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by Published on 2023-02-07 10:51 PM

Dragonflight 10.0.7 PTR Development Notes - February 7
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Hello everyone. Here is this week’s update to the 10.0.7 PTR:

Classes

  • Death Knight
    • Frost
      • Remorseless Winter has been removed from the talent tree and now learned at level 19.
      • Might of the Frozen Wastes has been removed from the talent tree and now learned at level 25.
      • Frostreaper has been removed from the talent tree and now learned at level 28.
      • New Talent: Fatal Fixation – Killing Machine can stack up to 1 additional time. Replaces Frostreaper on the talent tree.
      • Biting Cold has moved to Remorseless Winter’s old position in the Frost specialization tree.
      • Everfrost has moved to Biting Cold’s old position in the Frost specialization tree.
      • Obliteration now causes Soul Reaper to also grant Killing Machine and have a chance to generate a Rune during Pillar of Frost
        • Developers’ note: Frost will be seeing a few updates to their tree in 10.0.7. Currently Frost feels 1 or 2 points off from being able to make more meaningful choices within their spec tree. To help ease some of this we are shifting a few talents to be auto-learned on level up and replacing them with a new or existing talent. The new version of the tree should offer a little more variety and feel less linear when allocating your talent points and give you more choice based on the content you are running.
  • Monk
    • Mistweaver
      • Sheilun’s Gift now triggers Mastery: Gust of Mist exclusively onto its primary target.
      • Sheilun’s Gift healing increased by 10%.
      • New Talent: Legacy of Wisdom – Sheilun’s Gift heals 2 additional allies and its cast time is reduced by 0.5 seconds.
    • Windwalker
      • New Talent: Skytouch – Tiger Palm applies an effect which increases your critical strike chance by 50% for 6 seconds on the target. This effect cannot be applied more than once every 1 minute per target.
        • This has been added as a choice node on Skyreach for players that still want the benefit additional critical strike but do not want to dash to their target."
  • Paladin
    • Seal of Mercy is now a 1 rank talent (was 2).
    • Divine Toll and Divine Resonance have been added to the class tree.
    • Removed Seraphim and Sanctified Wrath talents from the class tree.
    • Retribution Aura has been redesigned - now grants 5% increased damage and healing for 10 seconds to all party or raid members whenever a party or raid member within 40 yards takes more than 50% of their health in damage. This can only occur once every 30 seconds.
    • Protection
      • Sanctified Wrath has been added to the Protection tree.
      • Talents positioned around the 20 point gate have been adjusted.
      • Spellwarding has been moved below the 20 point gate.
      • Strength in Conviction and Faith in the Light have swapped locations in the Protection tree.
      • Faith’s Armor is now a 2-rank talent and now causes Shield of the Righteous to grant additional armor.
    • Developer’s Notes
      • We are hard at work on the updates to the Retribution tree and are close to being able to share it with the community and a set of in depth development notes to give an overview of what’s changed.
      • We’re also making some changes to the Paladin class tree, some of which you’ll see in today’s PTR update.
      • Retribution Aura in Dragonflight has functioned only as a personal throughput benefit to Paladins, locking them out of using other Auras during gameplay. We’re looking to change that, so Retribution Aura now grants 5% increased damage and healing for 10 seconds to all party or raid members whenever a party or raid member within 40 yards takes more than 50% of their health in damage. This can only occur once every 30 seconds.
      • In addition to the changes to Retribution Aura, Retribution Paladins will receive a baseline passive: Instrument of Retribution - When any party or raid member within 40 yards dies, you gain Avenging wrath for 12 sec.
      • Seraphim has been removed from the Paladin talent tree, in our previous developer notes we mentioned points regarding stacking auras and having an excessive amount of buttons to press. Seraphim is a fairly large factor in both and we feel it is better to take the throughput provided by this cooldown and build it into your core abilities.
      • As a result of the above, we’ve decided to move Divine Toll to the Paladin class tree to ensure there’s still a powerful and exciting node at the end point of the class tree as a goal.
      • We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and hearing to your feedback!
  • Shaman
    • Earth Elemental and Primal Earth Elemental no longer taunt or pulse threat to enemies the Shaman is not in combat with.
    • Earth Elemental and Primal Earth Elemental no longer taunt or pulse threat to enemies that are attacking a player with a tank specialization.
      • Developer’s notes: We have reverted this change to Earth Elemental and Primal Earth Elemental after reviewing feedback we’ve received.
    • Swirling Currents has been redesigned – Increases the healing done by Healing Stream Totem and Cloudburst Totem by 10%/20% for Restoration and 20%/40% for Elemental and Enhancement.
    • Fixed an issue causing the self-cast version of Earth Shield from Elemental Orbit to not increase the healing done by Healing Stream Totem or Healing Tide Totem.
    • Several talents have moved positions in the class tree.
    • Earthgrab Totem now replaces Earthbind Totem. Earthgrab Totem is now the left-most option.
    • Shamans that are in Ghost Wolf now display the Maelstrom resource on their Personal Resource Display instead of mana if they are Elemental specialization.
    • Elemental
      • Electrified Shocks duration increased to 9 seconds (was 6 seconds).
      • Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented Electrified Shocks from applying to the primary target.
    • Restoration
      • A choice node has been added below Mana Tide Totem:
        • New Talent: Resonant Waters – Increases the duration of Mana Tide Totem by 4 seconds and increases its radius by 20 yards.
        • New Talent: Spiritwalker’s Tidal Totem – After using Mana Tide Totem, the cast time of Healing Wave and Chain Heal is reduced by 50% and the mana cost of Healing Wave and Chain Heal are reduced by 50% for 10 seconds.
      • All healing done increased by 8%.
      • Acid Rain damage reduced by 20%.
      • Ancestral Awakening heals for 15%/30% of the amount healed (was 10%/20%).
      • Earthen Harmony has been redesigned – Earth Shield reduces damage taken by 3%/6% and its healing is increased by 50%/100% on targets below 75% health.
      • Cloudburst Totem healing no longer contributes to Ancestral Guidance.
      • Ancestral Awakening and Ancestral Guidance now contribute to Cloudburst Totem healing.
      • Earthliving Weapon’s proc sound effect has been lowered in volume.
  • Warlock
    • Demonic Inspiration has been redesigned – Increases the attack speed of your primary pet by 5%. Increases Grimoire of Sacrifice damage by 15%.
    • Wrathful Minion has been redesigned – Increases the damage done by your primary pet by 5%. Increases Grimoire of Sacrifice damage by 15%.
    • Affliction
      • Dread Touch now lasts 8 seconds (was 6 seconds).

Items and Rewards

  • The Divine Kiss of Ohn’ahra mount has been updated to its correct visual in the mount journal.
  • Stolen Breath of Ohn’ahra now also drops from The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic+ difficulty.

Player Versus Player

  • Priest
    • Shadow Word: Pain and Purge the Wicked now have a spell highlight when Catharsis is above 80% of its maximum stored damage.
    • Shadow
      • Fixed an issue that allowed Void Tendrils’ root effect to persist after they’ve been destroyed.

Professions

  • Skinning
    • Skinning enemies has a new animation.

Feedback: Paladins in 10.0.7
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Hello Paladins.

We’re hard at work on updates to the Retribution tree, and we’ll soon share a set of in-depth development notes to give an overview of what’s changed there.

We’re also making some changes to the Paladin class tree, some of which you’ll see in today’s PTR update.

In Dragonflight, Retribution Aura has functioned only as a personal throughput benefit to Paladins, locking them out of using other Auras during gameplay. We’re looking to change that, so Retribution Aura now grants 5% increased damage and healing for 10 seconds to all party or raid members whenever a party or raid member within 40 yards takes more than 50% of their health in damage. This can only occur once every 30 seconds.

In addition to the changes to Retribution Aura, Retribution Paladins will receive a baseline passive: Instrument of Retribution – When any party or raid member within 40 yards dies, you gain Avenging wrath for 12 seconds.

Seraphim has been removed from the Paladin talent tree. In our previous notes, we mentioned stacking auras and having an excessive amount of buttons to press. Seraphim is a fairly large factor in both, and we feel it is better to take the throughput provided by this cooldown and build it into your core abilities.

As a result of the above, we’ve decided to move Divine Toll to the Paladin class tree to ensure there’s still a powerful and exciting node at the end point of the class tree as a goal.

We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and hearing to your feedback!
by Published on 2023-02-07 10:22 PM

Hearthstone Mercenaries Mode Stops Getting Content Updates

Wrath Classic - Up to 30% Off on Paid Faction Changes
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Paid Faction Changes are now available to Wrath of the Lich King™ Classic players. Get more on Faction Change Bundles during our introductory offer*.

Faction Change Bundles

Take a walk on the other side with 30% off one or three Faction Changes, and until February 27, you can get two additional Faction Changes for the price of six. The Faction Change item will now allow the purchase of multiple Faction Changes at one time or save some for future use.

Changing your faction also includes a free race change** for your class, so you’ll fit in with your new friends when you join them on their adventures all over Azeroth.

Available Faction Change pack options:

  • 1 for $21.00 (Regularly $30.00)
  • 3 for $42.00 (Regularly $60.00)
  • 6 8 for $95.00

To learn more about the Faction Change service and any restrictions, visit our support page.

Ready to make your move? Purchase Faction Change Packs from the Battle.net shop or launch World of Warcraft and click on the Shop button on the character select screen.

Once you’ve purchased your Faction Changes within the Battle.net shop or the in-game shop, a new icon will appear on your character selection screen. To activate a game service, click on the token, then select the character you wish to change. Any unused Faction Change tokens will remain on your account for use at a future time.



* Offer only available for Wrath of the Lich King Classic through February 27, 2023. After February 27, the largest available Faction Change will include 6 Faction Changes for the current offer price of 8.
** Wrath Classic Faction Change service cannot be applied to a character that completed a faction change in the past 30 Days.

Twitter Integration Removed from World of Warcraft
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)
Over the next two days, we will update World of Warcraft® to remove the integrated Twitter® posting feature. After this small update, the function to Tweet from in-game will no longer be available, and the settings which store your Twitter credentials will no longer appear.

This will not require any action by players.



All trademarks referenced above are the property of their respective owners.
by Published on 2023-02-06 09:18 PM

Activision Blizzard Q4 2022 Earnings Results
Activision Blizzard announced their Q4 2022 results this afternoon. We now know why there was no article similar to previous expansions about the expansion becoming the fastest selling PC game of all time.

World of Warcraft
  • Early Dragonflight sales have not reached the level of the prior expansion, but community feedback on the title has been positive
  • World of Warcraft delivered significant year-over-year growth in reach, engagement and net bookings in the fourth quarter following the September release of Wrath of the Lich King Classic and the November launch of Dragonflight
  • Post-launch subscriber retention in the West is higher than recent expansions
  • Warcraft: Arclight Rumble continues to progress well through regional testing

Overwatch 2
  • The October launch of Overwatch 2 with a free-to-play model delivered the highest quarterly figures for player numbers and hours played in Overwatch history
  • Player investment is also off to a strong start, with fourth quarter in-game net bookings at the highest level to date for Overwatch

Diablo
  • Diablo Immortal on mobile and PC also contributed to Blizzard’s fourth quarter year-over-year growth. Engagement and player investment trends for the title were stable at the end of the fourth quarter and into the new year
  • Diablo IV, the next installment in the genre-defining series, is planned for release on PC and console on June 6, 2023

Microsoft
  • Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are continuing to engage with regulators and are working toward closing the transaction in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending June 30 2023

Blizzard
  • Blizzard reported its highest quarterly net bookings to date, driven by strong growth for Warcraft and the reinvigoration of Overwatch and Diablo
  • The first quarter will see significant development and marketing investment in live operations and future releases, including the June launch of Diablo IV
  • Blizzard segment revenue and operating income grew approximately 90% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, as our teams executed against a substantial pipeline to deliver well-received content across key intellectual properties.
  • Warcraft, Overwatch and Diablo grew strongly year-over-year and each delivered over $100M in net bookings
  • Blizzard had 45 million Monthly Active Users, up from 31 million last quarter
  • Game development teams grew over 25% year-over-year in 2022
  • Activision Blizzard increased representation for those who identify as women or non-binary to 26% globally, as of the end of November, versus 24% a year earlier
  • Representation for underrepresented ethnic groups increased to 38% from 36% in the US over the same period
  • Blizzard remains focused on finding alternative ways to serve the community in China
by Published on 2023-02-06 05:19 PM

Love is in the Air 2023
This year, Love is in the Air will run from February 6th through the 20th. This event was based around Valentine’s Day, giving players a chance to give and receive gifts throughout Azeroth.


New in 2023
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
The Love is in the Air world event is right around the corner, and we’re sharing the love this holiday season.

We’ve heard your feedback on the frustrations with X-45 Heartbreaker’s low drop rate and feeling the pressure of having to farm the mount by cycling through as many alts as possible every day. From now on, the first Heart-Shaped Box you receive each day across your Battle.net account will have a greatly increased chance to contain the X-45 Heartbreaker mount.

Any subsequent Heart-Shaped Boxes you earn on your characters after the first each day will drop the mount at the previous, original rate.

Love is in the Air begins on February 6 at 10:00 a.m. PST in all regions. So spritz on your favorite perfume and head to the Shadowfang Keep event dungeon to defeat Apothecary Hummel for your chance at the fantastic flying fuschia fuselage you’ve fancied far too fervently for what seems like forever.

Good luck adventurers!

Lovely Charm Collection
To start collecting Lovely Charms, players must purchase a Lovely Charm Collector's Kit from Kwee Q. Peddlefeet. With it in their inventory, players will be rewarded with Lovely Charms whenever they fight enemies which would grant XP or Honor.


The Event Boss: Apothecary Hummel
You can queue through the dungeon finder to kill Apothecary Hummel, who drops a Heart-Shaped Box or Heart-Shaped Carton (depending on your level) for the first kill of the day - this can contain:


Apothecary Hummel also drops a random neck piece from the following list:

Upon killing Apothecary Hummel for the first time you will also be awarded a Faded Lovely Greeting Card, which will begin the quest Something is in the Air (and it Ain’t Love).


Quests
In Orgrimmar and Stormwind you will find the Love is in the Air areas, where a Junior Detective will be waiting for you with the introduction quest Uncommon Scents. Completion will unlock a quest chain which includes:


Gift to Faction Leaders
The Faction Leader daily quests are repeatable quests that require players to turn in a Lovely Charm Bracelet to the leader of their choice. The rewards will always be 5 Love Token and a Lovely Card, which increases stats based on the faction leader.

Horde

Alliance


Daily Quests


Rewards
Love is in the Air rewards can be purchased at a Lovely Merchant in major cities, in exchange for Love Token.

Mounts

Toys


Pets

Transmog and Love is in the Air Set

Heirloom

Miscellaneous


Achievements
The following achievements are able to be earned during the event. Everything under the Fool For Love category is needed as part of the meta for What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been, which awards Reins of the Violet Proto-Drake when completed.

Name Side Reward
Fool For Love Complete the Love is in the Air achievements listed below.
Title Reward: <Name> the Love Fool
Be Mine! Eat the eight "Bag of Candies" heart candies listed below.
Beacon of Love Have 25 Love Rays active on you simultaneously.
Charming Create 12 Lovely Charm Bracelets.
Dangerous Love Assist the Steamwheedle Cartel in stopping the sinister Crown Chemical Co. plot.
Fistful of Love Use a Handful of Rose Petals on each of the race/class combinations listed below.
Flirt With Disaster Get completely smashed, put on your best perfume, throw a handful of rose petals on Sraaz and then kiss him. You'll regret it in the morning.
Alliance
Flirt With Disaster Get completely smashed, put on your best perfume, throw a handful of rose petals on Jeremiah Payson and then kiss him. You'll regret it in the morn...
Horde
I Pitied The Fool Pity the Love Fool in the locations specified below.
It Might Just Save Your Life Unleash the power of love contained within a holiday necklace.
Lonely? Enjoy a Buttermilk Delight with someone in Dalaran at a Romantic Picnic during the Love is in the Air celebration.
Love Magnet Have 10 Love Rays active on you simultaneously.
Lovely Luck Is On Your Side Open a Lovely Dress Box and receive a Lovely Black Dress.
My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose Obtain a Bouquet of Red or Ebon Roses during the Love is in the Air celebration.
Nation of Adoration Complete the Lovely Charm Bracelet daily quest for each Alliance capital.
Alliance
Nation of Adoration Complete the Lovely Charm Bracelet daily quest for each Horde capital.
Horde
Perma-Peddle Obtain a permanent Peddlefeet pet by procuring a Truesilver Shafted Arrow.
Shafted! Shoot 10 players with the Silver Shafted Arrow.
Sweet Tooth Sample the Love is in the Air candies listed below.
The Rocket's Pink Glare Shoot off 10 Love Rockets in 20 seconds or less.
They Really Love Me! Have 50 Love Rays active on you simultaneously.
Tough Love Defeat the trio of Crown Chemical Co. apothecaries in Shadowfang Keep.
by Published on 2023-02-04 10:37 PM

Trading Post Issue and Fix Underway
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We’ve identified an issue that’s preventing players from receiving Trader’s Tender and Ash’adar rewards from the Traveler’s Log.

We do not believe any credit or progress has been lost, and we believe that the expected rewards should in your Collector’s Cache once the bug is fixed.

Thank you for your patience!

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