Burning Treant Form, BG Queues and Addons, Patch 5.1 Hotfixes, Blue Posts, TCG Art

[chaud]

No PvP-Specific Gear, Wizard Budget Guide - MP10 for Under 1 Million, Blue Posts, Project Blackstone

Blizzard Registers Project Blackstone Domain

Burning Treant Form
Druids with Glyph of the Treant got a nice little upgrade in Patch 5.1. Anytime they stand near a Cozy Fire in Treant form, they will catch on fire!

Battleground Queues and Addons
This is in response to an addon that allowed players to form full cross realm premades by all queueing at the same time.

In patch 5.1, we resolved some issues regarding how Addons interact with the Battleground queue system. It is no longer possible to automate queuing for standard or random Battlegrounds in groups larger than 5. We decided to make this change in order to improve the experience for all players who are queueing into random groups normally and expecting to face similarly random groups, only to find themselves crushed by a full team of coordinated opponents.

We understand that players want to enjoy coordinated team play, and we invite those players to queue into Rated Battlegrounds or play Wargames to have that experience. Players can continue to use Addons to queue for Rated Battlegrounds as well.

Patch 5.1 Hotfixes - November 29

Classes
Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)

• Serpent Sting damage has been increased by 100%, and its cost has been reduced to 15 Focus (was 25).
  
• Survival
  
  • Improved Serpent Sting now deals 15% of its total damage instantly (was 30%).
    

Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)

• Fire
  
  • The periodic damage from Combustion has been reduced by 50%.
    
  • The critical strike chance multiplier from Critical Mass has been reduced to 1.25 (was 1.5).
    

Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)

• Stance of the Fierce Tiger now correctly applies its 10% movement speed increase. It may be necessary to activate this stance if it is not already active to benefit from the effect.
  
• Monks using Roll and Flying Serpent Kick will now move at the correct speed while holding a Battleground flag.
  
• Mistweaver
  
  • The mana costs of Jab, Spinning Crane Kick, Soothing Mist, Crackling Jade Lightning, and Renewing Mist have been increased by 30%.
    
  • Soothing Mist and Crackling Jade Lightning now have a 30% chance to generate Chi when they deal damage (was 35%).
    

Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)

• Divine Star now deals 40% more damage and 133% more healing, and its radius has been reduced by 33%.
  

Quests

• Players that complete the quest "Voice of the Gods" will now only receive one Reliquary Facsimile reward via mail after completing this quest.
  
• The drop rate for Bilgewater Blasting Caps required for the quest "Siege Damage" has been increased.
  
• Lieutenant Valorcall will now spawn for the quest "Sigil of Arathor".
  

Creatures

• Alliance soldiers in the Krasarang Wilds are no longer confused about which side they're on.
  
• Troubled Slave Spirits in the Ruins of Ogudei will no longer assist their own kind in battle unprovoked.
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause Zan'vess Squad Leaders to evade.
  

Sunsong Ranch

• Fixed an issue that could cause crops to become harvestable at inconsistent times. Crops will now always become harvestable at 3:00 a.m PST.
  

Dungeons, Raids & Scenarios

• Several classic raid bosses have been adjusted to be more friendly to solo players:
  
  • Viscidus
    
    • Viscidus now remains frozen for 30 seconds (was 15), and it takes 30 hits to shatter Viscidus (was 50).
      
  • The Twin Emperors
    
    • The recast time for Heal Brother has been increased to 3 seconds (was 2).
      
  • C'thun
    
    • Players now have 5 minutes to escape C'thun's stomach and resume the battle before it resets.
      
  • Al'ar
    
    • Al'ar and Ember of Al'ar are no longer immune to fire damage.
      
  • Reliquary of Souls
    
    • Spirit Shock now has a 15 second recast time (was 0 seconds).
      
• The Heart of Fear
  
  • Imperial Vizier Zor'lok
    
    • In the Heroic mode version of this encounter, Zor'lok will no longer sometimes spawn multiple Echoes of Attenuation, and will properly transition to his third platform when receiving sufficient damage to cause him to skip his second platform.
      
  • Wind Lord Mel'jarak
    
    • Breaking an Amber Prison will now always inflict the Residue debuff.
      
• Mogu'shan Vaults
  
  • Will of the Emperor
    
    • Jan-xi and Qin-xi will no longer pause while executing their Devastating Combo attack.
      
• Mogu'shan Palace
  
  • Elegon
    
    • Fixed an issue that could prevent the floor from returning during phase transitions in this encounter.
      
• Temple of the Jade Serpent
  
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Wise Mari to stop using Hydrolance or Call Water.
    
• A Little Patience
  
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Commander Scargash to become uninteractable.
    

Brawler's Guild

• Disruptron Mk. 3R-Alpha's attacks will no longer sometimes strike spectators in the Brawl'gar Arena. His attacks will now properly strike opponents standing on the grates in this arena.
  
• Dark Summoner's health has been reduced by 10%, and his damage reduced by 35%.
  
• Certain short-term buffs, such as Bloodlust, are now cleared when entering the Brawler's Arena. Long term effects, such as Heart of the Wild, will persist.
  

Professions

• Engineering
  
  • The Blingtron 4000 Gift Package now has a higher chance to drop valuable items, and a bonus chance to drop an additional sellable item.
    
• Tailoring
  
  • The Imperial Silk Cocoon is no longer Unique.
    

Items

• The Malevolent Gladiator's Ripper can now be upgraded via Conquest Points.
  
• Bottled Tornado may no longer be used in areas where flying isn't permitted.
  
• Using Bottled Tornado will now always properly put Rocket Jump and Goblin Glider on cooldown.
  
• Blood Death Knights will no longer incorrectly receive Kilrak, Jaws of Terror; Scimitar of the Seven Stars; or Elegion, the Fanged Crescent from Raid Finder encounters.
  
• Item Enhancements
  
  • Enchantments using the Real PPM system will now generate two buffs simultaneously, rather than simply refreshing the duration of an existing effect.
    

Bug Fixes

• Mounted players can now correctly interact with the portals located at the faction daily quest hubs in the Krasarang Wilds.
  
• Classes
  
  • Chi Torpedo, Halo, and Divine Star will no longer remove Stealth unless damage is actually dealt to the stealthed target.
    
  • Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Disengage now properly removes rooting effects when used in combination with the talent Posthaste.
      
    
    
  • Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Fixed an issue that made it possible to detonate Frost Bomb twice under rare circumstances.
      
    
    
  • Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Dampen Harm now correctly only mitigates attacks that deal at least 20% of the Monk's maximum health.
      
    • Enlightenment is now always granted upon completion of Monk daily quests.
      
    • Gaining Power Guard will once again light up the alert on the Guard hotkey.
      
    • Renewing Mist will now always prioritize players over player controlled pets.
      
    
    
  • Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Holy Wrath now benefits correctly from Attack Power and Spell Power.
      
    
    
  • Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Shadow Priest Mastery: Shadowy Recall will continue to activate on targets afflicted with Shadow Word: Pain, Vampiric Touch, and Devouring Plague when they move out of line of sight.
      
    • Mind Sear damage generated by Shadow Priest Mastery: Shadowy Recall has been increased to match Mind Sear normal damage.
      
    • The effects of Inner Focus will now always Fade after one Heal has been cast.
      
    
    
  • Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Poisons will now continue to be applied normally while Shadow Blades is activated.
      
    
    
  • Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Unleashed Fury will now benefit only the Shaman who cast it.
      
    
    
  • Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
    
    • Fixed an issue that could cause Threatening Presence to be permanently activated for the Voidwalker and Felguard.
      
    • The Warlock's 2 piece Sha-Skin Regalia set bonus now properly increases the damage of the Malefic Grasp version of Corruption by 10%.
      

Blue Posts

LFR Boss Status
The CM's on the US forum are telling me I should complete the LFR for VP anyway, even if I have killed that boss, but why, if I do one heroic a day and 5 LFR's that VP caps me (unless the cap has risen which I have not seen anything on) so why would i want more vp from a boss I've already killed even if that is possible which I don't think you get extra VP for killing a boss twice in one LFR lock out.
You get extra VP for finishing the LFR run you've been placed in, no matter if you've killed the final boss of that run yet or not (you just get 90 VP for the first completion and 45 for all the others).

Getting a queue pop for the last boss only, then queing again for the first 2, only to get the !@#$%^- last boss again.
If you get into an ongoing run and finish it, next time you queue, the system will try to put you on a fresh run. It's not 100% guaranteed, but that's what the game will try to do, rather than have you going against the same last boss again.

Does it mean you might end up keep getting 2/3 bosses LFRs? Or will you be sure to get a fresh run if you already killed the last one?
It might not be 100% sure, but that's what the Raid Finder will try to do.

But to give zero reward for staying in a group with absolutley no benefit to yourself is idiotic especially since you already took a hit first time and joined a 2/3 raid and to even punish those people is even worse.
If you finish that second run, you'll get Valor Points for it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Old World Boss Changes
Are you sure? I was killed immediately when I was inside C'thun!
Viscidus, Twin Emperors, C'Thun, Al'ar and Reliquary of Souls should be easier to kill now. The developers applied a hotfix during the night. So, if you haven't gone to C'Thun yet today, you should!

Why don't you change Kalecgos? And what are the changes at Al'ar?
Al'ar is no longer immune to fire damage.

Regarding Kalecgos, at this point we don't know if the developers have any plans to change him or any other bosses, but we'll ask them and share with you any news if that's the case.

Yes, as paladin, I am interested in Viscidus changes as well.
He's now easier to freeze and shatter.

RoS won't cast Spirit Shock as often as before.

What about Razorgore? Last time i was in there i noticed his destroy egg ability had no cooldown and that you didn't lose channeltime if hit. But it was still impossible due to the amount of adds that spawn, before you even get to clear half the room Razorgore is dead.
I'd say you need to practice the most effective path and use his ability to sleep dragonkins. Razorgore can also take quite a beating, but at some point you'll need to clear adds off yourself and himself (careful of not blowing him up). (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Daily Quest Feedback
Go talk to some congas, Mr. Brown. Your opinion is irrelevant.
Why is it irrelevant? I'm a player too. :(

The more I did the Mists dailies, especially after hitting Revered with Golden Lotus -- that can be a little tedious -- the more I actually enjoyed them. I've never been a huge fan of daily quests, but I seriously like the Mists factions (and dailies) more than any before them. I think there's a nice variety in the setup of each faction's daily quests (i.e. Klaxxi buffs, Shado-Pan companion, etc.) that doesn't make it feel too redundant. This is particularly true since I tend to rotate through a couple of factions week to week. With my work/life schedule I'm someone who doesn't always cap Valor each week, so I know I don't need to do dailies every day if it just means I'll outpace my VP gains. Right now I have at least 3 pieces of epic gear unlocked reputation-wise that I just need to save up for.

While technically you are a player in that you play the game, your opinion and the way you voice it is your job.
Hold up...

Let's get one thing straight. Sure, I work for Blizzard so you can accuse me of bias. But my opinions about the game aren't owned or operated by Blizzard, nor is it the development team's job to dictate to me what my opinions should be. I form my opinions about gameplay the same way as everyone else, though certainly inside info does shape them to a degree (almost always in a positive way like, "OMG, early patch 5.2 design is looking mind blowing!").

As far as enjoying the monotonous dailies the more you do them, I have absolutely no idea how that is possible. Every time I do one daily I feel my blood pressure rise along with my anger at the devs, CM's and people who defend the boring dailies.
Playing off of what I said above, I'll tell you how it's possible. We're discussing subjective elements of what is or isn't fun in a video game.

You and I disagree, and that's okay. But at least I acknowledge that your opinion of dailies is "possible" and understandable. In return it seems you're suggesting that the reason I have the opinion I do is that it's not my own -- that it was somehow force-fed to me.

Look, I've typically shouted down the "dailies are mandatory" whiners ... but for one reason only -- they didn't take much effort and I was able to "get rid of them" quickly. I'd probably feel differently if I actually cared about maintaining an alt.

But let's be honest, questing is the lowest form of content. It is boring, repetitive and not challenging. Dailies, in and of themselves, are just a miserable lowlight in what is an otherwise impressive array of content in MoP. The raiding, challenge modes, brawler's guild, pet battles etc. have all been excellent. Dailies? Not so much.
I just totally disagree. Solo content has come such a long way since vanilla. There are many players out there and in this thread, like me, who enjoy approaching an area filled with quest objectives, looking for the most interesting and efficient ways of tackling those objectives.

You can easily get yourself in gameplay situations that, while maybe a lot shorter in length, are mechanically more interesting than several Raid Finder boss fights, and require more than just your best standard ability rotation. Hell, there are mobs out there that have nearly as many mechanics/abilities as some of the Raid Finder bosses.

When I hit Revered with Golden Lotus I moved onto other factions while waiting for the 5.1 commendations to come out. My gear has improved quite a lot since I hit Revered and, when I went back to do Golden Lotus dailies last night, had more fun than usual pushing myself to be precise, ambitious, and ruthless with pulls.

My enjoyment of Mists of Pandaria has only increased over time, even with the few gripes I've had. I couldn't say the same back in Cataclysm. I still think it was a solid expansion, and I appreciate a lot of what Cataclysm brought to the game, but I sympathized with the people who were feeling burned out. For me, it just felt like maybe it was the result of playing this game for so long. I worried a little bit that my feelings for World of Warcraft were becoming inevitably nostalgic. But Mists changed that for me. The content feels like it just has more soul to it. I've seen a lot of people express similar feelings.

On that note, to the people who outright refuse to pickup quests from a hub with blue exclamation points: you're missing out on some great story and awesome content at Domination Point and Lion's Landing. I think it's a mistake to write that off based on perception alone. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Powershot Bugs
Just wanted to keep you guys updated, we're aware of this issue (when targeting a stationary target), it's already being worked on but unfortunately it's the kind of bug that will probably only be fixed with a client-side patch, probably with 5.2 (please note that this is a very early estimation of when it’s going to get fixed, don’t take it for granted as it might change at any time) (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Trading Card Game Art Gallery Update
The Trading Card game art gallery has been updated with ten new pieces.

[Kragorr]

First! ..

[moveth]

Mage damage wasnt high enough to warrant a 50% combustion nerf, honestly. They could have removed the damage equally from all spells rather than removing 50% of a core playstyle for mages.

[Draxleane]

Reliquary of Souls
Spirit Shock now has a 15 second recast time (was 0 seconds).

Nice Finally I can solo this raid without any problem.

[furydeath]

Oh good they buffed bling's gift now if only they would fix it so we could get a gift.

[Isotope]

Oh good they buffed bling's gift now if only they would fix it so we could get a gift.

That is the buff....he now rewards loot.

[Aterion]

lol @ Preform Av Enabler nerf

[Killmaim Deathbringer]

That burning treant looks lame as all fuck. lol

[UcanDoSht]

That burning treant looks lame as all fuck. lol

Sorry what? Druids and all others classes KEEP getting fun abilities and glyphs.... shaman has still zero of them.

[Collected]

More love for Druids. Can't remember the last time mages got a cosmetic upgrade. Oh wait yes I can, Burning Crusade.

[lanceb]

That is the buff....he now rewards loot.

but still only 1 gift per acc it seems...

[SumoSizeIt]

lol @ Preform Av Enabler nerf

Interesting how they changed their mind on that. Before they said it was pointless to combat because it was no different than a raid collaborating on voice chat and queuing at the same time. I wonder if other changes have been made to the queue system that they haven't told us...

[familiar]

5-th picture in the Trading Card Gallery - "BOOK POWER!"

[PaintOnASign]

Love how adamant Blizz is on trying to make dailies sound like actual entertainment.

[Terahertz]

That burning treant looks lame as all fuck. lol

HEY! Don't you see how important this change was?! At least now warlocks (and all other classes actually) won't one-shot me anymore! This is a very, very much needed change!.... -sigh-

[Thaladhrun]

That blood elf in the picture with the forsaken looks awesome. I hope they let us design blood elves more like that with the re-modelling.

As for the fire changes, wtf? Reduce damage for pyro a little rather than Combustion...

[UcanDoSht]

but still only 1 gift per acc it seems...

Or, actually, you know... 3 months ago when MoP released.

---------- Post added 2012-12-01 at 12:22 PM ----------

HEY! Don't you see how important this change was?! At least now warlocks (and all other classes actually) won't one-shot me anymore! This is a very, very much needed change!.... -sigh-

If someone is one-shotting you, than you have bigger problems than this addition.

[Nephyron]

When will perky pug pee on resto druids?

[Domiku]

WoW did not expect a nerf to mages again lol normally like 1 nerf followed by 50 buffs.

Shame Blood DK's didn't get a fix for AOE having to sacrifice survival for AOE threat is a pain in the ass in some heroic modes (have to let our druid take the duel add role on stone guards for example)

Still want to see a Blood DK fix for spike damage also the extra HP does not cut it. They need to make boneshield perm and turn it into a sort of block that mastery increases and remove the blood shield or something.

[Leonard McCoy]

The change to queing bgs is balls. The best community experience I had in the game in recent memory was with the rath strat premade guys. They are EXCELLENT players, with EXCELLENT leadership and a real pleasure to be around. Punishing one of the last vestiges of community in this game is not fun