Become a cosmetic hunter in Mists of Pandaria’s new challenge mode

Part of the appeal of being a hunter in virtual reality is the ability to experience an avatar of great importance in an alternate world; especially with incredibly artistic armor sets, weapons, mounts, and decorative pets. The new World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria is taking its dominance of the MMO genre to even more epic levels this time by adding challenge modes to its dungeons. Players said they needed more strength to farm all 5 men, and the devs complied.

If a hunter doesn’t really like the look of a certain level of armor, or even older styles via transmog, the cosmetic rewards of Challenge Mode are staggering. The only way to get them is to group up and take on dungeons with a timed event, in which the participant must work as a team to clear the mode in time to win the prize. It is a digital PvE Olympic glove that rewards the victorious with bronze, silver or gold. It’s a complete revamp of the outdated “normal” and “heroic” modes. Each of the three medals has its own tier of rewards, so the more gold metals, the more of that tier is unlocked, including more cosmetic wonders from Pandaria.

What this means for hunters

It means being forced to essentially meld PvP play style with PvE tactics and preparation; means communication on the battlefield in a dungeon environment; it means a very fast PvP style adaptation in a team environment against the clock. As hunters farm dungeons and progress in their character and item level, they need to pay close attention and start taking mental notes. However, it should be noted that once a dungeon is set to challenge mode, the gear is normalized. So it doesn’t really matter what kind of equipment someone has. This means that everyone will start with an equally strong foundation. To achieve gold, players will be forced to learn the ins and outs of their toon’s abilities and be able to execute them with timed precision.

For hunters who are motivated by cosmetics, this means a lot. Imagine taking a screenshot with a new rare beast, faithfully standing next to a new mount with cosmetic upgrades. The cosmetic hunter is decked out in armor sets that defy the prepandery era, and to top it all off, his medals are tracked and inspectable for all to see and admire! It has never been better to be a cosmetic hunter.