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Better pet scaling promised in Cataclysm
Hunters and warlocks were given something to look forward to during the Blizzard developer chat on twitter this evening. The question was asked: "You mentioned pet scaling being added for patch 3.3 but due to time constraints, was delayed. Will this be in the next patch?" This is something that has been mentioned throughout the course of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion and hasn't been implemented yet. The reason? It is a fairly complicated procedure. We'll try to do what we can. Technically it's just more challenging than you might think. For Cataclysm, we have on our list that 100% of stats scale. If they don't then certain stats just won't be as valuable for pet classes. At the very least, we can do stuff like convert your X into damage for the pet so every stat is valuable. Getting everyone to scale with every stat better is a major goal for the class team for Cataclysm. With hunters, warlocks, and unholy death knights, there are a lot of talents and glyphs that affect the scaling of stats to your pet. If you allow certain stats to scale too well, you suddenly unbalance the class. If the stat scales poorly, then the class falls in the other direction. Every talent and ability that taps into these has to be checked to make sure it doesn't throw things out of whack. Considerations on diminishing returns on certain stats scaling would also need to be checked. Overall, there is a lot of number crunching and statistical analysis involved in trying to find the right balance between all of the knobs that they need to adjust. However, the frustration of out-gearing your pet will hopefully be behind us either in an upcoming patch or (more realistically) when Cataclysm hits. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.
Why so empty, Crystalsong?
Some actual new information from tonight's developer Twitter chat with Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street and J. Allen Brack? I'm as surprised as you are. When asked why the resplendent (and glowy) Crystalsong Forest is oddly barren of anything to do beyond sightsee (and, of course, the rare quest), we received some interesting info about game performance: Part of the problem is that it sits beneath Dalaran, which ended up being more of a resource hog than we had anticipated. We didn't want to draw too many more players to that zone. Initially the Crusaders' Coliseum was going to be there, which is why some of the quests send you there. We just worried too much about the performance hit. So what does this mean to the average WoW-player? That you can enjoy the peace and quiet of Crystalsong Forest for a long time to come, because additions to the zone just aren't on Blizzard's agenda. And it's probably for our own good -- we all know what a lagfest Dalaran can be, don't we? Now close your eyes and just imagine combining that with all of the players that come and go from the Crusader's Coliseum. If your thoughts on this imaginary scenario are anything other than "do not want," well, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
