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Mogu Rune of Fate price reduction, Shaohao rep gain hotfix
Players merrily scampering around on the Timeless Isle may have noted that Mogu Runes of Fate, the coins used for bonus rolls in ToT raids, are not dropping like candy. In fact, the Runes were only available on Mistwalker Ai for the whopping cost of 2500 Timeless Coins per rune. Some players protested the steep cost, pointing out the ease in which one could quickly max out on Elder Charms one patch prior. As it turns out, Blizzard agreed with this assessment, and the price of Mogu Runes of Fate has now been reduced to 1000 Timeless Coins per Rune. As Timeless Coins seem to be pretty plentiful on the Isle itself, this should make it easier for those seeking to get Runes for further ToT raiding. Killing the rare spawn Evermaw results in over 1k Timeless Coins for the kill, so getting the coins won't be that much of an unreasonable stretch. In addition to this change, an adjustment has been made for players looking to gain rep with Shaohao -- the daily quest Path of the Mistwalker should now be awarding 250 Shaohao reputation upon completion. While both nabbing Mogu Runes of Fate and Shaohao reputation are still a bit of a grind, these changes ought to make the grind a little more bearable. Whether or not we'll see any further adjustments remains to be seen, but for now, it's nice to know that Blizzard is monitoring the situation and making changes as they deem necessary.
Patch 5.2: Valor and Conquest Points will be reset
Given that patch 5.2 includes a new raid and a new PvP season, it is no great surprise that Valor and Conquest points are being reset. However, one element of said reset is not proceeding quite how recent arrivals to Azeroth might expect. Blizzard PvE Valor -> Justice All Valor is converted to Justice Justice -> Gold Justice above the 4000 cap is converted to gold at a rate of 47 silver per point So let's say the realms go down for the 5.2 patch and you have 450 Valor and 3800 Justice. Because of the 4000 Justice cap, you'd log back in after the patch is released with 0 Valor, 4000 Justice, and be 117 gold and 50 silver richer after the conversion. With 5.2 we won't be changing current Valor items to cost Justice, but they will be much cheaper (discounts from 50-75% off their current costs). You'll need to acquire Valor after the patch is released to buy pieces for their discounted rate, or to buy the new 5.2 Valor items, but we're also introducing new items to spend your Justice on, including heirlooms and Pet Battle stones. source This seems to follow the logic of Blizzard's raid nerf strategy, where players' prior efforts are not wholly negated, but will doubtless ruffle a few feathers. There is also further information provided about Charms, and PvP points.
Patch 5.2 PTR: Elder Charms of Good Fortune now stack to 20
Well, it seems like fortune is smiling on us. Perhaps anticipating our running the daily quests for the Kirin Tor Offensive/Sunreaver Onslaught (which can potentially reward an Elder Charm via specific quests), the amount of Elder Charms of Good Fortune that can stack in our currency tab has been increased. On the live realms you can have a maximum of 10 Elder Charms. On the PTR you can have a max of 20. This is a pretty nice change for people who like to run dailies and would want to move more of those lesser charms out, or even for someone who wants to have as many shots as possible at an upgrade while raiding. I know I'm looking forward to it. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Elder Charms, LFR loot, and perception of the doubly random
One of the things I've noticed since Mists of Pandaria launched is rooted in a quirk of human psychology. The commonplace becomes expected, the expected becomes tedious, and what was once a reward seems less so. I'm talking about what happens when you use an Elder Charm of Good Fortune to get an extra roll on loot for a boss, whether it be in LFR or a guild raid, and you get extra gold instead of an item, or an item you already have. Ultimately, you haven't really lost anything save the Elder Charm itself, and there's a hard cap of 10 on those, so you would have ended up using it sooner or later anyway. But it feels like a loss, strangely enough, when you use the charm and see the word gold pop up, even though it isn't. I was thinking about this while reading a forum thread with a response from Draztal today. Draztal - the big LFR loot whiners topic Quote: That's basically what all the whiners are saying. At the risk of sounding "old" but I remember years ago; if you were pugging current content raids, you were lucky if the group could even kill the boss. Never mind also getting loot. Perhaps what's happening is that some players are having the illusion that because the roll is happening, something must drop eventually (eventually being, more often than not). But, if I may, I'd suggest you guys note down how many drops (for your character) do you encounter in your guild raids of a given week and how much competition you have going on for them. When you factor those things in, does LFR really feel *that* different to the speed at which you gear up when you're competing against others in your guild? I'm just curious :-) source My answer is yes, it does feel different, but not because of LFR itself. It feels different mostly because, when people use their Elder Charm they have an expectation that isn't grounded in reality, myself included. No one uses that coin wanting gold. You use the coin hoping that the item you need from the boss will drop, which is human nature. But the coin is random.
Is the new LFR loot system working for you?
I'm not, by and large, a huge fan of LFR. Most of this isn't really due to the raids themselves, but to the fact that as a DPS I generally feel like I have to wait an eternity for that queue to fill up, especially if I wait until the end of the week to run the thing. But I like seeing the fights, and I like beating things up. I like getting loot. Unfortunately, that last statement doesn't really happen very often. I've gotten a bare handful of pieces out of LFR, but most of the time my reward is simply gold, and the valor I get at the end of the run. That seems to be the case for most players -- after each boss kill is a litany of "Oh no, not gold again, I never get anything from here." But then I started thinking about it, and what exactly that new loot system has done for LFR raiding. Oddly enough, it's changed it in a significant manner.
Lichborne: Mogu'shan Vaults loot for death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. It's actually more important than ever to know what loot drops from what bosses in raids in Mists. This is because, if you've been collecting Elder Charms of Good Fortune, you'll have the option when a boss dies to spend one for a chance at extra loot. Knowing what loot is available means you can be better informed when you spend coins. With that in mind, let's take a quick look at the bosses of Mogu'shan Vaults and figure out if their loot is worth spending charms on. This analysis is made on the basis of the normal 25-man raid drops. If you are running raid finder, many valor point choices may pull ahead because of superior item level. On the other hand, you do have a highly limited number of valor points due to the 1000 per week cap, so in some cases you may want to "settle" for the raid drop so you can use your valor points to buy something else. In addition, DPS will want to maintain 7.5% hit and 7.5% expertise at the raid level. This can usually be accomplished via reforging, but there may be times you take an "inferior" piece of gear to hit one of those caps.
