warforged-seal
Latest
Have you received a gift in the mail from Blizzard?
There's been scattered reports on places like Reddit and Twitter of players getting random gifts in the mail from "The WoW Dev Team." @Skarn_ on Twitter reported getting a Flawless Aquatic Battle-Stone along with instructions on how to use it. The poster on Reddit received 4 Warforged Seals. I've checked the mail of my max level characters and found no gifts waiting for me. There's been some speculation on what the criteria is for getting a gift. The person who received the Warforged Seals identifies themselves as a PvP player who has only used Warforged Seals a couple of times in the past. One recipient of the Battle-Stone claims they've barely done any pet battles, another says they've been active in the past but not as of late. Perhaps it's something to entice inactive players back into the game? Or try an element of the game they otherwise would have not? Or maybe it's just random. Have you received any unexpected gifts in the mail lately?
Poll: RNG gearing or points-based gearing?
There seems to have been something of a shift of late in Blizzard's gearing philosophy. We've moved from a heavily points-based system, where players had to earn currency -- specifically valor -- to buy items. They also had to earn reputation, which was another thing we can compare to points, although they're not a currency you can spend. Now, we've got Valor only used as an upgrade system, players are reliant on drops for the initial item to upgrade. The Timeless Isle does award currency, but you're more likely to rely on RNG-based drops to get gear from there. Not to mention the RNG nature of Warforged gear. And it looks like this is only going to move more towards RNG with Warlords' removal of currencies, removal of reforging, and the addition of sockets and tertiaries as RNG elements on top of the Warforged system. PvP gear remains mercifully points-based, and in a play system where gear equality is so important, we can only hope it remains the case. But in PvE, what's the good and bad of each? Well, points-based gearing is predictable. It gives you certainty and goals to work towards. Just so long as you keep grinding points, you know categorically that you will get that piece of gear. You can see your points build up, and it's satisfying. On the downside that predictability makes it less exciting. In PvP, that's no bad thing -- you certainly don't want the opposition to get their weapon and 4-set first while you get 2 rings, a neck and some bracers!
Clarification on bonus rolls for mounts, pets, and heirlooms
Ever wondered if using a bonus roll on a particular boss would actually grant you another chance at a mount or pet? Item and Rewards Designer Owen Landgren took to Twitter to clarify where bonus rolls do and do not work for specific items. Bonus rolls do not work for Garrosh heirloom weapons. These only have a random chance to drop into your bags on each kill in flex, normal, or heroic. Sha of Anger, Galleon, Nalak, and Oondasta mounts can be obtained with a bonus roll. Raid mounts, such as the Reins of the Astral Cloud Serpent, cannot be obtained with a bonus roll. Kor'kron Shaman's Treasure (shaman transmog gear) cannot be won with a bonus roll. Battle pets which drop from Siege of Orgrimmar bosses can be won with a bonus roll and they do not affect your chance at getting regular loot (winning a pet will not replace potential loot you could have won). However, the Quivering Blob from Throne of Thunder can only be won with a bonus roll on LFR difficulty and not on normal or heroic. I'll admit I was surprised to learn that the Garrosh weapons could not be won with a bonus roll. Blizzard's reasoning is they do not want you choosing between account-wide and character-level power when you bonus roll. Hopefully these clarifications will help you better spend your precious bonus rolls.
Are you happy with the bonus roll system? Blizzard is pretty happy.
The bonus roll system is a personal loot feature introduced in Mists of Pandaria which gives you extra chances at loot on the raid bosses of your choice. Most people have a love/hate relationship with it, myself included. We don't know the exact numbers, but it appears the chance of loot is roughly 15% in current content (usually made higher in previous tiers). There are other variables behind the scenes which affect this drop chance, such as the bad luck streak protection, but we do not know the exact math behind it. When asked on Twitter, Watcher replied that they're happy with the bonus roll system and it will most likely be making a return in Warlords of Draenor. @Gurzog @Celestalon That's the plan. We're pretty happy with how the bonus roll system has worked out. - Watcher (@WatcherDev) January 24, 2014 I'm happy it's sticking around. Bonus rolls have gotten me out of some pretty bad loot dry spells. If I could change one thing about them going forward, it would be the lesser charm conversion system. Either have them acquired in a different manner, or make the charms useful for something else. Of course, this is coming from someone sitting on a three year supply of lesser charms. I've seen other player suggestions such as having the option to use multiple rolls on a single kill, or a smarter system which doesn't give you loot you already own. Are you happy with the bonus roll system or would you like to see some changes?
Scattered Shots: Pillaging Orgrimmar
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing all things that are shiny and purple. You knew it was coming. Every class needs their token loot article when a new tier is released. This tier, I'm actually really excited because the loot gods have been kind to hunters: five ranged weapons, fun trinkets, well-itemized tier gear, interesting set bonuses, and plenty of options on the Timeless Isle. Blizzard even gave us our own unique proc on the legendary cloak. The question is, where should you be spending your precious Warforged Seals and Burdens of Eternity? The short answer for bonus rolls is weapons, then trinkets, then tier pieces. The long answer concerns your chosen specialization and how far you have progressed in flexible, normal, or heroic. Set down your bow (or gun, dwarves) and pull up a chair. It's time to talk about hunter loot in patch 5.4.
