A Peek inside Ulduar

Have you been inside yet? This place is huge. In the grand scheme of World of Warcraft raids, it's safe to say Ulduar was designed to be a challenge. This ain’t Kara, peeps. Even the trash hit like trucks.

In fact, we joked that there should be an achievement for some of the trash pulls, that first night, and that was on 10 man. It’s gone somewhat smoother since then, the guild has downed a couple bosses on 25, but Ulduar isn’t gonna be taken down by random PuGs anytime soon.

Experienced raiders may be able to build decent pick up groups eventually, when people have had a chance to see and learn the fights, but right now, “LFM Ulduar” tends to get a laugh.

Your guild needs to work like a well oiled machine and people have to learn not only the strats but also to pay attention.

You can expect to hear, “Don’t stand in that!” or “Move, move, move!” Ulduar is a good test to see which players, if any, have been carried so far…

One good place for more info is StratFu (click on Ulduar interactive map).

Don’t try this in blues. You’ll need to be well-geared, well-buffed, and use top of the line enhancements. You’ll likely see players switched out for different fights, unless they are as good in their dual specs as they are in their main specs. Some fights need more tanks, more heals, or more DPS, than others. So, work on those dual specs (and off-set gear) if you don’t want to sit.

This content is new to everyone, so if you’ve been lagging behind other raiders, now is a good time to get in on the learning experience (while everyone else is still learning).

Dual Spec Coming Soon?

We’ve been hearing about dual specs for quite awhile. The idea led to much excitement and anticipation. Well, apparently, the wait is almost over. This comes from a “blue,” the well-known, and well-loved (okay, sometimes) Ghostcrawler.

Dual specs may be available to play around with on the PTR as soon as the next patch.

While you may have heard the term dual spec and have a basic idea of what it means, there are some details you may not be aware of. While nothing is really set in stone at this time, the basic concept is pretty well laid out.

Here are a few details:

• You cannot switch specs mid-fight but apparently can switch mid-raid.

• You must be level 80 to train for dual specs.

• There will be a fee (rumor has it that the cost may be 1,000 gold, but we’ll know for sure once it’s released).

• It looks as though you’ll be able to make changes, move around those talent points if necessary, before your spec is saved (this is a good idea and a welcome change for anyone who has misplaced a point while respeccing).

You can learn more by reading the interview with Ghostcrawler at worldofwarcraft.com or checking out Mike Schramm’s article at wowinsider.com.

I'm excited. Are you excited?

UPDATE 4/15/09: Dual specs are live!

The cost is in fact 1,000 gold, but you only have to be level 40 to train for dual specs.