World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King PTR 3.2 had a patch update a few days ago. Blizzard is adding bits of content on each patch update. At this point, the Coliseum dungeons are still closed. However, we get to see a special event that replays itself every 20 minutes or so. Thrall and Garrosh Hellscream land on the Argent Tournament Grounds from the area the goblins are located, and walk toward the western side of the Coliseum. There they meet Highlord Tirion Fordring. A few minutes later, on the opposite side (northeast), King Varian Wrynn and Lady Jaina Proudmoore spawn with Stormwind Guards and walk to the same spot to meet Highlord Tirion Fordring.
They have come to be spectators of the Argent Tournament efforts in the Coliseum. We see references to the Secrets of Ulduar Cinematic, in which Garrosh Hellscream and King Varian Wrynn clash within the walls of the Violet Citadel in Dalaran. Only Rhonin was able to disrupt their battle. It’s nice to see continuity play out in-game with these lore events. We have a video to show you the arrival of King Varian and Thrall to the Coliseum. The nice touch? There is voice acting throughout the in-game event that may be heard all across the Argent Tournament Grounds.
 Blizzard Quote: (Source) |
||
| After further consideration, and after hearing from many players, we are going to change how we approach the 2 vs. 2 arena bracket in Arena Season 7. We still think the 3 vs. 3 and 5 vs. 5 brackets will ultimately offer the best play experience, especially for very competitive gamers for whom game class balance issues are most noticeable. However, we recognize that many players just prefer to play in the 2 vs. 2 bracket and will miss the chance to earn the current season's gear. Therefore, we are going to still allow the 2 vs. 2 bracket to grant access to the current season of gear with three important exceptions: the current season's weapons will not be available for purchase, the current seasons shoulder armor will not be available for purchase, and players will not qualify for the Gladiator title/rewards unless you earn the appropriate rating in the 3 vs. 3 or 5 vs. 5 bracket. We look forward to the changes in the next major content patch and hope to have a great next Arena Season. | ||
VideoGamer held an interview with World of Warcraft Game Director Tom Chilton as a follow up to their Leipzig coverage. In this interview Tom Chilton confirms their plan for a yearly WoW expansion stands correct. The South Seas, the Maelstrom and the Emerald Dream, (and can I say Gilneas hinted?) have pop into the radar through Chilton’s own lips. So ... a yearly expansion (check) ... the south seas (check). See you at BlizzCon fellas.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| VideoGamer.com: The first expansion was set in Outland, the second in Northrend, which was a little closer to home. Is there anywhere else left on the original map that can accommodate an expansion or does it have to be somewhere foreign? TC: No I don’t think it has to be anywhere completely foreign yet. There are parts of the map that we have left ambiguous and unexplored. There are parts of Eastern Kingdoms and Azeroth that haven’t been filled out yet. Out there in the South Seas there are islands, there’s out where the Maelstrom is. There’s still quite a bit of land mass. We keep referring to the Emerald Dream, which is maybe not exactly in Azeroth, but is sort of tied to it in some way or another. But there are definitely places in Azeroth itself that are close to home that haven’t been filled out yet, so there’s more room for that sort of thing. |
||
We recently unearthed a new trademark by Blizzard that might or not tie-in with the theme of a Maelstrom and South Seas expansion.
We interviewed Chris Metzen and Micky Neilson last February, where they said there were plans for Gilneas, and talked about the upcoming World of Warcraft: Stormrage book which hits bookstores on February 2010. It deals with the Nightmare and the Emerald Dream.
The stars are aligning. (sits in yoga-position and hums).
Blizzard has updated the Under Development section with a preview of the Tier 9 gear sets expected in patch 3.2.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| We’ve added a preview of the tier-9 class sets that will be offered in patch 3.2, Call of the Crusade, and we’re doing things a little differently this time around. Warlock (Alliance) Shaman (Horde) Mage (Alliance) Priest (Alliance) Hunter (Horde) |
||
Daelo notified fans a new hotfix has been implemented for the Yogg-Saron event in the Ulduar dungeon. There was a minor issue that probably could be the cause of some wipes in Yogg-Saron—if I understood it correctly—due to some technical differences between Psychosis and Malady of the Mind. Overall, the threshold for targeting players with Malady of the Mind has been increased to 40 sanity. Below that, you are now properly safe from being attacked by it again.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| We’ve made one additional change to a specific element of the Yogg-Saron fight. Since the fight went live, there has been a hidden protection for players that prevents the casting of Psychosis and Malady of the Mind on targets with less than 30 Sanity. However, because Malady of the Mind has a slow missile speed and the hidden protection could take a second or two to apply, it was quite possible for the 30 sanity targeting threshold to be breached by these two random unavoidable effects. To try to address this we’re raising the threshold to 40 sanity, and increasing the missile speed of Malady of the Mind. Note that the spells are still being cast just as often, so the net sanity loss to the raid will still be the same. This hotfix just evens out the random targeting of the spells across the raid. Also note that the threshold is for targeting purposes of those two spells only, and this fix means Psychosis or Malady of the Mind can still bring you below 40 sanity. If you have 41 sanity, you’re a valid target and can then be brought to 32 sanity by a casting of Psychosis on you. |
||
| Blizzard Quote: (Source) |
||
| Community Team: Wed like start this Q&A off by asking a question that players of all classes often ask in regard to the very purpose of their class. In this case, were looking specifically at the warlock. Q. Where do warlocks fit into the larger scope of things currently and where do we see them going from this point forward? Ghostcrawler: The warlock is a caster -- a ranged damage dealer. They can fill only one role, which makes them a pure class as opposed to a hybrid. Warlocks have a reputation for trafficking with darkness, and their spells and abilities reflect this -- demons, curses, drains, fears. All warlocks rely on damage-over-time spells and demonic pets to some extent. The Affliction tree focuses on damage-over-time spells, curses, and shadow magic in general. The Demonology tree emphasizes the damage and abilities done by demons. The Destruction tree gives up a little of both to become a little bit more like a mage with direct damage and fire magic. Overall, the vision is for warlocks to feel less fragile than mages. They have historically had higher health pools and easier to sustain mana, but fewer emergency escapes. Keeping the mage and warlock feeling distinct is a big challenge. They fill a similar role and share similar gear so sometimes even the profiles of their character art look similar. Going forward, we want to try and make the warlock experience more different from the mage. Our new plans for Soul Shards will help here. We want to make them a core mechanic instead of a minor feature that can be neglected at best and feels tedious at worst. Were happy with the relative damage done by Affliction and Destruction. Depending on which Lich King patch you look at one or the other are slightly on top, but theyre close. Demonology still seems to lag a little behind. We think there is still room for a strong Felguard build in there. It might be that the pets still require too much management or it could just be that the rotation isnt as interesting as the ones Affliction or Destruction use right now. Demonology suffers from a little bit of the same problem as the Beastmaster hunter, which is when the pet is such a big part of your damage you are crippled in moments when the pet is killed or ineffectual. Except for a brief moment early in Lich King, warlocks have been under-represented in PvP and we want to see more of them. We dont want to get there through fear bombs, though. In fact, we think the damage locks can do is in a pretty good place. The problem is survivability, especially when stunned. Now some of the 3.2 changes are going to chill out damage across the board and we are increasing the survivability of pets in PvP. Both of those changes should help warlocks, who historically have been a little better in endurance fights than quick scrums. If those changes arent enough, were prepared to make additional ones. Lich King made the warlock pets more interesting but we think there is still a lot of opportunity here. Some of the pets have abilities that just dont get much use (Imp Fire Shield anyone?) while other pets could benefit from a couple more abilities. The voidwalker for example does all of his damage through just a simple autoattack. While we are slightly positioning the imp as a Destruction pet and the felhound as an Affliction pet, we think we can make the choice of what demon to use at a particular time more interesting. The succubus has too narrow a niche, and the voidwalker is still used mostly as a level-up pet. |
||
We rarely see this on the official forums. Ghostcrawler answered a very large Priest Q&A from a single fan that may or may not answer most of the Priest players’ concerns.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| What does blizzard see as shadow priest roll in pvp or pve situations?
PVE: I dont pve much but from my understanding there are aoe monsters is this the niche you intended them to fill in pve? I once saw a blue saying that they didn’t want anyone filling that niche! Ghostcrawler: You’re a dps class that focuses on dots and “stealing energy” from opponents. I’ll write a prettier version for the official Q&A. Shadow priests can do single target damage and now in LK can do AE damage as well. PVP: As you all may know Priest are the only class with TWO healing trees. Did you want our dps tree to also have a strong healing component through Vampric Embrace? I often hear shadow priest refered to as the Pre-BC caster tank, are there any intentions of turning shadows priest back into this role anytime soon? Ghostcrawler: Yes on the PvE part. “Caster tank” as a role is a little risky. It basically means that melee have to close the gap to finally do damage to you, yet once they do… they still have trouble hurting you. I know that makes you want to say “But melee are crushing us right now!” That might be a problem, but doesn’t mean the right answer is to have non-fragile casters. You are probably tougher than mages, and still have decent escape mechanisms with Dispersion and fears Was mind flay always intended to be our “filler,” damage spell instead of a nuke or was it ment to be a mainly pvp spell? If it wasn’t are you intending to give us a nuke? I ask because to my understanding shadow priest scale very poorly with haste which brings me to my next question. Ghostcrawler: We don’t really design every caster around nukes. That’s kind of a mage deal where they emphasize one main spell. We want the other casters to feel differently, to have rotations. Mind Flay is part of that. Does blizzard intend to make haste effect dots? As you all may know this would help with some scaling issues and I don’t see why they couldn’t do this, they already did it with crits! Ghostcrawler: It’s something we’re talking about. Haste is a problematic stat for a number of reasons. It isn’t always good for example if you don’t have enough room in your rotation to fit another spell. It isn’t good if you’re GCD capped. Now, it’s okay—in fact preferable—that stats aren’t equal for everyone. We like that not all casters would look at say a ring with haste, crit and spirit the same way. |
||
A few weeks ago, Blizzard acknowledged the problem with the limited instance access messages and that it was a temporary solution to guarantee instance performance across realms until they engineered a fix to resolve it. It seems that they have found a solution for the time being, and no doubt will continue to monitor and implement new technologies in upcoming months to keep enhancing it—specially with the possible new expansion coming up in mind.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| We are aware of the concerns regarding situations where players are unable to zone into an instance due to an instance limit being hit, which results in a message stating that additional instances cannot be launched. This limit was implemented as a short-term solution to preserve the gameplay for players who are already in an instance and to prevent numerous issues that can happen when too many instances are active at the same time, but we are currently working on better solutions to ensure that players can get into instances when they want to.
As one of the solutions to this situation, we are in the process of modifying our hardware setup to allow for more instances to be active without negatively impacting the performance of these instances. Once this hardware reconfiguration is complete, we expect to see a noticeable reduction in the number of players hitting the instance limit. However, this improvement to the hardware is a complicated and delicate process that will also require extensive testing before it can be fully implemented, so it may be some time before the updates can be completed. We would like to assure you that this issue currently a top priority for us, and we are working on resolving it as quickly as possible. Further information and updates regarding this will be provided as we make progress in this process. Thank you for your patience during this time. |
||
This one really trails me off. It has pop into my long-range radar that Blizzard has trademarked Cataclysm. Based on the three trademarks using the same word, the details seem to describe a new game. The first one however is worded strangely like if it was a game platform similar to Battle.net, but it might merely refer to a de facto Game.
I don’t doubt it will disappear from the official US Trademark website like the three Redneck Rampage shooter titles, mysteriously trademarked by Blizzard. What could this Cataclysm game be? Sounds, umm, shaky.
Update: Fans start to speculate Cataclysm may refer to the next World of Warcraft expansion. It matches perfectly with the theme of the Sundering, an event that happened ten thousand years in the past of Azeroth. A permanent scar of such cataclysm is known as the Maelstrom. Event that happened when the Well of Eternity imploded when Queen Azshara and her Highborne failed to open a portal to allow the entry of Sargeras and the Burning Legion into Azeroth. If Cataclysm is the next expansion that might mean the South Seas theme is underway.
It could be a new game platform such as Steam for Battle.net 2.0. It could be one of the two unannounced games. It could refer to Diablo III—if we are too desperate to find a link to the word Cataclysm (the destruction of the Worldstone destroyed Mount Arreat leaving a crater). However, all of those except Battle.net 2.0 and a WoW expansion are still far ahead to justify a trademark this early.
What we do have upon us for certain is StarCraft II beta (by the end of .. whatever is left of Summer) and BlizzCon 2009 to be held in August, where the next WoW expansion no doubt will be announced.
Those of you who are passionate about lore, there was a Blizzard licensed product that revealed for first time a lot of lore about locations of Northrend and the South Seas that got published before even Wrath of the Lich King had been announced. Two years earlier to be exact. This book revealed for the first time Sholazar Basin, Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra. These locations didn’t exist by name in any of the Warcraft games. It tells you how much input White Wolf Publishing had about upcoming expansions before they were even announced.
The same book contains a lot of never-before-seen lore and locations in the South Seas, where the Maelstrom is. You can order and download the eBook PDF of World of Warcraft RPG: Lands of Mystery here. The development of the Maelstrom and the South Seas is no secret. The Burning Crusade Collector’s Edition had a Behind the Scenes DVD where developers talked about their work in the Burning Crusade. One of the slideshows shown in this DVD showed this map of the South Seas showing various Zeppelin and Boat routes from Kalimdor and Easter Kingdoms connecting with Isle of Kezan as a transportation Hub for the South Seas.
This map showed some kind of transportation (possibly a turtle submarine) from Isle of Kezan (Undermine) to Nazjatar (the underwater city of the Naga where Queen Azshara resides). It is deep beneath the Maelstrom. Again, to learn all the lore behind the South Seas and all its isles, you can download the PDF of World of Warcraft: Lands of Mystery here.
Ex-Community Manager, Katricia, said at the offical forums on December 6, 2003 the following:
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| Katricia: “Im not sure which islands you are referring to so Ill skip commenting on those at this time.
The team does plan on including content for the Maelstrom and are exploring the best ways to do this.” ~Kat |
||
A few days ago, Blizzard Europe Forum Representative Wryxian said:
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| As you can imagine, a crocolisk like me is also rather keen on the idea of a water based expansion. But maybe I could be somewhat subdued by some particularly large and opulent fountains. Mmm waterrrr.. glug, glug, glug. *swims away with a blissful tail wiggle* | ||
3 POINT ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF WORLD OF WARCRAFTŪ STEIN FEATURING THE LICH KING Rise of the Lich King Available in Epic and Legendary Collection
SAN DIEGO, CA (July 1, 2009) 3 Point Entertainment today announced the next stein in its World of WarcraftŪ Epic Collection series, Rise of the Lich King, is now available for shipment. The stein is third in the series of high-quality old world-style steins based on Blizzard EntertainmentŪs massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and 3 Point is offering both an Epic Collection version and a high-end variant edition branded the Legendary Collection.
Illustrated by premier fantasy artist Alex Horley, the new Rise of the Lich King stein prominently features the malevolent Lich King Arthas Menethil, the central figure in Blizzard Entertainments recent Wrath of the Lich King expansion set, along with his undead army.
“The continued success of Blood of the Horde and Alliance United, the first two steins in the Epic Collection, has firmly positioned our steins as one of the must have collectibles within the industry,” said 3 Point Entertainment president Jerry Bennington. “With the Rise of the Lich King stein now available we know that the World of Warcraft community will be even more eager to be a part of the collection and share their passion with their friends and family.”
To complement the Epic Collection, 3 Point Entertainment is offering a high-end limited edition variant branded the Legendary Collection. Each Legendary Collection stein features substantial upgrades including an 18-carat gold plated lid, hand-signed autograph by Alex Horley, hand numbering, as well as premium gold hand-painted accents on the base and handle. Only 750 pieces of the Legendary Collection are being offered.
“The Legendary version is nothing short of spectacular,” said Bennington. “Those who have pre-ordered one will not be disappointed and only few remain before they are sold out forever.”
Each Epic Collection stein stands over 10 tall and is handcrafted from authentic fine-grain stoneware and features panoramic bas-relief sculpting and a solid pewter lid. The World of Warcraft Epic Collection steins are currently available at http://www.wowsteins.com for a retail price of $89.99, and the Legendary Collection is offered at a retail price of $174.99. (click the image for a much bigger and detailed version)
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| The Rise of the Lich King stein is now available for shipment. Featuring Lich King Arthas Menethil and his undead minions, each hand-crafted stein features amazing graphics by Alex Horley. Also available is an ultra-rare Legendary version featuring an 18 ct. gold-plated lid and hand-painted gold accents. The Legendary version of stein is limited to 750 pieces worldwide, with each signed by Horley. To celebrate the launch, 3 Point Entertainment is offering 20% off on all Warcraft Epic steins. For a limited time you can enjoy big savings on Alliance, Horde, and the new Rise of the Lich King stein. Visit their website for details and to join the celebration. | ||
Blizzard has provided a more thorough FAQ concerning the Faction Change Service that will be introduced to World of Warcraft players who wish to transfer their character to the opposite faction.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
| We wanted to give everyone a very early heads-up that, in response to player requests, were developing a new service for World of Warcraft that will allow players to change their faction from Alliance to Horde or Horde to Alliance. Theres still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm. Players who ended up creating and leveling up characters on the opposite factions from their friends have been asking for this type of functionality for some time, and were pleased to be getting closer to being able to deliver it. As with all of the features and services we offer, we intend to incorporate the faction-change service in a way that wont disrupt the gameplay experience on the realms, and there will be some rules involved with when and how the service can be used. The number of variables involved increases the complexity of implementing this service, but we plan to take the time needed to ensure that it lives up to expectations before officially rolling it out. Well go into much more detail on all of this here at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as development progresses. In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that because this type of functionality requires extensive internal testing well in advance of release, you may be seeing bits and pieces of the service in the test builds we use for the public test realms moving forward. 7/1- Due to the many questions that have come up with the announcement of this new service, we wanted to take the time to answer the ones we can at this point in time. Q. Will we be able to switch between the races on our own faction? Q. Will I be able to choose the race on the opposite faction that I want to change to? Q.How much will it cost? Q.Will I be able to switch back to my original faction but a different race? Q.. How will the switch between reputation, gear, mounts, etc be handled? Q.How often can you change your faction? Q. How will this affect the balance of Horde and Alliance on the realms? |
||
WorldofWar.de has a brand-new Skoll video preview from the EU PTR, which is the first video of this creature out there.| Blizzard Quote: (Source) |
||
 As you can imagine, a crocolisk like me is also rather keen on the idea of a water based expansion. But maybe I could be somewhat subdued by some particularly large and opulent fountains. Mmm waterrrr.. glug, glug, glug. *swims away with a blissful tail wiggle* |
||
Blizzard implemented a few hotfixes to the Isle of Conquest. It would be appreciated to have feedback about your thorought experience and testing on Isle of Conquest now that the hotfix is live. Post your feedback here for US players, and here for EU players.
| Blizzard Quote: |
||
In addition to the changes originally listed in this thread, the following change was recently added and is now live on the test realms:
We intend to make the following changes to Isle of Conquest in the next test realm build:
It would be greatly appreciated if anyone who has experienced the following bug could provide us with as much information as possible on the circumstances surrounding its cause:
Given that the changes originally detailed in this thread are now live, we’d love to get feedback on your experiences in this new Battleground. Is the average length of each battle better now? Did the changes to the Huge Seaforium piles help address the overly advantageous strategy of capturing the Hangar and parachuting into the enemy’s base? Do the Keep Cannons still feel effective now that they do less damage given that you can now repair them? Any information you can provide on your game play experiences will help us a great deal to make this Battleground as fun as possible. Thanks! |
||
In the latest edition of MMO Weekly on IncGamers Jeff Hollis discusses how to bring the long, slow and painful death to an MMO, and oddly rnough the topic is World of Warcraft. Here’s a snip:
Yeah, that’s right, you heard me. WoW is in the act of committing suicide, and Blizzard don’t even know it. Now, before you get all huffy and angry with me (save that for later, you Blizzlovers, you), allow me to give you a bit of background. And when I say background, I mean way, waaaaay back, to the games that inspired WoW in the first place, and to where these games went wrong.
Search for items/spell or charaters
 |
Network sites: IncGamers.com | World of Warcraft | WoWUI | WoWDigger | Guild Wars | Warcraft 3 | Diablo II | StarCraft 2 | BlizzPlanet |
| Copyright © 2009 IncGamers Ltd. Privacy Policy | Advertising |
30/06
