Health Scaling Hotfix, Deadset Sanctuary Talk, HC Americas Rank #1 DH vs GR 41
Deck Spotlight: Crusher Deathadin
Hero Rotation for Week of October 28
World of Warcraft Oceanic Servers Live
Congratulations to everyone that has been waiting for these servers for years!
Warlords of Draenor - Garrisons: Lumber Mill
Our Lumber Mill guide has been updated with Level 3 building screenshots, how to unlock the Level 3 building, and additional information about the follower you can collect.
Artcraft - Level Design Part 2
Welcome back to our ongoing Artcraft series that takes a look at the environmental and zone design for World of Warcraft. I’m senior art director Chris Robinson, and today senior level designer Michael McInerney is going to take us through a more high-level design overview, again using Nagrand from Warlords of Draenor to illustrate our level-design philosophies.
Hello, I’m Michael, and I’ll be providing insights on some of the thought processes that go into designing an iconic zone like Nagrand. Our approach to level design begins with asking many questions, and defining the answers. The one big question we always ask ourselves is “what is the story we are trying to tell?” This usually keys off the initial pitch—in the case of Nagrand, we wanted to convey that this was the sweeping pastoral home of the Warsong clan. But we also needed to determine the specifics of how we were going to communicate that visually to the player.
The obvious answer to how we tell their story is to put their homes within the environment. But that’s not the only thing that makes a place a home. The Warsong are fairly aggressive and confident, so when you first enter the zone, you’re not so warmly greeted by their war banners and fortified towers. We also knew the Warsong clan were wolfriders and traveled in large packs. This was something we could show with the large beaten-down roads that their war bands travel along. Their home base is nestled into a wind-carved canyon, and has subtle references to an Orgrimmar long past, with buildings and living spaces shaded by cliff sides. We also knew that the way they care for their wolves says something about their culture, and is noticeably different from the reverence for them within the Frostwolf clan. We illustrated that by using animal pits to get across their relationship with their wolves, instead of integrating them into the villages as the Frostwolf would. All of these elements come together to paint a different picture of the Warsong and give them character.
Nagrand also had some equity we wanted to explore; players have experienced a shattered version of the zone in Outland, and this was a unique opportunity to provide a contrasting look. Giving places a sense of history is high on the list of zone design philosophies. Some of the more obvious ways to tell a zone’s history are with ruins, when they make sense. The Highmaul ogres were once a great power in Nagrand. Now they are on the edge of oblivion. All that’s left of their once great civilization is scattered remnants, as evidenced by their crumbling towers and roads you find throughout the zone. It’s not a coincidence that the area they occupy in the zone doesn’t exist in Outland.
We also wanted to touch on the floating islands, one of the classic visuals of Nagrand everyone remembers. We needed to figure out how could we could capture that vibe and still tell a story. One way was to create geography so delicate in places you could imagine it snapping off and floating into the sky—fel energies notwithstanding. The sweeping arches and impossible rock formations also lean toward that realm of magic, without fully committing.
The player experience, and the way a player feels when they are moving through the environments is something we’re always thinking about. Moving from zone to zone, or even within the subzones and small microcosms we create, can dramatically impact someone’s perception of their progression and the game world around them. Stay too long in one area and it can get very tiresome, but move too quickly from one to another and it can feel overwhelming. We work very closely with the quest designers to move players through the world so they can experience a dramatic environmental change at the best possible points, or when we feel they could enjoy a change of scenery.
The challenge with Nagrand was creating enough variety within a theme while maintaining an organic feel. This is a zone that is essentially grassland, but we knew we couldn’t fill a space this large with only fields. Developing an ecology that feels fresh and real is an important tenet of designing a world. Mountains flow into valleys; the edges of a forest blend naturally into open fields. The high points are dryer with scrub bushes and dead trees. The low points are lush, sometimes flooded with water. The riverbanks are a subzone in themselves, covered in reeds and thick vegetation. These areas all offer variety yet stay within the fantasy we are trying to deliver.
The way the NPCs occupy the areas should also make sense. The panther-like Saberon live in roughed out caves below the rock arches. Herds of Clefthooves roam the fields. The Highmaul for the most part occupy the mountainous areas. These relationships to the environment tell a story without any reading required.
A great zone is one that, upon entering, you immediately “get” the fantasy of, and years later you still remember that moment, and I hope we’ve achieved that with the latest incarnation of Nagrand.
Tomorrow, senior level designer Ely Cannon will explain more about the role of level designers in the creation of a zone.
Hello, I’m Michael, and I’ll be providing insights on some of the thought processes that go into designing an iconic zone like Nagrand. Our approach to level design begins with asking many questions, and defining the answers. The one big question we always ask ourselves is “what is the story we are trying to tell?” This usually keys off the initial pitch—in the case of Nagrand, we wanted to convey that this was the sweeping pastoral home of the Warsong clan. But we also needed to determine the specifics of how we were going to communicate that visually to the player.
The obvious answer to how we tell their story is to put their homes within the environment. But that’s not the only thing that makes a place a home. The Warsong are fairly aggressive and confident, so when you first enter the zone, you’re not so warmly greeted by their war banners and fortified towers. We also knew the Warsong clan were wolfriders and traveled in large packs. This was something we could show with the large beaten-down roads that their war bands travel along. Their home base is nestled into a wind-carved canyon, and has subtle references to an Orgrimmar long past, with buildings and living spaces shaded by cliff sides. We also knew that the way they care for their wolves says something about their culture, and is noticeably different from the reverence for them within the Frostwolf clan. We illustrated that by using animal pits to get across their relationship with their wolves, instead of integrating them into the villages as the Frostwolf would. All of these elements come together to paint a different picture of the Warsong and give them character.
Nagrand also had some equity we wanted to explore; players have experienced a shattered version of the zone in Outland, and this was a unique opportunity to provide a contrasting look. Giving places a sense of history is high on the list of zone design philosophies. Some of the more obvious ways to tell a zone’s history are with ruins, when they make sense. The Highmaul ogres were once a great power in Nagrand. Now they are on the edge of oblivion. All that’s left of their once great civilization is scattered remnants, as evidenced by their crumbling towers and roads you find throughout the zone. It’s not a coincidence that the area they occupy in the zone doesn’t exist in Outland.
We also wanted to touch on the floating islands, one of the classic visuals of Nagrand everyone remembers. We needed to figure out how could we could capture that vibe and still tell a story. One way was to create geography so delicate in places you could imagine it snapping off and floating into the sky—fel energies notwithstanding. The sweeping arches and impossible rock formations also lean toward that realm of magic, without fully committing.
The player experience, and the way a player feels when they are moving through the environments is something we’re always thinking about. Moving from zone to zone, or even within the subzones and small microcosms we create, can dramatically impact someone’s perception of their progression and the game world around them. Stay too long in one area and it can get very tiresome, but move too quickly from one to another and it can feel overwhelming. We work very closely with the quest designers to move players through the world so they can experience a dramatic environmental change at the best possible points, or when we feel they could enjoy a change of scenery.
The challenge with Nagrand was creating enough variety within a theme while maintaining an organic feel. This is a zone that is essentially grassland, but we knew we couldn’t fill a space this large with only fields. Developing an ecology that feels fresh and real is an important tenet of designing a world. Mountains flow into valleys; the edges of a forest blend naturally into open fields. The high points are dryer with scrub bushes and dead trees. The low points are lush, sometimes flooded with water. The riverbanks are a subzone in themselves, covered in reeds and thick vegetation. These areas all offer variety yet stay within the fantasy we are trying to deliver.
The way the NPCs occupy the areas should also make sense. The panther-like Saberon live in roughed out caves below the rock arches. Herds of Clefthooves roam the fields. The Highmaul for the most part occupy the mountainous areas. These relationships to the environment tell a story without any reading required.
A great zone is one that, upon entering, you immediately “get” the fantasy of, and years later you still remember that moment, and I hope we’ve achieved that with the latest incarnation of Nagrand.
Tomorrow, senior level designer Ely Cannon will explain more about the role of level designers in the creation of a zone.
Anti-Exploit / Grinding Mechanic
Players in beta first noticed a mechanic that cut XP by 90% after killing the same mobs in the same area for a long time. However, when this mechanic went live, it seems that it activated much more quickly, which has upset some players. However, the mechanic is being disabled until it is fixed!
This isn't intended to be an "anti-grind" mechanic. It's intended to be an "anti-exploit" mechanic that programmatically addresses power-leveling abuses, with the aim of letting us reward legitimate players more generously. In the past, we've often had little choice but to drastically reduce the experience awarded by certain respawning bosses or enemies that are locked in combat with other NPCs, because otherwise they'd be abused. That always felt bad to the regular player who was just passing through in the course of questing or exploration and got unexpectedly little or no experience for killing something. The goal was to come up with an approach that would be invisible to most players, but discourage sitting there and repeatedly farming the same mob for long stretches of time in order to gain experience. Alternatives like questing, dungeons, or PvP are all supposed to be more lucrative than that - WoW has never been a game in which mass-killing mobs for experience was the most efficient route.
That said, clearly this implementation is far too strict, and is triggering from a wide variety of normal activity. We're going to disable the functionality entirely and look into a much more narrowly targeted approach if and when we reintroduce it. Apologies for the inconvenience and the lack of response on the issue - we were working on understanding exactly where the algorithm was going awry, and now that we've done so, we'll be taking action in the near future.
That said, clearly this implementation is far too strict, and is triggering from a wide variety of normal activity. We're going to disable the functionality entirely and look into a much more narrowly targeted approach if and when we reintroduce it. Apologies for the inconvenience and the lack of response on the issue - we were working on understanding exactly where the algorithm was going awry, and now that we've done so, we'll be taking action in the near future.
Patch 6.0.3 Hotfixes - October 28
Quests
World Environment
Battlegrounds and Arenas
- Roll Club: Serpent's Spine should no longer cause players to float and allow them to complete the quest.
- Zarhym Altogether: Spirit Chests looted during the weekly quest no longer contains gold.
World Environment
- World Defense chat channel should be joinable once again.
- Alliance characters taking a flight path to Shattered Beachhead should now arrive safely at their destination (rather than falling through the world).
Battlegrounds and Arenas
- Bonus Honor for winning a Battleground is now only awarded when queued for a Random Battleground (it was incorrectly awarding the bonus Honor for any Battleground win).
Play with the Blues - Ashran Live Stream
Join us Wednesday, October 29 at 11:00 a.m. PDT for a special live stream direct from Ashran. Designers Brian Holinka and Chris Kaleiki will be joined by community manager, Josh “Lore” Allen to provide commentary and share insights on all that Ashran has to offer. Players on the beta realms are also invited to play alongside the blues, just be sure you’re camera ready because notable streamers, Hotted, Bajheera, and Treckie will also be diving into the action.
When: Wednesday, October 29 at 11:00 a.m. PDT
Where: Those participating will want to create a character and login to the level 100 PvP realm. Just want to watch? Catch the action on our Twitch channel at http://www.twitch.tv/wow
We’ll see you there!
When: Wednesday, October 29 at 11:00 a.m. PDT
Where: Those participating will want to create a character and login to the level 100 PvP realm. Just want to watch? Catch the action on our Twitch channel at http://www.twitch.tv/wow
We’ll see you there!
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Season 15 Arena Rewards
As I mentioned previously, we're working to "scrub" the Arena and RBG ladders to disqualify cheaters. Our original plan was to hand out the end of season rewards with today's maintenance. However, as work to clean up the ladders continues, it's become apparent that we will not have them ready today.
Our revised plan is to release them next week at the latest, but we're hoping to be able to award them sooner than that. We sincerely apologize for the delay in getting these rewards out to those who earned them legitimately. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Recent Honor Changes
There's been a number of hotfixes around Battleground Honor gains and got clarification on how it's supposed to work.
At the beginning of Patch 6.0.2 there was no bonus Honor. We implemented a hotfix to grant 135 Honor for a win but mistakenly added it for all Battleground wins instead of only when queuing for a Random Battleground.
In patch 6.0.3, this was corrected and the bonus Honor is now only awarded for a win when queuing for a Random Battleground. Additionally, we restored the 45 Honor bonus for losing when queued for a Random Battleground.
If you want your bonus Honor, queue for Random Battlegrounds.
Honor gains for specific queues are still half of what they were in 5.4.8. So basically still a stealth nerf to push everyone into randoms only. Thanks for the clarification now, but the fact that it was reduced so much, and then broken, and then hotfixed--zero of which were communicated or documented in patch notes--is embarrassing.
In 5.4.8 there was a 135 Honor bonus for the first win of the day in addition to the standard 135 Honor bonus for winning a Random Battleground.
There is no bonus for the first win of the day in 6.0.2.
So my partner just completed a WSG random que and won. He had 25hks with 3kbs and only received 50pts. How is this getting 135pts for a random win?
The bonus Honor isn't displayed in the scoreboard at the end of the match. The correct amount should still be awarded. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Colorblind Shaders 6.0.2
Thanks for posting! To give some background, the system that the colorblind cvar commands relied upon saw a major overhaul in 6.0.2. The colorblind cvar subsystem—which was a set of debug commands to simulate colorblindness for our testing purposes—was thereby rendered nonfunctional. We’re currently working on a more robust and fully featured colorblind shader system to correct for colorblindness. However, that work is still ongoing, and it will be in a patch sometime after the release of Warlords of Draenor.
In the short term, we've reimplemented the colorblind cvar commands in a beta build that should see the beta test realm soon, and which we expect to be patched into the live game before the release of the expansion. The command has changed to “colorblindSimulator”, but all other settings numbers remain unchanged. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Mythic Lockouts
I've seen some confusion over Mythic raiding lately and wanted to clarify.
Mythic difficulty's lockout works differently than the other raiding difficulties (Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic).
In Mythic difficulty, you are bound to the raid ID. This means if you join a Mythic raid, defeat the first boss (thereby binding you to that Mythic raid ID) and leave; you'll return to the same raid. If the raid continues on to defeat bosses 2, and 3 while you were gone, you will return to the raid with those bosses already defeated.
For that reason, it is important to stick together with the same group of people as much as possible for Mythic difficulty.
When joining a Mythic raid that's already in-progress, read the notification box that pops up carefully. It'll let you know how many bosses have already been defeated and ask for confirmation to be saved to that raid. If something's not adding up, you can refuse to be saved and be teleported out without being saved. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
As I mentioned previously, we're working to "scrub" the Arena and RBG ladders to disqualify cheaters. Our original plan was to hand out the end of season rewards with today's maintenance. However, as work to clean up the ladders continues, it's become apparent that we will not have them ready today.
Our revised plan is to release them next week at the latest, but we're hoping to be able to award them sooner than that. We sincerely apologize for the delay in getting these rewards out to those who earned them legitimately. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Recent Honor Changes
There's been a number of hotfixes around Battleground Honor gains and got clarification on how it's supposed to work.
At the beginning of Patch 6.0.2 there was no bonus Honor. We implemented a hotfix to grant 135 Honor for a win but mistakenly added it for all Battleground wins instead of only when queuing for a Random Battleground.
In patch 6.0.3, this was corrected and the bonus Honor is now only awarded for a win when queuing for a Random Battleground. Additionally, we restored the 45 Honor bonus for losing when queued for a Random Battleground.
If you want your bonus Honor, queue for Random Battlegrounds.
Honor gains for specific queues are still half of what they were in 5.4.8. So basically still a stealth nerf to push everyone into randoms only. Thanks for the clarification now, but the fact that it was reduced so much, and then broken, and then hotfixed--zero of which were communicated or documented in patch notes--is embarrassing.
In 5.4.8 there was a 135 Honor bonus for the first win of the day in addition to the standard 135 Honor bonus for winning a Random Battleground.
There is no bonus for the first win of the day in 6.0.2.
So my partner just completed a WSG random que and won. He had 25hks with 3kbs and only received 50pts. How is this getting 135pts for a random win?
The bonus Honor isn't displayed in the scoreboard at the end of the match. The correct amount should still be awarded. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Colorblind Shaders 6.0.2
Thanks for posting! To give some background, the system that the colorblind cvar commands relied upon saw a major overhaul in 6.0.2. The colorblind cvar subsystem—which was a set of debug commands to simulate colorblindness for our testing purposes—was thereby rendered nonfunctional. We’re currently working on a more robust and fully featured colorblind shader system to correct for colorblindness. However, that work is still ongoing, and it will be in a patch sometime after the release of Warlords of Draenor.
In the short term, we've reimplemented the colorblind cvar commands in a beta build that should see the beta test realm soon, and which we expect to be patched into the live game before the release of the expansion. The command has changed to “colorblindSimulator”, but all other settings numbers remain unchanged. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Mythic Lockouts
I've seen some confusion over Mythic raiding lately and wanted to clarify.
Mythic difficulty's lockout works differently than the other raiding difficulties (Raid Finder, Normal, Heroic).
In Mythic difficulty, you are bound to the raid ID. This means if you join a Mythic raid, defeat the first boss (thereby binding you to that Mythic raid ID) and leave; you'll return to the same raid. If the raid continues on to defeat bosses 2, and 3 while you were gone, you will return to the raid with those bosses already defeated.
For that reason, it is important to stick together with the same group of people as much as possible for Mythic difficulty.
When joining a Mythic raid that's already in-progress, read the notification box that pops up carefully. It'll let you know how many bosses have already been defeated and ask for confirmation to be saved to that raid. If something's not adding up, you can refuse to be saved and be teleported out without being saved. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Lore
Garrosh'ar Landing I'm assuming? And he's also had some minor sha encounters too probably right?
Yes, the Shado-Pan have kept Sha imprisoned at the monastery for centuries, so they're familiar w/ it. (_DonAdams)
So that means... when players meet Sha of Violence he basically broke free just then?
He was breaking free and taking over the Shado-Pan, which is why you fight them & Taran Zhu. (_DonAdams)
World
let me get this right, Horde gets fixes Right away but alliance Has to wait years because devs are too damn lazy to fix stuff? ty
It's a non-trivial fix that isn't possible/safe to attempt while the event is live. So, no; you didn't get that right. (_DonAdams)
problem then is alli wickerman is in elwynn. horde wickerman is inside lorderon, and in small space to boot.
We're looking at removing the auto-flagging in Ruins of Lordaeron for next year. Thanks, everyone. (_DonAdams)
Garrosh'ar Landing I'm assuming? And he's also had some minor sha encounters too probably right?
Yes, the Shado-Pan have kept Sha imprisoned at the monastery for centuries, so they're familiar w/ it. (_DonAdams)
So that means... when players meet Sha of Violence he basically broke free just then?
He was breaking free and taking over the Shado-Pan, which is why you fight them & Taran Zhu. (_DonAdams)
World
let me get this right, Horde gets fixes Right away but alliance Has to wait years because devs are too damn lazy to fix stuff? ty
It's a non-trivial fix that isn't possible/safe to attempt while the event is live. So, no; you didn't get that right. (_DonAdams)
problem then is alli wickerman is in elwynn. horde wickerman is inside lorderon, and in small space to boot.
We're looking at removing the auto-flagging in Ruins of Lordaeron for next year. Thanks, everyone. (_DonAdams)
Dark Legacy Comics #463
DLC #463 has been released!
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