction, thunder lizards seem to be a quite natural form of animal life on Kalimdor. They could be descended from the stegadons of Un'Goro crater, with whom they share the distinctive back plates. In the real world, it is believed that stegosaur dinosaurs used these odd plates to control their body heat. This would be an interesting explanation for the plates of stegadons and thunder lizards as well, considering they live in very hot climates where a reptile can be in danger of overheating.

Thunder lizards would seem to be mostly herbivores, although it is possible they can kill and eat smaller animals with their lightning discharges. However, I think it is more reasonable to suspect that the electricity, large body size and defensive spikes are more likely the signs of a slow-moving herbivore. Thus, while Thunderstomp is hostile, it probably isn't out to eat you.

Thunderstomp is probably the largest, dominant thunder lizard in the area where it lives. The distinctive coloration could be the result of age.

I like rares like Thunderstomp. It looks very nice (even if the thunder lizard model looks rather bad up close, it looks good at a distance) and has an appropriate name and attack. "Visually distinctive" actually goes a long way just to make a rarespawn cooler in my book. Next time you visit the Barrens, look for this guy. He probably won't be there after Cataclysm.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

Sad-eyed bog beast of the wetlands: Mirelow

2010-08-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today's rarespawn is another bog beast (AKA "plant elemental"). These creatures are vaguely patterned after such legendary comics characters as the Swamp Thing and the Man-Thing (and by extension their grand-daddy the Heap), and this shows since they combine several design elements from those characters. Otherwise, the concept of plant-like shambling monsters are also present in Dungeons & Dragons, most likely another source of inspiration.

This entry concerns Mirelow.

Knee-deep in muck

Mirelow is a rare mob bog beast found in the Wetlands, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Mirelow is somewhat tricky to locate. It can be found wandering along the waterways of the western part of the Wetlands, only north of the road to Menethil Harbor. Without an addon that locates rarespawns, Mirelow does stick out from the other bog beasts in the area by being a mixture of green and brown (instead of pure green).

Combat and abilities

Mirelow is a very simple combatant, as are most level 20-ish rarespawns. It is not an elite, does not hit very hard, and has only one special ability (Entangling Roots, resembling the druid spell). Mirelow has very little health and can be slain like any common mob in the area.

It should not pose a danger to anyone to defeat, even at the appropriate level. When defeated, Mirelow will of course drop a better-than-average level appropriate item, usually an uncommon quality magic item. It has no special drops.

Since it's so easily slain and wanders over a very large area, Mirelow was quite tricky for me to locate. I only lucked on it once, during nighttime (not in itself unusual, many of my rare 'finds' occur during night). Finding and photographing it may take some dedicated stalking.

Lore

Mirelow is not a special rare by any stretch. I cannot think of any special lore for it that doesn't apply to any other bog beast in the Wetlands. It may be one of the tainted elementals that have arisen recently in the area which Rethiel the Greenwarden fights against.

In Mirelow's defense, though, I will say that the particular color scheme used for it (which you normally don't see used much) looks very nice. I still like the bog beast model (with the little details such as the flowers on the upper torso), although it could of course benefit hugely from being spruced up. Mirelow also looks like cool creeping through the boggy waterways of the Wetlands, giving the whole scene an almost eerie look.

All in all, a not-very-special rarespawn that at least looks cool!

Until next time;

~Dragonshade

Announcement

2010-08-03T03:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working on preparing more posts ahead of time. Ironically this has meant a few missed posts (again). However I'm convinced that in the long run, the less time I have to spend editing and preparing each post will make the blog run smoother.

Sorry for the choppy update schedule, and hang in there!

~DS

The flip side of the coin: Sentinel Amarassan

2010-07-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

In the last entry I talked about a high elf, so it seemed only fitting that I talk about a night elf in this entry. Without further ado!

This entry is about Sentinel Amarassan.

Tracking the sentinels

Sentinel Amarassan is a rare elite night elf located at Stonetalon Peak in the Stonetalon Mountains on Kalimdor.

The Sentinel is quite different from the last few rares I covered here in that she has a fixed patrol path, and quite a long one. She will walk from the entrance to the Talon Den along the mountain edge towards the exit where the road leads south. There she will turn around and walk back. This means that she is very easy to find if she is up. This also means that Horde players going for their quests inside the Talon Den or in the other nearby parts of the Peak may find themselves ambushed by her.

She is also very easy to spot, as she is the only night elf sentinel found in the southern half of the Peak.

The huntress becomes the hunted

Sentinel Amarassan is friendly towards the alliance and hostile towards the Horde, just like Jalinde Summerdrake. As an elite mob in an area of non-elites, she can be a nasty surprise for a Horde player caught unawares. Her combat consists of either spamming Wrath at ranged targets or changing into cat form and meleeing. Neither is very dangerous, but her large amount of health can pose a problem, especially if her opponent is still weak (after say fighting their way out of the Talon Den).

Be aware that Amarassan is a classic old world humanoid, and will thus run away at low health. This is, as usual, a source of annoyance if she manages to pull more mobs into the fight. If you do manage to finish her off, your reward is a standard uncommon quality magic item. No unique loot here!

Lore

Sentinel Amarassan is one of those rares who fits perfectly into her little area of the world. Stonetalon Peak is (as of this writing, it will change in Cataclysm) a verdant area under the care of the night elves. Here, druids perform their usual duty to heal and care for the land and keep the Peak free of the devastation that has befallen the rest of Stonetalon.

As such, and from her patrol path, it is clear that Amarassan is one of the defenders of the Peak. Her abilities mark her as a druid, which makes sense as "sentinel" is not the title of a specific profession, but of a duty. Sentinels scout and preserve the kaldorei forests against intruders, and while most are skilled with the bow and blade, there is no reason a druid or priest cannot become a sentinel.

Most likely, Amarassan is assigned to watch the path to the Talon Den and chase off intruders. With the number of Horde players doing quests here, it seems a valid concern that the Den is in danger. Poor Amarassan has her work cut out for her. She also has the normal sentinel uniform, which I think looks quite nice despite its age. It fits the blue/purple color scheme of night elves well.

All in all, another rare with a nice name, a nice little place in lore and some fairly unique behavior. Another memorable one to seek out and document, folks!

Until next time.

~Dragonshade

Old alliances: Jalinde Summerdrake

2010-07-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

The elves of Quel'Thalas are a divided people, shattered by tragedy, pain and death. With the Scourge ravaging their once-proud kingdom, they have become a shadow of their former power. While most of them have become the Blood Elves and allies of the Horde, a small number maintain their old ways and the name of "High Elves". Many also maintain their ties with the Alliance, while some are more neutral. Today we shall visit one such colony of High Elves.

And the subject of our entry is Jalinde Summerdrake.

Finding a ranger

Jalinde Summerdrake is a rare mob high elf found in the Quel'Danil Lodge in the Hinterlands, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

She can be found in several locations inside and outside the Quel'Danil lodge, where she will walk around her spawn point. She does not look terribly different than the other female high elves in the area, and thus is easiest to find using tracking or targetting her.

Physically, Jalinde is dressed in a comfortable and practical ranger outfit just like the other elves. She has the telltale blue eyes instead of green, showing that her magic addiction is under control. This may of course not be an issue after the restoration of the Sunwell, but still it is worth noting.

(As a curiosity, before the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, all high elves used a different, much rougher model. While I have found no image of Jalinde's original mode, some of her fellow Highvale elves can be seen here. Doubtless her model was similar. And I'm very happy they were changed!)

Bow and blade

Jalinde Summedrake is one of several rarespawns in World of Warcraft who is friendly to the Alliance and hostile towards the Horde. As she does not belong to any form of lesser faction, it is normally impossible for an Alliance player to fight her. Thus, only Horde players will ever see her in combat, which is quite likely since there are a few Horde quests in and around the Lodge.

Jalinde mainly attacks with her bow, having both poisoned shots (which leave a DoT on the target) and explosive shots (which do AoE damage). She is overall a weak combatant who can rather easily be defeated by even enemies around her level or weaker with no trouble. This is fortunate, as she is will almost certainly be drawn into combat if she is up and someone visits the area for the quests. Jalinde Summerdrake has no unique drops, which always made me sad. She should have a bow all her own, at least.

What's her story?

The Quel'Danil Lodge lies between Quel'Thalas and the lands of the ancient allies of the high elves, the dwarves and humans. As such, the outpost served as an important meeting ground and a place to monitor the dangerous forest trolls of the Hinterlands. The Highvale Rangers, part of the famed High Elf rangers, patrol the dales and mountains of the land searching for danger. Indeed, the name "Quel'Danil" itself means "High Peak" in Thalassian.

As the only named elf in the Lodge, it stands to reason that Jalinde is a commander or leader of the rangers. In the roleplaying game the Quel'Danil Lodge was said to be under the leadership of an old elf named Saldor Shallowbrook. If this is still considered canon, then it is possible Jalinde succeeded him as leader after his death or retirement, or is merely serving as a more day-to-day commander of operations.

Regardless of this, Jalinde is doubtless a staunch member of the Alliance, and holds by the old ideals of the High Elves. He future, and that of the other remaining High Elf remnants, may be explored further in the Cataclysm expansion. I rather like rarespawns like this, which make me think about the lore of a specific place, and which themselves fit a nice (if very minor) position in the overall World of Warcraft universe. Plus, Jalinde Summerdrake is a lovely name. All this combined make this a notable and fun rarespawn for me.

Until next time, watch out for forest trolls.
~Dragonshade

We're back! Mist Howler

2010-07-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

July has been steaming hot this year, with nary a cloud or drop of rain. I swear the lawn outside my window looks like it could spontaneously combust at any moment. However, I have returned home from my vacation, and I have a new rarespawn to share with you! Cataclysm looms ever closer, and I'm trying to get a few more done before it hits.

This time, the rarespawn is Mist Howler.

Who is Mist Howler and where can I find it?

Mist Howler is a rare mob wolf found in Ashenvale forest, on Kalimdor.

Mist Howler can be found prowling the western area of Ashenvale forest. Going west from Maestra's Post, the wolf can be found in the open area along the hills separating the Zoram Strand from the rest of Ashenvale. An easy way to check for it is to start at the pass leading into the Strand and then go north and south from there.

Mist Howler is easy to tell from the other wolves in the area because it has the grey wolf skin rather than the white one of the Ghostpaw wolves.

Combat and history

Mist Howler is an interesting rarespawn because of its abilities. While only level 22, it possesses an area fear (called Terrifying Howl) as well as the more common abilities of Rend and Tendon Rip. This means that trying to fight or tame this wolf may end up problematic, at least for a character around that level. If defeated, it has no special drops.

Mist Howler is of course tameable for a hunter, and if the fear effect can be avoided should be rather easy to tame. Unfortunately it does not have a unique or even very unusual skin, sharing one with several other low-level common wolves. Once, before the pet normalization, Mist Howler had a very fast attack speed (1.3 versus 2.0 standard) and a faster run speed than average, making it highly desireable for caster disruption in PvP. Alas, these days Mist Howler is just a standard wolf.

There is not terribly much else to say about Mist Howler. It has a very nicely themed name considering its Terrifying Howl, and could possibly be a pack leader or a lone older wolf of the region.

"Mist Howler" strikes me as a suitably elven name, and I wish I knew a kaldorei translation for it. It's almost poetic.

That's all for this time, I'll be back with more exciting rarespawns this week!

Until next time;

~Dragonshade

Gone fishing!

2010-07-14T00:34:00.001-07:00

Due to an overwhelming case of summer, "Glimpses of Azeroth" has gone on vacation! I'm currenly hunting rarespawns in the real world, and will return in august.

I hope you all are having an equally fun time, and I'll see you again soon!

~Dragonshade

Ravage, eject. Operation: Information gathering.

2010-07-09T03:46:00.000-07:00

It may seem like I'm currently doing a "beast" theme for the blog, constantly bringing up new rare beasts. This isn't actually intentional, honestly. Mostly I just pick out a rare I feel fits for the day, according to my own draconian ways of deciding such things. Regardless, I do like covering beast rarespawns a lot, for not only are they often quite cool-looking, they are also of special interest for anyone playing a hunter and looking for ideas for a new pet.

And fitting in well with that idea, today's rarespawn is Ravage.

Operation: Seek out

Ravage is a rare mob hyena found in the Blasted Lands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Ravage can be found roughly in the center of the Blasted Lands zone, spawning on either side of the road leading to the Dark Portal. Ravage does not wander very far, it just meanders around a small path where it spawns. This rarespawn is extremely easy to locate visually, because it has a deep purple color which stands out among all the pale snickerfang hyenas common to the zone.

Operation: Combat

Ravage is a hostile mob, but not very tough to defeat in combat. Something of interest is that Ravage has not only Infected Bite and Poison, both of which cause nature damage over time. Now, mammals do not usually have poison, but in this case there is a very good explanation. In the real world, hyenas are very resistant to bacterial infection, and can even carry rabies without developing any symptoms. Therefore, I posit that Ravage's "poison" bite is just a nasty case of septic, bacteria-filled saliva.

Unfortunately, Ravage does not have any unique drops, so a better use for it is to tame it. Hyenas are ferocity (Aka DPS) pets, and tameable by any hunter. They eat only meat, which is a nice detail consistent with real-world hyenas. Their unique ability is Tendon Rip, a semi-useful ability which lowers the enemy's movement speed. As usual, Petopia has all the information you need about taming hyenas.

While not a unique specimen, Ravage shares its appearance with only a few other mobs, and all of them are found quite a far way away. The only common purple hyenas are found in the Thousand Needles, and apart from that the only other one is a Barrens rarespawn, which we have not yet covered as of this writing. I really like the rich purple color on Ravage, and think it makes a very nice-looking pet for that reason alone.

Operation: Fact retrieval

Right, some of you are probably wondering what's up with the titles. Well, it's generally believed (but impossible to verify of course) that the hyena Ravage was named and designed after the Transformer Ravage, a decepticon. Ravage's thing was that he transformed into a cassette carried around by Soundwave until needed. When the action started, Soundwave would toss out Ravage or one of his buddies with commands like "Ravage, eject. Operation: Destruction". It was a pretty memorable part of the cartoon, and fondly remembered by geeks like me.

(And no, I will not explain what a 'cassette' was to those too young to remember it)

Apart from the reference, not much can be said for Ravage. It is likely just another powerful scavenger in a zone filled with them, and we cannot even be certain of its gender. Interestingly, hyenas are not really related to dogs (being more closely related to civets), yet in WoW you can occasionally see a mob with the hyena model tagged as a "hound" or even "mastiff". I like to think that this is just a "stand-in" to save time and money, and not that these creatures are actually hyenas.

I really like how the various idle animations look on the hyena model. Something about them scratching their ear is just neat.

A cool name, a fun nostalgic reference, and a great look ensure that Ravage is a rare I like a lot.

Until next time, don't be fooled by any robots in disguise.

~Dragonshade

Hunting wolf: Gorefang

2010-07-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Silverpine Forest is one of those regions in World of Warcraft that reminds me a lot of my native Sweden. Something about those dark, brooding pine forests and the cliffs that just appeals to me on a deep level. Of course, Sweden does not have quite as many worgen and other monsters, and fewer undead. Actually fewer wolves too, and most of them are in parks.

Today's rarespawn is Gorefang.

Basic facts

Gorefang is a rare mob worg found in Silverpine Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms.

There's a few reported spawn points for Gorefang on wowhead, but I don't think the creature truly has that wide of a distribution. I almost always find Gorefang near the Dead Field in the northern part of the zone, in the same general area as the many black worgs. Gorefang stands out because he uses the greyish worg color, and is the only worg in the zone to do so. It does not patrol very far, just pacing back and forth a small area where it spawns.

What's the story?

Gorefang is an average rarespawn when it comes to abilities and drops. It has a weak rend, and that's it. No special drops either. Thus Gorefang is an easy mob to kill, should you so wish.

One thing about Gorefang worth noting is that it is a pretty easy way to get a non-black worg for a Horde hunter. Most white and grey worgs are much higher in level (going into the 40s), or found exclusively in Alliance territory. For this reason alone, I think Gorefang is worth remembering should you ever want a nice-looking worg pet.

The idea of "worgs" or "wargs" being larger, more ferocious, more intelligent wolves is derived primarily from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, who had wargs as semi-intelligent allies to his evil forces. It is interesting to note that World of Warcraft to some degree continues the association between orcs and wargs (now worgs), and also still has orcs riding these ferocious beasts rather than horses.

While we can't say much about Gorefang (even what gender it is), the close proximity to Arugal's Shadowfang Keep may be more than a coincidence. Many pale worgen patrol the area, and the black worgs in the forest have become more dangerous and bloodthirsty at the behest of the mad archmage. Actually, were it up to me I would decide that Gorefang is a pet of Arugal's worgen servant, Wolf Master Nandos, sent out to terrorize the Forsaken settlements.

Most notable for being an easily accessible "special" looking worg for Horde players, Gorefang is still a nice-looking rarespawn which meshes well with the zone it is found in.

Until next time... don't go howling at the moon.

~Dragonshade

Corruption-resistant? : Mongress

2010-07-04T05:30:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I covered a very generic rarespawn bear named Old Vicejaw. This post covers a second rare mob bear which is basically identical to Vicejaw, and about as bland. This is the downside to being devoted to cover every rarespawn, I have to cover even the ones that there is very little to say about.

Without further ado, here's Mongress.

Short and sweet

Mongress is a rare mob bear found in Felwood on Kalimdor.

Mongress wanders around the forest of Felwood pretty close to the Emerald Sanctuary. She can be found west or north of the small druid base, wandering a small patrol path. Mongress is easy to spot even at a distance, because she has the normal bear skin, not the corrupted one prevalent in Felwood.

Be aware that Mongress is one of those mobs that sometimes spawns inside a tree. This is a somewhat common occurance in areas with lots of tree objects. I remember visting Darkshore for the first time and being attacked by bears inside trees which I couldn't target. So, just like with Lord Maldazzar, you may be able to target but not attack Mongress.

Scant facts

Mongress has a standard bear model, as mentioned, and one of the most common colorations. The standard brown bear can be found in classic, Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King content. Her only special ability is a damage-increasing enrage, and she is quite easy to defeat.

Mongress has no unique drops, and will look like any other brown bear if tamed. From the name I have guessed that Mongress is a female bear, but sadly she has no cubs to care for.

The only really interesting trivia about this rare is that it is one of few creatures in Felwood that's entirely corrupted by the lingering fel presence of demons. Presumably that is why Mongress has been given a name (perhaps by the nearby druids), noting her resistance to the decay afflicting the forest.

One of the most generic and bland rares in the game, Mongress is little more than a name and a source for a green item. Next time I'll cover something more interesting, I promise.

~Dragonshade

Demon Dogs: Bayne

2010-06-29T15:31:00.001-07:00

Today we present another rarespawn that is the only one of its type, and another starter zone mob. These are often the first rarespawns a character will ever encounter, and thus many will have fond (or not-so-fond) memories of them.

This post is about Bayne.

What is Bayne, and where can I find it?

Bayne is a rare mob darkhound found in Tirisfal Glades in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Now, according to wowhead, Bayne can be found in several locations in northern Tirisfal. However, personally I have never found it anywhere but around Stillwater Pond, just west of Brill. Stillwater Pond is a tiny body of water, and if Bayne is here it will be easy to spot. Bayne does not wander much, just doing a small patrol route around its spawn point. Whether Bayne can actually spawn in these other registered locations I do not know.

Combat and lore

Bayne is a demon, and thus cannot be tamed as a hunter pet. Interestingly, NPC's in the old world frequently have creatures with this model as pets, be they demons or beasts. However none are tameable by players. Bayne has a very fast respawn time, meaning that it is almost always found up.

As a level 10 mob right outside a starter village, Bayne can be a bit of a pain if your character is too low. It places a bleed effect on you and has an ability that slows movement speed. For any well-prepared character it should not pose much of a problem. Bayne has no unique drops, but since it is guaranteed to drop a useful item, starter area rares are frequently sought out by beginners.

Darkhounds appeared on Azeroth as a result of the demonic invasion during the Third War. Presumably they were either brought there by the Legion, or simply slipped along through the dimensional portals. Possibly a combination of these, since the creatures can be found in very diverse places.

The canine appearance and simple predator behavior seems to indicate that darkhounds are predators of low intelligence in their native environment. Lore from the roleplaying game claims that warlocks can tame them to keep as pets, though this is naturally not possible in World of Warcraft. Still, the creatures are not organized or powerful enough to pose more than a nuisance, unlike most demonic invaders. Bayne is presumably the biggest and strongest darkhound in Tirisfal, keeping the largest territory and downing the biggest prey.

And that's about it, really. Bayne is a fairly average rare (though I do love the name), and there's not much to say about it.

Until next time, don't let the demon pups bite.

~Dragonshade

Ghoul lords: Lord Malathrom

2010-06-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

Normally ghouls are among the lowest of the undead, basic troops fit only to savage enemies with their filthy claws. Normally rarespawns have one thing that distinguishes them from the large hordes of "vanilla" mobs in the game. Some rarespawns, however, have a bit better luck and are "blessed" with unique abilities, unique drops and a cool-sounding name to boot. That such a mob would happen to be a ghoul only adds to the unique situation.

This post is about Lord Malathrom.

Finding Lord Malathrom

Lord Malathrom is a rare mob ghoul found in Duskwood in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Lord Malathrom can be found in the Dawning Woods cemetery in the north-western corner of Duskwood. He will always be found underground, in the extensive catacombs honeycombing the area. He can be /target through the ground if you do not have a track undead ability, which may make the search easier. Lord Malathrom does not wander, just meanders around in the spot he spawns. However, the widespread nature of the catacombs mean that you may find yourself searching for him in vain until you are familiar with the layout.

Fighting Lord Malathrom

The Dawning Woods catacombs are filled with ghouls of different types (likely all serving the corrupt sorcerer Morbent Fel), but Lord Malathrom is quite special if engaged in combat.

Malathrom melees for average damage, and casts a Shadow Word: Pain spell. However, his special ability is to summon two small minions with the models of bog beasts. These two minions are named Sloth and Sludge, and will apply a debuff that slows the opponent down. Despite their plant elemental looks, they are classified as undead (something very rare for the elemental models and shared only with creatures like Loatheb). If the battle continues, Malathrom will keep summoning new minions with no limit. While they can be quickly killed, doing so regularily is important so as to avoid being swamped in adds.

(I apologize for not having any pictures of Malathrom's adds here. All screenshots I tried to take of them were very messy, since he only summons them in combat. Consult wowwiki for more information)

Looting Lord Malathrom

When defeated, Malathrom has two unique drops. As usual, he will only drop one of them per kill (at least as far as I know). One drop is a rather terrible caster cloak, but the other is quite interesting. It is an item called the Spiked Collar, a consumable which summons a felhunter to protect you for one hour! This creature has no special abilities and is constantly aggressive towards mobs, so take great care. However, for roleplaying it can be a fun effect, and well worth finding the item for (Keep in mind the item is Unique, and you can thus only carry one at a time).

Now, there is some evidence in the lore for "ghoul lords", more powerful ghouls which may have spellcasting ability and retain shreds of their former personality. One such creature was Horgus the Ravager, a very powerful ghoul which served the Lich King in his annihilation of the small town of Darrowshire. I do not know if Malathrom became a "lord" after his death, or if he was a nobleman interred in the cemetery before being raised as a ghoul. I would tend to believe the latter is true, and that the hapless Malathrom was a Darkshire resident before his death, possibly even a warlock or shadow priest given his drops and abilities. It seems likely that he serves Morbent Fel as a lieutenant of the undead of the area now, regardless.

With a combination of interesting abilities and a very cool drop, Malathrom is a very neat low-level rare. He is well worth seeking out!

Until next time, don't let the Scourge control you.

~Dragonshade

The fastest cat: Broken Tooth

2010-06-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned in the past, prior to patch 2.0.1, pets would come with wildly different stats and abilities when tamed, even within the same "family" of pets. One turtle was not like every other turtle. After the normalization, some rare spawns which previously had high desireable abilities became "normal" pets, and thus lost their special value. This post is about one such rarespawn.

This post, thusly, concerns Broken Tooth.

Who is Broken Tooth and where can I find it?

Broken Tooth is a rare mob cat found in the Badlands in Eastern Kingdoms.

Broken Tooth has a fairly quick respawn rate (some hours) and can be found in three general locations: Either near the narrow entry to the Badlands near Uldaman (in this spot the cat has a high risk of being killed), on the eastern side of the large mountain formation directly north of Dustwind Gulch (northwest of the Uldaman side entrance) and near Angor Fortress.

I very often find Broken Tooth near Angor, walking around the small ridge southwest of the fortress entrance. In appearance, Broken Tooth is a cougar or mountain lion, and is very easy to spot because all the other cats in the locations where it can spawn are in constant stealth. If you see a large mountain lion which isn't stealthed, it will be Broken Tooth.

Combat and former fame

Lore-wise, there isn't much to say about Broken Tooth. It is a rather large cat, and probably a dominant older specimen. I cannot be sure of its gender. While many female cats prowl the area, it struck me that Broken Tooth may be a solitary male as well. Neither does Broken Tooth have any combat abilities or drops to distinguish it. The cougar skin is one of the more common cat skins used in World of Warcraft, found in several zones between level 3 and 37 (with an oddball level 70 appearance in Zul'Aman).

Broken Tooth has a kind of small claim to fame despite this, though. Prior to the normalization of pets, Broken Tooth had the fastest attack speed possible in a pet. Whereas pets today have attack speed 2.0, Broken Tooth had speed 1.0, attacking very rapidly. This was enough reason to seek it out and tame it, because those very rapid hits would cause great trouble for enemy players in PvP.

Sadly, the glory days of Broken Tooth are long past. If tamed today, it has no special abilities. Today it is mostly just a cat with a better drop table than the rest. However, finding out facts like this are one of the reasons rarespawns intrigue me. Expect more obscure pet information in the future!

Until next time
~Dragonshade

The crystal-eaters: Scale Belly

2010-06-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Basilisks are quite common fictional creatures due to their real-world myths being rather wide-spread. Even kids today may know what a basilisk is if they're fans of Harry Potter (although that version was more serpentine in shape). The idea of a creature with a gaze so powerful and malevolent that it would instantly slay someone or even turn them to stone is an ancient concept, closely associated with the belief that the "evil eye" could have great power in the world. In World of Warcraft, while most basilisks cannot turn a player to stone, they can certainly petrify hapless NPC's. And the basilisks of the Stranglethorne jungle are no exception.

This post is about Scale Belly.

Who is Scale Belly and where can I find it?

Scale Belly is a rare mob basilisk found inside the Crystalvein Mine in Stranglethorn Vale, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Scale Belly is another stationary rare, and does not have any patrol path. Being sedentary it is rather easy to find if alive, and can be easily spotted from a distance. Whereas the common basilisks in and around the mine are green, Scale Belly is a bright orange specimen.

As mentioned in the introduction, basilisk areas in World of Warcraft often have objects resembling crystallized people and creatures in them, and as you can see by the screenshot from outside the cave where Scale Belly is, there are a few crystallized trolls and other hapless victims there. A very cool little feature, I think!

What is Scale Belly's story?

We don't know a lot about Scale Belly, not even the gender of it. It is one of the basilisks found all over the tropical area of Stranglethorn, presumably a large and powerful specimen. It could be an old male or female, and while basilisks do not appear to live in packs, an older specimen often carves out a large territory by rebuking younger and weaker creatures.

Basilisks are beasts, but cannot be tamed by hunters. Your only choice when encountering Scale Belly is to fight or avoid it. It is not a challenging fight by any stretch, as the only ability the creature has is a cone-shaped stun ability called "Crystal Flash". A few quests mention that the basilisks of Stranglethorn are fond of eating the magically charged crystals found in the zone, and derive powers from those (getting tougher scales and such). This would fit in nicely with the crystallization powers displayed.

Scale Belly has not one but two unique drops. The first are a pair of mail leggings with resistances built in. They are at least rather pretty. The other drop is a sword which has an (as far as I know) fully unique particle effect! Originally a plain weapon, the chromatic sword now lives up to its name with an aura composed of several swirling colors. While relatively useless, it is a very cool and unique-looking weapon, well worth hunting for if you like having the shiniest (literally) gear around!

The first time I "found" Scale Belly it looked like this. This has happened more times than you'd think, sometimes I've even run into the mob as it was being killed. Since there are a few quests in the mine area and several mineral nodes inside it, Scale Belly will often be slain casually by passing adventurers. Such is the fate of most rarespawns found in well-traveled areas of the game.

In closing, a plain rarespawn with a nice little lore area and a really great unique drop!

Until next time

~Dragonshade

Druid lookalike kitty: Dishu

2010-06-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

One cool twist to being a hunter in World of Warcraft is to try to find a tameable pet that looks like something else. Maybe like a famous quest mob, or a boss. Or maybe you'd like to have a pet that looks like a druid? Today's rarespawn can help you with that last alternative...

Today's rarespawn is Dishu.

Catching the cat

Dishu is a rare mob cat found in the Barrens, on Kalimdor.

Dishu may be a little tricky to find at first, but once you know where to look she should be easy to track down. Dishu will spawn lying down under one of the large trees in the northern Barrens. Starting at the Horde town of Crossroads, if you go straight north and check under every tree you will eventually find Dishu, if she is alive. Her respawn timer is fairly short, so with some luck you should be able to locate this nice-looking feline. She is always found together with regular lions, as far as I know, so looking for groups of cats is a good strategy.

As promised, Dishu has the exact same appearance as the travel form of a druid. She's spotted, and resembles a leopard more than the lions who inhabit the Barrens. Dishu is by far the lowest level mob with this appearance, the others all being found in the old world between roughly level 25 and 45.

Cat's tales

Since Dishu is so low level and found close to the Crossroads, she makes a good starting pet for a beginning Horde hunter. Cats make good pets, and having one which looks like a druid is only a bonus. While the cat and bear forms of druids have undergone some revision, the travel form remains the same as the skin of these cats. For more information on cats as pets, as usual, visit Petopia, your hunter resource.

For non-hunters, Dishu is little more than a curiosity. While she has no special drop, she does have an interesting defense mechanism. In combat, Dishu can summon a small group of cubs to her aid, which is often enough to be the end of a weakened low-level adventurer. Since she has these cubs with her, most people assume Dishu to be female. You may notice she's asleep in all the pictures. This is because one of my central ideas is not to hunt rarespawns, only photograph them. For that reason I hated to wake Dishu up, and let her snooze.

As for why Dishu is a spotted cat among a large number of lions? I have no idea. Maybe she's strayed too far from her natural habitat. Maybe she's been captured by some unscrupulous hunter and escaped. Maybe she's a rare color variation on the normal Barrens lions? I have no idea.

What I do know is that Dishu is a nice-looking kitty to take for a pet. With her druid looks and the fact that not many people use this variety of cat for a pet, she makes for a nice find!

Until next time, remember to pet your kitties.

~Dragonshade

Micro-lore: Varo'then's ghost

2010-06-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest forms of rarespawn is the one connected to lore. These are the creatures you can find legends about, get unique items from and which tie in with the Warcraft Universe as a whole. Sometimes it is a big story, sometimes it's a small one. Sometimes it is a reference that you will not get until you look beyond the game itself. In this article, we explore the lore of such a rarespawn.

This post is about Varo'then's Ghost.

The basics

Varo'then's ghost is a rare mob ghost found in Azshara on Kalimdor.

This undead spirit is found around the Shadowsong Shrine in the very western-most part of Azshara. He can be found in a few different locations, sometimes up on the ruined temple on the small hill, sometimes down among the fallen masonry. The area is very easy to reach from either the horde or the alliance flight point, and once there Varo'then's Ghost can be recognized from a distance as the only blue/clear colored ghost among the many green ones. He patrols quite a distance, so some quick searching may be required.

In combat, Varo'then's Ghost is pitiful. He casts a feeble curse of weakness and simply wades in to attack, being easily dispatched by any class. He also provides no specific drop, nor does he have any quotes. Indeed, to find the truth about him we must turn to the world of books...

What's his story?

As many of you may be aware, Azshara was once a central area of Old Kalimdor, one of the prime seats of the Highborne kaldorei. Before the land was shattered by the Sundering, this was the site of many ancient cities and strongholds, which is why the land is now pocked by ruins and haunted by highborne spirits.

One of the most faithful servants of Queen Azshara, ruler of the Highborne, was none other than captain Varo'then. He had risen to power after the fall of Xavius to become captain of the royal guard and personal envoy of the queen. Together with Illidan Stormrage he participated in the mission to retrieve the legendary Demon Soul, returning it to Azshara.

In the final battles between the queen's forces and the kaldorei rebelling against her mad schemes, Varo'then stood by his queen, leading her elite forces. Loyal to the end, he perished in the battle, as did most of his soldiers. In truth, he secretly loved Azshara, and was willing to sacrifice anything for her, even his life. These events are chronicled in the War of the Ancients Trilogy by Richard A Knaak.

Despite the controversy surrounding Knaak's Warcraft fiction, quite a few of his creations have managed to enter World of Warcraft itself. Varo'then is one of them. Alas for the loyal captain, wheras his queen and his contemporary Illidan have gone on to become creatures of terrifying power in the game, Varo'then is almost nothing. Reduced to a ragged spirit, wandering the ruins of the world he knew, there is no solace for him for his betrayal. Not even in death.

With the Cataclysm coming to reshape the world once again, and Azshara being changed fundamentally, it seems that Varo'then may vanish from the game as well. He will leave behind little but a name, and a memory. Seek him out while you still can.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

Screeching harpies: Sister Riven

2010-06-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Wer're back after a brief hiatus.

Stonetalon mountains are a zone in constant conflict. The night elves strive to preserve the natural habitats of the area, the horde seek to make a new settlement for themselves, the Venture Company seek to exploit the natural resources of the peaks as much as they can... and in the middle of all this, native creatures like harpies are a danger to everyone.

This post is about Sister Riven.

Who is Sister Riven and where can she be found?

Sister Riven is a rare elite harpy found in the Charred Vale in Stonetalon Mountains, on Kalimdor.

This harpy stands out among the rest of her kin due to her rich green plumage and large size. She can be found in any of the harpy colonies in the Charred Vale, and will fly around a small area. She is usually surrounded by large groups of regular harpies, so adventurers around her level should be very careful.

What's her story?

Unusually, Sister Riven fights almost entirely with spells. While harpies frequently know a magic trick or two, those that are content to stand back and pummel their enemies with magic are much fewer in number than those who desire to shred the flesh of the living with their talons.

Riven's element of choice is fire, and she has a fire shield, a fire area attack and a direct-damage fire spell to turn foes into ash. Engage her with caution, as she has quite a lot of health and as chasing her around may cause more harpies to attack. Sadly, she has no unique drops.

Her spellcasting ability may be the reason she has a name known by other races. She is special enough among her harpy sisters for her name to gain some degree of fame, or infamy. Possibly the title "sister" is a sign of respect among her peers as well. As with most the Stonetalon harpies, Riven is most likely one of the Bloodfury, an especially vicious harpy colony who refuse to let the night elves into the Charred Vale to attempt to save it from devastation.

Despite her murderous intent, Sister Riven is a lovely-looking rarespawn. The harpy model still looks nice (while of course it would look even better with a slight upgrade) and the green color is gorgeous, reminiscent of a tropical bird. A very nice rare to spot.

Until next time!
~Dragonshade

50th rarespawn: Qirot

2010-06-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

Somewhat amazingly, this is the fiftieth rarespawn I have covered in this blog. It feels like just yesterday that I started out gathering up rarespawn screenshots and assembling text snippets and fun facts. On a whole I rather like how the blog has turned out so far, and would love to hear more from you, the people reading it. What do you like and dislike? Any suggestions for the future?

With that being said, I figured the occasion called for a rarespawn that is interesting, and I have chosen one of the coolest-looking ones for this purpose.

This post is about Qirot.

Secrets of Feralas

Qirot is a rare mob silithid found in Feralas, on Kalimdor.

Qirot can be found inside the Writhing Deep, the silithid hive in southern Feralas. Qirot will usually be found rather stationary in one of the underground chambers of the hive (quite often in the vicinity of the cocoon containing the captive Raschal, the objective of an alliance quest. Qirot is a silithid wasp, and unfortunately an uncategorized creature. However, while Qirot is thus not trackable, it is remarkably striking and easy to recognize.

Qirot has a very nice white carapace with black markings, something quite unique among all the green silithid wasps in the same hive. There are not many white silithid wasps outside of raid instances, and seeing Qirot in the "wild" is quite a sight. The wasp model is really nicely designed, with clacking mandibles, legs, large wings and the stinger slung under the body.

The crawling threat

Feralas is one of the zones neighboring Silithus to which silithids have spread. While it is not the most northern location of a silithid nest (that would be the Field of Giants in the Barrens), it is still remarkably close to both alliance and horde settlements. The Zukk'ash silithid even seem to waylay the occasional traveler, and no doubt cause quite a problem for the local ogres, gnolls and yeti.

An interesting aspect of the silithid is that they are frequently described as "insects". This implies that they are similar to normal insects, but not many types of silithids have six limbs. In fact, most only have four. I suppose calling them "insects" is more in line of calling aliens "bugs" because of superficial resemblance. As noted, while many silithids are today classified as beasts (some even being tameable), the wasps are still usually unclassified and thus not tameable by hunters.

Ignoring classification, Qirot has a venomous stinger and will aggressively attack anyone entering the hive. It does not have any special drops, and is not much of a threat.

What's the story?

I would guess that Qirot was named by one of the nearby sentient races on the ground of its odd coloration. Weirdly colored animals have always been the focus of legends and stories, and doubtless a huge white wasp would impress even the hardened races of Azeroth.

For the most part, wasps seem to serve the role as soldiers and guards of the silithid hives. Perhaps Qirot is such a hive guard, patrolling the zukk'ashi tunnels in searh of intruders. I doubt that silithids have much in the way of personalities or a sense of identity, so Qirot probably only consider itself anything but a tiny cog in the enormous silithid hierarchy.

In conclusion, Qirot may not have a lot of identity, but it is a strikingly beautiful mob. I constantly feel sad that these creatures are not tameable (odd since some other wasps are). Qirot is well worth seeking out just for the sight.

And with that, onward towards the 100th rarespawn! Hope you enjoy the ride with me.

~Dragonshade

Related in name only: Gruff Swiftbite

2010-06-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Gnolls are based on hyenas, and like hyenas they are social and hunt in packs. Thus, when you find one gnoll you will find a large number of others. The gnoll camp in Elwynn forest thus contains a large number of the creatures, including their infamous leader and one other named gnoll. The other named gnoll is of course a rarespawn.

This post concerns Gruff Swiftbite.

Who is Gruff Swiftbite and where can I find him?

Gruff Swiftbite is a rare mob gnoll found in Elwynn Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Gruff and his fellow gnolls are found in the westernmost edge of Elwynn Forest. The area is surrounded rivers to the west, south and east, and the road leading into Westfall runs directly to the north. Gruff can be found pacing around any of the small camps in the area, and is not easy to spot visually as he looks very similar to the normal gnolls.

Fighting Gruff

If engaged, Gruff will simply wade into melee, swinging wildly at the opposition. He is little more than a slightly buffed version of the regular gnolls around him. Of course, the surroundings are a reason to be cautious, because the many many gnolls around (many of which patrol themselves), not to mention Hogger himself, may be drawn into the combat, which may be rather unpleasant for a low-level adventurer.

While Gruff is not terribly hard to defeat, nor very visually distinctive, he does have a unique drop (of uncommon quality no less, unusual for a starter zone rare). This drop is his pants (no pun intended), the boarhide leggings. This makes perfect sense, as Elwynn is the home of swine of many kinds and I can easily imagine Gruff and his fellow gnolls heading just over the river to poach some boars. Heck, with a little imagination I can even believe the creature is wearing the leggings.

Gruff also drops another item which actually explains a lot about the gnoll presence in Elwynn forest. This is the Gold Pickup Schedule, a quest-starting item which can drop from several different gnolls here, but Gruff has a high droprate for it. This quest reveals that the gnolls are working for the Defias Brotherhood and the local overseer, Morgan. As I mentioned earlier, the invisible network of criminals and dangerous monsters that involves the Defias Brotherhood is the focus of several starter zones, and this is just a small part of it.

As a result, I'd like to think that Gruff is one of the leaders of the Elwynn gnolls, serving under Hogger to perform some of the more menial duties that the other gnoll thinks is beneath him. Or maybe Gruff is the clever one, and thus entrusted with such delicate matters more readily by their Defias overseers.

The most amusing thing about Gruff, however, is that he shares his name with another rarespawn, immensely removed. This other Gruff (no surname) is a dinosaur in far-away Un'goro crater. As a result of this, for a long time the WoW item database confused the two creatures, and the Boarhide Leggings dropped from both. Getting a green item suited for a level 8 must have been something of a surprise after downing a level 57 elite. Fortunately (or unfortunately if this amuses you), this bug was fixed in patch 3.1.

With a neat little role to fill in the large story of the Defias infiltration, and close proximity to one of the most feared named mobs in the game, Gruff Swiftbite has a place in lore and in the game, however humble. The fact that he also provides a quest, an interesting feature for any rarespawn, is an added bonus.

Until next time, don't try to solo Hogger.

~Dragonshade

Fire in the hole: Scald

2010-06-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Searing Gorge is one of the most distinctive zones in the Eastern Kingdoms. Dominated by a huge rent in the earth called the Cauldron, which is dominated by the cruel Dark Iron dwarves, the zone is in my view the nicest of the "scorched wasteland" areas in classic World of Warcraft. The Gorge also has several rarespawns, of which today's subject is one.

This post is about Scald.

Fiery destroyers

Scald is a rare mob fire elemental located in the Searing Gorge in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Scald can supposedly spawn in several spots in the Cauldron, but I have always found him in the same spot. That spot is at the far western edge of the Cauldron, in a small lava pool at the bottom of the deep gorge. There are usually a few normal fire elementals standing in the way here, and Scald looks identical to these. This rarespawn is entirely stationary, it's just a matter of finding him alive.

Scald has no special abilities beyond that he shrugs off fire-based damage (many classic WoW elementals are immune or highly resistant to their own element). He is merely a somewhat larger and stronger fire elemental with no unique drops.

Children of fire

While Scald does not have any distinguishing features of his own (or its own, it's hard to speak of genders when discussing animated balls of pure element), why Scald can be found where he is makes sense. The Searing Gorge is a region close to Blackrock Mountain, where the firelord Ragnaros rules his dark iron puppets and countless elemental servants from the Molten Core.

Doubtless Scald is one of Ragnaros' lesser servants, sent from the Core to oversee the operations in the Cauldron. The firelord seems to not entirely trust his dwarf servants, and frequently dispatches his elementals to keep an eye on important operations. A good example of this is Overmaster Pyron, found in the mine at the entrance of Blackrock Depths.

Scald's name is of course a synonym for "hot", another trend among named fire elementals. Their names are usually fire-related, unsurprisingly. While there isn't a lot to say about rarespawns like this, I must add that I do like the designs of elementals in WoW. The fire elementals look suitably fiery and destructive, and the non-humanoid design helps designate them as something other than the many mortal races.

In closing, Scald is another mediocre rare which looks cool and is rather hard to find.

Until next time, stay out of the fire!

~Dragonshade

Furbolgs of Ashenvale: Oakpaw

2010-06-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

Furbolgs are another sentient race introduced in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Like satyrsm quilboar and tauren, furbolgs were interesting additions to the previously rather generic Warcraft universe. Furbolgs were introduced as unaffiliated monsters and sometimes helpful NPC's, and the game also set the theme of the demonic corruption of the peaceful bear-people into ravenous, slavering monsters. Today tribes of such corrupted furbolgs exist all of Kalimdor and Northrend, including Ashenvale.

This post is about Oakpaw.

Who is Oakpaw and where can I find him?

Oakpaw is a rare mob furbolg found in Ashenvale on Kalimdor.

Oakpaw can be found wandering around the corrupted furbolg settlement of Greenpaw Village, located south of the east-west road and directly north of Mystral Lake. The area has quite a few generic furbolg mobs, but Oakpaw's black coloration makes him stand out among them.

What's his story?

Oakpaw does not have a plethora of abilities or any special drops to distinguish him from the other furbolgs in Greenpaw Village. He has a rejuvenation spell to heal himself, but is apart from that an easy fight. Most likely he is a tribal shaman working for the resident leader of the Foulweald furbolg, chief Murgut.

The Foulweald furbolg are the focus of a rather famous questline, "Raene's Cleansing". This alliance-only questline has your character travel Ashenvale to aid the night elf Raene Wolfrunner in halting the threat of the corrupted furbolgs. Notably, this questline rewards you with Dartol's Rod of Transformation, a novelty object that allows you to transform into a furbolg for a short time. Once consumed by completing the questline, the rod will nowadays remain in your inventory for an unlimited number of uses.

After your efforts in combating the corrupted furbolgs, it is possible that some of these creatures will be cleansed and one day become peaceful again. The influence of creatures like satyrs and demon-tainted fel moss is implicated in the corruption of most tribes, although the presence of the Burning Legion is always a possible source as well.

Sadly, even when using the Rod you cannot communicate or make any form of peace with Oakpaw, so whatever wisdom the creature may have once had will likely be lost forever.

Until next time, stay off the fel moss.

~Dragonshade

More ruins more naga: Lady Vespira

2010-06-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

The reason that naga are frequently found in ancient ruins all over Azeroth has never been fully explained, I think. I assume one of the reasons is that the ruins are old kaldorei settlements which may once have been important to the Highborne, and the naga haunt them out of sentimentality. Another possibility is that they are searching for ancient artifacts of importance to them. Whatever the reason, coastal areas with ruins are often populated with naga, and today we spotlight yet another rarespawn naga found in such an area.

This post is about Lady Vespira.

Who is Lady Vespira and where can I find her?

Lady Vespira is a rare mob naga found in the ruins of Mathystra in Darkshore, on Kalimdor.

Vespira can be found in several spots around the large pit in the rough center of the ruins. She does not wander too far and has a different color and weapon than the other female naga in the area, and is thus easy to find.

You may remember that I mentioned Vespira when discussing her twin in Ashenvale. However, while they share almost the same name, the two are not twins in appearance. Vespia in Ashenvale is an orange-scaled naga with purple fins, while Vespira in Darkshore is a blue-scaled one with green fins. As I mentioned, I like the naga models, even if these are all the original versions which did not have access to a number of different weapon and armor textures.

For some reason, while she carries a halberd, Vespira only engages in ranged combat normally. She shoots, has a forked lightning attack and a knockdown. This is also in contrast with Vespia, who uses frost-based attacks. Forked and chain lightning are something of signature attacks for female naga, as it was one of the abilities Lady Vashj had in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Nonetheless, Vespira is easily beaten in combat.

Mistress of Mathystra

Before the Sundering, Mathystra was a kaldorei city. Today only naga dwell here in any permanent fashion (though this may of course change in Cataclysm). The naga tribe who dwell in this area of Darkshore are the Stormscale, and it is likely that Lady Vespira belongs to this tribe.

It is not improbable that she is the leader of the expeditionary force sent to Mathystra. Certainly her abilities set her apart from the lesser naga, as well as the fact that she carries a title. As noted before, naga are very fond of their titles. Vespira is also set apart by having not one but two unique magic item drops. Both are bind on equip and may be traded. She has a dagger (with a rather nice, stylish look to it) and a ring. I want to note that black pearls were quite rare and expensive things back during classic World of Warcraft, and Vespira carrying a ring with such a pearl is a nice nod to her station as well.

I also want to note that one of the reasons the naga are at Mathystra is due to an original design decision which was changed. Originally, during the alpha of WoW, the entrance to Blackfathom Deeps was located here. In fact, you can still see the old entrance there today. It is identical to the present one in Ashenvale too. In fact, the earliest manuals shipped with World of Warcraft had Blackfathom marked as being in Mathystra, but it had already been moved when the game was released. A fan theory is that Lady Vespia was created as a counterpart to Lady Vespira once the BFD entrance changed location, but I have no idea why they would bother with this for just a single rarespawn.

And there you go, a combination of interesting fun facts make Vespira quite fun, in my opinion. She is also one of those rarespawns I remember from my days in vanilla, as I once managed to run into her and loot that ring. Sharing personal memories is one of the best bits in rarespawn hunting!

Until next time
~Dragonshade

Another tiny ogre: Enforcer Emilgund

2010-05-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

I spent an earlier post talking about an ogre rarespawn in Loch Modan who was rather small. It's quite common for mobs to be bigger in high-level zones than in low-level ones, and to demonstrate I will offer another very small ogre rare mobs for your inspection.

This post is about Enforcer Emilgund.

The smallest ogre in the world?

Enforcer Emilgund is a rare mob ogre found in Mulgore, on Kalimdor.

Emilgund can be found in only one spot, and has a very short respawn timer. He will almost always be found standing outside one of the small huts in the Venture Company camp north of Thunder Bluff.

I have only done a very casual search, but it seems Emilgund is the lowest level hostile ogre you can encounter in the game. He is also the only hostile ogre found in all of Mulgore, and thus quite stands out among the goblins and gnolls! He is only level 11, and not an elite. He also has absolutely no special abilities or attacks, but hits quite hard. For any class that can soften him up at range he is a rather trivial fight, but he might cause some slight problems for a melee class.

Amusingly, his low level is matched by his stature. Emilgund is tiny!

He looks rather irate, trying to punch Melisandra out.

What's his story?

For once, the story is perfectly clear. A simple thing like a title or description in the name of a rarespawn really makes all the difference. Clearly Emilgund is an enforcer hired by the Venture Company to guard their projects in Mulgore. Quite a few of their operatives are making inroads to try to exploit the natural resources of the region. In response, the tauren are defending their lands against these reckless invaders who care nothing for the balance of nature.

An ogre is a perfect enforcer. They work for cheap (possibly even just for food), love bashing things, and lack the intelligence and drive to try and cause trouble other than getting into fights. Thus Emilgund probably fills his job very well, acting as cheap labor and an obvious show of force for the Venture Co.

Enforcer Emilgund rounds out my unannounced "starter zone" theme week. Next week I will return to a more mixed variety of rarespawns.

Until next time, never hire a goblin to do an ogre's job!

~Dragonshade

Spotted nightsaber: Duskstalker

2010-05-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

There are a large number of tameable cats in World of Warcraft, and for a long time nightsaber cats have been a popular first pet for night elf hunters, since these cats are found in large numbers on Teldrassil. Cats come in a variety of colorations and fur patterns, but the spotted type is one of the less common. Easily found as low-level mobs in Teldrassil, these cats are often discarded for more "exotic" looking felines later. Still, in Teldrassil they are common enough to have a rarespawn all their own.

This entry is about Duskstalker.

What is Duskstalker, and how do I find it?

Duskstalker is a rare mob spotted nightsaber cat found near Lake Al'Ameth on Teldrassil, in Kalimdor.

Duskstalker is not very hard to find. It prowls the area south of Lake Al'Ameth, and can be found almost anywhere directly south of the lake. Doing a quick sweep east-west should allow you to spot the beast, and since it is on a very short respawn timer, Duskstalker is almost always found there.

Story of the spotted cat

As with most rarespawns, there is little lore to tell us anything about Duskstalker. As I mentioned, the spotted variety is not seen very often. Generally this cat skin can be found in three areas (with the odd possible exception): Teldrassil, Stonetalon Mountains and inside the Black Morass instance in the Caverns of Time.

Now, fur patterns on carnivores usually act to obscure the outline of the animal in its natural environment, acting as camouflage, which is useful when stalking prey. Since all the spotted nightsaber varieties that can be found in World of Warcraft occur in densely wooded areas, it would seem that the spots act as camouflage among the dense undergrowth of older forests. Likely, the spotted sabercats split off from the striped variety through natural variation.

Duskstalker is likely an older specimen of spotted sabercat which has been named by the night elves of Teldrassil. Since it seems to keep some distance to the bigger congregations of regular cats, it may be an older male which prefers solitary hunting. Nightsabers do not appear to be pack hunters, or at the very least maintain only a very loose social structure. This is actually quite common in real-world felines found in forest regions as well. How various animal species got to this artificially created tree has not yet been revealed, but it seems likely they were intentionally transported there.

A nightsaber of your own

As with most cats, Duskstalker can be tamed. It is not unique in color, though, and actually looks exactly like any other spotted cat found on Teldrassil. If instead you chose to fight it, you will find it is an easy fight, with no really threatening ability. Neither does Duskstalker possess any special drops.

If anything, I would recommend seeking out and taming Duskstalker (or one of the identical spotted cats) just because it is very rare to see a hunter with one these days. It may be that people consider the skin to be too "plain" as it is found in a starter area, something which applies to a lot of hunter pets. For cats, you see many many people with King Bangalash or Pitch, but few with the "ordinary" cats.

Finally, it is interesting to note that the offspring of the troll goddess Har'koa appear as black spotted nightsabers with glowing red eyes when they are cursed. When uncursed they appear as their parent.

Until next time, chose a pet you like, not a pet that everyone talks about.

~Dragonshade

Sexual Dimorphism: Geolord Mottle

2010-05-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed in a few of my reviews that I've been unable to even tell what gender a particular rare mob may be. This is not terribly surprising. After all, creating two separate models is twice the work, and outside of the player races gender equality is not as important. In most cases. Then again, whereas we still have not seen a female ogre or broken draenei, some races do have female models. Quilboars are one of those races.

This entry concerns Geolord Mottle.

Back to Durotar

Geolord Mottle is a rare mob quilboar found in Durotar, on Kalimdor.

Mottle is the second rare quilboar in this zone, and complements Captain Flat Tusk. Like Flat Tusk, Mottle can be found in several of the quilboar camps surrounding the western road to the Barrens.

What sex is my quilboar?

As indicated by the title, quilboars have two different models. It would be easy to assume that the "warrior" style quilboars (which use models similar to Flat Tusk) are male and the "caster" quilboars found wearing robes and using magic are female. Certainly there are several examples of "warrior" quilboars having male titles, and "casters" having female ones. Unfortunately, as demonstrated by Mottle here, it's not that easy. Mottle has the "caster" model but a male title ("Geolord").

Now, it is certainly possible that "lord" in this case is used as a gender-neutral title. It is also possible that male quilboars do become casters, but more rarely than females. A closer examination of the "caster" quilboar model does seem to indicate that it has breasts, though (this is much closer than I ever wanted to look at a quilboar *shudder*). As such, I feel it is fairly safe to call Mottle a "she".

It is interesting that such a minor race would get a proper female model, whereas some other very prominent races with which you have constant dealings (ogres spring to mind) do not. I guess someone at the developing team liked the quilboar a lot! It is also important to note that quilboar sexes are not as wildly differentiated as those of some other races (such as trolls or draenei).

Earthmagic

The quilboar have strong shamanistic traditions, and often command powers associated with shamans. It is not uncommon to find quilboars commanding elementals or using totems, or replicating player shaman spells. Mottle (being such a low level mob) only uses two spells, but those fit well with the theme. She surrounds herself with a lightning shield and uses healing magic to heal her wounds (or those of any other mob involved in the fight). The fact that Mottle can heal herself up fully can make her dangerous for underpowered adventurers.

Despite this, Mottle is a significantly easier fight than Flat Tusk, and should pose little threat. She has no special drops.

A rather average rare, Mottle still serves as an early lesson about the danger of enemy healers, and the fact that quilboars have different models for males and females is an interesting curiosity in itself.

Until next time
~Dragonshade

We hunger for flesh! : Rot Hide Bruiser

2010-05-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Gnolls are another of those minor sentient races of the Warcraft setting that just never seem to get their own storyline or a big feature. When the biggest claim to fame for your entire race is a rather vicious level 11 quest mob who is famous for killing newbies... you just don't have too much to brag about. Gnolls are almost entirely lifted from Dungeons & Dragons, being hyena-like savage scavenger humanoids and that is about it. With no real history and no large context to place them in, gnolls are just kind of "there", monsters to menace the more peaceful races and harass new adventurers.

Today's entry is about one such low-level opponent, the Rot Hide Bruiser.

Undead gnolls in the woods

The Rot Hide Bruiser is a rare mob undead gnoll found on Fenris Isle in Silverpine Forest, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Found inside Fenris Keep, the Bruiser dwells with a large number of other rot hide gnolls, and can be quite tricky to track down. He can spawn in a number of different locations, seemingly always indoors. However, given the huge number of possible nooks and crannies within the buildings inside the keep, finding him can be a chore. Using /target or some sort of tracking is almost required.

Annoyingly, several times when I located him he was parked facing a wall inside the ruined smithy inside the keep, with a number of other gnolls around him. Since he does not wander, it turned out to be impossible to turn him around for good shots. Fortunately persistence won in the end, and I found him standing in a much better spot inside one of the other buildings. Returning to hunt down a rarespawn twice or even more times just to get good pictures to post is actually something I do a lot, which is why you will sometimes see both night and day pictures within the same post.

The Bruiser's tale

Now, most rarespawns in World of Warcraft have a name. They are almost always named mobs, whether it is a given name or a title. Some unfortunate rare mobs don't have names, though, only being referred to by a rough description.

As such, the Bruiser is just that. An undead gnoll bruiser. The rot hide gnolls succumbed to the plague when the Scourge swept through Lordaeron during the Third War. Afterwards, the sorcerer Thule Ravenclaw, who had sworn his soul to the Lich King, became their ruler in undeath. Betraying all former bonds of friendship and loyalty, this hateful magus now rules Fenris Isle from the keep, guarded by a large number of rot hide guards. In all likelyhood, the Bruiser was just an unusually brawny gnoll who was thus reanimated as a warrior thrall of Ravenclaw.

While a rather unremarkable rare mob, the Bruiser does have a few things that make it stand out. First off, it is about six levels stronger than the rest of the mobs on the island. While not an elite, this makes him a rather frightening prospect for characters around level 16 visiting the island for quests. Secondly, he has not one but two unique BoE drops, a club and a belt. The club is not the same model as the bruiser wields (he goes with the more traditional board with a nail in it) but it is at least close enough.

Finally, as there is not much to say about the mob itself, a few words of opinion. The gnoll model is, quite frankly, terrible. While it looks very much like the Warcraft III rendition of gnolls, compared to the smoother and more detailed graphics of WoW it looks angular, undetailed and unappealing. The blocky feet and legs, the lack of detail on arms and hands... I believe this is the reason that gnolls have never been featured much except in starter zones and as odd NPC's. If any race desperately needs a model overhaul, gnolls would be my first pick.

Until next time, don't let the undead gnolls bite.
~Dragonshade

Dark Seduction: Lady Hederine

2010-05-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, some creatures become rare mobs more often than others. In World of Warcraft you can often notice a gradient of what kind of mobs are used, and how often their respective models show up is dependant on that. For example, in the original game you generally only encountered Dreadlords as bosses or very tough endgame mobs, and thus you would not see a dreadlord rarespawn in a lower-level zone. Also, some models are just not used as often as others. For example the wight model is very rarely seen, and was even more so in classic WoW. Today we spotlight a rarespawn that is the only one of its kind in the entire game.

This post spotlights Lady Hederine.

Who is Lady Hederine and where can I find her?

Lady Hederine is an elite rare mob succubus found in Darkwhisper Gorge in Winterspring, on Kalimdor.

Darkwhisper Gorge is a demon-haunted and corrupted region of Winterspring where Archimonde's forces staged their campaign to assault the world tree at Mount Hyjal. Interestingly the gorge also houses an errant high elf ghost and a greedy imp merchant. Within this accursed region, Lady Hederine can be found standing in one of several spots within the many canyons of the area. She does not seem to wander, and is thus fairly easy to spot among the many patroling succubi in the area. Despite not being the focus of many quests, the area is still sometimes farmed for Thorium, and thus finding Lady Hederine alive may be somewhat tricky depending on the population of your server. Her respawn timer is also quite long.

Temptresses of the Nether

Succubi are one of many demonic species forming the Burning Legion. Their proper species name is "Sayaad", although it is used in only one instance in the game. Presumably, "succubus" is a human or elven word for the creatures, which seemingly are quite well-known to the mortal races of Azeroth. Due to their seductive appearance and dangerous powers over the mind, they are often enslaved by warlocks, and used when a more subtle approach is needed. Succubi do not seem to rise into positions of power within the Legion very often, although they have leaders among their own kind known under titles such as "Queen of Suffering".

As mentioned in the introduction, Lady Hederine is (so far) the only rarespawn Succubus in the game. This is not a common thing, and she shares this honor with only a few other creature types. She does not have an uncommon coloration or any other remarkable features, but the succubus model is well-designed and animated, and thus looks quite good. The "monster" version of the succubus is identical to the warlock pet, which was revised rather early during classic WoW to be less scantily clad. However, this revision also made the model less angular and more detailed, so is overall an improvement in my mind.

The demons of Darkwhisper Gorge are all elite, and were never demoted to regular mobs at the time when most other world elites were. During classic WoW it was a dangerous zone to enter, even for a well-geared level 60. True to form, Lady Hederine is very dangerous in combat for adventurers around her level. She cannot be stunned, has a mind control ability that lets her take over both players and pets, likes to use fear on things she cannot control, and has a very strong Shadow Word: Pain. In addition to this her physical attacks are quite powerful. Take this into careful account before engaging her.

Although she has no unique drops, if defeated she has a good chance to drop Felcloth and Demonic Runes, very much in keeping with her demonic nature.

Demonic royalty?

The demon forces in Darkwhisper Gorge stubbornly remained even after the death of Archimonde and the dispersal of most of the Legion forces. Interestingly enough one can infer a bit about Lady Hederine as well. Tellingly, all types of demons inside the gorge have "Hederine" before their name (IE "Hederine Slayer"), so it seems almost certain that she is the leader of the remaining forces. This is also backed up by her personal power.

Interestingly, as I said earlier succubi are almost never seen in command of Legion forces. I am theorizing that possibly Lady Hederine was second-in-command or a lower-rank commander of the demonic forces stationed there, and that the higher ranking demons were all wiped out during the disastrous attack on Nordrassil. As the remnants of the forces withdrew, Lady Hederine decided that her time had come and seized control of the demons. Her epithet of "lady" may even be self-proclaimed.

Why aren't there more rarespawn succubi? I have no idea, honestly. They look more detailed and better animated than many of the creatures of which there are half a dozen rarespawn. Maybe Blizzard think that not making the various types of demons too common helps in making them feel more unique and more of a threat when encountered? As we will see, demons are not very commonly used as rarespawns overall.

Since Mount Hyjal will open as a zone with the release of Cataclysm and since Darkwhisper Gorge will gain an all-new focus as a quest area, the future fate of Lady Hederine and her demons looks uncertain. However she is an interesting and unique rare, with a nice place in lore, and thus deserves to be remembered.

Until next time.
~Dragonshade

Straight to the heart: Heartrazor

2010-05-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

If you have a Horde character, chances are you've flewn on the back of a wyvern at some point. Ever since the Horde came to Kalimdor, they have shared a special bond with these majestic flying creatures, and indeed one form of basic flying mount available to a Horde character is a wyvern. Therefore, it's not terribly surprising to find that there are wyvern rarespawns as well.

This post is about one such rarespawn, Heartrazor.

To find a wyvern

Heartrazor is a rare elite wyvern who can be found in Highperch, a small area located atop the high canyons of Thousand Needles. Located deep in the heart of Kalimdor, Highperch can be accessed by climbing a small path up the southern cliff walls of the Needles marked by a large tauren totem.

Heartrazor will be found slowly flying in a long path around the eastern edge of Highperch. He is most commonly found in the elevated area to the east (near Pao'ka Swiftmountain, a tauren questgiver for Horde players) and will slowly circle this part, reaching the edge of the slope leading down to the rest of Highperch as he does.

Heartrazor is quite easily spotted even at a casual glance. He has a pale coat of fur with a slight green-blue tint, and a purple mane. The regular wyverns in the area are all a mottled brown. Heartrazor is also the only elite among them as well, and always has been (that is, the regular wyverns were not once elite and later downgraded to "regular" mobs). He also seems to be a bit larger than the average wyvern.

What is his story?

Highperch is a wyvern breeding ground where these majestic predators lay and care for their eggs. The tauren have evidently known of this place for a long time and guided their new-found orc and troll allies here, where the bold may try to tame a wyvern. The less scrupulous may try to steal an egg or a young cub.

While wyverns are quite intelligent and very faithful once tamed, wild wyverns are still predators, and will fiercely defend their territory and young. Furthermore, some hunt the wyverns, making them even more reclusive and wary of outsiders. As a result, the wyverns of Highperch, including Heartrazor, are quite aggressive towards outsiders, something which can cause complications when escorting Pao'ka to safety.

Heartrazor is quite powerful and has a good amount of health, also injecting opponents with a strong venom through his stinger. He is in other words quite dangerous, doubly so because due to his patrol path a novice adventurer here may be surprised by him. Wyverns are disturbingly silent when flying, which no doubt helps them to stalk prey. Unfortunately, for all that trouble Heartrazor has no unique loot, nor can wyverns be tamed by hunters.

I should probably say that I have no idea what gender Heartrazor is. It might as well be a female, but calling it an it throughout this entry looked rather dumb, so I picked male pronouns and went with them.

That being said, I would bet that due to the odd fur color and the sheer power of this creature that Heartrazor is either the matriarch or patriarch of the Highperch wyverns. The pale fur could indicate age, and the strength could be the result of many years of competition and hunting. Maybe Heartrazor is the alpha male or female of all the wyverns there, and thus the one that gets to pick mates, gets the best kills and leads the pride in hunting.

Heartrazor is a nice-looking creature which can unfortunately cause a big headache due to his aggressiveness for those doing quests in the area. Nonetheless, he is a nice addition to the little zone, which is quite beautiful in itself and well worth a visit (especially with Thousand Needles scheduled to undergo dramatic change in Cataclysm).

Until next time.
~Dragonshade

Another Cataclysm preview: Engineer Whirleygig

2010-05-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

By now everyone is probably well aware of Goblins becoming a playable race in the next expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. But goblins have been around a long time in the Warcraft universe, fulfilling the roles of crazy tinkerers. Beginning in Warcraft II, they have been with us ever since. And there are, in fact, quite a few rarespawn goblins in World of Warcraft already.

This entry is about engineer Whirleygig.

Goblins, goblins everywhere

Engineer Whirleygig is a rare mob goblin found in the northern Barrens on Kalimdor.

Whirleygig can be found in one singular location, and is thus quite easy to track down. He is always found inside the command shack on top of the derrick in the Sludge Fen in the northern barrens. The area is crawling with hostile mobs, so take caution if you visit it at low levels. Whirleygig, if he is up, will be standing in front of one of the consoles in the small control room.

Fighting Whirleygig

Engineer Whirleygig has a fairly short respawn time (counted in hours rather than days at least) and can thus be found relatively often. He is hostile to both alliance and horde, and although he is not an elite has some interesting abilities. He constantly carries a remote around, and when engaged uses it to summon a harvest reaper (a compact version of a harvest golem) to fight beside him.

His second ability is also very fitting to his title of engineer, as he will start summoning explosive mechanical sheep which run towards his opponents and explode!

I really like when mobs have a "theme" that they follow, and this guy really does look like a crazed engineer, charging in gripping a remote and using gadgets to fight you. Unfortunately he provides no engineering-themed drops, only providing a standard uncommon quality drop when defeated.

What's his story?

Whirleygig is an employee of the Venture Company, a goblin cartel which can be found world-wide on Azeroth. The Venture Co. seem to be one of the least scrupulous of all goblin companies (not that most of them aren't rather shady to say the least) and can always be found performing some form of exploitation with little regard to wildlife or natives.

As such, it's no wonder we find an oil rig set up in the Barrens. There's even a mining operation nearby too, right on Thrall's doorstep. Both alliance and Horde adventurer often find themselves in conflict with the Venture Co. and the Sludge Fen is no exception, with several quests in the area. It would also be irresponsible of me not to mention that there are two more rarespawns just in this very small area. The Barrens has a lot of rare mobs.

It is a safe assumption that Whirleygig is the chief engineer of the operation, in charge of maintaining the technological aspect of the oil rig operation. His abilities fully support this and probably making him a valuable Venture employee.

On a closing note, with the massive overhauls to the Barrens with the release of Cataclysm, it's very uncertain if the Venture Co. operation and Whirleygig will survive the transition. If they do, Whirleygig may get a new model, much like the exisiting blood elves did with the release of the Burning Crusade. Only time will tell.

Until next time, I got what you need!

~Dragonshade

Terror of Durotar: Captain Flat Tusk

2010-05-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft is full of references, easter eggs, jokes, puns and tributes. Sometimes, the game even references itself.

This post is about Captain Flat Tusk.

Quillboar champion

Captain Flat Tusk is a rare elite quilboar found in Durotar, on Kalimdor.

Captain Flat Tusk is found in the small quilboar camps along the ridges just south of the road leading west to the Barrens. He has the common "warrior" quilboar design, carrying a rather nasty-looking axe. His title "captain of the battleguard" refers to the quilboar armed forces in the zone, of which many carries the title "battleguard". With his title of "captain", it is clear Flat Tusk is among the leaders of the Razormanes.

As I have touched on in the past, the quilboar claim lineage from the great boar eternal Agamaggan, and revere him and believe in his eventual rebirth to lead them to glory. They have a deep-seated hatred of other sentient races, and the Razormane quilboars found in Durotar are no exception, being thoroughly hostile. They have been driven out of their lands by the invading orcs and trolls, but still cling to their razorvine-covered settlements in many areas, waylaying their enemies and arranging raids.

Lethal threat

As an elite in a starter area, standing smack dab in a questing area, captain Flat Tusk is quite a nasty surprise for unexperienced heroes. He has a lot of health (666, actually), hits quite hard and can use a strong Heroic Strike to inflict extra damage. With the added potential for more quilboars being pulled into the fight, this makes Flat Tusk a dangerous enemy.

Low-level characters may find it worth it to battle this menace, as his guaranteed above-average quality drops are more useful at those levels. Also, located in the middle of a quest node often makes people engage him simply because he's there.

Now, about that reference I alluded to in the opening paragraph?

Now let's see. An elite in a starter area, with 666 health, does a lot of damage, stands in a quest node...

Does it sound familiar, alliance players?

I think it should.

Until next time, make sure you know what you're doing when you attack an elite monster.

~Dragonshade

Wherein I digress: Tamra Stormpike

2010-05-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I'm trying to come up with a theme for a post about a rarespawn I get distracted. Really, really distracted. Most often this happens with the rarespawns that just don't have anything very original about them. There are a lot of these, mostly in the old world of the classic game. Therefore, this entry will digress quite a bit from the poor rarespawn at hand.

Today's rarespawn is Tamra Stormpike.

Who? Where? What? Why?

Tamra Stormpike is a rare elite mob dwarf found inside Dun Garok in the Hillsbrad Foothills, in Eastern Kingdoms.

I have found Tamra in two different locations in this dwarven fortress. He may spawn in even more spots, but these are the ones I have seen. First, he can by the stairs on the second level inside the keep. This is where I've found him most of the times I have visited the area. Secondly, he can spawn standing right in front of the keep, on the causeway leading up to the entrance.

Tamra Stormpike, like the rest of the dwarves of Dun Garok, is friendly to Alliance players and hostile to Horde players. Since a few horde quests lead here, it is safe to say that when he spawns at the keep entrance he cannot be expected to survive for long. Being hostile to only one faction isn't an entirely uncommon occurence among classic WoW rarespawns. There also seems to be a few more rarespawn affiliated with the Alliance than the Horde, make of that what you will.

Tamra looks exactly like the other dwarves in the keep, but as an elite has quite a bit more health and hits harder. He has no special abilities or drops. However, his surname indicates that he's part of the influential Stormpike Clan who are based in the nearby Alterac Mountains (the Stormpike conflict with the orcs of the Frostwolf Clan is the basis of the Battleground Alterac Valley). Tamra is most likely a lesser member of the clan, watching over his clan's interests in Hillsbrad.

Meanwhile...

Now, normally there wouldn't be a lot more for me to say about this rarespawn, but when researching for this post I found something quite amusing, which led me off on a tangent. You see, the rest of this post is devoted to my love and hate relationship with the World of Warcraft publication "World of Warcraft Bestiary", published by Bradygames in 2008.

Now for those who don't know, Bradygames are an american publishing house who have made a name for themselves publishing strategy games for various computer and video games. With the release of World of Warcraft, Bradygames began publishing a series of official strategy guides and support books for the game, each of varying accuracy and usefulness. However, the Bestiary is a quite different matter. According to the book itself, it is dedicated to bringing us "Statistical information on the denizens of the World of Warcraft Universe-including HPS, Armor, Damage, Resistances, and Abilities". This could be semi-useful for some situations, even if it isn't something I'd make into a separate book.

Unfortunately, the Bestiary manages to squander even this meagre usefulness with a few quite baffling design decisions.

The biggest weakness of this publication is the fact that it presents the NPC's in alphabetical order with no information on where each NPC can be found. You can look up a mob if you've seen it in an area, but you can't check for what mobs occur in a zone.

This in itself makes the book almost useless.

Secondly, the information presented is in itself shoddy. It does not list creature types for the mobs, does not offer complete stats for the mobs (with a few exceptions boss mobs don't have statistics for their heroic version) and some abilities are just described as a single word.

To further add to the problems with this book, the entries themselves have problems. The selection of creatures seems to be focused on monsters you can be expected to fight, and excludes almost all city mobs and pvp-related NPC's, so you can't find Jaina Proudmoore's abilities in here. Secondly, some mobs are simply missing, against all common sense. Azuregos, the classic outdoor raidboss is just not there, nor are a few other mobs I noticed. In comparison, the book lists some creatures which either have never existed in a live version of World of Warcraft, or been taken out years before the book was completed.

Finally, and the reason I went off on this rant in the first place, some NPC's have the wrong portrait. Maybe you can guess where this is going.

This is Tamra Stormpike.

This is what the World of Warcraft Bestiary claims Tamra Stormpike looks like:

Now, there are some posts claiming that Tamra can spawn as a male or a female dwarf, but I have seen him many times now and only ever seen him as a male dwarf. The image they chose for the Bestiary is actually Haelga Slatefist, the Alterac Valley battlemaster in Shattrah City, kind of an odd mistake to make.

Again, sorry for this departure from the topic at hand, but when I in the future speak of information from the Bestiary, you will now know what to expect. While I do find the extremely obscure information contained in some parts of it (It's the only place I managed to find out the abilities of Overseer Tidewrath, for example. But I may go into this another time), it is still a very badly constructed book of extremely little use to a WoW player. Let this be a lesson if you ever considering writing a strategy guide or similar.

We'll be back to the normal format next entry.

Until next time!
~Dragonshade

Stupidly rare: Zalas Witherbark

2010-05-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, rare mobs in World of Warcraft can spawn at different speeds. Some will reappear in 15-20 minutes, some will literally take days to respawn. Today we will be looking at a rarespawn with a very long respawn timer, who is quite difficult to find.

This post is about Zalas Witherbark.

Finding the rarest of the rare

This is a bit of an exaggeration, of course. Zalas Witherbark is not -the- rarest mob you can find in World of Warcraft. Zalas appears inside the cave south of Witherbark Village in the Arathi Highlands, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Witherbark Village can be found directly south of the horde outpost of Hammerfall, and south-east of the alliance flight point Refuge Point. The cavern is not very large, but has a large number of hostile trolls inside it. Zalas can be found inside, near a small area containing a gong and a campfire. He does not appear to ever leave his spawn point, just wandering back and forth leisurely.

As I mentioned, not only does Zalas have a very long respawn timer (WoWhead reports it being as high as 72 hours, among the longest for any rarespawns), but the cavern is frequently visited by horde and alliance players who have quests within. These two factors combine to ensure that Zalas is very tricky to find.

Forest trolls in the World of Warcraft

Forest trolls are common in the Eastern Kingdoms. Once, the great Amani empire covered large parts of the northern continent, and trolls ruled the lands now claimed by high elves and humans. Forest trolls have a green skin tone and tend to be a lot more bulky than their jungle troll cousins, while sharing all their ferocity and savage combat skills.

The Witherbark tribe are one of the many forest troll tribes which allied with the Orcish Horde during the Second War. Led by the great chieftain Zul'jin, the forest trolls allied with the Horde with the promise that the orcs would help them retake their crumbled empire, driving the High Elves from Quel'thalas. This was not to be, as the orcs were unable or unwilling to fulfill that promise, and the alliance between forest trolls and orcs crumbled as well.

Much later, the young warchief Thrall regarded forest trolls with contempt, and the forest trolls return the favor. Today, the only forest troll tribe still allied with the Horde are the Revantusk of the Hinterlands. The rest have returned to worshipping their bloodthirsty loa gods, cannibalism and other acts of savagery in the hopes of one day reclaiming their lands. The Witherbark thus reside in the Hinterlands and Arathi, where they compete with humans, dwarves and orcs for territory.

Zalas and his tribe

Given that he carries the Witherbark name, it seems Zalas Witherbark would be one of the most important trolls in his tribe. His title of "Warband Leader" marks him as quite a respected figure, possibly even the chieftain or high shaman of his entire tribe. However, there are several other noteable Witherbark trolls, some of which will feature in this blog in the future.

In combat, Zalas displays the abilities of an arcane caster, controlling enemies with ice chains and polymorph spells while attacking with shadowbolts. Now, as the other rare mob Witherbark troll (Nimar the Slayer, we will get to him eventually) uses warrior-type abilities, it seems safe to assume that Zalas is the arcane authority of the warband. Oddly, he appears to be wielding dual handaxes and wear leather armor, not very fitting for a spellcaster.

Sadly, the rarity and interesting background for Zalas do not mean he provides anything useful. His drop table is the regular uncommon quality items, with nothing special at all. Given that he may only appear once every few days, this seems very unfair.

Finally, it is worth noting that the forest trolls underwent a visual upgrade with the release of patch 2.3, The Gods of Zul'Aman. To make them more unique, a new bulky troll model was developed for the Amani trolls, and this was also applied to forest trolls all over the old world. Thus, Zalas and his trolls suddenly became quite a bit beefier, although his equipment remains the same as before. Sadly I do not have a screenshot of his original model, as it was long before I started collecting rarespawn pictures, but wowwiki has one for those interested. I have to say I like the "bulky" forest troll look for these NPC's, and Zalas looks suitably savage.

In closing, Zalas Witherbark is an interesting rare, both in the context of what he is and in his extreme rarity.

Until next time, remember that the Amani never die!
~Dragonshade

More creepy-crawlies: Rekk'tilac

2010-05-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

As I stated earlier, there are a lot of rarespawn spiders in World of Warcraft. No doubt Blizzard are cunningly tapping into the almost primal fear that many humans have for these (generally) inoffensive creatures by enlarging them to monstrous size and making them attack adventurers. Interestingly, this means that spiders and rare spiders can be found even in extreme environments in Azeroth.

Today's rarespawn is Rekk'tilac.

Spider tracks

Rekk'tilac is a rare mob spider found in the Searing Gorge, in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Unlike many rare mobs that I have covered so far, Rekk'tilac cannot be pinned down to any specific area in the Gorge. In short, it can spawn almost anywhere where its kin, the lava spiders can be found. Visually it also looks exactly like the other spiders, so it must be found via tracking or checking nameplates.

Rekk'tilac, and the regular lava spiders, use the "tarantula" spider model (which I discussed here ). Lava spiders are a bright orange color and found only in very hot areas, seemingly well-adapted against heat. Their bright carapaces do not offer very good camouflage, so it probably instead serves as a visual cue to warn other creatures that the spider is dangerous.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I definently am not a fan of the tarantula model, so I will not dwell on it more here. Rekk'tilac is tameable, but offers no special benefits to a hunter as it is identical to the common spiders nearby.

What's the story?

Rekk'tilac is probably just an especially strong lava spider which got a name from someone living in the area. It has no special attacks, is not particularily tough, has no special drops and is not unique-looking for a hunter.

As I have said previously, not every rarespawn is amazing, or even interesting. Some are just mobs with names tacked on, and the improved drop table. Rekk'tilac lands squarely in the "mediocre" category. Still, I cannot help but wonder at what kind of adaptions allow spiders (and other bugs) in Azeroth to grow to huge sizes with no respiration or body integrity problems.

Maybe a higher oxygen content in the atomsphere helps arachnids breathe. After all, many spiders have a more efficient respiration system than insects, utilizing organs called "Book lungs" to draw oxygen. However, given the sheer size and ferocity of Azerothian invertebrates, I think it is safe to say there is also magic involved.

Rekk'tilac is nothing special, but even the mediocre rarespawns have a place in my blog.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

Here there be dragons: Hematos

2010-05-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I have returned! And I bring with me a new entry, with several more lined up.

The world of Azeroth has many cruel and ruthless groups vying for power, but few are as ruthless and powerful as the Black Dragonflight. The kin and offspring of the corrupted dragon aspect Neltharion (Better known as Deathwing), the black dragons tend to be cruel, aloof creatures, regarding other forms of life as little more than nuisances. With Cataclysm and Deathwing's return on the way, I thought it would be fitting to feature a black drake as today's entry.

Today's entry is about Hematos.

Who is Hematos, and where can I find him?

Hematos is a rare elite black drake found in the Burning Steppes in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Hematos can be found in a rather peculiar spot. On the far western edge of the Steppes, just south-west of the entrance to Blackrock Mountain, there is a large rock formation with a path running around it (the area is called "Draco'dar" on the map). Hematos will be found circling this formation at a respectable speed, flying along the small road on the north edge of the cliff when his route takes him there. Hematos is quite quick, so beware if you are exploring here with a character not ready to take Hematos on, as he might catch you unawares.

Drake hunting

Drakes are younger dragons, no longer whelps but not yet fully grown. Their power is respectable, but they generally only occupy the middle parts of the hierarchy of their flight. Black drakes are no exception, and the Burning Steppes are filled with these beasts, as well as their lesser kin.

In appearance, Hematos is quite like his lesser brethren in the area. If he catches up with an adventurer he will swoop in to attack with his claws and a fire breath. He has no other special abilities and no special drops, but his high health and damage can cause problems for weaker heroes.

Warcraft drakes have a quite distinctive model, with a "corncob" tail, a narrow head and a slender body. This has given them something of a unique identity, and provides an interesting visual link between whelps and full-grown dragons. Of course, there are some problems with the model. Noteably, when the drake model was created it was never given a "walking" or "ground" animation of any kind, so all drakes you encounter as enemies will attack while flying. However, I really do like the drake model a lot, finding it suitably impressive and well-animated. Thus photographing rarespawn dragons is always a pleasure.

Recently, when the drake model became available as a player mount, drakes were given a landing animation, and can now walk around on the ground just like dragons. However, this change has not yet been applied to the old-world drakes, and thus Hematos and his kin never touch the ground until they're slain. It's almost poetic.

What's his story?

First, a few words about his name. Hematos is one of three black dragons who have names derived from the ancient greek word for blood. Of these three dragons, Hematos and Hemathion are rarespawns, while Hematus is a quest mob in the Badlands. The naming convention for black dragons is much less clear than for the other flights, with all kinds of different suffixes use. Still, the suffix "os" would indicate a male drake.

The presence of a powerful black drake in this area hardly needs to be explained. Since Deathwing's son Nefarian chose Blackrock as his home, his fellow black dragons have spread over the surrounding areas in attempts to subjugate other races for the black flight. Hematos is most likely a lesser lieutenant of Nefarian, set to patrol the Steppes for intruders.

How will the release of Cataclysm affect the areas surrounding Blackrock? Nobody knows as of yet, and it is possible Hematos will no longer fly on his endless patrol very soon. Until then, feel free to take a flight over there and check for him, as he is quite an interesting sight.

Until next time, don't let those black dragons bite.

~Dragonshade

The crawling terror: Clutchmother Zavas

2010-04-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my sporadic posting lately. As it turns out, I'm going for a brief vacation next week, and the blog will probably take a week's hiatus during that time. As for the recent spate of delayed entries, I have not been feeling entirely well, and have also been preoccupied with some other things. I shall try to shape up!

Onwards to today's entry.

Silithids are another of those recurring plot threads that runs through classic World of Warcraft. You encounter the first hives of these odd, arthropod creatures at low levels in the Barrens, but do not get to experience the full horror of their power and alien background until Silithus, a zone now rarely visited by new players. However, silithids can be found across several other zones on Kalimdor, and the lush Un'Goro crater is one such zone.

Today's post is our first silithid rare, Clutchmother Zavas.

Where can I find Clutchmother Zavas?

Clutchmother Zavas is a rare mob silithid (the "reaver" or "tank" form) found inside the Gorishi hive in Un'goro crater.

Zavas can be found in several different chambers inside the hive, but as the tunnel system is not very extensive, finding her should be easy. She can also be tracked and targeted through the ground, as is the case with many underground-dwelling mobs.

Swarming invaders

As I mentioned earlier, silithids are spread over most of southern Kalimdor. In Un'Goro, the local hive is the Gorishi, which fills most of the central southern part of the zone. The creatures do not seem to have spread that far yet, but that's possibly unsurprising going by the large number of very deadly creatures which call Un'Goro home. Silithids exist in several different forms, or "castes", each of which has separate duties within their hives.

As indicated by her name, Zavas seems to be a breeder for the Gorishi hive. The fact that she is always found in one of the large chambers containing eggs supports this nicely. She has an appealing greenish carapace with black mottling, probably well-suited for camouflage in the Crater. One interesting feature of silithid reavers are the vestigial wings. These portrude slightly from their dorsal carapace, and flutter during movement and combat. It is unknown if these are merely a result of reavers being evolved from flying forms, or if they still serve some purpose.

Zavas is not the leader of the Gorishi hive, though. That honor belongs to the unnamed Gorishi Queen which you can slay as part of a questline which starts in Tanaris. This means that Zavas is likely a lesser breeder, working under the control of the Queen in the bee-like hierarchy of the silithids.

Physiology and combat

Once upon a time, silithids (even those sharing models with other creatures) were untyped mobs which could not be tamed, but with the release of Wrath of the Lich King, this changed. You can now tame several types of silithid, though some types remain untameable (like silithid wasps, which I will cover in future installments).

Zavas, like almost all silithid reavers, is now tameable by a Beastmastery hunter with the "Beast Mastery" talent. She does not have a unique, or even uncommon coloration, but does look cool in my opinion. As pets, silithids are cunning pets, sharing the ability to web an opponent in place with spiders. As such, they are quite handy in PvP, where an extra snare is always useful. As usual, consult Petopia for more information on silithids as pets.

Should you instead choose to fight Zavas, take care. While her physical attacks are not terribly dangerous, she will continously lay eggs which hatch into ravenous grubs. Thus she will create her own adds, and keeping these under control is adviceable. Also, at low health, Zavas will call for help, attracting any nearby silithids into combat. Cleaning her chamber before engaging her is probably the best choice. If defeated, she yields the normal uncommon item.

Funnily, sometimes I have encountered this mob literally climbing the walls of the silithid structures, either appearing half inside a piece of terrain, or perched on the side of it (see picture). The idea of silithids skittering across walls and ceilings is frankly somewhat unsettling.

I find Clutchmother Zavas to be a nice rare to showcase our first silithids. Her title and ability to spawn grubs gives her a clear role in her hive, and her appearance is sleek and deadly-looking. The fact that she can be tamed is an extra bonus, although she does not have a unique enough appearance that you have to hunt her specifically.

All in all, a quite interesting rare.

Until next time!
~Dragonshade

Bears and wolves: Old Vicejaw

2010-04-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Bears are rather popular animals in World of Warcraft, just like in the real world. Whereas we hate and fear wolves and large felines, bears look a lot cuddlier and more benevolent (even if they in the real world can be easily as dangerous). Literature and mythology are also filled with noble, wise and heroic bears. Interestingly this is also reflected in the rarespawn fauna of WoW, where there are quite a few rare mob bears. The fact that my main is a feral (bear) druid certainly does not change my opinion on bears in any way. And you're silly for even thinking it.

Today's rare mob is Old Vicejaw.

In the accursed forest

Old Vicejaw is a rare mob bear found in Silverpine Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Silverpine was once part of Lordaeron, and is the zone that directly borders Gilneas, Lordaeron's neighbor to the south. Now a dark, twisted area ruled by undead or madmen like the archmage Arugal, Silverpine nevertheless retains some natural life.

Old Vicejaw can be found in the forested area surrounding the road running from the Greymane Wall to the Undercity. He can be seen wandering around a bit off the road, often close to other bears. In comparison with the other local bears, Vicejaw is a lighter brown and quite easy to spot.

An average bear

Old Vicejaw isn't the most unique rarespawn bear in the game. He's a standard color, has no really special abilities and no unique loot. He's just basically a named bear a few levels larger than the average.

For a hunter, a bear is a rather nice tenacity pet. They eat many types of food and have a quite excellent racial ability for a "tank" pet, namely Swipe, similar to the feral druid ability of the same name. However, Vicejaw's average appearance may not make him too desireable to seek out and tame.

It's always hard for me to write any lore speculation about these very average rarespawns. Old Vicejaw is one of several bears carrying the "Old" epithet, indicating he may be a particularily large specimen, who has been in the region long enough to earn a name. Vicejaw indicates that someone (likely more than one person) has ended up on the receiving end of a very nasty bite. Maybe the nearby Dalaran mages named the bear after encountering it preying on their livestock?

While Vicejaw spawns rather close to Shadowfang Keep, I doubt he has any connection with Arugal, whose favored pets and minions are wolves. More likely, Vicejaw was here before the intrusive archmage appeared on the scene, and is merely minding his own business. Maybe a worgen or two has found themselves on the receiving end of his jaws too?

In conclusion, Old Vicejaw has little unique about him, but at the very least he looks good and has a nice name.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

The five-year glitch: Lord Maldazzar

2010-04-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Most people who play World of Warcraft have experienced glitches, those annoying bugs in the game that can ruin your plans completely. Sometimes it's unexpected server shutdowns, sometimes you fall through the world, or get stuck, or get a bugged mob. Today's rarespawn appears to have been continuously buggy since the release of the game, even up to the very day I write this. This is something of an accomplishment, considering how many people say they have reported this over five years.

Today's post is about Lord Maldazzar.

Chasing invisible mobs

Lord Maldazzar is a rare mob human found in the Western Plaguelands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

More specifically, Maldazzar spawns in Sorrow Hill, just east of Chillwind Point, the alliance flight point. Now actually finding Maldazzar in Sorrow Hill is something of a bother. You see, he often spawns underground.

Very often.

If it is not entirely clear from this picture, my hunter is standing right where Maldazzar is on my minimap. However, while I can target him, I cannot reach him or find line of sight to him. My pet can't find a path to him. There's no underground tunnel here at all, the Sorrow Hill crypt has no tunnels extending this far. This means that Maldazzar spawns under the ground for some reason.

Under normal conditions, I have seen Maldazzar stand by one of the open graves in the area. I believe that this is how he is "supposed" to spawn. However, sometimes this appears to bug out, placing him underground. The unfortunate thing is that while you cannot attack him, he may still aggro you if you are of a sufficiently low level, and will start spamming shadowbolts at you. This has been reported to cause the death of unprepared characters many times over the years, begging the question as to why this has not yet been fixed.

I took the screenshot of Maldazzar underground the same day this post is written, meaning that Lord Maldazzar has been spawning underground and sniping passing players for over five years now. Quite remarkable.

If you CAN find him...

Now, while the bug aspect of this mob is quite frustrating for those trying to kill, photograph or avoid him, sometimes Maldazzar does spawn correctly. When he fights fair, he is not a terribly dangerous foe.

He will primarily spam shadowbolts, as well as summon up to 3 rather weak skeletons to fight for him. Occasionally he will use drain life to try to recover health. He does, however, not hit that hard and does not have too much health, so downing him should be easy if you get to this point.

If defeated, Maldazzar yields the standard uncommon quality drop, as well as the possibility for an Invader's Scourgestone and a bonus of 50 reputation with the Argent Dawn. A nice little package if it hadn't been for the sheer buggyness of the mob.

Servant of the Scourge

Lord Maldazzar is a human, and as he still registers as a humanoid he has not yet transitioned to become an undead of the Scourge. His abilities and attire point to him being a necromancer or warlock, and his ostentatious title may indicate that he has some form of command position within the Scourge or the Cult of the Damned. Possibly he is an overseer of some form, or sent out from the nearby Scholomance. As he always seems to stand near an open grave or tomb, it always makes me think that he's busy examining the body within for reanimation, or possibly searching for something that was buried with a certain person.

His odd manner of dress, with a stylish black robe paired with a flamboyant red helmet makes him stick out visually. He also carries a black crystal staff resembling the classic Illusionary Rod design common in the old world. Sadly he does not drop any of these items as unique drops. His outfit is very similar to that of Maleki the Pallid and other necromancers in the Plaguelands, indicating a strong connection.

As a final note, the name "Lord Maldazzar" actually originates from Warcraft 3, where it was the name of a randomly generated Death Knight hero. As the World of Warcraft mob seems to be more of a necromancer (a caster at least), has no horse or runeblade, this may be pure coincidence. I also doubt a Death Knight of the Scourge would be overseeing minor grave robberies in the Plaguelands.

Lord Maldazzar is very memorable, unfortunately mostly due to his erratic spawn behavior. Still, he does look cool and has that air of mystery I like in a raremob, and for that I can forgive him the occasional ganking. Now if only Blizzard could fix him...

Until next time;
~Dragonshade

Highway robbery: Thuros Lightfingers

2010-04-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

If there's anything constant in the many realms of the World of Warcraft, it is the fact that conflict is everywhere. Not even the heartland of the human kingdom of Stormwind is free of dangers, and the farmers and low-level adventurers there have to contend with gnolls, kobolds, murlocs, rabid wolves... and bandits.

Today's rarespawn is Thuros Lightfingers.

Wanted: Thuros Lightfingers

Thuros Lightfingers is a human rare mob found in Elwynn Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Finding this guy is a bit tricky. He can spawn in four different bandit camps across Elwynn: North of the tiny Mirror Lake in the western part of the zone, north of Crystal Lake (just east of Goldshire) and directly south from Crystal Lake across the road. The final spawn point is to the far east, in a tiny camp east of Ridgepoint tower. I would recommend consulting wowhead for the coordinates and a detailed map.

Fortunately for those seeking him Thuros is on a very short respawn timer. At one point most starter area rares would respawn within 1-2 hours of being killed, but observations since have shown that this time has been cut down significantly (I have tested this myself). It appears that Thuros and his ilk will reappear within 15-30 minutes of being slain, making getting hold of their loot much easier than it once was.

Since he spawns in Elwynn, sometimes quite close to Goldshire, I recommend seeking him outside of peak hours. Goldshire can test anyone's patience to the breaking point. This is why all these screenshots are taken at night.

Hobbies: Robbery, assault, fishing

One thing I always liked about World of Warcraft (And other similar MMO's) was how storylines slowly advanced across different areas as you uncover new quests and new details that give a bigger picture. The story of the human starter areas and neighboring zones is largely dedicated to the Defias Brotherhood, a villainous organization out to sack Stormwind.

I have touched on the Defias in a few earlier posts, and will do so again in the future. Since Thuros wears the standard red bandana of a Defias, it seems clear he's in their employ. Since he doesn't really have any dangerous combat skills and is easy to defeat, he is probably little more than a notorious robber, just like the ill-fated Garrick Padfoot. Most likely Thuros is there as a gangleader for some of the Defias operations in Elwynn.

However, Thuros does have a small claim to fame. Once upon a time, an ambitious player named Draznar wrote a small guide to fishing in classic WoW. Included in this was Draznar's personal favorite fishing outfit, compromised of various items from across the game. And, lo and behold, on that list he included a pair of gloves called Fingerless Gloves. Guess where you get them? Yes, they're a unique drop from Thuros Lightfingers.

While the same model of gloves (or a close approximation) can be found elsewhere, this nevertheless is Thuros' claim to fame (He actually has a second unique drop, the Thuggish Shield). It's also led to some fan speculation that Thuros himself is a fisherman, no doubt compounded by the fact that he usually spawns near a lake or stream. Hey, a man has to have hobbies when he's not shaking down farmers and merchants, right?

As a minor part of the Defias storyarc and being mentioned for one of his drops, Thuros has a bit more fame than the average rarespawn. I'd say the guy has done pretty well for himself!

Until next time, stay out of Goldshire.
~Dragonshade

Elemental rock: Rumbler

2010-04-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

The idea of different "pure" elements which exist in other dimensions is an important part of the cosmology of the Warcraft setting. Earth, fire, water and air all influence and interfere in the physical world, some with benevolent intents and others much more sinister. Many of the great elementals are known to serve the malevolent Old Gods and command legions of lesser creatures in their crusades against the mortal races. Other elementals are slaves to summoners, or simply exist as sentient forces of nature on Azeroth and Outland.

Today's rarespawn is Rumbler.

Identification and location

Rumbler is a rare mob earth elemental found in the Badlands in the Eastern Kingdoms.

The Badlands are a desolate area which greatly resembles the canyons and mesas on distant Kalimdor. Rumbler can be found along with the most powerful regular earth elementals in the zone, in the southwestern corner of the map. There are two areas here, one to the southeast and one to the northwest of the ogre cave. Rumbler can spawn in either area, and wanders around a bit. Visually, it is identical to the other elementals, and must thus be identified via its name.

An elemental's story

Earth elementals hail from the plane of Deephome, where they presumably exist in vastly different conditions than life on Azeroth. Earth elementals are also often allies to shamans, summoned to smite their enemies, and some are ancient and wise beings which give advice to mortals. Like most other elementals they will manifest most often in areas filled with their native element, and the Badlands certainly has its fill of rocks and stone.

As noted, Rumbler spends his time with his fellow elementals, but he does have an ability which sets him apart from the rest. Rumbler has an AoE knockdown attack which while not terribly dangerous can interfere with healing and spellcasting. If defeated, he will drop the standard uncommon quality drop.

While we don't know anything about why the earth elementals in the Badlands are there, there are a few quests involving them. The gnome researcher Lotwil Veriatus has a small camp in northern Badlands and is studying the local earth elementals to find more efficient ways of summoning and controlling them.

Elemental invasion?

It is believed that most elementals do not occur "naturally" on Azeroth (or Outland), they are transported there either by accident or by intent via interdimensional portals. It would seem that some elementals remain after such a crossover, and presumably try to make the new area their home as well as they can.

Elementals can often be controlled by elemental shackles, magical bracelets affixed to the creature which allow it to be safely controlled and commanded by a spellcaster. To this end, Lotwil is seeking to improve shackles for earth elementals by studying those in the Badlands. Mayhap these elementals were stranded after some ancient dimensional rift and have remained to this day, or maybe they were once summoned and abandoned. Presumably Rumbler is an elder among them.

Will his work be successful? Or will elementals continue to run rampant across the world in service to the Old Gods and unscrupulous mortals? We'll just have to wait and see. For now, Rumbler and his kin seem content to be often-overlooked mobs in a remote corner of a desolate area of Azeroth.

Until next time, keep those elemental shackles close by.
~Dragonshade