Coming in Patch 5.2: Thunder Isle

So I just got an interesting email with a neat picture attached, along with this message: "Happy Holidays from the World of Warcraft team! Here’s a small present to tide you over until the new year."

http://i.imgur.com/dyPzn.jpg

That, friends, is the first look we've gotten of the new raid instance coming in Patch 5.2: Thunder Isle. It's been described as being very "Ulduar-like" by multiple developers, and since it'll apparently be hitting the PTR in "Early January", I imagine we'll know a lot more in the very near future!

I mean, if the apocalypse doesn't kill us all, of course.

EDIT: I know it's supposed to be "Ulduar-like" but is anyone else getting a Black Temple vibe from that screenshot?

Will we see, this Thunder King we heared about in Kun-Lai Summit and will there be any other notable Mogu be a boss there? And of the Zandalari Trolls who might be there. And how many bosses will we see. So many questions, but so few answers. Will have to wait till next year for the answers.

Reminds me a little bit of XT's room from Ulduar

I think it has a bit of the Black Temple vibe too with Ulduar and Netherstorm zone.

If PTR is up in early January, when do you think the patch will go live? Faster patches are great and all, but I hope they don't release it too early, since I just got started raiding. Then again, there will always be someone progressing, and they can't wait for everyone to complete this tier.

It does give off both the BT vibe and the Ulduar vibe. Both of those raids, along with this one, seems to have the "big long alley with big things on either side" idea going with it.

I'm betting about 3-4 months before 5.2 hits live

And on a side note, so far at the time of this post. 5:36 A.M. EST the world is still going on. So the new year will be instresting.

And on a other side note, happy holidays to everyone, no matter which one you celerbrate with family and friends.

I would guess April would be the likely dropping month if I had to venture a guess. Early in the month like the 2nd or the 9th in the US. Might get lucky and clip into the last week of March depending on how much Blizzard already has done and isn't letting on.

It would make sense for the place to have an ulduar type vibe, what with the Mogu misappropriating titan technology (like the construct machines)

Going to go ahead and call it now that Lorewalker Cho will make an appearance. Most likely as a boss.

I mean, come on, he basically spends all of Mogu'shan Vaults trying to kill you. OH WHOOPS THERES A BUNCH OF GHOSTS SPAWNING IN, I'LL JUST KEEP READING THESE BOOKS THAT ARE CLEARLY CAUSING THIS TO HAPPEN. OH HEY ITS A MOGU ARMY-CREATING MACHINE! THIS IS WAY TOO DANGEROUS TO KEEP AROUND, LETS TURN IT ON.

Quote:

---

OH HEY ITS A MOGU ARMY-CREATING MACHINE! THIS IS WAY TOO DANGEROUS TO KEEP AROUND, LETS TURN IT ON.

---

... while I lock the room from the outside.

The backstabbing little twerp needs turning into a rug.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fetzie

The backstabbing little twerp needs turning into a rug.

---

I lol'd pretty hard.

No apocalypse yet... but it is windy with freezing temps outside, and I feel like I'm going to turn into a popsicle.

However, looks sweet and can't wait. Definitely agree on the BT feel a little bit. Was wondering if I was the only one that thought Lorewalker Cho may be a boss... but would it be to soon? I didn't think we'd see that till a little later or if at all, or are we going to see the Bronzebeards come back?

Also with Terrace of Endless Springs being gated or even shall we way requiring "attunement", are they going to keep with this pace? So are we going to need to complete Terrace prior to getting into the Thunder King's lair?

my first impression is of Zul'Drak...

When they talked about ulduar-like raid I was expecting 3 things: 1 large location (even if they split in multiple instances) with a big (>10) number of bosses, with multiple sub-scenaries that hold a set of 3, 4 bosses each.

About dates, we can assume that the original plan was to release 5.2 around 4 months after 5.1, at the end of march, maybe it will be delayed some weeks after that because of random/software development things; but I will be surprised if we don't see it live before April 16th.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Silvanna

Also with Terrace of Endless Springs being gated or even shall we way requiring "attunement", are they going to keep with this pace? So are we going to need to complete Terrace prior to getting into the Thunder King's lair?

---

I think the plan is at least to have the LFR version killed, that means nothing to current players, but for slow-paced alts and people that comes later in the expansion the idea is that they visit all the instanced content created in the expansion. Now I don't think they will implement attunments but I don't think there will be super-fast gearing methods either. DS was an experiment but right now I think that in the mind of Blizzard LFR is _the_ content for the vast majority of players, what in cataclysm were Heroic Dungeons. Of course there is "more" to do like dungeons and scenarios, pokemon and so on, but it is mainly about LFR.

The two biggest threats to Azeroth: Lorewalker Cho and Brann Bronzebeard. If those two ever meet up and then go on a trip with Hemet Nesingwary Senior... we're doomed.

(edit: of course, Harrison Jones has to be the one to get us there to rescue them.)

Well, it's either february or april, since they said "4 months", but never wanted to confirm if it was from 5.0 or 5.1

Logic would be April. I hope so, still plenty of heroic bosses to kill.

That is by far the nicest looking tease I have personally seen. It will be nice to see how the mogu part of the story line progresses.

Just wait, Blizz will release Thunder Isle on April 1st as only a new daily hub and no raid.

But seriously, this looks cool.