Horde and the Alliance

The sha, as you’ve heard by now, are the core external villains in the land of Pandaria. They are the manifestation of negative emotion.          The Temple of the Jade Serpent will be your introduction to the sha. The Temple is where, once upon a time, an old emperor of Pandaria beat down the Sha of Doubt and saved the entire empire. Unfortunately, the war that the Horde and the Alliance have brought to Pandaria’s shores has rekindled the Sha of Doubt and the temple has fallen under its influence. We did get to tackle the Temple hands-on at the press event, so we can provide a few concrete details about the bosses within and their abilities.Wise Mari Upon entering the Temple, the path immediately splits. If you take the left path, you’ll face a jinyu water speaker, Wise Mari. The waters of the Temple have been tainted by the sha’s influence, and Mari was tainted right along with them. The room where you fight Mari is circular. The floor is part shallow water, part branching stone pathways. If you touch the water, you begin taking damage, so you need to jump from stone to stone to avoid it. Mari himself (herself?) is immune to all damage at the beginning of the encounter and does not become susceptible to damage until you’ve beaten waves of corrupt water elementals. Once Mari’s shield drops, he (she?) turns in a slow circle,   spraying a gout of water. If you get hit by the water, you take massive damage and get tossed across the room … probably into the water on the floor, which will cause even more damage and potentially kill you outright. If you’ve raided Serpentshrine Cavern, you’ll recognize the mechanic; The Lurker Below uses the same one

. During the water jet phase, the entire party can completely avoid taking any damage whatsoever as long as everyone is good about jumping and moving in a circle. My party lost three players during the first phase of the encounter,    we won anyway — our tank and our hunter (Tankspot’s Lore) finished the last phase on their own. Heroic mode at level 90 is not likely to be so forgiving. Zao Sunseeker If you travel to the right upon entering the dungeon, you’ll find Zao Sunseeker. Zao is one of the good guys. He has apparently traveled into the temple to salvage a scroll containing a story, a piece of Pandaria’s history. Unfortunately, through some magical means, you end up battling the five suns from the story. Upon defeating each sun, it shows its true form — sha, of course. After you defeat all five sha, they infest Zao with the negative emotion they embody. You are then forced to kill Zao.