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Patch notes for August 20th
The Siege of Orgrimmar is just three weeks away, and we can expect that the changes for patch 5.4 are starting to solidify. Blizzard released the notes for the latest PTR build yesterday and there are some notable changes as well as reminders -- such as the fact that these next three weeks mark the final opportunity you have to nab the achievements that correspond with Vol'jin's rebellion as well as the Golden Lotus's "Eternally in the Vale." Time to get going on those, if you want them! Frost DKs: Frost Strike now deals 115% weapons damage (up from 105% weapon damage), and Obliterate now deals 250% weapon damage (up from 230% weapon damage). Rogues: Glyph of Redirect now reduces the cooldown of Redirect by 50 seconds (down from Redirect no longer has a cooldown). Other major changes are noted in red text, and we've summarized the biggest ones for you after the break:
The top five things you need to know about patch 5.3
Patch 5.3 has arrived, and there are a truly staggering number of changes to the game, many of them with significant effects to gameplay. You can check out Blizzard's complete patch notes on their blog, but for the sake of brevity, WoW Insider has compiled a list of the top five changes that are most likely to be of the biggest interest to the average player. If you haven't been paying much attention, this is the stuff you probably really want to know! 1. The experience required to go from level 85 to 90 has been reduced by 33% Mists of Pandaria has been called very alt-unfriendly, and while this particular change won't entirely fix that, it does help. Along with the changes to reputation factions -- the Shado Pan and August Celestials dailies are no longer hidden behind the gate of "Revered" with the Golden Lotus -- this will make it easier to get your army of alts up to speed to hop into max-level content.
Chaos Theory: TSW's new PvP -- how do you like them Big Apples?
Back when you all sent me into The Secret World for Choose My Adventure, little did you know that someday I'd be in the driver's seat of Chaos Theory. Yet here I am! It was quite the stroke of luck (to say nothing of the behind-the-scenes plotting and the occasional subtle manipulations) that landed me here. I promise, I didn't break too many fingers wresting the keys away from Jef, so you'll continue to see him all over Massively. I am pretty sure he can type with a cast... Anyway, let's get down to business because there is so much that can be said about The Secret World and not nearly enough time to say it! So what's my debut column going to be? Well, truthfully, I was going to delve into a few points of the new Big Trouble in the Big Apple update. But once I started, the sheer magnitude of all the stuff just filled page after page after page. So instead, I relegated one aspect to a different column (be sure to check out Some Assembly Required on December 7th!) and retooled my focus here to just the new PvP experience. You've heard about what the changes are and how excited some players are for them, but how do they play out in day-to-day PvP life in TSW? Keep reading to see.
The Secret World Issue #4 hitting servers November 15 [Updated]
Anyone trying to log into The Secret World at 7:00 a.m EST tomorrow, November 15th, will find the game offline. At this time, Issue #4 Big Trouble in the Big Apple will be added to the game. After the server downtime (which is expected to be three hours), folks will be able to log in and experience TSW's first ever raid taking place on the streets of NYC as well as stage plays for other players in London's Albion Theatre. Other additions to this fourth monthly update include changes in PvP and a new chainsaw weapon. [Update: Devs posted an update noting they forgot to mention one little thing: "So, that announcement is also supposed to say clearly in big letters: BUT THE NEW YORK RAID WILL REMAIN LOCKED UNTIL FINAL TESTING IS COMPLETE."]
Blood Sport: The PvP perspective on 4.0.6, part 3
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Sport for arena enthusiasts and The Art of War(craft) for fans of battlegrounds and world PvP. Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 Gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more. Welcome to Friday's special edition of Blood Sport! Today we'll be discussing all the classes we didn't get around to last time. Enjoy! Hunters Hunters can now use Auto Shot while moving. I have been petitioning for this change for longer than I can remember. This absolutely 100% the most needed change on this entire list of patch notes and the greatest quality of life increase to hunters since the ammunition change. If the minimum range requirement is removed, I think I will be able to enjoy playing the class again in PvP. I'm pretty sure if someone was standing on me in real life, I could shoot them in the face with a bow and arrow. Deterrence now provides 100% chance for melee attacks to miss instead of 100% parry chance. This means that attacks that cannot be parried, notably some rogue abilities, can now be prevented by Deterrence, and the hunter will gain the benefit of Deterrence even if disarmed. Needed. If you think getting disarmed was frustrating as a warrior ... Master's Call now has a 35-second cooldown, down from 1 minute, and its range has been increased to 40 yards, up from 25. In addition, the visual effect is more obvious. Needed. Master's Call is an incredibly important ability for hunters and this will improve their arena representation by a good deal, especially when combined with the other hunter changes (which are almost entirely beneficial in PvP).
Blood Sport: The PvP perspective on 4.0.6
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Sport for arena enthusiasts and The Art of War(craft) for fans of battlegrounds and world PvP. Want to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women? C. Christian Moore, multiple rank 1 Gladiator, examines the latest arena strategy, trends, compositions and more. Okay, so there are lots of PvP changes in this patch. Lots of PvP changes. If I had a nickel for every PvP change that this patch has to offer, I would have lots of nickels. I could do so many chemistry tests involving the 28th element. Actually, that's not even true. Did you know that a nickel is made up of 25% nickel and 75% copper? Well, if you didn't 5 seconds ago, you do now. A nickel is three-fourths penny. That's pretty amazing, because a nickel isn't even close to the value of a penny -- in fact, a nickel is worth more than a nickel. That's right, a nickel is worth almost 7 cents right now. Science. What a weird opening paragraph. I expect some of you to be returning from Wikipedia with a look of amazement on your faces. Yep, sometimes Blood Sport is awesome like that. If I had a penny every time Blood Sport amazed someone ... I'd have three pennies.
