Increased Dungeon and Raid Drops - Shadowfrost Shards, Fragments of Val'anyr, Tier Tokens
Blizzard announced some massive droprate changes to Fragment of Val'anyr, Shadowfrost Shards, 277 tier tokens, and Defiler's Scourgestones, allowing players to gear up and finish their Wrath goals before Cataclysm.
Droprate Comparison for Raids
Until Cataclysm pre-patch, Ulduar and Icecrown Citadel will have the following droprate changes.
Additional 12 Possible13 Guaranteed
Additional 4 Possible Icecrown CitadelShadowfrost Shard5 Guaranteed
Additional 7 Possible17 Guaranteed Heroic T10 Tokens5 Total
1 per Heroic End Wing Boss11 Total
2 per Heroic End Wing Boss
3 from Heroic Lich King
Icecrown Citadel
With these changes, raid groups will be able to finish a full Shadowmourne in three weeks and have one Shadowfrost Shard to spare. These changes ensure you will be guaranteed to obtain 17 Shadowfrost Shard per Icecrown Citadel clear, regardless of Heroic encounters done, meaning you'll obtain a total of 51 Shadowfrost Shard in three clears of the raid.
This change will speed up the process of finishing Shadowmourne significantly before Cataclysm, likely allowing even some offspecs to finish theirs.
Besides that, with 11 Heroic tier tokens dropping for a full Icecrown Citadel clear, groups can give a full 277 tier set to two, almost three players per Heroic Icecrown Citadel clear.
How to Obtain Shadowmourne
Ulduar
The changes in Ulduar are massive. With the new rates, you are now guaranteed to complete a Val'anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings with only three clears of Ulduar with the worst luck possible, assuming you do a full run with all Hard Modes. If you get lucky, you can even complete a Val'anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings in two lockouts!
How to Obtain Val'anyr, Hammer of the Ancient Kings
Heroic++ Changes
Starting with the March 26th weekly reset, Defense Protocol Gamma bosses now drop 2 Defiler's Scourgestone per boss, up from 1. Allowing new characters to gear up
