inally. It was in Warcraft III where we first encountered Prince Arthas, with that game's expansion named after the frozen throne of the Lich King. And now, at long last, there is the opportunity to destroy the paladin gone bad.
Once Blizzard opens that wing of Icecrown Citadel, of course. Now, given that the holiday season is very much out in force, the extended wait period to fight anything past the first four bosses seems more reasonable, though still frustrating for players who had blasted through much of Tier 9 content, and then went on to kill the same five raid bosses three or four times a week.
Arthas' stronghold may be enjoyable enough to compensate for Trial of the Crusader's repetition. Three new five-man instances are built on a strong basis of lore, and designed to allow for a larger story told in short chapters. The difficulty is a step up from earlier heroics as well, along with the gear. Admittedly, this can be rather problematic with random players who may or may not possess the competence to complete the dungeons.
Now, at long last, there is the opportunity to destroy the paladin gone bad.The raid gave me the impression of being both spacious and full of action upon first entry. So far it has reminded me of The Burning Crusade Black Temple raid, with different levels and numerous friendly and hostile denizens. However, the first boss wasn't nearly as intimidating he looked, and died after only a couple attempts on the twenty-five-player version. The fourth fight, against Deathbringer Saurfang, did a wonderful job of tying in the earlier Wrathgate questline, though the introductory conversation begins to seem a bit long after several attempts.
And the new rogue helm looks to be on fire. This trend of flaming gear still seems to counteract any and all stealth abilities for the class.
Given that Michael already covered the new Looking for Group system, I'll restrict my commentary to noting that I've run into a few good players, some poorly geared players, and some well-geared players that performed quite a bit under what would be expected with said gear.
While Patch 3.3 has proved enjoyable so far, I'll have to wait until we've faced down Arthas to have any sort of complete analysis about it. And the artificial time limits on that may prove more challenging than any fight.