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Breakfast Topic: Who will miss reforging?
Let me start by getting this off my chest: I hate reforging. I hate it with a fiery, burning passion usually reserved for politicians and the sorts of people who think numbers are an acceptable substitute for letters in words -- which is to say a lot. This isn't to say that I don't appreciate the ability to customize my gear, but reforging has turned the ability to customize into a metagaming nightmare. In order to play my best, when I get a piece of gear -- even if it's a clear upgrade -- before I equip it I need to consult Ask Mr. Robot (or a similar service) and visit a reforger in-game. Then I'll spend a few hundred gold to shuffle the stats on all of my my gear so that the new piece fits without dropping important stats like hit and expertise. Even using an addon to do the hard work of figuring out what to reforge to what, this adds a layer of metagaming between me and my desire to play that I just don't enjoy. So you can imagine my delight when I found out that reforging was going away. I'm sure I'm not the only one who won't miss reforging -- but I'm equally sure that there are plenty of players out there who don't want to do without this customization option. So today I'm asking you: will you miss reforging? And if so, why?
Final Fantasy XI's newest update offers up artifact armor... again
There was a time when Final Fantasy XI's Artifact Armor was the best equipment you could have on a high-level character, but that was ages and ages ago. Still, the iconic looks are coming back in the game's newest version update, which adds new quests for players to reforge their Artifact pieces as well as Relic, Mythic, and Empyrean weapons. It's not an easy process, but it's a chance to make the old hotness the new hotness all over again. A pair of new zones has also been added to the Seekers of Adoulin regions with this update, complete with new monsters for players to hunt and kill. Players can also acquire new abilities, including weaponskills that were previously exclusive to certain weapons. And there are updates to Mog Gardens, magic maps, Monstrosity... in other words, the usual kitchen sink of content you expect from a Final Fantasy XI version update. You can take a look at the full list of patch changes and start playing now (or as soon as the patch finishes downloading).
Reforging, itemization, and the player
It's not exactly a secret that I'm terrible at keeping my finger on the pulse of the community. I just sort of wander around with my usual private obsessions, doing what I do, and sometimes I blunder into an emergent discussion like a rhinoceros stumbling into a clearing. Such is the case with the discussion of reforging currently going on. The post I have linked to by Mushan basically highlights the discussion, with some folks arguing that World of Warcraft has gone too far in the direction of gear optimization and too far away from the days when you'd get a drop, know it was better, and put it on. As a result of that argument, some are arguing that reforging should be removed from the game. I can understand this argument, because if we think about it, reforging was never meant to be what it became. The initial purpose of reforging back when it was first announced was to allow players who got a drop that was otherwise significantly better than what they had, but itemized for a different role (so, as an example, a cloth piece itemized for healing over DPS) to make that drop better for the role they intended to use it for. So if your tankadin got a pair of plate lets with crit and expertise on them, he or she could swap some of the crit to a stat more useful for tanking. However, players being what they are, they immediately grasped that reforging also allowed them to trade away stats that were less effective on gear for stats that were more effective. Reforging allowed players to customize their hit and expertise in ways that had never been accessible before, allowed for dump stats to be dumped with even more efficiency than before - it was the absolute biggest change to the game in years, and ended up the largest single legacy of Cataclysm. Mushan's arguments about removing the process of reforging are good, and I'm not going to belabor them here - instead, what I'm going to do is discuss my own personal feelings on reforging, and how it benefits the game.
Mists of Pandaria Beta: Finally, a portable reforger
Deep in the heart of Kun-Lai Summit, at The Grummle Bazaar, lies a vendor named Uncle Bigpocket who, at some point, will sell the Grand Expedition Yak, this expansion's version of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth. It's a beautiful beast, but what caught my attention were the vendors on the side of it. One of them is named Cousin Slowhands, a NPC who seems like he probably sells water and food and the like. The second vendor, on the other hand, is named Mystic Birdhat, Arcane Reforger. Many players have posted on the forums (we've even floated the idea), pleading for some type of portable reforging tool. Well, it seems Blizzard was listening! While the price for the mount would appear to be about 60,000 gold, the possibility of account-wide mounts makes this purchase worthwhile. Hopefully, someone in your raid or dungeon group has some deep pockets! [Thanks to Runek for the heads up!] It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Patch 4.3: New UI improvements
Patch 4.3 is bringing with it some quality-of-life user interface changes as well as new features such as a completely revamped reforging interface and a bag search feature. In addition, targets on the minimap will now denote their relative height, either above or below you, now that we live in a world with three dimensions where flight is possible. This is excellent news. As Blizzard continues to upgrade and tweak the default user interface, new features are added that have their genesis in addons, quality-of-life improvements that players have requested, or just upgrades to existing tech. Hit the jump for a list of new improvements and updates coming to the WoW default user interface. %Gallery-139457%
Patch 4.3 PTR: New interface for reforging
I know that there's wisdom in the adage "if it's not broken, don't fix it," but there are times when I'm very glad that Blizzard doesn't adhere to that philosophy. Case in point: the new reforging interface on the 4.3 PTR this week. I'm a chronic reforger. I've spent many a lonely night at Godan's Runeworks in Orgrimmar, turning crit into hit and haste into mastery. The reforging interface on live is a boring brown and black box, with pulldown menus to help you choose the stats you want to reforge to. While the reforging interface served its purpose well, Blizzard has made some excellent changes to it for 4.3 to make it significantly more user-friendly. Whereas on live, you use a pull-down box to choose the stat you wanted to reforge from and then another pull-down box to choose what you want to reforge into, the PTR reforger has all your options presented in the same frame, making reforging faster and easier. It also is now a shiny purple color, much preferable to the drab darkness of the live version. It now features a reminder on your reforged items that you'll need to undo the stat change to reforge again, which is helpful for the airhead in me who sometimes accidentally restores the wrong item. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Addon Spotlight: ReforgeSaver lends a hand
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. Few times in my World of Warcraft existence am I truly stunned when an addon does something so simple and effective that a happy laugh emits from my dropped jaw. Truly, hyperbole is necessary when we talk about ReforgeSaver, a wonderful utility from addon creator Jordans. Pressing one button and making many things happen, almost like magic, is a good thing in my book.
WoW Rookie: Reforging 101
New around here? WoW Rookie has your back! Get all our collected tips, tricks and tactics for new players in the WoW Rookie Guide. WoW Rookie is about more than just being new to the game; it's about checking out new classes, new playstyles, and new zones. As the story goes, the ability to reforge magical items was introduced to Azeroth by the Highborne. We don't really know the in-game lore of how, when, why, or where, but we do have it fairly clearly that the knowledge came from the Highborne. Reforging allows you to customize your magical items by substituting one secondary stat for a different secondary stat. The stats that are eligible are the ones in green text at the bottom of an item, such as critical strike, mastery, expertise, and so on. (We'll do a full list behind the cut.) You can only swap about 40% of a single secondary stat, and the item must be at least item level 200 or higher. (Items have levels similar to player characters, and those levels help determine how much of each stat bonus that item can provide.) The stats that are not eligible to be reforged are stamina, intellect, strength, and agility. These stats are considered set in stone and have very little variation in the amount of each stat, even on different items of the same item level. Since that's the case, you can probably see why you're not able to re-allocate those points.
Addon Spotlight: Reforgenator
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, reforge with ease. Ah, reforging. Sometimes, reforging is the bane of my existence. Other times, this new gear customization shoots rainbows into my brain and shows me visions of other worldly delights. I hold a potentially popular belief: reforging is one of the best, if not the best, new features in Cataclysm. Either put down your pitchforks or raise your glasses higher in toast to me, whichever you feel necessary. Gone are the days of missing out on an upgrade because it doesn't have the perfect stats -- just make a new piece of gear that is almost there in terms of quality, and you're set. The problem with reforging, though, is the trial-and-error aspect for many classes. Sometimes it would be nice to just know what you need to reforge or even what pieces of gear you could tweak just a little bit to squeeze a little more performance out of. An addon that could help out with reforging would be pretty sweet, huh? You know it.
Encrypted Text: The rogue guide to gear customization
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Email me with any good screenshots or questions you have! Back in the good old days, rogues were stuck with whatever leather gear that happened to drop. It didn't matter if it had spirit or strength on it, as we really had no other options. We could augment our pieces with a few different enchants, but even those were better suited for warriors. While sometimes it seemed as if there were a random number generator churning out tier loot, we happily scooped it up anyway. The class, and everyone else, was at the mercy of the itemization gods of Blizzard. Times have changed quite a bit since those days. While we're still not able to craft custom pieces of gear tailored to fit our every need, we're not stuck with caster stats anymore. With the number of dungeons and bosses available, combined with the addition of justice points, there are a ton of options for nearly every slot on our character sheet. Enchanting has grown to encompass most of our gear, while reforging and the gem system have taken gear customization even further. Not only is there more gear to be had, but the gear we do get is much more malleable, allowing us to pick the perfect combination.
Cataclysm: Official reforging preview
Blizzard has just posted its official preview of the new gear customization feature, reforging. Allowing players to decrease secondary stats on an item for something more favorable, reforging gives players more options for items and easier upgrade potential, rather than waiting for their exact pieces of gear to drop. Check out the official preview. Zarhym -- Cataclysm Preview: Reforging Originally a magic brought to the citizens of Azeroth by the Highborne, reforging will provide a new means for players to customize their gear in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. NPCs offering reforging services will be located in all major cities, ready to assist in customizing items by altering the stats they provide. Players can use reforging to modify an item's stat values, or to undo any previous changes and allow different customization choices. Check out the preview now! source %Gallery-104732% This is it! Patch 4.0.1 begins the slide into December's upcoming expansion. It's a whole new game from here on out. Get oriented with our roundup of everything there is to know about patch 4.0.1 and how it changes the game until the launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.
Patch 4.0.1 introduces reforging into the game
One of the features that is in patch 4.0.1 is the new reforging feature. This allows you to adjust armor, weapons and trinkets to better line up with the stats you need. The whole concept essentially allows more gear to be used instead of disenchanted. It also allows you to game your stats a little bit more by turning an item that would be providing way too much hit rating into something that provided some hit rating and critical strike rating. There are a few restrictions: You can only change secondary stats (hit, crit, haste, mana regen, dodge, etc.). Only one stat may be changed. You can't change one stat into a different stat the item already has. You can't alter how much of the stat to change; it's always 40 percent(ish) of the original amount. The item must have an item level of at least 200 (level 80 epics or higher). Otherwise, the price of reforging is the same as the sell price of the item. You can always restore an item back to its original stats for free if you decide you don't like the new setup. This allows you to try out different setups (paying the full reforge cost each time) until you find the right fit. Where can you find these reforging guys? They are usually found in major cities near the enchanting trainers. If you can't find them, be sure to ask a guard, who'll point you in the right direction. All in all, the reforging system is pretty simple and provides the opportunity for us to start trying out the new mastery stat without waiting for Cataclysm itself to be released. If you'd like to take a look at how this works, here's a gallery walking you the process through step by step. %Gallery-104732%
Cataclysm: Stat and system changes for resto shaman
Cataclysm is right around the corner, and with it comes sweeping change for every class whether it is talents or itemization. Restoration shaman are no exception to the rule and several of the changes will affect us and how we choose gear. Take some time to read through all the stat and system changes happening, but for right now lets talk about how this affects restoration shaman. Here's the list of things we need to be aware of: MP/5: Gone Spirit: Now the regen stat of choice for all healers, gear with spirit is specifically healer gear. Spell Power: Gone from all items except for weapons, marking specific weapons as caster items. Intellect : Spell power is now derived from intellect, making this stat very important Haste: Still around. Critical Strike Rating: Still around. Spell Ranks: Gone, Spells will now grow with you as you level. Levels at which you can learn spells will be changing. Mastery: This is a specialization stat found on gear. Mastery allows for you to be better at your defined role Existing gear: Your existing gear will be updated to fall in line with these changes before Cataclysm is released What does this mean for us exactly? More about that after the break.
Blizzard posts Quel'delar preview
Blizzard has posted a preview of the upcoming Quel'delar storyline that we'll be observing in Icecrown. Quel'delar, you'll remember, is the twin of the old Quel'serrar blade that we put together way back in the days of vanilla WoW. For those of you who are spoiler-sensitive, details are behind the break. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to the Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Spiritual Guidance: What the future holds for Priests
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 No Stock UI, a UI and addons blog for WoW. What will Cataclysm hold for Priests? I'm back from Blizzcon! There's been a ton of big announcements which will mean future impacts for Priests whether you heal or dish out damage. Let's take a quick look at what we know.
