Category: mmo-champion

Icecrown Citadel Buff boosted to 10%

Update – Added today's blue posts

Icecrown Citadel Buff boosted to 10%
The Icecrown Citadel zone-wide buff has been boosted from 5 to 10%. Players now increases total health, healing done, damage absorption, and damage dealt by 10%.

Quote from: Zarhym (Source)
We have increased the potency of the Strength of Wrynn and Hellscream’s Warsong buffs in Icecrown Citadel by an additional 5%. These buffs now increase total health, healing done and damage dealt by 10%. In addition, the number of attempts allotted for all final bosses on Heroic difficulty has been increased to 40.

Blue posts

Quote from Blizzard staff
"Stealth" nerfs
I guess you are using "stealth nerf" as synonymous with "nerf." My general impression of the use of the term "stealth nerf" is that the developers decide to sneakily change a spell or an ability in a way players won't immediately recognize and have to explore and math out. For example, if we thought Exorcism did too much damage, we might lower its coefficient. Players might notice, but it would take a lot of testing before anyone was convinced. Someone mentioned the Windfury ICD above, which is a good example of what I would call a stealth nerf. It was hard to notice. Making a change so that a spell doesn't work on players doesn't really sound like "stealth" because it's going to be noticed immediately.

There is little point in us making actual "stealth nerfs" with the intent to deceive, because players are going to figure it out anyway. (The WF one wasn't made recently.) What you seem to be calling "stealth nerfs" are hotfixes or mini patch changes that came without a GC or other blue post. But there are many of these made regularly, probably far more than you realize. Many of them will never affect your character, but some will. Some are made late at night when good developers are asleep or at blues bars.

We haven't yet come up with a great way to communicate changes that come in between patches. For patches we have the patch notes. Sometimes I'll make a blue post and we've tried to get better about documenting hotfixes. We've considered trying to use the launcher or login screen for breaking news or maybe even have a place in game where you can check out recent patch notes. Again, we make a lot of these, and some of them are too trivial for most players to care, and we wouldn't want the list to be so long that players just skip through it.

If you're defining "stealth nerf" as any change that comes in between patches or any nerf in general, well then you're just using your own private use of the term, which is a big problem with game jargon (see examples just as "cleave," "WG," "dead zone" etc.) (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Upcoming Revenge change
In the interest of avoiding the unflattering scent of stealth nerf, allow me to post that we are going to make that change (one Revenge per proc) I suggested above. (Source)

If we change Revenge to basically be one charge then the warrior can still pop the rogue or pet or whatever that triggers the block, dodge or parry, but they'd only get one hit instead of multiples. Such a change should not affect Protection at all.

Cataclysm Testing in April, Blue posts

Cataclysm Testing Will Start in April
Many people wonder when will the beta of Cataclysm will start, it's time to (try to) answer that question!

As far as I know, the Beta is supposed to start in April. At this point it's not very clear if there will be a Friends & Family Alpha, if there is one it hasn't been widely advertised internally.

This is probably why Blizzard decided to spoil the Cataclysm Prologue in 3.9 a few weeks ago and waaaay before it's deployed on live servers. They're not huge fans of spoilers and the only reason to do it is to make sure people know what's going on when they eventually play on Beta servers.

From a technical point of view, I guess it also explains why most of the assets for both Patch 3.3.5 and Patch 3.9 have been deployed with Patch 3.3. It's probably much easier to maintain a Beta and a Live build at the same time when you don't have to deploy tons of files just because you had to add something on live servers.

Of course, this is a pretty risky news because Beta tests can be postponed if something funny happens but as far as I'm concerned, it should definitely happen in April. If the beta lasts as long as WotLK's you can expect a release of the expansion in September/October, most likely before the Blizzcon.

And before someone smart posts in comments, I do realize it's not hard to predict that. We all know that Cataclysm will be released in 2010, we all know how much time a beta test takes and we all know the beta will start in April/May/June. But I'll just pretend it was an April's Fool joke if I'm wrong, you can do that in May.

No matter what happens, you will NOT get any beta invitation before it's officially announced. Anything you receive is a huge scam to steal your account.

Introducing: the Story Forum

Quote from: Nethaera (Source)
We are pleased to introduce the Warcraft Story Forum where players can discuss the storylines of the Warcraft universe, as told in-game and through the novels, manga, comics, and short stories that Blizzard publishes. Be sure to visit the new forum here- http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=26354482&sid=1

What is Creative Development?
Creative Development (CDev) is a "hub" within Blizzard, facilitating the development of ancillary products and services that tie into Blizzard's game universes. While there are several different divisions of CDev, this Warcraft Story forum focuses on the efforts of the Publishing division.

What does Creative Development's Publishing division have to do with Warcraft's stories and lore?
The Publishing division within Creative Development is the driving force behind every published story you've seen outside of the game: short stories, novels, comics, and manga.

Who comprises the Publishing division of Creative Development?
Publishing is made of two groups:

  • Story Development: this group focuses on story idea creation, story outlining, and story development for licensed fiction, as well as for internally-written stories
  • Historians: this group is the repository for all Blizzard lore, providing counsel for the game development teams and the CDev Story Development group

What is the Publishing division's usual process for developing a story?

  • Idea Generation & Outline Creation: Working with Chris Metzen and the designers on the respective game's development team, the Story Development team generates an idea and an outline for a story. The writer on the project is typically invited to our offices at this point in the project, so that they can be in on the ground floor of the story's creation.
  • Story Development & Lore Checking: Over the course of the project, the Story Development team talks constantly with the writer, as well as with Chris Metzen and the game developers, in order to help hone the story into a Blizzard-quality tale. At the same time, our Historian team combs through the iterations of the story in order ensure that the story adheres to the universe's established canon.

What does the Publishing division hope to accomplish with this Warcraft Story forum?
We'd like to give the community a chance to influence the development of our upcoming stories, so we're trying something new; this forum will serve as a direct line to our story developers. Please note that we're not looking for fully-formed stories – save those for the Global Writing Contest (which we operate and judge) – but rather we're looking for specific examples of what people like, don't like, and what they would like to see (story-wise) from us in the future.

Blue posts

Quote from Blizzard staff
Taunts missing = interesting gameplay?
I'm going to vote for not interesting gameplay.

At the very least, you should be able to reduce your chance to miss a Taunt to zero if you reduce your chance to miss with a weapon to zero. It's also possible we'll just let them always hit. (Source)

Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Starfall nerf?
At some point I posted some numbers for Starfall since there hadn't been a PTR build in some time and druids were chomping at the bit to figure out just how much damage it was going to do. The numbers we went with for 3.3.3 were slightly lower than that if I recall correctly, but we haven't made any changes to Starfall since the patch went live. The live Starfall numbers are still much higher than they were in 3.3.

We generally don't try to execute actual "stealth nerfs." The community will nearly always figure it out anyway so we don'y gain much by trying to hide anything. Sometimes "stealth nerfs" are just things we didn't manage to document, but many times they are misunderstandings.

(I'm talking about live anyway. On betas and PTRs numbers are going to change quite a bit — that's the whole idea.) (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Can't Thunderclap while silenced
It is called "Thunder" and "Clap." That implies some noise. Smiley

Seriously though, silence isn't a dispel. Dispels are tied to magical effects. Silences are just tied to things that (more or less) logically require an audio component (in the game fiction — I'm not talking about your sound card) to work. Most caster spells qualify but some other abilities do too.

As soon as I read that I thought, "Man, GC just opened up a can of worms". I understand where you are coming from but now we get to read 10 pages of "Wait, I don't have to make noise to do X, why does it obey silence!?"

That response is certainly possible, but I figure part of what I can do out here (in exchange for all the feedback we get) is offer the occasional intent behind a game decision. Sometimes players can get us to question those decisions, but in cases like this it's going to take more than "It doesn't seem to *me* like silence could stop a Thunder Clap." Trying to arbitrate how the physics of magic should work is a pretty futile exercise. Smiley (Source)

MMO-Champ downtime, Raidcomp, Comics

Oops.
MMO-Champion has been down for a couple of hours today, this is what you get when you outsource everything to gnome engineers. The site itself didn't have any problem, it was just an issue with …. some technical stuff that I can't explain. I just cried a lot and spammed my very comprehensive and skilled tech team and we're now back online.

Or maybe it was all part of a bigger plan.

Raidcomp Updated
Raidcomp has been updated to fix tons of outdated stuff. There are still a few bug fixes on the way, but it should look better!

  • Armor % renamed to Physical Damage Reduction
  • Damage % – Added Arcane Empowerment
  • Damage Reduction % – Removed Grace, effect has been moved to Renewed Hope.
  • Mana Regen (Pet) removed.
  • Mana Regen renamed to just "Mana Regen". Now includes Mana Spring Totem.
  • Replenishment can now include Enduring Winter (Frost Mage)
  • Attack Power reduction – Include Vindication for Protection Paladins
  • Healing debuff –  Fury Warriors' "Furious Attacks" delegated to a "maybe".
  • Melee Hit Chance Reduction: Insect Swarm and Scorpid Sting are marked as "maybe" since Balance Druids will glyph out of it and Hunters will often use another sting.
  • Hunter debuffs that are dependent on pets are declared as a "maybe".
  • Raid buff scrolls: Blessing of Kings, Mark of the Wild and Power Word: Fortitude as always marked as "maybe" once there are 1 or more of any class in the raid.

There is a slight bug with tooltips not working properly on spells and a few other things, most of them should be fixed by the end of the day.

The MMO Report
Oh, look, it's monday! And it's the MMO Report because I still like them.

Comics
Dark Legacy Comic #231 and Teh Gladiators #119 are out!

03/26 In-Game Fixes, Blue posts

I do realize that I'm one day late on these posts, but world first kills are serious business!

Recent In-Game Fixes – March 2010 – 03/26

Quote from: Bornakk (Source)
Listed below are recent fixes we have applied to the game. Keep in mind that some of these changes may not be active until after the realm has been restarted.

03/26

  • The Endless Healing Potion is no longer usable in arenas as intended.
  • Warlock’s using a lower rank of Life Tap will receive a reduced benefit from their shadow spell power.
  • The damage done by the cannons in the gunship encounter in Icecrown Citadel has been increased and the rate at which their heat decays has been reduced.
  • In Alterac Valley, the buffs that the Generals get from the Warmasters and Marshals now grant them negative enemy dodge. This means they will now ignore some of their target's total dodge percentage. The base health of the Generals has been increased and the buff also grants a slightly increased amount of damage and health.
  • The cheese items in Dalaran as well as the Kvaldir Berserkers in Icecrown will once again respawn at a faster rate.
  • The window that comes up when talking to an NPC should no longer close on its own.
  • Some changes to the battleground queuing system have been made to improve performance and group queuing.
  • The timer for when the next battle in Wintergrasp will occur should no long disappear.

Blue Posts

Quote from Blizzard staff
Gold cap in Cataclysm
To answer your question though, increasing the gold cap is a definite possibility for Cataclysm — though nothing is set in stone yet. (Source)

Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Eclipse
The purpose behind Eclipse was to encourage Balance druids to cast something besides their hardest hitting spell over and over again. From this thread it appears at least some of you were content with a "rotation" like that, but you'll have to believe me that it was a very common complaint we heard from druids as to what they disliked or why they didn't play Balance.

Now it's possible to base a rotation around a single spells. Mages are designed to do just that. However, they also have a lot of procs, cooldowns, secondary effects and other situational events that mean that even though you're getting most of your damage from one button, you're managing a lot.

We could have gone that way with Balance druids. We didn't largely because part of the kit of Balance is balance, and we thought that manifested itself nicely in switching between Arcane and Nature spells, or Starfire and Wrath, or Lunar and Solar.

The problem with Eclipse (as I've stated many times, so I find the comments that we won't address the issue to be a trifle unfair) is that it now accounts for so much of Balance's damage that the random element can be punishing. Having to shift positions right when you get a proc should be a little bit of a bummer on the level of missing a few crits in a row, and not a devastating blow to your dps.

We're keeping Eclipse, but the Cataclysm version is a pretty radical overhaul that we hope to be able to reveal soon. It removes a lot of the random element. Smiley (Source)

Rogue (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Action Bar bug when rogues use Vanish while Shadow Dancing
It's technically not a bug. It's just a limitation in how the bars work. Rogues essentially have 3 bars and there are just some technical reasons why we can't go back to the Shadow Dance bar once we've dropped it.

I think the real solution is probably to make it so you can't / don't want to Vanish while dancing. I assume you're Vanishing to get out of roots or dodge spells, but we could solve those in other ways. The spell dodging part of Vanish has been so frustrating to rogues for so long that frankly I'd rather figure out another way to get the same functionality that would feel better all around and leave Vanish as strictly "you want to go back into stealth." (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Revenge and Unrelenting Assault
We like Revenge on UA and we certainly like the new damage Protection can do with Revenge.

If we make any change at all, it would probably be in the duration of the buff. Currently Revenge operates by giving the warrior 5 seconds in which to Revenge. This works fine when Revenge has a 5 sec cooldown, but UA removes that. Having no cooldown on Revenge is also probably fine if Revenge hits softly for Arms warriors, but it doesn't anymore. That allows a warrior who gets Revenge to light up to hit the button three or possibly four times in the window and do massive damage with each one. If we change Revenge to basically be one charge then the warrior can still pop the rogue or pet or whatever that triggers the block, dodge or parry, but they'd only get one hit instead of multiples. Such a change should not affect Protection at all.

I can't believe all this QQ is getting a response from you. Popping shield block and revenge spaming as arms is not new at all.

Nope. And it wasn't a big deal when Revenge didn't hit as hard as it does now. An alternative is to lower the damage Arms can do with Revenge, but we think in this case it's actually a better design that you can do one big Revenge per block / dodge / parry instead of a string of little ones.

I could understand if you think warriors need some balancing but craving into fotm QQ disgusts me. Why are you soo quick to base nerfs off of the community's feedback but soo reluctant to buff them using their suggestions?
Players often complain that we don't implement their suggested buffs or nerfs. This is nothing new. I suspect the volume of nerf posts exceed the buff posts because of the simple math that there are usually multiple classes asking for a nerf and one asking for a buff. We use player feedback to make informed decisions and we place more emphasis on intelligent or insightful points from players rather than a high-volume of low-quality QQ. "Warrior hit me hard" rage with perhaps an attached screenshot of dubious authenticity (tenacity vs. no resilience isn't uncommon) doesn't qualify as an intelligent or insightful point. Smiley (Source)

Lich King 25 Heroic World First Kill by Paragon

Lich King 25 Heroic World First Kill by Paragon
Paragon was the first guild in the world to defeat the Lich King in 25-Heroic mode! The 5% buff was used and it definitely confirms that guilds do not need the 10% version to kill him. (As long as they're that good, I guess)

The Lich King dropped Glorenzelg, High Blade of the Silver-Hand, Archus, Greatstaff of Antonidas, and of course Invincible's Reins, which makes them the first guild to get the Invincible flying mount! (The mount is a 100% drop from the Lich King in 25-Heroic)

Raid Composition

  • Check Raid Composition on Raidcomp
  • 3 x Death Knight – 2 x Frost, 1 x Unholy
  • 4 x Druid – 1 x Feral Tank, 2 x Feral DPS, 1 x Balance
  • 2 x Hunter – 2 x Marksmanship
  • 5 x Paladin – 1 x Protection, 2 x Holy, 2 x Retribution
  • 3 x Priest – 1 x Shadow, 1 x Holy, 1 x Discipline
  • 3 x Rogue – 1 x Mutilate, 2 x Combat
  • 1 x Shaman – 1 x Restoration
  • 3 x Warlock – 1 x Demonology, 2 x Affliction
  • 1 x Warrior – 1 x Fury

<a target="_blank" href="http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Lightning%27s+Blade}.loot1 {background-color:#ebebeb;}.loot2 {background-color:#FFFFFF;}

3.3.3a Fast Patch
The patch notes for the patch deployed earlier today are now available.

Quote from: Nethaera (Source)
Bug Fixes
General

  • Corrected an issue where players could disconnect upon leveling.
  • Fixed an issue in which players could get stuck at the loading screen when utilizing a portal to Dalaran.

    • …

Patch 3.3.3a deployed on live servers

Patch 3.3.3a is now Live
A minor patch has been deployed to fix tons of bugs, we don't have the "real" patch notes for the moment but it most likely fixes some of the issues reported in the list posted earlier this week.

Quote from Blizzard staff
——————————————————————————–
– World of Warcraft Client Patch 3.3.3a
——————————————————————————–

We are updating World of Warcraft with a  minor bug fix patch. For updated information regarding the changes made in this patch, please visit the  ficial Bug Report forum at: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?sid=1&forumId=10023

Gemming Old Items Issue

Quote from: Bornakk (Source)
There is currently an issue that we are aware of where gems and enchantments are missing from items that had them before we released patch 3.3.3 this week. This appears to be affecting some equipment that was acquired before the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. We are planning to resolve this during the next maintenance on Tuesday, March 30th, and recommend that you do not try to gem or re-gem any of this gear until after that time. We will provide further updates if this situation changes.

BlizzCon 2010 Announced!

Update – Also added Recent In-Game Fixes – March 2010 – 3/24 at the bottom of the post. Apparently this was posted shortly after we started updating the blue tracker to a new version (Yep, updating that too) and I missed it in my previous news post.

BlizzCon 2010 Announced!

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)
If you've been holding your breath waiting to find out when and where the next BlizzCon would be held, then… you've probably passed out by now. But if you've just been patiently watching for an announcement, then we've got good news for you: BlizzCon will be returning to the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, October 22 through Saturday, October 23! Just as in years past, BlizzCon 2010 will feature an exciting mix of discussion panels, tournaments, hands-on gameplay, contests, and much more. Check out the announcement press release, and keep an eye on www.blizzcon.com in the months ahead for further details, including ticketing information.

When and where is BlizzCon 2010?
BlizzCon 2010 will take place on Friday, October 22, 2010 and Saturday, October 23, 2010 at the Anaheim Convention Center, located at 800 West Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802. The hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pacific Time on both days (Friday and Saturday).

How much does a BlizzCon 2010 ticket cost?
Details about BlizzCon 2010 ticket availability and pricing will be announced on the official BlizzCon website, www.blizzcon.com, as the event draws closer.

Where and when can I buy BlizzCon 2010 tickets?
To attend BlizzCon, you must purchase tickets in advance through the online Blizzard Store once they go on sale. Details about BlizzCon 2010 ticket availability and pricing will be announced on the official BlizzCon website, www.blizzcon.com, as the event draws closer.

What activities will be at BlizzCon 2010?
In addition to serving as a gathering place for Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer attendees a chance to enjoy discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers, competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents, hands-on gameplay featuring your favorite Blizzard Entertainment games, community contests with great prizes, commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard Entertainment’s game universes, and more. We’ll share more details about these and other events and activities on www.blizzcon.com as the event draws closer.

How will ticket sales operate this year?
The ticket-sales process for BlizzCon 2010 will be conducted through the online Blizzard Store, and will function similarly to the ticket-queue system used for BlizzCon 2009 ticket sales. We'll have more details to share about BlizzCon 2010 ticket availability and the purchasing process in the near future, so please keep an eye on www.blizzcon.com for updates.

Can I order BlizzCon tickets over the phone?
You will only be able to place BlizzCon ticket orders online through the Blizzard Store. We will not be accepting BlizzCon ticket orders over the phone.

What can I do ahead of time?
Purchasing tickets requires a Battle.net account. If you do not have a Battle.net account and wish to create one in advance of ticket sales, click here to get started. Prior to ticket sales beginning, you may wish to visit Battle.net Account Management to ensure your contact and stored credit-card information are up-to-date, and to verify your e-mail address.

What do I get for the cost of a ticket?
Each BlizzCon ticket includes a BlizzCon badge that grants access to BlizzCon. Attendees will also get a BlizzCon goody bag containing exclusive swag. More details on the contents of the goody bag will be revealed in the weeks ahead. Please be aware that transportation and hotel accommodations are not included with the cost of any BlizzCon ticket.

Is BlizzCon open to attendees outside the United States and Canada?
Yes. International attendees will be able to purchase tickets at the same time as domestic attendees. We have not yet announced when tickets for BlizzCon 2010 will go on sale, so please keep an eye on BlizzCon.com for more information.

What should I do about hotel accommodations and transportation?
Several hotels within walking distance of the Anaheim Convention Center will be providing guest rooms at a special BlizzCon group rates. Transportation to the event will be up to you. Please check the Travel Info page on www.blizzcon.com in the coming weeks for further information on nearby hotels and how to take advantage of the special group rates, as well as information about car rentals and shuttle buses from nearby airports. If you plan to drive to the Convention Center for the event, we suggest you carpool.  Please visit our parking page in the coming weeks more information.

Is there an age restriction for attendees?
Some content at BlizzCon may not be suitable for children. Anyone under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Absolutely no children 5 years of age or under will be permitted to enter. Tickets are required for all attendees, and the child ticket price is the same as the adult ticket price. Please note that no strollers will be allowed in the Anaheim Convention Center.

Whom should I contact if I have a question about accommodations for people with disabilities at BlizzCon?
If you are disabled and require special services, please contact blizzconsupport@blizzard.com to identify your special needs. All requests should be received by August 20, 2010 in order to ensure the availability of services.  Please include your contact information in your email.

I am planning on carrying my costume and some water in a backpack to BlizzCon. Is this OK?
Any bags being brought into BlizzCon should be smaller than 20 inches x 10 inches (roughly the size of two sheets of paper side by side). Anyone with a bag larger than this may be refused entry. If you are taking part in the costume competition and require a larger bag to store your costume, please check with the information kiosk in the lobby on your arrival. Blizzard Entertainment reserves the right to search any bags being brought into BlizzCon and to refuse entry if they are found to contain prohibited items (see below).

Will there be a place to store a costume and/or bag at any time during the event?
There will be no general storage space available to show attendees. Please leave anything you don’t wish to carry in your car, at home, or at your hotel. If you are taking part in the costume competition, please check with the information kiosk in the lobby on your arrival.

Can I bring my video camera/camcorder into BlizzCon?
Video cameras are permitted for use in the BlizzCon exhibit halls. However, you may not record gameplay from any of the screens (with the exception of tournament gameplay), and recording the BlizzCon closing concert on Saturday evening is strictly prohibited.

Can I bring my iPod?
MP3 players are permitted in the BlizzCon exhibit halls. However, personal equipment may not be connected to any computer for any reason at any time.

Can I bring my computer/laptop to BlizzCon?
General attendees will not be able to bring desktop computers, laptops, and electronic storage devices into the BlizzCon exhibit halls. Please leave these devices in your car, at home, or at your hotel. Members of the media who have a press badge will be able to bring a laptop onto the show floor.

I'm planning on wearing a costume to BlizzCon. Are there any items I cannot bring into the event?
Costumes may not include or otherwise utilize any edged weapons (such as knives, daggers, and swords); actual clubs, maces, or other crushing weapons; or projectile weapons of any kind, even if unloaded or nonfunctional (this includes firearms of any kind including air guns, longbows, crossbows, etc.). Acceptable costume weapon props are limited to air-filled or soft plastic melee weapons (swords, daggers, maces, clubs, etc.) and wooden staves that are not shod with metal.

Is there anything else that I can't bring?
Attendees will not be allowed to bring weapons, alcohol, fireworks, glass bottles, cans, or large containers into BlizzCon. **Any attendee found to have violated the prohibited items list may be removed from BlizzCon.**

Will BlizzCon be broadcast on TV or available to view on the Internet this year?
We haven't announced any plans for television or Internet broadcasts of BlizzCon 2010. Keep an eye on the official BlizzCon website, www.blizzcon.com, for any event-related announcements as the convention draws closer.

Recent In-Game Fixes – March 2010 – 3/24

Quote from: Bornakk (Source)
Listed below are recent fixes we have applied to the game. Keep in mind that some of these changes may not be active until after the realm has been restarted.

To review previous in-game fixes, please visit:

3/24

  • The Glory of the Icecrown Raider (10 player) meta achievement no longer requires Neck-Deep in Vile to be completed.
  • For the Sindragosa encounter, Frost Breath cast under 35% HP no longer has a snare component and there are no longer diminishing returns on Taunt effects.
  • The High Test Eternium Fishing Line now correctly adds +5 fishing skill.
  • The Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat now applies the +75 fishing buff as intended.
  • Transmuting Spellweave, Ebonweave, and Moonshroud items no longer places a buff on the player.
  • The NPC Halthenis is properly appearing again which allowing Hunters to complete the Beast Training quest.
  • Horde and Alliance Master Engineers…

Cryptozoic acquires WoW TCG, Blue posts, Fan Arts

Cryptozoic Entertainment Acquires WoW TCG License

Quote from: Cryptozoic (Source)
Wrathgate booster set for tabletop game based on Blizzard Entertainment's award-winning World of Warcraft series slated for May release, followed by Class Decks in June
Irvine, California – (March 24, 2010) – Cryptozoic Entertainment is pleased to announce that they have signed a long-term licensing agreement with Blizzard Entertainment.  The multi-year arrangement grants Cryptozoic the right to produce the trading card game (TCG) based on Blizzard Entertainment's hugely popular World of Warcraft® massively multiplayer online role-playing game series.

“This is an exciting time for us and for players of the trading card game,” said John Nee, Cryptozoic Entertainment’s CEO.  “Our first priority will be to maintain the current programs that the community has come to expect and then build from there.  The game itself is fantastic, and will not change.  The community can rest assured that we are committed to providing them with the high quality product and organized play that they deserve, worldwide.”

“It's important to us and to our players that every entertainment experience set in a Blizzard Entertainment game universe matches the standards we've established with our games,” said Paul Sams, Chief Operating Officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “We're proud of the quality and accessible gameplay that the World of Warcraft TCG has offered to date, and we're confident that Cryptozoic is the best team to help us continue that tradition.”

Cryptozoic will continue to expand the World of Warcraft TCG for years to come.  Players will soon have a slew of exciting new cards to test their skills and defeat their opponents with at the upcoming Continental Championships in June and the World Championship in August.  The first product release from Cryptozoic will be the Wrathgate boosters in May followed by the Class Decks in June.

“Having been fully involved with the development of the World of Warcraft TCG from day one, I've always been passionate about taking it into the future,” said Cory Jones, Cryptozoic’s President and Chief Creative Officer, and formerly Blizzard Entertainment's lead business and development liaison for the TCG.  “I'm pleased to say that the players have a lot to look forward to as we continue developing and evolving the game to match the action and spirit of World of Warcraft.”

To start, players can get the latest news on the World of Warcraft TCG at www.cryptozoic.com.  Then in just a few weeks a brand new website for the TCG itself will launch.  Cryptozoic promises ongoing updates on everything from organized play to product releases as well as a regular dose of strategy articles and spoilers as they get closer to their initial product launch.

Blue posts

Quote from Blizzard staff
30 minutes LFD Debuff
We're keeping a close eye on the discussions, feedback and in-game information for this. We don't have any current plans to make changes, and it seems a bit soon to start considering them, but we are paying attention to constructive discussion and feedback on this change. (Source)

3.3.3 Known Issues List – 3/24/2010 Update

  • Pit of Saron – Scourgelord Tyrannus can remount Rimefang during the encounter. (Source)

Random Battlegrounds Queue Times
There's a known bug that isn't properly incorporating random battleground queuers with those choosing specific battlegrounds. This can lead to queue times that are longer than what they should be.

A hotfix is in the process of being developed and we anticipate it should be applied within the next day or two. (Source)

Let healers DPS in Cataclysm?
Ideas that would make healing more fun are good things to discuss in this forum, particularly with an eye towards Cataclysm.

The idea to let healers dps a little is a controversial one though. Some healers just have no interest in it, so while it might make healing a lot more fun for you, it risks making healing a lot less fun for them. I would not approach that idea as an obviously intuitive one that all healers will rally around, because I suspect that's just not the case. Sad

[…] I could see that if the tree was structured in such a way that you had to give up a little bit of healing for that dps (and to be fair, talents like Searing Light already exist), such that it was the kind of thing you might do while soloing or running easy content (like Dungeon Finder when overgeared). In other words, I wouldn't want us to do it in such a way that healers were then balanced around doing damage — like we calculated healer damage when we come up with boss berserk timers. Then it goes from a playstyle choice to being the only way to play. (Source)

Commendations of Service – It's fun to click 400 times!
As a one time thing it's really not that big of a deal. You could always do it in increments if you are getting bored. I also ended up figuring out a pretty easy way to do it where I had the vendor box open, I'd keep trading in the BG tokens, and just put the honor token on my 1 key so I was watching/reading other things while just spamming right click + 1 and going through all of them.

What if the 2 second cooldown was 0 seconds instead.
I believe that's more of a safety net to help lower hits on the hardware. These are tougher things to explain but imagine 100 players crunching at the tokens together in the same place, that could lead to issues for these players and others so it's better to be safe. Oops, used the same reasoning again in another post…

Bugs and Test Dummies
If you ever notice a bug, one of the very first things you should probably do is consider if it's a test dummy problem. We've had several false positives reported since we first implemented them, and in fact that's one reason we avoided putting in test dummies for so long.

Which is not to say that actual bugs don't creep in too. Smiley (Source)

Hunter (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Spirit Beasts
The Spirit Beasts were added as a way to capture that old feeling of having to hunt (which really means be very patient and very lucky) to get rare spawn pets so that you'd feel awesome and be able to show them off. Making those creatures actually more powerful than other pets goes completely counter to that design. If the frustratingly rare spawn is needed for highest possible dps, there would be a lot of exasperated hunters out there, and I think they'd be totally justified.

Spirit Beasts are the hunter equivalent of the Time Lost Protodrake. They are there for bragging rights, not max dps.

We're not sure yet what we're going to do for hunter pets in the future. I fear that even if the dps gain was marginal that hunters would still go for the highest dps pets, so really there only exists an illusion of choice. We could literally make all of the pet families do the exact dps and have rather watered down special abilities (because otherwise one of them might grant a 1 or 2% dps benefit and that would end up being the pet again).

In other words, I can see a design where pet choice is purely cosmetic and pet stats are identical or I can see a design where pet choice matters, in which case you don't really have that many to choose from on content that matters. (Source)

Mage (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Molten Fury and Torment of the Weak
 We think we figured out a problem here with the Molten Fury talent not playing well with Torment the Weak. If that proves to be the issue that explains the observations some of you all are having, then we'll try to get a fix in quickly. (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Warrior T10 4pc DPS Bonus
Yes, there appears to be a bug with the dps warrior 4 piece bonus. It should be easy to fix. (Source)

Fan Arts
The Blizzard Fan Art Section has been updated with 3 new fan arts.

[url=http://static.mmo-c…

Forum Inactive Accounts, 3.3.3 Known Issues, Blue posts

3.3.3 Known Issues List

Quote from: Ujumqin (Source)
This is a listing of some of the known issues for World of Warcraft Patch 3.3.3.

  • This list is not complete, and will not include all issues.
  • The issues listed here are frequently reported issues that will be addressed at a later date via a client patch.

The latest patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/

General Issues

  • Changing a character's model during a weapon swing will result in your off-hand weapon disappearing.
  • Players are unable to access the auction house through Reginald Arcfire/Brassbolt Mechawrench in Dalaran.
  • Shoulder armor does not attach correctly to Blood Elf Male characters.
  • Pets are receiving Hellscream's Warsong and Strength of Wrynn outside of Icecrown Citadel on servers with the buffs active.

Priest (Forums / Talent Calculator)

  • While in Spirit of Redemption Form, certain spells will cause the form to cancel prematurely.

Items

  • The Weather-Beaten Fishing Hat does not work with low level fishing poles.

UI

  • Ruby Sanctum displays on the in-game calendar.

Murkimus – Account Changes

Quote from: Bashiok (Source)
With the release of patch 3.3.3 those who received the Murkimus pet for their participation in the 2009 Arena Tournament will notice that the pet is being changed to apply to the entire World of Warcraft account that was requested to receive the pet. Players who have created characters on this same account since the tournament will see a Murkimus in their in-game mailboxes and all new characters on this account will receive it as well. The in-game mail containing this pet will go out in the near future.

With this change you’ll finally be able to play any of your characters, stand up defiantly, and exclaim “I’m Murkimus!”

edit: Please note that the information given was not accurate in the original message but has been updated to reflect that this is World of Warcraft license specific change, and is not applied to the entire Battle.net account.

Blue posts

Quote from Blizzard staff
Fishing – High Test Eternium Fishing Line
With the release of 3.3.3 you may see an erroneous message when applying High Test Eternium Fishing Line. If an enchantment already exists on the fishing pole you will be asked if you'd like to replace your current fishing pole enchantment with "+2 Fishing". This message is incorrect and applying the High Test Eternium Fishing Line enchantment will still give the proper +5 Fishing.

This is slated to be corrected in an upcoming patch. (Source)

Lich King Crossbow DPS Bug
This will get fixed soon. The tooltip may be incorrect for a short time after it's fixed. (Source)

Pets have the ICC Raid Buff everywhere
We're currently working on a fix to limit the buff on pets to just inside Icecrown Citadel. Enjoy the buff while it lasts! (Source)

Saved in ToC after wiping to Northrend Beasts
Being saved to ToC when you wiped to Northrend Beasts was indeed a bug, but the issue should be fixed now with 3.3.3. (Source)

Arenas Popularity
As a point of clarification, it isn't really a goal to push as many players as possible into Arena. We think the Arena experience probably works better when the players who are participating are the ones who really enjoy it. This is in contrast to say our raiding model where we are actively trying to encourage a lot of players to raid. The goal for Arena is for it to be really fun for the players who do enjoy Arena.

We think emphasizing Battlegrounds in Cataclysm will do a lot for the players who like PvP but don't like Arenas, and to be honest, the players still doing Arenas then might very well have more fun as a result. (Source)

Rogue (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Rogue damage distribution and burst
That's the risk, but from a broader perspective you're identifying the problem: more damage on specials is more fun and generally requires more skill than lots of damage from auto attacking, but can lead to more burst. That doesn't mean that tons of damage from auto attacking is a desired goal though. Neither extreme is fun.

In Cataclysm, when health pools are much higher, then burst as a PvP strategy just isn't going to have the same strength it does now. In LK you can get someone close to death in a few globals, and in fact you need to, because if you don't the healer is going to have them back to full again. In Cataclysm, sustained damage even in PvP will be more meaningful, because you're trying to shift someone's health towards an endpoint instead of flipping them from 100% to 0%. It should feel more like a tug of war over health. In that environment, burst can still be good for when you need to actually get that killing blow, but it won't be the only strategy.

Rogue burst is also scary today because they can deliver it while a target is chain stunned. We've also said that's not a particularly fun place to be (for attacker or defender) and we need to shift rogue defenses away from short-duration immunities (which includes the stuns) and more towards being able to stand toe to toe with other classes a little better. (Source)

Patch 3.3.3 on Live Servers This Week

Update – Yes, the Icecrown Citadel buff is still at 5%. You can stop asking.

Patch 3.3.3 on Live Servers This Week
Patch 3.3.3 will hit the live servers this week, it's time for the super-big recap of all the changes and additions from this patch.

Patch 3.3.3: Frozo The Renowned

Quote from: Zarhym (Source)
I'm sure some of you noticed this in the 3.3.3 PTR patch notes:

  • Frozo the Renowned has moved into the Dalaran Magus Commerce Exchange and will be trading your Frozen Orbs for various other trade goods.

For those curious, here are the items for which you can trade your Frozen Orbs to Frozo. These each cost 1 Frozen Orb unless noted otherwise in parentheses:

Patch 3.3.3 – Random Dungeons Changes
Patch 3.3.3 should be deployed during the next maintenance on live servers and it's time to mention a few interesting changes to the Dungeon Finder that I forgot to report in the past weeks. Tons of minor changes have been made to make your life easier but there are two changes that will probably make you very happy.

First, the patch notes mention a change to "skip" the introduction of Culling of Stratholme. The change doesn't sound really exciting but it's actually a huge improvement over the previous version, you can basically talk to Chromie and skip all the roleplay to jump directly to the first Scourge wave. A couple of other tweaks have also been made to make the dungeon slightly faster and I'm pretty sure you won't skip it anymore. (Especially with a Deserter debuff extended to 30 minutes)


The second major changes to the random dungeon system is the new vote kick system, you can now give a reason when you start a vote to kick someone. At some point it was mentioned in a blue post that the 15 minute limit before you can kick someone was gone, but it doesn't seem to be the case in the current build of the PTR. We will have to wait and see how it works on the live servers.


Patch 3.3.3 Professions Changes
Patch 3.3.3 will introduce a couple of VERY interesting changes to professions. The first part of the change is obviously the removal of most of the transmutation cooldowns, it will affect most tiers of crafted items and it wouldn't be surprising to see items like Breastplate of the White Knight drop from 4000 to 2000G at the AH.

The 2nd part is also very interesting if you're looking for cheap epic gear to start running instances with your alts, all the crafted recipes from Ulduar had their reagents cost considerably lowered and you can expect to find these items for less than 1000G.

Reminder

  • Frozo the Renowned will let you trade Frozen Orbs for a lot of rare reagents, including Crusader/Runed Orbs and Eternal elements.

Quote from Blizzard staff
Cooldowns

Blacksmithing

Enchanting

Leatherworking