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Tracking dead bosses in the instance you step into
As you will have noticed by now if you've entered an instance in progress since patch 3.1, Blizzard's new binding notification system is in effect. Whenever you join an instance in which bosses have already been killed, you get a warning that staying in there will bind you to that instance -- thus hopefully preventing you from accidentally sticking to an instance you don't like.However, as a few players have noted, there's still some functionality missing there. While the notification will tell you that bosses have been killed, it won't yet tell you which ones, so a malicious or confused guild could invite you a Naxx in which only one wing has been downed, when really all they've got left is Sapphiron and KT (or no bosses at all, if they really wanted to ruin your week). Fortunately, Zarhym agrees, and says that discussion about adding a little bit to the notification is incoming. It seems a little bit weird to just have a list of killed bosses on your screen when you first walk into the instance, but maybe they could add some sort of "boss tracker" to the instance maps, where you could see at a glance what was going on in any instance you join.As a few other people say in the thread, most of you may never have seen this notification pop up -- if you only join instances where nothing is killed yet, you'll never see it. But for those of us who take boss kills where we can get them (in PuGs and guild runs where an opening appears), it's a nice feature to have.Thanks, Medros!
Tips for raiding faster
I am definitely an advocate of the fast instance or raid -- when I played a tank, I pulled pulled pulled (according to the healer's mana, of course), and even now, mostly as a Hunter, I still get impatient. When the healer's mana is full and the tank is not /afk, I sometimes just throw a Misdirect up and go. That's probably why I really liked Naissa's tips for speedy raiding -- she lays out a few really practical things you can do to get your raid moving faster, from only marking skull and X when necessary to only worrying about the healer's mana. It's not the end of the world if the Mage or Hunter has to drink for a second after the pull. While you should always get back to full before a boss pull (and as she says, that's a perfect time to break down the basics, only the basics, of the fight), usually as long as you've got the tank and healer ready, a quick pull will give you time for aggro to settle down as well.I don't completely agree with her DPS meter remarks -- I do think that beating the raid is much more important than trying to win the DPS meters, but as a DPS player, I like viewing the meters as good feedback on where I should be. If I'm super low in the meters, it's time to look at my gear and rotations and try to figure out why so I can get better, and I think it's valuable for DPS, as long as they can keep their attention on the raid, to do the same thing.But all of the other tips are great, and in general, "pull pull pull" should be the order of the day. Some groups are better at rolling through content than others, obviously, but as long as you've got a solid tank and healer in play who know the instance and know how to handle what comes, most raids and groups can move through the content pretty quickly.
New 5-man instance confirmed for future patch
There is some much welcomed news on the five player dungeon front tonight. Zarhym has confirmed that there will be a new five player dungeon in an upcoming patch. That dungeon, according to Zarhym, will be comparable to Magister's Terrace.No other information is provided on it, other than the promise for a preview when it's ready. Magister's Terrace was released in Patch 2.4 and contained higher-than-normal item level equipment and weapons for players. Many people felt that Magsiter's Terrace was also the hardest 5-man dungeon introduced into the game at the time.While there is no indication that this dungeon will be released with patch 3.2, I don't think it's a wild assumption to make. Blizzard has previously indicated a future patch will also contain a new battleground.
What we know and don't know about the dungeon after Ulduar
One of the most often asked and debated questions on WoW Insider lately has been:"What is after Ulduar and patch 3.1?" While no one can know for sure, we do have some evidence out there that can help us at least look smart about it.Back in October 2008, Kaplan said in an interview with Curse that Patch 3.2 will contain a new raid instance that hasn't been announced yet. There's some question as to what exactly he was talking about. We also know from the article that Patch 3.3 will contain the Icecrown Citadel, so we know the 3.2 dungeon won't be that.There is also the possibility that Kaplan didn't mean a new raid instance in Patch 3.2, but a new battleground. Many people think this is the case. Zarhym confirmed that there will indeed be a new battleground sometime in the future, and signs point this happening in patch 3.2. However...
Raid Rx: Sports can help you heal better
Raid Rx has returned from retirement! Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a new WoW blog for all things UI, macro, and addon related. This week we look at how sports can help you improve your game! Spring is well underway in Azeroth! Although in my area, it ends up taking a little longer than most. This is a great time time for you to get back outside and start participating in a variety of sports (literally, of course). Most of you that are familiar with me know that I love playing street hockey and volleyball! I've started participating in those activities again and it reminded me of several aspects that are transferable to us healers. Winning teams share a certain amount of traits. Likewise, winning healing teams are no different. Hockey teams employ different strategies. The New Jersey Devils played heavy defense during their cup winning years while Detroit plays a strong puck possession style with emphasis on controlling the play. Your healing team could have different combinations of healers. Perhaps your guild has 4 Resto Shamans. Maybe your guild doesn't have any at all. Here are a few common themes that I've noticed.
Ulduar maps aplenty
Haven't loaded up the PTR and gone to check out Ulduar for yourself yet? The good news is you've got lots of ways to see it online -- in map form. Reader Evan B sent us the version in the picture to the right (click it for the full version, and it's big) -- he cut and pasted together the in-game map screenshots to make up a to-scale version of what the instance looks like. Our friend Stompalina also has a version, cut together from what looks like the minimap ingame, so you can get a little clearer idea of what the textures look like in each section of the instance.And StratFu sent us an interactive map of the Titan city, with hover-over tooltips on each boss and click-through information for what we'll face inside. Strategies are still being fleshed out completely (and remember, this is the PTR, so everything is subject to change). But if you're looking for as much info as possible on what's waiting for you inside the brand new raid of Ulduar in patch 3.1, there's lots of places for you to find it.
Wintergrasp retuning incoming
Back before Wintergrasp was first introduced, Blizzard told us that they'd finally figured out world PvP. They said to us that they'd figured out how to have hundreds of players fighting in an open zone at a time, without any major slowdown or lag issues. At the time, we were skeptical (and this was even before the instance lag after the WotLK release), and we continue to be: anyone who ducks inside Wintergrasp while things are nuts can tell you that they're far from perfect.But maybe not for the reason you think. Beatus on Kul Tiras posted a pretty well-written complaint about the layout of Wintergrasp on the EU forums, and new blue poster Ancilorn speaks up with a little insight into just how Blizzard was planning to keep down the lag in WG. They were planning to spread players around to the towers in the southern side of the zone, thus allowing hundreds of players to play, but in a few separate groups conquering different objectives.The only problem, says Ancilorn, is that there's not enough incentive to split players up -- people who go south miss out on honor and daily quests, and there's not enough reward to make them go that far. He says a retuning of the map will eventually be done to try and spread out the battle a little more.
The Queue: Six
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today. Ah, Rambo. He has a striking resemblance to certain staff members here at WoW Insider. But in the good way, sort of like the good way where I answer six of your questions today - with perhaps the best question saved for last.Ghaundaur asked..."If you dual spec at 40 and in the process find out that you made a mistake on either one of your specs and need to fix it, is the cost 1000g again or the normal progression in cost to change a spec? Also, say you are leveling a pally and dual spec Ret and Prot and then get to 80 and want to do Prot and Holy. Are we looking at another 1000g?"
No more ghetto-hearthing in patch 3.1
Looks like ghetto-hearthing is going the way of wall-jumping once patch 3.1 hits. No longer will we be able to hearth out of an instance, hop through the Dalaran portal to Stormwind or Orgrimmar, then be back in Northrend again in time for the next instance. From now on, we're gonna have to take the boat just like Blizz always wanted us to.For those who are unfamiliar, ghetto-hearthing (or ninja-hearthing) is when a player joins a group, enters an instance, and then leaves the group again. Up until now, doing so would cause the player to be teleported to their hearthstone location after 60 seconds -- even if their hearthstone was on cooldown! However, as the above screenshot from the 3.1 PTR shows, it looks like that will no longer be possible.So goodbye ghetto-hearth. It was fun while it lasted. And hey, if I'm ever in the mage district of Stormwind, and I need to get to Elwynn Forest in a jiffy, I'll look you up. 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.
Instance throttling explained
If you do a lot of instances, you're probably familiar with the error message "Additional instances could not be launched. Please, try again later," and the accompanying dance of spamming the instance portal until it lets you in. For me it seems to happen most at the Azjol-Nerub portal, but that's probably just coincidence. Anyway, although I've been seeing this error pretty much since WotLK launched, Wryxian just made a post today in the European forums explaining what it's all about. Basically, it's an attempt to fix instance performance; if too many instances are running at the same time on the instance server, lag and possible crashes result (and I'm sure we've all experienced that), so there's a limit imposed on how many instances can be up at any given time.
Spiritual Guidance: Is Greater Heal on Life Support?
Every Sunday (usually), Spiritual Guidance will offer practical insight for priests of the holy profession. Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of PlusHeal, a new healing community for all restorative classes. Is the Priest usage of Greater Heal fading away? Matticus shall answer! An excellent thread on Plus Heal has caught my attention and it's a topic that's also been picked up by Kestrel. It's about the current use of Greater Heal (or lack thereof). Check your meters. Specifically, check your cast sequences. See if you can determine how often you use Greater Heal on a typical night. If you're a player who uses it often, I applaud you. From a mathematical and healing efficiency stand point, Greater Heal has the edge. Under lab conditions. Except raid environments aren't lab conditions. Let's go into detail about when Greater Heal is used in Discipline and Holy after the break.
Breakfast Topic: Calling it quits
If you've ever played in a group or run a dungeon, then you know the nuisance and frustration of playing in a bad group. I'm sure most of us have been there -- a dungeon run that seems a never-ending string of wipes, a PVP group that's unable to stick together long enough to accomplish any objectives, and the inevitable repair bills that arise from a group of players that doesn't quite mesh. At this point in my healing career, I practically never group with people I don't know. Too many things can go wrong and any rewards that might come from running an instance aren't worth the sanity that would be lost by trudging onward after the fifth or sixth or seventh or eighth wipe. (And even sticking with people you know doesn't always lead you to pain-free groups -- I'll just say that Loken and I are never on friendly terms.) But a thousand complants about bad group experiences aside, when you're unfortunate enough to find yourself in a bad group, how do you know when to cut your losses and call it quits? Do you flee at the first sign of trouble? Hang in until the group leader calls it quits? Or do you have some other breaking point?
Phat Loot Phriday: Jedoga's Greatring
Last week, I asked what you all wanted to see here, and the answer I heard most was "leveling upgrades through Northrend." So we're going husky (around size 72-79) for a while -- here's a nice attack ring from an instance that levelers will probably be hitting up this weekend.Name: Jedoga's Greatring (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory)Type: Rare Ring (Unique-Equipped, which means that you can only wear one at a time)Damage/Speed: N/A%Gallery-33600%
TR's Feedback Friday explains upcoming changes to Raksha
Tabula Rasa Designer Jason Ford takes the Feedback Friday controls this week to explain a bit about the changes to the Raksha Robotic Facility coming soon with Deployment 14. As he describes, "The Bane have blown a hole through the roof of the C.D.U. (Central Dispatch Unit) in Raksha Robotic Facility on Torden Incline. They've seized control of the C.D.U. system allowing them to start reprogramming the Wardenbots to fight on their behalf."So now it's time for you to do something about it. A new group encounter has been added, entitled Central Dispatch Unit. This is a Wardenbot Control Point recommended for players between levels 25-32, and it is repeatable. This also spawns a new corresponding mission entitled War Machine, but is not required for participation on the Control Point encounter.Read more about the details of this addition to the game, coming soon with Deployment 14.
First impressions: 5-man healing in the beta
I specced resto in the beta the other week to try out the new talents and abilities Druids are getting in Wrath, and decided to brave the horrors of LFG and scribble some notes for your sake, dear readers. By the way, the aspect of beta that I will miss most? The 1 copper respec fee. Can we keep this?Please note that this is written from the perspective of a 70 Restoration Druid, so unfortunately I can't comment on whether Priests, Shamans, or Paladins might have had an easier or harder time healing the instances. I have a good but not jaw-dropping resto set, and on the live realms clock in around +1998 to +2100 healing unbuffed. If your gear's better or worse, then just adjust the potential difficulty level as needed. And even if you're not a healer, you still might find something useful here:
Tabula Rasa's Deployment 12 hits public test server
Some potential changes to Tabula Rasa have arrived on the Public Test Server in the form of "Deployment 12," which we recently hinted was on the way. NCsoft has posted the patch notes for Deployment 12 which include changes and improvements to much of the game. One of the more significant updates mentioned is the Omega Labs instance, which is only available to level 50+ players, but numerous other changes to maps and missions are detailed at the Tabula Rasa site. Improved game mechanics, fixed interactions, and enhancements to how shadows and hues are displayed are all outlined in the patch notes as well. The changes on the Public Test Server are extensive, so be sure to see the full breakdown for a look at how Tabula Rasa is gearing up for the next Deployment.
Phasing is the new instancing
In an interview with Eurogamer, Blizzard's J. Allen Brack revealed just a little more about the advancements developers have made with Wrath of the Lich King. As I raved about in my post about the Death Knight starting experience, I effused about how the entire experience was instanced, creating a feel of progression through the world. It turns out I was wrong. The Death Knight starting experience isn't instanced at all. It uses what Blizzard calls "phasing technology". In my defense, even Tom Chilton made the same mistake in the interview, saying "(the Death Knight starting area uses) instancing quite a lot more... the world changes dynamically as you move through the story." This prompted Brack to interject a correction, "It's actually not instances. What we do is we have different world states, and depending on what quests you've completed, it changes what world state you're seeing." He also mentions that the new phasing technology is used in other parts and other quests all over Northrend.
Breakfast Topic: Doncha hate it when...
...you're doing a collection quest and you don't understand why the widgets aren't dropping -- until you realize you're grinding in the wrong area?And doncha hate it when you're just a few pulls away from finishing an instance when your main tank says, "Sorry guys, I've got to go, I didn't realize it was so late"?And doncha hate it when you finally grab that last pig's spleen, turn around to head back to the quest hub -- and walk right into an elite who sends you back for a corpse run?And doncha hate it when you go to turn in a quest after leaving an instance run... and then realize you left the quest item back on the last boss' corpse?I mean doncha? What else do you hate in game?
Spiritual Guidance: Measuring a Priest
Every Sunday (usually), Spiritual Guidance will offer practical insight for priests of the holy profession. Your host is now Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of PlusHeal, a new healing community for all restorative classes. With summer half way through and some guilds in various states of disarray, Matticus will help you figure out what to look for when recruiting a Holy Priest! Stop me if you've heard this one. A guild you know of has stopped raiding due to the summer season. Players are losing interest or are leaving the game or the guild entirely to go pursue other activities. It just so happens one of the characters lost is a really good Holy Priest! The replacements picked up just didn't perform up to the standard of the old Priest! Even though the new Priest has more healing, more regen, and better gear, they're still struggling on their healing jobs! What gives? Don't worry! This week, I plan on helping you dispel (get it?) a few myths, provide some raiding benchmarks and provide a few places to go to get your raid back and running in full gear again.
The Daily Grind: How much instancing is too much?
Plenty of MMOs use instances. Although it's pretty fundamental to the genre that a massively multiplayer game will involve shared spaces and content, sometimes it makes sense for a game to create either separate versions of common spaces, or private sub-spaces where the environment is made for a given player or group. Instancing can cut down on lag and overcrowding, by spreading the population of a given zone across multiple versions; it can also serve story goals, by allowing players to have challenges all to themselves instead of waiting in line for their turn at a public challenge.But instancing can cause problems, too. One criticism of City of Heroes was that mission maps were always instanced, creating a sense of discontinuity. Age of Conan, too, has come under fire for overuse of instancing, particularly in PvP zones, where it used to be possible for a player to make a nuisance of himself in one instance and then vanish into another to avoid pursuit.So, what sort of content should be instanced? Is there such a thing as too much instancing, or should more games be like Guild Wars, which instances just about everything? Does instancing drive you crazy, or make you sigh with relief?
