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Patch 5.4.7 roundup
Patch 5.4.7 is upon us, barring catastrophe we are expecting its arrival tomorrow, February 18. But what's actually coming with the patch? Is it really just a PvP season? Well, not quite. The key changes in patch 5.4.7 are as follows: PvP season 14 ends, PvP season 15 begins Honor gear item level is increased to 522, Conquest gear item level is increased to 550. The new gear drops from the Celestials, too. The Krasarang rares now only drop honor once per day. Timeless Isle weapons are all automatically upgraded to ilvl 489 including ones you already own There are terrain changes and NPC changes in Alterac Valley Dampening will start at 5 minutes in 2v2 arenas only There are a few class changes, notably to warrior interrupts and druids' Heart of the Wild. We're also tentatively expecting to see the pre-orders for Warlords of Draenor sometime after the patch's release, and the much-discussed buy-a-90 feature, although this has not been officially confirmed by Blizzard. Boosted level 90s will get 483 gear, and if you're boosting a level 60+ character they'll also get maxed professions. What does this all mean if you're not really into your PvP? Why should you care about the patch? Well, if you're a PvE-er leveling a brand new level 90 character, or maybe boosting one, the best way to gear it straight to 522 is now to grind out honor gear. But don't worry, the best way to do that is still via PvE. Same applies if you've still got slots below that ilvl.
EQN Landmark livestream highlights new building mats, hints at co-op harvesting
In a fortuitous bit of timing, last night's EverQuest Next Landmark livestream highlighted some of the very changes that players saw right after the latest alpha patch went live. Besides a notable list of bug fixes, the patch introduced a separate loot chat tab, eight new prop recipes, and 12 new building materials, including various sandstones, stucco, plaster, and even sand. On top of that, players who have fallen victim to the clever traps of others will be glad to know that the evac to safety feature is now fully operational. During the stream, Senior Producer Terry Michaels also mentioned upcoming features currently in development, such as cooperative harvesting, attached claims, caves, permissions, and groups. The show then wrapped up with the announcement that these official streams, newly christened Landmark Live, will be a weekly occurrence from here on out. Watch the full livestream below, and read up on the latest alpha additions in the patch notes.
Patch 5.4.7 PTR Patch Notes update for February 3
Blizzard Community Manager Rygarius has cooked up the latest batch of Patch 5.4.7 PTR notes. There's a few changes in there, including the reversion of the change to Charge and the cooldown changes for Pummel and Disrupting Shout that replace it. We covered this in more detail with a post from Lore, so let's take a look at the other alterations: PvP gear has been updated to the relevant season, so the season 14 Grievous gear is now purchaseable for honor, while the season 15 Prideful gear is live The Flaskataurs return! Both shrines now feature a Flaskataur for all your needs. Flaskataurs sell PvP gear in the shrine Tier 15 Normal gear at Niuzao Glyphs in the Shrine Charge's stun is now a stun again rather than a root Warbringer's root is, again, a root Disrupting Shout and Pummel now both share a 15-second cooldown when either ability is used. Disrupting Shout's 40-second cooldown remains unchanged but the ability will be unavailable for 15 seconds after using Pummel. Hit the break for the full patch notes!
Patch 5.4.7 PTR: More changes discovered
The latest build on the PTR for patch 5.4.7 was datamined today over at Wowhead, and there are a number of potentially interesting features to be seen, including some rogue and warrior changes: Classes: Nerve Strike (Rogue talent): A successful Kidney Shot or Cheap Shot also reduces the damage dealt by the target by 50% (25% on player targets) and healing done by the target by 50% for 6 sec after the effect fades. Charge (Warrior spell): Charge to an enemy, rooting it for 1.50 sec. Generates 0 Rage. Mounts: Dread Raven: Summons and dismisses an Armored Dread Raven. This mount changes depending on your Riding skill and location. NPC Abilities: Charge Stun: Charge an enemy, generate rage and root it for 1.50 sec. Miscellaneous: Battle Fatigue: Dealing damage to another player in battle causes them to receive 60% less healing. Battle Fatigue: Dealing damage to another player in battle causes them to receive 60% less healing. Fortitude: Increases PvP Resilience by 5280. In addition, there are a number of strings relating to the Battle.net store as well as some upcoming features, such as the professions boost for level 60+ characters that's piqued our interest lately. Profession boosts would be great, but I'm just excited about that awesome raven mount! Editor's note: Holinka has chimed in on Twitter to clarify the charge change for Warriors. @Dalmasca7 @ExhilMD @thebghero The datamining gave an incomplete glimpse into the overall change. Warbringer is now a 3 second stun. - Holinka (@holinka) January 31, 2014
Patch 5.4.7 PTR patch notes update for January 28
There have been just a few changes to the Patch 5.4.7 PTR Patch notes. You can see the full, updated version after the break, but let's spell out the changes for you here. First, in all PvP, the increase in Battle Fatigue -- the debuff that affects healing done to players -- has been dropped from 10% to 5%. Instead of going from 55% to 65%, Battle Fatigue will now be at 60%. Next up, in the Arena, there have been a couple of shifts from the previous version. Dampening will start at 5 minutes for 2v2 arenas only. For 3v3 and 5v5, Dampening will remain at 10 minutes. Finally, in Alterac Valley, the increases in health have been applied to all Marshals, on the Alliance side, and to all Warmasters on the Horde side. Hit the break for the full, unadulterated notes.
DCUO begins the War of the Light in today's update
The first part of DC Universe Online's War of the Light DLC has gone live today, kicking off a multiple-update story arc involving the Lantern Corps, planet hopping, and a transformed Metropolis. Senior Creative Director Jens Andersen says that this update will get players to see the game from a whole new perspective: "Players are getting more than just a new storyline with this DLC. We transformed Metropolis for the War of the Light trilogy and created new, expandable environments and content -- separate from the original -- for players to explore." The DLC also includes the tanking rage powerset, more 4- and 8-player operations, plenty of Green Lantern gear, and the Legends PvP characters of Saint Walker and Atrocitus. The update is included with a subscription or can be purchased separately for $9.99. [Source: SOE press release]
EVE Online: Rubicon 1.1 patch inbound tomorrow
EVE Online is prepping its Rubicon 1.1 patch for tomorrow, January 28th. Clocking in at a little over a gigabyte, Rubicon 1.1 will supplement the most recent expansion with new deployable structures, the final Sisters of EVE ship, graphic tweaks, UI improvements, and the usual kids-clean-up-the-mess-you-made fixes that post-expansion patches typically contain. The full patch notes for Rubicon 1.1 are currently available to read as your ship prepares for drydock.
Patch 5.4.7 PTR Patch notes
Patch notes have now been released for the patch 5.4.7 PTR and posted to the official blog. It's a small list so far, and this doesn't appear to be a major content patch in any way. However, most of the changes listed so far all involve various aspects of PvP. Keep in mind that there is no mention being made of the mount or pet that were datamined yesterday, nor the level 90 boost feature -- from what we know so far, those are all features being introduced with Warlords of Draenor pre-orders. Many of the items being sold by Misterweaver Ai on the Timeless Isle have had their item level cap raised to 489, up from 476. This change is retroactive to any of these items that have already been purchased -- no worries! In arenas, Dampening is now being applied at the 5-minute mark instead of the 10-minute mark. In Alterac Valley, Stormpike, Balinda, Galvangar and Drek'thar are all now immune to disarm, daze, and Death Grip. Read on for the full list of patch notes.
Forces of Nature crash into Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call's January update is live, pitting player versus the wild in an event called Forces of Nature. The storyline surrounds a great magical tree that is under attack by darkness. Players will be able to help out through various tasks and three quests of the month. Other changes that came in yesterday's patch include tweaks to the Baishi Arena, a buff to the healing skill, a nerf to recall gems, and several player-killing adjustments.
Hearthstone: Mage nerfs in latest patch
A new Hearthstone patch is being applied today. Arena players will be happy to learn that their issues with actually getting into it will be fixed. Other big changes? Nerfs to the mana cost of mage spells Blizzard, Cone of Cold, and Frost Nova. You disenchant Blizzard and Cone of Cold for their original costs temporarily. I'll outline my thoughts on the mage nerfs after the jump and provide a few mage decklists that were used prior to the patch. Hearthstone Update: Arena Issue and Upcoming Changes We've been keeping an eye on Freeze mechanics for the past few months, and we've decided to make some changes to certain cards that utilize Freeze in this patch: Cone of Cold, Blizzard and Frost Nova. These cards are all having their mana costs increased by one. We understand that the Freeze mechanic can be frustrating to play against, and we feel that these changes should allow the opponent some additional time to be aggressive with their minions and well as slow the overall pacing of the control-based Mage play style while still keeping Freeze playable in many different types of decks. Thank you for continuing to test Hearthstone and giving us your feedback! source
Hearthstone Beta patch notes for December 10
Blizzard Community Manager Keganbe has put together a comprehensive set of notes for patch 1.0.0.4217 to the Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft beta. As ever, you can hit the break for the full post, but we'll pull out some highlights here: You are now able to abandon one quest per day. When you abandon a quest, you'll receive a new, random quest in its place. This is a huge deal, as we'd commented on how quests and their stagnant style of sitting in your log until completed were an irritation. Particularly if, for whatever reason, you really disliked playing a certain class, the quests could be a real burden. You now have the option to keep the sound playing while the game is running in the background. Finally! Now we can alt-tab away while our opponent plays, or while the game finder is playing its weird tune, and tab back in when we're ready to go! This is a simple little quality of life change that's been a long time coming. There are also drastic changes to the ranking system, minions and portraits have been added, and the "seasons" last for a month. You now win and lose stars for winning and losing games, and once you hit the top 10,000 players you'll have your specific ranking displayed. A lot has changed! Hit the break for the full notes.
Patch 5.4.2 PTR: Patch notes update for December 5
The patch notes for the 5.4.2 PTR have been updated with new information for the next patch. This round of additions are mainly bug fixes and tweaks for classes, items and quests. Also included are some adjustments for the Siege of Orgrimmar raid that address a few bugs as well. In the Galakras encounter, a situation that caused demolition NPCs to stop opening the door to the towers has been resolved. An issue causing players not to receive credit towards the Drop It! and Drop It Now! achievements has been resolved. Crashin' Thrashin' Flyers and MiniZeps should now be able to damage each other while in sanctuary areas. You can see the full list of patch notes at the official site, but if you'd just like a list of the new changes, follow after the break for a consolidated list.
Dungeons & Dragons Online launches Game Update 20
The latest update for Dungeons & Dragons Online is out now, and it features a whole lot of new options for reincarnation. More than you might expect. If you feel you haven't incarnated nearly enough, this update promises to fix that. Sure, there's True Reincarnation, but now you have both Heroic True Reincarnation and Iconic True Reincarnation along with Epic Reincarnation and... you get the idea. There's a lot of new ways to go back to the beginning and start a life over, that's the point. These changes coincide with alterations to the amount of experience needed to level characters on their second lives, making it easier to hit 20 after reincarnation. There are also new quests and alterations to the quest experience rewards, changed so that longer quests are no longer less proportionally rewarding than shorter ones. Plus there are plenty of changes to Enhancements, a new Enhancement tree for Sorcerers and Wizards... you'd probably better just read through the patch notes. There's a lot going on. Too much? You can take a look at our preview of the update to help guide you.
Guild Wars 2 launches its Blood and Madness update
It's that time again in Guild Wars 2. The crisp scents of fall and candy corn are in the air, and everyone's getting ready for another appearance by Mad King Thorn. But the newest patch, Blood and Madness, is turning things on its ear by introducing Thorn's son, Bloody Prince Edrick, which will throw the already chaotic festival into... further chaos? Chaos is generally pretty boolean; things are chaotic or they aren't. As expected, there's a guide available for those who want to get the most out of this latest update. Even if you're not interested in the dose of story that goes along with the update, you can enjoy the holiday event, and you can also enjoy the other features added with the patch. World vs. World is getting its first competitive season along with a slew of reward improvements, and combat balance has been adjusted to make all classes a bit more fun to play. Check out the full patch notes for more details, and go get yourself some candy corn.
Hearthstone wipes beta progress and institutes patch
The day long feared/anticipated is here: Hearthstone is performing its one and only beta wipe while at the same time plugging in a new patch that includes a wide range of fixes and a new crafting interface. Included in the patch notes are notifications that the level cap has gone up to 60, the chat system has been "rejiggered," and many of the classes have received balance tweaks. Hearthstone players will earn more gold and more cards now, and they can unlock heroes in any of the game's three modes. Blizzard previously said that the game should not wipe from here on out and that more players will be invited into the beta.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Update 2.4: The Dread War is here
While it accidentally patched up yesterday, Update 2.4 is now live for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The update is called The Dread War and is apparently the biggest update since the game launched its expansion. Update 2.4 has a lot of "new" to it: a new planet (well, moon), new missions, new operations, new PvP options, new gear sets, new warzone maps, and new mounts. The update title refers to the Dread Masters who have taken up residence on the moon or Oricon, where a story mission series will allow players to further delve into the histories behind these happy-go-lucky folks. At the end of all this are challenging level-55 operations called the Dread Fortress and the Dread Palance. Will you be a part of the team tackling "the galaxy's greatest threat?" If so, you'll probably want to bone up on the patch notes before diving into the fray!
RIFT 2.4 brings challenging instances to bear
Ah, smell that? That's the smell of a big new content update in the air. And also many bugs that have been fried on the metaphorical bug zapper. But mostly an update. RIFT has upgraded to 2.4: Beyond Infinity, and that means a ton of additional content to be conquered and plundered. At the core of Update 2.4 are three new instances: the Infinity Gate raid, the Realm of Twisted Dreams dungeon, and the Infernal Dawn chronicle. An additional raid, Planebreaker Bastion, will be coming in weeks ahead. Update 2.4 also raises the PvP prestige cap to 90 with new gear and weapons, adds more hairstyle options, plugs in cross-shard instant adventures, and improves the new user experience. As you patch up, you can read the official notes and our preview of the update.
Prime World patch slips you some skins
Call out "New skins! New skins!" to the MOBA crowd and just watch as they come a-runnin'. Nival's added a bunch of new skins for Prime World with its patch 9.10, giving additional looks (and gender options) to familiar heroes. Patch 9.10 has a ton of changes beyond just the cosmetic. There are talent and skill changes, of course, as well as a search feature for co-op challenges, challenge quests, and new monsters. The team also explained a rather major change to the battle start UI: "In the future, we plan to add new features, like playing against bots in other modes, as well as new modes. The interface in its recent state was overloaded, and it was not wise to load it even more with new elements. The new interface, however, will spare us many troubles in the future." [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
World of Warcraft Patch 5.4: Siege of Orgrimmar Patch Notes
This evening Blizzard released the official patch notes for Patch 5.4: Siege of Orgrimmar. They're pretty much what one would expect after months of testing ... long, detailed, and they contain all the juicy details that made it into the patch's final version. Read on for the details about this massive patch; it's absolutely huge. As a reminder expect downtime tomorrow until at least 10am PDT -- and don't be surprised at all if it goes longer. General New Raid: Siege of Orgrimmar The tensions stoked by Garrosh Hellscream's arrogance have reached a boiling point with the devastation unleashed upon the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Now it's time for leaders of the Alliance and Horde to lay siege to Hellscream's capital and topple the ruthless Warchief once and for all! Siege of Orgrimmar contains 14 new encounters across four expansive wings as members of the Horde and Alliance take the war directly to Garrosh's doorstep. Learn more about the new encounters in Patch 5.4 Raid Preview: Siege of Orgrimmar. Siege of Orgrimmar supports the following difficulty modes: Normal, Heroic, Raid Finder, and (new) Flexible Raid. Information on the availability of each difficulty can be found in the Siege of Orgrimmar Raid Schedule. New Feature: Flexible Raid Difficulty This is a new raid difficulty designed for pre-made groups of 10 to 25 players or any number in between. This means it's possible to have raids of 15 or 22 players! Difficulty will adjust automatically based on the number of players present with encounters intended to provide a challenge roughly between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty. Flexible Raid difficulty requires a pre-made group to join but has no minimum item level requirements or role restrictions. Both BattleTag™ and Real ID friends are eligible to participate. Loot quality will be between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty and awarded through a personal loot system (similar to Raid Finder). Bonus rolls and loot specialization will also be supported. Player spells with different target limits depending on raid size will gradually increase their limits based on the number of players in Flexible Raid difficulty. Players will be able to earn raid achievements just like in Normal or Heroic difficulty. Flexible Raid difficulty has a lockout that is separate from Raid Finder and Normal difficulty. To learn more about Flexible Raids, please visit our blog titled: A Raid for All Seasons: Flexible Raid Preview. New Area: Timeless Isle A mysterious island, lost for millennia to the currents of time, has emerged from the mists off the eastern coast of Jade Forest. Players seeking to explore the Timeless Isle should visit their faction's shrine in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The Timeless Isle is inhabited by all manner of strange and powerful creatures that will test the mettle of solo explorers, but great rewards await the brave and skillful: epic loot, bind-to-account gear, Mogu Runes of Fate, pets, mounts, fun toys, and much more. The Isle is filled with secrets and mysteries, many of which dynamically become available to explorers. Keep an eye on your minimap while on the Isle for information on nearby events! The Timeless Isle is home to five new world raid bosses! Players may face each of the four Celestials in a trial of combat. Heroes who have earned the legendary cloak from Wrathion may access the sanctum of the fiery Yaungol demigod Ordos, atop the Timeless Isle.
Get an advance look at Neverwinter's Fury of the Feywild details
Neverwinter's module 1 update, also known as Fury of the Feywild, will hit the game next Thursday, August 22nd, but you don't have to wait until then to read up on all of the specifics. Cryptic has posted many of the patch's details today, although they are of course subject to tweaking. Expect to see a lot of changes with module 1, including many class balance adjustments, a reduction in cost for some astral diamond purchases, a new passive power for non-augment companions, better inventory management, foundry tag searches, and LFG and trade chat channels. Fury of the Feywild will also include the new high-level zone of Sharandar, the ability to upgrade companions with astral diamonds, the salvage feature, and the new professions of artificing and weaponsmithing. The patch will also lay the groundwork for the Summer Festival to begin on August 29th.
