December 19 Hotfixes, Blue Posts, D3 RoS Release: March 25, 2014, HS Open Beta Update

Reaper of Souls™ Unleashed on March 25, 2014 – Prepurchase Now

Open Beta Next Year, Common Situations with the Three Resources, Weekend Tournaments

Patch 5.4.2 Hotfixes: December 19
One hotfix that didn't make the list today is an increased droprate on Rotten Helper Box.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios
  • Siege of Orgrimmar
    • Paragons of the Klaxxi
      • Ka'roz the Locust's Hurl Amber ability will now form a pool of Caustic Amber at the target's feet 3 seconds after targeting them. The timing was less predictable previously and varied based on the targeted player's distance from Ka'roz.
      • [Requires a realm restart.] Effects transforming a player's appearance should no longer prevent them from being able to interact with a defeated Paragon.

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Warlords of Draenor Story
We are invested (emotionally and otherwise) in all of the above. It's about the various stories that we want to tell (and make the most sense) and the gameplay that goes with it. One thing I've come to know over the years is that no matter which side you're on, if you disagree with the story or don't connect with it, there's a strange assertion that the developers just didn't care enough (or as inferred in the original post care too much). This assertion is not true. It's all perspective and personal opinion.

That said, we do pay attention to the concerns people have and do try to be sensitive to those concerns and address them when we can.

Then why yet another major Orc story arc? There are other races in this game.
You're assuming a lot and understandably so. I mean, if you look at the image, it's a bunch of orcs, right? But the story has never been just about the orcs and Warlords also will be highlighting a bit more about the draenei and even shedding a bit more light on blood elf paladins. The thing is, as always, it's a story about Azeroth and the heroes and villains that live (and die even) as a part of its ongoing history.

For the question about the Alliance and "Captain America", keep in mind, the Alliance are going THROUGH the portal to take it to the Iron Horde directly. They're not planning to sit it out and wait until things get too bad first. Since I don't write or develop the story, I can't comment on the difficulty of developing the Alliance story directly. As a writer myself though, I think that writing any story is about really feeling connected to it and taking it where you want it to go. So, good or evil doesn't affect the difficulty in writing it necessarily. It's about making it work in the right context that is consistent to the personalities of those characters. It's putting yourself in the "What would Jaina do if?" etc. mindset.

And why just Blood Elf paladins? Humans are the original Paladins and how much attention do Alliance Paladins get? Argents have got more Paladin attention than the Alliance ones. What happened to the Alliance Silver Hand? Why do we not have Paladin military leaders like we used to such as Uther, Tirion, and Turalyon?
Because there is a lot of information out there already about how the Light works for other paladins. Blood Elf paladins have a different relationship (if you will) that still needs to be explored.

I'm still seeing a lot of supposition about what the developers do and don't do. I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, but I can assure you, they aren't developing in a myopic story bubble. Again though, I understand that the opinions people have are subjective and respect where those suppositions and opinions are coming from.

Everyone has a favorite story they want told. We can't do them all at once, but we'll get to as many as we can and have no plans to slow down. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Reaper of Souls™ Unleashed on March 25, 2014
It looks like the Digital Deluxe edition of Reaper of Souls will also include 3 Hearthstone booster packs, but this isn't mentioned in the blog post.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
On March 25, the crusade against death itself charges forth with the launch of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls for Windows and Mac. Prepare for the onslaught today by prepurchasing the expansion digitally on Battle.net.


Whether you plan to immediately don the armor of the new Crusader character or take your current hero directly into Act V, Reaper of Souls will bring you updated loot rewards, all-new class skills and abilities, game-changing features like the Mystic and Adventure Mode, and highly replayable content in the form of Bounties and Nephalem Rifts.

You also have the option to prepurchase the Digital Deluxe Edition, which contains a wealth of in-game goodies: a collection of exclusive helm- and weapon-transmogrification recipes to distinguish your hero among the champions of Sanctuary; a loyal Spectral Hound minion to keep your adventurers company on their epic journeys; three additional character slots to accommodate new heroes; an in-game Treasure Goblin companion pet for World of Warcraft; and an assortment of Crusader-themed Battle.net portraits and Malthael-themed decals for StarCraft II.

Here, have a look for yourself:


Players who prepurchase the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive their in-game items with the launch of the expansion on March 25, though some items may arrive beforehand, so keep an eye out for early deliveries.

If you're looking for even more loot, the Reaper of Souls retail-exclusive Collector's Edition comes fully equipped with all the in-game goodies from the Digital Deluxe, plus a range of premium collectible items:

  • Malthael mouse pad, bearing the impenetrable visage of the Angel of Death
  • Hardback Collector's Edition art book, chronicling the game's artistic development
  • Behind-the-scenes Blu-Ray/DVD two-disc set, featuring in-depth interviews with the development team and members of the Diablo III community

The Standard Edition is available for $39.99 USD and the Digital Deluxe Edition is available for $59.99 USD. If you choose to preorder the Standard Edition and later want to upgrade to the Digital Deluxe Edition, you'll be able to do so for $20. The Collector’s Edition is available only at select retail locations for a suggested retail price of $79.99. A limited number of Collector's Editions will be available and they're expected to sell out quickly, so be sure to lock in your preorder with your local retailer as soon as possible.

For more information on the March 25 release of Reaper of Souls for Windows and Mac, check out the official press release, or visit the Reaper of Souls game page to learn more about the expansion and secure your digital copy. Also, be sure to keep an eye on www.diablo3.com for updates on the launch of Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition on the PS4.

Until then, we'll see you in Sanctuary!

*When you prepurchase Diablo III: Reaper of Souls digitally via Battle.net, you will be able to download an encrypted version of the game client prior to the launch date. The expansion content will be unlocked and available for play on March 25, 2014.

Hearthstone Open Beta Update
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We hope you’ve been having fun testing out the latest beta patch for Hearthstone—this update brought with it a bunch of bug fixes, some card changes, and the new Ranked Play system. Some of these updates were significant code changes, so we expect that some things will break, and we will also need your help to identify what’s still in need of fine-tuning. One other thing to mention is that we’ve been making great progress on improving server stability, but there are still a few things that have come up that we want to fix before we leave the closed beta phase.

With all of that said, we believe the right thing to do for the game is to not rush it out into open beta, but to instead hold onto it a little longer to make sure it’s ready for wider testing. At BlizzCon, we mentioned that we hoped to get the game into a state where it’s ready for open beta this month, but we’re just not quite there yet. The development team has been working hard to get this out before the end of the year, but our highest priority is that Hearthstone has an awesome launch when all gates are lifted and everyone can download it and play at the same time.

We’re close to the open beta—very close. And to enter this final part of our beta phase, we need your help. Keep trying out new decks, reporting bugs, and giving your feedback on our forums. That’s the best way you can help the team get Hearthstone into everyone’s hands as soon as possible.

We have some other news to share too. As of today, we have sent beta invites to everyone who opted in to the Hearthstone closed beta test prior to Monday, December 16. If you opted in before that date and have not yet received an invite email, check your spam folders or different email tabs to see if you invite may have ended up in an unexpected location. If you still can’t find your Hearthstone beta invite, don’t worry! We’re putting together a list of all Battle.net accounts that opted in to the Hearthstone beta test and did not claim their beta key. These accounts will be flagged for beta access within the first few weeks of January.

Opt-ins for the closed beta test will end on January 7; we plan to invite everyone who opts in by that date to the closed beta test at some point before the open beta begins. So keep playing, testing, and amassing your Hearthstone collection, as we do not plan on performing another card data wipe.

Thanks for your patience and enthusiasm. Hearthstone would not be as far along as it is without your helpful feedback. Please continue to let us know what you like and what you think needs a little more work.

And if you haven’t opted in to the Hearthstone closed beta test, you can do so here.
This article was originally published in forum thread: December 19 Hotfixes, Blue Posts, D3 RoS Release: March 25, 2014, HS Open Beta Update started by chaud View original post
Published on 2013-12-20 11:51 AM
80 Comments
Comments 80 Comments
  1. mmoc3dde1cb131's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dundebuns View Post
    Lord of Destruction wasn't the same price as a full game.
    Huh? DIII was $40 when it first came out, I think not...
  1. Unholyground's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Cronnix View Post
    $40 for a digital one act "expansion" to a mutiplayer game seems a bit ridiculous..
    You know they also retooled the game, removed Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno. there is 1 Play through now in which you can be level 70 by the end of act 5 or damn close to it.
  1. Zylan's Avatar
    Will wait until its in a sale - not paying $40 for a 1 Act/1 Hero Expansion pack + Darksouls 2 comes out on the same day as this so no thank you Blizzard.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Unholyground View Post
    You know they also retooled the game, removed Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno. there is 1 Play through now in which you can be level 70 by the end of act 5 or damn close to it.
    Most of which should have been quality of life patch changes, not a paid for short expansion. Seems very lazy of Blizzard to wrap a lot of patch content up into a bundle - add an extra act + hero and call it an expansion.
  1. Jokerfiend's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Rhaide View Post
    Er, this is almost identical to DII "Lord of Destruction". We got one new act and two new classes, but no new modes, and far less new gear. That was also 39.99 on release at the MSRP. Back then everyone was cheering for the expansion, and I don't mean to insult you or anyone else, but if you play Diablo for the storyline... it may be time to find a new game. That's really not what Diablo is about, if you want that, there are plenty of books, but the games are widely understood to have terrible stories; which is entirely forgivable for a hack n slash action RPG lootfest.
    This guy, this guy knows. I fully agree and award you +1 internets.
  1. Gsara's Avatar
    There is literally no difference in this xpac and LoD except Lod had one more class. F&F/Beta both of them.

    Everyone will get loot 2.0, class changes, and bug fixes in a patch before release.
  1. Moradim's Avatar
    40 dollars for 1 act and 1 class.

    too greedy.
  1. Unholyground's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Zylan View Post
    Will wait until its in a sale - not paying $40 for a 1 Act/1 Hero Expansion pack + Darksouls 2 comes out on the same day as this so no thank you Blizzard.

    - - - Updated - - -



    Most of which should have been quality of life patch changes, not a paid for short expansion. Seems very lazy of Blizzard to wrap a lot of patch content up into a bundle - add an extra act + hero and call it an expansion.
    40$ is nothing though, hell takeout is usually 40$ and these people spend months developing this stuff. If you don't want to buy it you don't have to.
  1. Irisel's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mrbleedinggums View Post
    So... who else hasn't gotten their beta key even though a blue post "reaffirmed" we received it?
    YEeaahh.. me.
  1. Findus707's Avatar
    I might want to buy the expansion, wondering if the spectral ghoul minion thingy will also attack or just follows
  1. mmoc6771814438's Avatar
    guys,
    Why they want 33 pounds for Diabolo expansion in UK?
    40 bucks is like 23 quid...
  1. Unholyground's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Irisel View Post
    YEeaahh.. me.
    doesn't it just unlock to your account once you get invited in a wave?
  1. SageXaero's Avatar
    No invite crew checked everything and notta
  1. RaenavenBlacksun's Avatar
    Just a side note about what Nethaera said about BE Pallys vs Silver Hand: If one takes the time to stand in the inn in Southshore during Escape from Durnholde, we see events that essentially lead to the creation of Ashbringer. It's become widely accepted that the "shard" Ashbringer was constructed from was most likely a Naaru in its "Void" phase. Also, that whole quest like in Icecrown that ends in an overly Christian overtoned "We shall take him to Paradise where he shall feel no pain". It serious looks like the Argent Paladins (and a lot of them were originally Silver Hand paladins) fully accept the Naaru's role where the Light is concerned. There are too many instances where it's a neon sign blinking "Naaru are the Light Azeroth carries on about".
  1. mercutiouk's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by shakenbake7 View Post
    They have to make up for lost AH profits somewhere. Either way back to POE.
    This, so much this. Fuck this bunch of monkeys. Go play a completely free game in exactly the same style that's free with work being done on it constantly (Path of Exiles).

    Diablo 3 was a cash in on an existing bit of lore and 2 VERY well made games. It came out as a moderately polished turd that had the producers of it shitting on the previous games devs. I'm not generally TOO anti blizzard but the D3 team (or at least it's management) can go die in a house fire.

    Path of Exiles is D2 with an end-game, leagues for re-playability and the same idea towards an MMO that the first guild wars game had (towns are massively multiplayer, outside towns are instanced). It's already got WAY more original and fun ideas than D3 and will continue to improve. As mentioned, it's also free.
  1. Paula Deen's Avatar
    Still no new WoD Info ;_;
  1. Nienor's Avatar
    Lesson learnt: not gonna buy diablo or any of the upcoming blizzard games for what matters. Blizzard had this unique quality in their games that everyone else lacked. Not anymore. At least in my eyes. Everything they released after TBC has been boring and half assed.
    Their flagship, WoW, has many problems to the point of being unplayable for many people. (hello dead servers/factions).
    Diablo 3 was the definition of a poorly made game that was rushed to release. Even starcraft was nothing special. Not bad but not special either. Personally i definitely prefer to play wc3 even after 10+ years than starcraft.
  1. Inveracity's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Cronnix View Post
    $40 for a digital one act "expansion" to a mutiplayer game seems a bit ridiculous..
    You speak for us all.
  1. LordKain's Avatar
    Well, I just preordered the CE for 79.99. Feels good to have a job and make my own money.

    I finished D2 +exp once.....then never played it again. I put in hundreds of hours in D3. Well worth the money.
  1. OPLIX's Avatar
    thanks obama for breaking deadline
  1. Paula Deen's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Nienor View Post
    Lesson learnt: not gonna buy diablo or any of the upcoming blizzard games for what matters. Blizzard had this unique quality in their games that everyone else lacked. Not anymore. At least in my eyes. Everything they released after TBC has been boring and half assed.
    Their flagship, WoW, has many problems to the point of being unplayable for many people. (hello dead servers/factions).
    Diablo 3 was the definition of a poorly made game that was rushed to release. Even starcraft was nothing special. Not bad but not special either. Personally i definitely prefer to play wc3 even after 10+ years than starcraft.
    Yet the funny thing is, when they fix it with Connected Realms starting from MoP and now culminating into higher populations people cry about lack of community. Isn't it cute that no one can please anybody anymore.
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