As part of the run-up to patch 11.2, Blizzard is closing out Season 2 of World of Warcraft: The War Within with a couple of special events. One of them is a buff called Collector’s Bounty which is aimed at transmog collectors and mount farmers. Here’s what you might want to know before you jump in.
There’s been some confusion about how Collector’s Bounty works. It was implemented on July 1 after the weekly reset, but took a couple of hours to kick in. Its effects were initially invisible. Now every character who logs into a modern TWW server will receive Collector’s Bounty on entry into the world.
While this buff persists, bosses in every dungeon and raid instance in “legacy content” (any expansion before Dragonflight), drops double the normal loot. In dungeons, this typically means four to six items, while raid bosses can drop up to 12 depending on the raid’s difficulty setting. Anecdotally, it also seems as if dungeon monsters have a greater chance to drop green- and blue-quality items.
This is a great opportunity to hunt down any transmogrification items you’ve been missing. (Personally, I use the AllTheThings add-on to track my collection, which is why my tooltips are slightly longer than usual).
Further, several specific items, such as rare mounts and legendary weapons, have a +5 percent chance to drop during Collector’s Bounty. This is 10 times their usual drop rate, and some obsessed players have been trying to get them for actual calendar years. Maybe now’s their chance.
Specific items affected by Collector’s Bounty include:
Classic
Deathcharger’s Reins, Lord Rivendare, Stratholme
Bindings of the Windseeker, Baron Geddon and Garr, Molten Core
Red Qiraji Resonating Crystal, a trash drop in Temple of Ahn’Qiraj
Burning Crusade
Fiery Warhorse’s Reins, Attumen the Huntsman, Karazhan
Ashes of Al’ar, Kael’thas Sunstrider, Tempest Keep
Reins of the Raven Lord, Anzu, Sethekk Halls
Swift White Hawkstrider, Kael’thas Sunstrider, Magister’s Terrace
Thori’dal, the Stars’ Fury, Kil’jaeden, Sunwell Plateau
Wrath of the Lich King
Reins of the Azure Drake, Malygos, 10-man Eye of Eternity
Reins of the Blue Drake, Malygos, 25-man Eye of Eternity
Reins of the Grand Black War Mammoth, any boss in the Vault of Archaevon
Reins of the Blue Proto-Drake, Skadi the Ruthless, Utgarde Pinnacle
Mimiron’s Head, Yogg-Saron with 0 Keepers’ help, Ulduar
Reins of the Onyxian Drake, Onyxia, Onyxia’s Lair
Invincible’s Reins, the Lich King, 25-man heroic Icecrown Citadel
Cataclysm
Reins of the Drake of the North Wind, Altarius, Vortex Pinnacle
Reins of the Drake of the South Wind, Al’Akir, Throne of the Four Winds
Reins of the Vitreous Stone Drake, Slabhide, Stonecore
Armored Razzashi Raptor, Bloodlord Mandokir, Zul’Gurub
Swift Zulian Panther, High Priestess Kilnara, Zul’Gurub
Flametalon of Alysrazor, Alysrazor, Firelands
Smoldering Egg of Millagazor, Ragnaros, Firelands
Experiment 12-B, Ultraxion, Dragon Soul
Reins of the Blazing Drake, Madness of Deathwing, Dragon Soul
Life-Binder’s Handmaiden, Madness of Deathwing, heroic Dragon Soul
Mists of Pandaria
Reins of the Astral Cloud Serpent, Elegon, Mogu’shan Vaults
Spawn of Horridon, Horridon, Throne of Thunder
Clutch of Ji-Kun, Ji-Kun, Throne of Thunder
Kor’kron Juggernaut, Garrosh Hellscream, mythic Siege of Orgrimmar
Note: While not specifically affected by Collector’s Bounty, SoO has a few secret transmogrification items as boss drops, such as the Kor’kron Dark Shaman set and Mannoroth’s Tusks, that should be easier to farm now.
Warlords of Draenor
Ironhoof Destroyer, Blackhand, mythic Blackrock Foundry
Felsteel Annihilator, Archimonde, mythic Hellfire Citadel
Legion
Living Infernal Core, Gul’dan, Nighthold
Fiendish Hellfire Core, Gul’dan, mythic Nighthold
Golden Hearthstone Card, Gul’dan, mythic Nighthold
Midnight’s Eternal Reins, Attumen the Huntsman, Return to Karazhan
Abyss Worm, Mistress Sassz’ine, Tomb of Sargeras
Antoran Charhound, F’harg, Antorus
Shackled Ur’zul, Argus the Unmaker, Antorus
In addition, keep an eye out for two high-demand cosmetic weapon drops from Antorus. Aggramar’s flaming sword Taeshalach has been a popular transmogrification option since Legion came out, and Argus has a low chance to drop his scythe.
Battle for Azeroth
Sharkbait’s Favorite Crackers, Harlan Sweete, mythic Freehold
Mummified Raptor Skull, King Dazar, mythic King’s Rest
Underrot Crawg Harness, Unbound Abomination, mythic Underrot
G.M.O.D., High Tinker Mekkatorque, Battle for Dazar’lor
Glacial Tidestorm, Jaina Proudmoore, mythic Battle for Dazar’lor
Ny’alotha Allseer, N’Zoth the Corruptor, Ny’alotha
While anyone in Champion-track TWW gear or better should blast through most BfA content like it isn’t there, this is also where raid encounter design can get a bit tricky. For example, the Stormwall Blockade encounter in Dazar’lor has an instant kill built into it if you don’t interrupt Catastrophic Tides in time. (If you’re a warlock, make sure your felhunter is out.)
The entrance to Ny’alotha can appear in either Uldum or the Vale of Eternal Blossoms depending on where the Black Empire is attacking in a given week. You can solo N’Zoth these days without the old BfA legendary cloak, but at current TWW gear levels, you cannot simply burst N’Zoth hard enough to ignore his central mechanics. You’ll need to enter his Mindgates and reclaim your Severed Consciousness or you’ll simply drop dead.
Shadowlands
Marrowfang’s Reins, Nalthor the Rimebinder, mythic Necrotic Wake
Cartel Master’s Gearglider, So’leah, Tazavesh
Sanctum Gloomcharger’s Reins, The Nine, Sanctum of Domination
Vengeance’s Reins, Sylvanas Windrunner, mythic Sanctum of Domination
Fractal Cypher of the Zereth Overseer, The Jailer, mythic Sepulcher of the First Ones
While there are a couple of ways to reach various parts of the Shadowlands without having to go through its introductory sequence, you’ll typically end up out of phase with most of the features and characters. To get into places like the Maw or Zereth Mortis on a new character, you’ll need to start their introductory quests by talking to the Knights of Ebon Blade in either Stormwind or Orgrimmar.
Like BfA, there are a few different bosses in Shadowlands with instant-kill gimmicks, particularly in mythic raids. While none of them have the firepower to really bother a level 80 character, given the stat inflation between this expansion and TWW, a few have abilities that can seriously ruin a solo raider’s day. Particular offenders here include the Jailer’s mind control, Soulrender Dormazain’s Warmonger Shackles, and Artificer Xy’mox’s Stasis Traps. Keep an eye on your dungeon journal.
At time of writing, So’leah is also difficult to beat solo, as her dungeon gimmick gives her a massive damage reduction bonus that you can’t dispel without a team. You can either autoattack her for 10 minutes, bring friends, or use a level 80 monk’s Touch of Death to bypass her shields and drop her in one hit.
Collector’s Bounty in World of Warcraft is currently planned to last until July 28.
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