Thursday, November 8, 2007

PTR: First Real Experience in Zul'Aman

I just finished my first run in the new Zul'Aman instance, which goes live next Tuesday. And I don't want to spoil any surprises for you, but I do have to say that the instance is most definitely a gear check. Our group of players was getting slammed all over the place, tanks nearly one-shotted, DPS seemed to be running out of steam, and healers just barely kept up, and all on the first boss!

Given, the raid group was a PuG on the PTR, and that created some communication roadblocks and other difficulties that probably made things more complicated than they needed to be. Still, the instance does seem to up the difficulty level for 10-mans, even if just a bit for those that are properly geared. The under-geared in our group definitely had a very difficult time, however, and our overall performance suffered as a result. The impression I had (and do keep in mind that this is only my first) is that pre-Karazhan blues just won't cut it in Zul'Aman. And casters, an excellent Spell Hit rating is a must.

All in all, the run was an enjoyable introduction to what we all be will seeing quite regularly come next week. Oh, and when you do eventually venture into Zul'Aman, bring two tanks. I know, I know, I said I wouldn't spoil anything. But trust me. You'll thank me later. ;)

2 comments:

Jesika said...

Invictus ran ZA a few times - and did fairly decent, though they never cleared it on the PTR from my experience (I wouldn't know as of now).

Overall for a PuG it's fairly difficult atm, but so was Kara when it was initially released.

The loot available in ZA + heroic badges that are obtained suggest that it should be a bit harder than Kara's nerfed state as well as Heroic instances... and it seems to be for an evenly geared non-pug group.

It'll get nerfed once it's live though... I can almost promise that. Lol.

Jagoex said...

Lol. That seems to be the case with every newly introduced instance, doesn't it. That's somewhat disappointing.

In terms of how complicated ZA seems, from my initial impression, an organized group should be able to handle the pulls and what not with ease. However, it's the longevity of the group that seems to be taxed.

Health and mana pools were emphasized, as was the ability to do constant damage. So if a group lacks stats in any of those criteria, the instance will be more difficult than it needs to be.

But as you said, Jes, the same was said of Karazhan and we had that sucker down BEFORE it was nerfed. Good gear is one thing. A great crew wearing it is another.

Those were good times.