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First Console Reviews And Discount, Malthael Animated Wallpaper, Diablo Classes Fan ArtPatch 5.4 Developer Interviews
Vanion recently had the opportunity to attend the WoW Roundtable at Gamescom. You can find information from previous interviews on our Patch 5.4 Developer Interviews page.
New Character Models
- The new character models are roughly 25% done.
- It is unlikely that all of the new models will be released at once. The ones that are done will be released and then more will be added throughout the patch cycle.
- The new Garrosh model has a lot of bones and facial animation that could be similar to what we see in new character models.
- Garrosh also provides a nice test case to see if players want their character to look like that.
- The new character models are being worked on very carefully to avoid changing how the characters feel, especially the animations.
- There is a lot more to animate now with beards, ponytails, and hands with actual fingers. The animations have to have the same emotion as the old models, but just look better.
- The new models and animations are compared to the old ones at weekly art meetings to ensure that they feel right.
Future Plans
- The new toy items added in Mists of Pandaria take up a lot of inventory space, so they are high on the priority list of things to remove from player bags. Heirlooms are next on the list, followed by tabards, but there is no solid timeline on when this will be available yet.
- Spectator mode for raids and arenas isn't likely for the near future, as it would require a lot of tech and there are other more high priority things that need to be done first.
- There are no major changes coming to holiday events, just the usual yearly updates. Almost all of the events have been updated in the past and are in a good place now. Time would be better spent adding new content to the game rather than changing up Hallow's End yet again.
Patch 5.4 / Siege of Orgrimmar
- Garrosh has a Heroic only phase in the burning Stormwind Harbor.
- Players invest a lot of time into the last boss of an expansion, but the awesome gear that they got is replaced fairly quickly in the next expansion. The heirloom weapons from Garrosh are an attempt to compensate for that, as they will usually be the best leveling weapon you can get.
- Moving Dalaran to use in the Siege of Orgrimmar was considered, but it would have caused serious performance issues for many players. It also may have reduced the impact that players had as far as feeling like heroes. Players should feel like they were the ones to defeat Garrosh, not that Dalaran showed up and they did the job.
- The team considered changing racials in Patch 5.4, as a lot of the top guilds are switching to Horde. The impact it has on the game is limited to a handful of guilds in the world, so changing it for everyone because a handful of guilds feel that the Horde racials will make the difference in PvE ended up not being worth it.
- Racials are really supposed to be a flavor thing rather than something to balance the game around, so it isn't likely that we will see changes in the near future.
- During Cataclysm there was a revamp of the graphics system by adding shadows to the game, which required raising the ambient light in every zone, as the shadows made it too dark. This resulted in the night time having more ambient light than it used to.
- Patch 5.4 will have a test case for darker nights in Orgrimmar, Stormwind, and Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
PvE
- There isn't as much competition with Challenge Modes as the developers had hoped.
- PvE competition is a great thing to have in the game. World Firsts are nice, but they happen once in a patch cycle. It would be nice to see some of the Challenge Mode concepts in raiding, but just speed clearing the raid might not be the right thing.
- There will be another pass of the Valor system in the next expansion, but you shouldn't be able to cap Valor by just doing a raid that week.
- The Valor system is intended to get players to do a variety of content that they wouldn't normally do, but there has to be a balance.
- An idea for the future is adding a system similar to the Conquest catch up, allowing players that return to earn more Valor to catch up to everyone else. Not having to log in every single day might also be something to look at.
- The idea of Heroic only bosses is nice when they fit the story of the raid, but Ra-Den wasn't executed as well as it could have been because all of the testing was done internally. We might see another one in the future, but first they have to figure out a better way to test the boss.
- The team doesn't think that a small amount of players getting a legendary cloak after working towards it for an entire expansion will be a problem in the long run.
Cataclysm
- The developers are happier with Mists of Pandaria than they were with Cataclysm.
- Cataclysm did a good job improving the old world, but there wasn't a strong endgame. Mists of Pandaria made a point of adding more and better quality endgame content.
- Mists of Pandaria was slightly weaker thematically, as there was no big looming end of the world disaster, which is something that players seem to really enjoy.
- People spent a lot of time in Shattrath, Dalaran, and now Shrine, but Cataclysm didn't add a new city or continent to call home.
- Redoing classic dungeons to make them into Heroic Dungeons was a nice concept that came out of Cataclysm, as they have been very popular and fun to create.
- In Cataclysm Thrall felt like the hero, but players just felt like they were helping him, rather than also being heroes.
Progress on the Next Expansion
- The concept artists, environment artists, and the level design team are the first groups to start working on a new expansion.
- The encounter team is the last team to move to the new expansion, as they are still finishing up Patch 5.4 and doing the final tuning.
- The release of an expansion partially depends on how long it takes to build and add quests to the new zones. This is why the final patch of an expansion usually doesn't have a lot of content that involves the exterior level design team, as they are already working on the zones for the next expansion.
- The Timeless Isle is off of the coast of the Jade Forest and is made with art assets from the Jade Forest, but presented in a completely different way. This allowed the team to add a new area without slowing down the work on the next expansion.
Misc
- The Burdens of Shaohao came from a part of the company that normally doesn't work on things like that and already has a lot of commitments, so there is no solid date for another similar series yet.
- The traditional player housing in MMOs isn't very interesting, maybe with the exception of Ultima Online. This was because you owned part of the world, making the area have real value. The idea of having an instanced chunk of the world that is decorated inside and no one will ever see isn't interesting, so housing in WoW would have to go beyond just visual customization with some gameplay elements or something else actually interesting.
- Offline progression for WoW could be interesting, but all the game has right now are things like daily cooldowns for some professions or the Tiller's farm.
- Revamping Fishing has been on the to-do list for years now, but it keeps getting pushed back.
- The guild level system already has some nice perks and the devs weren't able to come up with enough good perks to add more guild levels in Mists of Pandaria. Adding more levels also requires more achievements and other items, as well as making all new guilds level even more to get all of those perks.
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Classes
Re: AE heals. Remember, the encounters are balanced around the class abilities. If we chill out AE heals, the encounters won't demand them. (Source)
Here's a good question, do you think the game would benefit from classes being stripped down to iconic abilities + rotation?
If the game wasn't 10 old, yes, I think that design is superior. Radically changing WoW now is likely not the right call. (Source)
you guys talk about ability bloat and I see the best way to address that is the revert some of the class homogenization
Sure. What useful ability are you willing to give up? (Source)
(That wasn't supposed to be sarcastic BTW.) (Source)
Yet another reason to not consider feedback? Simply because 100% of the playerbase doesn't agree?
We appreciate (and follow) all the discussions out there on action bar bloat and what, if anything, should be done. (Source)
If every time I say X, you see Y, it's going to be hard to have a conversation. (Source)
Wouldn't making new classes be much less practical than altering current pure trees?
You can make the argument that adding new roles to existing classes is more work than a new class. (Source)
With a new class, you have little baggage or other constraints. Sky's the limit. (Source)
But work load really isn't the issue here. It's more about whether the game needs either one. (Source)
Have you thought about changing talents to let players pick their rotation, rather than utility spells?
Yes. (Source)
I know class balance is hard but is also the most common complaint I hear when I lose a guildy
I hear that too of course, but I have to wonder if that's the real reason or just an easy one. (Source)
If you tried to play Balance or Ret in Blackwing Lair, you were just doing it wrong. (Source)
But these days, most players can do whatever they want. Player skill determines meters for most of us. (Source)
The differences are really minimal, and boring. And then you look at monk, and how different their specs are.
To be fair, the monk specs are all different roles. Most of our classes feel different in different roles. (Source)
So the solution is to make pure DPS obsolete... Why should I pick a Mage if I can have a Priest? Bread & Water?
Not sure how you read that from my statement. I was saying it's not cool when some classes are DPS and some are support. (Source)
But it's also not cool if everyone chooses paladin / druid / shaman because they can be versatile AND max DPS. (Source)
I'm sure that Blizzard Devs don't have a super secret WW rotation. I'm seeing T16 & trinkets as very large gain.
There have been times when players never figured out an optimal rotation that we designed around. Doesn't happen often. (Source)
would you mind giving a specific example from a past expansion maybe? I'm really curious
One of the Balance druid set bonus - glyph interactions in Cataclysm. I can't remember which patch - maybe Firelands. (Source)
Have the devs considered replacing/drastically changing some of the over-similar Pure DPS class specs?
Yeah, I'm working on a blog on how we could design multiple specs in the same role in one class. Many Qs, few As, sadly. (Source)
Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
hey Mr crab I hope this nerfing frost thing won't continue. Unholy looks pretty unappealing in 5.4 :/
We had a prob where DW and 2H Frost wasn't close enough. Frost also dominating too much on fights like Garrosh. (Source)
Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Regarding Hunter pet buffs, any thought to letting hunters chose the buff they want on the pet they want to use?
Potentially. It's one of the last issues with letting a hunter choose whatever pet family they want. (Source)
Ever thought of bringing Eyes of the Beast back at all?
Yes, but it would be challenging. Some of the code was excised. (Source)
Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
The healing penalty hasn't even been brought down on PTR, that's atrocious - I kept the you tried sticker up in good faith tho
RJW isn't a "better at AE button." It's a cheap button that lets you also do single target damage and healing while it's up. (Source)
Xuen is a cooldown. RJW is sustained. For a healer sometimes you want one and sometimes the other. (Source)
Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
i would love you, if the holy paladin would be more tbc/wotlk/beginning of cata next expansion, i miss my paladin
What do you mean specifically? Spam Flash of Light? Be a tank healer? Curious. (Source)
he's probably referring to how worthless single target cast time heals are to cast these days. it's all HR/EF/prism.
As a general statement, we believe we made AE heals (for all healers) too important / effective once again. (Source)
There should be a time and place for single target heals, even non-hots / bubbles. (Source)
Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Have you guys read any of the feedback / ideas regarding Combo Points? Some interesting threads over MmoC Rogue
Yeah. I think at the high level, it's worth asking if keeping them on the target is the right design. (Source)
Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Can you please make maelstrom weapon a resource or give enhancement a resource in general?
To devil's advocate, does every spec need a resource? Does having resources make specs feel too similar? (Source)
Any word on compensation for the Healing Rain input lag fixes that significantly nerfed Resto Shaman?
Healing Rain is so much stronger in 5.4 that we don't think compensation is needed. I think we made a blue post about this. (Source)
Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Demo 4pc is consuming demonic fury, and a charge of HoG/Chaos Wave on the ptr. Is this intended or a bug? Been posting in ....
We fixed this awhile ago. If still happening maybe it broke again. (Source)
Any word on the ember generation change to make up for the loss of rain of fire ember generation?
We're balancing around their DPS, not ember generation. Is the issue you're worried DPS is low or you like embers? (Source)
Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Ultimately, Arms has a 20-25% adv. on cleave, fury is 10-15% on single target. A 30-40% delta means reforging every boss.:\
Those numbers seem based on idealized situations and not SoO boss fights. (Source)
OP's rage efficiency is so close to slam's that it's best to spam slam than risk rage capping and wasting it on heroic strike.
Should be a pretty wide range between being at 25 rage and 130 rage. If you end up capped, yeah probably should have Slammed. (Source)
Can you please consider Curoar's ideas for Arms before its inevitable nerf?
We're okay with Arms doing great cleave and AE. Else, it's just a dead spec in PvE (unless it beats Fury & Fury is the dead spec.) (Source)
The issue is the delta, a 5-10% adv. is fine, 20+% is too much. Plus, it's just not fun to play in its current state.
When you combine those two arguments, sounds like you are really saying "Arms should be weak in PvE so I can always be Fury." (Source)
The thread linked is filled with people who like to play arms, but feel that the current mechanics of it are terrible.
We know there are warriors who want to play Arms though and felt like they were giving up too much to do so in 5.2. (Source)
We were trying to make Fury more proc-based and unpredictable and Arms more steady. Some players prefer one feel to the other. (Source)
Will you ever fix Heroic Leap in PvP ?
It is difficult because players can abuse vertical movement to get into places they should not be in BGs. (Source)
We agree the situation is not ideal and it's unfortunate to punish everyone because some can exploit. We haven't given up yet. (Source)
Can we expect any fury warrior changes for this upcoming patch? There is hardly any what so ever. If so when can we expect it?
We don't think Fury needs mechanics changes (except for DW polearms). We are still balancing DPS. (Source)
Re: AE heals. Remember, the encounters are balanced around the class abilities. If we chill out AE heals, the encounters won't demand them. (Source)
Here's a good question, do you think the game would benefit from classes being stripped down to iconic abilities + rotation?
If the game wasn't 10 old, yes, I think that design is superior. Radically changing WoW now is likely not the right call. (Source)
you guys talk about ability bloat and I see the best way to address that is the revert some of the class homogenization
Sure. What useful ability are you willing to give up? (Source)
(That wasn't supposed to be sarcastic BTW.) (Source)
Yet another reason to not consider feedback? Simply because 100% of the playerbase doesn't agree?
We appreciate (and follow) all the discussions out there on action bar bloat and what, if anything, should be done. (Source)
If every time I say X, you see Y, it's going to be hard to have a conversation. (Source)
Wouldn't making new classes be much less practical than altering current pure trees?
You can make the argument that adding new roles to existing classes is more work than a new class. (Source)
With a new class, you have little baggage or other constraints. Sky's the limit. (Source)
But work load really isn't the issue here. It's more about whether the game needs either one. (Source)
Have you thought about changing talents to let players pick their rotation, rather than utility spells?
Yes. (Source)
I know class balance is hard but is also the most common complaint I hear when I lose a guildy
I hear that too of course, but I have to wonder if that's the real reason or just an easy one. (Source)
If you tried to play Balance or Ret in Blackwing Lair, you were just doing it wrong. (Source)
But these days, most players can do whatever they want. Player skill determines meters for most of us. (Source)
The differences are really minimal, and boring. And then you look at monk, and how different their specs are.
To be fair, the monk specs are all different roles. Most of our classes feel different in different roles. (Source)
So the solution is to make pure DPS obsolete... Why should I pick a Mage if I can have a Priest? Bread & Water?
Not sure how you read that from my statement. I was saying it's not cool when some classes are DPS and some are support. (Source)
But it's also not cool if everyone chooses paladin / druid / shaman because they can be versatile AND max DPS. (Source)
I'm sure that Blizzard Devs don't have a super secret WW rotation. I'm seeing T16 & trinkets as very large gain.
There have been times when players never figured out an optimal rotation that we designed around. Doesn't happen often. (Source)
would you mind giving a specific example from a past expansion maybe? I'm really curious
One of the Balance druid set bonus - glyph interactions in Cataclysm. I can't remember which patch - maybe Firelands. (Source)
Have the devs considered replacing/drastically changing some of the over-similar Pure DPS class specs?
Yeah, I'm working on a blog on how we could design multiple specs in the same role in one class. Many Qs, few As, sadly. (Source)
Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)hey Mr crab I hope this nerfing frost thing won't continue. Unholy looks pretty unappealing in 5.4 :/
We had a prob where DW and 2H Frost wasn't close enough. Frost also dominating too much on fights like Garrosh. (Source)
Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Regarding Hunter pet buffs, any thought to letting hunters chose the buff they want on the pet they want to use?
Potentially. It's one of the last issues with letting a hunter choose whatever pet family they want. (Source)
Ever thought of bringing Eyes of the Beast back at all?
Yes, but it would be challenging. Some of the code was excised. (Source)
Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)The healing penalty hasn't even been brought down on PTR, that's atrocious - I kept the you tried sticker up in good faith tho
RJW isn't a "better at AE button." It's a cheap button that lets you also do single target damage and healing while it's up. (Source)
Xuen is a cooldown. RJW is sustained. For a healer sometimes you want one and sometimes the other. (Source)
Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)i would love you, if the holy paladin would be more tbc/wotlk/beginning of cata next expansion, i miss my paladin
What do you mean specifically? Spam Flash of Light? Be a tank healer? Curious. (Source)
he's probably referring to how worthless single target cast time heals are to cast these days. it's all HR/EF/prism.
As a general statement, we believe we made AE heals (for all healers) too important / effective once again. (Source)
There should be a time and place for single target heals, even non-hots / bubbles. (Source)
Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Have you guys read any of the feedback / ideas regarding Combo Points? Some interesting threads over MmoC Rogue
Yeah. I think at the high level, it's worth asking if keeping them on the target is the right design. (Source)
Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Can you please make maelstrom weapon a resource or give enhancement a resource in general?
To devil's advocate, does every spec need a resource? Does having resources make specs feel too similar? (Source)
Any word on compensation for the Healing Rain input lag fixes that significantly nerfed Resto Shaman?
Healing Rain is so much stronger in 5.4 that we don't think compensation is needed. I think we made a blue post about this. (Source)
Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Demo 4pc is consuming demonic fury, and a charge of HoG/Chaos Wave on the ptr. Is this intended or a bug? Been posting in ....
We fixed this awhile ago. If still happening maybe it broke again. (Source)
Any word on the ember generation change to make up for the loss of rain of fire ember generation?
We're balancing around their DPS, not ember generation. Is the issue you're worried DPS is low or you like embers? (Source)
Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Ultimately, Arms has a 20-25% adv. on cleave, fury is 10-15% on single target. A 30-40% delta means reforging every boss.:\
Those numbers seem based on idealized situations and not SoO boss fights. (Source)
OP's rage efficiency is so close to slam's that it's best to spam slam than risk rage capping and wasting it on heroic strike.
Should be a pretty wide range between being at 25 rage and 130 rage. If you end up capped, yeah probably should have Slammed. (Source)
Can you please consider Curoar's ideas for Arms before its inevitable nerf?
We're okay with Arms doing great cleave and AE. Else, it's just a dead spec in PvE (unless it beats Fury & Fury is the dead spec.) (Source)
The issue is the delta, a 5-10% adv. is fine, 20+% is too much. Plus, it's just not fun to play in its current state.
When you combine those two arguments, sounds like you are really saying "Arms should be weak in PvE so I can always be Fury." (Source)
The thread linked is filled with people who like to play arms, but feel that the current mechanics of it are terrible.
We know there are warriors who want to play Arms though and felt like they were giving up too much to do so in 5.2. (Source)
We were trying to make Fury more proc-based and unpredictable and Arms more steady. Some players prefer one feel to the other. (Source)
Will you ever fix Heroic Leap in PvP ?
It is difficult because players can abuse vertical movement to get into places they should not be in BGs. (Source)
We agree the situation is not ideal and it's unfortunate to punish everyone because some can exploit. We haven't given up yet. (Source)
Can we expect any fury warrior changes for this upcoming patch? There is hardly any what so ever. If so when can we expect it?
We don't think Fury needs mechanics changes (except for DW polearms). We are still balancing DPS. (Source)
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 are stable, with most SSDs under $1 per gigabyte when on sale.
The new Haswell CPUs from Intel are here and they run a little bit on the warmer side. Depending on how much you want to overclock, you may need to spend a bit more for a better CPU cooler like the NH-D14 or H90.
Unless you are doing a lot of video rendering or something that is similarly multithreaded, you do not need the 4770K 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
| Component | Puppy | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor | Asus VE228H 21.5-Inch Monitor - $138 | ASUS VS248H-P 24-Inch Monitor - $180 |
| Keyboard | Kensington Pro Fit Media Keyboard - $18 | Cyborg V.5 - $48 |
| Mouse | Logitech G400 - $47 | Razer Deathadder - $50 |
| Speakers | Creative A220 2.1 Speaker System - $26 | Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $35 |
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
| Monitor | Asus VE258Q 25-Inch Monitor - $236 | HP ZR2440W 24-inch - $374 |
| Keyboard | Logitech G510 - $99 | Razer BlackWidow (Backlit)- $70 ($132) |
| Mouse | Logitech G500 - $52 | Razer Naga (Buttons on the Side) - $65 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System - $55 | Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $60 |
Puppy and Dolphin
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Puppy and Dolphin.
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Puppy and Dolphin.
| Component | Puppy | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Case | NZXT Source 210 - $40 | NZXT Source 210 - $40 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX500 - $58 | XFX Core Edition PRO 550W - $61 |
| CPU | AMD FX-6300 - $119 | AMD FX-8320 - $145 |
| Heatsink | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $28 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $37 |
| Motherboard | ASUS M5A97 R2.0 - $100 | ASUS M5A99FX PRO - $134 |
| Memory | Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB 1333 - $36 | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $72 |
| Graphics Card | XFX 7770 - $125 | ASUS 7870 2 GB or ASUS GTX 660 Ti - $220 / $235 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $55 | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $85 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 |
| Total | $583 | $816 - $831 |
Narwhal and Unicorn
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn.
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn.
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
|---|---|---|
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 912 - $60 | Corsair Air 540 (Special Layout) - $140 |
| Power Supply | Corsair 650TX V2 - $86 | Corsair 750HX - $110 |
| CPU | Intel i5-4670K - $230 | Intel i7-4770K - $340 |
| Heatsink | Thermaltake Frio - $55 | Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $74 |
| Motherboard | ASUS Z87-A - $134 | ASUS Z87-PLUS - $160 |
| Memory | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $72 | 16GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $146 |
| Graphics Card | MSI 7950 OR MSI N760 TF - $279 / $260 | Gigabyte 7970 OR Gigabyte GTX 770 - $340 / $400 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $85 | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $85 |
| SSD | SAMSUNG 840 128GB (Review) - $98 OR Plextor 128 GB M5 Pro (Review) - $121 | Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB (Review) - $120 OR SAMSUNG 840 Pro 128GB (Review) - $133 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 |
| Total | $1102 - $1156 | $1515 - $1610 |
Poll - First Race for New Character Models?
Which Alliance / Horde race would you like to see get new character models first?
Fan Art Update
The World of Warcraft Fan Art Section has been updated with new fan artwork.
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