Preparing for PvP In 5.2, Patch 5.2 PTR Notes Updated

[chaud]

Patch 5.2 Update - You Can Keep Your Valor!

Preparing for PvP In 5.2

If you haven’t been keeping up on the latest World of Warcraft news, you might not be aware that World of Warcraft Patch 5.2: Throne of Thunder is on the horizon. Well, 5.2 is well on its way and it’s bringing PvE features like a brand new questing hub and a huge new raid, but it’s also introducing new features that will have a significant impact on the PvP aspects of World of Warcraft, including a number of class and gearing changes.

I thought this would be a great time to discuss some of the ways we can prepare for when 5.2 goes live and we can once again attend to the important business of watering the tree of awesome with the blood of our enemies.

Gearing Up
We’ve already covered that the way PvP gear is acquired is changing in patch 5.2, but I’ll briefly recap.

• Rating requirements will be removed from PvP gear.
  
• Malevolent Gladiator’s gear will be available for purchase with Honor Points.
  
• A new tier of Conquest Point gear will be added that becomes available once 27000 Conquest Points have been earned for the season.
  
• Team Rating will gradually increase during the season for teams and players who continue to compete in PvP. This system is explained in the Mists of Pandaria PvP Dev Watercooler.

As Bashiok mentioned in his recent 5.2 Currency Conversion blog, any unspent Conquest Points will turn into Honor. That could represent a significant chunk of Honor Points, so if you find that you don't have quite enough Conquest to buy or upgrade a piece now, you could still potentially afford to buy a piece of Honor gear when the new season starts.

If you’re just starting your PvP journey in 5.2, then you might want to think about investing in a set of crafted Dreadful Gladiator’s gear to get started on the right foot.

Decisions, Decisions
If you’re already wearing Malevolent Gladiator’s gear in patch 5.1, then you could be faced with a choice. In patch 5.2, the Item Upgrade vendors will no longer be active. A new set of non-upgradeable Malevolent Gladiator’s gear is being introduced in patch 5.2, though it is a higher item level and has boosted PvP Power and Resilience to compensate.

So, if you have the points to buy gear, do you buy a current Malevolent piece now, do you upgrade an existing piece before patch 5.2 arrives, or save points to buy new pieces once patch 5.2 arrives? Keep in mind that a fully upgraded (2/2) piece of 5.1 Malevolent Gladiator’s gear will be slightly better than its 5.2 counterpart, so if you already own pieces that you haven’t fully upgraded yet, then going for full upgrades might be a good course of action. On the other hand, even a piece that isn’t fully upgraded will be about as good as one of the brand new pieces in patch 5.2. Since any Conquest Points you have when patch 5.2 arrives will be turned into Honor that can be used to buy Malevolent pieces when the patch arrives, it’s up to you to decide how you want to spend those points.

Class Changes
Knowledge is power! Lots of class changes are coming in patch 5.2, so it’s a good idea to stay up to date on the latest changes by visiting the PTR patch note blog, and reviewing the class notes. Take note of the class changes—knowing what you, your teammates, and your foes are capable of will help shape the team compositions you use and the tactics you employ in battle.

If you’re feeling particularly feisty, you can download the Public Test Realm Client by visiting the Account Management page to experiment with the coming changes firsthand. Not only will you be helping us test the upcoming patch, but you’ll gain a keener grasp of what the changes will mean for you.

What About Mid-Season Catch Up?
That’s actually planned for patch 5.3. You can read more about it in the PvP Gear in 5.2 and Beyond blog I mentioned earlier.

When Does The New Season Begin?
Patch 5.2 is arriving soon, so keep an eye open for the blog announcing next season’s start date.

That’s Teamwork!
It can be difficult finding and fielding a team for organized PvP. If you’re looking for allies, you have many places to begin the recruitment process, ranging from the official forums to fan sites like Arena Junkies (also a great place to look for information), to just hopping into the General channel while playing to see if someone wants to play a few games.

If you’ve had success finding or forming an Arena Team or Rated Battleground group, how did you go about it? Let us know in the comments.

Patch 5.2 PTR Notes Update - Feb 11

Classes

• Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Death Knights now maintain the same health percentage when switching into and out of Blood Presence.
    
• Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Wrath damage have been increased by 9%.
    
  • Balance
    
    • Starfire damage have been increased by 9%.
      
    • Starsurge damage have been increased by 9%.
      
  
  
• Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Targeting for Glaive Toss and Powershot has been improved. These abilities will now always hit the primary target and are much more responsive about which secondary targets they hit.
    
  
  
• Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Arcane
    
    • For Arcane Mages, Evocation now restores 40% (was 60%) of total mana over 6 seconds, and consumes all Arcane Charge. For each Arcane Charge consumed, the total amount of mana regenerated is increased by 10%, up to a maximum of 80% over 6 seconds. Evocation remains the same for Fire and Frost.
      
  • Frost
    
    • Fingers of Frost now has a 15% (was 12%) chance to activate from Frostbolt, Frostfire Bolt and Frozen Orb, and a 5% (was 4%) chance to activate from Blizzard., and a 10% (was 9%) chance to activate from Scorch.
      
  
  
• Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Jab now costs 4.5% (was 4%) of base mana to use.
    
  • Glyph of Path of Blossoms is now Glyph of Paralysis. This glyph causes the Monk's Paralysis ability to remove all damage-over-time effects on the target.
    
  • Mistweaver
    
    • Summon Jade Serpent Statue no longer costs mana.
      
    • Muscle Memory: A new Mistweaver passive activated by a successful Jab or damaging at least 3 enemies with Spinning Crane Kick. Upon gaining Muscle Memory, the Monk's next Tiger Palm or Blackout Kick deals 150% (was 200%) more damage.
      
  
  
• Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Body and Soul now has a 3-second duration (was 4 seconds).
    
  • Holy Fire is now an instant cast ability.
    
  • Shadow
    
    • Mind Blast damage has been increased by 20%.
      

Pet Battles

• Master Trainers in Northrend, Cataclysm, and Courageous Yon will no longer field pets with higher than intended stats.
  
• Ghostly Bite's damage has been reduced by 20%. now has a cooldown of 7 rounds (was 3 rounds).
  
• Ghostly Skull: Ghostly Bite and Siphon Life have swapped ability positions.
  
• Spectral Strike now has a cooldown of 4 rounds (was 3 rounds).
  
• Light now has a cooldown of 4 rounds (was 3 rounds).
  

Raids, Dungeons and Scenarios

• Throne of Thunder loot drops and bonus rolls are now available for testing in Raid Finder, Normal, and Heroic difficulty. Please note that at this stage of testing, bonus rolls are not yet available, art for weapons, armor pieces, and the drop rates themselves are not yet final.
  

Bug Fixes

• Items
  
  • Effects for the following trinkets Spirits of the Sun, Qin-xi's Polarizing Seal, and Relic of Chi-Ji should no longer activate while outside of combat.
    

[asym]

I cant say that they've made their case for rolling over Valor, but not Conquest. Other than to essentially say that Valor is special.

[Yau]

Darn them changing the trinket procs.

[Spiritflame]

Can't wait, time to make final 5.1 grinds and get ready for 5.2

[Descense]

Ghostly Bite's damage has been reduced by 20%. now has a cooldown of 7 rounds (was 3 rounds).
Ghostly Skull: Ghostly Bite and Siphon Life have swapped ability positions.

*insert NOOOOOOO picture*

There goes 1 of my OP pets (1 of the strongest unded pets).

[toychristopher]

Nut Barrage is the most annoying ability!

[Soratrox]

For Arcane Mages, Evocation now restores 40% (was 60%) of total mana over 6 seconds, and consumes all Arcane Charge. For each Arcane Charge consumed, the total amount of mana regenerated is increased by 10%, up to a maximum of 80% over 6 seconds.

Why is this a thing?

[Trigunflame]

Ah, how sweet - Evo now takes all of your charges along with it.

More arcane nerfs, just what was needed.

Thanks, blizzard.

[madrox]

I cant say that they've made their case for rolling over Valor, but not Conquest. Other than to essentially say that Valor is special.

One has a cap of 3k. The other doesn't.

[blaxter]

6 second cast evocation for arcane mages, seriously blizzard, fuck u, from deep of my heart, fuck u

[Appel]

Ah, how sweet - Evo now takes all of your charges along with it.

More arcane nerfs, just what was needed.

Thanks, blizzard.

It was needed yes, good u noticed.

[koawinter]

6 second cast evocation for arcane mages, seriously blizzard, fuck u, from deep of my heart, fuck u

Calm down buddy...

[Deathgoose]

One has a cap of 3k. The other doesn't.

It's not even just that.

Current CP gear will now be purchased with HP

Current VP gear will still be purchased with VP, albeit at a reduced (-25/50%) amount.

[Jin84]

6 second cast evocation for arcane mages, seriously blizzard, fuck u, from deep of my heart, fuck u

Dude chill. It's Evocation, not Invocation.

[Silverspark]

I wish Blizzard would finally make up their mind what they're doing about arcane mages. It's driving me freakin' nuts that they change it around completely every single day.

[fmccloud]

I wish Blizzard would finally make up their mind what they're doing about arcane mages. It's driving me freakin' nuts that they change it around completely every single day.

Because its the PTR.

You should probably stop reading the notes if you can't handle it.

[asym]

So if that's such a valid course, why not do the same thing with conq/honor points? Arent there still 2 grades of pvp gear that are purchased with conquest?
Don't you still need to re-earn said conquest points to purchase the gear you want? Why is it totally fine to rollover the valor bankroll, but not the conq?
Just another illustration of the weighted preferences that are put on pve over pvp imo. Grinding is grinding.

[fengosa]

So if that's such a valid course, why not do the same thing with conq/honor points? Arent there still 2 grades of pvp gear that are purchased with conquest?
Don't you still need to re-earn said conquest points to purchase the gear you want? Why is it totally fine to rollover the valor bankroll, but not the conq?
Just another illustration of the weighted preferences that are put on pve over pvp imo. Grinding is grinding.

PvP and PvE shold not have the same catch up mechanisms. In PvE slower catch up means do the first tier of content until you're ready for throne of thunder. PvP catch up means get stomped until you have enough gear. That's why the currency resets are different.

[hplaner]

So if that's such a valid course, why not do the same thing with conq/honor points? Arent there still 2 grades of pvp gear that are purchased with conquest?
Don't you still need to re-earn said conquest points to purchase the gear you want? Why is it totally fine to rollover the valor bankroll, but not the conq?
Just another illustration of the weighted preferences that are put on pve over pvp imo. Grinding is grinding.

If you had thought a little about it, you would have realized the obvious. New 5.2 pvp gears > 5.1 PVP gears + upgrade. If they had CP carry over, people could ideally stack as much CP as they can and buy a whole set of new gears that are better than current gears come patch day. That is not the same with VP. New gears are blocked by reputation, in addition with a max of 3k VP. People would mostly use the VP that are carried over to purchase gears the current VP gears, but with a much reduced cost. They had to carry over VP since the 5.0/5.1 gears still require VP in 5.2, while for PVP, the Malv will be available with honor. Again, if CP had carried over, it would screw up everyone that did not stack CP since they will be in for a gear disadvantage.

[Airwaves]

All i want to know is can i get pvp honor weapons? I never bother with the first season because i can not be bothered to wait to get the cp to get the weapons.