Build of the Month
Recent Blue Posts
The War Within Alpha Development Notes
Professions Update: Concentration in The War Within
Recent Forum Posts
The War Within Alpha - Isle of Dorn Main Story Quest Preview
Story Time With Wyatt Cheng, Removal of Nephalem Valor, Pickup Radius Reduced for RoS, Curse Weekly Roundup
Weekly News Recap, Building a Budget Druid Deck, Beta Key GiveawayPatch 5.4.2 - Karazhan Cleanup
You might have noticed the addition of a new phase, "Karazhan Restoration" in the latest PTR build. It is unclear what that phase will be used for, but the regular version of Karazhan has seen some cleanup in 5.4.2. Most of the spiderwebs, skeletons, and overturned chairs have been removed. All other signs of abandonment and age remain untouched.
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Warlords of Draenor Beta
Yes, No or IDK interview question time! Will we see WoD Beta before the end of February?
IDK (Source)
Warlords' preview looked great but pretty raw compared to how polished everything was for the Pandaria announcement.
That's odd. Feels like we are farther along for WoD than we were for MoP. (Source)
Classes
Will tank dps be looked at for WoD, It's just not right that they are top on so many encounters. They should NEVER be
We are planning on changing Vengeance to only affect defenses and just making tank abilities hit harder. (Source)
That should let tank DPS be relevant, without it being absurd. They may still win meters on big AE fights. (Source)
DoT snapshotting existed before MoP and it's a skill differentiator. The balance issue is Pandemic.
The real issue is temp stat boosts. We just can't do them in class CDs, trinkets etc. when snapshotting is so prominent (Source)
Spirit won't matter as long as you have varied regen mechanics, mindbender vs innervate? rofl. 600kmana/9min vs 180k/9min...
You can't compare spells in a vacuum. Who runs out of mana first, the Holy priest or Resto druid? (Source)
Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Hey.. speaking of the new character models.. will druid forms get some love aswell?
I doubt it. They were redone fairly recently in the grand scheme of things. (Source)
Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
You say you want hunters to fill the role of mobile ranged, then give us Snipe. I don't get it. (1of2)
The intent is someone who is willing to deal with the challenge of non 100% movement can perhaps benefit from DPS. It's optional. (Source)
Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Will fire mages get a revamp in 6.0? You remarked before they need work but was not essential in 5.4.
in what way do you think that combustion is hard to understand?
It's not hard to understand per se it's the insane decision tree that Combustion + Alter Time creates & the penalty for failing (Source)
Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Is slice and dice deleted for Warlords of draenor (for sub and combat)?
Not at the moment. We just want to distinguish rotations a bit more by not having all rogues have to manage it. (Source)
Warlords of Draenor Flying
I was wondering if Blizzard was planning to cut flying altogether from WoD? The forums can be a scary place sometimes. :|
No. We like no flying when content is relevant. In 6.1 the Draenor zones won't be current, but there will be a new no-fly zone. (Source)
No Flying till 6.1 = Awesome. Will we have FelReaver-esque SAVAGE things to look out for and remember for years to come?
Yes. It is a world of giants. There are gronn and even larger things stomping about. (Source)
We have to quest to fly in 6.1? Why is Blizzard so in love with grinds? I just want to pvp.
The soul of the game is progression. You overcome challenges to earn things. Rewards for free don't feel like rewards. (Source)
Put a compelling, interesting, or fun activity in that encourages people not to fly. Don’t force it
Is there anything fun or compelling about raid trash? Repair costs? Earning lesser charms? Yet those still have value... (Source)
Name one thing that barring flight gives you that you couldn't do with a little bit of ingenuity without barring flight.
Swoop down, kill quest target, fly away without fighting anything else. (Source)
It seems a lot of the dislike for flying is from pvp? Would I be correct in that assumption?
A small part of it, but we also hate the way folks quest with flying mounts. Swoop down, unlock prison cage, swoop away. (Source)
Questing is boring and tedious as hell at this point. I'd rather just be done with it ASAP.
We don't want it to be an endless slog, but we do view questing as a core component of the experience. (Source)
Can’t wait to see the end of WoD when “No flying” is written off as a mistake after all your defending. Same as dailies were
It's always possible, but we were happy with no flying until 90 and no flying on Timeless Isle or Isle of Thunder. (Source)
PvE
Quick question: what's your favourite class/spec & raid boss? I know you work in a lot of those, but pick one of each
It wouldn't be prudent to answer the first. For the second, tie between new Ragnaros and Lei Shen. (Source)
Lich King was amazing (fav by miles), rag was sick too though. Lei Shen has been one of the best balanced bosses tho
I liked LK a lot, but if I'm being honest, too much of the fight was burning adds or Defile lightning reflexes. Still great. (Source)
can we please have CD reset on ICD effects on boss pull?
We are going to work very hard to make lining up everything on the pull less of a thing. It causes bad gameplay overall. (Source)
Are we supposed to clear Normal *and* Heroic before getting to Mythic?
Just heroic. If you are a mythic prone guild (mythic curious?) then normal is probably too easy and unrewarding for you. (Source)
Delay the start of raiding in WoD for 1 ~ 2 weeks please! Nice to be able to level without having to rush.
We think that worked out well for MoP. (Source)
Plus, the word Mythic sounds pretty awesome, in my opinion. That matters to people, right?
But everyone at Blizzcon called it MYSTIC. (Source)
Avoid the Mythic/Mystic confusion. Use a word you already use. Legendary Raid!
When we debated that, the fear was the immediate assumption that it dropped all orange loot. (Source)
While there are more 10h than 25h raiders, both groups are still very small. We support heroic raiding, but let's keep the in perspective. (Source)
This is going to be like 5.0 dailies. Wrong solution to the right problem. The ICC system is preferable to a single size.
The problem with ICC is the 10-player raiders felt like second class citizens since the ilevels were lower. (Source)
So how does returning ten mans to second class status make sense now? That is where they are going back to.
Ten player raiding is extremely popular and we are going to continue to support it. Ten player heroic raiding is much less popular. (Source)
For the much larger population of 10n players, flex in 6.0 will only help them. (Source)
The problem with flex is, people stop at 13-14 players because mechanics switch to 25m mode. People dont want to fill up.
There are some break points today, but we've fixed most of those for 6.0. (Source)
Will Mythic mode have to be unlocked by completing Heroic mode? Much like going from Normal mode > Heroic mode is now.
Not sure yet, but it will definitely unlock a week later like it does today. (Source)
but we can start in heroic mode right?Two clears before we can "start" would kinda kill the excitement IMO
Current plan (could change) is N and H on week two, Mythic on week three (if you've beaten H) and LFR after that. (Source)
It looks like it's an RL option, like today it's just another option on the list.
Correct. In LFR it's always personal. Else, raid leader can choose. You can argue he or she should go personal in a pug. (Source)
Can you tell if the groups made from the new Browsing Raid will be able to change Loot Specialization middle raid?
Sure. We'll likely still have bonus rolls, and those are always personal even if your loot system is not. (Source)
Would you consider keeping all mount/pet drops as personal even if loot system is not?
I'd worry that some groups like to decide who gets the mount. (Source)
Yes, No or IDK interview question time! Will we see WoD Beta before the end of February?
IDK (Source)
Warlords' preview looked great but pretty raw compared to how polished everything was for the Pandaria announcement.
That's odd. Feels like we are farther along for WoD than we were for MoP. (Source)
Classes
Will tank dps be looked at for WoD, It's just not right that they are top on so many encounters. They should NEVER be
We are planning on changing Vengeance to only affect defenses and just making tank abilities hit harder. (Source)
That should let tank DPS be relevant, without it being absurd. They may still win meters on big AE fights. (Source)
DoT snapshotting existed before MoP and it's a skill differentiator. The balance issue is Pandemic.
The real issue is temp stat boosts. We just can't do them in class CDs, trinkets etc. when snapshotting is so prominent (Source)
Spirit won't matter as long as you have varied regen mechanics, mindbender vs innervate? rofl. 600kmana/9min vs 180k/9min...
You can't compare spells in a vacuum. Who runs out of mana first, the Holy priest or Resto druid? (Source)
Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Hey.. speaking of the new character models.. will druid forms get some love aswell?
I doubt it. They were redone fairly recently in the grand scheme of things. (Source)
Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)You say you want hunters to fill the role of mobile ranged, then give us Snipe. I don't get it. (1of2)
The intent is someone who is willing to deal with the challenge of non 100% movement can perhaps benefit from DPS. It's optional. (Source)
Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Will fire mages get a revamp in 6.0? You remarked before they need work but was not essential in 5.4.
in what way do you think that combustion is hard to understand?
It's not hard to understand per se it's the insane decision tree that Combustion + Alter Time creates & the penalty for failing (Source)
Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)Is slice and dice deleted for Warlords of draenor (for sub and combat)?
Not at the moment. We just want to distinguish rotations a bit more by not having all rogues have to manage it. (Source)
Warlords of Draenor Flying
I was wondering if Blizzard was planning to cut flying altogether from WoD? The forums can be a scary place sometimes. :|
No. We like no flying when content is relevant. In 6.1 the Draenor zones won't be current, but there will be a new no-fly zone. (Source)
No Flying till 6.1 = Awesome. Will we have FelReaver-esque SAVAGE things to look out for and remember for years to come?
Yes. It is a world of giants. There are gronn and even larger things stomping about. (Source)
We have to quest to fly in 6.1? Why is Blizzard so in love with grinds? I just want to pvp.
The soul of the game is progression. You overcome challenges to earn things. Rewards for free don't feel like rewards. (Source)
Put a compelling, interesting, or fun activity in that encourages people not to fly. Don’t force it
Is there anything fun or compelling about raid trash? Repair costs? Earning lesser charms? Yet those still have value... (Source)
Name one thing that barring flight gives you that you couldn't do with a little bit of ingenuity without barring flight.
Swoop down, kill quest target, fly away without fighting anything else. (Source)
It seems a lot of the dislike for flying is from pvp? Would I be correct in that assumption?
A small part of it, but we also hate the way folks quest with flying mounts. Swoop down, unlock prison cage, swoop away. (Source)
Questing is boring and tedious as hell at this point. I'd rather just be done with it ASAP.
We don't want it to be an endless slog, but we do view questing as a core component of the experience. (Source)
Can’t wait to see the end of WoD when “No flying” is written off as a mistake after all your defending. Same as dailies were
It's always possible, but we were happy with no flying until 90 and no flying on Timeless Isle or Isle of Thunder. (Source)
PvE
Quick question: what's your favourite class/spec & raid boss? I know you work in a lot of those, but pick one of each
It wouldn't be prudent to answer the first. For the second, tie between new Ragnaros and Lei Shen. (Source)
Lich King was amazing (fav by miles), rag was sick too though. Lei Shen has been one of the best balanced bosses tho
I liked LK a lot, but if I'm being honest, too much of the fight was burning adds or Defile lightning reflexes. Still great. (Source)
can we please have CD reset on ICD effects on boss pull?
We are going to work very hard to make lining up everything on the pull less of a thing. It causes bad gameplay overall. (Source)
Are we supposed to clear Normal *and* Heroic before getting to Mythic?
Just heroic. If you are a mythic prone guild (mythic curious?) then normal is probably too easy and unrewarding for you. (Source)
Delay the start of raiding in WoD for 1 ~ 2 weeks please! Nice to be able to level without having to rush.
We think that worked out well for MoP. (Source)
Plus, the word Mythic sounds pretty awesome, in my opinion. That matters to people, right?
But everyone at Blizzcon called it MYSTIC. (Source)
Avoid the Mythic/Mystic confusion. Use a word you already use. Legendary Raid!
When we debated that, the fear was the immediate assumption that it dropped all orange loot. (Source)
While there are more 10h than 25h raiders, both groups are still very small. We support heroic raiding, but let's keep the in perspective. (Source)
This is going to be like 5.0 dailies. Wrong solution to the right problem. The ICC system is preferable to a single size.
The problem with ICC is the 10-player raiders felt like second class citizens since the ilevels were lower. (Source)
So how does returning ten mans to second class status make sense now? That is where they are going back to.
Ten player raiding is extremely popular and we are going to continue to support it. Ten player heroic raiding is much less popular. (Source)
For the much larger population of 10n players, flex in 6.0 will only help them. (Source)
The problem with flex is, people stop at 13-14 players because mechanics switch to 25m mode. People dont want to fill up.
There are some break points today, but we've fixed most of those for 6.0. (Source)
Will Mythic mode have to be unlocked by completing Heroic mode? Much like going from Normal mode > Heroic mode is now.
Not sure yet, but it will definitely unlock a week later like it does today. (Source)
but we can start in heroic mode right?Two clears before we can "start" would kinda kill the excitement IMO
Current plan (could change) is N and H on week two, Mythic on week three (if you've beaten H) and LFR after that. (Source)
It looks like it's an RL option, like today it's just another option on the list.
Correct. In LFR it's always personal. Else, raid leader can choose. You can argue he or she should go personal in a pug. (Source)
Can you tell if the groups made from the new Browsing Raid will be able to change Loot Specialization middle raid?
Sure. We'll likely still have bonus rolls, and those are always personal even if your loot system is not. (Source)
Would you consider keeping all mount/pet drops as personal even if loot system is not?
I'd worry that some groups like to decide who gets the mount. (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
New GPUs from AMD are on the way, so if you are only upgrading your GPU it might be worth it to wait a month or two.
The current SSD prices are stable, with most SSDs under $1 per gigabyte when on sale. RAM prices are remaining high.
The Haswell CPUs 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 - $126 | ASUS VS248H-P 24-Inch Monitor - $160 |
| Keyboard | Kensington Pro Fit Media Keyboard - $18 | Cyborg V.5 - $45 |
| Mouse | Logitech G400s - $45 | Razer Deathadder - $47 |
| Speakers | Creative A220 2.1 Speaker System - $28 | Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $35 |
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
| Monitor | Asus VE258Q 25-Inch Monitor - $213 | HP ZR2440W 24-inch - $333 |
| Keyboard | Logitech G510s - $82 | CM Storm QuickFire XT - $95 |
| Mouse | Logitech G500 - $62 | Razer Naga (Buttons on the Side) - $70 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System - $53 | Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $65 |
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 - $35 | NZXT Source 210 - $35 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX500 - $50 | XFX Core Edition PRO 550W - $60 |
| CPU | AMD FX-6300 - $119 | AMD FX-8320 - $160 |
| Heatsink | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $25 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $33 |
| Motherboard | ASUS M5A97 R2.0 - $95 | ASUS M5A99FX PRO - $118 |
| Memory | Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB 1333 - $40 | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $80 |
| Graphics Card | MSI 7790 OC - $100 | Gigabyte R9 270X or Gigabyte GTX 660 - $207 / $170 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $56 | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $87 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 |
| Total | $542 | $765 - $802 |
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) - $150 |
| Power Supply | Corsair 650TX V2 - $90 | Corsair 750HX - $110 |
| CPU | Intel i5-4670K - $235 | Intel i7-4770K - $339 |
| Heatsink | Thermaltake Frio - $56 | Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $78 |
| Motherboard | ASUS Z87-A - $144 | ASUS Z87-PLUS - $160 |
| Memory | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $80 | 16GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $162 |
| Graphics Card | XFX 7950 OR MSI N760 TF - $250 / $250 | Gigabyte R9 280X OR ASUS GTX 770 - $300 / $315 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $87 | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $87 |
| SSD | SAMSUNG 840 128GB (Review) - $120 OR Plextor 128 GB M5 Pro (Review) - $113 | Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB (Review) - $130 OR SAMSUNG 840 Pro 128GB (Review) - $132 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 |
| Total | $1137 - $1156 | $1521 - $1555 |
Blizzcon Cosplay Video
Blizzcon had some very nice cosplay this year!
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