Scheduled Maintenance - 11/13/2012, Diablo 3 Animated Wallpaper, Barbarian Fan Art, Female Monk Cosplay

Patch 5.1 - Item Upgrades
The latest PTR build added a new Ethereal NPC next to the Reforging and Void Storage NPCs that will allow you to upgrade your gear. The minimum item level required is now 458.

Patch 5.1 also changed item tooltips. The item level is featured more prominently next to the upgrade level, and secondary stats are displayed the same as primary stats now, with a green font color.

Upgrade Interface



New Tooltips



Upgrade Examples


Upgrade Costs

Currency Cost Item Level Upgrade Max Number of Upgrades
Valor Points750 × 4 Item Levels2
Conquest Points750 × 4 Item Levels2
Justice Points1500 × 8 Item Levels1
Honor Points1500 × 8 Item Levels1


Heart of Fear Progression Update
DREAM Paragon killed Grand Empress Shek'zeer and cleared 10 man Heroic Heart of Fear. Congratulations to them! There are 5 guilds at 4/6 currently in 10 man.

Method is also now 6/6 in 25 man with 16 other guilds at 5/6.



Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Cinder Kitten
Because the kitten was not designed to be a charity issue until Blizzard decided to milk the issue for popularity sake.

If they actually cared about getting money to the Red Cross in support of the hurricane they would:

1) Already have something available.
2) Not be announcing it BEFORE the weeks it is going to take for 5.1 to be launched.

It's a pretty crappy thing to do in order to 'look good' and although many people might think of me negative for saying it, they are just looking for a tax write-off and public karma.

I'm actually really happy that our business practices are nowhere near as cynical as you portray, though it literally makes me sick to my stomach to even read this. If you want to know some background (so you don't have to make it up yourself), the Cinder Kitten was already being set up as a charity pet prior to the hurricane. Once Sandy hit we recognized that we needed to change our plans. But, by that time, it became difficult to do much to change the timetable for getting this pet in the game and on sale. Anyway, with that context, to your points:

1) Already have something available? Like, we should have backup "disaster" pets in the game just waiting to be sold when the next disaster strikes. Tell me how that would be any more difficult for you to spin in some cynical way.

2) I already explained why we announced it. While the pet isn't available yet and the Blizzard Store isn't prepared to take the transactions, we need people to know we're doing this. If an adorable little pet is going to encourage a greater number of donations, I don't see the value in presumptively tearing down Blizzard for cynical PR, nor do I see the value in some of the other posts in this thread belittling people for needing to get something in return for a donation.

It's a situation that's mutually beneficial for Blizzard, our customers, the Red Cross, and those who need disaster relief. If all you want to do is find a way to spin this into some cynical ploy on anyone's behalf, I seriously want you to leave this thread and not come back.

You never addressed the idea of preorder or did you? Did you all ever think of a preorder option to get the funds raised ahead of the actual content release? Like during a meeting about the pet or however it is you plan content.
There's just not a whole lot I can say about this right now. Setting these things up on the Blizzard Store isn't a trivial task either, particularly if a presale is involved.

I think it's an excellent idea and would love to see it happen. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Bonus Roll System Feedback
I've been playing since Nov 05. The new bonus roll loot system was suppose to improve the old roll system.
I'm not sure "improve the old roll system" is the right way to phrase it, at least in the context that you have any expectation that the bonus roll should be much more likely to give you what you want, if not at least know not to give you what you already have.

Using a bonus roll is effectively no different than if you were to be able to loot that boss twice in one week. Each bonus roll provides exactly the same chances of getting anything off of the exact same loot tables as a normal loot roll -- nothing more, nothing less.

So it's an improvement in that you can earn an extra shot at a boss's loot table in one week. But it's not intended to be a system that ensures you never get what you don't need. The random loot system can only be so convenient before it becomes too efficient. We believe chance should dictate whether or not you get something at all and, if you do, whether or not you need still need that item. That philosophy -- specific to boss drops -- hasn't changed much over the years, so it stands to reason that even a bonus roll would follow the same structure.

But with that said, we're exploring ways to make the bonus roll feel like more of a random bonus, without just making it extremely efficient for gaining character power. We understand how it feels to spend the charms and rarely see anything other than gold or items you don't need. So, for example, we could maybe add pets and mounts that would have a low chance of dropping exclusively on a bonus roll.

I do however wish that Sha (and Galleon?) random loot rolls would give you gear based on your spec instead of any spec from your class.
They're supposed to. We just double-checked with the developers on this, as we've seen conflicting information go out to players. If you get loot from world bosses that isn't for your spec, that's a bug and the item flagging needs to be fixed. Be sure to report specific items on the Bug Report forum. Apologies for any confusion in this regard.

Most people would see that as making it worse, if those items lower the already small chance of getting a useful piece of gear over the 28 fitty.
I don't see why we'd implement this in such a way that your chances of getting gear would be reduced in relation to your chances of getting vanity items, flasks, etc. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Gearing up for PvP
Getting beat down in a few hits is never fun in PVP. Dont let me hear "But I try anyways" because that is just crap. What's fun about trying when you die in a few hits anyways? REMOVE HONOR CAP BEFORE WE REACH MAX LEVEL ALREADY!
There is crafted PvP gear that can help players get off on the right foot. Actually participating in a Battleground increases your team's likelihood of winning (even under-geared players can CC, heal, or even just act as speed bumps - if you genuinely believe that you can't help in other ways, damage you are taking is still damage a team mate isn't taking). By participating, a player can accrue honorable kills, which nets more Honor. Under-geared players can also make a point of sticking with larger groups - there is safety in numbers, and getting lost in the crowd can help you stay alive long enough to make a difference.

There's a handy little guide on things you can do to give yourself an edge over on Arena Junkies.

Facing the challenges involved with PvPing versus more well geared players is something that nearly all players face in Battlegrounds. There is never call to violate the terms of service and put your account (and any gear you've acquired by exploiting) at risk by AFKing in Battlegrounds.

Fighting other players who out gear me helps me improve my skill level a little bit more each time.
I realize it's not for everyone, but I find this particularly compelling. Sure, it's fun on occasion feeling like a wrecking ball, but nothing matches the rush of taking down an obviously more well-geared player via superior skill or tactics.

And account at risk for AFKing? That made me laugh. Tell the other half of the team chillin out that as well cause its happening alot. Which ruins the game for the rest of us so yeah lets see some action on those afk bots. Not just words.
We are constantly working to ensure that PvP is fair and fun, and it this is an important issue to us.

It is a great help to us when players use the reporting tools that we've included in the game, though. It seems that use of the AFK reporting feature has dropped off considerably, which is unfortunate, because it really does play a direct and active role in our investigations. Ultimately, cynicism doesn't help us catch the offenders. And yes, I realize that bots will clear the AFK flag by getting into combat. Rest assured that the reports can still help.

Please tell me you're joking.
Not, I'm not joking, nor were the other players who suggested it as one of several options. It exists, and it can help plug gaps in gear while earning points for better gear. If the concern is walking into PvP and getting steamrolled until you can earn Honor or Conquest gear, it's still a step in the right direction.

Edit: Somewhat off-topic, I'm already regretting glibly using the term 'speed bump'. It's much more than that - getting in the face of the enemy, playing smart, using interrupts, and generally being a nuisance can actually have a significant effect on a battle, even if the player falls in the process. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Crowd Control Feedback
Also I have no clue what the hell you were thinking when implementing rain of fire stun. It's the most ridiculous ever in rbg especially with the 500% aoe range increase. It's basically aoe mace stun on a shorter cd and duration. It is not fun to be interrupt 2 spells out of 3 when noone is actually interrupting you. Mace stun was not fun, it was removed for a reason. So should this one.
A quote from the 5.1 patch notes to relieve your concern on that particular matter: "Rain of Fire no longer causes a stun after hitting a target three times."

Nakatoir, even though I enjoy a gm that at least seem to be pvping. You have way too many "no but if you do this you can avoid it". We do not need lessons in how to play against cc. We need some cooldowns extended and stun/silence durations shortened.
I am not trying to tell you how to play nor am I rejecting your arguments and just saying, "your doing it wrong! *Trollface.jpg*". I am offering up thoughts on how you can adapt to or accommodate for the changes to dispels and CC. I have also at no point said that we are not against making changes to CC and the dispel system, simply that we are content with where it is right now and for the moment we don't have any plans to change it.

Counterspell is one cooldown, if you seriously think blanket silences promote skillful play then you're clueless. No high rated players thinks it promotes skillful play.
On the topic of blanket silences, you’re still only focusing on the concept of a player going for an interrupt and missing so they lock you out fully for (in the case of counterspell) 4 seconds instead of the additional school lockout for 6 seconds. There is the consequence that they have not gotten those extra 2 seconds of school lockout and as such may suffer for it because those 2 seconds can make a world of difference.

You are also neglecting any tactical use of these silences, such as predicting instant CC and spells to counter your opponents play. I do understand what you are saying though, we are listening to your feedback and opinions on this and other topics, so please continue to provide it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Daily Quest Feedback
For the next person who is about to type "your not forced to do them" please concider how many people would do them by choice if these essential items wern't hidden behind them, before posting.
They aren't really essential though. If you don't want to learn the patterns, you don't have to. Of course, you'll have to go find someone that has them so you can use those items, and you won't be making a profit off them. That's a choice. Just as the player next to you that decides to go and invest time on raising a particular faction because he feels it's worth the effort.

Same goes with items for PVE. If you'd rather get those first instead of waiting for the epic item drop from normal raids, that's your choice as well.

Please read the previous posts, we have already proven that by hiding valour items and crafting paterns behind reputation, and then by only allowing us to get the rep via dailies, they acctualy ARE FORCING people to do dalies.
Only if you truly want them. The right question is: do you really need those? If you want the patterns to make a profit of those, makes sense to me you've got to put some effort getting there, if it's for your guild raiding efforts, then hey, I'd see it as part of the effort to be at the top of your game.

The thing is, if you truly, truly, don't want to grind your reputation for a particular pattern, there's 99% chance someone on your realm, or even guild, may have taken the time and effort to get them and you'll be able to get whatever you need from them instead.

And btw Dratzdal you also talking about effort, (i have to repeat myself here as some earlyer post) what is effort? Grinding 1,5 hrs daylies = effort. Equipping tabard and gain reputation in dungeons, running it 1,5 hrs ≠ effort. Why is it this way?
Oh it is. But the developers were quite clear on that side. They felt that running dungeons on itself is already reward enough and wanted to move away from a model where reputations were just a byproduct of doing something that you are going to do anyways (run heroics).

If you like alts, you are forced to do dailys on them aswell if you want to use the Cloud serpents.
Farming to exalted on every alt is unacceptable, either make them Account wide reputations, or turn them into books for rep, 100% extra rep does not matter much if you got to do it on every alt.

Is there a good reason why you need to get the cloud serpent on all your alts? I think a concept that disappeared over the course of Cataclysm was that of your "main" character. The "main" character has always been that on which you invest most time and has most things than any other character in your account.

I feel it is time I quit. I don't want to do LFR and I don't want to do dailies. What is there left for me to do then other than wait for resets?
There're Pet Battles, Scenarios, Challenge Modes, Holiday Events (when those are running), Professions, leveling a Monk if you haven't tried that class yet, Archeology, The Lorewalkers...

So you agree then that the dailies are so bad, that if the carrot was taken away (or even just shrunk) then no one would do them.
No, definitely not. I haven't said anything that comes even close to that. And it'd do good to the community at large to stop twisting the words from the Community Managers on the sole attempt of trying to serve your interest. It's not going to help your case, in fact it's just going to make us even more cautious of where and how we interact.

We're here to listen to what's being discussed, add our own thoughts if we feel it might contribute something, relay the information from the developers and to the developers, and so on. If you want to help your case, it's in your best interest to make sure we are understanding your concerns and that there's a healthy discussion on it. Playing semantics with us so that you can pretend we're actually agreeing with you when we're not just won't get you very far in the goal you want to achieve.

I think people are complaining that it is boring. Not necessarily that it takes a long time.
So, what should be changed on dailies so that they're fun to you? (and please don't say "remove them" or something that would turn them into something irrelevant, or we'd be missing the point of the question!)

Just as an example, all the factions on Mists have rotating dailies (some of them are set, like the profession dailies for the Order of the Cloud Serpent and some of the Golden Lotus daily quests) and there's variety on them regarding what you do, which is not always kill this, gather that. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Computers - Setup of the Month (by chaud)
Each month or every 2 months, depending on the hardware evolutions, the lovely chaud will work on a couple of hardware setups for those of you who are thinking of upgrading their computer!

This month
The current SSD prices seem to have bottomed out for now, with almost all SSDs under $1 per gigabyte. A few sales have even gone under 50 cents per gigabyte, so look for something on sale! No new CPUs, GPUs, or SSDs worth waiting for are expected before the first or second quarter next year.

Unless you are doing a lot of video rendering or something that is similarly multithreaded, you do not need the 3770K and should spend that money elsewhere.

Make sure to keep your AMD and Nvidia drivers up to date.

Don't hesitate to post any feedback in the comments of that news post, and don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions! If you are interested in Folding@home, take a look in our team's thread.

Peripherals/Monitors
ComponentPuppy Dolphin
MonitorAcer V223W EJBD 22-Inch Widescreen - $137ASUS VW246H 24-Inch Widescreen - $188
KeyboardLogitech Media Keyboard K200 - $20Cyborg V.5 - $48
MouseLogitech G400 - $35Razer Deathadder - $50
SpeakersCreative A220 2.1 Speaker System - $27Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $40
ComponentNarwhal Unicorn
MonitorASUS VE278Q 27-Inch - $300HP ZR2440W 24-inch (IPS Panel) - $345
KeyboardLogitech G110 - $60Razer BlackWidow (Backlit)- $70 ($134)
MouseLogitech G500 - $45Razer Naga (Buttons on the Side) - $70
SpeakersLogitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System - $59Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $80


Puppy and Dolphin
Overclocked Puppy will outperform Dolphin when multiple threads are in use (Not WoW) and come close in most other cases.
Mix and match anything but the CPU/Motherboard combo between Puppy and Dolphin. Pick one of the two CPU/Motherboard combos.
Mix and match anything between Dolphin and Narwhal.
ComponentPuppy Dolphin
CaseNZXT GAMMA Classic - $35NZXT GAMMA Classic - $35
Power SupplyCorsair CX500 - $60XFX Core Edition PRO 550W - $60
CPUAMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition- $98Intel i3-3220 - $125
HeatsinkCooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $25Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $30
MotherboardASUS M5A97 R2 AM3+ 970 - $105Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H - $120
MemoryKingston HyperX Blu 4GB 1333 - $208GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $47
Graphics CardXFX 7770 - $100MSI 7850 Twin Frozr or Gigabyte GTX 660 OC - $205 / $210
Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $56Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $98
DVDAsus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23
Total$522$745


Narwhal and Unicorn
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn. SSDs are always optional.
ComponentNarwhal Unicorn
CaseCooler Master HAF 912 - $58Cooler Master HAF X - $150
Power SupplyCorsair 650TX V2 - $90Corsair 750HX - $145
CPUIntel i5-3570K - $220Intel i7-3770K - $320
HeatsinkThermaltake Frio - $57Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $80
MotherboardASUS P8Z77-V LK - $130ASUS P8Z77-V - $170
Memory8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $478GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $47
Graphics CardXFX 7870 (7950) OR GIGABYTE GTX 660 Ti - $230 / $280XFX 7970 Black Edition OR GIGABYTE GTX 670 - $398 / $360
Hard DriveWestern Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $98Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $98
SSDSAMSUNG 840 128GB (Review) - $110
OR
OCZ 128 GB Vertex 4 (Review) - $90
Crucial 128 GB m4 (Review) - $102
OR
Corsair Force Series GT 120 GB - $118
DVDAsus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23
Total$990 - $1090$1406 - $1543


MMO-Report
The MMO Report is back with a special episode about the upcoming RIFT expansion.

This article was originally published in forum thread: Item Upgrades Update, HoF Progression, Blue Posts, Setup of the Month, MMO Report started by chaud View original post
Comments 79 Comments
  1. moveth's Avatar
    Im excited as hell for item upgrades. I want my BiS pieces with optimal stats to last longer :3

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-11 at 10:35 PM ----------

    Also there is a typo

    "Heart of Fear Progression Update
    DREAM Paragon killed Grand Empress Shek'zeer and cleared 25 man Heroic Heart of Fear. Congratulations to them! There are 5 guilds at 4/6 currently in 10 man. "

    They cleared 10man :P
  1. Durandro's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by moveth View Post
    Im excited as hell for item upgrades. I want my BiS pieces with optimal stats to last longer :3

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-11 at 10:35 PM ----------

    Also there is a typo

    "Heart of Fear Progression Update
    DREAM Paragon killed Grand Empress Shek'zeer and cleared 25 man Heroic Heart of Fear. Congratulations to them! There are 5 guilds at 4/6 currently in 10 man. "

    They cleared 10man :P
    Actually, it probably is 25 man. They just killed 10 man first during progression. 25 man is for gear farming.

    And as predicted, they are back on top. Blood Legion were only top due to timezones.
  1. mmoc9f36a84b59's Avatar
    The new item tooltips look terrible and clunky.
  1. moveth's Avatar
    They cant farm gear in the same lockout... >.>
  1. Lockula's Avatar
    Well, finally something to use excess JP and VP on.
  1. Fablewynd's Avatar
    Not a fan of the new tooltips for the secondary stats. Looks horrible.
  1. Draenox's Avatar
    I am really confused about the item upgrade system - specifically what items can and cannot be upgraded. A guildie of mine told me that it was only items bought from valor/justice points that could be upgraded, and that is also what is shown in all of the pictures (vendor items being upgraded) except 1, which shows a heroic dungeon item.

    Is this feature for ALL items, including stuff that drops from dungeons/raids?
  1. Telwar's Avatar
    I'm just a tad disappointed that I won't be able to upgrade my rogue's legendary daggers. Pity.
  1. Aion's Avatar
    Can anyone check if Darkmoon cards can be upgraded?
  1. moveth's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Draenox View Post
    I am really confused about the item upgrade system - specifically what items can and cannot be upgraded. A guildie of mine told me that it was only items bought from valor/justice points that could be upgraded, and that is also what is shown in all of the pictures (vendor items being upgraded) except 1, which shows a heroic dungeon item.

    Is this feature for ALL items, including stuff that drops from dungeons/raids?
    It is all items. The general rule is

    If its blue, JP upgrade

    If its Purple, Valor upgrade.
  1. Calamari's Avatar
    Is there any special rule regarding weapon upgrading, or does it cost the same amount as upgrading an armor piece?
  1. Cleve's Avatar
    I really hope blizzard buffs valor gain from raiding. I really don't want to be compelled to continue doing more dailies and outdated content to keep my raid gear BiS.
  1. DKissodead's Avatar
    Wow.
    The Blue poster above is a tatal bitch.
    Anyone else reading that crap and thought wow blue bitching so hard? Just unsub like I did.
    And when they look at the next report, they'd be all daymmm people unsubbing due to our twisted minds about reps grinding.
    That oughtta change their minds.
  1. Kaharon's Avatar
    Yep, would like to know about weapons, too. It would be awesome if I could upgrade a weapon as a melee, which is a really huge improvement dps-wise.
  1. Calamari's Avatar
    At least for the blue geared 90 template characters, upgrading a blue heroic weapon costs the same as upgrading armor pieces:

  1. Kanariya's Avatar
    New tooltips are quite obnoxious looking. I can't decide if the secondary stat appearance, the item level appearance or the deadspace between gem sockets and stats is the worst.
  1. joppas's Avatar
    First time i hear about item upgrade and it seems like a really bad idea.
  1. mmoc59b5827c7e's Avatar
    "Is there a reason you want to have a cloud serpent on all your alts?"

    THERE'S NOT EVEN A REASON TO HAVE A CLOUD SERPENT ON YOUR MAIN CHARACTER - this flying poo-currants are so damn ugly, dunno who thought that its a good idea to add a whooping 54221657 different colored versions of them.... OH SORRY, SOME HAVE SPARKELS ON THEM!!!!

    They'd be better off adding a damn August Celestials final quest than another cloud serpent...
  1. darkpower's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by DKissodead View Post
    Wow.
    The Blue poster above is a tatal bitch.
    Anyone else reading that crap and thought wow blue bitching so hard? Just unsub like I did.
    And when they look at the next report, they'd be all daymmm people unsubbing due to our twisted minds about reps grinding.
    That oughtta change their minds.
    Did you see what they had to respond to?

    What was it, like, the hundredth time they've had to respond to something about the Cinder Kitten because someone is trying to find something wrong in everything Blizz ever does. The poster that was being responded to had a pretty deplorable thought process that should've been left at home.

    Personally, from all the crap that they get constantly from people who never just read the patch notes and never just enjoy the game, I'm surprised there isn't more rage from the Blues!
  1. moveth's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by darkpower View Post
    Did you see what they had to respond to?

    What was it, like, the hundredth time they've had to respond to something about the Cinder Kitten because someone is trying to find something wrong in everything Blizz ever does. The poster that was being responded to had a pretty deplorable thought process that should've been left at home.

    Personally, from all the crap that they get constantly from people who never just read the patch notes and never just enjoy the game, I'm surprised there isn't more rage from the Blues!

    Exactly. I love that I play a game where people who are outright fucking wrong are told so by the Community Managers and Developers. I would rather have game designers and community managers that put people in their place than take it 100% of the time.

Site Navigation