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Congress is raising the minimum smoking and vaping age to 21
Congress just raised the legal age to smoke or vape to 21, BuzzFeed News reports. The law will go into effect sometime next year, and it will cover all nicotine products.
21's Bitcoin Computer is a Raspberry Pi-powered mining tool
If you've been searching for a non-DIY Bitcoin mining machine, there's now a device that could meet all your needs. Announced earlier today, the 21 Bitcoin Computer is a pocketable, Raspberry Pi-powered tool with native hardware and software support for the open-source, peer-to-peer money protocol. 21.co, the startup behind the new product, says you can use it to seamlessly buy or sell digital goods and services from a custom command line interface. What's more, thanks to a built-in payments system, you can also set up the Bitcoin Computer to sell your own API calls (like language-to-language translations) and even create a personal store for virtual items.
Finally, no more loot click hunting
There's one little mostly unseen note in the 2.1 patch notes that has quietly been making players' lives easier for the past few weeks. Hidden way down inside the "User Interface" section, we find this: "Active corpses or objects (ones with loot on them) now can be selected and looted, even if they are underneath another corpse that does not have loot on it."We've all been in that situation before 2.1, where we were fighting, and had to deal with adds that died in almost exactly the same place, and then had to slowly move your looting cursor over the whole area, looking for that tiny little section in which it went from black and white to color, just so you could look that few silver and bit of trash from it. Nowadays, in these enlightened 2.1 times, we can simply loot at will, and life is good.Of course, it's not perfect-- I still can't target anything through walls, and that's a known bug. But it is very nice to see that one simple sentence in the patch notes, and know that I never again have to hunt around for a tiny point of contact just to loot a piece of junk.
Tier 6 in motion
By now, you've probably seen the Tier 6 shots (if not, you've got to read Elizabeth's great critiques of them all), but here they are in all of their full-motion glory. Yes, even the Warlock (lol) set. Don't watch this if you're not into spoilers, especially because there's a little surprise at the end... Was it just me, or did the Paladin set just look like weird flat spikes before? Here, you can see it's actually glowy. And it's awesome to see the eyes on the Hunter set blink, although I think that if I ever did get my Hunter to the point where he could wear and obtain those shoulders, all that blinking would annoy me after a while. The Mage's head just looks all pointy. But oh yes, that Shaman set does look awesome. You hear that, guild? We've got to get to the Black Temple... it will be mine.
Specifics on flask changes, plus new elixirs
So by now you've probably seen a little bit about the current Alchemy shake-ups. But if you haven't been on the PTRs, you might not necessarily know the specific numbers involved. Fortunately, Eyonix made a nice post a little while ago about a specific example of the reduced effect and ingredients of flasks. Ready? You might want to be sitting down for this, it's a big nerf. Here we go:Flask of Mighty Restoration - Current Instant Regenerate 70 mana per 5 sec for two hours. Dreaming Glory x20 Mana Thistle x10 Fel Lotus x1 Flask of Might Restoration - Patch 2.1 Instant Regenerate 25 mana per 5 sec for two hours. Dreaming Glory x7 Mana Thistle x3 Fel Lotus x1 (Please Note: The drop rate for Fel Lotus is also being increased by approximately 15% in the same patch) Players will notice that while the effect of the flask has been dramatically reduced, so has the cost to create one. All alchemy flasks will be adjusted similarly.In short, the effect and cost of the flask have been reduced to about a third of their previous values. This is a big deal -- Tigole wasn't kidding when he said earlier that flasks had been significantly reduced. He then goes on to compare this to a similar elixir:
2.1 PTR notes, abridged version
The 2.1 PTR notes have now been released for all to see. However, they are very long, at about 9500 words. For comparison, that's about 40% as long as Kafka's "Metamorphosis" (and almost as depressing, depending on what class you're playing). So I thought it might be helpful to make a condensed version, selecting only the changes that seemed relatively significant.Note that I left out a ton of changes -- this is only 10% of the patch notes -- in order to make this skimmable. It's still definitely worth checking out the full patch notes if you have a few minutes on your hands. And if you want the short, short version: Epic flight form for Druids, Hunters buffed in damage and pet survivability, Paladins' Illumination cut by half, Rogues get automatic Improved Sap.Edit: added a few things people pointed out in the comments. Thanks guys!
2.1 PTR patch notes [updated]
The PTR client is now available for download, and although the servers are not up yet, I felt I should relay the real patch notes as soon as possible. They are very long, and an analysis of the key points is forthcoming -- I haven't finished reading them myself yet -- although it looks like the Illumination nerf was correct. In fact, as far as I've seen, the fake notes from earlier today were correct in all aspects (though far from complete). Consider me very disappointed. Of course this is the PTR patch, and it may change before it goes live, but don't hold your breath. I've never seen a major change like this one reversed between PTR and live.Update: as the notes are too long to fit in one post, you can find part two of the notes over this way.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - World of Warcraft PTR Patch 2.1.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The latest patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/test-realm-patchnotes.html The Black Temple The Temple of Karabor was the center of draenei worship until its priests were slaughtered by demonically corrupted orcs. In the massacre's aftermath the warlocks of the Shadow Council seized the structure and gave it a new name: the Black Temple. When the Alliance invaded Draenor after the Second War, the orc shaman Ner'zhul hastily opened several dimensional portals in order to escape. The resulting magical backlash ripped the world apart. Drawn by these portals, the pit lord Magtheridon arrived in what had come to be known as Outland and took the temple as his seat of power. His dominion over Outland remained unchallenged until the arrival of Illidan the Betrayer. The pit lord proved no match for the wielder of the Twin Blades of Azzinoth. Today Illidan occupies the temple, awaiting any and all who would challenge his rule. Druid Epic Flight Form Introduced The Druid Epic flight form will be available through a series of quests, similar to the Warlock and Paladin Epic mount quests before it. This quest series will also open up a new boss in Sethekk Halls, and ultimately lead to the epic flight form.
Raid hotfixes and 2.1 PTR ETA
Some of the changes from 2.1 are going in early. Specifically, Tigole announced that they are hotfixing some raid things:Because 2.1.0 is not yet on the PTR's (we're hoping by tomorrow or early next week), we're going to hotfix the base creature respawn in Serpentshrine and TK Raid to be 2 hours. We're also going to fix the bug that's causing the creatures to respawn after the boss for the corresponding section has been killed. These aren't all of the changes that we have for 2.1.0, just two of the ones that we will be able to hotfix. There are more changes coming in 2.1.0 that include creature tuning, better loot etc... Some examples: Lots of the creatures have fewer hitpoints Lots of the creatures are no longer immune to CC (The female naga in SSC can be poly'd, Skeletal Ushers in KZ can be shackled) Lots of bug fixesThe most interesting bit in this post, though, to my eye, is "Because 2.1.0 is not yet on the PTR's (we're hoping by tomorrow or early next week)." See? PTR next week! What'd I tell ya. Of course, now that he's said this, if we don't get a PTR by Wednesday the forums are going to explode in a fit of angst, which is why Blizz never gives ETAs. I hope they can meet their target on this one, since 2.1 looks like it will be a fun patch for most parts of the game. Once the patch hits PTRs it'll be at least a week or two before it goes live.Pictured above, by the way, is Al'ar the Phoenix God, a boss in the Eye (the 25-man "TK Raid" referred to by Tigole) who is suspected to drop a 310% speed flying mount called "Peep the Phoenix Mount."
Profession revamp preview
Professions have been on the drawing board for changes for a good while, but until now Blizz have been very tight-lipped about what specific modifications they might be making. No more! Nethaera has posted a nice preview of changes that are being made to many professions for "the next content patch," i.e. 2.1 (The Black Temple). Before I go into detail, note that Neth said her post "does not contain all of the upcoming changes, but instead gives a brief look at what is to come," so bank on more surprises to come. Anyway, this round is mostly buffs and new recipes, with a major nerf to alchemy.Full post copied after the jump as usual, but here's the changes I found more interesting: Alchemy: Elixirs now stack in two categories, Battle (Offensive) and Guardian (Defensive) Elixirs. You can only have one of each type of Elixir up at a time. As a result Elixirs now stack with class abilities such as "Arcane Intellect." I totally called this (as did many others, I'm sure). The intended effect is obviously to reduce the maximum possible effect of consumables in raids and other such situations, and this will go a long way towards producing that effect, without hurting alchemists too much (in my opinion). Engineering: "Seaforium" now opens locked chests as well as locked doors. About time; having to skip locked chests if I didn't have a rogue in the party has been annoying. But will Powerful Seaforium Charges open the top-level locked chests, or are we going to see new seaforium? Engineering: 11 new epic goggles have been introduced at 350 engineering skill and are available from the trainer. They range from cloth to plate, and have a variety of stats to appeal to most talent specs. This is probably the biggest change to any profession. I've always loved the goggles Engineering had to offer, and now engineers have something epic to work towards. Exciting! Fishing: The fishing timer has been reduced from 30 to 20 seconds and it now takes less time to fish. Sweet! I always though 30 seconds was a bit too long. But on the down side, Fishing has been removed from Arathi Basin and Alterac Valley -- what, you mean I have to actually fight now?! Jewelcrafting: The jewelcrafting UI now has gems split up by color so it is easier to find gems of a specific color to create. This is long-overdue; Blizz's profession UIs are so primitive it's not even funny. I would recommend ATSW as a replacement, but it tends to crash my client sometimes. Now where's my gem category in the AH? Jewelcrafting: Jewelcrafters can make two new melee oriented meta gems. One is found randomly as a world drop and the other sold by the <Faction> reputation vendor. Definitely needed -- but what do they mean by <Faction>? Scryer or Aldor? HH or Thrallmar? Any faction? Jewelcrafting: New recipes have been added that use the Jaggal and Shadow Pearls. Time to stop vendoring those, I guess. Skinning: Skinning higher level creatures will give more leather; you will no longer get a single leather scrap. Good, it was getting silly. Read on for the full blue post.
Eyeshield 21 gameplay video
It is extremely weird to see American football presented in an anime style, with special moves and speedlines and everything. That's exactly what is on display in this video of the anime-based sports game, visible over at Siliconera. We don't know the first thing about football, but they've managed to make it look like an action game, and therefore piqued our interest.Of course, no Wii gameplay video would be complete without footage of Wiimote gestures corresponding to on-screen moves. It even looks like it's got some Shenmue/Dragon's Lair-style Quick Timer Events interspersed with the footballery! We hope someone decides that maybe a football game is a good idea for the US.
LFG channel to return
Wow, this is honestly surprising to me. After having stated in no uncertain terms that the LFG channel would not be coming back, Blizz apparently changed their mind. From Drysc: We're making many improvements to the Looking For Group tool, most of which are still in production and can't yet be discussed. Player suggestions and feedback are playing a large part in the changes we're making and we want to emphasize that we are indeed making improvements. The change we can talk about right now is indeed the return of the looking for group channel in the next major content patch. With it comes a rather significant requirement, and that is that you will have to be in the LFG system set to looking for a group or looking for more to see and use the channel. The global LFG channel will only be viewable and available for use to players while they are in the LFG system. We hope to see the combination of the LFG tool coupled with the ease of use of a global channel help to improve the LFG tool and players use of the tool. Again we're making other improvements based on feedback and suggestions which we'll be able to discuss in the near future.In my opinion, this is actually a really good move. It gives the people who want the channel back what they want, but at the same time it forces more people into the LFG system. In my opinion, the biggest problem with the current LFG system is that not enough people use it, and this should remedy that. What do you guys think?[Thanks, Kyle]
Blizzard updates Under Development page
For the first time since before the Burning Crusade was released, Blizzard have updated their Under Development page to tell us that the Black Temple is going to be opened soon, and will contain Tier 6 armor. We knew it was going to be opened eventually, given that the physical edifice is already in the game, and even the instance portal (though it tells you that the instance isn't available yet), but this probably means it'll be in the next content patch. Here's Blizz's text:Originally founded as a Draenei temple, this plot has been conquered and despoiled many times throughout the history of Outland, removing any spiritual grace it may have once held. The Black Temple has been the stage of the Orc Horde's blood curse, a fortress for the then-mortal Ner'zhul, and a prime staging ground for the Burning Legion's campaign of destruction. Most recently, it has been claimed as home by Illidan, where he and his minions make their bid for power over the remnants of the shattered planet. Now, it is up to you to face the malefic forces of Illidan and his minions in hopes of freeing Outland from chaos and tyranny.Black Temple is a 25-person raid dungeon located in Shadowmoon Valley. Explore an ancient site steeped in Warcraft lore Gain access to more than a hundred new rare and epic items, including tier-6 armor sets Choose your path through a nonlinear level-70 raid dungeon, as you make your way to... Face Illidan himself! I'm interested to learn more about the nonlinearity of this place, although it probably just means that you don't have to do all the bosses. Also, note that we almost certainly won't be able to destroy Illidan -- Blizz have hinted that he's too powerful to be destroyed by mere level 70s. The usual guess is that it'll go something like the Majordomo Executus fight in MC. And the stats on T4 and T5 are already pretty crazy -- anyone have any info on what T6 is like?
