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In patch 5.2, automatic flight path discovery is a thing of the past
If you've been on the leveling treadmill -- or if you frequent the WoW forums -- chances are you've noticed that after patch 5.2, you stopped automatically discovering new flight paths. For those of you (myself included) who loved this feature, it's unfortunately an intentional change. According to everyone's favorite floating skull, Zarhym, the auto-discovery of flight paths -- introduced way back in patch 4.2 in June 2011 -- was never intentional. @autumnsunxo @bubblepuffle Unfortunately, you weren't provided correct info. Auto-discovery was never intended. Post to explain coming. - Zarhym (@CM_Zarhym) March 17, 2013 So why's it waited so long? Again, according to Zarhym, it was a complicated problem to crack -- and low on the priority list. @reaper2352 Until 5.2 we couldn't fix it without erasing what paths any character had discovered pre-Cataclysm. It required new tech. - Zarhym (@CM_Zarhym) March 19, 2013 While I mourn the loss of what was one of my favorite Cataclysm-era features -- the run through the Wetlands to pick up the flight path at Menethil Harbor used to be a killer, literally -- I can't complain too much. After all, with mounts starting at level 20, hearthstones on a 15 minute cooldown (with the right guild perks), and flight paths scattered conveniently around the world, getting around is easier than it's ever been, even without automatically discovering new flight paths.
Pet and Mount pane searchable in patch 5.1
The new mount panel is fantastic, and avoids many a noob moment like I had back when my paladin was brand new and had just learned to summon the class mount -- I couldn't find it, not realising that there was a "Mounts" tab in my spellbook. However, it has its downsides. I don't suffer from this that much, as I'm not a huge collector of mounts, pets, or anything for that matter. I only have about 70 mounts, and that's a very ambitious estimate indeed! For those of us who are serious collectors, pet and mount panes new and old suffered from a serious problem: a lack of searchability! Last night, in a Twitter conversation with Community Manager Zarhym, Lead Encounter Designer Cory "Mumper" Stockton said that a search function for mounts is "en-route for 5.1". Even with my measly 70 mounts and even fewer pets, I'm rejoicing. And, of course, glaring at the Abyssal Seahorse that mocks me from the top of my mount list. What else could Blizzard do to improve the basic UI? I'd love to see a similar search added to the spellbook. My shaman was very confused indeed at the loss of Earth Shield, and eventually discovered that it had been taken away from her until level 26. A search could have made it far easier to find that! And I'd love to see a favorites section in the mount and pet journals. Mostly to get rid of that pesky seahorse. [Edit: Thanks to all readers who pointed out that the pet pane is searchable already! I must write pieces immediately after titles so I don't forget key details!]
17 Blizzard employees to follow on Twitter
It's no secret that we here @WoWInsider love Twitter. But what you might not know is that Blizzard loves Twitter as well. Not only does it have @Warcraft, @StarCraft, @Diablo, and @BlizzardCS accounts, but their friendly blue posters and other leading figures are on Twitter as well, just waiting for you to follow them and find out what's being served for lunch at the Irvine campus. (Actually, we haven't heard about that yet ... We need some pics of what a Blizzard lunch looks like, @TalkingCongas!) Blizzard has confirmed to us that all of these accounts belong to the individuals associated with them and are not fakes (and that they are all OK with being posted publicly). Further, what these employees say on Twitter is not endorsed by Blizzard. Sometimes they might talk about things related to WoW, while other times it could be something completely unrelated. Please also be respectful of these people's accounts. Don't pepper them asking for invites to a beta, and so on. It's not going to happen, and no one likes to be bugged about such things. That said, follow away and enjoy some nice insight into @ChrisMetzen's WoW playing. The full list after the break.
