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The drama of DKP
Donnyman is going through an issue with his guild that many a guild has faced before: the drama of going to DKP. Especially lately, it seems like lots of guilds are aiming to make the jump to DKP: because the endgame is relatively easier lately, lots of folks are getting into raiding seriously, and unless your guild is the closest of friends, you can really only go so long without people starting to wonder why the other guy got that roll when he's only been to two raids in the last month when they've been to five. At that point, the guild either breaks up due to loot drama -- or you decide to settle on a system like DKP.The good news is that lots of guilds have been through this before, and there's a lot of great guidance out there about how to switch to DKP and what kinds of systems you might use if you do. I've only been in one guild that decided to go from a free-for-all roll to a loot system -- they chose Suicide Kings, everyone agreed it was fair, and they've never looked back. Donnyman's having an issue with his guild leadership's decision to put a little erosion on the DKP, and it's true -- if the whole guild isn't behind a disagreement like that, there could be some breakup. There's lots of great discussion in the LJ thread about how decay actually affects people who can't raid from time to time, and Donny ends up with two choices: be OK with it, or find another guild (there's plenty of them around).It's not impossible to pull off a switch to DKP from a free-for-all system, but you need to a) make it clear that it's in everyone's best interest (if loot drama is starting to sneak up, it probably is), and b) make sure it's as fair as can be. Consider what your guildies want (more loot, just to have a good time raiding, or to reward people who do well or people who need the gear), and then go with a system that meets those needs.
The best of WoW Insider: February 24 - March 3, 2009
Lots of new information on Joystiq's WoW-obsessed site WoW Insider this week. There's a new PTR, a new patch on the way, and lots of new tidbits and insights about what's going to be new in Azeroth in a little while. Having trouble staying on top of all the changes? We can help. News WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 3.1Top to bottom coverage of the upcoming content patch. Full Tier 8 armor sets beginning to emergeWe're getting our first looks at the hot new armor coming out of the endgame instances. Datamined Ulduar boss information, with analysisWhat kinds of bosses will you be facing down in the new Ulduar raid instance? We'll let you know. WoW PTR 3.1: Swimming mount videoTake your mounts for a swim with videos of every single mount we could find. PTR quests show hard mode, Ulduar storyline, and Val'anyrDefinite spoilers here, but if you want a look at what we'll be questing for in the new content, check this out. Features Guildwatch: Brother against brotherOur guild gossip column dives into the worst of guild drama from around the realms just for your enjoyment. The Queue: Missing outHave questions about the World of Warcraft? Our Q&A column has answers. Insider Trader: Your livelihood after patch 3.1How you'll make your money after the new content patch comes out. Arcane Brilliance: Mage changes (or lack of) on the PTRSo what's up with Mages on the PTR? Not much, apparently. WoW Insider Show Episode 79: Argently competingOur weekly podcast lays down the lowdown on the latest in game news.
Why now's the best time to run BC content
Spartonian over on WoW LJ has been running some old content, and he points out something that everyone should hear: now is the absolute best time to be running the old Burning Crusade endgame. He says the contest is laughably easy with current endgame levels and gear, and yet, because we're still basically at the beginning of this expansion's endgame, there are still quite a few items that can be picked off of the end bosses in Black Temple and Sunwell (not to mention you can pick up the achievements for those places if you weren't able to down them before.And he's right -- there are some nice trinkets still found in those old instances, and who wouldn't want to complete their Warglaive set or grab a Thori'dal from Sunwell? Sure, the stats may not be the best, but until the ammo changes go in, you can save money while soloing -- and own a legendary to boot.Of course, when Ulduar shows up, we'll all likely be too busy with the new content (be it the raids or the Argent Tournment or whatever else you got) to go back to Burning Crusade. But now, during the downtime post-OS and Naxx, is the perfect time to go back and clean up the old content.
Ammo changes MIA in the 3.1 PTR
We posted the patch notes as soon as they dropped, and our new Hunter writer, Jessica (a.k.a. Lassirra) did a great job of breaking down exactly what's new with Hunters, but you may have noticed, as a few of our tipsters did, that consumable ammunition was still in the game. There was no sign of the upcoming changes in the patch notes at all.Which isn't exactly unexpected (in fact, we have already heard that it wouldn't make the 3.1 PTR), but even the things that were promised to be in the PTR (no need for ammo pouches or quivers, bigger stacks for ammunition) still don't seem to be there. We still believe that Blizzard has this on the to-do list, but it looks like this change has been put aside for now.Too bad -- that was a pretty exciting adjustment for Hunters. But Blizzard seems hard at work on things like the Argent Dawn Tournament and the Dual Spec system. We'll get the ammo changes when they get around to them.
Analysis of stated 3.1 rogue changes
All right, rogues. So by now some of you have likely read our list of 3.1 changes for our bloodthirsty class, and if not, you should! Right now! Make no mistake, these are some very cool changes, and even if this is the whole list (it's not), I'm pretty happy with how things are shaping up--not just for rogues, but for all the classes mentioned so far. If you haven't read through them yet or if you're not a big theorycrafter, you can take a moment and read through our analysis of how 3.1 will (so far) affect you, the rogue.Let's have a look!
Upcoming 3.1 class changes: Rogue, Priest, Shaman
Development just relayed major class changes coming in content patch 3.1 for rogues, priests, and shaman on the forums. Eyonix advises the list is in no way comprehensive, is subject to change, and is likely to receive additions as the weeks go by. Major class changes include: Priest's Divine Spirit is now a base ability of all Priests. Priest's Power Word: Barrier, a new Disc Priest talent that acts like a Power Word: Shield for the entire group. Rogue's Killing Spree increases damage an additional 20%. Rogue's Mace Spec now additionally increases haste. Shaman's Mana Spring and Healing Spring totems combined, along with Poison Cleansing and Disease Cleansing combined. Shaman's Spirit Weapons now reduces all threat. Shaman's Chain Lightning now hits 4 targets. What are you waiting for? Check out after the break to read 'em all!
Priests: 2008 the year of change
That year flew by really quick, didn't it? Last year, I remember I was working my way through Tempest Keep (Kael'Thas even). 2008 brought in a complete set of additions and changes for the Priest class across all 3 specs. So, shall we get down to Priest class changes? Ranked in no particular order, we'll go over a few of the changes and the impact they had on the current game.
Vehicle mounts to work more like mounts than vehicles
Here's an interesting mount change -- it probably won't change the way you actually use your mounts, but it is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how vehicles are working out at Blizzard. Zarhym says that in a future patch (maybe as soon as 3.1), all "vehicle" mounts will be changed back into regular mounts. Right now, when you "summon" a flying carpet, it actually shows up as a vehicle to the game, unlike a normal mount, which is basically just an extension of your character. But after the change comes down (whenever that is), summonable vehicle mounts (which may or may not include the Chopper?) will work just like regular mounts.This won't mean much in the actual UI (though it may change where your mount is saved -- I haven't picked up a vehicle mount yet, so I'm not sure if they appear on the mounts screen or not), but what it does mean is that Blizzard is stepping back from the vehicle interface. It's been buggy from the beginning, since beta and even after release, and while it's unlikely Blizzard will remove vehicles from the game, at least for the mount/vehicles, they're planning to go with the old mount code rather than have everyone using the vehicle code for that.Interesting change. Hopefully Blizzard is also still working on tightening up the vehicle code -- it's never fun to jump into a siege tank and then discover that none of the abilities work. But for these mounts at least, they're backing off and going back to the old way. Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
Breakfast topic: The good old days
I've been playing World of Warcraft for nearly three of it's four year run. It's kind of amazing to me to see how things have changed over time. Many of the adjustments have been by player suggestions, and most of them for the good. The folks I've been playing with lately don't have nearly as much time in the game. I find myself reminiscing and thinking about the way things were, and telling them how good they have it now. Some things I remember least fondly are: Single-server battlegrounds, and sometimes waiting hours for a queue. The old battleground ranking system, with one High Warlord per server. 40-man instances, if you think keeping 25 people in line is challenging, give this one a go. Epic ground mounts for 1000 gold in a time when cash did not flow so freely. Horde had no Paladins and Alliance had no Shamans. Before the report feature, I got a whisper message from a gold spammer about every thirty seconds. Many more limitations on where mounts were allowed.
GC on the Deterrence change and the future of Hunter melee
When the Hunter changes dropped earlier this week, I understood the Volley change, and I even got the Kill Shot cooldown drop, but the one I really didn't understand was the Deterrence change. Like BRK said, it seemed pretty useless: sure, becoming immune to damage for five seconds helps survivability in the Arenas, but what's to stop people from just continuing the kill after that. And the directional effect was just perplexing as well.Now, Ghostcrawler has provided some background on the change, and while it still doesn't make much sense, at least we have an idea of where Blizzard is coming from. First things last, the directional ability is still being tested and may not make it to the live game. But the ability itself is designed specifically for Arena, as we'd guessed. And even more strangely, he says the reason they wanted to change the spell was to make it different visually -- letting the Hunter see themselves parrying every single attack while their backup helps them out. That argument may not find much ground in the numbers-driven Arena crowd, but GC says lots of times, a strong visual can give what seems like a useless spell a lot of use. Interesting look into Blizzard's design philosophy -- they don't program the numbers, they program how it plays.Finally, he says that Hunter melee damage is being looked at -- they are primarily a ranged class, but the problem now is that it's all or nothing. Either you're in a Hunter's barrage or you've closed to melee and they're not a threat. If they can put the sting back in melee, GC says (within a few patches -- this is long term), then they'll give them more viability "to flee or stand and fight." We'll have to see what Hunter's think about that one when we get more specifics.
Warrior changes in PTR Patch 3.0.8: Dead parrot edition
Warriors are now the most powerful class in the game. Please delete all other characters and switch to your level 13 Warrior alt you haven't played in three years. Also, please be sure to level bandaging up quickly as 24 other warriors bandaging the main tank is all you'll need to defeat most Wrath raiding content.Okay, now that I've got that out of my system... let's take a look at the three changes they've made to the Warrior class for PTR Patch 3.0.8.First and foremost, the one you'll hear around the campfire the most – Titan's Grip has had the hit penalty removed. Completely gone. It is no more. The Titan's Grip hit penalty ceases to be. It is an ex-hit penalty!'Ello hit penalty? Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call!/thumps-the-hit-penalty-on-the-counterNow that's what I call a dead hit penalty.
Ghostcrawler announces Mage changes for next patch
Mages, your changes for the next patch are out, and there's good news for the Arcane among you -- GC says they're buffing the spec to bring it up to par with the rest of the Mage options. On the other hand, they're being careful about PvP, so Arcane Barrage is getting closely examined -- you might want to Iceblock it whenever you can to avoid aggro on that one from the devs.The full list of changes is after the break, but here's a quick summary: Evocation cooldown reduced to four minutes, with Arcane Flows also reducing the cooldown even further. Arcane Blast got an overhaul -- will now increase the damage of your next Arcane spell by 30%, or you can stack it, for a higher mana charge. So you can use it to buff Barrage, or use it as it is now, just upping the Blast and mana costs every time. Interesting.Elemental Precision lost the Elemental and will work on all spells, and Improved Blizzard got a slight nerf, with the snaring effect percentage reduced. Actually, that's most of the changes right there, but for those of you at work unable to see the forums, they're pasted after the break anyway. I don't play a Mage but it looks like you guys got off easy -- Arcane is the real winners, but even Frost and Fire got that Precision buff.Update: GC explains the Blast change better than I can.
Phat Loot Phriday: Arcanite Reaper
Yes, the Reaper, like 40 man raiding, has basically gone the way of the dodo. But with the coming of the Arcanite Ripper and even more references in Wrath, you kids today might not realize that there was once a weapon that everybody simultaneously loved and feared.Name: Arcanite Reaper (Wowhead, Thottbot, Wowwiki)Type: Rare (yes, it's not even Epic) Two-Hand AxeDamage/Speed: 153-256/3.80 (53.8 DPS)Abilities: +13 Stamina (this was before resilience was introduced to the game), +62 Attack Power (which is still substantial, but back then was phenomenal) And the main reason the Reaper was so nuts was because of it's slow attack, but high damage. Back in the day, before things got all normalized, Mortal Strike was the shiznit. It was an instant attack based on weapon damage, and since this weapon's damage was so high, pushed forward by the Attack Power bonus, Warriors basically owned PvP back around early level 60 times. In fact, you might even be able to trace the current population of Warriors back to this weapon alone, and for that reason, it's earned not only a place in Warriors' hearts, but in Blizzard's culture as well. I should also mention Shaman and Windfury weapon here, because back before all the changes were made to Windfury, and even before Shammies could dual wield, one Shaman with Windfury and this weapon could one-shot almost anyone. Nowadays, everything's mitigated, with nerfs and resilience and all the changes to endgame and Arena PvP. But back then, the Arcanite Reaper ruled the roost. Which explains why it's everywhere -- the Arcanite Ripper is a direct rip, if you will, off the old weapon, and brought many a tear to a Warrior's eye when it returned to the game as a guitar. The skin has also been reused a few times, as with the Spinal Reaper. And in the next expansion, there'll be an heirloom item bound to account called the Bloodied Arcanite Reaper, so all of your two-handed melee characters can relive the old days as they level up. Oh, and take a close look at that summoned Felguard running towards you while the Warlock's DoTs are ripping you apart -- he's carrying an old Arcanite Reaper as well. How to Get It: Here's another reason why the Reaper was such a big deal -- not only was it the best weapon to have for any class that wielded two-hand melee and counted on Attack Power, but it was craftable and BoE, so pretty much anyone who wanted one could get one. The plans drop from Bannok Grimaxe, a rare spawn found in Lower Blackrock Spire, which is actually an instance that's getting some traffic nowadays with not one but two vanity pets and an achievement in there. You can probably solo to him without too much trouble, but the drop is the problem -- it's only around 6%, so you've got to be lucky.But maybe you can find a Blacksmith with the plans already -- in that case, you'll need 20 Arcanite Bars, six Enchanted Leathers (made by an Enchanter from a Rugged Leather and a Lesser Eternal Essence), and two Dense Grinding Stones. Not a tall order, actually (yet another reason why this weapon was so popular). Melt it all together, and voila, you've got a classic weapon. Won't do much good these days, as mechanics and upgrades have rendered the once great Reaper into a not very attractive blue. But don't tell any grizzled old Warriors that -- they'll make you remember the old days whether you like it or not.Getting Rid of It: Sells to vendors for 6g 57s 36c. Disenchants into a Large Brilliant Shard. Has killed more Mages than you'll ever meet, consarnit!%Gallery-33600%
Breakfast Topic: Unexpected Changes in Patch 3.0.2
There's a mailbox missing in Silvermoon! I know, I know. There are a lot of mailboxes in Silvermoon City, but I really liked this one near the bank in The Bazaar area. I must have missed this in the patch notes. And why would they get rid of it anyway? If anything, I think they should add more mailboxes to the old world cities. But I'm lazy. Running on mountless/travelformless alts is a chore. On a good note, I seemed to have totally missed that Marks of Honor were going to be on the Currency tab in the character screen instead of taking up precious bag space until i actually logged in yesterday. Yay more bag space!My favorite surprise in Echoes of Doom, however, was discovering that my Herbalist now has a new self-heal over time spell: Lifeblood. It's instant cast and has a 3 minute cooldown. There it was just sitting in my General Skills. A guildie had to point it out to me. I should probably take a closer look at the patch notes.What changes did you not expect to find in Patch 3.0.2?
Breaking News: Patch 3.0.2 will not contain all major class changes [Updated]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/World_of_Warcraft_will_be_bugged_for_a_month_says_Blizzard'; Many people, including yours truly, was scratching their head in disblief this morning when the official patch notes for 3.0.2 looked rather off. There were spells and abilities missing, talents not enumerated, and generally the notes looked as if they were lifted from a version of the game done a few weeks ago.Apparently this was intentional.Ghostcrawler made a post moments ago stating that patch 3.0.2 does not have all the class changes in it. In particular, "those that affect high level abilities" and some more recent changes are not included. He goes on to say that people will get them before November 13th.Bornakk has confirmed Ghostcrawler's post applies to the retail non-beta / non-ptr version of WoW.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: The Door Swings Open Pt 2
Yesterday we talked about the frankly astonishing state of protection spec in the upcoming Echoes of Doom patch. I then screwed up a perfectly good metaphor by using the word literally in it. And no, I suppose that the patch is not breathing down our necks in a Anne of Green Gables novel, it's doing so in a poorly conceived metaphor that I should have left alone. Wait, did I just mention it again? Rereading previous paragraph... well dang. Too bad I'm too slow to work out that whole backspace deal. (Wow, this is a long way to go to hang a hat on a screw up from a previous piece.)For this piece I want to talk about the changes to our DPS specs. How do they hold up in PvP? How are they doing as DPS for instances and raids? Why am I generally much, much more optimistic about these specs than, say, 90% of warriors on the beta right now?Well, we'll cover that. I'm not going to cover glyphs in too much detail because you won't be seeing them for a bit and many of the best ones will be out of reach until Wrath itself launches.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: The Door Swings Open Pt 1
Since I'm not at Blizzcon this year either (it looks fun and all, but I hate flying and I'm not terribly big on crowds and who am I kidding I'd have wrestled Saurfang for a ticket) I figured I should probably write my column this week. After mulling over various subject matter (Life's not fair, How all Blizzcon attendees should be nerfed, and a strong contender in Waaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaaaa I wanted to go to Blizzcon waaaaaa) I then realized that with patch 3.0.2 literally breathing down our necks, it was probably time for a general overview of what you can expect for the month or so after it hits, but before Wrath itself launches.I promise, we will get back to a gear overview... we've got four weeks at minumum to cover it. But if the patch (Echoes of Doom) goes live this week, I figure it will probably be mildly helpful to know what's going to change for warriors. One thing to point out right now is that the way strength converts to shield block value has been greatly beefed up. How greatly? Currently, the formula is X = [(Shield [[block value]]) + (Strength / 20)]. In patch 3.0.2, instead of it being divided by 20, it will be divided by 2. Here's an example of what your character window will reveal.
When is it fair for classes to share?
Recently an interesting thing happened in the world of game design. To non-WoW players, it may seem like a minor detail, but it really shows an insight into the way that Blizzard designs their games.Rogues have, of course, been stealthy for a long time, and when word first dropped that hunters might be getting Camouflage in Wrath of the Lich King, we were pretty excited that some element of stealth might be added to our class too. Blizzard went back and forth on this ability, first putting it in, then taking it out, then putting it in again, and finally taking it out again. In the end they decided that it was just too similar to the rogue ability, and they didn't want to blend the classes together too much. This was about the same time that they gave rogues a new ability, called Tricks of the Trade, which looks a lot like the hunter's ability, Misdirection.To one player who asked what was up with this unfairness, Ghostcrawler spoke up and explained some of their design philosophy. She started by saying that they have 10 classes now, and they have to add more in every expansion. The "lazy-designer" way to handle this kind of situation is just to find an ability that works for one class and just give it to another. This would end up leaving the classes without enough to distinguish them all individually, and it's something they wanted to avoid. So why was Misdirection an okay ability to share, while Stealth was not?...
Look! Up in the sky! It's Shaman changes!
Tipster VyseV1 hit us up with a mail pointing to Ghostcrawler's latest post on the beta shaman forums, and it's chock full of shaman changes. Some of them aren't really changes at all, but rather things that didn't change, interestingly enough. As an example, Ghost says:"Maelstrom Weapon -- We have a concern that the proc per minute frequency is too often. According to our numbers, it's balanced for a two-handed weapon and a bit generous for a dual-wielder. However, this would be a nerf to Enhancement dps overall that we'd have to make up elsewhere, and it seems to be a fun change shamans are enjoying. So we're going to let this ride for now. It's something to keep an eye on, but we aren't going to change it yet. "For the complete post in case you can't get to the forums, hurtle across the dark void with me now! Hurtle!
Lume the Mad reviews WotLK and its changes
MMO Blogger Lume the Mad has a nice in-depth review of all the changes coming to World of Warcraft in the form of the game's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. If you're a regular reader of WoW Insider, there's nothing really new here -- odds are you already know about all the changes (and have a strong opinion of some of them). But as a nice wide general overview of what's going on with the game, Lume's little writeup is very thorough.It is pretty amazing to think that before Burning Crusade released, there were no such things as Blood Elves or Draenei, the only Arena in the game was Gurubashi, and only the Horde ever had Shamans in their raids. But nowadays all of those things are commonplace, and odds are that the game will change just as much with Wrath -- siege vehicles will be a huge part of the game, Death Knights will be everywhere, achievements will be just as big a goal as any other part of the game, and phasing will be the norm (you'll never be sure that the player next to you is seeing exactly what you're seeing in the game world).Lume doesn't go so far as to call it a new game (though Blizzard may want to), but there's no question that even though the most basic game mechanics stay in place (you still use abilities on action bars to kill creatures and gain experience), the quests, graphics, and storylines will look very different. BC changed our game once, and Wrath is set to change it yet again.[via Massively]
