Upcoming Patch 7.1.5 Class Changes, Patch 7.1.5 Micro-Holidays, Tweets, WowCraft #32

[chaud]

2.4.3 PTR Hotfixes, Animation Support Lightning Talk

Value Town #100 - The Holiday Special + Showmatches w/ Firebat & RDUURL

Upcoming Patch 7.1.5 Class Changes

Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)
Unholy Death Knight Feedback
An upcoming PTR hotfix (unsure of timing) will increase the damage of Portal to the Underworld and proc rate of Armies of the Damned.

One other set of changes is meant to help free up a little space in the rotation, or at least get back to the point where you're not frequently wasting resources due to not having enough time to spend them all. We're reducing a few effects that inject large amount of resources into the rotation (such as Pestilent Pustules) and increasing overall damage slightly. The net result is that people playing busy builds like Castigator/Pestilent Pustules/Infected Claws will likely still be using most or all of their global cooldowns on abilities, but will less often be in a state where they ignore or overcap Runic Power. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator / Artifact Calculator / PvP Talent Calculator)
[Feedback] Marksmanship in 7.1.5
An upcoming PTR hotfix will increase the proc rate of Marking Targets significantly. Our expectation is that in stationary situations, it should be straightforward to have a Vulnerable ready when you need or want to spend Focus on Aimed Shot, and the primary factor in full or near-full Aimed Shot effectiveness is good Focus management. In addition, a Vulnerable window that's ineffective due to movement, freshly spawned targets, or similar issues will be much less punishing.

We are also testing a subtle change that should address one of the flow issues that's been discussed. If Marking Targets appears very shortly (a split-second) before an Arcane Shot or Multi-Shot cast, it will no longer be consumed by the cast. When you're using Arcane Shot to build focus on a target that's Marked, if Marking Targets lights up, you will more reliably be able to react and cast Marked Shot, rather than overwriting the Mark with a new one. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Micro-Holidays in Patch 7.1.5

Patch 7.1.5 brings with it a variety of updates and new content. One of these new additions is what we’re calling micro-holidays. Each one is meant to make the world feel more alive without making players feel like they need to participate for big rewards—while still providing some more variety and fun.

• Call of the Scarab - January 21-23 - To commemorate the first ringing of the Scarab Gong on January 23, 2006, players will be able to relive a portion of the Ahn’Qiraj gate opening by collecting items for turn-in. The winning faction will then be able to claim bragging rights and have their faction flag hang over the gates until the next Call of the Scarab micro-holiday event.
• Hatching of the Hippogryphs - February 23 - Those who head to Feralas will be able to bear witness to the yearly hatching of the hippogryphs. You may even make a little friend for the day.
• March of the Tadpoles - April 5 - Each year, the Winterfin murlocs allow their tadpoles free reign over their village. You can make a difference by adopting your favorite, feeding it, and protecting it from nearby predators.
• Volunteer Guard Day - April 28 - Step into the shoes of a guard in the major cities with a /salute and you’ll get to serve and protect the city just like them. Stay vigilant and watch out for any invaders.
• Spring Balloon Festival - May 10-12 - Several of Azeroth’s characters – some of whom you might recognize – are giving tours of Azeroth in their hot air balloons. You’ll enjoy their commentary and interact with other citizens as you take in the scenery.
• Glowcap Festival - May 27 - Head to Sporeggar in Zangarmarsh, collect some rare mushrooms, and help the sporelings heal the great mushroom, Fshoo. You’ll gain a bit of Sporeggar reputation for helping them out.
• Thousand Boat Bash - June 6-8 - Thousand Needles is where the biggest bash on boats can be found in Azeroth. It’s a chance to unwind a little, away from the lurking danger of the Burning Legion.
• Un’goro Madness - August 10-12 - Dinosaurs are running amok in Un’Goro. Help quell the rampage and you’ll be awarded some temporary evolution buffs.

These holidays are just the beginning and we’ll be adding more even beyond the patch so keep an eye on the calendar!

Blue Tweets

PvP
not a fan of the horde/ally splitting titles. Nothing hostile just being honest.
We hear the feedback for sure but going to give the change more time. (holinka)

Classes
Hi,has Sargeras truly become a demon (can reform in the Nether) or is he still just a titan with demonic features (horns..)?
Sargeras is a titan first and foremost. #Argus knows (Alex_Afrasiabi)

Ghostcrawler Tweets
Ghostcrawler still occasionally talks about WoW. Remember that he no longer works for or speaks for Blizzard.

Do you think there’s a problem with the playerbase mistaking ‘optimal’ with 'viable’? This is mostly a WoW question, but I see it a lot in League too: The belief that this champion/class/spec isn’t the top of the meters or winrate lists, so they’re absolutely trash.
Yes. I think there is a lot that goes into this mindset, including the human predisposition to want to blame the game instead of ourselves, and the weirdness that sometimes results when “bet the best I can possibly be” mindset inside the game gets mutated into “lobby the developers to make me better.”

I have also seen players have a really unhealthy reaction to data being presented as a stack rank. When they see their name as #2 beneath a #1, they don’t always stop to analyze whether 2 and 1 are really different. They just see first place and not first place. The visual presentation of data as stacks can be problematic for this reason.

But I think a lot of it comes from a philosophical difference between the following two responses:

• I could improve my results by 30% just by playing better, so whether or not I am statistically 2% behind another characters is largely in the noise.
• I could improve my results by 30% just by playing better, but every bit counts, so being even 2% behind another character is relevant.

(Source)

WowCraft Episode 32 - The Fall of the Lich King
Another episdoe of WowCraft has been released.

[Zandalarian Paladin]

Ghostcrawler comment makes a lot of sense to me. I wish more people would see that :/

[Forious]

Patch 7.1.5 arrives when The Nighthold open, January 17th?

[Amerissis]

Patch 7.1.5 arrives when The Nighthold open, January 17th?

No, they are not linked. Patch could be before or after, or at the same time.

[Fenzha]

Patch 7.1.5 arrives when The Nighthold open, January 17th?

The patch has to either come a week+ before the raid or atleast a couple weeks after the raid launch. It has so many class changes that they cant release it on raid release.

[sharkk121]

They posted strict dates for the micro holidays and the first one is January 21-23 Call of the Scarab so the patch has to be before then

[Freestyle80]

The patch has to either come a week+ before the raid or atleast a couple weeks after the raid launch. It has so many class changes that they cant release it on raid release.

I am reasonably sure it will come before that Jan 23rd to celebrate 'Call of the Scarab' or they'd make us wait a whole year to experience this holiday which would suck

[Socialhealer]

except ghostcrawlers comment is shit, here is how blizzard thinks it is

I could improve my results by 30% just by playing better, so whether or not I am statistically 2% behind another characters is largely in the noise.

here is actually how it is

I could improve my results by 5% just by playing better, so whether or not I am statistically 40% behind mages in HFC or 50% behind shadow priests in EN+ ToV, IS FUCKING OUTRAGEOUS.

[Aerisot]

I want some unique characters in the nexus, where is Saurfang jr, Vermathias, or Bridenbrad? To name a few.

[Erixi]

Any MOD want to toss up an update that the background downloader just kicked in this morning for 7.1.5.

[Misskittyy]

Patch 7.1.5 arrives when The Nighthold open, January 17th?

I would hope they wouldn't drop these major changes on the same day, so i am guesstimating Jan 10th to give people time to adjust.

[cmlights]

woo more mm talk. they making sure mm is the only hunter spec to be taken seriously in expansion.

[Bronsin]

The patch has to either come a week+ before the raid or atleast a couple weeks after the raid launch. It has so many class changes that they cant release it on raid release.

Well looking at nighthold release being the 17th and Call of the Scarab being January 21-23 which would come before the next reset after NH. 7.1.5 has to come out Jan/3 (think Jan/10 would be way to close to NH release) or with NH and mythic raids being pushed back until atleast February.

*Changed my dates so you non american people know what i was talking about =)*

[Amerissis]

Well looking at nighthold release being the 17th and Call of the Scarab being January 21-23 which would come before the next reset after NH. 7.1.5 has to come out 1/3 (think 1/10 would be way to close to NH release) or with NH and mythic raids being pushed back until atleast February.

What, why would they release the patch march 1st?

[Dispirit]

What, why would they release the patch march 1st?

January 3rd. Here in America we put the month first.

[effs]

BNet just started a background download for me.

[PePeNinja]

are there really fucking kids crying about splitting titles..?? i cant !@#% believe this and they even said they are considering a change give a break..!! do you want every1 to play on Alliance side like WOD..!!??
Blizzard don't listen to the spoiled brat and keep the titles between factions.

[Bronsin]

January 3rd. Here in America we put the month first.

We're special =D

[Mun]

There is nothing like a GC comment to trigger the game-designers master minds of this community. I love it !

[kamuimac]

background downloader is up on eu - guess 7.1.5 will be 3.01 as most thought