Alani-tagging is back to how it is supposed to be. I'm glad the issue got sorted so quickly!
Old post
Just a head's up:
If you're one of those people who grinded sky shards for hours, and finally created their crystal, be mindful when you decide to pull Alani.
I feel very sorry for this guy, you can hear his disappointment in his voice - I mean, grinding these shards for hours and then getting her stolen away like that...
If this isn't a bug, here's two things to pay attention to:
Don't announce in trade/general/even guild that you're going to use the sky crystal.
Find a quiet time on your server, early hours etc., find a spot that's away from the daily hubs, and then pull Alani.
I made new maps for the onyx eggs. If you can read my writing, you have the coordinates for each egg. There's still more eggs, but you'll find them along the way while looking for these. there's only so many places they can be at.
Thanks to a dedicated beta player named Esinar, we have a video showing how he uses the sky crystal to remove Alani's protective shroud and kills it.
The crystal already removes a portion of Alani's health (it's a short channeling spell) which should tag the cloud serpent to the player using it (it would make sense!)
It will take time and effort to earn this pretty mount. You can't just camp for it to spawn, you have to work for it. But you also know that sooner or later, you will have ten sky shards to summon it. What happens after you use the crystal, and you disconnect, someone kills you or even Alani kills you...) we'll find out. I hope it doesn't mean starting from 0, but with the time-lost protodrake and Aeonaxx, the exact same thing could happen to you! If you just found this post and have no clue about sky shards and where to find them, please click on the Alani tab at the top of the site.
For all those that liked the Netherwing egg hunt, Blizzard has added a very similar feature to gain reputation with the Order of the Cloud Serpent.
Throughout Windward Isle in set locations, you can find and collect Onyx eggs that you can turn in up to exalted status. With the guild perks, you can get 500 up to 550 rep per egg turn in!
The eggs don't sparkle but you get the golden cog wheel upon mousing over one. They are bind on pickup and stack in the bags. They also seem to respawn in a set time, independently on how many people are looting the eggs, so if a lot of players are about, it will be a tough battle.
You can find all the locations I've come across so far in the Onyx Egg page at the top of the site.
As of the beta version [15913], I noticed that my Thundering Jade Cloud Serpent icon was missing from my sidebar. I went to check the Mount Journal and lo - Underneath the entry for the T. Jade Cloudserpent, there was the new Thundering Ruby Cloud Serpent, implemented this patch!
Alani drop?
Do you see the resemblance to Alani?
Alani
However, you can't mount it unless you are exalted with the Order of the Cloud Serpent. I won't be gringing any rep in the Beta yet, but it looks very likely that Alani may in fact be the carrier of this pretty mount.
Horde players can kill Alani from the safety of the horde shrine. If you're on a PVP realm and horde, it might be a good idea to pull Alani from there (thanks to Blueprint for the info)
Careful: Bug or not, using the crystal doesn't automatically tag Alani to you!
I've been stubborn and levelled to 90 in the Beta... I really wanted to be able to fly and search for these rares, but as far as we know, there's only Galleon, the Sha of Anger, which both are the rare elite world bosses, and the mysterious Alani, a normal rare up to this day.
A fellow Petopian, TheDoomcookie found an npc sitting tucked away on a mountain, that tells us more about Alani.
Loh-Ki watching as Alani glides past
Loh-Ki, the Storm Watcher
Hmm, so we need to harness the very essence of the sky...
TheDoomcookie also found some more information on this on WOWDB:
But exactly where we get the shards from, and what happens when we remove the shroud that keeps Alani safe so far, noone knows yet. Will she be the new time-lost? Will we have to collect the crystals and wait till she spawns? Will we have to mount her and fight her like Aeonaxx ?
I'm looking forward to finding the answer!
Edit:
On the Beta, a game master has given the crystal that removes Alani's shroud to a player.
The following video shows the fight, but no loot has been implemented yet.
What we need to find out now: Is this a zone drop? A lucky world drop? Does it drop off specific quest mobs, any mobs, in any zone? Maybe more players will come across a sky shard as they quest in the newest beta build. However, so far, the shards are bind-on-pickup, so if you want to get ten to forge the sky crystal, it might take a while!
Edit 3:
Pockethealer, a player on the beta, told me that he's in possession of two skyshards as I write this. One shard dropped from an elite hozen near Major Nanners in Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
The other dropped from 'tiny men" during brew dailies in the Valley of the Four Winds.
Another skyshard dropping during dailies. The screenshot belongs to Highlanddevil (Petopia Forums)
by Highlanddevil
This screenshot shows the skyshard being looted from a dailies reward bag, also by Highlanddevil (Petopia forums)
Himmelssplitter = Skyshard
So far, we can assume that skyshards only drop from level 90 dailies- and regular mobs (like the elite hozen), but they're not zone specific.With mobs, I mean those that are meant to be killed by level 90 players.
Edit 4 (25.08.2012)
Thanks to Esinar and his dedication of farming the ten sky shards, we have a confirmation that Alani in fact drops the Thundering Ruby Cloud Serpent as we thought he would.
Esinar's excellent kill video is below:
Future questions:
If the crystal is consumed upon removing the shroud, what happens if Alani kills you?
What happens if you get disconnected during the fight?
While using Eagle Eye, I wandered over to Kun Lai Summit, to search for the world boss 'Sha of Anger'. I found the world boss, immobile as he still is, but I continued the journey and went up the mountains. And there, I found my very first wind serpent. It was far away, and an elite, I still need to get a screenshot of it's name which is a place holder. It was dark, and beautiful. Here's hoping for a new cloud serpent 'lost in time'.
