World of Warcraft has now unlocked Story Mode for The Venomous Abyss, allowing players to complete the final chapter of the Patch 12.1 campaign through simplified versions of the raid's final two encounters.
You fight The Coiled Altar.
You fight Ula'tek.
You get the raid's ending cinematic.
And you can complete the campaign quest without waiting for the final Raid Finder wing or convincing nineteen strangers that everyone definitely watched the tactics video.
Story Mode Is Now Available
Blizzard scheduled The Venomous Abyss Story Mode to unlock during the second week of Midnight Season 2.
That unlock is now live.
According to the current Venomous Abyss Story Mode details, the mode contains simplified versions of the final two raid encounters:
- The Coiled Altar
- Ula'tek
You do not need to clear the raid's first six bosses.
You are essentially dropped into the final chapter of the story, allowing you to experience the conclusion without progressing through Normal, Heroic or Mythic difficulty.
Which is convenient if your primary interest in Ula'tek is learning what happens rather than measuring exactly how quickly she can remove your health bar.
Talk to Seh'ka the Sturdy to Enter
There is no complicated unlock process once you have reached the appropriate point in the campaign.
Head to the entrance of The Venomous Abyss on the Coiled Isle.
Near the Summoning Stone you will find Seh'ka the Sturdy.
Talk to her and you can queue directly for Story Mode.
If you use TomTom, the location is:
/way #2509 47.8 22.4 Seh'ka the Sturdy
If you have not been spending much time on the island yet, our guide to the Coiled Isle portal from Silvermoon will save you some travel time.
You Only Fight the Final Two Bosses
Story Mode is not simply the entire eight-boss raid with smaller numbers.
It focuses specifically on the ending.
The first encounter is The Coiled Altar, where the confrontation involving Zul'jan and the final ritual reaches its conclusion.
After that comes Ula'tek, the ancient creature whose release has driven the entire Curse of Ula'tek storyline.
Defeat both and the final raid cinematic plays.
That makes Story Mode primarily a narrative feature rather than an alternative gearing difficulty.
Which brings us to the important limitation.
The Story Mode Bosses Do Not Drop Raid Loot
If you are hoping to farm Story Mode Ula'tek for raid gear, save yourself the trip.
The bosses do not drop normal raid loot in Story Mode.
This is not a difficulty positioned below Raid Finder for gearing.
It exists so players can experience the story, complete the campaign and see the raid finale.
But that does not mean you leave empty-handed.
The campaign quest itself has some very respectable rewards.
The Campaign Quest Gives a Champion-Track Ring
Chapter 5 of the Curse of Ula'tek campaign includes the quest The Venomous Abyss.
Completing the raid through Story Mode satisfies that quest requirement.
The campaign quest rewards include a choice of Champion-track rings at item level 292:
- Ula'tek's Bind
- Gore Rattler Coil
You also receive:
- 1,500 Zul'jarra's Forces reputation
- 10 Champion Mistcrests
- "The Hunger Awakens" Mural
So while Ula'tek herself does not shower Story Mode players with raid drops, finishing the campaign still provides an actual piece of Season 2 gear plus useful progression rewards.
Storytelling with benefits.
You Can See the Ending Before Raid Finder Gets There
This is probably the most interesting part of the release schedule.
Blizzard's official Venomous Abyss raid schedule staggers Raid Finder across four wings.
Story Mode opened during the week of August 25.
But Raid Finder Wing 4, containing The Coiled Altar and Ula'tek, does not open until the week of September 8 in North America, with the corresponding regional reset elsewhere.
That means players who primarily use Raid Finder do not need to wait another couple of weeks to finish the campaign.
Story Mode lets them see the ending now.
Blizzard has effectively separated narrative access from the Raid Finder release schedule.
This Is Exactly What Story Mode Is For
Raids contain some of World of Warcraft's biggest story moments.
Historically, that has created a slightly awkward problem.
The campaign tells you that an ancient world-ending monstrosity needs to be stopped.
Then the quest log effectively says:
Excellent. Please organize a raid.
Raid Finder helped enormously, but staggered wing releases still meant story-focused players could wait weeks before seeing an expansion or patch conclusion.
Story Mode removes that obstacle.
You can follow the campaign into The Venomous Abyss, fight streamlined versions of the encounters and actually finish the story at roughly the point the campaign expects you to.
Players interested in progression still have Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic and Mythic.
Players interested primarily in the story can now simply continue the story.
A revolutionary concept.
Ula'tek Is Considerably Less Friendly on Other Difficulties
Do not mistake Story Mode for an indication that the actual raid encounter has suddenly become trivial.
Ula'tek has already demonstrated exactly how unfriendly the proper raid version can be.
We previously covered the first Heroic Ula'tek kill after days of progression and Blizzard tuning, and Mythic progression represents another level entirely.
Story Mode deliberately removes much of that pressure.
It is supposed to.
The goal is not to provide another Race to World First.
The goal is to ensure the player who has spent Patch 12.1 following Zul'jan, Zul'jarra and the mystery of Ula'tek can actually see how that story ends.
So Yes, Casual Players Can Finish the Campaign Now
If The Venomous Abyss quest has been sitting in your log because you do not raid, you can finish it now.
Go to the raid entrance on the Coiled Isle.
Find Seh'ka the Sturdy.
Queue for Story Mode.
Defeat The Coiled Altar and Ula'tek.
Watch the cinematic.
Then collect your 292 Champion-track ring, 1,500 reputation, 10 Champion Mistcrests and mural.
No full raid clear required.
No waiting for Raid Finder Wing 4.
No raid leader asking why you died to a mechanic you have never seen before.
For once, saving Azeroth can simply be part of the campaign.
Post a Comment