potion-sickness
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WoW Archivist: Beta surprises
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Last week, we launched into the newest beta in WoW's history -- its sixth! -- for Warlords of Draenor. It's an exciting time for the game. Every beta has its surprises, good and bad. New things that were never announced. Prior announcements that changed unexpectedly. We've already had a number of surprises in the Warlords beta: the faction hub shift to Ashran, cross-faction auctions, and the removal of guild leveling. Beta is just ramping up. We are sure to encounter more than one surprise over the next few months as we test the Draenor experience and gear up for the expansion's launch. Let's take a look back at the previous five betas and examine some of the twists that greeted testers -- and often shocked the WoW community. Caveat: I'm excluding storyline surprises. The original beta In 2003 and early 2004, players didn't really know what to expect from a World of Warcraft MMO. Blizzard, after all, had never made one before. Most of the original beta served up surprise after surprise. Yet, a few stand out. Tired heroes. Patch 0.6 introduced the first incarnation of the rest system. Today it is simply a bonus for players who don't have time to log in every day. The original version was more like the Chinese government's "anti-obsession measures": it punished you for playing too long. The system looked like this: Well rested gave 200% of the XP from a mob kill Rested gave between 100% and 200% XP Normal gave 100% XP Fatigued gave 50% XP Exhausted gave 25% XP Your hero needed a good night's rest -- a full eight hours at an inn -- to go from exhausted to normal.
3.0 won't break everything
A lot of people (including some folks here at WoW Insider) are super concerned that when Blizzard does release a 3.0 patch early, it'll basically break everything we're doing now. Potion sickness on the live realms? Shield Block cooldown extended? With those changes, it seems bosses like Illidan would be basically unbeatable.But Blizzard says, as they always do: don't worry. The latest word is that 3.0.2 is heading to the PTRs, and it's pretty clear that if 3.0 is going to break everything in the game, that's where Blizzard will find out. Don't forget that we've got months until the expansion comes out (and likely even a few months until the actual patch hits the live realms), which means there's tons of time to tweak and twist and get all of the new changes working with the old content.This doesn't mean that things won't be broken -- we're curious to see, especially in even older instances like AQ and Molten Core, what things are like with all of the 3.0 updates. But it does mean that they'll likely be broken on the PTR -- in a few months from now, when this patch finally goes live, Blizzard should have most of the wrinkles evened out.
WoW Insider Show Episode 51: Downranking no more
I didn't realize until right now that that was Radiohead's National Anthem sneaking into the WoW Insider Show's theme song -- shows how much I listen to the cool mix of Warcraft sounds that Duncor put into our intro. But yes, if you listen to this week's WoW Insider Show, now available on WoW Radio's website and over in iTunes, not only do you get the dulcet tons of my voice, Turpster's accented vocalizations, and the stylings of WoW Insider's Amanda Dean, but you also get to hear a little bit of Thom Yorke's band as well. And, you'll hear us talking about: The whole BlizzCon deal, specifically if the apology from Mike Morhaime smoothed things over (we mostly think it did). What's up with potion sickness, and whether it'll stay until Wrath goes live. How the downranking changes might affect both PvE and PvP, among a number of other changes coming in the beta And lots of other stuff, including Turpster's appearance on How I WoW, and all kinds of emails from listeners, including a tip about a mobile Armory app, and whether I'm still a Shaman fan or not (I am, but frankly I'm slipping a bit -- Hunters are just so much more fun). If you'd like to email us about something you hear on the show, please do: the address is theshow@wow.com. Enjoy the show this week, and we'll see you next Saturday as always over on WoW Radio for the WoW Insider Show.
WoW Insider Show live this afternoon
Yes, the WoW Insider Show is returning to the virtual airwaves of WoW Radio this afternoon, and after our 50th episode last week, we're ready to stop celebrating and get back to work. Amanda Dean from this very blog will join Turpster and I, and we'll chat about all the biggest stories in the World of Warcraft this past week, including the whole BlizzCon fiasco (and Morhaime's apology), the big downranking change, and all of the other big news coming out of the Wrath beta (which I finally got invited to, by the way).Plus, you can expect to hear me brag that I was right about potion sickness, and Amanda is apparently going through a tough Arena breakup, so listen for that as well. We'll also be reading your emails as usual -- feel free to drop us a note at theshow@wow.com, and as usual, we'll be in the IRC channel during the show, at irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel.It all kicks off at 3:30pm Eastern (8:30pm GMT) in just a few hours from now -- definitely join us over at WoW Radio and listen in, it should be fun.
Profession News: Potion Sickness gone, Herbalists get new ability
It was perhaps one of the most unexpected and controversial changes to hit Wrath Beta: Potion Sickness, the debuff that spelled the end of chain-chugging by allowing only one potion to be quaffed per combat and no more. Some people loved, since it would cut down on pre-raid farming and perhaps allow for bosses to be balanced more around classes and roles and less around Haste, Ironshield, and Destruction potions. Some saw it as a major nerf to Alchemists and to casters who were used to chaining mana pots to stay in the blue.
Exploring Wrath as a Druid: A Feral Cat in Borean Tundra
I've been poking around Northrend the last few days with my Alliance druid and wanted to share some of my discoveries with other Druids wanting to know what to expect in Wrath. I started in on the quest lines in Borean Tundra, one of Wrath's two entry zones, so today's observations are centered on Cat Druid solo experiences. In the future I'll be soloing Howling Fjord in Balance spec and running instances in all four Druid specs, so I will save those observations until then.If you have specific questions about Druids in Wrath, leave a reply on this post and I'll see what I can do about answering them. Remember, I'm not level 80 and I won't be raiding in beta, so try to keep your questions to areas I can play in potentially. First impressions, after the jump!
Itemization and the plight of the bear tank in Wrath of the Lich King
One of the biggest concepts coming with Wrath of the Lich King is gear consolidation. Stat are being folded into each other and classes are being changed even on very basic levels so that fewer gear types can work for more classes and specs. Feral Druids have seen this happen as well, with talents such as Survival of the Fittest and Heart of the Wild tweaked so that they can get more benefits from Rogue gear. Unfortunately, this hasn't worked out that well for bear tanks.
WoW Insider Show Episode 49: Death Knights picking Peacebloom
The latest episode of our podcast is now up for listening over on WoW Radio, and in there, Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell, Duncor the Dependable and I all break down the Wrath beta at length, talking about what we're most excited about (and what you're most excited about, too). We talked about the rumored changes coming to raiding mechanics, including the much maligned potion sickness and possible changes to crushing blows. Since BRK was on, we chatted about our Hunters (mine is almost 69, hopefully 70 soon) and what he expects for the expansion, from exotic pets to new pet talents. We talked about the new, smooth regen mechanic and whether it helps or not. And we talked at length about Inscription, how it works, and whether we were into it. I'm very into it, the other guys not so much. And of course we answered your emails -- if you have a question, comment, or insight on the show, you can email us at theshow@wow.com, and you could even hear your email on the next show.Which is going to be a good one, by the way -- as you may have noticed, next weekend is our 50th show, so we'll have to do something fun. More singing? Giveaways? Drinking by the host? You'll have to tune in and see. As always, enjoy the show and we'll see you next week.
[1.Local]: Overheard in local chat
[1.Local] serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous.This week at WoW Insider, readers pulled up a keyboard to chat about a fairly wide-ranging selection of topics. They dreamed up WoW comics they'd most be interested in reading. They groused about the upcoming expansion's anticipated new travel hub. They debated the reasoning behind Wrath's restrictions on chain-potting. For some truly entertaining comments, check out some of the replies to our Winter's Veil In July contest -- so many different angles we couldn't share just one. And finally, we wrap up this look back at the week's comments say with a standing O for one reader's reply to a post speculating on recent spottings of Varian Wrynn -- an applause-worthy thread-stopper, indeed.Join us after the break for this week's meatiest reader comments here at WoW Insider. Be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread (not this one!) and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.
Tinnitus: Leatherworking drums cause a debuff
Part of the allure of drums in raids has been the ability to overlap the effects of different types of drums by having several leatherworkers drumming at a time. One member might boost attack power and spell damage for party members in range, while another might restore health and mana. With the new Tinnitus debuff, any targets affected by drums are immune to the effects of all other drums for two minutes. While this sounds like a nerf, it might actually have a balancing effect. In fact, other professions are seeing similar changes. Potions will create Potion Sickness, which will prevent the consumer from using more than one in any given encounter. Players will have to rest out of combat in order to refresh the privilege. So far, this also is affecting mana gems and similar items, although it is unclear if that particular effect is a bug or not. What does this mean?
Azeroth's new plague, Potion Sickness
Bad (good?) news for Alchemists and the people that love (hate?) them. The latest Beta build has introduced something called Potion Sickness. The tooltip reads as follows: "Unable to consume potions until you rest out of combat for a short duration."In other words, you can drink one potion per encounter. The debuff itself has absolutely no duration. It sticks on you until you drop combat. This is largely meaningless to the casual player, but what it will do to raiding will be rejoiced as well as reviled. Alchemists are going to take a huge hit to their income if this goes live. Yeah yeah, I know most Alchemists will say their profit is from Herbalism, but after seeing the insane prices on Haste Potions, Super Mana Potions and Flasks, I beg to differ.
