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The Daily Quest: Special patch 3.3.3 edition
Here at WoW.com we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! Take a look at the links below, and be sure to check out our WoW Resources Guide for more WoW related sites. With patch 3.3.3 likely hitting today, now's our last chance to round up some of the 3.3.3 discussion making the rounds of the internet. Totemz talks about elemental shaman changes. Planet of the Hats talks Flame Shock in 3.3.3. Death Grip my Heart (warning: some not safe for work artwork here) considers death knight specs for 3.3.3. Druid of the Moon discusses Mangle changes in 3.3.3. The Fluid Druid also discusses Mangle changes in 3.3.3. Cynwise's Battlefield Manual explains battleground changes in 3.3.3, the honor economy in 3.3.3, and why Marks of Honor will suck post-patch. Warcraft Hunters Union covers BM changes in patch 3.3.3 and does the math on it (so you don't have to). Gray Matter looks at glyphs and rotations for moonkin in a post-patch world. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Patch 3.3.3 Going Live -- Patch 3.3.3 Guide
WoW.com can confirm that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, patch 3.3.3 will be going live tomorrow, Tuesday, March 23rd on the N.A. realms, and Wednesday, March 24th on the E.U. realms. This patch will bring a host of minor improvements to the game, along with some key balance changes. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will give you everything you need to know about the patch. Head over and check it out. A few of the more major things happening in patch 3.3.3: Patch Notes (release version, updated on 3/23/2010) Gallery of datamining finds (including the Celestial Steed) Frozen Orbs to be greed only in patch 3.3.3 New uses for Frozen Orbs Profession changes Changes to the auction house and game economy Battleground and honor changes Raid buff changes The maintenance running tomorrow should, if everything goes smoothly, be over at 11 a.m. PDT / 2:00 p.m. EDT. If not, WoW.com will provide you with running updates; so keep your eyes open. Read WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3
Patch 3.3.3 background downloader active with new data
As you know, today was maintenance day and the background downloader is downloading more data for patch 3.3.3. However, that doesn't mean the patch itself is today. In fact, I know it's not because I logged on to my home server of Norgannon without having any of the patch data downloaded yet, and checked to make sure Revenge wasn't improved yet. It's not. No patch today. Sad face. This is standard procedure for the weeks leading up to a patch: as much of the data as can be loaded before it actually drops is sent out to reduce the strain of thousands upon thousands of people all trying to log on and download the whole patch in one go. While it does mean we're possibly close to seeing 3.3.3, with me personally willing to bet before the end of the month, that day is not today.
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Patch notes updated
We have a nice update to the patch 3.3.3 PTR patch notes for you today, right from the mouth of Zarhym. Listed below is the update, and you can check out the complete patch notes and our patch 3.3.3 coverage to catch up on everything else. Zarhym -- Updates to the Patch 3.3.3 Patch Notes Dungeons & Raids Blood-Queen Lana'thel: Pact of the Darkfallen now applies damage twice as often, but for half the damage. This change will make the removal of the spell a bit more responsive. Hellscream's Warsong and Strength of Wrynn now provide their bonuses to player pet health and damage, as well as the absorption amounts of Power Word: Shield and Sacred Shield. Death Knights Icy Talons: Fixed a numerical value error for rank 2 of this talent. Items Glyphs Glyph of Icebound Fortitude: Now always grants at least 40% damage reduction. Glyph of Scourge Imprisonment: Now reduces the cast time of Shackle Undead by 1 second, up from 0.5 seconds. Glyph of Deadly Throw: Now increases the slowing effect on Deadly Throw by 20%, up from 10%. Priest Tier-10 4-Piece Healing Set Bonus: Redesigned. This bonus now increases the effectiveness of the caster's Power Word: Shield by 5% and Circle of Healing by 10%. source Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Realm maintenance for Tuesday, March 16th
Realm maintenance for Tuesday, March 16th is scheduled from 5:00 a.m. PDT / 8:00 a.m. EDT until 11:00 a.m. PDT / 2:00 p.m. EDT. There is no indication that patch 3.3.3 will drop this week. The full announcement is: Enthati We will be performing scheduled maintenance on Tuesday, March 16th. Maintenance will begin at 05:00 AM PDT and conclude at approximately 11:00 AM PDT. During this time, all realms and many web services will be unavailable. Thank you for your patience. source As always, if the maintenance is extended, you'll hear about from us!
Frozen orbs to be greed only in patch 3.3.3
Well, this is a welcome change -- now that Frozen Orbs are going to be the new crafting tokens, exchangeable for Frost Lotus and Eternal Fire, among other things, Wryxian announced that they will be greed only in the upcoming patch. Wryxian No, you won't be able to exchange Frozen Orbs for Emblems of Frost. Yeah it just takes one person to press Need after everyone's pressed Greed on the Frozen Orbs and you miss out. But the good news is that in patch 3.3.3 this won't be the case anymore -- the roll for Frozen Orbs will be an automatic Greed roll. Rejoice! source I wonder whether this is now some sort of flag in their database that they could use for other items. Like Books of Glyph Mastery. Nothing is more annoying than someone ninja looting jerk looting something that everyone gains equal benefit from. Edit: Ninjas are cool. People who steal from their peers are not. Stop calling them ninjas. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Ruby Sanctum and Echo Isles music
Celestial steeds and more toys aren't the only new things coming in patch 3.3.3! With the new content also comes a variety of new music. Savvy dataminer Leviathonlx dug up several new tracks for the big events going on in the new patch. Accompanying the trolls in Operation Echo Isles will be an epic score tailored to the event, whether the calm before combat, the thick of the battle, or the climax of the fight, the music will get you in the mood for the voodoo. Also uncovered was a track centered around the Ruby Sanctum. Not to be outdone by the trolls, the Red Dragonflight has made a strong showing with spooky music all their own. ZF Big Battle ZF Med Battle ZF Quiet Ruby Sanctum Blizzard has always made it a point to use mood- and setting-appropriate music in all of their zones, instances and, on a larger scale, games. These cinematic-style tracks are no exception. Be sure to check back often, as we'll keep you up to date with all news about Patch 3.3.3.
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Updated patch notes
It's that time again, ladies and gentlemen! The Patch 3.3.3 PTR has been given a brand new build, and with it comes a few changes to the patch notes. There aren't many changes, but the few that are there are rather significant to the classes they impact. The changes are as follows: Hunters Heart of the Phoenix: Cooldown reduced to 8 minutes, down from 10 minutes. Warriors Thunderclap: This ability now counts as a ranged attack, granting it double damage on critical strikes instead of 150% and ranged miss chance, and still cannot be dodged or parried. Bladestorm: Warriors can now be Disarmed while under the effects of this ability. Glyphs Glyph of Focus: Now increases the damage done by Starfall by 10%, down from 20%. We've updated our full patch 3.3.3 patch notes listing to include these additions. If you've missed any previous updates, make sure to check them out! Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Lichborne: The rise of PvE frost DPS on the patch 3.3.3 PTR
Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly look at the world of the death knight. With Patch 3.3.3 on the PTR and looking closer and closer to going live, the buzz around death knights is just about where you'd expect it to be, squarely on the frost talent tree. This is especially true of frost DPS. While it once reigned supreme as a cornerstone of the famous 39/32 builds, it's fallen out of favor, and even Threat of Thassarian hasn't been enough to keep it from being consigned to the status of third rate, a pariah from any raid that already has a shaman to provide Windfury. Blizzard's obviously dedicated to getting the tree properly buffed in Patch 3.3.3, but have they succeeded? Let's take a look at the frost tree thus far, and what we may be doing with our own builds and talents in a few weeks' time.
Patch 3.3.3 background downloader active
The background downloader has gone active tonight with a 77.5 MB partial file for the Patch 3.3.3 patching process. Don't expect the patch to go live tomorrow, of course (if nothing else, scheduled maintenance isn't long enough), but it looks like we may be within a few weeks of some nice new patch goodness, including the rise of DK frost dual wielding, Frozen Orbs, and the abolishment of battleground marks. For a round up of all of the changes, big and small, coming with the patch, be sure to check our Patch 3.3.3 Info page. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Build 11643 notes
MMO Champion's got the goods on an upcoming build of patch 3.3.3. Mounts and pets But first, check out Lil' XT! Doesn't your Lil' KT want a lil' company? No idea where this lil' guy will come from as of yet, but it could be a future purchasable pet joining the likes of the Pandaren Monk and Lil' KT! Both the Celestial Steed and X-53 Touring Rocket (screenshot) now have their own spells and have 310% flying speed. Icecrown Citadel There's been some issues with absorption effects like Power Word: Shield not benefiting from the raid buffs that Wrynn and Hellscream provide. That will be addressed shortly with patch 3.3.3. Strength of Wrynn and Hellscream's Warsong now also boost the effect of damage absorption spells. Glyph changes These changes could be temporary and could be reversed at any time. They're not in the official notes. Death Knights Glyph of Icebound Fortitude now always grants at least 40% damage reduction. Priests Glyph of Scourge Imprisonment now reduces the cast time of your Shackle Undead by 1 sec. (Up from 0.5 sec) Rogues Glyph of Feint now reduces the energy cost of Feint by 20. (Up from 10) Glyph of Expose Armor now increases the duration of Expose Armor by 12 sec. (Up from 10 sec) Glyph of Deadly Throw now increases the slowing effect on Deadly Throw by 20%. (Up from 10%) Other changes Warlocks Dark Pact now has a 100 yards range (up from 30 yards) and ignores the line of sight. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Encrypted Text: Patch 3.3.3 changes mean subtlety is back
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the upcoming patch 3.3.e changes, and what they mean for subtlety. I promised myself I would never say this. When I took up the mantle of Encrypted Text, I knew that with great power comes great responsibility. It was my duty to ensure that accurate information reached the readers of this column, and to keep them abreast of upcoming changes. The other sites could do as they pleased: I would remain steadfast. Unfortunately, as we all know, Blizzard loves to shake things up when they feel that the status quo is stale. The recent subtlety changes are an example of this. Because of those changes, I have to break that promise that I made. Today, I am forced to say something which I never thought would be seriously true. Today, I am telling you that hemo daggers is a viable spec.
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Revenge of the Warrior, now Improved
In the most recent bout of data mining the PTR patch (specifically build 11623), the fine folks at MMO-Champion discovered more changes and clarifications to how warrior abilities will work. Keeping in mind again that this is the PTR and you never know how things are going to change, here are the specifics. Protection Revenge damage has been slightly lowered, it now deals [ 31% of AP + 1636 ] to [ 31% of AP + 1998 ] damage at max rank. Down from [ 31% of AP + 2181 ] to [ 31% of AP + 2665 ] damage. Improved Revenge now Increases damage of your Revenge ability by 30/60% (up from 10/20%) and causes Revenge to strike an additional target for 50% damage. Vitality now increases your total Strength by 2/4/6%, Stamina by 3/6/9% and your Expertise by 2/4/6.(On live, this is Strength and Stamina by 2/4/6% and Expertise by 2/4/6.) Arms Trauma now lasts 1 min, up from 15 sec. The Trauma change is probably one for convenience, as it can be hard in a high mobility fight (like, say, running out of a Defile) to keep Trauma up and this way you'll have more leeway to keep those bleeds ticking at max efficiency while still getting out of bombs or fissures or what have you. Vitality is pretty much exactly as it was the last time we talked about it. As for Revenge, the baseline ability is being adjusted slightly downward from our original exciting 3.3.3 revelation. But Improved Revenge is being hugely buffed. Hugely. When we first heard the news that Revenge would be getting some improvements, we speculated in the comments that perhaps they'd throw some AoE viability in there, and now they have done exactly that. By baking it into the talent instead of the baseline ability (and by removing the stun from Imp Revenge, it appears) you cut back on prot warrior stuns in PvP while giving a strong new reason to pick up Imp Revenge for more damage and more AoE threat. It's a pretty solid change for a tanking prot warrior.
Frozen Orbituary: The Death of Rolling 'Greed'
Frozen Orbs matter again. Come Patch 3.3.3, Frozo will be exchanging your frozen orbs for crafting materials used in some of the better Pre-ICC craftables. It is prudent, then, in my mind, to inform the greater playerbase at large about this development. Most people know about the new value of frozen orbs. If you read WoW.com, you've already been exposed to some pretty comprehensive coverage. This post is to address a growing trend I personally see in random heroics -- rolling need on the orbs ahead of the patch. No one should fault people for rolling need on frozen orbs at this point in the game. They have new value. Technically, we all can use them. Frozen orbs are directly convertable into some better cash items. While the items you can buy currently with frozen orbs on the PTR are not set in stone, and their costs are subject to change, we know that they will be useful. Two different solutions to the frozen orb situation present themselves: 1) Blizzard removes the need roll from frozen orbs so everyone gets a chance to get the orb or 2) change the behavior of the populace and everyone roll need on frozen orbs and educate the masses on the new, impending value of frozen orbs. If you've ever been upset at a random pick up group player rolling need on a frozen orb, you have a weapon to fight it -- just roll need, and tell everyone else to roll need as well. Do everyone a favor and educate -- let people know frozen orbs will have a new place in the economy. Now you've got a random chance for frozen orbs and of avoiding the end of instance standoff.
Icecrown Citadel raid buffs live
If your guild has been struggling throughout the various bosses in Icecrown Citadel, then struggle no more! Icecrown Citadel raid buffs are now live. For the Alliance, it is called Strength of Wrynn and the Horde version of the buff is Hellscream's Warsong. For now, your health, healing done, and damage done are increased by 5%. It looks like it'll eventually cap out and end at 30% but who knows when that will be. All in all, the buffs will definitely help progression raids out. If your raid doesn't need the buffs, you can simply talk to your faction guy and tell him to go away. He'll ask you once just to confirm, but if you are sure, he'll disappear. We've known that the raid wide buffs would appear at some point but not exactly when. Be sure to check out WoW.com's Icecrown Citadel raid strategy and information page!
Arcane Brilliance: Patch 3.3.3 PTR changes for mages
It's time again for Arcane Brilliance, the weekly mage column that wants to point out that while gnomes often come up...er...short...when compared to the other races, they do have one special feature that always looks larger by comparison. Their spells are huge! Wait...what did you think I was talking about? So anyway. It's always an exciting time around here when a new patch hits the PTR. We all wake up, head down to the living room and gather beneath the tree to open our presents. Sometimes the bounty is rich, and we reap a choice harvest of new content and features. Other times the crop is more meager. And while patch 3.3.3 doesn't seem to have brought with it the largest pile of new stuff we've ever seen, it's turning out to be a bit more generous than I'd have previously suspected. Yes, for those of us who play this game, a new patch is just like Christmas. You just never know what you're going to get. Will that gaily wrapped parcel contain an N64? Or a hideous sweater? A huge buff? Or a soul-crushing nerf? Let's all head over to the PTR together and start unwrapping, shall we?
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Minor Jewelcrafting changes
Yesterday an updated list of changes for PTR patch 3.3.3 was released. Ranging from new pets and mounts to the LFD dungeon stats being tracked, there have been a lot of tweaks. Jewelcrafting is no exception to the rules of change and like other professions is seeing some small changes. Icy Prism now requires Frozen Orb, Chalcedony x 1 (Down from 3), Shadow Crystal x 1 (Down from 3), Dark Jade x 1 (Down from 3) Intricate Bone Figurine (Daily Quest) - Craft an Intricate Bone Figurine by combining the Proto Dragon Bone with a Sun Crystal and a Dark Jade. (Old - Chalcedony + Dark Jade) These are small changes, but for many Jewelcrafters they are welcome ones. On many servers due to the rising number of tanks, Chalcedony can be very difficult to come by on the auction house and relying on the random number generator can sometimes leave you high and dry when you are prospecting for specific gems. Lowering the amount of gems required for the Icy Prism makes it a tad bit easier for aspiring jewelers to obtain the various gems they may need to level their profession to the skill cap, as well as making it slightly more profitable when you manage to gain a good gem like a Cardinal Ruby or Dragon's Eye. Just like Inscription having the material components reduced for many of it's recipes and the Titansteel cooldown being removed, I think we will continue to see this trend as Cataclysm approaches. Making it easier for players to hit their profession skill caps before the expansion drops is a very good way to get people ready for when the skill cap is raised again.
Starfall and Nature's Grasp PTR changes
Yesterday was a very good day to be a balance druid in the World of Warcraft. While things seemed a bit rocky at the start of the PTR, the most recent build held two changes that are certainly going to benefit all of our feathery friends out there. The first of these changes was an increase in the damage and scaling of Starfall, the second was a change to the way in which Nature's Grasp functions. To start with Starfall, the updated patch notes do not tell the entire story of this change. In order to clarify things, Ghostcrawler made a few statements on the Damage Dealing forums about it. Although there have been several posts on the matter, the most important was this: The Starfall change is difficult to patch note because of the nature of the spell, but I'll share the numbers so that the theorycrafters among you can plug them in. It's a significant boost to the spell's damage. Initially, we had designed the spell to be more AE focused, but that hasn't been super useful for a class that also has Hurricane. Rather than adding another nuke we thought it made more sense to make the 51 pointer something that really delivers on damage. Yes it can be countered. PvP is designed with the intent that things can be countered. Main shot Base points 432 -> 562 Coefficient 0.21 -> 0.37 Splash damage Base points 77 -> 100 Coefficient 0.12 -> 0.13 . source
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Companion pet and mount updates
Another PTR build has been deployed on the public test realms for patch 3.3.3. We'll be seeing some new pets and mounts it seems. I admit I'm not as dedicated to pets or mounts as my friends are, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in any new updates. Mounts The Celestial Steed has been added into the game and it looks to be an all around mount that can function is a ground mount in the old world and a flying mount in Outland or Northrend. There are no screenshots of it yet, but my guess is that it's a horse with wings that could double as a constellation. Check out the picture above for an idea.
Cataclysm prologue quest data added to game
The patch 3.3.3 PTR has a bunch of cool pre-Cataclysm content added to it that was datamined by MMO-Champion. Massive spoiler alert, so don't click on that link or follow us after the break if you want to avoid spoilers!
