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Wintergrasp timer on Patch 3.1 PTR
Here's a bit of news that some players might enjoy -- tipster Falrinn noted that Wintergrasp now has a global timer that lets players know when the next battle for the zone is slated to occur. This should eliminate quite a bit of clutter on the trade channels where players usually ask, "when is the next WG?" The timer is accessible through the world map, where the countdown updates live in increments of five seconds. On live servers, the only way to find out when the next battle occurs is to talk to your respective Wintergrasp Battle-Mages or using AddOns which all still need data from the zone.It was, to say the least, rather inconvenient. The change also comes with a few minor changes, such as the wall icons on the maps -- they look flimsier. Blizzard also saw fit to change the icon for Essence of Wintergrasp again, making it look more like a tower instead of a trophy on a pedestal. The timer feature is a welcome one, although in the PTR it currently doesn't work when not in Northrend. The only thing that would be better than that would be a web-accessible timer that tells you when the next game is on your server... Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
More Druid changes on the 3.1 PTR
The above headline is a polite, succinct means of saying "I went AFK for a few hours yesterday and returned to 2/3 of the Druid class wanting to throw itself in front of an oncoming train."Additions to the latest PTR build aren't extensive for Druids but include a 10% nerf to stamina returns from Heart of the Wild in the feral tree, and a doubling of Lifebloom's mana cost (and reworking of its bloom mechanics) in the Restoration tree.Well, no point checking our watches waiting for the next harbinger of welcome death by way of light commuter rail. Let's take a look.HEART OF THE WILD: Stamina bonus changed to 2/4/6/8/10%.Ouch, baby.Before I write anything else, a quick note to the people spamming the Tanking and Druid forums with End-of-the-World proclamations; it's the frigging public test realm. None of this is set in stone. Calmez-vous.I can finally stay on the PTR without disconnecting every 5-10 minutes, so I hopped on and started comparing the character sheet to my main's live version. The biggest problem right now is that the HotW change (in addition to the Survival of the Fittest armor nerf) has gone live on the PTR without Savage Defense going live alongside it. If you get any toons copied to the PTR or can just finally log on successfully, you'll find yourself down several thousand armor and several thousand HP without Savage Defense active to compensate.
The Daily Quest: Of class quests, Warcraft music and Big Black Kitties
Patch 3.1 is still burning up the PTR and sending most classes into a tail spin trying to figure out what their new talent builds will be when the patch goes live. Forget the madness of the ever-changing class mechanics for a few minutes to peruse today's WoW-related posts from around the blogosphere. Big Red Kitty shows off what could be the latest Hunter pet models or what could be a texture glitch seen running amok on the Test realm (see pic above.) More on his site. To PTR or not PTR, that is the question explored at Shields Up. They look at both sides of the controversial topic. Tier 8 gear have you interested in raiding for the first time? Check out The Virtues of the Effective Raider, a good primer for people first dipping their toe into WoW raiding. And for those more experienced in raiding, check out our weekly raiding columns, Ready Check and Raid Rx. Though the Echoes of War music was released months ago, Blizzard made an official announcement this week. Next week, they'll be announcing the launch of The Burning Crusade... Hoping for more class-specific quests? You'll have to wait a little longer according to European CM Vaneras. They take time to create and implement. He doesn't specifically say they are making more, but does go into the process involved.
Ulduar raid boss Freya encounter livestreaming now
Raiders are preparing this very moment to get the very first crack at Ulduar raid boss Freya on the PTR. Click on the Ustream video above to watch it in action if you are reading this right now (early Saturday afternoon.) The raid is being tested on the European PTR this afternoon and this stream is coming from one of the top EU raid guilds, Numen. You can head directly to the Ustream page if you want to jump into the group chat of those watching.
Insider Trader: Your livelihood after patch 3.1
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Although patch 3.1 is still a few months from going live, it is already shaping up to be a positive force on the professions front. So far, we've been made aware of the following changes: Two new Engineering enchants (attn: tanks and spell power users). An engineered bind on equip blue trinket. A +hit elixir for the level 19 twink community. A deliciously ridiculous number of new glyphs, along with glyph changes. New Blacksmithing bind on equip epics covering spell plate, dps plate and tanking plate, as well as a spell dagger. New juicy, expensive enchants. Finally, a productive use for Black Diamonds. A new Jewelcrafting trinket. Lots of new Leatherworking goodies. Several Tailoring items, including a 32-slot herbing bag. Many current recipes, including Old World and Outland ones, are being rebalanced and updated. For details and analysis, follow me through the break. Keep in mind that these are subject to change, and that we will likely see even more developments in the future.
WoW Insider Show live this afternoon on Ustream
Our podcast returns yet again this afternoon -- we'll be live for your listening enjoyment over on the Ustream page at 3:30pm Eastern as always. This time around, we'll be joined by our illustrious Managing Editor Dan O'Halloran, and (assuming that he's not too busy launching shuttles into space) our good friend BRK will also be making an appearance. And of course Turpster and I will be on as well -- we'll be chatting about all of the news out of patch 3.1, including the undocumented changes and the new dual spec and gear management systems in the game. And I'm sure the Argent Tournament will make an appearance as well.Whew. If you guessed it would be a busy show, you're probably right. Plus, if all goes according to plan (I know Turpster is having some issues with some of the musicians he's hired), we will hopefully have the new song all ready to play for you, as the reward for hitting 4,000 fans on our Facebook page. And don't forget that our Twitter challenge is still ongoing -- if we can get "over 9000" followers on our Twitter account, we'll do a video version of the podcast. So join Twitter (if you haven't yet) and get all of your friends to follow us as well!Should be a good time. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern, or 20:30 GMT, or whatever time that is in your neck of the woods, either over on the Ustream page or right here on the feed after the break. Talk to you then.
[UPDATED] WoW Patch 3.1 shuts down the Iron Council
After players got a taste of Hodir yesterday, Blizzard earlier opened up another Ulduar boss encounter on the Patch 3.1 PTR. The Iron Council were ready and waiting for raiders eager to have a shot at them -- and as you can see from the screenshot above, they don't look like pushovers. However, numerous crashes and related problems prevented full testing of the encounter, and Blizzard shut down Ulduar testing for the meantime. We had some of our team from WoW Insider who tried to take a crack at the Iron Council but were repelled by various iterations of server fail.[UPDATE: According to some reports, well-known raiding guilds Death & Taxes, Method, and Fusion all managed to stay inside Ulduar for some time after Blizzard booted everyone else out of the instance. This is sort of expected, considering Blizzard wanted to truly test the encounter -- numerous players formed 2-man raids just to be able to enter Ulduar, thus maxing out the instance limit.]Players who can't get on the PTR or who have similarly given up in frustration because the world server isn't exactly in the stablest of conditions, you can live the encounters vicariously through the streaming video of other intrepid players such as the folks from Rawrcast or Thelastrace on Justin TV. You mileage may vary. In the meantime, you can enjoy the screenshots of the encounter below. We guarantee they won't crash. %Gallery-45995% Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
WRUP: Is anyone on the live realms? edition
Oh, public test realms, so full of new and exciting content, we love you. No, really, we do! We hadn't realized it was possible to fall like this for testing hardware, but we think it's true love. Oh, no, it won't be like patch 3.0.8 again, where we hung out with you for a little while before running back to the live realms. You know the live realms don't mean anything to us, don't you? With your recent upgrade to patch 3.1, you have dual specs and Ulduar -- what's not to love about that? (And how's the occasional world server crash going to get in the way of the true love we feel for patch 3.1?) We promise, the live realms don't hold a candle to you. And didn't you like those flowers we sent you?Now could you please, perhaps, let us log on? Just for a little while?Oh, right, and if anyone wants to know what the WoW Insider team is up to -- just log on to the test realm. (Or if the world server is down, as it so often is, you can keep reading.)
WoW 3.1 PTR: Swimming mount video
You may have noticed an interesting little change in the 3.1 patch notes: ground mounts are now able to swim! This made us curious: how does a Mechanostrider swim? How does a Kodo swim? So, Adam and I ran off to the test realms to capture video of it all. And, before you ask, no bears were harmed in the making of these videos. (The Talbuks, though, whose heads seem to be under water even when you're on the surface, we make no promises about.)
Patch 3.1 PTR Patch Notes update
The official patch notes have been updated for the Patch 3.1 PTR. You can see a complete list of changes after the break, or take a look at the fully updated notes.This update is much more substantial than the one we posted a couple nights ago. Nonetheless, it has been added to our Patch 3.1 patch notes archive. Via the archive you can also view other iterations of the patch notes to see how things have changed.As always, these notes should be considered incomplete (it's in bold because we can't say it enough). A number of things that are on the PTR are not reflected in the patch notes, and several things that will eventually be on the PTR aren't in the notes either (many of the class changes, for example).Check out WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 3.1 for more information.
Patch 3.1 PTR Patch Notes: Build 9626 v2 and Build 9637
These notes are for PTR Build #9626. These patch notes might be out of date. These notes reflect an update of the official Blizzard PTR notes.Build #9626 was released on February 25th, 2009 around 12:00 a.m. EST. These notes were released on February 27th, 2009 around 5:30 p.m. EST.These notes are also current for PTR Build #9637.You can find the latest PTR Patch 3.1 Patch Notes at the main patch notes post. You can find an archival listing of all patch notes via WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 3.1.
Patch 3.1 PTR Priest glyph changes thus far
One of the things Patch 3.1 is supplying in spades is glyphs and glyph changes. Every class is getting a ton of them, and it's really hard to keep up with them there are so many. Priests are coming out alright so far through the whole process, with a lot of our current glyphs being improved and our new glyphs being legitimately useful, if situational. Let's see what's new, shall we? Glyph of Fade - Reduces the cooldown of your Fade spell by 9 sec. (Old: Increases the duration and cooldown of your Fade spell by 50%.) This is massively better than what it was previously, and I suspect that this will become a popular Shadow Priest glyph in PvP. Two points in Veiled Shadows plus this glyph means a 15 second cooldown on Fade. Every 15 seconds, a Shadow Priest will be able to clear all movement impairing effects, assuming they have Improved Shadowform. That's pretty friggin' sweet.
In the category of "finally": Raid ID confirmation windows in 3.1
The 3.1 PTR has brought a lot of wonderful quality of life improvements, but here's one that players and GMs alike will undoubtedly appreciate more than a lot of them: you finally, finally get a confirmation window when you enter an instance that would lock you to it. You get the option to accept the lockout and stay in the instance or leave the instance and save your ID for later. You have 15 seconds to make said choice. This means no more getting screwed out of heroics by some idiot who forgot he already ran Violet Hold today or any other of the myriad ways you can lose your ID for the day (or week). It's about time. Our good friend BRK found this feature without even realizing it, as WI reader Brandon Tilley discovered it in BRK's screenshots of a PTR raid last night. Thanks for the heads-up on this exciting change, Brandon, and way to miss the boat, BRK! Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
The Queue: Vanilla Coke edition
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.Hey, everybody! How's your Friday afternoon so far? Mine is full of rain and Vanilla Coke. Mmm. Delicious Vanilla Coke. You know, I'm definitely a Mountain Dew man, and Voltage is my lifeblood, but some days you just want something else. I couldn't drink Vanilla Coke every day, but cracking one open now and then? Caffeinated heaven.* Now, if I can just find my dentures, I'll start answering your questions...Hellscreamy asked... A few days ago I read in one of the posts that Noblegarden would be getting new achievements, items and events. Is there any indication at the moment (PTR or otherwise) that this will count towards the 'What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been' achievement?
Ulduar on the 3.1 PTR: Hodir
Last night was an exciting night -- the first night of Ulduar encounter testing on the 3.1 PTR. Lead Encounter Designer Daelo, a.k.a. Scott Mercer, was on hand to open up the instance portal and guide us to our intended boss (the only boss in the instance for that night) -- Hodir. I've talked about Hodir a few times; he was featured in my Ulduar boss speculation post (and I was right), and I went through some of his datamined abilities a few days ago. Getting to finally test the encounter was exhilarating, and getting back into the process of learning a strat by hitting the ground running was something to which I've been looking forward for a long time. I brought my Elune guildies and a deadweight coworker with me for a 10-man attempt. This writeup will be spoiler-heavy. If you don't wish to know anything about this fight, don't click below. You've been warned.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Scarce Change on the PTR
Yesterday saw me still without PTR access, followed by a massive cable outage and some computer problems that kept me offline until very late. Logging onto my Horde server (my alliance server was already dead thanks to it being on east coast time, plus I generally prefer Horde now anyway) I found myself needed to tank an Obsidian Sanctum run, which went fine. Then, I was needed to DPS in Naxx, so I respecced, but mistaken specced fury because I respec on autopilot now. So after the raid I had to respec back to arms. So basically, I dropped 150g to raid yesterday. You could argue that were I not an idiot I could have saved myself 50 gold.So for that reason alone, even with the big, big nerfs to fury, I want 3.1 to get here. Let's start the day with a fun quote from Ghostcrawler: "Fury warriors who think their dps will be too low after this change in PvE are probably comparing themselves to classes or specs with inflated dps who are also being brought down (even after the Deep Wounds fix). If you are worried about the PvP ramifications, I think we can probably agree that a 10% swing in dps is not what is going to determine whether warriors are viable in Arenas or not."Yeah, we can agree on that. People would have to be taking warriors to arenas in order for us to determine if warriors were viable in arenas or not. Since they are not... I guess lowering warrior DPS bt 10% (as Ghostcrawler has just admitted these changes intend) doesn't really matter. When no one brings your class anyway, it's unimportant if it gets nerfed or not. Good point, GC. Very good point.
Hearthstones down to 30 minute cooldown in patch 3.1
Alright, so they killed ghetto hearthing. Blizzard never intended the instance boot system to be used as means to travel back to one's home city while Hearthstones were on cooldown, so they're setting things right in Patch 3.1 by making it port players to the nearest graveyard, instead. Naturally, this sparked outrage amongst the instance-abusing community and some players demanded Blizzard to make up for the loss of one of the most frequently used means of travel.Eyonix was quick to shut down these arguments in a long thread but eventually capitulated to the will of the masses, announcing that Hearthstones would be usable every 30 minutes when Patch 3.1 goes live. Eyonix still doesn't quite understand what the fuss is all about, though, and points to mage portals, Dalaran portals, and good old mount riding as acceptable means of getting from point A to point B. He even dismisses the complaints as QQ at one point. That said, it looks like some QQ has won the day for now. Enjoy your 30 minute hearthstones, everyone. Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
WoW Patch 3.1: Inside Ulduar
It's been just two hours since we first heard Blizzard would be opening Ulduar for testing, and after a rocky start (filled with crashes of all shapes and sizes) we're in game and collecting screenshots. If you can't get into Ulduar yourself, why not take a moment to peruse our gallery? (And, yes, before you even ask: spoilers inside. Don't click if you don't want to see!)%Gallery-45995% Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
Ulduar testing schedule now available
Forget what Blizzard said about not having a testing schedule. That was just to throw you off the trail. Daelo just announced on the forums that some Ulduar bosses are going to be available for testing very soon. And by soon I mean within the next hour. Here's what Daelo had to say:On the North American test realmsHodir - Thursday night, February 26, starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST.Iron Council - Friday night, February 27, starting at 7pm EST/4pm PSTOn the European test realmsThorim - Friday night, February 27, starting at 7pm CET.Freya - Friday night, February 28, starting at 7pm CET.That means that Hodir will be available to fight in less than an hour in North American realms. The Iron Council will be available tomorrow. On the other side of the globe, the Europeans can have a shot at Thorim and Freya. This surprise testing comes right after Blizzard told everyone to stop asking about a raid schedule. Well, there you have it. Note that this will be bare bones testing of the bosses... there will be no trash, no loot, and no Achievements. It's just the boss in order for Blizzard to tune the encounter. Get to the PTR now and form your raids!NOTE: According to Blizzard, "To get to Hodir from the front of Ulduar, travel all the way through the exterior section headed straight until you teleport into the interior section. Go up the stairs, over the temporary bridge, then Hodir's wing is to your right. The walls of his wing are ice covered and he's at the end." Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
Scattered Shots: Dual specs mean double the fun for hunters
Scattered Shots is your weekly guide to improving your Hunter skills, brought to you by Jessica "Lassirra" Klein of The Hunter's Mark, covering a variety of Huntery topics. Today, we'll be diving into what hunters will have to look forward to from the world of dual specs.So far the uproar about the dual spec feature coming to us in patch 3.1 has been predominantly from classes that are able to fill multiple roles in a raid environment, giving them more flexibility to swap between tanking, healing and dealing damage based on the needs of their group at the time. The 1000g price tag on this feature may seem a bit daunting to some, but the benefits of being able to swap between tanking and healing at a moment's notice without costly respec fees or inconvenient trips to the nearest not-so-nearby trainer are obvious. This all begs the question, though: what's in it for us pure DPS folks?The easy answer to that is being able to swap seamlessly from a PvP build to your raid build when invites start going out for the night. And lets not forget that Survival Hunters are the new Shadow Priest, right? If you're missing one of your friendly neighborhood mana batteries one night, you can swap into a spec for that at the drop of a hat. There are also plenty of opportunities for enterprising young Hunters looking to farm old world raid bosses solo, and there's a spec for that, too. There's plenty of fun to be had for us Hunters, and this new dual spec feature will make the transition from conquering the wilds of our world as a lone tracker to wiping the floor with the deadliest of raid bosses that much easier.
