World of Warcraft’s latest patch, 4.3: Hour of Twilight, is such a big patch with such sweeping changes that I felt the need to do another post following up on its release. There have been a lot of interesting developments, so let’s get to it!

Fashion trends:

Surprisingly, not many people seem to be making use of the much-hyped new transmogrification feature. I’d say maybe a quarter of the people I’ve seen are mogged, at best. But still, I really enjoy seeing the sets people have come up with, and what looks win out as most popular. I’ve noticed a few trends.

Priests: Pretty much every priest I meet seems to be using the “Avatar” set. Can hardly blame them; it’s a great set.

Mages: Mages seem to be favoring Tempest Regalia, with a few Tirisfal Regalias running around.

Warlocks: Most locks seem to be using the Malefic set or its recolours. I know it’s a popular set, so this doesn’t much surprised me, but locks have so many awesome tier sets that I find it disappointing there isn’t more variety.

Death knights: Most mogged death knights appear to prefer the sets from their starting zone, with a fairly even mix of the blue set they get while questing and the uncommon quality set they start with. I’m also seeing a lot of Scourgelord. Death knights always have the coolest gear, so they have no shortage of choices.

It’ll be interesting to see if these trends persist, or if new ones will arise.

The Raid Finder:

As I’m writing this, I’ve just finished my first Raid Finder run. I was able to complete the first wing with only one wipe. If what I just experienced is going to be the norm, it is the Best Thing Ever.

Not to say that it doesn’t have problems. The group I got into was already 2/4, and I’m told this is a common problem, so it might be hard to ever do the first boss(es). There’s also a serious case of herding cats syndrome, with a lot of premature bloodlusting (sounds dirty) and similar shenanigans.

But that doesn’t change the fact that I was able to kill relevant raid bosses within days of their release. Me.

This is ground-breaking. This is revolutionary. This is what I’ve hoped for since I started playing this game.

Dragon Soul is a really impressive raid, and I had a lot of fun. The fights are very easy compared to normal raiding, but not so easy that you don’t have to try at all. Wiping is still possible if you botch the mechanics. It’s just more forgiving of minor mistakes.

The new dungeons:

I’ve completed all three of the new 4.3 dungeons now, and I have to say, I’ve been blown away. Well of Eternity was nothing short of a masterpiece, perhaps even better than my previous favourite dungeon, Halls of Reflection.

The place is just a giant nerdgasm for any lore fan. It’s amazingly true to the novel, down to the finest details. It’s also epic and thrilling in a way few dungeons are, and the boss fights are very fun. There’s no part of it I didn’t love.

The last dungeon, Hour of Twilight, was a bit less impressive, though still enjoyable. As much as I like the easier dungeons, this one could have used a little more challenge. It’s the last dungeon of the expansion; one or two wipes wouldn’t have been unreasonable.

Operation: Payoff update:

You may remember from a previous post my plan to bribe a raiding guild into letting me pickpocket Hagara in normal Dragon Soul so my rogue can complete the first half of the new legendary chain.

I thought I was very clever for thinking of this, but it turns out every rogue on the server had the same idea. Last night, Trade chat was nothing but rogues spamming about it.

But I managed to muster some further cleverness from my battered brain cells. I grouped up with a guildie and went into Dragon Soul myself to spam its general channel. I got trolled back to the stone age, but eventually, I got a serious answer, and I now have an appointment to theoretically get my decoder ring Tuesday night.

Don’t worry; be happy:

I’m noticing something with 4.3 I haven’t often seen in World of Warcraft: happiness. Normally, WoW fans, at least the ones that speak up, are nothing but fountains of tears.

But yet people seem to be really enjoying this patch. That’s not to say that there isn’t still the usual QQ, but there’s now positivity to balance the whining. People love the fun, shorter dungeons; they love the Raid Finder; they love transmog.

Even one of my guildmates, normally very reserved, has spent all the last few days positively gushing about how much loves the new dungeons. “Dude, Azshara was totally flirting with me!”

I’m enjoying the new patch for its effect on the fans as much as anything else.

One final note:

Yet another of my articles has been published online, 10 Most Pointless MMO Abilities. Enjoy.