dresorull
Latest
64-bit World of Warcraft game client now available for testing
So, remember the hints that've been dropped recently about a 64-bit game client? Well, it's here. In a blue post on the PTR forums, Dresorull has formally announced the client's existence and provided a link to a 64-bit executable file that runs in place of the normal 32-bit one. (This means that you won't have to download a huge new version of the game, just a small file that you can then toggle between in the launcher settings.) This is still being heavily tested; it will only work on the PTR and is being distributed separately from the PTR itself. Now, before you get too excited, realize that this isn't a panacea. If you're running a 32-bit OS, you won't be able to use this at all, and a 64-bit system with limited memory (say, 4GB of RAM or less) may actually see decreased performance due to the increased memory usage of 64-bit programs. Systems with more memory, however, will be able to cache more program data in RAM. This should help speed up things that require large reads from the hard drive, such as changing zones, and may increase stability for those who run lots of addons. A 64-bit client is now available for use with the 4.3.2 PTR. You can download it at the link below, unzip it into your PTR directory, and then run the executable to test it. • The 64-bit client is being distributed separately from the PTR as it is not yet supported for use with World of Warcraft. • This can only be used with the 4.3.2 PTR, it is not to be used with the live version of the game. • A Mac version is not available yet, though we are working on one and plan for it to be available in the near future. • The game's built in voice chat does not currently work in the 64-bit client. source
Sheath of Light and Sacred Shield to become friends in 3.1
Sacred Shield, a Paladin's Level 80 skill, is a pretty neat ability. Absorbing a base damage of 500, this mitigation scaled with spell power at a rate of .75 to 1, so a Holy Paladin with 2,000 spell power would absorb an extra 1,500 damage for 2,000 damage absorption. Unfortunately, Sacred Shield had a nasty spat with the Retribution talent Sheath of Light since the launch of Wrath of the Lich King. This meant that Retribution Paladins, whose only spell power came from that talent, never got more than 500 damage absorption from Sacred Shield.Patch 3.1 will, uh, patch things up between the two, who have kissed and made up and promise to play nice with each other. This is a previously reported bug, as Dresorull "the Thread Locker" has noted. He also dispels nasty rumors that Sacred Shield was never intended to scale with Sheath of Light, saying that it was a bug from the very beginning and should be addressed in a future patch. He encourages players to test it out in a future build, when Sacred Shield and Sheath of Light make beautiful music together. Neither talent could be reached for comment.
Ammo stacks in 1000, sells in 200
Whoo, boy. When the news came out that ammo was changing big time in the game, Hunters everywhere pretty much praised it -- no longer would we have to worry about carrying around tons of ammo, with one bag slot spent on just one consumable. But since then, things haven't been so peachy. First, we heard that consumable ammunition wasn't going anywhere, and then we noticed that none of the other changes were happening either. Then, ammo stacks were fixed to 1000 in a recent hotfix on the PTR, but now there's a whole other issue: while it stacks in 1000, it still only sells in stacks of 200. Which means you have to buy, and buy, and buy, and buy, and buy just to fill one slot. And what's more, Dresorull says it's not a bug -- we'll likely see this on the live realms.And as BRK points out, the "1000" stacks aren't even labeled on the PTR yet. He says you can fill your quiver with 28,000 rounds of ammo (of course, you'd have to hit buy 140 times just to do that), but what happened to the quiver changes? Aren't Hunters supposed to get that bag slot back in 3.1 anyway?It's all very confusing, and this smacks of a missed followthrough: the original Hunter changes as suggested were popular, but we're guessing something came up in their way (either the team was needed on another task, or some flaw in the system as designed kept them from turning consumable ammunition into a permanent item). Either way, we hope this gets fixed -- we know this is the PTR and everything is subject to change, but as it stands, it looks like we're getting a half-finished ammo system when patch 3.1 goes live.
Patch 3.1 PTR maintenance and patch today
Edit: To clarify, the PTR is getting a new patch/build. Patch 3.1 is not hitting live realms today. Sorry for theconfusion.Dresorull, a member of Blizzard's QA team, has just posted that the PTR is coming down (has come down by now, actually) for maintenance and a new build will be pushed through There's no ETA for when the realms will be coming back up, but it's safe to say that it will be a few hours at least. Dresorull also says they'll update the maintenance thread when they do have an ETA, so that's something we'll be keeping our eyes on.There's sure to be a ton of changes in the patch, and as soon as we have more information, we'll be sure to pass it on to you. Personally, I'm looking forward to some of the little bugs in the Argent Tournament being cleared up so I can test out the rest of that chain, but I'll take what I can get! Tonight is going to be a busy night at the WoW Insider HQ, I suspect.
