wryxian
Latest
Warlocks may cast green fire spells in MoP
Warlocks, think of the one thing you most want in the World of Warcraft. If you answered "the total destruction and removal of the mage class, and green fire," you're in luck -- there's a good chance that half of that statement will come true in Mists of Pandaria! Luckily for Christian Belt, it's the latter. According to EU CM Wryxian, Blizzard developers are looking into hopefully adding a quest line that will allow warlocks to use green fire in Mists of Pandaria. Wryxian Green "fel" fire for warlocks, like they've been asking for since... forever? It is our hope to introduce a quest which will allow warlocks to unlock the use of green fire. :) source Remember that the key word here is "hope." Even the slightest possibility of green fire in MoP should have most warlocks salivating. This is especially true since Chaos Bolt, which is one of only two green fire spells currently in the game, has been removed from MoP talent calculators. Given that green fire has been one of the most requested features of the class for years and that MoP is an expansion bringing to us loads of vanity choices in glyphs and challenge mode sets, this seems an obvious way to go.
Account-wide achievements won't be available for "quite some time"
For those of us with multiple alts, there's one topic that seems to come up again and again at the top of our wish lists: account-wide achievements. The reasons are numerous. Achievements are often a barrier for entry into PUG groups. Some achievements are so absolutely tedious and time-consuming that most of us only have the patience to do them once. And, of course, some achievements award us with some pretty cool items that we'd like to be able to use on our alts, like the Reins of the Bloodbathed Frostbrood Vanquisher. Blizzard's developers are keenly aware of our desire for such functionality, and today on the Blizzard forums, Blizzard promised that it's something they're working on. Just don't expect it any time soon, and don't expect any additional account-wide functionality like account-wide reputations or professions. So says blue poster Wryxian: BoA's, 1 step further We do like the idea of account-wide achievements and it is something we have liked for a while. However we don't currently have the tech to be able to implement them as we'd like to, and probably won't have that for quite some time. Account-wide professions or reputations are not something that is currently on our to-do list. If we were to think about that kind of thing, we'd have to carefully consider such a change as it has potential to heavily favour those of us who enjoy playing multiple alts. People who prefer just playing one character might not really see that as fair. source Given how soon Blizzard typically means when it says "soon," we probably shouldn't be too optimistic when trying to interpret "quite some time" into real-world weeks and months. Perhaps in time for the next expansion? Perhaps something our grandchildren will be able to enjoy?
Cataclysm Preview: Darkshore
Wryxian (European community manager) just released a question-and-answer session done with Blizzard game designers Luis Barriga and Craig Amai about the changes Darkshore has in store in Cataclysm, as well as complications that come with redesigning an existing zone. While the full quote is behind the break, I figured I'd give you a few highlights: Darkshore is designed for Alliance players, primarily night elves and worgen, from level 11 through 20. Lor'danel is a new night elven town just to the north of current Auberdine. This was one of the first zones Blizzard tackled that centered on the effects of the Cataclysm.
Free character moves for EU servers
If you play on EU servers, not only are you probably far more handsome and personable than I am (to be fair, so is just about every other human being in existence) but you now have more options as to what servers you can play on. Wryxian posted a list of realms and free character moves available. There will be Alliance and Horde only transfers off of various realms not only to these realms, but to others as well. (It should be noted that Vek'nilash appears to have been open since February, and Boulderfist since March 10th.) The full text of the post will be included after the jump.
Blizzard's comments on the in-game Cataclysm earthquakes
Blue posters in the official forums have started leaving comments about the earthquakes happening in-game, which as we reported the other day, appear to be linked to in-game mobs that are potentially ushering in the beginning of the Cataclysm world event. The comments are somewhat cryptic, but that is par for the course with Blizzard. They like to tease -- to hold the carrot in front of you and make you run for it. But the evidence we presented Monday was pretty solid, and it's gained even more traction in the community and around the net; so this is an interesting follow up to it all. The comments thus far after the break.
Patch 3.3: Fishing pool guarantees and what it means for the market
Wryxian has written a book on fishing over on the forums -- he originally responded to the thread with a quick link that affirmed in patch 3.3, you will never ever catch trash from fishing pools, regardless of your fishing level. If you put the bobber in a pool, you'll get what you're supposed to, no matter what (presumably to allow even low level players to do the fishing quests). But players have problems with that. First, there's the old issue of things always getting easier as the game changes -- people are complaining that they had to level with missed catches and trash, and those who level fishing after 3.3 won't. For that, I don't have a better answer than Wryxian does: that's just the way it works. The game is ever-changing, and most changes make things easier. That shouldn't devalue what you did before. The other issue is that this may destroy the fishing economy -- if even low level characters always get the fish they want 100% of the time, that means more fish in the market, which means any money high-level fishermen would have made off of rare fish will probably go bye-bye. But Wryxian says that's OK -- people will still use fish for themselves, and he believes that the pain of losing that AH sale will be solved by the bonus of always getting the fish you want. We'll have to see -- it's true that between the updates to cooking lately (and the future fishy updates we're expecting), Blizzard is making sure the secondary professions are much less exclusive, which means there has to be the balance of also making them less lucrative. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
WoW Patch 3.2.2 PTR is up for the EU
Wow, okay, we didn't see that coming, at least not this fast. European Blue Wryxian announced this morning on the official forums that the PTRs are back up for testing patch 3.2.2. Character copy is up for both pre-mades and your own characters (the wait time is currently an hour but this is definitely going to change). There are four realms being offered, two PvP and two PvE: Remulos, Brill, Fordring and Naralex. So far, the PTRs seem limited to EU-only but we're sure America can't be far behind. We'll update you with more as we have more but in the meantime, if you have a European account, click here to download the client and copy over a character.WoW.com is currently hopping onto the PTR as quickly as we can to find anything and everything we can, so keep an eye on the site.Update: Patch notes are in the process of going up. We'll have them over here on WoW.com as well as soon as we're able.
Blizzard responds to extended maintenance and instance problems
Blizzard EU has released a long and detailed statement concerning the recent waves of extended maintenance and how it's connected to the problems associated with launching instances. For several months players have been plagued with the message "Additional instances cannot be launched." The message was being caused by overloaded instance servers, and for a long time there was seemingly nothing Blizzard could do about it.Blizzard's statement today clearly informs us that all the extended maintenance we've been seeing is directly due Blizzard implementing fixes for the problems server-side. While the statement comes from an EU source, once can assume rather easily that it applies to the US as well.While no timeframe is given as to exactly when this will be done for all realms, it is very good to know that stuff is getting done behind the scenes. And this look at exactly what Blizzard is doing to their servers represents a rare glimpse into their inner workings. Usually Blizzard is pretty tight lipped about what exactly is happening with their hardware.The full statement after the break.
New Patch 3.2 PTR build #10083 tonight
Wryxian just announced a new Patch 3.2 PTR build is on the burner for tonight as the PTRs go down for maintenance this afternoon.This will bring Patch 3.2 up to build #10083 for those of you keeping track.Now, it's interesting that Wryxian notes that fansites often don't credit the EU folks appropriately. However I'd like to take a moment to reassure him that yes, when we can we do give the EU as much love and credit as possible. You all are across the pond! You're like the big brother to all the chaps here in the States. Whenever we can, we give you guys transatlantic high fives and milk and cookies (or is it tea and crumpets?). Either way, dear Wryxian, this one is for you.With love, The Colonies.Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
The limits and possibilities of Bind to Account
Aeuis brings up an interesting point over on the forums: even though some of the items we get are called "Bind on Account" (or, more properly, Bind to Account, even though most people use BoA as shorthand) they're really not that, because you can't actually send them across factions or realms. Of course, that's pretty obvious to people who've been playing the game for a while -- Blizzard has never really encouraged cross-faction interaction at all (you can "send" items through the neutral AH, though even that is a bit of a hack, not really the intended purpose). So BoA items are actually bound to account, server, and faction.But Wyrxian is surprisingly open about "future possibility:" he does say that while Blizzard could allow us to send items between factions if they wanted us to, they also wanted to leave things open just in case the functionality came into view in the future. That doesn't mean we can expect a change in the next patch, but it does seem to mean that Blizzard is still open to the "possibility." You'd think it be tough technically (character inventories are all over the place, especially cross-server), but considering that we can now have cross-server battlegrounds, all it would probably take is a tweak to the in-game mail system. One character sends an item, another character receives it.And really, the only possibility that might come open is just ease-of-use -- that's why BoA and Heirloom items are in the game already, and if Blizzard determines that it would be easier to have you share items between your characters' factions and servers (perhaps if they upgrade the character re-customization feature to include a faction change?), then it will likely happen sooner or later.
European extended and weekly maintenance: 27th May 2009
Good morning Europe. May is almost over and summer seems to be officially here -- at least in the UK. This week we have something different. For most of us, it's the usual bout of maintenance but some lucky souls are getting extended downtime for a very special reason.Basically the Big Giant Heads at Blizzard have decided to merge a couple of Battlegroups. What's so special about that, I hear you cry? Well, it's special because the groups concerned are all in different languages. Yes, this will be the first time French, German, Spanish and English will come together to make multilingual Battlegroups. Lovely EU Blue Wryxian has created a quick FAQ to explain what the heck is going on, though I confess to still being a little confused.This means most of us will have normal maintenance between 5:00am and 7:00am CEST while folks in Nightfall, Crueldad, Nemesis and Hinterhalt (realm-wise, that's Aionsus, Anachronos, Bronze Dragonflight, Burning Steppes, Darkmoon Faire, Darkspear, Kor'gall and Lightbringer) will have extended maintenance between 3:00am and 11:00am CEST.Anyway, my usual motto of 'keep calm and carry on' applies. In the meantime, Daniel Whitcomb has once again provided a feature packed post to keep you entertained. If you finish reading that with time to spare and just happen to be a druid, well you might just want to stare at those lovely updated forms some more. I know I will be.
3.1 hitting this week? Wryxian drops some hints
EU Blue Wryxian is once again patrolling the forums, dropping hints that patch 3.1 "is coming ... soo ... er ... promptly."Through crystal-ball gazing, the application of logic and, in some cases, sheer desperation, the general consensus has been that the Secrets of Ulduar patch will be dropping this week. Europe's favourite Blue appeared on the forums this morning and left a carefully worded comment:"The patch is definitely coming ... shortly."The 'severe lack of info' might simply be because we announced it, gave further details about it, put it up on the PTR for testing and now we are basically on the verge of releasing it."We certainly haven't been quiet about it. It is coming. And it is coming ... soo ... er ... promptly."Regardless, we should know one way or another in less than twenty four hours. So cross your fingers (and toes) for some extended downtime tomorrow!
EU forums get separate Horde and Alliance guild recruitment areas
Now while the US forums have had this feature for a while, EU Blue Wryxian has posted that the EU forums have a little more order this afternoon. Rather than clumping the Horde and Alliance guild recruitment threads together, they now have separate areas to, as he puts it, 'increase the usefulness and accessibility of the Guild Recruitment forums'. Despite his entreaties to the contrary, we're sure it's more to do with furthering the mutual dislike between factions. However that said, it will certainly save a lot of time and hassle.So if you're Alliance and looking for a guild, take a look here while Hordies can go here.
More teasing from the Blues, this time about phasing
Oh Blizzard why do you torture us so? Last time it was all about Gilneas, and this time, Wyrxian winks at a player suggestion that phasing gets used more in the old world. Take this all as you will -- Blizzard is just pulling our chain on this stuff, and whatever they have in mind, they're not giving away quite yet.But, let's speculate a little, shall we? We already know that there's one more Lich King mystery content patch: Ulduar is coming first in patch 3.1, and Icecrown will likely be the final raid of the expansion, but there's one more raid that they haven't told us about yet. So we could guess that we'll finally see what's been going on in Gilneas all these years, and that it'll be a phased experience, much like what we saw in the Sunwell patch before the expansion. Plus, the announcement for that patch could be right around now -- with 3.1 set to go live any day now, Blizzard could release that patch and then throw out a preview for the next release right away.That's all guessing, of course. And we have no idea whether the phasing reference and Gilneas are even in the same patch -- I speculated long ago that the Emerald Dream expansion could be an entirely phased version of old Azeroth, which could completely revamp the 1-60 experience. So who knows? But Blizzard, as they always do, know something, and while they might let on soon, they're not telling right now.
Instance throttling explained
If you do a lot of instances, you're probably familiar with the error message "Additional instances could not be launched. Please, try again later," and the accompanying dance of spamming the instance portal until it lets you in. For me it seems to happen most at the Azjol-Nerub portal, but that's probably just coincidence. Anyway, although I've been seeing this error pretty much since WotLK launched, Wryxian just made a post today in the European forums explaining what it's all about. Basically, it's an attempt to fix instance performance; if too many instances are running at the same time on the instance server, lag and possible crashes result (and I'm sure we've all experienced that), so there's a limit imposed on how many instances can be up at any given time.
Ulduar will be 64 harder
Pushed by players to answer just how hard Ulduar really is, EU CM Wyrxian has an answer: 64. Apparently, the instance will be 64 harder than the current Wrath instances. In other news, the recent patch 3.1 changes will make playing the game about 75 more fun, and the ammunition change alone will put Hunters 23 higher than they've been in the past. More news as we get it.Joking aside, obviously Wryxian says Ulduar will be harder, but it's not easy to put a number on difficulty. He says "it has to be experienced to understand." Blizzard has already said that they want to change things like mana regeneration to be less frantic and more strategic, so it'll be interesting to see just what kinds of mechanics appear in Ulduar -- odds are the difficulty probably won't be of the "Bosses that hit really, really hard" variety, but rather that we'll see more situations where the raid's attention is divided x number of ways. Maybe 64?At any rate, the PTR should be up soon, if not tonight considering all of the reveals Blizzard has done this week, and then we'll have a better idea of what the next raid has in store for us.
Soosdon wants your Gnomes
Calling all Gnomes... Calling all Gnomes... Baron Soosdon, one of the best machinima creators out there, wants your Gnomes. In a post over on the EU forums he tells everyone "[I] need gnomes, gnome dying and flying into the air." The gnomes will be used for an upcoming machinima project of his.Some of his previous work is great, and I really suggest you check it out. The Device Has Been Modified is one of my favorite pieces of machinima, and Child Escapism also ranks quite high. If you want to get into this project you'll need to follow the instructions he outlines in his post. EU Community Team member Wryxian points out Soosdon is looking for gnomes and not crocolisks, so let's try to remember that (if there is any confusion, that is).And in case you're worried about gnome hate, a very serious problem in Azeroth, Soosdon lets us all know that he doesn't hate Gnomes, and that the video itself won't be about killing gnomes.Are you still there?
Updated patch notes for patch 3.0.8
Early this morning, Wryxian of the European forum team posted an updated set of patch notes for the patch 3.0.8 PTR. That's pretty good news, because the old set was getting really, really outdated. Ghostcrawler hinted about this a couple of days ago, so we figured it was coming sooner or later.Nothing in the patch notes is that shocking that I can see, it's mostly just the changes we've heard about and maybe a more robust bug fix listing. It's just nice to see all of the additional changes that have come along gathered in one spot, instead of hunting around to make sure we're not crazy when trying to remember something. The patch notes on the EU website have been updated, but as far as we can see, neither the US forums or website have been. So if you're somewhere that you can't access the forums or official sites (work, school), we have them right here for you. Just click through the cut below!
The Queue: Casual raiding and you
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Hooray weekend! Boo Sunday! Let's jump right into things with Galipan's question...Is casual raiding a possibility? Ive heard from many people that it isn't, however, I'm trying to get a guild started that does give it a shot.
Free character migration for EU realms
We're just now coming out of our Thanksgiving turkey-induced haze here at WoW Insider, so if you've seen this already, forgive us, but Blizzard announced late last week that there's relief on the way for EU characters tied up by queues -- they've got a whole mess of free migrations in the mix. We've got the whole list of transfers after the break as well.Argent Dawn appears to be in the worst shape, as Blizzard is sending players from that realm onto three different realms. Magtheridon seems to be the least busy -- all they're transferring off there is the Horde-side players. They're also transferring players off of a few different realms to the newly-created one, Chamber of Aspects, so if you're looking for a new start, there you go.These migrations are going until December 2nd, so now's your chance, EU players, if you're on the selected realms and have been waiting to jump ship.
