Patch 3.1: Gear

Alright, Alright, Alright already! I have read SO many, gripes and hurrahs about the mass amount of information spewing out on a daily basis about the huge content patch coming out. I suppose now its my turn to comment on the woes and cheers that is the first major content patch of Wrath.

I’m not going to go over a lot of it because there is A LOT of information to take in. If you haven’t heard about a lot of it (FOR SHAME!) I suggest you frolic over to MMO Champion and get yourself informed. Check it everyday though cuz the information is constantly changing and updating.

I’ll be updating on a little bit every few days or so to keep from making one HUGE post and also to give me something to write about! This is also because I’d like to cover things that I haven’t read about in a million different places.

First I want to talk about Gear, because honestly who doesn’t love to talk about Gear?! I know I do!

Lets start with this debacle…

CAUTION: Keep All Flammable Items Away From Small Children

You can see the larger version of the female set here and the male version here, but this gives you an idea of what we’re gonna be walking around like.

I read over on Blessing of Kings that this set started out much different. The original concept artwork showed the set completely enclosed, like something he refers to as a “Vorlon Encounter Suit“. The headpiece serves as the final seal, coming down and locking in place, completely encasing the paladin in the armor. Think Samus from Metroid. As you can see from the pictures, this concept didn’t transfer that well to the finished armor. He goes on to say that its because the shoulders aren’t big enough, so the headpiece loses its meaning, and now just looks like a “weird affection”.

Uh yeah. And thats a nice way of putting it. It looks RIDICULOUS. I’ve heard everything from “Bic Lighter” to “Megaman”. A good friend of mine even pointed out to me that there is a penis on the male version >.>

As if the Kirin Tor Tabard isn't Blatant Enough...

Phallic imagery aside, there is still hope for out Tier 8. Suicidal Zebra made a post saying that there maybe be a kilt for this set instead of pants. I truly hope so!

But if not, in my opinion it really depends on what color scheme they go with, though I’m not really sure which color I prefer. I’ll be keeping my helm hidden (not that I’ve showed one since Wrath on my paladin) and hoping I don’t stumble near any goblin fueling stations.

Curse of Horrible Paladin Tier Sets aside, they are gracing us with a shiny, shiny Legendary Weapon, Val’anyr, Gavel of Ancient Kings. Restricted to only Paladins, Priests, Shaman, and Druids it is likely to be a healing weapon, though I have yet to see any stats posted. It looks pretty Legendary, though I fear it will scale down much smaller on my paladin.

Valanyr, Gavel of Ancient Kings... or Queens

So how do you get this highly sought after piece of pixel heaven? Well no one is really sure as of yet. The item has already gotten its own fan-based Website which tells us a little information. So far this is what I’ve gathered:

1. Obtain Fragment of Val’anyr x40 (or is it 30? hmmm!) which will most likely drop from hard mode raid bosses.
2. Assemble Val by defeating Yogg-Saron
3. Throw the Shattered Pieces of Val’anyr inside Yogg-Saron’s exposed brain and defeat Yogg-Saron to recover the Reforged Hammer of Ancient Kings.

You also get 42g for completing the quest chain. Woot!

I haven’t read about how you start the quest or a confirmation of where the Fragments drop, but I plan to keep checking the fan site which will be updated soon.

I’ve never had a class who could actually use a legendary weapon, so this is very, very cool to me. I can only hope that I’m chosen in the raid team to get it. Cross your fingers for me!

So you’re gonna look like a Yanke Candle Store, but you get a Legendary Mace to parade around with. Not a bad trade off right? Well with that Mace you’re gonna need a shield.

I’ve seen 4 different models for shields, 2 of which look like faces. There is also one that looks sort of like a … flower? I dunno what to call it and then there is one that looks like a hoverdisc of sorts. I like the last one the best actually, it just gives me a badass pally feel. However, according to what I’ve seen, we will be walking around with one of the “face” models.

Whatchoo looking at?

Check out the sweet handlebar mustache on that guy! He looks a bit sad though. His class must have been nerfed =(

As I mentioned, I prefer the other model, but facial hair and QQ tears aside, its not too terrible. I’ll be sad to give up my Naked Lady Shield though.

So there you have it! To see all of the new Gear models be sure to check out the post about it over at MMO Champion and keep an eye out for more posts from me about the upcoming 3.1 Patch.

Can’t wait? Need more eye candy? You can always watch the Official Ulduar Preview Video over at Blizzard’s Official Site. Thats what I’m going to go do right now!