Yogg-Saron is no more

Yup, took us three visits to the Old God of Death to get him down. We have been....tenacious enough and entered phase 3 a few times before the recent nerfs so we were pretty confident he would be dead. In fact, the recent nerfs made him kind of a walk in the park in my humble opinion, although we already had tackled the affected phases. Nonetheless, we raid 3 days a week so we do not complain. The old god is dead and that keeps the guild spirits up is excellent. I got my 4th Tier 8.5 (or whatever the number is, I have lost count) and I look more like a Samurai than a Paladin...

Escape's 1st Yogg-Saron kill

Now, Escape will focus on getting some of the hard-mode achievements going, get out emblematic priest his fragments for his Val'anyr and gear up our raid pool as we go along. Hopefully I will eventually be able to collect the deathknight-looking armor set from off-spec bidding, equip the Scarlet Tabard and make a scarlet crusade-themed video...And possibly at some point get those fragments myself.

On a side note, its sad to see people leave the blogging community but I appreciate they want to move forward. Blog Azeroth has lots of new authors cropping up and I'd like to think that the 'nouvelle vague' of wow blogging ( I place myself in that as well :p) will keep the community active as ever.

Bad to the bone...

After some farming, quite a few dailies - as I am pretty crapy with the AH, contrary to Gevlon - I managed to get the cash I needed for my Mekgineer's Chopper. I must say driving this thing is immense fun, much more than I thought. And since the new bike needs a `bad-to-the-bone attitude' Lance is now sporting a new punky hairstyle. If only I could get rid of that skirt...



On another note, Escape killed General Vezax and had our first tries on Yogg-Saron. He will soon become the dead old god of death...

Why the bloody hell do we go in Ulduar?

Sometimes I wonder if its a good thing or a bad thing not having anything `juicy' to write in my blog. You see, I often report either good/positive or bad/negative news. If everything is...yikes!...`normal'... nothing to report.

Escape has been progressing steadily, facing today Mimiron seeking to complete the Keepers of Ulduar achievement. Freya was freed this week for the first time and although we got only 3 raid days per week we seem to make the best of them. Our 10-man groups also do well, with the most 'advanced' one facing Yogg-Saron.

On the solo front, I have been leveling fishing, (around 390 nowadays), doing some dailies in case I do get that chopper (yes, I still haven't crafted that for me...) and collecting my Argent Tournament badges for future use and rep with Silver Co. I already spent the first 50 on the Stormwind tabard but the damn thing depicts the guild's tabard when you are guilded. Still, I wait patiently till they fix it, I think its the most `definitive' tabard for Lance.

Nonetheless, one of the things that have been bothering me for some time is...why?

Why the bloody hell do we go in Ulduar, why do we participate in AT. Ok, in `game-terms' we do it for the loot, the fun, the progress. But what is the justification for our characters, our toons. The Ulduar cinematic did give some... political background in the whole story. But being an old player that have gone through the quest lines for Onyxia, Molten Core, AQ and even the old Naxx (although I never set foot in it)... I was used in having a background story, something to support why I am going there. Although Wotlk arguably placedt the players deeper in the story-lines, I feel that Blizzard kinda missed something when it came to Ulduar. Unless I am missing something - dazed from the endless coding in a tcl/tk 'clone' for work' - there is not even an NPC to direct you there. Someone to say, `oh shit, Yoggy is loose, the shit is about to hit the fan so we need someone to grab him and turn that fan facing Arthas bedroom...'!.

Or... maybe there is something and I missed it
...but then again...
...I shouldn't and if I did, its not my fault alone...

Thinking out loud

I sit down thinking, hoping to come up with something interesting for my blog. Various thoughts revolve around my mind but I eventually end up with the same. I am having fun in this game. Multidimensional fun. People seem to think I am crazy. You see, many of my older guildies have recently quit the world of warcraft. It was more or less that time for them. I feel tiredness was showing up in their game.

Still, I like it in Azeroth, its kinda fun and relaxing at certain moments. Granted, some times things are repetitive, but I often find that particular fact relaxing. Other times we are short of one person or two for raiding. Ok, been there, done that. There are good times, bad times, as Led Zeppelin sang. Jousting, farming, pvp... round round, I get around...

This raid week was somewhat `clumsy'. Yes, clumsy is the right world for it. We cleared most of the `farmed' content during the first two raid days and we got Hodir towards the end. That is 8/14 now. Still, our last raid was hindered from low numbers. It seems once in a while the stars align and mock us. We are a fairly small guild with fairly regular raiders. But once in a while things just do not add-up. So, this week left me with a bitter-sweet taste. Ok, we did get one more boss down (freed actually) which, sufficient to say, its more than many can say for their raid weeks. But I do feel with a tad more dedication and commitment we would be way ahead of us, competing with the `hardcore' ones in our realm.

But clumsiness often comes with the luxury of being able to raid three days a week to the max. Sometimes your guildmates may have prior obligations. Other times people have the odd-connection issue. Many things hinder a small guild like ours.

A busy week for me comes to an end. I think its time for me to come up with some more thoughtful posts than simply thinking out loud...

Quick 'n' Dirty IV

Its been a rather busy week at work and I did not have much time to update here. What I did though and had lots of fun with, was updating our guild's front-page with one that is based on blogger. I am surprised how many things you can do with this platform and a bot of good old html/css...

Will be back over the weekend with some thoughts on Ulduar nerfs, jousting and whisky

A week with 3.1

One week after the introduction of patch 3.1 and a day before the imminent - and usual - nerfs/modifications of 3.1.1, I though its best to wrap-up my experiences with the content of the patch up to now.

Solo game


Dual specs

The dual specs feature was one of the most anticipated things in the game. With a hit of a button it is now possible to switch spec (and gear if you use an add-on like Outfitter). It can even be macro-ed and here is what I use for it:

#showtooltip [spec:1] Holy Shock; [spec:2] Crusader Strike
/usetalents [spec:1] 2; [spec:2] 1

where 'Holy Shock' and 'Crusader Strike' are the spell names of the icons you want to appear on the macro-ed shortcut. Careful on the spelling, some of mine did not work properly. Also, remember to put it on 'both' bar sets (spec1+2).

The newest Outfitter available from Curse (contrary to old reports that it would be discontinued) allows switching of gear set. Right-click your gear-set, go to Script and choose Primary or Secondary talents. Make sure that you have un-ticked the Disable Automatic Switching from the options tab.

To put it simply, its a joy to farm/grind as retry. Mucho fun amigo.


The Argent Tournament

...is in town and players get the chance to do some fun dailies gaining gold and reputation with the Silver Covenant as well as to collect badges for Tournament-related faction rewards. The most notable of the latter in my humble opinion are the main faction tabards (yay! Stormwind Tabard ftw!). The dailies revolve mostly around jousting with npcs - something which once you get the hang of it is quite fun. The rest of the quests are of the usual kill/collect pattern. On top of that, there is a `lore' chain quest which eventually leads to an achievement.

There are three levels of quest, the Aspirant, the Valiant (check?) and the Champion. Progression from each is done by collecting badges from the dailies and hand them in (15, 25 badges for the first two levels). Once you become a champion you can collect champion badges. You get 10 as a bonus once you reach that level and - as with the Aspirant and Valiant levels - 5 per day if you do all dailies. Note, the latter may require a group quest for killing Chillmaw. Lance became a Champion of Stormwind over the weekend and now collects badges for that lovely Stormwind Tabard.


Raiding

Now, when it comes to raiding, there are quite a few interesting stuff. Ulduar seems to be fairly more difficult than Naxx and Co. and the challenge starts to show as guilds try to go deeper in the instance. Its been quite some time since a raid required proper positioning, synchronization, synergy among classes and some thought on how to tackle things. I am not sure on how long it will remain a challenge but we must bear in mind that almost all kills are on `easy-mode', perhaps with the exception of some kills like the ones from Inner Sanctum . You will find lots of guides on the bosses so I wont bore you with such details.

What I do know though is that Escape managed to tackle 6/14 in the first raid week with our three-day raiding scheme, acquiring some good `ranked kills and achievements' in the process. We are fairly proud of this and confident that we can start saving time and seeing new bosses as we venture deeper in Ulduar.

I wont even comment on Emalon the Storm Watcher, I hardly noticed he is there when we got him...

On top of that Lance is once step closer to getting Val'anyr Hammer of the Ancient King, since our priest officer (the prime recipient as per guilds decision) was away. So that means I am 59 fragments away :p. Still, big thanx got to my guildmates for their trust. Hope I am and will be making up for it.

So overall a very good week for us. Can't wait from more fun in the Tournament and in Ulduar. Fun... yes, we kinda missed that in-game the last few weeks...

Ulduar up on us...

As always, right before I set off to work and while eating my chocolate flavored cereals I am sitting in front of my computer, browsing through Wowinsider, Mmo-champion and my guilds forum. Ok, and some sports-related websites :p

Today, I more or less expected to see the confirmation that the patch would be deployed this week, a few hours earlier to the US, followed by the European servers. Just as I went through the first lines of the news-posts my eye fell on the video square beneath... King Varian ready to crit someone... So, naturally, I clicked and saw the promo video from Blizzard... Go on, check it , I do not want to spoil it ;-p

....
....

You're back?... So yes, the friction between the Alliance and the Horde is there once again. As well as an underlying `pact'. Varian and Garrosh are bitching, where as Rhonin, Jana and Thrall seem more... thoughtful. Yes, stereotypical, as warriors clash their blades, where as `scholars' and 'spiritual-attuned' people seem to be thinking a bit deeper. And in the middle Brann and his discovery... Yogg-Saron is slowly going stronger...and loose from his prison...

So, two levels here. One the Alliance-Horde friction, on the top level of the `political' aspect of the Ulduar-era lore. I expect this to be even more apparent further on. On the second level its the need to stop Yogg-Saron. And that is where we all come in. Our factions probably will fight for the territorial advantages, but we will have to dig in deep and do the hard, covert (well, not so covert but you get my point) stuff and go 'commando' on Yoggy (how we wow players turn every name into a pickachu-like-name is beyone my comprehension, even if it refers to inconceivably dark entities).

Jana looks troubled (with an `edited' face), Varian and Grosh mean, Thrall baffled and Rhonin... Ah, one of my favorite old heroes has now proper dialogue... And when Rhonin speaks we all better listen...

So, I leave you to enjoy the video, read the patch notes and prepare. I expect the usual service disruptions, as many people will return to the game, the usual issues with the add-ons and lots of running around! I will be back with something Ulduar-related in a few days...

Waiting for the patch...

Its a rather boring time in the World of Warcraft these days. Not much to do, people are stalling, waiting for the new patch. Not much action taking place. As the content has been exhausted by most the only thing left to do is maybe some achievements. But even those are hard to do, due to the whole situation of people being `relaxed' and raids often being under-maned. It seems (and it has been observed before) people loose their focus before major content additions. And its reasonable to some extent.

So, a few days more it seems, maybe a couple of weeks. I plan on parking Lance to Stormwind Cathedral. And then rush out to:

1. Get a free respec: I plan on reshuffling my Holy spec, resulting into a pure PvE spec with absolutely no 'damage talents', a true raid servant. And my second spec as retribution for truly selfish and take-no-prisoners fooling around. So that's sorted. Do not ask me about talent options, I often choose the most prevailing specs, so I'll have to dig-up through the usual references there
2. Sort Gear-switching: ...with a new gear-switching add on. Blizzard's equipment manager has been pushed back, I am unsure of the state of Outfitter after then patch introduction so... we will all need to sort out our spec switching with something new it seems.
3. Content: Go to the Argent Tournament area and start exploring, questing and... reputation grinding :p. In the process get some gold on the side for that Lancey-Davidson... Then start reviewing the changes here and there, starting from the new engineering changes.

Then, depending on the people around we might venture into Ulduar for a ten-man suicide mission, waiting for the next day and our scheduled run...

Dreaming the Wow universe...

The recent weeks I have felt that the game has stopped being played in the servers and has shifted in the `informational' plane; that of the websites, the blogs and the forums. Many players claim they have reached various states - represented by feelings of discomfort, such as burnout, boredom etc - due to the apparent low difficulty level of the current content. Instead, people log much less their toons, spent increased amount of time in the various `informative' and speculative websites in anticipation of the new patch. Which interestingly seems one of the most - if not the most - groundbreaking ones.

So we have two attitudes here. One is a direct or implied dismissal of the current content. A re-used entry level instance and a couple of single-boss encounters seemed not enough to keep people in the edge. Hardcore players of course seek the achievements for those extra novelty items and titles, where as ultra-casuals raid once-so-often at best. The mainstream of the players had cleared all instances on a non-achievement incurring mode and many have stepped up and did all but the hardest (Immortal, Undying, Sarth3D, Poke and Eternity). This in my humble opinion represents the current state in-game.

On the other hand, outside of the game, people drool over the incoming Ulduar instance, new rewards, some the next Arena season, new achievements but most importantly the new dual-spec scheme. The latter 'drags along' some nice UI modifications that encapsulate the dual-spec functionality or assist in changing gear schemes - and possibly replace current add-ons like Outfitter if only basic functionality is required.

Bringing these two together we have an intermediate period where people try to finish off achievements that are being altered (in terms of rewards) in 3.1, prepare their secondary spec, gather up items possibly to benefit financially from new crafts or finish up any loose ends like reputations, profession skill-ups and the like.

Overall, the game seems it has partially lost the drive of `oomph' of the previous years due to the anticipation of what is to come. I will attempt a dangerous speculation here based on one of my favourite WoW aspects. The lore. Up to now we have witnessed only an establishment of the `new order' of things and a closure of an old chapter. Kel' Thusad is down, Naxxramas has fallen, the alliance moves one bit closer to Icecrown and establishes a perimeter. The Ebon Blade is aiding this (or not...) and Tirion is the martial commander. Back home Varian, Thrall do an inconclusive bras-de-fer with Jana as a referee, Bolvar is dead (or not...) and the retribution order is stronger than ever. The dragons have established their presence and confronted the blue lunatic Malygos, Deathwind is nor here nor there, but always present and Krasus and Alexstrasza are scheming on the backs of the mortal races. Now, its time to see what the Titans and the Old Gods got in store for us. And towards the end (or not...) the ultimate Deathknight, a corrupted youth paladin and a blond boy...

Its time for the light to emerge from the ashes...

I dare say that Blizzard's 'ace up their sleeve' - on top for further streamlining the mechanics of the game and allowing us to do more 'for our buck', through new quests, new factions, a new dimension in playing with dual-specs and new raiding content - will be the lore. I feel that Wotlk is now about to start and immerse us to the next chapter of the Warcraft universe where the old order is about to crumble and the new 'players' are about to take their places in the checkered floor of Azeroth. Or... any place, plane etc...

Of course, I may be miserably wrong and we will fall in another wormhole, of mediocre difficulty caves and castles filled with non-purposeful mobs...

P.S. Excuse the `poetic' nature of my posts. Working in the Telecom industry is somewhat stressful and one of my favourite escapes is to mentaly travel, through the stories I participate in and allow my imagination run wild. And hope there is still a lot to dream for...

P.S.2 Picture is from one of my favourite digital artists involved with Wow themes, pulyx.You can see his (or herr, I am not certain...) gallery in Deviantart here

On Lore progression

In the past I mentioned briefly my love for the Warcraft lore and how I am totally hooked on certain stories. TBC was relatively shallow when it comes to lore as we got to kill certain important figures without truly exploring their past. Those figures were mainly from the most popular Warcraft period for many - that of WC3. They eventually got to be end-bosses where we 'killed' them (and one case re-'killed' them :p) without some justification in regard to their past actions. Or at least not enough. We never get to see the past of the Illidan brothers and their relation to Tyrande, the relationship of Jana, Kael and Arthas, the importance of Lady Vashj in the elf lore (and possibly a future expansion with Azshara). But we did get to see Kil'Jaeden and that is quite big :p

Wotlk changes this to a large extent with visions of Arthas' past, the active involvement of the Dragons (which in the books/lore are all over the place affecting our future - and sometimes our past), the Bronzebeard brothers, King Varian and his return, a very interesting development in Wrath gate, the return of the Ashbringer and Tirion, the tension between Alliance and Horde etc. Lore is all over the place and things crop up as we go deep in Northrend. Even some `loose ends' like Matthias Lehner, or Bolvar Fordragon are quite prominent and make lore-aficionados work their minds overtime with assumptions and predictions.

And now Ulduar comes...

For those that have seen the relative information on Yogg-Saron, recently published, we get to see various important points of the lore with some interesting mechanics. We get to see `hidden' messages, we get to wonder why, what, how and when and possibly we get to see what happened to some of those 'loose ends'.

I wont spoil the fun with details etc, you can always go look if you are interested. What I know is we are much more involved in the story now. One story that slowly comes to its conclusion (or not), closing some of the remaining chapters of WC3. And quite possibly a few new threads, generated, that in will return spin-off to new paths.

All I know is that now is the time to enjoy the story; more than ever in World of Warcraft.

P.S. Picture source

Ulduar

So here it is, what many WoW players waited for patiently for months. The next bit of content, the awaited challenge, the new place to be, the new loot-bank, tier8, new achievements, new enemies and a whole lot of things we play for...

Ulduar.

For countless millennia, Ulduar has remained undisturbed by mortals, far away from their concerns and their struggles. But since its recent discovery, many have wondered what the structure's original purpose may have been. Some thought it a city, built to herald the glory of its makers; some thought it a vault containing innumerable treasures, perhaps even relics of the mighty Titans themselves. They were wrong. Beyond its gates lies no city, no treasure vault, no final answer to the Titan's mysteries. All that awaits those who dare set foot in Ulduar is a horror even the Titans could not, would not destroy, an evil they merely... contained. Beneath ancient Ulduar, the Old God of death lies, whispering.... Tread carefully, or his prison will become your tomb.

First, lets take a look on some bits of information from the Blues (not the Brothers...):

As the next step in tiered raid progression in Wrath of the Lich King, Ulduar is set to blow players away with gorgeous setpieces, sprawling battlefields, and innovative boss encounters. Ulduar's design aims to provide a fun, unique, and innovative raid experience, but it also includes additional challenges - and rewards - for seasoned raiders. In this sneak-peek at World of Warcraft's newest raid dungeon, we'll take a look at some of the new content that makes Ulduar rise above the crop of amazing dungeons already available in World of Warcraft.


More pictures in: 1,2,3,4 from mmo-champion

From the pictures posted in mmo-champion the place sure looks nice, on par with the titan architecture, possibly (hopefully? ;-p) reminiscent of Uldaman in some places. About the detail on innovation, achievements etc, more further on...

Many players have already gotten their Wrath of the Lich King raiding feet wet in Naxxramas and the Sartharion raid, but Ulduar is the first example of the expansion's much larger, truly epic scope of raiding, as will be evident from the second you set foot in the instance. The most obvious difference between Ulduar and its predecessors is that the dungeon actually comprises two separate raid areas. The first section is an epic battle against a vast army standing between you and the entrance of the dungeon proper; in the second area, you will dive into the heart of the dungeon itself and finally discover the secrets of Ulduar.

So, here is an implied reasoning on why raiding content was fairly easy in 3.xx. To get more people's feet wet. Now - the devs claim - comes the hard/epic/interesting part. Possibly one of the reasons we set foot in Northrend. One of the reasons Brann is here. Maybe one of the reasons Arthas is here too...

An interesting twist (depending on scale) is the battle prior to the instance. Kinda gives some depth to the meaning of raiding a place of secrets. You would think someone would try to protect those secrets, right? So, here it is. The defenders of the instance, the front line. We will have to pass from those guys first.

Ulduar's new master has rallied his own massive Iron Army to guard the entrance to Ulduar and to prevent any unwanted guests - including you, especially you - from reaching the inner sanctum. Thankfully, you'll be able to face the Iron Army on even footing: although the main Horde and Alliance forces are focused on the forces beyond the Wrathgate and on each other, some who are better able to appreciate the true magnitude of Ulduar's threat have managed to scrap together a small fleet of siege vehicles to aid you in the assault.

Yes, especially you. You are the one they are afraid off, you are the one that affected the history to some extent up to now and you will be the one to make more changes. You. Arthas thought the same...

So, siege a place before we enter. Aided from some enlightened Alliance/Horde who think there is something worth fighting here. It looks like Blizzard is adding depth and purpose to why we need to go there.

You and your friends will have to use these vehicles wisely to break through Ulduar's defenses. A mix of motorcycles, demolishers, and siege engines will be at your disposal, each granting unique abilities to the pilot and the passenger. Motorcycle drivers, for example, can create pools of liquid tar that snare opponents and can be set on fire by area effect attacks, while demolisher passengers can load themselves into the vehicle's catapult so that the pilot can launch them into the distance. If used judiciously, these and other abilities will help decimate the Iron Army and any other threats lying in wait between you and Ulduar.

So, here comes the first innovation. Vehicles. One of Blizzard's 'aces' in Wotlk. We need to see how this will be implemented but on paper it looks fun. I know people already whine about it but I personally find vehicles a fun aspect.

One such threat is the Flame Leviathan. After you've plowed through the innumerable ranks of the Iron Army, you will be confronted by an enormous tank. Mimiron built the Flame Leviathan as part of the V0-L7R-0N weapons platform, which means that it packs quite a punch. Normal spells and abilities won't be enough to take down this juggernaut, so you will have to rely on your siege vehicles to outmaneuver and defeat the boss. After wearing the massive war machine down, you will have to launch players onto the tank's back to destroy its defense turrets and sabotage the Leviathan before you can move on. Of course, if you'd like an additional challenge beyond this naturally frantic (but extremely fun) fight, you can try your hand at one of the Flame Leviathan's different Hard Modes (see sidebar).

Robo Wars! Ok, if this is what I imagine it will be like WWII (Check here and you will get where I am getting at.)

Of course, the vehicle gauntlet, the Iron Army, and the battle against the Flame Leviathan are only the start of World of Warcraft's most ambitious raid to date. Patch 3.1 will hit the Public Test Realms very soon, so you will be able to see for yourself what other challenges await beyond the gates of ancient Ulduar.

Ulduar brilliantly illustrates the new design challenges and innovations that come with the bigger scope of the expansion's raids. In order to make raid content more accessible, it has to offer a lot of variety, but it also needs to include a very granular means for players to adjust a raid's difficulty. This concept was first realized in the Burning Crusade with the introduction of Heroic mode, and Wrath of the Lich King is developing the idea even further with new Hard Modes.

So, they got something in mind, for sure, and we are going to see it further on, starting with Ulduar and presumably eventually Icecrown Citadel

Boss fights that have a Hard Mode are affected by certain variables which players can control and which change the encounter's difficulty. For example, spread throughout Ulduar's vehicle section are four defense towers you can destroy. The more towers you leave intact, the harder the encounter with the Flame Leviathan will be, but the loot will also be better.

Ok, hard, easy mode, drakes, achievements etc.

Ulduar isn't the first dungeon to include Hard Mode, but it certainly makes the most use of it. Out of 14 bosses, 11 will have a Hard Mode that offers additional challenges and rewards. Ulduar will appeal to a wide range of play styles, but the dungeon also has great longevity and a high replay value.

Ok, take a note on the last sentence. Great LONGEVITY, high REPLAY value. Lets see how true this is, cause if it is then we are up for a wild ride! Also, I think its the first time these features are mentioned by devs; kind of a response to those claiming the current content is short, easy and boring.

And a further post with some more details:

Ok, we're getting close to the point where we will need testing of Ulduar boss encounters on PTR, so let's talk about Ulduar testing!

We're going to be performing testing differently than in the past. We're looking for much more targeted feedback, and we don't want to just have the zone freely open and allow extended, unsupervised testing to take place. So, when the PTR servers come up with 3.1.0, by default Ulduar will be turned completely off. We'll instead enable Ulduar and specific bosses during times where the encounter team can observe testing.

Shortly after 3.1.0 PTR is up and running, I'll post a schedule that will indicate when we will open specific bosses to testing. We'll have testing opportunities for both EU and NA region PTRs in their respective prime time playing hours. There might also be a boss or two we do leave up for extended testing, and some bosses will only be tested in either the EU or NA. Some encounters won't be up on the PTR at all! There's 14 boss encounters in Ulduar, there will be lots to test. The schedule will be quite flexible, check in the Dungeons & Raids forum and on the PTR forum for updates.

The first set of boss encounters to get testing will include:

• Freya
• Thorim
• Hodir
• The Iron Council

Both 10 player and 25 player versions of the encounters will be open to testing, and we expect players to have nearly full Naxxramas gear. While Jillian McWeaksauce might make appearances on the PTR to provide testing consumables, please try to bring your own.

I hope to see raid groups of many different skill levels on the 3.1.0 PTR servers when they become available!

The first boss has you enter 1 of 3 different vehicles (Chopper, Demolisher, and Siege Engine) to fight your way through an immense Iron army to the Flame Leviathan and defeat him. After that, there's very little use of vehicles by players. We'll have the fight up on the PTR at a later date, but this fight isn't in the first wave of boss encounters to be tested.

Actually, the effectiveness of the vehicles in the Flame Leviathan fight changes depending on the quality of the gear. So someone in full Naxxramas epics (or Ulduar epics!) will have an easier time than someone in greens.

So, BLizzard is attempting a more controlled testing procedure, supervising even more than they did with Sunwell. The result will be presumably better monitoring, debugging and tweaking, but less tactics posted afterward. World firsts from exausting the PTR content will be a tad harder (I doubt if certain guilds wont get them anyway).

The aforementioned bosses are also characters we have encountered up to now so I expect their respective stories to develop. I also sense the possibility of new factions cropping up, aside from the Sunreavers and the Silver Convenant. Also, the vehicle quality changes with our gear. Quite clever I must admit...

One thing is for sure, this is an exiting time. Now lets see how bad that paladin tier8 looks like...

P.S. All the information above was obtained from mmo-champion