World of Warcraft players will have have new raid bosses to battle this week. Blizzard plans to launch Blackrock Foundry worldwide along with a new world boss.
The world boss in question is Rukhmar, a firehawk that you may find flying above the Spires of Arak zone. She uses fire magic on any players that challenge her. She also summons phoenixes that will chase other players.
If you defeat Rukhmar, you have a chance to win a piece of item level 665 gear. She also occasionally drops a mount called Solar Spirehawk. It's basically a miniaturized version of her. Unlike Rukhmar, though, this mount won't be able to fly in Draenor. Blizzard doesn't have any immediate plans to enable flying in the new expansion.
Blackrock Foundry is what will be occupying most of players' time, though. This fortress in northern Gorgrond is home to new 10 bosses including Warlord Blackhand. You can find guides for each boss at Wowhead and Icy Veins.
Like Highmaul, Blackrock Foundry is available in four different difficulty levels: Looking for Raid, Normal, Heroic and Mythic. The item level of the loot will depend on the difficulty you choose, with level 650 gear doled out for LFR and level 695 awarded for Mythic. This equipment will include the new Tier 17 set for your classes.
Only the two middle difficulty levels will be available at first, though. Mythic difficulty will follow a week later along with the first wing of LFR. Blizzard will then roll out the other wings of LFR in subsequent weeks. Here's the full schedule announced by Blizzard last month:
- February 3, 2015: Blackrock Foundry opens with Normal and Heroic difficulties available and world boss Rukhmar becomes available in Spires of Arak.
- February 10, 2015: Mythic difficulty becomes available.
- February 17, 2015: Raid Finder Wing 1: Slagworks (Gruul, Oregorger, and The Blast Furnace) unlocks.
- February 24, 2015: Raid Finder Wing 2: The Black Forge (Hans’gar and Franzok, Flamebender Ka’graz, and Kromog ) unlocks.
- March 10, 2015: Raid Finder Wing 3: Iron Assembly (Beastlord Darmac, Operator Thogar, and The Iron Maidens) unlocks.
- March 24, 2015: Raid Finder Wing 4: Blackhand’s Crucible (Blackhand) unlocks.
While the Looking for Raid difficulty is dumbed-down and can be completed with a random group thrown together by matchmaking, it still requires your character to have an average item level of 635. That really shouldn't be hard to get, though, considering the Highmaul LFR gives out level 640.
Players will have alternate ways to gear up for Blackrock Foundry once Patch 6.1 arrives. New missions for garrison followers will provide level 665 to 695 items. Random daily quests given by garrison visitors can grant players level 630, 645, or 655 loot. The Apexis Crystal vendors at Ashran will also start selling level 670 gear.
Blackrock Foundry will be the second raid zone released for WoW since the release of the Warlords of Draenor expansion in November. It's unclear what the next raid will be. Blackrock Foundry is the end of this "tier" of content so there may be a longer wait for next zone. Hopefully Highmaul, Blackrock Foundry and the three world bosses are enough to keep players occupied until then.
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