ask-a-beta-tester
Latest
Ask a Beta Tester: Of textures, turtles, and Tuskarr
If you're on a coastline in the World of Warcraft, encountering hostile pirates is always a possibility -- and Northrend seems to be no exception. I'm not sure what this intrepid crew intends to plunder, but if you meet up with them on the open seas, watch out -- I was nearly swallowed by an Orca trying to swim to shore. But enough about me: let's get to your questions!Warlia asked... Does the game really look more crisp and detailed like people are saying? Remember walking into The Exodar or Silvermoon City for the first time? I bet you immediately compared them to the other major cities in the game and suddenly all of those other cities looked a bit less impressive. Walking into Northrend is going to be just like that. Everything in Northrend looks so good that it makes previous parts of the world look a trifle dusty. Blizzard seems to be using textures in Wrath that have a lot more detail than anything they've done previously. And though I haven't gone and counted polygons, the architecture in Dalarn (especially the curvy tunnels of the sewers, which are much more pleasent than you'd imagine) looks like it might use more of 'em. And beyond the architecture of the place, the environment is tremendously detailed. For example, if you visit Dalaran's toy shop you'll find shelves packed with all manner of toy -- nearly all of which are constantly buzzing, whirring, or moving. There are reflections and real-time shadows. Everything looks fantastic. (Though I've seen some reports -- as recently as in the comments thread of the previous edition of Ask a Beta Tester -- of content outside of Northrend looking better, I can't say I'm seeing a difference, though it could be a hardware issue.) For more on the game's video quality -- and other questions! -- keep reading! But if you're the sort who wants to avoid spoilers, turn back now. We're aiming to avoid major story spoilers, but this feature is all about beta content and we can't talk about the beta without giving things away here and there.
Ask a Beta Tester: Do you not value your life fruit vendor edition
I can't say enough good things about Dalaran. It's the most beautiful place in the game -- the architecture and textures in the area are more detailed than any we've ever seen. If it weren't for the invisible holes in the ground that send you plummeting to the Crystalsong Forest below, I'd probably never leave! Now that I think of it, that's probably why we don't have more flying cities: health hazards. (Yes, at present, visitors to Dalaran may fall through the city to the ground below without warning.) However, it has its own fruit vendor, so it can't be all bad, can it? But on to your questions! Boowat asked....How do you actually get to Dalaran. It's really high up... can you only fly there?Earlier in the beta, anyone could reach Dalaran by visiting the Crystalsong Forest and using a crystal below the city to teleport up. However, more recently, transport has been further restricted. To visit Dalaran one must be level 74 and complete a quest. (As I'm not yet level 74, I can't give you details on the quest, I've only been told it exists.) Commentor Ktok also notes that Mages get a self-only port to Dalaran at level 71.The level 74 thing does seem a bit odd (can you imagine Shattrath with a level-restriction?), but we'll see if the restriction sticks around and makes it live.
Ask a Beta Tester: Death Knight-free edition
Have beta questions? We've got beta answers right here on Ask a Beta Tester! Today I'm going to start out with a few questions that we've answered before -- but people seem so desperate to know, that I feel I have to at least point them in the right direction.Aracross asked: Is CoT3 (old Stratholme) in the beta?The outer instance is, but the you can't zone in yet. It's supposed to be a level 80 instance, though, and the level cap is set at 77 right now.Samman asked: Is the epic flying mount training 5,000g?There are currently no changes to any mount training costs in the beta. Sorry!Now, on to the questions of the day! (Surprisingly Death Knight free!)
Ask A Beta Tester: Will we ever run out of Death Knight questions?
It's 11AM... do you know where your beta testers are? Right here, answering your questions, of course! We're exploring the Wrath of the Lich King beta so you don't have to. Just leave us your questions in the comments and we'll track down the answers and report back! But, really, will you ever run out of Death Knight questions? There's an office pool going and I'm starting to worry... tal* asked.... Will school specific spell power increase healing? I have Drape of the Righteous from Kara, which only increases holy damage right now. Will it increase healing done by holy spells in Wrath? I have one of those too! And, no, it does not increase healing in Wrath -- school-specific spell power seems to be damage-only.
Ask a Beta Tester: Healing, now with 100% more spell power!
Good morning, everyone! It's another day to answer your Wrath of the Lich King questions in Ask a Beta Tester. For as long as you have questions, we'll be here finding answers. In the image above, we see a Zeppelin leaving Orgrimmar heading for Northrend -- so let's go with them!Verodio asks... How well does healing gear transform into spell power gear? I want to know if my priest would be better served by holding onto epic items with high healing stats or by blue items that are +damage for grinding in Northrend. For example. Would a pair of pants that are +90 to have higher or lower spellpower than a pair of pants with +40 damage?It is not a direct one to one conversion and some of the changes may be surprising -- or at least they surprised me. Let's look at a couple of examples from the gear my Priest is wearing right now. My usual healing pants, Whitemend Pants, on the live realms, have +62 healing. On the Beta realms, the same Whitemend Pants have +33 spell power. Alternately, my DPS pants, Trial-Fire Trousers, have +49 damage and healing on the live realms. On the beta realms, the Trial-Fire Trousers have +49 spell power. I've seen a similar pattern across the board -- healing numbers significantly reduced, with spell damage numbers staying about the same. I'm sure it will work out fine in the long-run, but when you first enter Wrath, you may find that your DPS gear gives you more overall healing power than your healing gear!As several commenters have noted, though your healing numbers drop, your actual healing ability does not. I personally feel my heals are hitting somewhat harder on the beta realms than on the live realms, despite a huge drop (really, massive -- my beta +heal number is sort of depressing) in the healing number on my character sheet.
Ask a Beta Tester: (Almost) All about Death Knights
Have questions about the Wrath of the Lich King beta? We're here to find the answers! Leave your questions in the comments of Ask a Beta Tester and every day we'll pick a few new questions to answer. To kick off today's Q&A, I'm going to start with a question that's been asked a few times but left unanswered.Samman asks...For the last time, is the epic flying mount training the same price as on the live realms?Yes, the costs look just like they do on the live realms. Wasn't that a boring answer? Epic flying mount training costs 5000g, ordinary flying mount training costs 800g, epic ground training costs 600g, and ordinary ground training costs 35g.
Ask a Beta Tester: Daily quests, skill trainers, and Arthas, oh my!
Another day is upon us -- and that means we've got yet another chance for more questions and answers straight from the Wrath of the Lich King beta. Elizabeth here today, and I'd like to start out with a tiny bit of extra information on a question Alex answered yesterday. Vjax asks... Can you still do level 70 dailies for gold, and do you get XP for doing them?Alex said these wouldn't be worth your while, and he was right. For those of you interested in specifics, though, you seem to get 3g 40s and 9,500xp for your average daily quest in Wrath. On the other hand, you could be doing quests in one of the starting zones of Northrend and getting yourself 4 to 5g and in the 20,000xp range per quest. Executive summary: go to Northrend. Go directly to Northrend. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
Ask a Beta Tester: The Argent Crusade
It's that time again, ladies and gents. Alex here with today's round of answers to your Wrath Beta questions. Keep the questions coming, and we'll keep answering. To everyone that asked about Arena points: We don't know anything about that yet, and Blizzard doesn't either. As soon as they know, we'll know, and then you'll know.Gurluas asks...How many high elves are there in Wrath, and what are their role now that they have thier own faction?The High Elves actually have a pretty strong presence, which I'm rather excited about. The High Elves (and Blood Elves to a much lesser extent) are one of my favorite Warcraft races, and it makes me sad I can't play one. Alliance FTW. Dalaran, first of all, is packed full of them. Most of them are under the banner of the Silver Covenant, an Alliance-aligned faction of High Elves that aren't too happy about the Blood Elves being given a sizable section of Dalaran.There are also High Elves scattered throughout the Alliance forces in Northrend. There are a few of them in the 7th Legion (no, they're not all High Elves), the Argent Crusade, and just the Alliance forces overall. The fellow in charge of the Alliance contingent helping the Red Dragonflight at the Red Dragonshrine is a High Elf. He's a total badass, by the way. Check him out up there. Ashkandi is Draconic for Awesome.
Ask a Beta Tester: Seals, judgements, and more
It's 11AM, do you know where your beta testers are? If you're reading WoW Insider (and you certainly seem to be), then they're right here answering your questions. We've picked a few unanswered questions from recent installments of Ask a Beta Tester to answer this morning, and, as always, invite you to drop in any new questions that might be plaguing your poor brain. I'm going to start off with a question I've been waiting for -- because it allows me to properly express the full extent of my glee over the changes to the Paladin's seal and judgment system, which are, if I may be so bold, magnificent. Offhand writes in to say, "I'm getting confused as to how paladin seals work now. It seems like they keep updating and changing that system." The old system of seals and judgements is dead -- long live the new system. At present, a paladin's available seals have been reduced to light, wisdom, righteousness, blood/vengeance (Horde/Alliance), and corruption/martyr (Horde and Alliance's new versions of blood/vengeance, to put them on even footing, insofar as seals are concerned)...You'll notice former staple crusader is missing -- it buffed holy damage on application and your all-around damage has been buffed so you won't notice a change. Madness! Now, when you cast a judgement, it does not use up your seal -- all seals last for two minutes. Also, while you have seal of light, wisdom, and justice, their use is much more limited, because you now have three different types of judgements: light, wisdom, and justice. Regardless of which seal you use, using judgement of light, wisdom, or justice will apply the debuff formerly associated with the seal of the same name while doing the immediate effect of the seal you currently have up. It may sound convoluted, but in practice, it really cuts down on the seal/judge/seal/judge keyboard action and streamlines paladin combat.Update: Clarified the new corruption and martyr seals which, as many commenters have pointed out, are versions of blood/vengeance for the opposite faction. Also, I'm a total idiot and forgot to mention righteousness. It's not gone, I promise!More questions after the break..!
Ask A Beta Tester: Death Knights, bears, and buckets
Welcome back to another edition of Ask A Beta Tester! I've stolen the reins from Elizabeth and Alex for a day, so let's get into last week's comments and get some questions answered. Death Knights: Multiple people had lots of questions about Death Knights, so I'm just going to list a bunch of them and then delve into what's going on: How Customizable are Death Knights? Do they get unique skintones, or unique racials? As to Death Knight Customization, the big difference they have right now are glowing blue eyes for every race. You can see that in action in our Death Knight racial gallery. Unfortunately, I think the Blue Eyes look sort of pasted on for most races, so I'm hoping they keep tweaking that to make them look more natural. We've also been promised different sounding emotes -- every Death Knight will have a deeper, sepulchral voice.
Ask a Beta Tester: More Titan's Grip
We're back again with today's round of Ask a Beta Tester questions. I tried to answer as many as I could, but time is a fickle mistress and I was going to write some sort of metaphor here but I can't think of one, so if you would all be so kind, come up with one for me. If I didn't get to your question today, don't worry, we'll be doing these for as long as there are questions left to answer. Just post it in the comments section below, and we'll try to get to it as soon as we can. Jamesisgreat asked: How much gold are you getting rewarded per quest on average? I mean is it worth us saving up our gold for Wrath or are quests going to reward 100g a pop or something? Most quests throughout the starter zones give around 5g each, though group quests offer more. On top of that there are the green rewards you don't use that you can vendor, so you don't need to save a lot of money. I advise saving up a little bit though, because questing to 80 is not going to get you the (roughly) 8,000g you'll want to buy the ring that ports you to Dalaran. You won't be totally broke at 80 if you don't save money now, but you won't be able to run around and buy whatever you want either. Northrend is a big place, so that ring will be nice even if you only use it for the portal. You can be free to set your hearth elsewhere.
Ask a Beta Tester: Wyrmrest Temple and the dragon shrines
Elizabeth is off having grand adventures at the airport today, so I'll be filling in for her on Ask a Beta Tester today. You may know me from such WoW Insider features as Know Your Lore, Ask a Lore Nerd, Hybrid Theory, and Bad Pop Culture References. Hm, wait, I think I imagined that last one... Anyway! I'll be fielding your questions today, and I apologize if I didn't get to yours. I had to pick and choose questions I actually knew a thing or two about, so I couldn't really answer class questions about classes I don't play or don't know very well.If I didn't get to your question today, go ahead and ask it again today, and hopefully one of the other WoW Insider staff in the Wrath Beta will be able to answer it for you. Thanks, everyone!juicyjuice asked: As I understand it, the Argent Dawn is making a reappearance in WotLK. Will players who spent a lot of time with the Argent Dawn pre-BC have a significant advantage over people who may not have much or any Argent Dawn rep when WotLK hits? The Argent Dawn and parts of the Silver Hand are now operating as the Argent Crusade. I won't elaborate on that so we can avoid any spoilers on the front page here. So no, high Argent Dawn rep from WoW Classic will not give you any advantage in Wrath of the Lich King. However, it will probably play a role in an achievement or two, though it is a bit too early to say for sure whether that will be the case when Wrath hits retail.
Ask a beta tester: Death Knights and Dalaran
With over 200 questions yesterday on our initial Ask a Beta Tester column, I'm afraid we couldn't answer everyone's questions. (There just aren't enough hours in the day!) However, I did pick about a dozen questions to answer -- like a Death Knight picking Peacebloom! -- after the break. Did your question not get answered? You're welcome to ask it again today, and maybe the WoW Insider crew will be able to hunt down the answers. So what are you waiting for? Ask us your questions in the comments!
Ask a beta tester: Let's get this party started!
So you haven't found your way into the Wrath of the Lich King beta. We're sorry for you -- no, really, we cried all through the beta login screen, after which point we were immediately distracted by, well, we'd tell you, but it would be a huge spoiler. However, we're here to ease the pain. Though we don't have the persuasive powers required to convince Blizzard to give you all beta keys of your very own, we can answer your beta-related questions. Do you have a burning Wrath question that you just have to have answered? Leave it in the comments below and tomorrow we'll be back here, same time, same place, to answer some of your questions. We'll keep this up until Wrath of the Lich King launches or until you run out of questions -- but I think we all know which of those is going to come first. So lets get this party started -- ask us your beta questions!Update: Thanks so much for all of your questions, folks! However, at this point I've picked questions and answers for Tuesday's edition of Ask a Beta Tester, so hold on to your questions until the next column is upon us!
