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Is there hope for the priest class?
After seeing the latest patch notes, there are plenty of unhappy priests out there. Not only was Vampiric Embrace -- a key talent for shadow priests attempting to maintain group utility and solo viability -- reduced in effectiveness by a forth (and its ability to crit removed completely), but shadow priests also lost threat reduction and holy priests lost Prayer of Mending -- a low-cost instant-cast heal that was excellent for priests trying to heal in PvP combat that is now rendered mostly useless by its new 20 second cooldown. Many priests seem to think that these changes are the death of PvE shadow priests and PvP holy priests. Is there a reason for priest players to have hope? Well, Nethaera says there is. On the priest forums she's reassuring players that their feedback is important and saying that Circle of Healing is being looked at and Lightwell may be looked at. And while I'm happy the class is still under review for possible tweaks, I wonder if they don't need a little more than what Nethaera says Blizzard is offering. And like the many other players who have attempted to post well-reasoned and constructive feedback on the priest forums, I feel ignored, despite Nethaera's assurances that all feedback is read. But if that's the case, I have to wonder why abilities that made life easier for priests are nerfed while complaints on countless other topics produce neither response nor result. Thank goodness I've been leveling a paladin -- with strong healing talents and great PvP survivability, they're everything I used to think my priest could be.
Breakfast Topic: Patch 2.0.10, thumbs up or thumbs down?
You've seen the patch notes and had a bit of time to think about them. And while I imagine your opinion of the patch will highly depend on what class you play, what do you think of the patch? As someone who plays a priest and a druid, I can't say I'm terribly enthusiastic -- but that's what I have other alts for, after all!
Patch 2.0.10 patch notes are upon us!
It's not on the live realms yet, but these patch notes are as official as they come: straight from Blizzard's own mouth. In the mix is the usual assortment of bugfixes and nerfs. I imagine some people in the audience (those who have been screaming "NERF DRUIDS" lately) will be happy, and others not so much. My inner shadow priest is crying.Complete notes are after the break, but I've got your highlights below. Across the board reductions for druids, including: Dire bear form armor bonus reduced from 450% to 400% Base damage multiplier for mangle (bear) reduced from 130% to 100% Predatory Instincts talent changed from +3/6/9/12/15% crit damage bonus to a +2/4/6/8/10% crit damage bonus. Improved Leader of the Pack can no longer crit A buff to moonkin, with moonkin form's armor bonus changed from +360% to +400% A couple of shadow priest nerfs, including: Reduction of Vampiric Embrace's healing from 20% to 15% Vampiric Embrace can no longer crit The threat reduction talent Silent Resolve no longer affects shadow spells Not a shadow priest? No worries: Prayer of Mending now has a 20 second cooldown Some interesting shaman changes, including: The clearcasting effect from Elemental Focus now procs on all (yes, all!) spell critical strikes An Unleashed Rage proc will no longer generate additional threat The free lightning spell cast from Lightning Overlord will now cause reduced threat Stoneclaw totem now has a 50% chance to stun attackers for 3 seconds when struck The warlock talent Demonic Tactics now grants the warlock and pet with increased critical strike chance instead of increased damage (no numbers given) Rage changes should grant an overall 15% to 20% increase in rage generation for warriors and bear druids A handful of interesting warrior changes, including: An approximate +1% critical strike chance overall Thunderclap now usable in defensive stance and causes additional threat The cooldown on Victory Rush has been removed Unbridled Wrath now has a fixed chance to generate rage (higher with slower weapons) Charge, Intercept, and Intervene will remove all snare effects (this isn't in the patch notes, but was confirmed by Tseric in the warrior forums). Update: Drysc says this change isn't actually going to make it into 2.0.10. Update: Added a warrior change via Tseric that did not make it into the patch notes.Update 2: Added extra points to the overview, as noted in the comments.Update 3: Apparently the changes to Charge, Intercept, Intervene, etc aren't going to make it into the patch.
Welcome to patch 2.0.6
While I can't promise that this will be the end of Blizzard's "balancing issues," today's extended maintenance sees the roll-out of patch 2.0.6 -- you remember patch 2.0.6, don't you? It was deployed to the PTRs on Sunday, which doesn't leave much room to forget. The official patch notes (which aren't live yet, but will show up here when they are) seem to match the patch notes from the PTRs on Sunday, so hopefully we won't see any surprises when the servers come back online. For those of you who would like to get a jump on things, the patch is currently available for download -- and it's a small patch, weighing in around 6MB, so fire up your client and get to it![Thanks, V3T]
Blizzard vs. Pessimism: Blizzard wins 4:2
Tobold had a nice scoring system going for the Burning Crusade install, in which Blizzard was pitted against the inevitable Pessimism inherent in combining major content upgrade + massive rush to sign in, which typically and notoriously causes major technical problems, server crashes, glitches, downtime, etc. He ended up awarding the victory to Blizzard, 4:2. Most of us here at WoW Insider didn't have any serious problems getting up and running with the expansion (so far so good!*), but we're sure there are tales of woe out there. How would you rate Blizzard's handling of the Burning Crusade launch? Did you have any problems getting going, or was it pretty much smooth sailing? Let us know who won the Blizzard vs. Pessimism battle on your scorecard.[*Update: except Mike! Also reporting that Bronzebeard went down a couple of times around 10pm EST before I gave up and rolled a draenei shaman (along with about 2.1 million of my new best general chat enemies) on Shadowmoon.]
Breakfast Topic: Looking for group!
Do you remember the mass chaos that occurred with the global looking for group channel went in? As I recall, it was a little crazy. The line was quickly overrun by random spam which drove many players from the line and lead a number of people back to old habits -- like typing /who priest 58-60 and whispering down the list. Many protested the flawed system and asked for it to be removed. And now that it's gone, replaced by a sleeker interface? There's a number of players that can't stand the thing and demand the global LFG channel be reinstated. So if the old system wasn't right, and the new system isn't right, what's the best way to go about looking for a group? What do you think Blizzard should have implemented?
Breakfast Topic: Bugs, bugs, glorious bugs!
Ah, yes, the exciting aftermath of a patch. Battlegrounds have been functioning intermittently at best, faction-specific loot is dropping for both factions, talent trees differ from the PTRs (and the patch notes), re-building my UI seems like an impossible challenge, and newly bugged raid encounters one-shot tanks in the game's best gear. (Though admittedly they've already hotfixed Patchwerk.) So how are you coping? Not having any problems? Taking a break from playing while all the kinks get worked out? Switching to a less problematic class? For my part, I'm hoping some of the worst of it is worked out by the weekend, when I'll have more time to play...!
Forum Post of the Day: Neuro's macro guide
At a loss as to making your old macros work in the new 2.0.1 version of World of Warcraft? Well, this thread has you covered. Here, poster Neuro explains all of the ins and outs of the new macro system which seems very much unlike the old. It goes over basic syntax and then jumps in with plenty of useful examples (both general-purpose and class-specific) -- at least one of which you're sure to be able to adapt to your own needs. Especially cool? The new /castsequence command, which allows you to chain spells together. For example.../castsequence Frost Nova, Blink ...will cast Frost Nova the first time you activate the macro and Blink the second time you activate the macro. Don't always want to Blink away after a Frost Nova? You might try this one, instead.../castsequence reset=24 Frost Nova, BlinkWith this macro, after 24 seconds (coincidentally, the standard cooldown of Frost Nova) the sequence will reset, and clicking it will start on Frost Nova again. Nifty, huh?
Around Azeroth extra: Patch day woes
I know what you're thinking -- two Around Azeroths in one day? But when I saw this land in my mailbox this morning, I couldn't resist posting it as a current events shot. Does that look like Alterac Valley to you? Me neither... but apparently this is exactly what some players -- including reader Chris -- were seeing in the Battlegrounds last night. Right before they fell to their deaths, I would guess.Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.
Let the delays begin!
Of course having the servers back online as scheduled was too good to be true. And at 12:09 PM PST, Blizzard announced that maintenance would be extended by an additional four hours in order to deal with issues arising from the patching process. Yes, that means you shouldn't expect to be online and playing before 4:00 PM PST 5:00 PM PST -- at least if we're optimistic enough to assume this will be the afternoon's only hiccup!Update: Drysc, always trying to outdo me, posted an update by the time I clicked to post this. We are now looking at 5:00 PM PST.Update 2: All realms should be online and accepting players as of 6:00 PM PST.
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A few patch related items
Just a reminder for you guys about a few Blizzard announcements in regards to tomorrow's maintenance... Remember those select free realm transfers? Well, if you want to transfer a toon, do it quickly. Blizzard will be suspending the transfers beginning with the maintenance tomorrow. They anticipate bringing them back online in about a week, but the word "anticipate" doesn't mean definitely, so if you want to transfer, do it soon. If you happen to be using a European Language Pack to change the default language for your UI, you may want to backup your screenshots before applying the new patch, as they will be erased. For those of you uncomfortable with delving into your Windows folders, Blizzard gives instructions on how to preserve your screenies. Finally, the Tuesday downtime has been extended from 1 AM PST until 1 PM PST. Good luck downloading and installing the patch, and see you all in the arena!
Soooo...how bad is it going to be?
I am as excited about the patch as everyone else. I am starved for something new to do in-game, and I desperately want to try out the new doodads and gizmos. I want to respec my terribly overpowered warlock, try out the arena and check out the brand new Looking For Group system. All in all, Tuesday should be a fantastic WoW day.But it probably won't be. It will probably be an experience consisting of gridlock and lag. Why am I such a pessimist? Well, on one hand, there is past experience. Patch days are always a little bumpy. And honestly, I don't find that to be too terribly annoying. Patching a game the size of WoW is an incredible undertaking, and if it takes a day to work out the kinks, I am good with that. However, I think this patch just might be a little different. It is fundamentally changing the game, so it might lead to even more small problems for Blizzard to work out, so this could be messier than usual.Even more than the patching itself, with all the new pre-expansion features and talents, I know a bunch of people looking forward to logging on for the first time in a while to kick the tires and take 2.0 for a test drive. This will add more strain to the servers. Now don't get me wrong... I am hyped for all the goodies in the patch. I am just thinking that perhaps I won't be enjoying any of it for a few days. And, being the WoW addict I am, I am strangely fine with it. Sure, it is annoying at first, but all the new stuff makes it worth a little turbulence. What about you guys? Are you anticipating being able to play tomorrow night?
Respeccing for 2.0
Tomorrow's the big day -- WoW is getting patched and rolling over to 2.0. Bye-bye honor rankings, bye-bye DHKs, hello new LFG system, and new spells and talents for all. Oh, and every character in the game will log in after the patch is applied with a completely free respec.So things will likely look very different in terms of specs on Wednesday (my guild has an MC run planned, and I can't wait to see what happens). Personally, I like my rogue's combat daggers spec, so I'll probably keep it (he's only 50 now, so I'm not real worried about it). My warrior is currently specced protection, but hasn't been getting much play (or DPS) as a tank, so I may flip him fury or half prot-half fury. My priest is staying shadow, but my shaman -- for the expansion, I'm planning to switch him to elemental instead of restoration, so by Wednesday he may be much more deadly with lightning bolts than healing waves (not sure how that will go over in my guild raids, however).If you're thinking about respeccing, Mystic Worlds has posted a nice little commentary on how specs work -- while you should really spec for the talents and abilities you play with, for each class there's usually three or four different ways to set things up, either for soloing (or leveling), PVP, or PVE play. Of course, you don't have to respec on Wednesday -- you could just choose the same talents you have in place now. But since everything is changing so much (even your regular spec will have a few new shines to it), this might be your chance to be something a little bit different than you're used to.
Curse Gaming site revamp
The new patch is coming this Tuesday to a realm near you, and when you run off to find updated versions of your latest addons, you may be in for a surprise -- because favorite addon site Curse Gaming has undergone a complete redesign. (If you're trying to find the addon section of the site from the main page, it's a big purple button on the right.) Their addons section looks quite a bit different and no longer sorts addons by familiar categories -- instead, there appears to be one giant list of addons, which is searchable by labels attached to the addon. For better or for worse, the new layout is going to take some getting used to -- and I can only again encourage everyone to go and download addon updates in advance of Tuesday's patch!
Patch 2.0.1 bug list
No software is bug-free, of course, but this lengthy list of bugs -- compiled by Arafina on the EU forums -- is a bit concerning, considering the patch is set to be applied next week. Many of the listed bugs are minor graphical or sound issues, but I personally prefer to know what I'm getting into before the fact. And if you really want to be informed, you may wish to take a look at the patch notes, too.
Breakfast Topic: Looking forward to the patch?
We now know that the next patch is coming out on December 5th -- Blizzard has given us a week's warning on this one, presumably to allow PvPers time to try to get in those last ranks in the last week of the honor system. What's the new patch have in store for us? New honor system (old ranks will be scrapped) Revised talent trees (up to 41 points) for all classes) New LFG system Changes to +spell damage (making lower rank spells receive less, HoTs/DoTs/channeled spells receive more) Stacking HoTs Resilience Weapon skill changes (no longer reduces the percent damage lost due to glancing, adds a minor amount of +crit) Crowd control effects reduced to a maximum of 12 seconds in PvP with a higher resist chance. New arenas Agility change (1AGI == 1AP) for hunters Rage normalization for warriors Skill level required for disenchanting Signifigant UI changes and the death of Decursive With some of these good and some of these not so good, are you looking forward to the patch or getting the most out of your time pre-patch?
Breakfast Topic: Patching!
Ah... the patch distribution system. You know it and... er... love it? Well... maybe not on that last part. Blizzard has a unique system of patch distribution that I often find problematic on patch day. If you can jump on and start downloading early in the day (out of prime time), you'll often find the download quick and painless. But if you get off work, drive through traffic, come home, and login? You're much more likely to be met by a screen similar to the above. The workaround to this scenario for many seems to be grabbing patch files from 3rd party sites, but I always wonder why the patching process has to be such a headache. Of course, the background downloader application was introduced to solve some of these problems -- by allowing you to download the bulk of the patch in advance. However, it doesn't always seem to make the experience any better. But that's just my opinion -- what do you think of Blizzard's patching system?
