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Blizzard confirms no Auction House in Pandaria
Blizzard Community Manager Brennvin has confirmed that the developers have no current plan to introduce an Auction House to the new Mists of Pandaria cities, Shrine of the Seven Stars and Shrine of the Two Moons. The current auctioneers are only for engineers, just like the one in Dalaran during Wrath and much of Cataclysm. Brennvin It was the same with Wrath of the Lich King and Dalaran (including an Auction House for Engineers). Keeping them in the main cities for most players helps spread out the population but also keeps them relevant. Personally, I don't mind traveling back there when I need to make a purchase. I just plan ahead when I know what I'll be looking for or when creating new auctions myself.. source He later added, in reponse to another forum user, Brennvin Quote: It might be true that it was the same in Wotlk but doesn't mean it was a good idea. Also, The portal to Pandaria is only in SW meaning that other cities aren't much of an option. If you really want to spread the population out then make a portal to Pandaria in all major cities. For the most part, we actually feel the method used in previous expansions and again here in Mists of Pandaria works well. We also don't believe it's very demanding asking most players to take just an extra few minutes to access an auction house. Obviously some players will want the most accessibility as quickly as possible, but to avoid overcrowding and to disperse the population, this is the best method of meeting those goals.. source The post he responded to here makes a valid point. Were Blizzard to place more portals to Pandaria in other cities such as Ironforge or Undercity, those hubs would see far more use. Certainly, it is reasonable to state that a few moments longer to use an Auction House is no big issue. However, given the choice between an Auction House from which they can portal back to Pandaria, and one from which they cannot, players will likely choose the former. This leads to Stormwind, Orgrimmar and the two Shrines being heavily populated, but other cities remaining empty. Does this warrant new portals to Pandaria in other cities? Is the change worthwhile? Would players shift their Auction House activity to other locations if they could easily portal back to Pandaria? Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Shifting Perspectives: Building a better Insect Swarm for Mists
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Shifting Perspectives for cat , bear , restoration and balance druids. Balance news comes at you every Friday -- learn how to master the forces of nature, and know what it means to be a giant laser turkey! Send questions, comments, or requests to tyler@wowinsider.com or @murmursofadruid. Greetings, druids. Last week we talked about the new changes that had been made to the Mists of Pandaria talent calculator, which held a few good changes for us. This week I want to focus in on two criticisms that I've had growing for a very long time. It's no shock to anyone that reads my column or follows me on Twitter that I abhor the new direction of Insect Swarm. I've talked about this topic before, but I want to discuss it further. Looking into the why In the essence of fairness, I feel that I should go into why it is that I believe Blizzard is tweaking Insect Swarm the way that they are. To start with, Insect Swarm has been an extremely problematic spell ever since it was created. In TBC, it didn't deal enough damage in order to be worth using, the same was even true at the start of WotLK, and it nearly fell off the map again late in the expansion as well. It hasn't been until Cataclysm that Insect Swarm has finally become a sold piece of our rotation, and even now it's still the weaker of the two DoTs.
