Disarm
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Patch 3.1 PTR build 9658 Warrior changes
Matthew's caught up in the tangle of this thing called RL, so don't be surprised to have a different voice going over the Warrior changes this build. Don't worry, though, it looks as though most of the changes this round are aimed squarely at PvP, so I'm covering for him in the meantime. I'd like to call this build the Brown Pants Edition for PvP Warriors. Are you ready? Get a pair of brown pants, because you'll need them.Battle Stance - Increases the armor penetration of all your attacks by 10%.This is a straight up buff, and because Armor Penetration is a better PvP stat now than it is for PvE, this is clearly going to help. Considering armor reduction effects are now percentage-based, this buff is going to help quite a bit. Nothing exciting yet, right? Right. I hope you've got those brown pants on, because the next one is downright insane.Shattering Throw *New Skill* - Throws your weapon at the enemy causing [ 50% of AP + 12 ] damage (based on attack power), reducing the armor on the target by 20% for 10 sec, and removing any invulnerabilities. 25 Rage, 30 yd range, 1.5 sec cast, 5 min cooldownI just had to put that in bold letters and underline it. Aren't you glad I told you to wear brown? Warriors are now one of only two classes that can break a Paladin's Divine Shield or a Mage's Ice Block. It's a baseline ability, which means that all Warriors will have access to it. This improves Warrior viability in a Paladin-dominated Arena environment substantially. It's on the same cooldown as the aforementioned invulnerabilities, as well. This means that every time Paladins or Mages put them up, a Warrior can demolish it. Just in case you missed it -- Shattering Throw also deals damage and reduces armor (and it's likely used when in the armor penetrating Battle Stance!). Not only do you remove their precious invulnerabilities, you spank and strip them, too. That's just naughty.
Patch 3.1 PTR build 9637 Priest changes
As mentioned earlier today, a new build is being rolled out on the PTR this evening. The class changes contained within aren't as extensive as we first expected, but what Priests do have is pretty incredible... and somewhat expected, since we heard about a few of them before! There are a couple that are total news to us too, though. The PvP Shadow Priest is going to be very pleased with this patch. Let's take a look, shall we?New Ability: Psychic Horror - You terrify the target, causing them to tremble in horror for 3 sec and drop all weapons for 10 sec. (Instant cast, 30 yard range, 1 minute cooldown.)Um, yes please. This is going to be pretty incredible in PvP, especially the arena. Something like Psychic Horror is definitely a defense that the Shadow Priest needs. It's currently a 41 point talent in the Shadow tree, most certainly out of reach of Discipline or Holy. It's only a one point investment for Shadow Priests, so I fully expect this ability to make its way into a lot of PvE builds as well, at least pre-raiding. I could see myself using this quite thoroughly in 5-mans to take some heat off of the tank with the Disarm effect.
iRobot awarded $286 million military contract
In a shocking tale of totally expected events, iRobot has been awarded a tidy $286 million army contract to produce a merciless, bone-crushing battalion of 3,000 peaceful, loving, bomb-disarming robots (and their spare parts). This comes hot on the heels of Robotic FX getting its walking papers (as well as a canceled contract) on the same military work, so we can't exactly say we're surprised. Just another chapter in the ever-unfolding legal and philosophical drama that is the iRobot / Robotic FX story. iRobot -- this round is all yours.
Patch 2.3 and you: Thursday grab-bag
Though the torrent of tidbits coming from Blizz Central has slowed, there are still a few new and interesting items for everyone (particularly Hunters, Mages, and melee people) to peruse today. [Hunter] Trueshot Aura will be free to cast and is going to last until canceled. (source) [Hunter] Serpent Sting, Immolation Trap and Explosive Trap are going to gain additional damage based on ranged attack power. (source) [Mage] Fire Ward and Frost Ward now gain additional benefit from spell damage bonuses (source) [Mage] Detect Magic removed, all players will see their target's beneficial effects at all times (source) [Rogue] one other change to poisons though is that they will last for one hour now, increased from 30 minutes. (source) all disarm immunity effects in the game were changed to 50% disarm duration reduction (non stacking) (source) The Guild Banks are still in the works and planned for patch 2.3. (source) Duration of wizard and mana oils created by enchanters has been increased. (source) Auction House will now sort server side. If multiple pages exist you will be able to sort across all pages. Auction House post times have been changed to 12, 24, and 48 hours. Deposit prices remain the same for each time increment. You will now be able to ctrl-click a recipe to preview the item the recipe will create in the dressing room. Ogri'la Faction Vendor: This vendor now sells potions useable anywhere for a large number of Apexis Shards. 50 shards, as good as super mana/heal pots. (source for the above 4) The big news here, as I see it, is that there will no longer be full disarm immunity in the game, at all, period. I sense a drop in value for Steel Weapon Chains. The TSA change makes perfect sense: it is called an aura, after all. And being able to sort AH searches across pages is also long, long overdue. How do you all feel about this latest preview of patch 2.3?
