Trial of the Champion Instance Guide

Trial of the Champion was the new instance added during patch 3.2. The very first encounter in the instance uses the new mounted combat system that was added in 3.2 as well. So, much like the mounted combat system, the first part of the instance sucks. With this instance they also did away with one idea, trash mobs. That didn't really work out very well either which with these two things combined makes a pretty lack-luster instance overall. Trial of the Champion is good for something though... The loot here is quite good for it being a 5man and; once you get past the first event, the instance doesn't suck that badly.

Event 1 - Mounted Champions

In order to start the instance you will all need to grab an Argent Lance and also a mount before talking to the NPC in the middle of the arena. Now, when talking to this NPC there are two different options that you can choose from. You will want to make sure you choose the one that says "Skip the pagentry". This option will cause the NPC's to just spawn and almost instantly attack rather than having to watch to watch the first whole event.

For this event you will be riding around on your Argent Tournament mount trying to de-mount the enemies in the room. Your main damage dealing ability is Charge (Button 3) but you also have Shield Breaker (Button 2) to use if your shields are fully charged and Charge is down. As for your shields (Button 4) you will want to keep them up and on you at all times to prevent a lot of the incomming damage. After the three waves of Champions are dead you will have to fight the 3 bosses while on your mount.

This part is actually rather easy. Just set a skull on top of one of the NPC's and hope everyone assists you. Thats really all this first part is, is assisting. You can still win by everyone running around like idiots, but for obvious reasons actually trying is faster. Also during this first part you will want to run away from the enemies constantly. If they get near you they will hit you and being hit by them hurts.

List of the NPCs you can encounter as Horde

Ambrose Boltspark - He is a gnomish mage, he will use Fireball and other mage related spells on you and your group. He can be silenced, stunned and interrupted.

Jaelyne Eversong - She is a Hunter and will use Multi-shot amongst other Hunter-like abilities.

Marshal Jacob Alerius - He is a warrior, he will use whirlwind on you and your group as well as mortal strike. It's important you keep the melee out of it. Alerius also has one more ability, where he will grab a member of the group and launch them around 20 yards away. This ability also does a good deal of damage.

Lana Stouthammer - She is a Rogue. She will apply stacks of Deadly Poison to the tank that need to be quickly dispelled, she will also place a large fart cloud on the ground that deals damage if you stand in it.

Colosos - He is a Shaman, He will heal himself and others. This should be your first target if you get him.

List of NPCs you can encounter as Alliance

Deathstalker Visceri - He is a Rogue. He will apply stacks of Deadly Poison to the tank that need to be quickly dispelled, he will also place a large fart cloud on the ground that deals damage if you stand in it.

Runok Wildmane - He is a Shaman, He will heal himself and others. This should be your first target if you get him.

Eressea Dawnsinger - She is a mage. She will use fire related spells against you and your group,

Mokra the Skullcrusher - She is a warrior, she will use whirlwind on your and your group as well as mortal strike. It's important that the group keeps out of Whirlwind. Mokra also has one more ability, where she will grab a member of the group and launch them around 20 yards away. This ability also does a good deal of damage.

Zul'tore - He is a Hunter and will use Multi-shot amongst other Hunter-like abilities.

Normal Loot Table:

Belt of Fierce Competition

Binding of the Tranquil Glade

Helm of the Bested Gallant

Scale Boots of the Outlander

Bindings of the Wicked

Legguards of Abandoned Fealty

Heroic Loot Table:

Mark of the Relentless

Pauldrons of the Deafening Gale

Chestguard of the Ravenous Fiend

Leggings of the Snowy Bramble

Treads of Dismal Fortune

Edge of Ruin

Event 2 - Argent Confessor Paletress or Eadric the Pure

Event 2 is started much like event 1. You will need to speak with the NPC that walks out and into the center of the arena. After you speak with him and let him know that you're ready he will walk away and the gate at the northern end will open up. There is a chance for two different bosses to come out here. One is the Argent Priestess, which is the harder one of the two, or Eadric the Pure. Both of them are pretty darn easy but Eadric is by far much easier than the Argent Priestess.

I will start out by explaining The Argent Priestess.

Argent Confessor Paletress

Throughout the fight the Argent Confessor Paletress will use Holy Fire and Holy Shock on people in your group. It doesn't do that much damage but can be a pain in the ass for phase 2. The Argent Priestess is very easy to kill but it comes with a catch. At about 30% HP she will summon a Shadowy-Manifestation of an add. It can take form of almost any boss throughout the game. When she summons this everyone in the group much switch their attention to it. Until the add dies the Argent Confessor Paletress will be immune to all damage and randomly attack who ever she wants.

If you can switch targets and handle the add easily then you will most likely not have a problem. Something else worth noting is the Shadowy Adds have a pretty nasty instant cast fear. It can become quite annoying. After the add is dead you will want to turn your attention back to the Argent Confessor Paletress until she surrenders at 1% health.

Event 2 - Eadric the Pure

Eadric the Pure is the second boss you could possibly encounter during event 2. Eadric is a Paladin so you should be expecting him to use Paladin-like abilities on you and your group. The most noticeable of his Paladin abilities is his Hammer of Righteousness. He will randomly target someone and HoJ (Hammer of Justice) them to stun them. Immediately after doing this he will channel a hammer at the person which will take off most of their HP.

This ability can be spell reflected back but it requires some skill and a class that can reflect spells back. If you do manage to reflect his hammer back and it kills him, you and your party will be given an achievement. But, out of all of his abilities there is really only one that you have to really worry about and that is Radiance.

During the fight you will see Eadric the Pure stop attacking and start casting Radiance. When he starts casting Radiance you will see a big note in the center of your screen telling you to turn away. If you're looking at him when Radiance goes off you will become disoriented and take some damage. If you're not facing Eadric the Pure then you will take 0 damage and won't become disoriented.

NOTE: Your character must be the one facing away from Eadric the Pure. It doesn't matter what your camera placement is.

Normal Loot Table:

Gloves of the Argent Fanatic

Abyssal Rune

Belt of the Churning Blaze

Carapace of Grim Visions

Greaves of the Grand Paladin

Leggings of Brazen Trespass

Leggings of the Haggard Apprentice

Mantle of Gnarled Overgrowth

Signet of Purity

Boots of Heartfelt Repentance

Breastplate of the Imperial Joust

Gauntlets of the Stouthearted Crusader

Heroic Loot Table:

Ancient Pendant of Arathor

Aledar's Battlestar

Gloves of Dismal Fortune

Armbands of the Wary Lookout

Helm of the Crestfallen Challenger

Legplates of Relentless Onslaught

Barkhide Treads

Kurisu's Indecision

Marrowstrike

Mariel's Sorrow

Pauldrons of Concealed Loathing

Peacekeeper Blade

Plated Greaves of Providence

Regal Aurous Shoulderplates

Majestic Silversmith Shoulderplates

Trueheart Girdle

Sinner's Confession

Event 3 - The Black Knight

The final encounter in Trail of the Champion is The Black Knight. The Black Knight is probably the most simplistic boss with 3 different phases. The first phase is simple, kill him and then wait for him to respawn. The second phase is one of the more difficult ones. During this phase The Black Knight will revive himself and start summoning his Army of the Dead. If you have any Death Knights in your group now would be a good time for them to match The Black Knight and summon an Army of Dead of their own.

After you kill The Black Knight for a second time he will revive once more and attack your party. This time he will be in the form of a spectre and be quite pissed off. The Black Knight has a very large shadow AoE that will hit everyone in the group. Also after a few seconds he will mark one target and they will take 100% more magical damage. The healer will have to be on his tippy toes and keep a good eye on everyone in the group to make sure that no one dies.

Once The Black Knight is killed for the 3rd and final time you will then be able to loot his body.

Normal Loot Table:

Girdle of the Pallid Knight